Nexo Knights 2016

[x105Black]

I agree with both of your comments.

I think it's a function of the evolution of Lego's products and merchandising strategy in the Action theme segment. With Nexo Knights and Ninjago in particular Lego would probably say that they have gone beyond including minifigs in their sets and now include "Characters" in the sets. Those characters could be minifigs - or small "minions" - or Big-Figs - or buildable figures (i.e. Sparkks) - or a book (BofE) - or even a banner (Merlock). Perhaps this is Lego's Order of Things for Action/Adventure themes going forward?

Now most of those things are not minifigs in the classic sense of the world, but all add some play/collect-ability/display value to the sets themselves. I personally don't mind that they list the Merlock banner piece or the Book of Evil at the bottom of the box. I would measure the overall value of a set based on the total sum of its parts. I would say that both of the sets that include those items (Fortrex & Evil Mobile respectively) offer good overall value. We may need to adjust our thinking to: Is the set lacking in characters vs. lacking in minifigs.

I also don't like getting fewer minfigs in sets, especially at higher price points. But at least in NK's case, the figures themselves (Knights) have a huge amount of accessory pieces and are very highly detailed. I do think that the inclusion of fewer mini-figs in each set is a deliberate move on TLG's part to encourage the purchase of additional sets to collect all of the characters in the line and in some cases, the inclusion of certain characters exclusively in high-priced sets to drive sales of TLG's highest margin products.

They can call them "characters" all they want, but they are still banners, books, and bricks. The Scurriers and Squirebots are a bit closer, but they're still not the minifigures most LEGO fans crave. Bigfigs are better, at least they're figures.

But you may be right, the sets aren't lacking "characters" as much as they are lacking minifigures. I wonder if their next "character" is going to be a 1 x 1 round tile with a face. I hope it's in a $200 set, so collectible!

As to this minifig debate, these are much nicer minifigs than the average sets.

That's a very subjective statement.

-Elaborate Printing

How elaborate is it, really? Is there arm printing? Side leg printing? Maybe they're good enough to have dual molding? I think they have printing, but I wouldn't call it elaborate. Kinda fancy, maybe.

-Duel colored and transparent plastic new armor

-New helmet base

-New and various visors

-Various new shooting guns/swords

-Double sided faces

-New shield base

-New shield tile with various transparent colors and printing.

That's definitely new stuff, the value of which is entirely subjective. But I'll give you credit here, they were trying to make some really cool stuff to include as minifigure equipment, and included quite a bit of it. I don't feel that makes up for lack of minifigures, personally.

There's a lot to praise here. Quality over quantity for sure. Someone at Lego faught tooth and nail to include all these extravagances I'm sure.

The quality is debatable. I pity the fool who fought for this stuff. OK, now I'm just being a jerk. I take it back. But seriously, Rock Candy Knights are cool?

It'd be nice if LEGO would at least explain why they can't stay consistent. For the time being, I'm going to follow x105's example and say that Flama is genderfluid.

Definitely.

Let's not get into this discussion about flama's gender again. It honestly doesn't matter.

And I think that's the point that LEGO is making by including a genderfluid character!

Edited January 7, 2016 by x105Black

[Peppermint_M]

Those armour parts in transparent colours are really quite cool looking. The theme as a whole is an interesting new spin on the traditional.

[x105Black]

Those armour parts in transparent colours are really quite cool looking. The theme as a whole is an interesting new spin on the traditional.

So new, there's hardly any traditional left (if we're talking Castle).

[Aanchir]

It's probably safe to assume that Ultimate Axl would use Transparent Yellow, simply by virtue of that being the color of the yellow Nexo Power shields. All the other Ultimate knights have used the color of armor that matches the set's primary Nexo Power. Likewise, Ultimate Lance would probably use plain ol' Transparent.

They can call them "characters" all they want, but they are still banners, books, and bricks. The Scurriers and Squirebots are a bit closer, but they're still not the minifigures most LEGO fans crave. Bigfigs are better, at least they're figures.

Obviously, I would never argue that Merlok 2.0, the Book of Monsters, or the Globlins are minifigures. But the Squirebots are at least as much "real minifigures" as, say, LEGO skeletons, considering they have as many pieces and as much posability as a standard minifigure and are not far removed from a hobbit/dwarf/child minifigure in terms of proportions. And I think Axl is just as much a "real minifigure" as a figure like Queen Halbert who uses a dress slope instead of standard legs. The Scurriers are sort of borderline, but I'd consider them minifigures.

As far as LEGO is concerned, scurriers, squirebots, Ava, Robin, Queen Halbert, and Axl all qualify as minifigures. Globlins, Merlok 2.0, the Book of Monsters, and buildable monsters like Sparkks and Infernox do not. I think that's a pretty fair evaluation.

