Do Kiddies Really Just Want Vehicles?

[Batbrick]

Okay, now after coming from the Indy Set thread, it seems a lot of people are (understandably) up in arms over Lego's supposed decision to not make sets based on Temple of Doom because of the dark nature of the film and lack of vehicle scenes. As outraged as I am about this, I can't help but wonder whether kids actually prefer vehicles that much anyway. I know my kid cousins love lego, and whenever they get out the brick box they make anything, whether it be a house (their favourite) a car or something I have no idea what it is! So this begs the question, is TLC wrong in thinking that vehicles are the only way to sell?

I sure think they are. I personally think that, while admittingly vehicles are much loved by kids, they love sets as well. I've seen plenty a kid looking at King's Castle Seige wanting a base of building, not just another catapult. Don't get me wrong I love vehicles too, but even building oriented themes like City are now almost exclusively vehicle based. And while I Know Batman is a vehicle oriented character, give us some more buildings Lego!

What do you think, do we have too many vehicle sets? Do you like having lots of vehicles? And is TLC wrong in thinking that everyone just wants vehicles?

Batbrick Away! >:-)

[Shadows]

Okay, now after coming from the Indy Set thread, it seems a lot of people are (understandably) up in arms over Lego's supposed decision to not make sets based on Temple of Doom because of the dark nature of the film and lack of vehicle scenes.

Conjecture on the part of fans. I don't believe the lack of vehicles has any real bearing on this apparent decision to avoid Indy 2.

The reality of the situation is that in many ways, the second movie isn't even related to the other two. It is definitely darker and much less appropriate for the target LEGO audience (though honestly, the whole series is a bit darker than I think LEGO should be actively involved in).

As for vehicles, there is a car chase early on, the plane ride, the mine car segment and the temple. Four easy sets that fit within the standard LEGO range. I just honestly think they're avoiding them both because the movie is generally considered the loser of the series and because of the nature of the movie itself. Add in the financial considerations: all new characters with no potential for reuse outside of Indy himself, and it's a complete loss.

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if there was at least one set from it, eventually. Probably the plane, maybe the car chase. All depends on how much they can do without requiring new heads/hair.

I'll comment on the general vehicle topic a bit later.

[Batbrick]

You make a good point, I can accept that, though my rant was more about the heavy use of vehicles in themes as a whole thanks for that insight.

Batbrick Away! >:-)

Edited February 4, 2008 by Batbrick

[Shadows]

...my rant was more about the heavy use of vehicles in themes as a whole...

I'm getting there. :-P

On a general basis, I do think that what kids want is action. Action can come in many forms, and for some themes it can't be much of a vehicle. Castle is the best example of that. In Castle, LEGO replaces vehicles with things that shoot (and people complain, but I bet the kids love them).

In almost every other theme, it's easy to incorporate mostly vehicles. When you think of Star Wars, you think of characters and ships. Yes, it's nice having sets like Hoth, but look how that turned out. A ship, a bunch of characters, and a door. EVERYONE griped about the door. We all wanted more of a base, but would people have been thrilled to pay the price? Fans would, but kids wouldn't. That wasn't iconic enough to justify a $100 set with more base.

Almost every Star Wars setting is like that. Cloud City was a disaster in many ways, though I personally liked it. For kids, it was boring. If it hadn't been for Greedo and the dewback, the Cantina set would have been a rehashed washout. Would people have wanted an expensive Cantina instead? Sure, but we would have expected aliens and lots of them. That gets difficult, and raises the price dramatically. It's easier to stick to vehicles.

Look at other themes. Exo-Force is almost completely centered on them. Why? They do battle. The bases haven't been good sellers, always ending up on clearance. That alone guarantees that they're keep going in that direction.

Harry Potter was a theme with a lot of character and building potential, and few vehicles. It was also a flop for LEGO, maybe not as bad as Spiderman or Studios (two more themes that strayed from vehicles), but bad enough to drop despite the success of the books/movies.

Basically, it can all be summarized by the new postal sets.

A plane. *WHOOSH*

A van. *ZOOM*

A building. "Hello ma'am, would you like to mail that package? That'll be $2.85." *THUD*

Guess which two they chose.

I might not like it, but I can't blame them.

[Zzz]

If the Indy line is somewhat sucessfull, you can be sure that we will get sets from ToD.

They only have 4 sets out now, it is the very start! You can be soo sure they have prototypes

for a bunch more vehicles/ playsets, they sat together and obviously chosed the most iconic

moments (which included 2 playsets anyway!) in a different price range, that works together (!) -

to see how it actually sells.

