FBTB.net

This completely slipped under my radar, but thanks to a link to a TRU press release that Gainesvillain sent me, I can now report that Lucas has released a nice lengthy trailer previewing the Clone Wars movie event scheduled for August 15, 2008. Hit the Starwars.com homepage for the trailer. Also on that page is a link to an HD version and some other Clone Wars goodies.

Got my Brickmaster magazine yesterday with a special paper cover reminding me to renew my subscription. I'm eagerly awaiting my exclusive set to arrive. Now, if you're not a Brickmaster member and don't think there's anything worthwhile to pony up your 40 bucks for, perhaps the exclusive Star Wars set scheduled for the November/December issue will be reason enough. In fact, all 6 sets for the next year (starting Sep/Oct) will be Brickmaster exclusives. No word yet on what the exclusive will be, but I'm working on it so stay tuned. Follow the links to purchase a NEW Brickmaster Subscription or if you already have or had a subscription, you can always renew your subscription.

I forgot to mention this the earlier, but the Wired.com geekdad Blog - one of my favorite blogs out there - posted about the current TRU poll for the 2009 fan choice set a few days ago, and had asked to use an old photoshop of someones Hoth scene I made years ago in the forums. I of course was happy to comply, and Mr. Baichtal was kind enough to give us a little nod!

So, if you have found your way to our part of the web for the first time, you're welcome to stop by our forum and have a look around. We're a great community and we've got all the info you could want regarding the LEGO Star Wars line, and more. Dive on in and maybe with some time your LEGO scene will pop up on Wired next...

I'd like to make a point of clarification about the current hot topic running in our forum regarding the online poll Toys'R'Us is running. The poll conducted by the The LEGO group around various web forums for the special 10th anniversary set is independent of the poll that TRU is running. Steve has provided clarification himself on this matter. They just happen to both be considered for release for 2009 as a coincidence. So I'm still right, and really, that's all that matters, amirite? In all seriousness, this is all still in the very early planning stages so things may change from here to there. I've updated the two posts below to reflect the clarification. We'll keep you updated as best as possible as things unfold.

Oh and in case you haven't figured it out, you can vote multiple times in the TRU poll. Looks like they are enabling a session cookie to record a vote. Quit your browser or wait 20 minutes or so and you can revote.

Toys'R'Us.com updated their page a little while ago revealing the three candidates for the 2009 TRU exclusive set. Your options are The Arrest of Palpatine, Slave I and Cloud City Landing Platform, and Mon Calamari Cruiser Set. Hit the link to get a breakdown of the specific scene the potential set could be recreating. According to the poll, the winner will be announced at the New York International Toy Fair in 2009. My choice: the Mon Calamari Cruiser Set. I'm a bit disappointed that a Death Star playset recreating key scenes from A New Hope wasn't one of the choices. Someday.... someday...

Feel free to join in on the discussion.

Update: I updated the original post on that discussion thread with the same options as the TRU.com poll to see how the community feels. I also added a fourth option, "None of these", to gauge an honest reaction. We will be updating the poll on the right this coming Wednesday to reflect the forum poll to see how site viewers/reades/lurkers react.

Thanks to WookieWarrior9's post on our forum, some more details have come out regarding the license's 10th anniversary set that garnered some discussion. According to the post, the voting phase to choose the set will be held at Toys'R'Us.com from May 10th to May 18th. The final set will be available for sale September 2009. Stay tuned for more details.

Here at FBTB we like to know what's on your mind... at least, what's on your minifig neck posts. We not so recently were given a new head sculpt for Kit Fisto:


And he came with some expected pros and unexpected cons. On the one hand, new sculpt! On the other, the softer material is an odd though understandable departure from the ABS standard. So we ask you, the good viewers of FBTB, "Do you like the softer rubber minifig heads?" Feel free to drop by the forum to discuss this further.


Last weeks poll, "What do you think about FBTB expanding it's coverage to more licenses?" generated some interesting results...

• It's time we demonstrated the full power of this station. Go for it! - 292
• I've got a bad feeling about this... how about just a couple licenses? - 221
• Stay on target! Lego Star Wars forever! - 452

Seems that over half are in favor of opening up to more than just Star Wars scoops, but only about a third of you out there are ready for anything. Good to know, and we'll definitely take this into consideration. In the meantime, how about popping into the forum and keeping the feedback flowing?


Oh, and if you hadn't quite caught on... Captain Solo just got keys to the front door, so expect a light sprinkling of the Don on your future news coverage. I'm honored to help out and hope I won't disappoint.

- Don Solo, of the FBTB forums.

The next stop in the U.S. whirlwind tour of the R2-D2 building event is The LEGO Store at the Hillsdale Shopping Center in San Mateo, CA from Friday May 16 through Sunday May 18. Same details before: help a Master Model Maker build an 8ft tall model of R2-D2. You can enter a drawing for a $50 gift card (to the LEGO store presumably) and you can also pick up $5 dollar off coupons while you're there. Certificates of Achievement will be handed out while supplies last. The Master Model Maker on hand for the event will be Steve Gerling who will gladly sign autographs and have his picture taken.

As reported on our forum, you can download the instructions (pdf) for the MINI V-19 Torrent from LEGO's web cache. Like the previous mini sets, the release status is still unknown.

As posted below, this round of Lego Ambassadors is being chosen by the fan communities. Communities can pick up to 3 members for consideration: 1 will be chosen by Lego for the role.

The staff decided Mike (Count Blockula) would be one of FBTB's nominees, and we leave the task of filling the last two spots to you folks. Head on over here to the forum to suggest members for the job!

The current cycle for the LEGO Ambassador program is drawing to a close and the program is now accepting nominations for the 2008/2009 cycle. This is different from previous cycles as any individual could submit an application. For the next cycle, any club or group can nominate up to 3 people and each club or group is limited to one representative to the program. Another big change is that any one ambassador can serve two consecutive terms but can serve multiple times. You can read all the nitty, gritty details in the post in our forum.

Now Accepting Nominations for 08/09 LEGO Ambassadors