Gomek

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Posts posted by Gomek

  1. Posted

    4 hours ago, Mylenium said:

    I'm afraid it's still not a conclusive logical argument in terms of how it might affect overall sales. Your cousin is likely more the exception than the rule. We mustn't get lost in our own bubble too much. That scene may not be economically unimportant, but its certainly not the main drive behind LEGO's business.

    Mylenium

    I'm not sure Lego agrees. At the two Lego stores I frequent, they put the Modular buildings and USC sets (and really any adult targeted set) right up in the front window and the most visible areas of the store. (And maybe it's not the same everywhere, but I imagine at least regional)

    Also I'm not privy to the exact marketing strategy of Lego Masters, but it doesn't seem like it's being marketed to just adults. Could be that some kids might also see the show and be inspired by Adult builders. It wouldn't shock me. They might even be influenced.

    And again, definitely not saying adults need to be the main focus of Lego's anything, but there are secondary and tertiary benefits to making some effort to cater to the adult market.

  2. Posted

    5 hours ago, Toastie said:

    10% influencers? Honestly? I don't think so. 10% with deep money pockets.

    Deep pockets for sure. But let me be clear about my influencer comment. It wasn't a guess, I see it happening all over the place. I spent a lot of time with my 13 year old nephew recently, who is a lot bigger Lego enthusiast than my own son. Way more into it, and gets his parents to buy a lot more than we do for our son. It's not my influence (as clearly exhibited by my son being only a mild fan, and his particular theme interests being somewhat different than mine). This kid is online constantly looking at blogs with crazy MOCs and flickr; buying custom instructions and trying to emulate what he's seeing online. Buying tons of bricks to do so. These galleries and instructions which are fueling his habit are not things being produced by kids or teens. All that content that is inspiring a lot of Lego's fanbase is being produced by adults.

  3. Posted

    1 minute ago, Mylenium said:

    But ultimately isn't that comparing apples with apples already? I just see natural evolution, not something revolutionary driven by any specific demographic. It's the innate drive of capitalism - companies want to make money and adapt to changing markets in order to survive and possibly usurp a given market segment. Of course sometimes something unexpected and magical happens, but in particular comics are perhaps not a great example. Most of those companies have been bankrupt many times or at least been on the edge of collapse and this can happen and inevitably will happen again. Not today, but maybe tomorrow. Same for "The LEGO Movie". Sure, it re-invigorated people's interest in LEGO, but was its impact outside a certain core demographic really that big? It's all too ambiguous and at the end of the day it still boils down that you need to have clever managers with guts and trust them to make the right decision. The adult-driven market is sure important for LEGO to some extent, but it's not that they necessarily worse off had they moved in a different direction once they had overcome their many crises in the past. With that being the case it also doesn't matter how much influence there actually is in ideological terms. There could be 50% AFOLs and they'd still play second fiddle as long as enough revenue can be generated elsewhere...

    Mylenium

    Yes, apples to apples (which makes for a good comparison, no?), but like I was saying, about 20 years behind the curve (the ups and downs), which can provide a lot of insight. Also like I was saying in a prior post, the comics industry did run into a lot of problems, and I think it serves as an important warning for Lego. There are a lot of things the comic companies did wrong in the years after the 80's and 90's to squander a lot of things they gained. Some of these things I can see Lego doing as well.

    Agree that you need to have clever managers, but you do also need the help of your fan base and influencers. Not so much the Kim Kardashian type, but the people who are doing a lot of the grass roots promotion for free (or at least no paid by Lego). It might even make sense to put some of these Adults on a primetime reality show to further their influence (Ok, Ok, that last part is a stretch)

    I also hope I never implied AFOLs should be first fiddle. I don't think Disney/Marvel would be smart to make kids second fiddle, but Adults are a big part of who Disney does cater to, and I think ignoring that demographic would not be wise to say the least. Lego is not where Disney is as far as growing their brand to Adults, but it's not a bad model.

