Legends of Chima 2013

[just2good]

That's the Eagle Castle? Gosh darn, what a disappointment. Man, I was hopping for that to be the savior of the first wave of Chima.

Edited November 28, 2012 by just2good

[DarthPotato]

I didn't even know we were supposed to get an eagle castle. I guess that's what I get for not following this thread that closely. I do have to agree with everyone else that that's kind of a lame "castle". It's also a big disappointment because of the lack of actual buildings for Chima, and I think that that (besides the Speedorz sets) is the only building of this first wave.

[Chri5kng]

You guys actually like this theme?

[Zachattacx]

You guys actually like this theme?

Well I do...

[CM4Sci]

Well I do...

Agreed.

-Sci

[Sid Sidious]

The new raven set took the best parts of my other favorite Chima sets, and put it in one. This is awesome!

[Aanchir]

Eagle Castle is cool, but it definitely isn't what I was expecting... to be fair, I would never have gotten my hopes up for a full castle if I had realized it was a Speedorz set. It's still brilliant, make no mistake, but I look forward to some architectural features showing up in sets that emphasize structure, not just sculpture.

You guys actually like this theme?

Why shouldn't we? It's imaginative, well thought out, and full of potential ideas to be explored.

[just2good]

You guys actually like this theme?

Nope. I do not.

Seriously though, this wave didn't impress me at all. That's it really. I'm sure the summer wave is going to be a better. I'll still be picking up a couple of small sets.

[PenPlays]

I am disappointed in the Eagle Castle, but I still want it (Eeeeeagles) Especially for the Eagle leader, who is in fact, a woman. The Raven Glider is formidable foe to Eris's Eagle Jet. And that concludes all four of of both the bird groups (Eglor, Eris, Equila, "Queen"/ Razar, Razcal, Rizzo, "Croc Boat Raven")

[Chri5kng]

I hate being the minority here but it probably another theme that I have to pass on as well.

[PenPlays]

^You know what, on a positive, you, along with all of you no-LoC-ers, will have more money to buy other/more expensive sets. Or you could dabble on Bricklink and eBay, and gather up all those sets of the past you missed out on.

Edited November 28, 2012 by Penkid11

[Vindicare]

That indeed is an underwhelming 'castle'. I have no interest inn the game, but if those figures are unique I'll get it.

[Chri5kng]

^You know what, on a positive, you, along with all if you no-LoC-ers, will have more money to buy other/more expensive sets. Or you could dabble on Bricklink and eBay, and gather up all those sets of the past you missed out on.

It bother me because Ninjago will be replace by this theme. I don't like Ninjago but they have some great set. I could see Chima having some great set too but not in this wave. I don't think I will ever get set in the past because I'll just be reinforcing the fact that re-sellers can get away with their crimes.

[DraikNova]

While I like the Raven Raider, I agree that the Eagle Castle is a bit of a fail. Although it does seem to have a gold Chi crystal.

I'm still hoping for another wolf set, seeing as they have only one vehicle.

[Lordofdragonss]

Wow, the raven is simply amazing. It will look great on the shelf with the eagle.

[phanstasm]

Found these:

[...]

Thanks, CM4S, for the images! Such a nice surprise to see some more LOC set images today, and what looks like the Eagle's leader! Really cool box art too.

The raven vehicle is fantastic! If there weren't so many great things coming out this year, I'd love to get one of these large Raven vehicles, and flank it with two of the smaller Raven gliders (http://brickset.com/detail/?Set=70000-1).

I can understand a lot of people thought The Eagle's Castle would have had more substance when they heard "castle," myself included, but I do like it as a Speedorz set. The eagle statue nicely parallels the lion statue in "Ultimate Tournament" (http://brickset.com/detail/?Set=70115-1). For me, it's a good starting point to build a fortress for the eagles. Even if you don't like the design, it looks like an interesting parts pack: gold LOC crystal, a white tattered cape on the wolf, and more.

[Garmadon]

Digging the raven...not the eagle castle ,but I did notice something the wolf in the eagle castle set has a white torn-up cape..meaning possibly he's the leader of the wolf clan.

I agree.

Lego doesn't do really great castles, at least, not cheap ones. The problem is that good castles are almost always very big.

And if they do come out with a Lion Castle, it will most likely be a very poor, small representation of the original.

