LEGO Forma - 2019

[Robert8]

It seems this is a new theme aimed to adults

 

Quote

LEGO FORMA is a premium LEGO experience designed for adults looking for a fun, engaging way to reconnect with their creative side. LEGO FORMA mechanical models are cleverly designed but simple to assemble. Sturdy rods and parts combine with customizable skins to create a joyful creative challenge. Taking design cues from nature, LEGO FORMA incorporates life-like movement, colors, and patterns. The result is an elegant conversation piece that's a tasteful addition to any room. For more information visit: https://lego.build/FORMA

 

Edited September 27, 2018 by Robert8

[Legochaek]

Wow I really like this but £11 for a skin seems like a lot. 

Edited September 27, 2018 by Lego-fire

[Anonknee Muss]

10 minutes ago, Lego-fire said:

Wow I really like this but £11 for a skin seems like a lot. 

I think it’s interesting that they are making a main set then creating booster/skin sets instead of four main sets.

The new system of supplying is interesting, I wasn’t expecting this. I’m hoping by Lego taking this new step that their sales will increase. I think it’s innovative.

[Seasider]

Just seen this in the Technic theme and then watched the YouTube video. The website I ended up on wasn’t a traditional Lego one and implied these are limited editions for both the models and skins. So does that mean I can’t buy it from a Lego store? Anyone know any more?

 

bitten the bullet and placed an order for the full uk set. Even if it dies after this model I think it’s an interesting concept

Edited September 27, 2018 by Seasider

[Sinthoras]

Can someone explain to me why this model is limited to USA and UK? When I hear Koi, I immediately associate Japanese culture and their symbolism of luck and prosperity with it. If there is a test market for this set it should be Japan and China. It almost seems like Lego wants to fail.

[Legochaek]

2 hours ago, Seasider said:

Just seen this in the Technic theme and then watched the YouTube video. The website I ended up on wasn’t a traditional Lego one and implied these are limited editions for both the models and skins. So does that mean I can’t buy it from a Lego store? Anyone know any more?

 

bitten the bullet and placed an order for the full uk set. Even if it dies after this model I think it’s an interesting concept

I believe it’s only on indiegogo for now. 

[Terrasher]

I like the concept but I hope the use of skin pieces isn't used for every set. This koi model is rather nice, the skin parts make it more unique, but I hope most Forma models are fully made of bricks in the future.

[Bartybum]

I’m genuinely astounded at people who are backing the skins... just go print your own for free, especially when they’re charging $15 for a single sheet of plastic which is nothing short of a rip-off. That then compounds into $45 for less than 300 pieces.

The fish also doesn’t move realistically at all  it’s just flopping around. The head should lead the turning movement, and the rest of the body should follow, bit by bit.

Whoever designed this could and should have done so much better...

Edited September 27, 2018 by Bartybum

[Digger of Bricks]

Um, honestly, I don't know what to make of this...  ...while I'm all in for TLG testing waters for new adult-oriented markets through other means besides LEGO Ideas, this line in particular just seems to be pandering to an adult market that would otherwise be too pretentious or afraid of Lego due to certain preconceived notions of theirs. 

And seriously, AFOLs can create some of the most sophisticated-looking and thought-provoking creations that are completely constructed from Lego elements without any specialized printed paneling for their finer aesthetic detailing. For those whom this line is primarily marketed to, anyone who would gift them with these sets should rather spend the money on Mike Doyle's trilogy of Beautiful Lego books instead as a gift.

Show them instead what Lego is really capable of! 

[Johnny1360]

Don't know why but this reminds me of that novelty rubber fish on a plaque that flops around and plays corny songs. Actually made me laugh thinking about it singing "Take me to the water". Anyway don't much care for it, maybe it will grow on me. 

[Agent 86]

It's not for me. As an adult, if I was going to use / display Lego for decorative purposes, I'd be more inclined to go with the Lego Architecture sets, particularly for those cities and countries which I have travelled to. A fake, blocky fish which squirms when a wheel is turned doesn't really appeal to me.

It's nice to see Lego trying new ideas. But, I'm not sure this is the right direction for gaining more adult fans. Perhaps they'd be better placed making Lego decorative items like vases, small pot plants, bonsai trees and small statues / figures, or little scenes / vignettes of special moments or things like picture frames, mobile phone holders, pen holders, etc. Or maybe Lego reproductions of famous artworks, like Leonardo's Mona Lisa, Michelangelo's David or a Degas ballerina. Or even more realistic recreations of popular pet dogs and cats.

