Has TLC finally gotten it right?

[Zarkan]

Well, 2006 is coming to an end, and I have to say that I really am seeing hope for the future of TLC and great lego. Why? Well because, quite frankly, lego is just really good these days!

I mean, take a look back at TLC nearly a decade ago. The year was 1999, and it seemed that lego had really lost its sprit. A horrible <insert that tiresome argument> town line, the loss of Pirates, Castle, and Space (RockRaiders does not count), and really nothing that shouted

[JINZONINGEN73]

Couldn't.

Agree.

More.

The only times I hear people (still) complain, the reasons are somewhat off the wall / unrealistic.

Things are at a point, where only wacky & unrealistic ideas of my own (like 9V ultraviolet blacklight bricks / fully glowing sets) could make my feelings towards Lego better.

[El Bucanero]

I must say that I like the new city line very good...Lego is indeed going in the right way, you are right about the new KK it jas got some more CC looks than the colourful line, but still no proper pirate line, and that really bothers me!

[Starwars4J]

I'm surprised no mention of bley ;-)

I do agree though, espectially with Vikings heralding the rebirth of Lego. There are still a few things missing, the grand scenes they'd make with their scenes, the minicatalogues (I miss them :'-( ), the great alternate models, and most importantly the ability for people to make their own stories instead of the pre-fabricated stories TLG seems to be incorporating now.

Where are you, Lego Maniac?

But the construction techniques have gotten much better than they have been in years, in some slight instances, moments of brilliance have shown through, matching even the best MOCers.

I just hope things continue in this vain and don't revert to the "bad old days"

[sasbury]

Agree completely.

The city theme now rivals the town lineup of the early 1990s. The new Star Wars sets look better than they ever have. Vikings are awesome! Great exclusives (Boeing, Star Wars UCS, Advent calendar, chess sets). And juniorization is at a minimum.

Keep up the great work, Lego!

Let's hope profits stay up so Lego will stay on this course.

-Steven

[natelite]

yup, exo force though hated by the purist is one of tlc's best selling line behind only star wars and bionicle. this came directly from tlc so hey, they know the numbers. i think it is pretty impressive considering it has only been in production for 1 year. who knows? it might over take bionicle. :-P it was also the line that brought me back to lego.

having looked at the older catalogs, i couldnt agree more. 2006 has been the best year. only regret i have was not able to purchase 2005 star wars set (ie imperial inspection, mf, x-wing - but i got the latest 6212 so it's good). none of the 2005 sets actually appeal to me besides star wars tbh. 2006 was great. we have vikings, exo force, batman, star wars, nice creator sets. agree too that 2007 is looking like a fantastic year. exo force is much improved. mechs are breathtakingly beautiful. almost 2x more aesthetic than 2006 sets. 2007 star wars (besides gg fighter and the ugly ilc) sets are comparable to 2005/6 super hits. :-P

[dunamis]

I agree and I think 2006 sets are much more improved over 2005. The Star Wars UCS sets have been great this year and it seems like LEGO is really listening to feedback. However, I think one line that needs some attention is Technic. Seems like they keep re-hasing the same old sets again and not too much innovation.

I am realistic and know that they can't fix everything overnight and as long as we are seeing steady improvement then that's good enough for me.

[Two-Faced Batman Fan]

I also couldn't agree more. The best thing IMO that has happened this is the Batman line. Excellent vehicles great playbility and awesome figs. By the way does anyone know how the line is going? I mean from a real LEGO manager or worker. I heard the line wasn't doing so hot.

[snefroe]

well, they're on the right track, that's for sure, I wouldn't say they're quite there just yet:

1) the small sets may look nice but don't sell at all, in spite of what Lego may claim. we've got a shop here called 'Bart Smit', it's a really huuge chain and they've got this box in which they just dump all small sets because they don't sell. you can buy an item for not even 5 euro. people don't seem to want them. i've even heard some one saying they're thinking of destroying the sets, because that box has become waaaay too small... Lego should stop producing these -5 euro sets in large quantities and produce more large sets.

2) they should seriously reconsider the way they're selling sets to shops. no wonder they're making lots of money these days, they just tell shops they have to order the non-profitable sets together with the sw sets, so it's not lego that in the end sits on an over stock, it's the shops...

3) their logisticks/distribution still is a mess, very often, shops have to 'reorder' the stuff they already ordered several times. a worse case scenario is hearing a year later that the sets are out of production... i wonder if these 'reorders' are actually part in their sales statistics.

