The Future of Lego Space. (opinions, ideas, discussion)

[drclark]

I too am disappointed that the "Moments in Space" contest winner is a carnival ride firmly grounded on earth.  There were plenty of cool little spaceship entries.... too bad.

Maybe its symbolic in that the winning entry's description starts off with "For every moment in space, there are millions of dreamers on Earth.  Keep the dream alive with the Coin Operated Cosmic Rocket Ride!"

So us Lego Space fans are forced to keep dreaming of a time when Lego had a vibrant non-licensed line of space sets.

[belkor]

That really does suck. Looking on the bright side though, at least you don't have to waste money buying a non- scifi set just to get the "gift".

[x105Black]

5 hours ago, Exetrius said:

So, they hold a contest for a Space set, then they elect one that you would put in a Town layout... There were lots of great Classic Space, real life space and near-future space exploration sets! It upsets me more than it should.  

My sentiments exactly.

[Digger of Bricks]

6 hours ago, drclark said:

Maybe its symbolic in that the winning entry's description starts off with "For every moment in space, there are millions of dreamers on Earth.  Keep the dream alive with the Coin Operated Cosmic Rocket Ride!"

So us Lego Space fans are forced to keep dreaming of a time when Lego had a vibrant non-licensed line of space sets.

Ouch. 

When you put it that way, it does sound like a sort of cruel irony. 

[BrickJagger]

Oh my god...you guys got screwed. Literally all of those choices were actually related to Sci-Fi, except the one they picked. Not only can Lego not give you a theme, they won't even give you a simple gift-with-purchase set. 

[danth]

I always knew Lego hated Space fans!

All respect to the creator, it's a well done set. Just more amusement park themed than Space.

[Captain Mutant]

6 hours ago, BrickJagger said:

Oh my god...you guys got screwed. Literally all of those choices were actually related to Sci-Fi, except the one they picked. Not only can Lego not give you a theme, they won't even give you a simple gift-with-purchase set. 

Ouch! But it certainly feels that way.

It's a nice built set, but it's definitely *not* a "moment in space"...

3 hours ago, danth said:

I always knew Lego hated Space fans!

All respect to the creator, it's a well done set. Just more amusement park themed than Space.

they gave us the exo suit a few years back and we all got so excited!... 

[Trekkie99]

I felt this topic needed a little updating so I changed the title to broaden discussion. 

 

21 hours ago, drclark said:

So us Lego Space fans are forced to keep dreaming of a time when Lego had a vibrant non-licensed line of space sets.

When you put it that way...

 

Edited March 3, 2018 by LegoMonorailFan

[Digger of Bricks]

15 minutes ago, LegoMonorailFan said:

I felt this topic needed a little updating so I changed the title to broaden discussion. 

Excellent! I think it's a lot more inviting in its broadness. 

13 hours ago, BrickJagger said:

Oh my god...you guys got screwed. Literally all of those choices were actually related to Sci-Fi, except the one they picked. Not only can Lego not give you a theme, they won't even give you a simple gift-with-purchase set. 

For all those fans of Classic themes that wished Lego could at least "throw them a bone", this was a fun opportunity for those of Classic Space. 

But you know, a little promotional set I guess can be a big deal of sorts for Lego, as they do serve the purpose of being bait for purchases. If the majority of customers beyond the fan base would rather want a set to complement City/Town sets, I guess that's what Lego will veer towards if they find most will be indifferent to Space. But that's the thing, why couldn't the staff at Ideas simply host a Town themed contest instead? 

[Aanchir]

14 hours ago, danth said:

I always knew Lego hated Space fans!

I'm hoping this is sarcasm… after all, a great number of LEGO designers not only like Space fans, they are Space fans! Furthermore, just because you as a Space fan feel neglected by the current lineup doesn't mean that Space fans as a bloc all feel the same way you do. After all, many sets from recent themes like Nexo Knights, Ninjago, Legends of Chima, and Ultra Agents sets are heavily sci-fi influenced and could easily pass for Space sets if you put them on a generic lunar backdrop and changed out the characters for generic astronauts. And references to Classic Space can be found in LEGO themes ranging from Nexo Knights to City to Friends.

[danth]

I’m not saying they literally hate us...but I’m pretty sure young Niels B. Christiansen was bullied by a roving gang of Classic Space fans who beat him up, stole his lunch money, and kicked his puppy.

[Captain Mutant]

I agree that many official LEGO designers like Classic Space. I’ve spoken to a handful and they do state that. 

So the lack of any new space sets may be a company decision that is beyond them. They could be in the same boat as us :( 

[Exetrius]

They'd better include a hecking cool exclusive fig with it...

Hang on, why couldn't such a machine be in a civilized space colony? Include an astronaut kid who dreams of visiting Earth. Space fans happy, everyone happy. 

Edited March 3, 2018 by Exetrius

[x105Black]

2 hours ago, Exetrius said:

They'd better include a hecking cool exclusive fig with it...

Hang on, why couldn't such a machine be in a civilized space colony? Include an astronaut kid who dreams of visiting Earth. Space fans happy, everyone happy. 

Give him a Classic Space shirt, I'll be happy too.  Especially if it is in a new color.

[Aanchir]

4 hours ago, Captain Mutant said:

I agree that many official LEGO designers like Classic Space. I’ve spoken to a handful and they do state that. 

So the lack of any new space sets may be a company decision that is beyond them. They could be in the same boat as us :( 

Well, not quite the same boat, since they probably have more insights into the specific reasons for the present lack of Space themes, whereas we can merely speculate. I don't think it's a huge reach to say the return of new Star Wars movies beginning in 2015 was one factor, but possibly not the only factor.