Edited September 28, 2018 by Agent 86

[deraven]

I'm excited to see TLG trying something like this.  I'm not sure why they're going the Indiegogo route since they would have no problem handling orders through their current infrastructure (probably pure marketing, trying to appeal to that segment of "adults" they're pointing this at in a hip(ster) way), but I could see them doing various 1-off projects in smaller batches like this which has a lot of potential.

6 hours ago, Bartybum said:

The head should lead the turning movement, and the rest of the body should follow, bit by bit.

That being said, this is also my only issue: the movement just isn't that good.  It should be just as Bartybum said, and shouldn't be that challenging to accomplish.  A supplementary set of instructions about how to rebuild the gearing to different movement with the shark skin, for example, would be cool, but the koi should move more elegantly.  I'm surprised they put it up moving like that given the market they're shooting for.  Hmm... maybe it'll be further refined before release.

[Void_S]

6 hours ago, deraven said:

That being said, this is also my only issue: the movement just isn't that good.  It should be just as Bartybum said, and shouldn't be that challenging to accomplish.  A supplementary set of instructions about how to rebuild the gearing to different movement with the shark skin, for example, would be cool, but the koi should move more elegantly.  I'm surprised they put it up moving like that given the market they're shooting for.  Hmm... maybe it'll be further refined before release.

I build this model (yes, I reverse engineered it but will not publish anything related to it as I respect the IP) and can say that it's something should be done with a tail - it really moves in a wrong direction violating the "bit by bit" sequence. I would add one more levers pair to move the tail correctly.

[Robert8]

Honestly, the more I think about this, the less I like it. 

First, this is being highlighted as a line for adults, but I fail to see what is the "adult" aspect on these. These are pretty much technic sets. The Architecture line feels more adult than this for me anyway. 

Second the base looks awful, which is terrible considering they are meant for display. Maybe a brick built coral reef with system bricks would make it better. Or something representing the seabed.

Also, they are out of scale (lol) with each other. So you can't build like an aquarium or fish tank for display.

While I'm not sold at this first wave (lol) it's interesting to see what else can they do in this line.

But this will go down in history as one of the oddest things TLG has ever done.

 

 

[julesvincent]

1 hour ago, Robert8 said:

But this will go down in history as one of the oddest things TLG has ever done.

 

 

Maybe this is one of the main reasons why I ordered one.

It has a bit of a feel like the 2016 NYCC Brickheadz to me: Entirely new theme, (technic) brick built and maybe later released to a bigger audience.

As I bet that most of the backers are AFOLs anyway and not the wished for new customer adults, this line will easily become a "regular" line. 

[Aanchir]

14 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

Um, honestly, I don't know what to make of this...  ...while I'm all in for TLG testing waters for new adult-oriented markets through other means besides LEGO Ideas, this line in particular just seems to be pandering to an adult market that would otherwise be too pretentious or afraid of Lego due to certain preconceived notions of theirs. 

To be honest, what strikes me about the intended market is something very different — namely, that the branding seems vastly more gender-balanced than the hyper-masculine branding of other themes based on the same building system like Technic, Bionicle, and Mindstorms. In fact, I think the fact that this topic was created here in Special Themes rather than in the Technic forum really showcases how much different an impression it creates.

And anyhow, I don't feel as though targeting adults with something that's essentially a desk toy is that different than the market strategy for LEGO Architecture — except that again, Architecture tends to skew more masculine and serious in its branding, whereas this theme's branding is more artsy and playful. Architecture sets, of course, are also perfectly static display pieces with little to no play element beyond the building experience and their value as parts packs, whereas these have both a mechanized play feature and some additional creative play potential (as far as the Ink Koi skin pack goes, with its adult coloring book pattern).

Beyond that, I think a lot of people are overstating how specialized the foil parts in these sets are. Certainly they're designed for these particular sorts of models, but flexible parts can be extremely versatile in MOCs due to their lack of a fixed shape, and anyhow it's not as though LEGO themes never make such extensive use of parts with very specific intended uses. Pirates in particular comes to mind, with most LEGO pirate ships employing boat hull, rowboat, mast, sail, cannon, and rigging elements designed particularly for use as boat hulls, rowboats, masts, sails, cannons, and rigging. Sure, these parts have other potential uses, just as these new plastic panels might, but that doesn't change how specific their primary intended uses are.

[Anonknee Muss]

56 minutes ago, Aanchir said:

To be honest, what strikes me about the intended market is something very different — namely, that the branding seems vastly more gender-balanced than the hyper-masculine branding of other themes based on the same building system like Technic, Bionicle, and Mindstorms. In fact, I think the fact that this topic was created here in Special Themes rather than in the Technic forum really showcases how much different an impression it creates.

I had never considered that this should be placed in the technic forum. I think this theme will spark something new in non-AFOLS. It certainly left a very good impression on me, that’s for sure.

