Lyichir

We don't have any information on any 2013 sets besides what Lego gave us at Comic Con, sorry. But I wouldn't be surprised to see more sets. I would, however be skeptical of getting a Pearl or Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. Pearl would certainly require some sort of new mold, which while not impossible probably means Lego would tend to include a simpler character if given the option. As for MM and BB, as far as I can tell Heroic Heroes of the Deep was a way for Lego to include a scene similar to the episodes with those characters, without actually including them. Why? I don't know, but I haven't seen them in any other merchandise, either. Perhaps it has something to do with their celebrity voice actors, or perhaps it's just because they're less iconic than the animal characters, and kids with only a marginal understanding of the franchise would be confused by these human (or rather, superhuman) characters.

I don't think continuing it "instead of Spongebob" would be necessary. The Spongebob theme is plenty successful, and although they retread set concepts frequently, that's more because those scenes remain iconic and thus need to have a presence on store shelves. In the meantime the theme has slowly branched out to feature other scenes like the Flying Dutchman's ship, and the classic scenes of the Krusty Krab and Spongebob's pineapple have continued to improve incrementally. I do think the Avatar theme was mismanaged, and that the Spongebob theme was given preferential treatment. Consider how the Spongebob theme introduced a total of three new molds compared to Avatar's one (the ugly, out-of-scale Momo). Nonetheless, I think this may have more to do with Nickelodeon's licensing terms than Lego's own mistakes. Nickelodeon continually showed that they had no idea how to properly merchandise an epic series like Avatar, and it showed in all of their toy partners, not just Lego. For instance, the action figure lines ignored every key female character in favor of non-canon depictions of male characters. This was decided by the action figure manufacturers, but Nickelodeon still stood by as that happened. The timing of the theme was an issue as well: Not only was the Avatar fandom still young when the theme debuted, but Lego was still recovering from their fall in the early '00s, and it showed in the quality of the sets. If an A:TLA or Korra theme were to debut now, it could probably have been made far better than the half-baked sets of 2006. I don't think a Korra theme is impossible just because of the A:TLA theme's failure, but there's a number of considerations that make this less likely. First of all, Lego currently has an in-house "fantasy martial arts" theme in the form of Ninjago. Lego has suggested that Ninjago will have a limited lifespan, but we also know that it will be continuing at least into next year, and since a Korra theme would be in the same genre, Lego may hesitate to run both themes at the same time. Secondly, we haven't seen any licensed Korra toys at all yet, and it's unclear whether this is because Nickelodeon is taking care to get it right this time, or because they may not be pursuing Korra toys whatsoever. Finally, even if Nickelodeon was at fault for the A:TLA theme failing, Lego may still wish to avoid a similar debacle altogether. Currently, I think one of the best chances we have now at a Korra theme would be if a well-designed Cuusoo proposal could be made. But that's getting slightly off topic. In summary, it's not really the fault of the Spongebob theme's success that the Avatar theme failed. The theme faced a whole slew of issues that made the theme less successful than it otherwise might have been, and a Korra theme today would face a whole different set of issues which could still be just as problematic.

That piece was actually not cancelled; it just didn't get included in that set. I'm sure it will show up in the upcoming Bytar booster pack, and I believe it actually already has shown up in a different color: I've seen it in black in a review of the new Sopwith Camel.

This would be awesome. The best part would be that, since he does appear in so many films, once LEGO has made a head print for him it can be reused for pretty much any Marvel movie he has a role in. The only issue is whether or not any of the scenes he's in are significant enough to warrant a set. He's hardly ever even a rescuee; most of the time he's just a funny background character.

