Unpopular Opinions about LEGO

[Karalora]

1 hour ago, Darth_Bane13 said:

The stereotypes exist for a reason, cannibalism happened and is well reported throughout history.

Wow.

[icm]

2 hours ago, Darth_Bane13 said:

The stereotypes exist for a reason, cannibalism happened and is well reported throughout history.

1 hour ago, GameyRaccoon said:

When are the islanders even implied to be cannibals?

Even as a kid, it never occurred to me that the Islanders faction in the Pirates theme were cannibals. @Darth_Bane13, the idea might have occurred to you because there are cannibals in Pirates of the Caribbean, which you probably saw before you came across old Lego Pirates sets online. Lego Pirates predates the PotC movies by decades. Regardless, I'd just like to point out that just like Lego media hasn't dwelled on historical accounts of cannibalism in islander populations, it also hasn't dwelled on historical accounts of hangings and other executions by Age of Sail seafaring cultures. Remember, this is a fantasy land where King Kahuka and Captain Redbeard both have that same goofy classic Lego smile on their faces.

Edit - I guess it was actually @Karalora that first brought up cannibals in the past few days of this thread? The Islanders are stereotypes to be sure, but I don't know why we suddenly started talking about whether or not they're cannibals. 

Edited Friday at 03:11 AM by icm

[SpacePolice89]

3 hours ago, icm said:

Remember, this is a fantasy land where King Kahuka and Captain Redbeard both have that same goofy classic Lego smile on their faces.

I think this is a very good point. It also explains why no Lego historic faction is striving to be completely historically accurate and that is a good thing. We should also remember that the "European" factions in Pirates are not a single time mentioned as being a specific country even if they are heavily inspired by Great Britain, France and Spain.

[Siroco]

5 hours ago, icm said:

Edit - I guess it was actually @Karalora that first brought up cannibals in the past few days of this thread? The Islanders are stereotypes to be sure, but I don't know why we suddenly started talking about whether or not they're cannibals. 

They are all stereotypes, Redbeard has all the pirate stereotypes one can imagine, and we all love him! 

[JesseNight]

22 hours ago, Karalora said:

...ignorant stereotypes--leave a bad taste in the mouth and people would rather they were avoided.

Totally agree. Unfortunately we're fed bad stereotypes everywhere, from childhood to maturity. Movies, TV shows, magazines, comics, it's everywhere.
But even so... ignorant stereotypes don't bother me as much, I can usually just laugh it off. It becomes a problem when people base their view on the world and the people on it.
 

10 hours ago, Darth_Bane13 said:

The stereotypes exist for a reason, cannibalism happened and is well reported throughout history.

True. The problem here is generalization based on these stereotypes. It can make unknowing people believe that every native was a cannibal and that is most certainly not the case. Most people don't wanna think about it, or read up about it. And then such wrong views can spread like a wildfire, especially when portrayed in a funny context.

[Darth_Bane13]

11 hours ago, GameyRaccoon said:

When are the islanders even implied to be cannibals?

I don't know, I didn't claim they were. @Karalora did.

10 hours ago, icm said:

Even as a kid, it never occurred to me that the Islanders faction in the Pirates theme were cannibals. @Darth_Bane13, the idea might have occurred to you because there are cannibals in Pirates of the Caribbean, which you probably saw before you came across old Lego Pirates sets online. Lego Pirates predates the PotC movies by decades. Regardless, I'd just like to point out that just like Lego media hasn't dwelled on historical accounts of cannibalism in islander populations, it also hasn't dwelled on historical accounts of hangings and other executions by Age of Sail seafaring cultures. Remember, this is a fantasy land where King Kahuka and Captain Redbeard both have that same goofy classic Lego smile on their faces.

Edit - I guess it was actually @Karalora that first brought up cannibals in the past few days of this thread? The Islanders are stereotypes to be sure, but I don't know why we suddenly started talking about whether or not they're cannibals. 

There are many historical accounts of cannibalism, here's one. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boyd_massacre 

The old pirates sets were before my time so I don't have much knowledge of them, I only remember 2009 pirates. I'm just saying these cannibal stereotypes are based in truth, even if not every islander was a cannibal.

Never thought I'd be talking about cannibalism on a Lego forum 

5 hours ago, Siroco said:

They are all stereotypes, Redbeard has all the pirate stereotypes one can imagine, and we all love him! 

Exactly.

[danth]

Can't we get back to talking about less controversial topics? Like how classic themes were totally better than licensed themes?

[icm]

Totally! Classic Pirates is better than licensed Pirates, because licensed Pirates tells you that the islanders are cannibals while it's totally your choice whether classic Islanders are cannibals or not!   

