Aanchir

Nah, in Ordeal of Fire Furno's weapon was pretty obviously a flamethrower. It's most evident when he uses it while training and goes flying backwards into Quadal, or when he uses it to propel himself upward while facing the Fire Villains. I don't think it was as much of a matter of them selling poorly as of them being a side-effect of production policies TLG wanted to eliminate. Let's face it; often when those buckets came out they were filled with parts that TLG had stopped using in new sets (including outdated collectibles), so I think it's pretty likely that the only reason they existed at all was to get rid of "overstock" parts. Nowadays perhaps TLG is just smarter about not producing huge surpluses of parts that they're not going to use in future models. No more overstock parts means no more need for those tubs. Hero Factory parts tubs would be cool, but I think that in general TLG has a good incentive for keeping model sets the focus of the theme. It's easier to control the presentation (and thus, shelf appeal) of a model set than to make a seemingly-random selection of parts look appealing to people who aren't already dedicated builders and collectors. The best way to make a supplementary pack of Hero Factory elements would be to present it like the BIONICLE Master Builder Set: a kit with enough versatile parts to build a wide variety of different models, instructions for which are provided within. But even the Master Builder Set didn't look all that appealing at face value, as the main model presented (the Hikaki Dragon Lizard) is not the most appealing visually, the most impressive functionally, or the most important to the story-- if I'd been in charge, I'd have probably put the Fusa (kangaroo Rahi) on the front of the box, and even that doesn't fully demonstrate what it is that makes the set appealing. I would love to see some sort of parts packs emerge that are designed with builders in mind, but for now I appreciate the generous helping of Hero Factory elements available from Pick-A-Brick.

In my English class I've started reading "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" by Junot Diaz. It's not a bad book IMO. Definitely got some very serious, edgy stuff, but the prologue and first chapter at least offset this with a very loose, irreverent, and colloquial (laced with frequent Spanish words, profanity, and Spanish profanity) narrative style. The second chapter is mixing things up by introducing a different narrator, who's a lot less humorous, but the book is still very engaging.

In general, I don't think something being destroyed/killed/otherwise written out in-story has any really negative impact on set sales unless it never got much screen time beforehand. After all, kids are still willing to buy LEGO Star Wars sets depicting the Death Star, General Grievous, Count Dooku, Mace Windu, or Yoda. Even if an object or character no longer appears in later installments of the series, kids can still use the sets to recreate previous installments or even (in the true spirit of LEGO) make up their own stories.

I haven't watched the episode, but if he does have a new outfit that's a pleasant surprise, as it means he'll probably have one in the sets as well. Although his 2012 outfit never did appear in the show...

Also, we've heard from multiple sources that the show is at least written before the sets are designed with any finality. I imagine it's done in stages-- the designers pitch ideas to the writers, then the writers come up with some scripts, then the designers refine the set designs, etc. This could explain why many set functions either take a while to show up in the show (such as the USR's flight module) or never show up at all (like the tread assault's camouflage function). Also note we've seen concept art of the Destiny's Bounty that doesn't resemble the set at all, and it sounds like it was not based on a prototype but rather made up based on the expectation that the Bounty would be something like a "flying aircraft carrier".

It could easily be the same color leaf as in the Mirkwood Spiders set from the Hobbit theme.

Generally high-quality versions tend to show up online the same evening the episodes air in the United States. I tend not to watch the low-quality versions at all if I can avoid it.

