If I ran The Lego Group

[Paul B Technic]

http://mizibunktechn...-group-tlg.html

If I ran The Lego Group (TLG)

This is not about wild and outrageous ideas such as selling 5000 piece sets for $20 or anything like that but more about changes I would make if I ran The Lego Group, which would not cost much but would improve how I see the Lego hobby developing. Some of these ideas are related directly to my main area of interest (Lego Technic) while others are more general in nature.

What made me think about was on Boxing Day I was waiting outside my local Toy World store for it to open; I was the first person in the door and within a few minutes 3 other men aged in their early – mid twenties joined me in the Lego area of the store, it was clear that they were buying sets for themselves and not kids. While Lego is still designed as a kid’s toy, I think more and more adults are buying it for themselves and this is something that The Lego Group might want to consider.

My ideas are:

- Remove the age range on boxes: I have noticed some of the newer larger sets are just marked 16+, why not just mark all sets 8+ or 10+ as required and not list them as 8-16 or 10-16 like they are marked now.

- Place piece counts on the outside of the boxes: I know this happens already in some countries, why not do it for all countries.

- On the Lego website have a area where you can sign up as a member and list all the sets you own which would do piece counts, list all the pieces you own and allow you to download LDD files for all these sets which are created by The Lego Group and are 100% complete with all parts and stickers.

Maybe also have codes in each box, you can register these on your profile and after you buy sets worth so many points you get a bonus of some sort. Reward people for buying more sets.

- Have themes within the Technic range. In the 1980’s and early 1990’s they had a couple of themes including Rally which had a small 6 wheeler, a rally buggy and a rally truck. One year you could have a rescue theme which might include a small helicopter, a larger helicopter, a rescue boat and a rescue 4WD truck. The next year might be earth works which could be a front end loader, an excavator, a dump truck and a road grader.

- Advertise Lego at adults, those who have seen my 4x4 crawler or another large set are amazed how much Lego has changed. If more people see that Lego is a hobby that adults can enjoy it might increase the interest in this.

- Hold official Lego shows. These could include previews of new sets, classic sets and the best models from the MOC scene. Target these both at kids and adults; maybe have adult only sessions of a night time.

- Bring back some of the classic Technic sets like 8880 but built stud less.

What are some of your ideas and suggestion? Try and keep them practical :)

Edited January 4, 2013 by Paul B

[LEGO Historian]

LEGO is an ARCHITECTURAL toy... so why are there only about 1/2 dozen windows available (most don't match with each other in style or available color).. TLG should come out with more window styles... even some historic styles (pointed arch top Gothic, round top Romanesque, etc...).

The use of the back side of headlight bricks as windows (even on the rare Ole Kirk Christiansen House model)... is an embarrassment when you consider the vast quantity of different LEGO elements TLG produces.

In 1963, about 15% of all the limited number of different LEGO parts were windows!

[Shu]

i definitely agree about removing the age range on the box. my girlfriend and non-AFOL friends can't understand why i'm buying a toy "prescribed" for 11-16 year olds for myself.

i also agree that the inclusion of number of pieces on the box should be standardized because personally, this is one of the first things i look into a set.

i doubt the possibility of downloadable ldd files, because imo these can be compared to as "cad" or "dwg" files us architects (designers) would not want to freely distribute. however the idea of a downloadable "original" stickers is good.

[Steinkopf]

- On the Lego website have a area where you can sign up as a member and list all the sets you own which would do piece counts, list all the pieces you own and allow you to download LDD files for all these sets which are created by The Lego Group and are 100% complete with all parts and stickers.

Maybe also have codes in each box, you can register these on your profile and after you buy sets worth so many points you get a bonus of some sort. Reward people for buying more sets.

Regarding the piece count system that you are referring to this already exists, all you have to do is make a store on Bricklink and register every set you own as part of the stores inventory, you can also load quantities of parts that you have bought that were not in sets, keep the store set on CLOSED as this will ensure that no one else other than yourself can gain access to your inventory.