[Siroco]

14 minutes ago, icm said:

Totally! Classic Pirates is better than licensed Pirates, because licensed Pirates tells you that the islanders are cannibals while it's totally your choice whether classic Islanders are cannibals or not!   

Agreed! And Classic Pirates don't have fleshies  

[danth]

21 minutes ago, icm said:

Totally! Classic Pirates is better than licensed Pirates, because licensed Pirates tells you that the islanders are cannibals while it's totally your choice whether classic Islanders are cannibals or not!   

LOL!

Holy...you weren't kidding! According to google, both PotC and One Piece feature cannibal tribes! Good god...

Well played, @icm. 

[SpacePolice89]

The finger hinges should be brought back ASAP!

[GameyRaccoon]

3 hours ago, danth said:

Can't we get back to talking about less controversial topics? Like how classic themes were totally better than licensed themes?

Here's one, though I don't know how unpopular it is. The official Lego color names are illogical and I hate how TLG is trying to slowly replace the Bricklink color names (which we have universally used for 26 years)

It's not "medium stone grey," it's "light bluish grey." It's not "dark green," it's just "green." This one is especially infuriating to me because "dark green" is another color anyway. 

Brickset uses these new names now and with all the catalog changes to Bricklink, the writing is on the wall that they're going to phase out the color names in favor of the official ones.

[Darth_Bane13]

5 hours ago, danth said:

 Like how classic themes were totally better than licensed themes?

I think the 2000s licensed themes like Star Wars, Harry Potter, SpongeBob, Batman, and Indiana jones, coexisted very well alongside the unlicensed stuff. In my opinion, they were just as good toys as the classic themes. It really only became a problem in the 2010s when licensed stuff essentially replaced the classic themes.

[GameyRaccoon]

8 hours ago, Darth_Bane13 said:

I think the 2000s licensed themes like Star Wars, Harry Potter, SpongeBob, Batman, and Indiana jones, coexisted very well alongside the unlicensed stuff. In my opinion, they were just as good toys as the classic themes. It really only became a problem in the 2010s when licensed stuff essentially replaced the classic themes.

I think this is nostalgia talking. If you and I are around the same age, these themes would have been out around when we were kids. Star Wars is responsible for killing space, as we know, (Nothing outside the solar system after 1999, and nothing at all after 2015) and I suspect it's the same with Castle (Lord of the Rings/Harry Potter) and Pirates (Pirates of the Caribbean). And while it didn't replace it, Indiana Jones never coexisted with Adventurers or its spiritual successor, Pharaoh's Quest. (an underrated theme that I quite love.) Whether it's in the contracts or just company policy, it's clear that TLG doesn't want licensed themes to coexist with unlicensed themes. 

That's not to say I'm not a fan of many licensed themes and sets, I am. But if you gave me the choice between more Indiana Jones sets or more Adventurers sets, I'm not picking Indiana Jones.

Edited Saturday at 06:03 AM by GameyRaccoon

[Yperio_Bricks]

4 hours ago, GameyRaccoon said:

I think this is nostalgia talking. If you and I are around the same age, these themes would have been out around when we were kids. Star Wars is responsible for killing space, as we know, (Nothing outside the solar system after 1999, and nothing at all after 2015) and I suspect it's the same with Castle (Lord of the Rings/Harry Potter) and Pirates (Pirates of the Caribbean). And while it didn't replace it, Indiana Jones never coexisted with Adventurers or its spiritual successor, Pharaoh's Quest. (an underrated theme that I quite love.) Whether it's in the contracts or just company policy, it's clear that TLG doesn't want licensed themes to coexist with unlicensed themes. 

That's not to say I'm not a fan of many licensed themes and sets, I am. But if you gave me the choice between more Indiana Jones sets or more Adventurers sets, I'm not picking Indiana Jones.

I was born in the early 80s and grew up with all the classic themes, mainly I was playing with Pirates, Castle and Town every kriffin day! I was not interested in Space very much back then, but still had some sets. I still remember the base plate with the molded craters very well. I was building hugh castles, utilizing every single brick I owned (and the ones my brother owned). And I liked to build a small town where light & sound would provide some safety for the road construction sites. Oh and I liked to build pirate ships!

Anyway, what I want to say is, that not everybody is affected by nostalgia as I think that everything we have today is far superior to the bricks and minifigs I was playing with as a kid. Nowadays we have more colors, a truckload of different bricks and pieces that boost your mocs and most important to me - much better fleshy minifigs. I'd pick Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, POTC, LOTR and of course Star Wars over everything I had as a kid! Not because I lack the imagination as some fans of the classic themes might think  but because all of the new licensed stuff - the bricks and pieces and minifigs - provide the best foundation for my mocs.

