Joebot

For as long as I can remember, the "beginning of the year" wave of sets sporadically begin to hit retail around Thanksgiving (at least, here in the U.S.). I would expect this year to follow that same pattern. TLC isn't going to miss out on the holiday shopping season. Releasing new sets in January makes no sense.

I think the timing for a Hobbit license works perfectly. The movie isn't due out for several years (assuming they can work through all of MGM's financial problems, the labor issues in New Zealand, etc.). By that time, the Harry Potter films will be done. The new Pirates of the Caribbean movie will be done. Seems like The Hobbit would slot right in there. However, I think the bigger problem is the mini-figs. Let's face it, a HUUUUGE part of the appeal for licensed sets is simply the mini-figs. It's taken TLC a long time to realize this fact, but I think they finally get it. We all LOVE collecting mini-figs of recognizable characters. And that's where The Hobbit might pose a problem, since the main characters in the story are: a) a hobbit, and b) thirteen mostly interchangeable dwarves! Is anyone going to be interested in collecting thirteen dwarf characters?? "I have to get this set because it comes with Oin and Gloin!" Of course there are some other easily recognizable characters in the story too -- Gandalf, Beorn, Gollum (not to mention Smaug the dragon). However, they all play relatively small roles. The majority of the story deals with Bilbo and a bunch of dwarves. I'm just not sure that the story lends itself well to a Lego license.

Indeed -- check out chapter 27, Capt. Redblade. Very true. The best bit of writing advice I ever read got was: "There's no such thing as writer's block. Writer's block is simply not knowing your characters well enough."

"Horrid Disney animation?" Really?? Wow. I'm guessing you've never seen a Pixar movie before. Their films are anything but "horrid."

The Train theme seems like kind of an oddball amongst Lego's product offerings. It doesn't follow their typical release pattern. Instead of releasing new sets for the theme every year, they've gotten into this unusual pattern of doing a big multi-set release one year ... followed by 2 or 3 years of nothing ... then another big release. Given that scenario, I wouldn't expect to see much, if anything, of new Trains this year.

Hello, I just posted the next chapter in the Unlikely Society, my ongoing, sporadically published Lego superhero comic. This chapter begins a huge new story arc, so please check it out, and let me know what you think!! In this chapter, Holy Frijoles does some soul searching, as he decides whether he's really cut out for the superhero life. He seeks advice from Hue Man, who is always ready with his unique brand of ... um ... "wisdom." As always, thanks for reading!

It's interesting to note that the Ramses Pyramid game has Renier Knizia's name on the cover as the designer. Knizia is one of the big-time names in European boardgame design. I know that might sound weird, but in the European game market, people will follow game designers much the same way that other people will follow an author or a movie director. But anyway, I agree David, that a lot of these games don't seem to be taking advantage of the unique "Lego-ness" of the components. Creationary seems like the best example of a game that simply could not be done using anything EXCEPT Lego bricks. The rest of the games could easily have been made with typical wood or cardboard components and a board, which is a little disappointing.

I work about five minutes away from the Schaumburg store, and have been there many, many times. I agree whole-heartedly with Polish Guy's comment. It's not a huge store, and on weekends it can get really crowded, but the selection is good, and the workers are very nice. When I was in there last month with my Collectible Mini-figs barcode cheat sheet, I had a nice time chatting with them as I painstakingly studied barcodes.

Wow, what a fun idea! I actually have the Pirate's Cove board game, and my family and I enjoy it quite a bit. It's a really good game with terrific components (although not nearly as nice as your Lego-based components!). My only complaint is that it's a little bit ... "procedural." Each round follows a set of steps that must be followed in sequence. That feels a little anti-thematic to me. It's a PIRATE game, it should be free-wheeling and chaotic! I've often thought of making a Lego version of the board, but have never gotten around to it. Just out of curiosity, what rules tweaks have you made? Personally, I love the randomness of the game. Dice-based combat is my favorite, because you get those epic rolls where you defy the laws of probabiilty (or conversely, where the dice gods abandon you, and you can't get a 5 or a 6 to save your life). Those are the game sessions that you always remember because they make great stories. I notice you have Carcassonne, Bohnanza, and Lost Ciites in your game closet. I have all of those too. Those are all great games!

I would say "geeky" rather than "nerdy." Maybe it's just semantics, but in my mind "nerdy" has a very negative connotation that implies a person who is socially awkward, with perhaps questionable personal hygiene habits. The AFOLs that I've met are smart, friendly, out-going, and showered. On the other hand, "geeky" just means someone who cares deeply about something that most people find to be quite trivial, be it Star Trek, fantasy football, stamps, etc.