Actually, I think they're quite in-touch with their main customers: kids. Bizarro would have limited appeal even if he showed up in a set as an antagonist for Superman. He's just a trippy character, and kids would rather have awesome than trippy any day of the week. If Bizarro hadn't been made for Comic-Con, he might not have ever been made at all. Shazam, on the other hand, is an extremely obscure hero. He hasn't had his own TV show since the '70s. He's not a member of any significant superhero team. He's even more obscure than Bizarro! The fact that Jean Grey has had other appearances is enough to show that she has more potential as a fig. And a similar-yet-different fig could easily be produced, with a slightly different costume design as well as a different face and different hair. But frankly, she's not the most well-known of the X-Men, and there seem to be no X-Men sets in the pipeline for next year anyway. So many people continue complaining about these exclusive figs, as if they were originally intended to be in sets but were then made into exclusives. That's not the case. Lego chose four characters who would be more popular at Comic-Con than on store shelves, and produced them explicitly for this event. And if they ever design a set that will need a version of one of these characters, I doubt that the fact that they created figs of these characters for a one-off event will make them hesitate to design new versions for mass retail.

Harry Potter, unlike Star Wars, is not a merchandising behemoth. After the last Harry Potter movie left theaters, most of the merchandise disappeared from store shelves. Kids just weren't as interested. Compare that to Star Wars, which survived for many years after Return of the Jedi solely on merchandising and expanded-universe novels. Harry Potter has largely faded from the public consciousness, so even if sets were made, they certainly wouldn't sell as well as they had when the movies were there to create hype.

For Thing, a large-scale mold like Hulk's would probably be the best course of action. Others are not always nearly so clear. Take the Juggernaut, for example. Yes, he's massive. Yet he's not a mutant of any sort; he's actually just a really-strong human in magic armor. So I don't think a larger mold for him would work. What may potentially be needed is a new, larger, burlier fig design at about the scale of Harry Potter's Hagrid. The arms and legs of Woody from the Toy Story sets would be good for some purposes, but it only looks tall, not muscular like most superheroes and -villains. For many of the figs described above, it would largely depend on how each character was interpreted. Clayface, for example, has been depicted anywhere between the size of a normal human and the size of a car. I'd tend to use normal figs for most of them unless they are significantly larger than any ordinary human could potentially be. Someone with the physique of a bodybuilder would therefore get depicted as a normal fig. Anyone giant-sized, on the other hand, would likely need a new mold. One final note. Hulk, the LotR Cave Troll, and the Fantasy Castle Giant Troll have begun to introduce a standard for humanoid larger-scale figures, at least for their arms. I hope LEGO continues to make use of this new standard.

They pack a lot of detail into a small scale. Building in microscale is a great way to find novel uses for pieces, since the form of each individual part matters more to the overall appearance of the model. It can also be a great deal more affordable than building massive structures at minifig scale or larger. In terms of the sets you listed, they both have different qualities which make them attractive. 10230 Mini Modulars is a collector's piece designed exclusively for VIP members. It's a great display piece for fans of the Modular Buildings, and has a wide selection of tiny parts perfect for any fan of microscale building. Architecture sets like 21013 Big Ben are also display pieces and collector's items. They depict famous landmarks at a smaller scale, and are some of the highest-quality Lego sets currently in production. Each one comes in a sturdy box perfect for storage, and is packaged with a high-quality, durable instruction booklet (which also features info on the landmark in question). These sorts of models certainly aren't for everyone, but they do have their fans, and for good reason. Minifig scale or larger isn't the only way to build with Lego. Sometimes it's good to think smaller.

Agreed, but as others and I have stated, the more likely reason is so that "interactable" objects can be better distinguished from background scenery. By having all objects which can be manipulated in some way be the only ones made of Lego bricks, it becomes easier for players to figure out how to solve any given puzzle without endlessly mashing the attack button, hoping to find something breakable.

Those versions suffer from the exact problem I was worried about, though: they extend the torso while shortening the legs. The resulting minifig lacks any space for even an implied "knee"; their hips connect directly to their feet with no space in between. As a result the proportions are all wrong for Hobbits, Dwarves, or any child-sized minifigure. (granted, they kind of work for The Penguin, but mostly because he "waddles" rather than walks normally).

