Sets becoming smaller and more expensive

[Sign]

Every couple years I come back to see what’s going on these days in the world of Lego, something that I’ve noticed is the lack of decent sets these days.

for an example, 2005(6) and 2008 saw two big sets being the Turbo Tank and MTT and Sand Crawler, these many years later were re-released as these tiny compact sets that cost just as much. In fact, it’s not with just larger sets, it’s with the medium sized sets as well like the AAT for example.

 

Maybe I’m just cynical? It feels like back in the 2000s there were some really special things that Lego produced, such as the glow up lightsabers, and I feel bad for the group of kids growing up on this line of productions. There’s something about Lego Star Wars that has gotten worse, maybe it’s the overly compact scale downs of sets, however, it’s just very rare these days that even while looking through videos, do I see anything that compares to the days over a decade ago.

[KevinMD]

Many years ago I went to visit my family back home. I was reminiscing about a bakery we would frequent when I was a child on Sundays that had the best donuts. Glazed, as large as a giant’s fist.  After spending most of a week dreaming about their donuts, I woke early to this pastry heaven.  Walking in, I was immediately drawn to the pastry case where my beloved donuts lie waiting.  Imagine the look on my face when they looked nothing larger than my adult hand.  Reluctantly taking a box home after being told they were the same recipe for years, I hoped to recapture the feeling by biting into one.  Alas, not only was the size not as I remembered, the donut did not melt in my mouth.  It was as if all I had remembered from childhood was a farce.

[Retro]

I don't know if my opinions are based on fact..but I'll give them anyway!

I agree that it feels like Star Wars 'system' sets are getting smaller (probably with improved design standards) and more expensive for what you get.

Whereas a few years ago there were lots of creative sets like Jabba's Palace and the 2015 Tyderium that people of all ages could enjoy, it's my belief that Lego have started to aim the 'system' sets very much at children (who are probably quite happy with them).

For adults, Lego is a growing luxury market, and they have decided that if you like Lego you can jolly well pay for it, so they are pushing you towards the Cantina, Ninjago City Gardens, The Collosseum etc. 

It is a pity that there remains a gap in creativity in the Star Wars line though. Where is a new Bounty Hunter pursuit with Zam Wessell or some nice Endor sets or a Wampa, or Kamino...

[1974]

'Cept small speeders and walkers... they're getting stupid large!

[Jody Meyer]

I agree, the sets that are out and for the past few years have been disappointing, sets are mostly reworks from past years with a tweak here and there and marked up in price. Also I am noticing that TLG is focusing on the 30-50+ age group, why because we all can relate to playing with lego when we were younger. Sorry, just my thoughts on this.

[Kristof]

Frankly, I feel like it's difficult to be objective when it comes to these things. For instance, I am pretty sure I simply grew up to be less excited about most released sets, period. That comes partially from me being more involved in MOC world and as such, whenever I look at a set, I can easily visualize designing it differently and in my opinion better. Hence, I simply focus more on the flaws than on the pros.

I really like Jangbricks for this very reason. I am rarely that interested in a particular set but I still often watch the reviews just because he can point out the good things and put all things in perspective - exactly what I myself fail to do.

In general, however, I don't perceive the trend of things getting just smaller and more pricy. At least not very strongly. When I think about the sets mentioned by OP, I don't think they all tell a consistent story either. I happen to have the cool MTT from 2007 and that really supports the claim - the new release was smaller and the price wasn't adjusted accordingly. I think that they mostly messed up by the downgrade of that droid rack, though. Should the newer one have somewhat similar carrying capacity and included at least 4 more regular droids, I wouldn't perceive it as such a downgrade after all. In a way, the smaller overall size of the set isn't such a bad thing, and the newer model is much more accurate in terms of shaping.

Clone turbo tank is IMO not as convincing. Yes, the first one was larger (and arguably somewhat cheaper than the successors, though likely not so much when adjusted for inflation) but it was also the set from the era when things like structural rigidity and clever design techniques were as big as they are today. Direct comparison of the oldest and newest version makes the older one looks like some crude prototype. And the price difference between the two is really just inflated.

For the SC, I reckon you are comparing the 2005 and the newest version (not the 'UCS' in-between). And again, the arguments seem shaky to me here. Yes, the new one is slightly smaller and arguably is on a verge of looking almost caricature, but the old one with its odd proportions and lack of detail wasn't flawless either - again, it might have looked greater through our child optics, but that aside... it's actually straight-up ugly, isn't it? Besides, there is a similar number of pieces and the RRP is the same, which in fact means that the new one is quite a bit cheaper. Some inflation calculator tells me that the old one would be almost $180 in 2028. Factor in a massive improvement in detail, building techniques, structure... IDK, I just don't see how things turned worse here either.

So IDK where the truth is, but I know for sure that one has strong tendencies to remember things better than they actually were, and certainly be more critical as a grown-up.

Also, I feel like there might be a slight turn in favor of slightly simpler but significantly cheaper sets, introduced by the newest X-wing. Compare that to the 2006 variant for instance - same size, better looks, superior functions, a few more pieces, and THE SAME RRP! The 2006 one would be $15 more expensive today - I think that's the win :)