LEGO Elves 2018

[Marishka]

7 hours ago, x105Black said:

You seem to contradict yourself here.

No, in first I speak about girls preferences in general, in second just about me :) I know some girls( however, they are adults) who like, as example, Mass Effect but they mainly intrested in social relationships there, not in the space decorations, and all of them admire fantasy aestethics. I mean, it's kind of "geeky" girls :)

6 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

Regarding Retrofuturism, I think it all depends on what sort of Retrofuturistic genre would appeal to girls, which would just be a matter of finding the right choice in historical, architectural, and technological focuses. Personally, like I've said eariler here, I really think a fantasy theme with an urban, "Nouveau-Punk" aesthetic and setting could work. 

Yes, contemporary urban fantasy would work nice! I'd like to see blend of Elves and Friends. Also to speak about all that old-style and 80's inspired trending stuff, I remember She-Ra cartoons that made me crazy :)) I think Unikitty have a little bit of sense of that style.

[Digger of Bricks]

2 hours ago, Marishka said:

Yes, contemporary urban fantasy would work nice! I'd like to see blend of Elves and Friends.

Exactly! In a way, Elves does seem to share a little bit of an Art Nouveau aesthetic; so, like you said, an urban fantasy theme that would adopt that architectural style could be seen as a blend of both Friends and Elves. 

[STARHAWK]

On 8/21/2018 at 4:07 AM, Digger of Bricks said:

By that last part, are you saying that you'd personally rather see a traditional Space theme for boys once again rather than the introduction of one geared towards girls? 

Regarding Retrofuturism, I think it all depends on what sort of Retrofuturistic genre would appeal to girls, which would just be a matter of finding the right choice in historical, architectural, and technological focuses. Personally, like I've said eariler here, I really think a fantasy theme with an urban, "Nouveau-Punk" aesthetic and setting could work. 

Yes, currently there is no classic space - just Star Wars (which is overpriced due to license). Why experimenting again with boys themes and push it on girls ? It did not worked with the superhero girls theme, so why do the same mistake again ?

[Digger of Bricks]

15 hours ago, STARHAWK said:

Yes, currently there is no classic space - just Star Wars (which is overpriced due to license). Why experimenting again with boys themes and push it on girls ? It did not worked with the superhero girls theme, so why do the same mistake again ?

Well, who says Space and/or extraterrestrial settings have to be only designated to boys' themes? Also, consider that a minidoll theme just may be the only viable haven at the moment for an in-house Space theme while Star Wars is still prominent at the cinemas. 

[Aanchir]

On 8/20/2018 at 6:13 PM, STARHAWK said:

They will try to appeal to girls with a theme that is not really interesting for them at this age (i think, just exploring that with my 4.5y daughters). That superhero girls theme was horrible. They should not cancel a good theme which already has a fanbase among young and older to make room for another horrible mix like friends in space. Not to mention that there is no classic space theme.

for what it's worth, I don't think 4.5 year old daughters are the best indication of what girls would be into in the age range of typical LEGO System themes. Themes like City and Friends are usually aimed at ages 5+ and themes like Ninjago and Elves are aimed more at ages 7+. If LEGO were to do a space or sci-fi theme for girls I'd expect it to be aimed more at the 7+ age range, since there'd be less chance of the Friends theme's popularity cannibalizing its sales.

On 8/21/2018 at 3:45 AM, x105Black said:

I think the focus on retro-futurism is one of those "could be a nice flavor" type of things, but the main idea is to get a Space theme (preferably one that appeals to both genders instead of a minidoll theme).

I think the idea that a minifig based theme would appeal more to both genders than a mini-doll based theme is a bit naive, since at this point it's pretty well understood that the classic minifig alienates a lot of girls, and that themes like Elves can appeal to both genders regardless of the type of figure they contain.

On 8/22/2018 at 4:53 PM, STARHAWK said:

Yes, currently there is no classic space - just Star Wars (which is overpriced due to license). Why experimenting again with boys themes and push it on girls ? It did not worked with the superhero girls theme, so why do the same mistake again ?

