AyliffeMakit

Eurobricks Citizen
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About AyliffeMakit

  • Birthday 08/09/1998

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    Galidor

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    London
  • Interests
    Buying Lego City sets, Watching Doctor Who, and generally building large cities with my lego collection.

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  • Country
    United Kingdom

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  1. AyliffeMakit

    The Lego Movie 2 - The Second Part 2019 Set Discussion

    Here's pics of that SDCC exclusive Unikitty! And if you're worried about 'em taking a big step back from the newer Unikitty neck connectors, don't worry - Matthew Ashton's confirmed it's just for this one and next year's sets will all include the new connector!
  2. AyliffeMakit

    Future Action and Adventure Themes

    I mean, I agree with your general point that both themes didn't completely bomb but... he's a contracted set designer at LEGO. A contracted set designer that worked on both themes and is under NDA, in fact - of course he's gonna say that they exceeded sales targets innit. It's like expecting a car salesman to suddenly go "actually nah these cars here actually did really badly lol don't buy them", especially with stuff like contracts an' the like at play. Heck, the same guy was arguing Dimensions sold very well before they officially axed it. Don't just take this stuff at face value when there's waaaaaaaaaay more at play. That being said (and a tad more on topic), I don't think either Chima or Nexo Knights sold obscenely badly or anything - as a whole at least. There's some elements of Chima like the Speedorz (had the last wave cancelled) and the Constraction ones (last wave or two were exclusive to a specific region, though I'd attribute that to product clash with Hero Factory more than anything) that most likely didn't do too swell, but as a whole the themes probably just did "okay" more than anything - they didn't lose vast amounts of money from the theme (TLG would've pulled the plug much sooner if that was the case) but they didn't do ninjago-tier gangbusters like they obviously wanted the themes to. If there's any recent themes that've done incredibly poorly, Bionicle G2 and Dimensions are better examples to point the proverbial finger at - both had whole years of their plans lopped short due to sales, 'cos TLG saw they weren't doing too hot and axed them before things could go even more downhill. That's not to say their tales of woe are completely straightforward (I could write an essay on why exactly Dimensions bombed) or that their sets are automatically terrible because of this (the first wave of Bonkles G2 is my favourite in all of constraction, fite me), but they still didn't pull in enough dough to make continuing it sustainable. That's what failure looks like. A theme lasting for just it's originally-planned length and then silently bowing out with a fairly small last wave isn't failure - it's mediocrity. tl;dr: Chima and Nexo didn't heavily fail or succeed, they just did alright. There's been worse failures by far.
  3. AyliffeMakit

