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The Graveyard Duel suggests that TLG is not averse to including gravestones in sets. While it can be argued that TLG is a lot less strict about some of their licensed themes than they are about their own intellectual properties, I see no reason gravestones would be against any of their policies.

They do appear in Dark Stone Grey in three sets and in Black in two sets-- the two sets in which they appear in black even are current for this year, and the one where they're most abundant is the Triceratops Trapper from this very theme. I have mixed feelings about the limited story and marketing for this theme. On one hand, I really like heavily-marketed story themes, but on the other hand I understand the appeal of themes with a looser story to promote "free play", especially this year when there are so many story themes and licensed themes already around. Perhaps Dino doesn't work as well as a "free play" theme as something more down-to-earth like Kingdoms or City, but I'm sure kids would have a lot of fun coming up with explanations for where the dinos came from and why they are on a rampage. The fact that there are so many sections of the website marked "coming soon" hints that there's still more content planned to go with this theme, but in general it doesn't excite me quite like more story-driven themes like Ninjago or Hero Factory. Perhaps, though, TLG is counting on the fact that awesome-looking dinosaurs will sell themselves. Even if there were a story for this theme, I think the dinosaurs and innovative trapping vehicles would remain the main draw for kids and adults alike.

Well, that's the point of contention for a lot of activists. Who can better influence these "feedback loops" we see in society: the parents who influence individual girls more directly, or broader influences like toy companies whose message can reach a wider number of girls? I definitely think there's only so much TLG can do without submitting to the pressures of the industry and the market-- they're not going to influence girls with products they don't want, and they're not going to influence other toy companies with products that don't sell. A company like Hasbro that already has successful girl-oriented toys is in a better position to make a difference, but unlike a company that lacks a successful girl-oriented toy, they have more to lose if they take that risk. Really I don't think any company, or any parent, is in a position to make a huge societal difference. That's why I appreciate Friends for what I see it to be: TLG's way of moving towards a gender-balanced product line in small measures. Simply showing that a building toy aimed at girls can be successful would be a big step, and would open up the potential for developments that further defy toy industry stereotypes. And whether TLG or a competitor takes that next small risk, I optimistically feel that the industry will drift towards further innovation, and that further innovation will inherently involve changes in the status quo. Could TLG do more? I'm sure they could, but they're taking a fairly significant risk as it is by introducing yet another girl-oriented product when so many of theirs have failed. They are intentionally creating a product that has a very small overlap with the interests of their already-secured fanbase (primarily male). They're marketing this one more heavily than I ever saw them market their girl-oriented themes in the 90s and 2000s, although this is probably less because they are certain of its success and more because they are in a better financial situation to take that risk than they were during those years. And I think the existence of a controversy around the theme shows that they are being heard a lot more clearly than they were with previous themes, although this could in part be because their 90s and 2000s attempts were perceived as desperate, flailing measures by an already-failing company. As for what I think of TLG's research, I have a lot of confidence that it will pay off. I'm neither a girl nor a parent of girls so I'm in no position to claim that girls and boys have inherently different play patterns, or if they do whether this is a consequence of nature or nurture. I feel it definitely has elements of both, but I don't know the balance of these elements. I do know that the nature vs. nurture debate doesn't really have any bearing on how TLG should best appeal to girls. By the time girls reach the age range for LEGO Friends, both nature and nurture would already have had enough time to influence girls in a way a toy company like LEGO could not simply undo. The only ethical concern TLG should have regarding LEGO Friends is whether they are doing further harm, either on an individual or a societal level, and I think bad decisions regarding Friends will sooner harm the theme's own profits than harm its customers.

Not as impressive as your anteater for sure, probably because of the limited parts selection. It still has a gangly cartoon animal look that works well for it, but its flat-looking torso doesn't really suit the design very well, and the head and tail are fairly bland. The colors are organized well, though, at least considering how few colored shells seem to have been available to you. They're scattered very nicely so no area is overwhelmingly one color. There's a sort of artistry to MOCing within these strict constraints, especially considering the non-traditional designs you have employed, so even though this model is by no means beautiful I can still appreciate the work and creativity that must have gone into it.

It also has to be remembered that Core Hunter includes a number of useful recolored parts including a black 2.0 shield, three black Rocka 3.0 "paw" pieces, and bright red "claws". The fact that black and red parts are already so common is both an asset and a flaw. On one hand, it means that the set doesn't add much to the range of colors a person can build with, but on the other hand, the new parts in those colors increase the versatility of any black or bright red parts you already own. I also think Core Hunter is fairly bland in terms of construction and part use, but with his unique aesthetic (there hasn't been a villain since 2010 with such a grim overall appearance), his great story role, and his nice parts, it's easy for me to understand his appeal with other people. In terms of imaginative villains, XT4 misses the mark with a lot of people but definitely shows uniqueness. He has a very unique posture and anatomy, not to mention his intriguing new 5x6 torso beam (I fully expect this to show up more often in 2013 just as Waspix's connector for his back arms made a more prominent appearance in 2012). His greatest similarity to a past villain is to Meltdown, and that's just by virtue of the head mold-- otherwise he's extremely unique in design. As far as Stormer's torso stickers are concerned, I personally have no vendetta against stickers as long as they're easy to apply and they adhere securely, and I see no reason the broad, smooth area of Stormer's torso would present any difficulties.

That's what people said about some of our early screenshots from the Rocka video, too, but it's not actually true. The scene where he appears to have a Black Phantom helmet on his back actually shows his head, tilted forward with his eyes facing toward the floor. You can, however, see in that same picture that he has a 2.0 Hero foot on his back, much like Splitface, along with his "voltage booster switch" made of Technic elements connected to that same foot piece. Unfortunately based on what I saw at ToyFair this Hero foot will be black and not Medium Lilac. Can't see much new in those screenshots other than Stormer's bike, which looks nice. I wonder if the real Stormer XL set will fit that well on the Furno bike or whether the scale's been distorted for the purposes of the episode.