- Advertise Lego at adults, those who have seen my 4x4 crawler or another large set are amazed how much Lego has changed. If more people see that Lego is a hobby that adults can enjoy it might increase the interest in this.

As far as advertising to adults is concerned this is a rather grey area, given that it is a construction toy that has a wide range of themes to cover its core target group (children) it is very difficult to gear that to a much broader adult audience, in many respects TLG already caters to an adult audience with mature sets such as the Architecture Series and the Cafe Corner/Creator Expert range. Trying to develop a theme that is aimed purely at an adult market is highly prone to failure due to broad ranging interests that adults have there is no one size fits all solution to this, trying to dovetail adults into the themes that are currently available is the best option. Probably the greatest opportunity for this is through licensed sets, like it or not themes such as STAR WARS, LOTR and the HOBBIT are some of the best ways to lure adults into the hobby due to the general interest generated by the movies and books.

- Hold official Lego shows. These could include previews of new sets, classic sets and the best models from the MOC scene. Target these both at kids and adults; maybe have adult only sessions of a night time.

With the idea of putting on official LEGO shows this is a very expensive exercise, the amount of money that goes into funding such events is quite large when you factor in all the costs such as advertising, display models, event staff, insurance, transport and storage as well as finding a suitable venue. The costs of holding such events has an impact on the marketing expenses, this in turn would have to be offset by increasing the prices of the product to absorb these extra costs, what would you prefer more expensive sets to cover the cost of shows you may not get a chance to see or cheaper sets. The current position of where TLG gives a certain amount of assistance to fan based events is a far more effective option, especially when it comes to the models on displays as fans have a wide range of genres that they build in, whilst a company event would be more geared towards official products. Seeing creations that are made by AFOLs and the wide diversity of them is far more inspiring for a potential convert to the hobby compared to just seeing a ton of official sets on display.

Edited January 5, 2013 by Steinkopf

[Aanchir]

Part of the reason sets have an "age cap" is because it makes it easier for gift-givers to pick out a gift that will actually challenge and engage the recipient. This makes the recipient more likely to become a repeat customer. You don't want a kid to get a set that feels like it was designed for younger kids, because that will likely give them the impression that LEGO is a "kids' toy" and that they're "too old" for it.

TLG does hold official LEGO shows of a sort. In Denmark and the Netherlands they have the annual "LEGO World" event, where new and upcoming sets indeed occasionally get showcased and LEGO designers are often present. In the United States the closest thing is "LEGO KidsFest", which is as the name suggests aimed more at kids than at adults. The reason TLG doesn't have their own adult-oriented events in the US is probably in part because they don't want to step on the toes of all the already-established AFOL conventions here. I'm assuming this is what you mean by "shows"-- if you're referring to television programs or seminar-type stage productions, though, those might have a significant risk, as it'd be hard to provide the same level of entertainment for fans and non-fans. If it's simplified too much for new fans or people who are not yet fans, there might not be room to reveal anything new or groundbreaking, and if it's too esoteric then non-fans might feel too lost and confused to find any enjoyment in it.

TLG has been targeting more advertising at adults in recent years, for instance, for some of the large Technic models. Remember the LEGO for men campaign? Part of the problem with targeting ads at adults, though, is that many of the sets that adults are likely to get the most enjoyment out of (such as the Modular Buildings) tend to be fairly exclusive as well as quite expensive. Major marketing channels like TV and magazine adverts are more likely to be effective if a) they're advertising something fairly easy for someone to go to a store and get and b) they're advertising something that a person will consider a good investment. And believe it or not, it's hard to get a person who isn't already a LEGO fan to shill out over a hundred dollars on something they likely have little firsthand experience with and won't necessarily understand the merit of.

Your idea for the LEGO website is brilliant but ambitious. As I understand it TLG already invests heavily in parts of their website that appeal strongly to kids, like online games, comics, and videos. Doing something this extensive would require either taking away the budget from those tried-and-true marketing methods or making a much larger investment in the web component of the LEGO site (as well as LDD development, since the LDD team already has a tough time filling out the parts palette, and this would require their work to be that much more comprehensive).