    LEGO Nexo Knights 2018

    (copied and pasted from my comment over on the Brickset article, so keep that in mind innit) I can't say I'm completely surprised by the cancellation news honestly - the recent wave definitely felt like a 'winding down' of the theme like the last wave of Chima, so it's not exactly a shock or anything. I'm definitely gonna miss all the new sci-fi pieces and vehicles we were getting from it though, since the vehicles were hella useful as starting points/inspiration for MOCs and the cool new parts were, y'know, cool new parts innit. I definitely gotta agree with Jang's remarks on last year's sets though - they really were a bit of a bland mess when it came to the colour schemes and, small mechs aside, I don't think I ended up grabbing any of 'em. That's not to say Nexo was completely an amazing theme though - the app-game integration with the scannable shields was a neat idea on paper but the execution was very mixed (particularly how incredibly grindy the game actually was and the fact that the scan upgrade system got broken incredibly quickly), and the TV show was, in my opinion at least, a bit of a bland mess with single-characteristic characters and a very same-y world, especially when compared with other TLG shows (Netflix!Elves and Ninjago immediately come to mind) - it's not the very worst they've put out (it's definitely an improvement over Chima's show), but realistically I'd expect quite a bit more from 'em innit. All that said though, I don't think I've ever thought on the whole that the whole theme needed to 'die quick' or whatever - every theme has it's benefits and drawbacks, and whilst Nexo had drawbacks in the form of it's media, the sets and parts were *definitely* a major plus on most fronts and I'm relatively happy with the good stuff we got outta it. And as for the comments about how Nexo was "THE WORST THEME EVAR NOBODY LIKED IT ANYWAYS" and that it's "GREAT NEWS" the theme is ending so that your "20 classic castles and 12 new knight factions a year just like the good ol' days" wet dream can come true... Lego is primarily a children's toy for children. As a children's toy for children, it makes sense that they would look into what would sell specifically to children as that's, y'know, their main target audience. It's incredibly silly to fool yourself into thinking that TLG's gonna bend over backwards to make sure every single one of their themes specifically adheres to what you personally enjoyed back in the 80s - times have changed and so have the tastes of kiddies and what they look for in a theme. Of course, that doesn't completely absolve a theme from constructive criticism, by far - it's an important tool and allows 'em to improve beyond what they're currently doing - but it *does* mean that you've gotta take that fact into consideration as context and it *definitely* means that unconstructive arguments like "OH IT'S NOT WHAT IT WAS LIKE WHEN I WAS YOUNG SO IT'S AUTOMATICALLY BAD" can go die in a hole. Look closer at what's there and analyse it thoroughly to identify the possible positives/negatives instead of just seeing things at a surface value and judging solely via that innit. And anyways, if you don't like what themes TLG's doing... instead of having a lil' moan about how it's not the stuff you yourself specifically want, why not use your own unique imagination and build the stuff you DO wanna see? Y'know, the main selling point of lego? Yeah, that. tl;dr, this:
  4. AyliffeMakit

    Lack of original themes

    Welp, suppose I should wade in my thoughts on this then: I... don't really mind too much the current evergreen(ish?) theme selection TLG has at the moment - it's a decently varied range of sets, and whilst some of 'em aren't completely up my street (Star Wars and Superheroes especially come to mind), they at least introduce a ton o' new useful parts and prints that I can utilise in my own MOCs. As long as it keeps TLG in business and they don't go back to that weird period in the 2000s where everything was a single mold for some reason (which I kinda doubt since they've very much learnt their lesson from it), I'm cool with whatever they're doing set-wise. S'good. Having said that though, I really wouldn't mind seeing some more one-and-done action themes in the future if only for personal preference - as much as the whole "everything needs a tv show and 20 books" approach apparently works quite well, it'd be nice just to have some lil' one-off deals as a bit of variation in between those ones, y'know? I'm not too concerned if they don't, but it'd be rather nice if they did innit. Eh, I doubt they're gonna pull the plug on it any time soon - movie aside it's clearly still making money for 'em, so until it stops pulling in the big dollarydoos I doubt it's going away for at least another, oooh, 4-5 years? As for the complex storyline though, I'd agree that it's definitely getting a tad confusing innit - I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to soft-reboot it a-la the glatorians stuff at some point in the future - make it still technically in the same universe to satisfy the longterm fans, but shift the focus onto some brand new characters so they can start afresh enough as a jumping-in point for new peeps. Or at least, I'm expecting them to try doing this, get yelled at by 90% of the fanbase when they do and revert back to how it originally was two seasons later... :V
  5. AyliffeMakit

    LEGO DC Villains (Videogame)

    Gee golly willikers, I sure can't wait for it to be the exact same lego game we've been getting 99% of the time since 2005 but with a different branded coat of paint! Seriously though, TT/WB Games should really stop shoving out twenty-billion formulaic, unpolished lego games a year and focus on doing only 1 or 2 titles a year that focus on overhauling and refining the ageing formula for the current year instead of just staying with the same old same old. Quality over quantity, y'know?
  6. AyliffeMakit

    Modular Building Sets - Rumours and Discussion

    TLG's confirmed that Palace Cinema's going at the end of the year, but at that price the Brick Bank's also a pretty good choice. Depends what one ya want more I guess.
  7. AyliffeMakit