     

  4. Posted · Edited by Gomek

    19 hours ago, Toastie said:

    Somebody else replies: 10%. Another one: 20%. My reply would be: OK. Folks: Is it more than 20%? Nobody replies.

    You know what I would do? OK, let us take care of the 80% first, then see what is left over for the 20%. When there is less than that: Too bad.

    Wouldn't you do the same thing?

     

    As the head of the company my next question would be "Are these 20% influencers?"

    This is where all the business degrees in the world won't help unless you understand the audience and the market. Totally frames the conversation in an entirely different light. As I mentioned in my post previous posts, the AFOL community has had a massive impact on the entire Lego market through blogs, Bricklink (created by a AFOL) and yes, even message boards. (and if I'm not mistaken, the AFOL hobby was also the center piece of the Lego Movie, which had a massive impact on Lego that cannot be understated). I've seen the influence of AFOL builds first hand with more than a few younger fans I know personally seeing these builds and having their imagination really sparked.

    And I'll also return to my parallel with the comic book market. If the comic book companies looked at the adult market share in the 1960's they'd probably see something similar to what Lego is seeing now. Who are these adults that read comic books? Do we need serious comic books? Adult Fans of Comics (AFOCs?) revolutionized that industry in the 80s and 90s. Ask Disney how the purchase of Marvel worked out for them.

    Edit: or better yet, if Disney or Warner Brothers feel marginalizing AFOCs in the 60s and 70s would have worked out better for them? Maybe instead of Watchmen, Warner Brothers would have been better off if they made Heathcliff series instead? And to tie that analogy into my prior post... Those were the types of comics (Watchmen, Miller Daredevil) that I really enjoyed as a kid (despite being meant for adults) and ultimately transitioned me from a youth fan of comics to an adult fan of comics.

  6. Posted

    On 2/10/2020 at 4:45 PM, froggy95 said:

    Who’s store has received the new “Easter” figure parts? I’ve struck out in three stores. 

    The Easter selection has not hit NY or NJ yet (US). Spoke to a woman in NJ who was calling around about it and she suspects they haven't hit the US at all.

  8. Posted

    Just now, Masked Mini said:

    I still wonder what TLG's definition of AFOL is. Because I think they'd consider my good friend "Teddy" an AFOL. Except I wouldn't.
    Teddy is a car guy. He lives and breathes cars, especially Miatas. He's also an excellent (professional) photographer... to take awesome pictures of race cars on track.
    He likes Lego, sure. But he is only a fan of the Technic Cars. To me that makes him an Adult Fan Of Cars who happens to buy the occasional Car related Lego Set. But he is part of a new demographic of adults that TLG has been cultivating for awhile. So I suspect any Adult who buys any lego (for themselves) is considered an AFOL.

    This kind of brings up something I've seen as well. After the Friends set came out (The ideas set, not the girls line) it was sold out for quite some time because of all the Friends fans who bought it. I don't want to guess what percentage of these people were also AFOL, but yes, I never considered Friends fans who bought a Friends Lego set to be AFOLs. Likewise our friends also bought the Voltron set and Stranger Things set, but I'm not sure I'd consider them to be AFOLs either. At best there is probably a gray line for those adults buying 2 or 3 sets of things they like. Personally though, if I'm Lego, I'm pursuing that demographic as well, though clearly all IP related. Harley Davidson bike is another good example of that type of product.

  9. Posted

    1 hour ago, Brandon Pea said:

    City hit its golden age from 2006 to 2009 and I was still a kid then. The only difference is that I have more money on me than I did then back during the days when I was getting an allowance of $20. From my point of view, City hit its dark age in 2012. 

    To Masked Mini's point though, the modulars started in 2007 and never stopped. I guess the scale might not be for everyone, but the amount of design and detail that go into those sets is unparalleled.

    Sometimes the years blur together for me, so I had to look it up. Last (non IP) castle set was 2012. Ironically, according to Brinklink, last (non IP/Sci-fi) space was only a year later in 2013, with Benny's space ship being a one off in 2014.

