Aanchir

There shouldn't be any of either in this model. The Ecto 1 uses Medium Stone Grey (Bricklink's Light Bluish Gray).

If I had to guess, I'd say polypropylene. That's what I believe the softer plastic BIONICLE parts are made of, and the material of those seems about the same as LEGO trees and bushes.

Nope, new episodes have already been confirmed for 2015, not to mention the movie in 2016. Ninjago still has a ways to go.

Hmm, interesting. The BZPower review of Tunneler Beast vs. Surge said that set had three of them. The reason extra pieces are included in sets is because it's easy for a set with one too many or one too few of certain very light parts can easily make it onto store shelves without tripping the weight sensors used for quality control, so for safety's sake one extra (beyond what the official inventory calls for) is included. That way, even if there's one too many or one too few, the set will still be complete. So with that in mind, I guess this is what happened for BZPower's copy of that set: an "unintended extra" slipped in without tripping the weight sensors.

Eagles, ravens, and vultures actually both have three talons in front and one in the back, so other than the lack of that back talon (don't know if there's a specific name for it), those sets' feet are fairly accurate. I agree that it's a shame that two-claw foot piece has not been reused, especially since the remolded version didn't even appear in all copies of the set it was produced for (6201 Toxic Reapa). But I think the Chima designers made the right decision about which foot piece to use for the birds of Legends of Chima. Now, Cragger is another story. Both CHI Cragger sets have used the three-claw Piraka foot, but crocodiles actually have five digits on their front legs and four digits on their hind legs. It is peculiar that this year CHI Laval's foot changed to the more bestial foot piece from the Invasion from Below sets, but Cragger's didn't. While his feet were already sufficiently bestial, this foot piece would technically be more accurately proportioned for a crocodile foot than the Piraka foot, since crocodiles have four toes which are not very long. Perhaps the LEGO Group is using the Piraka foot for Cragger on account of its slightly webbed appearance, or perhaps because it's more like what people expect a reptilian foot to look like.

Question, just out of curiosity: How many 1x1 round plates does the set include for the minifigures' blasters?

Thoughts on CHI Panthar, now that I have him: He's a cool looking set, but he doesn't excite me as much as CHI Worriz from last year. Proportions are good, color blocking is good, and construction is clever, but I dunno... he just doesn't really speak to me the same way. The new shell detail piece for his shoulder... I dunno quite what to think of it. It definitely looks cool, but holding it in hand I'm not quite as thrilled about it as some of the older shell detail pieces like the ones from the Breakout series. It just doesn't seem to fit quite so snugly around a shell. Rather, there's a big gap between its sides and the sides of the shell it's attached to. The spherical shell detail piece also has a gap, but for some reason it feels a bit more natural to me than the one this part leaves. However, I'm sure the part will still be useful, and I'm sure there are still ways to make it look very pretty on a model. The new blade pieces are kind of cool. I'm sure you could make all sorts of weapons from them. The ornate detail on them feels just mechanical enough that it could probably be used for a BIONICLE model, but I don't think they'd be well-suited to a Hero Factory model. Just a bit too much fantasy flair, IMO. The head and jaw are quite cool, as is his tail. And I really like the claws on the feet. They feel nice and sturdy, with a good range of motion. I hope they come in more colors in the future — Warm Gold, White, Tr. Light Blue, and Tr. Fluore. Reddish Orange are just fine, but some more neutral colors like Silver Metallic or Titanium Metallic would also be very useful. The claw looks awkward in many poses because of the way the first two fingers are parallel and the third is slightly angled. It's not nearly so bothersome on sets where the fingers aren't so long. As for the torso shell... still not sold on it. As with the weapons, the chest area's decoration might work for a BIONICLE creation, though the lower section feels a lot less mechanical. I haven't come up with any uses for this piece in MOCs just yet. Its large size and few connection points feel limiting compared to existing torso shells. The way it ejects a CHI orb feels a bit underwhelming. I know it wouldn't make much sense for the CHI orb to shoot out, but the way it just drops out (and even then, only if the torso is not tilted upward) means that it's more just a peculiar means of disassembly than an action feature. On the whole, it's cool to have this set, but it might be a while before I can really make good use of it. This is one of my first sets to have a great quantity of gold parts. So hopefully those might inspire some cool creation. Sadly, I don't foresee getting too much use out of the transparent fluorescent reddish-orange beams, since I just have two non-matching ones rather than any more useful quantities. Maybe if I'm lucky somebody might be selling other sets like CHI Laval or CHI Cragger at Brickfair Virginia this year.

I wouldn't say that — Galaxy Squad did bug people just last year. If Chima's designers aren't afraid of this year's spiders and scorpions being too similar to that, then surely they wouldn't be too cautious about similarities to a theme that's been discontinued for nearly half a decade.