The idea that either superheroes or space are inherently "boys' themes" is a misconception. Girls have always been a part of the audience for sci-fi and superhero stories… "Frankenstein" and "The Scarlet Pimpernel" come to mind as examples of classic books in those genres that not only appealed to women, but written BY women. The audiences for many recent Star Wars and Marvel superhero movies have been over 40% female, and LEGO is hardly the only company that's been putting the cliche that these genres are "boys only" to the test (besides DC Super Hero Girls, the Marvel Rising and Star Wars: Forces of Destiny brands also specifically target girls).

It's true that a lot of male classic Space fans would feel let down by a space theme that wasn't aimed at their demographic, but it's worth remembering that classic Space fans are increasingly irrelevant. A person who was eight years old in 1979 will be 48 years old next year. Pandering to that shrinking audience is hardly a recipe for success. And as much as people of that generation (or even of my generation) might want to pretend nothing has changed about kids' tastes since they were kids, the folly of that assumption should be plain as day. The world is changing.

[Digger of Bricks]

7 hours ago, Aanchir said:

It's true that a lot of male classic Space fans would feel let down by a space theme that wasn't aimed at their demographic, but it's worth remembering that classic Space fans are increasingly irrelevant. A person who was eight years old in 1979 will be 48 years old next year. Pandering to that shrinking audience is hardly a recipe for success. And as much as people of that generation (or even of my generation) might want to pretend nothing has changed about kids' tastes since they were kids, the folly of that assumption should be plain as day. The world is changing.

I'm pretty sure, for the most part, that many fans expressing their wishes for the return of Classic Space are only using "Classic Space" lightly, as they're only wishing for another in-house Space theme that is not Star Wars.

[Marishka]

I think for some reason it's good that "classic" or "generic" themes leaved in past. Now Lego creates much complex and delicate series with more attention for details and personality. Each universe is unique, also it's main strong side, in comparation with "Ones-who-should-not-be-named-on-this-forum" who have poor imagination and perfect only in stealing ideas. No one can walk into the same river twice, and is there need for that?

I liked DS girls designs too, but I'm just not fan of comics and have limit of buying legos, so olny Elves is my choise, I collected almost everything of them.

BTW may be good idea for pure girls-aimed minidolls would be like "Loki and others" :) Or Thranduil. Or Sherlock!

[MandyNeko]

I'm sad to report hat my local Lego store no longer carries the Elves line at all. Their spot is now filled with Unikitty instead. Apparently another store in the area still has Elves, though. It looks like the end of this excellent series. :(

[Marishka]

7 hours ago, MandyNeko said:

I'm sad to report hat my local Lego store no longer carries the Elves line at all. Their spot is now filled with Unikitty instead. Apparently another store in the area still has Elves, though. It looks like the end of this excellent series. :(

NOOOOO! =((( I'm afraid this may be beginning of my new dark age, if there will be no new fantasy theme next year :(

[MandyNeko]

I still need to pick up some sets from this year. Is there a time of year where you can still get decent selection but prices are reduced? I'm thinking around Black Friday, but I may get Nocturna's tower sooner as a Halloween decoration. 

[STARHAWK]

On 8/26/2018 at 3:43 AM, Digger of Bricks said:

I'm pretty sure, for the most part, that many fans expressing their wishes for the return of Classic Space are only using "Classic Space" lightly, as they're only wishing for another in-house Space theme that is not Star Wars.

Exactly. Inhouse non-starwars not polluted by license fee space theme.

Edited August 27, 2018 by STARHAWK

[STARHAWK]

On 8/25/2018 at 8:33 PM, Aanchir said:

for what it's worth, I don't think 4.5 year old daughters are the best indication of what girls would be into in the age range of typical LEGO System themes. Themes like City and Friends are usually aimed at ages 5+ and themes like Ninjago and Elves are aimed more at ages 7+. If LEGO were to do a space or sci-fi theme for girls I'd expect it to be aimed more at the 7+ age range, since there'd be less chance of the Friends theme's popularity cannibalizing its sales.