    If the idea is to engage kids or adults who like geeky stuff like Sci-fi and (Medieval based) fantasy, that's a problem.

  11. Posted

    12 minutes ago, TeriXeri said:

    There are certainly more offerings now, when I got into the Dark Ages, it was literally the "Dark Age" of LEGO themselves during 2000/2001.

    Unless you were a big Star Wars or Bionicle Fan or something, the core of LEGO themes literally had died at that point.

    Town/Castle/Pirates/Space all needed multiple years to get back on the right track.

     

    Town got back on track in a big way with the modulars, but I'd argue Castle/Space/Pirates made returns only to get completely ignored only a couple of years later.

  12. Posted

    Yeah, I definitely think they can prevent a lot of kids from going into the dark ages.

    Ironically, my friends son is getting into collecting the Lego knock off Military stuff which I'm sure was originally made for Adults. This is also sort of what I'm getting at, although not necessarily about military.

    While I don't think Lego will ever do military, they have been bending that rule quite a bit.

    Personally, I think they'd be wise to find a middle ground, like doing more detailed mechs. It sort of fits the 'fantasy' mold Lego finds acceptable while still having that cool factor. While Lego seems to be on the mech bandwagon, most/all of their designs are pretty simplistic, and don't have that feel that a lot of the AFOL MOCs have. If they can get out of the kid mindset with the Mechs, they'd do themselves a favor.

  13. Posted

    I have a few things to add to the whole AFOL market discussion.

    1) I've been saying for years that the kinds of stuff I like as an adult are the exact same things I liked as an kid. Not quite Adult stuff but not quite kid stuff. That said, I think Lego could do well with listening to Adults as they could potentially start making sets they never knew kids wanted.

    2) Lego has historically had poor market research. I've heard that in a number of places, and if memory serves me, Netflix's Toys that made Us: Lego has a whole segment about how Lego in the late 90's didn't even have their own sales data, much less market research. I'm sure it's gotten better, but I'd hardly take Lego's numbers as hard fact.

    3) I'm sure a large potion of buying decisions for kids are made by adults.

    4) I have often drawn comparisons between the comics market and the Lego market. There are a ton of similarities, but more interesting because the time table for Lego is about 20 years off, but still going through the same phases. Comics were just for kids too, and then a combination of a collectable market and better content all of the sudden really legitimized the hobby for Adults. Lego can reap the benefits, but they would also do well to watch for the same pitfalls.

    5) The number of Adult fans are really growing. Having collected Lego non-stop for 40 years, I can tell you the number of Adults I've seen buying Lego for themselves, has grown considerably. Not just online but in my personal life.

    6) By catering to Adult fans, and promoting Lego as an acceptable hobby for adults, Lego can extent the interest of kids who might other wise have bailed on the hobby in their tweens. I have a nephew who is @13, and I can can tell you he's very inspired by stuff he sees happening in the AFOL community and he's buying way more now then he did when he was under 12.

  14. Posted

    On 2/8/2020 at 10:46 AM, Kevin Hansen said:

    Thanks!  I'll plan to do instructions for my new builds too.  It just takes time!

    Great. I'd love to encourage a lot of the good MOC builders to post instructions. I don't have a lot of time, so I find myself using techniques and designs of others a lot.

    I'd love to leave people a buck or two when I'm really helped out by someones instructions (or speed build video, which I watch in slo-mo),  but I feel like most people either want like $15 for a PDF or give em out for free without a pay-want-you-want link. (obviously no complaints about the latter)

    The other thing I keep suggesting, is that people video themselves taking apart their creations and then reverse the footage as a sort-of instruction, but I don't think I've seen anyone actually do that yet. (IDK, seems like a good idea, but maybe I'm over-simplifying the idea)

    Anyways, thanks again.

     

     

  17. Posted

    Just now, Pchan1983 said:

    The new Easter parts are now available at the auckland Lego certifies store.  By the way, does everyone wipe/clean the parts you get from BAM tower when you got home?  I do cause sometime it can be oily.

