The Best and Worst of 2018

[Aanchir]

8 hours ago, Mylenium said:

Once more I have to disagree with you. Four years isn't really that much, especially when you consider how few sets actually came out and how small a lot of them were. I'd also like to note that as an openly gay man and someone who regularly buys Friends sets and such I object to any statements about male predominance in the AFOL scene and possible sterotypes associated with that (as in "It's not a shirt if it isn't plaid"). Perhaps we should avoid making such observations, okay?

There were 41 Elves sets over four years (or 10.25 sets per year on average). That's nothing compared to enduring mega-hits like City, Friends, Star Wars, Ninjago, Duplo, or generation one Bionicle, and it's pretty low for "big bang" themes in general, but it's quite a lot compared to play themes as wide-ranging as Harry Potter, Fantasy Era Castle, Exo-Force, Batman, Mars Mission, Indiana Jones, Agents, or even Minecraft — few of which are assumed to have failed because they didn't get as many sets per year or didn't last as long.

While I do not think that all men who like LEGO are interested in the same themes, I don't feel like the idea that a lot of the AFOL bias against themes like Friends and Elves correlates with gender is being unfair. Even if it's not a conscious bias of "I don't like this because it's too girly", it's likely that more female AFOLs grew up enjoying toys and cartoons that featured the same sort of colors, characters, and play features as in Friends or Elves sets than male AFOLs, since even if boys of the 80s and 90s did like those kinds of colorful toys and cartoons, they were often purposely steered away from them by their parents or peers.

Also, at what point do you figure Elves "ran out of ideas and became a dragon zoo"? It had just one year that was extensively dragon focused, and even that year it featured plenty of other kinds of buildings, animals, and scenery besides dragons. In other years (including its debut year) it had between one and three dragons per year and, again, lots of other types of builds and subject matter.

I definitely think a lot of presently boy-targeted lines would definitely benefit from some design cues people associate with girls' toys like bedrooms, kitchens, shops, swimming pools, etc, same as how Friends and Elves themselves appear to have benefited from some design cues people might ordinarily associate with boys' toys like robot labs, jungle adventures, catapults, dragons, etc.

That said, a lot of people's idea of all themes being gender-neutral seems to revolve around things like equal numbers of male and female protagonists in every theme, all themes using the same style of figure, all themes using "girly"-looking colors sparingly, etc. Even if a one-size-fits-all approach that reaches boys and girls equally is possible, I'm not sure that would be the best strategy for all themes when it might be possible to reach a much broader spectrum of buyers with a mix of themes that skew more heavily towards things girls are more drawn to, themes that skew more towards things boys are more drawn to, and other themes focusing on that broad overlap of interests that lies between.

Also, in communities like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr, and the LEGO Life app that aren't so AFOL-specific, I've seen way more excitement about LEGO Elves among girls and parents of girls than boys and parents of boys. So I think even if it didn't make the same impression on its target audience that Friends did on a slightly younger age group, the Elves theme's appeal with its target audience probably still ought to be given most of the credit for whatever degree of success it had.

Edited November 27, 2018 by Aanchir

[Johnny1360]

I have to agree @Aanchir Firstbourne is a very good set, I thoroughly enjoyed building it, the head is a masterpiece in my opinion and the other aspects you mentioned ring true. This coming from a person who isn't really into dragons, I have only one other, the green one I bought mostly for the color selection. 

[Mylenium]

6 hours ago, Aanchir said:

Also, at what point do you figure Elves "ran out of ideas and became a dragon zoo"? It had just one year that was extensively dragon focused, and even that year it featured plenty of other kinds of buildings, animals, and scenery besides dragons. In other years (including its debut year) it had between one and three dragons per year and, again, lots of other types of builds and subject matter.

There are currently still five or six sets with dragon-esque creatures? I'd already consider that a zoo and then I don't even have many of the older actual dragon sets. It's of course subject to view, but in a way I feel it reinforces my point rather than weakening it: LEGO seem to have run out of ideas and just are trying to reuse their molds as long as they can. Doesn't really change much for me whether they all have different appendages and are called "Earth Fox" or whatever instead of "Dragon".

Beyond that - and I don't mean to insult you - it seems to me you're too much locked into that gender thing. I know you probably don't understand it, but just last week this documentary really explained the issue:

https://www.zdf.de/dokumentation/no-more-boys-and-girls

It's a really an eye-opener and really explains how we all are victims of our own gender-based steroetypes and preconceptions from the earliest days of childhood, often totally subconsciously. I really recommend watching it to anyone. So for what it's worth, on an idealistic level there should really not even be a need to discuss whether LEGO needs girl stuff.