Currently dont have 7+ y girls in my family so cant tell what toys are nowdays for 7+ girls. Oldest, my sisters daughter is 6.

My girls primary focus is now on barbies, fairies, mermaids. I need to modify some of the Elves sets (enlarge and strenghten) like for example the castle in 41179 has a great play feature a path through lava then through the doors and up but they always brake the model when trying to move with the dool trough the path. Luckily dragons are sturdy enough and easy to repair (in compare to the buildings).

Maybe 4.5 is not the original target, but is the demographic that likes to play with the toys. I think older girls would 7-8 by more captured in fashion toys or something or live more online than playing with the toys (i will see 1st example in my nearest family in 1-2 years) - think 8-9 was the age i switched to PC gaming from LEGO and my dark age started.

 

OR i can try to ask a group where i am (parents who buys legos for kids) what do their 7+ girls play with now days.

And to the Boys/Girls toys. Girls can still play with boys toys, not sure the other way around. I have a collection of NERF guns and they like to play with them. They need to be extensively supervised and they are not strong enough to smoothly operate all the guns, but they are getting stronger .... cant wait to play full nerf wars in my flat with them - currious if they still will be that interested in nerfs as they are now when they grow up enough to be able to fully (and efectivelly) operate the toys.

 

Edited August 27, 2018 by STARHAWK

[BrickJagger]

On 8/26/2018 at 12:02 AM, Marishka said:

I think for some reason it's good that "classic" or "generic" themes leaved in past. Now Lego creates much complex and delicate series with more attention for details and personality. Each universe is unique, also it's main strong side, in comparation with "Ones-who-should-not-be-named-on-this-forum" who have poor imagination and perfect only in stealing ideas. No one can walk into the same river twice, and is there need for that?

I liked DS girls designs too, but I'm just not fan of comics and have limit of buying legos, so olny Elves is my choise, I collected almost everything of them.

BTW may be good idea for pure girls-aimed minidolls would be like "Loki and others" :) Or Thranduil. Or Sherlock!

I'm not quite sure what you're getting at there. Are you saying that Lego should only have licensed themes from now on? 

8 hours ago, MandyNeko said:

I still need to pick up some sets from this year. Is there a time of year where you can still get decent selection but prices are reduced? I'm thinking around Black Friday, but I may get Nocturna's tower sooner as a Halloween decoration. 

I wouldn't wait that long. If Lego is truly trying to get Elves off the shelves as fast as possible, they might not even make it to Halloween. The silver lining is that the existing sets will probably stay on clearance until they're gone.

[Digger of Bricks]

On 8/25/2018 at 11:02 PM, Marishka said:

I think for some reason it's good that "classic" or "generic" themes leaved in past. Now Lego creates much complex and delicate series with more attention for details and personality. Each universe is unique, also it's main strong side, in comparation with "Ones-who-should-not-be-named-on-this-forum" who have poor imagination and perfect only in stealing ideas. No one can walk into the same river twice, and is there need for that?

It's not just adult fans, as there are also many kids who still desire more archetypical themes that are akin to what, for instance, Playmobil still offers. I mean, come on, surely you can't deny that there's still a significant market for such playthemes, so why should Lego all-out abandon archetypical classics such as Castle, Pirates, Space, and City for that matter? Seriously, City in particular still stands every year as TLG's best-selling theme, which has no named characters or  thoroughly defined storyline at all.

[Soupperson1]

17 hours ago, Marishka said:

NOOOOO! =((( I'm afraid this may be beginning of my new dark age, if there will be no new fantasy theme next year :(

 

The LEGO Movie’s first wave had various sets based off different themes, I’m sure if this new wave if similar to that we’ll get at least one fantasy themed set.

