2023 Majisto GWP

[R0Sch]

1 minute ago, Alexandrina said:

Looking closely at the new minifigure, I'm actually really hoping we get another Dragon Knight set at some point (or they at least find their way to PAB). The torso, especially with the back detailing, is a really good update and fits nicely with other modernisations.

Maybe, but if the Blacktron Figure is already EOL and was only in the GWP (and the exclusive DS23), I wouldn't put my hopes up high. The lack of a shield suggests there might be no comeback for this faction, sadly. Hope I'm wrong.

[Alexandrina]

4 minutes ago, RichardGoring said:

JANG made a great comment a little while ago about how he sometimes views stickers as helpful. If a new part comes with a print, you lose versatility of the part, but with a sticker, you can choose not to apply it and use the new part for something else. Others would say that's a post-rationalization, but I liked the idea.

Honestly this was exactly my view when I was younger - I was only able to get so much Lego every year, so I saw every stickered/printed piece as a waste since I couldn't use it in other contexts. My view has softened as I've got older, mainly because I can afford to buy more Lego and have enough now that one piece having a sticker is rarely make or break.

[DaleDVM]

I agree and do like the back printing.  However, I still wish the collar was not included.  

I will have to see how the silver collar looks with black accessories.  I don't think the silver helms would look good mixed in with my old dragon masters at all.   

[Alexandrina]

1 minute ago, DaleDVM said:

I agree and do like the back printing.  However, I still wish the collar was not included.  

I will have to see how the silver collar looks with black accessories.  I don't think the silver helms would look good mixed in with my old dragon masters at all.   

Honestly my view is probably coloured by the fact that I'm unlikely to stick rigidly to the original helmet pairings for these factions. I never grew up with the classic factions (though I do own Majisto's Workshop now) so I see the torsos more as something I can use for my films than a chance to bring the Dragon Knights back. Silver helms suit me just fine! (That said, I cannot stand the shoulder pad piece in any context and definitely won't be rushing to acquire any to go with my eventual Dragon Knight fig)

[Sir Dano]

Everyone forgets the original dragon master torso had silver printed shoulder pads and they looked just fine with the black helmet.

[Black Falcon]

23 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

Yeah, especially for such a high threshold, this is definitely not worth it. This is what I'd expect for $150ish. $250 is insane.

While 250 surely is a lot money, you shouldn´t forget that Lego isn´t asking 250€ for just this set but you are getting two sets at least for this + double Insiders points. When you look at them giving two gwps like they did with the Blacktron and Toa GWPs, they were more expensive then too (and actually the prices are the same like they were last year, with gwps that actually seem more valueable this year), so I am pretty sure if the Workshop would be the only gwp it would have a lower buy needed. Of course that doesn´t change how much to have to pay now, though.

15 minutes ago, DaleDVM said:

I really hate TLG taking advantage of castle fans by denying us the sets we want, and trying to force us to buy sets we don't want just to get the castle stuff!  FOMO marketing is terrible IMHO.  

Noone forces you to anything. And honestly I have goten a lot more sets I like lately than I have seen for a while before. I am kinda actually happy when they don´t make more sets like that each year since it would become very expensive lol. Well anyways you always can buy the gwps from others that don´t want it - though I wouldn´t expect Majisto to get sold off that cheap.

15 minutes ago, DaleDVM said:

Haven't been to the LEGO store in months.  You don't have to pay for this membership to still get VIP points do you?

Nope, Insiders is still free like VIP was.

 

7 minutes ago, Sir Dano said:

Everyone forgets the original dragon master torso had silver printed shoulder pads and they looked just fine with the black helmet.

I am actually no fan of these.

[Lyichir]

20 minutes ago, RichardGoring said:

JANG made a great comment a little while ago about how he sometimes views stickers as helpful. If a new part comes with a print, you lose versatility of the part, but with a sticker, you can choose not to apply it and use the new part for something else. Others would say that's a post-rationalization, but I liked the idea.

