Lyichir

The naming of NRG Nya seems chosen to imply a connection to the "original" NRG suits from back in the 2012 spinner sets, though you're right that Nya's is quite a bit more impressive than those older ones especially with the transparent hairpiece and towering water column. There are still similarities, though, especially in the way both Nya and those older NRG ninja use metallic printing for their elementally-charged faces and torsos. It would be neat to see other versions of ninja like this newer one, though I'm not sure how likely it'd be for them to go "all out" like that unless, like Nya, it was as part of a wave focused primarily on a particular ninja. Even then, other ninja might need new parts to have quite the same impact given that NRG Nya's accessories (including the water tendrils and column) actually originated for earlier figs, and don't necessarily all have equivalents that would suit every other elemental power.

Realistically... I think it's unlikely for the previous two Ninjago City sets to make a return. Among other things, Lego recently retired the Trans. Neon Orange color that both of them used somewhat heavily. And even if this subscription service idea Lego has floated comes to fruition and does allow retired sets to be rereleased, I think sets as large and complex as the Ninjago City sets would be unlikely to return via such a method (smaller or less complex sets would be a much easier prospect to rerelease faithfully).

I don't think so? If they want to trade locally, chances are it's just something their kids "outgrew" and they don't want the hassle of figuring out shipping, etc. for the best price online. Obviously caveat emptor still applies (especially with transactions where you need to meet with an unknown seller in person), but it doesn't seem unrealistic that somebody would be willing to part with an old City set like that for a decent price, especially if they're not an active member of the online Lego fan community.

Nice builds! I really like the way you've varied the stones on the pyramid steps in particular (though it does make each individual step quite small for a minifigure-scale model)

Sorry for giving an honest answer? I guess? As a longtime fan of the Lego community I just find this sort of thing tiring. Trying to establish a unifying theory of this sort tends to be fairly contrived and can lead to arguments when one person's idea of how things link together contradicts somebody else's. There's nothing wrong from taking one of the many concrete or implied links between themes and trying to expand upon it... but I find it more fun and rewarding when each interaction between themes is considered on its own merits and with the specific purposes of the story you want to tell in mind, versus trying to force everything into one singular mold just for the sake of having everything connect.

Since when is "fading" really a problem for prints? I've got minifigures from the 80s and 90s where their printed features are more or less perfectly preserved. If anything, the bigger potential issue for prints is scratches and other damage that can result from repeated stirring through mixed boxes or keeping figures in a pocket or on a keychain, where fabric abrasion can do a number on them over time. So as long as you keep your figures separate from your bulk parts, you should be golden.

All Lego themes are connected because they're all based on toys created by The Lego Group. Beyond that, there's no singular overarching "multiverse" theory or anything like that. Different Lego crossovers (like Lego Dimensions, Lego Universe, The Lego Movie, and various one-off cameos or crossovers between themes) have operated under entirely different rules or assumptions for how themes relate to one another. And when a Lego designer adds a cheeky little easter egg to a set referencing another theme, it's not in service to any deep or established "lore".

I doubt a couple of space-based sets in another theme would rule out another space set or theme. If it did I'd sooner expect the perennial Space subtheme of City (or the massive elephant in the room that is Star Wars) to pose a bigger barrier than one or two Monkie Kid sets.

I don't think there was a public "announcement". IIRC a Lego-published video in 2020 included a brief view of one of Lego's internal color charts, in which Trans. Fluorescent Reddish Orange was labeled as retiring at the end of the year, which tracks with the last set to include new parts in that color being one designed in 2020 for release at the start of 2021. So by all indications Trans Neon Orange is already effectively retired for designers. Though of course it could possibly be brought back in the future, like Bright Bluish Green (teal) was a couple of years ago.

If you're interpreting "retirement date" as the point at which the last sets using it are retired, then yes (since the small selection of 2020 Monkie Kid sets that weren't retired last year are going to be retired at the end of this year). But in terms of new parts being released the retirement date was over a year ago when the "Story of Nian" Lunar New Year set was released, since that was the last new set introduced that used the color.