    Modular Building Sets - Rumours and Discussion

    Looks like the leak's legit then
  8. AyliffeMakit

    2018 Friends Sets - Rumours and Discussion

    A Friends reboot? Is this now Friends G2? Will there be connection theories between the two canons? Is there gonna be a Friends version of Greg Farshtey who'll continue to write bizarre lore for the original friends universe for years to come?!? (In all seriousness though, I really like the theme for it's sets so whatever it takes to keep the thing going for another 10-15 years is fine by me innit)
  9. AyliffeMakit

    The LEGO Unikitty Show

    *points in the general direction of Steven Universe*
  10. AyliffeMakit

    The LEGO Unikitty Show

    If you were hoping that this wouldn't just be Teen Titans GO 2.0, prepare for a bucket-load of D I S A P P O I N T M E N T
  11. AyliffeMakit

    The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017)

    Very nearly, yes - it launches in Greece next Thursday, but other than that it's basically done. Half term break's next week in the UK though, so it'll probably pick up a tad there with families taking the kiddies to it (also helps that other than the MLP movie, it's basically got zero competition within the kid's target audience). Nah, I'd still go to the cinema... ...and buy a ticket to BladeRunner 2049, an actually really good movie that's worth watching innit :V
  12. AyliffeMakit

    The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017)

