Vote for What Could Become the Next Lego Set!

1 Idea Lego has already made a reality!

So a friend off of facebook posted about a website where people post their ideas for new Lego sets, called LEGO CUUSOO. These ideas are then voted upon by anonymous internet peeps and voila! the most voted for idea might be picked up by Lego! If Lego does decide on making your creation into a reality, then you will receive a 1% royalty from the total net sales. Pretty damn cool if you ask me!

What makes this site even more interesting is that upon voting you are asked a series of short marketing questions, such as your gender and how much you'd pay for a set like the one you are voting on. This information is then used to influence Lego's decision. The questions are also not invasive so as to encourage people to answer truthfully. Overall the site gives me the feeling that the ideas that you are voting on could truly become a reality in the land of shiny bricks and cylindrical heads!

The downside to this site is that it appears to be swamped with ideas inspired by previous properties. Almost every idea is related to either this movie or that, or this comic book character or that. While I have nothing bad to say against a Lego product designed around Back to the Future or Shaun of the Dead (both of which I voted for), I did nonetheless wish for something a bit more creative. I greatly enjoyed seeing the ideas for various architectural feats but again I think the ideas could be bolder and more original. To be fair, an untested idea is a much more risky venture for a company as known properties like Harry Potter and Star Wars already have a well cultivated fan base to draw from. Nonetheless, I hope to see more creative and original ideas pop up on this site.

More Lord of the Rings Lego news!

The awesomeness that will be "Lord of the Rings LEGO" continues! Recently, images of the principle mini-figures and some set names were released. The set names, along with the mini-figures included, were leaked and hence unofficial. The photos for the mini-figures, however, were officially released by LEGO. 

I am ecstatic about these new sets but am still confused why they wouldn't start with sets that would tie into the Hobbit movie. I think they should definitely produce sets for the trilogy but it would make more sense to begin with the first book to keep the sets in a more chronological order. It also stands to reason that MGM Studios and Peter Jackson would've preferred a toy licence with Lego that had them first make Hobbit sets. 

List of set names:
- "Gandalf Arrives" – Minifigures: Gandalf, Frodo
- "Shelob Attacks" – Minifigures: Samwise, Frodo, Gollum
- "Uruk-hai Army" – Minifigures: x4 Uruk-hai with a siege crossbow, x1 Rohirrim Soldier, x1 Rider Of Rohan with his horse
- "Attack On Weathertop"- Minifigures: Samwise, Frodo, Aragon, x2 Nazgul
- "Mines Of Moria" – Minifigures: Frogo, Gimli, Legolas, Boromir, x2 Goblins, x2 Skeletons, Cave Troll
- "The Battle Of Helms Deep" – Minifigures: Aragon, Gimli, Legolas, Theoden, x5 Uruk-hai

Lord of the Rings Lego sets!

That's right! Lego is planning on releasing a series of Lord of the Rings sets this summer, 2012! I learned of this from Ain't it Cool, who shared images from four proposed sets -which I have also posted here. I am already excited about this and am curious to see where they could go with this product. Unlike other movie franchises that Lego has mined, like Star Wars and Harry Potter, there are no vehicles and few key structures that could be built. In these six images we see two key structures, Helm's Deep and the Mines of Moria. Besides these places we have possibilities in the various homes from the Shire and the tower of Isengard. What is perhaps more enchanting is the possibility of sets featuring The Hobbit! A giant Lego set of Smaug would be truly jaw-dropping-drool worthy!

Star Wars Lego: The Movie (2011)

Star Wars Lego is one of my favorite collectibles /toys out there, so it shouldn't be a surprise that I was pretty excited to hear they had made a Star Wars Lego movie! The movie uses the same level of graphics as those found in the Star Wars Lego video games, which are OK graphics that are not as clean as Pixar's but better than most straight to DVD computer animations. The movie is enchanting not because of it's graphics but because of its use of whimsy and the apparent love for Star Wars that the movie creators have.

Screen shot from the Lego Star Wars movie.

The Star Wars Lego movie is a lot of fun and is not intended to be a serious contribution to the Star Wars canon. It offers a simple 20 minute long story about a young orphan boy who tags along with a group of young padawans as they tour the Jedi temple buildings on Coruscant. Things go awry and the young orphan, Ian, tags along with Yoda on a mission to retrieve stolen battle plans. In the end Ian is shown to be a major character in the later movies -watch it to find out who he really is! Additional to the movie are a series of shorts that feature random whimsical stories within the Star Wars universe and again using the foil of Lego. These featurettes alone make the movie worth picking up!

Walmart sold a specially wrapped package of the Star Wars Lego movie that included a Star Wars Lego mini-figure! This is the first mini-figure I have picked up and is available only within the special packages of the Star Wars Lego movie because the mini-figure is of the movie's main character: Ian!

If looking to buy this figure separate from the movie package, there are a few characteristics to look for. The main feature to a mini-figure is that the legs do not move. For the Ian mini-figure, the legs are beige colored and are roughly half the length of the torso. The torso has a simple image of a collard shirt with the first few buttons undone at the neck. The head is peach colored and has a unique smirk to it, with the hair being fairly detailed.

Star Wars Lego: Obi-Wan Aging through Lego

One of the attractive features to collecting Star Wars Lego minifigures is that you can see the changes in the characters through the movies. Sure, us geeks & nerds know what the characters look like as they change through the movies but there is another quirk added when Lego has a hand at depicting it. In this post I'll show the changes in Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Grievous Chase Kenobi.

Close up of Grievous.

