The 'Golden Age' of Lego, is it now?

[Fives]

I would say that LEGO is in a current 'Golden Age' right now. Like many have said, I think it started in 2008-2009, with the introduction of The Clone Wars. Also, in 2008, LEGO got the Indy license, which was their first license other than Star Wars and Harry Potter. After that, LEGO has gotten licenses for numerous franchises, which has forced the creation of more inventive and unique pieces, which in turn forced LEGO to update their molds, which has allowed for the introduction of numerous new parts across all themes. In the end, it is the license boom of 2008-present that has made LEGO better than it has ever been before.

[ACWWgal2011]

How would you fix this?

Easy. Get rid of the friends set that's been nothing but a MAJOR controversy issue since b4 it was even released, get lego into rehab for the Flick Fire Missle addiction, have more females in the sets(the pitafull attempts atm DON'T count), and introduce stuff that both genders can enjoy(pet shops, cafe, or some sort of mall for example) w/o having to buy the expensive modular buildings.

I'm thinking something like a city meets creator line could be a major winner.

[jed_barabrian]

The sets from the early 90's were great, but I think TLG has hit it's stride since '09. The Star Wars theme was kind of dying down, but clone wars came out and since then TLG has taken off. Also as of right now we have the "Dream Themes", LOTR , Superheroes, Star Wars (Has been around for a while but in my opinion the current sets are best), kids love monster hunters, and I always wnated a collectible minifigure line. Therefore, as I said, the Golden age age has been going on since '09, so enjoy it.

[gylman]

For me the golden age of Technic was late 1980s to mid 1990's, from the Airtech Claw Rig to the Space Shuttle, the pneumatic cranes, and the various control sets. At that time this was really leading edge construction, and the sets were far more creative and did more with less than the current Technic lineup.

From a brick-building perspective, the modular buildings, beginning with Cafe Corner, totally changed what retail LEGO sets were all about for me. Amazing techniques, beautiful constructions. They are a golden age in themselves, 2007 to the present time.

This is an adult's perspective.

As a child, nothing equalled the castles from Legoland (6080), Black Knights (6085) and Royal Knights (6090), and Forestmen were great too. What followed was much weaker. The modern castle series don't really excite me the way those older castles did. So that would make the mid 1980's to mid 1990's a golden age of castle.

[ZO6]

I agree with a lot of the dates being mentioned here (1978 - mid 90's, then late 2000's), so I'm not going to go over them again myself. I do however want to give special mention to 1998. Maybe it's just me having a huge soft spot for the Adventurers line, but in addition to the introduction of that theme there was also Ninja, Res-Q, and the original Mindstorms. Other themes that year included Extreme Team, more Aquazone stuff, and Insectoids. Sure the regular Town sets were garbage and there was a lot of other throwaway stuff, but I'd still say it was a pretty solid year - just for Adventurers and Ninja alone! (I'm not going to go into how business for that year helped lead the way to the dark ages for TLG)

Even pretty much every year between 1995- 2007 had at least one good theme. I'd say more than anything we've entered the golden age of minifigures. Set designs are currently quite good, but I don't think anyone can deny the popularity (whether you love the level of detail or not is another thing) of minifigs.

[Rail Co]

I really do think the 80's were best because I love Lego Trains. They had so many different options with 12 volt, automatic switches, red and green signals, automatic railroad crossings, even auto de-couplers (all buttons wired up of course). Anyway I think there is a start of a break through in trains again. I know PF is not my most favorite (much rather have and electric track) but they are starting to produce sets more often again! At least one every year (most of the time).

this is what I love to see and I hope the is only the start of what is to come. I do hope they start with automatic things again. In fact A year or two ago I even suggest one of those I forgot which and the guy seemed enthusiastic about it and said he will submit it to the "idea Department" (he may not have) but there is that little hope for all train fans out there!

