Latest news about Lego animal moulds

[pancakecrocodile]

5 hours ago, DBlegonerd7 said:

May I post a pure speculation here?

I vaguely remember that orca was supposed to be included in City’s Artiic subtheme but designers threw woolly mammoth in instead, right? I LOVE prehistoric creatures but i would love to see an orca. I do not understand why they didn’t include orca few years ago. Sadly, no orca or whale in Ocean Exploration subtheme last year. it it because orca’s body too big to make? Even tho mammoth and dinosaurs are fairly big to produce. 

Would it be to see orca’s appearance in future?

I'm assuming Orca will appear in an ocean-themed set eventually, but it will be expensive 💵 💵 💵, something like $170 to $200. I hope it has articulated jaw and flippers, but otherwise, Lego will have to plan out its appearance, because I honestly have NO idea what it will look like!

[Roebuck]

It depends why it was not in a set. Was it because there was a issue with the mould or because the set it came in was cancelled. If the mould is fine, it may show up eventually in a set where it fits, they are probably not making a set for the killer whale just to get it on the marked, so it may take years.

[Lucarex]

7 hours ago, Roebuck said:

It depends why it was not in a set. Was it because there was a issue with the mould or because the set it came in was cancelled. If the mould is fine, it may show up eventually in a set where it fits, they are probably not making a set for the killer whale just to get it on the marked, so it may take years.

IIRC the orca was supposed to be in a large retailer exclusive set in that Arctic theme, but was then cancelled when that retailer (Toys R Us) went into administration.

If it actually went into production back then (Arctic), you’d have thought they’d have held it back to include it in the recent NatGeo Ocean subtheme. Sure, we got a recoloured big GW shark and new stingray, hammerhead and anglerfish, but the elusive orca was still nowhere to be seen.

[Roebuck]

1 hour ago, Lucarex said:

IIRC the orca was supposed to be in a large retailer exclusive set in that Arctic theme, but was then cancelled when that retailer (Toys R Us) went into administration.

If it actually went into production back then (Arctic), you’d have thought they’d have held it back to include it in the recent NatGeo Ocean subtheme. Sure, we got a recoloured big GW shark and new stingray, hammerhead and anglerfish, but the elusive orca was still nowhere to be seen.

Well maybe if the theme have had a second big set, but with the two huge ship parts it was probably to expensive to add even a new orca on top of that since the set is not cheap per part as it is

[Lion King]

12 hours ago, Lucarex said:

IIRC the orca was supposed to be in a large retailer exclusive set in that Arctic theme, but was then cancelled when that retailer (Toys R Us) went into administration.

If it actually went into production back then (Arctic), you’d have thought they’d have held it back to include it in the recent NatGeo Ocean subtheme. Sure, we got a recoloured big GW shark and new stingray, hammerhead and anglerfish, but the elusive orca was still nowhere to be seen.

What is IIRC?

Also, I quite agree with you. Too bad orca is not included in Ocean Exploration subtheme last year again if orca mold was supposed to be in production. I don’t think it would be included in Wildlife Resuce subtheme this year. Personally, I would cry my eyes out when there would be no orca in a few years.

But I’m satisfied with hammerhead shark, manta ray, anglerfish, green sea turtle from that Ocean Exporation subtheme. 

[gedren_y]

1 hour ago, DBlegonerd7 said:

What is IIRC?

If I Recall Correctly

[Aurore]

Brick-built three-headed dog (with new head mould) and a new basilisk (most probably a new mould?) coming in the next Harry Potter wave.
No other animal mentioned by Promobricks in the summer Harry Potter wave. I still hope this theme would bring us a new (long-haired) cat mould one day.  

Edited February 7, 2021 by Aurore

[Roebuck]

21 minutes ago, Aurore said:

No other animal mentioned by Promobricks in the summer Harry Potter wave.

It better be some owls at least

Edited February 7, 2021 by Roebuck

[Roebuck]

Latest goat news:
https://jaysbrickblog.com/news/forging-the-medieval-blacksmith-interview-with-lego-designers-wes-talbott-and-austin-carlson/

"On the lack of goats

Wes and Austin (and nearly everyone at LEGO it seems) were well aware of how coveted the Goat element is, especially since it was only released in one set in 2011 Mill Village Raid.

The problem stems from the LEGO moulds in use – some of them have to be given up to start making frames for new moulds, and the mould has disappeared from existence.

Knowing how important goats are to LEGO fans, the designers went so far as to escalate this to the Vice President of Design, but alas that didn’t quite pan out the way they meant."
 

