Aanchir

Well my problem with all the "Bring Back" ideas in Cuusoo isn't that it's unlikely to happen. Maybe with some of the ambitious things like "Bring Back BIONICLE", it wouldn't be feasible, but remember that the designers are still able to adapt any ideas that get enough support. So presumably they could at least put out a re-imagined monorail, for instance. The only thing Cuusoo serves to do is tell them that there's fan interest in a set along those lines. My problem with this sort of idea is that it sort of reflects badly on the LEGO Community, IMO. Cuusoo, like LEGO in general, is about creativity, and telling TLG that you want something they've already done doesn't strike me as all that creative. Note that I haven't spent all that much time on Cuusoo so haven't had time to view all the non-remake suggestions, but the ones people seem to be advertising in this topic are almost all for remakes, and not for new ideas TLG hasn't touched upon. On a side note, perhaps one reason we're not seeing as many original ideas being promoted here is because people aren't confident in their ability to become successful. I have an idea for modular road plates using 8x16 tiles that I wish TLG would use, but I haven't suggested it through Cuusoo-- partly because, if we are to judge by the successful suggestions on the Japanese site, the Cuusoo model isn't as much about accessories and building supplies as it is about creative models that TLG hasn't even thought about. Besides, I know road plates can be a controversial issue and I doubt everyone would see the benefits of my road plate idea the way I do.

I'm a bit surprised so many people prefer the video game one to the set. While it's more accurate both to the film depiction of the Black Pearl and to the structure of a real ship, it's also waaaaay larger than the scale that is typical for LEGO pirate ships. In the City theme that would be a deal-breaker for many people-- they already complain about the size of vehicles, boats, and aircraft, although in this case the complaints are more about large <insert that tiresome argument> pieces than about the size being inaccurate (and <insert that tiresome argument> pieces are pretty much par for the course with LEGO pirate ships, as it's difficult otherwise to replicate the hull shape). There's also the fact that, as seen in the screenshots posted a few posts up, the parts of the video game's Black Pearl are sometimes deliberately out-of-proportion. Compare the size of the rigging to the size of the cannons. Of course, I guess a ship this size would only be useful as a display piece (like the UCS Star Wars sets), and so you might as well use actual string for the rigging.

He probably has a few sites like that (I know he has a Facebook), but I'm pretty sure he doesn't want random fans contacting him through those sorts of sites. Dude has a personal life, you know. Once BZPower is back people should be able to contact him; until then all we can do is be patient. I wonder whether the holdup in BIONICLEstory.com updates is due to him being too busy with the Ninjago graphic novels to write them, or because the web team is too busy with the themes still on store shelves to update the site.

Very excellent. Although I at first didn't notice it and was too caught up with the wonderfulness of a robot with the last name "Captcha". I haven't had the patience to play through much of Mission: Savage Planet, so I didn't even realize that there were any side-characters specific to that game. Nice to see that there are, and that they're quite creative in naming!

A-durr. Thanks for correcting my silly mistake. Can't believe I didn't notice that myself. The ones Brickset has listed are the ones that were listed on the Barnes and Noble website without confidential pics, so it's possible that the smaller heroes and villains were not yet listed. Although then one would think Breez would have been there... so I dunno. Maybe either Brickset or Barnes and Noble was just inconsistent

*facepalm* What gives you the impression that Cuusoo exists for asking for a full theme to return? Introducing a new theme takes lots of market research and planning-- far beyond what's needed for introducing a single set. I think the best you could hope for with a BIONICLE proposal through Cuusoo is a modernized tribute to the theme's legacy. Oh wait. Already been done. Could be done better, perhaps. But probably not through Cuusoo. This isn't even getting into how obnoxious I feel it is that so many BIONICLE fans have refused to move on, or have acted spiteful towards TLG and towards any other themes TLG introduces that aren't BIONICLE. It's hard to read the comments on that Cuusoo proposal without cringing. I loved BIONICLE, I would like more tributes to it in today's sets as well, but I can't yet bring myself to vote for that initiative if it means aligning myself with that group of fans. As I said on Cuusoo, I don't want to be a part of a group that lacked the strength to say goodbye.

