rodiziorobs

The advantage of the stiff capes is that you can use them to help pose minifigs. Here is one I did of Thor a few years ago which is still my sigfig (I don't have a better quality pic): I really like the leaned-back look, where he is balanced in one leg (at an angle), with the rest of the weight supported by the cape. I prefer the softer capes in other settings since they look more natural, but the starched capes definitely have their uses.

Well that was something. I'm a little skeptical about this big of a teamup given the mess that was Age of Ultron, and the compromises the Russos made in Civil War make me uneasy I'll see the same thing here...but that was a great trailer. And to think that people had been complaining how Marvel's music was bland and forgettable!

I'm mildly surprised in the results overall. Quest builder is probably the one I would have gravitated toward the most, but given TLG's history with games, the size of the project, etc. I'm not surprised it didn't pass. Frankly, I don't think any of them was a real standout, shoo-in kind of project. But, the Tron cycle has the virtue of being small, which probably helped it; don't get me wrong, it's a find project, but I doubt TLG would have chosen it from a group of stronger entries. I know, I know, Ideas isn't a competition, etc. etc. But I have a suspicion TLG doesn't want to pass ZERO projects (which is why they have occasionally held one over), thus it was easy enough to pass this project due to 1) it being small 2) a good working relationship with Disney 3) many of these parts being in production currently 4) now they can reject future Tron ideas. In other words, it was preferable to allot some production to satisfy a small but passionate fanbase than to leave everyone dissatisfied and weaken the Ideas platform by approving nothing.

The lift is very imaginative and the whole scene looks very Elves-y, I like it.

Looks like Elvendale has a medical waste issue... I love all the fantastic textures! The force lightning is probably my favorite part usage here, that would never have occurred to me! Well done

I love how it is built around a circular base, it makes it feel really unique.

What could be better than Christmas cookies? Thanks CopMike for doing this every year!

I read a comment somewhere that summed it up: after being burned on BvS and SS, a lot of regular movie-going folks decided to wait and see on whether or not they would pay to see JL. When early reviews and RT scores came out, those people decided to see other movies instead--the rest of the top five for the weekend (Thor, Wonder, Murder, Daddy's Home 2) all did better than expected for this week, and actually had day-over-day increases throughout the weekend. JL, on the other hand, sank slowly from Fri. to Sun. It's too bad, because it seems like while a lot of reviews have pointed out the weak villain and cutscene-style CGI, that the characters and the story screenplay are the best the DCEU has put up so far. I haven't seen it yet, and coming into the weekend I had practically no enthusiasm to do so. Now, I think I will try and see it sooner rather than later, since the people who did see it whose opinions I trust have been more positive than negative.

While other animals in Elvendale have to contend with the cold and the elements when winter rolls around, Ragana's spoiled cat Jynx can curl up in front of the fire, stretched out on her fluffy cushion. Of course, since this is Ragana's castle, her fireplace is as ostentatious as she is... C&C welcome, good luck to all entrants!

It could have been "Grindelwald: a Harry Potter story" . Although that would make more sense. Its like they feel pressed to keep using the FBAWTFT title, even though the series has gone off in a different direction than when they first started.

I agree with your entire post. One-off space or sci-fi sets is something we will continue to see. However, a dedicated in-house Space theme is kind of impossible while SW is around--which will be forever at this rate. I would also love a Friends-in-Space theme. Elves completely sold me on the possibility of a minidoll theme, and the set designs are some of the best I have seen in recent years. SH girls has a couple of good things going, but I think it is hindered by its license; an original space theme with minidolls could really showcase a lot of creative stories and set designs. I am skeptical it will ever happen, though. Good point. Chima was obviously an attempt to capture the same success as Ninjago (wasn't it supposed to replace it?) but didn't pan out. NK followed the same vein but I think is still surpassed by Ninjago. I think you are right, and after NK is retired we'll see yet another take on castle. Classic castle? Probably not. The most we could hope for would be an LOTR/Fantasy era styled-theme.

