Lego_Hero

Well I was in the lego shop in Bluewater and I saw them bringing out some boxes and guess what they did they were taking packets out and putting it in different boxes now thats what I call unlucky My TRU got another box in Friday, so I completed my Series 2 collection plus two more Spartans. Here's the funny part: When they sold the contents of their first two boxes, they went back and filled the boxes with unsold Toy Story aliens. A minifig and a poor excuse for a space ship did not justify $3.49, so I guess they were trying to combine the Series 2 frenzy with parents' lack of knowledge to sell them. I was annoyed when I got to the register with my final three minifigs of the series. While I paid $1.99 last week, they got me for $2.99 this week. They only jacked it up to $2.49 last series.

Now THAT'S and impressive build! The sheer size of it is beyond my collection, but aspire to be there one day. I'll bet that took some serious man hours. My favotire part is definitely the detail work along the midline of the ship. I alway thought that was the coolest aspect of the SW movies, all those little mish-mashed details on the surfaces of the destroyers and the death stars. I remember a documentary of the first trilogy where a guy said they used a ton of model parts all glued together for the death star run in the first movie. Way to go, Anio!

My TRU here in Tyler still had them yesterday (two boxes open). I know that's a long drive from Dallas, but that's all I got for you. I remember last series that TRU got the early shipment and one more after that a few weeks later. I visited my TRU yesterday and wished I'd brought my bar code sheet. I was reduced to feeling the bags. Most of them are easy to tell, but I was struggling with a hungry wife and daughter waiting on me. A dad came up with two young sons and one of them wanted a lion tamer. I told him about the bar codes and he whipped out his phone. My internet was acting up, so we used his phone to find this thread. A total stranger was letting my navigate on his phone! He couldn't zoom in enough to see the bar codes clearly, so I gave his son the lion tamer I had already identified. Then a mother came up and told us she wishes she could tell what was on the inside because she bought her son a vampire. She said she threw it away because they didn't allow that kind of thing in their house (I live in the Bible Belt of America). I told her about the bar codes as well, but as none of us had the sheet we were all feeling the packages. I finally just pulled out as many different bar codes as I could find and checked out. I figured I could come back after lunch once I knew which ones I still needed to make a set. I came back later and almost completed my set. I'm just missing the mexican. Out of the two boxes I only found one spartan. It seems like someone beat me to army building there.

I left Lego in my late teens in the 80's. It wasn't until the Star Wars sets came out that I started buying again. Once the early releases died down, I started looking for other lines. A few years ago, I decided to re-invent my old superhero team and it's been a wild ride since! Now I buy most of the small sets produced from any line in addition to any minifig-heavy sets. I'm still in the dark ages in a sense. Nobody but my wife and two year old know that I play with these little plastic building blocks.

Hey JaMMit, It looks like there are at least five series tentatively planned, but I'm not sure how based in fact that assertion is. I read here that the next two series will be in January and April. I think as long as they sell like hotcakes, TLC will continue releasing series. We can expect the minifigures to be hit or miss, meaning some people will not be happy with another indian or some such, but this is hands down my favorite product line. As far as my opinion on Series 3: Chief: I'm all for another indian. The body prints and face paint alone are worth it. They are useful in so many ways for customizing. Gorilla: If it's a removable mask like the old werewolf from Studios, I'd be really excited. Planet of the Apes MOC, here we come! Hula Girl: The torso print (can we dream of a coconut bra?), female face, and possible new hair make it worth getting a few of her. Alien: Judging from the Space Police aliens, TLC knows how to make cool aliens. Another space gun would also be welcome. Male Singer: I'd like to see a similar torso and leg prints to the female singer in Series Two. Baseball Player: I don't have a bat, so that would be cool. The rest depends on the uniform. I don't get much use out of the sports torsos. Fisher: He'll probably have a nice civilian torso print, always welcome. A fishing rod would be really cool. Sumo/Karate: Another nude torso would be cool, but I hope the trophy is different. Samurai: I'm happy with the one I have, but this would be gravy to be sure. Elf: I agree that is will probably be ears on a hair piece. Can't wait to see the torso. Dancer: Ballet? Go-Go? Rocker? Ferrari Driver: I have a handful, so I hope it's different than the Ferrari line. Snowboarder: Depends. Doctor: I hope he has his mask on. Mummy: I'd really like a new mummy. I'm not happy with the face one the mummy I have. ?: Maybe this one is the Invisible Man! That's why he doesn't remember it. While I'm kidding, I would pay rediculous bucks for a trans clear or trans red minifig! I made a clear one, I'll post it on my Flickr when I get a chance. It's a hack job to be sure.