Themed Technic sets would be cool, though I think part of the reason we don't see that so much today is that the Technic lineup is smaller and there's an interest in making sure that each set feels unique. It can't be forgotten that whereas there are lots of System themes, there's only one Technic line, and as such it has to appeal to a much wider range of interests than the average LEGO theme, which has a narrower focus.

Finally, I was quite disappointed in this topic. I came in expecting an AFOL-themed parody of Dr. Seuss's classics If I Ran the Zoo and If I Ran the Circus.

Edited January 4, 2013 by Aanchir

[ShaydDeGrai]

Part of the reason sets have an "age cap" is because it makes it easier for gift-givers to pick out a gift that will actually challenge and engage the recipient. This makes the recipient more likely to become a repeat customer. You don't want a kid to get a set that feels like it was designed for younger kids, because that will likely give them the impression that LEGO is a "kids' toy" and that they're "too old" for it.

This is a very valid observation, but I think there is room to follow the same basic "age branding" that a lot of jigsaw manufactures use: an age cap on kits that really _are_ targeted at pre-teens (i.e. too simple to hold an older audiences interest) but declare some arbitrary age (usually much lower than the legal driving age) as "adult" or "+" to suggest that this is a hobby all ages can enjoy. For TLG this would mean that a kit branded as, say, 7-12 would stay the same but one currently marked "12-16" would get rebranded as "12 to Adult" or "12+". A "cap" age in the mid teens and above contributes little information for the gift buyer but does needlessly promote the "kid's toy" image. Seriously, what is less likely to offend a 17-year-old, giving him/her a kit openly branded as a toy for a 15 year old, or having her/him easily master a kit branded as suitable for "adults" ?

TLG does hold official LEGO shows of a sort. In Denmark and the Netherlands they have the annual "LEGO World" event, where new and upcoming sets indeed occasionally get showcased and LEGO designers are often present. In the United States the closest thing is "LEGO KidsFest", which is as the name suggests aimed more at kids than at adults. The reason TLG doesn't have their own adult-oriented events in the US is probably in part because they don't want to step on the toes of all the already-established AFOL conventions here... (snip)...

This is another very valid point, TLG shouldn't compete with AFOL based events, but I do think they could do more to encourage high visibility AFOL activity, particularly in regions that DON'T have long standing LEGO Convention traditions like Chicago or Seattle. Take Boston for example, there are four Lego Stores in Massachusetts, so clearly there must be enough of an audience demand to sustain them. I'm told Maine has a LUG (though it only has a Facebook presence and, not being a Facebookie, I have no idea where they are or what they do) and the biggest city in Maine is only two hours from Boston so I'll declare them 'local' (at least compared to, say Baltimore or Seattle). A general New England LUG has been around for years and has a display at a local toy train show twice a year; but when it comes to big, dedicated LEGO conventions, New Englanders have to schlep over a mountain range and into the next time zone to get to one.

It would be nice if TLG had some sort of scholarship/grant program in its advertising budget that local LUGs could apply to in order to get start-up funds and professional advice about how to go about holding a LEGO convention, incorporating an LLC or 501c3 for the purposes of managing funds and liability associated with the convention, etc.. TLG wouldn't be _running_ the convention, but they could provide needed advice, assign a liaison officer to act as consultant, book an expert builder to hold a kids-build event at the convention, arrange for an official LEGO vendor offering all the current kits, provide a company insider to give a talk where s/he says "no" to all our prospective product requests/suggestions and refuses to divulge information on upcoming sets , arrange for publicity at LEGO stores near the event, advertise the event via email to VIP members living within a certain radius of the venue, etc.. I think there are a fair number of Lego User's Groups out there that would love to host a (relatively local) convention but don't have a clue as to how to go about doing it. If the sponsoring LUGs and target venues were chosen wisely, it could translate into a lot of cheap advertising for TLG and a potential boon for the AFOL community.

