Monster Fighters 2012

[SilvaShado]

I've seen that a lot of people want there to be a zombie set in this theme, but we haven't seen one yet. According to Brickset, set 9465 is called "The Zombies". I think this is probably a provisional name, but it seems to me that there's a possibility that this set might have zombies in it. Here's the link.

http://brickset.com/detail/?Set=9465-1

I'm really hoping there will be a Zombie set, hopefully a Zombie battle pack. But I'm not sure since there wasn't a zombie picture in the prelims, but that doesn't mean there won't. It's just no confirmation yet, but I am hopeful!

[LandShark]

Don't you mean movie monsters? All of them may have a basis in older folklore, but these monsters here were popularised by films...

Mythological would be The Gorgon, Sphinx, Hell Hounds etc

Ah, yes. My bad.

I was thinking that they all had roots in mythology, but I forgot about Frankenstein.

This is almost exactly my viewpoint.

I would much rather have a Loch Ness Monster than another Frankenstein or Mummy.

Maybe some day...

[TeufelHund]

I can't say that the entire range looks like a "must buy" at this stage, and like most, I'm probably more interested in the monsters rather than the fighters.

Dracula's castle looks ok and it will be interesting to see what the "Zombies" set looks like, but other than that I can't see too much appeal.

[LegoBrickSteve]

I must say, I am excited to see how this pans out. Kits and minis based loosely on classic, Universal monsters sounds amazing. I just hope the emphasis remains on them and less on "the fighters". We've had enough generic sort of "adventurer-looking" guys and gals over the years.

And please...no more ghosts! I'm still recovering from the 90's where you got like 2 ghosts with every Castle set they made!

[Napoleon53]

As someone who grew up watching classic horror movies, I'm very excited. Of course, I also grew up watching the Abbott & Costello parodies, so I can sense a comedy-horror MOC using that derby hat very soon. "Heyyyy, Abbott!"

I must say, I am excited to see how this pans out. Kits and minis based loosely on classic, Universal monsters sounds amazing. I just hope the emphasis remains on them and less on "the fighters". We've had enough generic sort of "adventurer-looking" guys and gals over the years.

And please...no more ghosts! I'm still recovering from the 90's where you got like 2 ghosts with every Castle set they made!

At least the main character has a derby hat and a rapier.

I don't have any ghosts...

Edited January 10, 2012 by Napoleon53

[Algernon]

I must say, I am excited to see how this pans out. Kits and minis based loosely on classic, Universal monsters sounds amazing. I just hope the emphasis remains on them and less on "the fighters". We've had enough generic sort of "adventurer-looking" guys and gals over the years.

From what I can tell, the minifigs here look unique enough. Several have already mentioned the derby hat and rapier man - I'll probably get that set just for him.

This theme appears to be the replacement for Pharaoh's Quest. I'm pretty happy with it, actually. You could almost call it "Monster's Quest" and it could be thought of as the next chapter for Jake Raines.

[Napoleon53]

I just noticed that there's a black derby in the Frankenstein set! More useful than gray, IMO.

[LegoBrickSteve]

From what I can tell, the minifigs here look unique enough. Several have already mentioned the derby hat and rapier man - I'll probably get that set just for him.

This theme appears to be the replacement for Pharaoh's Quest. I'm pretty happy with it, actually. You could almost call it "Monster's Quest" and it could be thought of as the next chapter for Jake Raines.

I loved the concept of Pharaoh's Quest, but felt some of the kits didn't deliver. I loved the mummy type stuff, but the big spiders and dogs were a waste of parts. I would have loved more elaborate sets...

[Dr.Cogg]

I hope the Zombies are in a graveyard.

Edited January 10, 2012 by Dr.Cogg

[LegoBrickSteve]

Old farmhouse > graveyard for Zombies

[David Thomsen]

The problem with Eurobricks is that it's hard to keep track of leaked preliminary images without following particular threads... I didn't even realise Monster Fighters was a theme, and then I find preliminary images have been around for ages.

So far, I'm not impressed... it kind of seems like a wacky mash-up theme like 'Time Cruisers'.

I do have some positive thoughts, though.

Derby hats... awesome.

Rapiers... awesome.

Vampire Castle... not bad, actually.

Vampire Car... lovably stupid. I might need to get that.

[Ogre]

Will be buying for the minifigs (very happy about the return of GID ghost) and using the rest of the sets for parts.

[LegoBrickSteve]

These look awesome. The monsters were highlights of the mystery minifig collections, so it feels good on the inside to see them getting the full treatment with a theme of their own now.

[Ayden]

My heart just skipped a beat when I saw these sets! This is frighteningly close to where my collection was headed anyways. I really cannot wait for this theme to be released.

[Vindice]

I loved the concept of Pharaoh's Quest, but felt some of the kits didn't deliver. I loved the mummy type stuff, but the big spiders and dogs were a waste of parts. I would have loved more elaborate sets...

I think this is a really good point and also where TLG is a bit stuck.

Both Atlantis and Pharaohs quest were excellent concepts but the brickbuilt "monsters" don't resonate with kids.

