Aanchir

I personally haven't been watching many cartoons other than Ninjago lately, but that's about to change this saturday when I attend a local meetup to watch the third season premiere of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Unfortunately, the place I'm staying doesn't get the Hub, so I won't be able to watch any of the episodes right when they air, but as long as Hasbro doesn't decide to exercise tighter restrictions on YouTube uploads of the episodes, I should still be able to keep up (as I understand it, they don't take down recordings of the episodes from the actual television airing, though they do take down iTunes versions of the episodes that are illegally uploaded).

Personally, I think that kind of change would be somewhat superfluous. Certainly there's room for some changes in aesthetics, but I myself would like to see fundamental expansions to the building system: More sets that use simple yet innovative techniques for attaching back armor. Perhaps some sets that integrate waist articulation. Separate shell pieces for the upper and lower body (which, in addition to allowing for waist articulation to be incorporated more easily, would make it easier for sets to vary in size without ending up with an bare-crotch look like Furno XL has). More animal-like builds, such as a dog-like companion for the heroes or a parrot for a pirate-themed villain. More variety in vehicles... still waiting for a car or hovercar with a body formed by the new building system, like this MOC from the LEGO Ideas Book but with HF beams instead of click-hinges. Perhaps a four-legged villain, with a spider-like look along the lines of Nidhiki? And there are probably dozens of other ideas that haven't been explored in the new building system but which involve actual structural innovations rather than just new pieces to give the sets a different look.

Never owned one, but as far as I've been able to tell they have a pretty neat advantage, which is that the top segment can be detached so you can just continue stacking them infinitely... of course, you'd end up with a load of extra tops, but it's still probably the best sorting solution TLG has ever offered. Additionally, I think it's neat that it has the building plates on the individual drawers so you can identify what's inside without creating labels (which from my experience quickly become more of a hassle than an advantage if your parts outgrow their space and you have to rearrange them). It's just like how the Master Builders identify their part shelves at LEGO Headquarters in Billund!

I don't know what exactly you're trying to suggest. From the looks of things, Chima will be the big multimedia theme for 2013, whereas Galaxy Squad is just another play theme. There have been no announcements of a second new TV series in 2013, although a 30-minute to one-hour TV special is always a possibility. But in general, yes, a lot of LEGO themes do follow trends in kids'. That's just because TLG is aware of what kind of things kids of a certain age are into, and works as many of those things into their themes as they can. Kids tend to like bright colors. Kids tend to like themes where it's clear who the good guys and bad guys are. And of course kids like sci-fi and fantasy role play. None of these things are particularly new-- in fact, a lot of connections can be drawn between these themes and early-naughts themes like BIONICLE and Alpha Team. Even a number of 90s themes like Extreme Team and Race used the heroes-in-color-coded-uniforms trope. It's just that the recent successes TLG has had with these ideas means they're now even more likely to revisit them in new themes.

Personally, I see no reason HF needs figures at that scale any time soon. Frankly, Hero Factory's standard figures are still a lot smaller than most Glatorian or even Toa Inika. And I'd honestly prefer if it stayed that way. What I think HF should work on, rather than just making the sets bigger, is refining the titan builds we already have. Certainly the HF titan sets have shown improvement, but it's been in fits and starts. I'd like to see some titan builds with the same level of sculptural refinement as Roodaka, Brutaka, or the 2008 Takanuva. One that goes the extra mile to fill in the gaps in its build and create an overall solid-looking design, or at least as solid-looking as any of the smaller sets. And yes, that may require raising the price point a bit, but more importantly it will require new and innovative ways of utilizing the building system.