No, but his point is that when you stagger the actual LEGO pieces, the brick relief texture will not appear staggered. Each row will appear doubled: There is a way to solve this on a larger wall that isn't meant to look like it's made of conventional bricks-- just alternately reverse the relief bricks. The end result is a wall of much longer bricks. They do not appear to be staggered evenly, but they do appear staggered.

Interesting MOC! Granted, it's a bit unusual due to the limited parts used to build it, but I can see some great ideas going on with it, such as the use of Furno's bow pieces and Rocka's small claw pieces together for his front claws. Moreover, instead of just looking awkward with its long nose and limbs, you were able to make it look genuinely comical, almost like something from a Dr. Seuss book. It's no masterpiece but I'm still impressed with what you could churn out from those parts and colors! The experiment itself is also a great way to exercise your creative muscles. I look forward to what other MOCs show up based on this concept!

Shortcut to Part One: Hero Factory This year, I was able to go to the New York International Toy Fair for the first time as a representative of the BIONICLE wiki BIONICLEsector01 and its sister site HEROsector01. Together with fellow BS01/HS01 staff member Chols, who took most of the photos, I attended the LEGO Collectors Preview where representatives of LEGO fansites can view and photograph the new sets for an extended two-hour timeframe (our invitations unfortunately did not cover admission to the full three-day Toy Fair event, so externally-produced LEGO products like clocks and watches were not among the things we saw). Since our sites' normal coverage doesn't extend outside the constraction themes, we reached an agreement with Eurobricks to share with them our coverage of the LEGO Collectors Preview and all the sets and themes on display. Part two of our coverage is Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu, an exciting theme that has become quite popular among a wide range of people. TLG seems to consider Ninjago their "next BIONICLE", giving it an expansive multimedia story, lots of colorful characters, and both gameplay and collectible components to its sets. We are sharing our Ninjago coverage with The Ninjago Wiki, a fledgling resource site for LEGO Ninjago. This year's Ninjago story is centered around the Serpentine, five legendary tribes of snake people who have been released from their ancient prisons and who now threaten to take over Ninjago. In the midst of this, Sensei Wu's four Ninja (Kai, Zane, Jay, and Cole) are training to unlock their true potential and discover which of them will become the legendary Green Ninja. Just like in 2011, the Ninjago theme includes model sets and spinner sets, but for the first time booster packs (containing all the components of a spinner set but with spinner add-ons substituted for an actual spinner) have been added to the mix. Naturally, this coverage will include some spoilers. You have been warned. For the already-released January wave, not including limited release sets, there are seven model sets, three booster packs, and six spinner sets (including a larger training set and starter set). 9440 Venomari Shrine 86 pieces USD 6.99 CAD 9.99 Other currencies from Brickset The Venomari Shrine is the smallest model set for the year, and as such is considered desirable by people who want accumulate 1x2 bricks with brickwork relief for a low price. It includes the Zane ZX (Ninja of Ice) minifigure, two Toxic Vipers (bright yellowish-green Venomari snakes), and the Venomari Staff (it is the only January set to contain this staff). 9441 Kai's Blade Cycle 188 pieces USD 14.99 CAD 17.99 Other currencies from Brickset Since neither of us got a decent photo of this set, here's a high-res official image from cache.LEGO.com Kai's Blade Cycle is a transformed version of his Dragon Sword of Fire, which Sensei Wu taught him to unlock. The model itself has a conversion function-- press down on the 2x2 curved slope on the top to make the blades on the sides spread out. Owning this set myself, I can vouch for this function's quality, although it can become jammed if you're not careful with it. The set includes the Kai ZX (Ninja of Fire) and Rattla (Hypnobrai Scout) minifigures, as well as the Hypnobrai Staff. 9442 Jay's Storm Fighter 242 pieces USD 24.99 CAD 29.99 Other currencies from Brickset Jay's Storm Fighter is the vehicle form of Jay's mystical Nunchucks of Lightning. Its function is just as gorgeous as that of Kai's Blade Cycle-- pressing forward on a switch in the center causes the wings to unfold dramatically, revealing four massive blades. This set includes the Jay ZX (Ninja of Lightning) minifigure, sans armor, and the Snappa (Fangpyre Scout) minifigure, as well as the Fangpyre Staff. 9443 Rattlecopter 327 pieces USD 29.99 CAD 39.99 Other currencies from Brickset The Rattlecopter is not my favorite of the Serpentine vehicles, but it's quite stylish in its own way. It has a function for dropping two Sly Vipers (white Fangpyre snakes). It includes the Kai ZX minifigure, sans armor but with an awesome jetpack, the Lloyd Garmadon (son of Lord Garmadon) minifigure, and the Fang Suei (Fangpyre Soldier) minifigure, plus the Constrictai Staff (this is the only January set with this staff). 9444 Cole's Tread Assault 286 pieces USD 39.99 CAD 49.99 Other currencies from Brickset Cole's Tread Assault, the vehicle form of his Scythe of Quakes, has not one but two transforming functions: its many flaps can be opened with one swift motion, but additionally the whole model can be flipped upside-down to take on the appearance of a Serpentine vehicle. There is also a Technic shooter on the front. This set includes the Cole ZX (Ninja of Earth) and Skales (Hypnobrai General) minifigures, as well as the Hypnobrai Staff and a weapon resembling the Scythe of Quakes (but officially the Staff of Light, a Serpentine weapon). 9445 Fangpyre Truck Ambush 452 pieces USD 49.99 CAD 64.99 Other currencies from Brickset The Fangpyre Truck Ambush set includes a massive Fangpyre monster truck equipped with bouncy suspension, as well as the snowmobile Zane creates from his Shurikens of Ice. Personally, I was quite disappointed to learn that Zane's snowmobile has no conversion function, unlike the other three elemental vehicles. This set includes the Jay ZX, Zane ZX, Fangtom (Fangpyre General), and Fangdam (Fangpyre Warrior) minifigures, as well as the Fangpyre Staff and the Shurikens of Ice. 9446 Destiny's Bounty 680 pieces USD 79.99 CAD 99.99 Other currencies from Brickset The Destiny's Bounty is the new headquarters of Sensei Wu and his Ninja. Not only is it a seaworthy vessel on its own, but it can convert to flight mode by raising the sails with a switch on the mast and rotating the engines with a switch on the stern. It also has a winch to lower the anchor, a cannon, and hidden compartments that hide two golden knives and three diamonds. It's definitely the flagship set for the January wave, and the set with the most appeal for those who prefer the traditional Japanese architecture and mysticism of Ninjago to its high-tech vehicles. This set includes the Sensei Wu, Lord Garmadon, Kendo Jay, Kendo Zane, Skales, and Slithraa (Hypnobrai Soldier) minifigures. This is the only January set with Sensei Wu and Lord Garmadon, who both differ from their 2011 depictions. Lord Garmadon now has a different helmet and four arms, while Sensei Wu simply has a differently-printed costume. 9551 Kendo Cole 28 pieces USD 4.99 CAD 6.99 Other currencies from Brickset Like all the booster packs (besides the promotional Kendo Jay booster pack), this features a minifigure, three weapons for the figure to hold, three weapons to attach to the Technic holes on the bottom of the new 2012 spinners, a few brickbuilt structures to attach to the top and bottom of the spinner, a character card, and four battle cards. 