PalaceBrother
Member
Let me preface this with the following: There are three boxes under our tree that look an awful lot like Parisian Restaurant, Mini Cooper & Benny's Spaceship. No idea where they would fall in my list...
Sets
1) I know this set fell short for a lot of people, but this basically fulfills my childhood dream of always wanting an AT-AT. The build was interesting (especially the head/neck) and the thing has a lot of flexibility in when posing it.
2) This was a legitimate contender for favorite set of the year. I know it's a tiny one, and I personally can't stand the theme but I'll be damned if this isn't the best brick built figure they've released. The exo-suit's fragility really showcases what a terrific design this is.
3) This will end up on a lot of lists & there isn't much more to say about it. It's a very fragile set so it's on this list as my favorite display set of the year. I grew up loving Ghostbusters so it's a no-brainer.
4) It really is the Quinjet of 2014. I actually prefer it to the Avengers set-love the feathering on the wings. This is one of the few non-Star Wars sets I have that will remain built.
5) I've got no idea what this ship is or where it falls in the Star Wars universe. I presume it's related to that Yoda Chronicles show, but we've only seen the first one so I can't say for sure. All that matters is that the ship is incredibly stylish & looks slick as hell. Plus it's got a blue astromech droid which pretty much seals the deal. The Ithorian Jedi doesn't hurt either.
Minifigs
I feel that this year LEGO really stepped up its game in the minifig department. The classic green spacemen were such a treat. All of the Simpsons CMFs were really well done, the Star Wars battle packs knocked it out of the park and the non-Spiderman Marvel sets were filled with awesome characters.
Since I'm not sure if that astromechs count (re: the aforementioned blue dude), I had two real standouts this year:
I really liked this game back in the day so I was really surprised to see him/her released as a fig. I wonder if we'll look back at this figure in December 2015 and have a better understanding of why it was released...? A guy can hope.
All I know about MODOK is that he made Ryan Davis laugh, and this fig does the same for me. I'm not sure if he is a legitimate villain in the Marvel Universe or more of a joke character, but the figure is ridiculous. So angry.
Polybags
It's strange that I've got two Chima sets on my list given that I don't like the theme. That having been said outside of the fig-centric exclusives I think the Spider Crawler is a great little build. Lots of playability & an appropriately freaky headpiece for the fig.
Exclusive
Hands down the coolest exclusive of the year. A few of us here grew up with the 1977-1984 Classic Space theme & the whole package just plays directly to our nostalgia. Love it.
Biggest Disappointment
I rushed out to get this set the first day it was available, thrilled at the prospect of building it. While I enjoyed some elements (the furniture and a few of the interiors) I was incredibly disappointed by the quality of the build. I've complained about the way the car hole attaches to the house before, but I literally had to try to do it four times & each failure resulted in collapsing walls. The front of the house while true to the source is totally dull, and the figures have creepy/strange paint jobs. The eyes are really off putting, as evidenced by the far superior CMF versions. The car is flimsy it feels like concessions were made to fit it into the garage. Overall, I just feel it could have been so much better.
End of year PSA
Many of us are in the privileged position of comfortably posting to an internet web forum about a children's toy. A lot of us spend hundreds and thousands of dollars on LEGO (I know I'm upward of 3k this year and many of you spend more than that!) each year and we're lucky to be able to do so. There are lots of families in your communities that struggle to make Christmas special for their children, and simply can't afford such an expensive toy. If you have the means, think about making some purchases you want and donating them to local charity. I know my town has a (sadly) well-populated women's shelter and the families there have nothing.
I'm sure most of you already do this, but I felt kind of gross posting such a consumerist list without a little bit of introspection. Back to our regularly-scheduled program!
Sets
1) I know this set fell short for a lot of people, but this basically fulfills my childhood dream of always wanting an AT-AT. The build was interesting (especially the head/neck) and the thing has a lot of flexibility in when posing it.
2) This was a legitimate contender for favorite set of the year. I know it's a tiny one, and I personally can't stand the theme but I'll be damned if this isn't the best brick built figure they've released. The exo-suit's fragility really showcases what a terrific design this is.
3) This will end up on a lot of lists & there isn't much more to say about it. It's a very fragile set so it's on this list as my favorite display set of the year. I grew up loving Ghostbusters so it's a no-brainer.
4) It really is the Quinjet of 2014. I actually prefer it to the Avengers set-love the feathering on the wings. This is one of the few non-Star Wars sets I have that will remain built.
5) I've got no idea what this ship is or where it falls in the Star Wars universe. I presume it's related to that Yoda Chronicles show, but we've only seen the first one so I can't say for sure. All that matters is that the ship is incredibly stylish & looks slick as hell. Plus it's got a blue astromech droid which pretty much seals the deal. The Ithorian Jedi doesn't hurt either.
Minifigs
I feel that this year LEGO really stepped up its game in the minifig department. The classic green spacemen were such a treat. All of the Simpsons CMFs were really well done, the Star Wars battle packs knocked it out of the park and the non-Spiderman Marvel sets were filled with awesome characters.
Since I'm not sure if that astromechs count (re: the aforementioned blue dude), I had two real standouts this year:
I really liked this game back in the day so I was really surprised to see him/her released as a fig. I wonder if we'll look back at this figure in December 2015 and have a better understanding of why it was released...? A guy can hope.
All I know about MODOK is that he made Ryan Davis laugh, and this fig does the same for me. I'm not sure if he is a legitimate villain in the Marvel Universe or more of a joke character, but the figure is ridiculous. So angry.
Polybags
It's strange that I've got two Chima sets on my list given that I don't like the theme. That having been said outside of the fig-centric exclusives I think the Spider Crawler is a great little build. Lots of playability & an appropriately freaky headpiece for the fig.
Exclusive
Hands down the coolest exclusive of the year. A few of us here grew up with the 1977-1984 Classic Space theme & the whole package just plays directly to our nostalgia. Love it.
Biggest Disappointment
I rushed out to get this set the first day it was available, thrilled at the prospect of building it. While I enjoyed some elements (the furniture and a few of the interiors) I was incredibly disappointed by the quality of the build. I've complained about the way the car hole attaches to the house before, but I literally had to try to do it four times & each failure resulted in collapsing walls. The front of the house while true to the source is totally dull, and the figures have creepy/strange paint jobs. The eyes are really off putting, as evidenced by the far superior CMF versions. The car is flimsy it feels like concessions were made to fit it into the garage. Overall, I just feel it could have been so much better.
End of year PSA
Many of us are in the privileged position of comfortably posting to an internet web forum about a children's toy. A lot of us spend hundreds and thousands of dollars on LEGO (I know I'm upward of 3k this year and many of you spend more than that!) each year and we're lucky to be able to do so. There are lots of families in your communities that struggle to make Christmas special for their children, and simply can't afford such an expensive toy. If you have the means, think about making some purchases you want and donating them to local charity. I know my town has a (sadly) well-populated women's shelter and the families there have nothing.
I'm sure most of you already do this, but I felt kind of gross posting such a consumerist list without a little bit of introspection. Back to our regularly-scheduled program!