I definitely understand this argument, especially if it's for something like a newly recolored part (especially important to have the option if a non-decorated version otherwise wouldn't even be available yet). Of course, I doubt anyone cares whether they have an extra unprinted white 2x2 tile in this case.

Personally I'm not a huge fan of the way stickers were used in this set, but understand why it happened—the set had the budget for one new printed part and used it on the minifigure torso (which looks stellar). The same happened with the Blacktron Cruiser set. And in this case, the fact that the scroll isn't printed ultimately doesn't affect me much since the sticker merely recreates a part I already have from my own childhood.

[Alexandrina]

2 minutes ago, Lyichir said:

I definitely understand this argument, especially if it's for something like a newly recolored part (especially important to have the option if a non-decorated version otherwise wouldn't even be available yet). Of course, I doubt anyone cares whether they have an extra unprinted white 2x2 tile in this case.

I think especially with high-threshold GWPs like this, it's even more pronounced. People lucky enough to be in a position to afford the GWP are - for the most part - unlikely to be the same people whose Lego collection is so sparse they desperately need white 2x2 tiles. From my own childhood experience, in the period when I was desperate for plain parts, the current GWP threshold was pretty much the sum cost of all the Lego I'd have in three years (both gifts and what I'd bought myself) - and I know people who had far less to spend on Lego.

[Trekkie99]

32 minutes ago, DaleDVM said:

On second thought...  Perhaps I will just hang at the LEGO store and offer $30 in cash to people who are getting it free with their large purchases. 

Wear a trenchcoat, shades, and fedora as well. The works. XD

[DaleDVM]

29 minutes ago, Alexandrina said:

Honestly my view is probably coloured by the fact that I'm unlikely to stick rigidly to the original helmet pairings for these factions. I never grew up with the classic factions (though I do own Majisto's Workshop now) so I see the torsos more as something I can use for my films than a chance to bring the Dragon Knights back. Silver helms suit me just fine! (That said, I cannot stand the shoulder pad piece in any context and definitely won't be rushing to acquire any to go with my eventual Dragon Knight fig)

I get that.  I am obviously trying to work with what I have already and make this faction look cohesive. 

I have some factions that are more random.  Most adhere to "uniforms" even though that is not accurate to the period. 

27 minutes ago, Sir Dano said:

Everyone forgets the original dragon master torso had silver printed shoulder pads and they looked just fine with the black helmet.

You are correct.  The new torso will likely look OK with the black helms because there is quite a bit of black on the torso.  

However, the printed pauldrons on the old torso don't look like they should be connecting to anything else? 
The new silver collar kind of hints at being connected to the silver pauldron piece on the new fig.  
I will find out soon.  Although I was not planning on actually opening the set.  

I would imagine someone on here will post a photo of the new torso with the old dragon helm before too long!

[Yoggington]

4 hours ago, Peppermint_M said:

..swap the head for the manliest man-man head they can find. Here's one glorious example new this year...

Sunglasses? In my medieval fantasy set???

Well now you're just pushing the bounds of reality.

[Alexandrina]

15 minutes ago, Yoggington said:

Sunglasses? In my medieval fantasy set???

Well now you're just pushing the bounds of reality.

I'm fairly sure that's the head of the biker that Shaggy beat up in Legend of the Phantosaur.

[GeoBrick]

1 hour ago, Trekkie99 said:

Wear a trenchcoat, shades, and fedora as well. The works. XD

Heh. An offer they can't refuse? 

[Mandalorianknight]

5 hours ago, Alexandrina said:

Oh yeah I remember the attempt to retcon a clone into ROTJ. I reject that wholeheartedly because it's an example of Filoni thinking he's better than everyone else. I did try the Clone Wars series but it was so dire I put it all out of my mind (I have a vague memory of a half-naked Kit Fisto swimming in a pool which I'm not sure if it was a dream or not)

Filoni actually tries to be a lot more in line with Lucas's general ideas than anyone else. The clone thing was a reference to a fan theory that one of them looked a lot like Old Rex.

The half-naked kit fisto thing is correct- it's been in both clone wars series, the one without filoni and the one with filoni.

