hagridshut

Most of the old Lego sets I own are from the years between 1985 and 1995. None of them used stickers, and the prints are in remarkably good shape for toys that are about 30 years old on average, and saw heavy play when I was I child. I do not believe that current era stickers would hold up as well over the long haul. I personally do not like stickers. Aligning them properly is often a real annoyance. The colors often don't match the bricks. For example, white stickers practically never match white bricks and plates to which they are attached, causing unevenly colored surfaces that annoy me. Black stickers end up having a thin white "border". The edges of the stickers pick up lint and dust over time, further affecting aesthetics. I understand why Lego uses stickers, but I don't like it. When I buy newer sets that use stickers, I will apply as few stickers as possible. If the set's aesthetics or function aren't affected by the lack of a particular sticker, it will stay off. Stickers also have 2 other problems: Replacing them in the future can be inconvenient since Lego does not sell replacements. Stickers are often damaged or creased right out of the box. Someone earlier in the thread said that stickers would be more tolerable if Lego open-sourced the graphics. I agree. If I knew that I could download and re-print replacements, I would feel better about long term collection maintenance.

The rail and car is great! Reminds me of the Classic Beta-1 Command Base. Thanks for sharing -- this made me smile

One of my Ice Planet astronaut minifigs (white helmet, white arms, white air tank) has white arms that turned a light shade of yellow/pink/gray. Oddly, the helmet and air tank are still pure white. I am pretty sure these are the accessories that came with this minifig, and none of my other Ice Planet helmets or air tanks are discolored. Does anyone know if the plastic used for helmets and arms is different? They seem to be the same smooth, hard plastic. The air tank plastic seems softer and more flexible, but I'm not sure if that's because of a difference in manufacturing or a difference in the molecular structure of the plastic. The Ice Planet minifig in question also has a mouth that is partially worn. Is there any way to restore the print? At the moment, I intend to just leave as-is (if only to make identifying the individual figures more easy).

I just started looking at the Hidden Side product line. I'm not sure that it matters whether the apps still work in 10 years. The physical set designs seem compelling on their own, without the Augmented Reality aspect, and the "plot" of the series (exorcising possessed townsfolk) can still be played out with just the Legos.

Yeah, I figure I'll just leave this Ice Planet minifigure as-is. He works just fine anyways: arms and torso have no cracks, and legs still have the right amount of tension. He's just a bit worn from decades of adventuring on planet Krysto and its solar system!

Thanks for the review. I just ordered one of this set. The 3D print station will make a useful addition to my shipyard/repair facility. The rest of the lab is going to be repurposed as a spacecraft fuel processing and storage area. The combination of digital systems and analog components (gauges, manual valves, switches) looks just about perfect for my SciFi builds.

Video review of the new 75257 Falcon, with comparison to the 75105 from 2015: LEGO Star Wars 2019 Millennium Falcon review, comparison & more! 75257 I admit to being one of the people who, despite being a Star Wars fan, has complained that Lego has re-hashed its sets too many times. However, this edition of the Millennium Falcon for the upcoming 2019 "Rise of Skywalker" film, has substantial improvements in (1) Proportions (2) Dorsal panel gaps (3) Build strength and playability. The interior is a bit spartan, but the upside is that there is a lot of usable space for owners to add their own features. I really didn't like many of the older Falcon sets because of the odd proportions and panel gaps, but this one addresses almost all of my complaints. $160 is expensive, but not out of the norm for a set that is over 1300 pieces. JangBricks seems to think that this is the model most people should buy (because the enormous size and price tag of the UCS Millennium Falcon makes it impractical for many fans to buy and display).

