Aanchir

Why not? It suited many Dr. Seuss animals just fine! But anyway, I think the parts on his front two appendages look more like claws than stingers. Thornraxx: "Beware my stinger tail! Err, no, wait, is it a tail or a leg? It might actually be an arm, come to think of it..."

I'm afraid the axle-pusher would get in the way of a lot of things-- separating plates from underneath larger bricks looks like it would pose problems. It seems odd that there would be design flaws since the need to put bricks together and take them apart would be one thing you'd think designers would know all too well. Of course, I'm sure that if there is a generally unfavorable reaction to the new brick separator, it shouldn't be impossible to bring the old one or something like it back in its place.

Well, TLG considered it an action, at least enough to advertise its "spinning feature". I agree it's a pretty lousy action feature (it would work better if the center section spun, or the whole staff spun, and you could spin it from the base rather than needing to put your hand on the blades themselves). Action figures, though, don't really need "action features"; the word "action" is just thrown in to make it sound MANLY. I guess there's action involved in the actual playing with the toy, regardless of whether it has any inherent action features besides movable joints. But that's really beside the point; in truth there's nothing separating dolls from action figures besides that dolls have a stigma of only being for girls. Also, on a side note, what's this about Thornraxx having three legs? I interpreted it as just two arms and a tail, like the Nui-Rama.

I would agree about the added complexity, except for the fact that many sets with gears involved extremely specialized "gearbox"-style torsos. Many MOCists found creative uses for these torsos, but I much preferred the later, more versatile torso designs. I don't think that having gear functions strictly goes against the nature of an action figure, but at the same time it's not totally in sync for the reason many kids tend to buy action figures; that is, for role play. Gear functions usually offer an imprecise sort of control over the character's movements, as opposed to the more direct control that regular articulation points tend to offer.

The QAR is definitely larger and more structurally impressive, although I'm sure some people might prefer the Pearl. I've seen criticisms of the QAR saying it's just too overloaded with detail, and while I think the details are used tastefully I can see where those criticisms are coming from.

Agreed. Personally, I don't miss the gears. Occasionally as BIONICLE moved onward I would occasionally enjoy pulling down my older Toa Mata sets and having them swing their arms around. But when the sets were actually out, this was not how I actually played with them (besides, of course, Pohatu, whose kicking feature was extremely fun). Instead, I preferred to use the figures to act out stories, in which case the gear functions didn't really help with much. I loved the vehicle sets of 2008 as they provided an instance where gears could be included in sets and not feel out-of-place. In a sense, the gear functions were a relic from the early days of BIONICLE when kids were above all else expected to make their sets "fight", much like the earlier Competition/Cyber-Slam theme. This is also why the masks were attached in a somewhat flimsy fashion-- the objective of the fights was of course to knock off your opponent's mask. The real end of the gear functions presumably came when TLG realized this wasn't how people wanted to play with their action figures. Kids wanted greater control in the form of posability and so forth, so that they could use the figures to tell real stories rather than just battle competitively (the heavily story-based nature of the theme probably had lots to do with this). I feel that in 2003 when some of these play features were abandoned, BIONICLE genuinely became more of a "toy" and less of a "game". I still think the gear functions were brilliant, and some of the Rahi sets were extremely fun to play with in more of a "game" context. But overall, I felt that the change between 2003 and 2004, with play features becoming less competitive and the theme abandoning the Technic title brought the theme closer to its core essence as an action figure theme (something which I feel, by adopting a more uniform building style with fewer Technic-based builds, Hero Factory has continued). Ironically, Ninjago has recently emerged with many design characteristics similar to early BIONICLE: an in-depth story, a colorful and diverse fantasy universe, and game-based gimmicks for play, demonstrating that within LEGO there is still a place for these sorts of ideas. Action figures just might not be that place.

