meliander

Love how the pirates are returning lol. Just squeezing themselves through other themes. Ideas, Creator, Hidden Side now. I hope TLG will give up next year and just make the dedicated classic pirate line already!

@ks6349 do you use camelcamelcamel? If not, you should try it. It's not lightning-fast, but you will be able to catch some deals with it. Just make sure you are setting the discount thresholds realistically.

They do re-release some sets but that's a rare exception. Like Taj Mahal, UCS Start War sets, etc. And the reason they do that (I think) is because they see a big potential in a certain set i.e. a Death Star - both for folks who missed it and the new audience. The fact that the sets are retired and gain value is part of their brand now. It's part of what Lego is and they know that very well. It's something that actually make people pull the trigger and buy that $300 set NOW and not later, because it might get discontinued. Re-releasing old sets on the scale that would satisfy AFOLs will bring that value down. Don't get me wrong - I'm in the same boat as you - missed a lot of Modular Buildings, Winter Village, other cool expert stuff. And I would LOVE to have everything that I missed available for purchase at MSRP today. My advice and that's the road that I chose for myself - is first - focus on the stuff that's going to be retired this year. We can already enjoy the fact that Expert sets generally stay a bit longer so that gives us a better chance to buy what we want and not empty out wallets too quickly. Heck, I just built the Parisian Restaraunt which was supposed to be retired long time ago and I bought it just a few months ago - weeks before it was retired. And I'm so glad that I did that because that's the best Lego set I have ever had. And I also have the first modular - Cafe Corner. And I must say - it's not half as good as PR. So I'm thinking maybe because Lego produces so much cool stuff each year and every year - maybe there is no point in actually chasing down all of these old sets, but only focus on those that are really good and that you can purchase for decent price. So ask yourself a question - did you get all you wanted from the stuff that's available right now? Now, I really do want to have Brick Bank and Detective's Office - sets that I missed. I was contemplating on buying them used, or even paying the 1.5-2x price for the sealed ones on Bricklink. And I haven't really decided on what to do yet, but I'm seriously looking into parting them out and just buying parts for them. I don't care if I don't get 100% of the parts (maybe something is out of production), or I may have two substitute some of them with different color or shape - as long as I can get them for a decent price - I will go for it. I just didn't have the time to do that yet, so I can't really comment on how it turns out to be, but that's what I'm considering right now. P.S. Winter Village varies in quality and cohesiveness. Like the Santa's workshop, Gingerbread house - even though good sets - do not really belong to WV from my point of view. So I'm planning on getting only those that I like. I have the Toy Shop, the train (but not the station) and I'm planning on purchasing the Fire station and anything they come up in the future that I would like.

dedicated product lines That's what excites me the most. I hope they mean new themes that contain experts builds throughout all of the sets. That would be amazing!

In any case, we should all buy the ship. I guess they are "testing the waters". If there will be enough interest in the ship, maybe they will consider a full theme? :)

This. If they would be about to retire it, I think we would know that in advance and will be able to get them before they gone. I agree, that it's unlikely for them to retire the blue one. Tan is a different story, like the white one, which I believe would also be less popular a year from now. What I don't quite understand is the reason they are keeping the 48x48 grey one and not releasing a 32x32 version of it, even though it has been manufactured for many years now.

Anything space-related is great for me, so rover for 50 is nice. I'm glad it's not a small set, too, judging from the price. The Pirate ship - I don't know. I love pirates, but this set means there will be no Pirates theme coming, and that's kind of sad. I was really hoping for Leaf theme to be the grand return of the pirates. Well, I guess this set (even though I don't like the idea of brick sales) and Pirate Bay is better than nothing. At least my wallet will be happy. The Caravan set - also on the fence right now. For some reason, these campers/caravans start to seem to come out pretty frequently (especially if Friends are included in the calculation) and to me personally, it starts to remind of the trucks with helicopter/boat-type sets. I mean it could be good and all, but I'd rather see a house (like some of you mentioned above) or something completely different and original than another iteration of a camper.

Both look great!

Fantastic MOC! Love all the little details you have here. Salesmen are spot on, too!

Totally agree. I think part of the problem is that the line is called Speed Champions. I like cars but not necessarily racing cars. A lot of stickers come just from sponsors and modifications for the racing models. For me personally, I would rather see something in the style of the Need for Speed (back when it was a great videogame) than any kind of Nascar or WRC or other championships. And also the front lights... Oh, man. Is it that so much more expensive to print them? I'm not asking for a new mold, all I'm asking is that if it is impossible to have them brick-built, just print them!

I'm a soccer fan but if this is going to be official, I find it a bit odd. First, if this is a partnership with MU and if the soccer players will be included, there can't possibly be a 2nd team for MU to play with, unless they secure a license for it too. Secondly, how many minifigs are they going to include with this one? There is audience(!), security, cameramen, referees, substitutes with managers for both teams, other stadium stuff... The stadiums are all about crowds. When they are even half full, empty rows of identical seats don't look very exciting. That's what I think makes stadiums MOCs look interesting - tons of minifigs.

And me too! The townhouses and shops of recent years are all good, but these two sets are my favorites and I wish I hadn't missed them: https://brickset.com/sets/5771-1/Hillside-House https://brickset.com/sets/31012-1/Family-House

Love the buildings in the background, too :)

I also hope that Creator Expert Vehicles continue to represent old legendary cars rather than fancy street racing cars. I also don't want to pay extra for F&F license. I sincerely hope that it's a Technic set.

