Athos

I think I read somewhere that this is due to retailer demands. The retailers aren't interested in a new line of Viking stuff, since they already have Viking stuff on their shelves (same with any theme). Its easier to persuade them to pick up a new theme. So Lego is forced to created new themes. Steve

Personally, I hope we get Vincent Price as Egghead, or King Tut... I thought I was the one who made that point... ;-) Steve, the ever overlooked...

Ehhh, I snooze, I lose... I'd planned on using Fluffy. I'll have to start trying to think of something good... Steve

Nothing that interesting. Just an nice example of how, with a little mixing and matching, you can create a whole bunch of individualized pirates from only three basic figures. I'm not real keen on the tricorn hat with that torso though. Can't explain why... Steve

Interesting, but I must say 'So?'. It doesn't mean we'll see either of them (though we've already gotten the likely misnamed Nighthawk). The Star Wars games are full of characters that have been overlooked (most notably the many iterations of Padme). Steve

There are just so many and I'm only considering the pieces that required a new mold and not the nice printed pieces (i.e. flute, lollypops, the civilian torsos, [yellow] faces, etc.) Owls and rats are nice. Norbert, Buckbeak, Fawkes, Scabbers, Fluffy and the Basilisk are also good to have. Harry, Ron Hemione, Dumbledor, Lockhart/Lupin and Umbridge's hair have all been great. Quirrel's turban is a wonderful piece. Mermaid legs/flippers are up there too (though I do wish they could bend a bit). And lets not forget the dobby head and the Gringott's goblin heads. But I think the grand prize has to be the door and to a lesser extent keys. A second runner up would be the dog... Steve

Dammit, that was my idea... X-D Steve EDIT by *yoda* : ts ts Athos, please post this in the discussion thread ;-) Since its you I didn't delete that post but moved it here ;-)

Its a little big for the cup it is holding (coasting?). And I wonder if the tiles will make it too slick and create a risk of spilling... Other than that, great idea. Steve

If it sells and makes money for the Lego company, then that's all the defense it needs. If it was a first outing into such items, then it's defendable as an experiment. If other similar products sold well, but this one doesn't, then it was a reasonable and forgivable mistake. If other similar products didn't sell and it was doomed from the start, then Lego is crazy and I can't defend it. Other than that, I would say that since, presumably, kids would be taking such an item to school it would provide valuable exposure for the Lego company and maybe draw in more kids to the hobby. Its like free advertising. Personally, I don't see what's wrong with this product. Its not Lego (as in bricks), but its not a bad product, per se. Not that I would be interested in it, but I don't do Aquaraiders... Adventurers would be another story... I don't see how it is any different from a T-shirt or poster... Steve

Finally found the dwarfs, so that can go on my list now too. Great set, by the way. X-D Steve

Ah, then I was right... X-D Steve

I'm working on the rest of the set pieces now. I've got at least one more minor one to do. Steve

That's a nice looking set. Looks like a classic lego town design. The cinema looks great. Is the guy in the background one of the kids from the 1958 set? Steve

Well we did get a princess, which is quite a rareity. Haven't seen one for nearly 7 years now. And she's one of (I think) only 6 released? So we're getting progress. Steve

Well it is armor after all... Steve

I haven't gotten the Skeleton Tower or Skeleton Ship yet and I've got two of the Final Joust (yay, Target clearances) and two of the Castle Siege (I may return the second one and exchange it for the Skeleton Ship and Tower). Other than that I've got one of each of the others. Oh, and I haven't been able to find the blasted Dwarf Mine yet... which is causing me no end of consternation... Steve

I know I've come across the translation somewhere before. I think the second symbol is "China" (the middle kingdom). Steve

I'm not a big fan of printed armor, unless there are a lot of variations. And I'm not real fond of the shiny silver stuff either. I'd like to see just regular armor like what used to come in the old sets. Steve

Huh? *wacko* Not really my specialty, but I often get vignette ideas. And they are quick and easy to build, so I can make a couple in an evening to satisfy my building cravings, without having to drag out too many bricks or take up too much space. Steve

Saw it at a local Target. Didn't look all that great to me. Steve

I pretty much just copied the instructions and changed the colors. But there are some minor modifications, mostly because they didn't make the part in the right color. The engines for example are slightly modded. They only have one of these, rather than two, because I only had enough for one on each side. Also there are no windows on the sides, but I plan to fix that with a bricklink order or two... There are a few other mods too, but nothing major.

The vignette actually started from the idea of a still life. I was working on another project and had set up a table that looked like a still-life painting and it inspired me to do the vignette. Its the merchant man from the Imperial Trading Post and Skull Eye Schooner. There were just so many good vignette ideas in the Castle alphabet thread, that a lot of the letters needed more than one entry. Maybe it will be a Castle encyclopedia X-D Steve

Since the original island hopper crashed in Johnny Thunder and the Poachers of Prehistory, I thought the Adventurers could use a new plane, so I built, the Island Hopper Mk. II. It's pretty much just the original Island Hopper, but in blue. I think it looks quite snazzy... Steve

Since I finished my castle alphabet, but still had numerous other scenes still in mind, I decided to expand my alphabet (though this time, not in alphabetical order). So without further ado, 'P' is for Painter: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/Athos/Ca...er/painter1.jpg The whole pigmented gallery: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=280215 The rest of the alphabet: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=231158 Steve

An Adventurers style redeux of a scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/Athos/Vi...rers/shiek1.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/Athos/Vi...rers/shiek2.jpg The whole redeuxical gallery: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=119054 Steve