Those are my thoughts, Rail Co

[HawkLord]

I'd say the "Golden Age" would have been the early-mid '90s. Just seems like alot of themes then were really doing well - Castle, Pirates, etc. Plus, you can tell from the sets and packaging alone that Lego was making more money then ever and felt more successful.

Right now, I feel like we're in the "Modern License Age", which feels obviously license heavy. Granted, licenses are good for Lego, but they do make alittle less money having to pay for the rights to use such licenses. Now, you won't ever catch me complaining about licenses (I love my Star Wars Legos), but in a way it represents a new chapter of Lego in that we're seeing almost half of their sets related to a license. So, when we talk about the best of times for Lego, it's almost relative to what is being offered around that time.

[Rez]

I dunno why so many people have picked 09.. to me that was a very visable drop off in quality from 08.

I'd say 07 leading into 08 were the true great years in recent memory. It was when Star Wars really started to expand(Okay.. really that was more like 06 but 06 wasn't offering too much else in the way of innovation and awesomeness). 07 featured the awesome Aqua Raiders and the start of Modualar buildings, but 08 really kicked it into high gear with the Fantasy Castle and Town offerings, and my personal single favorite pick for best lego wave ever..

AGENTS!

I remember seeing these on the shelves and PASSING on them, and only in the past year or two have I tracked them down.. I have no trouble in saying that they blow away every single set currently on the market.. and I quite like some of the sets out there now! Sets like the Volcano Base and the Agents HQ Truck are absolute magic.. and nothing was more dissappointing than seeing the HUGE drop off in quality the next year with the Agents 2.0 wave. And sure, Lego might have "officially" dove into Clone Wars in 09.. but if you look at all the sets in 08, they were already there ;) Plus this was when Star Wars sets really became absolutely rediculous price wise. And what other stuff was on deck..? Power Miners? ... Yeah.

07-08 was the true golden age of today! And seriously, anyone who doesn't own some Agents sets.. go buy them. Now.

Edited June 28, 2012 by Rez

[PMJ]

My opinion will most certainly be despised. I think the Golden age was 1980-2008. okay, 28 years is a bit long, but I actually feel lego has been losing it's originality recently. Call me crazy, but I only like a few licensed themes, and the recent original themes seem kind of disappointing. I don't know, maybe it's the kids that I always see going OmG I H4Z ShRP1E CUSTUM CLOWNE TROOPURZ.

[brickbuilder711]

LEGO has been improving significantly lately. I would say that we are in one right now. They are producing sets very intelligently; they are thinking as to what the customer wants and what the audience would benefit from. SW might have enjoyed a better year around '09 or '10 but the big successes are Friends, City, and Marvel. When they licensed Ben 10 those sets were mediocre. When Hero Factory peaked, I wasn't excited. But now they picked the right designs. Now, their sets have a wider palette of colors, enough to form a brick kaleidoscope . Prices have slightly improved for product especially in the City "Great Vehicles" line, sticking closer to the $.10/part range. Yes, some other sets are overpriced still but the problem is not as severe as in the past couple of years. Their PR is like a big winner now. With programs like LUGBULK, as well as their increased participation in events, functions, and the like, they have grown as a very outreaching company. Inside and out, they have reached a Golden Age right now with all of these achievements put together.

Edited June 28, 2012 by brickbuilder711

[PMJ]

Also, I'm undoubtedly going against the grain, but I actually LOVED the late 90s to early 00s.

There may have been <insert that tiresome argument> parts, but just think of all the bumpers, wheel wells, and all the other pieces we've been given. I also think it was a point where ego was at a great point for originality, for example, many toy companies have done "pirate" lines before, but Rock Raiders was not only an original idea, but had it's own original BACKSTORY as well.

Maybe I just have poor taste...

[Greedo24]

I believe now is the golden age,with the AMAZING new Monster Fighters theme,a ton of great new sets for Star Wars,(Jabbas Palace )and other might be happy for Lord of The Rings or Superheroes.I think that this is Legos height!

