Fugazi

Good advice. I know for sure that the yellows of the two minifigs I have tested are different. The hands and head are especially obvious: the collectible minifig yellow is a bit 'greener', not quite as deep and rich. I think it's very similar to your round 2x2 brick example. But alas I don't think it obvious in my photos. I think it's the issue that annoys me the most with the collectible minifigs. I can live with different plastics, but I'd rather have consistent colours. Of course the colour problem is not limited to the minifigs, but it would seem they are currently the worse offenders.

Well, what I tried to address here was the 'feeling' that collectible minifigs are made of cheaper quality plastic, and not the quality itself. I can't say for sure that collectible minifigs are of lower quality, and I can't say that lower density plastic automatically equates with lower quality anyway. But I wanted to find out what it is about them that gives that feeling, and now I know it's not their weight. Texture, colour, opacity and resistance are more difficult to measure, but it will be interesting to see if in the long run people start complaining about their collectible minifigs cracking prematurely or scratching more easily than other minifigs. Of course the small differences would multiply. But I think that a 3% weight difference is too small to have an impact on my perception of quality. It must be something else!

Of course I agree with you both. I actually expected a HUGE difference in weight between the two minifigs, so I didn't bother taking more of them with me in order to test for variability. Besides, I didn't want to spend an hour weighing minifigs at my work place! But considering the results, I should go back and add more samples to my study. And WHY did I expect such a huge difference? In my hands, the minifigs DO feel different, somehow the different texture must mislead my brain into thinking they weigh differently! I can't explain it otherwise! Because in a blind test (say picking the two minifigs out of a pocket with my eyes closed) I can tell that the classic minifig feels heavier EVERY TIME!

No I don't! But I find that in general the joints in my collectible minifigs are actually stiffer than in (recent) classic minifigs. We may need to have a poll about this!

Ever since I bought my first collectible minifig, I felt there was a difference between the collectible and regular figs. The plastic felt different and lighter. And after reading yet another discussion about collectible minifig quality, I decided that I had to find out in a scientific way whether there really was a measurable difference between classic and collectible minifig plastic. I chose two random minifigs from my collection, one from Green Grocer (without the hair piece) and the Series 1 crash test dummy. Using a scientific precision scale I have access to, I weighed different minifig parts in order to find out how significant was the difference between the two. So here are the results: ____________classic_______collectible head:-------0.543 g-------0.550 g torso:------1.310 g-------1.230 g legs:-------1.191 g-------1.187 g hand:_______0.093 g_______0.093 g minifig:----3.043 g-------2.966 g Surprisingly, while there are slight differences between the classic and collectible minifig torso weights, overall the differences are so tiny that it would be impossible to 'feel' them in our hands. The whole collectible minifig is less than 0.1 g lighter than the regular minifig. I also tried to compare a few accessories. In particular, the 2x2 tiles included with the collectible minifigs felt lighter to me than regular 2x2 tiles. I also compared two whips, the white one from the Ringleader minifig, the brown from a Prince of Persia set. I took care to select accessories with similar shaped moulds -- some moulds like the chicken leg, the bow and the shovel were obviously modified for the collectible series so they couldn't be compared. And here are the results: ____________classic_______collectible tile:-------0.497 g-------0.485 g whip:-------0.244 g-------0.245 g While the collectible tile is slightly lighter, the whip is pretty much identical. Of course the whip is made from a different, flexible plastic. So is 0.01 g enough difference to explain the lighter feel of the collectible parts? I strongly doubt it. Assuming that the moulds are similar and the amount of plastic used in each part is identical, the densities of the plastics used in the classic and collectible parts are similar as well. So if there are any differences in the quality 'feel' of the minifigs, it must be something else. The surface texture perhaps, I do have the feeling that the surfaces of the collectible parts are slightly less polished, therefore less shiny. The transparency issues is perhaps due to less pigment used per kg of plastic than in regular minifigs, but there's no way for us to measure this. Also it would be interesting to find out if the collectible parts are as resistant to scratches as the classic parts. But I'm not planning to test it on my Lego! Interestingly, all of the collectible minifig parts and accessories have new part numbers. For instance the 2x2 tiles above: the regular tile has part number 3068 while the collectible mould has part number 88409. I don't know what to make of it, but it's obvious that TLG doesn't want the collectible pieces to be mistaken for classic ones. Curious. Comments welcome!

A lot of possible buildings were suggested here: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=42800 Interestingly, the Tower Bridge was suggested time and again in that thread, and it turned out to be the next World Icon building in the pipeline! I'm really curious as to what the next will be. Probably not a religious building though.

Just saw this belatedly, I was a bit confused right there! Thanks for clearing this up.

Oh well, forget all of this! I have been told that there are very few scum right now. I think I'll just stick to my cooking. Yes, I just noticed that fact. Thanks for the heads up!