9552 Lloyd Garmadon 21 pieces USD 4.99 CAD 6.99 Other currencies from Brickset This booster pack's contents are very similar to the Kendo Cole booster pack's contents. Some official pics of the set show an orange piece to attach inside a spinner and boost the short-legged Lloyd Garmadon figure up to a more imposing height, but neither the copy of the set my younger brother bought nor the copy on display at Toy Fair included this booster piece. The set's accessories include a Golden Viper (warm gold snake) 9553 Jay ZX 28 pieces USD 4.99 CAD 6.99 Other currencies from Brickset The Jay ZX set also has a similar range of contents to the Kendo Cole booster pack, including a golden chainsaw blade and three fairly exclusive Technic blades for attaching to the underside of the spinner. One charming aspect of these Technic blades is that there is bar 3.2mm in diameter along one of the edges, so a minifigure hand can actually clip to them and hold them as weapons. 9558 Training Set 219 pieces USD 19.99 CAD 24.99 Other currencies from Brickset The Training Set's design is curious. A large brickbuilt snake stands between a Serpentine-inspired wall and a Ninja-inspired wall. A weapon rack is attached to either wall. Weapons can be loaded into the wall, and if a spinner hits the tail of the snake, which sticks out into the arena area, one side or the other will drop the weapon loaded inside. The Training Set includes Kendo Kai on a new spinner, as well as a character card and four battle cards. The 2012 spinners differ from the 2011 spinners in that they feature three Technic holes on the underside for attaching weapons and hollow studs rather than solid studs on the top surface. 2012 spinner sets also include decorated "crowns" that serve to shield your minifigure from opponents' weapons and potentially snare up their weapons to knock them off their spinners. 9562 Lasha 21 pieces USD 9.99 CAD 12.99 Other currencies from Brickset Lasha (Venomari Scout) serves as an example of a basic 2012 spinner set: a minifigure, a character card, four battle cards, a spinner, a crown, three weapons (including one golden weapon, which is needed to play certain cards), and some basic bricks and plates for building onto your spinner as directed by certain battle cards. The crowns for the Serpentine spinners have a snake motif rather than the sleek pointed design of the Ninja crowns. From my experience the integration between the actual play and building of the spinner sets and the strategy-based gameplay of the cards is much better than previous "trading card games" LEGO has attempted to make, such as those in the Orient Expedition and Knights' Kingdom II themes. This is a game that would not work nearly as well if it weren't LEGO. 9563 Kendo Zane 22 pieces USD 9.99 CAD 12.99 Other currencies from Brickset Kendo Zane's spinner set follows the same pattern mentioned above with its contents. All four Kendo Ninja have identical helmets and armor, and their costumes underneath the armor are the same as their standard costumes from the 2011 sets. Thus, it's easy for minifigure collectors to assemble all four Kendo Ninja without needing one of each-- even duplicates can move you closer to a full collection. 9564 Snappa 20 pieces USD 9.99 CAD 12.99 Other currencies from Brickset Another generic spinner set. The Snappa set doesn't have anything that jumps out at me as all that special, unless you are interested in the spinner, crown, or cards. His weapons are fairly mundane and the minifigure is available in Jay's Storm Fighter. However, I'll use this space to mention that this year's spinner sets no longer use Chinese-made parts for the minifigures, so minifigure collectors needn't worry about that (though I still wouldn't recommend buying spinner sets for the figures alone because of their high prices). 9566 Samurai X 23 pieces USD 9.99 CAD 12.99 Other currencies from Brickset This is the only January set to include the Samurai X figure. It should be obvious to most Ninjago fans who Samurai X is, but to anyone else interested, Samurai X is Nya, last year's heroine, disguised as a Samurai. One side of her face is identical to Nya's 2011 standard expression, while the other side lacks makeup and has an angry expression with clenched teeth (in place of the 2011 figure's alternate face with a veil covering the mouth). Her torso and spinner feature Nya's stylish phoenix emblem. The torso and leg printing are top-notch, with the torso lending her a feminine figure underneath her titanium metallic (pearl dark gray) Samurai armor). Samurai X's new helmet design allows for visors to be attached, like this version's mask. However, the connection points that used to allow for feathers and the like on the old Samurai helmet are no longer present. 9579 Starter Set 62 pieces USD 19.99 CAD 24.99 Other currencies from Brickset The Starter Set, like last year's, is basically a "double spinner set". Everything, including both the contents and the price, is doubled. It should be noted that this set also includes an arena, and that this year all "arena sets" (including the Training Set mentioned above and the limited-release Spinner Battle Arena which was not on display at Toy Fair) use the same compatible arena design. For those wanting the full gameplay experience, the Ninjago site has a printable arena mat that shows where battle cards are played, where you spin from, etc. But I'm sure many AFOLs who care about the spinner game would prefer to improvise! This set's minifigures include Cole ZX and Rattla. It also features some nice accessories including a Hypno Viper (earth blue Hypnobrai snake). In March, two spinner sets are due to be released. My pictures of these two didn't really turn out very presentable, so forgive the lack of images: 9561 Kai ZX 16 pieces USD 9.99 CAD 12.99 The Kai ZX spinner set has a bright yellow and silver metallic (flat silver) spinner, a titanium metallic (pearl dark gray) crown, and the Kai ZX figure. The most interesting weapon in this set is the Dragon Sword of Fire, also appearing in last year's 2254 Mountain Shrine and 2507 Fire Temple, as well as this year's 9456 Spinner Battle Arena (limited release; not displayed at Toy Fair) and 9449 Ultra Sonic Raider. 9567 Fang-Suei 19 pieces USD 9.99 CAD 12.99 The Fang Suei spinner set has a bright red and titanium metallic spinner, a bright yellow crown, and the Fang-Suei minifigure. It also includes a Golden Viper (warm gold snake), much like the Lloyd Garmadon booster pack. There are two booster packs, four spinner sets, and a "Tool Pack" due for release in June: 9554 Zane ZX 37 pieces USD 4.99 CAD 6.99 Following the established format for booster packs, the Zane ZX booster pack includes the Zane ZX minifigure with a golden weapon that screams overkill, as well as a stylish silver weapon and a mundane reddish-brown staff to balance things out. The set also introduces a new weapon for attaching to the underside of the spinners. This time it's a Kunai, and yes, it can be wielded as a traditional weapon by a minifigure! Other bricks are included as a barricade on top of a spinner or a boost platform underneath, presumably to be added as instructed by one of the cards. 9555 Mezmo 32 pieces USD 4.99 CAD 6.99 This is the only set to include Mezmo (Hypnobrai Warrior). It also features a new weapon for the underside of the spinners, this time a snake poised to strike. I imagine these would look excellent hanging from a jungle canopy in a MOC. Mezmo's golden weapon is a nice design with some nice pieces, as is his silver chain weapon, although there's also a generic pickaxe. The scythe blade seen in this picture is not a part of the set. 9569 Spitta 20 pieces USD 9.99 CAD 12.99 This spinner set includes the minifigure Spitta (Venomari Soldier), who doesn't make a second appearance until one of the August model sets. Other interesting contents include a transparent bright bluish-violet (trans-purple) crown (a new design with studs) and a snake in the same color. The spinner itself is transparent fluorescent green (trans-neon green) and silver metallic (flat silver). 