fred67

Baseplates DO come in some sets. They are also vacuum formed, from my understanding... it still requires a mold, but it's not as complicated. Moreover, it's an extremely simple mold. When they tell you about $100k+ molds, they're not talking about the simple ones, even if larger... most of the molds are not that expensive.

I haven't... my usual spots (besides the LEGO Store) either don't have them out, or are trying to get rid of old series 12 and Simpsons.

No... but they could come out with a 1:1 brick that was compatible with existing LEGO. One of the reasons Modulex exists is because one of the LEGO owners tried making their own house and saw how difficult it was to actually do it with existing LEGO. Hey, TLG, here's a newsflash... IT STILL IS!

Toys R Us exclusive... as far as I know they are all sold out, so Bricklink is likely the only way (or a trade here, if you can find one).

How do you figure? In fact, they did produce test bricks... Jodawill even got bricks from their first trial run. This is all TLG shutting down a competitor, not a money grab by a third party.

I don't think any of the fictional characters TLG has released in CMFs are under any kind of copyright that they couldn't specifically name them (*)... the more I think about it, the more I think they want to stay culture neutral. I remember a physics class where a test question was phrased as a "tortoise versus a hare" question (basic kinematic equations), and lot of people (mostly Asian) were really confused about what the heck the teacher was talking about. He used to ask a lot of Road Runner versus Wile E. Coyote questions, too ("Wile E. Coyote has a jet pack...."). Fun for me, confusing for others. (*) Not entirely true (I'm looking at you, "Jazz" Musician).

That's terrible. I know I'm not making a lot of friends here, lately, but TLG seems to be alienating people with price increases (and deleting negative reviews off their website), and now this.

Did not mean to shift the debate, but to point out that criticizing prices is certainly fair game in a review. To stay on point I won't discuss the points posted here since my last post.

I ordered a case of Series 13 figures. I also bought about $30 worth of stuff at Brickwarriors.

I don't think we really need confirmation... a non-licensed theme that sells like hotcakes despite having a 100% price increase in less than four years (as of a year ago) is not going away anytime soon... it's a cash cow for TLG. Sure they make more on regular sets, but they probably sell 20 times more figures than any particular set. I don't know... they just didn't use any specific names until the movie came out. Maybe they were trying not to pigeonhole the figures as someone in particular so that kids wouldn't feel locked into something. Then, when the movie came out, they felt it was better for the story to be more specific. None of the obvious ones had any license or copyright they needed to contend with, as far as I can tell... maybe it has to do with language and culture, with TLG having to deal with so many different ones, it was just better to be really generic.

I understand... but at the same time, I stand by the assertion that they would not have lost money for any reason whatsoever when originally released back in 2010 (has it been that long! WOW!), which means 100% price increase is pure profit. It's not as if they didn't make new molds in the first few series! That was one of the major draws for a lot of people. On top of that, they WAY underestimated how many would sell (in the U.S. anyway)... so not only are they charging 100% more, but they are selling a LOT more, which helps cover the cost of the molds even more.

I did neglect to mention Winter Village... I do have all of them, and will likely continue to get the annual set (and purchase stuff around that time of year to get the bonus sets, as I have all of them, too). But compared to what I've cut back on, I'm still buying less than half of what I used to. I've cut way back on Star Wars (only OT, and only if I don't have an earlier version... I don't need the new one, and even then not all of them), Castle (I've only bought one of the newer castle sets where I used to get them all), I've completely cut architecture out. I haven't even gotten all the LOTR and Hobbit sets (and I won't) - three years ago that statement would have seemed inconceivable.

Well... I'd third (or fourth, at this point) the Medieval Market Village, when I built it. It was the largest set I'd ever built (piece wise) to that date, and while it was a lot of small pieces, the result, to me, was just absolutely beautiful. But then I built the Green Grocer, and that easily took over... until I built the Emerald Night (since my primary interest in LEGO is trains anyway). So it's not necessarily that none of the more recent modulars have not been better, but GG was my first one, and I just thought it was a beautiful building. It may also have to do with the fact that I built GG on my own, but since then the modulars have been "family builds," and I don't get the joy of doing it all myself (not that I mind... I'll take a "family build" any day).

I like it! A lot of people don't understand just how many bricks a big MOC takes until they try to make one themselves. I don't know about OYO but, IMO, if it's something LEGO doesn't want to make, then it's fair game. Over the years I've bought 2 MB, and a set of Superheroes that TLG doesn't make (The Fantastic Four). However, I've bought tons of stuff at specialist companies... Brickwarriors, Brickarms, Brickforge, ME Models, Lifelites, AltBricks, Big Ben Bricks... they just make great stuff that TLG doesn't. At the same time, we've had both batters and outfielders in LEGO (in collectible minifigures). Depending on your budget, I would look into those. I believe Brickforge also has baseball bats (in several colors); Brickarms has both a baseball bat and cricket bat.