[Marishka]

10 hours ago, BrickJagger said:

I'm not quite sure what you're getting at there. Are you saying that Lego should only have licensed themes from now on? 

No, I'm joking that many girls like and some of them even may go crazy about handsome characters like Loki or Sherlock, and I mean thet would be funny idea to make series about that kind of guy :) However it's more about teenager gilrls.

5 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

It's not just adult fans, as there are also many kids who still desire more archetypical themes that are akin to what, for instance, Playmobil still offers. I mean, come on, surely you can't deny that there's still a significant market for such playthemes, so why should Lego all-out abandon archetypical classics such as Castle, Pirates, Space, and City for that matter? Seriously, City in particular still stands every year as TLG's best-selling theme, which has no named characters or  thoroughly defined storyline at all.

You're right, it's reasonable side :) Anyway, if there will be awesome design, what matter about theme? I just want it to be fancy with intresting color combinations and building techniques. And sparkles - Elves have all, I hope this base idea will live in new themes :))

 

[Robert8]

Considering minidolls will play a huge role in TLM2 I'm surprised to see the theme ending now. I thought Elves could have at least a cameo in the movie

[x105Black]

33 minutes ago, Robert8 said:

Considering minidolls will play a huge role in TLM2 I'm surprised to see the theme ending now. I thought Elves could have at least a cameo in the movie

They still might!  Castle 2013 had cameos in the first movie, and that was just about on its way out at the time.

[Kim-Kwang-Seok]

Do we have any official information about the end of Elves yet? Didn't someone interested asked TLG at twitter or whatsoever?

Elves sets in my nearby stores were on sale for some time - now many stores didn't even had the current sets. Elves were just randomly put between Friends sets.

[Digger of Bricks]

By the way, speaking of minidoll space themes, is anyone here familiar with this guy's work? Perhaps this could be a direction such a theme could go aesthetically. 

Flickr - Moto | Flickr - Lego theme: Astra 

Edited September 1, 2018 by Digger of Bricks

[FortNerd]

The new spaceship set from TLM2 reminds me of this style a bit. But, as much as I like sci-fi, we *need* a fantasy theme. I always loved how Elves combined a fantasy style with technic functions to create various "magic" effects.

[Peppermint_M]

It is disappointing that we lose a refreshingly colourful and well designed fantasy theme. But I guess it means we just have to turn to MOCing in the future.

 

[Soupperson1]

5 hours ago, FortNerd said:

The new spaceship set from TLM2 reminds me of this style a bit. But, as much as I like sci-fi, we *need* a fantasy theme. I always loved how Elves combined a fantasy style with technic functions to create various "magic" effects.

Perhaps Harry Potter will introduce some play features similar to the ones found in Elves?

[Marishka]

On 9/1/2018 at 7:35 AM, Digger of Bricks said:

By the way, speaking of minidoll space themes, is anyone here familiar with this guy's work? Perhaps this could be a direction such a theme could go aesthetically. 

Flickr - Moto | Flickr - Lego theme: Astra 

This is amazing! Thank you for sharing

[Elf Gal]

On 8/26/2018 at 8:24 PM, MandyNeko said:

I'm sad to report hat my local Lego store no longer carries the Elves line at all. Their spot is now filled with Unikitty instead. Apparently another store in the area still has Elves, though. It looks like the end of this excellent series. :(

 

On 9/1/2018 at 4:23 PM, Peppermint_M said:

It is disappointing that we lose a refreshingly colourful and well designed fantasy theme. But I guess it means we just have to turn to MOCing in the future.

 

But there's no official confirmation that the theme is ending, right?  There are plenty of Elves sets at my store, and they even have their own section.  It might just depend on how much space the store has.  They could've needed to free up the Elves spot in order to fit the Unikitty sets, because there was no free shelf-space available.  Any number of reasons could be behind it.  I don't want to jump to the worst conclusion just yet.

Edited September 4, 2018 by Elf Gal