I think they have it right with the new dino attack range in having new molds for the large beasts. Brick-stuff looks in-authentic, best to reserve the bricks for vehicles and playsets......or large robots!

I would love to see a mythological range but until the decide to go with molds i#d rather they steered away from it. I don't want a brickbuilt Griffin or Cerberus, I want it as a mold like the Triceratops.

[Aanchir]

I think this is a really good point and also where TLG is a bit stuck.

Both Atlantis and Pharaohs quest were excellent concepts but the brickbuilt "monsters" don't resonate with kids.

I think they have it right with the new dino attack range in having new molds for the large beasts. Brick-stuff looks in-authentic, best to reserve the bricks for vehicles and playsets......or large robots!

I would love to see a mythological range but until the decide to go with molds i#d rather they steered away from it. I don't want a brickbuilt Griffin or Cerberus, I want it as a mold like the Triceratops.

I don't know about that... while brickbuilt monsters obviously don't fit in with regular minifigures and minifigure animals too well as living creatures, I feel they work quite well as they were used in the Atlantis and Pharaoh's Quest line as enchanted statues and monsters. Plus, unlike specialized animal molds, the brickbuilt monsters inspire kids to create their own monsters using those same sorts of parts, whereas the Dino theme's main creative appeal is inspiring kids to create new vehicles for trapping the dinos (since the dinos have very little room for customization).

In my opinion there's a place for brickbuilt monsters with lots of room for imagination just as there is a place for specialized animal molds that can be more easily recognized as living creatures. I personally like the Ninjago dragons, as these create a sort of a happy medium between these two extremes. There are specialized head molds to give them a sort of lifelike expressiveness, with printed eyes (which I always prefer on minifigure animals of any kind) and lots of detail. But the rest of the bodies are largely brickbuilt. And at the same time, the construction of the Ninjago dragons still aims for a cohesive and solid-looking design, besides possibly the Earth Dragon which somewhat sacrifices this for its play function. Look at the Lightning Dragon, which despite its segmented body has a very smooth body shape with repetitive angles, or the Fire Dragon which uses lots of curved slopes to create a body with a similar streamlined look to the more specialized dragons in fantasy-era Castle.

This does not mean that I think this "middle-of-the-road" approach is well-suited to all themes. I don't think the Dino theme would have been nearly as stylish with brickbuilt dinosaurs, even with specialized head molds (and in fact I think for non-fantasy creatures, this solution might work poorly, as in Ninjago the angular designs of the dragon heads fit far better with brickbuilt bodies than smoother and more realistic animal heads would). Additionally, the Ninjago Fire Temple set demonstrates how poorly this solution might have worked for Pharaoh's Quest. While the Fire Dragon's head sticking out of the top of the temple is meant to resemble stone sculptural detail before the dragon is awakened, in reality it's hard to imagine a ninja or skeleton approaching to take the golden weapon without noticing the obvious dragon head looming over them. Pharaoh's Quest depends heavily on the statue-like look of its monstrous guardian creatures, and for this a completely brickbuilt design is the order of the day.

[Markypops]

Does any one else think that the new hammer that has shown up in these sets is just another use for Thor's hammer which has been created for the next wave of the superheroes line?

[TheLegoDr]

I agree with Aanchir on the brick built vs mold debate. I don't think I can state it any better.

I feel there is a place for either, depending on the situation/set/theme. It is similar to "fleshies" vs standard yellow. I love how both look, but not at the same time. I missed out on the fantasy era, so I don't have any of those dragons, but I don't particularly care for their static poses at times. I don't mind the mix of the two ideas with the Ninjago dragons, but I'd want to customize them more (having the brick built feature allows me and others to do just that), but I can at least pose them slightly more if wanted. But then we get Stormbringer and their beautiful brick built dragon that looks highly poseable. I am excited to try building something similar to that design.

So I can see both sides of the argument there, but I'd say brick built allows us to use our imaginations more. But I also agree sometimes molds are definitely better for the set. But I'd prefer a molded Griffin also.

I'm not too familiar with many monster type movies, other than the sets already described, so I don't know how many larger monsters we would get. We might not have to worry about any brick built vs molded in this theme. With that said, I don't know how many waves it would really last, unless they did different locations with the same monsters for the second wave.

I can't wait for HR photos!

[Oky]

I would love to see a mythological range but until the decide to go with molds i#d rather they steered away from it. I don't want a brickbuilt Griffin or Cerberus, I want it as a mold like the Triceratops.

There already are a molded Hippogriff and Cerberus.

[Arigomi]

I have mixed feelings about the return of the classic shroud-type ghosts. I think an update using the CMF S6 genie tail/legs would've been nice. That mold has already been used in LEGO Spongebob for The Flying Dutchman's legs. If you combine that with a cape and matching minifigure hood, there is more room for variations and detail for ghosts. Unfortunately, that setup might be too expensive for the set's budget. At least with the classic ghost shroud, we can expect the glow-in-the-dark play feature.

[Ayden]

Does any one else think that the new hammer that has shown up in these sets is just another use for Thor's hammer which has been created for the next wave of the superheroes line?