    Saw the movie on saturday by myself, and my thoughts on it are... extremely mixed, honestly. I'm not sure how to properly structure this, so I'm just gonna list below the good/bad things about it that I can think of right off the top of my head (some of which may have minor spoilers, so watch out for that innit), starting with... THE GOOD STUFF The visuals are, as per usual with these films, utterly gorgeous. A lotta reviews for the film have used the "oh no it doesnt use legos all the time its lazy" thing as a frequent criticism, but for me I... don't get this? The realistic natural elements with minifig-made structures being integrated into 'em reminded me mostly of those wonderfully-photographed spreads you'd get in 90s lego catalogues with train layouts and castles and such, and boy do I have a love for those layouts. S' a good visual style. I also really really like Ninjago City's general design, it's almost like Los Angeles in Blade Runner but brighter and more child-friendly and I really really like that. Good stuff. The animation is also, as per usual, still utterly gorgeous. They definitely do "cheat" a lot more with popping off minifig arms and exaggerated movements than the other films, but every smear frame in the film is still made with 100% lego elements so far as animation goes it's pretty dang inventive. Apart from one or two duff notes (I'll get back to this in a sec), the voice acting is mostly pretty spot-on too. Garmadon, Lloyd and Zane in particular are dang great, and the rest of the ninjas are pretty well-voiced too... when they do eventually speak, that is (I'll also get back to this in a sec). The stupid pointless love-triangle from the show that serves no purpose other than to start shipping wars on tumblr is completely absent here, thank christ. The character designs are several notches above Ninjago's usual decent standard and some of them (particularly Zane and Jay) are probably my favourite iterations of the characters design-wise ever. Zane is best ninja bar none. Right, now we've covered that let's move onto the more questionable bits of the film, with... THE BAD STUFF On imdb the film has a grand total of 13 (!) writers, and when it comes down to the plot... you can really, really tell this thing's had a silly amount of rewrites/changes through production and the final result feels more like remnants of several different story ideas blended together in the edit rather than having a clear idea of what they wanted to do at the very start. There's bits like the Good Morning Ninjago segment introducing the ninjas at the start where you can really tell that they had a ton o' finalised footage they'd removed from an earlier cut that they didn't know what to do with so they just haphazardly shoved it in there and it just suuuuuuucks. Talking of the first Good Morning Ninjago segment... With storytelling in any medium, there's a general golden rule that should never, ever be broken with characters - show, don't tell. If you wanna get across to the audience that a character is shy or reckless or calm, then you should get that across through their speech and mannerisms so the audience can work out for themselves which character is which. What you absolutely shouldn't do in any piece of media whatsoever is yell directly at the audience which character is which and exactly what all their character traits are because it treats the audience like two-year-olds and is frankly an extremely lazy way of introducing characters. Naturally then, that's exactly how TLNM decides to introduce you into this world and, to put it bluntly, it's absolutely piss-poor and by far the worst part of the film for me. Tiny bits and bobs of exposition is one thing, but getting two news anchors to spend like 5 minutes yelling at you exactly who each character is and their relationship to Lloyd is just extremely lazy and awful in every single way and I just hate it so much and ugh. Showing all of the mechs and the inside of Garmadon's fortress in said news segment also completely removes any sense of surprise from their initial reveals later on in the film for the audience, which also completely sucks. The absolute worst part about it is that it's pretty clear from the unused footage in the ninja montages that they were gonna have a longer battle sequence at the start that would've introduced every character naturally through actions like every other good film, but instead they opted for this route because... why? Why did they do this? Why?!? This definitely isn't a problem unique to TLNM (By the sounds of it the MLP Movie does it and I've got my fears about Avengers: Infinity War and Justice League doing it), but it's very much prevalent here - whilst some of the main characters get a ton of development/screen time, with a lot of them sorta just feel like they're tagging along for the ride and don't really contribute to the plot in any meaningful way as individuals. Kai and Cole in particular are just sorta there, and whilst Jay and Zane have some cool lines every now and again they don't really evolve as characters that much throughout the story. Shame really, since I was really hoping that the movie would make an attempt at not making Cole the "sorta-here-I-guess" ninja like he is in the show. Guess it simply wasn't to be. Remember how I said most of the voice acting is pretty good? Well, there's an exception to that general rule, but there's a chance you may not have heard it - instead of having Good Morning America hosts for the GMN segments, here in the UK they replaced 'em with Ben Shephard and Kate Garraway from Good Morning Britain because localisation or something. Whilst Kate's performance is completely fine, Ben's is... to put it blunt, pretty darn awful. I dunno whether it's the way he's saying the lines or how it sounds like they're not written with his voice in mind (I wouldn't be surprised if he's got the same lines as the US GMN hosts, but I've got no way of checking that), but either way it sounds cringey as hell and I don't like it no siree. Without going into too many details, the framing device the film uses serves no real purpose plot-wise and really doesn't need to be there honestly. They could've completely cut it and it wouldn't have made a shred o' difference. Warner Bros really, really shouldn't have revealed Meowthra in the SDCC trailer honestly. If they'd kept it secret until the film's release as a right-outta-left-field reveal I really would've had more respect for the film than I do now. The climax also feels kinda... rushed? Like, the moral lessons happen and then the animated stuff just sorta... ends. Doesn't feel as earned as TLM or TLBM. There's a couple of scenes near the beginning that sound awfully devoid of background sound/music, almost to a degree that it makes the thing feel like WB sent out an unfinished cut to cinemas. S' weird. The meme-y ultimate weapon montages? Awful. Please don't do that again. Occasionally the ninjas describe things as "So ninja!" and it feels very "how do you do fellow kids" each and every time. Zane does not dab in the film. All in all, if I had to rate the film I'd give it a firm 6/10 - it's not the absolute worst film I've seen this year (to be fair I had to sit through the bloody emoji movie so I wouldn't take that as much), but there's much better out there to watch and I'd encourage you to do so. tl;dr: Save the money you'd spend on film tickets for the stunning sets and just wait 'til the movie arrives on DVD - it's competent but really not worth the cash honestly.
  13. AyliffeMakit

    LEGO Dimensions Discussion

    "Please let me go home now, I haven't seen sunlight in months" the Dimensions twitter intern screams as WB Games tightens his chains and double-locks the dungeon doors
  14. AyliffeMakit

    The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017)

    What's the time? Why, it's international variations o'clock!
  15. AyliffeMakit

    LEGO Ninjago Movie Videogame

    Footage for the thing's up already (probably containing spoilers for the film, so be cautious when clicking innit), and it has something I really wasn't expecting from a TT lego game: IT'S SKILL TREE TIME BAYBEE