 

4 hours ago, Black Falcon said:

While 250 surely is a lot money, you shouldn´t forget that Lego isn´t asking 250€ for just this set but you are getting two sets at least for this + double Insiders points. When you look at them giving two gwps like they did with the Blacktron and Toa GWPs, they were more expensive then too (and actually the prices are the same like they were last year, with gwps that actually seem more valueable this year), so I am pretty sure if the Workshop would be the only gwp it would have a lower buy needed. Of course that doesn´t change how much to have to pay now, though.

IIRC the blacktron cruiser was $190 and Toa Tahu was $100, both significantly less than $250. The Majisto GWP has a few more parts, but the quality really isn't there for how much higher the threshold is in my opinion.

[MAB]

13 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

And imagine how much cheaper this would be on bricklink. I'd hazard a guess that without the figs you could get this cottage for ~$20-25, including shipping, and probably another $10-15 max for the figs.

 

The price really depends on what you want from a set. No doubt you can get most of the parts to build it for a relatively low cost as they are all fairly basic parts. But do you want the whole set including box or instructions? Some collectors do, and some collectors want the set to be sealed. Whereas builders tend to care far less about the box and instructions.  It is the same with vintage sets. There is quite low demand for the parts for vintage sets (unless those parts only appeared in one or a few sets). You can buy most of the parts for many small vintage sets for a low cost. That is why vintage sets with boxes and instructions typically sell for a large premium compared to the parts.

 

If anyone wants a remake of any vintage set that doesn't have hugely expensive retired parts that LEGO wouldn't remake for a modern set anyway, rather than wait for a remake they are better off buying the parts and substituting any they cannot find.

[MAB]

6 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

IIRC the blacktron cruiser was $190 and Toa Tahu was $100, both significantly less than $250. The Majisto GWP has a few more parts, but the quality really isn't there for how much higher the threshold is in my opinion.

I don't think the threshold for this set is that high, when you consider how many GWPs stack at the same time. The difference between this threshold and the threshold for the winter GWP set you at the same time is not that large, at £70 or $80.

£150 gets you the winter set, an extra £70 gets the Castle. Even if you average them, there is a £110 threshold for each.  I don't think that is bad for a GWP set that would probably sell for ~£30.

[Alexandrina]

48 minutes ago, MAB said:

No doubt you can get most of the parts to build it for a relatively low cost as they are all fairly basic parts.

Honestly this seems like the ideal for a GWP (with obvious allowances for special torsos and such). Having GWPs be full of new or rare parts just makes those who aren't able to get the GWP feel bad that they missed out. IMO rare or unique parts should be confined to sets that have a regular retail life and that people will be able to buy without having to drop a set amount of money at a set time. A GWP is really a nice bonus to your purchase, and a model that you could acquire the pieces for cheaply if you so chose just means people who can't afford to get the set during its two-day window can still enjoy the build.

There's people talking about feeling forced to drop money to get the GWP - but can you imagine how much stronger this sentiment would be if the set included some exclusive recolours of incredible Castle parts? (I'm drawing a blank on examples here, so feel free to input whatever part you desperately want!)

[GeoBrick]

8 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

Filoni actually tries to be a lot more in line with Lucas's general ideas than anyone else. The clone thing was a reference to a fan theory that one of them looked a lot like Old Rex.

The half-naked kit fisto thing is correct- it's been in both clone wars series, the one without filoni and the one with filoni.

 

IIRC the blacktron cruiser was $190 and Toa Tahu was $100, both significantly less than $250. The Majisto GWP has a few more parts, but the quality really isn't there for how much higher the threshold is in my opinion.

I acquired both GWP's through the online LEGO store when they came out, and the treshold was I believe €230. 

[Captain_SoyBeard]

You are just twisting my words and I got a warning for participating in the discussion so that says a lot of who controls this forum and what agenda they are pushing.

Let's just talk about bricks and hopefully we will get good minifigures again in the future. I mean It's ridiculous that after having bought the 10305 Lion Knights' Castle I had to also buy 10 or so heads on PAB just to replace all the ones with lipstick and mascara. It's just absurd how it is now, I would rather see a return to the classic minifigure head, that would be preferable actually.

