The Last Naughty Elves

The December 2007 Buy-Me-Mizer promotion ends in a few hours, and I thought this would be a good time to highlight the (presumably) last of the Naughty Elves to escape my Workshop.

Three more Elves join the ranks, bringing the horde to 9 members. The three new NEs are:

• Minski
  
• Santa Pimp
  
• Blinder
  

To view photos and data on the all of the Elves, click here.

Transformer Challenge - Final Hours

The December Challenge has entered the final hours - if you're finishing up a build, best get to it! Photos need to be in my mailbox by Midnight EST tonight!

Right now there are eight entries - here's a sneak peek of the entry grid. Check back tomorrow to read all about them - and find out who won!

VS

Epidode 329

Read the comic here.

Mary Sue is right - this has been the busiest month in Reasonably Clever history. (Well, in terms of the comic, anyway.) On a normal "once a weekday" schedule an average month has 22 strips. We entered December on #272 and we're ending on #329 - that's 58 strips, or over two and half month's worth of content.

In the meta sense, Whiskey should be happy - he did get some new LEGO items for Christmas. That's the torso from the new Indiana Jones figures he's holding in the last panel.

Epidode 328

Read the comic here.

To me, this strip feels like the real end of the Advent story - a nice bit of closure for a month of madness.

Oh, there's still some loose ends to tie up - next week we'll be dealing with the presents Santa left for the group. And then...well, you'll just have to keep reading to find out.

Epidode 327

Read the comic here.

And there you have it: The big secret about the advent calendars. They're just meant to waste your time.

A couple of people have asked for better images of the sled - tomorrow's strip has some nice shots of it, and in a "ready to move" condition. Don't expect too much out of it, though, it was like a ten minute build that was originally just going to remain wreckage.

Transformer Challenge Update

Yes, the December Challenge is still happening. I've just decided to post all of the entires at once - when the contest closes. (So far I have entries from Doug, Pumpkinetics, George Fox, and Dan Main.)

I know this is a change from the normal "post as I get 'em" methodology, but there's only a week left to the challenge anyway.

Next time we'll go back to the normal routine...and hopefully pick a contest that will garner a few more entries!

Epidode 326

Read the comic here.

Ah, Santa. Even after they destroy his sleigh on his ride home from the mother of all long days, he still has enough Christmas Cheer to hand out gifts.

It's interesting to note that the Santa here in RC and the Santa over in S-Team don't look anything alike. They must have come from different malls.

Epidode 325

Read the comic here.

With Santa's appearance, we've reached the conclusion of the Christmas Marathon. The Advent arc will take the rest of the week (or so) to finish up, then we'll be moving on to new territory.

Man, that was a lot of comics.

Episodes 321, 322, 323, and 324.

Read the comics here and here and here and here.

Part II of the Christmas Marathon. Part III will be up later tonight.

Episodes 318 and 319 and 320

Read the comics here and here and here.

Part One of the Reasonably Clever Christmas Marathon. Check back later for Part II!

Merry Chirstmas!

Merry Christmas, everyone.

(Or however you choose to celebrate this season. Please modify the above to the festive greeting of your choosing.)

Thank you to everyone who took the time to visit my little ego-centric corner of the web this year. Particular thanks to Ian Healey, the Forumites, Mike and Beth, people who have emailed, and those who take the time to comment here in the blog - it's really nice to not just talk to myself. The site wouldn't be the same without you.

Here's hoping the new year holds all that you wish it to.

New parts in Buy-Me-Mizer

Just a minor update: I added a few new parts this morning to the Buy-Me Mizer.

Three new heads (Agent Smith, A goofy smile, and a solid orange option) and a new accessory: a brown dog.

Total combinations now at 97,338,150,912

Episodes 316 and 317

Read the comics here and here.

Just because the Advent Calendars have given up their last treasures doesn't mean the adventure stops here. Tune in tomorrow for the exciting conclusion! It's like four hundred strips long, so it'll keep you busy while waiting for Great Aunt Agnes to finish her mush before you kids are allowed near the presents.

Advent Madness: Day 24

VS

Well, this is it. The final day of the LEGO Advent season. Looking back, what have we learned?

