JohnTPT17

You're forgetting another big plus for those smaller sets: army building, where many people are likely to buy multiple copies. Yes, some people may only buy one, but many others could buy two, or five, or ten. It's not just about targeting kids - it's targeting people who want the minifigures, and based on recent Star Wars waves, there's at least some acknowledgement from Lego about this. That's nothing to say of other smaller, minifig-based sets. Just look at the Captain Rex microfighter - a $20 Sauron vs Isildor set would also probably sell quite a lot (and I think the claim that 50 percent of all fans of a series would buy a $100 set is greatly exaggerated). That, and I'm not sure what "other manufacturers" you would be referring to - even in the realm of knockoff Lego Lord of the Rings, they're either cheap and of poor quality, or anywhere from $10-25 per minifig for ones that look decent. And, yes, there's plenty of counterarguments one way or another for these. Cost of designing and shipping sets, licensing deals, keeping them exclusive to Lego versus a wide release, etc. But, frankly, none of us know what Lego's actual financial spreadsheets are, so speculation doesn't really get us anywhere. The inflation calculator I used said that $70 in 2011 would be $98 these days. Plus, that set was possibly just slightly overpriced because it had several exclusive, non-reused molds - A new one probably wouldn't need any new molds, just some new prints. So, I think there would be room to expand it a hair, or add in another minifigure. Clean up the design, switch out the dwarves for Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, and maybe Rosie - or, heck, make it a little bigger and make it $120 - and I'd be all over that!

I must've missed the part and price confirmation - dang it. That's probably going to put it well out of my price range. I still stand by what I said earlier - there needs to be some less expensive offerings. Disney was able to do it with Simba - surely a smaller $80-100 Bag End could work alongside a more expensive offering. I guess that's just another set I'll only look at from a distance...

I honestly don't want it to be another huge, $500 set - just let it focus on a clean Bag End, throw in a few tents and party decor outside, and let the set be in the $200-250 range. If others really do want the entire Shire, they could buy two copies of the set to make it bigger. That's just my hopes, though (and honestly what I'd like the most is just a "normal" wave of sets in the $10-100 range, but that doesn't seem to be the way the reboot is going). Nice mace (and welcome to Eurobricks)! It looks like it's mostly made up of Batarangs, but what is the middle part holding them together?

I'm very glad to see that the tiger it there - hopefully it'll be somewhere in the $7-8 range. I think that's about what the lions cost? I also see Mr. Pale's torso from Ninjago - and he's really expensive on Bricklink right now. I'll need to grab that as well!

The reviews I've seen for that set make it look extremely cool, and it seems well-designed across the board. The price is also quite reasonable. The only downside is that it just doesn't work with anything that I already have - but I think anyone who gets it will be extremely happy with it. I think that's about where I'm at with it as well... The Forestman Stronghold does look nice, but I don't even have the Lion Knight's Castle yet, and I feel like that would be a better buy. If the Forestmen has a slightly different vibe and looked more Ewok Village-esque, I might like it more... But I don't know if I need a third castle for them. Now, just to stave off fomo... I'm still up in the air about Art of Chocolate as well. If it was a little closer to $200 (and even if that meant getting rid of the closing back), I think it might feel like a better deal. Like, just compare it to something like Wave 5's Mushroom Village, which I feel like is far more innovative, creative, and bigger - and it has nearly 300 less pieces. I dunno... I think I may still get one, since it does seem pretty unique... We'll see.

Reviews are out for nearly all of Wave 3, if anyone is looking for them. (I didn't notice any for Camping Adventure) Personally... I'm a bit torn after watching some of these reviews. Initially, I was thinking about getting The Art of Chocolate and Forest Stronghold... But, after those reviews, I may skip them both. Or, at least limit my self to just one of them. I feel like a lot of these reviews boil down to simply saying "these sets are nice MOCs, but they're jam-packed with a lot of smaller parts and aren't very innovative, and may have better alternatives out there." That was especially the feeling I got towards the Forest Stronghold. And, another reviewer stated that The Art of Chocolate wasn't a good build experience, and that room inside once completed was limited. And I still wish the set was just purely open-back and didn't have the opening feature, which would have cut down on the price without sacrificing too much. At least I have it pretty much settled that I'll be skipping Wave 4 (unless Seaside Market ends up being a really good deal), and I'll only be getting the Mushroom Village from Wave 5 (and maybe the popcorn cart) I dunno... I have some things to mull over for the next week. Anyone else have any thoughts? Anywho - I'm interested to see what Wave 6 will bring, and if it will have any fresh, new ideas.