[MAB]

2 hours ago, Captain_SoyBeard said:

I mean It's ridiculous that after having bought the 10305 Lion Knights' Castle I had to also buy 10 or so heads on PAB just to replace all the ones with lipstick and mascara. It's just absurd how it is now, I would rather see a return to the classic minifigure head, that would be preferable actually.

So you should have bought loads of head 9336 instead.

 

[Lyichir]

12 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

Filoni actually tries to be a lot more in line with Lucas's general ideas than anyone else. The clone thing was a reference to a fan theory that one of them looked a lot like Old Rex.

The half-naked kit fisto thing is correct- it's been in both clone wars series, the one without filoni and the one with filoni.

 

IIRC the blacktron cruiser was $190 and Toa Tahu was $100, both significantly less than $250. The Majisto GWP has a few more parts, but the quality really isn't there for how much higher the threshold is in my opinion.

Not to discount your hesitation, but sometimes I feel like GWP thresholds have less to do with what sort of set is being offered and more to do with what demand is already going to be like. In this case, this GWP is being offered for Black Friday and the preceding Insiders Weekend, so Lego is probably expecting a lot of orders already—so the GWP threshold is higher to incentivize making those already planned orders a little bigger. If this were being offered during a less busy shopping season maybe the threshold would've been lower.

Edited November 15, 2023 by Lyichir

[Black Falcon]

12 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

IIRC the blacktron cruiser was $190 and Toa Tahu was $100, both significantly less than $250. The Majisto GWP has a few more parts, but the quality really isn't there for how much higher the threshold is in my opinion.

My point was that they were cheaper when they were the only gwp (though, I think that the cruiser partly overlapped with the chinese new year rabbit) but when both came back together they both had a threshold of 220 so you had to pay more. Which is the same for the Majisto GWP that also comes together with an other gwp - and honestly, I think the double VIP points might be a reason for the threshold too.

[brimbolet]

In January the Blacktron Cruiser (190$) and the Lunar New Year VIP pack (50$) ran concurrently. In July it was available with 2x points (for selected themes only), Bionicle and another VIP pack for 220$.

Since GWPs are aimed at adult buyers, Lego will increase the threshold even further - I'll bet next year we'll have a 300$ GWP for regular sets (I don't count special offers for sets like the Colosseum).

I just hope the next historical themed GWP will be much better. Something based on ancient Greece/Persia or Rome/Egypt would be amazing!

[Alexandrina]

17 minutes ago, brimbolet said:

I just hope the next historical themed GWP will be much better. Something based on ancient Greece/Persia or Rome/Egypt would be amazing!

I think that's very unlikely unless it's in conjunction with a theme based on the same time period. GWPs have a much smaller budget for new parts than regular sets (hence why the amount of stickers on tiles and such) and they don't have much in the way of period-appropriate minifigure parts for these periods (the various CMF stuff being presumably no longer in rotation).

[Kit Figsto]

59 minutes ago, Black Falcon said:

My point was that they were cheaper when they were the only gwp (though, I think that the cruiser partly overlapped with the chinese new year rabbit) but when both came back together they both had a threshold of 220 so you had to pay more. Which is the same for the Majisto GWP that also comes together with an other gwp - and honestly, I think the double VIP points might be a reason for the threshold too.

I also feel like people are glossing over the fact that this set itself doesn't cost $250.  Like, this is the same thing as people getting annoyed about "having" to buy a $150 set just to get one minifigure, or whatever and are forgetting that you're paying for other things with it too.  Like, the way I see it, if you know there's a desirable GWP coming (which most people on this forum tend to be in the know about), I always just wait to buy stuff until the GWP is coming.  I've had my eye on the Eldorado Fortress for a bit, so I'm just choosing to buy it now and then will also get a couple of bonus items along the way.  I don't feel like I'm paying $250 for Majisto's Workshop, I feel like I'm paying $250 for the Eldorado Fortress plus one other set that's TBD, and getting two GWPs plus bonus rewards points.