The business side is of course a thing, but given how little luck LEGO seem to have lately with girly stuff, I'm not sure that not having any such series (beyond Friends) would really be that detrimental. Funny enough I already find the Systar stuff in The LEGO Movie 2 better than many a Friends sets and I think that is how LEGO should do it, overall - sets with a distinctly feminine touch, yes, but integrated into over-arching story worlds. I really don't think it needs to be more complicated than that.

Mylenium

[OxnardMontalvo]

• Best Theme: Harry Potter
• Best Minifigure/Figure: Godric Gryffindor (71043)
• Best Set: Hogwarts Castle (71043) / Ship in a Bottle (21313)
• Worst Theme: Disney
• Worst Minifigure/Figure: /
• Worst Set: /
• Most Anticipated for 2019: Modular Building / Overwatch 

[Aanchir]

On 11/27/2018 at 3:39 AM, Mylenium said:

There are currently still five or six sets with dragon-esque creatures? I'd already consider that a zoo and then I don't even have many of the older actual dragon sets. It's of course subject to view, but in a way I feel it reinforces my point rather than weakening it: LEGO seem to have run out of ideas and just are trying to reuse their molds as long as they can. Doesn't really change much for me whether they all have different appendages and are called "Earth Fox" or whatever instead of "Dragon".

See, I don’t really think that makes sense at all. By this argument the elemental creatures are all “dragon-esque” purely by virtue of being big brick-built animals with molded heads. By that argument you could call most of the smaller, molded Friends and Elves animals “dragon-esque” because they have a similar structure and design language to the Elves theme’s molded baby dragons.

What’s more, the theme continuing to include similar brick-built creature builds seems to me like less of an indication of the designers running out of ideas or working themselves into a corner than of the designers responding to the popularity of the posable dragon sets in 2016 and of the colorful fantasy creatures the theme has had a big focus on from the beginning.

I’m not quite sure why so many people associate repeating or iterating on established concepts with themes doing poorly or running out of ideas, when for basically all of LEGO’s history, many of their most repetitive themes have also been their most long-lasting and successful… not to mention how people so often also describe the complete opposite (themes moving in a direction that’s noticeably different from or out of line with expectations, like City Sky Police and Volcano Explorers, Friends Go-Karting, etc) as signs designers are running out of ideas.

[gundamz]

Best Set: Taj Mahal

Worst Set: some of the smaller superhero sets, usually two or so minifigs with hardly any build

Best Theme: Creator Expert - releasing super cool sets as usual

Worst Theme: Nexo Knights

[sesse]

• Best Theme: Wizarding world
• Best Minifigure/Figure: Albus Dumbledore CMF 
• Best Set: Hogwarts Great Hall 
• Worst Theme: Nexo knights
• Worst Minifigure/Figure: Edna Mode
• Worst Set: 10263 Winter village fire station. Probably not the worst, but the biggest let down. 
• Most Anticipated for 2019: What will we get for the expansion of the Wizarding world? 

In my humble opinion

[MoistureFarmer]

Best Theme: Harry Potter(all killer no filler), Creator Expert 

Best Minifig: Old Man Luke, Unicorn Knight

Best Set: 1. RollerCoaster - 2. Voltron - 3. Vestas (Honorable Mention Smaller Sets: City Hospital, Han Solos Landspeeder, Quidditch Match)

Worst Theme: Creator (just don't like the small 'modular'-houses; i want the small closed-houses back)

Worst Minifig: Ahch-To Island Rey (doesn't capture the movie version very well; really needs dual molded arms)

Most Anticipated for 2019: The Lego Movie 2 Sets, hopefully 1993's Jurassic Park based Sets???

[JJ Tong (zfogshooterz)]

Best theme(s).

Well, although I have to pick one, this time I would have say that it have to be all three of Ninjago, Elves and Friends. It's actually pretty much these that gave me quite some great memorable moments for 2018. It's also the first for me to explore the world of Elves and Friends.

Ninjago. The sets and minifigures for both waves were pretty dope! I've bought all the S.O.G. sets (excluding spinjitzu masters) and building/experiencing them with also following and anticipating both seasons, I really have a good blast with that theme.