Overall, I think the Nexo Knights sets have a pretty fair number of minifigures for their price. Minifigures aren't the be-all and end-all of a set's value, and I think those sets that have fewer minifigures than usual for their price point make up for it in other aspects of the design, like large buildable monsters. Perhaps more importantly, I think pretty much all the sets include enough minifigures to create a sufficient number of play scenarios. There aren't a whole lot of sets where I'm left thinking "this set really doesn't feel complete without another figure".

[x105Black]

Obviously, I would never argue that Merlok 2.0, the Book of Monsters, or the Globlins are minifigures. But the Squirebots are at least as much "real minifigures" as, say, LEGO skeletons, considering they have as many pieces and as much posability as a standard minifigure and are not far removed from a hobbit/dwarf/child minifigure in terms of proportions. And I think Axl is just as much a "real minifigure" as a figure like Queen Halbert who uses a dress slope instead of standard legs. The Scurriers are sort of borderline, but I'd consider them minifigures.

As far as LEGO is concerned, scurriers, squirebots, Ava, Robin, Queen Halbert, and Axl all qualify as minifigures. Globlins, Merlok 2.0, the Book of Monsters, and buildable monsters like Sparkks and Infernox do not. I think that's a pretty fair evaluation.

Overall, I think the Nexo Knights sets have a pretty fair number of minifigures for their price. Minifigures aren't the be-all and end-all of a set's value, and I think those sets that have fewer minifigures than usual for their price point make up for it in other aspects of the design, like large buildable monsters. Perhaps more importantly, I think pretty much all the sets include enough minifigures to create a sufficient number of play scenarios. There aren't a whole lot of sets where I'm left thinking "this set really doesn't feel complete without another figure".

Fair points.

I always felt like the Skeletons were a bit of a cop-out, especially when the Fantasy Era used them for a whole faction. I never thought of them as minifigures, so that trend is continuing to Squirebots. I'll give you Ava, Robin, the Queen, and I'll concede on Axl, but Scurriers and Squirebots really shouldn't be considered minifigures. And I don't personally feel that brick-built monsters make up for anything, but I have never been a fan of brick-built characters or creatures.

And since I don't find the Evil-Mobile to be a particularly nice set, overall (I think it kind of looks dumb to be honest), I'd say that one feels incomplete without another minifigure. It's an underwhelming build with a brick-built character, a character that's a book (arguably the best looking book yet, but still, a book as a character), and the Hero character that appears in the most sets. The only really nice minifigure is Jestro, who is definitely cool, but yes, I think it's lacking in the minifigure department.

[Vorkosigan]

I'm not going to quote all the back and forth, but I think there are some great new parts and quite a bit of printing in this theme. The knight's armor with transparent shoulders is a marvel of injection molding. I built the Beast Master's Chariot yesterday and here is the notable printing:

2x huge curved printing on the chomper heads

Printed black on the trans orange rock wedge pieces, impressive complexity.

6x printed spherical globlins, consisting of 5 different prints

The book cover and tile, great parts.

And of course the figures which both have front/back torso, leg front, and front/back head prints. The Beast Master is very usable for fantasy infused castle builds.

I don't think any of the sets are a poor value but I personally am only buying the bad guys & the King's Mech. I do however think they should make some battle packs of the generic soldiers but I expect they will be reasonably affordable on bricklink soon enough.

[BrickFit26]

It's probably safe to assume that Ultimate Axl would use Transparent Yellow, simply by virtue of that being the color of the yellow Nexo Power shields. All the other Ultimate knights have used the color of armor that matches the set's primary Nexo Power. Likewise, Ultimate Lance would probably use plain ol' Transparent.

I didn't even think about how they would do Lance as an ultimate. Hmm, not sure how he would look with plain ol' transparent, but it doesn't seem like there is another way to do it. Hmmm...

[Rayskull]

I didn't even think about how they would do Lance as an ultimate. Hmm, not sure how he would look with plain ol' transparent, but it doesn't seem like there is another way to do it. Hmmm...

That would still be interesting, My faves are Arron and Clay!

[Amazing Bricks]

Moltor in this picture has that Orc hair piece:

Sorry for the huge picture, this is the only size i could find.

Edited January 8, 2016 by amazingbricks

[BrickFit26]

That would still be interesting, My faves are Arron and Clay!

Mine are Clay, Macy. But I also like Axl, Aaron and Lance.

Moltor in this picture has that Orc hair piece:

Sorry for the huge picture, this is the only size i could find.

He looks good, so he's suppose to be Flama's brother?

[Amazing Bricks]

He looks good, so he's suppose to be Flama's brother?

Yep.

