Jump to content

Lyichir

Eurobricks Grand Dukes
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    6,815

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Lyichir

  1. Lyichir
    Some of the sites that have revealed the new sets do include alt build pictures for some sets—some sites like Brickset just don't tend to republish all the pics until Lego.com has them, since most of their pics are pulled automatically from Lego's shop pages. Here are some pages with alt build pics of some of the sets: 71471 71475 71477 71476 71472 (sorry for them being out of order the links are giving me trouble)
  2. Lyichir
    It includes Olivia (one of the main characters from earlier years) and Julian, both returning from the 41713 Olivia's Space Academy, along with a new character, Aveline. Interestingly, it's the first set since the new cast was introduced that none of the eight new "Friends" appear in a set, though Nova does "cameo" on one of the stickers, sending a call/video message from Earth (the other end of said call appearing in 42603 Stargazing Camping Vehicle).
  3. Lyichir
    TBH with Dreamzzz it's not that surprising (since one of the major characters introduced this year, Mr. Oz, is already mainly themed around space). It would've been more novel if Ninjago had featured a space set, though I suppose with the year just starting it's not too late for that to happen.
  4. Lyichir
    Because Mr. Oz's overall theme (since this year) has been space, and the set has NASA-esque inspiration in its black and white wings, mechanical arm, and rover alt-build. Mateo's set only vaguely resembles a space rover—it's mostly a fantastical sci-fi sort of design like the other Z-Blob vehicles he's had.
  5. Lyichir
    Most Friends headgear fits minifigures just fine, and these look to have the same extra space around the shoulders that other minifigure-compatible headgear does.
  6. Lyichir
    It might get lost among the actual new space-related sets in the Technic theme, but there's a new 1x2 tile with a cut corner in Speed Champions (used for various sets) and in the BMW set it appears in trans-yellow for headlights and trans-red for taillights! Could be useful for Space MOCs, especially microscale ones.
  7. Lyichir
    The Spongebob bus set had white tires. I think there might be a couple more isolated examples but they're not coming to mind.
  8. Lyichir
    Wait no longer! https://www.jb-spielwaren.de/en/lego-42178-surface-space-loader-lt78/a-42178/ https://www.jb-spielwaren.de/en/lego-42180-mars-crew-exploration-rover/a-42180/ https://www.jb-spielwaren.de/en/lego-42181-vtol-heavy-cargo-spaceship-lt81/a-42181/ These (like the City ones we'd seen glimpses of) seem to use the new reddish orange a lot!
  9. Lyichir
    I wouldn't necessarily assume that these pictures mean flesh-tone heads are arriving for all themes (especially since these promotional characters do not seem to appear in any actual themes or sets). That said, if or when Lego does transition to all flesh tone heads... I feel it'll take some time for people to adapt. But I also feel like it's sort of been a long time coming. The inadequacy of yellow to truly represent all real-life people was apparent way back when the transition was first made for licensed themes. And the current system (yellow for unlicensed themes, flesh tones for licensed ones and Friends) sort of works as a stopgap, but relying mainly on Hollywood franchises to carry the weight of representation creates major issues, especially given that Hollywood blockbusters tend to have their own issues with adequately representing women and people of color. For example, one of the themes that currently offers a wide range of skin tones is Harry Potter—but even setting aside my distaste for the books' creator aside, there's no avoiding the fact that the main recurring characters of the series are all represented by white actors, with people of color largely appearing in side or background roles if at all. The Black Panther sets probably were the first license that featured mainly people of color, but its larger-than-life Afrofuturist fantasy elements make some of its character designs less useful as basic sorts of stock characters for populating a normal sort of city scene. One of the best minifigure-based sets in recent years for representation has been the Table Football set, and it's probably not a coincidence that it's one of the only sets with flesh-toned figs who are not based on a specific licensed property. Meanwhile, as divisive as the figure design itself can be, the Friends theme has done a great job showing how well realistic skin tones can work in an original theme with realistic characters. One of the biggest hurdles with shifting over completely to flesh-toned figures, for fans, is the challenge of customizability. But the sooner that change happens, the easier it will be for people to get over that hurdle, as a wider range of skin tones becoming more common would make it easier to customize flesh-toned figs. Anyway this is a lot of words, mostly restating things I've said before and probably will say again at some point. TL;DR I don't think the change to flesh-toned figs is imminent, but I do think that while such a change would be divisive and adapting would be a challenge, it would probably be for the best overall if or when it happens.
