Cars Licensed Lego Sets

[adventuresinlego]

We only have two Cars sets- both from Cars 2- one is the Duplo Tow Mater with the target and cannon... and the Big Bentley set-

The Big Bentley was bought for $70 in Australia, which is bloody BRILLLLIANT for aussie prices, BUT, are the Cars sets worthy?

There are no minifigs, instead they have exquisite printed pieces for the Cars characters, and whilst they're not technically minifigs, I consider them to be so since Children would be moving them around as the Play Feature like they would a MF.

The main problem I have with the Car MF's... wait, no, MV's (mini vehicles, sorry if I sotle that off anyone) - The main problem is that they take up so many pieces to make them and I feel that this 700+ Big Bentley could have been ... a bit more... hmm...

Well, firstly, they could have put a little more into the actual structure, although, having said that it is really cool- there's a rope/pully for pulling up Tow Mater, a little spy section, a sliding door (I'd been trying to work out how to make a brick-built sliding door and because I'm stupid I hadn't yet figured it out! Turns out there's a plate piece specifically for it, go figure!)

Anyways, there's a few features, but the structure itself feels a little... hollow. Like it could've used another wall or two just to close it off a little, but I guess that's not LEGO's deal.

But back to the MV's, I did enjoy building them though, it's not so much a complaint as it is a "I would've done it differently" and designed the Cars to be in 5/6 pieces instead. This Big Bentley has around 7 Cars (AWEsome selection including the bloomin' Queen of England! Aww SNAP!) And all I would need to do is get Flo's V8 Cafe and I would be able to get prety much every Cars character in two swoops. Awesome!

Some of the other smaller sets though seem to suffer from the amount of pieces used in the MVs, they would be trying to keep the pce count/price down so there's a selection of small sets, but that means that the actual structure is smaller and ultimately doesn't seem worth the price.

Anyways, I just wanted to give my thoughts on the Cars range as I'm unsure how excited people are for them.

The MV bonnets and boots (trunks for americans) have specially designed pieces to make them look like real Cars, I'm sure Lego enthusiasts wouldn't like that as it's not exactly brick-built, but for people like me who are hopeless with them, it's great! Only thing is I wish they had've printed the mouths on separate bricks which fit in under them, that way they could be used for more MOCs.

[Sam892]

It's a tough question. I think that some of the sets include some great new pieces and elements in unique colours that make the sets worth while. However the main problem I had with the series was that the cars couldn't have been converted in two minifigure scale cars easily. I love a good car in a set that's about six studs wide and has two front passenger seats. When I first saw the pics from a toy fair I fell in live with the some of the new body styles, but I don't really have any use for them. I think the cars sets had the right lifespan of two or three waves. They were worthwhile certainly but they weren't really my thing. With that said however I may pick up one or two in the sales.

[CorneliusMurdock]

Worthy of what? You're not very clear with your question. I'd like you to come up with a topic title that's clearer than the current one. I'll then change it to that.

I think that Cars is perhaps the licensed theme that is undervalued by AFOLs the most. Yes, the movies were successful and I'm sure the sets sold decently well to their target audience (kids). But you don't really see a lot of MOCs from the theme and the parts themselves don't seem to lend themselves to more general use like other themes.

Take Prince of Persia for instance. The movie didn't really do all that well and judging by the way the sets were clearanced everywhere, they don't seem to have struck a chord with a lot of kids. But AFOLs saw those clearanced sets and snatched them up like candy. I've seen plenty of MOCs using the new animals, hairpieces, faces, etc.

[adventuresinlego]

It's a tough question. I think that some of the sets include some great new pieces and elements in unique colours that make the sets worth while. However the main problem I had with the series was that the cars couldn't have been converted in two minifigure scale cars easily. I love a good car in a set that's about six studs wide and has two front passenger seats. When I first saw the pics from a toy fair I fell in live with the some of the new body styles, but I don't really have any use for them. I think the cars sets had the right lifespan of two or three waves. They were worthwhile certainly but they weren't really my thing. With that said however I may pick up one or two in the sales.