"Losing steam" doesn't mean a theme is unsuccessful. Themes are expected to see a decrease in sales from year to year; that's part of why some themes are planned for just one wave. They're expected to have strong sales, but not necessarily strong enough that customers or retailers would want another wave after the first. BIONICLE did not see growth from around 2005 onward, but as I understand it, it wasn't until near the very end that sales actually started "failing to meet expectations", to use TLG's corporate jargon. At that point it was hastily wrapped up with a small, final wave to capitalize on the little inertia it had left. As for Galidor, it didn't have ANY waves except those which were planned from the start-- note that I specifically used that term in my post, because some themes ARE created with just a one-wave launch in mind, while others are planned for a full-year launch. The reason this makes a difference should be obvious-- the production schedule of LEGO sets (especially the much less efficient production scale back in the early 2000s) means that sales figures for the first wave often won't even be available until production for the second wave has already begun. So a theme can easily have a full year of sets before getting discontinued, even if the first wave had less-than-anticipated sales figures. I also have a hard time believing TLG ever intended Atlantis to become an evergreen theme. They do revisit underwater themes over and over again, but the designer interview in BrickJournal made it sound like it was intended to be just another underwater theme, albeit a "big bang" theme with a fairly substantial story structure. At the same time, it was clearly successful, meeting expectations if not exceeding them and allowing for a 2012 wave to be released.

I don't think that's the case, and my reason is that I think the eyes for the slugs are also the eyes for the characters' faces. But I could be totally off-base with that assumption. It just seems awfully convenient that the slugs' eyes are always the same color as the characters' eyes.

Atlantis DEFINITELY didn't do badly because it was continued in 2011, which is longer than the original plans for the theme. Themes that aren't successful don't get continued past the original plans for them, simple as that. Which isn't to say all "one-and-done" themes are unsuccessful, of course.

I don't see any reason TLG would want to do this. What benefit would there be to releasing a product that some of their dedicated customers already have rather than releasing brand-new products that none of their customers have? Sure, there's a lot of demand for the older series within a small segment of the already small "collectors' market," but the only reason for that high demand is the scarcity of the minifigures-- and minifigures that have never existed before are by definition scarcer than those that have.

This should probably be moved to the Community subforum, where discussion of clone brands typically belongs. In general, I can see that the print quality of these is better than many of the Ninjago clone brands I've seen, but I wouldn't call it better than TLG's print quality. The colors seem a bit washed-out, the gray printing on the Samurai X figure's back seems off-register, the Samurai X figure's mouth seems to have too thin black lines on both sides, and I'm almost certain these lack the variety of metallic prints that the actual NRG Ninja figs have. The plastic quality also looks rubbish, particularly on the red parts. Besides the metallic cards, though, the counterfeit cards are difficult to differentiate from the real things. Do they have the actual pattern from the back of the Ninjago cards on the back, or is it, too, edited to reflect the phony "Ninja" branding? I can see on some of the other photos on your Flickr that the contents of the sets vary slightly from the official sets, with shoulder armor included for the NRG Ninja. Also, I'm curious about the fact that these don't include spinners, yet the cards are apparently unchanged in their effects-- meaning that these are inferior to the actual sets in terms of play value as well as material/production quality. Unfortunately it seems that it's becoming easier and easier for disreputable brands to replicate LEGO products convincingly. Certainly no die-hard LEGO fan would mistake these for the real thing, but the same can't be said for the typical consumers, boys between the ages of 6 and 12. I hope the company making these gets shut down promptly. They seem too good at this to be left alone, unlike some of the other bootleg brands I've seen. And Ninjago is far from the only brand that "Decool" is imitating-- I've seen lots of modern-day counterfeit sets online with their branding on them.

The Ninjago lineup next year is fairly small, and moreover I'm sure the number of kids who like TMNT are at least as numerous as kids who like Ninjago. So I don't think that Ninjago will severely harm the sales of TMNT. In fact, I'm somewhat shocked that TLG is releasing TMNT at a time when it could harm Ninjago's sales. There are obviously going to be kids who prefer Ninjago to TMNT despite the latter's long cartoon heritage, but I know from experience that kids can be pretty stuck-up about the shows they are most familiar with. As a kid, my parents kept me from watching a lot of shows that they thought weren't constructive, and as such I ended up being quite high-and-mighty about how much better the shows I enjoyed were than shows like Power Rangers and the like. It wasn't until growing up that I realized that the shows I had missed out on (maybe not Power Rangers in particular, but a lot of others for sure) had a lot of redeeming value, and would have been the sort of thing I'd have really enjoyed. I guess my point is that for every kid who stubbornly rejects a TV show that they think is silly or derivative, there are others who don't have as many shows they're already enjoying, and who will thus be more open to new ideas (or in the case of TMNT, new to them yet not new in the grand scheme of things). I don't think TMNT has anything to worry about.