  10. Lyichir
    That could be cool, but I think that Lego wouldn't want to pay for Transformers licensing and branding on a set unless it properly transformed. It probably wouldn't be worth the trouble of working with a major competitor like that (especially since for many versions of the characters like those from the live-action movies, it would involve licensing from both Hasbro and the vehicle manufacturer) and could even be considered misleading for casual buyers who expect a Transformers-branded toy to actually transform. That sort of thing is the perfect subject for MOCs, though.
  11. Lyichir
    Very nice video. Earlier this year when I saw a few people complain about figs like these not fitting into their "idealized" Lego world, or refer to them using loaded words like "disfigured", I was reminded why these sorts of figs are so important. Not just so that disabled people can see themselves represented in Lego (although that's plenty important as well), but so that non-disabled kids (and adults!) can see disability represented in a realistic, non-stigmatizing way. By normalizing the existence of disability in everyday play scenarios (and not just stereotypical ones like pirates with eyepatches and peglegs), Lego can better prepare people to engage appropriately and respectfully with disability when they encounter it in everyday life. Anyway, on the subject, I also am in the process of building the new modular building and just got to the part with the young woman with a modern prosthetic leg (the second time I've gotten that part, after its first appearance in the City grocery store last year). It's great to have that kind of representation in one of Lego's flagship Icons sets, even though it also still reminds me that we have yet to have a modular building that's fully wheelchair accessible (something I hope to see in the future, especially with Lego improving its wheelchair design and introducing new parts like the longer worm gear that's already been used for elevators in themes like City).
  12. Lyichir
    My copy arrived yesterday and my sister and I finished the ground floor today! Somebody was mentioning the way the box is packed not being the most efficient use of the space (mentioning that all the bags could've fit in the internal box alone), but having started building the set I can understand why it was packed the way it is. The internal box includes the baseplates, cardboard-packed instructions, and all the bags needed for the large ground floor. The baseplates and instructions necessitate a minimum depth of the internal box (so that they can be packed flat against one of the sides), and the separation of the ground floor bags from those of the upper floor and roof prevents you from having to sort through all 30 bags at a time. So while that packing method does leave extra space in the box, it MASSIVELY streamlines the building experience and keeps the very start of the build process from feeling like a chore. Speaking of which, this isn't a new thing for large sets but I have to mention what a huge boon it is to have each bag numbered separately instead of having all the bags for each floor share a number like on the oldest modulars. Not only does this ensure you never have to wonder if you've missed a bag with the number you need next, but on an extra-wide modular like this especially it prevents you from being overwhelmed by such a huge selection of parts at once.
  13. Lyichir
    While those could be cool, I think they're generally less likely to do a Speed Champions model of a vehicle from a franchise that isn't ongoing. For James Bond, for instance, there's constantly new movies in development. Same for the Fast and the Furious. Something like Knight Rider or the Blues Brothers, where there have been attempts at revivals but the franchises are otherwise generally inactive and mostly relevant to people of a certain age, feel less likely. Actually, i do think there might be another Mad Max movie in development... so that one might have better chances.
  14. Lyichir
    Just to clarify, I wasn't trying to say that it was wrong to critique the design, just that I was surprised that kind of quibbling over something so minor was where the discussion was heading so early on. On further thought, it's not THAT surprising—we've only gotten the barest glimpses at the sets themselves at this point, so there'll probably be more substantive discussion of the actual sets and parts and everything in a couple days when we (hopefully) get full reveals of the sets. @danth, the reason I still read your posts is because I genuinely think you make great MOCs and often insightful comments as well. I really try my best to be respectful even when sometimes your comments come off to me as unnecessarily cynical. I really wish you would show the same respect to me, and maybe give me the benefit of the doubt once in a while. Believe it or not there's a fair bit Lego does that I really dislike. For example, their continued platforming of the Harry Potter theme allowing the books' bigoted creator to continue profiting off them and funding hate for people like my own sister is INCREDIBLY frustrating. Another example I learned of just today is how the Legoland park in California is engaging in union-busting behavior (which only reinforces my existing worry that the only reason they recently announced a manufacturing plant in my home state of Virginia might be the state's "right to work" laws making unionization more fraught). These, to me, feel like real major frustrations that are worthy of condemnation, or even outrage. But compared to things that sometimes I feel like the amount of energy spent complaining about things like minor imperfections in prints, or even something as inconsequential as the graphic design of a logo, feels petty and unearned. And years in the Lego community dealing with the same sorts of cyclical complaints of that nature have made me perhaps a little too jaded to that sort of discussion, and overly eager to try to head it off and try to redirect it toward discussions I feel are more productive. I realize that that's probably a little self-centered of me. I'll try to be better about not trying to police the conversation.
