Joebot

It's such an easy jump from "castle theme" to "fantasy theme" since most modern fantasy (at least the stuff coming from the U.S. and England) is set in a quasi-European medieval era. When I was a kid, I was really into the Lego Castle sets, and I always wished they would introduce fantasy elements, which they finally did with the Dragon Knights (just as I was moving into Town and Train sets). So, I'm not surprised to see Lego really embracing the fantasy aspect of their Castle theme. It's a natural fit, and fantasy is a hugely popular genre these days. I don't know how upset the hardcore Castle fans will be. Seems to me that most of them incorporate fantasy elements into their structures and stories. Having tons of new pieces, like golden axes, winged helmets, dwarves, and fantasy monsters should be right up their alley. Not to mention all the basic bricks and arches in useful colors like grey and brown. I haven't bought a Castle set in over 10 years, but man, this year's lineup is tempting ....

I would say that up until very recently, it's been a combination of both points (iconic ships + good set design). The X-Wing fighter is a good example. It's a great set, and instantly recognizable by just about anyone with a passing knowledge of pop culture. But this past year gave us some weird sets, like the Imperial Landing Craft. I gotta pause my DVD to catch a glimpse of this ship since it's onscreen for about two seconds. Now with this EU stuff, there's not even that much! It just seems like Lego is veering away from the mainstream appeal, and is instead now going after the hardcore Star Wars fanboy. I guess that makes some sense 9 years into a licensing deal (has it really been that long?), when all the really obvious, popular sets have been made ... but it still seems kinda risky.

I think these new EU sets will be an interesting test for TLC. Is the blockbuster success of the Lego Star Wars line due to: A) the familiarity of the Star Wars brand and the iconic ships OR, B) good set design If it's A, then these sets will fail. I consider myself at least a mid-level Star Wars nerd, but I have no idea what "The Force Unleashed" is, who Juno Eclipse (Dumbest. Name. Ever.) is, or what any of these ships are. I bailed on the EU years ago, after the novels got really boring and repetitive. No 10-year-old boy (and let's be honest -- that's Lego core market) is going to know what any of that stuff is either. So, I guess the question is: Can Lego slap the "Star Wars" label on any piece of crap and expect to sell it in huge numbers??? Maybe. Maybe not. Should be interesting to see. Personally, I'm pretty lukewarm on the whole idea of EU sets. My interest in the Star Wars license has been waning anyway. Some cool new OT sets might have got me excited again, but a Juno Eclipse mini-fig?? Meh.

Your army builder theory is interesting. I never thought about that before. That's definitely part of the appeal to Star Wars, and something that Lego's other licenses don't offer. Who wants to build an army of Spongebobs or Hagrids?? I would argue that the genius of the SW license is that it offers that army building concept IN ADDITION TO having lots of unique characters. You get the best of both worlds. After all, it's those unique characters that drive the collectability craze. C'mon, who here is buying the new Jedi Fighter strictly for Kit Fisto? I know I am. LOTR is the only other franchise I can think of that offers that ideal combination of main characters (Aragorn, Frodo, etc.) and nameless army-builders (uruk-hai, elves, Riders of Rohan, etc.). But I think LOTR isn't as conducive to Lego sets. SW has an a huge range of ships that falls neatly into varying price points. I don't know that you could do that with LOTR sets. A $20 Rivendell set? A $50 Gondor set?? I think the problem with Batman is that it's almost entirely character-driven, with no army-building possibilities. Unless people are dying to build an army of Joker henchmen? Lego is going to soon run out of characters, and then the theme will be done.

Oh, absolutely! I certainly wasn't trying to argue otherwise. There is not a direct relationship between licenses and crappy themes, or vice versa. I guess my point is is that if Lego is forced by economics or marketing to use licenses (and I think they are), then I hope they choose those licenses VERY carefully and judiciously. A couple of well-conceived licenses, like Star Wars, is a real benefit. You get a built-in fanbase who will do all the advertising and marketing for you! If there's a collectables aspect to it too, then all the better. Some of these other licenses, like Spongebob or Batman, have made for some nice sets and figs, but I don't see a Star Wars-esque 12-year run here. Those themes don't offer the variety in characters and locations that Star Wars does. In fact, I would argue that Star Wars is a freakish once-in-a-lifetime anomaly that Lego will NEVER be able to surpass. It was the perfect storm of popularity, rabid fanbase (both kids and adults), collectability, and set possibilities. What other pop culture franchise offers all of that??

In your list of licenses, you forgot the one that best proved your point -- Galidor. Unless that's under the Disney license?? Not sure about that. But anyway, man, what a trainwreck THAT theme was. I remember seeing those action figures on deep clearance at TRU. They couldn't give those stupid things away. Licenses seem like a necessary evil in the toy industry these days. There's just no way around it. I think Lego has realized that they went too far down that path. I think there's a balance that can be reached between licensed and non-licensed properties, and it seems like Lego is experimenting to find that balance. I'd like to see them focus on a handful of strong core brands, then use the rest of their line to promote their own products. I agree with the above posters who have been disappointed with the Batman theme. The sets have been pretty cool, but I'm just not sure where we're headed. Is there any longetivity to this theme? Or are this years' two sets going to the end of it??

