AFOLguy1970

Very nice, I love Victorian houses. It would be interesting to know the total piece count for this project.

I would think the real issue in the states would be the question of cleanliness. Having had two kids that just got over strep throat, I wonder about kids playing with Lego and then eating food, and then going back to Lego, etc. Such a place would probably not be too popular in flu season or when any other outbreak of something is on the news. If it were not for that one issue, it does seem fun in the sense that it is a combination of a Lego store and a restaurant.

Went to Toys R Us today. One son got two series 13 minifigs: the alien and the unicorn girl. He is not liking the unicorn girl, but really appreciates the alien. He also got a Ninjago Dojo showdown. The younger son got a polybag creator cat 31021 and a Ninjago Lava Falls. I decided to also take advantage of the 2 minifigs for $5 and started feeling the packs. It looked like a fairly new box, and it was yet early in the day. At first, I noticed the carpenter and considered him. Then, I found a sheriff, which my wife liked. I decided to try some more to maybe find an Egyptian, and that is when I found ----- the Hot Dog Guy. So, it was him and the sheriff for me.

I agree that the 2x1 browns would be useful as well as the 75 degree slopes depending on your project. So what would happen when some AFOL like me comes in and buys a hoard of these parts? Those parts would run out first, leaving everyone else with an excess of everything else and no way of completing the model.. Another thought: Why would anyone want the airplane model for $5 when they can have the Creator Sea Plane for the same price? Not to mention, it is a 3 in 1 build. My 6 and 8 year olds would certainly turn up their nose at this in favor of Ninjago, BAM, or maybe a creator set. It is extremely rare for me to say this, but I hope this fails. It seems to target too narrow an audience, and it takes up valuable space from something to appeals to multiple age groups.

So it looks like they are going to have to allocate quite a bit of the remaining PAB space for the parts needed for the model. The models do not look exciting at all (at least compared to everything else in the store) , nor do they look like they are worth $5, and the ones shown use very basic bricks and colors. So what happens when one of the parts runs out in the bin and you are unable to complete the model? Would the store pull the remaining containers until they could restock? Or are they going to order large quantities of the model parts at the expense of the other bins? It seems like the whole purpose of PAB was to allow for creativity and allow customers to choose from a variety of parts to create their own models. Perhaps Lord Business has reverted back to his old ways and now runs TLG. PAB has for me been the most desirable quality of the Lego Store, because that is the only place I can select loose parts in person. I could always order the other stuff online. If the selection available is going to go further downhill with this, I may be doing most of my purchases online and using Bricklink for other projects. On another note, the original post revealing this was posted late yesterday, which is still in the realm of April 1. I can only hope........

Could you imagine how that would go if it were true? They would probably be sold out by the time we woke up in the AM to check online. Since I am trying to Bricklink GG anyway, I would have to explain to my wife why we have to put debt on the credit card. It would take some effort to prove that charging it up now would save money in the long run in the attempt build it.

1. 6239 Cannon Battle vs. 70409 Shipwreck Defense I give the edge to 70409, because I like the minifigs a little better. Also, there is a bit more to the build other than the cannons with 70409. 6241 Loot Island vs. 70411 Treasure Island Tough call. I am no fan of the big baseplate thing in 6241 as it seems to limit creativity options. However, the gold coins in the treasure chest swings the vote to 6241---barely. Of all the new sets, I cannot believe they did not use one single coin. They did not even go the cheap route and use pearl gold round 1x1 tiles. When I think of treasure in the pirate world, gold coins are the first thing that come to mind. Doubloons, anyone? Sure there could be jewels, but there should be a lot of coins. End rant. 6242 Soldier's Fort & 6240 Kraken Attackin' vs. 70412 Soldiers Fort & 70410 Soldiers Outpost I think I will give this one to 70412 and 70410 despite the gold coins appearing in the earlier sets. I like the black kraken better than the red one, and the minifigs are really good in the new sets. I particularly like the governor and governor's daughter designs in addition to the others. The newer build appears to use more bricks than panels. I really do not care for the panels with the red brick stickers or prints in the older set. 4. 6243 Brickbeard's Bounty vs. 70413 The Brick Bounty I am voting 6243 on this one. I prefer the mermaid over the skeleton, the net over the crane, and think there are too many red parts on the newer ship. I do like the minifig selection better in 70413, but the ship design itself should take priority. 5. Chess 2009 vs. Chess 2015 In this case, pretty much what others have said. The board is superior in 2015, but 2009 has the better pieces. The exclusion of hats for the bluecoat pawns, lack of inspiration for designs in the knights and bishops makes 2009 the overall winner. I like how the 2009 bishops are minifigs with crossed swords to identify them, and the knights look like knights, especially on the soldier side. If some modding is done to the 2015 set, then it would be the ultimate pirate chess set. I am planning on all bluecoat pawns getting the shoulderboards and hats, making the pirate rooks into the crows nest like pieces of 2009, making the bishops actual minifigs, and totally redesigning the knights. Also, I would replace the bluecoat king with either the governor or admiral from the other sets. I still plan on getting all the new pirate sets, but it seems apparent I prefer the older designs overall.