[LovinLegoSince97]

I would have to say 2009ish or mid 1990's.

I played with them as a kid in the mid-late 90's. Those sets were great, I had such an imagination with my lego sets. I still have lots of those pieces and even older pieces but nothing as a whole set. Even my Naboo Starfighter is missing a yellow pole brick and droid minifigure..I wasnt a big star wars fan, but I loved that set. The themes like "Res-Q", "Extreme Team", "Johnny Thunder",ect. those sets were awesome to have as a child playing by their self in the living room.

Also, I'm undoubtedly going against the grain, but I actually LOVED the late 90s to early 00s.

There may have been <insert that tiresome argument> parts, but just think of all the bumpers, wheel wells, and all the other pieces we've been given. I also think it was a point where ego was at a great point for originality, for example, many toy companies have done "pirate" lines before, but Rock Raiders was not only an original idea, but had it's own original BACKSTORY as well.

Maybe I just have poor taste...

Haha yeah Rock Raiders...I had a couple of those sets!

Edited June 28, 2012 by LovinLegoSince97

[ShadowVegan]

The first and only golden age began in the mid 80s and went through around 2002. Star Wars is still good though.

Edited June 28, 2012 by ShadowVegan

[lisqr]

The golden age of moc is definitely now! I don't think most of my mocs today are doable in the 90s. The variety and versatility of pieces today beats 10 - 20 years ago hands down.

[Itaria No Shintaku]

My 2p: I was all in for LEGO PIRATES when I was 10, but before that I was a citizen! Imho, I stepped away from lego when they started realeasing 4juniors, jackstone, and that crap. I thought they were renouncing to the classic minifig. Lego creating a new kind of minifig would have been the end of my dreams. I also was largely disappointed by Vikings fighting what it seemed to me "mechanic monsters".. really bad.. but then with Fantasy Era they brought me back in. And CMF did the rest, I never hoarded shops for lego as much as now that I have CMFs!

[robbo]

Definitely now and as stated above, it was star wars that brought me back to lego in 1999, with a much bigger budget my collection has boomed in recent time. Also loving the creator/ city sets in the last 5 years... truly amazing work and detail. Recent castle and lord of rings has my mouth watering for more. Bought my first set in 1980 :)and still have every set bought.

[Lyichir]

Easy. Get rid of the friends set that's been nothing but a MAJOR controversy issue since b4 it was even released, get lego into rehab for the Flick Fire Missle addiction, have more females in the sets(the pitafull attempts atm DON'T count), and introduce stuff that both genders can enjoy(pet shops, cafe, or some sort of mall for example) w/o having to buy the expensive modular buildings.

I'm thinking something like a city meets creator line could be a major winner.

"Nothing but a MAJOR controversy"? Actually, they have been something else: a MAJOR success. And somehow I doubt reducing action features and conflict in sets would attract more girls to buy the sets. If anything, it would probably cause LEGO to LOSE some of their male audience. The attempts to have females in sets are currently far from pitiful (examples include CITY, which has a much more even gender ratio than it had in years past; or Atlantis, which despite being an "action theme" had a woman as the main character).

LEGO has been gender-divided for a long time; the main difference was that boys bought sets and girls mostly didn't. Friends is accomplishing a lot despite being a "girls theme": it's proving to skeptical retailers that girls will actually buy building toys, as opposed to only buying dolls. Eliminating the Friends theme would be a step in the wrong direction, and would be equivalent to a show of defeat in the eyes of these retailers.

[Hey Joe]

Wow, we're getting some great replies here, many thanks! As a newcomer I really appreciate them. When I was a boy, Legos were just simple blocks (not so interesting in the long-term but I do remember spending many hours with them) then I got into comic books and HO trains so I'm pretty ignorant of Legos in the past, one of the reasons for my original post. I've been browsing Brickset, trying to get a handle on what Lego's been up to for the past forty years but - as you can imagine - it's not so simple to get a comprehensive overview, even from a great site such as Brickset (and this one too, of course).

