Murrig Icehammer

@Aanchir NK is not what i understand in "combining ideas in new and creative ways, as The LEGO Movie encouraged" as you said so nice. To me it just looks like someone was throwing some random stuff together which is not being very creative (or better said being good at it), every computer or 5 year old can do that. Of course you CAN combine Fantasy/historical elements and Science fiction with each other, that's not the question. But the point is HOW it is done. And as far as i can see NK is pretty bad at this. (And i am not talking about individual sets, i am talking about the theme design as a whole.) About todays media being complex, i can't say much about kids cartoon shows or movies which may or may not have a high production standard. I really don't care. I can only speak from my point of view. But i can say one or two things about todays video games and i think they are not as complex or unlimited as they claim to be. For example Skyrim, compared to it's predecessor TES games, it makes you believe it's complex, but it isn't. It's smaller, features less character stats and doesn't offer as much replayability/content (like quests for example) like Morrowind or Oblivion to name just a few things. Sure the may graphic look better and everyone was totally hyped about it, but that's all. And there's virtually no other (singleplayer) game that offers as much freedom combined with immersion i know of. Sure there are MMORPGs which are huge and offer content for years (especially the one with the two big "w" ), but most of the time other people just ruin immersion. Not to speak that most games are just another way to milk the customers purse. Of course this is complely subjective, just as your point of view too. I think you hit the nail.

The differences between kids playbility vs. what AFOL want is a big problem imo. According to your Quote, in their testing: So even if they think AFOL input is somewhat nice, it's not really a decisive factor to them. It's what kids (5+) want to have! To be honest i thing that's not only a big problem, but a huge one, since both are almost incompatible. (a much deeper and more "realistic" approach (AFOL) vs. the most superficial view on medieval life as possible (Kids)) Quoting from the same article: Their strategy of "going back to the roots" seems to have been thown out of the window in favour of following the Lego movie theme, which obviously was very easy for little kids to follow. (The problem i see is that the only big difference between KK and their new strategy is only backed by the "hype" and success of the Lego movie.) So even there we have a certain dumbing down like at so many other aspects of todays culture, which is really sad to be honest. Complexity is obviously not very popular nowadays, lol. Of course a Villagers (medival Superheroes ;) ) vs raiders would be interesting but i don't think it would be what kids want. Since that theme is not superficial enough to be "exciting" for todays kids. Additionally it isn't backed by a TV show or a Movie. So honestly, i wonder how other companies (especially Playmobil) are capable to even exist nowadays by having "normal" themes without any big license or Maybe Lego could go another route and include RPG fans into their concept by licensing D&D, Pathfinder or even create a fantasy theme for especially for a older audience (in contrast to castle 07) and market it accordingly. (Apparently there's a big market for RPG themed figures, but idk how big) Surely they would need to create a different visual design for that theme, maybe even come up with different minifigures like they did with Lego Friends, Frozen or Elves. But this time going into the opposite direction and create a gritty and dark styled kind of theme. Surely it would be risky, but i can imagine a big potential behind this. By doing this they could still have "exciting" sets (and expensive ones too) which could be much more appealing for an older audience and run their 5+ Fantasy/castle/city/kindergarten theme at the same time.

I've taken a look at it too and i reallly like their approach to historical themes. Especially the possibilities of customizing their figures.I wish you could just mix Lego and Playmobil.... Yeah that's what bugs me most of it too.(Sorry if i have been vague about this)It's not neccesarily about the themes being mixed, as i said i was a huge Masters of the Universe fan as a kid. It's about HOW Lego mixes those themes (which is pretty bad imho). That's what i meant when i was talking about that it seem to be more appealing to younger kids. Additionally to that, i think when you get a bit older (around 8-12) and you get more knowledge about medieval or space related things, it (at least for me) it looked pretty rediculus to mix those themes. But everyone experiences those things in a differnet way. I'm not saying one thing is right or the other.

That's a really cool idea!They could even expand it by adding a marauding mercenary faction, or forestmen who are supporting the villagagers. Or they could expand the VIllage into a small city, adding a tavern or a city hall or different guilds even. By doing this general theme (people defending themselves) they would show a little differentiated view on medieval theme, instead of doing basicly the same theme over and over again. Off topic: Just one last word concerning the NK issue. I just don't get it why so many themes need a sci fi "touch" (Ninjago or Chima for ex.). Don't get me wrong i love (some) sci fi. Maybe even more than fantasy or historic themes sometimes, but just throwing random themes together seems like 5 year olds tend to play, instead of older kids. It just doesn't make sense to me (regarding the theme itself and Lego designers motivations behind it)

I'm sorry to post twice in a row, but there's one thing that came to my mind when i saw http://www.mikerayhawk.com/knights.htm artwork. Could it be that the basic shape of the Lego Minifigure is too restrictive when it comes to certain themes? What i mean is that maybe even a theme like Knights Kingdom could have been very popular any much better looking, if the Lego minifigure was more organic looking, instead of so blocky? (i hope i'm not too heretical right now...)