[Aanchir]

This is a very valid observation, but I think there is room to follow the same basic "age branding" that a lot of jigsaw manufactures use: an age cap on kits that really _are_ targeted at pre-teens (i.e. too simple to hold an older audiences interest) but declare some arbitrary age (usually much lower than the legal driving age) as "adult" or "+" to suggest that this is a hobby all ages can enjoy. For TLG this would mean that a kit branded as, say, 7-12 would stay the same but one currently marked "12-16" would get rebranded as "12 to Adult" or "12+". A "cap" age in the mid teens and above contributes little information for the gift buyer but does needlessly promote the "kid's toy" image. Seriously, what is less likely to offend a 17-year-old, giving him/her a kit openly branded as a toy for a 15 year old, or having her/him easily master a kit branded as suitable for "adults" ?

I think that once a kid is 17, then ideally they should know to judge a toy by how much they enjoy it rather than who it's being marketed towards. The issue isn't about offending teenagers as much as avoiding the possibility that they get a LEGO set they don't enjoy and it tarnishes their opinion of the LEGO brand as a whole.

To be honest, I've been more or less ignoring the age caps, both upper and lower, since I was young. Nobody was going to tell me I was too young for LEGO Mindstorms, or too old for BIONICLE! But I understand others might have parents with stricter expectations. Unfortunately I don't think eliminating the age cap will do much about that, because a lot of people will then just look at the minimum age and assume that's who the set is aimed at, just like how a bunch of AFOLs tended to talk about Ninjago, BIONICLE, and Hero Factory (some of my favorite themes, by the way) as though they were something only six-year-olds and seven-year-olds can enjoy. In some cases I still see this kind of rhetoric about these themes, as well as Legends of Chima, another theme I imagine I'm going to end up collecting. There's no avoiding that kind of prejudice, whether it comes from an AFOL or a parent, regardless of whether or not there's an age cap.

This is another very valid point, TLG shouldn't compete with AFOL based events, but I do think they could do more to encourage high visibility AFOL activity, particularly in regions that DON'T have long standing LEGO Convention traditions like Chicago or Seattle. Take Boston for example, there are four Lego Stores in Massachusetts, so clearly there must be enough of an audience demand to sustain them. I'm told Maine has a LUG (though it only has a Facebook presence and, not being a Facebookie, I have no idea where they are or what they do) and the biggest city in Maine is only two hours from Boston so I'll declare them 'local' (at least compared to, say Baltimore or Seattle). A general New England LUG has been around for years and has a display at a local toy train show twice a year; but when it comes to big, dedicated LEGO conventions, New Englanders have to schlep over a mountain range and into the next time zone to get to one.

You may be pleased to know that Brickfair will be in Manchester, New Hampshire in May. I've never been to any Brickfair events besides the ones in Virginia, but from my experience Todd Webb (the organizer) knows how to put together a phenomenal convention, and I fully expect the New England convention will eventually expand into a major one. So all in all, I'm not sure the LEGO convention scene in the US really needs any endorsement from TLG other than what they already tend to offer.

It would be nice if TLG had some sort of scholarship/grant program in its advertising budget that local LUGs could apply to in order to get start-up funds and professional advice about how to go about holding a LEGO convention, incorporating an LLC or 501c3 for the purposes of managing funds and liability associated with the convention, etc.. TLG wouldn't be _running_ the convention, but they could provide needed advice, assign a liaison officer to act as consultant, book an expert builder to hold a kids-build event at the convention, arrange for an official LEGO vendor offering all the current kits, provide a company insider to give a talk where s/he says "no" to all our prospective product requests/suggestions and refuses to divulge information on upcoming sets , arrange for publicity at LEGO stores near the event, advertise the event via email to VIP members living within a certain radius of the venue, etc.. I think there are a fair number of Lego User's Groups out there that would love to host a (relatively local) convention but don't have a clue as to how to go about doing it. If the sponsoring LUGs and target venues were chosen wisely, it could translate into a lot of cheap advertising for TLG and a potential boon for the AFOL community.