Sometimes I feel like the only one who doesn't seem to care much about the resolution of the Vengestone buyer plot thread. Like, yes, it could be nice when a reveal happens, but otherwise it just reminds me of oh-so-many Bionicle plot threads that were strung along for ages where the payoff (if it happened at all) was barely worth it. I'll start caring if and when their machinations come to a head and actually affect the characters I care about beyond just acting as motivation for more active and interesting villain characters. Until then they're out of sight, out of mind as far as I'm concerned.

Yes, they do (examples include animals like penguins). That said, the pointed shape of the Skull Sorcerer's mask could have made printing features like a centered mouth difficult. The show design could have been based on an earlier prototype, or could have simply been an animation decision to make the masked Skull Sorcerer more expressive.

I definitely feel like they've been getting more differentiated recently. Last year's Fire Dragon remake was great too, with the entire torso constructed upside-down (compared to how most Ninjago dragons are done) and huge beefy pecs fitting for a wyvern-style dragon like that one. The 6+ dragons this year are a little more similar to one another, but that's not unexpected for simpler, low-priced models. I also suspect that as the "SCCBS" comes into its own the use of it even in cheaper sets will grow more varied, not unlike how Hero Factory builds diversified after the more samey introduction of the original CCBS.

I just finished building Lloyd's Legendary Dragon—my first Ninjago set this year (if only because some of the others on my wishlist have been so frequently out of stock). Really lovely build. The overall muscular form is great, and the color scheme is phenomenal. My favorite parts are probably the beefy torso and front legs and the incredibly well-constructed head (which showcases how well these new dragon jaw parts can work even on a larger dragon).

While that would be neat to see... hard to say at this point what the likelihood of that would be. I mean, we haven't even really seen the results of the Universal deal itself yet—I imagine everyone involved will want to see how whatever movie they cook up first performs before they start making future plans. And to be quite frank, I don't think anybody (Universal or otherwise) needs any sort of proof that Batman is a hot commodity and popular character... even the fairly criticized Batman v. Superman and Justice League performed well financially.

While I could see the appeal of that, one thing that I'm hoping for with the new one is that it's a different color entirely from the previous one. Not just so that it will look unique and not be confused with its predecessor, but also because red is still the only color that all the current coaster track pieces (including the incline extenders that have only appeared in the previous Creator Expert coaster) have come in. So if a new coaster includes all the same parts it would be great if they were a color like blue instead, so that builders using those parts could have more options.

Adding an extra tile to either side works fairly well anyway since having a 2x4 tile to affix the road plates to adjoining plates adds that width to part of the road—so all you have to do is add 1x4 tiles to the rest to maintain that width.

It's weird to bring up Playmobil as a comparison since a few years ago I was mildly shocked to see a Playmobil "City Action" set depicting an armed bank robbery with a woman pulling a gun from her purse to threaten the teller—a bit more grim and realistic than I'm used to seeing with Lego City. In Lego City, the worst "violence" is the destruction of property (via cartoonish schemes involving dynamite, crowbars, or occasionally heavy equipment like tow trucks or bulldozers). Violence against actual people is almost entirely absent. Looking it up now I realize I wasn't the only one who was shocked at that Playmobil set, since apparently it was more broadly controversial and got retired and clearanced early. Today the Playmobil "City Action" theme seems to be more akin to what I normally expect from Lego City, with things like bank robberies and jailbreaks still present (among other City mainstays like deep sea exploration, firefighting, construction, and rescue services) but without realistic weaponry or the implied threat of violence against innocent bystanders. That's not to say I don't think the the Lego City theme's sanitized image of "cops and robbers" storytelling can be itself problematic (since it frames police as universally the good guys which, while reassuring for kids, might set them up for an unrealistic expectation of the violent role that policing itself typically serves in the modern day). But that's a much bigger discussion and one I'm not keen to get into here.