Hopefully next time they have better luck, the more pressure/demand from us the sooner they will give in
 

"On on the topic of animals, why weren’t there any other animals such as chickens? Were any farm-type animals that didn’t make the cut?

Wes: This kind of along the horse scenario – we have to work within these limitations and have to choose between things like expensive animals. Whether it’s a couple chickens or even one chicken or one horse.

Sometimes the smaller stuff takes more than you would think to produce.

So in this case, we felt like the horse was really the the strongest addition to the set because it draws the carriage, plus we could make it in a new colour and it’s a larger animal overall.

So, yeah, I would have loved to have some chickens, but I’d have to make some cuts somewhere else."

There is something really strange with the cost of the animals:

1. why are there so expensive to make?
2. a horse cost the same as a chicken? That makes no sense!
3. and why was Mill village raid able to include all those animals without apparently lacking anything else like minifigs, parts and buildings, but it is almost impossible for other bigger sets to include more than 1 or 2

[Clone OPatra]

50 minutes ago, Roebuck said:

1. and why was Mill village raid able to include all those animals without apparently lacking anything else like minifigs, parts and buildings, but it is almost impossible for other bigger sets to include more than 1 or 2

The simple answer is: it was already a long time ago and budget processes were almost certainly less rigid than they are today. LEGO has created and tightened up a lot of business frameworks since then.

The real discrepancy comes in comparing different lines today that are given different license for colour changes, prints and new moulds. But even then, one can see how it could be motivated by the internal business case, and Ideas in general gets a lot less leeway than some other themes.

Additionally, we don't know (or I have never read anyway) if Ideas sets fall into one "line" like a regular wave of another theme would, and therefore have to spread the parts budget around. Both Sesame Street and Winnie the Pooh require a bunch of new moulds, so if they're somehow grouped with other Ideas sets, something like the Blacksmith Shop would end up with the short end of the budget straw.

[Aurore]

1 hour ago, Roebuck said:

a horse cost the same as a chicken? That makes no sense!

If only that was true IRL too! 

Hrm, well, sorry, back to topic.

Could it be possible that animals are so expensive because their moulds are quite complex? After all, even the smaller moulds like the hermit crab are much more detailed than regular parts of the same size.

[Lion King]

Sorry if it’s way off topic but does any one have  great white shark from Ocean Exploration Ship (60266) from 2020? 

I’m asking because I have a trouble judging the size of that shark figure based on the i page. It looks like its size is as same as hammerhead shark and existing shark’ size but it looks bigger than manta ray. Is it really bigger than hammerhead shark? 

EDIT: Oh i have been sired as a knight here!

Edited February 7, 2021 by DBlegonerd7

[Roebuck]

4 hours ago, Clone OPatra said:

The simple answer is: it was already a long time ago and budget processes were almost certainly less rigid than they are today. LEGO has created and tightened up a lot of business frameworks since then.

Could be, but even then it was a outlier

4 hours ago, Clone OPatra said:

Ideas in general gets a lot less leeway than some other themes

Ideas set definitely lives in the poor part of Lego design town yes

4 hours ago, Clone OPatra said:

Additionally, we don't know (or I have never read anyway) if Ideas sets fall into one "line" like a regular wave of another theme would, and therefore have to spread the parts budget around. Both Sesame Street and Winnie the Pooh require a bunch of new moulds, so if they're somehow grouped with other Ideas sets, something like the Blacksmith Shop would end up with the short end of the budget straw.

Would be interesting to know, maybe it is every set for themself with a low budget and recently it became possible to get an additional budget towards minifigs if that was necessary

3 hours ago, Aurore said:

Could it be possible that animals are so expensive because their moulds are quite complex? After all, even the smaller moulds like the hermit crab are much more detailed than regular parts of the same size.

Maybe, and I think printing has something to do with it since animals like the frog without printing cost the same as other bricks. The bonsai has 101 for crying out loud

37 minutes ago, DBlegonerd7 said:

Is it really bigger than hammerhead shark? 

Yes, it is a minifig-eater, the normal ones can only take a leg at the time

[Lion King]

8 hours ago, Roebuck said:

Yes, it is a minifig-eater, the normal ones can only take a leg at the time

Perfect, thank you for your response! Sorry if it was a dumb question! I’m considering to get that great white shark figure.  One day, Megalodon would come to the lego world!

[K_Tiger]

14 hours ago, Roebuck said:

and the mould has disappeared from existence.

That actually makes sense. Wouldn't be the first time I've heard of a mold being damaged/destroyed after one use.

 

[Lucarex]

20 hours ago, DBlegonerd7 said:

Sorry if it’s way off topic but does any one have  great white shark from Ocean Exploration Ship (60266) from 2020? 

