Aanchir

You actually can have the cape and beard on the fig at the same time, it just takes a couple steps: Build the minifig with no cape or beard. Attach the beard. Use the "Multiple Selection" tool to select the head, hat, and beard. Remove the head, hat, and beard and place them aside. Put the cape on the minifigure's neck stud. Select the head, hat, and beard again. Move them onto the minifigure The reason why you can't just place the parts normally is that the beard technically "connects" to the neck stud, not the underside of the minifig head where it is actually physically nested. And since the neck stud is only programmed with one "connection point" for neck accessories, LDD won't register the connection between the beard and the neck stud unless the beard is flat against the "shoulders" of the minifig. By raising the beard up a slight amount by moving it together with the head, the fig can be built with no collisions even though the beard won't be "connected" to the rest of the fig in LDD's terms.

If it worked on the Savage Planet decals it should definitely work on just about anything with a smooth surface. One of the main risks I've heard of for using any kind of chemical solvent to remove prints is that with stronger solvents there might be streak marks left in the plastic, which shows most clearly on transparent parts. If transparent parts turned out all right then that risk is no longer a factor.

I saw the Warrior Bike just last week at a Barnes & Noble. Frankly I was a little disappointed, because the set I was really looking for was Kai's Fire Mech, and it seems to be gone from all the stores I had seen it at. In general, it makes sense that both sets would tend to disappear quickly, since they're the smallest sets of the wave and smaller sets generally sell better as far as overall sales volume is concerned (since more people can afford them and justify the purchase to themselves).

Yep, that's something that got added in the latest update. Unprinted Breakout torsos in Bright Yellow, White, and Transparent Blue and unprinted Brain Attack visors in Transparent. One thing that's nice about this is that it cuts down on the price of those parts while simultaneously increasing their versatility. Incidentally, I notice that the thing those three Breakout torsos have in common is that they're all from small ($8.99) Hero sets. So perhaps for some reason TLG overproduced those parts, anticipating a later production run of those sets which never came. Or perhaps they just decided that there'd be more demand for the colors from the smaller hero sets since more people would likely own the printed versions. Either way, it's a nice selection.

There are in fact governmental structures ruled by princes/princesses; they're called principalities. So in that sense a king or queen is not necessary. The reason Celestia is a princess rather than a queen is that thanks to Disney films and other related factors, young kids tend to associate princesses with the more virtuous side of royalty and queens with evil or oppression. I tried to avoid spoilers, but I did read a friend's Facebook post before I saw the episode that said it was severely underwhelming. So while I certainly didn't expect the worst (I've been able to enjoy even the weaker episodes of the series just fine, after all), I didn't go in with extremely heightened expectations. That might have helped me to enjoy it. I'd say there were a few episodes I'd call "good" overall. Some of them that stood out as really good for me were "One Bad Apple" and "Sleepless in Ponyville", but of course I typically have a soft spot for slice-of-life episodes, particularly those like "One Bad Apple" that include a song. "Keep Calm and Flutter On" was also quite enjoyable in my opinion. And this finale was definitely a solid capstone to the series so far, in my opinion, even if it doesn't necessarily rank the highest as a stand-alone episode. I've seen it three times already and have listened to the songs many more times. It's always great when a cartoon can elicit such strong emotions.

If you just rotate it 90 degrees so the anti-studs (stud receptacles) on the bottom of the piece are facing sideways, the angle should be about right for it to snap to the right angle when you drag it to where you want it to connect. If that fails, attach it to some hinge elements and use the hinge tool to get it roughly horizontal. A part doesn't have to be at the exact right angle to snap into place normally; just at enough of an angle so that LDD can tell which side you are trying to attach it by. So in the case of this brick, you really just need the studs to be somewhat more horizontal than they are vertical for LDD to tell you want it placed horizontally. Sometimes if your issue is the part trying to connect to the wrong piece (i.e. if it's trying to attach to the top of your build rather than the bottom), it helps to use tiles or skid plates/boat plates/baseplates to cover any connection points that LDD might try to "auto-snap" the piece to other than the ones you intend to use.

Eh, in my opinion, size alone doesn't make a model all that impressive (though making a large model with good posability and stability alike takes a lot of talent). What really captured my interest in Christoffer's model was how it was very substantial in size but it was also well-armored and cohesive-looking. A lot of larger HF MOCs start to feel gappy or pieced-together once they reach a certain size. With that said, Front, I look forward to seeing what kind of models you can cook up!

They need to be retired quickly to make room for new stock. Speedorz are released every three months or so, just as Ninjago spinners were. I'm not entirely sure what the "retiring soon" icon means on shop.LEGO.com, but it might just be an indication that production of that set has ended and thus it will no longer be restocked if it sells out. Which makes perfect sense for sets produced in such quick succession as Speedorz.

Incidentally, do you know what the piece count is for the build? I'm estimating somewhere between 200 and 300, but that's an awfully broad range still. I can tell each arm and leg uses around 40 pieces, but I can't for the life of me figure out the piece count of the torso.

