Modulex bricks are coming back!

[Carrera124]

Bad news.

[MAB]

Modulex company was bought by LEGO Juris, which is part of LEGO which (among other things) takes care about legal rights and trademarks. Unfortunately that means an end to any new modulex projects and bricks (LEGO Juris certainly does not produce bricks). TLG basicily wants to keep the rights to the company for historical reasons.

Please see official stamement here:

"We are pleased to tell that LEGO Juris A/S has acquired Modulex bricks in a mutual agreement. It has been important for the LEGO Group owner family to ensure historic rights stay within the owner family. The potential to produce Modulex bricks has also been addressed and there are no plans to manufacture Modulex bricks in the near future.

Thanks for your interest in Modulex and for joining this Facebook page!"

Thanks. For the information that is, not what it contains!

[fred67]

That's terrible. I know I'm not making a lot of friends here, lately, but TLG seems to be alienating people with price increases (and deleting negative reviews off their website), and now this.

[tedbeard]

So the whole scheme was to acquire the rights to Modulex, "threaten" to produce some, and then sell the rights to LEGO Juris in order to make a tidy profit without havihg to actually produce anything?

So nice for the 1% not to have to actually work.

[fred67]

So the whole scheme was to acquire the rights to Modulex, "threaten" to produce some, and then sell the rights to LEGO Juris in order to make a tidy profit without havihg to actually produce anything?

So nice for the 1% not to have to actually work.

How do you figure? In fact, they did produce test bricks... Jodawill even got bricks from their first trial run. This is all TLG shutting down a competitor, not a money grab by a third party.

[MAB]

This is all TLG shutting down a competitor, not a money grab by a third party.

Or just a bit of intra-family squabbling, with a nice pay-off.

[Cwetqo]

So the whole scheme was to acquire the rights to Modulex, "threaten" to produce some, and then sell the rights to LEGO Juris in order to make a tidy profit without havihg to actually produce anything?

So nice for the 1% not to have to actually work.

I talked to modulex guys in Skaerbaek and I'm pretty sure that their intentions were fair. Kjeld Kirk was also there, so maybe that triggered this action (it was specificly said that request originates from the owner family).

It would be very difficult to produce quality modulex bricks outside TLG (no one could achive that kind of knowledge in less than 5 or 10 years) and badly made bricks would just spoil their reputation.

An there is one, also very important thing: one of basic principles of LEGO is "system of play". It mean that all product lines are compatible and could be combined. You could fix duplo brick to technic set, but you can not do it with modulex bricks.

[Carrera124]

It would be very difficult to produce quality modulex bricks outside TLG (no one could achive that kind of knowledge in less than 5 or 10 years) and badly made bricks would just spoil their reputation.

Well, the quality of currently produced TLG bricks has declined a lot, so I don't think this is a reasonable argument.

[jodawill]

I talked to modulex guys in Skaerbaek and I'm pretty sure that their intentions were fair. Kjeld Kirk was also there, so maybe that triggered this action (it was specificly said that request originates from the owner family).

It would be very difficult to produce quality modulex bricks outside TLG (no one could achive that kind of knowledge in less than 5 or 10 years) and badly made bricks would just spoil their reputation.

An there is one, also very important thing: one of basic principles of LEGO is "system of play". It mean that all product lines are compatible and could be combined. You could fix duplo brick to technic set, but you can not do it with modulex bricks.

Well, the quality of currently produced TLG bricks has declined a lot, so I don't think this is a reasonable argument.

I have some of the new bricks. They're definitely every bit as good as Lego bricks.

This is very disappointing.

[Kalais]

Interesting, I have never heard about this Modulex.

If some1 got no idea what was modulex I search on google and found pretty good info here:

http://lego.wikia.com/wiki/Modulex

Well, kind sucks it won't be produced. 1x1x1 proportions sound like great addition to standard Lego and new possibilities of building.

Anyway why it wasn't 1x1x1 from beginning?

[jodawill]

Interesting, I have never heard about this Modulex.

If some1 got no idea what was modulex I search on google and found pretty good info here:

http://lego.wikia.com/wiki/Modulex

Well, kind sucks it won't be produced. 1x1x1 proportions sound like great addition to standard Lego and new possibilities of building.

Anyway why it wasn't 1x1x1 from beginning?

My guess is that they never had any kind of plan when they made the first bricks. The current dimensions are probably just based off some random mold, probably hand made. I'm sure they had no idea how big this would become when the first started doing this.

[SweetiePie88]

I know I'm not making a lot of friends here, lately, but TLG seems to be alienating people with price increases (and deleting negative reviews off their website), and now this.

I don't think the price factor would be as much of a problem if we actually had PRINTED stuff and not 3 tons of stickers! Isn't there a LOTR set that's famous for having like a 100 stickered parts? Like i've said b4, if i wanted to have stickered parts, i'd raid a few BL stores and go crazy. When you're paying a premium for a lego set, seems like it shouldn't be unreasonable to want printed parts. Would love to know why mega bloks have stickers and a much lower price while maintaining a great quality and yet lego is also sticker obsessed but the prices are a lot higher and quality problems are popping up a lot more.

and maybe it's just me but i'm seeing not much in the way of wow factors anymore. I mean yea there's some interesting looking things, but am i seeing anything that's going to make me rip my wallet out my purse? Not really. Current buy wants are the mama rabbit and baby set(once i can find it i will be buying it), a debating on the pet vet vehicle, and twiddling my thumbs waiting for series 6 friends to show up. And i have a giant maybe on 3 mixel sets and Simpsons wave 2 CBG

Plus this modulex stunt is just cruel! Why make such a big deal about it just to have some side group come in to snatch it to just block any chances of anyone making it??? If lego doesn't want to bother making new modulex sets, FINE but why can't they at least let a clone company have a chance to do it? Are they to afraid that people will switch sides or something?