Maybe they found that all their other sci-fi-leaning themes were cannibalizing demand for Space sets specifically and wanted to stick with the themes kids responded better to.

Maybe they've been testing new Space concepts every year or two this whole time and kids for some reason or another aren't responding as well to them as to other concepts that LEGO's chosen to develop.

Maybe the LEGO Movie Sequel is planned to be as spacey as that one "space action musical" quote has led people to believe and LEGO didn't want to steal its thunder with a smaller Space theme so soon before when the movie was originally planned to launch.

Maybe they actually have some kind of Space theme already in the pipeline and have just been holding off on launching it until Nexo Knights ended.

Suffice to say the designers who work on Space products aren't kept in the dark about this kind of thing by their higher ups. So if they are in fact bothered by the lack of current space themes (and who's to say they are? Perhaps the other themes they work on are just as rewarding for them), it's probably tempered by that understanding.

[Artanis I]

Man, it's a Spacey McSpacerocketface situation. The public decided... Too bad for actual Lego fans of science fiction & science non-fiction - the sort of people who think/dream about space all the time, not just as a 3 year old in a shopping mall revenue-raiser

 

Next time maybe they will pick a "moments in space" set based on an adult sitting in a room with a full wallet dreaming about one day being able to buy a Space theme

[danth]

2 hours ago, Artanis I said:

Next time maybe they will pick a "moments in space" set based on an adult sitting in a room with a full wallet dreaming about one day being able to buy a Space theme

[Trekkie99]

9 hours ago, danth said:

*snip*

Cause it's true. 

[Captain Mutant]

Don't cry Spock. Vote for this and all your wishes will come true (well, if 10,000 of you do, and LEGO agree to turn it into an actual set!)

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/b0827dea-3bd0-46b2-a733-e2e380fa1794

[Trekkie99]

14 minutes ago, Captain Mutant said:

Don't cry Spock. Vote for this and all your wishes will come true (well, if 10,000 of you do, and LEGO agree to turn it into an actual set!)

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/b0827dea-3bd0-46b2-a733-e2e380fa1794

Supported. But like a lot of good projects on Ideas, 1000 supporters is usually the max.  

 

Edited March 5, 2018 by LegoMonorailFan

[Captain Mutant]

1 hour ago, LegoMonorailFan said:

Supported. But like a lot of good projects on Ideas, 1000 supporters is usually the max.  

 

Thanks! I hadn't realised how hard it is to get people to your project and actually vote for it! And since I haven't got 10,000 mates, I'm languishing in the low 200s - for now (I'm an optimist! rofl)

Thankfully, I'm doing this for fun, and it's teaching me about LEGO design too (currently working on a major update which will alter the interiors of each of the 5 configurations using totally different building techniques).

[badgerboy]

I don't mind that model, I don't currently want it though... if it's going through the usual official designer changes then it might emerge the other side (for me at least) as a more desirable item... if, for example, there was a classic space logo worked into it somehow then we'd be in business! 

<pipe dream>

...of course, if there's any sort of upcoming celebration of the classic space line in set/theme form, or a whole new sci-fi theme, then it might explain why this choice was made.

</pipe dream>

I can't quite express why I want a new Space theme. Especially when simple mods and additions to existing sets could give me something approximating a Sci-Fi theme, I could take a City Jungle theme set (having watched my son playing recently, the mobile lab or half-track spring to mind), remove the animals and possibly re-build the "ruins" parts a bit, add in the alien from CMF S13 in an adaption of a Nexo-Knights ship perhaps and with alternative headgear/helmets for the humans, I'm nearly there. I can/could do that and probably will/should but there's something about opening an officially released set in a nicely designed box, even before that there's something in the anticipation of a new set, the new theme parts too, imagining what the building experience will be like and the possibilities offered by those new parts.

Star Wars sets are, for the most part, overpriced and I find myself less drawn to those sets in the wake of TLJ. I'd like to spend my money on sets that appeal to my "space" interests but I want better value and I see a new theme as the answer to those desires.

Nexo Knights is going, possibly partially as a result of the revival of Harry Potter, especially where the overlapping "castle" and "wizard" aspects are concerned, but that leaves the "robots" and "rockets" needing a new home right?

I'm pessimistic about the likelihood for a new theme despite the potential I see. I'm not the target market though and I it's been pointed out elsewhere that perhaps kids just don't think space stuff is all that cool. My little boy much prefers his Jungle LEGO to my Classic Space certainly.

[skippyfontainne]

HEY LEGO - GIVE MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE AN IN-HOUSE SPACE THEME. that's all.

How long can I wait before I grow a long beard and move into a grass hut and cry my days away, Lego? Huh? tell me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Trekkie99]

4 minutes ago, skippyfontainne said:

HEY LEGO - GIVE MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE AN IN-HOUSE SPACE THEME. that's all.

How long can I wait before I grow a long beard and move into a grass hut and cry my days away, Lego? Huh? tell me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We feel ya man. 

[Captain Mutant]

Guys, I want a new LEGO space theme as much as the mad about sci-fi AFOL (because I’m one of them!), but we might have to resign ourselves to the fact LEGO won’t fill that need. 

But as a firm believer of that saying in that animated movie Robots, “see a need, fill a need!”

So…behold, Planetary Outpost!

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/b0827dea-3bd0-46b2-a733-e2e380fa1794

Why don’t we show LEGO a thing or two by getting this project to 10,000 so they’d have to seriously consider reviving their home grown sci-fi lines?

Let’s to it for all those sci-fi fans out there who believe there’s more to the genre than Star Wars! :)