It looks like a polybag build without the actual bag. At the Dallas Store, the PAB wall is not that big, so that will sacrifice some precious space. The cups are typically behind the counter, so hopefully they will not use another 6 slots to move the cups to the wall.

Sounds like a collector's dream and a reseller's nightmare. I am thinking about starting a rumor on some other boards that this year's San Diego Comic Con will offer four unique minifigs only available at the con: an Adam West Batman, A Snaggletooth for Star Wars, a Gondor Soldier from Lord of the Rings, and the Ghost of Captain Cutler glow in the dark minifig for the Scooby Doo series. In the meantime, hope no one actually goes to the Lego store thinking they will get a $150 Green Grocer.

I too have had my fair share of wrong parts. Typically the mistake is either the wrong color of the right part, or I get something like a 4070 instead of an 87087 or vice versa. If I need 100 of something, I now know to order 110 of them in anticipation that something will be the wrong color, or the order will be short, or it will be the wrong part, or a part will look like it has buried in the back yard for 50 years. And yes, this even happens with stores with impeccable feedback.

With DisneyTM in charge, it will not be long before memberships can be renewed for a fee. For the bargain price of 19.99 a month, now all members can start a poll, have unlimited posts, and can avoid the pop up ads! Free membership will be available, but you are limited to two posts a month.

This MOC works nicely. I do like the street scene especially!

Just my observations..... (1) European stores tend to have the greater selection and availability of parts, at least for what I am seeking (2) Many do charge extra for use of Paypal, and sometimes shipping can be expensive. However, in most stores, they do itemize any additional costs. I sometimes find a calculator is necessary in order to gauge an exact amount (3) Now for the disadvantage--and it has nothing to do with European sellers themselves, you have a marked increase in the probability that your package will get delayed or even lost. I had one never show up last year, and one is over a month late to me right now. It has tracking, but no evidence it has entered the US. An international package unfortunately has to use two postal carriers in addition to going through customs. I am fully prepared for someone to comment that they have made hundreds of orders and received every package, maybe some with delays. Of course you did, but not everyone will be that lucky. So if you order internationally, you might want to figure in the cost of insurance as well, especially if the money spent is significant. For Lego online PAB (1) It can take two or three weeks, because it ships from Poland. However, it does include tracking. No shipment has ever been lost, and the orders have been accurate a vast majority of the time. Only one discrepancy ever happened where they shorted me a part, but sent the replacement promptly. (2) Prices tend to be higher. 30 cents for a 2x4, nothing cheaper than 10 cents. There is also no bulk discount. However, if you make a S&H order for more than $75, shipping will be free. If I am making an order, and I have not achieved $75, I often make up the difference with a PAB order. In a couple of cases, adding some PAB to the order actually made it cheaper, because shipping became free. (3) Online PAB selection is probably greater than most given BL stores, but they too are limited. Most of the parts are fairly common, and they often will not have what you are looking for.

This small set certainly has its strengths. We picked one up last Saturday. The mechanism to access the treasure behind the skull is nicely executed. As an AFOL, my focus is on the bluecoat soldier, who could be my favorite minifig this year. I need eight of him to replace the pawns in the chess set. The extra pieces are certainly useful, especially with the weapons and oars. Perhaps a future MOC could involve some sort of armory for all of these. The pirate queen could get the interest of some female enthusiasts. The cannon can help augment the Brick Bounty. It does look like a quick build for a $20 set, but I like the assortment of parts.