I think I remember them having some rule against that, though. It was an early complaint about the VIP program.

This set is pretty cool, but when I first saw pictures of it I had different expectations of the function. I had thought there might be a gear function to make the flames spin, giving the impression that they're flickering-- an effect that I think might have been a lot cooler than just having them fall over when the firemen spray them with the hose. Great review; great pictures. Hardly my favorite set of the wave, but it's got some nice play value I'm sure kids will greatly appreciate, and I love how the firemen now have actual fires to put out (just as the policemen have crimes to prevent other than just "convicts escaping from prison").

Actually, each leg has only around 40 pieces (I've built them on LDD), though many of them are fairly bulky parts so $15 for each leg might not be a bad estimate. Overall, while this model is quite large, keep in mind that Witch Doctor (about the same size, albeit thinner and less armored) was only $35, and Toa Mata Nui was only $50. So overall a model like this could still end up cheaper than some of the largest BIONICLE sets, like the Manas ($90) or Axalara T9 ($80). I can't imagine protest for a model like this being too expensive, at least not from people who regularly purchase Hero Factory models and understand their pricing. Now, fewer people would buy a set that expensive than would buy a regular HF set, but that's why Cuusoo might be an ideal platform for such a model-- it would mean producing it in smaller production runs as often as is needed to meet demand, versus a few regularly-scheduled large-scale production runs that could potentially leave a lot of overstock.

We don't know that the eighth graphic novel has anything to do with the next chapter of the story. It could just be a side-story happening between the 2013 story arc and the 2014 story arc, just as the second graphic novel was a side story happening between the 2011 and 2012 story arcs. In that case it's only a waste of show spanning potential if the writers of the main story don't have any better stories to tell in 2014.

Before 2011, there hadn't a year of "all figures" since 2006, so I think saying vehicles are a departure from previous years (plural) is an exaggeration. The choice to introduce more vehicle sets seems more like a matter of introducing variety (after all, with a dozen sets a year that are "just figures", how many more do you need?) than a matter of titan sets being too complex. The fact that vehicle sets more or less replaced titans above a certain price point is really just a consequence of the fact that it's hard to make an impressive vehicle-plus-figure set at a $20-or-lower price point, so the vehicle concept gets pushed to the higher price points and "titan sets" get bumped down. On a side note, I don't understand at all how Furno XL and Stormer XL fail to qualify as titan sets compared to, say, Tuma and Icarax, unless the qualification for being a "titan set" depends entirely on custom upper legs and arms.

The idea that the theme was ending was presumably not supposed to be revealed when it was, and certainly not in the way that it was (which required numerous corrections after the fact). However, I think ending the Lord Garmadon story arc when they did made a good deal of sense. It basically divides the first story arc into three acts: first, Lord Garmadon's escape from the Underworld and the forming of Sensei Wu's Ninja team; next, the fight to defeat the Serpentine and discover the identity of the Green Ninja; and finally, the Green Ninja's training for his prophecied showdown. It could perhaps have been stretched out longer to eliminate the lengthy hiatus, if it had been known at the time that the theme had the strength to continue longer, but seeing as some people already got frustrated with the "filler" in the most recent season, I think it might have become a bit stale if the saga so far had been stretched out much further. It will be interesting to see how Ninjago performs after such a long, bumpy hiatus, but hopefully the new story arc will be thrilling and engaging enough to revitalize the fanbase and pick up new fans to replace any who lost interest during the long wait.

There's no way Witch Doctor would be considered too large for the target market in terms of price point or complexity because Jet Rocka and Speeda Demon are both priced exactly the same, and both have fairly intricate Technic builds. But I can't imagine TLG releasing two standard-release sets at that price point any year unless sales at that price point were strong enough to indicate that the brand could support that. Generally, smaller sets sell better. That's one of the reasons why the last wave of BIONICLE sets were made so small; it meant a more substantial return on TLG's investment.

A glimpse in a short snippet of a video makes sense, either as a tease or as an accidental leak. That's very different than putting such a model in a display case where dozens of people will be able to come by and take high-quality photos. Now, previously-unrevealed sets do sometimes show up at LEGO World, but those are sets meant for release this year. And that's part of my point: it could be a set meant for actual release, but that would make the most sense if it were meant for release later this year, and in that case it would probably have to be a D2C set or store exclusive (otherwise it would have been at at least one of the Toy Fairs). Now, the possibility of it being a D2C set is one I hadn't considered, and it would be mind-blowing if that were the case, since it's been so long since BIONICLE had anything of that sort (and even then, most BIONICLE D2C sets were glorified "Super Packs" of already-released sets).