It does seem a bit pricy for its piece count, compared to some of the other sets this year — $10 more expensive than Evo XL Machine for just 24 more pieces. But then again, the price per piece is actually better than most of this year's sets. The only four sets that seem to have it beat in terms of price-per-piece are the two $25 machines and the two $15 machines from the summer, all of which are probably a bit inflated by their heavy use of tiny elements like Technic pins and flick missiles. It has fewer pieces than Jet Rocka for the same reason (though still more parts than Speeda Demon — both it and Stormer XL were strangely overpriced for their piece counts compared to both earlier and later sets).

Not always. Some sets are announced for June, and they usually start showing up in May. Some sets are announced for August, and they usually start showing up in July. Except for LEGO exclusive/direct-to-consumer sets, you can never expect a set to adhere religiously to its slated release date, but generally you can expect sets to start showing up within a month of their slated release date. If we start seeing them sooner, great! But that's not something we can rely on, and you specifically asked what we had heard from LEGO. It's not like they ever tell us how far in advance we can expect sets like this to start showing up. Personally, the machines impress me far more than the beasts do. Other than Queen Beast and Tunneler Beast, the two most unique beasts in terms of construction, it's hard for me to think of the beasts as more than parts packs (albeit really good ones with stylish parts and well-coordinated colors). Construction-wise, they're very refined, but there's little they offer that I haven't experienced in some form or another already. But the machines generally feel amazingly fresh and innovative to me. Furno Jet Machine, Evo XL Machine, Breez Flea Machine, and Bulk Drill Machine are probably my favorites. I'm not quite as excited about Stormer Freeze Machine or any of Rocka's machines, though Rocka Stealth Machine is a very elegant design and Surge & Rocka Combat Machine seems to exceed my previous expectations. I've warmed up to Stormer Freeze Machine a bit after testing out its torso construction with the parts I already have in my collection, and I might very well end up getting it, but it's not at the top of my wanted list and I still haven't decided whether I'll leave it assembled or use its decorated shell, cockpit, and storage container to create a different machine for Stormer. The sets this year that excite me the least are Evo Walker and Crystal Beast. The former just feels underwhelming compared to the walkers we get in the summer sets, and doesn't offer much in terms of pieces that you wouldn't get from Evo's other two machines. Its main value is as an army builder for jumpers, if you had any interest in doing so. The latter is really flashy in terms of colors, but its coolest feature in terms of construction is its articulated claws, a trait that Queen Beast and Tunneler Beast share (and Queen Beast has a better thumb anyway).

I honestly prefer the X1 Ninja Charger to the Kai Fighter, but that's mainly because I already have a General Cryptor minifigure as well as the (IMO superior) 9442 Jay's Storm Fighter. My need for fancy magical ninja fighter jets is satisfied, but the X1 Ninja Charger is the first set to satisfy my need for fancy magical ninja muscle cars. With that said, I don't yet own either of the sets, so my opinion on which is better is based more on the concept than the execution. For all I know, the Kai Fighter's swing-wing function could be even more fun than that of Jay's Storm Fighter.

Good review. It's fantastic to see the Queen from so many angles. Any misgivings I had about the design have been laid to rest. A bit of a shame Evo's machine has some issues with the proximity between the cannon, the cockpit, and the ground, since it's definitely among the most cohesive-looking machines, without a lot of gappiness in its design. I have a feeling that I'm going to end up with at least two of each hero the way things are shaping up... not that I'm complaining. The combi models both look pretty cool! The beast combi model in particular is amazingly cohesive compared to most combi models. Normally, you just can't judge a combi model by the same terms you use to judge a set, since sets have greater control over the parts at their disposal. This combi model, then, goes above and beyond the usual expectations. Hopefully it functions as well as it looks!

I really like this set myself. I built it on LDD, and while I can see now that I made several mistakes, I really like the design. I do agree that the rear feet don't match the front feet very well, but I like that they (and the rear legs) are smaller than the front legs. It gives the set a nice, dynamic posture. And the body construction is awesome, making the set feel very industrial. The flying machine bothers me somewhat, both in terms of its shape and the fact that it is almost purely Technic, without much use of constraction building techniques. With that said, I like the swing-wing function, which seems to work a lot better than the similar function on the Chima constraction sets this year. I feel like the machine looks good either with or without the flying machine attached. I really like both of the combi models for this wave, from what I can see. The ability to swap out the flying machine with accessories from the mid-size machines is creative, and a lot cooler to me than the Evo XL Machine's ability to borrow weapons from the other bipedal machines (though that was itself a bit neat just in terms of how ludicrously over-the-top a machine with all those disparate weapons sprouting out of it was). Overall, I'm pretty committed to getting this set now that I've gotten to see it in more detail than in Toy Fair photos, which only captured a few angles and in which the set was consistently badly posed.