TLG does a lot for conventions already, at least from my experience. At Brickfair they provide sets for use as raffle prizes, send designers and other employees to lead seminars (last year we had Astrid Graabaek and Fenella Holden, two very nice ladies who have worked on Creator, Friends, and D2C), operate a booth where they have some of the latest sets on display for kids to play with and a stack of LEGO magazines and store calendars for anyone who walks by, and even offer steep discounts at nearby LEGO stores exclusive to registered attendees. While TLG could certainly have a stronger involvement at smaller conventions, it's a risk vs. reward thing-- the more fans they know they are reaching, the more they're going to invest in the convention.

As for LUG support, TLG offers LUGbulk, an awesome program that I know many LUGs appreciate. I've never been a part of a LUG myself so I'm not sure what further endorsement they could give without establishing an official endorsement that could hurt LUGs and TLG alike depending on the circumstances. I'm sure there's more they could do; I'm just not sure where the overlap is between what is possible and what is needed.

[AndyC]

This is a very valid observation, but I think there is room to follow the same basic "age branding" that a lot of jigsaw manufactures use: an age cap on kits that really _are_ targeted at pre-teens (i.e. too simple to hold an older audiences interest) but declare some arbitrary age (usually much lower than the legal driving age) as "adult" or "+" to suggest that this is a hobby all ages can enjoy. For TLG this would mean that a kit branded as, say, 7-12 would stay the same but one currently marked "12-16" would get rebranded as "12 to Adult" or "12+". A "cap" age in the mid teens and above contributes little information for the gift buyer but does needlessly promote the "kid's toy" image. Seriously, what is less likely to offend a 17-year-old, giving him/her a kit openly branded as a toy for a 15 year old, or having her/him easily master a kit branded as suitable for "adults" ?

Part of the problem with that is that it still can make things difficult for gift givers, is something marked 12+ going to appeal to a 15/16 year old? If you don't really know, you're possibly more likely to err on the side of caution and buy them something non-Lego instead, which is obviously not what TLG want. I'm not saying I agree entirely with the thinking, especially since teen years can be such an amazingly fickle period, but I can sort of see the logic behind it. And, of course, you're free to completely ignore any sort of suggested age range if it's what you really want. :-)

[jimmynick]

- Place piece counts on the outside of the boxes: I know this happens already in some countries, why not do it for all countries.

I prefer to see piece counts on boxes, but is this really a good idea for TLG? We, as hobby consumers of LEGO, find how many pieces each contains and we judge sets differently than people who buy sets as toys for children. People who buy sets as toys for their children would see a set like 4202 The Mine, for example, as extremely playable. It has lots of vehicles and a bulky-looking mine area. But if TLG had published that it contained 730 pieces (according to Bricklink), those prospective customers could have thought "Ah - that's not much" and passed on purchasing it in favour of a rival toy company's products. The same goes for recent Star Wars sets; they seem in some cases outrageously overpriced, but that's a conversation for a different topic.

TLG want sets to sell, and if the number of pieces that is on the box does not match with what the customer expects by looking at the box, they might lose a sale. And we don't want TLG to lose money.

[Rishab N]

http://mizibunktechn...-group-tlg.html

If I ran The Lego Group (TLG)

This is not about wild and outrageous ideas such as selling 5000 piece sets for $20 or anything like that but more about changes I would make if I ran The Lego Group, which would not cost much but would improve how I see the Lego hobby developing. Some of these ideas are related directly to my main area of interest (Lego Technic) while others are more general in nature.

What made me think about was on Boxing Day I was waiting outside my local Toy World store for it to open; I was the first person in the door and within a few minutes 3 other men aged in their early – mid twenties joined me in the Lego area of the store, it was clear that they were buying sets for themselves and not kids. While Lego is still designed as a kid’s toy, I think more and more adults are buying it for themselves and this is something that The Lego Group might want to consider.

