Aanchir

Either the Sleepyhead's hair as Legoman273 recommended, this hair piece from the Clone Wars Anakin Skywalker (used for Lord Garmadon in the LEGO.com mini-movies), or, if you're not opposed to experimenting with and modifying pieces, some of this Exo-Force hair colored Reddish Brown. I'm not sure what type of paint would work to change the color of the Exo-Force hair since it's rubber rather than ABS, but that's the piece that's used for his hair in LEGO Battles: Ninjago. I was very surprised when Kai was given such a unique hairstyle in the TV show while the others were all given existing minifigure hair. Unfortunately I imagine Kai's hair would be near-impossible for TLG to reproduce exactly in a set, because it has many sections that seem just too thin and spiky. If it were made, it'd have to be rubber like the Exo-Force hair for structural reasons-- parts that come to such a narrow point would be very fragile in ABS. On the subject of Lord Garmadon in the mini-movie "Battle Between Brothers", I noticed something while re-watching it recently. His face in that episode somewhat resembles Lloyd's, in the shape of his smile and eyebrows, even though Lord Garmadon's face in that episode is of course a pasty Cool Yellow and his eyes glow red. Also, in the mini-movie "An Underworldly Takeover", the helmet he takes from Samukai is the new-style helmet featured on the 2012 Garmadon figure and Samurai X, not the old-style one he wore in the 2011 sets. So it's clear at least to me that the animators had already started on the main series when they created those mini-movies. Re-watched "Home" last night and enjoyed it. I love the strings leitmotif for Zane's falcon. Next Wednesday will be the first airdate of Episode 3 "Snakebit" in the United States. I'm looking forward to it!

A bug I noticed yesterday is that in the new version of LDD, the side printing for the Cheerleader's legs (the only leg side printing that can be applied with the decoration tool) is no longer lined up right on the leg. The pattern appears far too high on the leg. I'd take a screenshot but it seems like it should be easy for anyone to replicate. Just attempt to use the decoration tool on the side surface of a minifig's legs and you'll see what I mean.

Are the instructions online yet? I don't think I'd be able to make it without them; its base seems quite complicated.

I always pronounced Andrea's name as "An-DRAY-uh" rather than "AN-dree-uh", even though I've heard both pronunciations in real life.

Well, LDD mode has parts already colored. This could make it more intuitive for younger builders who have trouble visualizing what the parts will look like on the model before coloring them. It should be noted that not all parts on LDD mode exist in the colors they appear in. I believe they are colored so as to be inspiring and appealing, but not necessarily realistic.

If it helps the LDD team, the Design ID for the second part is 32175, and the design ID for the second is (as far as I can confirm) 47326. Remember that especially for parts appearing in post-2006 sets, you can plug their numbers into the URL of a Customer Service replacement part page to look up their Design IDs. Multicolored or decorated parts are sometimes exceptions to this, but I think it will still help the LDD team to give them proper Design IDs rather than just Bricklink IDs.

Dual-colored parts do still exist; the Hero Factory and Super Heroes constraction sets this year have several. However, doing so with the katana piece would likely require a new mold to give it multiple injection points, and I'm not sure if the desired effect would work too well. Printing, of course, would probably also require new machines. Not familiar with Pre Viszla, so not sure how TLG would likely create his weapon. Glancing at it on Wookiepedia, it definitely isn't something that a regular black-bladed sword or lightsaber would work too well for. I wonder if perhaps some type of "speckle" treatment like the axe blade in this picture would work to evoke that "energized black" look. If TLG could somehow use the katana with that treatment only on the blade, or better yet create a brand-new sword piece with a blade in that color, then that could look quite impressive.

Ummm... the fans do get the money. Or at least, a reasonable cut of it, for giving the proposal. TLG's set designers still design the finished sets to be marketable and enjoyable products, so they can very greatly from the original proposal. I think Blacktron III would have to happen alongside a "good guy" theme, if at all. Single-faction themes are a thing of the past. I personally wouldn't expect it until the next iteration of Space Police, since Space Police are as firmly-rooted in the heroic tradition of LEGO Space as Blacktron is in the villainous tradition of LEGO Space. I'm not too upset about the lack of Space sets, because I'm getting plenty of enjoyment from the Ninjago theme, and together with Hero Factory that's going to eat up enough of my budget for new sets as it is. It's certainly curious that this year all of TLG's supposed "evergreen" themes besides City are on hiatus, and I'm curious how TLG justifies this, but LEGO Space doesn't necessarily give me any enjoyment I can't find in other themes while I wait for a Space theme to arrive that's totally worth the wait.