4) too many short-lived themes. they should have some patience and build a decent fan base with their best themes. Vikings could have been one. they should also keep 'city' sets in a normal scale...

5) quality has gone down, we've said that a million times

[JINZONINGEN73]

well, they're on the right track, that's for sure, I wouldn't say they're quite there just yet:

1) the small sets may look nice but don't sell at all, in spite of what Lego may claim. we've got a shop here called 'Bart Smit', it's a really huuge chain and they've got this box in which they just dump all small sets because they don't sell. you can buy an item for not even 5 euro. people don't seem to want them. i've even heard some one saying they're thinking of destroying the sets, because that box has become waaaay too small... Lego should stop producing these -5 euro sets in large quantities and produce more large sets.

Damn... they should send those to the US. :-D

Here, the big sets sit around and the small ones get wiped out with extreme prejudice.

X-Pods, Racers, if you don't snag'em when you see'em, they likely won't be there the next week.

And you're right, RARELY do I see sets that sell out get restocked.

We had the Toa Hordika sets at our local Lego seller get them in for 3 weeks, MAX. That was it.

4) too many short-lived themes. they should have some patience and build a decent fan base with their best themes. Vikings could have been one. they should also keep 'city' sets in a normal scale...

Yeah, I see what you mean. I was about to argue that they should test themes first before going all out in manufacture and advertising on a specific one, but heck... they should have a pretty good idea by now.

5) quality has gone down, we've said that a million times

I'm thinking that's just the temporary flux of them finding new ways to do old things. My instinct tells me it'll either stay as things are now, or get better. They know that if it gets any worse, they might as well be called Megablocks.

[Athos]

I'm not sure if I'd say they've gotten it completely right... we still have new grey/brown and flesh figures... but they have come a long way from where they had gone over the past several years.

I am very heartened by the turn towards the civilian life in the rumored town sets...

Steve

[natelite]

4) too many short-lived themes. they should have some patience and build a decent fan base with their best themes. Vikings could have been one. they should also keep 'city' sets in a normal scale...

Yeah, I see what you mean. I was about to argue that they should test themes first before going all out in manufacture and advertising on a specific one, but heck... they should have a pretty good idea by now.

i think they do. i recall reading a blog by a lego designer. they actually test the sets on kids first and change the sets so that they can fix them by themselves. also if the kids are not attracted to the sets, they have to change them until the test kids like them.

i think the problem is that with that approach you only make sets with the "WOW" factor. as you know to get kids' attention you need to attract them with action or crazy designs. unfortunately sets with "wow" factor may not have lasting appeal. so they think a theme will sell based on those kids' feedback, but often it's hard to tell since you need those kids to play with them for an entire year or maybe longer before you can determine if the theme or sets have that lasting appeal.

eg. like dino attack...great concept. probably obtained from marketing analysis where they know boys like dinosaurs and they know boys like vehicles. so they merge the two and make crazy shooting action toys. they designed the vehicles to be large to impress the kids. unfortunately after the first week, a kid probably will chuck the sets aside as he probably got bored of them. i myself got bored of the attack copter set the first day i got them. the box looks impressive, the concept was impressive, but ultimately the copter stank.

oh, another reason is that the design and test center is in denmark, so blame the danish kids for bad taste. :-P

[JINZONINGEN73]

eg. like dino attack...great concept. probably obtained from marketing analysis where they know boys like dinosaurs and they know boys like vehicles. so they merge the two and make crazy shooting action toys. they designed the vehicles to be large to impress the kids. unfortunately after the first week, a kid probably will chuck the sets aside as he probably got bored of them.

True. And they're forgetting that kids aren't stupid.

Kids can figure out that a square peg will NOT fit into the circular hole... and that's what the Dino sets were... complex, fun, infinitely reconfigurable Lego sets, but with a non-functional dinosaur that fell out of a rift in the fabric of reality and into their Lego bin.

oh, another reason is that the design and test center is in denmark, so blame the danish kids for bad taste.

Yeah... what the hell lol.

Japanese kids.

I want Lego to do just three consecutive years testing new product ideas ONLY on Japanese kids.

Look at Brickshelf... the "asian" named guys are the ones who kick megablocks the hardest.

It's a fact of life... Japanese Lego builders kick megablocks. Even more, they're more in tune with Lego's concept of "use as few parts as possible".

You can give a Japanese builder two 1x1 slops and they'll make it look like the next incarnation of Gundam. :-D

[Djole]

As for LEGO in general they really developed their production...

