Kim-Kwang-Seok

Looking at a recent marvel wave: Lego seems to have put quite a lot of effort in junior sets. Could be a coincidence but could also be that they realized those "teenager sets" are neither flesh nor fish and they try to do less of them but instead more sets either for young kids or for adults (UCS, art style sets, modulars). Probably makes sense them I think. Many sets of the past just didn't make sense to me. Like if you'd put 200 parts more you could have a decent build or if you put 200 parts less and make it more cartoonish it would be a great set for babies. Seeing so many new molds and prints for Marvel though I feel like this could be where the budget of ninjago went. But I'll let the summer wave decide - budget was shifting between waves in the past already.

to me it really looks like TLG is narrowing down the "for all" products and putting out more sets - and more ressources (meaning molds and prints) for sets clearly made just for small children. ...less "normal" sets that are neither decent for adults nor simple enough for kids. And on the other hand more and more super expensive adult sets. Probably good for them! If they do more sets like the Benethar it's really fine. Basically a almost UCS style set while weird hybrid sets are becoming less.

is this still about the fact that you cann't build it apart again? If it is - there were sets which you could put apart but due to the structure it was super hard to do. What difference does it make then?

I don't get why someone could hate on a theme. This is so childish, I am ashamed people keep doing that. It's a theme for a toy. From what I saw chima looked pretty sick. Wasn't my thing but it looked cool.

According to reviews the Mando figure from the micro fighter is the old one. Like many folks mentioned here: it was just the lighting which made colours brighter. Also the visor is again way too low while in promotional pictures it's shown higher than they actually print it.

to answer your respond in the '21 thread: yeah, there are new dragon parts but we have never seen not a single minifig-part. I think to a large extend reprinted parts are actually fine. More diversity for parts we've got instead of new parts which disappear after 1-2 recolours! And I think the sets are actually looking pretty good. Some probably more sleek than the more difficult "adult" builds for a few years ago. Just they are not for me personally; too comical and I don't see any interesting parts other than Pixals head + hairpiece. I think at least some kind of new flag piece would have been cool - to replace the super old one and the "sticker on a tile on a clip"-assemblies. Anyway I am curious what the disconnect to the show means. Maybe they cut down on the show and we'll get just some shorts for the WW and a proper season for 2nd half. If the show in it's more or less original form would end though (with a minimal continuation through shorts and stuff) I'd hope we get one more final season. I really think it would be fine to just keep the theme this way ("core"). Not my thing probably but that's just me. I could see many kids loving those sets much more then some of the overcomplicated builds that I might prefer.

Wow that rebel pack is actually pretty cool just for the parts. It's amazing how Lego is spreading those rare and diverse face prints into so many sets! (and if you complain about the accuracy: just put the 1000s of random white male heads onto figures instead).

I think they are typical Ninjago sets. Just not my style. Not even the dragons are of interest to me - the style is very comical; reminds me of that recent dragon rider disney movies series or whatever they were. And the other sets are basically junior+. Age 6+.

I don't see a single new mold for minifigure parts - that's a first time! We've ALWAYS gotten several new molds for some objects and armor. It realls looks like they try to put less ressources in Ninjago. There are 4 sets within the junior range... That being said: even the "<insert that tiresome argument>" sets look mostly great. Sets are as always amazing. ...but my purse is happy there's nothing other than the gun metal grey shoulder recolour and the Pixal head + hair for me. All the outfits - except for Nyas - look weird to me. I like that they try a new style but without dual molding legs look always weird.

Then we just dissagree which is completely fine (: I was amazed by good writing and focus on characters instead of action - except for the CGI fest at the end. But I was just thinking all the time "how could kids like this"

