TeriXeri

Looks great , nice shape and extra space, and very playable. 2019 City Space certainly will fit well with 2024 City Space , despite different color of orange or transparent brown/black being more blue. I did not get the shuttle , rover , or rockets from this wave, but the station and smaller shuttle was very nice, and helped with that People Pack set. 2022 City space has some nice modules with 2 sided access, but some are just tunnels, or cargo space not fit for figures, best part being the Artemis Rocket and central dome/"garage" module of the lunar base , and the "orion" capsules with transparent canopy. 2024 space station is probably the weakest design with the central ring, but the modules look okay, but also more expensive, so this looks a lot better then that default set (even tho this comes down to at least 2x 2019 space station + extras) The octagonal central part reminds me of 60265: Ocean Exploration Base as well, but more complete, that set is basicly an underwater "space station" anyway :)

Certainly will be interesting to imagine names for those figures in City, now that they are unnamed again, but still very distinct, especially in the City Space 2024, the golden character / admiral, and the team leader characters with special face print/head technology (and slightly darker tone uniforms) Also names have been different by region / translation even currently, City magazine tends to come with quite a generic figure but the name is translated to the local language , as there's a little story comic that explains the little build that's included etc. Normal 2023/2024 City sets have stopped putting names anywhere , with the exception of some 2022 product that has not retired , like Chief Wheeler, the LEGO City Adventures Police Character found in the 2022 Police Station that'll be around for 2024. But there's also a generic Chief figure found in the 2023 City Police Academy, at least based on older looking face and colored rectangles on uniform indicates a higher rank / long service record with ribbons. But I can already imagine people will call her Callahan , from the Police Academy movies, and blonde hair.

Sure it's using the same system, probably intention to draw in technic fans to minifigure, and minifigure fans to technic, same module system also seen on Friends (and City 2019 Space, 2020 Underwater, 2022 Space) . Also the technic cockpits for 2024, look like they fit minifgures, the 2024 John Deere harvester even has a Minifigure seat. I don't think they are designed around for actual minifgure scale, but especially for those Technic Space sets, scale doesn't matter that much as they are not meant to fit on a certain City road width, that Technic Mack Truck also looks like it can fit 1-2 figures, at 8 wide, it's perhaps a little big but within limits ,City Police has a 8 wide truck this year , and Friends had 10 wide bus multiple times (even tho friends are clearly meant to have interior/play , not realistic scale). Scale is a variable thing anyway, or that 2022 City Space rocket would have to be 2 meters long to be a realistic SLS Artemis Rocket (if using very basic calculations of a 4cm=2 meter minifigure) (Artemis rocket is little under 100 meters (98), so 50x 4cm = 200cm)

This, I mean, Maori culture and others still are celebrated this day, and are basicly some of the known ancestors of the real-world Islanders that traveled from Asia to eventually spread across the Pacific. (a process that happened over more then a 1000 years (origins from the China/Taiwan region even going 3000-4000 years back), long before European nations sailed their ships there. Of course the actual LEGO sets show them together with Pirates with guns, but still none of those Islanders are depicted to be enslaved/imprisoned, rather the other way around with the islanders locations sets having prisons, some even pictures with a Pirate in it (6246: Crocodile Cage) Last time LEGO had an Islanders-Esque wave of sets was under Ninjago (Season named "The Island" in 2021, and the islander figures were fictional purple skinned people, some even with 2 heads), not sure if that's an indication of how LEGO thinks about things currently.

It's interesting how this talk about kids, keeps to point at individual sets or themes as if they exist in a vacuum. Of course there are many people who build sets once, keep it together, or even store it seperately, which is understandable. But I think there are also plenty of kids who take things apart fast, either to combine it with the rest of their collection, or just start making different things immediately. I think most Kids likely have less worry about their collections staying pristine/complete , as opposed to AFOL keeping databases (of larger collections that's very understandable) Maybe, on a set basis, it was a vehicle theme most of all, only 2 major location sets, and 3 villain color changes over the 2.5 years, but when seen different, from a parts perspective, I think it still provided lots of new and interesting parts (many still in use), and many parts still very useful for space building. With Nexo, at least you could combine the many Blue, Grey, and Transparent Neon Orange parts together to build something really big, same goes for the Lava or Rock Monster color schemes, with themes like Dreamzzz, Hidden Side, or Monkie Kid, , it's quite a random jumble of colors all over the place, even Ninjago , especially with the 2 new main hero characters added, just means more colors will be seen as each Ninja seems to need their own Mech/Vehicle/Dragon pretty much every other year. Kids probably worry less about color spaghetti (I remember building plenty of things from just red/yellow/blue/black/white/grey), but now there are many many more colors and small parts in rotation. But ultimately I suppose the pitfall of those Hero Action themes, like Nexo , Ninjago, Monkie Kid, DreamZZZ is that they are designed around a cast of characters + villain of the year/years, and then those themes have to accomodate a main set for most, or each character. Whereas something like a Space, Castle or Pirate theme of old, had it quite simple, I mean, Classic Space just had 3 colors of basic unnamed astronauts, vehicles were blue, grey or white, and not named something like "Zane's Super Car, or Clay's Falcon Blaster, Mr Oz Space Car, or Mei's Dragon Bike" Castle did have their own "Robin Hood" , as Forestmen were called in some regions , or Richard Lionheart, etc, but beside maybe a King's Carriage, or quite a few captain Redbeard Pirate Ships, it cannot be compared to the named characters of now. So parts wise, many current sets might be suitable to MOC things of "old", but as themes they have not been intended to be themes of old, basicly since the generic "themes" of 2013 Castle, 2013 Space, or 2015 Castle ended. But as more action themes have come and went, and no generic themes have returned, it seems to work decently for LEGO (Vidiyo and perhaps the abrupt ending of Hidden Side being the worst cases), decent enough to keep their nostalgic sets as Icons or GWP, and the main themes as character-driven action themes (City being the exception as it recently stopped using media-driven LEGO City Adventures characters) And no, I'm not trying to tell people "the parts exist, just go make your own Spaceships", that's not my intent.