The modular buildings are really interesting to me (as are the CMFs, Trains, Winter Village, Atlantis and Creator buildings) and just looking at all their other recent offerings it just seemed to be heads above what they've done in the past, speaking as someone with no nostagia to cloud my judgement (but I'm definitely going to take a harder look at some of the time periods and sets mentioned in your posts).

SW is producing amazing set after amazing set too. There's not one Star Wars set I don't want right now! So yes, it might be a "Golden Age".

I love the all of the new Star Wars sets myself but...sigh...have a budget (and I'm aiming at a Town/City-style layout with some trains) so I've not bought any save one; the new Luke's Landspeeder. Hopefully it won't look too out-of-place whizzing past the City Hall?

I have the impression that Lego is really doing very well these times. I'm not really sure if "The Golden Age" is a good way to put it, though.

I used the term 'Golden Age' because of my background in comics fandom. If I remember correctly the Golden Age of comics in the US was in the 1940s.

Aren't these things usually defined in retrospect?

Yes, absolutely but in the past I always seemed to get involved in things (baseball cards come to mind) a little past their heyday so I'm looking for confirmation of something that I already suspect; I got into something at a good time!

I think the "Golden Age" Started in 2007 and is still going strong today, although with the new price politics that is going on TLG might blow it.

My thought with the big direct exclusive sets released back then like 10179 USC Falcon, 10182 Café Corner and 10181 Eiffel Tower TLG introduced some of the best sets for that year and with other great releases over the years the sets

Have gotten more detailed and more realistic. But with the new prices of 10218 Haunted House at €179 or £149 for the same price of 10224 Town Hall which was released 6 month earlier but with 700 more pieces I see this going in a bad direction!

In the future I will probable reduce the buying of Large sets to AFOL days and double VIP points!

I'm with you on this one GRogall. Legos are cool but I can barely justify buying them during sales at their present price. They seem quite spendy for what is, at the end of the day, small bits of plastic. I'm living in China presently and they're even MORE expensive here with the import tax. I've been getting some of the locally made stuff. Most of it is horrible but some of it isn't bad. Sometimes the shoddy instructions and/or missing parts force you to innovate, which isn't a bad thing. The price can't be beat!

[ACWWgal2011]

"Nothing but a MAJOR controversy"? Actually, they have been something else: a MAJOR success. And somehow I doubt reducing action features and conflict in sets would attract more girls to buy the sets. If anything, it would probably cause LEGO to LOSE some of their male audience. The attempts to have females in sets are currently far from pitiful (examples include CITY, which has a much more even gender ratio than it had in years past; or Atlantis, which despite being an "action theme" had a woman as the main character).

LEGO has been gender-divided for a long time; the main difference was that boys bought sets and girls mostly didn't. Friends is accomplishing a lot despite being a "girls theme": it's proving to skeptical retailers that girls will actually buy building toys, as opposed to only buying dolls. Eliminating the Friends theme would be a step in the wrong direction, and would be equivalent to a show of defeat in the eyes of these retailers.

The series is mainly a "succes" due to the new molds, but a failure as sets as a whole. Pretty much every love story i'm hearing is a result of new molds. Hair, animals, and kitchen stuff are the major items. Honestly if it wouldn't be for the fact the way the series was designed, i'd be after some of the sets also.

And i don't want a drastic decrease in FFM's, just enough where it's not in tons of sets.

And eliminating friends and instead getting some sort of more gendar neutral themes out there(like my city meets creator idea) would actually do the company some good. Instead of looking like a company taking the sterotypical design, they'd actually look like a company w/ orginal ideas that'd last for many years to come.

[train_nut]

Definitely agree with GRogall, 2007 is THE year that the second golden age began. Unsurprisingly that was the same year I came out of the closet and bought lego again. As a working professional, I bought all the cornerstone sets - eiffel, mil falcon, cafe corner, market street - you bet.