I like small machines like this. They remind me of the old small BIONICLE sets — though of course, at $10 this one is a lot more expensive than those would have been. This year's HF polybag is probably a better comparison, though that lacks a jumper, a cocoon, or much of the armor that decorates this set. A better comparison in terms of piece count would be a BIONICLE canister set like the Vahki, though height-wise those tower over this set. Bit of a shame that the cocoons use the Dark Brown tri-connectors rather than the new black ones that appear in the Ultra Agents sets. Not sure quite whether I'm getting this set. I'm probably going to want either this or Rocka Stealth Machine, but not both. And neither is a huge priority now that I've finally committed to getting Surge & Rocka Combat Machine.

Tunneler Beast is maybe my absolute favorites of the beast sets. With 59 pieces and 20 points of articulation for only $10, the set stands head-and-shoulders above even some BIONICLE canister sets like the Piraka and Vahki (not literally, though, since it has a brilliantly unique insect-like build rather than a humanoid build). I actually love Surge's new helmet, and your wonderful photographs really help me to appreciate it even more. Even without the spiky back, its design really echoes Surge's helmet design with those wide, angular eyeholes and powerful jaw. Plus, that grin! It really seems well-suited to Surge's character, Surge being basically Hero Factory's answer to Lewa — youthful, reckless, and spontaneous. Great review overall! I was not sure quite whether I'd be getting this or Surge & Rocka Combat Machine, but I'm now rather confident that I'll be getting both. Having an extra Surge won't kill me!

I mostly agree. In general the beasts this year tend to feel a lot less revolutionary than the machines — the exceptions are Tunneler Beast and Queen Beast, which feature delightful non-bipedal designs. With that said, this guy does look good — his build just fails to excite me, as possibly the most generic design of any of the beasts. The articulated claws and color scheme are his saving grace. I agree that Bulk's eyes would probably look better switched with Surge's, though he DID technically have green eyes in his Brain Attack form. There, however, they were masked by his Tr. Fluore. Reddish-Orange visor. Good review, and great photos!

Good review. I love how sturdy this machine looks. It's also cool how much articulation the drill has. I imagine you could also point it downwards, behind the machine, to drill a vertical hole. Structurally, this set is very reminiscent of MT-201 Ultra-Drill Walker from the Mars Mission theme. I wonder if you could take a picture of Bulk and Surge with their eye colors switched? Seems to me that would be much more true to their classic eye colors (Tr. Fluore. Green for Surge and Tr. Fluore. Reddish-Orange for Bulk). Once my family has all the heroes I will definitely want to see how they look with more classic eye colors — maybe even their 2.0 eye colors, except for Evo for whom that is sadly not possible.

Good review. This was already a set I was considering a "must-buy", but there are a lot of pleasant surprises revealed in this review like the inclusion of a printed shell and a zipline! I don't mind one bit that it's a 4M shell. 4M shells are useful! I'm glad to see that the claw works effectively as well. I do not mind the cockpit being Bright Orange instead of Bright Yellowish Green. To be honest, I prefer when the cockpit is a contrasting color. The blue jumpers kind of confuse me. On one hand, I think it's cool to have a different shell color for the jumpers to indicate "elite" jumpers. But on the other hand, Bright Blue is a weird color to signify that sort of status. You'd think they could have used a transparent or metallic color instead of one that isn't used on any of the beast sets to begin with. It does contrast nicely with the existing jumper body colors though. It's weird that none of the sets include red jumpers with blue shells.

We heard August at Toy Fair, which means they should start showing up sometime around July and be widely available by August 1.

Hoping for Nya still! I am a little bit concerned about the fig judging from the Firox minifigure in the Chima Character Encyclopedia and the Naya minifigure in the Friends Character Encyclopedia. The former only has one or two exclusive parts (head and headgear), the latter has no exclusive parts at all. But a new Nya like her costume from the show would only really need two unique parts (a new torso and a new pair of legs). In any case, it might be a while before we hear what the Visual Dictionary fig will be, since the Chima Character Encyclopedia fig just got revealed this week, and that book's due for release about six weeks earlier. Early on I was speculating that the Ninjago Visual Dictionary would definitely feature a main character, but now I'm not so sure, considering that now four such LEGO guide books by Dorling Kindersley featured side characters (the Chima, Friends, and Minifigures Character Encyclopedias and "The Yoda Chronicles" guide book). So Dareth is possibly within the realm of possibility. Though he'd require at least three unique parts — there is no suitable head appearing in current sets as far as I know. Then again, Lloyd from the Character Encyclopedia had three unique parts, since his headgear had a gold crest rather than a silver one like on the regular Lloyd ZX.