We learned that CITY, while repetitive, can still come up with a good mini-model or two. That it's steeped in repetition tradition, and will hold on to its core themes even to the point of being a bit stodgy.

We learned that Belville, for a first time Advent Calendar, did a heck of a job. $10 cheaper than the CITY calendar, filled with rare and unusual parts, and even a couple of interesting mini-models. It lacked the structured order of the CITY, but still managed to tie everything together in a vague sort of way.

So now, without any more pointless introduction...Day 24.

DOOR NUMBER TWENTY FOUR

"Young fool. Only now, at the end, do you understand."
- The Emperor, Return of the Jedi

As in years past, the final door of the CITY Advent holds a holiday treat. Unlike previous years, there's no Santa Mini-figure to deliver presents. The one figure that should be repeated every year doesn't make an appearance.

But, in his stead, is a tree. A tree decked out with Christmas lights and candles, with gifts a-plenty underneath.

It's an interesting choice - LEGO has a couple of one-piece Tree models that are very nice. Instead we get the most complex mini-model of the year. Plenty of pieces, lots of details.

True, it doesn't look as sleek or pretty as a pre-made tree, but that's not what CITY is about, is it? CITY isn't about nature. CITY is about a fake tree made from plastic that you have to build yourself. Sure, it looks sad, but you built it. Who really should take the blame?

DOOR NUMBER TWENTY FOUR

Belville, as expected, takes a more elegant route. The tree here is one of the two models I mentioned in the CITY review - only cast in super-rare swirls of white and green. Previously only available in last year's Holiday Train the 2005 Belville "Snow Queen" set, these trees have been a highly sought after part. And the Belville Calendar has just made them much more plentiful.

The small presents that accompany the tree are much more glittery than their CITY cousins - more blocks and tiles for that stained glass window.

But there's really not much building to do here. And that, sadly, is really the theme of Belville. It looks great, but there's not a lot of building to be done.

JUDGMENT:

I've decided to call a truce here on Christmas Eve - today's battle ends in a tie. Both CITY and Belville delivered a solid, Holiday-Themed end to their journeys. And, as I talked about already, each one is truly a winner in terms of serving the Calendar's theme.

The total score finds that the Belville Calendar was slightly ahead - a final score of 14 to 11. But look closely at that scorecard. Every day was a coin toss - and if you didn't want a bunch of oversized LEGO pets to deal with, the CITY would have been the right choice for you.

The final Judgment is this: LEGO, you did a decent job. There's room for improvement, but then, there always is.

Next year, though, let's give CITY a rest and try a new theme out, eh? Please? For me?


TODAY'S WINNER: AND

THE MATCH GOES TO:

Episodes 311, 312, 313, 314 and 315.

Read the comics here and here and here and here and here.

Caught up again. Tomorrow's installments are ready, so they should go up on time in the morning.
The story will continue with a massive update on Christmas, so be on the lookout. Starting the 26th, I'm going back to a once-per-weekday schedule.

Sorry for the delay, but, as I posted earlier, I was without power for a bit. It's hard to do much when you can't charge the battery for the camera or run the PC...

Advent Madness: Day 23

VS

With yesterday's loss to Belville, the CITY calendar gave up all hope to take the Season's Championship. At best, if today and tomorrow grant CITY wins...it can end in a tie.

It's somewhat shocking that this close to the final door there's even a question of who is going to win the title. I thought for sure, with all the repetition and lack of interesting models that CITY would be dead and buried by this point.


DOOR NUMBER TWENTY THREE

Continuing the 2 (or 3?) day Police Sub-Theme, we have this computer and workdesk.

Or....is it. Looking closer we see that it's got a flashing blue light and a credit card scanner. Maybe this is actually a K-Mart checkout lane!

No, there's a chair. And K-Mart employees would never have a chair to sit in while serving customers.

So I guess it is a police theme.

The green color is also a bit off - when was the last time you saw a police set with green highlights?

Eh.

The computer monitor and (printed!) keypad are both nice post-season parts. But there's not much of a model here, no extra pieces, and no holiday theming.

CITY - you have one more day. Can you find the holiday spirit?