    Thanks. As our store just got the Valentine's day ones, I'm assuming they are just behind.

  18. Posted · Edited by Gomek

    @Broke4Bricks here are the few I had on my figures that I didn't see on your list. I'm not 100% about the cut off jeans but couldn't find it with some quick searches.

    Edit - Nevermind.. I see the brown bunny, plant and butterfly fig are 2020 figs. They haven't shown up at my local shop yet so I was a little perplexed when I saw them.

    49494928586_11d9c41811_k.jpg

     

  22. Posted · Edited by Gomek

    All,

    I just got a few new exclusive build a minigiure (BAM) figures and thought I'd share some pics. It seems like they are now regularly doing these figures and oddly enough they don't seem to be getting reported at all (at least not by any of the blogs I follow). Here are some pictures of the figures that I know of and some notes on them as not all pieces are exclusive. The nice thing about these is it does seem like they've produced enough of the actual pieces, as they seemed to be available well past the release time.

    if anyone has any corrections to the below information I will update this post.

    49493267587_ae44b6a2b8_k.jpg

    This is the newest set. Jack Frost seems to be completely exclusive as does the Valentine's Day Elephant. The Winter Girl's coat Is from the recent space line-up and I'm not sure about her head print. Her hat is an unprinted santa hat.

     

    49493267577_86f0600b5b_k.jpg

    Cat Ears Girl seems to be entirely exclusive, While Orange hair girl has a common head and the shirt from the CMF spooky boy. The other figure I typically see posted, Pumpkin Guy? has an exclusive head and shirt but I'm not sure about his pants, though I suspect they are common.

     

    49492556478_64a5736768_k.jpg

    Most of these were not released together as some of the other sets were. Blue Hair Clown I believe has an exclusive hair and head, but repurposed torso and pants. Baseball Girl has an exclusive torso and pants, and honestly I just guested at what head was appropriate. Dark Blue Wizard has a recolor torso and hat from the CMF line and an unprinted bottom robe. Personally I like this figure better with dark brown short legs, but clearly the dark blue piece was released to got with this figure. I believe the head is common. Mermaid I believe has exclusive hair and un-printed mermaid torso. I'm not sure about the torso.

     

    49492556508_a03e86d9be_k.jpg

    Mrs Clause is a recolor of her minifigure from the holiday set, and the Elf is a recolor from the CMF version. Neither head is exclusive.

     

    49493267607_e8b4c6eb29_k.jpg

    These are mostly exclusive recolors. Lady Vampire is an all exclusive re-color.  I didn't actually see the Vampire pants at BAM but the original pants look much better than just the plain black ones that seemed to be put out for this figure. The Witches hat I believe is the same one from the Batman Scarecrow figure, and is not exclusive. It should also be noted they re-released the Scooby Doo jack-o-lantern head cover at the same time, but that did not seem to be related to a specific figure.

     

    49492556523_749cd947ee_k.jpg

    These are a couple regional exclusives. Typically I'm not a fan of regional exclusives, but these seem to have been produced in high enough numbers to not be obnoxious. I believe the torsos are the only exclusive parts. These were also produced as magnets, but obviously the BAM versions are unglued.

     

  25. Posted

    On 12/31/2019 at 2:20 AM, SpiderSpaceman said:

    You must be purposely mentioning existing parts exclusive to LEGO stores pick-a-minifig? People should have a not-traveling-to-a-lego-store option for those.

     

    I do wonder if that'll trip up the "only real lego, nothing prerelease"

    precisely. While I have a couple Lego stores local to me, I do feel bad for those that don't.

    I do like to pick up those exclusive Build-a-Minifigure parts and honestly wish they did more of that. If they had a bricklink store that just did limited runs of color variants they could probably keep a few people per region employed just doing that. I'd put in a monthly order just to get some odd ball stuff. 

    (disclaimer: I never support ultra limited runs of anything. The idea here would be to have items for sale for a limited time, but enough for anyone who orders. Definitely NOT to release stuff so limited that people are empowered to rip off others on Ebay.)