gedren_y

I suspect the license discontinuation may have been from the Nickelodeon side. TMNT also went from Lego to Mega Brands. To be fair, Mega Brands figures are very source material accurate.

Saw it on IG a few days ago, but I cannot seem to find it again. It may have been taken down. Brickset lists three set numbers so far.

There's already a fantasy theme coming, it's just that it happens to be a licensed minidoll one, because Raya and the Last Dragon is a Disney movie. There's a pretty good image of the set that several days ago.

@MAB & @Gorilla94, part of the problem with The Hobbit sets was because the decision to stretch it into three movies came relatively late, and portions of the films were derived from some Tolkien notes, and other sources, not from the book. All LEGO could have reasonably gotten far enough in advance for some of their development timetable would be production images, and possibly some rough storyboards. The failure of character emphasis makes me reasonably sure that LEGO didn't get dialogue, and certainly not any preliminary filmed scenes. On the subject of this thread, it looks like the minidoll licensed theme Raya and the Last Dragon will fill the Castle/fantasy slot.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Raya and the Last Dragon set leak. There is what looks like a purple fox, and what I'm sure is the "dragon" seems to be an armadillo-like creature with a more hedgehog-looking face. The set shows a large "dragon" being ridden, but the images from the movie on IMDb show small young version. We'll probably get both.

It looks like the Ladybug Costume Girl has a neckwear wings/carapace mold. That would make thirteen new molds.

The eye patch was used to keep one eye conditioned for low light, so that they didn't have wait for their vision adjust when searching a boarded ship's hold.

With the current ground color, it looks like it's near a place I called Dead Sand in my A Curious Story.

In that vein the great ideal would be numerous modular castle section sets. Gatehouse, towers, wall sections with interior scenes (blacksmith, stables, barracks, etc.), and a true keep with all that implies as the large set. Even better, offer multiple faction options, with enough figs to have both residents and enemies (or, God forbid, allies). Add to that lots of $5 - $20 civilian sets. We can dream, can't we?

@Gorilla94, a lot of your issues with the LOTR/Hobbit sets are valid from an FOL point of view. They were specifically targeted at LOTR fans (non-FOLs), though, which is why the first theme based on the movies was accompanied by a Castle theme targeted at kids too young to see the movies. Many sets were designed for collectors, with shelf display in mind. Existing FOLs who were also Middle Earth fans had long been making MOCs that surpassed even the movies' depiction of what was in the books. As with most licensed sets, these were intended to get non-FOLs into buying LEGO. I agree that LEGO got greedy in how they distributed the characters, because serious collectors are often willing to spend far more than the average FOL. If you aren't a serious Middle Earth fan, however, you can completely ignore the character association with the prints. For army builders, Mirkwood Elf Army was probably the best of the whole line.

She looks more like a Vegas Showgirl.

Or a vig of The Night Of The Mary Kay Commandos.

Nope. He's only in 80104 Lion Dance.

This rocking horse mold came out this year. It currently only comes in two sets, both in white, but with different prints. It looks like only Duplo figs will work with it.

There is always the option of downloading the instructions. There aren't that many uncommon parts in the buildings themselves. The sticker sheet for Monkey King Warrior Mech has already been listed by a number of sellers on Bricklink. The one for Red Son's Inferno Truck isn't yet, but give it time.

Those blister packs sold like crazy. I actually bought the Fantasy Era Dwarves' Mine, and I could have used at least two of them to fill it out. Restoring those kinds of sets would be great hit, and if they were able to include a fold-out cardboard backdrop for display that would be ideal. I think the best way to go about it, though, would be to market them as add-ons to 3-in-1 Creator sets. Right now there is a Pirates 3-in-1 (and an Ideas set) that could benefit from something like this. There are enough existing molds to do this for four years without having to rely on another theme's budget to create a part they might need. There are even some molds from Nexo Knights that, if in the right color, could be used. (Okay, now I'm inspired.)

I remember them of old. I did a build including one of their number, without his cuirass.

Agreed. There are already a couple of aftermarket parts providers that make LEGO compatible hex bases for gamers that are FOLs.

That flame model is no longer being produced. The current model doesn't have the stability pegs.

Likes pancakes.

The Lunch Lady reminds me of the Adam Sandler and Chis Farley SNL song skit Lunch Lady Land.

Bioplastics, and other biodegradable materials, for packaging are relatively easy these days. Reproducing the quality of TLG's established ABS, and its color palette, is another thing altogether. Add to that the trans colors plastic, and the various softer/rubber parts, as well as the locations of the manufacturing plants around the world, and switching to renewables is a larger undertaking than many might think. As for price: My local Walmart finally started carrying CMFs with the DC line. They priced them at $3.49, and subsequent series have rung up the same price. Stores with their own distribution networks are likely able to get these at barely above wholesale, and be able to undercut Shop@Home prices.

On the hopeful side: With the trajectory of City Space, and the Creator sets, I wouldn't be surprised that we get an alien worlds exploration theme in the next few years. Story-wise something between Exploriens and Life On Mars, with non-minifigure aliens reminiscent of TLM2, would be my guess. Maybe with augmented reality as the gimmick, like Hidden Side.

I think what was meant by the 'IP losses' comment was that there is likely some drop-off of interest in an IP theme when there is no accompanying major motion picture, or popular TV series. Star Wars has theme park attractions (depressed tourism thanks to Covid-19), its own section on Disney+ where most of the existing films and TV shows are hosted (haven't seen the Ewoks movies there yet), and novels and comic books, so that drop-off is slight. Star Wars related merchandise hasn't really ever gone away. Harry Potter is in a very similar situation, though its merchandising spread is less in non-movie years.

I have a few digital ship builds, made for BOBS, that might fit this description. The Island Rose, the Consort's Duty, and the Valiant Phoenix all use unusual colors, and implausible parts combinations.