To be fair, there wouldn't necessarily have been a press conference or TV report on the 3.0 version even if it were rolled out for all heroes. The reason the 2.0 upgrade was noteworthy at all was because it was the first time Hero Factory had used the upgrade process at all. You might get a press conference with your local police department if they introduce a motorcycle police division; you're not as likely to get one every time the city purchases a new model of motorcycle for them to use. I don't think it will be necessary to show 3.0 versions of Breez, Evo, and Surge, not because of any storyline reasons but rather because unlike with Bulk and Stringer in Savage Planet, 2.0 heroes won't look out-of-place next to 3.0 heroes, and so I can't think of any reason the animators would feel a need to create new headgear for those three. Keep in mind that this is an animation studio that has so far been quite efficient with reusing already-rendered models for older versions of characters-- Bulk and Stringer both just had their 3.0 models with 2.0 helmets and name badges, while Rocka used design elements from the three heroes who didn't appear in Savage Planet (Evo 2.0's weapon and headgear that was a blend of that in Breez and Surge 2.0). Modified versions of existing characters have also been used for non-set characters in all three waves-- Daniela Capricorn is a recolored Lucy with different hair, Thresher is a recolored Bulk with a sonic boom weapon, etc. I don't think the animation team is going to be making custom helmet designs for Breez, Surge, and Evo in any eventuality, so either they'll be given arbitrary pre-existing 3.0 helmets and weapons (presumably based on 3.0 characters not appearing in the episode) or they'll be shown in their 2.0 forms. I anticipate the latter just by virtue of it being less work and wasted time for the animators. Plus, the lack of version numbers for the latest version basically eliminates any implication that those three would be "skipping a version" to get the newest upgrade. Alternatively (and this is not what I expect, only what I think would be a cool possibility), when being assigned their new mission, Zib/Makuro/whoever could tell Furno and folks something along the lines of "While you were on your last mission, your teammates Breez, Surge and Evo tested a new upgrade process that allows for *insert technobabble here*." Cue those three walking into the room and posing, already in their new forms. Not only does that prevent any odd juxtaposition of 2.0 and 3.0 heroes, it would cut the time needed to show the "upgrade sequence" in half while still presenting the new set designs to the audience quite dramatically. EDIT: Corrected Hero mix-up pointed out by Vinyl Scratch.

It's probably a regional name. Lots of themes have had character names specific to certain regions, some of which are even found in set names. I haven't done nearly as much research into old Castle themes as I have into old Space themes, but in the U.K. the Forestman was just plain old "Robin Hood" (as seen in set 6054 "Robin Hood's Tree Hideaway", 6066 "Robin Hood's Secret Cave", and 6077 "Robin's Lake Stronghold"). If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say "Rob N. Hood" would probably be a U.S. name, since the names from U.S. and U.K. catalogs and story media tend to be the most lasting names from my experience. It's noteworthy that Rob N. Hood was the U.S. name for the main character of the later regionally-exclusive Dark Forest theme, as seen in the video game LEGO Racers and LEGO Mania Magazines. So it's possible that if the forestman's name isn't sourced from the original Forestmen theme, the name could have been retconned onto him after Dark Forest. Alternatively, this topic shows all four of this year's Bricktober magnets, and the packaging for him just says Forestman. So "Rob N. Hood" could just be a result of an over-ambitious press release writer grasping for a name with more specificity to the character than just "Forestman". The name Forestman doesn't have as much specificity since it's been used also for the one in the Series 1 Minifigures as well as any other figs from that original castle subtheme. Meanwhile, I can't help but notice that all the figs in this new Bricktober promotion were already produced for Vintage Minifigure Collections: the knight and forestman in volume 4, the black classic spaceman in Volume 2, and the white Ninja Princess in volume 5. So the minifigures themselves aren't all that exclusive, although I'm sure getting your hands on the vintage minifigure collections is no easy task. Since both the vintage minifigure collections and the Bricktober magnet figs are made in China, this Bricktober event could have been just a means of getting rid of surplus produced then (or taking advantage of printing patterns already available). Other parts from the vintage minifigure collections have occasionally turned up in LEGO store Build-A-Mini stations, so they may still (or at least, someday) be available to people who miss out on this event, or who have no use for glued minifigures.