One thing I liked about Classic Space (1978-1987) was that some of the bases had living quarters for the astronaut minifigures. One could put together several of these sets and create a space colony where the minifigs could launch rockets, conduct research, resupply ships, and even sit down and have a cup of coffee. From the Futuron through Exploriens era (late 80's to the late 90's), the Space bases didn't have much in the way of practical necessities for life in space. For example, Ice Planet's "Ice Station Odyssey" was pretty much just a rocket launch pad and rocket maintenance center. The half dome doesn't look like it would provide much defense against the harsh arctic weather conditions, nor is there anywhere for the hard-working Ice Planet crews to rest after a busy day cutting ice with chainsaws or driving through blizzards. Spyrius' "Lunar Launch Site" is even more spartan. It has a quarter dome and apparently no maintenance facility at all to support its rocket launch silo. Some themes, like M:Tron and Space Police II, had no base at all. For my next project, I'm considering building a better base for an older theme. Some ideas I came up with: (1) Ice Planet + Winter Village. Ice Planet would get a new headquarters built like an alpine lodge. I would buy a Winter Village building and renovate the interior with Ice Planet computers and storage room for trans-neon orange skis and chainsaws, but keep amenities like fireplaces and kitchens. (2) Modify Ice Station Odyssey. This is easier but less fun. It would involve adding the modules from the Lego City Lunar Space Station to the back of the half-baseplate of the Ice Station. The modules would sit on raised structural elements, and would give the Ice Planet minifigs 3 rooms to get pizza, conduct science experiments, and take a nap or call home. The Lunar Space Station modules are close enough in color scheme that they would mostly fit in if I dispensed with the exterior stickers and logos. (3) Turn Darth Vader's Castle into an original Blacktron, Spyrius, or joint Original Blacktron + Spyrius base. For Spyrius, I would alter the color scheme slightly, by adding some red plating to the mostly black exterior, and some trans dark-blue elements too. I have enough Spyrius printed tiles and computers to make a decent operations center. The lower floor hanger, which normally houses Vader's TIE Advanced, would be used as a service bay for Saucer Scouts or Blacktron Invaders. (4) Take a Spyrius Lunar Launch Site and integrate Ninjago Temple of Spinjitsu. The Spinjitsu Temple's black/red color scheme is a close match for Spyrius. The tea room and training areas provide the Spyrius minifigs areas to relax, and to hone their spy/ninja/espionage skills. My end goal is to create something similar in spirit to the Space Police III headquarters, which has a ton of functionality (control room, garage, lounge/cafeteria, shooting range, and detention wing). Any suggestions?

The Blacktron mod is great. That's very close to what I had in mind, just with a different color scheme! What I usually do when planning a new scene or new "world", is make some sketches based on what I wrote down, and then figure out what to buy based on my budget. The process can take awhile. Eventually, I would like to have 3-5 space mini-worlds for different factions. That's an interesting way to look at the Domes. I don't know exactly why the open domes bothered me in the space sets, because many of the Harry Potter sets are the same way -- open in the back, and I never thought it was an issue. I'll have to look at some reviews of Nexo Knights sets on YouTube to get ideas on integrating living spaces into buildings. It is a theme that is unfamiliar to me, mostly because I was not buying Legos when Nexo Knights were sold, due to being busy with other things.

Most of my childhood toys were from the mid-80's through the early 90's, or about 30 years ago. The main difference I see between then, and today, is not so much the number of toys on the market, but the availability of smartphones and tablets. Back in the 80's, there was already a seemingly infinite variety of physical toys, many of which survive in some form on store shelves today. In the U.S., any Target or Walmart Superstore will have a good selection of Legos, other building toys, action figures & vehicles of various franchises, Barbie dolls, water guns, Nerf dart blasters, Nerf sports equipment, stuffed animals, video game consoles, board games, card games, toy cars/trucks/boats, and much more. A Toys 'R Us store in 1989 would have featured a similar, or even greater, variety of physical toys and video games. My family was not wealthy (I would say upper middle class professionals), but I was fortunate enough to have many different types of toys, most of which got a lot of use from myself, siblings, and neighborhood friends. 30 years ago, anything with a screen was far less portable than it is today. A huge, heavy cathode-ray tube television usually had to stay put inside. If some kids were playing outside with Nerf blasters, they couldn't quickly pull a bulky TV out of their pocket, or answer a text message, or decide to play a video game. Today, many smart device owners are deluged by an unending sequence of alerts and prompts, and the portability of those smart devices means that those distractions follow them around. Going back to the Ice Planet example, I think kids do "get it" very quickly. It is obvious that the Ice Planet theme is about exploration in arctic conditions. The vast majority of kids in any country with winter conditions will instantly recognize the skis, insulated suits, and chainsaws (a necessity when ice storms cause trees to fall down and block roads). Space Police = cops. Blacktron = robbers. I don't think most Lego space themes are complicated. Even themes that don't have an obvious meaning, like M:Tron, still get attention. In 1990, nobody I knew cared what M:Tron was about (mining and engineering, from the U.S. marketing materials, rescue and engineering elsewhere). The kids did think that the magnets were cool and that Trans-neon green glowed like magic in the sunlight. I believe that interesting designs and themes sell themselves. I don't know if the marketing data supports that belief. Lego Group would probably never publish its internal marketing studies, but I'd be very curious as to what the data says about sales of themed vs. non-themed product.

A question I have is whether a Lego theme needs to be based on a popular franchise in order to be successful and justify production. Ice Planet sets from 25 years ago are still magical to kids. From personal observation, the trans-neon orange skis and chainsaws usually make them an instant hit, to the children today who have not known Lego much outside of Harry Potter and Star Wars.

