2011 City sets

[wooootles]

Police is expected, but I'm not too hot on the Space subtheme.

2nd half of 2010 had some great great civilian sets (the twin Semi's, house, Public Transport etc) so LEGO not having civilian-themed sets to start 2011 shouldn't be surprising or disappointing either.

Wonder if they'll keep 7236 around?

[Tereglith]

Thanks for the information, Klaus-Dieter. That's great news about the space sub-theme! I'm really looking forward to it, as the last time Lego had a go-round with 'non-fiction' space I was too young and short on pocket money to buy any of it. Normally city holds no interest for me whatsoever, but it looks like my buying pattern is going to change a lot next year!

[XimenaPaulina]

Thanks for your 'great' news KD. More police sets, no civilian/farm/zoo sets are actually good news to me - as I can save up valuable resources ($$$) for better sets in other teams. I'll pass up this CITY Space police subtheme first wave.

[CarrollFilms]

Thanks KD for the news but I'm sorry but i'm getting tired of TLG coming out with Police sets, they should really continue with with an old theme just change it up (Space Police), or GET BETTER DESIGNERS that come up with more City sets because that's what most people want right? I don't know what most people want, but they really need to come out with more city sets.

Edited August 10, 2010 by CarrollFilms

[prateek]

w00t! Space will be awesome! Since it's in the City theme, it won't be crazy and futuristic

[vexorian]

meh Space will be blow. Since it's in the City theme, it won't be crazy and futuristic

Edited August 10, 2010 by vexorian

[Svelte]

Enough complaining about the Police theme!

For adults 2-3 years is nothing, but in kid's toys terms that's a whole generation of consumers that have grown old enough to engage with and want sets from the theme. Kids love Police and Fire sets and for LEGO they are always big sellers.

By 2011 it will have been three years since the last new Police theme - you can't expect LEGO to keep selling the same sets forever. Useful new parts come into being, and more significantly, old parts that may have been commonly produced in colours in 2008 are by 2011 not as widely available to do another production run of the same old set. At some point it becomes more economical to produce a new design which is consistent with the current parts palette rather than have two palettes running simultaneously.

City has for almost the last decade been on a three year cycle with alternating rounds of City and Fire sets in the January slot with the less popular subthemes on a somewhat longer rotation cycle (Coastguard 2003 & 2008, Construction 2005 & 2009, Hospital 2006, Trains 2003, 2006 and 2010, and so on).

[jonwil]

I'm excited about the new prison van! I missed out on the last one. Some more police cars never hurt, too.

I'm SUPER excited for the space theme. I'm glad that we're finally getting a return to the realistic space theme instead of the sci-fi realm (although I did enjoy the space police sets, too).

Oh, and Klaus, did you see anything in any of the sets that looked like this?

I've been wanting a minifig scaled moon lander for a while.

There is already the 10029 Lunar Lander (which came with 2 Apollo astronaut figs)

[Legoroni]

Klaus- Were the sets emphasized for playability, or for detail? I would expect playability, but one or two more detailed sets could be possible.

Btw, thanks for the info. Can't wait to see the rocket. Did it look like a Saturn V?

[Jargo]

I don't mind the police sets. though my better half says I have more police officers in my city than citizens.

be interesting to see what changes have been made. And I'm intrigued about the new police officer. with a violet cravat it sounds a little odd. female officer perhaps?

Space has never really been my thing but maybe some of the pieces might fit in a science lab MOC. my police force could do with a forensics lab.

2011 still seems so far off...

[dr_spock]

Space would be interesting to see what they come up with. How about rough hand drawings of what you've seen?

I think I have a sufficient police force in my town. I don't want to over run it with cops unless there is a G8/G20 summit/riot. I won't be buying more police but I am pretty sure there are always enough young kids coming into Lego age range to snap up the sets. By the time, they're tired of it another generation of new kids will take their place in the Lego marketplace. Can't really blame Lego for keeping their bread and butter going.

[Apollo]

Thank you so much for the information, Klaus-Dieter! I think that another Police theme is great, but I am beyond excited for the return of a Space Port-esque theme! Space Port was a BIG part of my childhood that I cherished, because it helped me aspire to become an astronaut for a short period of time. It really motivated my interest in space overall, and to hear about its return puts me into an excitement too great for words. I cannot wait to feel that nostalgia once again, and that treasured curiosity. There is not a feeling like it.

And dr_spock, I was a very avid collector of Police when I was younger, and had the same insecurities about a potentially over-sized police force. So I decided that instead of expanding my town to accomodate such a force, I made it into a high-security launch facility. Good times

[Artanis I]

I think TLG is doing police and fire because they are the most action-oriented parts of city without going completely out of the theme, and kids like action, unfortunately.

Edit : "Space" city sets :( . The sad face is in there because that increases the chances we won't have a sci-fi space theme in 2011 :(, city space themes are not really my thing.

This doesn't interest me one bit. I'm guessing it'll be like this from 1995 and this from 1999. How disappointing, I was hoping for more "real" space stuff.

I might have a dark age next year haha...

PS the only town sets I ever bought myself were race cars or POLICE. I loved police. Lego, transformers, matchbox cars, micro machines, if there were police I wanted them.

[Klaus-Dieter]

You're all welcome.

And thank you very much for frontpaging all the links to the news topics, Svelte!

NEWS

1. The police station includes even a white bicycle. (How could I have forgotten this?! )

2. If I remember right, the police mobile command center includes even a police motorcycle - but I'm not hundred percent sure on this.

