Lego Ultra Agents 2015

[obsidianheart]

I'm talking about just the three summer sets. I don't think there have been a whole lot of availability issues with the rest of this year's Ultra Agents sets.

I can go to the local WalMart and find three series 1 sets and one series 2 set shelf-warming the clearance section, but I had to hurry to a TRU when series 3 came out to get any of those three at all.

[TheOneVeyronian]

From what I've heard (from heavy conversations about it with friends), the 3 Summer sets were pulled from European production at the last minute. Apparently not even the designers of the sets know why they were pulled, I can only guess that the line sold poorly in Europe? Though I will add, in the UK, Ultrasonic Showdown was in stock on Asda's website for a VERY brief period back in July but I missed the boat and the listing was pulled.

Well, whatever the reason, it's a shame. I was lucky to get the Ultrasonic Showdown as a birthday gift a couple of months back, but finding the Portal and Boat sets is proving a real thorn in my backside, especially due to my reluctance to order expensive stuff from outside the EU. My last hope is that they might be sold at a convention (Brick 2015 Birmingham is this week for instance, their marketplace is very good for stuff like this apparently), but I don't hold my breath

(in fact I was looking for robot shark, none in bricklink?)

The robo-shark is on Bricklink Makes me sad I didn't react quickly enough to them being sold at $5 each, now they're $25 each... and the cheaper used one doesn't ship to my country either

[Vorkosigan]

So TRU is doing 30% off all ultra agents sets for black friday. I haven't been to my local store recently but I would guess they'd get at least some in stock for the sale. Last year when they had 50% off Galaxy Squad I was able to easily pick up a couple sets so might be worth checking out.

[Phadeout]

From what I've heard (from heavy conversations about it with friends), the 3 Summer sets were pulled from European production at the last minute. Apparently not even the designers of the sets know why they were pulled, I can only guess that the line sold poorly in Europe? Though I will add, in the UK, Ultrasonic Showdown was in stock on Asda's website for a VERY brief period back in July but I missed the boat and the listing was pulled.

Well, whatever the reason, it's a shame. I was lucky to get the Ultrasonic Showdown as a birthday gift a couple of months back, but finding the Portal and Boat sets is proving a real thorn in my backside, especially due to my reluctance to order expensive stuff from outside the EU. My last hope is that they might be sold at a convention (Brick 2015 Birmingham is this week for instance, their marketplace is very good for stuff like this apparently), but I don't hold my breath

The robo-shark is on Bricklink Makes me sad I didn't react quickly enough to them being sold at $5 each, now they're $25 each... and the cheaper used one doesn't ship to my country either

I actually moaned about it to customer service mostly because I really wanted the ultrasonic set, they gave me a proper reply stating that it was just poor sales responsible, Europe hadn't really gone for the theme at all compared to the US. Shame, although I did get a load of sets for half price in my local Lego store - discounts and VIP points!

[firefox]

Lego has to much themes at the moment and the pace of new sets is way to high to follow or collect everything. I wish for the 80's again :(

I only need the ultrasonic jet to complete the line, but it will have to come from ......japan. If you talk about absurd.

[gamejutzu]

I don't really get it.

Ultra Agents sets look great.

They have awesomely printed figures.

There were brand new printed parts and such.

And THE SETS WERE GREAT!

I mean, come on, look at the hurricane heist, LEGO gave us a metal gear!

And still, despiite the cool figures and sweet builds, not a lot of people bought UA? Why is this theme unappealing to so many?

[obsidianheart]

I bought most of 'em twice.

[Lyichir]

I only bought a few sets that stood out to me. The theme didn't initially appeal to me, since I was a big fan of the original 2008 Agents theme and many of the sets (like the Ultra Agents Mission HQ) felt like less-impressive versions of sets from that previous theme. It was only some of the second-year sets (like the UltraCopter and especially the Ultra Agents Ocean HQ) that really won me over, and even then, I was less interested in the story and characters than in the neat builds and useful parts. And of course, it didn't help that the theme had steep competition—when presented with the choice between Ultra Agents and themes like The Lego Movie, Ninjago, Elves, and Bionicle, there just wasn't that much room in my budget for the former.

[gamejutzu]

it didn't help that the theme had steep competition—when presented with the choice between Ultra Agents and themes like The Lego Movie, Ninjago, Elves, and Bionicle, there just wasn't that much room in my budget for the former.

So, if UA came out at a better time, it would be more popular?

But hey, at least UA is still related to Ninjago, so we can still see Invizable and Tox in the show.

