BrickJagger

Very nice commemorative build! I like the way you did the background. Great work!

I think that Elves might be discontinued after the summer sets. If the sets significantly surpass expectations, then the line will continue by focusing on the potential future storyline that Aanchir mentioned. I think the line has the potential to continue, but if the sets don't sell well, then the theme will end with Emily Jones going back home. I've noticed this in many themes. Lego cleverly sets up a theme to have a simple storyline in it's first year to test it out, then progressively make it more detailed and complicated as the line continues. The first year will almost always an "ending" of sorts, where the good guys win and everyone is happy. That way, if the sets don't sell well, Lego can give off the impression the the theme was only supposed to last one year, and the line is technically complete. Ninjago is a prime (and extreme) example of this. The first year storyline wasn't nearly as wacky as the years following, and the story was ended with Samukai being defeated. Of course there was a clifhanger, but almost all themes have one, even the ones that only last one wave. Ninjago was so successful that I feel that Lego was almost overwhelmed with the demand, thus why all of the sets are getting stranger and stranger. I doubt another theme can do what Ninjago did while it's still out. So my answer is: It really does depend on the sales.

You can be a skeptic, but not without a reason to be one. I'd like to know why you aren't sure. What would be stopping Lego from making a Castle line next year? Something to think about.

Nice work. I like the way you used dragon pieces to build the tusks and trunk.

He does have a thread with pictures in it, but for some reason, he made two threads for the same thing. Other one is here: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=106591

I've only been registered here for about a month, but I've been browsing this forum since about 2010, so I think I've seen enough to the point that I can give you an educated answer. If the new sets are coming out in the spring, I'd expect leaks to start around August-September. If it's a summer wave, I think the leaks will come October-December at the latest. Lego might be tightening their securities, though, because the summer leaks for this year were only revealed in almost January. From what I've been told (by two different people) and the accounts of a couple of others who shared info, I think we will be waiting about 4 or 5 months for set leaks, as I am 99 percent sure that this new theme will be a spring wave. *Random thought* what if the new theme has not one, but two waves next year? If a wave of Castle comes out in the spring, there would probably be another one in the summer. Themes that come out exclusively in the summer exist, but themes that only come out in the spring? I am aware that Castle has taken a backseat to the Lotr/Hobbit/fiasco/controversy/wishlist-filled posts/flame wars/thing <-- over the past three years, but I think that a two-waves-in-one-year approach by Lego to bring back Castle would make perfect sense. Thoughts?

^^ There were Castle sets in 2009 alongside Pirates, and there were Kingdoms waves in 2010 and 2011 alongside POTC. This is the first ever year with Pirates and without Castle. Pirates and Castle don't affect each other, they aren't even close to being the same. The only reason that the Castle offerings have been light the last few years is the Hobbit. Also, if you read the whole thread, you'll see that several people here (Including me ) have posted confirmation of a Castle theme next year. We pretty much know there will be one, the only thing we are waiting for is to see the release date and what's in the sets.

^ I actually have more citizens than Kings, as I only have the 2010 and 2013 Kings. However, my Knights (90's and 2000's) greatly outnumber my peasants, about 140 to 20. I display all of my Lego sets on tables so I can easily modify the layout of the various themes. I'm only using my newer knights right now, so I have the Red Dragons and Blue Lions on one table and the Red Lions, Green Dragons and a few FE guys on the other. I'm already thinking of ways to rearrange my layout to accommodate 2016 FEII sets because I've started to realize that I'm running out of room......quickly

That's one heck of a chart you've got there! I think that almost all of the factions don't have any relation to each other, except the Dragon Masters-Black Knights and Royal Knights-KKI connection. I think that the Dragon Masters were rebels in the Black Knight kingdom who seized power after they discovered Dragons. I think that King Leo's knights were part of the same faction as the Royal Knights but are a much smaller group because they fell out of power when King Leo took the throne. I voted for the Fantasy Era as my favorite era. What makes that line the best for me is the variety and unique style of the sets. I know the "Golden Age" sets had plenty of diversity, but they had similar, down-to-Earth looking Castles. The guys in Fantasy Era are more diverse because not only are they all different races, but each group has a very different style of architecture as compared to the others. I'm waiting for that line to return so I can add to my collection. EDIT: I just want to point out that you should include Kingdoms Joust in your chart, as it is an important (And the most expensive ) set in the Castle theme.

Every Castle set is now listed as a retired product on S@H. This is (I think) the first time ever that no Castle sets are available. When I first saw this it seemed like the end of an era to me, but then I remembered a new one is just around the corner. The wait begins........

I hope you mean very, veerrrry loosely.

Well, there's barely anything to talk about that's on topic, so it's kinda understandable that this would happen. I wouldn't recommend trying to read the last 120 pages of this thread, but it's pretty similar to what's going on now. Also, relating to the discussion, Jordan received a lot on indirect criticism on this site Bjark? Not so much....

Forgot about those. I was only looking at the products page and didn't remember to add the themes that weren't there yet. Thanks for pointing that out. I will change my logic to this: Since all three boy oriented fantasy themes are being removed from the site, we should expect a new one in less than a year. I don't think those count because they are Ideas products and Ideas isn't an icon on the products page. It's possible that Dr. Who could eventually become a full fledged theme, but the Big Bang Theory? No way.

