Lyichir

Technically my family all shares my dad's VIP account, but since he's not really active in any online communities I suppose I'll answer here. 1) I think my dad joined the VIP program soon after it started. After all, it was free, and we already tended to order a lot from Lego. 2) The main VIP benefits we take advantage of are the VIP points that can be redeemed for discounts, ESPECIALLY during double points periods. Often when making a purchase at a store the employee at the register has remarked about the ridiculous number of points on our card, since we don't always remember to make purchases when it's NOT a double points period! Since I became a member of BioniLUG, I have also used my LUG sticker on dad's card so that we can get discounts on the AFOL discount days. We don't often take advantage of early VIP releases, since it's usually more economical to wait for double points or a similar discount. 3) The main way the VIP program influences my Lego experience and buying habits is that it convinces me to do more of my purchases during double-points periods, instead of buying as many sets from other retailers throughout the rest of the year. In particular, I try to consolidate purchases of large or expensive themes that I enjoy like Ninjago, Elves, and Nexo Knights during double points periods. Cheaper sets like most Bionicle sets or collectible minifigures are some of the only ones I tend to buy at other times or through other channels. 4) I'm pretty happy with the VIP program as it is, but as for other things they could do with it... I dunno. I guess it could be neat if there were more exclusive or semi-exclusive items for VIP members. For example, it would be neat if there were opportunities for VIP members to get a chance at some convention-exclusive items like minifigures or Bionicle masks that are otherwise only available for attendees of specific pop-culture events. 5) In general, I've found that Lego's customer service both at physical stores and online is excellent whether you're in the VIP program or not. So I don't really have any suggestions there.

The lack of Globlins doesn't bother me (after all, it has four figures just like all the comparable battle packs). But I might have preferred if one of the monsters was replaced by a Scurrier, to better parallel the Squirebot in the Knights' Army pack, and similarly I wish one of the monsters had one of the rocky shields (as it is not only does it seem to lack a Nexo Power, unlike the other pack, but the ultimate packs remain the only way to get the stone Shields of Absorption).

You may not have had any of the issues in those threads, but that doesn't mean they didn't exist. And there were plenty of other issues with some of those older parts as well—parts like the finger hinges or "toothed" Technic bushings that could be broken easily, parts like the old Castle corner wall panels that were designed in such a way that they were easily bent out of shape, and colors that both looked worse and, once out of the boxes, were much quicker to fade and yellow. And that's not even getting into things like print quality that have generally improved dramatically over time. I grew up in the '90s, and I'm generally far happier with the sets and parts of today than I was with most of those older sets and parts.

Standing out on store shelves is a big part of it. The original canister designs for Throwbots and Roboriders were actually designed with the idea that they could be dispensed from vending machines (though that idea didn't end up being put into practice in the end). Additionally, the fact that they are action figures generally makes vertical box/canister designs more practical than the horizontal or square boxes that are more common for other Lego sets (since an action figure is taller than it is wide, while most vehicles and other structures common to other themes are wider or longer than they are tall). In terms of the new boxes, they're not really alone in having unique designs. "Gimmick" sets in other themes (like the Speedorz, Airjitzu spinners, and Nexo Knights "Ultimate" packs) also often use atypical folded cardboard boxes, and pretty much all of Lego's "girls' themes" (Elves, Friends, and Disney Princess) use boxes with beveled corners.

I don't think those were much of a factor on their own (though they could be considered part of the same larger trend toward less realistic vehicles and subjects also seen in "Town Jr." and World City, which could be considered both a reaction to and cause of flagging sales). Also, two decades ago? You're talking about 2003 or so—stop making me feel old! That said, there's a difference between all of the sets becoming less realistic and having a few sets that "break the mold", so to say. Heck, we haven't even had anything like a Space Shuttle or Mars Rover in Technic in ages! Also, as I mentioned, Lego could easily make sci-fi vehicles as part of their "constraction" themes like Bionicle if they didn't want to dilute the appeal of the main Technic brand (as they did in 2008, 2009, and 2010). Frankly, Technic has evolved by leaps and bounds since the '90s and early '00s, and I absolutely adore the recent sets I've gotten in the theme. But I can't help but feel like they could similarly do better with robots or spaceships or mechs than they did back in those days. I'm just curious whether the shift away from those sorts of sets was a deliberate move, and whether there's any chance of them giving those sorts of subjects another try.

