Aanchir

Matt? I think you mean Mark, a.k.a. Nabii. I'm pretty sure he's stated that these two figs will never go into full production; they were made specifically to represent Will and Kate in the royal wedding display.

I had thought the sorting was always by volume, not length or height. After all, in the previous version 8M Technic axles with end stops came significantly after 10M and 12M axles, with many larger-diameter parts appearing earlier. They are still in that same order. There are a lot of ordering quirks that can't be explained with any sort of priority system based on individual dimensions. And BasOne, both of those bricks were present in the last version. They may have been in different categories, though-- I'm not entirely sure.

They already have-- Rocka's bio uses masculine pronouns for him. Personally, I am a bit disappointed that there are no females in the 3.0 wave, but really I'd much rather have Breez back on the team and have some more cool colors to offset all the yellows, oranges, etc. than have Rocka be female. This isn't saying I want Breez to remain the only female hero, but frankly I think the color imbalance in the 3.0 wave is a bigger issue than the gender imbalance (now, I would be very disappointed if Breez never came back to the team, but I don't anticipate that considering that Bulk and Stringer both got another chance as canister sets). Anyway, I just watched Ordeal of Fire on Youtube with my little brother, and was fairly impressed. I liked the dialogue a lot. The pacing, as I expected, was much worse than in Rise of the Rookies-- let's hope that Savage Planet being four episodes will spare it that fate. One thing I definitely liked about Ordeal of Fire is that Breez and Surge got much more time in the spotlight than they had in Rise of the Rookies (rather than just offering commentary on RotR's "stars" Stormer and Furno). The animation was fairly good, even though some of the fight scenes were a bit awkward. I liked the animation of the upgrade process a great deal. Zib was still more annoying than fun in Ordeal of Fire. His voice actor (and script) in the television episodes just don't put as much life into the character as David Carr at ADVANCE did for the various online animations and Hero Factory FM. Mr. Makuro, on the other hand, continued to be awesome, even though the pacing made his change of mind regarding the upgrade ("It's too dangerous... oh, wait, you really want it? OK, sure!") feel fairly shallow.

Possibly the Death Star? That was what my twin brother suggested. Of course, the problem with that is that the TIE Interceptors appeared in RotJ rather than ANH, and so it would need to be the second Death Star. I don't think making a fully-enclosed "planet" of the second Death Star would be possible given its unfinished appearance-- especially not using the same mold as the other planets, since I fully expect the planets to share a spherical mold.

That's one of the sets my twin brother got at a discounted price last weekend, so I'll ask him to write a review. I don't know if we're opening that one until we get back up to college, though. Yesterday (against my better judgement) we built the Fire Temple, but it's one of several sets we've already opened since Brickfair, and given how much we spent on sets that weekend I want to save some for the future-- my family might not be buying any new LEGO again for months!

I suppose so, but that didn't stop me from using the wrong file when I first unlocked Universe mode.

I'd say update. People should have the option of using the new parts in the updated version, I think. I already updated, and I'm sure other builders will have as well. And after a person has updated, then even offline mode won't keep them from using parts specific to the latest version, making it so that the next builder has to update just to load the model properly. So one builder updating could potentially eliminate all future builders' freedom not to update. A better question would be whether we would allow previous builders to recommend changes to what they have added in order to use some of the newly-available parts. I know that the first step of the model (the repair bay) included a crane made from click-hinges, meant as a stand-in for the Aquazone-style hinges that would have appeared in Classic Space sets. Now that the Aquazone-style hinges are (mostly) available, should Calabar be allowed to incorporate them (or more realistically, ask another member to incorporate them for him since he's had trouble loading the full model now that it's grown so much)?

It depends on whether you edit the preferences file in "Program Files" or the one in "Documents and Settings". The preferences file in "Program Files" gets replaced every time LDD updates, so it won't keep your settings. The one in "Documents and Settings" is user-specific and will keep LDD Extended unlocked even when LDD is updated. I had difficulty with this myself, early on.