I'd love new spaceships with bright transparent canopy colors instead of current offerings, even me, I got plenty of nostalgia for 80s and 90s subthemes, and even if LEGO does something new with different , bold transparent colors, I'd love it more then this Creator offering obviously. Nexo Knights was the theme that brought me back to LEGO after 15 years, not for it's castles (1st wave had Fortrex, no castle like Jestro's Lair yet), bikes or cars, but the colors and shapes, especially the angled and neon parts, and no it was not a space theme. City Space could have gone one step further with different colors, setting it apart further from 2019/2022 white spaceships and various nasa, but maybe Icons is the best place "To Boldly Go where LEGO has gone before" (at least for bringing back old theme designs/colors/factions)

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If Space, Castle or Pirates only count as Themes, they have all been gone since after 2013, 2013 and 2015.

That's only if you narrow space to a very specific type of set, and leave out something like 60354: Mars Spacecraft Exploration Missions just because it released under City, it was a set with probably the most classic type of space parts in a while outside of Icons, or LEGO Movie 1/2 Benny sets I can understand the other City 2019 / 2022 sets not being part of the classic definitions of space as they were more Mars/Moon concepts, but 60354 felt like a true space set to me, rather then a City set, even if it has Mars in the name, it goes way beyond any sort of realism.

10497 was known to be retired around 31 December 2023 for months now, so the "sold out" matches the "last chance" . Usually LEGO does not remove products , often just labels it as Retired Product after the planned date (but if not sold out, sometimes a set remains sold after an official retirement date, if they still have leftover product, but "Last Chance" is a pretty good indicator it was going away)

Was looking at the Friends Goats and other animals again, and LEGO seems to certainly have changed their design style quite a bit overall when it comes to Eye prints, first minidolls changed, but animals changed with it as well, the Friends animals still have colored eyes, but no more big eyelashes is a big step forward imo. Biggest changes happened between during 2023, with animals getting a lot more eyebrow style markings, especially noticeable on larger prints like horses. I think minidoll animals fit in much better alongside minifig animals nowadays.

At the rate things go with IDEAS, right now, seems to take at least a year between IDEAS being picked, and made. the last one, Polaroid , was selected October 2022, and will release in 2024. So Dungeons and Dragons hopefully will be seen before Q2 2024, but it's a bigger set.

Looking right now, it looks like both red and white are still on the US/EU PAB, but out of stock, unless things looked differently before they Paused standard? Right now everything not bestseller is listed out of stock.

This, before the internet got big (or at least affordable after the expensive Dial-Up of early days), pretty much most LEGO advertising I saw here was by visiting actual toy stores, picking up paper catalog (those were not mailed to you here), or buying a set and finding a mini leaflet or mini catalog (larger sets) inside. And the yearly toy catalogs from retailers mailed out around the December season) And even if not actively looking things up (for me during 2001 to 2016), I did not follow LEGO at all, despite the internet being available. So most of the products known are because of database websites like Brickset/Bricklink and others. Meanwhile, licensed franchises, especially something big like Star Wars, Batman, Spider-Man etc, had a much wider range, even before that.

I'm personally more interested in the newer plant pieces becoming more available/recolored, even the Fern, Big Fern, and "Bush" pieces from 2023, early 2024. And perhaps a good Jungle base, without too many vehicles (sold seperately)

And Vidiyo Punk Pirates ? (at least one figure had a hook + peg leg, so sort of counts) My "original" captain will always be Ironhook as that was the only I had, but now , and overall, definately Redbeard.