Edited December 13, 2015 by gamejutzu

[Lyichir]

So, if UA came out at a better time, it would be more popular?

But hey, at least UA is still related to Ninjago, so we can still see Invizable and Tox in the show.

Yup. That's actually a small part of why I got two of the sets I got (the UltraCopter and Toxikita's Toxic Meltdown). I'd like to get Invizable too, but I'm not so fond of his set, so unless I can find it on sale I might just get him secondhand.

But in general, Ultra Agents wasn't a "big bang" theme like Ninjago, Chima, or The Lego Movie. So I don't know if Lego really expected to get much more than two years out of it. After all, the original Agents theme didn't last much longer than that, either.

Edited December 13, 2015 by Lyichir

[gamejutzu]

But in general, Ultra Agents wasn't a "big bang" theme like Ninjago, Chima, or The Lego Movie. So I don't know if Lego really expected to get much more than two years out of it. After all, the original Agents theme didn't last much longer than that, either.

Sadly.

Now original Space on the other hand, if LEGO doesn't mess up their faces, it would sell out faster than a original gi Lloyd figure sale. they should do it soon.

If they ever do revisit original space, i'm worried they'll make their faces stubbled and lipsticked and whatnot. Regular minifig neutral expressions would work greatly.

The bad guys could have frowns instead of aggressive faces as well.

I mean, regardless of when LEGO does it, it's probably going to be a hit.

Edited December 13, 2015 by gamejutzu

[Agent Andy]

Now we have come to the end of the Ultra Agents it might be time to reflect upon the theme as a whole and single out some stand out sets.

Let me declare my bias straight out. I like Lego with a secret agent theme. It was the original Agents sets back in 2008/9 that lured me back into Lego after a twenty year hiatus. I saw the Mobile Command Centre in a toyshop and just knew I had to have it. I tried to get as many of the original Agents sets as I could but regrettably missed out on a few - most notably the Volcano Base.

I was excited to see the Agents theme revisited in the Ultra Agents sets especially as some of the original Agents sets got reworked and some great new sets were introduced.

For me the highlight of the first wave of Ultra Agents was the design of the helicopter that was a part of the Toxikita’s Toxic Meltdown set. The reworked Mobile Command Centre as the Ultra Agents Mission HQ was also a standout. Comparing these two sets there is no doubt the Ultra Agents Mission HQ was an overall better design. It looked way cooler and the uncoupling function of the rig from the trailer resolved a major issue with the original set. Having said that the interior of the Mobile Command Centre was much better and it had the added advantage of housing considerably more vehicles that it’s reworked version.

With the second wave the UltraCopter was excellent with its sleek design and twin rotors spinning in different directions. The Agent Stealth Patrol was much better in reality than it appeared on the box.

While the third wave contained only three sets each were outstanding. The jet in the Ultrasonic Showdown was a unique design and Braniac was one of the better looking villains. I loved the concept of using an oil rig as the villain’s base and while AntiMatter’s Portal was a bit light in detail on you could easily add to it and the boat and gold toothed shark were great additions. The Ocean HQ was fantastic and, in my opinion, the best overall set in the Ultra Agents series. It was a really enjoyable build and had some standout design features such as the 360 rotating control centre and concealed twin Gatling guns. I really liked how all three of these sets incorporated the app bricks into the sets themselves rather than having them as an additional add on.

It was really disappointing to see the final three sets not getting the wider release they so richly deserved. I had to get a friend from the US to send them over to Australia and while my wife still gives me grief about the costs involved when I got to make the final three sets and complete the series I consider it money well spent.

Reviewing the Ultra Agents as a whole in my opinion the weaker sets were the ones where the ‘futuristic themes’ got pushed out a bit too far such as the bike from Invizible Gold Getaway that looked like a Tron set that didn’t make the cut. Some of the villains also were a bit over the top and finished up looking more like villains from a superhero universe than a secret agents one. I was also a bit disappointed with the Ultra Agents minifigures as they didn’t seem to have the individuality and appeal that the original Agents minifigures had.

Hopefully Lego will revisit the secret agents world some time down the track. I hope when it does it chooses to goes with a more real world/concealment angle with the sets it produces. And I hope that at some stage the ‘holy grail’ might be achieved when Lego can get a licence to manufacture official James Bond sets.

[firefox]

Now we have come to the end of the Ultra Agents it might be time to reflect upon the theme as a whole and single out some stand out sets.