Honestly, the F1 Series really throws things off. I think most people here agree it's a wasted slot that no one wants, so that means that, at most, we only will have one more licensed series next year. And, as far as Disney specifically goes, they've always been a summer release, so I doubt it will take the third spot for next year. If we keep getting minifigure-based sets, I'll be pacified for the time being, but I'd love to get another one at some point.

WE HATES IT!!!

Smaller sets could fill a Castle niche that Lego hasn't filled for over a decade - assuming we would get the standard trappings of a forest, a tavern, and come crumbling ruins, all sprinkled in with some new minifigures, it'd be a smash hit. It even has an advantage over other licensed series (like Disney, Marvel, or Series) in that you're encouraged to buy multiples to army build/mix and match parts, which is a lot harder to do with someone like Homer or Mulan. Even some of the named characters from this series, like the witch of the vampire, are all still pretty "generic" and could go in a lot of other scenes. Overall, though, I'm glad to see that the series has been a success! Never played the game, but I have been curious about it for awhile. I just don't have any friends that would get together to play. Interestingly, my local Wal-mart has already gotten a restock of the minifigs already - which is something I don't think I've ever seen before. I picked up one more Dragonborn (the last one they had), three Mindflayers, and two halflings (people are sleeping on that little guy hard!). If I stumble across any more Dragonborn, I might get them - but I've already gotten a ton, so I'm probably done with the series at this point.

Well... A big blue Slave 1 sounds pretty neat. Though hopefully we get a Jango Fett Microfighter next winter...

After watching the Thunderbolts teaser... Meh. I dunno - I think a part of the charm of the other Marvel movies, for me at least, is the superpowers and the spectacle. It doesn't always need to be that - Winter Soldier is still probably in my Top 3 - but this just looks like any old heist movie to me. Maybe if I cared more about these characters, it would be an enjoyable romp to just watch them go on an adventure - but I just don't care about them at all. Even the poster is a jumbled, disorganized swath of bodies. I can see why other people might be interested in it - but it (and any accompanying sets) are a pass for me. Hopefully we see the rest of the X-Mansion this week though - I'm going to hold off any judgement until we see something that's not smeared in Vaseline, so I can get a good feel for the actual colors, size, and content.

I kinda wish it would be someone new, but I also passed on the original Julian set, so I'll probably pick it up.

For the past several years, I've found myself more interested in minifigures overall than full sets. There's something more charming to me about CMF's, older Ninjago characters, etc, that I can get for $5 or under for the most part, as opposed to spending $80 on a set that will have just one ship and three minifigures. I think they only full "sets" I have bought this year have been the Burger Truck, Bowser's Car, Rex's Microfighter, a Chrysanthemum, and two of the Animal Crossing sets - and all of those were on sale! Dichotomously, though, I'm also interested in the Bricklink Designer Program sets (I've got the Mountain Fortress and Snack Shack, with the Mushroom House on order, and I'm considering getting the Forestman Hideout/Art of Chocolate in two weeks), but those are as much to give all of my minifigures some kind of a "home" I can display and play with them around - and I'm about at my limit there.. I dunno... Maybe that makes me contradictory, or maybe I'm just going towards Lego's two extreme options since the "middle ground" sets aren't really doing it for me. And maybe Lego gets the win at the end of the day since I'm still forking over hundreds of dollars for some big sets. I dunno... It is an odd time to be into Lego.

There are definitely a lot less of the smaller, affordable sets that both kids and adults enjoy to get unique characters/army build, but they are still around. The Rex Microfighter, Clones vs Droids Battle Pack, and Ahsoka vs Maul Duel are all good examples of those. And I do see kids/teens buying those sets fairly often! That being said, it's definitely not what I remember it being "back in the day" either, when sets were coming out to compliment the Prequels and Clone Wars (both of which had kids in mind). While the sequels do have some fans who are kids, I do feel like it's pushed towards them less than it used to be, and with less coming out recently that would appeal towards them (and I doubt Skeleton Crew will be enough to move the needle), it is harder to get kids introduced to the Star Wars universe unless their parents are also into it, and introduce their kids to it. TLDR: It's not what it used to be at all, but there are at least some sets around to try to appeal to kids.

