Fugazi

I certainly don't want to hijack this thread, but all this tunnel talk made me realize that a short bridge would probably work much better as a standalone set than a tunnel. It would require less parts (depending on style), it could be modular (many short-length sets could be put together to create a longer bridge), and could be made in different styles (truss, girder, etc). It could even be sold without track, so that it could be used either as a road or railway bridge! This would especially make sense in the new City line, where trains have been integrated instead of being a separate theme. Anyway, sorry for the OT!

It all depends on the total production figures. As this is a kind of pilot experiment, and TLC may not know what kind of sales to expect, the initial production levels may be low, and could disappear from the retailers quite fast -- with the consequence of reaching horrendous Bricklink prices. However, if TLC are confident and production levels are high, then maybe there will be a balance between offer and demand, and everyone interested in gambling will be able to get the minifigs from retailers at MSRP without having to resort to buying them on BL or eBay. Also keeping in mind the quality issue which is still largely unknown, and will affect demand as well, I think it's very hard to tell how this will all turn out.

It seems encouraging to me. Not because they say it could work (we all could have told as much!) but because they wouldn't say anything more. It does sound like they are trying to keep a secret, if you ask me! Anyway, I don't care much about LEGO games in any form, but if a game gets greenlighted maybe there's a remote chance of a LOTR theme someday perhaps...

Aaah I see... (bad pun intended!)

Wow, very creative use of a totally unrelated set! Great work! But hmm... what's that guy in the crowd doing with a carrot?

Thanks for the link, and I also just found this useful post about LED lighting in the General forum. This is certainly inspiration for my future layout!

This is truly great, and thanks for the technical explanations! Sorry for the newbie questions to follow, I haven't touched to electronic stuff in a long while. How did you connect your LEDs to the battery pack, and do you feel that you could run many more lights from a single battery pack before it starts feeling the strain -- ie. glowing dimmer or something?

Wow first time I hear about Lego Soft, they're such an awesome idea! I would have loooved to have such bricks when I was young, the possibilities are tremendous! I imagine building Lego houses that I could actually crawl in, climb on... Hmm but then it would have been so expensive! Anyway, Lego keeps rocking!

I think AFOLs may be victims of TLC's rising awareness of their existence and importance. If the prices of kiddie sets go up, then parents will cease to buy them and turn to Megablocks or some other toy. If prices of AFOL sets go up, we will complain a bit, but still cough up the money eventually because we have deeper pockets, stronger brand loyalty, quite a bit of obsessive passion, and certainly the fear that missing on one good set now could mean having to get it later on eBay at a much higher price. This does not bode well for the future.

Well if it's $150 in the US then they can't really keep selling it for GBP 140 here in UK can they? (crossing my fingers very hard)

There are some 'dust repellent' sprays available, even home-made recipes on the net... But I wouldn't try any of that myself, too afraid that it would stain/discolour plastic in the long run.

I agree with Rick: although most minifigs are great looking, I'd be hard pressed to use some of them in anything else than a standalone MOC. I don't plan to have a circus, Egyptian pyramid, ski slope or vampire night in my City, nor a crash testing stage! But don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining -- it's good to have the option just in case one day I happen need some of those more exotic minifigs. Variety is good! Oh and the poll thing is still not working.

While the cowboy doesn't look that bad quality-wise (as far as I can tell without actually touching), the base plate looks like it could use a bit more plastic injected -- or is it a faulty mold? -- the LEGO markings on top of the studs are fading away. sloppy studs

Well as said before, green hands can be used as gloves/mittens in many contexts, especially winter scenes/snow sports. I'm sure they can also be used very effectively to MOC some different plant types. As for the green heads, you can use them as alien heads, but if you're building City then just turn them around and use them as watermelons in a green grocer stand!

I voted bus, I'm really glad that TLC finally gave us a decent bus in last year's City Corner, after all those years. I suppose that going 6-wide for vehicles helped. Buses are the very basis of public transportation almost anywhere in the world, and I'm a big fan. I'm also a huge fan of trains, so it would have been my second choice! What I would absolutely love to see is a realistic tram set, even if it were to be unpowered. The problem is, it probably wouldn't sell very well in the US. And I definitely second the call for some sort of realistic bus articulation, it would be so welcome! At the other end of the spectrum, I always thought that helicopters were over-represented in Lego sets versus real life, probably because they add a lot of playability to action sets. Never had much love for them.

Quality matters, quantity not.

I'm sure that this has been mentioned before, but we should keep in mind that this set is an imitation of a toy (like in TOY story), not of an actual train. So I'm sure that many of the shortcomings with regards to realism are intentional, as the prototype for this model is probably not very realistic to start with. It's certainly not fair to compare the result with City-theme trains or any of the MOCs featured here on EB. Same could not be said for the Hogwarts train though, as its prototype is a real breathing steam locomotive, so it deserves a minimal level of accuracy and detailing.

And they sell funny stuff too...

Done too. Looking forward to see the results if you wish to share them with us.

I for one think that quality issues are far more damageable to TLC reputation than using collectible figures as a marketing gimmick. I don't mind the latter, but if the collectible minifigs really turn out to be as bad as previous Chinese products, I will write a letter to Lego expressing my disappointment with a good idea poorly implemented. Then I will buy a new train set or Grand Emporium instead of spending tens and hundreds of pounds for a minifig collection that I won't be proud of in the end.

Neat, thanks for the link! I read that some minifigures were distributed at the Nurenberg Toy Fair, but this could be something else altogether. I'm afraid the paint spot on the 'neck' is absent, so this is probably Made in China stuff. Although the reviewer didn't seem put down by plastic quality, so they may have improved. And thank you Google Translate! approximately translated page

So what's the next logical step for TLC, installing bubble-gum machines in shopping malls where instead of bubble gum a handful of random bricks would drop down when you deposit a quarter?

Looks good after a fashion, although I feel it's overkill now as escalators take up half the floor area. What would be amazing would be to use 2x Grand Emporium sets and combine them into a double sized shop, and have the up and down escalators on each level. That would be an expensive MOD though!

Wow these are huge! They don't look like official sets to me, rather exhibits from a theme park or a LEGO event? Then again, if they're not glued together, possibly a fan MOC. The seller didn't have a clue?

Ahah I'll remember that!