For Elves, I've been digging the sets for quite some time, and so, around a few months ago, I somehow decided to check the media out. (Well, it was on the recommended part of Youtube and I've been awake for nearly twenty-three hours at the time, dying to sleep, so yeah, why not check it out). Despite anticipating some cringeworthy stuff, I actually find it not too bad and as a result, I was drawn into the webisodes.

As for Friends, it was actually my brother who started buying them while I was buying some S.O.G. sets and seeing how interesting those sets looks really adds to the memorable moments (I've grown to love the 2018 sets). Eventually I decided to check the media out too and it wasn't too bad either. Well, I still have to adjust my frame of mind to get used to it but it wasn't hard and I did enjoy it.

And some honorable mentions that I'll have to add are Creator Expert and Minecraft. The Downtown Diner and the Roller Coaster is one of those that's mindblowing. The diner is just 50s goodness there! And the Roller Coaster is really cool too. The Pirate Roller Coaster from 3-in-1 which makes it two roller coaster this year also do makes the whole thing better! Now, I'm not really that interested in licensed themes but I really do like how TLG did Minecraft. The stop motion media (especially the 2018 ones) really did appeal the theme to me. I'm still quite interested and fascinated to see how it'll look when you combine the sets to form the world of Minecraft in Lego.

Best Minifigure(s)

The Sons of Garmadon generals. When they were leaked around late 2017, I was pretty stoked with how stunning their prints are. The level of detail is quite amazing. But if I have to pick one out of all including the honorable mentions, it'll have to be the Four-armed Mr. E wearing the Mask of Vengeance.

I can't help but to add some honorable mentions too hehe. S.O.G. Lloyd and Hunted's Dragon Master/Teen Wu are stuffs that really strikes out. I really love how different types of green is used on Lloyd gi and the story of Wu and the Dragon Armor is one of the stuff that really highlights season 9 of Ninjago. Gonna add the Children of Thanos/the Black Order from Avengers: Infinity War too. They (their Lego self) have fascinated me since the set reveals for the film.

Best Set(s)

I must add the boom this time. I can't really pick one, there are just a lot of very cool sets this year. But the crowns would have to go to The S.O.G. sets (excluding spinjitzu masters), (Five) Hunted sets and The Downtown Diner Modular. The S.O.G. and Hunted sets looks AMAZING as a collection. (I've completed the S.O.G. sets (excluding spinjitzu masters) and I've seen Hunted in a certified Lego store). And as I've said, the Downtown Diner is just 50s goodness there.

The Honorable Mentions because I really do like them too! - 41340 Friendship House, 41347, Heartlake City Resort, 41195 Emily & Noctura's Showdown and 31084 Pirate Roller Coaster.

And...I forgot to add the 10263 Winter Village Fire Station. I wasn't feeling it seeing that set through the screen. However when I actually saw it in real life (a certified Lego store has put that set on display), I just dig it big time!

Worst Theme, Minifigure/Figure and set.

Not much I can say about this so it'll be short.

Worst Theme - Brickheadz. BUT....due to seeing some cool mocs on them plus the additions of the Seasonal Brickheadz and Go-Brick-Me, I'm opening up to them. However, I still won't be a big fan of the licensed aspect of it.

Worst Minifigure/Figure - I don't think i have any for Minifigures, but as for Figures it would have to be 75535 Han Solo. I never liked CCBS sets with human heads in general. Though I can't argue to the fact that they may make some good parts packs.

Worst Set - This aspect is too broad for me so I'm just going to go from an angle of what I plan on collecting. And it'll have to be the 70919 Justice League Anniversary Party. I can't really think on where does that fit in TLBM Collection if I were to display it....Probably very separately and I might need the TLBM CMF series to make that set into something.

Maybe the same could be said to the Friends Bedroom sets and Ninjago's Spinjitzu Masters but for some reason I'm okay with those.

Most anticipated for 2019.

The Lego Movie 2 and Ninjago Legacy. For the TLM2, most of the post-apocalyptic sets is really dope and sets like the Systar Starship and the Rexplorer really did blew my mind. The Rexplorer just gives me a combination vibes of previous lego themes including Agents. 

