Lyichir

So what, you're saying there's a massive market for these kinds of sets and Lego is leaving that money on the table out of nothing but spite? Please. The designers who have explained these challenges with making successful train sets are the same ones who have made some of train sets people have loved. It's not like they hate trains or train fans and want to see them suffer. These are passionate people who genuinely want to make sets people love, they've just had experience with sets failing to find the success they'd hoped for. It's a shame so many AFOLs are so self-centered and narrow-minded that they would rather assume malice on the part of those designers than accept that as adult train fans they are maybe not as important or representative of the typical consumer as they seem to think they are.

That makes two comments I've seen today asserting "Lego hates X thing I want" with no basis other than wanting to believe that personal spite is responsible for their absence rather than market changes. Lego designers are on record explaining some of the reasons why it's harder to sell train sets than a lot of other types of sets. Train sets are big and expensive. Families tend to want a complete product with a powered train and carriages and a full circuit of track but are generally less interested in expanding their trains or layouts much more than that, outside of a small niche audience. Train set sales tend to peak around the holidays, and be less stable throughout the rest of the year. Having at least one train set available at any given time tends to work but offering a new one each year hasn't paid off in the past. That doesn't mean they've stopped trying, but it does mean that trains have become more of an occasional thing for Lego instead of a thing that gets new products every year.

That's... absurdly untrue. I'm not honestly sure whether you're repeating rumors you've heard elsewhere or just making it up on the spot but there's barely a single word of truth in what you're saying. Non-licensed sets are very valuable to Lego for a couple major reasons. The first and foremost reason is that the profit margin is bigger when Lego doesn't have to pay a licensing fee to another company. An in-house IP also allows Lego to control things like media output and ensure they don't have to suffer through a "dry spell" where there are no new movies in theaters to help drive sales or come up with new content to put in sets. There's a reason why during Lego's near-bankruptcy, it was Bionicle (not Star Wars, Spider-Man, or Harry Potter) that kept them afloat during their leanest year. Blaming the decrease in Ninjago sets between 2013 and 2015 on TMNT is also totally inaccurate because the far bigger factor (which is well-documented) was that Legends of Chima launched in 2013, originally intended to outright REPLACE Ninjago. Ninjago's 2013 wave was meant to be a lower-budget send-off for a declining theme, like Lego had done for many earlier themes like Knights' Kingdom and Exo-Force, as they were readying Ninjago's "successor". But to Lego's surprise, Ninjago's sales and fanbase didn't actually taper off in the way its predecessors tended to, and there was a massive fan outcry on top of that when the news that the 2013 wave would be its last broke. So they hurriedly threw together a series of sets for the following year (even though, at that point, most of Ninjago's planned budget had been reassigned to Chima). The return to a larger number of sets in 2015 was not due to the end of the Ninja Turtles theme so much as because that was its first post-"cancellation" year of sets that got the theme's more typical budget and development time. Ninja Turtles ending that year (after generally NOT being anywhere near as successful as Ninjago had been, I might add) was mostly tangential to that. There's absolutely zero reason to think that even if the Ninja Turtles license became available to Lego again, Lego would sacrifice one of their biggest, most consistently successful themes for one that would be less reliable and farther outside Lego's own control.

I just saw that the other day when checking AMEET's website. All the images and such are preliminary and so far don't seem to include any unique parts or prints for the figures (the astronauts reuse last year's underwater Ninjago sets, though being preliminary that could potentially change). To be honest I'm not 100% sure it's even coming out—it's listed on the web version of their catalog but not on the PDF downloadable version, and I don't know which is newer. If the web version is newer then it might have been a late addition to the release schedule, but if the PDF version is newer it may have been cancelled or delayed until next year.

I really can't wait to see people creating custom expansions to the Sonic set based on other levels and obstacles. The modular format of the components seems well-suited to that.

Yeah. Another clue that these are not chromed is that the chrome gold ingots (when they were produced) were part of a standardized "pre-pack" including coins—likely indicating that they were produced together and immediately packaged, not unlike how chrome coins in the past would come on a connected "sprue" that you had to remove them from. When that pre-pack went away, so too did the chrome gold ingots. To be honest I tend to prefer the lacquered gold anyway. So many of the chrome on chrome gold parts from my childhood has flaked off or scratched, leaving ugly scars. And even when chrome parts are new, their reflectiveness can almost be an eyesore—it has a polished, mirrored appearance that is unrealistic for something as utilitarian as an ingot of processed metal (which is stored for its value as a raw material, rather than looks). The more matte look of the lacquered gold parts still looks more like actual metal than "pearl" metallic colors, while being far less gaudy and reflective than chromed parts.

Just a follow-up on this—I asked the designer (Chris Perron) about it on Facebook, and he confirmed that it was indeed a failsafe for if a kid put something other than the rover in the cargo area to keep it from getting jammed in the shut position.