I can almost guarantee that it's not going to be from a future year. Perhaps by some miracle it could be a store exclusive this year (not likely), but besides that possibility, TLG puts forth a very concerted effort never to reveal sets (or even sketch models of those sets) to the public too long before they're scheduled for release, because otherwise a copycat brand could rush their own take on the concept to the store shelves before TLG has a chance to distribute the real deal, making it look to the average consumer like LEGO is the brand copying whoever had such a product on shelves first. But that doesn't at all mean that a future set can't use concepts from this model. I'd love to see that foot design used in an official set. It's sturdy, cohesive, and doesn't require any hugely-complicated Technic building. And again, it would be stellar if an AFOL-oriented constraction model like this could be put on Cuusoo. While AFOLs might not be a significant audience for regular-issue constraction sets, a Cuusoo project would allow for a smaller production run so as to minimize risk, and a model this attractive could probably generate significant interest even outside the Hero Factory and BIONICLE fan communities.

OK, I couldn't recall. Makes me wonder what it is, then. A piece from another prototype or upcoming set, or something created for this very model?

I'm back to thinking it might be a prototype Core Hunter helmet. But I can't verify since I don't have the pics from the Toy Fair 2012 press guide with me. And yeah, I'd love for that model to be a set. Even if it weren't economically feasible to make it a set for regular production, I would support a LEGO Cuusoo project of this thing in a heartbeat. It's the best model-- the absolute best-- that I've ever seen work almost entirely within the LEGO Hero Factory building system.

Well, what the three have in common is that they are all large/XL heroes instead of small ($9.99) heroes. So I wouldn't be surprised if the decision to use printed visors for those three was related to this. The shield might also be related, but it seems a bit more unusual since the other sets use shields that are at least as costly in terms of volume of plastic, and I can't imagine the mold being less efficient since it's a newer mold than either of the other shield variants. Perhaps rather than a matter of cost specifically, it was decided that the "deluxe" sets should have characteristics tying them together in this way. Anyway, check out this picture that Hopey snapped at LEGO World in Copenhagen! The models on the right (including Raw Jaw) are purist, the models on the left are the same but with many painted parts. The top right and top right model are a stellar exp<b></b>ression of the building system: all of Witch Doctor's complexity but a far more cohesive style. By the way, these seem to be created by actual designers, and I think the head sculpt is a prototype of Core Hunter's (if I'm remembering the pictures from the Toy Fair 2012 press kit correctly-- I don't have them on my computer). EDIT: Another image by Flickr user Teabox. That does not in fact look to be a prototype Core Hunter mask on closer inspection. Hmmm... EDIT 2: More images from LekGodt.no. Plus a prototype Black Phantom if that interests you. Note the painted parts on the left leg, the same sort that made everyone hate the preliminary Black Phantom when Breakout pics were first leaking in 2011. EDIT 3: Søren Westborg painted the recolored versions. He mentions that "his friend Brian" works as a designer for LEGO, meaning the original builder might be Hero Factory designer Brian Nielsen.

Wow, these are some stellar designs. The ones on the left obviously can't be official set concepts (or if they are, they're nowhere near finalized, since dozens of parts are painted), but they really show how brilliantly the designers can work with the building system. I would hardly have guessed that the upper left model was a Hero Factory MOC at all, or even a building toy; it's that solidly-built. I wish we got more behind-the-scenes insight on what the HF designers get up to that doesn't make it into the finished sets. And I wonder if this was a sketch model for a set that simply didn't become included in any waves, or just an exercise in exploring the building system to its fullest. The only one that's an official set, by the way, is on the lower right-- the one on the lower left is a quite stellar repaint. Thanks so much for sharing this photo!

Real town planning is more or less irrelevant to working as a LEGO designer, and I don't see how it would offer a better perspective on what kids would buy. There are a lot of things in real towns that kids would frankly find quite boring, or at least not as exciting as police stations, fire stations, and vehicles. I find it hard to imagine that any segment of the fan community has a better handle on what will sell than LEGO designers who have actual sales statistics and market research at their disposal. I agree LEGO City needs more buildings, and a service station would be great (I have fond memories of set 6562 from my childhood). I also imagine that such a thing could be successful, if not as successful as jumbo jets and fire stations. However, chances are the decisions for what went into this wave of sets are based on more valid sources than guesswork and/or an overreliance on real-world city needs. If there's room in a wave for a service station in the future, I want it to look as cool as this design, but I'm not going to suggest the fanbase has answers that TLG's designers do not. If they were not interested in service stations they would not have built such a concept themselves, but obviously they explored the concept, and it's possible there simply wasn't room for one this wave.

Personally, I'd prefer an army of elves to stick strictly to those with Medium Nougat cheek lines, like the original S3 Elf Warrior. Black ones just seem so much more garish in retrospect, and mixing the two makes the black cheek lines stand out even more. With that said, this page should more than get you started. Of the heads there, I think Chase McCain's is particularly good because it's still fairly subtle in expression, which fits with a lot of fantasy portrayals of elves. Other good ones include the Roman Soldier's and Heroic Knight's, the latter of which has a less subtle expression but could perhaps suit a more jovial elf like the Cluracaun from Neil Gaiman's The Sandman.