MKJoshA

I own Rivendell. I passed on Barad-dur because it's just not a location I prefer to display and isn't a good enough parts pack to get it for that reason. But I am very excited for a Shire set. Sure, I want Edoras and Gondor. But it seems like Lego is prepared to release more LOTR so I fully expect we'll see those eventually. Welcome to the LOTR part of the forum. This is strike 1 and 2. Strike 3 and you're out. As for a finer point of critique, just because you've never seen a Lego army of one hundred or more figs doesn't mean they don't exist. Lego has made many types of army builders including LOTR ones back in the day. If it was such a horrible financial choice why did Lego do it in the past and why are they continuing to do it now?

Guys, this thread is for NEWS ONLY! I'll move the comments to the chat thread later today.

Hmm, I'm interested in this book now. Thanks for sharing!

Gotta keep you on your toes

I'm going to set my foot down on this one. The talk about the Slave I name debate has gone too far and it's going to be hard for anyone to be able to respond objectively at this point. Everyone is allowed to share their point of view on this forum. But the exchange needs to be civil. I'm going to make a few pointers, and then we need to give this topic a rest for a few days everyone needs to cool off. This is 1) circular reasoning and 2) unnecessarily combative. Please seek to keep exchanges polite and reasonable. You are welcome to be okay with Disney/Lego making changes to ship names. @Flawless Cowboy is also allowed to not like the change. But to say "the new name doesn't care" is to try to redirect the original complaint. Those who don't like Disney's name suppression are upset at Disney and hopeful Disney does care what their consumers think. I'm having a hard time following this logic. Marketing is one thing. Content is another. They connect and relate but they are not the same thing. And Disney not using a name doesn't make it irrelevant. Them not using a name can be a relevant factor in understanding why there is a change at all. But a thing itself cannot be it's own proof. I bring these up to help you understand how to better dialogue and debate online. As I stated at the start, you and everyone else is allowed to share their opinion on the topic here. But it will help you if you can share your opinion in a clear and logical manner. Fiction means it's not based on reality. But that doesn't mean it's fluid mess of constantly changing details. Words have meaning. Names have meaning. Sure, Disney is allowed to change a name as Star Wars is now their property. But the name didn't just change spontaneously. There is a reason Disney is purposefully choosing to ignore the name Slave I. You can be fine with that or you can dislike it. But it's an intentional action and people are allowed to be bothered by it. It's the logic behind why Disney is meddling with names that matters. And on a completely different topic, this should probably also cool down a bit

This is the Star Wars part of the forum. This discussion started around a Star Wars set, but has derailed into a topic about brands and economics. Please continue it in a different part of the forum.

That is a fantastic mod and the perfect way to add this set to a train layout

This is very well said. Lego is no longer a good value and I would argue it's becoming less and less of a premium product. I'll never be able to bring myself to buy 3rd party. But the quality of Lego has gone down not up. Just look at the professional pictures of the Barge. You can see the ugly injection mold points in the pictures used on the very box of the set! And then you have pieces breaking, pieces missing more frequently, and drastic variations in color that have gotten more prevalent. Lego has corrected course before, I hope they are listening and do so again soon.

Alright, scores have been corrected and all scores posted in the topics. L9 has 67 points currently. As for P10, yes it would be very hard for the LS to get to it. So we're waiting for DS or Mercs to take it which will trigger an event, yes However, the event may be slightly delayed if someone gets there too fast. I'm still in process of building it! I just made an offer on a house and will hopefully have a dedicated Lego building space by Jan. Till then all my Lego are in boxes. I'm still working on the Rorgam build, but it's more challenging. And as soon as I have that space I intend to build a lot. So expect to see overarching story builds from me a lot in 2025!

Fun poll. I'm still on the fence about buying. If I buy it day one I could sell the Lightsaber and a couple of the figs (I already have a Jabba for example) and break even leaving me with a pile of brown pieces and the guards I really want. Or I could just shell out $80 for figs in a year and call it good.