Yeah - and that very well could be the case. And it's not like Lego hasn't done light blue, pink, and white clothes before. Sometimes, a color is just a color. And I do agree with you - I do think the colors are kinda garrish.

The flag I was thinking of only has three colors: light blue, pink, and white. It does have five stripes instead of three, but the colors are a pretty close match. I'm not saying it was 100% the designer's intention, but I think it could easily be used to represent that. Though, based on the hair, Cat Lover looks more boy-ish to me anyways, so who really knows? It's also not like most CMF character bios, or even default design, matter - it's Lego, and you can make whatever characters in whatever ways you want. Something that I only noticed on my most recent analysis is that the head/mask has grey horns, so it's definitely not just the Yeti mold reused. It'll be interesting to see if there is a minifigure head under there - it's higher on the shoulders than the Yeti/Chewbacca are, so there might be "room" for one...

Good eye - that does looks more like a cap with green hair!

That's my guess - it's that, or the brain of the second cat that's going to get transplanted to the white one...

Possibly? It is a little odd that arm us dual-molded with orange and blue - the color of Autumn's prosthetic hand - but I can't quite say it's round enough near the "sleeve." Good eye, if that's the case!

1. Wolfpack Beastmaster: Good sword, good shield, and a light grey wolf! Looks like he has a cape as well. Not a complete can of the mutton chops face/hood, but it's still be great for army building. 2. Pirate Quartermaster: Doesn't strike me super pirate-y right now - more of a general tradeswoman? Still, I think that's a good thing! I think she will fit in with a lot of pirate-type scenes, and the cockatoo looks good! The sword is a bit redundant, though. 3. Steampunk Inventor: Great stovetop hat, and seems to have the appropriate brown attire. Accessory is a clock/bomb, with steam coming out of it? Wish the accessory could have been cooler, but the minifigure's a good one. 4. Pterodactyl Costume Fan: Dark grey, with blue highlights. New wings (no hands), and a new hood. I'm not a huge costume person, but I think she looks good! 5. Bogeyman: That is NOT a suitable Oogey replacement - it's dark purple, with a big, open screaming face. Kinda reminds me of the Yeti mold. He also has a red book with a moon and a dead tree that looks really good. Not a fan of the minifig itself, though. 6. Jetpack Racer: Nifty helmet, should work in a lot of space scenes. Mostly white, with red and black accents. Not fully on board, though. 7. Cat Lover: Only one cat - but it looks like the minifig also comes with a pink yarn ball? The sweater's colors are a little garish to me - possibly the colors of the Transgender flag? 8. Longboarder: It's of the skateboarder variety - minifigure seems to be wearing green headphones, maybe? Pretty typical city figure for the most part, though. 9. Astronomer Kid: Nice torso, and the build for the telescope is neat (is the tripod piece new?) Otherwise, pretty simple. 10. Cupid: It's of the baby cupid vein, complete with a red heart, bow, and new wings that look smaller than the D&D ones. I don't think it will be usable in most historic scenes, sadly. 11. Hamster Costume Fan: The costume looks like what you'd expect... But only a green tile pellet for the accessory? Weak! 12. Plush Toy: That's a plush toy fan - looks like she's holding Beanie Boos - a green frog and a blue... Seal? It's a young girl wearing all pink, including her hair - so, that's a pass for me. Well.. There's some that I really like (Beastmaster, Pirate Quartermaster), and a few I'd get one of (Steampunk Inventor, Pterodactyl), or like for the accessories (Longboard, spooky stories book, yarn ball, plush). Overall, though - it feels like a weaker minifigure series to me - just enough good stuff for me to like it, but I don't really love it either.

@michael_bricks_f0rever on Instagram.

Thank you! Now, let's take a look...

Thanks! What's the name of the profile where you've found the photo? Instagram doesn't let those without profiles look at general hashtags, so I can't search for it that way, but you can usually look at individual profiles/posts just fine if you know where to look.

It sounds like the photo's already been taken down then? I still haven't been able to find any profiles with the photo yet. How big did the wolf look? Did the Beastmaster have some kind of animal hood, or just normal hair? That's the one I'm the most curious about if the Steampunk guy can't be seen... That's - even more ironic, given the recent Taylor Swift post.

Do you have any specific names of people who have leaked them? Instagram stops you at a login page if you just try to look for general hashtags now, but you can look at individual profiles without issue.