I love the character names. They just scream "space opera" and remind me of LEGO's original take on the space opera genre, "Jim Spaceborn". Now, what with the characters wearing uniforms, I doubt we'll see character designs that evoke classic space opera like Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon. But I still think the theme's design currently has a lot going for it, and I look forward to seeing more.

If you're really worried about not getting the classic Lord Garmadon face, it's currently on Pick-A-Brick... (Element ID 4616311, Design ID 94683, 0.25 USD) You might want to get it before it's gone. Other Ninjago parts available there include the torsos for Lord Garmadon, Kai, Zane, and Cole, the legs for Rattla, Kai, Zane, and Cole, the head for Jay. All of these parts (besides Rattla's, obviously) have the classic 2011 decorations. Neither variant of Lord Garmadon's helmet is available from Pick-A-Brick, nor is the bone from his helmet.

http://ninja.brickcraft.me/wiki/Main_Page The Ninjago Wiki has rolled out a new mainpage design. However, it would be great to get feedback from creatively-minded LEGO fans like those here on Eurobricks. Any and all feedback will be appreciated.

Very nice design! I like his irregular physique and sturdy-looking leg and torso designs. His color scheme also works very well. And his face is adorable with it's small, round, glowing eyes. Great job integrating the spherical shell detail piece with the 8M engine block shells and 8M 2.0 torso shell.

The success of a licensed theme isn't only related to a movie's success but also on the movie merchandise's success. After all, a high-grossing movie with strong DVD sales doesn't have much impact on the success of a LEGO theme if it's not based on a franchise that sells toys. Harry Potter was a huge merchandise-mover in the early days of the books and films, but in the franchise's later years there were far fewer toys that weren't directly tied to the movie that was out at the time, and not much kid-oriented merchandise at all when there wasn't a movie in theaters. Bye-bye candy potion-making kits, hello realistic action figures, movie memorabilia, and costume accessories. Basically I've come to the conclusion that you can tell what licensed themes have staying power based on what kids are actually buying. Spongebob Squarepants, Star Wars, and Cars are solid examples of themes that had staying power. In contrast, go to the action figure aisles of a toy store and there won't be many new Indiana Jones or Pirates of the Caribbean action figures unless they're promoting a new movie, and Harry Potter novelty lunch boxes aren't nearly as common as they were a decade ago. This isn't to say any of these themes won't come back if the rightsholders to the source material have a major marketing push for some new media in those franchises, but until then even a franchise that was successful in theaters is no longer guaranteed to make toys fly off shelves.

The temple seems like it'll look much more complete when folded closed. To be honest it's already superior structurally to the Spinjitzu Dojo, and while even folded closed it's nowhere near the artistry of the Fire Temple, it still seems like it'd be quite adequate.

The story behind Insectoids was a real mix-up. In the United States, at least, there was very little media depicting them as anything but freaky alien invaders. Certainly that was the story treatment used in LEGO Mania Magazine comics (including the ever-baffling Scooby-Doo crossover). Magazine Cover Story Page 1 Story Page 2 Story Page 3 In several countries (such as Turkey and New Zealand), the story in the catalogs was that the Insectoids were heroic travelers from a planet called either Otopia or Zotax who settled on a planet that was hollow, covered in holes like a giant beehive, and populated by giant insects. They built force fields over the holes to seal the giant bugs in, and created spacecraft disguised as bugs so they could enter the planet's interior without being attacked by the giant insects. Inside the planet were the energy crystals they needed for survival. In the UK catalogs, the Insectoids were not treated positively or negatively, but rather as a powerful nation with a base on the planet Armeron. Commander Webb, Captain Zec, Insector Leon, and Insector 2 used their bug-shaped spacecraft to search the planet for the powerful Voltstones, which were created when lightning struck the planet's surface. It is not clear if this story treatment is meant to overlap with the more common story treatment seen in Turkish and New Zealand catalogs, but it certainly contradicts the US story where Insector 2 is the Insectoid Queen Gypsy Moth. One thing I like about today's story themes is that the story is generally consistent between all the regions in which the set is sold, rather than radically different based on the individual regions' marketing direction.