Good catch on the Brick Bounty! I just sent a message to the online site about it to perhaps give them a friendly nudge to tweak the product description. In the message I confessed that no one is probably buying the set in hopes of getting one. Now, I kind of want a golden cutlass! It would not make a good weapon in reality because gold is such a soft metal, but it would look good in a treasure chest Very interesting. If indeed the mistake is the alignment of the black and white squares, that certainly is a harmless error and incredibly easy to fix. It is surprising that you can still order it on the US site despite the long wait.

This. An August release with some advertising would no doubt make the run up to Halloween very busy as Scooby is somewhat a de facto monster theme in the making. Sure hope it is not 2016--August is long enough to wait in itself and it already had all that exposure in the toy fairs with finalized versions of the sets and the boxes.

So I was researching the other pirate sets as we are now considering getting one of each. On the Lego website, the product description for the Soldiers Fort indicates that the set comes with two cutlasses, a golden cutlass, a musket, and 2 pistols. Upon looking at the photo, I could not spot the golden cutlass. Thinking that it was perhaps stashed unseen in the treasure chest, I consulted the instructions from the website, and lo and behold, the parts list does not indicate a gold colored cutlass. The cutlass is the sword, right? I wonder if Lego considered making one and then changed their mind but forgot to update the product description. They have occasionally made golden swords in other themes, but not in the current pirates theme to my knowledge. Has anyone else noticed this?

There is a thread somewhere on here about parts cracking just from using them, and yes indeed, the wedge you speak of is the main culprit. It is commonly called the cheese slope. Some members have stated that none of their parts have cracked, while others have widespread issues. I mostly display my models, so it cannot be blamed on mishandling. Perhaps, the environmental factors such as temperature or humidity could have some impact. It is frustrating to have to order replacements when the cracking does occur.

Guess the chess set is really popular. On the US site, it is stating the set is out of stock with an expected ship date of 13 September 2015 It looks like someone is after a lot of minifigs.

I do plan on teaching at least one son to play chess using this set, but there is no reason to restrict it to that role. 20 minifigures is a lot more than many kids have in their possession and would make for a nice "battle" in a play session. Where else could you currently get 20 minifigs for $60 (with other parts)? I think that is one reason why the set will be so successful, and that is it is open to multiple possibilities. People will buy it for different reasons.

I had numerous problems on Day 1 of VIP x2 points as did many other people. There is also a thread on the Brickset forum about the troubles. I had already loaded my cart so all I had to do was check out when it was March 14th. The day came, I hit the shopping cart button and got a permanent spinning wheel on the screen. Different browsers and computers did not work. After unloading the shopping cart and reloading it, the order finally took. Order status was impossible to figure for a couple of days as that page would not load either. Sure, Lego is a successful company. It is hard to dispute that. However, I do not see where having your online site prohibiting you from making a purchase could ever be a good thing for either Lego or the consumer. Also, on that survey, the "would you recommend the site" question is exactly where I would address the issue by giving a low rating to that category and then explaining the difficulty/impossibility of purchasing an item.

I think the chess set is going to be very popular. Yes, hats on the bluecoat side would have been great, but it gives you a lot of minifigs for a good price, and kids will be able to play out a lot of scenarios. In addition to the minifigs, you get a lot of useful parts, especially the 16x16 plates.

Definitely true. Scooby should hold up better because of the cross generational appeal and the fact that the show is always on at least one channel, and there is other merchandise out there supporting the franchise. Even if this does become a one off production, they already have the big five and the Mystery Machine, which will be seen by most as being the most crucial elements. If Scooby got the LOTR treatment, we would be missing at least one gang member, and possibly the van. But we would get Scooby Dum, another obscure character that only appeared in the Japanese version, and possibly a pirate ship </end rant>

I have a monthly "allowance" set as a budget. If the desired item exceeds the budget, I may have to save up for a couple of months or so. Credit card debt is not a good thing.

That is one incredible castle MOC and I could not imagine the effort it took to produce it.