[SpacePolice89]

I think that the nostalgia argument is getting tiresome and overplayed. I for example love sets like the original Galaxy Explorer that existed about ten years before I got my first Lego sets. I never experienced those sets as a kid and I still like them very much only because I find them good. 

[Darth_Bane13]

8 hours ago, GameyRaccoon said:

I think this is nostalgia talking. If you and I are around the same age, these themes would have been out around when we were kids. Star Wars is responsible for killing space, as we know, (Nothing outside the solar system after 1999, and nothing at all after 2015) and I suspect it's the same with Castle (Lord of the Rings/Harry Potter) and Pirates (Pirates of the Caribbean). And while it didn't replace it, Indiana Jones never coexisted with Adventurers or its spiritual successor, Pharaoh's Quest. (an underrated theme that I quite love.) Whether it's in the contracts or just company policy, it's clear that TLG doesn't want licensed themes to coexist with unlicensed themes. 

That's not to say I'm not a fan of many licensed themes and sets, I am. But if you gave me the choice between more Indiana Jones sets or more Adventurers sets, I'm not picking Indiana Jones.

I don't think it's nostalgia, it was great time for fans of all different kinds of Lego. You had unlicensed themes like Fantasy era Castle, Pirates 2009, Space police 3, Power Miners, Agents, Bionicle, all existing alongside the licensed themes I previously mentioned. I don't how a Lego fan wouldn't be pleased with the selection of sets in the late 2000s, unless you're some purist classic fan of Lego. 

I do think the acquiring of more licenses eventually led to downfall of the unlicensed themes, I just think the 2000s were a sweet spot where they had some licenses but not too many. Nowadays it seems like literally every somewhat popular movie/show gets a Lego set, it has turned into an overpriced pop culture collector brand. I can't deny that acquiring Star Wars in 1999 did start a chain reaction that eventually led to modern day Lego.

[danth]

2 hours ago, SpacePolice89 said:

I think that the nostalgia argument is getting tiresome and overplayed. I for example love sets like the original Galaxy Explorer that existed about ten years before I got my first Lego sets. I never experienced those sets as a kid and I still like them very much only because I find them good. 

It's not just in the Lego fandom. It's in every fandom. If you dare to not like some new enshittified product, and prefer the vastly superior old product, the corpo cheerleaders will always say "it's just nostalgia". It's bad, because there isn't even a word like "nostalgia" for irrationally preferring whatever is new just because it's new. You have to make something up like "novelty blindness". Maybe "newstalgia"?

[SpacePolice89]

I guess many people would call me a  purist classic Lego fan but I also love the ca 2005-2015 era with so many diverse themes. It is proof that in house themes can coexist successfully with licensed themes. While I personally mostly collect sets from 1979 to 1998 I very much appreciate the renaissance era. 

6 minutes ago, danth said:

It's not just in the Lego fandom. It's in every fandom. If you dare to not like some new enshittified product, and prefer the vastly superior old product, the corpo cheerleaders will always say "it's just nostalgia". It's bad, because there isn't even a word like "nostalgia" for irrationally preferring whatever is new just because it's new. You have to make something up like "novelty blindness". Maybe "newstalgia"?

Neophilia / (ˌniːəʊˈfɪlɪə) / noun a tendency to like anything new; love of novelty

[GameyRaccoon]

On 4/18/2026 at 9:39 AM, SpacePolice89 said:

I guess many people would call me a  purist classic Lego fan but I also love the ca 2005-2015 era with so many diverse themes. It is proof that in house themes can coexist successfully with licensed themes. While I personally mostly collect sets from 1979 to 1998 I very much appreciate the renaissance era.

For the record, I also really enjoy this era. I've just become bitter by the neglect towards in-house IP in recent memory. (Excepting large icons tributes) 

[SpacePolice89]

8 minutes ago, GameyRaccoon said:

I've just become bitter by the neglect towards in-house IP in recent memory. (Excepting large icons tributes)

Me too. The only really exciting new theme/subtheme since 2015 was the City space one. The video in the link illustrates the decline very well.

 

[danth]

On 4/15/2026 at 6:36 AM, Karalora said:

Assuming LEGO is not going to revive the Classic themes in the foreseeable future, what would be the next best route they could take?

On 4/15/2026 at 6:55 AM, icm said:

As @danth has said so many times, classic themed Creator sets.

The 2026 Creator Pirate Ship just leaked. It looks absolutely amazing, too. 

You're welcome everyone!

We still need Space though.

On 4/15/2026 at 7:22 PM, Karalora said:

City Pirates is harder to parse. Something with a theme park-y vibe is certainly possible, but seems more forced than it does with Castle.