INTRODUCTION I grew up playing with Legos in the 90s and 2000s. And while I had plenty of castle and pirate sets, whenever I played within the city theme Scruffy Sam was my go-to hero. Who's Scruffy Sam? Let me educate you. Introduced in 1994 Scruffy Sam appeared in a number of sets through the 90s. Bricklink refuses to name him, but if you look at this ad (which I found on Pintrest) and watch this commercial you'll see why Scruffy Sam always drove, piloted, or otherwise was involved in any of my town scenes. (If you want to see more old commercials check out this topic here on EB.) When I saw the new Harbour set it immediately brought back major nostalgia for me. The old Sail N' Fly Marina was featured heavily in the TV ad that left such an impression on me as a kid. I never owned the set growing up, but I re-enacted the scene from the TV using my own pieces many times. So can this set satisfy my nostalgia or will it leave me wanting the good old days when sets had names like "Sail N' Fly Marina"? SET INFORMATION Number: 60422 Title: Seaside Harbor with Cargo Ship Theme: Town Released: 2024 Part Count: 1226 Box Dimensions: 47.6 x 37.3 x 8.8 cm Weight: 2200g Set Price (RRP): £94.99/$109.99/€109.99 Price per Part: 7.7p/9.0c/9.0c Links: Brickset, Bricklink THE BOX AND WHAT'S INSIDE You'll notice on the front of my box that the name of the set is just Harbour. I checked the listings for AU, FR, DE, and US and I could only find the only name of Seaside Harbor with Cargo Ship listed on Lego.com. Does Lego really need SEO help with words like "Seaside" and "Cargo Ship"? It's been awhile since I've been in an industry concerned about SEO, but is it really that bad? Where are the days of world-building names like Sail N' Fly Marina? Why not something like "Catch Of The Day Harbor"? And none of that answers why only "Harbour" made it onto the box front. We get a warning that the models don't float. So I decided to test it. I can confirm they don't float. We also got a new style box where the top is actually a lid. This was also the case for the new Dark Falcon set I bought recently. Not sure what size the box has to be, but it seems Lego is using this new style for bigger sets and I really like it. It actually feels more like old sets used to when the flap would lift up and you could see what was inside the box. If we're going for nostalgia the new box ticks the box (pun intended). You can also see that each section of the build has its own instruction book. THE BUILD First up I built the cargo ship. There are new reddish-orange and dark green stripes throughout the ship and the color scheme looks really good. The control tower uses a neat combination of parts to add a flourish to these stripes. And the boat looks good from all angles. I find the teal container to be a jarring contrast to the rest of the set. But it certainly wouldn't look out of place in a real world setting where cargo containers can be any color. From the top you can see the very plain cargo section. Though the modified tiles with studs around the edge in the new reddish-orange make up for the plainness. There is a small hold at the front of the ship and you can access the engine from the back. Next up was the crane. I love the bright red. The use of sandwhich tiles to continue the striping on the front is a great touch. And the crane is easy to operate. The tires on chains is very true to real-life and they look great. The middle portion of the harbor includes some tourist information and the lamp post posters advertise other Lego sets currently in production. In this section we have orange, reddish orange, and red all represented. I included the wedge plates for color balance. I really like this new color. It's a very subtle difference that will allow for more variety in MOCs. In the last section we find the seaside snack bar and restaurant. The outside facade is built using SNOT bricks. And you can see the ugly injection mold points on the back of the clip plates. This building looks really good and it's height doesn't make it look small next to the giant crane. On the far side is a bit of beach for sunbathers. The umbrella works really well here and ties together the two sides with a pop of red to match the crane. The shower under the stairs is a nice, subtle detail. From behind you can access the snack shop and seat people for the shrimp platter at the restaurant. I'm not sure what kind of wine they are serving but I know you don't put grape juice in those kinds of glasses. The box says 8+ Lego... I placed the inhabitants of this set in the setting and they seem comfortable. Speaking of inhabitants, this set comes with 8. We get a nice mix of workers and people having fun. Now for a public service announcement. If you've been collecting Legos for more than 5 years you may have noticed a decline in quality, especially with the injection mold points or sprue marks. It didn't use to be this bad as you can see in this photo I sent to Lego CS: Injection marks have always been present in Lego, but they have gotten either more noticeable or even include rough edges around the mold point. I encourage you to ask Lego for replacements for any pieces that have really bad injection points. I've noticed they are especially bad on tiles and curved slopes. Lego's moto is "Only the best is good enough." Hold them to that. They will only change their production method if it starts to hurt them financially to keep using shoddy methods. OVERALL When it's all assembled the Harbor takes up a large footprint. The little jet-ski and water boat fit inside the shipping containers to be loaded on the boat if you don't want to use them in the harbor. There are many different play elements and my kids have been thoroughly enjoying the set. The number of times they have loaded and unloaded the containers is a credit to the set designer understanding what kids want with their Legos. But what about the nostalgia factor? This set has a lot of similar elements to the 1994 version. I doubt the designer was trying to copy it exactly, but it seems like they were inspired. With all the 90s references showing up in sets now a days like Johnny Thunder and the straight up Eldorado Fortress re-make I really wish they would have paid homage to Scruffy Sam. I need an updated bomber jacket and aviator wearing stubble-bearded man in my Lego collection! SCORE How do I rate this set? DESIGN 10 This is not a creator expert set, so I don't expected all tiled floors or crazy building techniques. That in mind I think this set is perfectly designed for a standard, City line set. BUILDING EXPERIENCE 8 This was not a boring build, but there also weren't a lot of cool techniques. Overall it was fun to build. FEATURES 9 The missing feature is Scruffy Sam. If they had included him it'd be a perfect 10. PLAYABILITY 10 With how much this set has been played with, more than even the other two sets Lego sent me to review, it certainly succeeds in playability. PARTS 8 There are a good amount of parts in the new reddish-orange color. And overall the parts are varied and used well. VALUE FOR MONEY 10 Even with inflation accounted for this set is a good value. Yes, it's just over that $100 mark. But you get the parts to support the price tag. FINAL SCORE: 9 My nostalgia itch has been scratched by this set, not to perfection but it gets close. This is a nice set with lot of play value. It allows for fun world building and storytelling which is what Lego is all about for me. It takes up a large footprint and uses the space well to include fun features. This set isn't going to be for everyone, but if you like Town/City or just want to get your kids something besides Star Wars Legos to play with for a change (guilty) this is a great choice.

