jodawill

Please bring back the Forestmen!

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I hear a lot of people asking for the revival of Pirates and Wild West. I too can't wait to see those come back. But there's another theme that we don't hear about anymore.

Forestmen!

These guys need to have a comeback. This is one of the most awesome themes of all time! I would buy the crap out of these things!

Please make this happen.

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2nd favorite Castle theme. 1st is probably the Fantasy theme with the green orcish d00ds. Though LotRs is doing that better atm.

I don't have nearly as much interest in Castle right now ('cause again LOTR is doing it just fine, better than the regular Castle). Forestmen might be able to reinvigorate my interests. Though my fear of "yellows" would realistically prevent that :P. Yellows don't match my fleshies. I hates yellows!

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2nd favorite Castle theme. 1st is probably the Fantasy theme with the green orcish d00ds. Though LotRs is doing that better atm.

I don't have nearly as much interest in Castle right now ('cause again LOTR is doing it just fine, better than the regular Castle). Forestmen might be able to reinvigorate my interests. Though my fear of "yellows" would realistically prevent that :P. Yellows don't match my fleshies. I hates yellows!

And I don't like fleshtones. :tongue: I'm a Lego purist.

Edited by jodawill

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2nd favorite Castle theme. 1st is probably the Fantasy theme with the green orcish d00ds. Though LotRs is doing that better atm.

I don't have nearly as much interest in Castle right now ('cause again LOTR is doing it just fine, better than the regular Castle). Forestmen might be able to reinvigorate my interests. Though my fear of "yellows" would realistically prevent that :P. Yellows don't match my fleshies. I hates yellows!

then just swap out the heads or use them as asian figs

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I'd love if they brought back the Forestmen, Black Falcon's, Black Knights, and Crusaders/Lion Knights. Unlikely, but I can dream. And yellow's all the way, only two set's exist to my knowledge where they are mixed, it's not my thing. They should be separated, only to be used for IP's, not the classic's, but that's another debate, we should be talking about Forestmen. I'm planning on buying some Ewok set's to gut and slightly rebuild to make a Forestman village. I'd love if they went that route, kind of make them look classical and able to blend in with the original's, yet make them look modern somehow.

Edited by Dr Leg O Brick

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I'd love a return of the forest men from Castle. I'm not sure how much money the Castle line is making to warrant a return. I really miss the classic 80s Lego Castle sets as the new ones just don't seem to have much to build.

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I'd love a return of the forest men from Castle. I'm not sure how much money the Castle line is making to warrant a return. I really miss the classic 80s Lego Castle sets as the new ones just don't seem to have much to build.

I think the biggest problem with the large sets these days is that they don't come with baseplates. I don't understand why TLG doesn't include them in regular sets anymore (yes, I know things like the modular buildings have them, but those don't really count because they're not even sold in department stores).

I think Fort Legoredo is the best playset they've ever made. It's not much different from a castle. Just look at that thing! It includes FOUR baseplates, a headquarters building, three outlook posts, and three entrances (with two sets of giant doors). It even comes with a little wagon and three horses. There are just so many awesome extra details in that set that make it fun for kids. It has a gun case you can pull out of the building, a big barrel, a jail, two trap doors, and even a couple extra spots for hiding gold that aren't even advertised in the magazines. All of this for only $85, which was a great deal, even then.

The newer sets just don't feel complete. You put together an expensive set like Helm's Deep and you just feel like it's missing something because it doesn't fully enclose anything. It's just a wall or two. So, if you're like me, you buy four of them so you can make a real castle. :laugh:

King's Castle is better than Helm's Deep in some respects. It has four walls, so it feels a bit more complete. But it still doesn't feel quite right. It's missing a lot of the most important features of the 1990s castles. There's no glow-in-the-dark ghost, a dragon,

The mid-range sets also used to be a lot more complete. Just look at something like 6082. The baseplate, barred gate, and dragon really make this set feel complete.

That's not to say TLG isn't doing as good of a job designing sets as they did in the '90s and '80s. But I think in many cases, they've sacrificed playability for extreme detail and increased piece count (which isn't really indicative of whether a set is a good value IMO).