Nice topic idea! I agree with some of the above suggestions. As much nostalgia as I have for them, some older animal molds such as the bat, frog, and octopus have certainly become a bit dated. Updated versions of these, like a frog that could have printed eyes or an octopus with at least some of its arms articulated would not hurt. Another older critter design that comes to mind is the scorpion. The classic scorpion can make for great architectural detailing, but as an actual animal it leaves much to be desired—no legs, barely a face... compared to things like the redesigned spider it feels sorely out of date. In terms of newer creatures, an updated cow could be nice (since the udders on the original unnecessarily gender it). And a dedicated Dalmatian piece for the City theme could be nice, since the printed versions of other breeds that they've done have never looked quite right. If they ever do another theme that could use a camel, it could probably benefit from a mold that at least gives it neck articulation, if nothing else. And of course I'd be remiss not to mention the short-lived goat. A redesign for that is essential to bringing it back, since the old mold did not last. If they did a newer one it could be cool if instead of molded horns it had ones that could be removed like the cow, so that you could customize it with different types of horns depending on what sort of goat you wanted to represent.

I'll second that. They certainly sound like interesting set names, but IIRC Monkie Kid doesn't have a history of set names being leaked ahead of time—as a mostly D2C theme, it'd surprise me if that changed suddenly. So without a source or corroboration this sounds a little more like wishful thinking—no offense. EDIT: If those are real they sound like they could be really cool. I'd love to see the Demon Bull family appear in a new set, especially if they got new designs, possibly with DBK as a minifigure or bigfig instead of the brick-built versions from earlier sets. And based on the taste we've gotten of Lady Bone Demon's signature aesthetic in her two previous appearances, a larger castle set for her would probably be super cool. Only two sets for summer would be a slight bummer compared to the three-set waves in earlier years, though. And a part of me was hoping that given Mei's apparent key role in the story (wielding all three Samadhi Fire Rings in the Macaque mech set) we might finally get a larger set for her, like a mech or dragon.

Just made out of random parts, probably. The stop-motion scene they were directing needed an island for the skeleton to stand on, so they built one. It's a couple of yellow plates for landscaping—hardly anything substantial or deliberate-looking enough to assume it's some sort of new set tease. Also don't think it's "mean-spirited" to make a goofy meme with Lego pirates without it relating to an upcoming set. It's a joke for parents to laugh at and share with their friends, it's not their fault if people assume it has to have some deeper meaning.

For a large chain like that, one of the first things that comes to mind (which I've considered myself but haven't yet come up with an appropriate MOC for it) would be using these and either these or these in between (depending on how big or small you want the links to be). Connecting these parts with Technic cross axles would allow you to create some rather sturdy links that flex freely, and close to life-size to boot. Now granted, this isn't exactly what you asked for—it's Technic-based rather than System-based and doesn't come in Dark Bluish Grey. But to be honest, Technic might be a smarter choice than System for what you seem to be asking for (since that would likely make it easier to make the links themselves sturdy while still allowing them to flex). And while it doesn't come in Dark Bluish Grey it does come in light bluish grey as well as several metallic colors (including Titanium Metallic, which is close enough in hue to Dark Bluish Grey that it might still work for your purposes).

This week Lego announced that they are withdrawing from London Toy Fair as well, and plan to announce their plans for later this year in some alternative fashion.

For my part, I enjoyed Chima's set design and character design. The main reason I didn't end up getting as into it as I did with Ninjago was that the TV series was unable to hook me. The first episode started strong with a touching friendship between Laval and Cragger that could've felt great... but then the way the conflict between them originated (with Cragger's sister effectively brainwashing him) felt way too contrived and unearned, and I quickly lost interest in the characters and their conflict altogether. By comparison Ninjago started with a decent special and the first season of the show the next year was legitimately good as far as character development was concerned. And even Nexo Knights, formulaic as its episodes could be, did a better job of selling Jestro and Clay's falling out as the conflict between a top-of-his-class golden boy and an insecure friend who chalked their friendship up to pity rather than anything more genuine. For a story-based theme, the story can make the difference between a theme I pick up the occasional set from and a theme where I want to have every character and every version of every character, and Chima sadly wasn't able to get past square one for me. Of course, the fact that it was up against Ninjago in those years certainly didn't help. By the time Chima was experiencing its rocky start, Ninjago was in the midst of some great story arcs like Rebooted, Tournament of Elements, and Possession. If Ninjago had ended after Season 2 as planned, maybe I would've been able to put up with Chima's growing pains a little better and stick with it to the end. That just wasn't the hand it was dealt, though.

Oh that's lovely! And a good way to make use of some of the other extra parts if you buy a second set to add a floor.