Ninjago has been consistently one of the best themes in terms of "what you get". How many universally useful molds, prints and sets did we get from that theme? For some of the sets you just need to put off some weird blades and they'd fit into many anime, military, super hero or sci-fi themes. With much better deals then you'd ever get from most other themes. Nexo knights, hidden side or chima were way less useful in terms of prints, molds and sets. Now as much as I also personally love Ninjago and see potential in it: if it ends and gets replaced by another potent theme or like 2 other themes - I'd be happy for the new theme and maybe new energy + innovation. But will that be the case? I think Ninjago only exists still because it is an established brand. There is always an existing fanbase and there is a working recipe for new fans. Kids walk in a store and anyone sees something they like: mech, car, creature, location, etc. But will that happen? Will they boldly put a crazy amount of ressources and research into a new theme? I was always curious how Ninjago could even happen. Like it or not: but just that they put so much money into a soundtrack for a toy commercial was crazy. But they did put in the effort and it did work out. Ninjago will not be forgotten like some of the other 3y themes. I'm afraid Lego will just be more dependent on licences which means for us: bad quality (prints, molds), bad prices and not the same creativity. Like Star Wars or not: it's basically a bunch of grey ships & vehicles, sometimes with a bit of red, white and tan.

looks like 1:1 the same fig to me. When trouble on tattoine first came out the belt also looked like dark red. I mean would be cool to get printed light brown arms but why should Lego make the fig more inaccurate? They should rather put a face print edit: the visor print looks a bit higher but also on other digital pictures it looked better. Seeing actual reviews of the SW advent calendar, it's the same weirdly low print.

I don't know mate... Just looking at WandaVision and comparing to the still pretty child friendly Avengers movies. Not to mention Spider-Man Now Thor3, Guardians and so on were quite a bit more adult but still fun and colourful enough for kids and toys for em. But WandaVision felt more like something you'd do a one off store exclusive location based set (like friends though I doubt there would be a similar demand). I don't see no mech, plane or creature to make for kids out of this. Again, don't know about the other shows but I just don't see the demand for kids. Due to the very intransparent structure of streaming services I have also no idea how much success these shows have individually. No expert here - I'm just sceptical so can we not try to give Lego some space?

I was hoping they use some of that sweet new year budget to upgrade something: jet pack compatible cape, accurate jet pack, helmet or at least a face print. Well let's hope for next year

who knows if they even can make sets. I wasnt paying attention to the shows so far but from what I've heard they are more adult and serious compared to the movies which might have a broader appeal and work better together with all the cartoon series. So I don't know who is the target audience for them sets anymore. And who knows what concept art Lego is getting. Or when they are able to assess if a show works for their costumers? I find just the tought of a normal retail set from Wanda Vision (the only show I've seen) quite weird, seeing how NOT for children it was.

Wow - how many figs/heads are there?! Will it really be 50 bucks? That would be quite a nice deal just for the parts. and do I see dual molded smalle legs and skirt piece in a USEFUL colour?!

To me the new waves sounds like something tech/future tech related. Which I'm happy because the last year really broke my wallet and space (looking at you submarine and 2 big dragons..). I hope Legacy is not gone for good but I'd understand also why this cann't be milked for ever. I would still have liked to see some undone stuff from March of the Oni trilogy and Seabound...

the approach to argue in a decent manner is to be appreciated. There's a lot of bad "trolling" behaviour going on in the Lego community unfortunately. That being said I also have to disagree. People somehow seem to approach a profit oriented toy company, like it's supposed to serve their nostalgic wishes. And unlike blue bricks or mega blocks Lego is much more targeted towards younger kids. I also dislike this. I like how other (cheaper) brands are more colour consistant, more studless etc. But I get Lego sets are mostly not done for me. It's very narcissistic and paranoid to assume always that our wishes and visions are the right ones and there is a conspiracy against us. Buy it and modify it. Or just don't buy it. Lego has become scared of inhouse themes. They made some bad decisions (vidyo) but even Nexo knights, Hidden Side and Elves which were decent or even great were failing in the end and could not be established long terms. We live in a universe dominated by existing brands. Every film studio is scared of creating something new. Even to the point where they attach new ideas somehow to an existing franchise. Lego is wise to test the waters via City, Creator and Ninjago. IF one of these specific waves is such a huge success then they may will create something in this direction. But of course sets will be a thematic mess. Except for SW EVERY theme is a thematic mess. Which makes it more accessible for a broader audience. Every wave a kid can get a mech or a jet, motorcycle, car or medevil style location based set from ninjago. This balance is why it works. Noone cares about what sets we'd prefer, except for a small minority of self centered adults that consume children products. And yes I am part of that group but I am aware of my position and Lego's position as a COMPANY.