I'm surprised. I seem to remember reading something from Jake G. shortly after Prince of Persia where he said he wasn't interested in doing any more franchises or tentpoles. Of course, its been a few years and he has had a lot of indie success in the meantime, so maybe he has changed his tune. Or maybe WB is just wishlisting...?

A good rule of thumb is that a movie should make back double its reported budget to be firmly in the black. The additional revenue covers marketing and other studio costs that aren't factored into actually *making* the movie. So, TLMN only earning back 170% of the reported budget means it is in kind of a grey zone, but I'm sure that the relatively lean advertising campaign kept the cost down. Add in the toy and the eventual home video sales and it definitely made some serious cash. Not Marvel cash, and probably not enough to warrant a sequel, but enough that it was successful for all parties involved.

Wasn't it confirmed here on EB? I thought Mark Stafford had stated as much when he chimed in one of the anti-Nexo threads. Frankly, I think classic Castle needed to take a break--MOCers now create things that make official builds look fairly bland by comparison. In other themes, official sets manage to still wow and impress, but Castle had grown...stale. (Personally, I think much of the tumble-down style that is popular in MOCs is a little over-wrought, but at least there are interesting things to be seen.) Simply put, aside from bigger sets like MMV or Kingdom's Joust, Castle as a theme was disappointing. I hope when we do see a more traditional Castle theme, that it can impress. In the meantime, I appreciate that we will soon get Space Police and Blacktron sets, even if in Nexo form.

Oh, man! I forgot this was likely to be a Fantastic Beasts tie-in. Plus all the animagi forms. Well then, there may be some potential.

I suppose. But as much as I might love new hair molds it's hardly worth it IMO to shell out for a $4 CMF for a hair mold w/o other accessories/prints to increase the appeal. We have had it suggested that no new wand would appear (and their usefulness might be limited even if there were). As for new animals, they would have to be small, with the most likely being a new owl, a small owl, a cat and possibly a smaller rat. Given a likely 16-to-20 figure lineup, that doesn't give me much hope the line will be substantially different than the Simpsons: a small group of people will love every one, a few will like a few, (@Itaria No Shintaku will swoon if there is a dementor), and FOL-dom at large will breathe a sigh of *meh*. I would love to be wrong about this.

Murder on the Orient Express (2017). Before that, Men in Black and Thor: Ragnarok.

My only problem with a potential HP series is that there is little likelihood of getting any wacky, unusual or innovative characters. In a regular CMF series there are serious, straightforward figs--such as the historic castle/pirate figs, which fill a void in current themes, and then there are characters with never-before-seen accessories some of which are also straightforward, like the Mariachi guitar, but there are also things like a giant banana suit or Lobster Thermidor. Whether or not those are useful to you as a builder, the innovation in prints, parts, and accessories is a great source for novelty in MOCs and figbarfs everywhere. Will HP have any new molds? New accessories? Probably not. New prints? Likely, but I imagine they won't have a broad appeal. Whereas a regular series has something for everyone, a HP series is a theme designed more for nostalgiaphiles than builders. But hey, maybe I'll be wrong and it'll have all kinds of new goodies (fingers crossed).

I made a bolas a long time ago with three Heroica staffs and a neck bracket. If I were to do it again now, I would use a small elastic instead, as pinching all three through the neck bracket hole scratched one up pretty bad. Other than that, hammers are common like @thetang22 said, from small ones to large Hulk-sized ones. I have also put a clip-on axe blade across the top of a crossbow: functionally useless, but showy. Those axe blades are great for a bunch of weapons because they attach easily but are small. Good luck.

I saw Ragnarok on Friday and enjoyed it immensely. I haven't mentally ranked it among the other MCU films yet (I'll need to do a rewatch for a definitive answer there, hopefully sooner than later) but it was a blast. It's a solid 4.5/5 from me, I'd definitely recommend it.