[Gryphon Ink]

With those two new images, I'm officially falling in love with the Raven faction. The bigger raven flyer is amazing. They nailed the "naturalistic mecha" look, and the flyer is an excellent match for the Eagle flyer. Out of this whole theme, I may buy only the two big flyers.

My daughter Raven is NOT going to be pleased that the ravens are bad guys!

[Aanchir]

I agree.

Lego doesn't do really great castles, at least, not cheap ones. The problem is that good castles are almost always very big.

And if they do come out with a Lion Castle, it will most likely be a very poor, small representation of the original.

I wouldn't say that. If they were to release a castle at the same size/price point as the Fire Temple from LEGO Ninjago, I'd say it could be quite impressive indeed. Whether they will in fact do so is the real question. So far, it's unfortunate that all of the major location-based sets have been Speedorz sets, although with that in mind they have been quite atmospheric, much more so than I would normally expect of game-driven sets.

[Garmadon]

I wouldn't say that. If they were to release a castle at the same size/price point as the Fire Temple from LEGO Ninjago, I'd say it could be quite impressive indeed. Whether they will in fact do so is the real question. So far, it's unfortunate that all of the major location-based sets have been Speedorz sets, although with that in mind they have been quite atmospheric, much more so than I would normally expect of game-driven sets.

My point wasn't that it wouldn't be cool, only that it would be a lot smaller than the one in the trailer.

[DraikNova]

The good thing about it is that if you buy multiples, you'll be able to mod it into something a lot better than if it had originally been designed as a large set, as an actual castle.

[Faefrost]

You guys actually like this theme?

The Minifigs and the minifig parts are kind of interesting. The sets themselves seem underwhelming to me. Trying to be or do too many things at once. The only things half interesting are the bird planes.

[Chri5kng]

T

The Minifigs and the minifig parts are kind of interesting. The sets themselves seem underwhelming to me. Trying to be or do too many things at once. The only things half interesting are the bird planes.

The Minifigs and the minifig parts are kind of interesting. The sets themselves seem underwhelming to me. Trying to be or do too many things at once. The only things half interesting are the bird planes.

Good I was beginning to worry I was the only one. The mini figs are alright though.

[Aanchir]

My point wasn't that it wouldn't be cool, only that it would be a lot smaller than the one in the trailer.

True, but that can be said of nearly anything that appears in LEGO TV shows and specials. This is just an inevitable consequence of the size of sets-- typically, even if a vehicle has more than enough room for a minifigure or a structure has more than enough room for minifigures to move around, the vehicles will not be large enough to be comfortable and the structures will not be large enough to be livable. In the Ninjago series, almost every vehicle and setting is an example of this, but it's also evident in the Hero Factory TV show, in which the typical "Hero Craft" can carry an entire team of six, while the "Drop Ship" set on which it's based can carry one pilot and one Hero Pod for deploying a hero.

I wouldn't call this a flaw in either the shows or the sets. You don't want a set to ever be much bigger than it has to be to convey an idea, because that drives up the price and means fewer people can afford it. A spacious throne room might have a lot of atmosphere, but it means either cutting down the size and content in the rest of the castle or driving up the price. A vehicle that can serve as a flagship for all the characters in a theme is great for storytelling, but from a set design perspective it will mean large amounts of empty space unless the set comes with all of those characters, not to mention lots of amenities that the typical kid won't care much about such as a galley for meals, an engine room, a briefing room for all those missions, and latrines-- all depending on what kind of scenes are needed for the show. Needless to say, a full-scale Destiny's Bounty could easily cost more than $200 if it had all the features present in the show. A full-scale Monastery of Spinjitzu could end up surpassing $300.

And I don't think the settings and vehicles in the shows should be made smaller, either. Having each vehicle carry a single minifigure at most can be a hindrance if you need to get all the characters to one place. Castles and buildings that only have a handful of rooms and corridors will make for very repetitive settings. And of course it's hard to have a strong hierarchy of ideas if everything is sized according to the sizes of the sets-- the bad guys might seem unimposing if their evil headquarters can only support 2-3 inhabitants and as many prisoners. Overall, it's just a place where play and storytelling have different requirements, and have to be adapted to compensate.

[DraikNova]

Considering your post Aanchir, I'm really hoping we're getting a D2C set for this theme. The Crocodile Temple/Fortress would be the obvious choice.