I got my kids a lot of Mario sets off eBay for Christmas last year. They like playing with them but hardly use the AR features. I really want that Yoshi egg. I hope it shows up elsewhere so I don't have to buy this set

One could argue that it's wokeness/political correctness that made Lego go with dual-molded legs giving Leia a pair of shorts. One could also argue that Lego is catering to a more conservative audience by covering up Leia's legs. We don't know which one it is so let's stop discussing it. Anytime we try to analyze whether a decision is too woke or not woke enough it leads to getting off topic and more political than a Lego forum needs to be. Lego (and Disney) have added that discussion to their products so the conversation itself is not banned. But unless we have a statement from Lego saying why they went with dual-molded shorts for Leia we need to not discuss it here.

I really wanted to like this set. So far I'm disappointed. I'll wait for more details like promos before deciding whether to buy it. For the record, we don't know that Leia having dual molded "shorts" is for political reasons. I actually think that's unlikely as someone pointed out Lego is making bikini sporting minifigures right now. I imagine the choice had to do with dual molding and difficulties in trying to print "flesh" coloring on the sides. Probably just a poor designer choice and nothing political.

I totally forget to add the x2 bonus! I'll get that fixed soon and update you when it's done.

This is one of your best builds! I love the temple and the story around a neutral spot in the force. Reminds me of the KOTOR games. And your lightsaber hilt is next level. Great work all around, and this totally counts for the Sith bonus

I didn't even think about that, that would be a fantastic mace for Sauron. Here's hoping for more, cheaper LOTR sets. Yes, crop tops are back in style. Every time I see someone using that style I think, "the 2000s called and they want their midriffs back."

The lack of skin colors on the torsos makes sense, but why not add purple to the tail piece? It would limit it to purple torsos, but that's better than the bright orange. Thank you for coming out of retirement to share these kind words

Those Stormtroopers are the best combination of parts. The best helmet plus the new legs is a great fit.

The gargoyles in the Wednesday set look fantastic for gothic castle architecture.

As far as I know you can't edit quantity, you just have to click for that part 3 times. That's what I've had to do in the past.