One recent introduction that comes to mind as a Ninjago fan would be this recent black recolor of the Lego Batman Movie Joker hair: https://brickset.com/parts/6344417/mini-wig-no-130 Slightly bandana-adjacent, but last year's Ninjago sets also introduced versions of several of the Ninja's hair with headbands: https://brickset.com/parts/6320790/mini-wig-w-accessory-no-12 https://brickset.com/parts/6320793/mini-wig-w-accessory-no-13 This Monkie Kid hairpiece would also allow for some neat variety but so far only appears in dark grey, which might look too old for a typical pirate: https://brickset.com/parts/6338388/mini-wig-no-320 Also don't be afraid to diversify your pirate crews even if you just use yellow-skinned figs! In recent years Lego has introduced several afro-textured hair pieces that could work for pirates, like this one, among many others: https://brickset.com/parts/6382532/mini-wig-no-337

Figured I'd share my current progress planning out an expanded version of the City of Lanterns: I've doubled the width of all three top-level buildings (adapting the wider Panda Store from the larger one in Red Son's Inferno Truck from the first year), and added another floor to the hotel in the middle. Expanding those three buildings allows me to have features like a checkout counter in each of the buildings while making use of some of the parts I'd have from a second copy of the set. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with the three remaining 8x8 modules on the lower level. Neither of the shops from the original set really feel desperately in need of expanding, so I'm trying instead to come up with some other two-story facilities that can fit the space and leave room on the "roof" for a sidewalk extension for the upper level (like the hot pot restaurant has). Some of my current concepts for that space include a bank inspired by the Brick Bank modular and a version of the Anti-Gravity Arcade from the Lion Guardian set adapted to work with the modular format.

If it actually has nine minifigures that probably plays a pretty substantial role in that price too.

I'm not 100% sure of why the hole is there either, to be honest. A part of me thinks maybe it's there in case you put something loose in the cargo area (instead of the rover) and it jammed the rotation feature when you closed it up, so that instead it could either fall free or get pried out without major disassembly? But I'm not sure of either how likely that scenario is for it to be designed around, nor for that matter whether it would be a sufficient fix if something were to somehow get jammed in there. In any case it's good for some of the accessories that don't fit in the cabin with the crew—I'm using the clips to hold MK's staff and Mei's sword, and it would fit the spring shooter ammo as well.

To be honest despite being named after the Galactic Explorer, I think it shares more design DNA with the Space Police Galactic Enforcer (AKA Mission Commander), which it actually alludes to with its wing stickers (which are labeled 6986 in homage to that set) as well as its trans-red windscreens, side windows, and general shape. The older name was probably just chosen because it's not a law enforcement vehicle like the Space Police set's name would imply.

It wouldn't matter because it would violate multiple rules of the platform (borderline violation of no projects dependent on new molds, and explicit violation of no minifigure/bulk part packs). Considering that, seeing goats return via Ideas is even less likely than seeing them return through ordinary sets.

While another take on Vikings could be cool, I think that's far from a sure thing. 3-in-1 sets don't really have a history of foreshadowing a full theme.

Obviously there's demand for goats... but since the mold would have to be recreated and redesigned, the question is whether designing a new goat would be as impactful as designing or redesigning another animal. I don't foresee goats coming back in these upcoming City sets, to be honest. If anything, the reintroduction of cows feels more likely to me than that, since they're a far more archetypal sort of farm animal at least here in America.

Skybound (the show) was based on Skybound (the sets) as well. Just because not all side builds from the sets make it into the show doesn't mean the show wasn't still based on those sets. I will add that it's not 100% "sets first, show later". The early concepts for the overall story for a given year (sets and basic story structure alike) are worked on first, and while the set concepts are nailed down ahead of when the show's production gets going in earnest, the finalized set designs aren't necessarily complete before the writing and animation get started. As a result, sometimes late additions to the sets (like some side builds or slight changes in functionality) don't make it into the show, even though the show is basically written to incorporate and show off the accompanying product collection in general. Regarding some recent PIXAL episodes and not getting sets, I feel like that's partly a case of the shorter episode format for the past couple seasons freeing up more episodes to focus on characters and stories that weren't in the plans for the sets themselves. That's a benefit for a show that's accumulated as many characters as Ninjago has—just because a wave of sets didn't have anything planned for a particular secondary character doesn't mean that they have to be written out of the show altogether, and sometimes taking a break from the main cast to focus on some of those other characters not only relieves some of the narrative tension that builds up for the main cast over the course of the season, but also allows for some really creative and interesting story concepts. I am glad that this year the sets have offered more of a focus for PIXAL than she's gotten in the past few years either way, though! She's a favorite secondary character of mine and she has really gotten a chance to grow into a character beyond her (admittedly sweet) relationship with Zane, now that she's Samurai X.

In recent years New York Toy Fair has been fairly light on summer set reveals anyway, hasn't it? I think they've revealed a couple of flagship sets there, but nothing like earlier years when preliminary sets from the majority of themes were represented. So it's probably not an enormous loss.

Regarding this topic's core question of whether Ninjago is getting more popular, I'd consider some things like how quickly the big January releases sold out in the U.S. and an overall scarcity of sales on older sets to be good signs. Part of that may be pandemic-related supply issues—but either way, Lego is certainly not having trouble with the theme not selling well. Truth be told this could end up being a little inconvenient as a fan. Last year I designed an extra-long version of the Hydro Bounty on Stud.io, and hoped to maybe pick up a second copy of the set to build it in real life once we started to see clearance sales on the "Seabound" wave (which I expected would happen later this year). But with sell-through being extremely high over the holidays and demand not seeming to taper off much even afterward, I'm a little worried that there might not end up being many leftover copies of the larger sets to get discounted at all!