DOOR NUMBER TWENTY THREE

I was going to write how the Belville theme had gone meta on us - that elements best suited for life in a dollhouse now include a small dollhouse. That perhaps if the calendar had gone on for another week or two, we'd have Belville scaled doll house items - completing the circle down to another level.

Instead, I'd like to go back to some of my earliest hopes for the Advent Calendars. I've always suggested that the best thing LEGO could do would to be highlighting more than one theme in a calendar. That instead of CITY Sub-themes, maybe we'd have a week of CITY, then a week of EXO-Force, then a week of Belville, etc.

Look at today's little wee castle.

That's right. You've spotted it.

Castle. Another currently-in-production LEGO theme.

My wish came true! Sure, it's a reach, but I'm going with it.

JUDGMENT:

Today's CITY is stronger than some of the week Belville doors, but it was easily overpowered by the magic of today's Belville cross-theming.

Don't go away, though. Even if CITY can't win (or tie), they may still have a shock ending for us tomorrow...

TODAY'S WINNER:

Power Back On

Due to an ice storm we lost power here for a while. It just now came back.

I'll be getting updates to the site posted as quickly as I can. Thanks for your patience.

Advent Madness: Day 22

VS

Just a warning for those of you reading the strip as well: I have to help a loved one with some shopping today, so the stips will be up late. Still today, but late.

As to the calendars...this is it. THE BIG THREE. The score is running very, very close. Can CITY do the unexpected and force a TIE? Or...dare I imagine it...best Belville for the next three days and take the WIN?


DOOR NUMBER TWENTY TWO

Hrm. Well, so much for taking all three days.

Yes, another complete repeat. Here's the standard recap:

• Hat, Torso, Legs: 2005, Day 4 (The first Police sub-theme door)
• Head: 2oo7, Day 13
• Accessory: Seen quite a bit, bur first on 2005, Day 2

Assuming we've got a Holiday theme behind Door 24, we're looking at a two-day Police Sub-Theme. Which isn't particularly bad, but, as usual, the execution is lacking. With all the different police-themed torsos that LEGO has on hand, they decided to revisit 2005 again. And, as I griped about on Day 10, they've decided to duplicate yet another face in a single year.

Here was a great chance to surge ahead with a totally new sub-theme, or figure, or, well...SOMETHING. Maybe, gosh, I dunno, THREE DAYS OF HOLIDAY STUFF.

But no. We get Day 10's "Oil Jr" in a police suit.


DOOR NUMBER TWENTY TWO

*RUBS EYES*

Stares at today's build.

*RUBS EYES AGAIN*

No, I think it's real. That's a Christmas Wreath.

An interesting, if simple, build. And an extra part.

Someone catch me, I may faint.

JUDGMENT:

You're kidding right?

TODAY'S WINNER:

Set Review: (7621) Indiana Jones and the Lost Temple

Okay, you asked for it, so here it is. The first of my reviews of the LEGO "2008 Sneak Peek" lineup.

I started with my favorite of the bunch, Indiana Jones and the Lost Temple.

Click the picture to read the review, but be sure to come back here to talk about it!

Wigswap Theater Presents...

Whiskey's hair makes just about anyone look like Guy Gardner.

Advent Madness: Day 21

VS

Day 21. Just three more doors to go - how much Holiday Goodness is hiding behind those innocent looking portals? A lot? Some? A smidge? A dollop?

In years past, CITY has had a strong Holiday Finish - pulling otherwise somber calendars out of their nose-dives and into the light. Will we see that again? Or has LEGO given up on CITY to let Belville shine just that much brighter?


DOOR NUMBER TWENTY ONE

The final day of the Janitor sub-theme brings us what I consider to be a very nice mini-model. This trash bin has a hinged lid with enough space inside to hold the extra "junk bits" and quite a bit more. The design is sleek, easy to build, and can easily be incorporated into much larger models. I can see this same design as a storage area on a tank or starship - or a slightly modified version working as a stand-alone cargo container.

No, there's nothing Holiday Themed about it, unless you count it as a place to shove all that pointless wrapping paper at the end of a gift-opening frenzy.

Still, points for continuing a new theme with a new build, for having useful (if common) parts.


DOOR NUMBER TWENTY ONE

I'm guessing that this is meant to be another pet-bed. It has similar styling to the cat-bed we saw earlier, and adding a second mini-figure bed to the furniture tally doesn't make much sense.