I was thinking just that.

I have mixed feelings about the return of the classic shroud-type ghosts. I think an update using the CMF S6 genie tail/legs would've been nice. That mold has already been used in LEGO Spongebob for The Flying Dutchman's legs. If you combine that with a cape and matching minifigure hood, there is more room for variations and detail for ghosts. Unfortunately, that setup might be too expensive for the set's budget. At least with the classic ghost shroud, we can expect the glow-in-the-dark play feature.

Unless I am mistake, it looks like the ghosts have a slight hood like point towards the back of the heads.

Personally, I like that they are using the glow in the dark sheet style ghosts, though I wouldnt mind if they attached the genie piece in place of legs.

[Vindice]

I don't know about that... while brickbuilt monsters obviously don't fit in with regular minifigures and minifigure animals too well as living creatures, I feel they work quite well as they were used in the Atlantis and Pharaoh's Quest line as enchanted statues and monsters. Plus, unlike specialized animal molds, the brickbuilt monsters inspire kids to create their own monsters using those same sorts of parts, whereas the Dino theme's main creative appeal is inspiring kids to create new vehicles for trapping the dinos (since the dinos have very little room for customization).

In my opinion there's a place for brickbuilt monsters with lots of room for imagination just as there is a place for specialized animal molds that can be more easily recognized as living creatures. I personally like the Ninjago dragons, as these create a sort of a happy medium between these two extremes. There are specialized head molds to give them a sort of lifelike expressiveness, with printed eyes (which I always prefer on minifigure animals of any kind) and lots of detail. But the rest of the bodies are largely brickbuilt. And at the same time, the construction of the Ninjago dragons still aims for a cohesive and solid-looking design, besides possibly the Earth Dragon which somewhat sacrifices this for its play function. Look at the Lightning Dragon, which despite its segmented body has a very smooth body shape with repetitive angles, or the Fire Dragon which uses lots of curved slopes to create a body with a similar streamlined look to the more specialized dragons in fantasy-era Castle.

This does not mean that I think this "middle-of-the-road" approach is well-suited to all themes. I don't think the Dino theme would have been nearly as stylish with brickbuilt dinosaurs, even with specialized head molds (and in fact I think for non-fantasy creatures, this solution might work poorly, as in Ninjago the angular designs of the dragon heads fit far better with brickbuilt bodies than smoother and more realistic animal heads would). Additionally, the Ninjago Fire Temple set demonstrates how poorly this solution might have worked for Pharaoh's Quest. While the Fire Dragon's head sticking out of the top of the temple is meant to resemble stone sculptural detail before the dragon is awakened, in reality it's hard to imagine a ninja or skeleton approaching to take the golden weapon without noticing the obvious dragon head looming over them. Pharaoh's Quest depends heavily on the statue-like look of its monstrous guardian creatures, and for this a completely brickbuilt design is the order of the day.

Aanchir, your point is excellent made and I can't disagree with that. I do think that the Ninjago theme has possibly benefitted from a larger budget possibly from TLG. It is a very well built range!

[Algernon]

For my part, I feel like brick-built creatures miss more often than they hit. The trouble is, by nature, brick-built creatures are more prone to breaking than molded ones. Even well-designed brick-builts can't compare to a decent new mold, such as the T-Rex from the Dino range. Molded monsters lend themselves to more playability (and collectibility), which are two things TLG definitely wants.

There are some exceptions though. In a theme like Pharaoh's Quest, there wasn't a whole lot else to "build" in a theme that's set in a barren desert. So it made sense to have the sets revolve around brick-built statues. I just think this is the exception rather than the rule (and it should be noted that PQ didn't seem to do very well, even if it was a cult hit here).

[SilvaShado]

I must be in the minority as I loved Pharaoh's Quest brick-built monsters. The Scarab, Cobra and the Scorpian were some of my favorite parts of the series. I always wanted to get an extra cobra, but sadly could never find it at a good price and missed it.

But I agree that brick-built wouldn't work for everything and I like a lot of the molded animals.

For instance, the spiders that came out for Halloween were the stupidest things I had ever seen. And as much as I like the dragons in Ninjago, there are a bit fragile for all their moving parts. It's a tough balance to make something look cool and have a stable design.

[Ogre]

I must be in the minority as I loved Pharaoh's Quest brick-built monsters. The Scarab, Cobra and the Scorpian were some of my favorite parts of the series. I always wanted to get an extra cobra, but sadly could never find it at a good price and missed it.

I agree. I think the 'living statues' in PQ were great and one of the selling points for the theme.

But I agree that brick-built wouldn't work for everything and I like a lot of the molded animals.

Agree. For some things, I just want moulded...especially if the other animals around are already moulded. It's one of the reasons that I prefer the new chickens from MVR etc., from Kingdoms, over the birds in MMV.

For instance, the spiders that came out for Halloween were the stupidest things I had ever seen. And as much as I like the dragons in Ninjago, there are a bit fragile for all their moving parts. It's a tough balance to make something look cool and have a stable design.

Those Halloween spiders made for great 'parts packs' though, when they went on sale for 75% off! *g*