No, Cuusoo's been around longer than Octopus. The Japanese version of the site is fully operational, while the beta version of the international LEGO Cuusoo has been up for a while (here's their Facebook page, which was started early this year). Octopus is still in closed beta.

They're still produced to my knowledge, and obviously still legal tender, but they aren't widely used by a longshot.

Don't Best Lock figs have semicircular toes rather than rectangular ones? I have owned a few Best Lock sets, so unless they've changed their figure design (which wouldn't be unwelcome; I don't have any special fondness for Best Lock figs) then I thought there were some greater distinctions in the legs.

Well, Pharaoh's Quest wasn't based on real history. It was based on modern fiction like the movie "The Mummy" or the countless tales of mummy curses that began to emerge during the Egyptology craze many years ago. An authentic theme based on Egyptian history would be cool, but real ancient Egyptian history doesn't have nearly the same strong presence in popular culture as European medieval history. Meanwhile, how could the Atlantis theme have been made into a "historic" theme? The actual existence of Atlantis, or at least everything that's ever been known about it, is completely speculative. There are no real historical records that tell us anything about the place that could be used as the basis for a theme. And again, the idea of Atlantis was from the beginning to be a new underwater adventure theme. Chances are if it were anything other than what it finally ended up being, it would have just been divers looking for some different sort of treasure. As for Ninjago, it's closer to being a historic theme than any of the two previous examples, just by virtue of its authentic Japanese architectural styles and semi-historic setting. But once more, I don't think it was ever envisioned as a possible historic theme. Marketing materials for the theme seem to suggest that TLG intended for it to be their next "BIONICLE"-- that is to say, a fantasy-intensive "story theme" with a strong multimedia presence. A realistic Ninja theme would be possible, as was done in 1998 (using a loose definition of "realistic"). But as with Pharaoh's Quest mentioned above, authentic Japanese feudal history doesn't have nearly as strong a presence in popular culture as more fantasy-based martial arts stories, and certainly not the pop culture presence of European feudal history. I wouldn't say it's as much that real history is "uncool" as that it is, in many ways, unknown. Kids in the U.S. learn at least a few ancient history lessons as early as the third grade, but these are not in-depth lessons, and they usually don't resonate with kids the same way as more imaginative fantasy stories in historical or semi-historical settings. At the same time, LEGO themes being in the sway of popular culture means that the status quo can change easily. I strongly feel that if family-friendly western films ever make a sensational comeback, that might be all it takes for the Western theme to once again be marketable. Another factor in TLG's use of character-driven "adventure themes" as opposed to authentic historical themes might be the fact that some of TLG's competitors already have historically-based products on the market, and those that don't could easily produce them. By creating more imaginative fantasy themes, TLG can at least partly ensure that their products remain unique compared to competitors' products. As for what other historic themes could take the place of Kingdoms, I don't think anything other than a European medieval history-based theme (even a more fantasy-oriented one like Knights' Kingdom II or fantasy-era Castle) could really fill that niche in TLG's product lineup. This isn't to say that other themes like an Ancient Rome-based theme would be completely without potential, but in place of a Castle theme? I don't think other historical periods or settings have enough staying power in Western pop culture to have a comparable rate of success. Especially as, despite not being a castle collector myself, I have to admit castles can be really, really fun to build.

Didn't we hear that that would be a summer set, though? In that case, it wouldn't necessarily have to be a store exclusive for us to not have information at this stage. It could even be another of the "Planets" sets for all we know.