9570 NRG Jay 20 pieces USD 9.99 CAD 12.99 The NRG Ninja are special forms of the Ninja when they convert themselves into pure Spinjitzu energy. Based on what's been seen in the show so far, it would seem the Ninja will be able to unlock these forms once they clear the barriers in their hearts and unlock their true potential. NRG Jay, who appears exclusively in this set, has a stylish lightning motif and feels very energized. This spinner set includes a new crown with a serrated edge, but MOCists may be most interested by the presence of a warm gold Lightsaber hilt. 9571 Fangdam 20 pieces USD 9.99 CAD 12.99 Fangdam, who previously appeared in the model set 9445 Fangpyre Truck Ambush, makes for a somewhat mundane spinner set. He features one of the new snake crowns in transparent red, as well as a Sly Viper, but overall his spinner set lacks the uniqueness of some of the others in this wave. 9572 NRG Cole 20 pieces USD 9.99 CAD 12.99 NRG Cole appears exclusively in this spinner set, and his design is definitely breathtaking. His warm gold spinner crown and transparent brown (trans-black) spinner are very stylish in design, as is the figure himself with his rock fissure motif and glowing gold eyes. Like NRG Jay, one of his weapons also features a warm gold Lightsaber hilt. 9591 Tool Pack 73 pieces USD 19.99 CAD 24.99 This set is priced similarly to the Starter Set and the Training Set, but includes contents roughly equal to two booster packs and two spinner sets. Spinners and other contents are included for the two minifigures Chokun (Constrictai Soldier) and NRG Kai. For Chokun, there are five weapons including a transparent bright orange (trans-orange) snake and a golden flail. Additionally there are transparent bright orange snakes to attach underneath the spinner and a transparent bright orange crown to attach on top. For NRG Kai, the five weapons include a golden weapon built with two warm gold lightsaber hilts (making this a better value for MOCists wanting to accumulate these). There are also three titanium metallic kunai (darker in color than those in the Zane ZX booster pack) for underneath the spinner and a titanium metallic spinner crown in the serrated variety. Coming in August are the four model sets for the second half of 2012: 9447 Lasha's Bite Cycle 250 pieces USD 24.99 CAD 29.99 This set is IMO one of the weaker of the Serpentine vehicles, with a somewhat scattered color scheme and an overall lack of streamlining anywhere but the snake face on the front. In addition to the bike itself, there is a small blacksmith shop (really just an anvil, some hot coals, and a column that holds several weapons). After last year's 2508 Blacksmith Shop, this feels quite underwhelming, although if the bike were more impressive on its own then it would be more tolerable. The set includes the Cole ZX and Lasha minifigures, as well as the Venomari Fang Blade (here shown clipped to the bike) 9448 Samurai Mech 452 pieces USD 39.99 CAD 49.99 Samurai X's distinctive mech is just as impressive in set form as it is in the Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu TV series. It features a firing cannon on one shoulder and a laser on the other. The two comically-short Constrictai Serpentine in this set combat it with a catapult, using each other as the ammunition. Thi set includes the Samurai X, Bytar (Constrictai Warrior), and Snike (Constrictai Scout) minifigures, as well as the Constrictai Fang Blade. Snike is exclusive to this set. 9449 Ultra Sonic Raider 622 pieces USD 79.99 CAD 99.99 The Ultra Sonic Raider is the largest of the Ninja vehicles and one of the most imposing. According to the set description, its main function is to play music that harms the Serpentine from its powerful speaker cannons (followers of the TV series will recognize this as the same function performed by Sensei Wu's ancient flute). But two ammo belts full of golden sai certainly help as well! One special function of this set is that the top section can detach into a flying vehicle, with the blades on the back spreading out to act as wings. Flick-fire missiles are also a must. The flames seen behind some of this set's minifigures are supposed to be attached inside the spinner crowns on the sides of the vehicle This set includes all four ZX Ninja with all four Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu, as well as Spitta and the Fangpyre Fang Blade. It is also to the only set to include the fearsome Pythor (Anacondrai General). 9450 Epic Dragon Battle 915 pieces USD 119.99 CAD 129.99 This is it: the flagship set of the 2012 Ninjago lineup. In it, the Green Ninja faces the legendary Great Devourer with the help of his new four-headed Ultra Dragon, which appears to be a fusion of the four dragons in the 2011 sets. The Ultra Dragon's main function is very impressive, with the wings spreading out when it is lifted by a handle on the back. It also has a lashing tail like the Earth Dragon from last year's 2509 Earth Dragon Defense. Two of its heads include sphere launchers. In contrast, I find the Great Devourer's function a bit underwhelming. It's mouth is big enough to gobble up one minifigure, and its tail is posable, but that's about the limit of its function. It is, however, a very attractive design, holding its head upright as it does. As far as giant brick-built snakes go, it's one of the most attractive I've seen. Also in this set is the most impressive architectural feature in this year's lineup, a prison used by the Serpentine. Its prison door flips open vertically and it has some nice stylistic elements like the two Golden Vipers and Scala dish used as architectural detail. But it still pales in comparison to the grandeur of last year's Fire Temple. The set includes Lloyd ZX (Green Ninja), Jay ZX, Sensei Wu, Lord Garmadon, Acidicus (Venomari General), Skalidor (Constrictai General), and Chokun. Acidicus and Skalidor are exclusive to this set. Also included is the Hypnobrai Fang Blade and all four Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu. A September release is planned for the remaining sets on display at Toy Fair: two more booster packs, three more spinner sets. 9556 Bytar 25 pieces USD 4.99 CAD 6.99 Bytar's booster pack has contents mostly identical to January's 9551 Kendo Cole. The minifigure, weapons, and cards are the main things that differ, along with some parts' colors. I imagine this probably means he has the same build card, Rock Force, as is included in the Kendo Cole booster pack. Since the Constrictai cards are Earth-aligned, it wouldn't surprise me one bit. His accessories include a Golden Viper, a nifty staff, and the scythe blade that was pictured next to Mezmo earlier. 9557 Lizaru 25 pieces USD 4.99 CAD 6.99 This is the only set to include a minifigure of Lizaru (Venomari Warrior). Other notable contents include a golden double-bladed axe and two transparent fluorescent green snakes for underneath the spinner. 9573 Slithraa 20 pieces USD 9.99 CAD 12.99 Slithraa's spinner set has three equally-interesting weapons: a sai on a chain, a transparent blue (trans-dark blue) snake, and the Hypnobrai Staff. The reason this set is alone among the spinner sets in including a golden snake staff is probably that Slithraa was at one time the Hypnobrai general, as watchers of the TV series should know. The transparent blue crown looks very nice on this set's transparent fluorescent blue (trans-medium blue) spinner. 9574 Lloyd ZX 23 pieces USD 9.99 CAD 12.99 For some reason, the Green Ninja is here depicted without his titanium metallic shoulder armor. Chances are this is just an accidental omission, as the preliminary packaging and Toy Fair press guide both show him with it. The set's most interesting contents other than the Lloyd ZX minifigure are the transparent green spinner crown (printed with patterns inspired by all four elements) and his moderately impressive golden weapon. 9590 NRG Zane 23 pieces USD 9.99 CAD 12.99 Unusually, NRG Zane includes two golden weapons. One of these, a single golden knife, is without a doubt merely an inescapable side effect of the fact that these knives always come in twos. His transparent fluorescent blue spinner goes well with his transparent spinner crown, although it's interesting that he varies from the other NRG Ninja spinners in having a transparent rather than metallic spinner crown. That's not the only way he varies from the others: NRG Zane's outfit has changed from white to light royal blue (bright light blue), while the others' outfits have stayed the same base color. This concludes our LEGO Ninjago coverage! In part three, we'll be covering the exciting new theme Monster Fighters!

