AFOLguy1970

If it were to be a police station, get ready for the "story" to feature a jailbreak with breakaway wall. Look for a crowbar and a coffee maker as well.

If the architecture and color scheme is good, I am in.

Lothlorien is a beautiful model. Even though it does not really give us new characters apart from Celeborn, its aesthetic appeal would be strong. It has 1399 pieces, which is not extremely high. That would make it approximately a $150 set. Of course, it will get shot down, because it goes above the $100 mark. About the only thing a LOTR ideas set does is show that fan support for the line does exist.

I do not mind some interior detail, although for me, priority should be given to outside detail and keeping the model to a reasonable size. After all, it is the outside that we see when displaying a modular. Parisian Restaurant was really nice, although I am still having trouble with getting excited enough to purchase the DO. The problem right now is that in order to add storyline and interior detail, you either have to do one of two things: (1) Have a smaller building in order to allocate piece count to the interior, or (2) raise the price in order to avoid sacrificing one aspect for the other I too wait with anticipation to see where they will go with the next one.

It just came off a bit strange to me, but no problem. I think the resellers are already gaming the system as it is, and part of the problem seems to be that they do sometimes seem to have a better idea than Lego concerning how well a set will sell. The nice thing about preorder is that it could in theory be unlimited, so that would allow everyone, whether or not it is an AFOL, a reseller, or Little Timmy's Dad to be assured a set at a certain date. I am already picturing the potential chaos with the new Star Wars movie sets with the movie coming out in December. We all would like to have those sets in hand this side of Christmas. As an AFOL, I would like to build the Millennium Falcon during the holidays while I have the time off. Little Timmy is going to be disappointed if it is not under the tree, and the resellers will make huge money if they can corner the market before Christmas. I predict a huge rush on those sets due to the limited time and possibly availability during the busiest part of the retail year. Hopefully I am wrong, and everyone gets what they want when they want it. Demand for Lego has been steadily increasing, and that is certainly going to put a strain on availability in the same way that new video game systems have done in years past. It is not necessarily just the big sets that are hard to find either. I am going to be on vacation right about the time Mystery Machine comes out in August. It is only a $30 set, but I have a funny feeling that this set could be sitting in the backorder category for a while if Lego did not produce a lot of them in the first run. By the time I get online or to the store, it might not be available for a while. Preorder would assure that I would not have to worry about facing that situation.

I would definitely appreciate the ability to preorder a set. Take Research Institute or Ferris Wheel as an example why. If I really want something when it releases, I have to stay up until 11PM the night before to ensure I get one. One can only imagine how it is going to be with the new Star Wars movie sets when they come out just ahead of the holidays, especially something like the new Millennium Falcon. So I am lumped in with scalpers. Nice. Those same parents probably were not aware that the 1st or 15th of ____ was the first day they could order the product and if it is extremely popular, then those "AFOLS and scalpers" are going to probably have pushed the item to backorder status soon after its release, if not hours into day 1. By not allowing me to preorder something, all they have really done is force me to stay up late to ensure I get in on the first run. Personally, I think that allowing preorders would perhaps give Lego some insight into demand for the product. If they see a massive preorder wave for something, that might be a good signal for them to produce more of the item. They could also limit the quantity of the item being preordered so that resellers do not corner the market.

Considering that this set is long retired and the cargo plane is now sold out, there are currently no large planes for sale. Hopefully a new passenger plane will be on the way soon.

Ah, the memories of watching Scooby Doo when growing up. I can still remember the collective groan from my brothers and I when it was realized that Scrappy was in it. We either turned the channel or just stopped watching TV for a while. Scrappy is essentially the prototype of Jar Jar Binks. He was an annoying character to most of the people where I lived. His fanbase seemed mainly limited to the very young. Honestly, I thought he did have the same general impact to cousin Oliver in the Brady Bunch, but somehow the network refused to believe it. Before the term "jump the shark" surfaced, we defined it as "pulling a Scrappy Doo". Just a couple of years ago, our neighbors bought a miniature pinscher and confined it to the back yard. It would constantly bark to the point where every neighbor surrounding it reported it. And yes, our name for the dog was "Scrappy Doo". The first Scooby Doo movie casts Scrappy as the villian to pay homage to that shift in the series. Back to Lego---I really hope they do not waste a mold on him. It would be better if they allocated the part to a classic (pre/post Scrappy) villian. If they do decide to pull a Scrappy, there would really have to be something else awesome in that set to justify purchasing it.

Lothlorien should make it to review without much difficulty. At 1399 pieces, it is not way out of range, although everything north of 1000 pieces has been systematically shot down in the review process. It does not offer anything much new in the minifig selection, but it is a beautiful build. I would buy it without hesitation if it ever saw the light of day. I had a good laugh reading about the flick fire missiles and the catapult near the mirror. Still, a very worthy project.