I remember that the Snowspeeder was the only ESB set in the first years of SW, it took some time

and then we got finally AT-AT, Cloud Car, Cloud City and makeovers of X-Wing, Falcon, Snowspeeder.

They wouldn't have done these, if the line was no good.

The decision not to put ToD into the first drop is imho quite good, but is based on marketing issues

and not on playset issues (half of them are playsets! 2/4) or the avoidance of a darker tone (now we have

Nazis, can some indian voodoo weirdos be any darker??).

Perhaps we will not see the Ford plane (how big does it has to be to hold a 6 wide rubber boat??) or any ToD bedrooms where our minifigs are waiting for each other, but an elephant track or a small minecar playset, or the shanghai chase, why not? I am quite sure they will watch the sale numbers of Indy really carefully, cause they have to make decisions REALLY soon which sets to follow these ones.

I am sure if this line sells well, we will get ToD sets sooner or later. I am just a bit nervous, that if the

4th Indy will be a flop, the Indy4-line will not sell and pull down the whole concept and they might be more

careful.

ooops... wrote too much... sorry... just my 2,... 3 or 4 cents anyway... :-D

about the actual topic: Kiddies don't want only vehicles. I am quite sure the new police station will sell very

well and (even if it is more expensive) better than the stupid plane!

[Dadster]

I know in my household vehicles are more fun for the kids. They want cars, trucks, and even just plates with wheels!

Oh - and princesses and knights!

In my opinion, a playset based on the mining carts chase scene would do well.

Edited February 4, 2008 by Dadster

[Joebot]

That's a good question. I guess I can see where TLC is coming from on this, but I think they've gone way too overboard on the vehicle-centric designs. When I was a kid, my first two sets were the Alpha-1 Rocket Base and the Space Command Center. Oh, how I loved those sets. They each had small buggies to roam around with, but the action always focused on the buildings. Back then, Space, Castle, and Town all had a good mix of buildings and vehicles.

This focus on vehicles has infected TLC's entire product line -- Star Wars, Batman, Mars Mission, Exo-Force, Agents, etc.

Harry Potter was a theme with a lot of character and building potential, and few vehicles. It was also a flop for LEGO, maybe not as bad as Spiderman or Studios (two more themes that strayed from vehicles), but bad enough to drop despite the success of the books/movies.

I'm curious what your source is on that statement. I've never seen or read anything that said the HP theme was a "flop." Also, do we know that TLC dropped the license? Or did Warner Bros. go with somebody else? There's a new line of HP action figures coming out, so maybe Warner Bros. signed with a different toy company. I dunno.

The HP theme is definitely an interesting point, because it's the only building-centric theme in recent memory. If anyone is aware of any hard stats on how well the theme sold, please post some links!!

[Lt. Veers]

You make a good point, Batbrick. We are seeing more vehicles and less buildings. I'm afraid the current generation is more intrested in zooming little ships around than building a city. It may or may not have something to do with the fact that kids are attracted to violence a lot more these days. Tell me, can you find any ways to run someone down with a Post Office? No.

Edited February 4, 2008 by Lt. Veers

[tedbeard]

I'm curious what your source is on that statement. I've never seen or read anything that said the HP theme was a "flop."

Circumstantial evidence supports the flop hypothesis. The large volume of HP sets that ended up in discount resellers and/or sat on the shelves for years (yes some of them sat for more than a year). There was also the single set for the last movie which was neither original nor supported by any significant marketing on the part of TLC. If the line was successful they would have had more sets to make a complete line rather than a contractually obligated single set.

Yes it's circumstantial and speculative but in the absence of clear signs of success ...

But back to vehicles. I think part of the problem is limited imaginations in the marketing department @ LEGO who want clearly focused, self-contained sets. It's easier to sell a vehicle as a self-contained "thing" that can be built out of a prescribed number of parts. What else goes swoosh at those piece counts? Ooooh a newspaper stand! Mom, mom can I get a bus stop? Dear Santa, please bring me a LEGO dumpster set for my stocking. :'-) (Yes, all stuff I'd love to buy but kids, not so much.)

[AzMean]

i have to agree with TLC not to include Indy 2 in their sets coz of the darkness of the movie. I didn't like the 2nd movie either.. it just did not fit the Indy mood.

But it would be good to have the mine chase (at the end of the movie) to be used as a set. with chasing enemies and bobby traps along the way. Maybe the length of the Temple of Doom set. :'-)