I don't know if there will ever be a Cafe Corner or Market Street with an interior as a set. It really depends on whether TLG wants to re-release those sets at all. And if they do choose to re-release them, it comes down to whether they'd rather fix what many considered a flaw in the first release, and risk people feeling the re-release is inauthentic, or release the sets as they originally appeared, and risk the re-release being seen as unimaginative or redundant. In the meantime, adding an interior to those sets is fair game to MOCists. I once tried to create an interior to the Cafe Corner on LDD, since I didn't have the pieces in real life. Unfortunately, some of its building techniques aren't very friendly on LDD, so I never was able to finish that project. My twin brother had marginally more success with the Market Street,turning the lower floor of the blue building into a bakery.

How is it unimaginative to make the modular buildings at a smaller scale, just because other people had already done it? You might as well call the original MOCs you linked to "unimaginative", because the modulars themselves had already been done. As it is, TLG's mini modulars are at a different scale than the first and third MOCs you linked to, and (IMHO) much better than the second one you linked to. Think of it this way: suppose someone made custom Pirates of the Caribbean figures, and then TLG released a Pirates of the Caribbean theme with real PotC minifigures. Are they stealing the idea of the first person to make figures of those characters? No, they're just drawing inspiration from the same source. TLG frankly doesn't have any reason to care whether AFOLs have explored an idea before-- and if they do even acknowledge that, it's more of a reason to explore that same idea, not less, since it shows that fans have an interest in that sort of thing.

The Godzilla ones (and probably these too) originate from a blog entry on Brickipedia early this year. They're 100% bogus.

This is most excellent. It reminds me of this and the many similar MOCs that have emerged, but at an even smaller scale (1:4 instead of 1:2). Of course, the disadvantage to 1:4 rather than 1:2 scale is that 1:2 scale would make it easier to populate this set with microfigs. Also, 1:4 scale requires some proportions to be incredibly skewed, but that's part of what gives this set its charm. On one hand, I'm disappointed that the Pet Shop isn't included. On the other, it leaves freedom for us MOCists to make our own, as well as the possibility that there might be an "expansion" to this with the Pet Shop and future modular buildings. I had been trying to make a 1:2 scale pet shop myself on LDD; this gives me an additional challenge. This set also has a bunch of BIONICLE Barraki eyes in Transparent Yellow, which had previously only been available in the Lunar Command game. So this may be many US buyers' first chance to get those! Of course, this one's only available to VIP members, but I'm sure this will cause a great number of people to become a part of the VIP program who weren't before! I wonder whether the Hotel sign is printed or stickered? A printed one might not be all that versatile, since the letters have the same odd proportions as the brickbuilt nature of the full-sized sign forced the original Cafe Corner set to have. On the other hand, I'm sure many AFOLs would love a printed sign, if only for the sheer novelty of having such wonderful brick art immortalized as a single piece. Also neat to see Market Street included. A lot of times it doesn't seem to be counted among the modular buildings since it was a Factory set, and I guess some AFOLs considered it sub-par. But I guess now it finally is being credited by TLG as an official modular building! EDIT: And Etzel, the orange piece in that picture seems to be the new brick separator that was also seen in Bricks & More sets in the leaked 2012 retailer's catalog!

I kind of agree. But should it be just one questions thread, or separate ones for the separate LEGO software (LDD, MLCAD, etc)?