As for Ninjago Legacy, well, I'm a fan of the theme, so of course it'll be anticipated! But I'll say, during the first time of hearing the remakes, I was kinda hoping it not to be true, as personally due to it's remake nature, it messes up how I envision my collection is going to be. Even seeing the leaked images depiste being mind-blown by the improvements, I'm still not feeling it either. However, as better pictures being revealed I eventually open up to like them and start to accept this line/wave. And I'll say too that I'm glad the remakes does have unique stuff that makes this different such as the new Ninja gi(s). To me it shows that it isn't necessary for these sets to be just a replacement or an update for their previous counterparts/iterations which is the one thing that I dread. I can just collect them and have this line as a separate unique line-up. And I'll hope the upcoming media does reinforce this.

And I'll definitely be looking forward to the summer content for Ninjago. Really interested to see what the conclusion to the arc (and the Oni too!) and how the sets would correspond with it.

Ironically I'll have to add Brickheads too. I just saw the 2019 seasonal line-up and boy! I'm impressed. These new sets really makes me quite tempted to collect them. But even if I do enter Brickheads I still won't be getting the licensed characters because as I've mentioned, I'm not a big fan of those and they're the reason I did not like Brickheadz in the first place.

Everything metioned above is just my thoughts and two cents!

Edited December 5, 2018 by JJ Tong (zfogshooterz)

[LegoDW]

I didn't purchase a lot of sets in 2018 as getting back into the hobby and so many good sets to collect from years past.  These are my thoughts with my limited exposure to 2018

•  
• Best Theme: Creator/Speed Champions (I would have had the most fun as a kid playing with sets from these themes)
• Best Minifigure/Figure: Baby, not sure if 2018 but really great addition to the Mini Fig line.
• Best Set: 60145 dune buggy, absolute steel at $10 USA ($6 last Christmas),  great platform to build relatively cheap racing vehicles from.  Again would love to have had as a kid. Downtown Dinner as a AFOL.
• Worst Theme: Mine craft.  Just not into this theme or the game. Close second is the Jurassic Park, the building and etc are good, the  Dinosaurs look like just plastic figures, not Lego.  TLG needs to make them look more like Lego (blocky) then the common play toy stuff.
• Worst Minifigure/Figure: 
• Worst Set: 
• Most Anticipated for 2019: Winter village, IMO not a strong showing this year with the Fire Station.  Hoping next year brings something bit more fun.

[Agent Kallus]

Best Theme: Wizarding World: It had  a hugely successfull launch and offered a wide range of products with oversaturating the market (ahem star wars) beatfull parts sets and figures made this the stand out theme of the year.
Runner up Ninjago had another stellar year once again proving that lego's own ideas should not all be sacrificed for the sake of licensed products.
Best Minifigure/Figure: Brickset lists 798 figures from 2018 and the one that stands out to me most is the Condiment King which might sound like an odd choice but I own this figure and he's one of my favouites.
Runners up: Dragon Master Sensei Wu,Sybil Trelawney,Violet Parr, Hagrid, Mad-Eye Moody, Dragon Suit Guy and Albus Dumbledore (both) are all exceptional figures with great new parts and prints, all of them are beautifully detailed.
Honorable mentions go to Susan Bones and Cho Chang for finally introducing ravenclaw and hufflepuff torsos.
Kinda pissed mentions go to Kabuki Nya, Future Jay, Horace Slughorn and Dolores Umbridge. They are all great figures but the lack of availability espaecilliy in the UK which  irritates me.
Best Set:Go Brick Me

 

 

 I'll do the rest later.

[Graupensuppe]

According to a poll on Promobricks, these are the best and worst sets of 2018:

Worst:

1. Betrayal at Cloud City (219 votes)
2. Bugatti Chiron (150 votes)
3. First Order AT-ST (132 votes)
4. App-Controlled Batmobile (117 votes)
5. James Bond Aston Martin DB5 (73 votes)

Best:

1. Hogwarts Castle (173 votes)
2. Roller Coaster (132 votes)
3. Downtown Diner (93 votes)
4. Ninjago City Docks (92 votes)
5. Pop-Up-Book (89 votes)

[anothergol]

On 12/4/2018 at 8:28 PM, JJ Tong (zfogshooterz) said:

Worst Theme - Brickheadz. BUT....due to seeing some cool mocs on them plus the additions of the Seasonal Brickheadz and Go-Brick-Me, I'm opening up to them. However, I still won't be a big fan of the licensed aspect of it.