I wonder if groundplates are more costly to make? They take up a lot of room, so maybe their molds do as well on the factory floor. I'll bet the amount of plastic it takes to make a groundplate is much, much more than the average brick. I would like a large grey groundplate, but TRU sells them for way more than I'm willing to pay. The only other possibilty I can think of is that the city line has been around so long that amybe TLG thinks it's redundant to keep including plates. Not likely, but why else?

ACK! How embarrassing, I've been moved! I have to explain because I'm one of those guys that thinks, "Geez, doesn't that guy know that this is not the place for that question/post?" Originally, I opened a Flickr account just so I could show off the science lab. When I saw how easy it was, I uploaded almost all of my other pics as well. When it came time to post here, I forgot that my Flickr's focus had changed from action set to MOC minifig collection. As I update, I'll remember to post here since most everything else will be minifig related anyway. KielDaMan: Thanks for the positive words! This may sound wierd, but the "Protectors Universe" is based on an imaginary comicbook company. With all the adventures and line-up changes these guys have been through, I thought a few years ago to chronicle things as though this were a comicbook line. As I put more information on Flickr, you'll see what I mean.

Hey everyone, I've finally gotten around to creating a Flickr page and uploading most of my heroes from the Protectors Universe. The Protectors are a superhero team I came up with in the 80's using Lego minifigs. After surviving the Dark Ages, this team has grown exponentially over the past few years. Heres the link to my Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lego_hero/ This is not complete by far, but it will give you an idea of where I'm going. If you'r not into it, no biggie, but comments are appreciated.

Somewhere in my Dark Ages, I sold several sets on Ebay. Boy, do I regret not having those parts now! Anyway, before I put them up for auction, I would always put the set together one last time just to make sure it was complete. On the occasions that the set was not complete, I would substitute an identical, but off-color, part if I had one. I would always make sure that it was clear to bidders that the set had a part that was not original to the set. If I didn't have a similar part, I would not sell it on Ebay. Also, as I am a minifig nut, I would also make it clear to bidders that the minifigs were not included. While I've never bought anything off of Ebay, I have bought from various vendors on Bricklink. My experience has been very positive! There was one time that I ordered blank yellow heads and got used, worn-off heads instead. After alerting the store, the seller sent me better heads and a handful of random minifig accessories (he sure knew how to shut me up). I can't see someone buying TWENTY times off of Ebay with the majority of them being negative and still trying Ebay. "Why is there a pile of brick here where the wall used to be? Has someone been beating their head against it?"

Assuming this information is valid: I also believe that the gorilla would most likey be a costume, probably with a removable mask. I'm excited about the hula girl. I see coconuts braziers in our near future! I can't wait to see the alien. I wonder why they'd go with another indian? I guess by the time the third waves comes out, they would have had to come up with 47 other minifig ideas (counting the first two series). Here in the States, Series One came out at TRU in late May. We expect Series Two in late August. With roughly two months between the two, it's possible that Series Three be released here sometime around November if the pattern continues. That could put Series Four somewhere in February. Now that's all just guessing off a pattern, but it would make business sense for TLG to have a release plan for design deadlines and such.