Those knobby cheese graters would be something...probably horribly out of system, too, but I enjoy that kind of challenge.

It's like 1996 all over again...(not in a way but in a way).

I agree with @DeanLearner's posts above about the effect supply has on prices and such. Also, I see no problem with hoarders and scalpers and so forth: they saw an opportunity, took the risk, and are able to make a profit off of it. They didn't lie, cheat, or behave in any way unfair to anyone. You may not like it, but if that's the case don't buy it. I am not a reseller. I have tried but I have no self-discipline when it comes to not opening boxes of Lego. But, because I'm feeling long-winded, I'll share some stories here that I think are relevant. Feel free to skip if you're one of those TL;DR people (and if you quote any of this, please snip only what you need to spare others the chore): When the Iron Man 3 sets were released, someone got a hold of the Malibu Mansion Attack set early and sold it in eBay. It was less than a week before the actual release and two people with too much money on their hands bid the thing up to about $2200. Yes, you read that right. Over two grand for a set that, if they waited a week, they could buy for $40. With shipping delays, they probably only got their hands on it two or three days before the general public. Is this outrageous? Yes. I don't personally know anyone who would pay that, but there were two of them that day--the auction winner and the guy who only bid $2199. I think they are both idiots. On the other hand, I would have loved to have been the other guy, and would gladly have sold something at a 5000% mark-Up to an idiot if I could (and so would you) The new ultra-huge MF is currently selling for over $1400 on eBay. Not merely listed, but selling. People would rather pay an extra mortgage payment, spend a large family's grocery budget for several weeks, or forego a decent vacation, all so they can have a toy (a toy!) this week rather than wait for LEGO to restock it. I once talked to a lady who had bought tickets to see Wicked from a reseller--she paid $300 each for two tickets that were not good seats, while the venue was still selling general admission for $90 apiece. She claimed he ripped her off. I asked if the seller had told her where the seats were before she bought and she said he had. I didn't tell her this part (she was a client and I didn't want to offend her), but she didn't get ripped off by the guy. She knew what she was getting and she was willing to pay his price. It wasn't his fault she didn't check to see if there were still tickets available, or that she was too impatient to shop around. That's what drives the secondary market prices to be so high: buyer impatience. Now, as Dean pointed out above, eBay sellers often have no cost to keep items listed at 2x or 3x the MSRP, so they can wait endlessly for some idiot to come along and buy it. And, it is precisely because some idiot somewhere did pay that high price that other sellers hope they can do the same. LEGO is making a smart move here, by cashing in on all that pent up demand that overpriced listings have kept strong. If they choose to dabble in rereleases once in awhile, good for them. As for resellers, this means that suddenly sitting on those high-prices listings has a cost: at some point, they could get nothing from their investment. It may prod them to drop their prices in order to secure a sale sooner rather than later (even at a lower return) since the likelihood of an idiot coming along in time has diminished. TL;DR: Don't be an idiot and pay too much for stuff.

Using the same bricks stuck in my wall as last year's Christmas stocking hangers, I put up some spooky decorations this year. Literally, spooky: I wanted to do something fun to decorate the entryway near our stairs that was simple, but also sturdy and flat (people have to walk up and down these stairs, you know). My family got to help out which also made it fun. Happy Halloween! Edit: here's another of decorations for the summer (2016, actually) that I just realized I never posted. I know I have individuals of each letter somewhere, but I've switched phones since then and things got backed up to different accounts. If I can find them, I'll pull this and put them in their own thread. I also did some flowers for spring, but I have no idea where those ended up (a pity, they were really good IMO). (S: barbecue, U: picnic w/skunk, M: camping, M: r&r, E: diving, R: windsurfing)

Haunted House. There are others that would be nice, too (sets from the old 90s catalogs that I drooled over as a kid) but if I could only choose one, that'd be it.