In my collection I have 5 different Obi-Wans. These five come from Episdes I, II, III, and IV. The first comes from the Jedi Defense I set (7203), released in 2002 and comes with 2 destroyer droids. The second comes from the Bounty Hunter Pursuit set (7133), also released in 2002 and comes with an Annikan, the bounty hunter Zam Wessel, and two ships. The third comes from the Jedi Starfighter set (7143), released in 2002 and included Obi and his ship. The fourth comes from the General Grievous Chase set (7255), released in 2005 and includes General Grievous with his wheel bike and Obi-Wan with a creature called a Varactyle (named Boga) that he rode during the chase scene in the third movie. The final Obi-Wan is ironically the first Obi-Wan produced by Lego. This minifigure was included in the Land Speeder set (7110), released in 1999 and included Luke Skywalker, Obi-wan, and the Land Speeder they road to a place where "you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy"; the Mos Eisley Cantina.

Starfighter Kenobi

Starfighter Kenobi.

For the most part the differences are readily apparent between the Obi-Wan Kenobis. However there are two important distinctions to remember. The first is that all but the General Grievous Chase Kenobi have silver handled light sabers. This Kenobi instead has a gray handled light saber. The second distinction is that the Bounty Hunter Pursuit and Jedi Starfighter Kenobi's are virtually identical except that a headset is printed on his head of the Starfieghter Kenobi. Besides these two distinctions just remember that capes are part of the Jedi Defense I and Pursuit Kenobi minifigures.

Difference in R2-D2: Tricky!

The differences between the R2-D2's in my collection are tricky to spot! Two of the differences might be unintentional because they were perhaps produced by defects in the manufacturing process and hence may not be found on every minifigure. The other difference, which is between the earliest and later R2-D2s is not a manufacturing defect.

In my collection there are 3 R2-D2's. The earliest comes from the Droid Escape set #7106, released in 2001 and belongs to the New Hope series. Also belonging to the New Hope series is the second R2-D2 that came from the Limited Edition X-Wing Fighter set #6212, released in 2006. The third R2-D2 comes from Anakin's Jedi Starfighter set #7669, released in 2008 and belongs to the Clone Wars series.

R2-D2 & 3CP0 from 7106 set.

Backsides: 6212 R2-D2 (left) & 7106 R2-D2 (right)

 Differences: The earliest R2-D2 from the 7106 set has a circle instead of a dot on the back of it's dome head, which is sported on both the later versions. The circle is located within a small rectangle that is to the left of a black eye looking shape (see photo).

R2D2 & Anakin from 7669 set.

The Clone Wars (7669) R2-D2 differs from the X-Wing (6212) R2-D2 in that the 7669 minifigure has a blue print within the silver area on the dome, and has a small dot between two larger dots above the rectangle on the back of the dome (same rectangle discussed above). The small dot mentioned here on the 7669 R2-D2 may be unintentional and produced from a manufacturing glitch because the dot is quite small, however the difference in coloring is less likely to be a manufacturing glitch because it is a more

Backside of R2D2 from 7669 set.

noticeable difference; feel free to disagree with my logic on this one.

Darth Vader Star Wars Lego Mini-Figures

Like the previously posted Chewbacca Lego mini-figures, there are differences between the Darth Vader mini-figures that I have. I have two Vader mini-figures. One comes from the Final Duel I set (#7200) and the other from the 10 Year Anniversary Darth Vader's Tie Fighter set (#8017) (both sets pictured here). The Final Duel I set was released in 2002, and the Tie Fighter set was released in 2009 and belongs to the episode IV, A New Hope series.

Tie-Fighter Vader

Final Duel I Vader, with Emperor mini-fig.

Tie-fighter Vader on left, Final Duel Vader on right.

The differences between the two Vader mini-figures are readily apparent. There is detail that covers the entire chest on the Tie Fighter Vader, representing his flight suit. The chest of the duel Vader has a 1/2 oval design, covers less of the chest, and has less detail in general. The face of the Tie fighter Vader has two scars, one one the left and one on the right side of his face. The duel Vader has only one scar on the right side of hist face. Additionally, the duel Vader has black eye-brows instead of the grey ones on the tie fighter Vader.

Difference in Chewbacca Lego Figures

I have noticed some differences in the Lego Star Wars figures. This post points out the difference between the Chewbacca figures. 

I have two Chewbacca Lego figures in my collection. The earliest comes from the Imperial AT-ST set, released in 2001. The serial number for this set is 7127. The second Chewie figure comes from the Limited Edition X-Wing Fighter set, released in 2006.

AT-ST set 7127

X-Win set 6212

The difference between the two Chewbaccas is that the one from the 7127 set has a lighter, more milk chocolate brown color. The later Chewie is more glossy and has a red-brown color. Neither figure comes with any attachments (crossbow or whatnot). The head piece is attached to the front and back hair, so there is a total of three pieces to these figures.

Chewbaccas: 7127 set (right) & 6212 set (left)

So keep your eyes peeled fellow Lego Star Wars enthusiasts!

Star Wars Lego

I love Star Wars Lego. I enjoy the building and slowly seeing what it is you're building come together. I also love how Leog strips down a classic idea, like a space ship from Star Wars, and turns it into a blocky mass of simplified colors. The figures are another great feature to the Star Wars Lego line, with the classic shape of Lego people wrapped inside the equally classic Star Wars character designs!

OK, so enough gushing! I have quite a bit of Star Wars Lego and was going through a bunch of it the other night and realized that I have some duplicate figures. I began wondering if there was any differences between the figures that came out in earlier versus later Lego sets, and low-and-behold there were! Noting these differences is incredibly nerdy of me of course but it can also be helpful if you are buying figures at yard sales or conventions. Personally, it makes sense to pay more for an earlier version of a certain character than a later one, and so it is in your best interest to know exactly what you are paying for. In the next few posts I'll be discussing some differences between Lego characters that I noted from my collection. So hang on for a truly geeky trip through the next few posts!

Lego Star Wars Diorama.