Without starting a debate on word definitions, but isn't Lego Star Wars already some kind of science fantasy?What bothers me the most about NK is the silly tone of it. Don't get me wrong, as a kid i was a huge fan of the masters of the universe, especially the original version where He-Man was a barbarian who was chosen to be the defender of grayskull. (man, that was so much cooler than some annoying sissy prince mutating into He-Man at will.) EDIT: Wow this Knights Kingdom artwork looks really nice. I just don't get that Lego now goes this all-silly route. That really annoys me...

I just stumbled upon this video: The nice lady explains the differences between Lego, Kre-O, Megabloks and two other types of Minifigures i never heard of. Pretty neat!

That would be exactly what i was hoping for. But i guess even Lego has some disappointments in their pocket (in form of NK). ...Could have been great, just let a man dream...

That's a beautiful little house. Maybe something one of my hero Characters might buy (or build) for their own if they decide to retire. Nice Work! EDIT: typos

It's an really interesting review. If i have understood this correctly the middle part (engineering hull and pylons) are one piece? Well that's understandable, since without any more advanced building techniques it can be very hard to keep such unique shapes to hold together. (unlike most SHIPS some people build, which are basically just boxes, lol) About the kreons themselves, i still don't know if their quality keeps up with lego. On the other hand i like their design. They don't look so blocky and allow much more different poses. (which is basically EXACTLY what i'm looking for) Maybe i'm not a die hard Lego fan but i don't see a reason not to mix them with legos (IF their quality turns out to be ok). What interests me the most at the moment is, can Kreons heads be removed and be replaced with Lego heads and vice versa? what about the hair pieces? I don't care if they are made of rubber or plastic, but are the compatible with Lego? In a nutshell, can Kreons be integrated to Minifig worlds? I like that video though. The guy doing it states that he's a Star Wars fan, but still likes the Enterprise, that was a big plus to me. I watched this Video from the same man, which really made me thing into buying some sets: It's a shame they don't have a fantasy or medieval themed line though.

Better not, it'd be too off topic and not very kids friendly too. Same here. I have no interest whatsoever in any apps or video game tie-in stuff and i'm not going to pay extra money for it.I can't speak for others, but to me the price is an important aspect. Even if they would sell some limited edition castle sets aimed to AFOLs, i just wouldn't want to buy them. It's the same like LotR and Hobbit sets, some are really nice but they are also rediculusly expensive.

Not really.

That seems rather unlikely, at least not as a full theme, but maybe one or two special sets.I think TLG would never even consider releasing a "real" historical theme for kids, without a according cartoon and app. And even then i wouldn't give it a big chance, such a theme would be way to specific to be interested for kids. As much as i would love to see a Greco-Roman, Egyptian, Sumerian, the Huns, the Hittites, the Imazighen(Berber) and Babylonian line, i really doubt TLG could sell those themes to kids without making them almost unreckognizeable. The Marco Polo theme although could have some potential for j.unio.izati.on imo. Maybe they could create it as some kind of educational/historical line combined with a app explaining historical background, but i can't imagine they would go that route. I would really like to see TLG go a more historical or more "adult" (meaning less ju.nior.ized) route, i don't see it happen. Even less since they are more interested in creating TV shows, apps and silly stuff, like NK. I think the best "we" can do is to wait until NK wave has passed until we can even remotely hope to see a decent castle line. I wonder if they where aware they would alienate so many AFOLs by releasing NK, or if they just don't care. Wow, this is really depressing, lol.

Since you guys are talking so openly about Lego clones and similar brands, i'd like to ask if someone has got any experience with KRE-O? I'm interested in some of their Star Trek sets if their quality would turn out to be ok. I find those Minifigures interesting, especially their arm flexibility and their less "cute" appearance. Besides that, Lego feels like it has become 3 times as expensive in the last couple of years. (times don't get better tbh) Especially if most stuff i'm interested in (like Castle) only exisits in licensed sets or doesn't exist at all.. (double expensive) Can anyone tell about good experiences with other brands minifigures, especially medieval/fantasy themed?

It was the viking ship 7018 and the Dwarves' Mine 7036, both in 2010, both are absolutely gorgeous and great sets (if you mod/expand them a bit, they become awesome) Yeah i know, both themes wheren't especially new in 2010. I'm always a bit too late, lol.