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then just swap out the heads or use them as asian figs

I don't have that many extra heads and hands just lying around and until Asians literally have yellow skin it won't work for me :P.

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I think the biggest problem with the large sets these days is that they don't come with baseplates. I don't understand why TLG doesn't include them in regular sets anymore (yes, I know things like the modular buildings have them, but those don't really count because they're not even sold in department stores).

That's not to say TLG isn't doing as good of a job designing sets as they did in the '90s and '80s. But I think in many cases, they've sacrificed playability for extreme detail and increased piece count (which isn't really indicative of whether a set is a good value IMO).

I would agree Jodawill except that most of the new castle sets don't seem to me about piece count so much as just lacking in concept. The forest men were a novel idea and I really loved those sets. I also loved the black falcons. Remarkably not all of these sets made it to the North American market. Maybe they could do castle modular sets? Including the forest men :)

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The mid-range sets also used to be a lot more complete. Just look at something like 6082. The baseplate, barred gate, and dragon really make this set feel complete.

As a proud owner of 6082, I'm going to take issue with this part. Sure, the set FELT complete from the outside... but I think modern sets give a more complete play experience. With no way to unfold walls or remove floors, getting the dragon out of his cave was nigh impossible, even with my small child hands. That whole interior was hardly accessible, and there wasn't a lot of detail there because of it, so while it made the castle look bigger and more complete, it amounted in the end to so much wasted space. The modern "open" castle design may look less formidable, but hardly any space is wasted. It's easy to get at the front and back of every wall and tower, and as a result regular play involves more creative role-play and less frustration. As a bonus, modern castle walls are typically modular, so kids can easily rebuild the castle section-by-section instead of starting from scratch. I haven't bought a Castle set in some time, but I imagine if I were growing up now instead of two decades ago I'd be much happier and much less frustrated by the modern castle sets.

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I would agree Jodawill except that most of the new castle sets don't seem to me about piece count so much as just lacking in concept. The forest men were a novel idea and I really loved those sets. I also loved the black falcons. Remarkably not all of these sets made it to the North American market. Maybe they could do castle modular sets? Including the forest men :)

I would give up my firstborn child for a series of modular forestmen sets.

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I would give up my firstborn child for a series of modular forestmen sets.

You make me drool at the idea. How about vertical modular system where you can expand by adding tree section and fortified section?

If you liked Forestmen, have you looked at Dark Forest line? Only 3 models were released and all a few years after Forestmen line. However a lot of styles were similar.

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You make me drool at the idea. How about vertical modular system where you can expand by adding tree section and fortified section?

If you liked Forestmen, have you looked at Dark Forest line? Only 3 models were released and all a few years after Forestmen line. However a lot of styles were similar.

To be honest, I've never even noticed before that those are two different themes. But I do remember those because I was a kid when the later ones were released. I wasn't even born yet when the first theme started.

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I am proud to say I own some of the original forest men sets. I started getting out of lego (girls) by 1992 so I didn't collect the dark forest men. They were cool but the originals we're a lot of fun. Used to act out a Robin Hood storyline with them.

You make me drool at the idea. How about vertical modular system where you can expand by adding tree section and fortified section?

If you liked Forestmen, have you looked at Dark Forest line? Only 3 models were released and all a few years after Forestmen line. However a lot of styles were similar.

Would be amazing eh? :)

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I've always wanted to do a large Forest hideout moc but don't have the pieces for it or the time (haven't MOC'd anything for like a year...).

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I can think of a couple reasons we don't see Forestmen in sets today.

The first is the issue of good vs. evil conflict. With today's castle sets, there are typically two main factions: a defending faction, which represents peace and order, and an invading faction, which represents disruption and chaos. Pretty easy to see a simple good vs. evil divide there.

