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Lyichir

Eurobricks Grand Dukes
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Everything posted by Lyichir

  1. Lyichir
    I feel like this misunderstands how Lego operates a bit—they don't just have infinite production capacity available for something new and experimental like this. Lego's factories are run at pretty much maximum capacity and the amount of production any given theme is allocated is highly regulated based on expected demand. Lego couldn't just shove other, more widely produced and distributed themes and sets that had been scheduled for production for months aside if the demand for this ran well in excess of expectations. Having to slot excess production into an already packed schedule would require massive, unacceptable delays in the fulfillment of orders. Because of how popular the previous iterations of the Bricklink Designer program have been, there's a good chance that the next "phase" of it will have the order limit increased to help compensate for it. But that will have to have been a decision made well in advance of the opening of orders, not a decision made on the fly if it turns out to sell out too quickly again.
  2. Lyichir
    Oh, sure—but I feel like relying mainly on new prints to suggest the "function" of a business might run a bit counter to the spirit of the modulars (and a print like a broken watch printed on a desk might have limited potential for reuse). If you made them a watch AND clockmaker, you could still have a new printed watch face tile or something along those lines on the desk but also fill some of the space in the workshop with larger brick-built clocks like a grandfather clock or cuckoo clock, along with builds of other essential features like a workbench and tools.
  3. Lyichir
    I noticed, it's cute! I like the way it's hidden behind a bookshelf—seems to be meant to hint that behind Nova's slightly edgy, serious facade she also has some shared interests with some of the other Friends that she's maybe a little embarrassed or insecure about. Which I think can be a very relatable challenge to overcome for kids as they try to project a certain sort of image to the world.
  4. Lyichir
    There's actually reasons for this. Firstly, cheaper sets are almost always produced in higher quantities than more expensive ones, so the investment in a new printed part (even if used only in that one set) goes much farther. Secondly, smaller sets often require fewer decorated parts in general than larger, more expensive sets—meaning stickers go farther for those larger sets. Let's compare: this set has exactly three new printed parts (the hood, the battery, and the minifigure torso). A $100 or more set often has many more new printed parts than that for its minifigures alone, and many, many more recolored parts, potentially leaving little additional budget for new decorated parts. But a sticker sheet costs more or less the same whether it has 3 or 30 different stickers on it, so for the cost of adding one new element (the sticker sheet), a set can add all the other essential decorations it might need. This is especially evident when you get to large, high-detail sets like the Ninjago City sets, where you might have 50 or more stickers in a single set on top of new or exclusive minifigure designs! Regarding stickers of things like planks that printed variants already exist for, there can also be multiple reasons. Firstly, if a printed part has been gone long enough to have gone out of production, it doesn't really matter if Lego has done it before—it could cost just as much to reintroduce it as it would to introduce a new printed part. Secondly, if a set already has budgeted a sticker sheet for other new or unique decorations, it costs practically nothing to print a couple additional stickers on that same sheet. So if a set needs 10 unique stickered signs or computer screens or whatever and the designers want a couple planks to board up the exterior as well, logistically it's much easier to add those decorations to the same sticker sheet.
  5. Lyichir
    They haven't really been absent—they've appeared in themes like Super Mario, Friends, and Jurassic World for several years now. These look to maybe be Earth Green though, which would be a brand-new color for them!
  6. Lyichir
    Even so—the amount of work put into the organization and display is stunning. My own collection is certainly nowhere near as organized, and even if I had all the space in the world I don't know if my ADHD would allow me to put together a display that impressive. I know some of the artists and directors behind the show have done a few post-episode streams where they've used a selection of music from the show as background music. Perhaps that has been made available for reviewers through the LAN as well? I haven't heard anything of the sort but would also love a soundtrack release.
  7. Lyichir
    God, your post intrigued me so I went to look up his review... his Lego space (walked through at the beginning) is UNREAL. I've literally been to the Lego Idea House in Denmark and it STILL looks like he has more Lego displayed in one space than I've ever seen! I am simply in awe.
  8. Lyichir
    To be honest I don't think the aesthetic of the pizza place is that foreign/unfamiliar to American audiences either. The hanging plants, trellis, and pale colors all feel very much like you might see at an Italian restaurant here (even kitschy chain restaurants like Olive Garden). There's several pizza places in my hometown that, even when built into strip malls, affect that sort of vaguely Mediterranean look for their interior decor.
  9. Lyichir
    It definitely looks like stickers in the images that I saw. Which is a little unfortunate, but unlike the Forestman's Hideout from this year there isn't any larger/more widely produced Blacktron set to budget prints from. On the plus side, stickers probably mean crisper colors than we might've gotten with yellow printing on black anyway...
  10. Lyichir
    Very cute! As was probably to be expected for a GWP, there's no "new" parts (apart from the reissue of the torso and the sticker sheet). But I'll be pleased to get that windscreen for the first time, having not gotten any of the Lightyear sets.
  11. Lyichir
    Oh, these look lovely! I see some very interesting recolors too, including bicorn hats in dark purple and magenta and epaulets in orange.