No, because they're not in any way suggesting that they are "entitled" to those ideas. It's just asking if anyone has any ideas that they'd be willing to give away. And I don't think that a year's worth of LEGO sets or a promotional trip will bankrupt the company, but if you've noticed how much a LEGO factory tour typically costs or how much money an AFOL can spend on LEGO in a year, it's hard to picture that TLG should be going to that expense in exchange for 100 words of text. I imagine that some people in their employ could flesh out an idea at least that much in a week of work, and I highly doubt that a paid trip to and tour of the LEGO headquarters and a year's worth of LEGO sets amounts to less than those professionals' weekly salary. TLG isn't telling you that you have to give them your ideas, but I just don't understand how you're expecting that your ideas are in high enough demand to justify such a huge reward. Maybe a single high-priced LEGO set, or free copies of some of the sets that are created based on your idea, but the amount you seem to be expecting seems exorbitant for an idea you don't likely have any other uses for and TLG could just as easily do without. Well here's another factor you're not considering: TLG is basically counting on many AFOLs to be willing to submit their ideas without expecting any grand reward. And in most cases, that's correct. As I keep pointing out, the only way AFOLs could likely get money for their play theme ideas would be to either sell them to a competing toy company (which assumes other companies would be willing to pay money for the ideas of a random dude off the street where TLG is not) or to go into business with their idea on their own, which isn't practical for most people. Furthermore, many AFOLs would consider it a privelege to see one of their ideas become a successful product line. I certainly would. And furthermore, there's a big difference between suggesting an idea and being the driving force behind the creation of a new IP. In the case of Toy Story, Pixar did a lot more for the brand than just come up with the premise. And even if they had kept the rights for themselves, it's not unimagineable to suggest that they wouldn't have made as much money as quickly as Disney was able to do with their strong experience marketing feature films and merchandise to tie in with them. Pixar had never released a feature film, and it should be noted that the five-minute short Tin Toy which got Disney to take them seriously was not in any way the financial powerhouse that Toy Story became. Whoa now. I don't see why you feel the need to bring global politics into this. Certainly I think work should be rewarded according to its value. But the rewards you were suggesting you deserve for your idea just seem over-the-top. This is just asking for a 100-word idea, which is a pittance compared to the amount of work that will be required to turn that idea into a marketable theme. If you don't want to submit your idea, nobody's forcing you to, and TLG probably doesn't need it anyway. After all, they've done fine without it until now. But they are merely offering fans the chance to have input on their future product lines. If they were desperate for successful ideas, they wouldn't be turning to fans-- they'd turn to professionals in the field, like they did with BIONICLE back in the late 90s.

I think this is a silly way of thinking about things. It's like contacting Customer Service about a defective part. It's not just the hope of compensation that should motivate you, but rather the desire-- which isn't entirely selfless-- to prevent future products from having the same problem. Similarly, the "incentive" to send ideas here is for the privelege of having your idea made into a full product line and the opportunity to buy a professionally-designed version of your idea in the future. I'm sure plenty of people will suggest a steampunk theme of some kind, for instance. They're not expecting compensation for the idea, but rather just hoping that their suggestion will lead to an actual steampunk theme somewhere down the line. That's what they have to gain by sending their idea in. Since most of the ideas that fit what TLG is asking for are worthless to anyone who doesn't plan to market the idea themselves, I think it's pretty selfish to suggest you deserve money for them. TLG isn't asking for ideas because they can't come up with them themselves-- they could probably come up with dozens of successful play theme ideas, given how many competent writers and designers they have on their payroll. They're asking for ideas because they think AFOLs might appreciate if they get some input in what play theme concepts are considered, rather than just basing the ideas completely on marketing professionals and focus group testing. Or perhaps it will help to think of it this way: every play theme you've ever disliked was one that you didn't suggest. Your idea of compensation, by the way, is completely ludicrous, and I almost have to wonder which is bigger: the size of your imagination (since your ideas are obviously so tremendously valuable) or the size of your sense of entitlement. The ideas AFOLs suggest, after all, are just a starting point. All of the real work is done by the designers, marketers, and writers that LEGO employs, turning an open-ended and nebulous story brief into a marketable product line. Any later collaboration with TLG is presumably just to ensure that they understand your idea properly and that it doesn't morph into something contrary to your original intention.

This isn't the first time I've heard someone say that "their collection is worthless" because of something in a new set they don't even own, and I'm trying to understand how it could possibly make sense. The existence of new products wouldn't seem to have anything to do with the value of one's collection, unless they valued their collections only in terms of what other people would be willing to pay, which is pretty shallow to begin with. And if new parts were so worthless, wouldn't this make the older parts in your collection more valuable in those terms, since there would be more demand for them than for the parts in newer sets?