That's interesting.So if they planned a Elf faction back then, it would be interesting to know why they didn't decide to just continue it now as they planned back then. It apparently went pretty well imo, so what has changed? On the other hand if they had continued FE as planned, they would have needed to reintroduce a orc, human and maybe a dwarf faction again. But this could be another point of criticism for some AFOLs... i really don't know. (I initially wrote a LOT more, until i realized i was only ranting about NK...so i better stay silent...)

This is really nice! I don't know where to start... I really like the new added tower at the castle it really makes the castle feel complete. The Tavern is also nice, i like the different shades of red on it's roof. But what i like most two the guarding towers besides the tavern. The little bridge connecting both is really neat! You also did a great job in adding all those nice little details, like the knight checking the guards and the couple at the pool (behind the tavern). Nice work!

This is really amazing! I love to see the differnt swords and various helmets combined at the round table.

Oh wow that's really cute! Fantastic work!

Back, when Castle Fantasy was released, there where some speculations about an Elf faction being introduced to counter the Orcs. I think it'd be really nice if they would pick that idea up again.

That would be absolutely fantastic!

As a kid i loved to play Legos and create my own worlds, if it was in space or in a war thorn medieval fantasy world. (althought they didn't had a fantasy theme in the early 80s) After a long dark age, the first thing that cought my attention where Lego vikings.(yeah, that's already a long time ago for some :) ) But i really got into Lego again when Castle Fantasy theme was released and since Tabletop RPGs is another hobby of mine it was obvious (to me ) to merge both somehow. On the other hand i'm always torn between fantasy/historical and sci-fi theme (not lego but the themes in general). Sadly i don't have the time, room or money to to pursue these hobbies at the moment. But i'm not so sure if Lego is the right medium for my hobby anyways. Lego people are just too happy and nice for my taste, lol.

That's an amazing build. I love that you kept it playable by making it modular.

Yeah, it's a lot of missed opportunities. But their "pattern" of previous sets over the last 30 years shows that LEGO (is it still called TLC or TLG?) is simply not interested in releasing a non <insert that tiresome argument> Castle line (except some special sets like the market (10193) and maybe the mill(7189)). But that's basicly everything you said before. What interests me in particular is the reason why they are not interested in creating a decent Medieval (or Fantasy, for all i care) -line, which is not over the top <insert that tiresome argument> Are AFOLs really such a minority they can simply ignore or will AFOLs buy anything LEGO releases anyway? Your rant is justified imo.Instead of incorporating what AFOLs had to criticise about the last castle theme, Lego deliberately decided to ignore them all along and went the exact opposite route. They are the last ones who should be surprised about the refusal of most AFOLs against NK. On the other hand, i think the critics against castle 2013 needs to be seen in context. Castle 2013 may be <insert that tiresome argument> and childish, compared to it's predecessor, that's maybe true or not. But NK represents a whole new level of "not tolerable" or nonsense (choose one) imo. If Lego fans had known what follows after Castle 2013, they would have been so harsh against it, lol. Regarding the Lego movie, i hate it. really. Especially since they start mixing themes, even as a child i hated it when someone was doing that. (sorry for being Off topic) I can only speak for myself, but i think what AFOLs primarily want/need is a new castle line that's about a historical setting, instead of mixing it with other themes. Maybe it's just me, but i like a certain sense of seriousness, so to speak. If everythings silly there's no point of doing anything or being engaged in anything. But that's just me of course. Regarding this, i think Castle Fantasy had the best balance between <insert that tiresome argument> silliness and a certain consistency with itself. EDIT: What is this: <insert that tiresome argument> ?!? I thought this is a forum for adult fans of lego.

Congratulations!A more historic focussed Asia theme would be awesome, especially when it's tied to feudal japan or chinese legends, similar like the Vikings theme. (just without too much reliance to technic parts) Maybe some good dragons and other things, it'd be a excellent opportunity to give some additional understanding of eastern myths. (Maybe that's what ninjago is about, i don't know i have no idea about ninjago, lol.) As much as i'd like to see it, i can't imagine they do a castle-elves theme or any other castle theme in the forseeable future as long LEGO still has the rights for Tolkien movies. I'd 100% support a dark ages theme, maybe some mythology themed, like King arthur, celtic (stonehenge?) or another Vikings line would be nice too. They could also revive the Fantasy theme (that would be my personal fav.). A antiquity-mythology theme (hercules/odyssey/+much much more) would be truely great imo, but i don't see LEGO doing it. It's just not hip enough among the kids at the moment imo. Another possibility would be to get another license, like D&D or some other fantasy setting (which would be really nice on on hand but also pretty bad because it means expensive sets again.), but again it depends on what the kid want, not what AFOLs would love to see.... Realisticly, i think they will continue doing Hobbit/LotR sets for some more years (idk how long their contract runs), then there will be one or two years no castle themed stuff at all. (Depending on how well Nexo Knights is received by the kids) Sorry for the bad english today.