Funny that Brickheadz is so dividing. For me, it's one of Lego's best themes, ever. Only problem, it doesn't suit Lego. Brickheadz was Lego's answer to Funko Pop, but Funko Pop covers the whole pop culture, whereas Lego & its kids-friendly censorship will limit it to pretty much Disney. So yeah, for me Brickheadz is Lego's best theme mainly thanks to MOCers. In a way MOCers have also done better than Lego by not relying so much on printed parts.

I also like Brickheadz because I find small sets kinda therapeutic. Large sets annoy me because I don't have enough patience to wait, and I don't enjoy building for hours. Brickheadz, you open the box, it's done in 5min, the result doesn't take too much room, sometimes the build is rather interesting (Boba Fett), they just feel good for me.

As for the worst sets, those in the lists above are just disappointing sets, which Lego had overhyped, making people expect a lot more. But they're in no way worse than, say the most obscure Duplo set, which no one will have in his list because no one even cares about it.

Edited December 5, 2018 by anothergol

[Henry Bricklider]

My picks are really going to be limited to one theme as I only got Harry Potter sets this year (there really was not a whole lot I wanted from 2018 this year).

Best Theme: Harry Potter/Wizarding World

I was a massive fan of Harry Potter in 2009/2010, the same time the last wave of sets for the theme were produced. I owned every set from the first wave in 2010 and loved them a lot. When it was revealed that LEGO was bringing back the theme earlier this year I could not be more excited and my 9 year-old self was re-emerging. I love just about everything about the revival of this theme: the minifigures, the sets and the CMF series. I really don’t care for Fantastic Beasts, however.

Best Minifigure/Figure: Harry (75954)

While this probably is not the best minifigure in terms of printing, new molds or innovation (there are many others from this theme, specifically the CMF that do that), I believe that the Harry figure that appears in the Hogwarts Great Hall is the best representation of Harry Potter in minifigure form to date. I was immediately impressed by the new hair mold and printing. I think that is a perfect representation of the character. Plus, I like Harry Potter, what more can I say?

Best Set: Hogwarts Great Hall (75954)

For the record, 75955 Hogwarts Express is a close second for me. I think that the Great Hall is a perfect encapsulation of Harry Potter. It has the most iconic section of Hogwarts Castle, and has just about every important character, creature and prop one needs to recreate scenes from both the films and books. I also really like the build of the Great Hall. It is a massive upgrade from the previous version in 4842 Hogwarts Castle. It's just a great set.

Worst Theme: Nexo Knights

I'm sorry Nexo Knights. I really am. I wanted to like it. Heck, I liked the first wave of sets - especially the Fortrex - and it  even got me to collect every Lance minifigure. But with every wave my interest in it really just fell off, and this last wave in 2018 was disappointing. The villain figures look cool I guess, but they really aren't a driving force to get me to pick these sets up. Even Lance's Hover Jouster was a set that I wouldn't care about getting, even if it meant not owning every Lance minifigure (which I guess really isn't a big achievement). Nexo Knights, you could have been great. You could have been Castle in space. But you weren't. I guess it is for the better that you're retiring.

Worst Set: Snoke's Throne Room (75216)

This set is not bad. The minifigures are cool and the build looks neat. However, what makes this set the worst is the price. $70 for 492 pieces. For the same price, I could get The 70643 Temple of Resurrection, which has 273 more pieces and two more figures, as well as, an arguably better build. I know that this is not an apt comparison, but for someone who does not always have a lot of money, I'm going to want to get the most for my money. 75216 is also what I hate about current Star Wars: overpriced sets not worth the money, which I think can be said about most Star Wars sets these days. Thanks Disney. Thanks a lot.

Worst Minifigure/Figure: Wasp (76109)

I don’t own this minifigure, but I gotta say, Wasp is pretty disappointing. The lack of leg printing and the reuse of the Iron Man helmet is lame. I feel bad for hardcore collectors of the Marvel Super Heroes line. LEGO has given the figures in those lines the shaft for a while.

Most Anticipated for 2019: The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part

I can not wait for both the movie and the sets. Almost all of the sets are fantastic and extremely innovative and fun. My favorite is Emmet’s Dream House/Rescue Rocket followed by Unikitty’s Sweetest Friends EVER! I’m also looking forward to Ninjago Legacy and Overwatch.