Well, if we want to be really accurate, Vorox had parts blended with Reddish Brown, and Bulk has a flick-fire missile. I hardly ever use the preview mode except to make sure that my formatting and emotes work. Generally, I hit the switch in the upper-right to type my posts in plaintext mode. That way I can make sure I don't have a lot of unnecessary code (the preview mode often bolds each paragraph individually instead of bolding the whole post, for instnace).

The lime was meant to be a stream of venom, like the spiral of venom in Ouroboros in "Rise of the Great Devourer." Originally I intended to have some of the snake heads with venom dripping from their fangs that appear in almost all of the Serpentine architecture from the sets, but the verticality of them distracted from both Lloyd's Spinjitzu and the battle below. If I had any good Transparent Fluorescent Green tiles I'd have used those to make it clearer what the venom pool was supposed to be. The reason I needed a venom pool at all, of course, was that I didn't have Dark Brown or Sand Yellow tiles in the right sizes to fill that gap.

Mega Bloks would likely use a pre-fabricated piece for every one of the animal head motifs on the vehicles. The LEGO solution for the same vehicles is pure artistry-- the same sort of sculptural brilliance and innovative use of parts that's long been a part of the LEGO Creator theme. Besides, if LEGO figures aren't supposed to be "chunky," then how would you describe them?

Most of the leaked pics have been from Swiss sites to my knowledge. Maybe Switzerland isn't getting this theme until later in the year.

Huh... until I saw this, I hadn't realized that the shells were different. Some have a single belt going across them, others have a double belt. Neat detail.

I usually bring sets from at least two LEGO themes with me to college. This year, it's Hero Factory, Ninjago, and Master Builder Academy. In the meantime, LEGO Digital Designer can be a useful tool if you don't want to clutter your living space by making it your building space. It basically helps me resist the impulse to buy a bunch of new products, since I can test out builds with parts I didn't bring with me.

Well, that's really just an unavoidable consequence of Mega Bloks using the same style of 3.2mm minifigure utensils as LEGO and both brands maintaining those dimensions with accessories in their girl-oriented products. You could just as easily say that they were ripping off the LEGO Gollum figure, who also has the same style of hands. In general these products look cruddy, but they're not really an example of Mega Bloks ripping off the LEGO products' designs in any way-- just playing follow-the-leader as usual when it comes to brand strategy. I imagine the Barbie products probably had to follow pretty tight regulations from Mattel, so that's the source of the figure designs' faults. The set designs' faults are more likely just a case of Mega Bloks completely missing the point of what made LEGO Friends successful: its potential for creative building. But there's still more creativity in these than with the average dollhouse, so maybe they'll still cut into LEGO's profits a bit. Hard to really tell.

No, not really. Honestly if I had noticed I might have switched the positions of the Fangpyre and Hypnobrai! I really prefer to avoid things in a display piece like this becoming imbalanced, and that includes colors. But I'm glad you see that as a good thing rather than a flaw. Oh, much more than that. 9441, 9442, 9444, and 9450 are all mostly in pieces. Some parts like the Ultra Dragon's torso are still together, but in general the only model sets with me at college that I didn't take apart for this build were the snowmobile from 9445, which is still in one piece, and the Samurai Mech which still hasn't been taken out of the box (I don't plan to put it together until I have at least one of the many set reviews I've been working on for The Ninjago Wiki posted). Even a few of my Master Builder Academy sets have been taken apart.