On the other hand, all I can say for my taste is negative... Castle theme is completely ruined by KK, and Pirates theme doesn

[Lego Amaryl]

Lego sets are getting better nowadays... but there are still several problems, for example:

1) the color change, that is the worst decision ever made by TLC (and I can't understand the motivation)

2) too many "short-life" themes

3) difficulty to collect useful pieces (minifigs, roofs, windows, big plates, technic beams, ...) without using S@H or BL, especially in unique colors. Though Designer Sets are a great step in this direction, I miss the old "Basic" sets. Designer sets are too specialized, wheareas in a Basic set you could find all you need to build a house and a vehicle or a lot of other things. A "City designer set" would be great... however, the release of more civilian city sets can compensate.

[natelite]

You can give a Japanese builder two 1x1 slops and they'll make it look like the next incarnation of Gundam. :-D

hmm, i don't quite understand your logic. if that's the case they would have to hire japanese designers instead of japanese test kids. :-D they should hire AMERICAN test kids...they have short attention span...a syndrome known as ADHD! lol :-D

but i have to agree with you on japanese mocers. sugegasa sure made a mark on BS with his many mecha mocs. i also like his customized mini-minifig EF team, with the short stubby legs in typical japanese schoolgirl socks. lol... :-D it's just hilarious. wish he posted instructions for his remake of the mini EF mechas.

[JINZONINGEN73]

:-D they should hire AMERICAN test kids...they have short attention span...a syndrome known as ADHD! lol :-D

but i have to agree with you on japanese mocers.

Oh god no.

If they used American kids... oh, it'd be the death of Lego.

The death.

[snefroe]

Oh god no.

If they used American kids... oh, it'd be the death of Lego.

The death.

no problem! i'll test them! just send them to me! i'll take care of it! Free of charge! :-P

hm... not sure if that would be much better for Lego though... :-|

[Lamanda2]

I don't think they have got it just right yet, to me, I think that the 80s sets could double the quality of what they are putting out now.

The sets have just dropped in quality throughout the years.

I see decreasing piece counts and see-through sets, but I must admit that the

Vikings line is a major improvement.

They still have a ways to go, but I can definately say that 06' has been

a good year for improvement, and I look forward to seeing what they

come up with next year. :-)

~Amanda

[Tordenskjold]

In these days with pirate movies and other pirate stuff everywere i still miss PIRATES in lego. every kid have or will pley pirate some times. they could more stoped some of the more unpopular themes.

[Sting]

I don't think they have got it just right yet, to me, I think that the 80s sets could double the quality of what they are putting out now.

The sets have just dropped in quality throughout the years.

I see decreasing piece counts and see-through sets, but I must admit that the

Vikings line is a major improvement.

They still have a ways to go, but I can definately say that 06' has been

a good year for improvement, and I look forward to seeing what they

come up with next year. :-)

~Amanda

I agree completely.

I think alot of people are just celebrating because of what they are comparing the new sets too. The new town sets still suck compared to the 80s-mid 90s town stuff. New castle still sucks compared to the old castle. Many still want a new pirate and space line, but I can't criticize Lego about that because they can only sell what they think will sell.

It is VERY possible for Lego to make new, cool, exciting, flashy sets that won't look dated (Even when I look at sets from 1996, which was the last amazing year of Lego, the town sets especially look pretty old fashioned (not bad, but vintage). Look at the new fire station coming out - this set, except for possible juniorization of car chassis - looks like how lego should be looking - quality with a modern feel.

I am not one of those people that wants Lego to go back to the 80s and use the limited pieces, colours, and designs they could. Almost all the new torsos in lego sets kick megablocks. Minifigures have gotten better (although they need to include more in sets), but we still need better quality design in the SYSTEM Themes. Star Wars and Batman are very well designed in my opinion, and the Vikings and the LEGO parts of the Vikings are too (I hate most of the weapon and creature pieces though). The new Airport is just terrible.

Lets congradulate Lego - I agree they are going in a much better direction (I acutally want one or two of those Knights Kingdom sets!!!) but lets not let them off the hook completely! All we can hope is the sets and themes keep getting better! Lets keep our fingers crossed!

[Zarkan]

I hardly think the old town sets are FAR better than the CITY sets of today. The police station was one of the best stations ever, IMO, since it had great detail inside and out (each of the different rooms had great little details), and was a good value overall. True, the mountain baseplates can get annoying, but other than that, I don't see whats the problem. If it's because you hate the curved slope bricks and modern style, well, thats a bit too critical, IMO. Just because the new kits are in a different style than the old kits doesn't mean they are much more bad.