 

[JJ Tong (zfogshooterz)]

On 12/6/2018 at 7:29 AM, anothergol said:

Funny that Brickheadz is so dividing. For me, it's one of Lego's best themes, ever. Only problem, it doesn't suit Lego. Brickheadz was Lego's answer to Funko Pop, but Funko Pop covers the whole pop culture, whereas Lego & its kids-friendly censorship will limit it to pretty much Disney. So yeah, for me Brickheadz is Lego's best theme mainly thanks to MOCers. In a way MOCers have also done better than Lego by not relying so much on printed parts.

I also like Brickheadz because I find small sets kinda therapeutic. Large sets annoy me because I don't have enough patience to wait, and I don't enjoy building for hours. Brickheadz, you open the box, it's done in 5min, the result doesn't take too much room, sometimes the build is rather interesting (Boba Fett), they just feel good for me.

I never liked stuff like Funko Pop in the first place, so I can see why I didn't really like Brickheadz either. Also the overreliance on liscensed stuff for the line (even though that's how it works) was also another factor of why it just didn't appeal to me. Well, different strokes for different people there.

Since I am opening to Brickheadz (due to it now also part of the seasonal sets which results in having non-liscensed assortments) like I said, I might want to start collecting them (seasonals) in the future. To me, the seasonal one looks way interesting than the licensed aspect as then they start to look more like their own rather than just be depending on licensed stuffs. (Wow, I'm repeating stuff like this a lot haha). Also plus I think I'm getting intrigued on how therapeutic this could be. I've not experienced this kind of builds yet too, so this should be interesting.

 

[TeufelHund]

On ‎12‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 7:22 AM, Graupensuppe said:

According to a poll on Promobricks, these are the best and worst sets of 2018:

Worst:

1. Betrayal at Cloud City (219 votes)
2. Bugatti Chiron (150 votes)
3. First Order AT-ST (132 votes)

SW fans amaze me sometimes. A set that somehow manages to capture every key scene in the second half of possibly the most beloved SW film, with a selection of great figures and with 2 well-done spaceship builds included is somehow worse than a set with a main build that looks and is half-finished.

I think the Betrayal at Cloud City vote is based on unrealistic expectations than any actual failing on the set's behalf.

[Aanchir]

On 12/10/2018 at 9:50 PM, TeufelHund said:

SW fans amaze me sometimes. A set that somehow manages to capture every key scene in the second half of possibly the most beloved SW film, with a selection of great figures and with 2 well-done spaceship builds included is somehow worse than a set with a main build that looks and is half-finished.

I think the Betrayal at Cloud City vote is based on unrealistic expectations than any actual failing on the set's behalf.

I think you could make a case for even the AT-ST being a victim of misplaced expectations. If the set had a different name like "First Order Hangar Escape" then I doubt people would have been nearly as disappointed when it turned out not to include an entire AT-ST, and instead would be more prepared to appreciate the hilariousness of seeing a LEGO version of the scene where a cute round droid comes to the rescue in a hacked walking gunner platform that USED to be an AT-ST.

I mean, we just got an excellent Imperial AT-ST two years ago. If we had gotten a new 2018 set containing a complete First Order AT-ST, there probably would have still been numerous complaints about it being "too soon" for another AT-ST set, same as we always hear about Star Wars "rehashes"… even in cases like this year's X-Wing, Millennium Falcon, and TIE Fighter, in which the new set and the ones it's accused of "rehashing" depict different versions of those vehicles from entirely different movies.

But with a name like "First Order AT-ST" that leaked before anybody knew what the actual contents of the set would be, AFOLs more or less set themselves up for disappointment… the same as they do all too often when set or theme name/description (Atlantis, Ninjago, Legends of Chima, Elves, Nexo Knights, etc) leaks, and then the first images turn out not to be precisely what the name/description had them envisioning.

And I think this tends to be the problem with asking AFOLs to name what they think is the "worst" set… because they don't tend to be bothered by or even pay attention to sets or themes that they're completely disinterested in like Duplo, but will vividly recall anything that falls short of expectations, whether or not those expectations have anything to do with what the set or theme was actually intended to depict.

[Still Raindrop]

47 minutes ago, Aanchir said:

I think you could make a case for even the AT-ST being a victim of misplaced expectations. If the set had a different name like "First Order Hangar Escape" then I doubt people would have been nearly as disappointed when it turned out not to include an entire AT-ST, and instead would be more prepared to appreciate the hilariousness of seeing a LEGO version of the scene where a cute round droid comes to the rescue in a hacked walking gunner platform that USED to be an AT-ST.