It's not likely. In the past, Nintendo DS versions of Lego Games had to be developed independently as a scaled-down version of the home console versions, since they couldn't handle the 3D game engine. Now the 3DS is a more powerful portable option, and fewer and fewer games are being developed for the original DS as a result. I'd recommend picking up a 3DS at some point; I'm very satisfied with mine, and having played the Lego Batman 2 demo I can affirm that the Lego licensed games for the system have the same depth and polish as you've come to expect from the non-portable versions.

I've never seen so much as a mock-up of how moveable short legs would even be feasible. The implied hinge of the short legs is right at the joining point between the torso and the short legs, as opposed to the long legs, which have their own hip joint separate from the torso. And giving the short legs their own hip joint would ruin the proportions of smaller figs: they'd have torsos exactly as long as standard figs, and legs even shorter than the current short legs. In summary, while moveable short legs may seem like an attractive option, I've seen nothing to suggest that they're even an option at all. This isn't like the poseable horse, the old version of which was far larger than a standard minifigure but had far less poseability. This is a case where you need something smaller than a minifigure (which is already one of the most intricate parts Lego produces), yet with exactly the same amount of poseability.

Wait, since when are the minifigures the main draw for the Batman sets? More than any other hero, Batman's vehicles and gear are an iconic part of his identity. And people on this very forum had been hoping for a Dark Knight Rises set even if, like the sets for The Dark Knight, the minifigures didn't reflect the movie's depiction of the characters. New minifigures may play their part in making a set more desirable, but they don't have to be the main draw.

It goes deeper than that. In the Travelers Tales Lego games, an object being made out of Lego typically means it's interactable in some way. Some things can be smashed, some built, and some manipulated in other ways (like levers or vehicles). If everything were made of LEGO, it'd be much harder to tell what objects could be manipulated, and the game would become a lot more frustrating as players try to break integral background elements to no avail. There'll still be plenty of LEGO elements in the game. They just won't be used for meaningless background objects.

I'm pretty sure they're just going back to LEGO to be used in future displays. This year at Toy Fair NY, even the sets which had been out for months still had preliminary sets on display. So I figure LEGO would rather re-use a set on display at future events, even if that set changes in the future.

Your post was a little bit hard to follow (no offense). Were you trying to ask whether LEGO would have difficulty making similar themes in the future without retreading figures from the Collectable Minifigures line? If so, I think the Monster Fighters theme should be able to put those concerns to rest. It manages to recreate a number of the monsters from the Collectable Minifigures line while keeping them unique and different. I have no doubt LEGO could do the same if they wanted to make a full theme of any of the things you listed. For instance, the Western CMFs so far are a great deal "grittier" than the classic Western figs, using color sparingly in favor of more dark colors and earth tones. A future Western theme could feature more color, like an updated version of the classic theme, thus keeping the more "realistic" Western figs exclusive to the CMF line. The Space CMFs are sort of the opposite: in many cases they evoke the colorful, optimistic Classic Space era. LEGO can differentiate their future space themes either by proposing a more realistic, modern day space adventure, like Life on Mars, or by going for a grittier, darker space theme like Rock Raiders. So in general, I don't think the CMFs portraying a wide variety of themes limits LEGO's options in any way, nor do I think the CMFs will stop being unique if LEGO does decide to build a theme around such characters.

Even if that villain is Von Nebula, and he is planning to establish a Villain Factory, then there's still not necessarily any reason why we'd see a new set of him. After all, he's just as likely to retain the form he was originally in, and it's possible that the heroes might not even get to interact with him much anyway. For all we know his new role could be mostly administrative, like Mr. Makuro is to the Hero Factory. In that case he'd leave most of the actual fighting to the villains his factory builds.

Interesting, but I can't tell how this would benefit anyone except possibly resellers who wanted to identify which unopened figs they're selling. After all, it's not like it's easy to bring an extremely accurate scale into a store with you whenever you went out looking for minifigs. I'd imagine that'd get you even more funny looks than feeling up the packages!