Man, Breez doesn't stop looking incredible. Looking forward to August! In the meantime, I got Surge, and am incredibly impressed. Originally I had wanted to change his hands to blue to offset those green arms, but I've really warmed up to how he looks with the green hands. His arms feel very cohesive the way their colors are currently organized. He's not flawless, of course. I wish the sphere in his plasma gun were Transparent Blue rather than Transparent Bright Green so that it would match his sword. As it is, it doesn't match any part of him very well-- it's just different enough from the lime to look inconsistent, and doesn't match his eye color at all. The new torso shells are amazing. Unlike the previous ones, these look very complete with or without an additional armor piece on top. Of course, there are disadvantages. The 5x4 "fuel cap" detail piece from the Fire Villains doesn't fit as well on this torso as it fits on Jetbug's 2.0 torso, which is odd seeing as the parts are used together on the upcoming Iron Man constraction set. The new Hero Core is also great. It fits very well on pretty much any shell piece, including an 8x5 "engine block" shell from the Fire Villains. This is great as the 2.0 Hero Core would look out-of-place and gappy on pretty much anything but a 2.0 Hero chest armor piece. One last thing I should mention. I tried giving him back armor in the same style as Splitface and Rocka use, and it only looks so-so. The torso itself looks phenomenal from all angles this way, but the head and neck look a bit too bulky for my liking. A 1.0 foot would work a lot better, but unfortunately those are probably far more expensive to acquire in the right color since the original Mark Surge set is the only one to have them.