I'd also point out that even with in the same Space "faction", like Space Police, the designs could vary wildly from refresh to refresh. Space Police II (1992) had a different design language than the original Space Police (1989), in terms of colors, uniforms, and jail cell architecture. Space Police III (2009) was radically different in design from either of those. Blacktron is the other notable example where the refresh, which happened 4 years after the original, was almost entirely original. Going from angular, black and trans-yellow ships and buildings to the trans-neon green and modular "globe" cockpit architecture, was a shocking change. The white/neon logo minifigures in Blacktron II were also not nearly as mysterious or menacing as the original Blacktron minifigures with military-style flight gear and opaque black visors.

I found some more background information on Spyrius that I did not previously know. The wikia/fandom page for Spyrius has some scans of marketing materials in the Gallery section: https://lego.fandom.com/wiki/Spyrius#Gallery Summary: There was an emergency summit of Lego space factions that took place on Ice Planet 2002, to discuss the threat of Spyrius. The Space Police described Spyrius as "a gang of villains and their robots". The main activity of Spyrius is espionage, and Spyrius activity is very difficult to detect. Spyrius appears to know the secrets of the other factions, causing the other factions to be very concerned. "Major Kartofski" (represented by a Spyrius Android minifigure) is the leader of Syrius. Spyrius spacecraft (saucers) have stealth technology that makes them difficult or impossible to detect. The Spyrius agent conducting espionage on Ice Planet 2002 has a cloaking field that makes them invisible except for their eyes. This appears to refer to the Spyrius Android minifigure. The Space Police are intimidated by Spyrius' giant robots. Another report on the final page claims that the cloaking field disguises the entire Spyrius Android except for his hands, and that the field is generated by the clear helmet that the Android wears. I didn't know any of this, despite having built 3 of the Spyrius sets as a child: Saucer Scout, Recon Robot, and Saucer Centurion. The Scout and Centurion are still intact, but the Recon Robot was quickly dismantled for MOC pieces, for reasons following: I honestly thought the large Spyrius robots were fairly stupid, as they relied on wheels to move around, and did not appear to have any means of flight. This would severely restrict their ability to maneuver and fight on uneven terrain or terrain with highly varied elevations. However, I was a huge fan of the Spyrius saucer ships and minifigures. 25 years later, Spyrius is sill one of my favorite themes.

I never watched a lot of television growing up, probably because I was too busy building Lego , so I never saw this TV ad, which I stumbled upon on YouTube: Lego Space - Spyrius 1994 - Commercial Spyrius is portrayed as a bunch of ham-fisted thieves. Instead of using their saucers to "spy" on Unitron, they send their gigantic robots in a flagrant, ham-fisted attempt to steal a Unitron monorail vehicle. This is completely opposite of what I would expect from a faction whose name implies a spy agency. The attempt fails, with the first giant Spyrius robot falling down after clumsy attempts to snatch the Unitron vehicle, and the Spyrian android agent/commander accidentally being grabbed by his own robots as the Unitrons slip through their cybernetic manipulators. Total defeat and embarrassment for Spyrius This is very different than their role in my childhood Lego MOC civilization. In the universe I created, Spyrians (both the biological/cyborgs and android minifigs) were capital ship and battlespace commanders, Unitron minifigs were fighter pilots and marines, and Classic/Futuron/M:Tron/Ice Planet were a mix of explorers, scientists, and resource prospectors. Space Police were still cops, but Blacktron II (trans neon-green guys) operated a legitimate spaceport and ship construction business. Spyrians were the best at my house, not bumbling idiots!

Honestly, I think most kids would prefer the Minifig scale sets to microfig scale one. Minifigures are more detailed, easier to handle, pose, and accessorize, and can be used across more sets.

My theory is that the popularity of the Whomping Willow is a combination of playability and discounts. The Whomping WIllow itself is hilarious in its "shaking" mechanism, and great fun to use to capture/attack almost anything in its infinitely posable branches. Although the castle section may look unremarkable, potions class had a major role in the Harry Potter plots, and a constant a center of conflict for the characters. It's a great set to reenact the conflicts between Harry and Snape, and the general rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin. And what kid doesn't like a Lego car, especially one that is magical and flying. The set itself is easy to find at 20% off retail price in the U.S. It provides a lot of playability for the price.

I've sometimes purposely bought new Lego product on eBay and Bricklink with damaged boxes, because they were $5 cheaper than the same product in undamaged boxes. I can understand why a collector might want a mint or near-mint condition box, but I buy Legos to build. I don't care much about the condition of the outside box, as long as the pieces, stickers, and instructions inside are pristine.

I don't mind if Lego continues to sell Star Wars sets forever. My chief complaint is that Lego appears to prioritize Star Wars at the expense of more creative, in-house Lego SciFi space themes.