I think I only really want the V8 Cafe, the boat one looks too small for the price but the oil rig looks cool!

Worthy of what? You're not very clear with your question. I'd like you to come up with a topic title that's clearer than the current one. I'll then change it to that.

I think that Cars is perhaps the licensed theme that is undervalued by AFOLs the most. Yes, the movies were successful and I'm sure the sets sold decently well to their target audience (kids). But you don't really see a lot of MOCs from the theme and the parts themselves don't seem to lend themselves to more general use like other themes.

Take Prince of Persia for instance. The movie didn't really do all that well and judging by the way the sets were clearanced everywhere, they don't seem to have struck a chord with a lot of kids. But AFOLs saw those clearanced sets and snatched them up like candy. I've seen plenty of MOCs using the new animals, hairpieces, faces, etc.

worthy of our time and money... and since most of the pieces seem to go into the cars, worhty of being interpreted into Lego. :)

Edited May 30, 2012 by adventuresinlego

[CorneliusMurdock]

worthy of our time and money... and since most of the pieces seem to go into the cars, worhty of being interpreted into Lego. :)

Our (AFOL's) time and money, I accept as open to debate. I'll change the title to reflect that. (I've added Polls for you as well.)

Debating whether an existing theme was worthy to become LEGO seems somewhat pointless to me. It's done. Unless you have access to a time machine, nothing is going to change it.

[Rumble Strike]

I was surprised just how much I liked the little cars, Lego has managed to capture a lot of personality and they are very cool things to have on your desk, very swooshable.

If you are in it for the characters, definitely get Flo's Cafe. 6 Cars, 4 of them exclusive, and an iconic location from the first movie to boot.

As for MOCs, I made some creatures with the 'eye' pieces, like a bumble bee using Luigi's eyes. So the parts can be used in non-Cars MOCs.

I agree with Cornelius that, like the Toy Story sets, they are very much targeted at children rather than adults, and I don't think they sold all that well because they didn't have the crossover appeal of some of the other licences. For me, they are bright and colourful and I would like to pick up more sets in sales.

[The Blue Brick]

I bought all of them at Walmart after Christmas during the sale. All of them were on the shelves while the rest of the themes were wiped out.

I mainly bought them because of the price"50% off", but found most of the pieces were useless as most were printed. I just keep them on display, and still have a few unopened.

I definitely say it was a cute theme, especially for kids, but not the best for myself.

[adventuresinlego]

I was surprised just how much I liked the little cars, Lego has managed to capture a lot of personality and they are very cool things to have on your desk, very swooshable.

If you are in it for the characters, definitely get Flo's Cafe. 6 Cars, 4 of them exclusive, and an iconic location from the first movie to boot.

As for MOCs, I made some creatures with the 'eye' pieces, like a bumble bee using Luigi's eyes. So the parts can be used in non-Cars MOCs.

I agree with Cornelius that, like the Toy Story sets, they are very much targeted at children rather than adults, and I don't think they sold all that well because they didn't have the crossover appeal of some of the other licences. For me, they are bright and colourful and I would like to pick up more sets in sales.

I bought all of them at Walmart after Christmas during the sale. All of them were on the shelves while the rest of the themes were wiped out.

I mainly bought them because of the price"50% off", but found most of the pieces were useless as most were printed. I just keep them on display, and still have a few unopened.

I definitely say it was a cute theme, especially for kids, but not the best for myself.

I think people might've suffered from a bit of Cars fatigue, like Shrek a year or two earlier, the merchandising reach was phenomenal especially for what many perceive to be Pixars first dud. But since Kids care not about quality of film, it's a surprise to hear Cars didn't sell as well. Add in price factor (across all Cars march) and I'd wager more people would've bought the die-cast toys as opposed to Lego.