Well, there's a difference with TLG printing things because TLG has to mass-produce minifigure parts, rather than doing smaller-scale printing. But I agree, if they had a machine for printing on the back of minifig legs they could do it, and nothing's stopping them from acquiring such a machine. I think it's probably more about costs than anything else-- TLG probably wouldn't invest in a machine for printing the back surface of minifigure legs unless they felt it would open up a lot of opportunities for them, so the limited printing space on the backs of the legs and the already-interrupted surface could very easily be factors in them not making the investment and updating their minifig printing process this way. At the same time, that's not to say that they'll never take the plunge-- years ago I would have considered side printing on minifigure legs a pipe dream, but now TLG has started to make the commonplace not just in the collectible minifigures but now in mainstream themes. The sky's the limit! Anyway, as for these sets, I'm marginally impressed. Two-Face's color scheme isn't what I'm used to, and doesn't have the same symbolism as the colors black and white, but it is in line with his first comics appearance-- our first example of TLG drawing directly from the classic comics rather than more modern or mainstream appearances. The Batmobile and Batwing both feel OK, but I kind of preferred the old ones. It's possible that these early pics just give a bad impression, though, and that the final sets will be as impressive as the 2006 versions or more so. I wonder how Batman's bat-wing jetpack thing in the Batman vs. Catwoman set is assembled. If it's just a one piece neck accessory, its uses could be limited, but if it's two separate wings, or even a single wing piece attached to a pre-existing neck accessory, then it could be versatile. If the angle of the wings could be changed then it would be excellent in tan or dark tan to depict the wing-packs seen in the Ninjago television series! In some ways, the Batcave seems excellent, while in others it seems underwhelming. Probably best to wait for better pics of that one. I can't really judge the Superman vs. Lex Luthor set with regards to the characters, as I'm not a big Superman fan, so for all I know having Lex Luthor in a mech could be absurd-- he's supposed to be a corrupt corporate executive, am I right? With that said, I do know enough about the franchise to know he's been depicted many different ways, from being a schemer who rarely gets his hands dirty to stealing forty cakes (and that's terrible). So it's certainly not out of the question to have him in a mech. And anyway, the mech itself looks fairly nice. In closing, I look forward to better pics of this theme! It has a lot of potential!

I agree, but keep in mind that while the piece is made for a 4-wide chassis, it's usually used on vehicles with at least a 6-wide wheelbase. Also note that I mentioned an enclosed vehicle-- one of the flaws of that part is that it is difficult to use on anything but a convertible. The Indiana Jones theme did a fairly good job in the sets 7682 and 7622, but both of those sets' vehicles are 6-wide. I think the blue pickup in that set looks very realistic compared to the larger trucks. I have seen similarly-small delivery trucks in real life, even though I couldn't tell you the model without significant research. Wikipedia isn't helping me; can't find any that quite resemble the ones I've seen. The Mini Pickup Truck is even smaller than any I remember. The Kei truck is somewhat similar in shape and size, but it doesn't mention anything about them being used in Europe, and I remember some type of small pick-up trucks from my trip to Rome several years ago. The height of the orange truck does seem a bit excessive, and I agree that there are other sets where that is also a problem. But then again, a quick look at one of the images on Wikipedia's Tow Truck article suggests that it might be based on the Volvo FH12, which is a massive vehicle in its own right. Agreed. It's really a matter of perspective. I suppose I'm not an excellent judge of this as it has been forever since I have owned a City set that included a building, and I tend to use LEGO road plates more than buildings as my reference when measuring whether a vehicle I build on LDD is excessive in size.