I'm assuming you mean "better" as in a better price per piece, rather than the model itself being cheaper. Because small bricks and plates actually would cost more relative to their size than larger parts. A good exercise is to stack three 1x2 plates and weigh them against a single 1x2 brick. Even though the plates themselves are smaller, the mass of plastic used in them is greater relative to their size, and thus a model using many smaller parts where a few larger parts would suffice will end up costing more to produce. Personally, I'm a big fan of the new B-Wing. I don't really intend to get it, since it's been a long time since I collected LEGO Star Wars, but I can appreciate it for being a fantastic model using some excellent building techniques. I too was a bit surprised that no minifigures were included, but looking at the cockpit interior it does look a bit too large for minifig scale. But with or without minifigures, it's still an amazing set.

Believe it or not, by being tired of the Collectable Minifigures I think you are in the minority. For every LEGO fan who suffers Collectable Minifig fatigue like you, there are LEGO fans who collected every series yet are still excited for each successive line, and fans who missed out on earlier series, making new series feel just as fresh and new as the originals. From all indications the theme is still massively successful, so even if LEGO loses a couple of disgruntled fans as time wears on, the market will continue to be replenished with new fans in addition to the fans who never left. Personally, I'm not sure how well tying the game in with a line of products will work in the long run. But since some of LU's biggest failings were that it failed to generate revenue with a subscription-based model, and that new fans of the game did not always supplement it with the physical products that made LEGO what they are, I think this is a novel way of earning the audience they lost or failed to create in a big way. And since the company responsible for this new MMO seems to be fairly innovative, yet well-established, I think things are looking up for the future of LEGO MMOs.

Not really on topic, but I love how you made the "bullseye" patterns on the wings. I had scoffed when other AFOLs lamented the fact that 10226 used stickers instead of brick built patterns, since I couldn't figure how brick-built patterns like that would be feasible. But now I'm not so sure. On-topic, this looks like it will be a valuable tool for the LDD builder, and I may use this if I create an LDD model intended to be presented to the general public, like for a Cuusoo proposal.

Knight's Kingdom II was initially intended to be something along those lines, with knights in mechanical armor and transforming castles. Unfortunately, the final designs and promotion of the theme tended more toward presenting it as a fantasy/medieval theme, which is probably part of why the theme was so poorly received among AFOLs. I think it would have been more accepted if it were a more complex sci-fi/fantasy mix, but the story tended more toward plain fantasy, and things like LEGO Magazine continually tried to frame it in an "educational" sense, including facts on real medieval weaponry and technology that the sets were clearly failing to accurately depict. So instead of a beautifully-anachronistic fantasy storyline, it just came across as a muddled mix of genres that couldn't decide quite what it wanted to be.

I was quite disappointed at the failure of the Avatar: The Last Airbender sets, even though to be fair the sets we did get weren't that good. I get the feeling executive meddling from Nickelodeon was one of the contributing factors to the quality of those sets, seeing as it looks like the Spongebob theme got a much higher budget. Couple that with the fact that LEGO licensed sets from that era in general pale in comparison to modern ones, and I'm left with little desire to pay the outrageous prices for one of those sets on the aftermarket. Still, it's a shame that theme didn't do better, seeing as the sets faded away just as the show started really taking off.

Ninjago isn't actually ending this year. That was a miscommunication. It'll be continuing at least into next year. Personally, I think it's more likely to be the B-Wing, although I would be pleasantly surprised to see another Ninjago set before the end of this year. Heck, if a set were to be revealed at Comic Con, Ninjago still wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility, seeing as it's getting its own panel there this year. Even then, though, I'd reckon they'd announce a licensed theme or set, since the Ninjago panel will likely be focusing on the TV series and other associated media. But yeah, B-Wing is still one of the most likely possibilities.

Talk about an obscure model to build! Not quite OT, certainly not PT, and only marginally EU! A very well-done model, though.