Oh, shoot! Great catch! I thought I had been pretty thorough in seeing which parts got added to LDD and which didn't, but I guess I didn't. So to revise my statement, all the new Hero Factory parts besides the villain sets' helmets/faces and the bone piece unique to Waspix have been added. Unless, of course, you catch another part that I failed to account for! It's a shame that one in particular is missing since it's one of the ones I was most anxious to use in LDD MOCs. It'd be excellent for making creatures not based on the existing torso beams.

The change in many of LEGO's colors between 2003 and 2004 was a part of a general "re-structuring" of the color palette. The color palette had basically exploded out of control prior to 2004. Many colors were eliminated during this time, and meanwhile people at TLG decided to eliminate some of the colors that were considered dull or lackluster compared to LEGO's typical vivid colors like red, blue, etc. Brown (25 Earth Orange), light grey (2 Grey), and dark grey (27 Dark Grey) were replaced with newer, more vibrant versions: 192 Reddish Brown, 194 Medium Stone Grey, and 199 Dark Stone Grey. There were other colors that got replaced around this time-- for example, 105 Bright Yellowish Orange (Bricklink's Medium Orange) was replaced with 191 Flame Yellowish Orange (Bricklink's Bright Light Orange)-- but since these colors were rarer there wasn't remotely as great an uproar over these as there was over these three commonly-used colors. AFOLs quickly realized that the colors had changed-- brown had become redder, and the greys had become bluer. There was a bit of an outcry at the time-- I don't know much about it since I wasn't a part of any online communities at that time, so I mostly took the change in stride, but there are many accounts of how some AFOLs, feeling betrayed, swore off LEGO bricks or at least stopped buying new sets that used the new versions of the colors. TLG has since acknowledged that they failed to anticipate how strong the AFOL reaction to the color change would be, but they have never expressed any intent of returning to the older colors. They have, however, added the new versions of these colors to a list of "core" colors that they never intend to change significantly, so that this problem doesn't arise again. Personally, I prefer the new greys and brown without question. They feel less "dirty" than the old versions did, instead having the same vibrant look as TLG's brighter colors. But I can see how some people who prefer to MOC gritty, realistic-looking castles, military vehicles, spacecraft, etc. would prefer the older, dingier colors.

Today LDD updated to version 4.1.8, which contains a number of new Hero Factory parts. In fact, it includes every Hero Factory part from the current wave except for the faces/helmets of the villain sets. And yes, the quaza spike piece (92235) can be dual-colored. Additionally, many parts on LDD have been recategorized in this version. What this means is that pretty much every Hero Factory or BIONICLE part is now in either the category marked with a Hero Factory bone or the category marked with a Hero Factory shell. Joints such as bones, hands, and feet are typically in the bone category, with everything else in the shell category. A fair number of older Hero Factory and BIONICLE parts have also been added, including Toa Metru thigh armor (47299), Brutaka's sword (54272) the 90-degree Av-Matoran leg (60896), the Glatorian hand (64251), Ackar's sword (64297, which unfortunately doesn't seem able to be dual-colored), Kiina's 7M joint piece (64311), the 1.0 hero leg shell (87798), and the rookie hero torso shell (87807). Here is a post by Superkalle with a file containing all the newly-added parts. I haven't yet asked Superkalle if there are any new decorations, like the 3.0 "name badge" decorations, available currently. But even without those, I'm impressed with how comprehensive this update is with regard to Hero Factory parts. It makes me wonder whether there might at any point be an update to Hero Recon Team, although as of right now there have been no changes to the DesignByMe or PAB palettes.