I play a ton of of boardgames with my family, but I haven't picked up any of the Lego games. From what I've read, they skew a little younger than my kids (10 and 14), and I think we'd get bored (no pun intended). I think the build-the-board-out-of-Legos novelty would wear off quickly, and then you're left with a game only slightly more complex then, say, Chutes and Ladders or Sorry. I would LOVE to see TLC make a heavier strategy game aimed at an older demographic. Probably not a lot of demand for that though, because then you're competing with video games. The lure of video games is a constant battle in my house!

I haven't seen anyone in this thread claiming that we have a "right" to see the images. However, I do question your second point. What's wrong with some healthy, well-intentioned criticism? TLC has done some colossally bone-headed things in their history, to the point of almost putting themselves out of business ten years ago. As consumers of their prodoucts, we are well within our rights to question and criticize their occasionally dumb business decisions (and conversely, to praise their good business decisions). They are not some holy, religious institution, perfect and infallible. Screw that. When they do something stupid (and I think cracking down on fan websites is VERY stupid, not to mention pointless), why can't we, as fans and consumers, come onto this board and post our thoughts? Just because we love their products does not make the company above reproach. Otherwise, we become nothing but fanboy apologists. Aside from being sort of weird and pathetic, that also makes for a very boring message board.

While I agree with everyone here that TLC was within their legal rights, their response has been clumsy and ham-fisted, and makes them look rather clueless in regards to online marketing. Instead of cracking down on fan websites that are hosting prelim pics (an utterly pointless, futile gesture), why not tap into the fans' interest? Other toy companies do this stuff all the time. If you look at big conventions like ToyFair or Comic Con, toy companies release sneak peaks of their upcoming products in order to drive up buzz and hype and interest. I remember way back when FBTB used to be relevant, they got some early pictures of some upcoming Star Wars sets. Nobody else had these pictures, and the FBTB admins slowly released the pictures, one per day, with various hints and clues as to the set's content. That was a total blast! I can't even imagine the web traffic they must have gotten! Now why doesn't TLC do something like that on their own website? Apple is the most secretive company on the planet, and days before they have a big product announcment, it's all over the web what it's going to be. Apple (and TLC) are global companies with many partners and far-flung manufacturing facilities. You simply can't keep it a secret. Not anymore. This is the way the internet age works. So, you either futilely try to clamp down on the leaks (and risk irritating or alienating your biggest consumers), or you learn how to use the fan websites to your own benefit.

It's not "the nature of things." It was a conscious decision by TLC's marketing staff to sell thse mini-figs in this manner. It's not like blind packaging is an evolutionary law or something. How about this: TLC sells the mini-figs is clearly marked packaging AND manufactures enough to meet demand, AND distributes them widely to various retails stores and chains! You know ... just like they do with all their other products. Then ALL this hand-wringing and debate just magically goes away, and nobody is disappointed. Everybody gets what they want, in whatever quantities they want, TLC sells gobs and gobs of product, and everybody is happy. What is the downside to THAT marketing strategy?

Looking back on it, I think one could argue that TLC started down this road 10 years ago with the beginning of the Star Wars license. That license brought in lots of new customers -- Star Wars fans. Star Wars has long been a collectible-driven license, with ridiculous amounts of merchandise available. Now that mini-figs were recognizable characters, not just generic smileys, TLC was now making sets that were marketed at a different audience then just people who like to build stuff. Now they were going after customers who liked the license. Jump ahead ten years, and now TLC has fully jumped into the collectible toy industry by adopting two of its worst aspects: blind packaging and artificial scarcity. Blind packaging is a way to get people to buy more stuff than they normally would. Artificial scarcity drives up hype and buzz by creating the perception that the item is super-popular and in high demand. You have to buy it NOW before it's gone!! Thankfully, TLC hasn't adopted the absolute WORST tactic: the super-rare "chase figure." Don't be surprised if that comes in Series 4 though! Note: regarding the scarcity of the figs (here in the U.S. specifically), I know the company line is that they were "surprised by the demand," but I don't believe that at all. Artificial scarcity via a limited production run is a tried-and-true marketing strategy. Personally, I find it a little disappointing, as if TLC should somehow be "better" than that, like they should be above these sorts of marketing tricks. That's foolish, I know. They're a huge, multi-national corporation out to make money, not a kindly old toymaker handcarving each block in his cozy little shop ... but I still feel that way.