Could this have something to do with the license? If the license expires, then Lego can no longer sell the product.

If you are interested in Jurassic World, the Raptor Rampage and T-Rex sets will be double VIP points during this month. Quite often, select sets are eligible for double VIP.

Honestly, I think the best chance of getting a LOTR set through ideas would be the Balrog. You should be able to make a decent Balrog with existing molds. The thing that will doom any Witch King project is going to be that helmet. Since there is a "no new mold" rule, there would be no way of getting anything that resembles the helmet. Without that one piece, the whole scene falls apart, even if you can get Eowyn and the Fell Beast in the set. Gondor soldiers face a similar problem. The helmet is unlike anything Lego has made, therefore a mold would be required there. Some have also indicated that a new shield would be in order. Having the tree printed on the torso should not be a problem, but the helmet again would make this difficult.

Reminds me of high school where each student had to do a science project, and the person who presents their project right before you has come up with the same thing. Not a good feeling.... Bill and Ted? I kind of remember the movies, but would seriously doubt they are popular enough to warrant a set. The telephone booth reminds me too much of Dr. Who.

I would imagine Raptor Escape would be the better choice if getting two velociraptors is the main goal. If you buy both raptor sets, you will end up with four unique raptor prints. Apparently they have names: Charlie, Delta, Echo, and Blue. It will be interesting to see what their role in the movie is. Judging by the trailer, it appears that they might actually assist the humans in tracking down escaped dinos.

I remember reading from a toy fair report that this is not possible. Maybe two or three can fit.

Actually, I think for the most part the target market is older children and AFOLS in the context of IDEAS sets. BTTF and Ghostbusters are from the 1980s. I doubt most children would choose a collectible Delorean over the latest Ninjago offerings. Birds is definitely geared to an older audience as is BBT and Dr. Who. Exo-suit appealed to the nostalgia of Classic Space collectors. Wall-E and Research Institute probably stand the better chance of appealing to a younger audience, but for the most part, the sets of the last couple of years appear to be aimed at older collectors. On this point I do agree. Size and possibly licensing issues did this project in. I do not think Lego is likely to approve any large project at this point. They seem unwilling to take that risk and devote factory space to any large IDEAS project. Perhaps some smaller projects around the $50 mark could stand a better chance, but they really have to be clever in design.

Wholeheartedly agree. Your point about Lego rejecting something like the museum because of factory constraints definitely has merit, and I suspect this is why they said no to an otherwise popular project that gave many of us hope that something would finally prove Lego is willing to make a large set. Of all the large sets, the Natural History Museum seemed like the best chance yet. It did not need a license, it had a science theme which is really popular right now, it had a comparable piece count to the other modulars (which could have been further reduced by making one dino skeleton instead of two), and it was compatible with other modulars. Lego does really need to officially come out place a part count limit on projects. Not only would it reduce the false sense of hope, it would also limit the Ideas site from being used as a place for people to show off their 10,000+ part projects. As for the labyrinth, it is a clever design and idea. I do not fault Lego for choosing this. It just did not happen to be the project(s) many people hoped to see approved.

I have plans to visit Redwood National Park this summer. The plan is to purchase Shuttle Tyderium and take photos of all the minifigs with the Redwoods. It would be nice to take the ship as well,, but space is limited. Very nice photos!

If I were entering any type of modular structure on Ideas, this would certainly be disheartening. I think the museum had the best chance of any set that size, and I truly believe it would have sold well. Maybe the museum did not have enough of a storyline or play features

My big concern is that demand for the Gimli, Legolas, and Gollum packs will be fairly low, simply because most of us already have them, and kids will be more interested in other packs like Ninjago, Super Heroes, etc. They will then mistake this lack of demand for a lack of interest in the theme and not make anything else for LOTR. Disclaimer: Just speculation and my honest opinion

Is it possible to physically go to the wrong address and try to see what they did with it?

Minas Tirith was not a shock, although I thought the Natural History Museum had a fair chance. It looks like the glass ceiling remains for large projects.

No purchases for me, although I would have saved up for the Natural History Museum and/or Minas Tirith. My wallet is pleased with this decision.

Well done, it looks like you have a knack for modular design!

Although the Advent Calendar is not cheap, it will be the cheapest set so far to include an OT stormtrooper. That will be a day 1 purchase for me and my oldest son. That and the Jawa, Ewok, Hoth trooper, R2D2, makes it highly desirable as a lot of these minifigs do not come in cheap sets. Hopefully they make a lot of Advent Calendars to help boost the number of available OT stormies. I do not really army build, but this one thing I would really like to acquire in multiples.