[Rayskull]

I'm not going to quote all the back and forth, but I think there are some great new parts and quite a bit of printing in this theme. The knight's armor with transparent shoulders is a marvel of injection molding. I built the Beast Master's Chariot yesterday and here is the notable printing:

2x huge curved printing on the chomper heads

Printed black on the trans orange rock wedge pieces, impressive complexity.

6x printed spherical globlins, consisting of 5 different prints

The book cover and tile, great parts.

And of course the figures which both have front/back torso, leg front, and front/back head prints. The Beast Master is very usable for fantasy infused castle builds.

I don't think any of the sets are a poor value but I personally am only buying the bad guys & the King's Mech. I do however think they should make some battle packs of the generic soldiers but I expect they will be reasonably affordable on bricklink soon enough.

Chaos Catapult is a nice troop set.

[DraikNova]

I'm not seriously saying theorizing about Flama's gender, but I just don't understand how it can be that hard to get that right. I mean, why can't they just pass along a note to their web designers that says "Flama's female" or the like?

[NotMegalodon]

In the game Flama is regarded as a guy (at least the Dutch version).

And about the knights, my favorites are Lance and Macy, but that's mostly because of the game, not because of the episodes.

[ChristopheQ]

Moltor in this picture has that Orc hair piece:

Do you guys think the show randomly add the hair piece for a smoother look, or could we get it in wave 2 ?

Edited January 8, 2016 by ChristopheQ

[Rayskull]

I'm not seriously saying theorizing about Flama's gender, but I just don't understand how it can be that hard to get that right. I mean, why can't they just pass along a note to their web designers that says "Flama's female" or the like?

Flama has a male chest in my opinion and perhaps female eyelashes. So yes it weird. Wish it was officially ambiguous

[8BrickMario]

The suffix is what's bothering me here. Unless they're Greek, a male probably wouldn't have their name end with the letter "a".

Also, Moltor's hair is interesting. It's not the orc piece (compare with Whiparella), so it's either another show embellishment or a future piece.

[Cagast]

The suffix is what's bothering me here. Unless they're Greek, a male probably wouldn't have their name end with the letter "a".

There are lots of male names that end with "a" that are not Greek, but I think they wouldn't want to confuse kids like that. The official site says she is Miss Molten Lava and refers to Flama as her, so most likely "brother" in Moltor's bio is a mistake.

[x105Black]

Yes, some sources call Flama male, and others call Flama female.

I think they've made it clear by not making it clear. Flama is gender fluid.

"A gender fluid person may at any time identify as male, female, neutrois, or any other non-binary identity, or some combination of identities."

Sounds like what's happening to me.

[DuckBricks]

Yes, some sources call Flama male, and others call Flama female.

I think they've made it clear by not making it clear. Flama is gender fluid.

"A gender fluid person may at any time identify as male, female, neutrois, or any other non-binary identity, or some combination of identities."

Sounds like what's happening to me.

Seems more like a case of Lego needing to get their act together with all their media tie-ins...

[PenPlays]

Seems more like a case of Lego needing to get their act together with all their media tie-ins...

This is regarding everything with Flama.

At one point Flama's a guy.

Another time a girl.

Her brother is sometimes Mouldron

Her brother is sometimes Moltor

Never both on either account.

She's the only character that has no accurate depiction as of yet. We'll have to wait until her (his) appearance in the TV show to straighten things out.

[DraikNova]

At any rate, I'm hoping Nexo Knights's enemies are as follows:

2016: Lava demons

2017: Swamp monsters

2018: Sea creatures

Why I want this? Well, the swamp monsters are obvious (Mushlord and Rafflesilady are awesome!), but I think the Behemoth of Brine would work really well as a show-only villain. We also haven't had an underwater action theme in a while, despite the thousnads of creatures that could be used as inspiration. That, and I have a weakness for anything cute and a sea theme would provide the perfect excuse for robo-epaulette sharks.

[8BrickMario]

Someone seriously needs to contact LEGO and/or the creators of the theme (could we get Nabii on here?) to confirm Flama's gender once and for all.

But yeah, the creepy forest/swamp seems to be the next theme. An underwater theme could be interesting if they go weirder and wackier than Atlantis, which covered all of the bases, really.

[Fritzy]

As the line grows, it will be interesting to see if it follows in the same footsteps as Chima (down to its pitfalls).

[Ralphel]

Someone seriously needs to contact LEGO and/or the creators of the theme (could we get Nabii on here?) to confirm Flama's gender once and for all.

But yeah, the creepy forest/swamp seems to be the next theme. An underwater theme could be interesting if they go weirder and wackier than Atlantis, which covered all of the bases, really.

• She is the sister of Moltor.
  

http://nexo-knights.wikia.com/wiki/Flama