Okay let's try to think straight here. We are 42 in this town, and there are likely three groups: us honest townies, and two Godfathers with possibly some henchmen. If Master Jim Butcher is right and the Godfathers have enough henchmen from the start to not be outnumbered by the townpeople, then we can estimate the following: We can either have three groups of 14 (3x14=42) or say two groups of 12 and one of 18, etc. There can't be less than 21 scum total, because then there would be more townies than total scum and the townies would win automatically. So I estimate the scum to be somewhere between 22 and 28, therefore two groups of between 11 and 14. In that case, by voting at random we stand a fairly good chance of hitting a scum from one group or the other. And Mrs. Boy would be about right about our fifty-fifty chances. Do I make any sense? Of course, maybe there are only two Godfathers, and we have an icicle's chance in hell to vote them out right now. But then wouldn't they already be outnumbered by townsfolk? And by the way, dinner's ready! Susan darling, won't you get Hans, he must be down at the pub with his colleagues.

I don't see how this works out. If we vote at random, we probably have a chance of 2 in 42 to hit a mobster. Far from 50%

Amazing WIP Jipay! Ever since the day I set my eyes on the Pharaoh collectible minifig I have been dreaming of such a MOC. I can't wait to see where this is going! As mentioned by others, I love the contrast between the rough and earthy exteriors and the ornate and colourful interiors. The river shore is also beautifully done. Looking forward to the updates!

Well I've been listening all day and I can't say that I have valid reasons to suspect anybody so far. I wonder how would a godfather act in such circumstances? Remain low profile, say hardly anything unless asked? On the contrary, lash out and attack left and right to deflect suspicions to other people? Or somewhere in between? I may still vote before the day is over, but so far I really don't feel confortable accusing anyone. Anyway I'd better get started on cooking, Hans and Susan must be starving after such a stressful day.

Hi Matt, Nice to see a Québécois joining, although I'm in the UK now I have lived in Sherbrooke for a while a couple of years ago. Welcome to EB and I'm sure you will find here the answers to you train questions!

While Peeron is still for the time being my favourite part and set reference, I must add that even with their introverted policies it still has a good deal of incorrect inventories and colour references. The frustrating part is that there is no way this is going to change if the admins don't acknowledge external contributions. I too was willing to help out with contributions or even administration, but alas Peeron is a closed box and this is what will make competitors like Brickset or Basebrick eventually supersede them.

Oh no, what a nightmare! I thought our lives would be better after all we went through, and it turns up it was all for nothing! Hans, my dear, I'm so afraid that one day you will not come back home to us! What will we do, Susan and I, without you! Please promise that you will be careful and not take any unnecessary risks! But as much as I want to get rid of the scum for the sake of my family, I don't see how we can vote anyone out today without endangering innocent lives. Hopefully those villains will give themselves away if we are patient and alert.

Oh I see, thanks Zorbas!

Could be either way I suppose, maybe the designers went for different textures on purpose? And are these grooved round bricks really white, or tan? I would rather have tan, but they do look more like white in the pictures.

I just registered, this seems to be working quite well. The Massupload function is handy and well implemented. A minor issue: when sorting the set inventory by set number, this will happen: 10199 6666 801 Because the digits by themselves are considered instead of the number as a whole. Perhaps this could be improved some day! edit: The same is true for part numbers.

Should you even ask?

I quite like the new colour palette with richer tones, and the classical ruins replacing the 'fantastic' buildings of the previous wave. I didn't consider previous Atlantis sets as attractive part packs, but dropping the trans-bright green parts and adding the tan bits might just get me interested in some of the sets. And the minifigs are fairly spectacular by themselves. Hmm, overall this wave is a big improvement over the last as far as I'm concerned!

Amazing city! And you say it's all built from official sets? There are even some I don't recognise, like the red and white building in the first picture (in this thread, not on Brickshelf).

Got my PM, Mrs. Frankie Keen stay-at-home mother is ready to play!

Well we have both Pharaoh's Quest and NinjaGo confirmed for 2011 as action themes, so is there room left for a World Racers return? I doubt that both Racers and World Racers would disappear at once, would they? Racers is a big part of the current catalogue. As for Creator, 6 sets are planned for the first 2011 wave: 5766 log cabin € 29.99 5765 Low Loader with Helicopter € 19.99 5764 Robot € 14.99 5763 Buggy € 9.99 5761 Mini Excavator € 4.99 5762 Mini Plane € 4.99

With all the fresh news of 2011 sets, I thought this would be a good time to recap. So far we know that these themes will appear or be carried on into 2011: Atlantis Pharaoh's Quest NinjaGo Pirates of the Caribbean (still waiting for dates/set details) Hero Factory Games Collectable Minifigures As well as the usual suspects: City/Trains, Star Wars, Creator, Technic, Duplo. So what about the rest of them? Are these going to disappear, or is it just a matter of time before we get some form of confirmation? Harry Potter World Racers Racers Power Miners Kingdoms Space Police Toy Story I suppose it's pretty safe to say that World Racers, Power Miners and Toy Story are over, but what about Space Police, Racers and Kingdoms? Has there been any information one way or the other? Will there be no space-based theme in 2011?

Great review, thanks def! Your title image is quite beautiful. These are the sets that brought us all those wonderful sand colours! I almost bought some used LoM sets a while back but in the end didn't. While I like the subdued colours and the non-violent premise, I think that the main problem for me with the theme as a whole were the alien minifigs. I can't feel for them, they just look too much like battle droids, and not like organic beings, despite the best efforts of head printing. That and the unexciting design of the smaller sets. But it's really a shame, because some sets like this one are interesting and innovative for the period. Replace the 'droids' with some of the more elaborate aliens that we have today and it would be a winner.