Fugazi

Your decal doesn't seem to fit the shape of a minifig, have you tested it first? Or you could use an existing decal as a model.

Awesome! Thanks again, this tournament of retribution really spoiled us in every way! The pirate deck looks lovely, and I'll be sure to play with the family! I may even consider buying a second one, for games that require two decks of cards. Congratulations to all the winners, you made the tournament all the more entertaining!

This would be my chance to attend, Windsor is just a short fly away from Scotland! Of course it's really to early to make plans, with all that's happening at home and at work, but I will keep the dates in mind and do my best to free up time and money! It would be a great opportunity to meet some of you fine Eurobrickers, and visit Legoland Windsor for the first time (yeah I know, shame on me!).

I agree, the Sagrada Family would be an AFOLs dream (and a designer nightmare with barely any straight lines!) I just wonder if it's some sort of internal TLG policy not to market any religious buildings, which would alas greatly reduce the chances of this -- or any other great cathedral -- ever happening.

Excellent in-depth interview! Shadows in particular was very good. Not to mention Hinckley. I'm glad that EB News interviews are back, I hope to read more of them in the future! I'm not suggesting any names though, I don't want to ruin their chances!

Sorry for the late reply, I am away on a camping trip and Internet access is very sporadic. But anyway, WOW! I'm amazed and thrilled be cause I certainly didn't expect to win this contest, I thought other entries were so much funnier than mine... but I won't complain either! Thank you all for your kind words, and your votes. This was an awesome contest, creativity was incredible and I loved each and every entry! Finally, a huge thank you to Commodore Hornbricker and the rest of the Pirates team for setting up this contest and hosting it in the most entertaining ways! It's really much more than a contest, it's an event and a memorable one! Thanks again! And now that I will have more Pirates parts in my collection, I will certainly be able to contribute more to this forum! Looking forward to that!

Wow that's fascinating reading, thanks!

Yes, I'm really impressed, considering the time it took to create mine, how you can just turn up with a new comic every other day, you almost make it look like it's easy! And they're all funny and well photographed to boot. You're the real champion of this tournament, good job!

What happened to the 1980s catalogues and universal set boxes where boys and girls were both shown playing with Lego in perfect harmony? Or at least a new girl-oriented System theme, one can always dream! I didn't know that, it's a disturbing thought.

You have a valid point there. It's too early to tell the number of female minifigs in Series 3 yet, but the outlook is not great. And while it's true that some minifigs out there are gender-neutral -- I can think of the robot in Series 1 for example -- all I can think of when I look at them is 'male'. If I require a female minifig in a MOC, I can't just go saying 'well this robot is female, you can't tell but just believe me' -- it just won't cut it. Female minifigs need some telling signs, lipstick, nice curves, or shell bikini tops, something that will stand out. Wouldn't a female elf be great! Crossing my fingers here!

What I feel is slightly disappointing is the low female/male ratio in all minifig series so far: no more than 2-3 female minifigs out of 16. TLG probably have extensive market analyses to show that this ratio is the ideal balance for optimal sales, but I would have wished for a more balanced selection.

It would seem that some early forms of SNOT were already used in the 1970 Gears sets (ancestor of Technic). Maybe that would explain why I have the feeling that kids 'MOC' less than they used to 'back in my youth', and play more with their sets built as per the instructions. On the other hand, I have only anecdotal evidence of this, so I shouldn't draw general conclusions.

Thanks CopMike for this fruity raffle! Congratulations to all the winners! And what a bunch of creative entries you all submitted, good work!

To my limited knowledge, one of the first pieces used for snotting purposes was the Bracket 2x2-2x2, introduced in 1978 according to Peeron: Those were used in the new Space sets of that year. The headlight brick () was also introduced shortly after. Any earlier ones? Edit: Now that I think of it, these fence pieces were introduced much earlier, but were they ever used for SNOT work in official sets?

Maybe a huge Harry Potter statue, like the Yoda UCS?

Good review, thanks! I just thought I would mention, regarding the box: I've seen this set now re-released in the UK with a 'Toy Story 3'-style thinner box and a white background. Actually some stores have both box styles. I wonder if any of the other first wave Toy Story sets have been redesigned in this fashion.

Interesting! I must say I'm not really excited by more police sets (my only police set dates back to my childhood) nor the space sub-theme (been there done that), but I'll just wait and see. After all, it's all in the way the sets are designed, the new parts, the minifigs, it may turn out just fine. Thanks for the excellent spy job, K-D!

Thanks for all the terrific new info, K-D! Does this mean that there could be more than two series next year? Releases in January and April could suggest further releases by the end of summer or before Christmas? While I like the collectible minifigs, I do hope TLG don't plan on releasing more than 2 series per year, it would leave me with so much less money for 'real' sets.

Oh? I figured the catalogues would be identical but for the prices. There is an error in the UK calalogue, and I thought I would mention it because it took me a while to find the Lego Games pages in the store using their "helpful" indications! Well, never mind then!

Yeah, and the Hogwarts game isn't really even on page 1663.

The LL numbers were ship registries given to space ships by TLG back in the early Classic era. Those were nice printed bricks and the system was LL followed by a number which happened to be the number of the set -- the European set number that is, because back then US sets used different number series . Why LL? Maybe it stands for Legoland, maybe it's just random, I'm not sure. Known official examples include: LL 918 One Man Spaceship LL 924 Space Transporter LL 928 Galaxy Explorer and, just as a bit of unrelated trivia: LL-BEL (helicopter from 6392 Airport) While I'm no Neo Classic Space (NCS) specialist, I can only assume that NCS builders are paying tribute to that fine tradition by assigning similar numbers to their creations. There doesn't seem to be a strict system to it, builders just assign numbers they like. There is nothing mentioned concerning registries on the NCS rules page.

I'm absolutely all for this idea, I wish there would be a way to design those plastic boxes so that they could be displayed upright in the stores while having large lids that make them more useful for part storage. I'm sure it can be done, and it's possibly just a matter of letting TLG know that such a change would reduce the number of boxes ending up in the recycling/rubbish bin. It's a good thing you are bringing this up vexorian!

Tough choices here, I love all of the comics I've seen in this final round. I will give 1 point to each of these: "A day at the guillotine" By mcfarlandman Hilarious, awesome finale! "From one classic piece of mythology to another" By ZCerberus Excellent adaptation, funny and clever. "The Ballad of the Nine Sacred Trials" By Capt. Thomas Foolery Superb writing, I'm jealous! "A very bad birthday for Captain Blue Hair" By General Redwater My best role ever! Very creative. "The Blue Avenger Strikes Back!" By Oky Wan Kenobi Last but not least, very funny as ever! Good luck to all!

Ahah! Great comic Oky, I'm glad the Blue Avenger could make it in the end! I love the Blue-merang and the giant Skalldyr crab, well done!

Is it me or TLG learned to speak AFOL! Unique printed shield, that will be a sought after part! By the way it's funny they should call tan tan, instead of their official colour name (isn't it Brick Yellow?)