  15. Lyichir
    Why are you being like this? All I was saying was that I was not expecting some of the first discussion of the prominent space branding to be complaining about how ugly/boring it is. I don't see why you thought this was a reason to throw shade at ME or assume that my only interest in this was because I was defending Lego. It's comments like these that make me feel like it's not even worth contributing to discussions like these—no matter what I do, I'll never be seen as anything but a shill to people who seem to view anything other than negativity as a sign that I'm shallow or inauthentic. To be honest, the design of the logo or text wasn't really what excited me about it—what excited me about it was City Space becoming a big enough "thing" to merit its own distinct branding, featuring the classic space logo no less. And I certainly didn't find the size, color, or font choice obtrusive enough to consider it "ugly". That's where my confusion at THAT becoming the subject of discussion already was coming from.
  16. Lyichir
    TBH I can't believe Space fans are already complaining about the prominent "SPACE" branding on these sets. Not saying it's above an honest design critique, but when I saw that my heart soared the same way it did when I saw the ads for the (sadly, doomed never to release) "Lego Space: The Videogame" on the sides of the Space Police III sets.
  17. Lyichir
    Huh, I stand corrected. I'd never remembered seeing that as a source in previous years.
  18. Lyichir
    The source of this leak is actually fairly novel—it doesn't seem to be a reviewer but rather a Korean government product safety organization (similar to the U.S.A.'s US Consumer Product Safety Commission). So rather than a review copy, this set may have been sent to be evaluated ahead of being imported or something? There's only so much I can glean from the site not being able to read Korean myself, but it is still odd to see a set leaked through an outlet like this. Regarding the set itself, it's a bit of a shame I don't see any of the orange that was on the Space Station build, since that had me hopeful that it might be the new reddish orange and might show up prominently across the entire range of sets.
  19. Lyichir
    Perceived value is definitely a factor—I've heard that one aspect that is very important to Lego is to have the picture on the front of the box be close to actual size when possible (which is part of why when Lego started dialing back some of their box sizes a few years ago, some boxes for smaller sets got thinner instead of having their front dimensions reduced). But there's also definitely some benefit to giving certain parts some "breathing room", since more flexible parts like foliage pieces could potentially be damaged if the box were packed as tightly as possible. In those cases it's sort of similar to how bags of chips are packed with air to prevent them from turning to crumbs during shipment.
  20. Lyichir
    Yes, but in the games or comics he can have that sort of build and you can still convey his strength through his actions. In a physical toy that's a tougher sell—the most you could do is put him up against a strong-looking foe, and even then you risk him just seeming outmatched, or overshadowing him by making him seem incidental to the main subject matter of the set (a very real risk when Sonic & friends' foes are often the ones who get the cool tech and vehicles that would make for more readily "toyetic" subject matter).
  21. Lyichir
    TBH I get why they made a mech for Knuckles. "Super strength" is a tough power to convey visually when everybody has the same minifigure proportions, so giving the "bruiser/brawler" character a tough-looking mech is a good way to convey that sort of character archetype even if, logically, Knuckles should need that sort of vehicle less than other characters, not more. Plus it allows them to work in design features like Knuckles' Lego-like plates on his shoes, a feature the minifigure itself can't really have due to the way minifigure feet work.
  22. Lyichir
    Amazing looking update! I see a lot of complaints about modern Lego prints (esp. things like white printing on dark colors), and not to say those aren't valid, but a comparison like this really brings home how much farther printing has come than it had back in those days! So much crisper and better aligned than the retro torso.
  23. Lyichir
    Is shoplifting display models a real problem where you are? Lego stores in my area have display models completely exposed quite often—unless a store was severely understaffed, it'd be pretty impractical to attempt to shoplift a huge set like the Concorde.
  24. Lyichir
    Realistically, apart from some slight up and down travel (which might even be preferable for some layouts), I don't see why there'd be a substantial difference between ball joint couplings and secured magnetic ones. It's a fixed distance between two points either way.
  25. Lyichir
    The release date is December 1st but it seems Lego has started shipping pre-orders early, possibly due to the volume of sales (better to be too early than too late). I expect the facade won't be that boring to build—for one, the aspects of it that are simpler will go together faster (so won't drag on unnecessarily), and secondly, the variation in depth and presence of windows ought to keep it from feeling too repetitive overall.
×
×
  • Create New...