I actually think it would fit great. Obviously with many modifications and some kind of closed back. I don't nor will I ever own any modular set. But this makes me wish I'd have my own Lego room. You could build some kind of garage under the area and modify the roaler coaster thing to go around several buildings. Well I can dream

Wow. Best wave yet I think! I never bought any set nor will I but pretty cool designs and also great deals! Much more interesting space ship than we get from SW! So many cool parts connections! I hope them new parts and prints get available again over B&P. I love how MK is recolouring all the shoulder pieces from Ninjago.

I think the best would just be to have some kind of code on the backside of blind bags. Ignorant consumers could do their thing, hardcore fans could do theirs. But I fear that they'll do blind boxes at one point for all. Would be incredibly stupid move but let's see... I think the increased prices of battle packs and CMF's would be more acceptable if they'd put in more. But quality did not just decrease (less new/interesting molds and super exclusive prints) also parts stayed the same. Cost or random, unprinted parts would be the least of effort for Lego but it would justify the higher value for us consumers. Like for the hoth battle pack they could simply put 150+ parts for some kind of trench buid.

still, I think especially some adult sets could tap into the "adult" market. They could do them based on past movies with the comming hype of whatever new media there will be. ...but yeah who knows if it's worth it for Lego; I guess they'll know why to do or not do it.

what facts? It's a conspiracy theory. State numbers about actual sales, comments by Lego employees, some other sources or whatever. I'm not saying prequels have to definitively sell worse. Maybe Rebels could have been a bigger success as a show and as toys. Disney basically was bullying the show out of existance (almost no ads,time slots, ridiculous budget, artistic limitations compared to TCW or Mandalorian; so there you go some facts). Maybe with some backing this would have gotten more hype and the toys would have become bigger, especially as they partly felt like there wasn't much effort put into them and at it's hight they weren't even on the market. Sometimes market logic is absurd. Like the first 2 waves or Rebels flopped for whatever reasons so they didn't put effort anymore/based on interviews (Facts) they were traumatized how bad existing sets sold . Maybe this prevented future waves to become a big hit. Maybe the more colourful designs and characters would have completely outcompeted the bland and grey sequel sets in comparison only if they would have pushed it more instead of hiding it. Maybe Lego just did a bad job to beginn with or they got the wrong designs. Like the Gonzati class cruiser probably wasn't the smartest ship to bring out at 130 bucks. Or maybe this is just my interpretation and the show just didn't work as well as toys. I would still think it was a but amazing show. Maybe it was just the wrong time. Whatever it is: You can love what you love, it doesn't change, that the majority of the fanbase (not just some minority on social media) doesn't like it or didn't try it. Maybe it's the same with Lego. Like they are just afraid of a prequel wave based on past sets but done right it would sell well. The current waves to me sound like they are really scared and want to play it save: some Mando and CW stuff and otherwise only OT. My speculation is that the last sequel waves were underperforming like crazy. Doesn't mean Lego "hates the sequels". According to this logic they would hate Rebels and the sequels more than anything - after all we do still get some prequel stuff while the sequels are like completely dead.

+ good speeder bike build + snowy Cheewie/updated version + battle pack - it's not a big deal but sad to see they don't even try to print legs of some figs anymore. As they had better and more detailed figs before it's just a step down. - so battle packs for 20€? At least I think they could have put like another figure, a smallish base plate or something. I get it, inflation, prints cost money etc. But at least give us something! 1/4 price increase is a lot. Worst case they could just extend the "snow trench"-build. Some white pieces cann't cost that much for the company but it would add play value.

It's like if they did an AT-ST UCS version 2.0. Throw in a driver - maybe even Chewie. But that's it. You won't get more. TLG doesn't deem the prequels sets to sell except for 1-2 droid vessels and Jedi Star fighters - and even there only the EPIII versions. It's just that. Im not saying this is how things have to be or that it's a good thing. But it is how things are now. The Lego community being full of conspiracies about secret anti-prequel agendas or whatever is just making us look ridiculous. And it's already not so hard to look stupid with 30 when your shelf is full of toys ;)