One thing that also makes the new CITY kits BETTER than the old town kits is the fact that the interior detail looks much more realistic, and is not just lots of chairs and random tables. That's what many of the old town kits had a problem with.

And, why is the airport so terible? You must be one of the people who hate the new airplanes entirely if you hate it so much. But, I don't see what is wrong with the design. It's bigger, for sure, but like Bloody Jay said in his review, it looks just like a modern jet plane, and not a small private jet like all the old town jets. I never liked them because of their tinyness. The airport has plenty of things going for it, like a slick shape, great control tower, and some cool extras like a bagage cart and cool interior details. How does that make it terribler?

[Sting]

I hardly think the old town sets are FAR better than the CITY sets of today. The police station was one of the best stations ever, IMO, since it had great detail inside and out (each of the different rooms had great little details), and was a good value overall. True, the mountain baseplates can get annoying, but other than that, I don't see whats the problem. If it's because you hate the curved slope bricks and modern style, well, thats a bit too critical, IMO. Just because the new kits are in a different style than the old kits doesn't mean they are much more bad.

One thing that also makes the new CITY kits BETTER than the old town kits is the fact that the interior detail looks much more realistic, and is not just lots of chairs and random tables. That's what many of the old town kits had a problem with.

And, why is the airport so terible? You must be one of the people who hate the new airplanes entirely if you hate it so much. But, I don't see what is wrong with the design. It's bigger, for sure, but like Bloody Jay said in his review, it looks just like a modern jet plane, and not a small private jet like all the old town jets. I never liked them because of their tinyness. The airport has plenty of things going for it, like a slick shape, great control tower, and some cool extras like a bagage cart and cool interior details. How does that make it terribler?

I dont like one piece walls. I am not sure why you jumped to conclusions and made up me picking on curves lol.

I don't know which Police Station you are talking about, but it is clear (as you can tell by how many people want the sets and ratings of the sets) that the new Police Station, although a step in the right direction, is still not as good as the 1993 Police Station in DESIGN. Design is very important in a set. It is not just detail. If Lego buildings were all one piece, with "cool little details" made of a few pieces on the INSIDE, it would still not be a good set. Perhaps Lego has been so focussed on cool little details(which I agree I like), that they have forgot about the overall design of the set. I like when pieces form a whole building, not pieces forming several small buildings. In all of the best sets, pieces of the structure interconnect all around> I am not feeling that in alot of the new sets.

I will take back my comment on the airport. I just looked at Yoda's picture review, and although I think the terminal is still lacking, it is better than I thought. It is just too small, I wish they had extended it and made it larger.

The planes, I hate the large pieces, but they do create a nice effect. I do wish they used more pieces, as they could have achieved the big streamlined look in more pieces than they did use. Don't assume I hated the planes, because I didn't. I didn't like the huge nose pieces (you can't use them for anything else!), but the interior, and as you mentioned, size, is incredible and definately does make them look like real Jetliners.

Don't focus on only small details. Lego would be perfect if they improved their OVERALL Design, included these cool new little details, continued with the cool minifigures (but added more - 5 figures for an Airport? That is one of there flagship products of the Town line - it should have at least 7), and slowed the juniorization a little more (Most lego sets say "designed to be quickly built and ready for play" on them - that is not how Lego used to be - building is most of the fun!).

Don't attack my views. Consider them. Worshipping everything new lego does just because we compare it to the dismal late 90s/early 00s is not right. They have a way to go before they can perfect what they are doing, which I have already stated, moving forward while keeping the old quality. I can guarantee you most AFOLs would agree that they still have work to do overall.

[SirNadroj]

I couldn't agree more, the aqua raiders look cool, but I wish there was a larger image of that squid base station one. I would more than likely be picked the Shipwreck one up! *wub* Good job Lego! Why would lego(off topic a little) even decide to make those Jack Stonish Pirates in 2004? Blah! What a waste, they should have put their efforts to a more classic pirate theme! Does anyone actually like Jack Stone in the first place? I don't! *n*

[WesternOutlaw]

Not until Lego brings back an old classic castle theme and pirates will they be on the right track.

Not to mention some classic trains as well as a new WW theme (OK, I suppose I'm getting unrealistic now).

But I really do long for classic castle and pirates. KK just doesn't cut it!