Hey y'all! I guess this is as good a place as any to post this, so let me tell you about my trip to the "Big D". Dallas is about an hour and a half away, so we don't go there often. When my wife mentioned a cetain shopping center, I hastily volunteered to drive as it was not too far from the Lego Store in a near-by mall. After enduring hours of "Does this necklace go with what I have on?", I finally got to the Lego Store. Unfortunately, they were just beginning a minifig building contest around the build-a-fig kiosk. There were two workers and two tables set up with several trays full of random minifig pieces. The object of the contest was to see who could build the most minifigs, complete with accessories, in one minute. As I am a rather obvious thirty-six year old man, I'm sure they wouldn't have let me participate anyway. I relegated myself to digging through the kiosk from the other side, but even with the contest going on, there were still children squeezing in front of me to get their own. I don't remember being that way as a kid, but I was pretty oblivious at times. After the contest, I checked out the trays to see what parts were there. One of the workers directed me to the kiosk, but I told her there were different parts in the trays and asked her if I could make a quick dive before the contest started back up. She assured me, and the other worker joined in, that the parts were all the same in the trays and the kiosk. Had she never met an AFOL? I showed her a ninja torso, a female pirate torso, a black fedora-style hat from the Indiana Jones theme, and an imperial torso from the Pirates line. None of these were currently in the kiosk. They checked to prove me wrong, but finally agreed to let me troll the trays. I came away with five torso I didn't have and some red legs that I needed. All in all, a great trip. Has anyone had a similar experience with the build-a-fig kiosk? I was there six months ago and they had the exact same parts. If not for the contest, I wouldn't have seen any of the other parts. Is it bad form to ask the workers to see their stock?

That's a pretty good Snape. I haven't seen the last few movies (I know he appeared in the early ones, but it's been a long time since I've seen them), and I'm not a serious Lego Harry Potter collector, and I knew exaclty who that was. Could you give my sig fig a shot? I usually don't make requests, but I think it would be cool to be the first on this thread.

Dude! This is the best site I've found for Lego information exactly because of people like you. Keep on brickin' and keep on posting. People that post to correct you are only trying to help keep this huge database of information a little less cluttered. It always helps me to read thier responses in a laughing voice as though they are friends joking around and pulling your chain. Back on topic if it's okay to continue this thread, as no Admin has shut it down, I prefer the printout myself. I don't have an Iphone, but I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable scanning things in the Lego aisle. Then again, I am compairing bar codes to a sheet of paper in the Lego aisle, so whatever.

I think this was discussed earlier in the thread or in another one close by. But thanks for reporting it anyway. That shows good character, MrTools. The world could use a few more of us good guys! I can't wait for next week! They were in my TRU on May 22nd, so I'm expecting them to be there on July 22nd. The only thing is that they were beiong reported long before May 22nd in Europe, so maybe I have a longer wait this time. We haven't even seen a barcode sheet yet, so I guess I'm twiddling my thumbs for a few more weeks.

As I have been focusing more on the minifig side for years and haven't build extensively other than the initial build of a bought set, I don't have any broken bricks. I haven't noticed any stress fractures either, except for one white brick that fits in a new Kingdom's white horse. I don't know if it came with the set to use when the horse isn't wearing a saddle, or if I pulled it from my collection. As for Bionicle, I cringe every time I pull apart the ball and sockets. It sounds like a crack every time. Nothing has broken so far, but I can't help but feel like the next one will be the break. And this is coming from someone who has confidence in Lego product quality. In my 20+ years of collecting (even in the dark ages I bought a set here and there), the only problems I've had with quality have been discoloring and loose minifig joints. My brother and I were rough Texas boys with our toys, so Lego vehicles found their way outside in the elements often. We broke some pieces, but it was from hard wear and tear and mean cousins! As for the minifigs, I am constantly exchanging body parts. I have noticed that most of my 80's and early 90's torsos have loose arm holes. Many of the legs from that time period are also loose; again, probably from constant switching. I can live with that because that's not so much a quality issue. I mean, they can't last forever if you play with them enough. One thing I just thought of: some arms (it always seems to be the white of light grey ones) crack from the hand to the elbow. I guess it's from switching in different colored hands, but it only seems to be those particular colors. In defense of China (hee, hee), I think the new minifig series aren't that bad. The difference is noticeable, but I haven't had any problems yet. Where some people have complained in other threads about the legs being too loose, I've found them particularly hard to pull apart. I actually gave up on pulling the legs off a leg assembly from one of the new ninjas and dug up an older pair of legs to use. I was impressed as I am a very strong individual. I guess smell doesn't loosen lego like the old story goes!

I enjoy the little guys more than the sets. I don't have the opportunity to build that often, so I'm relegated to customizing my minifigs into superheroes. I plan on making vehicles and headquarters one of these days. But even that building is for the minifigs' benefit.