That's really great. Excellent choices for the faces, especially the Kirk-smirk. Now, you just need a few dead Redshirts lying around.

"To the last, I will grapple with thee! From hell's heart, I stab at thee! For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee!" Nicely done, Steve. That's still the best Trek movie of 'em all. -Joebot

I've heard this argument a lot, that kids these days lack imagination. I'm just not quite sure that I buy it. I have two kids, ages 7 and 11. It's undoubtedly true that they would spend all their time in front of the TV or playing Nintendo, if I let them. When I made them turn that stuff off, then we spend hours playing with our Legos, or playing board games, or whatever. They certainly don't lack imagination. I don't think the problem is the kids. I think the problem is the parents. It's really easy to let the Electronic Babysitter do all the parenting. TV and video games are very seductive to kids. It's passive entertainment that requires little to no effort. As a parent, you gotta put rules around that stuff, and get your kids involved in other activities. As for the MM vs. Castle debate, I think the MM theme is yet-another short-lived theme that will stick around for a year, maybe two, then die. Sadly, this is becoming very common with Lego (Dino Attack, Vikings, etc.). -Joebot

Thanks!! And sorry to hear about the Diet Dr. Pepper. I hope you didn't spew all over your keyboard. We can't take any liability for ruined keyboards. :-) Thanks for reading! -Joebot

Hey everyone, Chapter 6 of our silly little superhero comic, The Unlikely Society, is FINALLY posted online. I also posted some other new stuff on the website. In the Fluxington section, there are some new pictures of the beach and lighthouse in my town. Also, in the Cool Stuff section, there's a whole new page devoted to reviews of real comic books, as written by the Unlikely Society characters. So far, there are two reviews posted: Mighty Avengers #3 and Ultimates #13. So be sure to check those out too. It's surprisingly difficult to write a review "in character." I keep wanting to drift into my own writing voice. It's fun though. Please let us know what you think! -Joebot www.unlikelysociety.com

I absolutely agree, I don't think Lego should have made it with differing colors or shades either. That would have been weird. And you're right that a Parthenon or Arc de Triomphe set would also be predominantly one color, but at least it would be a DIFFERENT color than grey (presumably white, right?). I don't mean to sound overly critical. I really do like the set, and I'm thrilled to see Lego making stuff like this for the adult collector crowd. The Eiffel Tower was a good choice to render in Lego, because it's sorta blocky and chunky, and because it's instantly identifable. It's just that when you place this set in context with the company's other current offerings, it makes for one big, bland greyness. When you flip through the next Lego shop and home catalog, you're going to see: the Eiffel Tower, the Death Star, the Star Destroyer, Vader's TIE, and the UCS AT-ST. All those sets are big, beautiful, detailed ... and GREY. Lots and lots and lots of grey. Maybe they should re-release the Statue of Liberty set, just to get some color in there! I'd like to see somebody place the Death Star on top of the Eiffel Tower in order to make a giant golf ball and golf tee. -Joebot

Looks nice, with some impressive Lego engineering. They certainly captured the tower's iconic design. Overall though, I'm kinda lukewarm on it. It's ... bland. So you now have a big gray tower to set next to your big gray ball (Death Star II), next to your big gray wedge (Star Destroyer). I really love that Lego is getting into this market of selling impressive, detailed models. I just wish they'd pick stuff with more color and more visual interest. Anyway, thanks for the pictures Yoda (along with all the other pictures and reviews this week). You must be broke by now! -Joebot

Thanks for the review! This set looks pretty nice ... but it continues a trend that's been bugging me for a while. To borrow a phrase from the Simpsons, Lego is "enbiggening" everything. My town is built on the classic scale of 4-stud wide cars, 8-stud wide ships, etc. Now Lego is making 6- and 8-stud wide trucks. The cargo containers are 6-wide instead of the old 4-wide. The new airplanes are 8-stud wide instead of the old 4-stud wide. And then there's this colossal monstrosity of a cargo ship. That beast would overpower my entire city! I know it seems like a weird thing to complain about, that Lego is making everything too BIG. Of course the joy of Lego is that I can always downscale everything to match my existing stuff. I'm also a little bummed that Lego isn't using the classic harbor plates and ramps. Man, I love those pieces. Can you give us a picture of just the new harbor plate? It looks like a new piece to me, or at least it's a piece that I'm not familiar with. In general, I love, love, love the City stuff coming out this year. For many years, City was the red-headed step-child of Lego, and it's nice to see it coming back to prominence where it belongs. -Joebot