As much as I would be happy to see anything that's Pirates related (or Castle or Classic Space for that matter), I would really prefer a solid line of sets sticking to one theme rather than Time Cruisers sort of thing. I don't mind if it's infused with AR or any other gimmick as long it has decent builds and is not Junior/mini-dolls.

TLDR: There is no point in arguing over an exact percentage figures, because it won't change the TLG strategy shift towards AFOLs. A little bit of my thoughts on the subject. Hope I won't anger anyone with my views. :) I think that percentage of sales that AFOLs make for TLG is not a major factor (or at least not the only major factor) for them. Even if it was substantial as mentioned above, I don't think TLG would shift their focus from being a toy for kids first and foremost. Meaning that themes and sets that appeal to AFOLs would not dominate their line up. The reason behind that is that TLG has been in this business for a long time and they understand that the ideal strategy for any business is focusing on their brand - which helps to reach and hold on itself a potential buyer. Even though Lego is almost always purchased by adults, the ideal buyer for them is the kid that asked their parents to buy more Lego and then buys Lego on their own when they become an adult (AFOL). So they need to recognize these two groups as important. AFOLs are loyal, they help promote Lego brand and they purchase much more than an average non-AFOL parent or grandparent does. The more Lego sells to kids now - the more AFOLs they will "cultivate". So when the questions is asked - are they listening to AFOLs? I think the answer is yes, but they don't "bend over". They want to know what AFOLs as a group wants and what they will buy - that's for sure. BUT. The number of AFOL's is growing (just because Lego sales have been growing historically and those kids who enjoyed Lego are growing up), but the number of non-AFOL adults purchasing Lego for kids is also growing. So AFOL's will always be an important group, yet a secondary group, because not all kids return to Lego, it doesn't matter what percent of them do - it's always a smaller group. TLG will not shift the focus towards them - deliberately. In other words - TLG is controlling this by their line-up of sets. At the end of the day - they don't care who buys the Lego set for whom, just that the set is being bought is what matters. And I think, they don't even have those percentage breakdowns themselves other than estimates or guessing. If I buy Lego at any place either than Lego.com - TLG doesn't know if I'm an AFOL buying it for myself, or if I'm a regular parent buying for my kid, or if I'm an AFOL buying for my kid :) They know sales for Expert sets, but they are not representative of the whole picture, because AFOLs purchase regular sets, too.

 One of them will be add on to the Fairground sets. Perhaps Tower?  And the 2nd one Expert Vehicle i guess

You don't have to talk in a provocative tone to make your point, with people you don't know and never met, even if it's tempting to do so in the heat of the discussion. I agree, that some people don't like buses. But a lot of people in different parts of the world like them and hate sitting in traffic when they commute to work. It doesn't mean they don't own a car by the way. You are right about the tracks. Fitting them with the rest of the buildings would be tough.

@koalayummies I've lived in SD and been to LA a lot. I live in Boston now. You are really judging the situation with buses from the Californian point of view. It's different here on the east coast, believe me. Buses are a huge thing here and public transportation as a whole. There are normal people riding buses to and from work every day, watching movies, reading books, playing videogames. Because there is just so little parking in the city, and winters could be a nightmare to find a spot. And parking is also insanely expensive. Don't compare this to the sprawling LA with its numerous parking lots and highways running across the city - it's just different. Yes, sometimes you can see a shady person on the bus, but it's not near as close to what public transit in California represents. And then again, Lego is not about the USA only. There are lots of countries in the world where Lego is popular and where public transit is big. As for the modular subject being the bus or train terminal (especially train terminal, because I think it's kind of closer to the modular vibe) - I don't see why not. It certainly won't be something huge like Port Authority Bus Terminal in NY, but neither of the modulars are really big or realistic scale - they are actually pretty small and cramped inside.

The first announcements for City made me worry, but literally everything else they showed after the police sets - for me personally was an improvement over the recent years. Both designs and ideas seem fresh (even though I know the Lego is recycling ideas in City from time to time) and very appealing to me. The Bookshop modular is fantastic, too. Everything is awesome for me guys LOL. Now I even like the fact that Police was not up to par for me this year, my wallet will be slightly less disappointed, and I will continue to hold off on this theme until Lego does something great on that front. The only thing I will miss in the upcoming year is more City Space sets. Until the very last moment, I hoped that they continue this subtheme at least with one more wave, and maybe even branch out into something futuristic later. The sad reality though is that they don't. Of course, better do some ghostbusters:)

I'm really happy with this one. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to enjoy Town Hall, Pet Shop, Detective Office and Brick Bank, but all the rest of the buildings I have and I'm looking forward to adding this one to the collection as well!

I'm on the same page with you, but I hope it's just the beginning. They can't stop with just a single wave. Also, with the price increase it helps me to choose wisely and start saving that money for the batmobile :)

I am allergic to fish, but I'd want this building in my lego city. Very nice. I like the book store as well.

I think you are right regarding the large plastic pieces, but Ideas are usually more generously priced, especially unlicensed, 6-8c/piece. If they retain 2k-ish amount of pieces I think we can expect something in the range of 149 -199. Treehouse has 3k pieces and it's 199... I just had a wild idea. What if Leaf is Pirates in SPACE? 2 checkboxes immediately for me.

I know, which is exactly why I think it is strange - to celebrate a theme that is gone. It would make much more sense to release a new awesome pirate wave of sets and then celebrate, with Pirate Bay being an icing on the cake, like the Imperial Flagship (2010) was for the great 2009 Pirates return.