Observations I've made so far: A lot of BIONICLE and Hero Factory parts have been moved to the Hero Factory parts category (with the picture of the 5M shell). Many were previously in the category with the picture of the steering wheel, making things extremely inconvenient at times. Other Hero Factory and BIONICLE parts have been moved to the other Hero Factory parts category (with the picture of the 5M bone). This includes many joint pieces like hands and feet which were previously in the Technic category (with the picture of the 2M pin/axle). The categories previously marked with question marks have been removed, so hopefully the miscellaneous parts in them have been moved to the appropriate categories. Many minifigure accessories have been moved out of the minifigure accessories category (with the picture of the lever) and into the minifigure parts category (with the picture of a minifigure). I don't exactly understand the logistics behind this change. Most of the things that got moved were weapons and tools; other parts like plant and animal parts have remained in the accessories category. Many axle pieces have been moved from the Modified Plates category to the Wheels category. Haven't done a thorough check of errors fixed, but there are at least a few major ones that haven't been. The Aquasharks helmet 6089 still does not fit on a minifigure, and a skeleton with the head of General Nuckal (93064) still cannot wear the typical Ninjago skeleton armor (93056). I'm sure I'll observe more things about the new update as I use it. I'm very grateful for this update and didn't expect it so soon!

They were removed. You can still see them here, though. However, since TLG has asked for their removal from this topic I won't deeplink the individual pictures. Anyway, as far as Paradisa is concerned, it had a decent lifespan, but not nearly as impressive as Belville's, and since the themes did overlap I think that TLG must have had some reason to expect better sales from Belville than from Paradisa. I liked Paradisa myself, frankly. When I was very young I bought a couple Paradisa sets (always claiming they were gifts for my mom, of course, but guess who always ended up building them). In retrospect the color scheme of Paradisa could be slightly sickening (the sheer number of pastel colors made brown palm tree trunks, green plants, and red flowers contrast horribly), but Belville was not immune to garish color schemes itself. Still, I think Belville's dollhouse-style play gave it a bit of an advantage over Paradisa in some regards. And I expect at least some of that in this upcoming theme. My hope, as I have said many times, is that any dollhouse-style sets from this theme will be more substantial than Belville's enormous latticed walls. I also both hope for and expect many useful accessories in this theme, just as Belville and Scala had on occasion. From what we've seen of the figures, of course, they do stand out from Belville and Scala dolls in many ways. They can be customized by switching parts rather than adding fabric clothes, and they seem to use regular minifigure hair pieces. So while they're still not classic minifigures, they're a lot closer than past girl-specific figures have been.

My little brother picked up basically all the box sets, so I've finally gotten a good look at Witch Doctor in real life myself. The heavy use of Technic and limited posability do bother me, and his legs and torso look about as bad from side view as I anticipated. I've never had any problems with the staff, though. Frankly, in BIONICLE we had more than enough staff-wielding characters, and I actually feel the more wand-looking staff wielded by Witch Doctor makes more sense for his character and for the staff's function than a longer weapon would. Frankly, Witch Doctor is an amazingly-designed set. He manages to use the Hero Factory building system in a way that it hasn't been used before, that being as a structural tool for extremely large figures. With that said, I don't really like the direction that was taken in his design. I feel that it would be more practical to try and streamline more typical "action figure" builds at that size than to go for something so radically different that comes with its own flaws and assets. I was a big fan of Fire Lord because while he had design flaws, he felt like a step in the right direction design-wise-- demonstrating that the new building system could be used at multiple scales without a very visible dependence on Technic. This wave, while wonderful in many ways, failed to really build on that, with Rocka XL improving only slightly on Fire Lord's design while introducing scores of new flaws, and Witch Doctor abandoning that style altogether in favor of a more Technic-intensive build with a level of posability that could have been achieved just as easily without any ball joints at all. So no, he's definitely not a failure by any means. But I hope that future sets will work to improve on either his structural design or Fire Lord's rather than continuing to branch out in entirely new directions. Or ideally, both: new designs to demonstrate that the new building system has lasting potential, and improvements on older designs to work towards a more streamlined and dependable structure for "titan" sets in this theme. We have yet to totally match the design quality seen in 2005-2006 BIONICLE titan sets or the 2008 Takanuva set.

I saw the spill piece in a vignette in the Steampunk section at Brickfair, depicting a bar scene. It looked amazing! All of the glass accessories by Brickforge, such as the martini glass and broken bottle, are very nice, and those two in particular aren't too likely to show up in official parts anytime soon, so I think they were a wise investment! I'm not too big a fan of the military and futuristic sci-fi parts by Brickforge and other customizers, but there's a big audience for that sort of stuff so I'm sure the shock troop armor will be popular.