I mean, we just got an excellent Imperial AT-ST two years ago. If we had gotten a new 2018 set containing a complete First Order AT-ST, there probably would have still been numerous complaints about it being "too soon" for another AT-ST set, same as we always hear about Star Wars "rehashes"… even in cases like this year's X-Wing, Millennium Falcon, and TIE Fighter, in which the new set and the ones it's accused of "rehashing" depict different versions of those vehicles from entirely different movies.

 But with a name like "First Order AT-ST" that leaked before anybody knew what the actual contents of the set would be, AFOLs more or less set themselves up for disappointment… the same as they do all too often when set or theme name/description (Atlantis, Ninjago, Legends of Chima, Elves, Nexo Knights, etc) leaks, and then the first images turn out not to be precisely what the name/description had them envisioning.

While I'm sure that expectations were probably part of the problem, I think this is one of the few cases where simply renaming the set wouldn't have done a whole lot.

You mentioned the excellent Imperial AT-ST from 2016. Looking at these two together brings up the stark contrasts. They have the same number of minifigures (less one droid), and the Imperial AT-ST has nearly 80 more parts and is decidedly bigger than the First Order AT-ST--and yet (in the United States, at least) they were asking the same price! Charging the same amount for fewer parts and an incomplete-looking model is disappointing no matter how you look at it. A removable head could have been fun--that would recreate the moment even better, since the head gets ripped off in the movie, revealing BB-8 at the controls. Something like that could have been worth $40, or maybe even justify a $45 price tag. But with such a good model so recently, it's hard to fall back on the standard justifications for price increases, like inflation or more detailed minifigures.

Furthermore, as far as "rehashing" goes, they removed the most unique part of the First Order AT-ST design (the head) and kept the part that was most similar to previous incarnations (the legs).

I agree with you that many disappointments people have are probably caused by expectations that are unrealistically high. But I just don't see it in this case.

Edited December 12, 2018 by Still Raindrop

[Robert8]

On 12/5/2018 at 2:22 PM, Graupensuppe said:

According to a poll on Promobricks, these are the best and worst sets of 2018:

Worst:

1. Betrayal at Cloud City (219 votes)
2. Bugatti Chiron (150 votes)
3. First Order AT-ST (132 votes)
4. App-Controlled Batmobile (117 votes)
5. James Bond Aston Martin DB5 (73 votes)

Best:

1. Hogwarts Castle (173 votes)
2. Roller Coaster (132 votes)
3. Downtown Diner (93 votes)
4. Ninjago City Docks (92 votes)
5. Pop-Up-Book (89 votes)

Agree with the "Best" list 

The Worst... no so much. Betrayal at Cloud City is that bad. 

But I forgot about the James Bond set! I think thats actually the worst one for me. I edited it.

[ar97006]

I cannot believe that the Buggati Chiron is in any "worst" list... Unless they mean the Speed Champions version of it...

Best Theme: Creator Expert (Diner, Aston Martin, etc)
Best Minifigure/Figure: Brick suit Guy & Girl from the Collectable Minifigures Series 18. LEGO essence :)
Best Set: Buggati Chiron 42083. Absolutely amazing. From the box, to the instructions booklet, to every single detail (minus the stickers, they could have printed them in such an expensive set)
Worst Theme: Minecraft. I'm not a fan of Minecraft in general.
Worst Minifigure/Figure: I generally don't like the Friends minidolls.
Worst Set: LEGO store 40305. Boring build, nothing special about it. Maybe the only set I didn't enjoy building.
Most Anticipated for 2019: Pop-up party bus 70828. It's not going to be the best set ever, but, from the sets already announced, it seems the most interesting. Nice curves and plus a new color!

[amok]

Best Theme: Creator Expert
Best Minifigure/Figure: Party Clown Guy
Best Set: 10261-Roller Coaster
Worst Theme: The LEGO Batman Movie
Worst Minifigure/Figure: Unikitty series
Worst Set: App-Controlled Batmobile
Most Anticipated for 2019: The next Ninjago City modular/extension.