Res-Q? Seriously? That's late '90s, and hardly a bastion of great set design. Today's themes are incredibly high-quality compared to most sets back then, and I say that as someone who grew up in that era and bought many of the sets. In general, last year had a fairly large number of themes that were on the wane—Legends of Chima had a small third year, Ultra Agents got an unexpected second wave, Simpsons got a second and final year, and The Lego Movie somehow managed to eke one final wave out of a year-old movie. There were also a fair few one-offs, with Jurassic World, Pirates, and Scooby Doo. This year has fewer, though you could technically add a few more. Disney as a general property is as much of a theme this year as Simpsons was last year, with a minifigures series and D2C set. I believe we're supposed to see Adventure Time (as both an Ideas set and Dimensions property) as well. If that doesn't count then technically Ghostbusters would, since this is the first year we've gotten multiple non-Ideas, non-Dimensions sets, and if it does count you could potentially also include the other rumored new properties for the second year of Dimensions. DC Super Hero Girls could arguably also count as a new theme, if it does end up releasing this year (we haven't seen any info about sets yet, but we know they're coming at some point). So the ratio of new themes to old themes probably won't be quite as uneven as you make it out to be.

I think I had noticed that (or at least, had noticed the other Toa on the boxes to the other Beasts). But I just now noticed for the first time how Quake Beast's blades are actually piercing through the header (with the Bionicle logo and Mask of Control) and coming out on the top of the box! That's kind of a neat touch.

So this is a little bit off-topic... but Ashleigh Ball is going to be at BronyCon this year. I'm planning on attending, and was hoping to get an autograph on something Elves-related since she voices both Aira and Emily... but I can't quite decide what. It's frustrating because none of the actual media that includes her voice work (mainly the episodes and shorts) is available in any sort of physical format that I could get signed. My best idea so far is to maybe bring some of my instruction booklets and have her sign her name next to Emily's picture on the splash page that includes all the main characters. I suppose I could also get something like the Elves diary/sketchbook for her to sign. Anyone have any other ideas?

Flyer Beast was the first set to include Breez but considering her mech in the summer is generally such a cool set, I'd be hard pressed to recommend Flyer Beast at this stage.

Black Knight Mech is presumably a retailer-exclusive, not a D2C set. We may often get VIP early access for the latter, but it's never happened for the former. That said, occasionally the stores at Legoland parks seem to get early access to certain themes, and that DOES seem to include store exclusives. Last year when I was at Legoland Billund in May they had the summer Friends sets ahead of schedule, including retailer exclusives like the Heartlake Airport that had not been seen up until that point.

Would that count as a... Lloydian Slip? I doubt the pajama ninja will appear in the CMF series as well, but less because of them being based on the show (after all, even with a potentially new continuity, there's still the possibility of characters from the show to appear in new or even similar contexts) and more because in general, people who are new to Ninjago will expect ninja in ninja-like outfits, and as such if the main characters appear in that series it'd surprise me if they're not in some battle-ready form (which could still be anything from training gear to some new NRG-like upgraded forms). As cool as it'd be to get the ninja in street clothes, pajamas, or heck, even swimwear, the series will probably have to include at least a few ninja who are recognizable as such.

I don't know if it's that extraordinary. Store exclusive sets can often be like that, especially summer ones that we find out about through set lists early in the year. I remember waiting AGES for the first Lightning Dragon Battle pictures back in Ninjago's first year.

You don't seem to realize what it costs for Lego to make a new mold, even when the design itself isn't new. The cost numbers in the tens of thousands of dollars for a single steel mold of the quality Lego shoots for, and considering how many of the classic Bionicle parts have been retired for years, a huge number of molds would need to be remade. They also keep a strict limit on the number of elements in production at any given time, and try their best to limit the color palette as much as possible—just mixing colors together on a whim wouldn't cut it, especially when Lego retired some of those older colors for very good reasons (such as the tendency of the old grays to yellow over time). And when you add up all those costs and hurdles, what is it worth? The demand for those classic sets will be less than the demand for the originals by default, because new and used copies still exist and many of the nostalgic fans who would even care about those older, outdated sets already have the originals. There's simply no business case for rereleases of older Bionicle sets.

Is there any chance of getting more sci-fi Technic vehicle designs in the future, either as part of the Technic theme or as part of a constraction theme like Bionicle or even Star Wars? Back in my youth I loved Technic sub-themes like Cyber-Slam, but lately Technic has been almost solely limited to realistic vehicles. Don't get me wrong; I love realistic Technic vehicles, and the latest designs are top-notch, but I can't help but feel that the scope of the theme has gotten much more narrow since a decade or two ago.

Well, the Toa who make it up aren't really called Toa Nuva, so I figured it wouldn't suit this figure's name either. "Wairuha: Great Uniter of Wisdom" has the same sort of instant readability as the actual set names, while also being a pretty impressive-sounding title. But Wairuha Nuva was definitely a bit of an inspiration (and a good post-hoc justification for increasing the figure's bulk moreso than its height). EDIT: I finished a "Creature Kaita" and have added pictures, links, and descriptions to the first post!

That's what I had expected at first, too, but I doubt they'd limit a new piece like that to a single store exclusive set if they did make one. I mean, it is possible—especially if they planned to reuse it for some of next year's monsters—but I don't know if it's all that likely.