In related news, a 2026 City roller coaster set just leaked, and it is very Power Miners inspired.

They have done a Pirates Roller Coaster, but it was Creator, not City. There was also the Exo Force roller coaster.

[Black Falcon]

On 4/14/2026 at 3:56 PM, SpacePolice89 said:

To be honest I have very little interest any of the new stuff maybe because I have almost no interest in popular culture related products. Only a new in house theme that isn't all over the place could revive my interest in new Lego sets. This has happened before. In the early 00s I lost almost all interest in new sets and only focused on old sets from Bricklink and MOCs. In the late 00s I regained interest in new sets but then lost interest again around 2015 and went back to Bricklink and MOCs. I feel that they are totally disregarding their fans because there are no Space, Castle or Pirates themes anymore and not even new fresh in house themes like Atlantis or Power Miners. There are only Asian inspired sci fi mech themes in bright colors and licensed themes available (+City which is actually quite good). Ninjago is a good theme but not for me while all the Ninjago clones like Dreamzzz and Monkie Kid are totally unnecessary and takes spots in the lineup from other themes that are not Ninjago clones.

Calling them clones is a bit to dismissive for my taste. While they certainly got some things in common, there are also lots of differences between them. And especially Dreamzzz got some nice new Sets this year that have absolutley no Ninjago-feeling to me.

On 4/15/2026 at 2:50 PM, SpacePolice89 said:

Regarding the classic themes a good compromise would be to release a full wave of sets for one of them every other year. For example: Pirates 2027, Castle 2029 and Space 2031 and then start all over. Each theme (including two factions e.g. Pirates and Imperial Guards) would be available for two years and include sets in all sizes and some would be more traditional while others would be more modern but all sets still normal kid friendly sets. When a theme is not available single large 18+ sets like the Galaxy Explorer or the Eldorado Fortress could be released.

When Dreamzzz was first announced but noone knew what it would be yet, I was hoping it would maybe something where the characters delve into a dream world where they visit different worlds, castle, western, pirates, pyramids etc. But well turned out it was a different kind of dream world. 

On 4/15/2026 at 11:41 PM, Wolfpack said:

I think the marketing would be very important in such endeavour. They could do a new brand lego Eternal, Timeless, Evergreen or something, maybe yellow boxes and then mix all those themes. 2027 two or three castle sets and two or three space sets, 2029 two or three pirate sets and two or three western (or adventurers etc.) sets.

I think concentration on one theme a year would make more sense, as two themes need more different parts and prints than one and they would probably make diffents sizes of sets anyways, so a range of five sets per year would be great.

On 4/16/2026 at 3:10 PM, Karalora said:

*sigh*...they're not. No one* is literally "looking for things to get offended about," as is sometimes accused. But some things in popular media--like "cannibal natives" and other such ignorant stereotypes--leave a bad taste in the mouth and people would rather they were avoided. I ask again--would hypothetical revivals of the Classic themes be worse if they portrayed their respective indigenous peoples more thoughtfully?

I still think, especially for the time back then, Lego actually did put a lot thought into it in the end they were displayed in their "everyday life" and natives and invaders were only avaiable in seperated sets, instead of mixing them up and setting them against each other like likely every other toy company back then did. 

[Wolfpack]

7 hours ago, Black Falcon said:

I think concentration on one theme a year would make more sense, as two themes need more different parts and prints than one and they would probably make diffents sizes of sets anyways, so a range of five sets per year would be great.

Not really. If you would quote the whole post I actually explained that you would need next to zero new parts, as all the gear would be (and mostly is already) in production. So you would need only new (mostly torso) prints, which is basically more or less the same whether you have five sets of two different themes or five sets of one theme. But it would give much more variety to the fans (instead of five or six castle torsos three castle and three space torsos). It would also make the general theme perpetual, which seems to be so important for some people here, so there would be Eternal sets on the shelf all the time and that would also make a place for any classic theme and you would not need to shove it under city. So it would solve the marketing concern some people here have about classic themes. Also those who do not like space for example would have something elso too choose from and in two years they would get two new themes. Ideally they would keep castle/pirates/space torsos on PAB until new sets for this theme arrive.

It is not perfect, but it is the next best thing, what they asked for. It "solves" the "problem" for those who say it is not about the number of formal themes. It would formally introduce only one new nonlicenced minifigure theme, together making them three.

[SpacePolice89]

It's much easier to market and sell a single theme each year, especially to kids and parents. I think the mixed model is better for AFOLs but for the general public a "new" theme each year would be better.

15 hours ago, danth said:

The 2026 Creator Pirate Ship just leaked. It looks absolutely amazing, too. 

 

Yes, it looks amazing!

Edited 14 hours ago by SpacePolice89