Maybe this is for the puppy from yesterday's haul.

It also comes with a Bionicle "Zamor Sphere" in gold - which is being labeled as a "toy ball" in this context by most sites. Just to be difficult, I prefer to think of it as a Horta egg from Star Trek. Resting on a very fancy egg-warming tray.

In the post-season part view, today we have a few more "stained glass" elements that might be good, but those are balanced by the iffiness of four big fake flowers in trans-glitter-purple and some pink arches. And I've yet to find a good use for those spheres.

JUDGMENT:

A tough call today - Belville looks like more fun, but CITY has the better model. In the end, my builder's instincts won out, and CITY took the day.

TODAY'S WINNER:

Episodes 307, 308, 309, and 310

Read the comics here and here and here and here.

307: Completing the Uncle Norman three-day sub-theme. OJ gets ready to make his move.
308: Furthering the Fireman/LOLCAT II plot. They get ready to make their move.
309: Harvey, Earl, and Scotch. They get ready to make their move.
310: A Brief Interlude.

THERE. All caught up with the comics.

Man, once I get past the 24th, going back to one strip a day on weekdays only is going to be so nice.

Score!

I had to mail out some Mini-Mizer orders, so I had to brave the holiday shopper afternoon traffic. As such, I "accidentally" stopped at Toys R Us while out, on the off chance they might have stocked tomorrows items early.

They had - but the shelves were bare.

Luckily, I spotted some of the "good stuff" in Overstock, and thanks to some helpfully tall fellow customers, we all soon had goodies to buy.

Of note, I picked up

• Indiana Jones: 7620 Motorcycle Chase
• Indiana Jones: 7621 Indiana Jones and the Lost Tomb (The best of the current offerings, IMHO)
• Spongebob: 3830 Bikini Bottom Express
• Racers: 8150 and 8151 (Glow in the Dark)
  
• Star Wars: 7669 Anakin's Jedi Starfighter (Just for the hair. Had to have the hair.)
• A couple of Bionicle Sets. (8692, 8693, 8949) to get me up to the $100 mark to use my $10 off coupon. Shut up. They look cool.

I'm going to have a lot of reviewing to do in the next couple of weeks. Anything you'd like to see me talk about first?

Toys R Us 2008 Preview

I know I still owe you guys reviews of the 2008 Exo-Force and Racers sets I picked up a couple of weeks back, but I thought those of you in the US might want to know that another wave of goodies is due to hit the shelves tomorrow. Check out this screen-cap from their on-line copy of tomorrow's sale advertisement:



Those are the new Star Was, Indiana Jones, and Sponge Bob sets. I know where a chunk of my LEGO budget is getting blown tomorrow...I hope I can still find that $10 off a $100 purchase coupon they mailed me...

Advent Madness: Day 20

VS

I was all excited about how the poll was working - many of you were voting, and I thought I had another way to add some fun interaction to the site. Then I got a report that the blog was now causing pop-up ads. Not a good thing. The only advertising I do are those Google Adwords over on the side, as they're fairly benign and usually bring in enough per-month to cover most of my hosting costs. Pop-ups, however, piss me off, and thus the poll had to go. (It was a "free" service - I guess you get what you pay for.)

Anyway, it looks like I was vindicated anyway - when I shut things down CITY still had a pretty impressive lead.


DOOR NUMBER TWENTY

Janitor week continues with a trash can, tool rack, and some random bits of trash. I could add something pithy about how TRASH and this year's CITY tie closely together, but by now I'm sure you've already figured that one out.

Eh. At least it's a new sub-theme in CITY Advent history.

DOOR NUMBER TWENTY

I'm not a dog person by nature, but even I have to admit this little pooch is pretty cute. He comes complete with an "I want Chicken Tonight!" meal.

The only real complaint I have is that the dog is Belville scaled so, once again, in Minifigure scale this puppy is a hulking giant. Considering he came from a Belville calendar, I can't really make that negative carry too much weight.

Yes, the puppy is a rare part. The last (and only) other time he's appeared in this color was in 2005's Belville "Princess and the Pea" set. The chicken leg, too, is hard to find. So is the plate, now that I think about it. So that's three-for-three.