Well, variable minifigures throw a huge complication into the packing and production process. For one thing, TLG tends to try and keep costs down by re-using torsos in numerous sets, so having multiple varieties per set would be somewhat costly. Arguably the cost factor could be eliminated just by having three different hobbits and more than three sets with the "variable hobbits", for instance, but there are other problems that also emerge. For instance, some people might not like duplicates-- unlike the collectible minifigures, these aren't exactly "impulse sets" that you can just afford to keep buying more of until you have the parts you want. Also, there's the issue of customer satisfaction-- the "variable" nature of the figs would have to be presented quite blatantly on the packaging, and even if it was there would still be people disappointed that their set doesn't contain the same contents as pictured on the main box image (we get plenty of that already just from last-minute production changes). Sets with variable contents wouldn't be totally absurd. Many BIONICLE sets had variable contents while still being larger investments than the collectible minifigures-- the Bohrok and Bohrok-Va had rubber "brains" called Krana that could appear in one of eight shapes in each set (since each one of these twelve sets had a different color of Krana, a full collection of all shapes in all colors would include 96 Krana). Thankfully for collectors, rather than having to buy huge quantities of Bohrok to amass such a collection, there were also Krana packs that included 3 Krana and two masks from the previous years in new gold and silver (Yellow Flip/Flop and Silver Flip/Flop, respectively) colors. This sort of model was repeated several times during BIONICLE. The very next year there were the Bohrok-Kal sets which had Krana-Kal-- the same eight shapes as the Krana, but in metallic colors. Next were the Rahkshi, with six shapes of "Kraata" slugs in a whopping 42 two-color blended patterns-- a grand total of 252 possible Kraata, not including the six solid purple "Shadow Kraata" appearing in a later production run of the Rahkshi sets, or the single Transparent Fluorescent Reddish Orange Kraata included with a pair of BIONICLE-themed Nike tennis shoes (each Rahkshi set, again, only had one color pattern of Kraata included; this meant that 36 of the color patterns could only be obtained through Kraata packs). Would printed patterns be possible to randomize in this way? Certainly. The 2005 collectibles, included in all that year's sets, were printed with random letter and number combinations in the BIONICLE alphabet (which had to be decoded), redeemable for points that could be put towards online bonus content like games and videos. Even this year's Hero Factory canisters have printed codes underneath the lids of the packaging, unlocking online games (although these are much less sophisticated prints than appear on most LEGO parts). A bigger question would be whether it would be profitable. The randomly-packaged collectible packs were not profitable for TLG in the long run, and were cancelled after 2005 in favor of identically-packaged "ammo packs". Randomized contents in larger sets also ended after 2005. The Collectible Minifigures suggest that blind packaging could maybe be more feasible in System sets, but I don't think "variable" figs in larger sets are the way to do it; it could too easily just lead to customer dissatisfaction. Hey, I don't know what kind of thoughts you expect me to contribute. I was a major skeptic before there were any really trustworthy sources claiming this would happen. Now, I'm not so sure-- it seems possible, and unless various sources we have are lying, probable, even though I'm not yet convinced that LotR sets are a certainty. Some of Elander's suggestions are a little ambitious and over-the-top, seeing as many don't have precedent in other LEGO themes, but frankly a discussion of whether the theme will or will not happen would quickly get repetitive. He and some of the other posters in this topic have merely gone on to the bigger question of: If LotR sets happen, what kind of sets could be expected, and how would some of the more challenging parts of the franchise be handled? Something I just want to point out: the One Ring in such a theme could be done with the new 1x1 round tile that was seen in some sets from the 2012 retailer's catalog. It has been seen to be printable in the Ninjago sets for 2012, and although still not a ring that could be worn on a minifigure's fingers (seeing as they don't have any ), it would be a lot more convincing as a ring than one printed on a regular, square 1x1 tile.

Well, it's not really a quality control issue, more of a design issue. Granted, the poor design could be considered bad quality, but not really in the way quality control would be concerned with. Not sure if I've mentioned it, but another thing that bothers me about this new mold, besides the neck problem, is the overall shape. I like the more detailed texture of this new one, but on certain torsos like the female one shown in WhiteFang's post, the more "rectangular" life vest's failure to match up with the more "trapezoidal" minifigure torso makes it look like the belt just stops at the edges of the life vest rather than going around the waist. Many other torso accessories have been designed with more care regarding that, such as most suits of armor. I can't remember the last time I've been so disappointed in a new part that replaced an older one. Instances like the ninja swords and flames were minor changes that never really impacted me negatively. But this is a much more significantly different design than the one it replaces, so it's a real downer that there are so many flaws to this new version and no flaws in the old version that necessitated such a change.