I may be atypical on this board, but I don't collect a specific theme. I'm really in it for the minifigs, so whatever set is the best value minifig-wise is the one for me. Even then, it's under $20 sets only. I like Kingdoms/Castle the best and pick up all their under $20 sets. Other than that specifically, I like the diversity of picking from all the themes. If Adventures returned with more sets from the 30's/40's, that would be my theme. I was out of the loop the first time they came out. I think I only picked up a handful of sets.

I don't get the cry for help comment. Unless you're referring to why someone even thought they had to bring up this conversation in the first place. I've seen it before on another site a long time ago. Same opinionated responses. Don't forget: these are all opinions, and if you want to cut bricks or whatever, it's none of anyone's business. That being said, I agree with what people are saying about customs and modding. It's not going to be to everyone's taste, so don't get bent out of shape if someone doesn't care for your work. I personally only comment when I have something positive to say about someone's work (or just to goof off, this is a hobby for me, after all). Here's something funny though, I agree with Penguin that you shouldn't modify bricks. LOL! I've never been in a situation where a brick wasn't working for me and I thought, "I'm going to cut it in half". With all of the different bricks out there, you should be able to build in a way that you don't have to make a "new brick". Where I diverge from Penguin is the use of other companies. There are a few pieces that I wish TLC would make that other companies have. I ONLY buy off-brands when I see a part (usually a minifig part) that I'd like for my collection, but I'm not above building things with mixed Lego and MB or Best Brick. I agree that the quality suffers if you don't limit the off-brand parts. Calling another company filth is a bit extreme, though. I'm sure there's some guy that works for MB feeling really sad right about now. I'd feel sad too, but that would be because I couldn't get a job at TLC (or is it TLG? I always forget).

Are you winking at me because you think my links are messed up or because you realize the links were a joke? Read the link slowly, "not really a link dot com". I was joking around.

Being stuck in that airtight bag for weeks probably didn't help either!

Hey ya'll, I didn't want to say anything because us Texans don't like to brag too much, but I gave your interesting hobby-based-off-another-hobby a go and found it all too easy. See the link here: notreallyalink.com Then I thought, why not take it up a notch, like we are prone to do here in the Lonestar State? I did this one with the lights off! Check out this pic: notreallyalink.com As with most of my kin, I mastered this in short order. Where was the next challenge? BOX BUILDING! I put this one together without opening the box. The biggest obstacle was not being able to see or feel the pieces. It took alot of shaking to get the pieces to go together just right! Here's the pic: notreallyalink.com I have to say, I really enjoyed this. Next time ya'll come up with a challenge, let me know. All kidding aside, this bag building is so cool! I'm going to remember not to tear into my next set without trying to bag build first. Anyone try to build one of the minifigs from the collector series yet? I know you wouldn't be able to see the finished product without opening the bag, and the bag is super rigid, but I wonder if it's possible?

A decade ago or so I would have agreed with you, but you know how us crazy Americans are with fads and trends. Cabbage Patch Dolls and Beanie Babies have led to stores putting limits on things sometimes. It's not prevalent, but it's not out of the ordinary. I forgot to mention last night that I did find some Series 1 minifigs at a LEGO store in Houston, but that was a month ago.

That's an awesome playset! My favorite part is the potted plant on the ground floor. Nothing says command center like a nice arrangement of flowers! Seriously though, the command room, the rock structure, the roof... all top notch.

Jamtf, You are mistaken with your odd generalization. While we enjoy liberties some countries dream of (and I personally feel it's leading to our decline as a nation), it is common practice here in the States to qulaify sales purchases with disclaimers such as 'limit one per customer'. I've seen it numerous times in the toy industry and very early in the collectible card game industry. A long as TRU puts a sign up next to the display reading, 'Limit five per customer', parents and children alike will have the sense to buy seperately (as in the father gives the kids some cash, they get in different lines and each buy five), or return to the store multiple times. And while we have our fair share of morons (okay, waaaay more than our fair share) only the AFOLs are arguing in the store for being told they cannot buy a box. That being said, my TRU had no limit. I can't speak on other TRU's or other places that sell them since I've not found them anywhere else.

That's an awl, right? I'm not too sure on the name, but it's common use is for punching leather. I bought yards of several colors of a very thin canvas. It's thicker than regulation capes, but thinner than most fabrics and leathers. My biggest problem is the hole. I've tried an exacto knife, manicuring scissors, and even a paper hole puncher, but the cut is always difficult. I may try an awl next.