Still, I'll have to see. If it includes nice minifigs, I may buy some. Is the space shuttle big? I may get it, depending on its size...

It's about the size of this year's airplane in 3181 - perhaps a bit smaller but with the same new cockpit piece - so it's for sure 6 studs wide.

Klaus- Were the sets emphasized for playability, or for detail? I would expect playability, but one or two more detailed sets could be possible.

For both. To me they looked like the Space sets from the mid-ninetees but with much bigger vehicles.

Btw, thanks for the info. Can't wait to see the rocket. Did it look like a Saturn V?

Nope. If I remember right, its top was big and round and the rest of its "body" was somewhere thinner and somewhere thicker.

be interesting to see what changes have been made. And I'm intrigued about the new police officer. with a violet cravat it sounds a little odd. female officer perhaps?

Well, that might be and even sounds reasonable. Nevertheless I think I've seen a male head print and short black hairs.

Klaus-Dieter

[Flare]

The space theme might be interesting!

Thanks, K-D

[jonwil]

Its great to hear that the designers have FINALLY (after this years public transport set with the green bike and the white bicycle to come next year) been allowed to make the bicycle in colors other than red (which for a bike is totally unrealistic, I almost never see red bikes)

[Baylego]

Thanks Klaus-Dieter! I usually don't buy from City, but the space sets sound really cool. A red and white color scheme sounds odd for space sets, though.

Can't wait for pictures!

[Joebot]

Thank you so much for the information, Klaus-Dieter! I think that another Police theme is great, but I am beyond excited for the return of a Space Port-esque theme! Space Port was a BIG part of my childhood that I cherished, because it helped me aspire to become an astronaut for a short period of time. It really motivated my interest in space overall, and to hear about its return puts me into an excitement too great for words. I cannot wait to feel that nostalgia once again, and that treasured curiosity. There is not a feeling like it.

Space Port is an under-rated theme. Especially when you look at in the context of the other City sets from that era. That was at the aboslute worst period of Lego City set design. The Space Port stuff was pretty decent though. I ended up buying most of it, and still have it all put together. The light/sound brick from my 6456 - Mission Control still works!

That being said, since I do still have all my Space Port I sets, I have almost no interest in "Space Port II."

Along with the news about no Original Trilogy Star Wars sets, 2011 is going to be a cheap year for me.

[The Cobra]

First of all, thanks Klaus-Dieter for the news.

Police was an easy call, let's just hope sets are good. Space base hasn't been around in Lego town for a few years, so that could be a nice twist.

Yet, I seriously hope something "new" comes out in late 2011, because after 2008/9 enthusiasm, I'm not that happy with this year sets and not too excited about next year's January wave.

[marathoner1987]

Hi K-D,

Thanks for sharing.

Regards,

Victor.

Edited September 4, 2010 by marathoner1987

[Apollo]

Nope. If I remember right, its top was big and round and the rest of its "body" was somewhere thinner and somewhere thicker.

I am not 100% certain on this, but is anyone else getting the vibe that TLG may be making a model based off of the Ares I? Project Constellation will be in effect very soon, so it would make sense for LEGO to base their designs off of the program, as they have based their sets in the past on their respective spaceflight techniques (such as the Space Shuttle from Launch Command, and Space Port; Saturn V from Classic Space and Town themes).

Edited August 10, 2010 by Apollo

[sleek ninja]

Thanks for the news Klaus-Dieter.

I agree with you Apollo on TLC possibly making an Ares I rocket, especially the way Klaus-Dieter described it. Also the white red color scheme he saw might be changed to white orange seeing as that is the color scheme for the Ares and Shuttle. Can't wait to see the city space sets in stores.

[Tereglith]

I am not 100% certain on this, but is anyone else getting the vibe that TLG may be making a model based off of the Ares I? Project Constellation will be in effect very soon, so it would make sense for LEGO to base their designs off of the program, as they have based their sets in the past on their respective spaceflight techniques (such as the Space Shuttle from Launch Command, and Space Port; Saturn V from Classic Space and Town themes).

Project Constellation WOULD have been in effect very soon, but the Obama administration has decided that spaceflight isn't an important concern in this time of economic crisis (tell that to Cape Canaveral's economy) and the project was cancelled recently. NASA is now moving towards a business model in which private companies compete for the privilege to provide it with spacecraft, with no specific goals set at present except for continued maintenance of the ISS.

This doesn't rule out the set being based on the Ares I, of course, because clearly the designs were made long before the project was cancelled.

[marvinblue]

Thanks for the news K-D. The City Space theme is a nice idea for a subtheme. It doesn't interest me much though. From reading your descriptions, the thing that strikes me is how uninspired the Police subtheme is. While I realize that there needs to be a big police station as the top-of-the-line set, there is also the third mobile command center in a row. I'm kinda disappointed to see no hospital subtheme. But we've had these discussions before, fire and police sets are probably the biggest City sellers. Looks like personally, I'm saving some money next year.

I'm with Rick on this one. Thanks for the heads-up on the City sets Klaus-Dieter!

[Apollo]

Project Constellation WOULD have been in effect very soon, but the Obama administration has decided that spaceflight isn't an important concern in this time of economic crisis (tell that to Cape Canaveral's economy) and the project was cancelled recently.

Ah, it's a shame I knew that Obama wanted to cancel the program, but I wasn't sure if the decision was fully resolved! Maybe someday...

However, I agree that TLG may still be experimenting with concept manned launch vehicles, namely an Ares I look-a-like! One can hope!

Edited August 13, 2010 by Apollo