I, for one, disagree. I like how there's now a wider range of sizes for vehicles in LEGO City. Back when stuff was invariably 4 studs wide, most cars were about the same size. Now, we have varations, with compact cars using the old 4x7 chassis, sleek, medium-sized sports cars, and finally SUVs like in the 4WD and Horse Trailer set. Then there are trucks and buses which are even larger. I much prefer this to old LEGO Town scales, and to be honest I would even argue that there aren't enough 6-wide vehicles in LEGO City, and those which there are haven't yet perfected the system, since 6-wide is the minimum even-number width at which you can have two minifigures seated next to each other in an enclosed vehicle. I like that sense of realism compared to the four-stud standard of years past, since now there are road vehicles that can fit more than one minifigure-- even if so far, TLG hasn't been much more ambitious than just seating minifigures one in front of the other. I understand how it's largely a matter of opinion, and I agree that it's a bit of a problem that as vehicle scales have grown more realistic, building scales have not adjusted to match. I'm not much of a City buyer myself, so my opinion probably doesn't count too much anyway-- most of the City building I do is building vehicles from real life either using physical bricks or LDD. Still, I much prefer the varied sizes of today's City vehicles to the exclusively-four-stud-wide vehicles that used to be ubiquitous in LEGO Town. If there were signs that LEGO City vehicles had grown significantly in size since six-stud vehicles began to emerge, then I would definitely agree that it's a process I want to halt. I love the enormously-oversized vehicles in themes like Agents; don't get me wrong. But even though I don't buy City sets, I pay close attention to what goes on in the City theme because I feel it is the ruler by which all other themes are measured. It sets the standard for "real life" in LEGO, whether in terms of scale or level of detail. And while I tolerate things which are oversized by necessity like buses, a continuous drift towards larger road vehicles would not be to my liking. Incidentally, my preferred scale for building road vehicles from real life is 1:36. I think this is a comfortable midpoint between a 1:48 width-based scale (which would tend to make minifigures three feet tall but a comfortably two feet wide with arms at their sides) and a 1:24 height-based scale (which would make them six feet tall but four feet wide with arms at their sides). A Ford Excursion, a fairly large SUV, would be seven studs wide at this scale, which is the perfect size for using a six-stud chassis plus the current wheel well piece. A smart car, one of the smallest compact cars ubiquitous in the United States, would be around four studs wide, which matches the Small Car set's proportions almost exactly. But I understand that this scale is not realistic for all LEGO City vehicles. Cargo ships, spacecraft, and passenger aircraft would become obscenely large if this sort of scale were applied consistently for all LEGO City sets. Sometimes it just comes down to what size is necessary to depict all the features you want to include, and what size fits best in a City layout.

No, but I don't think they'd be losing sleep over it either. Kids will probably accept that they're robots that superficially resemble people and leave it at that. They won't be worried about whether the parts that resemble people like mouths or muscle-shaped armor serve any functional purpose. Do kids worry about why robots in the Mega Man series tend to resemble humans so closely?

It used to be done for black Technic pins, but not for black parts in general since before my lifetime (6890 is one example from the 1980s). It's interesting that it's now being used for all pieces once more. Other quirks visible in the instructions include that the minifigures for this set are all in different bags, so instead of building them all at the beginning of the set, each minifigure comes with a different section of the ship. Has this been done with any other recent sets? I can't decide whether I like or dislike this design decision. One unusual consequence of this is the number of extra swords-- since most of the characters have swords and each bag with a sword needs to include an extra one, there's far more swords in the set than there are minifigures to wield them!

Thanks so much for sharing the link! I love the super-excellent LEGO-fied flag in this set. With LEGO swords and a slightly squared-off skull, it feels like it fits into a LEGO PotC universe (or just a regular LEGO Pirates universe) far better than the one in the QAR. The ship itself is mighty impressive, both in scale and in design. The stern is extremely stylish, much more so than I expected. The build also lends itself to a unique-looking vessel, with the unusual hull in the aft section of the ship. The sails aren't really significantly different than those of the QAR, but that's OK because those sails were plenty stylish on their own. I can't say I'd have preferred printing on the sails to give it that patchy look from the second film; the simplicity of plain black sails feels much more elegant. The interior of the ship isn't too fantastic-- it bothers me how few cannons there are, although my twin brother points out that those dual stairways could be used for recreating movie scenes with at least a vague feeling of authenticity. The captain's cabin isn't exciting, but it gets the job done. I like the top, rear, and sides all open. The bow of the ship is much better than I expected. I suppose part of this is because of the wings, which weren't particularly noticeable on the dark-colored box art we had seen but which fill in the gappy area just enough to make a difference. And I like the clever way they are done-- it would have been better if they were higher on the back, but I suppose that wouldn't be possible with that hair piece. Incidentally, I am still displeased with the bird (sparrow?) she is holding, because it still looks more like a quill to me than anything else. Maybe an Exo-Force robot hand clip piece could help? Or maybe taht would just make it look like she was holding a quill with a fork. Minifigures are of course excellent. The new figs' expressions capture the characters perfectly, while still maintaining LEGO-appropriate levels of simplicity and charm. The sea-creature-bits from Davy Jones's crew are somewhat limited in use due to all the barnacles and other "printed greebles" on them, but they still look pretty spiffy. Overall I am very impressed with this ship, and it certainly has all the quality it needs for its price point (at least, as a part of a licensed theme, relative to the QAR).

