Africa Theme

[kinggregus]

The Real Indiana Jones: Your build is fantastic. There is no doubt to me that I prefer the flesh-toned skins rather than the usual yellow.

I am glad to see this thread brought back to live thanks to you.

A lot of comments believe that the creation of such theme would be a risky move by TLG or uninteresting. I have to disagree. I still view Lego as an educational toy. Such theme could be a mean to bring more positive awareness about this continent.

Remember during the American presidential elections in 2008, Sarah Palin who was running for vice president, believed that Africa was a country. If a person at that level had such little knowledge about the continent, I can understand that a lot of people know little to nothing about the continent. Lego could be used as a tool to bring more awareness about Africa's beauty.

The best and most positive way for Lego to do Africa would be to partner with the Jane Goodall Institute: animal conservation, as well as licensed style figures. This could include the Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots program which is in more than 120 countries around the world.

Gedren_y, this is truly the best idea I have seen across this thread. I have to admit that I was not familiar with this institute at all. However, I could see such partnership working really well. It could bring more visibility to such organization, bring a more humane image to TLG, be beneficial to the education of children and bring new molds to the AFOL community.

[The Real Indiana Jones]

I am glad to see this thread brought back to live thanks to you.

Thanks for the support!

So yes, no need to repeat all of the negative things that can't be done, let's just make a bullet list of all of the positive and educational things that can be done...

* A Theme or a single set through Lego: A non-violent safari set or theme. This would include great new animal molds. It has already been done in Duplo!

* A single set through Cuusoo: Nubians allied with Egypt is one great possibility. Hey, here's that link again! =)

* A Collectible Minifigure or two: Just like all of the other civilization figs...!

In particular, people have been asking for a nice non-violent ecology-minded Safari Theme for a long time. Like I said, it has been done in Duplo, so why not in the standard Lego System?

Edited January 15, 2014 by The Real Indiana Jones

[Borex]

A safari-theme. I guess it would work, right? Lots of animals (boys and girls like them) and explorer kinda thingies. Lego loves vehicles, so they can build jeeps and trucks to carry wildebeasts and giraffes, while a leopard is lying on a rock. It doesn't need to be dino's all the time.

And if it's not exciting enough (but i think it doesn't need extra excitement or action. Let the kids work their fantasy) they always can make an elephant-mech fighting a crocodile (oh wait that's chima!)

Plus can we have some curly hair please?

[Ardelon]

The this is, a non-conflict safari theme would hardly be an action theme - it would most likely be a leisure theme, like paradisa - thus more likelz to be made as a friends theme with minidolls and cutesy animal prints. To be a system theme, I imagine some kind of conflict would be needed. To reiterate my idea from the first page of this thread:

"I think a theme of conservationist good guys vs poacher bad guys could work. The poachers wouldnt even have to be trying to kill the animals, just capture them for a private collector (think Sam Sinister / Baron von Barron) or a circus."

The bad guzs could basically use the same vehicles and "weapons" (tranq guns, nets) that the most recent Dino hunters used; no actual weapons necessary.

Now how would the designers do the native Africans, I assume they simply wouldnt. After all, there are no Africans or any other races in LEGOLand, just yellow minifgs. All the aleternatives are pretty messy:

- brown minifigs alongside yellows - just the scenario TLG wanted to avoid by introducing flesh skin tones

- all yellow minifigs, with Africans distinguished by traditional clothes or facial features, like printed flat noses or full lips, like the 1997 Native Americans - an even worse solution than different skin color, probably the worst possibility

- flesh skin tones in a non-licensed theme - against TLGs policy of presenting LEGOLand as a world without racial differences, this would mean the designers would have to assign race to specific minifigs, which could reduce identification of kids with specific characters

So, the way I see it, its either all yellow figs, or TLG gets a license and creates figs with skin tones based on the IP...

[The Real Indiana Jones]

If you look at all the international and historical minifigs in the Collectable Minifigures line, you'll see that they have essentially solved that problem. They just give everyone a nice bright yellow face and a nice bright smile, and if they are from a particular country, then they show that by giving them an iconic traditional costume! Their faces are all perfectly equal.

Edited January 17, 2014 by The Real Indiana Jones

[bricklayer7]

A safari set would be great and I think we need some black minifigures.

[Piranha]

I agree a Safari type subtheme for City would the best solution for getting anything from sub Sahara Africa produced as a theme. It can be like the new Arctic theme, simply a exploration/research theme, no conflict needed at all.

[The Real Indiana Jones]

I agree a Safari type subtheme for City would the best solution for getting anything from sub Sahara Africa produced as a theme. It can be like the new Arctic theme, simply a exploration/research theme, no conflict needed at all.

Yes, excellent point... If they are doing research in the Arctic (climate research?), then they can do similar research on the Savanna and Jungle habitats too.

I have a hunch that the Arctic team from Lego City will be modeled after a real world climate research team. The 2000 version was all research vehicles too.

Edited January 21, 2014 by The Real Indiana Jones

[Cult_Of_Skaro]

I'd love it if such a theme had fleshies. We could seriously use more black women minifigures.