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A Polar Express has made 10,000 on Ideas

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Couldn't see another post on this topic, apologies if I missed it.

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/0b9f43ac-67c0-4108-9e82-a44d6574b8ab

This particular one shot to fame, getting 5000 votes in the last four weeks alone.

I did a search and found six other Polar Express sets on Ideas with nothing like the same support. The winner looks like a worthy design but I bet the others are not so happy.

Anyway, another train set for the Ideas team to think about. I've never even seen the film, is it worth a look?

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Great news. Trains seem to become more popular on IDEAS.

But I don't think it will influence TLG policy on it that much. A theme like the Orient Express would also be appealing to a large audience. I think the film is OK, but not very exciting (in contrast to e.g. Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express).

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I like the Polar Express project, it is has lots of playability and fans of the movie will surely love it. I would imagine that steam train fans would also buy it, regardless if they saw the movie or not.

Many people really want it, but there are 3 reasons why they could possibly not approve it:

1. The Polar Express license, while obtainable, could be more expensive to acquire than other companies IPs. There are other toy companies who make the Polar Express, so if LEGO makes one that is adding more to the competition. For that reason, the license could cost more. We are all aware of how expensive Disney-themed sets are!

2. The Polar Express is mainly a winter or Christmas themed set, so sales are seasonal. It surely would sell extremely well at Christmas, but sales would underperform in the warmer months. If LEGO had the Polar Express license for 2 years, they would effectively only be getting just a few months of good revenue from it in those 2 years. Extending it beyond those 2 years would just cost more money with little gain.

3. Since the movie is mainly a kids/family movie, many parents will expect the set to come with track and electronics. While entirely possible, it would be more expensive than LEGO's own Holiday Train sets. LEGO will not want to compete against themselves, such as when modular buildings or Creator Expert cars get rejected on LEGO Ideas for that reason all the time.

When I look closely at the pictures, I see that there are some parts of the build could be improved. For example, the wheels at the front of the train look like they cannot turn/swivel. I understand that the LEGO Ideas team will redesign the project concept anyways, but that is more work, development time that costs time/money, that needs to be considered.

Making the Polar Express in LEGO is a very smart idea for a product, don't get me wrong! I'm sure LEGO has thought of it themselves in the past, but didn't go through with it and instead made their own non-licensed holiday train to keep it cheap and simple.

It would be amazing if LEGO Ideas approved this idea though! We can always use more trains and I especially like wintery trains as a Canadian. LEGO Ideas has been doing the unexpected lately, like rejecting everyone except for 1 entry... But, LEGO Ideas approved the Typewriter, a product that no one asked for... so anything is possible and there is always hope! ;)

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It's great to see another train hitting the 10k mark -- there is clearly a demand for train sets like this.

native

Image of the project

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I mean, it's definitely on the toy side of things, but it looks decent enough. I think I'd be on the fence on whether to buy - not because of build quality, but simply because it's not in my scale.

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45 minutes ago, SteamSewnEmpire said:

... not because of build quality, but simply because it's not in my scale.

I wish I could be so narrowly... focused.

What’s your secret?

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10 minutes ago, M_slug357 said:

I wish I could be so narrowly... focused.

What’s your secret?

Well, I'm poor. Plus, I'd look over on the shelf and see something that I didn't design that's in a theme I feel like I'm pretty strong in, which would probably make me feel a little bad every time I looked at it.

Look, I wish the project all the success in the world - truly. In the least, it means more train parts (hopefully) circulating out there. But I just can't get into 6w again - I like details too much (and I'm sure the 9 and 10w people say the same about my scale).

*Edit* Also, the movie's just creepy. The book is fine - the film is a terror.

Edited by SteamSewnEmpire

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@SteamSewnEmpire Agreed— the movie is about as cringe-y in places as the whole TTTE reboot...

When it comes to scale(s), I’m all over the place... I’ve got some 9/10 wide trains, some 7/8 wide trains, and am currently trying to make some competent 5/6 wide trains (on 4wide track)

It’s a madhouse :wacko:

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