Entry: Spinning Through the Serpents' Lair Category: 16 x 16 vignette Entry pic:

My 16x16 vignette for Eurobricks Ninja Month: Ultimate Battle! When trying to think of what would make for an ultimate battle, I decided that it would have to have a lot of action. So I tried to incorporate a lot of characters. Originally I would have had all five Ninja doing Spinjitzu, but that would have made it difficult to fit an enemy who would have stood a chance into the vignette. Lloyd's single tornado ended up looking better than my composite tornado concept anyway. I worked very hard to balance the composition, as you can see in the top-down photo. I also recognize that having Lloyd using his elemental powers while the other four Ninja still have their Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu doesn't fit the official storyline, but I intended to capture an iconic vision of the characters much like the beautifully-illustrated key visuals that appear in the Ninjago instruction booklets.

lolno. Just because flick fire missiles exist (and are quite good IMO, since they are generally inconspicuous and don't need any kind of bulky mechanism) doesn't mean that TLG isn't going to let themselves use other features for variety's sake when it's not a huge additional expense. Flick-fire missiles appear in next year's Hero Factory sets, Chima sets, and Star Wars sets.

I got Hero Factory Secret Mission #2: Legion of Darkness recently. It was very interesting, though not as engaging for me personally as The Doom Box had been.

I doubt it. Narly identical masks to the Toa Nuva masks would probably be recognized pretty quickly as a bad idea since the 2002 Toa Nuva masks had a weird, organic-looking aesthetic that kids evidently didn't really like in later years (if the Inika demonstrated anything). They might have had more similar-looking mask designs (after all, Pohatu Nuva's mask from Rockoh T3 was pretty similar to the Kakama Nuva to begin with), but not as close to the originals as in the case of these Hero Factory masks. Ironically the close-up of Bulk's mask makes me like it a bit more. It hardly looks like his classic mask, at least from the front (the side details seem more similar) but it has a nice aesthetic that I think suits his personality. Furthermore, the structure of his helmet was always pretty unusual compared to the other Hero Factory heroes. It's very interesting that the attachment of the visors seems to be stud-based. As nice as these covers look, it's definitely a bit odd having Furno on the cover of a book two years running. I liked how the Ninjago graphic novels have a different ninja on every spine, and wish that in Hero Factory we could have had something similar where we'd eventually have every hero on a cover, even if they're not all from the same year's sets. Also, I hope the purple Hero Factory text on Bulk's cover is in fact still chrome rather than purple like the other covers. The chrome Hero Factory text is very classy IMO. EDIT: Actually, picking up my two HF books, I realized that the chrome HF text is in fact differently-colored on every book. "The Doom Box" has greenish text, and "Legion of Darkness" has gold text. It's kind of odd that on the 2013 books, though, the chrome text's color doesn't match the gradient text of the title.

I'm surprised nobody but me seems to see the crossover potential of the poodle from the pet salon. Since poodles in general tend to have a very poofy aesthetic (at least when groomed this way), this one shouldn't stick out like a sore thumb the way some Friends animals do in LEGO City. And it seems about the same size as the classic LEGO dog. One thing's for sure-- they're better than most Belville animals. Personally I think that with different face printing, the bunny and kitten would fit just fine with regular figs.

Well, it allows for a lot of customization in theory. In practice, it'll only meet its fullest potential if a similar two=stud neck bracket is introduced that doesn't have stylized armor built in. But at least they're not using a one-stud neck bracket with a 1x2 plate attached, like some jetpacks and backpacks in the LEGO Star Wars theme have done (I'm thinking of the Sandtrooper backpacks in particular). It is nice to get confirmation that the fig heads will be two pieces, but it's funny that in this case at least, both pieces seem equally animal-like. In fact, it's almost as though the inner head print were just the outer head print smushed onto a flat surface. I was sort of expecting the inner head prints to be less animal-like so that kids would have characters they could better identify with, though I guess this would look silly in the show (since it's not just a matter of a face transforming, but rather a face transforming between two entirely different levels of detail), and anyway for all we know TLG might do something like this for the heroes (at least in that the heroes will look about as human-like as the cat people from James Cameron's Avatar). I'm not getting my hopes up for it, though. It looks like this decision was just to allow multiple expressions on the molded heads, which is quite thoughtful on the designers' parts. Yes indeed they do! And they also have the same high-detail designs as the 2006 BIONICLE minifigure swords! If only the BIONICLE minifigure swords from back then had been designed with this kind of functionality in mind (although I guess that would make it harder for the designers to re-use them in 2007).