I could definitely see some sort of commemorative minifigure appearing in a set like this—possibly something like a golden astronaut statue if it were a space set, for example. That said, I doubt figs like that would appear unless they were somehow contextualized within the set itself—the budget for a set like this is better used to make the set as good as it can be, rather than adding figures that don't fit the theme as some sort of "compensation" for those themes not getting chosen.

It will last as long as kids keep buying the sets. Ultimately that's the main factor, and one for which new seasons feeling "repetitive" is a minor issue at most (since new kids continuing to get into the theme makes a bigger difference overall than long-term fans sticking it out).

I feel like it could be a challenge to make the Galactic Explorer modular, given its overall size, complexity and density of detail. I feel like it would have to lose a lot to be made modular. I would love to see somebody MOD the mooncake factory into a larger modular moonbase complex, though! I've also been thinking about designing a larger Monkie Kid rover inspired by the one in the Galactic Explorer for FebRovery. I'd have to work fast to get something done by the end of the month, though.

I doubt this individual D2C set would have the budget for bringing back old pieces on its own. Even though there are certainly D2C sets that have had unique molded pieces, a big factor in that is whether or not other current part designs (or for that matter, a new part design that is more novel or versatile than just a straight reissue of an older part design) could work better. For licensed D2C sets where capturing the exact likeness of a licensed character or vehicle is essential, that might merit a new part. For a set based on a "generic" classic theme where other parts could be used to achieve the same overall aesthetic hallmarks, that's significantly less likely to happen. AFOLs have been showing for a long time how "neo-classic" space or castle aesthetics can be not just recreated but made even more impressive and detailed using modern parts and techniques. So I see no reason why Lego would deem it necessary to do differently, especially since whatever budget a set like this does have could go that much further if it were instead used on useful printed pieces or recolored parts that cost a fraction of what a new or refurbished mold would. I also doubt a lot of retired parts would be considered one way or another. Beyond just being retired, many of those parts had designs that were replaced in no small part due to design issues with the original designs. For instance, growing up I remember plenty of times where the "plate" section extending off the back of the old castle wall panels would get bent or damaged from being stepped on—I have little doubt that that's a big part of why the newer versions used in more recent Castle or Pirates sets are flatter and simpler. The same goes for many old hinge types used for most old space cockpits, among other parts.

If this topic's back I may as well renew my wish for Elves to come back... The newly revealed Little Mermaid set 43207 has me once again thinking of how cool an underwater story arc with mermaids could've been. This new set seems to be the first where the dual-molded mini-doll mermaid tails (which had already been done with awesome prints) also have transparent fins—that could've been great for elementally-colored mermaid tails for the main characters. The abundance of newer parts representing undersea life like the baby dolphins, baby sea turtles, and coral pieces would have also been great for it. I suppose that failing the unlikely scenario of Elves itself returning, an entirely mermaid-focused theme could be cool too—though I doubt it would be able to replace Elves' spectacular range.

It's possible that it might be replaced by a new assortment of the same type of road plates at some point (much like how older road plates had several re-releases over the years, some with major changes to their contents and some without) but I don't expect this new style of road plate to go away any time in the near future. Even if they had been an utter flop (and overall, I don't think they have, despite some AFOL misgivings), it's far too early for Lego to already have a replacement lined up. Beyond that, there's lots of possibilities for the improvement and expansion of the new system, some minor (new prints or changes to the brick-built contents like streetlights and traffic signs), and some major (such as introducing new components for features like curves, or even changing aspects of the new plates like their connectivity without discarding the overall format). So I expect that whatever comes next is probably more likely to be evolutionary (continuing to build on the new road plate format) than it is to be revolutionary (radically shifting away from the new format to something like the old roadplates or to something completely unprecedented).

I haven't built much Technic lately so weirdly the most exciting part of this for me is that dark tan steering wheel (a nice alternative for a part that mostly only comes in grey and black).