I want to create a small building similar in spirit to “The Three Broomsticks” pub in Harry Potter. There’s no set in the Harry Potter LEGO collection. It does not have to look like Harry Potter architecture, but I want something that looks like it could be on planet Earth. The Mos Eisley Cantina sets are a nice bar, but too extraterrestrial for my purposes. So far, the Creator 3-in-1 Corner Deli from 2016 comes closest to what I’m looking for (downstairs food establishments and upstairs apartment), but it is a bit small. Any other city or city-related/similar sets that could work? Budget is $50 or so. I’m in no hurry. Would consider future sets that are announced but not yet available. Thanks in advance!

I bought the Corner Deli a couple weeks ago, and it's been a perfect addition to the scene I've been building. It was very easy to add around 10x10 of plates to ground level of the default build, and then add a counter in front of the food cooking area, put beverage bottles under the counter and register, and 2 small tables. The establishment gets crowded easily: full capacity is 4 customers at tables inside, 1 employee at the front register, 1 employee by the cooking area, and 2 customers at the table outside. However, it is the 2nd dining spot in a spaceport that normally has about 35-40 minifigures on site, + or - 5 depending on how many or few spaceships are parked, so the size is just fine. Anything bigger would look out of scale with the rest of the facility. The apartment above is a rented room for astronauts and travelers who need somewhere to sleep if they can't stay with their ship for any reason (usually this happens when the ship needs extensive repairs inside and out). The set itself is very nice. It's a small building, but charming in the subtle details like windowsill plants and outdoor lamps. The brick built "sandwich" sign is a clever build. I like what Lego does with the 3-in-1 town sets. They are very imaginative while being compact and affordable.

I strongly support these ideas too. The space adventures I created as a child with my friends had their share of warfare, but resource prospecting, colonizing new worlds, and space commerce were also major aspects of the stories. I spent as much time building shipyards, space station hotels, and spaceport marketplaces as I did constructing starfighters and battlecruisers. Contact and diplomacy with aliens (usually represented by non-Lego action creatures of somewhat similar size) was also a recurring theme. This does bring to mind one problem I have with Star Wars as the major space theme. It is almost entirely centered on combat and warfare. The single-mindedness of this gets boring, because there is so much more to space civilizations than incessant violence.

I stumbled upon this on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH7iptLqg6s The first 30 seconds appears to be a television commercial, and the last 2+ minutes is a story that I've never seen before: at a busy spaceport on a distant planet, ships are landing and unloading cargo. An asteroid hits the planet, causing an earthquake that damages the Unitron monorail. M:Tron sends vehicles to rescue an overturned vehicle and pull a derailed train to safety, and an M:Tron ship helps repair the damaged track. M:Tron also takes samples of the asteroid to study. The episode is partly done as a "news report" from a Unitron minifigure, but I they are speaking in a language that I cannot understand. Has anyone seen this before, and does anyone know what the Unitron astronaut is saying and it what language? This seems to be an official Lego promo video of some kind. I thought it was interesting, and gives some insight into what the Lego designers created M:Tron to represent (engineering, rescue, and natural resource prospecting).

Ah yes, you are correct. I sometimes get Futuron and Unitron mixed up, because both themes were famous for their monorail sets

In 1989, I couldn't drive myself to the local Toys R' Us store either. My parents had to drive me there. A child needing the assistance of an adult to pay for something on the Internet, is fundamentally no different than a child needing the assistance of an adult to get to a physical store.

I am in the United States. I remember receiving the Blacktron II Spectral Starguider from my parents at Christmas 1991. I don't know how much they paid for it, but the RRP according to Brickset is $25. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics inflation calculator, that is equivalent in purchasing power to $46.55 today. I also remember that they bought me a Stardefender 200 in late 1989, which I vaguely recall as costing around $30, but was on sale for $25. That would be $51.07 today. Most of the sets I bought with money I earned from chores and odd jobs cost between $4 and $10. The most I ever paid by myself was $12 for the Spyrius Recon Robot and $15 for the Ice Planet Ice Sat V. $21 and $27 in today's dollars, respectively. The most expensive Lego set I ever received as a gift was from relatives who were not my parents. That was a Blacktron II Alpha Centauri Outpost, also at Christmas 1991, with an RRP of $80, or about $149 today. I felt absurdly lucky to have gotten this, as it was several times larger in price and piece count than any other set I'd received during that era. In this context, sets I've purchased recently do not seem that expensive. $56 for the Harry Potter Whomping Willow. $48 for Emmet's Rescue Rocket. Smaller kits that kids might buy, like a Lego A-Wing 75247, typically cost $12 at retail, equivalent to about $6 in money from 30 years ago. Anakin's Starfighter 75214 lists for $16 at Amazon, or roughly $8 in 1989 money. When I look at the smaller Star Wars sets, they still seem reasonably affordable. My belief is that Lego has not become unaffordable. What's changed in the United States is that many jobs do not pay well anymore, and the earning power of many families has therefore declined in recent decades. Low pay has resulted in unaffordability, not Lego raising its prices.