10197 Fire Brigade uses it on step 16 of the top level (visible on page 49 of the second instruction booklet). I imagine the reason why parts larger than 1x1 won't attach is the same problem that occurs with most Technic holes. Specifically, connectivity between studs and technic holes is programmed on a case-by-case basis to prevent illegal connections. In the case of part 3176, however, there shouldn't even be the possibility for illegal connections, since there's only one Technic hole. The illegal connection this programming is designed to prevent involves attaching multiple studs across multiple Technic holes, hence why 1x1 parts are allowed and larger parts are not-- 1x1 parts don't have multiple studs to attach by. Incidentally, the fact that that part's hole is a Technic hole rather than a System anti-stud also explains why it is tighter than most stud connections.

Something interesting I noticed about the 1.0 versions of those is that they show the sets in poses that they haven't really shown up in in any other media. For instance, Surge holds his tools on opposite sides of one of his hands, creating a "double-bladed lightsaber" effect, and Furno wears his weapons on his shoulders, presumably for flight or something similar. They can all be seen in , starting around 50 seconds in.These 2.0 versions of them are much less exciting (the less exciting text doesn't help). They're just the same as the main product images, except as silhouettes.

I don't know anything about it, but it sounds exciting. And the name and logo definitely amuse me, since the Aquazone octopus and I go way back. I look forward to a proper press release about this, which I suppose we can expect whenever the closed beta ends. Most of the stuff I've seen about it seems to be mostly guesswork (for instance, some people expect a more sophisticated social experience to replace MLN), but unlike many other LEGO endeavors like LEGO Universe, this feels like something I could really get behind, if my own impression of it is correct.

TLG usually tries to cast themselves as a unisex toy in a lot of marketing materials. Catalog images and packaging have typically shown girls playing with LEGO toys or wearing LEGO licensed clothing alongside boys. There's a bit of imbalance (boys are more likely to be pictured playing with BIONICLE sets, while girls are more likely to be pictured playing with Belville sets), but TLG still puts forth the effort to convince parents that yes, their product range does have toys that girls and boys alike can be happy with. The problem is that buyers (or on the other side of the coin, non-buyers) don't see it that way. Most buyers of LEGO sets are boys-- female buyers make up just around 8% of LEGO's sales, if I remember correctly. It's still a larger percentage than the amount of sales that come from AFOLs, but it's still a huge imbalance between male and female buyers. TLG designs girl-oriented themes to cash in on the largely untapped female market without compromising the success their other themes tend to have with boys. Your claim that success is not judged by how many are sold to six-year-old girls makes no sense-- if the line is designed for that demographic, then that is exactly how its success must be measured. If boys or adults tend to buy the sets, then that's a bonus, but frankly there are already plenty of sets and themes that cater to those markets, so the theme would overall be failing in its core objective if these groups continued to make up the majority of sales.

A reliable source for that has never surfaced-- the original source for that name was on Wikipedia, and it then spread like wildfire, much to the chagrin of editors on HS01. If it counts for anything, Swert of BS01/HS01 asked Kelly McKiernan (the web director for the Hero Factory site) about the subject and was given the response that Rocka had not yet been given a first name. Since this was after the name "Daniel" surfaced, I think we can agree that the name "Daniel Rocka" is bunk (even if it would have been a cool name with some biblical parallels to the lion motif). I sincerely hope that Rocka gets a first name at some point. But as of right now, no first name has surfaced from a reputable source. And I hope this is not an omen of how hero names will be selected in the future, since it would cause a great deal of in-universe inconsistency.

What about girls who like Polly Pocket but would like the ability to better customize a dollhouse? This is the situation where LEGO's status as a building toy would give it an edge. I am hoping that even if the parts are <insert that tiresome argument>, they won't be like Belville parts. I'm fine with homes made with one-piece walls, and even fine with homes that are missing walls to allow for easier play, but giant one-piece latticed walls just made no sense to me. They did have the practical advantage of allowing light in, which is important for dollhouse-style play, but in general they were an aspect of Belville design I was never too fond of. I'd rather see walls made with the same sort of 5-brick-tall columns and panels which are so frequent in the City theme.