Let me declare my bias straight out. I like Lego with a secret agent theme. It was the original Agents sets back in 2008/9 that lured me back into Lego after a twenty year hiatus. I saw the Mobile Command Centre in a toyshop and just knew I had to have it. I tried to get as many of the original Agents sets as I could but regrettably missed out on a few - most notably the Volcano Base.

I was excited to see the Agents theme revisited in the Ultra Agents sets especially as some of the original Agents sets got reworked and some great new sets were introduced.

For me the highlight of the first wave of Ultra Agents was the design of the helicopter that was a part of the Toxikita’s Toxic Meltdown set. The reworked Mobile Command Centre as the Ultra Agents Mission HQ was also a standout. Comparing these two sets there is no doubt the Ultra Agents Mission HQ was an overall better design. It looked way cooler and the uncoupling function of the rig from the trailer resolved a major issue with the original set. Having said that the interior of the Mobile Command Centre was much better and it had the added advantage of housing considerably more vehicles that it’s reworked version.

With the second wave the UltraCopter was excellent with its sleek design and twin rotors spinning in different directions. The Agent Stealth Patrol was much better in reality than it appeared on the box.

While the third wave contained only three sets each were outstanding. The jet in the Ultrasonic Showdown was a unique design and Braniac was one of the better looking villains. I loved the concept of using an oil rig as the villain’s base and while AntiMatter’s Portal was a bit light in detail on you could easily add to it and the boat and gold toothed shark were great additions. The Ocean HQ was fantastic and, in my opinion, the best overall set in the Ultra Agents series. It was a really enjoyable build and had some standout design features such as the 360 rotating control centre and concealed twin Gatling guns. I really liked how all three of these sets incorporated the app bricks into the sets themselves rather than having them as an additional add on.

It was really disappointing to see the final three sets not getting the wider release they so richly deserved. I had to get a friend from the US to send them over to Australia and while my wife still gives me grief about the costs involved when I got to make the final three sets and complete the series I consider it money well spent.

Reviewing the Ultra Agents as a whole in my opinion the weaker sets were the ones where the ‘futuristic themes’ got pushed out a bit too far such as the bike from Invizible Gold Getaway that looked like a Tron set that didn’t make the cut. Some of the villains also were a bit over the top and finished up looking more like villains from a superhero universe than a secret agents one. I was also a bit disappointed with the Ultra Agents minifigures as they didn’t seem to have the individuality and appeal that the original Agents minifigures had.

Hopefully Lego will revisit the secret agents world some time down the track. I hope when it does it chooses to goes with a more real world/concealment angle with the sets it produces. And I hope that at some stage the ‘holy grail’ might be achieved when Lego can get a licence to manufacture official James Bond sets.

I liked that bike :), the only weak set was the spyclops

The problem is not ultra agents, it was a great line, The problem is that lego has too manny themes and changes them really fast. Every 6 months new sets is just too much to get a grip.

I don't want lego to get a james bond licence, it just means more expensive sets and less originality, just reproduction of what somebody else allready designed.

[gunm]

I'm pretty sad about UA...it's a great line that suffered from poor timing. It seems like Lego and the consumers generally favor licensed IP these days at the expense of most of their own original ideas. :(

Edited January 18, 2016 by gunm

[Lyichir]

I'm pretty sad about UA...it's a great line that suffered from poor timing. It seems like Lego and the consumers generally favor licensed IP these days at the expense of most of their own original ideas. :(

I don't see that being the case at all. Between Ninjago, Friends, Bionicle and Elves, Lego seems to have tons of ongoing original themes (even more if you count Legends of Chima, which ended last year, or Nexo Knights, which replaced it and will likely continue for several years itself). And considering two of the themes I just mentioned (Ninjago and Friends) are among Lego's most successful themes, enough to be considered "evergreen" themes along the likes of City, Space, and Castle, I'd say Lego's original themes are more successful than ever.

Also, keep in mind that while Ultra Agents did end, it did so after three waves' worth of sets. That's respectable—it's on par with Atlantis and Power Miners (though the final wave of each of those themes was split into two in America), and even the original Agents theme. Even discounting the last wave, which wasn't released outside North America, two waves of sets is equivalent to outlasting a lot of "one and done" themes like Pharaoh's Quest, Dino, or Monster Fighters. Perspective is everything—Ultra Agents may have suffered from uneven success around the globe, but it had a good run either way.

Edited January 18, 2016 by Lyichir

[gunm]

That's the thing though, they have so many different lines, original and otherwise, it's not possible for them to all do well. It's like throwing a bunch of stuff against the wall and seeing what sticks.

[bjorkan]

Hi :) to prove you how much we do love UA, please look our UA Train on http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=120456.