Do you need them in the correct colors, with the black border around them? If not, try these links: http://ninjas.brickcraft.me/File:Kai_Emblem.svg http://ninjas.brickcraft.me/File:Zane_Emblem.svg http://ninjas.brickcraft.me/File:Cole_Emblem.svg http://ninjas.brickcraft.me/File:Jay_Emblem.svg Those are all vectors made by my younger brother. If you want the raw images he used to make them, those are the iPhone skins found here. Or if you prefer them with outlines, the spinner product pages on the Ninjago site feature Zane's, Cole's, and Nya's.

This will probably only apply to members in the U.S., but I thought I'd share this here:

I'm not sure how I'd feel necessarily about a new Von Nebula set, since I was so fond of the old one and unlike with the heroes it's a bit harder to explain radical changes in appearance for the villains. Being robotic, the characters could rebuild themselves, but that takes time that has to be written into the story. Von Nebula was a decent villain, but he was not my favorite. This is partly because his backstory felt so rushed in the TV episodes. It explained how he went rogue, obviously, but not what gave him the need to exact vengeance on Stormer and the Hero Factory, nor any hint at how he went from cowardly rookie Hero to full-fledged villainous mastermind. His potential return in Breakout is interesting (I had expected the staff to have significance since seeing the black hole the villains escaped through, but I can't say the same for the character himself), and I wonder how it will be implemented without drawing attention away from the characters who are appearing as sets this year. It's entirely possible that he will be operating things from behind-the-scenes, somewhat like the mysterious sorceror who advised Vladek in Knights' Kingdom II, or like Makuta Teridax's influence in 2006 BIONICLE. If this is the case there's no need for him to necessarily return as a main villain-- it's intimidating enough for him to be an ethereal threat exacting his revenge through other villains. One thing's for sure: if he returns in any way, it sets the Breakout story apart from all others before it. And I suppose that's to be expected, since from what I've read 2012 is the last year TLG had planned for Hero Factory when the theme was first introduced. While it's not necessarily a finale, and they might have more plans for the theme by now, it certainly could be understood as a major milestone much like BIONICLE: Mask of Light.

Very nice! The smooth contours of the Kaukau Nuva suit Hero Factory better than a lot of BIONICLE parts would. I like the torso shells on the arm-- are those to help her swim, like fins? I have only a few criticisms. First, the 4M Silver Metallic shells on her upper legs might look better if they were flipped upside-down. As it is an awful lot of the leg bones are exposed at the knee. Additionally, the use of Silver Metallic shells on her upper legs, Black shells on her upper arms, and Titanium Metallic shells on her lower arms brings about a bit of inconsistency. Still, this MOC is very imaginative and mostly very attractive, despite its simplicity. Great work!

The video is nice, and Astrid presents it well. It's nice to see a designer other than Jamie as the chief set designer for a modular building, as it demonstrates how his work has not only inspired AFOLs, but has also served to inspire his peers in the design department! The 360 degree spin on the Shop page really makes it look impressive-- not that it didn't already! The large brick-built doors, stylish skylights, and columns are of course all brilliant, but there's a lot to be said even for the arrangement of the bricks on its plain sides and relatively plain back! I definitely look forward to this set!

I'd say Evo and Surge. Surge is surprisingly good-- his color scheme looks attractive and he ends up looking quite athletic IMO. Evo is not as basic as Surge, but still pretty basic-- but again, the way his color scheme is organized and the tasteful design of his weapon make him extremely unique among the Breakout sets. Furno is a great-looking set IMO, but I have a bit of a bias towards the smaller Hero sets, and furthermore Furno has that Transparent Fluorescent Reddish-Orange shell on his arm complicating his color scheme. I'm not too fond of Rocka personally-- he has a lot of great ideas but I think as a whole he looks kinda cluttered compared to the Hero sets with simpler weapons and color schemes. As for the new episode, the details sound about right based on what I was expecting, although I'm surprised to hear the possibility of Von Nebula's actual involvement rather than just his staff.