Superkalle has an LXF containing all the new parts here which should make it easier to find parts like Breez's sword. Interestingly, the new Thornax launcher half piece is not present, but instead what looks like a prototype version is used (shorter than the classic one but still with two connection points). LDD mode doesn't entirely stick to parts in colors that they existed in, so don't count on it to forecast new parts. I think the parts in it are probably just chosen based on what will be attractive and helpful from a creative standpoint and not what exists in real life. Slightly bad news for HF fans: all of the new torso decorations for early 2012 (besides Joker's) are on the new version of LDD, but unfortunately the torso they go on has no decoration surfaces programmed. Hopefully a future update will fix that. I've used the new parts to test how Breez might look if modded to a 22-module tall Hero build. Most things work out OK (she looks amazing), but unfortunately the shin shells and feet collide unless they're spaced apart a fair amount. Hopefully the real set will allow some wiggle room if I should choose to mod the set. It's also hard to get her shield attached to her arm if I shorten the forearms, which would be a harder problem to fix... but again, maybe the final set would allow more wiggle room. As it is it fits on a 5M forearm but limits posability.

Swell hand design. In fact, this whole MOC is very stylish. Not the most exciting color scheme, but you helped make it more exciting with parts like the silver 1x1 plates on his legs and silver tubes in his torso. His old mask works quite well as back armor.

Yes, there is a difference. The Technic hole on 6541 is slightly higher than the stud on 87087. It's described in more detail here, on pages 2-4. It shouldn't be crashing the program, in any event. It should just allow or disallow the connection, or possibly delete a brick or two when a new file that tries to connect the two is loaded.

You mean to get the two to connect? That's not technically a bug. Those two are probably not allowed to connect in order to discourage illegal connections. When the two are connnected nothing can legally be placed on top of or beneath them, since the tops and bottoms of the bricks would not be lined up. Anyway, I'm sure people are curious what new decorated parts can now be generated on LDD. Here's what I've been able to find and identify: Download LXF The parts, by Bricklink name and number, are as follows: ...As well as one minifig torso and four minifig heads not yet listed on Bricklink. Only 970c00pb134 is missing any decorations (from the "crotch" of the hip piece).

The new LDD.LEGO.com is very nice and shiny. I love how the "Get Inspired" block has a LEGO Nyancat as an example. Downloading the new patch now. Can't wait to start building!

Very detailed article! My main criticism, though, is that it repeats something that was often said once the Friends figures were revealed not to be standard minifigures: that any figure but the classic minifigure is doomed to fail. On the contrary, Belville lived an inexplicably long life. The building quality of its sets was meager at best, so if anything I think the fact that its figures were in fact dolls might have been the only thing keeping it alive for its nearly 15-year lifespan. Similarly, this ignores the success of Duplo, although it is not necessarily relevant to the discussion, and the success of a heavily character-driven theme that usually isn't discussed in conjunction with minifigures: BIONICLE. This theme's attempts over three years to move into System-scale sets were admirable, even if inevitably they failed to catch on. But the actual "action figures" that formed the core of the theme demonstrated quite effectively that kids can role-play with non-minifigure sets, and in many cases, that kids can be attracted by other themes even when their particular favorite theme has incompatible figures. I can't tell you how many sets in the early- to late-2000s appealed to me largely because they had parts that would be useful for BIONICLE models, regardless of the minifigures they contained. Within the AFOL community there is a sort of obsession with the minifigure to the point that, as in the case of the Friends theme, the presence or absence of traditional minifigures is expected to be something that will make or break a theme. But in fact, when you look at BIONICLE it becomes clear that sets with radically different styles of figures can be successful. And furthermore when you look at the new parts budget BIONICLE tended to have each year, I don't think there's any question of whether the Friends theme can introduce enough new parts to make its figures extremely versatile in their potential for mixing-and-matching parts, even without compatibility with the classic minifigure.

Nice MOC! Although it uses parts from a lot of different sets in a lot of different colors, the parts are very strategically organized so that no section is overloaded with one color like yellow or red. The end result is a mottled look that helps the creature look very bestial and organic despite its many obviously-mechanical parts. I'm impressed that you were able to get a model this large to balance effectively. The large feet surely help with this. The wings are too small for it to seem like it can fly easily, but they add detail and help frame the face. One thing I feel might improve the model would be to give it a longer "tail". However, I understand that while in real life tails help creatures to balance, in a MOC they can often do the opposite and upset the balance of a two-legged creation. Anyway, this MOC isn't a masterpiece by any means. It still looks very pieced-together in areas like the back, and naturally is limited by the assorted colors and shapes of pieces used to build it. At the same time, it shows a much more thoughtful design than many of the MOCs on Brickshelf at this scale that stick strictly to the use of Hero Factory parts. So in that respect it is a success.

