Robianco

https://goo.gl/images/Suzp6j https://goo.gl/images/BzMqvh https://goo.gl/images/JfASnF Any of these suit?

I've been in to the Liverpool store on New Years Day to pick up new sets. As long as that's the official release date of the new sets then the retail stores will have them. They'll probably have the stock in-store a little while before then to make sure they're ready.

Knockoff companies aren't really thinking like that though. They're just pumping out stuff and not worrying about QC. I've actually had a recent conversation about this and mentioned the same thing. Some knockoffs were getting so good around 4 or 5 years ago that if they'd just made the decision to print on genuine Lego they could have made the transition from 'bootlegger' to 'customiser'. As it is they all seem to have lapsed into utter tat, poor quality plastic, terrible artwork reproduction and inferior print and qc overall. It won't be a knockoff. They simply don't go to the trouble of getting official Lego pars to print on. There was a few figures a couple of years ago that seemed to originate from factories, maybe Mexico, that were meant to be leaks but never got released. There was the red and black Batman figure that used old artwork, Joker Nurse etc, all things that should never be discussed as anything even remotely genuine again. I don't think Firestar are being dishonest, but without any confirmation from Lego it seems impossible to confirm that it's genuine from a Lego factory... and then even if it is, does that guarantee it's a genuine Lego figure rather than a custom? It certainly seems that it's not an official release. But I'd also probably say that even if it was done as a very limited run by a particular factory for some kind of promotion, the person who answers the Customer Service emails probably wouldn't know about it. I'd also add that if I worked for Lego and knew of the existence of a Cristiano Ronaldo minifigure that was done in a very limited run as a special promotion but was leaked to the public somehow then I'd deny all knowledge of it and claim it as a custom. He makes tens of millions from his image rights. Part of the reason he left Real Madrid for Juventus is down to tax laws. In Italian law he'll only have to pay a maximum m of $88,000 in tax on his image rights. On tens of millions. (Even though he's signed to Nike he's attributed to have earned Adidas over $200million in revenue by being photographed in his Real Madrid Adidas kit on his social media accounts to the 300 million people who follow him on FB, Twitter and Instagram). Think about that. You think he's going to let a Lego figure of himself be produced without any kind of agreement or payment?

I think one of the main issue with that helmet is the area that's covered by the print. It starts quite a way up the helmet. If it filled the panels either side of the fin I think it would give a better indication of scale. There's a few that have red insignia like Luke's. I find mixing Kit Valent, Barion Raner and the older Luke helmets gives a good mix. There's also the grey one from Dex Tiree.

I don't think Lego outsource in China. They have a factory there. Also, it isn't inferior plastic. It's just made slightly differently due to the regulations in that part of the world although they still adhere to Lego's regulatory guidelines and standards. CMFs have been made in China for quite a while and while some people have reported a dip in quality from Lego, that started happening long before the moving of any production to the east.

I’ve done that with some SW sets. I always keep figures and even try to ‘army build’ a little to flesh certain groups out. The HP figures look great but it’s not something I want to get in to at his point. I’ll still be watching the releases with interest but I’m limiting things I buy.

Well I've got out of HP Lego primarily due to space limitations. I don't want to collect Logo just to have it. If I can't build it and make use of it there's no need to own it. I sold my Hogwarts Castle and the 4867 extension for around £270 just before these were officially announced to the public. They now sell for £140 the pair. Best to sell up before the value falls out of them, so The Burrow, Knight Bus and Hagrid's Hut are going up this weekend.

As someone who has bought around 10 of the so-called UCS sets, the designation has never been of any interest to me. The last 'UCS' Slave 1 fit perfectly with the last 'system scale' X-Wing because they're in scale to each other. As is the 'UCS' Millennium Falcon. I've also passed on things like the B-Wing, TIE Fighter and Y-Wing because I didn't really like the scale. I'm an adult but prefer the system scale TIE to the UCS TIE due to how they all fit together. I know some people only collect 'UCS' sets. But surely it's about what you want to buy/own/build/display/hoard? It's always amused me... The busts are some of the worst Lego sets I've ever witnessed, in my opinion, but some people love them and there is a compulsion to own them for people who collect UCS sets. The Death Star, Ewok Village and even Assault on Hoth are better display pieces than that Maul head but there's a desire to categorise things. Just buy what you like... even if it's a Battlepack, or something like Yoda's Hut.

