This is an interesting photo that Calin posted on his flickr gallery. It helps to better understand Christo's bias in the design of his Tauntaun Custom.

On the same image are gathered: The Tauntaun Custom by Christo, the Kaadu of the set 7115 Gungan Patrol (2000) and the Dewback of the set 4501 Mos Eisley Cantina (2004). By bringing the three creatures together, we better understand Christo's desire to produce a custom that fits perfectly in terms of design and style with the official Star Wars menagerie available in 2005.
The legs of the Tauntaun are designed on the same model as those of the Kaadu Gungan, the eyes are symbolized with the same hollow stud and the attachment of the harness is carried out in the same way for the three creatures. 

A custom, if it must be original and creative, must be able to integrate perfectly as here into the range from which it is inspired. Too often, I see customs that do not respect the LEGO "codes", and the quality of the creation is devalued by the lack of consistency with other minifigs or characters in the same range.
Today, we have enough perspective on the evolution of the minifigure over the years to allow each designer to draw inspiration from what has already been done and adapt the design and dressing of his customs while maintaining the LEGO aspect of the final product. A custom minifig, like an original LEGO minifigure, must be kept simple, immediately identifiable, and stylized enough not to be "figurinism"the most primary. 

So there, record broken: The minifigs of the Superheroes 2012 range: Batman, Wonder Woman, The Joker, Poison Ivy, The Riddler and Robin are already for sale on eBay.

No idea where these minifigs come from, the seller is located in Mexico and asks for a minimum of $ 100 for a set of 6 minifigs including: 2 versions of Batman, Robin, The Joker, Poison Ivy and The Riddler.

Wonder Woman is offered at a starting price of $ 19.99. 

The minifigs look original, as far as we can guess. The only novelty in these images: The Riddler with a gray hat and a green suit. I am not particularly enthusiastic about this character.

But in fact, in which set is this minifigure planned? None of the first DC wave anyway, we got all the footage of the new stuff planned.

Obviously, the seller got his hands on a batch of minifigs that must have been difficult to access .... Maybe the Monterey LEGO factory in Mexico...

Here we go again for new images of what awaits us in 2012 with these new visuals.
We discover in more detail the first sets of 2012 and we realize how far we have come in terms of design since the first preliminary visuals that I published here a few weeks ago.

 Several observations: Superman will not have red legs contrary to what we had seen on preliminary visuals of the set 6862 Superman vs. Lex Luthor, thus making from the NYCC 2011 minifigure a non-exclusivity that will be available to everyone soon. Wonder Woman will be entitled to a silkscreen print on the legs. It should be noted that this set benefits from a range dressing different from the others: It is clearly identified as in the Superman range. On the menu, therefore, three minifigs: Superman, Wonder Woman and Lex Luthor.

About the set 6864 Batman vs Two-Face, 5 minifigs will be delivered and the colors of Two Face are confirmed: It will be orange and purple (Comic version), just like its vehicle and its acolytes. The box of the set also mentions Comic book included, and as I revealed to you a few days ago, a comic book will be delivered with the set.

The and 6863 Batman vs The Joker will likely include the batman minifigure given out at San Diego Comic Con in July 2011, and once again this minifigure was ultimately not exclusive. A comic will also be included in this set.

 Not much new about the set 6858 Batman vs. Catwoman, we just have confirmation of the color of Catwoman's motorcycle.

Finally, the set 6860 Batcave has been known to him for a few weeks already.

We also have confirmation of the release of a video game Lego batman 2, and this visual suggests that other DC super heroes will be present (Superman, Wonder Woman, The Joker ...). Note the copyright 2012 at the bottom right ...

Finally, a visual of the Two Face minifigure that some find awful in orange and purple. I already adore her for two reasons: She is faithful to certain comic book editions and she won't make me regret spending too much money to acquire the version of the set. 7781 The Batmobile: Two-Face's Escape released in 2006 ....

Well, I fell in love again, and I'm pretty happy to have been able to find an available copy of a Christo Custom Tauntaun inspired by the first Star Wars Saga video game opus released in 2005 and made long before LEGO was released. decides to produce his version.

In fact, the LEGO version only appeared for the first time in 2009 in the set 7749 Echo Base and we find the creature in another set released this year: 7879 Hoth Echo Base.

To be honest, even if the version of Christo, which must however be put in its temporal context, is not so cartoon than the LEGO model, it represents in my eyes the fruit of an incredible effort of creativity and know-how.

I have never hidden that I consider the customs of Christo (See his eBay store et CAB & Tiler's flickr gallery) as real artistic achievements that compete without problem with the official minifigs, and fill the gaps of LEGO especially with regard to super heroes.  

For the anecdote, it is this Tauntaun Custom which was staged in Brickplumber's incredible Hoth diorama I told you about in February on Hoth Bricks. So I am very happy to be able to add this piece "HISTORY"to my collection.

 Finally, to finish, Calin took a picture of hers and posted it on her flickr gallery. Definitely, this Tauntaun is still more in the LEGO spirit than the official version.

I know, I know, the title was a bit easy .... But I come back to a subject that titillates me: A possible LEGO game based on the Lord of the Rings license.

The rumor persists, no one is vehemently denying it, but no one is confirming it either. in 2010 Warner Bros. announced that the partnership between LEGO and TT Games Publishing (Which is owned by Warner) would run until at least 2016.
The year 2011 was rich in releases with LEGO Star Wars III The Clone Wars, LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean, LEGO Ninjago: The Videogame et LEGO Harry Potter Years 5-7.

For 2012, we already know that Lego batman 2 et LEGO Superheroes: The Videogame are on the program.
And why not a game LEGO: The Hobbit ? After all, the theme lends itself to it: Endearing characters for children, a legend that is part of the culture of adults today, an extended, varied, mysterious universe, populated by strange creatures ...

In 2010, producer Loz Doyle (TT Games) refused during an interview to answer on the subject: "I can't say anything about it", but admitted that the Lord of the Rings franchise meets the necessary criteria for a video game adaptation:"It's [Lord of the Rings] got three films - well, plus one if you add The Hobbit. It's got a lot of cool characters. It could definitely work. There are very few things that wouldn't work, don't you think? There is an age limit, and Lord of the Rings is aimed younger in terms of appropriateness. So in that respect they work. Yeah, it would definitely work. "Which means that with the three films, plus The Hobbit (2 films planned) and as many characters, it could work ....

The Lord of the Rings license is no longer in the hands of Electronic Arts, and New Line Cinema is now part of the Time Warner group, allowing the group to regain control of the LOTR licensed games, as long as they are based on movies only. Tolkien Enterprises retains its rights to anything adapted from the books.

There is a persistent rumor that Peter Jackson himself was treated to a presentation of a LEGO LOTR game demo .....

LEGO's strategy could be as follows: Announce the license in July 2012, release the game LEGO The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey just after the film's theatrical release in late 2012, and providing a first wave of sets in early 2013, between the two films, building on the Blu-ray / DVD release of the first opus.
Same timing for the second installment of the game LEGO The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies which would be available after the theatrical release of the second film in late 2013 with another wave of sets in early 2014.

Wait & see ....