This could be part of the reason why LEGO City cops and criminals never carry firearms... I think the policy makes a certain amount of sense. Modern warfare is a really touchy subject on a global scale. People have really deep-seated feelings about it whether or not they have been involved either directly or through a family member. While guns in general are anathema to some people, they are not nearly as controversial in a historical or science-fiction setting as real-world weapons are in a modern setting. And the rule isn't necessarily becoming weaker as time goes on, the way some people think it is. True, TLG has allowed themselves to drift closer to military building over the years, eliminating unwritten rules like the avoidance of gray or green building elements wherever possible, introducing the Star Wars theme which has "Wars" in the title, and creating plenty of 20th-century weapons as well as science-fiction gun elements in place of previous "gun substitutes" like antennas, cameras, and megaphones. But in fact it is only recently that the "unwritten rule" against depictions of modern warfare in sets actually got written out for future reference. So it's clear that TLG has no intention of letting themselves slide down the slippery slope to authentic modern military sets. It should also be considered that whether or not the rule makes sense relative to some of the other things like medieval or sci-fi weapons in sets, it looks good for a company to be willing to set limits for itself and stand by them. It's a decision that, for a lot of people, shows a great deal of integrity. This is probably a factor in TLG enumerating their policy against modern military content in sets-- the fact that TLG has included more and more sci-fi weapons in sets made people begin to question the company's integrity, and by setting a strictly-defined limit on their own content TLG holds onto its status as a highly-respected and conscientious company. And this gives them an edge over certain competitors that can't make the same promises.

Good point about the difference between named characters and named minifigures. You're right, Majisto may be the very first fig to be directly identified with a name, even if other "characters" had been mentioned previously in set names! I can't find any other older set names where a name can be tied to a particular fig from the set. As for your review, it was remarkably in-depth. It was also a wonderful trip down memory lane for me, since I so strongly remember many of the Dragon Knights/Dragon Masters sets. I will post my castle set names chart once I have it a bit more complete... as it is, I just pulled it up and realized it's still missing a lot of U.S. set names! There's no excuse for this as I have plenty of U.S. catalogs in my basement, and so I'll want to pull those out at some point and add to my list. When I do add it, you will be able to find it here, in the folder that currently houses a chart of Space set names from different countries.

Great review! I think that naturally the selling point of this set is the bunny, at least for me. It's amazingly cute, and I think with a simpler face print it could easily be used in System-- at least, better than the absurdly-large Belville rabbit, which was previously the only specialized option, or a brick-built rabbit, which can often be hard to distinguish from a brick-built mouse, cat, or dog. Brick-built animals are difficult at such a small scale! Stephanie's outfit is a bit odd in this set. I'd think it would be more realistic to show her in some type of work clothes, like maybe a vest and a pair of jeans. Her clothes in this set look like what you might wear at a mall, not what you'd wear on an ATV driving to care for a pet rabbit. I hope future waves of Friends sets have a wider variety of fashions for different sorts of contexts.

My guess is just that the popular figs from Series 1 and 2 are exactly the ones that they couldn't produce. I imagine most votes for Series 1 and 2 figs were for the highest-demand figs like the Zombie and Spartan Warrior, and that there were probably more votes for Series 3 "misses" than for Series 1 and 2 "misses" just on account of that being the series that (at the time) was on voters' minds. If there had been lots of votes for figures like the Surfer or Super Wrestler, it's quite possible that those might have been able to be produced, but I can easily picture votes for the Elf, Space Villain, and even Fisherman outweighing votes for these figs that used more common parts. It's also worth noting that the "Chinese plastic" issues were MUCH more prominent with Series 1 and 2 than with Series 3, so some people might have outright avoided voting for Series 1 and 2 minifigures except for a few super-expensive and super-desirable ones like the Spartan Warrior, Forestman, and Zombie.

That would make sense to me, except in the case of Jay's emblem. It doesn't really resemble the dragon at all to me, although I suppose it could be a dragon with two long "whiskers" and a beard, similar to many Asian dragons as depicted in art. Still, the lack of any sort of visible snout makes the resemblance a bit vague.

Beam in this case is probably just him using the official term for bone pieces, as can be seen on LDD. For instance, there are lower limb bones (A beams), upper limb bones (B beams) and beams with a ball cup on each end (C beams), as well as torso beams. Part of the reason I prefer calling them bones is that it helps differentiate them from Technic beams (and because they form the "skeleton" of the model). Front, are you just referring to parts in new colors, or to new parts altogether? If you mean completely new parts, then I suspect at least one will show up in the torso of Stormer XL. His torso build is very complicated-looking compared to some previous "titan" sets, and it's hard to tell what parts are used in its construction.