As I see it, the heads look about the same size as minifigure heads. Compare the size of the hands (roughly one stud diameter/same size as a minifigure's hands) with the size of the heads. And consider that as many have observed, the blonde keychain fig has the same hair piece as the S2 Pop Star. Also, I don't think we can yet declare that the hair pieces other than the pop star's can't work with regular figs. Glance at the fig with the brown hair, and look at how it seems to be "carved out" inside just like the Pop Star's. So it could potentially work on a minifigure. Less sure about the black hair since that doesn't get much bigger than a thumbnail and seems to come closer to the shoulders.

Never said they did. That's a different discussion entirely. All I'm saying is that BIONICLE catered to the audience that thinks action figures are "cool" just like so many LEGO girls' themes cater to the audience that thinks dolls are "cool"-- even if those two audiences think those things for different reasons. You keep saying Belville flopped, and I still don't believe it for a minute. If Belville failed so grandly to return on its investment then there's no reason it would have been continued for fifteen years. Now, it's possible that it was a small enough investment (which explains the theme's limited distribution) that returning on its investment didn't require grand sales. Nobody can claim that Belville was an instant phenomenon like BIONICLE was, nor can they claim that it had as big an impact on the company as a whole that BIONICLE did. But I firmly believe that Belville was at worst an underwhelming success, because a true failure would result in net losses and quickly be discontinued. Very true; I've seen BIONICLE fans and non-fans in the past who didn't realize the toys were a type of LEGO. The question is whether LEGO wants the theme to be a "stepping stone" to System building. That certainly did not seem to be their intent with BIONICLE. If the theme can survive on its own merits and generate profits (even small ones), then like BIONICLE it could still have the potential for success. Whether the kids realize they're buying LEGO when they invest in this new girls' theme is irrelevant if the theme can establish the same reputation for play quality that other LEGO products have with other demographics. The fact that LEGO emblazons their logo prominently on all of their products these days rather than relegating it to a corner or the bottom of the package like they did with BIONICLE should of course make this a non-issue. Do the Smurfs have a girl following? I guess that makes sense; I never really thought about what demographic was into the Smurfs. Regardless, though, consider that BIONICLE was in part introduced to capitalize on the advantages of LEGO Star Wars (the most story-based theme previously) without the disadvantage of licensing costs. And consider that other ambitious investments such as LEGO Mindstorms have done just fine without a restrictive licensing agreement (comparatively much better than LEGO Studios, which was almost entirely dependent on licenses). Also consider that licenses aren't necessarily any safer than non-licensed properties in many cases. Ben 10 Alien Force catered to a far less risky demographic, and in general it doesn't bear the hallmarks of a successful theme. I think licenses are just as likely to be hit-and-miss as non-licensed themes, and the advantages of using familiar characters and stories is easily negated by the costs of the license unless the license turns out to be a "hit". Figs look nice in my opinion, but those pets are kind of gross. Thankfully, TLG has been very kind in recent years with animal molds, so it won't be a situation like Belville or Scala where many extremely useful animals exist only in this theme and not in System. The compatibility of hair molds is a definite plus, and I imagine accessories might be similarly compatible. Overall I feel this theme holds a lot of promise design-wise... as for its success, however, there are too many unknown variables to make a proper prediction.

My twin brother asked the brand manager of the LEGO Minifigures about the bios during a Q&A session at Brickfair two days ago. Apparently, the bios are written by Daniel Lipkowitz, who has done a lot of work for TLG. He wrote several Exo-Force novels as well as Dorling Kindersly's "The LEGO Book", and he clearly knows his stuff about a lot of LEGO themes.

*sigh* Because sets with minifigures cater to a different group of people than Belville and other girls' themes. Yes, there are girls who love minifigures and the LEGO System. But there are lots and lots of girls who don't buy regular minifig-scale LEGO, and most girl-specific themes are designed to tap into that market. Meanwhile, there's a separate discussion topic for the girls' theme over here.