JUDGMENT:

Sorry, CITY, Belville just has the better assortment today.

TODAY'S WINNER:

Episode 306

Read the comic here.

I know I've skipped over yesterday's Belville strip - it'll show up later. I needed to explain OJ's actions first and it flows better with the two Uncle Norman strips in a row.

I think you can see in today's strip that Norman and Nephew's torsos are indeed the same LEGO Part. The differences in color in the strips is caused by the strips being a reflective silver color - it comes off as anywhere from white to grey depending on how the flash hits it.

Trust me, if LEGO had given me a variation in the part, I'd be delighted to highlight the change.

Episode 305

Read the comic here.

Wednesday Part I. A bit of a heartwarming tale, since most of the Advent strips have been such downers this year.

Episode 304

Read the comic here.

Tuesday, Part II.

Yeah, I know I'm falling behind again. Next year, remind me not to schedule home repairs and Advent Madness at the same time...

Still, I'll work up Wednesday Part I over lunch. And you did get a strip yesterday.

As to today's strip, I wonder who Fox thinks she's addressing when shouting out her wishes. The Advent Calendar itself? The mysterious forces behind the Advent Stream? Santa?

Advent Madness: Day 19

VS

For those of you who missed it, there's a speck of controversy over my choice of CITY over Belville for yesterday's match-up. I figured it would be a good time to try out a web-poll to see if it was just the squeaky wheels complaining, or if there was a real movement to give the Pooh-bear the win.

Right now the poll is showing 2-1 in favor of CITY. I'll leave it open until this time tomorrow, just to catch any straggler votes. But it looks like I was right after all. Neener.
(Link to vote: Click here)

Moving on, let's see what Day 19 has for us.

DOOR NUMBER NINETEEN

Wow. I don't even have to look back to previous years. Does today's torso look familiar to you? It should. We got one exactly like it back on Day 4. Yes, the CITY advent has already run out of ideas and is repeating itself.

The face is from Day 10, 2006, and the broom and legs are from Day 13, 2006.

Well, at least the black baseball cap is new to the CITY Advent. Yippidee-do.

DOOR NUMBER NINETEEN

Belville returns to the "Food" sub-theme today with this giant plate of ice cream. Or maybe it's a punch bowl? I'm not 100% sure, but it does look tasty.

The parts are also quite tasty. The big dish has been a part of the Belville world since the 90's, but this is the first time I've seen one. It has never had a crossover into the main LEGO themes, which is shocking, as it's going to be a very useful piece in the post-season.

The 1x1 round dots aren't overly special, nor is the 2x2 cylinder. The ice-cream topper, however, is another rare piece. We did see some identical ice cream back on Day 6, but the only other place to find this part in this color is in 2006's Belville "Winter Palace" set. Personally, I don't see having two super-rare parts in the same calendar as a drawback, particularly when they're mixed in with other, new, super-rare parts...


JUDGMENT:

No questions today. CITY has failed in a most spectacular fashion.

TODAY'S WINNER:

Do you Demand A Recount?

VS

Okay, I've gotten some good emails and blog comments suggesting that my decision of CITY for Day 18 is just plain wrong.

So, just to see how it goes, I've decided to put it up for a vote.

Poll may have been causing pop-ups. It's gone.
Final tally was 68% For CITY, 32% for Belville.

(Sorry, RSS folks, looks like you have to be at the actual post to vote.)

More Naught Elves Revealed

I've been remiss in announcing the Naughty Elves as they shipped. You might remember the first Naughty Elf to be revealed: Thugsy.

Well, say hello to his compatriots:

• Lucky
• Lumpy
• Blast Cap
• Darth Minimus
  
• Mimer

To view data on the Elves, click here.

Advent Madness: Day 18

VS

Is it repetition, or a holiday tradition? A shocking alternative viewpoint that I'll be ignoring for the rest of the countdown.


DOOR NUMBER EIGHTEEN

Completing the three-day Trains sub-theme we have this signaling device. Now, as I've discussed recently, I'm not a train guy. I have no idea if this is an accurate mini-model or not. (I assume at least one of my readers is better versed in all things train-like than I. Feel free to enlighten the rest of us in the comments.)