There's a HUGE difference between saying, "This offends me and I won't look at it," and saying, "This offends me, so therefore NO ONE ELSE should look at it." The first is simply expressing your opinion. The second is censorship. What the Rev. has created is art. Art is intended to invoke an emotional response. In you, that response was to be shocked. In others, the response might be laughter, or anger, or any of a hundred other things. It doesn't matter. The point is that the Rev. got a response, and therefore his art was successful. As for the Rev.'s choice of using Lego blocks ... ah, therein lies the genius of his work. Legos are children's toys. He has subverted their intended use to show scenes of graphic violence and sexuality. Likewise, the Bible, with its graphic stories of murder, torture, and war, has been watered down and told to children as pleasant little morality tales. The Rev. has turned that whole concept upside down by using Lego blocks as his artistic medium. It's brilliant in its way. -Joebot

Don't you see the irony here?? You're doing the same thing as Rev. Powell! You're picking-and-choosing the parts of the Bible that back your argument and that match you worldview. And you're just ignoring the rest. Convenient, eh?

Obviously I can't speak to Rev. Powell's intentions, but my interpretation of his work has always been that he's trying to point out the hypocrisy inherent in Christianity. Christianity is supposed to be about peace and love and "Do unto others" and so forth ... and yet the Bible is filled with some of the most graphically horrible violence imaginable. Take the Noah's Ark story as an example. God murders the entire planet (except for a select handful)!! This is a terrible story. And yet people use Noah's Ark as a theme to decorate their children's nurseries!! Oh, look at the cute animals! Just ignore the corpses floating in the water ... Rev. Powell has obviously cherry-picked the most violent sections of the Bible in order to argue his point. His work is not meant to be used to teach Sunday School or to be viewed by children. I see it as an artistic work meant to provoke a thoughtful response. Religion is responsible for many of the wars in human history. How many millions have died in the utterly pointless battle of "My God is better than your God!" I think Rev. Powell's work speaks to that question, and if he makes you stop and think a bit, then that's probably a good thing. Also, his Lego designs are excellent!! -Joebot

I've got a whole website full of Photoshopped Lego pictures. All the stuff we do for our Lego comic is done in Photoshop -- page layouts, word balloons, special effects, etc. Technically, we're using Photoshop Elements, which is the stripped down, consumer version. But it's more than adequate for what we need. It's an amazing program. -Joebot

Excellent post, Brickster. I heartily agree. Anyone who says "Star Wars is not fantasy" doesn't understand what the literary term "fantasy" means. If what that person actually means is: "Star Wars is not a Tolkein-esque fantasy knock-off set in a quasi-medieval world populated by creatures out of European mythology," then sure, I guess they're right. However, that's the very narrow definition of "fantasy" created by publishers who like to pigeon-hole books into meaningless genre definitions. Star Wars is not science fiction. Good sci-fi is focused on SCIENCE (hence the name). The point of sci-fi is to explore the relationships between humanity and technology. Star Wars has never been about technology. All the cool spaceships and lightsabers are just empty window-dressing. They're not the focus of the story. Fantasy, on the other hand, uses mythological imagery to discuss themes of courage, bravery, Good vs. Evil, and Joseph Campbell's famous "Path of the Hero." Star Wars fits that definition perfectly. Anyway, to get back on topic ... YES! I'd love to see more fantasy / adventure Lego sets!! Whether licensed or original themes, bring 'em on. Oooh, any George R.R. Martin fans out there? How about a Song of Ice and Fire theme?? -Joebot

I do not have instructions currently, but I could try to put some together and post online. I'm almost kinda scared to take him apart to see how I initially put him together. I'm not sure I could him back together again! Thanks! -Joebot

Ahh, very clever. I like it. I've tried unsuccessfully to do something like that with only one mini-fig arm, but I could never figure out how to attach anything securely to the arm hole. I never thought of replacing BOTH of the mini-fig's arms.

Looks good, zero1312! I especially like Gunbrain. Just curious ... on Blastman, how did you attach the bricks in place of arms on the mini-fig torso?? -Joebot

Hey everyone, Thanks for the kind words, and for the website suggestions too (I already revamped the home page based on KhoRne's advice). zero1312 -- I think we'd all definitely like to see your heroes and villains. Post some pictures, and let's see what you came you with. casewindu -- I don't know if Pepperonus will be back, but I hope so too. It was fun coming up with his stupid pizza-based puns. The best part about superheroes is that they're never dead for long. Heck, Marvel just killed off Captain America a few weeks ago. Any bets on how long until he's resurrected? I give it six months. Take care, -Joebot

Thank for the feedback KhoRne! I've been meaning to spend a little time cleaning up the home page, but just haven't gotten around to it. Those were very good suggestions. As for the character bios, I did those using Microsoft Visio. It's a flowcharting application that I use at work. In addition to the flowchart stuff, it also has some features for doing interface design and screen mockups. It's a great program, and probably the only Microsoft product that doesn't make me want to stab pencils in my eyes. Thanks again! -Jason