BrickTW's Terra Cotta Army

Tigerggyy continues to post more promotional posters for the July new product launch for BrickTW. Today's entry shows off a new spear/halberd design and information on the famed terra cotta warriors.

(Via Tigerggyy's Flickr stream)

Minifig Customization Tutorial: Print Removal

If you've ever considered making your own custom minifigure and wanted to use decals like those featured at Fine Clonier, then you've realized you need a clean canvas to work with. What are you to do when you have an army of City torsos with baggage handler print?

Although its been around for a while, customizer shmails has a tutorial showing how to remove that pesky print using a product called Brasso on the BrickForge forums. With a few other common household items you are ready to go.

The tutorial is descriptive with clear and easily to follow photos. Pretty soon you'll be going from green overalls to smooth, clean surfaces ready for custom goodness.

(Via BrickForge forums)

LEGO Harry Potter Minifigures: Madame Hooch

Now Showing
Flying teacher and Quidditch games master, Madame Hooch, is making her return to the LEGO universe in set 4737, Quidditch Match. This figure is largely an updated version of figure hp021.

Minifigure Parts and Accessories
 Rolanda Hooch is composed of five parts: hair, face, torso, legs, and cape.

If the hair looks familiar, it's because it's been featured on Count Dooku from Star Wars (part 64798).

The head is a new print and the first flesh-colored variant for Ms. Hooch. If you compare this to the reference photo below, you'll see the similarities. The head is also dual-sided showing Ms. Hooch with golden eyes.

The torso also features a new and updated print from the previous figure, while the legs are standard and black.

The cape also appears to be a standard cape in basic black, a change from the previous variant.

Pictures of this set show a broom (part 4332) as the accessory for Hooch.

Army Building Potential
The APB for this figure is "low"; not likely to be sought after in multiples for the entire figure or for individual parts.

Big Draw
Aside from its appeal to Harry Potter collectors, there's not much of a draw here.

(Pictures via Eurobricks and Harry Potter Wiki)

(Back to the LEGO Harry Potter Minifigure Guide)

Prince of Persia Tanks at US Box Office

The film Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time debuted this past Friday in the US and ended the Memorial Day weekend with a paltry $30 million box office take. Dastan and company faced the fourth and latest Shrek film in its second week and the debut of Sex In The City 2, which may have pulled away some of the female viewers who would have liked to see Jake shirtless (I mean there's a shirtless minifigure for goodness sake!) Combine this with a confused and lackluster marketing campaign in the US and its easy to see why this $200 million film, didn't draw the masses. I've not seen much in the way of international box office numbers, but news reports from the UK would suggest the film is faltering there too.

So what does this mean for LEGO Prince of Persia? It's hard to tell at this point. Adult fans, and the European AFOL's especially, appear to enjoy the sets for the new building elements and unique minifigures. Eurobricks dedicated an entire month to the theme.

Recent numbers by TLG suggest that AFOLs only account for 5% of total sales. Without a strong film to further drive sales among the other 95%, however, we may see sets in the discount bins sooner rather than later. Good news for the cash strapped fan of LEGO, but potentially bad for the future of Disney licensed sets.

Although no other Disney sets have been announced outside of Toy Story 3, I think many were hoping for the potential of additional themes from future film franchises like Tron Legacy. Without other strong licensed themes to counteract the Star Wars juggernaut, it only increases LEGO's reliance on the folks from Skywalker Ranch.

We will also have to see how this impacts TLG's overall business performance this quarter. Many news stories have come out recently stating that LEGO was betting big on the theme, but with other items also launching in the April/May/June time frame (Toy Story 3, Collectible Minifigures, unlicensed LEGO themes) the potential impact may be softened in the end. Nevertheless, poor performance here will likely affect future decisions at the company.

Collectible Minifigures at LEGO Shop at Home (US)

Huw and folks at Brickset have announced that the LEGO Collectible Minifigures are now on sale at the Shop at Home site in the US. The kicker...similar to the policy at the bricks and mortar stores, you can only order five at a time!