I had thought Rocka's visor is Transparent Bright Green, actually. It seems improbable that 4M shells would be debuting in both colors in the very same wave. But you're right that it looks way more yellowish than Transparent Bright Green normally should, and it seems weird that those would be the only two Heroes to share a visor color. I guess we won't know the actual colors for sure until we see the sets IRL since it's difficult to judge the color of transparent parts from pictures like this. Different shades can be genuinely different or just a result of different lighting.

Usually when something like this happens in the replacement parts database, it means that there was an alternate part introduced in a later production run of the set. The reason only the newer version is listed is because they probably don't have an image of the older version-- only parts they have images of in their online database are listed. There is, however, a field where you can input the part number of the part you want, and if it is not listed a link appears labeled "Didn't find your brick? Please click here." Clicking this link makes a text box appear where you are encouraged to give the part number and description. Also, it should be considered that you described two totally different kinds of part number. This can cause confusion, although here you are correct in that the two parts are different. The one you have in your set has the Element ID 472801 and the Design ID 4728. The one listed on the LEGO Customer Service site is Element ID 6000019 and Design ID 98262. Specify that you want 472801 and you should get the part you want-- if not, I'd advise you to send an e-mail or make a phone call to LEGO Customer Service instead of using their replacement parts form. For future reference, the six- or seven-digit part numbers listed in instruction booklets are called Element IDs, and the four- or five-digit part numbers molded into the actual bricks are called Design IDs. An Element ID specifies a certain shape of part with a particular color and decoration; a Design ID only specifies the shape of the part.

Well, according to this news article, there will be a 3DS version, but (this was a surprise to me) it will have a different storyline than the Wii U version. So for a dedicated gamer, there might be reason to get both versions. For an average kid, of course, one version might easily be enough, since it's not totally clear how different the gameplay will be between the two versions.

By "Doc", you of course mean "Dr. Brains". One of the most hilarious LEGO crossovers ever IMO. Also, on a particularly weird note, the protagonists in a Space Port young readers' book by Dorling Kindersley had the same names as the protagonists of the LEGO Life On Mars theme, which didn't come out until the year after the book was published! Besides some of the minifig faces being re-used between the two themes, there was nothing else to my knowledge that drew this connection, though it definitely makes an odd sort of sense what with the stylized, futuristic look of Space Port's spacecraft.

Incidentally, where is anyone seeing four-armed minifigs? That comic page has none-- methinks people might be confusing the red chest patterns with additional red hands. Unless someone's seen four-armed bugfigs in a retailer's catalog or something...

One thing I have to point out about the sequels: they'll have to tie in pretty closely with the conclusion of Episode 6 if people are intended to understand the connection between them and the rest of the series. Not everybody has the patience to read all the Expanded Universe novels, so anything far after RotJ is probably out-of-the-question unless it's loaded down with flashbacks explaining what happened in the intervening time. And I don't think that's at all what people want in a new Star Wars film, since the series has mostly done quite well without lengthy flashbacks. Certainly there's a lot of stuff in the EU that can be more or less ignored if it's set a few decades after RotJ, much like the Clone Wars animated series has been able to create a bunch of story to fill in the gap between AotC and RotS. But for the most part, the audience has to be able to connect the new films to what they already know in more ways than just the continued existence of blaster pistols and lightsabers.

On the contrary, I think by having two eagles of the same color and gender, it would be easier for fans to confuse them, whereas this way it's easier to differentiate the three. Whether it makes any sense in terms of sexual dimorphism is irrelevant: the reason for having different designs for the figs to begin with is to make the characters distinctive. Eglor could very easily be Dark Blue for a totally different reason anyway. Maybe he's the leader of the eagle people.