Very nice, and a great upgrade to the original calendar, since you don't have to take it apart and rebuild it from scratch every month! Of course, one wonders if TLG might have intended for you to take it apart and rebuild it each month, since building and rebuilding is so integral to the LEGO experience. Do you have something to do with months that don't have a 29th, 30th, or 31st day, so that the calendar doesn't have any empty spaces? Obviously it isn't hard; all it would take is a few extra "blank" days. Also, I see a large drawer on the bottom. Is that for storing the days and months you aren't using? What about the smaller drawer to the bottom left? One wonders what people with these calendars will come up with next. I haven't done anything with mine really, being at college and having limited parts at my disposal (just my Ninjago sets, Hero Factory sets, Atlantis sets, and collectible minifigures). But the ways people have customized these gets the creative gears turning in my head. I anxiously await the day someone creates a Mindstorms calendar that changes itself, for instance!

I voted "good" for the moderation and general atmosphere. About the forum in general, I had to mention that there are a few things that annoy me, such as the amount of questions we sometimes see that don't seem to merit their own topics, as well as the inconsistency in enforcing MOC topic rules. Some MOCs have their own topics here, when the forum rules at least used to suggest LDD MOC topics should be in the subforums for their respective themes. I mentioned there also seem to be a few things missing. Was there ever a "welcome" topic for this subforum? I can't seem to find it, hence why I'm not sure if the "digital MOCs belong in the subforums of their respective themes" rule is still applicable.

Okay, good. With such a radical redesign, I'm glad it gets a new part number. Some more minor redesigns keep the old part number, pretty effectively ending any possibility of the older ones appearing in sets. Examples include the new flames without the side-pins, which are still 6126 just like the old ones, or the new square-hilt-guard ninja swords, which are still 30173. The ninja swords are a slight aversion in that octagonal-hilt-guard ones still exist in sets (specifically the Ninjago spinner sets), but these are in fact not the "classic" ninja swords but rather an earlier, less obvious redesign from the collectible minifigures that was assigned a new part number (88420). Another ironic example is the minifigure head: many Ninjago heads in non-spinner sets are the new "stud recessed" variety (still classified as 3626), while to my knowledge this transition doesn't extend to the Ninjago spinner sets (not sure what the part number for Chinese-made minifigure heads is). The first series of collectible minifigures, as far as I am aware, had new molds and new part numbers for all of the pieces it included, and any Chinese-made parts for which a Collectible Minifigures version was introduced will include the collectible minfigure version-- thus, the Ninjago spinners use the collectible minifigure version of the minifigure heads, torsos, and legs, and swords. The different also have different element IDs, so Kai's head in the spinner sets is 4613390 and his head in other sets is 4611424. Collectible minifigures after Series 2 started using older part numbers without any hesitation, so for instance the Samurai's armor is still the classic variety. But anyway, I got sidetracked a bit. My point is that the life jacket being a new part number may mean the old one can still be re-introduced to sets in the future if TLG decided an overall change to the new one wasn't favorable.

Is that all just guesswork? Because from my experience, something's radically wrong if a company-- even a successful company-- can just pour money down another company's throat like that. Companies don't pay other companies to create merchandise for them without expecting any return on that investment. What reason do you have to believe that the sales for this theme are poor, or that Spongebob fans don't buy them? And moreover, does it matter whether LEGO fans or Spongebob fans are the ones buying them? They're obviously still profitable for both TLG and Nickelodeon or there would not be any new sets coming out. Really, the only reason we've had for believing that sales are poor for this theme is that new sets stopped coming out for a year or two. And all that really suggests is that sales were poor in 2009. It doesn't say anything about other years.