I think some of the printed pieces are fantastic, especially the bumper bars and as you say, the eyes. I'm yet to make a Moc out of them though as I'm really crappy with Lego (am slowly getting better)

I've had a look online for the V8 cafe, a few places are around $100 so will look for something a bit more affordable haha

[Lyichir]

I like the Cars sets. They've been great for new parts (most of which are limited by printing, but unprinted versions are starting to show up in other themes). I'm a little disappointed, however that the sets have mostly focused on Cars 2 instead of the original. Many scenes from the first film, like the tractor tipping scene, would be amazing in LEGO. And unlike the cars themselves, the locations are quite lacking. Oil Rig Escape, for example, is shrunk down so much that many parts of that scene, such as when Finn McMissile ramps off of the crane, are impossible to recreate.

I would recommend Flo's V8 Cafe, though. Even for someone who cares little about the included characters, it's a great source of parts.

[ChrisW]

I don't really know how successful the theme was, but when I worked in a toy shop, they weren't really flying off the shelves an awful lot. To be fair though, we generally sold a lot less Cars merchandise with the recent film, whereas with the previous film, consumers couldn't get enough of it.

I think if Lego had gained the licence earlier ie. to tie in with the first Cars film, the whole theme would've been a lot more successful.

[Rumble Strike]

I also think tying in to a film that wasn't too successful either critically or commercially could have had an impact on sales. Like ChrisW said, the first film and its ensuing merchandise juggernaut may have been the right time to do the license.

[Blondie-Wan]

I also think tying in to a film that wasn't too successful either critically or commercially could have had an impact on sales. Like ChrisW said, the first film and its ensuing merchandise juggernaut may have been the right time to do the license.

I'm not sure what you mean by "wasn't too successful" commercially (emphasis added - too successful for what? ), but the movie was in fact a big box office success, albeit not Pixar's biggest.

Anyway... is it known the theme is in fact done? Certainly it hasn't been that long since the most recent wave was released, and Cars sets remain fairly abundant in plenty of stores (a good thing, too - I haven't gotten all the ones I want yet). Certainly, given TLG's approach to licensed themes (and themes in general, for that matter), I can see them not wanting to continue beyond that "hot" period in which they're sure to sell a great many sets, but Cars is something of a perennial in merchandising, not unlike Star Wars - Cars toys have sold continuously since the first movie's release, across the entire five-year span to the second. I don't know why LEGO can't do as well with a theme that's so successful for diecast cars and playsets, apparel, r/c vehicles, etc.

[adventuresinlego]

I like the Cars sets. They've been great for new parts (most of which are limited by printing, but unprinted versions are starting to show up in other themes). I'm a little disappointed, however that the sets have mostly focused on Cars 2 instead of the original. Many scenes from the first film, like the tractor tipping scene, would be amazing in LEGO. And unlike the cars themselves, the locations are quite lacking. Oil Rig Escape, for example, is shrunk down so much that many parts of that scene, such as when Finn McMissile ramps off of the crane, are impossible to recreate.

I would recommend Flo's V8 Cafe, though. Even for someone who cares little about the included characters, it's a great source of parts.

Yeah, I would love some film 1 sets too! IO guess this is what Cuusoo is for haha

Perhaps with the 5 years in between films and the amount of merchandise we got in those years, people just shrugged these off...

If anything, they should've done a full Pixar range with a small set and large set from every film, that would allow them 6 Toy Story and 4 Cars - I know I would've loved to have bought Wall-E Lego and Ratatouille as those films are my favourites.

Oooh, from Cars 1 I would've loved them to have done the traffic cone motel!

[Rumble Strike]

I'm not sure what you mean by "wasn't too successful" commercially (emphasis added - too successful for what? ), but the movie was in fact a big box office success, albeit not Pixar's biggest.

