Go Ka-GO Go

Citizens,

I'm breaking radio silence to announce that I'll be submitting the occasional article to the Ka-GO LEGO blog. True to our efforts here I'll continue to cover the scene with interviews in the 'Behind the Build' style.

Right now I have an interview with Pedro around his amazing mod of the Hazel Fantasy Emile armor.

Join us in AFOLville and continue to fight for the cause. The 'Nation' lives on...

Cygnet
Minister of Information
Minifig Nation

In Memorium: The Ugly Duckling Feb 2010 to April 2011

It is with a heavy heart that I announce that 'The Ugly Duckling' will effectively be closing its doors as of today. There have been some changes in my work and personal life that have left me with little to no free time to dedicate toward the site any longer. The site will continue to remain, unfortunately there won't be any new content added.

Over the past few weeks I've debated between closing down the site outright and dialing back on updates and coverage. In the end I thought it best to just make it a clean break. I apologize to everyone who feels this is a rather sudden decision. I assure you that it's the right thing for me to do at this time.

The current Minifig Design Battle contest 'Oh My Goddess...' will run as scheduled. I've contacted FireStar Toys and it looks like we will continue the contests into the future. Stay tuned to the Flickr group for more details.

I will also continue to post up new Series 4 locations on the Rollout Map if people send them to me.

I want to thank everyone who have helped make this past year very memorable. I can say that when I started the site back in February 2010 I had no idea where it might go. The journey has allowed me to get to know an amazing group of artists, entrepreneurs, and fans of the fig.

A big thank you to Leper who was able to step in and help me with the minifigure guides earlier this year. Without your help, I feel the end would have come sooner.

My thanks to BrickTW for being the first custom house to send me product for review. Your products and Tigerggyy's photos will always hold a special place in my heart.

Thanks to JasBrick, Morgan, Victor, Shobrick, Hazel, Geoshift, and Andrew for agreeing to talk shop and share their love of minifig customization with everyone.

Thanks to everyone who have sent me items over the months. I appreciated the work that went into each and every one. I especially have to thank Pedro who couldn't be a nicer guy and really helped me out time and time again.

I also want to thank all of the custom houses for what they do. Without them we'd all be victims to the whims of a certain company in Denmark.

Thanks to Huw from Brickset for being a mentor to me in the world of LEGO fan sites.

Thanks to FireStar Toys for having us as an affiliate and sponsoring the monthly contests on Flickr. Paul is a real professional and I wish him all the best.

Last, but certainly not least, I thank the readers. Without you, none of this would have been possible.

I can't say this will be the last you'll see of me in the online LEGO community, (in fact I'm hoping I'll actually have time to build and design and not just write about it). I've also talked with a fellow blogger who has been gracious enough to host the occasional article (Pedro - yours will likely be the first of these). Please keep an eye on the Ka-GO blog for further developments.

Until next time...

Cygnet (AKA Kyle Swan)

Minister of Information

Ugly Duck Command Center

Minifig Nation

Exciting News - JasBrick's New MinifigWorkshop.com

While reading through the comments of JasBrick's latest printed masterpiece, he revealed that his 'very expensive printer' with 'very expensive ink' will be used to provide items via his new website Minifig Workshop and FireStar Toys.

If you've been follow Jas' latest uploads on Flickr, you'll have seen the variety of printed designs he's been developing. This is very exciting as there are only a few places where you can get custom minifigures with print versus waterslide decals or paint!

It sounds like Minifig Workshop will also be a site where the budding customizer can come to learn new techniques and practice their craft. New customization tutorials are always welcome.

The site is still 'coming soon' but you can continue to check in at MinifigWorkshop.com or FireStar Toys for these great new items.

You can also check out Jas' Flickr stream to see all the designs he's been cooking up over the past few weeks.

Series 4 Collectible Minifigures Now at LEGO.com

Although I'm certain most readers know by now, Series 4 Collectible Minifigures are now available at the LEGO.com worldwide. There's a limit of 16 figures per order, but multiple orders are allowed (if you can stomach the shipping and handling charge, that is). You can place your order by clicking on your country's banner at the top of our page.

I've also been updating the Series 4 Rollout map. I've just added locations in Quebec and Hungary. Many thanks to everyone who have sent me notices of locations worldwide.

In Series 4 guide news, I've added the link to the Series 4 dot code sheet in each guide entry. I'll try to get individual codes placed in each guide entry too.

That's all for now. More as it happens...

Have We Just Seen a Minifig Davy Jones?!

It would seem that more LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean game trailers are being released online. The one above focuses on action in the Dead Man's Chest section of the game. Clearly shown is a minifigure version of Davy Jones!

Now that doesn't mean Davy will ever make an appearance in ABS, but one can hope for a holiday exclusive set of The Flying Dutchman. Atlantis molds can be re-purposed for the crew, and the lobster claw element has already debuted. His face tentacles could be a beard-like accessory from the pictures, which would be unfortunate. I think the Atlantis Squid Warrior head looks much better.

On a separate but related note...I love that Jack in the game sounds just like Johnny Depp using LEGO-speak! I sold my game system a little over a year ago, but this really makes me want to pick up a controller and set sail!

New Polybags - Pharaoh's Quest and PotC

Brickset is reporting there are four new polybag sets in the LEGO system. Two of the bags are related to Pharaoh's Quest and include minifigures, while the Pirates of the Caribbean sets are a brick built mini-ship and the promotional Captain Jack included with pre-orders of the video game.

The package art doesn't give us any additional clues at to what that Captain Jack minifigure is supposed to be. There are 'motion lines' around the hands, and it seems to be walking in the pic (a mechanized Jack?!) I'm still going to stick to my guns and say it's supposed to be a voodoo doll.

You can read the full article and see all the polybag pics at Brickset.

LEGO PotC In the Wild!

Daniel of The Brick Blog dropped me a message to let me know that 'Versen' had been able to lay hands on a few LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean sets in Russia (assumed because of the '.su' designation in the forum url).

Versen provides some great pics of the Isle de Meurta set and nice 360 views of the minifigures. There's even a shot of a 'Captain Jack' line up suggesting Versa has more than one set.

The biggest question remains unanswered, "Will those pirate hats fit over hair pieces, or not?" I fully expected LEGO PotC to launch in April, but more towards mid-month. Here's hoping a launch might be sooner.

You can see the review here. Big thanks to The Brick Blog for the heads up!

UPDATE: Captain Thom and Apples have done a little digging on said forum and have found additional reviews  for Whitecap Bay and Cannibal Escape. Alas, it appears the pirate hats are attached to the hair pieces...