I don't have it (yet) , but I think it's a great set that works with recent ski sets etc, sometimes not being too christmas focused is good (40499: Santa's Sleigh and 40573: Christmas Tree are also still available) , but I can also understand if people dislike the generic nature of it, or unfamliar if not visited the alps etc.

LEGO probably trying to double dip on such decisions, one hand they don't want to do regular Modular buildings via IDEAS , on other hand, those building type of sets still appeal to a wider audience then just Twilight, Hocus Pocus, etc. LEGO IDEAS Blacksmith was succesful, so probably influenced the Sanderson House decision , despite being an IP, and with this Twilight House, they might try to appeal to the architectural style of the build as well to a wider group of customers (part of which might think the €200 Friends mansion is still too colorful/toyish/girlish whatever, or just won't buy it because "minidolls" are in it.) "Generic", non IP builds seem to be moving more and more to the Designer Program, altho the botanical set is not licensed either. Also, the Friends botanical garden might be near retirement by the time this releases. Still anticipating the reveal of the Dungeons and Dragons set, seems to take a while.

Yeah, I see Blacktron could be a bit like Star Trek Romulans, stealthy, mysterious(at least blacktron 1 black visors), and noted for intelligence/stealing in old catalog mini stories. (later somewhat replaced by Spyrius doing similar things) But it's all kept quite simple, not as deep as actual Star Trek, even tho LEGO does have Space Police putting people in prison (I mean, LEGO has prison Duplo sets rated Age 2), or Mars Mission capturing aliens, it's not like they show actual torture or violence, and especially not real events.

Friends certainly gets treated with plant pieces, the bush/canopy, and big fern/palm leaf introduced first in via this theme. LEGO making more multi-purpose plant parts is great. Also the darker orange color is very nice, and will probably make Dutch builders even more happy, as Orange is their national color , especially seen around Soccer, Olympics, or King's Day, and the regular orange looks pale in comparison. It's probably also a good opaque accent color for Ice Planet or Nexo builds compared to old orange/orange yellow, Coral has the brightness but it's too pink to be used like that (altho camera pictures can vary a lot on Coral as well)

Pretty much all the road plate sets for 2023 (beside Police) released in Summer 2023, so I think with 2024 getting the Police, Fire, vehicles, and one of the subthemes "out of the way", Summer 2024 will be the point to see if LEGO did or did not abandon road plates. I doubt they did , as the actual Road Plate expansion set from 2021 did not retire.

I can imagine 2028 being a big year as it's the 50th anniversary of minifigures, which also marked the start of Classic Space and the Yellow Castle, as well as 70 years of the Brick.

So true, as M-Tron, Blacktron 2, and Ice Planet all use neon transparent colors in the original sets, and those colors seem absent from this CMF (altho there's debate about the ice saw color), it's possible they aren't going to be featured in upcoming products at all.

Yeah I agree 8 wide should be limited to only a few types of vehicles, not every single truck. So far LEGO seems to limit most 8 wide to special vehicles, like Airport Fire Truck in 2014, Mobile Artic Bases in 2014, 2018 , 2023, or the 2017 Police Command trailer, and 2023 heavy duty Fire Command truck, but it should not become a standard. As for the 2024 Police Crime Lab, I think LEGO did a good job keeping it sleek, as the wheels or wheel arches barely stick out, and the truck doesn't have large side mirrors or other obstacles, but it should not become the standard Bus/Truck/Van size. Friends theme has a few bus designs that are definately oversized for City roads. 41106: Pop Star Tour Bus (2015) 8 wide 41395: Friendship Bus (2020) 10 wide ! 41759: Heartlake City Bus (2023) 8 wide + big fenders, and wide wheels, so basicly 10 wide as it does not seem to be designed to be sleek or realistic. 42619: Pop Star Music Tour Bus (2024) 10 wide ! 42613: Heartlake City Hospital Ambulance (2024), 8 wide Van, also just seems oversized, even compared to the 2024 variant of 4+ 60403: Emergency Ambulance. But as it's Friends, a theme even moreso focused on roleplay , I understand the design choices, and sometimes cartoony/oversized proportions of vehicles, similar to 3-in-1 vehicles can be goofy oversized as well. I do hope 8 wide does not become some type of standard, as with short vehicles, like again Friends Bus and Ambulance, it looks odd.

Interstellar Spaceship definately is not the cargo ship type, but the 2024 Space Station shows a typical "freighter" design seen in shows like Star Trek (downscaled to fit a single set), or other sci-fi video games etc, it's quite plausible, that's how they transport their modules/cargo. To me, they probably even got Warp or short range Transporter capability, as those batteries/crystals tech have many similarities with other sci-fi franchises. Official picture shows it can carry at least 3 modules.