The icon is still there on the products page, but I expect that to be gone soon. Also, all Lotr sets besides Orthanc and all Hobbit sets besides the newest ones are also sold out. It seems that Lego is clearing the way for several new themes next year, as at least nine themes are being discontinued this year (UA, Castle, Chima, Life of George, HF, Lego Movie, Lotr, TNMT, Hobbit) with only four to replace them (Elves, Pirates, Classic, Bionicle).

I don't think the Smaug set sold to well due to the high price and limited structure, as others have listed above. However, I also think that another reason for poor sales could be due to the Dragon Mountain set. Around the time the Lonely Mountain sets were released, Dragon Mountain was on clearance in a lot of stores for around 30 bucks. I'm willing to bet that kids (and their parents) saw the two sets and thought "They both have a big dragon, but this one is 100 dollars less." Pretty easy decision, right? You can't really tell how much bigger Smaug is compared to the Castle dragon just by looking at the box, and I think that influenced a lot of buyers. Plus, Dragon Mountain includes a Princess, a Knight to kill the Dragon, a Wizard, etc. Instant playability. The Lonely Mountain, on the other hand, had...........dwarves. They both aren't great sets, but I think you see where I'm coming from. It's not to hard to figure out what happened after that. Hope that helped.

In my eyes, the MMV is a top 10 all time Lego set, not just a top 10 Castle set. It's hard to find a sets with more imagination and thought put into in than the MMV. Lotr is different because the designers knew what Helm's Deep looked like. It gave them a reference point for designing the set. The guys who worked on the MMV started from scratch. They knew what the average Medieval village looked like, but the challenge was blending all of the parts of a common village into one set. Also, no the MMV was the first set of it's kind (being an entire village), and it paved the way for MVR two years later. Lego sets are all about creativity, and the MMV crushes Helm's Deep in that category, for obvious reasons. Helm's Deep is a good set, but others similar to it have been made. I would go as far as putting the 2010 Kingdoms Castle and the Black Knights Castle ahead of it in terms of design, but that's just my opinion. If Fantasy Era comes back, I'll be over the moon, and I'm sure that many others on this thread would be as well. It's a compromise between regular Castle and Lotr. Let's hope for that.

Someone here said that a third Lotr wave was planned, but when The Hobbit was turned into three movies, the last wave was cut. I agree with that. I'll assume that the same team worked on both Lotr and the Hobbit. Let's say they were working (back in 2012) on the third Lotr wave when they learned that they needed to make another Hobbit wave for Bot5a. They abandoned Lotr wave three to make Hobbit wave three, and by the time they were done, they wouldn't be able to finish the Lotr sets by the time the third Hobbit movie came out. Lego is aware that making new waves for a theme (that wasn't a standout) after it's last movie is bad business. Therefore, we will never see the third Lotr wave. In a separate theory, I think that Lego actually did have Elf-themed Castle sets planned for 2010, but they got into a contract negotiation for the rights to make Hobbit sets, so they said they weren't making Elf sets. The entire Fantasy Era Castle line reflects Lego's attempt to recreate Lotr+TH. While they were trying to get the rights to make Hobbit sets, Lego decided to make Castle sets that weren't Fantasy themed in the event that they got the license. This theme was Kingdoms. Kingdoms basically had the potential to go on for a lot longer than it did, but still ended up looking complete when it ended because Lego was careful to make Kingdoms look like an authentic Castle sub theme, not a cheap filler. In the event that Lego didn't wind up with the license, they could continue to make Kingdoms sets by introducing Black Falcons (who were hinted at) and making AFOLs happy in the absence of Hobbit sets. It ends up coming down to this: Would you rather have had Hobbit and Lotr, or fleshie Elves and/or Black Falcons? Though question It's a hunch, but it does make sense.

I really hope that the Ep7 sets have as many location-based sets as they do vehicle sets. I know it's unlikely, but location based sets interest me more than ships. Really looking forward to pictures.

That would fit in nicely with my Small Cottage Creator set. I'll have to buy this one considering the price. Thanks for the heads-up!

You nailed it. I think you've made your point.

Do you guys think that these ......sets (?) will ever be sold in stores? I really need the shields for my knights who don't have any.

I was looking on ClassicCastle.com, and someone there found this http://kocka.hu/Lego_LM0001/LEGO_Minifigurak_-_Lovag_csomag_1._%283_minifiguraval%29 This certainly is strange, I've never seen unprinted shields like that. The site also has some foam shields and things that I have never seen before, all with the Castle 2013 logos. Does you guys think that these will be available at any point this year?

I guess what I said came out wrong, huh? It's just a conversation, and I'm trying to divert people from getting too far off topic. If I find nothing, I will probably won't post on this thread for awhile. It's almost baseball season

I'm still trying to coax more info out of the guy I talked to before, he seems to like to reveal info very slowly. Odd.......

Why not? I don't think that his native language is English, that's why what he said looks kinda odd.