My ideas are:

- Remove the age range on boxes: I have noticed some of the newer larger sets are just marked 16+, why not just mark all sets 8+ or 10+ as required and not list them as 8-16 or 10-16 like they are marked now.

- Place piece counts on the outside of the boxes: I know this happens already in some countries, why not do it for all countries.

- On the Lego website have a area where you can sign up as a member and list all the sets you own which would do piece counts, list all the pieces you own and allow you to download LDD files for all these sets which are created by The Lego Group and are 100% complete with all parts and stickers.

Maybe also have codes in each box, you can register these on your profile and after you buy sets worth so many points you get a bonus of some sort. Reward people for buying more sets.

- Have themes within the Technic range. In the 1980’s and early 1990’s they had a couple of themes including Rally which had a small 6 wheeler, a rally buggy and a rally truck. One year you could have a rescue theme which might include a small helicopter, a larger helicopter, a rescue boat and a rescue 4WD truck. The next year might be earth works which could be a front end loader, an excavator, a dump truck and a road grader.

- Advertise Lego at adults, those who have seen my 4x4 crawler or another large set are amazed how much Lego has changed. If more people see that Lego is a hobby that adults can enjoy it might increase the interest in this.

- Hold official Lego shows. These could include previews of new sets, classic sets and the best models from the MOC scene. Target these both at kids and adults; maybe have adult only sessions of a night time.

- Bring back some of the classic Technic sets like 8880 but built stud less.

What are some of your ideas and suggestion? Try and keep them practical :)

Definetley want more fair prices for a lot of technic models

[BrickG]

If I ran the Lego Group I would have all the freakin' Lego products I've ever wanted and then some! I could rule the WORLD!

[Mister Phes]

- Remove the age range on boxes: I have noticed some of the newer larger sets are just marked 16+, why not just mark all sets 8+ or 10+ as required and not list them as 8-16 or 10-16 like they are marked now.

I concur!

[BrickG]

I'd make the switch and get rid of yellows and switch to all fleshies.

Colorblind ain't the answer. Plus they don't work well together... I can't mix my Castle sets with my Super Heroes :/...

I mean, these days there's absolutely zero reason to skirt the issue of skin colors. People have skin colors that are different, who freakin' cares anymore? Just throw them on all the figures, get rid of the yellow unnecessary crap and bblablabla.

But mainly I want my figures to all be compatible. :P

I could talk in depth about this issue and why yellows are no longer needed but I'm tired.

[Spitfire2865]

I'd make the switch and get rid of yellows and switch to all fleshies.

Colorblind ain't the answer. Plus they don't work well together... I can't mix my Castle sets with my Super Heroes :/...

I mean, these days there's absolutely zero reason to skirt the issue of skin colors. People have skin colors that are different, who freakin' cares anymore? Just throw them on all the figures, get rid of the yellow unnecessary crap and bblablabla.

But mainly I want my figures to all be compatible. :P

I could talk in depth about this issue and why yellows are no longer needed but I'm tired.

Im sorry, But there is a major problem with that idea. If the Lego Group changed to all Flesh heads all of a sudden then they could find themselves in an issue of race as they always intended to avoid.

For the licensed themes you cant go back to yellow because it doesnt reflect the character you are portraying properly. I think it is a good idea that they made the licensed themes have flesh while the yellow heads were maintained for the Lego Themes. And Im sorry but the fact that YOU dont like to mix yellow and flesh is your problem alone. I know many people who dont mind the mix.

Although I would like to see a wider range of Flesh heads as the Yellow heads have brought us. Still waiting for a basic Flesh head with Glasses.

[Navy Trooper Fenson]

Part of the reason sets have an "age cap" is because it makes it easier for gift-givers to pick out a gift that will actually challenge and engage the recipient. This makes the recipient more likely to become a repeat customer. You don't want a kid to get a set that feels like it was designed for younger kids, because that will likely give them the impression that LEGO is a "kids' toy" and that they're "too old" for it.