I do wonder, though, why there are four lights, but only two colors. Wouldn't a four color system make more sense?

Anyway, as I mentioned in today's comic, the lights are at least red and green, making them vaguely Christmas-y. (In the same way a traffic light is vaguely Christmas-y) I should also acknowledge that the red and white "danger" striping on the earlier CITY barricades was also sort of "Candy Cane-ish".

Yes, it's a stretch. But I'm trying to give CITY a chance.


DOOR NUMBER EIGHTEEN

Another "mystery to me" door. The teddy bear I get. It falls in to the "Fairy Princess Bedroom theme" The barrel of yellow dots and the shovel? No idea.

It is meant to be a Winnie the Pooh mention, with the props being a barrel full of honey?

Is it...um....a social commentary on "Gold Diggers" and how they're really teddy bears at heart?

Does anyone know of a fairy tale or children's story that might fit this mix of items?

JUDGMENT:

The teddy bear is a rare piece for LEGO - but that's the only thing that the Belville door has going for it. After deducting a few points from Belville for "they just picked up some random crap and put it in the same baggie", CITY ended the day with a clear lead.

TODAY'S WINNER:

Episode 303

Read the comic here.

Tuesday, Part I.

The first draft of this strip is here.

I was in the process of writing this blog post when I realized that the Alert needed to make some sort of sound...I was writing down what the joke should have been when I realized there was no reason I couldn't go an actually fix the strip...it had only been up for a couple of minutes.

So I did.

Advent Madness: Day 17

VS

Just a week to go - or a week and day, depending on how you're counting.

So far the week days in Belville have been balanced by a surprisingly strong showing from the CITY. It can't last much longer - I have this dread feeling that both calendars will be letting us down in a big way before we reach the end. It's inevitable.


DOOR NUMBER SEVENTEEN

It's a bench.

With a clock.

So you can sit and wait for your train, and occasionally get up and walk a bit to check the time, because you certainly can't see the clock while you're seated.

It's not a bad model. The clock piece is pre-printed and not a sticker.

But...yawn...not much to keep one going.


DOOR NUMBER SEVENTEEN

I'm calling this another "Storybook assortment." For, indeed, it even comes with a storybook. I can't think of any Fairytales that involve a frog and a gem, though.

Well, it's a pretty large book. Maybe these are props from two different stories.

JUDGMENT:

Today's race was fairly close - there were a lot o parts in the CITY door, a couple of them are even useful. But Belville came with a frog, and, as readers of my web-comic will attest, I do so love them LEGO frogs.

TODAY'S WINNER:

Episodes 301 and 302

Read the comics here and here.

Making the train Mini-figure into an Auditor was inspired by the fact that my workplace is undergoing a routine audit this week, and that my wife's office underwent an audit last week. Tis the Season, I guess.

Why did Harvey and Earl want Scotch along on their trip? Was it just a cheap way for me not to have to deal with a second identical frog character? Or perhaps, something more sinister? Time will tell.

Snack Size Serenity: Version 3

I had to spend some serious time in the workshop this weekend just sorting through the piles of stuff that had accumulated. I parted out a couple of sets, cleaned off the workbench, and generally tried to get things back into a mode where I could get some actual creative building done.

One thing I did find time to do was to tweak the design of the Snack Sized Serenity model a bit. Ever since LEGO introduced the new turbine-style jet engines I've wanted to incorporate them into the model. Here are the results:

I have to say, I like these better than the X-wing engine mounts I had been using. I also replaced the plain grey radar dish on the top of the midsection with a pre-printed version from a Spider-Man set. (It was originally the front of a vault that Doc Ock was breaking into.)

Here are a couple more shots of the tweaks. Don't know if I'll bother to update the building instructions - it's a fairly easy change to the side engine mounts and a complete replacement of the side engines...nothing too complex.

(But still enough to call this a new version!)

Advent Madness: Day 16

VS


We got hit with a lot of snow here in Michigan today. The white is a big improvement over the dead-grass-brown we've had to look at for the past few weeks. Clearing it away might not have been a lot of fun, but it was pretty.

I came to today's doors hoping for a bit of holiday flavor to complement the weather. Care to place bets on how well that went?


DOOR NUMBER SIXTEEN