  12. Lyichir
    Really? To me the striped awnings in the colors of the Italian flag are pretty obvious signifiers that there's a pizzeria or Italian restaurant inside.
  13. Lyichir
    I hate how quickly a nonsensical conclusion like this becomes the narrative. Y'all, Lego has had TV ads before. They have a separate budget for it. Even with a celebrity appearance, this is nowhere near any sort of unprecedented expense for them. Anyway, the other day I happened to catch a snippet of Entertainment Tonight and was surprised when they had Lego designer Matthew Ashton on there to talk about the design of Katy Perry's dress for this! It's neat that he got to work on this, considering that before working for Lego his background was fashion design. And it's cool to see a Lego designer make a primetime appearance on American TV.
  14. Lyichir
    Yeah, when it comes to U.S. stadiums the most prominent to me would be baseball stadiums—New York's Yankee Stadium and Boston's Fenway Park as the two most well-known examples. A baseball diamond could be a fun landmark set and provide some visual and architectural variety compared to the multiple soccer/association football stadiums they've released. I don't really think licensed roller coasters make a lot of sense since compared to things like sports (which are televised to reach a broader audience), the appeal of individual roller coasters can be highly regional. Also, recreating real-life roller coasters accurately with the comparatively simplified roller coaster track system in Lego might be a significant challenge.
  15. Lyichir
    A clockmaker would make an awesome little modular business... but not sure about a watchmaker since it might be hard to represent such intricate craftsmanship at minifig scale!
  16. Lyichir
    The 3x3 corner is interesting! Since it allows plates to be mounted on a corner by at least two studs each it should allow for very robust connections for corners, though mostly it's only useful when you need a sharp corner on the inner side since otherwise things like the 3x3 round corner plate or corner wedge could serve the same purpose.
  17. Lyichir
    Very neat! The color combined with some of the techniques you've used with bars and clips on the corners make it look slightly industrial, like it's not just made of stone but riveted metal.
  18. Lyichir
    Optometrist and pharmacy are the kinds of buildings that'd work well as "one side" of a modular (since they don't necessarily need the full floor space of a multi-story building). Hardware store is another. There was a lovely Ideas proposal at one point that I think paired a hardware store with an under-construction building, which feels like exactly the kind of story-starter that works well for modular buildings—the workers could dip into the hardware store to restock during a job. I also disagree with the folks who think there have been too many restaurants, since there are so many kinds of restaurants and they don't all need a full baseplate to themselves. A Chinese restaurant or a New York-style deli would both work well as small "take-out" restaurants.
  19. Lyichir
    Well, with kid-targeted "slice of life" franchises like Friends in particular it makes a certain degree of sense. Teens are relatable to younger kids and have a lot of similar responsibilities—they go to school, they do sports, etc.—but also get to do more "adult" things like having jobs and driving various sorts of vehicles. You get the best of both worlds and can appeal to younger and older kids alike.
  20. Lyichir
    A great MOC all around, but I particularly like the tasteful use of metallic/pearl colors. Nothing too excessive, and nothing that would clash with the classic color scheme, but just enough to give some of the elements a nice mechanical/industrial feel.
  21. Lyichir
    I'm not sure, but a lot of the time, date-formatted easter eggs like that have nothing to do with the theme itself—many of them are things like birthdays or other significant dates for the designers who worked on the set. This set was designed by Justin Ramsden (set designer), Xiaodong Wen (concept direction), and Paul Turcanu (graphic design), so presumably it might have some significance for one of them.
  22. Lyichir
    Not me just noticing now that this is still the 2022 thread. Yeah, with the full first wave of sets revealed and starting to be reviewed, it's long past time for a 2023 thread!
  23. Lyichir
    Yeah, something like a hospital or school would be the kinds of things where I think having the full baseplate would be essential. For those sorts of things you could easily fill the whole floor plan with content without having to rely on simply having more of the same standard features. Though I'm quite fine with "mixed" lots like we've gotten in recent years—I feel like the varied sizes and shapes of buildings add visual interest and I love when they have the various buildings tied together in some way as with this set, the Police Station, or going back, things like the Brick Bank and Detective's Office. I think I've mentioned it before but those kinds of interactions between businesses/facilities spur storytelling and consequently help the street to feel "lived in". Things like the annex of the Police Station or the office above the laundromat in the Brick Bank imply a history that stretches beyond just when those buildings were first constructed.
  24. Lyichir
    Just saw some video reviews of the Yellow Tusk Elephant and Monkie Kid's Team Hideout. There's a lot of fun easter eggs in the hideout—I spotted Tim from TIme Cruisers and the ancient Chinese Infomaniac who also appeared on a sticker in the City of Lanterns.
  25. Lyichir
    Well said. More often than not, what the designers say in interviews tends to be fairly straightforward explanations of how they came to the end result. And I find that kind of insight into concrete design challenges and how they're resolved far more enlightening overall than trying to wring out some sort of secret subtext that happens to reinforce your preconceived notions about why a set is supposedly "bad".
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