The box ages just repeat themselves over and over and are randomly given to sets. The TIE Fighter is 8-14 and Fury-Class Interceptor is 9-14. Why? Can 8 year olds not understand the concept of rubber parts? Or is it because it is slightly larger? The Age ranges could be simplified in categories like baby/kid/teen/adult and those categories could be given to themes as a whole instead of individual sets. If it is even necessary. I still have enough confidence in mankind to let them judge if Star Wars or Alien Conquest is more appropriate for a child based on the looks of the set.

TLG has been targeting more advertising at adults in recent years, for instance, for some of the large Technic models. Remember the LEGO for men campaign?

No.

And that just shows how they fail at marketing to adults. They don´t even try. I get why they don´t want to try, but pretending a sub-page on LEGO.com mentioning the word "man" a lot is going to be helping raising awareness of the manliness of LEGO is pretty useless. AFOLs are probably the only ones realizing this page exists because, who else would write lego.com in their browser and click around the product pages? Advertisement that you have to actively search for isn´t raising awareness, it´s just pointless. I would have preferred them sitting on their chairs and do nothing than this site. At least in the former situation one could have said "They don´t care". This way they are just showing that they have no clue what to do.

And to get to my ideas:

The Superhero license should be milked like Star Wars and not wasted like a timed license. Timed licenses are movies that will be forgotten in a year or so (Speed Racer, Lone Ranger) or that are popular for a somewhat longer timespan but wouldn´t make a good theme after public awareness fades (LOTR and the Hobbit). Superheroes are the big thing now. Countless cartoons are being produced and because of Marvel alone we can count on at least two movies each year for LEGO to use. Instead they release only 4 or 6 sets every 6 months. Star Wars has 20 sets this year alone (that are confirmed). DC and Marvel have to share 10 sets with each other. If they could just release some more to catch up with some of the older movies that are still very popular with youths I am certain those would sell just as well.

Oh, and Batman should take a back seat. It should concentrate a bit more on different characters.

LEGO should do announcements for their product lines that say which sets are exclusive to which country and which store. It´s just getting confusing in the last few years. The superhero sets for example are freely available at every store in USA, Canada, France, Spain, Italy, Netherland but for whatever reason it may be not in Germany. I asked the customer service multiple times, always getting another non-answer like "I can´t talk about future sets" (when they are already available on your own website), "In May" (When that only concerns the action figures) and "you can order on S@H" (whatisthisidonteven-). I guessed it would stay exclusive forever but apparently the 2013 waves are in the store catalogue which means the new ones are available everywhere but not the old ones. I know you earn more money through selling them on S@H but is it that much to ask for a bit of clarity? I ended up buying them all on a dutch website, where they apparently only got 6 of the 10 sets because of ???.

Customers shouldn´t have to research the availability of you products as if they were a biology essay!

Rough availability dates for your products. AFOLs know most sets are 1,5 years in production and S@H exclusives for 3 years but stuff like the Black Pearl should be explained a bit better, at least for the children and parents. I couldn´t find that set after only a few months. Basically after Christmas it was simply gone and I can imagine that some kids that wanted to save up cash for it were screwed over by the nowhere explicitly called production cycle of two months. And even if this was only the store I went to and not the whole country, this still happens with enough other sets to be a problem.

[BrickG]

Im sorry, But there is a major problem with that idea. If the Lego Group changed to all Flesh heads all of a sudden then they could find themselves in an issue of race as they always intended to avoid.

For the licensed themes you cant go back to yellow because it doesnt reflect the character you are portraying properly. I think it is a good idea that they made the licensed themes have flesh while the yellow heads were maintained for the Lego Themes. And Im sorry but the fact that YOU dont like to mix yellow and flesh is your problem alone. I know many people who dont mind the mix.

Although I would like to see a wider range of Flesh heads as the Yellow heads have brought us. Still waiting for a basic Flesh head with Glasses.