Yes... look at my signature, the yellow eared elves; the picture is a link to the original post. And I know I'm not the only one.

Even if they publish your new review after you've sugarcoated it, how can we trust their review system when they summarily just delete ones they don't like and that don't violate terms? How are we supposed to put any faith in their reviews at all, just because they allow a few negatives through now and again? Here's a clue... if you can't handle letting people state their opinion on it, then don't include a review system. As for pricing, over the past few years TLG has raised prices far beyond inflation. I like TLG... I think we all do, but that doesn't mean they aren't capitalists trying to make the most money possible - they most certainly are! And as a capitalist, they're certainly allowed to charge whatever they want and let me decide whether or not to get it. But while I haven't checked the past few years, the last time I looked, over the last decade, on average, their increases in profits have exceeded their increases in sales. That means higher profit margin on products... almost every year, profit margins have gone up. It's easy to point out at the low end... these baseplate price increases, for example; a few years ago Star Wars battle packs were $10.00. The year they renegotiated their contract (2009), they did something they rarely do... increased the price on existing sets to $12. By 2011 they were $13. 30% price increase in three years - far exceeds inflation. CMFs started at $2; a year later they were $3. We say "it's only a buck," but that's a 50% price increase. You can't tell me they weren't making a profit at $2, which means that price increase is ALL profit.... and now they're $4. People said "well, it's because of the Simpsons license." They were wrong. That's a 100% price increase in less than 4 years. For a while people argued that it was the increasingly high cost of oil... but this 60% price increase comes at a time when oil prices are less than half what they were a few years ago. And do you read the stuff they release about their factories? How much energy they save? How much more efficient they're supposed to be? Their cost cutting layoffs? What about all the production being done in China? Wasn't that to save money? And yet our prices continue to rise at the same time they're cutting costs. Again, capitalism... I have no problem with it, but we have the right to say something, too, and of course, we have the right to vote with our wallets. I love LEGO, I just buy a whole lot less of it now. I used to be a completist... if I started a theme, I had to get it all, but it got to be way too much... over the past couple of years, I've abandoned trying to be a completist; completely abandoned Architecture and Castle; I even stopped buying LOTR and Hobbit sets... the cost of Lonely Mountain is a joke... a bad one. I used to buy a lot of Star Wars, but not anymore.... very rarely. So, OK, sorry to rant somewhat off topic, but the point is that complaining about prices is 100% valid. Unless they state in their terms it's off limits, they have no justification for deleting a review based on that, and that's essentially what a review really is - not just is it a good product, but is it worth it?

Those are good goals, but I'm not big on New Years resolutions... I say, if it's worth doing, why wait until New Years? But I am trimming down... both my waistline and how much LEGO I buy. I need to build more and buy less. I'm limiting to just CMFs, Modulars, and Creator trains, if they come out with a new one.

My two kids had a passing interest in LEGO... my son a lot more when he was younger (he's 15 now), had a few Star Wars, Bionicles, and learned the hard way that even a big PAB cup can't build a garage on a big gray baseplate for all of his cars. My daughter (now 13) would get some pink and purple PABs (no, I didn't tell her that's what she should get), and also got a princess set (I couldn't tell you which one... not the current ones, but like 7 or 8 years ago). A few years ago, on a spring house cleaning, they both gave me all the LEGO they'd collected over the few short years they were interested. By the time CMFs started, neither one was interested in LEGO, generally speaking, but there were figures they both loved, so my priority when trying to find them was what the kids liked first, but even that wore off and eventually, when we did a big house cleaning last year, they both gave me all the CMFs they had. So now I'm the only one. My wife thinks it's "cute." Sometimes I'll get together with my daughter and build something... either something big, like a modular, where we can each take a book and build in parallel, or occasionally we do something else (we've been working on an amusement park for like 3 years now... but I can't remember the last time we did anything on it). My wife helps with the modulars, sometimes. It's all well and good when they have to make a diorama for school, though... then they suddenly appreciate LEGO. This is a problem with every hobby (or passing interest). We just don't know people well enough. We don't spend enough time together. I noticed it with my mom... she likes Pandas, so everyone gets her whatever Panda junk they happen to come across... yes, she likes Pandas, she doesn't need (or want) a house full of stuffed ones, or a million Panda figurines, or post cards, shirts, pins, or anything else... she has what she wants, and also like me, she doesn't have the room or desire for all that stuff around the house. Only she knows what she would find interesting anymore. I think she's the reason I became very conscious of this phenomena, and why I generally steer clear of getting people something in their hobby or interests at all, unless I'm absolutely positive they don't have it AND they actually want it. At this point I wish people just wouldn't try to think they could get me something I don't already have. I'm middle aged, make a good living, and generally buy what I want (eventually) and while I'm not embarrassed about my hobby, it's embarrassing when all they can think of for a present is LEGO. I'm not a one trick pony. The funny times are when someone buys me a set... like a LOTR set, and is like "did you even know they made LOTR legos?" And I can't get mad because, hey, they just gave me LEGO, but I sometimes want to smack them upside their heads and say "YES! And it's LEGO, not legos!"