[Aanchir]

The series is mainly a "succes" due to the new molds, but a failure as sets as a whole. Pretty much every love story i'm hearing is a result of new molds. Hair, animals, and kitchen stuff are the major items. Honestly if it wouldn't be for the fact the way the series was designed, i'd be after some of the sets also.

And i don't want a drastic decrease in FFM's, just enough where it's not in tons of sets.

And eliminating friends and instead getting some sort of more gendar neutral themes out there(like my city meets creator idea) would actually do the company some good. Instead of looking like a company taking the sterotypical design, they'd actually look like a company w/ orginal ideas that'd last for many years to come.

The new molds are one main reason AFOLs like the Friends theme, but the mainstream success, which comes largely from girls who weren't previously LEGO fans, has far less to do with the new molds. After all, if you've never bought LEGO before, then all molds will be "new" to you.

I won't say the new molds don't play a role in creating new fans, but that's the case with any theme (besides perhaps Creator or Bricks & More). People wouldn't be nearly as interested in Ninjago if it didn't have so many cool ninja weapons, for instance. The point of creating new molds isn't just to appease AFOLs, it's also to fill a void that would otherwise be present in your new toy line. And in the case of Friends, that includes creating new figures that will appeal to girls who don't identify with the classic minifigure.

If TLG could create gender-neutral sets that would correct the gender imbalance in LEGO buyers, they surely would. Hopefully we will see more of that now that Friends has demonstrated that yes, girls can enjoy building toys in the same numbers as boys. But that doesn't mean that boy-oriented and girl-oriented toys are a bad thing.

A one-size-fits-all approach would not only risk alienating LEGO's strong reputation with boys, but also potentially not go far enough to even make a dent in LEGO's weaker reputation among girls. And it would marginalize any girls who do in fact have traditionally "feminine" interests or boys who have traditionally "masculine" interests. Are those individuals really undeserving of TLG's attention?

The Friends theme is far from stereotypical. It's groundbreaking in a number of ways-- it breaks from toy industry tradition by marketing building toys with the same level of building value and play value as boy-oriented toys to girls, it breaks from LEGO tradition by introducing a newer, more realistic minifigure that still has interchangeable body parts, and it breaks from design tradition by being based not just on traditional market research and focus-group testing but rather on an anthropological study of how play patterns differ between girls and boys.

Some aspects of it seem somewhat stereotypical, of course, like how some of its subject matter consists of things that girls have historically shown a strong interest in, like horseback riding and fashion. But in this way, is it really any more stereotypical than the City theme, which has subject matter boys have historically shown a strong interest in, like fire engines and police cars? It features many nice pastel colors, which is fairly normal among girls' toys, but aren't City, Hero Factory, and Ninjago sets just as stereotypical for including lots of bold primary colors like boys have often been shown to like? It'd be feeble reasoning to suggest that TLG should turn their backs on any and all aspects of successful toy design just to avoid stereotypes.

Overall, I can't think of a single way in which the Friends theme is categorically inferior to any other LEGO theme. The sets are just as complex as boy-oriented or gender-neutral sets with the same price point and recommended age range. They are designed with the same emphasis on both building value and play value as any other theme. The set designs are just as diverse as in other themes, and are no less of a healthy childhood influence than other theme. Obviously they don't appeal to everyone, and some girls and boys will have different interests, but that is true of any theme, and I don't think it's fair to treat LEGO Friends differently than other themes just because it happens to be aimed at a different demographic.

Edited June 28, 2012 by Aanchir

[domboy]

Talk about a highly subjective topic! And a lot of one's opinion will probably have to do with personal likes and dislikes.