From where do we know about the planned lifespan of the Pirates theme? I thought it was kind of odd that everyone treated PotC as the reason for it ending, since there was a full year in between the two themes, but I could never find a source straight-up confirming that there was no connection between the end of Pirates and the beginning of PotC. If you have one it'd be a load off my mind (even moreso if it's a source like an interview that can be linked to). I think it's a bit early to be expecting Kingdoms to end too. I expected it to end when there were no January 2011 sets for the theme, and then there was an incredible summer wave. I felt the same thing about the Harry Potter theme to an extent, expecting Diagon Alley to be a "late to the party" D2C set like the Imperial Flagship, but instead that theme too returned in the summer with a substantial wave. Next year's situation for Kingdoms has no obvious precedent since it's a third year of a theme that's consistently gone without a January wave. Perhaps Kingdoms sets just tend to stay on shelves longer so TLG doesn't want to overproduce them. Or perhaps for some reason sets for this theme released in the summer sell better than those released in the beginning of the year. Since the LotR rumors still aren't anything more than rumors, I think it's a bit early to be expecting that theme to "kill off" Kingdoms. With that said, LotR and Kingdoms are not so different that the sales probably wouldn't impact each other. The difference between medieval fantasy and medieval history can be somewhat blurry for some kids. But considering that Kingdoms and Harry Potter, two themes with a fair number of castle settings, managed to coincide just fine, it's not out of the question for LotR and a new Kingdoms wave to be released in the same year. TLG knows better than any of us whether or not it's a risk to have the two on shelves simultaneously.

Pretty excellent! Of course, I tend to prefer something more stylized. Seeing photorealistic presidential portraits on parts being held by yellow-skinned, smiley-face minifigures just seems a bit of an odd juxtaposition. For that matter, seeing any printing that complex and intricate in a LEGO part would make me feel uneasy, because it makes other brick-built or printed details feel large, chunky, and imprecise by comparison. This is a problem I have with a lot of high-detail customs. Still, I'm sure lots of people will love these! Even I have a sort of a fondness for them. I like that the US dollars are printed on tan tiles; it makes them look very realistic! And I can imagine vendors at conventions like BrickFair near Washington, D.C. using the printed dollar tiles to make price charts for the goods they offer!

