tedbeard

So, they were "misinformed" because they surveyed existing sets without bothering to magically travel forward in a time machine to see what was being offered after their project was finished? Right, so they engaged in a thing called "teaching". ie. a physics teacher starts with an agenda supportive of the theory of gravity and leads the class in experiments in support of this agenda. What I find appalling is the criticism of a project for kids in grade 4 or 5 and pretending that the methodology is flawed because it is not conducted according to standards more appropriate for graduate students at university. What is even worse is most of the criticism is coming from people with their own agenda even more entrenched than the teachers. So many examples of cherry-picking data and ignoring data that does not support a pre-ordained conclusion. The fact is that for many years representations of females and non-white races has been problematical, and rather than refuting that conclusion the creation of FRIENDS and the new "Research Institute" demonstrates quite clearly that LEGO is trying to correct the historic imbalance.

I believe they do four tours of 20 people each.

These look fantastic. and side by side The dark sure looks better than the light. Thanks for putting that together. Just FYI (for those into detail of history) the correct word is not "edge". The part of the coat that you are talking about is actually turned outwards to show you the lining. The correct word to use is "facings" (as in "facing outward") so what we have here is a dark orange coat with red facings.

What he said!

I did? I don't remember that.

I hope you are not judging by the photo provided above which makes the dark orange look awful. Of course, it also makes the light orange look like an orange popsicle...

[updated Aug 19: added set names] I have had a really hard time contributing to this thread because I think it is way too early in the process to be suggesting sets in such a detailed way. Every time I think about this I want to see a coherent overall plan for the whole line. I see the sets as a matrix with 3 factions and 8 categories. I also think it is important to start at the "top" since that makes a lot of the set type decisions easier, ie the biggest set should be a fortress which means the second largest must be a ship, etc. I think the "good guys" should get 5 sets and the "bad guys" 3 sets but of course all the sets can have a mix of figs, ie. the warehouse/dock set should have 2 "company" and 1 "smuggler". The following charts the overall components with minifigures noted in (). Category……………………………………..Company………….Guards………….Smugglers……total figs Category 8 (800-1000 pcs)………….…………(1)…………….fortress(5)……………(1)……………..7 Category 7 (400 pcs)………………………….ship(3)…………………………………..(1)….……..……4 Category 6 (250 pcs)…………………warehouse/dock(2)…………….………………(1)………….…3 Category 5 (150-200 pcs)………………………………………………………………ship(3)……….…3 Category 4 (120-140 pcs)…………………………………………………………….hideout(2)………..2 Category 3 (80-90 pcs)………………………..boat(1)……………………………….…(1).………..….2 Category 2 (60-70 pcs)………………………………………………………………….boat(1)……...…1 Category 1 (20-30 pcs)…………………………………………guard shack(1)………………………..1 Total figs (per faction).……………………………(7)……………….(6)………………..(10)………….23 Set Name: Fort William Category: 8 Faction: guards Description: The fortress watches over Brickhaven Harbour keeping the smugglers in line. Main Elements / Play Features: includes a jail cell with breakaway wall section for escape, the office of the chief factor of the company, bunk beds for the soldiers Minifigure(s): commander of the guard, a sergeant, three soldiers, a smuggler and the company chief factor/governor Accessories: muskets, cannons, chickens Set Name: Good Fortune Category: 7 Faction: company Description: the company ship Fortune carries cargo near and far Main Elements / Play Features: working crane to load cargo, rope for smuggler to climb aboard Minifigure(s): captain, 2 crew, 1 smuggler Accessories: pigs, chickens, one cannon, one grippable rope Set Name: Trader’s Warehouse Category: 6 Faction: company Description: this warehouse located right on the dock serves as the main loading and unloading point for company cargo. Main Elements / Play Features: big Minifigure(s): yes Accessories: parrots, barrels(with lids) and crates Set Name: Red Dragon Category: 5 Faction: smugglers Description: the smugglers ship is a fast sloop designed to outrun the guards and deliver cargo without getting caught. Main Elements / Play Features: hidden cargo hold Minifigure(s): smuggler captain and two crew Accessories: monkey Set Name: Jungle Hideaway Category: 4 Faction: smugglers Description: the smugglers hideout is a hut in the jungle which serves as the rendezvous and storage place for secret cargoes offloaded from the smugglers ship using a canoe. Main Elements / Play Features: log pieces and a couple of palm trees Minifigure(s): 2 smugglers Accessories: pig, chicken, barrels & crates, brown canoe Set Name: Something Fishy Category: 3 Faction: company Description: fishing boat Main Elements / Play Features: a mast w/rope and hook to haul in the fishing net Minifigure(s): company fisherman and a smuggler spy who watches the movements of the guards and company men Accessories: large rowboat, net, fish Set Name: Smugglers Gunboat Category: 2 Faction: smuggler Description: a small rowboat armed with a cannon Main Elements / Play Features: swivel mount for the cannon Minifigure(s): 1 smuggler Accessories: cannon Set Name: Haven Guardpost Category: 1 Faction: guards Description: the guard shack is a sentry box to shelter the lonesome guardsman Main Elements / Play Features: the monkey likes to annoy the guardsman by thrown bananas at him Minifigure(s): 1 guardsman Accessories: musket, monkey, bananas I haven’t provided set names as I think the names should come after the sets are designed (at least in early stages) and the factions are more established.