I guess instead of "too" I should have put "very", as it wasn't very successful. In the UK it seemed to disappear very quickly for a "summer blockbuster". I just checked IMDB and it didn't make back its budget in US domestic gross. I wouldn't class that as a success, especially for Pixar.

[Blondie-Wan]

I guess instead of "too" I should have put "very", as it wasn't very successful. In the UK it seemed to disappear very quickly for a "summer blockbuster". I just checked IMDB and it didn't make back its budget in US domestic gross. I wouldn't class that as a success, especially for Pixar.

Oh? That's news to me. I actually did look up the box office before making my earlier post, but must have misread or overlooked something. I do now see that according to IMDB, its "estimated" budget was $200,000,000. That's awfully high, though with a total global gross over half a billion dollars, it still probably made money (and unquestionably sold lots of tickets). Given that, though, I shouldn't have said "big."

[sharky]

The only sets I thought were interesting were the Ultimate builds of McQueen and Mater. I bought them only because I was able to get them on clearance prices. They display nicely on a shelf and have a mix of good parts. Other than that I say, "let the kids have their fun with them." I might consider the Mack's Team Truck set with the big rig Mack and McQueen as I think it would also display well. But, these days there's just so many other things I would rather spend my money on right now.

[Bilbo Baggins]

I was never interested in these sets since they looked boring.

[just2good]

Eh, I'm a big Pixar fan, but I never really cared for the sets, or the second movie. The only way I was going to buy the sets were when they were on clearence, as I love the car figures (I came close to buying 8423 at 25% off, and 8486 at $15 when it was missing the stickers). Also, I'm quite curious about the Oil Rig set, and why no-one has brought it.

Edited May 31, 2012 by just2good

[adventuresinlego]

I was never interested in these sets since they looked boring.

This is why I question if the series was worthy of making overall, the sets are fairly hollow and skimping on a lot, well, seem to be; and I think that's got a lot to do with so many pieces going into making the cars and why I question if the series was worhy of putting into Lego in the first place.

With the new Planes TV/DVD Movie being released in the future, we may get more sets, but they will most likely be tied in with that and not the first film like some people like.

[Blondie-Wan]

This is why I question if the series was worthy of making overall, the sets are fairly hollow and skimping on a lot, well, seem to be; and I think that's got a lot to do with so many pieces going into making the cars and why I question if the series was worhy of putting into Lego in the first place.

Well, construction-wise, are they really all that different from the Tiny Turbos Racers sets? And if the cars themselves use lots of parts, that's still valid LEGO construction. As long as there's a certain amount of building in any given set, I don't think it matters whether it's concentrated in the vehicles/characters themselves or in the buildings and structures of their world.

With the new Planes TV/DVD Movie being released in the future, we may get more sets, but they will most likely be tied in with that and not the first film like some people like.

Perhaps, although I could easily see them doing more sets from across the franchise (including the first movie) (a la Star Wars, etc.), if they were to continue the theme at all.

[adventuresinlego]

Well, construction-wise, are they really all that different from the Tiny Turbos Racers sets? And if the cars themselves use lots of parts, that's still valid LEGO construction. As long as there's a certain amount of building in any given set, I don't think it matters whether it's concentrated in the vehicles/characters themselves or in the buildings and structures of their world.

Perhaps, although I could easily see them doing more sets from across the franchise (including the first movie) (a la Star Wars, etc.), if they were to continue the theme at all.

I enjoyed building the cars, I've said it a few times, but when the meat of a set (the structure) is lacking and feels.... empty, it makes me wonder if the cars should've been in 15 pieces or just 4 to allow more meat to go into the sets.

I get what you mean about the building experience and yeah, with the cars it was fun, but I know I'm not alone in thinking the sets are fairly hollow and uninspired and ultimately look a lot smaller than other sets with the same amount of pieces.

And since I'm in my lego revival I have no frame of reference on any other themes pre 2010 :)

Edited June 2, 2012 by adventuresinlego