Many threads, many great ideas: http://www.eurobrick...showtopic=56557 http://www.eurobrick...showtopic=50685 http://www.eurobrick...showtopic=85340 Please don't just look at the first posts - those threads have many great ideas spread throughout. My latest (bad phone) picture: cmf_display by FredJH, on Flickr Better, but much older: DSCF1553 by FredJH, on Flickr No... but more than I have of any figures for a while. With one for my display, one to save sealed for posterity, I'm looking at getting at least six more, if not 12+... but not 20.

Regardless of why it was deleted, price being fair game as part of a review means you cannot believe the average ratings on S@H. It's bad enough on Amazon when companies astroturf their own products, but it's shameful for TLG to exclude fair complaints. I realize they don't do it for every product (the flex tracks, specifically the flex+straight) being an obvious exception - but how many low reviews weren't allowed on them, either? It's terrible.

Speak for yourself! We have Egyptian Queen, the Pharaoh, mummies.... we need a legion of Egyptian warriors to protect them!

Apparently the Targets I visit suck. I don't think the one I frequent the most (John's Creek, GA) has ever had anything on clearance. They've had the standard sales, but no big markdowns. They also don't seem to get the CMFs until months after the release. Now, it's not the only Target I visit, but I can't say that I've ever seen better at any of the other ones around where I live. For the record, I don't live in John's Creek, but I have to be in that area (with little to do) for 6 to 7 hours a week, so it's when I have time to go to stores. I've never even seen any good clearance LEGO at the Walmarts around here, either.

You might be able to find someone selling or trading for reasonable prices in the CMF trading thread in the Buy-Sell-Trade forum. I just recently missed out on the Haunted Mansion. I didn't get it as it always seemed a bit pricey, and if I'm spending that much I'd rather get a modular. Yes, it was seemingly gone in October, but over this past weekend it was listed on US S@H as "call for availability," and was even discounted by $20, and I thought "it's a sign," but I still didn't have that kind of money to splurge this soon after Christmas. The day after I saw it, I got a refund check for overpaying a medical bill... it was quite a lot... a LOT more than the cost of set, but by then it was sold out.

The Hellcarier is amazing, but just too damn big for Ideas. The Marble Maze is a nice concept, but I wouldn't get one. Hornet = Military = iffy, although it's quite nice... I would probably buy one or two. Goonies? I was never a big fan, although naming the fat kid "Chunk" was genius. Natural History Museum... this is very interesting. I supported that one, and I really like it, but I just don't see something this big - and that would compete with Modulars, being approved. Great building, though. Minas Tirith... while I love LOTR, and while a great set, I just don't see them approving something with an already in-use license. I don't think you'll ever see any of the Star Wars ideas for the same reasons. It's also big... let's face it, in order to do Minas Tirith it HAS to be enormous... this set is pretty good, but in going for an economy of pieces (it seems), it falls short of what it would take to do a great Minas Tirith... but the modularity of it seems like it would be easy to expand on. Interesting, but I'm thinking it just won't get picked because of the existing license. I love the Jurassic Park set, and supported it, but given the new license, I'm not holding my breath this will be selected. If I'm right about them not choosing things from licenses currently in production, I don't think we'll see this one being chosen. Out of all the sets, I'm hope I'm wrong about this one the most. I would buy this in an instant. The piano is awesome, but we've seen a lot of awesome pianos from the community, and I think this is a bit too small. At the same time, a lot of common and easily available pieces; a lot of pieces means they can ask a moderately high price for this, but that they are small pieces (mainly), they'll get a nice profit margin on this set if they were to release it. Interesting. The Flying Dutchman is another awesome, awesome, awesome ship; POTC is a dead-in-the-water license (no pun intended), so that they release something from Ideas for that license isn't out of the question... the only problem is, again, it's just too big and too many pieces. Looks like the number of pieces would eclipse even the flagship 10210... more than twice as many... and that was $180 set when it was released, probably $200 or $220 if released now. So... my guesses (not my choices) as to what stands a chance... Goonies... they've had a huge amount of success on these "nostalgic" movies, if they can get permission, it seems like a likely choice. It's a big ship, so a lot of pieces, but nothing on the order of the Flying Dutchman; it's seems more like $100 set than the $500 that the Dutchman would be. The Piano stands a chance. If the birds can win (and I like the birds), then the piano can win. The Marble Maze... I just don't think it's a great set. It's a great concept. But it got 10k votes, and I think it's more like what TLG is looking for in Ideas. The Museum is interesting; I'd put the Museum and Jurassic Park sets as unlikely possibilities. So... those are my guesses.

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