Hmmm, maybe the set will surprise me with its quality, then. Personally, I don't find him quite as outstanding as Laval or Cragger from what I've seen in reviews. When the first wave of Chima constraction sets came out, I was impressed by how well-rounded they were. All the figs besides Eris and Razar had back armor of some sort, even if CHI Gorzan's was rather pitiful. Every fig was fully armored except for CHI Cragger, who left certain colored beams without armor for stylistic reasons. Moreover, CHI Gorzan had two articulated fists plus a club, while Laval and Worriz had not only a sword and a shield but also two articulated claws. That's a big deal when no previous constraction set had been able to offer it. Raw-Jaw was the only Hero Factory figure that had ever boasted two articulated paws, but besides that had no weapons of any kind. Rocka XL, Pyrox, and Ogrum each had one articulated paw and one proper weapon. The Hulk had two giant fists with no articulation and no weapons. CHI Panthar and CHI Sir Fangar just return to what was standard for Rocka XL, Pyrox, Ogrum, and Frost Beast, and as such I'm not as thrilled with him as with CHI Laval (who manages to maintain the complexity of last year's version, albeit with one-piece claws instead of two-piece claws). Now, CHI Panthar does have some cool traits going for him, like having a single energized Warm Gold and Tr. Fluore. Reddish-Orange arm rather than using those colors evenly throughout his build. I like this kind of asymmetry a great deal. Unfortunately, that also reduces his usefulness as a parts pack — unlike CHI Laval or CHI Cragger, he boasts just one Warm Gold shell detail, and just one of each size of Tr. Fluore. Reddish-Orange beam. Those two beams and the Chi orb are the set's only new recolors, and it also boasts no Dark Red shells or printed shells. He's still a very cool set — the only constraction set ever to feature articulated toes, if I'm not mistaken — just not my favorite and maybe not the most useful to me as a MOCist.

Cool piece. It doesn't really allow for a lot more building opportunities, but it should have slightly more friction than using a regular 4M beam, not to mention looking a little less bony. And if you have in fact managed to create a functional ball cup (which I guess we won't find out for sure until you get one printed), then that is the first stepping stone to creating any number of creative custom parts!

Amazon.com has a preliminary picture of the new LEGO Ninjago: Chronicles of Ninjago Handbook! Click here for full resolution. Apparently it includes a poster, in addition to a sneak peek at the next season of the TV show! Definitely something I'll be keeping an eye out for when it comes out next year. Not totally optimistic about it since it's by Tracey West, and her books rarely have unique stories or story info the way Greg Farshtey's do. But depending on the quality it might still be worth picking up. Still waiting to find out what the Ninjago Visual Dictionary's exclusive fig is. Naya from the upcoming Friends Character Encyclopedia and Firox from the upcoming Chima Character Encyclopedia do not fill me with confidence — the former boasts no exclusive parts at all, and the latter just one or two (depending on whether the head is different from Frax's, or just the same head turned around to a different expression). At the same time, it would only take two new printed parts for it to include Nya's new costume, which is what I'm really hoping for. In any case, if those two books are anything to go by, we won't be finding out the Ninjago Visual Dictionary's exclusive fig until we're much closer to its release.

Keep in mind though that in the early naughts, the LEGO color palette was ballooning out of control. The current color palette is around 60 colors, while in 2003 it was over 100 colors. The move to reduce its size between 2004 and 2008 could easily have reduced the NUMBER of bricks being produced in some of those rarer colors. It's also possible that between 2004 and 2008 the LEGO Group might have been clearing out overstock of parts in colors like teal that they were trying to reduce or phase out in regular sets. I have some parts in rarer colors that my family got from Pick-A-Brick walls back in the day, but it says a lot that some of the ones that stand out to me are colors like Light Yellow that were discontinued in 2004. There's another thing to keep in mind when it comes to which molds appear on the walls: familiarity. I would LOVE if the Pick-A-Brick walls would stock LEGO Hero Factory parts, for instance, and for about a month in 2011 they did (as part of a promotion for the new Hero Factory sets and the new Hero Recon Team custom-ordering service on LEGO.com). When I asked Kevin Hinkle (TLG community coordinator for North America) whether this would ever be likely to happen again, he said probably not, because they did not sell very well — parents and kids couldn't figure out how they were supposed to be used. So it makes sense that when you do see specialty parts in Pick-A-Brick, they tend to be things like treasure chests, plants, doors, windows, and wheels that have an obvious specialized function.

Well, something to keep in mind about LEGO Cuusoo/Ideas sets is that they're produced in small batches, but not necessarily in small numbers in the long term. Just look at the Minecraft set. There have been several production runs of that one in order to satisfy the incredible demand that was demonstrated with the first few production runs. The rate at which copies fly off the shelves could have a big impact on just how many batches can be expected in the long term.