I guess I'm unreasonable then, because I would HATE that. It's cool that you're enjoying the surprise aspect of these collectible figs. I'm coming at it from a different mindset, it seems. I'm at a point in this hobby where I know what I want to build. I have specific MOCs in mind, and I'm only interested in purchasing bricks, sets, or figs that further those goals. I'm not interested in "surprises." Yeah, okay, I probably overstated it. Hey, it's the internet; overstating and exaggerating one's argument is practically required!

Added emphasis mine. Sure, if you want into the Lego Store with the intent of buying GENERIC LEGO MINI-FIG, then the blind packaging is irrelevant. But in reality, do many people do that? I'm guessing that most consumers have a specific mini-fig in mind that they're looking for -- either one that they're missing for their collection, or one that they like more than the others. Blind packaging makes that very difficult. How many figs do you buy in order to get a resonable shot of getting the one you want?? Blind packaging is anti-consumer, which is why I say it's "sleazy." It benefits the seller, not the buyer. It's a con game. It motivates the consumer to buy things that they don't want in the hopes of getting the thing that they DO want. Can you imagine that marketing ploy working in any other industry besides collectibles?? The seller is preying on the collectible mentality, the "gotta catch 'em all" attitude that drives people to complete a collection. Imagine going to the grocery store, or the pharmacy, or a car dealership, and being forced to blindly purchase a item without knowing for sure what it is. It's laughable. Nobody would ever do that. The only reasons that consumers tolerate this nonsense in the collecitbles industry is because a) we're used to it (baseball cards have been doing this for, what, 100 years or so??) and b) the financial outlay is so small. If I don't get the fig I want, I'm out two bucks. Not a huge deal. I still say it's sleazy though.

I'm with you, Klaus-Dieter. I don't really like this theme all that much either, for exactly the reason you mentioned -- it's very repetitive. The humans vs. giant animals is so played out by now: Dino Attack, Vikings, Aquaraiders, Power Miners, Atlantis, and now this. Maybe I've just been in this hobby for too long, but I sorta feel that way about all the 2011 sets we've seen so far. It all seems familiar and repetitve.

To paraphrase Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: "It's not impossible. Just very, very improbable." Perhaps they have an Infinite Improbability Drive there in Billund?? Stories like this (whether true or not) are exactly why I hate blind packaging. It's a sleazy marketing ploy to get you spend money on stuff that you don't want.

Amen, brother. Next, I'd like to kick off a heated debate regarding the portrayal of aviator characters -- should they have pointy or bushy moustaches? Discuss.

Why is it silly to think that TLC could finalize a product a mere three months before it hits shelves? In the IT industry, products are announced months, even years, before release. Just this last week, Microsoft announced that they're going to make a super-thin tablet computer. The estimated release date? 2013. In the movie industry, trailers are often released a year before a movie hits theaters. At ComicCon this year, Marvel was relentlessly promoting their Avengers movie. It's release date? 2012. In the comic book industry, publishers are required to announce their publication schedule 3-4 months in advance, so retailers can place their orders. In the video game industry, games are often announced years in advance of their release. Other industries do this all the time! They announce products, then use fan-driven marketing and hype to keep people's attention and interest over the long-haul. My only point here is that TLC often finds itself at odds with the online community over these sorts of leaks. They could find better, more productive ways of releasing information on upcoming sets. There is a voracious appetite for news of upcoming sets. TLC needs to use that to their advantage, instead of fighting it. Your second point about news of upcoming sets cannibalizing sales of current sets is a very tricky issue. That's probably a legitimate concern.

No pressure or anything!! The next story arc is going to bring together a number of different story threads, so I think it'll be fun. I finished building a new setpiece yesterday (Commander Awesome's secret underground lair), so I'm ready to start taking pictures.

I assume you're probably right with this. While I understand TLC's frustration, I don't have a lot of sympathy for them. Let's face it, these retailer catalogs always get leaked onto the internet. There's no way to stop it. So why fight it? Why not embrace the fan-driven hype instead, and use it to your advantage? For example, imagine if they released pictures of the collectible mini-figs, one a day for 16 days, on their website? They could host polls and have people guess what they think the next one would be. Just think how much traffic that would drive to their site! Unfortunately, TLC's marketing department seems about 20 years behind the times.

A record store?!?! Shouldn't this go in the "Historic Themes" forum instead? <cue rimshot> Seriously though, this is very nice. You just need a Jack Black mini-figure from "High Fidelity."

Remember when the preliminary series 2 pictures were posted, and the Mexican was wearing a green fedora, rather than the new sombrero? This could be something similar. Maybe the Hawaiian girl is getting some new accessory that they don't have molded yet, so they gave her an existing piece, and repainted it. A ukulele would be fantastic!