This year, I was able to go to the New York International Toy Fair for the first time as a representative of the BIONICLE wiki BIONICLEsector01 and its sister site HEROsector01. Together with fellow BS01/HS01 staff member Chols, who took most of the photos, I attended the LEGO Collectors Preview where representatives of LEGO fansites can view and photograph the new sets for an extended two-hour timeframe (our invitations unfortunately did not cover admission to the full three-day Toy Fair event, so externally-produced LEGO products like clocks and watches were not among the things we saw). Since our sites' normal coverage doesn't extend outside the constraction themes, we reached an agreement with Eurobricks to share with them our coverage of the LEGO Collectors Preview and all the sets and themes on display. First up is Hero Factory itself, a theme which probably holds little interest to a lot of Eurobricks members but was what we as a wiki came to see. The theme for this year's Hero Factory sets is "Breakout". There has been a mass breakout from the Hero Factory's villain containment area, and previously-captured villains are fleeing all over the galaxy. Each Hero is tasked with tracking down and capturing a particular villain, and each is equipped with a pair of Hero-Cuffs for the task. A quirk about this year's Hero Factory sets is that instead of packaging all Heroes as US $7.99 sets and all villains as US $12.99 sets or larger, as had been done previously, the range of sizes is mixed. First up are the ten sets already released: five Heroes and five villains. Of these, two (6227 Breez and 6228 Thornraxx) have been held over until August for their U.S. release. 6200 Evo 36 pieces US $8.99 CAN $11.99 Other currencies from Brickset Nathan Evo, "The Steamroller", is a strategically-minded Hero whose attacks hit hard. His weapon is a "Tank Arm", an enhanced version of the plasma shooters wielded by all the Heroes. 6201 Toxic Reapa 42 pieces USD 8.99 CAD 11.99 Other currencies from Brickset Toxic Reapa is a villain from the swamp planet Z'chaya who attacks with toxic waste and laser cutters on his face. Evo is assigned to recapture him. 6202 Rocka 55 pieces USD 12.99 CAD 15.99 Other currencies from Brickset Rocka is the team's newest member, with a cocky attitude and a desire to meet each challenge head-on. While the other Heroes recapture the fleeing villains, Rocka is assigned to stay behind and protect the Hero Factory. He wields an energy crossbow and lenticular energy shield. 6203 Black Phantom 124 pieces USD 19.99 CAD 24.99 Other currencies from Brickset Black Phantom is the villain who organized the breakout, but instead of fleeing to his home planet like most villains, he stayed behind to sabotage the Hero Factory itself. He carries an Arachnix drone, a bug-like weapon with a mind of its own. 6216 Jawblade 45 pieces USD $8.99 CAD $11.99 Other currencies from Brickset Jawblade is a shark-like aquatic villain. Furno is assigned to hunt him down on the water planet Scylla. His weapons are a modified version of a weapon stolen from Furno on a previous mission. 6217 Surge 39 pieces USD $8.99 CAD $11.99 Other currencies from Brickset Mark Surge, "The Livewire", is a somewhat defiant Hero with electricity powers. He is equipped with an Electricity Shooter similar to his original weapon, the Lightning Shooter and Shields. His chest pattern, helmet, and weapon all have electricity motifs of some kind. 6218 Splitface 50 pieces USD $12.99 CAD $15.99 Other currencies from Brickset Splitface is part-organic, part-mechanical villain with a split personality, which makes him unpredictable as he attacks the space station Sigma Sigma. He wields a powerful Shredder Claw and a poison plasma gun that launches toxic Infecticide. Surge is assigned to return him to the Hero Factory. 6227 Breez 55 pieces USD $12.99 CAD $15.99 Other currencies from Brickset Natalie Breez, "The Whirlwind", is a cool and confident hero with a strong sense of duty. She is equipped with a powerful Hex Energy Shield and blade weapon, along with leg rockets and the standard-issue plasma gun. 6228 Thornraxx 44 pieces USD $8.99 CAD $11.99 Other currencies from Brickset Thornraxx is an insect-like villain with a malicious attitude. He can spit venom or attack with his powerful stinger or claws. He flees to his native Hive Planet after the breakout, and Breez is assigned to capture him. 6293 Furno 56 pieces USD $12.99 CAD $15.99 Other currencies from Brickset Furno, "Young Blood", was formerly a headstrong rookie much like Rocka, and has been a part of several missions with his team. A fire-themed Hero, he's very much out of his element on the water planet of Scylla, but has been specially equipped with an Aquajet Pack and harpoon. There are eight Hero Factory sets new for August 2012: four Heroes and four villains. I apologize for not being able to provide prices for these in currencies other than U.S. and Canadian dollars, but those are all the press kit for the event included. 6221 Nex 39 pieces USD $8.99 CAD $11.99 Julius Nex, "The Tech-Head", is the head of Hero Outreach, and his chest pattern and helmet reflect the idea of networking with a computer chip texture. 6222 Core Hunter 51 pieces USD $12.99 CAD $15.99 Core Hunter is roaming Makuhero City hunting down and disabling any Heroes he can find to extract their Hero Cores with his Hero Core remover. He has a Plasma Gun just like the heroes wield, no doubt pilfered from a previous victim. 6223 Bulk 61 pieces USD $12.99 CAD $15.99 Dunkan Bulk, "The Behemoth", is a metal-themed Hero. Originally self-conscious about his weaker mental capacity than his teammates, he has since taken up reading and become one of the smartest members of his team. His equipment includes a missile launcher in addition to the standard-issue plasma gun and Hero-Cuffs. 6229 XT4 39 pieces USD $8.99 CAD $11.99 XT4, native to the planet Mechna, has a very unique appearance among the villains. He has four arms equipped with a razor disc slicer, laser slicer, and two striking blades. Nex is assigned to return him to the Hero Factory. 6230 Stormer XL 89 pieces USD $24.99 CAD $29.99 Preston Stormer, "The Pro", is the leader of the team and veteran of countless missions. In his newest form he's equipped with a Power Sword, arm-mounted scout drones, and a plasma gun. His ice motif appears on his torso, left leg, and scout drones. 6231 Speeda Demon 192 pieces USD $34.99 CAD $44.99 Speeda Demon flees to the ice planet Kollix IV on his nitro rocket motorbike. Stormer is assigned to recapture him. 6282 Stringer 42 pieces USD $8.99 CAD $11.99 Jimi Stringer, "The Supersonic", is a friendly and laid-back Hero with a passion for music. His sonic theme is apparent in his chest pattern, his shoulder armor with its speaker-like texture, and his powerful sonic blaster (which, although not visible at Toy Fair, he has been seen to hold like an electric guitar). 6283 Voltix 61 pieces USD $12.99 CAD $15.99 Voltix has used the breakout to try and disrupt the power supply at Tansari VI Energy Collection Array. His electrical theme can be seen in the red and blue wires criss-crossing his body, the voltage booster switch on his back (hard to see in these pictures), and lots of lightning bolts. Stringer is assigned to stop him. That concludes our LEGO Hero Factory coverage from New York Toy Fair! Next up, we will cover the zany and exciting sets of LEGO Ninjago!