Darnit, I keep telling myself that I'm not going back to this, but then I notice color errors in a thumbnail and feel I have to step in. The streamer (4495) should be colored 297 Warm Gold (BL's Pearl Gold), not 24 Bright Yellow (BL's Yellow). The black 1x1 cones should use brick 59900, not 4589. The correct decorations for the dragon knight's legs and face are available. The face can be seen with the decoration tool (depending on your screen resolution), but all the decorations can be downloaded in my LDD Decorations file (you may have to scroll down). The two 1x1 round bricks (3062) and 1x1 plate with clip (60897) should be colored 199 Dark Stone Grey (Bricklink's Dark Bluish Gray) rather than 208 Light Stone Grey (Bricklink's Very Light Bluish Gray). The 3M Technic axle with stud (6587) should be colored 138 Sand Yellow (Bricklink's Dark Tan) rather than 283 Light Nougat (Bricklink's Light Flesh). The shield (3846), Technic half-bushings (32123) and Technic pins with studs (4274) should all be colored 194 Medium Stone Grey (Bricklink's Light Bluish Gray), not 208 Light Stone Grey. The lion knight's helmet (4503) should be colored 298 Cool Silver Drum Lacquered (Bricklink's Metallic Silver) rather than 315 Silver Metallic (Bricklink's Flat Silver in sets from 2010 and later). Incidentally, 298 Cool Silver Drum Lacquered isn't available by default in LEGO Universe mode, which you seemed to use for this model, but it is in LDD Extended Mode. Have you unlocked that yet? I'm sure you'll enjoy the wider selection of parts and colors. The dragon knight's helmet (89520) and battle axe (3848) should be colored 316 Titanium Metallic (Bricklink's Pearl Dark Gray in sets from 2010 and later), not 199 Dark Stone Grey. The sword on the decorative stand should be colored 316 Titanium Metallic, not 194 Medium Stone Grey. The 2M Technic pin/axles (6562) should be colored 5 Brick Yellow (Bricklink's Tan), not 283 Light Nougat. It can take a long time to learn the correct parts and colors to use in particular situations. I'd recommend using Superkalle's LDD Manager, a useful tool with its own built in color reference file and part lookup table. You can even import a Bricklink inventory to automatically generate all the necessary bricks on LDD! It's a fantastic resource to use when building on LDD. It's also a good strategy to have the set's Bricklink inventory open while building it on LDD. Bricklink isn't infallible, but it's a good way to be sure what color a part should be in since building instructions and photographs aren't always entirely clear. It can also be a good resource for distinguishing two near-identical parts, like the cones in this model. Also, sorry if I sound like an aloof know-it-all. I spent a long time studying LEGO's color names and numbers even before I began using LDD regularly, so I got a bit of a "head start". Back then I used to confuse color names horribly. Nowadays I like to try and educate others, but really it's a lot for anyone to remember, and often I still have to look things up myself. I hope the two things I recommended (LDD Extended Mode and LDD Manager) help you get adjusted to LDD's complexities and enhance your building experience!

I wonder what kind of printing might be on Davy Jones's torso and face underneath that tentacle-beard. I think it would be excellent if he had his key printed on his torso underneath his beard, even if it wouldn't serve much of a functional purpose during play since his beard-tentacles can't flex independently. His face under his tentacle-beard also wouldn't serve much purpose, but it could potentially give the face more versatility, maybe as one of his more generic sea-creature-crewmates in MOCs. His hat would be excellent on a skeleton or something in a sunken ship. Also, while I had already seen that his claw appears to be Medium Nougat, I hadn't observed that his peg-leg seems to be the same color! That might become a popular item for people wanting more variety in their pirates. Overall, if this is the end of the PotC line, it'll be a shame to see it go with this quality of minifigures. I'd have loved to see characters like Tia Dalma as minifigures. Perhaps the theme might come back when another movie is over the horizon, though.

I think 2005 was a pretty good year for LEGO City. Some of the sets felt kind of amateur in design, but they were moving towards being a bit more realistic than some of their World City and Town Jr. counterparts. The three which lightningtiger identifies are particularly outstanding (besides maybe the dump truck in the construction site set, which pales in comparison to later City sets). Meanwhile, I think the road plates introduced in 2005 are some of the best for using within an actual city. The only City set I know my family owned from 2005 was the XXL Mobile Crane, but looking at Brickset's list of 2005 City sets I can see a lot that manage to surpass their predecessors. Then again, I tend to have a generally positive attitude about a lot of things, so perhaps my opinion isn't as valid as that of someone with more discerning tastes. Certainly 2005 City sets had their weak points, such as the fire station and many of the impulse-sized sets. But it was a strong foundation for the City theme we have today, so I think 2005 can be appreciated just as much as many previous or subsequent years.

Sorry, although I don't quite understand in my post where I was rude. I thought I was pretty clear in saying that black was just what I was seeing, and that better pics could show it differently. I was feeling slightly upset and defensive when writing it, though, so I can understand how some of that might come across as rudeness in my post.