Well, I think Spongebob Squarepants's longevity as a theme makes plenty of sense. Spongebob is a lighthearted kids' cartoon that has had success selling merchandise since it first launched. LEGO is a lighthearted kids' toy targeting a similar demographic, and the success of licensed LEGO themes depend on how consistently the IP they are based on sells merchandise. And considering there's a new season of the show every year, it remains in the public consciousness, unlike some movie-based themes where merchandise sales begin to dwindle as soon as the latest movie leaves theaters.

I find it amusing that AFOL color names confuse TLG as much as TLG's color names confuse many AFOLS! But anyway, I'm glad to see confirmation that TLG did, in fact, intend to make the parts in Metalized Gold in the first place, since that helps explain why the parts seem designed for Metalized Gold and look so low-quality in Warm Gold. Here's hoping that future sets using these molds will use Metalized Gold from the get-go. It is kind of odd that they didn't have the material available at all to make the parts in the correct color. You don't think of a major company like TLG having a materials shortage. Maybe it has something to do with where the coins and gold bars are produced? If they're made in China, then they'd probably be the Chinese plant's first-ever chrome parts. Or, it could have just been a matter of them being made in one of the older facilities and a shipment the material being delayed, making it so TLG couldn't restock on it in time to fill a full production run of new sets. Whatever the case, it's good to see that it seems to have been a temporary issue, given that the parts now exist in the proper color for Customer Service to distribute to dissatisfied customers.

In the case of Dekar, I pronounce his name "Day-Car". It just comes off my tongue a lot more naturally than Deh-car would. Another Ninjago example: I pronouced the character Nya's name as "Nye-uh", but according to the cartoon series it's "Nee-uh". So I'm trying to get used to pronouncing it correctly, though I've had difficulty.

Given its appearance in the retailers' catalog for 2012, I'm thinking January 2012 as an official release date, and certainly no later than April 2012. If its official release date is in January then certain retailers can be expected to carry it in November or December this year in order to take advantage of the Christmas rush.

Not sure how I feel about the new lifevest... for one, I have a lot of nostalgia for the old one, since it was in the first set I ever owned. Also, this new one doesn't cover up the torso especially well, making the area with the "belt" a little bit unconvincing. The extension of the neck doesn't bother me too much (the old one sort of did it too if I remember correctly), but in general I think it probably could have been engineered much better. It's kind of surprising that it was substituted into many of this year's sets that otherwise have the older life vest. Usually when stuff like this happens, there's a very small discrepancy between the older part (usually the one in official pics) and the newer part that appears in its place-- an example is the use of ninja swords with square hilt guards versus ones with octagonal hilt guards. This is a much more visible and significant change, to the extent that this lifevest feels like a brand new part design rather than just a retooling of the old design. Out of curiosity, does it have a part number embossed on it anywhere?

Pretty creative building techniques and part use, but there are a couple things that bother me about this model. For one thing, the hips are extremely wide. I understand the proportions are meant to be sort of cartoony and not realistic, but the end result is a bit awkward because the legs are extremely far apart, making her look "bowlegged". Another problem with the hips is that the Hero torso armor, while it helps fill them out, also causes them to look extremely square where they meet the waist, rather than having gentler curves. Overall, I like the building techniques and the uniqueness they lend the model, but the end result is visually somewhat confusing and not particularly feminine-looking except in a very abstract sense. With that said, your photography for this model is great! I love the third and fourth poses you show the model in. They're extremely lively and show how the unconventional build you used lends itself to a wide variety of poses.

Care to share the reasons with us? I'm pretty curious.

Yeah, and I reckon the reason they chose Sebulba's Podracer as one of the first "planets" sets is because it's (both visually and in terms of size) one of the most impressive vehicles associated with Tatooine. I guess a Sandcrawler would have also been a possibility, but I think kids would prefer a speedy and dangerous racing vehicle to an anvil-shaped mining vehicle. It also has more details that make for an appealing MINI, although I'm personally not a big fan of it-- the proportions bug me. But long story short, Tatooine is one of the most distinctive Star Wars locations, therefore Sebulba's Podracer, therefore Sebulba. That's how I imagine it happened.