I'm not sure if I support the Breez/Nex relationship, since she's said she doesn't want to be in a relationship, especially with a teammate. That could change, but I don't know if Nex could be the type of Hero to change that. Nex is, of course, quite a womanizer. Watch in the background of his original scene from Ordeal of Fire while Makuro is giving a speech about the upgrade. Nex is speaking with Daniella Capricorn, and his body language is... err... quite telling. The hand gestures help. Whether or not Nex and Breez hit it off, it will be fun to watch if a romantic angle is added. I'd have as much fun seeing a heartwarming moment between them as seeing a flirtation between Nex and Breez fall flat.

I believe their solution for missing or otherwise faulty collectible minifigure parts is just to give you a replacement minifigure. The reason they don't have replacement parts on hand is that the collectible minifigures are produced and packaged entirely in China, so there are never any significant quantities of loose parts lying around in Denmark where I believe their replacement parts service is based.

I don't really expect hair quite like Kai's just because of how thin the spikes are. I suppose in a rubber hair piece it could be done, but it would be a lot different than any existing LEGO hair pieces. The hair you have pictured would also work nicely, although with either that or true Kai hair I'd have to wonder how difficult it would be to mold. It would certainly require more than a two- or three-section mold, I'm fairly certain, given how many intricate angles it has.

Also, from my experience, Friends has received the most marketing of any girl-oriented theme to date, at least in the United States. I wouldn't have known that Scala and Belville existed if it weren't for catalogs and online databases like Bricklink, whereas LEGO Friends has been the subject of multiple press releases and news articles and is being promoted fairly strongly in toy stores. TLG is clearly going for publicity, so it's only natural that this would attract a certain amount of negative publicity as backlash.

Yes, it's not the same type of video as the "Rocka vs. Black Phantom" video and others we've seen, but rather the same type of video as the "Rocka Character Spot" and "Black Phantom Character Spot" on the Hero Factory home page (currently the second and third videos listed). He certainly does hold it like a guitar in the first scene where he's in the Assembly Tower, so I'm guessing that whether or not it functions as a guitar in story, the similarity was intentional and the animators were made aware of this. I look forward to a proper "Stringer vs. Voltix" video, even though since those are summer releases they might not make one.

I have kind of mixed feelings about the snakes. I really loved the skeletons because their designs fit the minifigure aesthetic very well. While their torsos were perhaps not as simple in design as the Fantasy-Era Castle skeletons, their legs with "boots" were brilliant in design even if they didn't function too well on the spinners in many cases, and their arm designs are in my opinion some of the best LEGO skeleton arms to date. The generic skeletons' face patterns were mostly consistent with the ones from Fantasy-Era Castle, aside from the various bolts and such, and even the larger general heads were really cool in design. It's a shame the Friends figure heads are regular minifigure head size-- I had originally expected them to be somewhat larger, and I'd have loved to use Wyplash's head with one of them to have a Friends figure acting out the famous scene with Hamlet and Yorick's skull. Now, the snakes have very cool designs, but it's no secret that they're much less consistent with regular minifigure designs. Their eyes are very detailed, and while in most cases they add a lot of personality, I tend to prefer simple dot eyes with white sparkles on minifigure humans, animals, and aliens alike. The snake generals cannot fit on the spinners, which isn't a huge loss (after all, Samukai could fit on a spinner but he sure couldn't spin on one), but still a bit of a step down from 2011 where all the characters could fit on a spinner in some way, shape, or form (although the ones that can fit on spinners do so a lot better than the skeletons, who tended to fly off the spinners much more easily than the Ninja at least during my own play sessions). I think the brick-built snake heads on the Serpentine vehicles are a lot cooler than many of the brick-built skulls on the skeleton vehicles, but they're also slightly more uniform in design, with only the Rattlecopter and the head of the Great Devourer deviating greatly from the build on the rest of the snake vehicles. So the Serpentine have advantages and disadvantages compared to the Skeleton Warriors. Of course the great amount of design work that went into them, giving each tribe a unique color scheme and aesthetic with up to four variations, is mostly enough to win me over, and I don't foresee the Skeleton Warriors returning as a main enemy specifically because they were not as compatible with the spinners as minifigures with regular legs.

I'm not entirely sure of the reason, but something to keep in mind is that since the summer sets were first leaked, people have been commenting on how small a wave they are compared to waves in the past (eight sets, as opposed to past Hero Factory waves which had between ten and fifteen sets apiece). Perhaps in the U.S. TLG expects better sales in the summer, and so they wanted to make it the larger of the two waves. Or perhaps the reverse is true, and Breez's release date was pushed earlier in other countries. I think the former is more likely, though, simply because Breez has more design features and parts in common with the early 2012 sets than the mid-2012 sets.

I'm surprised people have singled out the Gamorrean as an example of excessive detail. For one thing, its face fulfills a requirement I have of many LEGO animals, minifigures, and aliens, which is that it has simple dot eyes with white sparkles. This is a preference that the new Jabba, Watto, and other figs fail to fulfill. Note that this preference applies to regular minifigures, not Clone Wars figs. I don't like the Clone Wars figs but have no more problem with the decision to make them different than I had with the Avatar: The Last Airbender or Exo-Force themes. Furthermore, the main thing the Gamorrean fig has changed since the previous version is that, in terms of printing detail, he's now more consistent with human minifigures. And I think that's a positive change. If you take issue with the specially-molded face, then by all means criticise that, but don't treat it as something TLG has changed, since the Gamorrean and various other alien figs have had that since the early days of LEGO Star Wars. The printing just eliminates some of the inconsistency present in the older version. As for the helmets Leia/Boussh and Lando are wearing, they're detailed, but not tremendously more so than a Stormtrooper helmet or Captain Panaka's hat. I can see the reasons they look like action figure helmets, but that doesn't inherently make it out-of-place in LEGO Star Wars.