[Legochaek]

Anybody else notice Lego got the measurements wrong? 12.7 cm is 5 inches, not 11 and 25.4 cm is 10 inches, not 5. 

Edited September 28, 2018 by Lego-fire
Typo

[Anonknee Muss]

4 hours ago, Lego-fire said:

Anybody else notice Lego got the measurements wrong? 12.7 cm is 5 inches, not 11 and 25.4 cm is 10 inches, not 5. 

I noticed they rounded the measurements up/down to the nearest whole number when it comes to inches (in the Speed Champions line) but I didn’t even notice the measurements in the Lego Forma theme. How can someone get it wrong this bad? Mistakes happen, let’s not dwell on them.

[Rail Co]

I noticed that a lot of people in the community either hate it or love it...

I love it and here are my reasons for what it's worth:

1. I thought the models were simple but elegant looking, I only bought the base Koi model because I thought the skins were overpriced, however, the model really caught my eye and was something that would be nice to display. I also like how they look to be easily customizable and because I like drawing I could cut out my own skins for them if I choose to.

2. It is something that Lego has never made before and it gives it a sort of unique feel. It is a fresh idea that mixes bricks with skins that can make a model have different curves and lines (not saying that can't be done with bricks).

3. It sounds dumb but it seems as though it is a limited test run to see how the product fairs with buyers. As a collector I enjoy having limited, non-mass production, items.

4. I want to show support for Lego trying new things and taking risks on products that they feel might not work out if they were to just throw them on their website.

I think some common misconceptions is that this product is for AFOLs. While it is aimed toward adults, it is not aimed for the avid collector and builder. This product is meant to not only get people back into the hobby of building Lego, it is meant to also allow adults to de-stress from their hectic lives and spend some time off their phones, TVs, and computers.

The counter argument to this is that Lego has hundreds of products to allow adults to de-stress and build with already. The reason this seemed to be created however, was to get other adults from a different market to buy these and see that Lego helps them de-stress and be creative (especially with the ink-koi skin). This will allow them to think about making another purchase with Lego whether it be for big technic sets, modular, architecture, or other "adult" lego themes.

I have also seen people compare this to Galidor. I think this is an unfair comparison as 1 Galidor figure has about 10-15 giant plastic pieces. One display piece alone has 294 pieces and most of those are Lego elements.

Overall, I think that this is a new thing that people will be up an arms about until they see reviews or get it in their hands themselves. Many people were upset about Brickheadz but they took off with flying colors whether they liked them or not. In my opinion if you don't like it, don't buy it. That's the easiest way to tell Lego that you are not interested in that theme and to try something else.

Sorry for the long rant

-RailCo

[Robert8]

9 hours ago, Aanchir said:

 In fact, I think the fact that this topic was created here in Special Themes rather than in the Technic forum really showcases how much different an impression it creates.

Honestly? I created the topic before watching the video so I didn't know it was all Technic 

 

[Digger of Bricks]

9 hours ago, Aanchir said:

Beyond that, I think a lot of people are overstating how specialized the foil parts in these sets are. Certainly they're designed for these particular sorts of models, but flexible parts can be extremely versatile in MOCs due to their lack of a fixed shape, and anyhow it's not as though LEGO themes never make such extensive use of parts with very specific intended uses. Pirates in particular comes to mind, with most LEGO pirate ships employing boat hull, rowboat, mast, sail, cannon, and rigging elements designed particularly for use as boat hulls, rowboats, masts, sails, cannons, and rigging. Sure, these parts have other potential uses, just as these new plastic panels might, but that doesn't change how specific their primary intended uses are.

For me, the foil parts just seem like a way of disguising the fact that this is suppose to be Lego set. Having said that though, I don't have a problem with Lego builds that aren't immediately recognized as such, it's just that it's so much more impressive when that build is completely constructed from preexisting elements. You know, something akin to that fan creation you see on a blog that makes you say "THAT'S LEGO?! " 

[julesvincent]

Sure, they could have made this entirely from bricks, but imagine the piece count (slopes alone) you would need to do that. You'll get in price regions that they felt were to high for a new consumer group. 

Edited September 29, 2018 by julesvincent

[Digger of Bricks]

5 hours ago, julesvincent said:

Sure, they could have made this entirely from bricks, but imagine the piece count (slopes alone) you would need to do that. You'll get in price regions that they felt were to high for a new consumer group. 

By taking inspiration from an entire fan community, I'm sure Lego could've found something else to do for this line that would've struck the right balance between price and MOC quality. 

[Anonknee Muss]

Those weird technic white button pieces are 3D printed in the image above, prototyped presumably (they will appear smoother in the final set I bet).