The Forestmen throw a wrench into that. As bandits/outlaws, they are pretty clearly anti-establishment. So unlike the dwarf and troll factions from Fantasy-Era Castle, or the civilians of Kingdoms, they can't form a neat alliance with one of the existing factions. They are a very morally ambiguous third party. It's no surprise that even back in the day, comics created for LEGO magazines tended to differ on whether the forestmen were treated as enemies or allies of the heroes. But this is not an insurmountable obstacle in and of itself.

I think a bigger reason we don't see forestmen is that the media that inspired them, i.e. tales of Robin Hood and his merry men, is not currently trending. When kids think about medieval adventures today, they're most likely thinking about castles and armies and knights and wizards, and maybe even fantasy creatures like elves and goblins, not roguish forestmen.

Naturally, this might vary by country. I get a feeling that stories of Robin Hood have at least traditionally been a lot more popular in Great Britain, where the historical context of the stories was better understood, than here in America. Perhaps that is still true today. But overall, as cool as the forestmen were as a faction, they're not necessarily what kids today want or expect from a medieval theme.

A third issue is one of production schedules. Back in the day, sets were typically kept in production or on store shelves for a few years at least. This meant that there was plenty of room for offshoots of the existing themes, we got the Forestmen subtheme in LEGO Castle, or the Islanders subtheme of LEGO Pirates. After all, the core foundations of the theme which were established the year before — be they castles, pirate ships, or fire engines — would still be available, but there would also be plenty of room to diversify and keep the catalog fresh for people who had already bought the previous year's sets.

Today, partly due to pressure from retailers who want to rotate their stock regularly, most themes are only produced and distributed for about a year to a year and a half, with the exception of big flagship sets like pirate ships, police stations, fire stations, train sets, and castles which might be kept on store shelves for longer to maximize profits. And this means that often, the sets for each theme have to focus a lot more tightly on the aspects of the theme which consistently drive demand. For LEGO City, this means Police and Fire. For LEGO Castle, it means knights, castles, and occasional fantasy creatures like dragons. There is still some room for expansion, like with Mill Village Raid, but not as much as there used to be back when sets were kept in the catalog for longer.

Not trying to say forestmen CAN'T come back. I'm just listing some possible reasons why they haven't been around for a while.

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Not trying to say forestmen CAN'T come back. I'm just listing some possible reasons why they haven't been around for a while.

You raised a lot of good points. That being said, I hope you're flat-out wrong and the Forestmen are announced tomorrow. :tongue:

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I can think of a couple reasons we don't see Forestmen in sets today.

The first is the issue of good vs. evil conflict. With today's castle sets, there are typically two main factions: a defending faction, which represents peace and order, and an invading faction, which represents disruption and chaos. Pretty easy to see a simple good vs. evil divide there.

The Forestmen throw a wrench into that. As bandits/outlaws, they are pretty clearly anti-establishment. So unlike the dwarf and troll factions from Fantasy-Era Castle, or the civilians of Kingdoms, they can't form a neat alliance with one of the existing factions. They are a very morally ambiguous third party. It's no surprise that even back in the day, comics created for LEGO magazines tended to differ on whether the forestmen were treated as enemies or allies of the heroes. But this is not an insurmountable obstacle in and of itself.

I think a bigger reason we don't see forestmen is that the media that inspired them, i.e. tales of Robin Hood and his merry men, is not currently trending. When kids think about medieval adventures today, they're most likely thinking about castles and armies and knights and wizards, and maybe even fantasy creatures like elves and goblins, not roguish forestmen.

Naturally, this might vary by country. I get a feeling that stories of Robin Hood have at least traditionally been a lot more popular in Great Britain, where the historical context of the stories was better understood, than here in America. Perhaps that is still true today. But overall, as cool as the forestmen were as a faction, they're not necessarily what kids today want or expect from a medieval theme.

A third issue is one of production schedules. Back in the day, sets were typically kept in production or on store shelves for a few years at least. This meant that there was plenty of room for offshoots of the existing themes, we got the Forestmen subtheme in LEGO Castle, or the Islanders subtheme of LEGO Pirates. After all, the core foundations of the theme which were established the year before — be they castles, pirate ships, or fire engines — would still be available, but there would also be plenty of room to diversify and keep the catalog fresh for people who had already bought the previous year's sets.