Keep in mind that molds with additional details can be expensive to make, especially if they involve sliders (i.e. parts of the mold other than the two main halves to add detail at different angles). In this case, the new Death Star's top could perhaps have been molded with a simple two-piece mold, which would be far less expensive to produce and install. Anyway, this is a cool set, even though I don't expect to buy any since I'm not a Star Wars collector. The printed windscreen for the TIE is very stylish, as is the Death Star mold. Personally, I don't feel the Death Star molds need printing; the contours are enough to make a quite striking resemblance.

Which is incorrect. LDD's 217 Brown is Bricklink's Dark Flesh, LDD's 25 Earth Orange is Bricklink's Brown, and LDD's 12 Light Orange Brown is Bricklink's Earth Orange. This annoys me a great deal as I normally point to Peeron's color chart as one of the most reliable cross-referenced color charts on the web. Evidence can be seen here, on a replacement parts page for 8604 Toa Onewa, here, on a replacement parts page for 6762 Fort Legoredo, and here, on a replacement parts page for 4728 Escape from Privet Drive. It should be noted that Bricklink inaccurately labels some bricks as this last color which are decidedly not, such as this hair, also from 4728 Escape from Privet Drive. It is in fact Dark Nougat, a color which I don't believe Bricklink even recognizes, and is obviously a different color from Ron's hair in the same set if you compare them in real life. I will be contacting Peeron to see about having that error corrected. It would be a shame to have to find or create another resource to point LDD users towards for identifying colors.

This set is very nicely designed. The piano, the stage with microphone and lights, the proscenium arch and curtains... all of it is very nice. My only criticism is that it would have been nice if these various aspects had been connected somehow or at least able to be lined up with one another. As it is, the stage the mic is on has a differently-colored base than the proscenium arch, and stands high above that base or the piano (which has no base). I suppose it is meant to be interpreted as a platform on the stage rather than a part of the stage itself, though. Great review! This set is yet another demonstration of a Friends scenario that wouldn't have worked nearly as well as a City set. And at the same time, I hope some of the techniques here make their way into other LEGO themes somehow, perhaps in the form of a modular concert hall with orchestra pit!

I don't know about that... while brickbuilt monsters obviously don't fit in with regular minifigures and minifigure animals too well as living creatures, I feel they work quite well as they were used in the Atlantis and Pharaoh's Quest line as enchanted statues and monsters. Plus, unlike specialized animal molds, the brickbuilt monsters inspire kids to create their own monsters using those same sorts of parts, whereas the Dino theme's main creative appeal is inspiring kids to create new vehicles for trapping the dinos (since the dinos have very little room for customization). In my opinion there's a place for brickbuilt monsters with lots of room for imagination just as there is a place for specialized animal molds that can be more easily recognized as living creatures. I personally like the Ninjago dragons, as these create a sort of a happy medium between these two extremes. There are specialized head molds to give them a sort of lifelike expressiveness, with printed eyes (which I always prefer on minifigure animals of any kind) and lots of detail. But the rest of the bodies are largely brickbuilt. And at the same time, the construction of the Ninjago dragons still aims for a cohesive and solid-looking design, besides possibly the Earth Dragon which somewhat sacrifices this for its play function. Look at the Lightning Dragon, which despite its segmented body has a very smooth body shape with repetitive angles, or the Fire Dragon which uses lots of curved slopes to create a body with a similar streamlined look to the more specialized dragons in fantasy-era Castle. This does not mean that I think this "middle-of-the-road" approach is well-suited to all themes. I don't think the Dino theme would have been nearly as stylish with brickbuilt dinosaurs, even with specialized head molds (and in fact I think for non-fantasy creatures, this solution might work poorly, as in Ninjago the angular designs of the dragon heads fit far better with brickbuilt bodies than smoother and more realistic animal heads would). Additionally, the Ninjago Fire Temple set demonstrates how poorly this solution might have worked for Pharaoh's Quest. While the Fire Dragon's head sticking out of the top of the temple is meant to resemble stone sculptural detail before the dragon is awakened, in reality it's hard to imagine a ninja or skeleton approaching to take the golden weapon without noticing the obvious dragon head looming over them. Pharaoh's Quest depends heavily on the statue-like look of its monstrous guardian creatures, and for this a completely brickbuilt design is the order of the day.