I hate really dislike stickers (hate was kind of a strong word), and have a huge preference for printed pieces, or less decorated sets if it means less stickers. So the more recent increase in stickers and decrease in the number of printed pieces to me is a bad thing, and definitely not golden. I expect tons of printed pieces may be one of the things that got Lego in financial trouble, but that doesn't make me like stickers any better. Of course, a specially molded pieces could definitely take the place of either to me, such as the recent "brick" brick piece for example (not sure of its official name yet).

Minifigs - lots of people go on and on about minifig detail, back printing, having tons of different facial expressions, but this doesn't matter that much to me. Sure some of the modern minifigs are awesome, I think too detailed can be bad too... I'd rather less detail on minifigs and more printed pieces.

And each theme probably has its own Golden Age, or lack thereof.

Most castle fans love the mid eighties, including me. But I loved the 2007 fantasy line (one of the things that got me back into Lego), and the Kingdoms line that replaced it was rather bleh to me. A lot of people feel the reverse.

Many train fans bemoan the discontinuation of powered rails when Lego switch to power functions for the train line. Then again the two recent exclusive trains are incredible, PF though they are.

Licensed themes are a problem for. I think they're awesome (aside from fleshies), I can't afford to really get into them due to the characters... I'll want to collect them all, and that is out of the budget. Regular non-licensed themes don't have this problem, and it's more about the model than a bunch of characters. That said, my little boy has picked up an interest in superheros (probably from his little friends at preschool), so Batman Lego couldn't have come at a better time for him. And I'd rather get him a Batman Lego set than some action figure (something that never really appealed to me).

The great thing about Lego is that it can all go together, and with places like bricklink, ebay, online yardsale sites, etc, one can purchase most any set (depending on how much you're willing to pay of course). No wonder Lego was always my favorite toy...

Edited June 28, 2012 by domboy

[ShaydDeGrai]

I'm not sure I can put a finger on a single "golden age" window, but for me, I think a key moment was the introduction of the pre-minifigure, the slab-like one with fixed legs and bumps on the sides of the torso for arms. There were a handful of sets, like the fire truck, police, and hospital that set in motion the age that was to follow with the minifigure as we know it today and all the themes that would grow up around it, Space, Pirates, Kingdoms, etc.

The other defining moment, for me, was the launch of the Expert Builder line (that eventually became Technic). Again, like the pre-minifigure, I think this pre-dated any "Golden Age", but many of my favorite kits (particularly the Technic Space Shuttle, and the many generations of "super car") would never have been without that modest beginning.

I guess in hindsight I'd give high marks to the ;ate 70's through mid 80's as a time when Lego was introducing lots of really great sets without being redundant or self-derivative; Technic took longer to come into its own and had a mini golden age of its own a decade or so later.

Lego had something of a dark age around heading into the 21st century, parts got bigger, builds got simpler, and they relied on way, way too many specialized parts. Kits spent too much time trying to toys and not enough time being construction sets. I'm glad they've moved past that and have gotten back to what, in my mind, makes Lego Lego, and ushered in a Renaissance.

[Legonizer]

I am not acquainted with the majority of the existence of LEGO, but I've been building in LEGO my whole life uninterrupted by a "dark age", and I believe that we currently inhabit a second "golden age of LEGO" (even though the first was before I was born). The functions and detail in modern sets are astounding, and we have just the right part selection where we have incredible flexibility but are not swamped with one-use "unique" pieces. prices are reasonable for the contents of sets, and we have innovative lines like Ninjago and modular buildings. but most importantly, A/T-FOLs are better connected now than ever before, leading to better communication with LEGO and fellow FOLs, strengthening our community and supporting one anothers' ideas and building styles, as well as basking in the appreciation of other FOLs. and so I believe the current golden age started perhaps in 2007, when the Cafe Corner was introduced, to my knowledge the first set intended for AFOLs, or maybe when the first LEGO fan convention was held (I don't know when that was), or when the first LUG was formed (I don't know when that was either). In conclusion, it seems to me that we are currently in a golden age of LEGO, primarily due to improved communication within the community.