[MAB]

Plus this modulex stunt is just cruel! Why make such a big deal about it just to have some side group come in to snatch it to just block any chances of anyone making it??? If lego doesn't want to bother making new modulex sets, FINE but why can't they at least let a clone company have a chance to do it? Are they to afraid that people will switch sides or something?

While they are not a direct copy, nanoblocks already make a modulex style brick / sets.

[SweetiePie88]

Thing is if lego really tried, they could make some of the 2 wide modulex be able to fit on top of lego system bricks but nanoblocks cant do that. That would be a billion and one uses right there.

[jodawill]

Thing is if lego really tried, they could make some of the 2 wide modulex be able to fit on top of lego system bricks but nanoblocks cant do that. That would be a billion and one uses right there.

No, that wouldn't work. The Modulex bricks are completely different proportions. The reason they're able to make Duplo, Quatro, and Primo bricks compatible with Lego System is because those all follow the same proportions.

[jodawill]

I just got an e-mail from Thomas. He said they handed all of their materials (test bricks, etc.) to TLG. We will never see another Modulex brick again.

[fred67]

Thing is if lego really tried, they could make some of the 2 wide modulex be able to fit on top of lego system bricks but nanoblocks cant do that. That would be a billion and one uses right there.

No... but they could come out with a 1:1 brick that was compatible with existing LEGO. One of the reasons Modulex exists is because one of the LEGO owners tried making their own house and saw how difficult it was to actually do it with existing LEGO. Hey, TLG, here's a newsflash... IT STILL IS!

Edited January 7, 2015 by fred67

[jodawill]

To be honest, I don't think we should pretend there's a huge market for these bricks. For the majority of us, these are more of a curiosity than anything. If there was a large demand for this product, Lego would have never given up the rights in the first place.

This is a very disappointing turn of events, but I don't think any of us expected this to be very successful anyway. We just would have appreciated whatever limited run MB A/S was able to offer us.

[fred67]

I actually think system compatible 1:1 pieces would actually be pretty successful... but modulex was more "cute" than anything else for most of us.

[jodawill]

I actually think system compatible 1:1 pieces would actually be pretty successful... but modulex was more "cute" than anything else for most of us.

The only way to make a decent 1:1:1 system compatible with Lego System is to make the bricks huge. I don't remember what the Lego dimensions are, but you would have to find the least common multiple of those dimensions to make a cubic brick compatible with the Lego System. A brick that size could only be useful as a children's toy, and it would lose the cuteness factor.

[fred67]

The only way to make a decent 1:1:1 system compatible with Lego System is to make the bricks huge. I don't remember what the Lego dimensions are, but you would have to find the least common multiple of those dimensions to make a cubic brick compatible with the Lego System. A brick that size could only be useful as a children's toy, and it would lose the cuteness factor.

No, I mean a standard LEGO Brick, not duplo or larger, that is 1:1 (or a 1x1 brick would be 1:1:1).... something that works with the standard LEGO size. The stud size exactly matches the current regular bricks. "Compatible" never meant you could directly attach any particular bricks together - you can't directly top a quadro stud with regular bricks; if I'm not mistaken, you'd use a 2x2 duplo brick, which you can then top with four 2x2 regular bricks... which you can then top with these imaginary 1:1 bricks, if that's what you really wanted to do. In only means that there is a way they can attach... if it's through other size bricks, it still counts.

Conversely, topping regular bricks with duplo, for example, works just fine - so it would work with the imaginary bricks, too, because the studs are exactly the same.

Think of a standard 1x1 brick, but made shorter.

[jodawill]

No, I mean a standard LEGO Brick, not duplo or larger, that is 1:1 (or a 1x1 brick would be 1:1:1).... something that works with the standard LEGO size. The stud size exactly matches the current regular bricks. "Compatible" never meant you could directly attach any particular bricks together - you can't directly top a quadro stud with regular bricks; if I'm not mistaken, you'd use a 2x2 duplo brick, which you can then top with four 2x2 regular bricks... which you can then top with these imaginary 1:1 bricks, if that's what you really wanted to do. In only means that there is a way they can attach... if it's through other size bricks, it still counts.

Conversely, topping regular bricks with duplo, for example, works just fine - so it would work with the imaginary bricks, too, because the studs are exactly the same.

Think of a standard 1x1 brick, but made shorter.

I see what you mean, but to get them line up with the height of the regular bricks, you would have to have a large number of them… it depends on what the Lego System dimensions are, but it may be as many as 5 or 6 cubic bricks to get them to line up with the system bricks.

[fred67]

Yes, that's true, but it's not that different than doing some snot techniques vertically... but honestly, what we're talking about is a system with 1:1 bricks to make something like architecture easier, I don't imagine you'd need or want to mix in regular bricks, and where you would - like a roof, or toping something off with tiles, it wouldn't be an issue.

[tedbeard]

Or just a bit of intra-family squabbling, with a nice pay-off.

No matter how you slice it one-percenters score while fans are dissapointed.