Thankfully Bellatrix is still with my Burrow set. Although they'll all be hitting eBay this weekend

Cheers for the tip off on Merrick's helmet on FS. I've ordered a couple of them as well as a few heads and other bits, all for less than the price of the calendar.

I'm 45 and I swooshed a Hasbro 2010 Snowspeeder earlier this afternoon. My Slave 1 was swooshed yesterday when I dusted it. Don't even ask me how I got on with the X-Wing, Vader's TIE and his two wingmen. ;)

The Firestar head actually looks far more like Merrick than the Lego version. Just shows you how good Cat is at her job.

I think the recent HP releases are a difficult thing to make an example against. With it being a complete relaunch they were always going to have to redo every minifigure and the success of the waves wasn't always guaranteed (although I'm sure market research told them they would be or the investment would;dn't have been made in the first place). With that I think they've been hugely generous on the minifigures for those sets, although they may be looking to limit the amount of sets released and as such the amount of mini figures may be increased per set due to this. If HP were an evergreen theme such as SW and had been going continually for 20 years with the amount of sets that SW gets each year then there'd be such a huge duplication of figures it would be unreal. So maybe Lego looks at how many sets they are going to release and limits the figures accordingly. They need to keep things fresh and offer something new each wave whether that be a new figure, an updated figure or whatever.

Zam Wessell I think? also Luke in Endor gear hasn’t been done. and you can maybe thrown in Jedi Bob if you feel so inclined. :)

No... they’re pretty different prints on both of those.

The older 8097 system isn’t minifig scale and isn’t in scale with the UCS Falcon. Slave 1 is much larger than that... it always has been since the older guide to vehicles books with the cross sections. There are meant to be holding pens inside the main part of the hold along with various other spaces. That just wouldn’t be possible with the 8097 scale. You only have to look at ESB with them loading Carbonite Han up the ramp. I think the designer even mentioned the scale in his designer video.

X and Y-wing pilots do have the same print.

The new X-WIng is actually pretty close to minifigure scale. Or at least close enough to be considered so. In that sense it's in scale with the UCS Falcon and UCS Slave 1. The 8097 system scale Slave 1 is much larger than the one in the CC so by today's standards it's midiscale. Same as the TIE in the DS. It can fit a minifigure inside but is still between system scale and microscale.

I bet it was a press release they'd had about availability. They tweeted it last night and then had to correct themselves as the information was slightly incorrect. It's probably the only response they have at the moment so rather than say nothing the person thought to mention that there will be alternative location for them in other territories so it's at least an indication that a similar deal will be arranged for the UK.

Well the ESB are only different because the Snowspeeder pilots had a thermal jacket on so the design is slightly different. The leg flares are slightly more noticeable on the Yavin pilots due to the black boots I suppose so they didn't put them on the Snowspeeder pilots. All other pilots whether they're X or Y-Wing have the same legs and torso. RO is basically Blue Squadron so we've had U-Wing and X-Wing pilots from there and the U-Wing pilots are shown with a different design so that's understandable. The ROTJ pilots we've had are B and A-Wing so they've had red and green jumpsuits. By that point the rebel fleet was a bit smashed up so the regular squadron names were mixed with different ships across A, B, X & Y-Wings.

Lego 7113 Tusken Raider Encounter has Anakin on his swoop along with two tuskens... so basically IS the camp set but just missing Shmi. You can't get round the fact that it's that scene. I think Aunt Beru is a big miss from the SW line but maybe Lego just can't get round the fact the Lars Homestead is a pretty uninspiring place that's famous for those charred skeletons.

The person in customer service that answers the emails is there normally just to give a personal response and won't have all the details of where sets such as the Bricktober packs are to be sold... especially if it isn't finalised by people way above that person's pay grade. I didn't see anything particularly wrong with that email. If you go into a Lego retail store then the people there won't know a great deal about what's arriving much in advance either.

Merrick doesn't have a chinstrap printed on either side and also doesn't have a visor print. I'll be using the FS head with mine and a female pilot head with the second Merrick helmet for Verlaine. And no... Collecting Rebel Pilots is a perfectly normal thing.. the more the better.

The MF itself was the reason to buy the MF. It's an incredible set. Giving a limited edition card was also a nice enough touch even if it was just a regular VIP card after wall. Beginning to offer any kind of exclusives was where the issues began. I've never felt cheated about any freebies or offers as that's not why I spent £650 on the set.