Today, partly due to pressure from retailers who want to rotate their stock regularly, most themes are only produced and distributed for about a year to a year and a half, with the exception of big flagship sets like pirate ships, police stations, fire stations, train sets, and castles which might be kept on store shelves for longer to maximize profits. And this means that often, the sets for each theme have to focus a lot more tightly on the aspects of the theme which consistently drive demand. For LEGO City, this means Police and Fire. For LEGO Castle, it means knights, castles, and occasional fantasy creatures like dragons. There is still some room for expansion, like with Mill Village Raid, but not as much as there used to be back when sets were kept in the catalog for longer.

Not trying to say forestmen CAN'T come back. I'm just listing some possible reasons why they haven't been around for a while.

Actually I would not be surprised to see them return in some form, simply on the basis of global economics. Video Game writer "Yahtzee" Crenshaw had an interesting article up this week on the escapist that touched a little bit on how our perceptions of what is evil vs heroic can fluctuate based on the then current economic climate.

http://www.escapistm...s-Ruined-Cities

Most of the article is specifics regarding current and past video games, and he is more talking about the perceptions of Dragons in games and pop culture. But a similar take can be had when looking at the Robin Hood stuff. Anywhere here's the salient bit.

"For example, for a while now I've had the theory that the moral depiction of dragons in popular fantasy gives a decent rough indicator of the global financial situation. In a boom, you see, the hoarding of gold is more likely to be considered to be a harmless eccentricity, even something desirable, and dragons are noble and nice. But in a recession, when everyone hates the people with all the money, then dragons are villains. Examples: Smaug is the archetypal megablock dragon, and The Hobbit was written in the Great Depression. The dragon on the far other end of the spectrum is Puff the Magic Dragon, and the best-known version of that by Peter Paul & Mary came out in the 60's. This was also the point when the global economy was at its strongest in the entire twentieth century because of post-war redevelopment."

​A similar take can be had with Robin Hood and the "Rob from the Rich to Give to the Poor" stories. They tend to see a sharp uptick during times of economic recession. And become less popular during times of strength. They were at their peak during the 70's and early 80's. With a minor uptick around the tail end of the Bush I Presidency. So given the current Western economic climate, you never know. (assuming of course that Ridley Scott and Russel Crowe did not do the one thing Kevin Costner could not, and kill off Robin Hood?)

Edited by Faefrost

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I love the forestmen. But the sad thing is they are the only classic castle faction that I don't have. And for some reason they are so expensive to buy. I would love a return of them or something similar.

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I love the forestmen. But the sad thing is they are the only classic castle faction that I don't have. And for some reason they are so expensive to buy. I would love a return of them or something similar.

One of the awesome things about bringing them back now is that we have those cool Elven cloaks from The Hobbit. Those would go great on the forestmen. I remember they had something similar to it in some sets in the '90s, and I'd be a little sad not to see those old cloaks return, but the new ones are great.

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Also more sets with green and brown pieces. One can never have too many of those. So it's a great idea all around. :classic:

No kidding! It would be so awesome to have big forests sets with a little camp surrounded by trees a few miles away from the king's castle. :wub:

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I love the forestmen. But the sad thing is they are the only classic castle faction that I don't have. And for some reason they are so expensive to buy. I would love a return of them or something similar.

Forestmen's Hideout doesn't go for too much, and as a proud owner, I highly recommend it.

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No kidding! It would be so awesome to have big forests sets with a little camp surrounded by trees a few miles away from the king's castle. :wub:

You totally said it. I can just imagine it now. You totally got me wanting new sets so bad. :grin:

And I really have my eye on Camouflaged Outpost. I will own it one day. But the hideout one would be a close second. Thanks for the recommendation Cult_Of_Skaro

Edited by Ridge Montante

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You totally said it. I can just imagine it now. You totally got me wanting new sets so bad. :grin:

Now that we're all agreed, we just need to sit back and watch TLG work its magic. :laugh:

Seriously, though, what does it take for them to bring a theme back? Do they do huge studies to determine what kids want the most?

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