Well, it wasn't on the poll and it's a little late for a write-in campaign under "other".

Very nice work! I have to admit that this (although too many parts) is what I secretly hope for in the "New Pirate Theme" discussions.

That's fantastic! Could there maybe be a pin of some sort that you could pull out with a string to make the collapse? It would be cool to see it stand for a bit.

^ Yeah, there has been some talk amongst the Canadian LUGs that maybe we need our own country-wide (mostly) online LUG. Perhaps a service organized by the local LUGs or even a "federation" type organization. A thread on EB is nice and all but out of the 20+ members of VicLUG for example, I think I am the only one who regularly posts on EB.

Actually you need a lot of backstory if we are going with "Port Van Brickhaven". If that is the name of the town/settlement/colony then the proper term would be "Brickhaven Guard" which FWIW sounds a lot better to me.

Hi, anglophone Canadian here with a quick question: what is a "clinker house"?

^ D'oh! Thanks.

^

The poll is unclear if we will be using the approach suggested by Bob De Quatre to group all shades of colours under one and decide later or if something like "Dark Orange" should be an "other"?

I agree with most of the reasons people have quoted above for supporting "Colonial Guard" but for those very reasons and one more that people may not have considered, I supported "Company Guard". I cannot support "Colonial" as the legacy of colonialism is far to controversial to be used. If you thought the Maoris raised a stink over the appropriation of their culture for the original Bionicle names (see: BBC article) then using an identifier that includes the word "Colonial" is too contentious for the LEGO brand. We are trying to make a fun, child-friendly toy line, not educate children on post-colonial politics.

Welcome! Has Winnipeg1 thawed out yet2. 1. Doesn't everyone in Manitoba live in Winnipeg. 2. We've been wearing shorts and t-shirts for almost a month out here on the Left Coast.

Yeah, any shade of yellow makes minifigs look naked. Or we could simply list all choices, each of us rank them then choose based on a preferential ballot. (ie. based on 10 choices: rank 1= 10 points, rank 2=9, rank 3=8. etc )

You can use two or three together to make a side street that does not have the lines down the middle.

Not really any nuance. They tried to make a product, released a beta-test version that had some issues and have spent the time refining the product to the point where they feel confident in the design and are now looking to get funded to go into production.

Yes I did and I stand by my preference thank you very much. I would also add that you cannot say something is, "most favoured" based on the TWO responses especially if one of them is my response. I think you are letting your bias show. ;) That makes sense. We are never going to come to a 100% consensus on every detail so polling seems like the best option. You know what, I could totally support dark orange. It is a nice colour for that period and makes the soldiers look a lot less like orange popsicles.

If you use sidewalks then T-junctions and cross-junctions can also be straights. ;)

Yep, I have always done my flowers the "official" way. I think it gives the flower more definition with a bit of shadowing. If you put them in upside-down they lose quite a bit of "texture".

Yep, and that's partially why I chose it. It is both an homage to a "classic" and a way to increase the available options as people can augment the troops with older figs. I think these two reasons are ones I share. Green is simply a getter choice for contrast and style.