I’m asking because I have a trouble judging the size of that shark figure based on the i page. It looks like its size is as same as hammerhead shark and existing shark’ size but it looks bigger than manta ray. Is it really bigger than hammerhead shark? 

EDIT: Oh i have been sired as a knight here!

Yes, it’s the same big shark used previously just recoloured (the hammerhead is just the small shark with a new headpiece and colour). And as pointed out, the big shark swallows a minifig, which is a great play feature. It’s definitely worth picking up outside of the overpriced set.

[General Magma]

This lack of certain animals in the LEGO realm was odd to me even as a kid, now years later there's a lot more animals introduced but still a huge amount missing.
It's still baffling that they wasted the opportunity to introduce them through 'Friends' by turning them into stylized versions, but those animals are now slowly coming into production.
They should really have giraffes and elephants, next to maned lions, in the wildlife sets. The new Monkie Kid sets seem to offer decent modern versions of monkeys, in the form of minifigs,
but those are more like anthropomorphic animals. Wonder when they'll make actual monkeys again.

[pancakecrocodile]

6 hours ago, General Magma said:

Wonder when they'll make actual monkeys again.

I think a small chimp came out in Minifigure 2017 wave? Not sure. Hopefully we can get one or two in Wildlife Rescue sets!

Edited February 8, 2021 by pancakecrocodile
Never mind, I was WAY off: it was series 5. Funny thing though, the Rabbit in 70287 is in the 2017 minifig wave, so it isn't a new piece after all

[Itaria No Shintaku]

I don't know what have bentioned or not, but

60300 - Two small chimps, new mold, they are not posable and have clips for minifigure accessories as hands. Like they can hold a banana.

60301 - A small cat and a big feline. It may be new or old, it's dark tan but it's just preliminary.

60302 - Elephant, Baby Elephant, Two small chimps, tan crocodile (but they can change its colour)

[Lion King]

1 hour ago, Former Itaria No Shintaku said:

I don't know what have bentioned or not, but

60300 - Two small chimps, new mold, they are not posable and have clips for minifigure accessories as hands. Like they can hold a banana.

60301 - A small cat and a big feline. It may be new or old, it's dark tan but it's just preliminary.

60302 - Elephant, Baby Elephant, Two small chimps, tan crocodile (but they can change its colour)

Welcome back! 

These set numbers are from Wildlife Rescue? And is it your pure speculation or at least Therese animals are sorta confirmed to be included in that Wildlife Rescue?

Edited February 8, 2021 by DBlegonerd7

[Itaria No Shintaku]

44 minutes ago, DBlegonerd7 said:

Welcome back! 

These set numbers are from Wildlife Rescue? And is it your pure speculation or at least Therese animals are sorta confirmed to be included in that Wildlife Rescue?

I have seen the pictures.

And since a lof of you voted my ideas project I wanted to share some love back.

Yes they are wildlife rescue, and in my humble opinion the sets look like good ideas poorly realized, but the animals make you worry very little about the sets themselves.

[williejm]

14 hours ago, Former Itaria No Shintaku said:

I don't know what have bentioned or not, but

60300 - Two small chimps, new mold, they are not posable and have clips for minifigure accessories as hands. Like they can hold a banana.

60301 - A small cat and a big feline. It may be new or old, it's dark tan but it's just preliminary.

60302 - Elephant, Baby Elephant, Two small chimps, tan crocodile (but they can change its colour)

Thanks. This is great news.

lots of new moulds then. Think we can assume the ‘large feline’ will be new if it’s preliminary - so I think maned lion is still likely. Also I’d assume a recolour of the croc, or at least a reprint of the tan one. 

[Lion King]

2 hours ago, williejm said:

Thanks. This is great news.

lots of new moulds then. Think we can assume the ‘large feline’ will be new if it’s preliminary - so I think maned lion is still likely. Also I’d assume a recolour of the croc, or at least a reprint of the tan one. 

Agreed. But it’s a great news for this year tho that we get some more animals. Last year, we get great white shark, hammerhead shark, manta ray, anglerfish, green sea turtle (from Series 20). With new molds and recolor for this year, I think it will be a good numbers of animals. 

[williejm]

I feel like this theme is introducing some much needed animal archetypes into modern Lego City (🐘🐵🦁) - I really didn’t expect the baby versions though. And I’m wondering if we will see a ‘wildcard’ new animal too - such as a meerkat or giraffe.

Edited February 9, 2021 by williejm
Typo

[General Magma]

Elephants! Finally, it's been a while since they made those. I already have a cool idea for them...