"When Kopaka, Gali, and Lewa unite their powers and forms, they become the mighty Wairuha! With the strength and wisdom of three Toa, Wairuha is ready to protect Okoto from whatever threats it may face!" After building my own Toa Kaita Wairuha with the 2015 Toa last year, I was eager to give it another crack with the 2016 versions. Surprisingly, this year's Wairuha turned out even better, even considering difficult-to-use parts like the new torso armor! Of course, I doubt Akamai will work out nearly as well... but then, he didn't last year, either. This model uses only the parts from the three component Toa (not including their respective creatures). I'd love to try and build a Creature Kaita to go with this, but so far the even more limited parts selection has made that challenging. Pose 2 Pose 3 Front View Back View Weapons EDIT: Finished "Creature Kaita"! "Uxar, Akida, and Melum combine their forms and powers to form Haikara, the Great Creature of Wisdom! With the strength and wisdom of three elemental creatures, Haikara is ready to assist Wairuha in the battle against evil!" I finally succeeded at creating a "Creature Kaita" to go with Wairuha! This model not only manages to make good use of the parts from the three creatures, but also packs in some impressive functionality and augments Wairuha well when united. Back View United, Back View EDIT 2: Instructions for Wairuha are complete! Instructions for Haikara are coming soon! EDIT 3: Instructions for Haikara are finished as well!

I'm not totally sure of that... the Black Knight Mech is a larger and more expensive set than the King's Mech ($40 instead of $30), which makes me think there might be more figures, or at least more non-mech set content. Considering Whiparella's presumably in this set, it'd be nice if they finally figured out how to do some decent Spider-Globlins. An armored Queen Halbert could maybe be neat, but maybe too much to hope for for this particular set...

Keep in mind that a set like this is likely to have a lot of sub-assemblies, and every time you add a sub-assembly to the main assembly counts as a "step" that doesn't technically add ANY new pieces (only the pieces that had already been put together in other steps). I don't think average number of pieces per step is a particularly useful metric for judging a build's complexity, in any case...

I seriously doubt Nintendo would bundle every single one of their IPs in with the Mario Bros. license, especially when K'Nex has so far displayed zero interest in developing sets based on any of Nintendo's other franchises. Nintendo tends to be very protective of its trademarks, and it's not going to license out a property to a company that isn't actually going to do anything with it.

The Black Knight's Mech does appear in the show, where it looks fairly similar to the King's Mech: http://oi68.tinypic.com/50in1u.jpg

The point is to represent the storyline as an actual kid would understand or experience it (hence the kid narrator). These videos are meant to be brief, humorous summaries of the previous story, not anything with any impact on the actual canon, so taking a few liberties isn't going to cause mass confusion except among fans who decide to take it too seriously. There's nothing particularly "deep" about that—it's just taking a child's hyperactive, slightly inaccurate explanation of the Ninjago story and adding stop-motion visuals. It's not a new idea of Lego's either—they did the exact same thing with Star Wars a few years back.

There's a difference between having it in hand (or seeing pics or video from someone else who has it in hand) and being limited to Toy Fair pics (often unfinalized and subject to poor lighting and presentation) and CGI renders (which even if finalized can distort the colors compared to how the sets would look under typical lighting situations or even a professional lighting setup). However, personally I think the set comes out looking worse with the overly bright lighting in this video. The lighting here makes the transparent shells and bones look even glassier and less substantial than they do in the CGI pics. All in all, I don't think this video is necessarily the best in terms of showing how the set would look under normal lighting.

I think there'd still be substantial issues, in no small part because the golden age of castle was so long ago and as such many of the authentic parts and colors would be unavailable. I just don't see much demand from kids for sets from such a dated era of set designs, whereas adult fans would probably be less interested in something so inauthentic, especially when the "real deal" is available in the aftermarket. I mean, maybe they could rerelease the Medieval Market Village or some similarly recent and well-regarded AFOL-targeted set, like they did with the Winter Village Toy Shop. But then, is that really what people want, considering the uproar over that particular rerelease? And would it have much more mass-market appeal than something new based on a current theme like Elves or Nexo Knights? Tough to say... As for faction packs for transforming older castles, I maintain that they'd be vastly impractical. Hardly any of Lego's attempts at selling "expansion packs" that do not offer a complete model or play experience on their own have been all that successful, even when they were sold right alongside the sets they were meant to augment. Expansion packs for castles that have already been retired (in most cases, for several years) would be an even tougher sell.

Amazon does not disqualify a set from counting as D2C, particularly since D2C sets on Amazon are either fulfilled by Lego themselves (meaning that TLG is the one making the sale through their own official Amazon storefront) or are being sold by resellers (who buy the sets at cost from either Lego or other retailers, and do not qualify as retailers themselves any more than your average Bricklink seller).