We're back again with another CMF review! I bought a number of individual space figures but wasn't interested in getting 3 copies of each one so I skipped buying a case of the Series 26. However, as a castle builder I was highly interested in the D&D CMFs. As Lego still won't sell a full case I bought mine from the same store as before. This review still won't be as good as Whitefang's, but hopefully it'll help you decide whether these figures are worth pursuing or not. Before we get into the review let me say that I've never played D&D so many of the references in this series go over my head. My knowledge of D&D is limited to what I learned from watching Community and Stranger Things. However I can certainly appreciate the amount of detail that went into these even if I don't know all the source material. With the introduction of QR codes on the boxes, finding figures using an app has become the new normal. If you're interested in knowing the order of the figures in my box let me know and I'll share it. But I'm going to assume you've all fallen for the Brick Search ads and downloaded the app. I do not endorse the app, though I did use it to see if it would work for the D&D series (it did). If someone from Brick Search reads this feel free to share some insight in the comments, but the site/app clearly has a lot of money to spend on SEO because I see their adds everywhere. For a "free" app, I have to wonder how they are making all that money and what information of mine they are collecting and selling. But enough about online data concerns, first up are the Elf Bard, Gith Warlock, Halfling Druid, and Dwarf Barbarian. Each of these comes with both a male and female, dual sided head. Bard I'm not a fan of the gaudy color scheme for the Bard. The magenta scarf and gloves especially seem too bright for other castle/fantasy settings. Thankfully those are easily removable/changable. The silver lipstick on the female head however can't be changed. The new hairpiece for the Bard is excellent and I hope Lego gives it to use in more colors. Gith Speaking of which, I love that they re-used the hairpiece for the Gith Warlock and gave it yellow ears. This is especially nice for the builders who still like to use all yellow minifigures in their MOCs. Halfling The Halfling is fantastic all around. The brown cape looks great and it's nice to get a different cut for it. I also really like the mutton chops on the male head. The sparrow also looks fantastic with it's white crown. Dwarf I love the torso and fur-collar combo, but I feel like the dwarf is really missing having a beard piece. Female dwarves are known to have beards too, so this would have been a great chance for Lego to include it. The hairpiece is necessary for the collar to work, but it's not my favorite for a dwarf figure. The new axe head is amazing though. Next set includes the Mind Flayer, Aarakocra Ranger, Dragonborn Paladin and Tiefling Sorcerer. Only the Tiefling comes with different heads. Mind Flayer As far as being able to re-use figures for other castle settings the Mind Flayer is very limited. You could use the robe for a villain, but it's pretty limited outside that. Aarakocra Our bird friend is also more limited but has a fantastic torso that can be used in many scenarios. The puppy is cute, but I would have rather gotten a more exotic pet. Dragonborn The beefy armor is fantastic and I love that the torso underneath is so detailed. The new mace piece needs to show up in other colors as it'll make fantastic pillar toppers. Tiefling The tail not having purple printing in front is too bad. Lego did that with Monkie Kid figures to I know it's possible. The dragon mold is incredible. The last set includes named characters: The Lady of Pain, Szass Tam, Tasha the Witch Queen and Strahd von Zarovich. Lady of Pain She is my least favorite out of all the characters. The least re-usable potential and her accessories aren't interesting to me. Tam I like the re-colored, classic skeleton head. Tasha Great details on the torso and legs. The arms are especially re-usable. Strahd He looks ok, but the bit of sand-blue fur on the right shoulder seems a little odd. There are decent number of extra parts (the top part of the photo) with the best being the extra Gith knife. There are also a great number of new molds and re-colors. The dwarf axe has an anti-stud on the bottom allowing you to attach it to light-saber handles, torches, or other pieces to add versatility to your weapons. Also of interest are the base plates. I have hundreds of the plain black bases so for me it's great to get some variety. Having something like the Disney symbol means the versatility is nil. But the stars for series 6 and the cobble stones here are fantastic. I imagine we'll see them used on lots of MOCs. Verdict? SCORE DESIGN 9 Even if you aren't a D&D player it's easy to appreciate the designs in this series. PARTS 9 There are some really great parts. I won't be filling my castle with walking brains. But expect to see some trans-red skeleton head bottles and axe wielding figures in my future MOCs. VALUE FOR MONEY 10 Buying a case is money well spent. Using something like an app to get the figures you want would also work. If you're going in blind and hoping to not get The Lady of Pain then it's a gamble. But overall this series is certainly a good value. FINAL SCORE: 9 Lego keeps out-doing themselves. My biggest complaint is with the named characters. I wish Lego had stuck to all generic characters and let people build their own von Zarovich's. But this is still a solid series.

Yes, that's correct. The exception being if a major Hyperspace route runs through it. But Q10 doesn't have a major lane is it's just the 4 immediately connected to Q10 that the Mercs will have access to after gaining control.

Yeah, it really shows the designer went above and beyond for this set. If that were so I would expect to see them far less frequently. They are in every new set I buy now.

The map has been updated!