Combine this with shipping and handling and you might be better off looking elsewhere.

So far I am aware of the figures being sold at the following outlets in the US:

• LEGO Shop at Home (five bags per order)
• LEGO Stores (five bags per day)
• Toys R Us (no limit, but supplies have been limited to one or two cases per store)

No news on when other retail outlets will be receiving theirs or what policies will be in play. As we've reported previously, Toys R Us is set up to sell them online but the link is not yet active.

(Via Brickset.com)

Book Review: LEGO A Love Story

Last week I picked up and finished Jonathan Bender's new book, LEGO A Love Story. Mr. Bender's work was an enjoyable and quick read, but may leave some readers wishing for more.

The story details a year in the life of man who just exited his LEGO Dark Ages and is starting a family of his own. The book tries to sell in the idea that Jonathan's childhood desire to become a master model builder has been reawakened. In reading the book I didn't get that at all, just that the guy liked LEGO and wanted to write a thoughtful book about the world of adult fans.

Does the book cover every aspect of the LEGO AFOL community? No. How could it?! Even if this were an anthropology dissertation on the entire sub-culture (which it is not), everyone's experience with LEGO is both personal and unique. You've also got to leave room for a sequel if it's a hit, right?

What does the book have to offer up to the fans of LEGO minifigures and customs? Well, not much. LEGO minifig customizers get about three whole pages in the book when Bender attends a decal workshop at the 2008 Brickworld put on by Jared Burks of Fine Clonier. BrickArms and Forge are also mentioned in passing. The rest of the book looks at the fig as more of an accessory to the bricks themselves.

There several interesting facts I gleaned from these pages, but one in particular stood out: there are roughly 18 male minifigures for every 1 female figure put out. I had always suspected something along these lines, but now have a figure to put to it. Despite your time in the AFOL community your likely to learn at least one new thing.

So, the question remaining is, "Should I buy it?" Well, that depends. Obviously buying the book would send a message to the publishing community that more books of this nature have selling power. The book is also a good primer for those just coming out of their Dark Ages or for loved ones who kinda get this LEGO thing. If you've been actively reading AFOL sites and blogs for a year or two, then there's not much new news here (but there could be a tidbit or two).

My recommendation? Ask your local library to order a copy for their collection (this is what I did). This way you aren't out any money, but still get a chance to read it. This also makes it available to others in your community who may have an interest. More interest equals a bigger AFOL community to share the joy of LEGO with, and isn't that what its all about anyway?

LEGO Harry Potter Minifigures: Ginny Weasley

Now Showing
The future Mrs. Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley, is appearing in sets 4840, The Burrows, and 4841, the 2010 version of The Hogwarts Express. These figures are the first version of Ginny to appear in flesh tones. The previous figure last appeared in 2003 (hp030).

Minifigure Parts and Accessories
Ginny is composed of four parts: hairpiece, head, torso, and legs.

The hairpiece is a new style not previously available. The over the shoulder cut has not been seen on previous figures. The hair is the same between the two variants.

The head is also the same for the two figures featuring freckles on each cheek.

The torsos and legs of each figure are the key differences between each. The school uniform featured on the figure from The Hogwarts Express appears on many of the other students, including the Gryffindor coat of arms.

The figure from The Burrows, however, has a grey sweater and brown pants combo. Compare this figure to the reference photo below. Both the sweater print and the print on the legs are new. These two pieces could be desired for female figures in general or female sig figs.

Army Building Potential
The ABP for the figure iteself is low, but the hair and torso/legs combo of the Burrows fig could be sought after in multiples for custom applications.

Big Draw
The big draws here are the hair and torso/legs combo of the Burrows figure, and of course the opportunity to add Ginny to your LEGO Harry Potter collection.

(Pictures via Eurobricks and HarryMedia.com)

(Back to the LEGO Harry Potter Minifigure Guide)