I don't think most people would see race issues. I mean nobody has brought it up with the licensed themes. Nobody has brought it up with Friends. Literally nobody who's sane and nobody who's opinion should be cared about would even make there be a race issue.

I mean, it's not that hard. Just if you have a cops and robbers set don't make all the robbers black and all the cops white. Lego has proven that the race issues aren't much of an issue anymore in most places. They could easily handle it.

I mean yes, some people are bringing stuff up with Friends and stuff, but nobody is taking them seriously. They're not getting serious attention.

[Spitfire2865]

Im sorry, But Im going to stop this argument before it starts. As much as I would love to be able to say there are no race issues in our world, I just cant without lying to myself.

If anyone else would like to argue about this, Go ahead. Im quitting before this becomes an argument.

[Mister Phes]

Timed licenses are movies that will be forgotten in a year or so (Speed Racer, Lone Ranger) or that are popular for a somewhat longer timespan but wouldn´t make a good theme after public awareness fades (LOTR and the Hobbit).

You can't speculate that in the case of the Lone Ranger theme because nobody knows if it will spawn a successful film franchise at this point in time.

[Brickity]

I actually don't mind putting yellows & fleshies together as long as the bodies match. When the fleshies first came out I hated them and asked why? But now I love them just as I've always loved yellows.

[Faefrost]

I honestly think AFOLs are the only ones who care about fleshies vs yellows. The kids just play with the Minifigs regardless of coloring.

[Mister Phes]

The reason minifigures were originally coloured yellow was in the interest of racial ambiguity, but that was long before facial designs evolved beyond the simple "smiley face".

Post 1988 some minifigure facial designs began developing subtleties which indicated features unique to particular races. For example: the Native Americans in the Western theme or most of the minifigures in the Ninja theme.

So how does minifigure skin colour differ from facial designs with stereotypical racial features?

[Navy Trooper Fenson]

You can't speculate that in the case of the Lone Ranger theme because nobody knows if it will spawn a successful film franchise at this point in time.

Then swap the name Lone Ranger with Prince of Persia, Galidor or Toy Story. Either way, this doesn´t make my argument invalid.

[Sir Walter Maugham]

I'd make the switch and get rid of yellows and switch to all fleshies.

It's the stuff of nightmares!

The yellow minifigure is iconic. It's not going anywhere.

But mainly I want my figures to all be compatible. :P

Then maybe TLG should just go back to all yellow figs again?

Edited January 10, 2013 by Sir Walter Maugham

[Mister Phes]

Then swap the name Lone Ranger with Prince of Persia, Galidor or Toy Story. Either way, this doesn´t make my argument invalid.

Nobody said it did.

[Lyichir]

The reason minifigures were originally coloured yellow was in the interest of racial ambiguity, but that was long before facial designs evolved beyond the simple "smiley face".

Post 1988 some minifigure facial designs began developing subtleties which indicated features unique to particular races. For example: the Native Americans in the Western theme or most of the minifigures in the Ninja theme.

So how does minifigure skin colour differ from facial designs with stereotypical racial features?

The Western figs exhibited some of the worst of racial characteristics in Lego's history, in my opinion. The eyes with whites, the prominent noses... Lego was at that point still struggling to update the identity of the minifig. Nowadays yellow-skinned figs have returned to a sort of racial ambiguity; look at the Native American or Asian figs in the Collectible Minifigures to see how far Lego has come.

I have no problem with fleshies in licensed themes, but putting them into other themes opens a whole new can of worms. As it currently stands, people of different races can theoretically identify with whichever fig they choose. But if Lego assigns races to figs in non-licensed themes, it limits that capability, meaning Lego will have to establish racial diversity for its own sake in themes. People already take issue with "token girl" characters in themes such as Ninjago or Atlantis. What will Lego do to avoid having to add "token black" or "token Hispanic" characters to its themes? And if that character has any specific character traits (such as nerdiness or athleticism), will their race be enough for kids of that race who do not exhibit those traits to identify with them?