[DuckBricks]

Best Theme: Harry Potter (Glorious return to form with beautiful sets and a stellar minifigure series that brought so much good things to the minifigure system like mid legs)
Best Minifigure/Figure: Future Jay (Beautiful arm and leg printing and a stellar figure in general)
Best Set: 70143 Hogwarts Castle (While the microscale turned off some - including myself at first - the set is so beautiful and at such a good price for what you get that I'm more than happy to overlook microscale if it means a bigger and better build, which in this case it does)
Worst Theme: DC Superheroes (three lackluster sets with unimpressive builds, especially the trike. Love it or hate it, I will admit the RC Batmobile is entertaining, but at the cost of looking really ugly and being really pricey for the size)
Worst Minifigure/Figure: Wasp (Honorable mention for Dareth from the Ninjago City Docks set, who lost his trademark brown and didn't even use the new design he got in Season 8, instead opting for the bland black overused gi)
Worst Set: 75201 First Order AT-ST
Most Anticipated for 2019: Ninjago Legacy looks amazing, Lego Movie 2 has some great sets (at some not-so-great prices, sadly)

[Legochaek]

Best Theme:  Wizarding World. My favourite ever book +film series’ theme, with the best sets, including Newt’s case and a MASSIVE Hogwarts and with the best CMF series ever, with medium legs, curved skirts and new wand moulds. I love this theme so much. 

Best Minifigure/Figure: Alastor Moody, because he turns into another guy and he’s just awesome. 

Best Set: 71403 Hogwarts Castle, the biggest reconstruction of Hogwarts with a ridiculous amount of detail. 

Worst Theme: None have had all bad sets, so none. 

Worst Minifigure/Figure: Not sure

Worst Set: 21142 Polar Igloo, Minecraft. I know it’s meant to be blocky but I really don’t like the shape of the igloo. Polar bears are cool though. 

Most Anticipated for 2019: Lego Movie 2 and MORE WIZARDING WORLD!! 

[Agent Kallus]

On 12/5/2018 at 1:27 AM, Agent Kallus said:

Best Theme: Wizarding World: It had  a hugely successfull launch and offered a wide range of products with oversaturating the market (ahem star wars) beatfull parts sets and figures made this the stand out theme of the year.
Runner up Ninjago had another stellar year once again proving that lego's own ideas should not all be sacrificed for the sake of licensed products.
Best Minifigure/Figure: Brickset lists 798 figures from 2018 and the one that stands out to me most is the Condiment King which might sound like an odd choice but I own this figure and he's one of my favouites.
Runners up: Dragon Master Sensei Wu,Sybil Trelawney,Violet Parr, Hagrid, Mad-Eye Moody, Dragon Suit Guy and Albus Dumbledore (both) are all exceptional figures with great new parts and prints, all of them are beautifully detailed.
Honorable mentions go to Susan Bones and Cho Chang for finally introducing ravenclaw and hufflepuff torsos.
Kinda pissed mentions go to Kabuki Nya, Future Jay, Horace Slughorn and Dolores Umbridge. They are all great figures but the lack of availability espaecilliy in the UK which irritates me.
Best Set:Go Brick Me

I'll do the rest later.

Worst Theme: Brickheadz, I choose not because it is my least favouite or because appeals to me least (in that case it would probably be duplo or minecraft) but cause it is the most diapointing, they could do a lot with this but most of them are overly simplitic and depend too heavily on prints. MOCs and the go brick me set prove this is unnecessary.
Dishonourable mention for The incredibles for being completely juniors and having no Frozone, I understand why though hence it being a mention rather than my actual choice.
Worst Minifigure/Figure: Infinity war Thanos again not because it my least favourite or that it doesn't appeal but because it's disappointing.
Worst Set: Uh I dunno, lets say  First Order AT-ST, I'd missed out on the imperial one and I wanted an AT-ST, even Captain Phasma couldn't make up for this disappointment. In the UK this set was £10 more than the Imperial at-st, so not only is a misleadingly named and incomplete set it's also a complete and utter swindle.
Most Anticipated for 2019: Ninjago legacy and poteinal Oni sets, also the rumour of something Doctor who related in TLM2.

[BrickBuilder1]

• Best Theme: Creator in general
• Best Minifigure/Figure: The new Doctor Strange (that new hair is amazing)
• Best Set: Sanctum Sanctorum, with the combination of great minifigures and an easy to modularize building for my city
• Worst Theme: Dc Superheroes, 'cause apart from Luthor's Mech and the Aquaman set, they were really disappointing.
• Worst Minifigure/Figure: Wasp, cause that helmet was really sad to look at
• Worst Set: Lockwood Estate, it was such a waste of bricks and completely overpriced
• Most Anticipated for 2019: Corner Garage, and Benny's Space Squad (to get more of those classic smiley faces for my modulars)