Digger of Bricks

I know there are some very noticeable differences between the two, but, what if Lego will be recoloring a potential new hat mold intended for an upcoming Goofy CMF for Steamboat Willie? They at least both have muffin-topped hats, even though the former has a bill.

As standard with all media-based properties since 2004, they should undoubtedly be flesh-toned. I'm just a bit bummed that both projects are based upon licensed properties; but, then again, none of the projects in this review were completely original in the same way the Treehouse and the Old Fishing Store were for instance. If anything, I would've liked one of the two approved projects not be another media-based property.

Huh, I wonder where they'd been told of such a title change. Well, while I'm quite relieved to hear that it's still alive and kicking, I'm not quite that thrilled about this title change. Yeah, it most likely needed that LEGO prefix so the film wouldn't go over people's heads, but I think they should've rather renamed it either LEGO's The Billion Brick Race or The Billion Brick Race: A LEGO Movie. But hey, perhaps even this change isn't final yet.

So, about those Steamboat Willie leaks...

Retrofuturism isn't always strictly alternate history respective to our world, as it's also inclusive of completely fantastical settings evocative real-world cultures and time periods of the past. Technically, a lot of fantasy that isn't set in a world inspired after Medieval Europe can get thrown into the category of Retrofuturism. So, by Retrofuturistic Coherency, I'm just suggesting that all aspects of a created world that fuses varying technologies and cultural motifs together maybe come to more of an even footing. Again, Nexo Knights did that just a little better I think. I didn't suggest Jaeger Pilots' attire was in any way realistic, just that it's more fitting for the archetypical mecha pilot you see in Japanese Magna and Anime. I just think it'd just be ten times cooler if they only gave the ninja attire that suit their rides more fittingly, much like NEXO KNIGHTS had done.

Who's to say that which I highlighted was the primary culprit in Nexo Knights shortened lifespan?

I know I'm beating this like a dead horse, but Nexo Knights blended its borrowed subject matters much better. ...in a "copy-paste" sort of way.

Yeah, a passenger train set for the Friends theme seems like a no-brainer to me, though I can somewhat see why one hasn't been done yet. Train sets for the City theme nowadays seem like a hard enough sell alone, so perhaps that's why there could be some possible hesitancy to try out the formula for Friends.

Only if they copy such a look verbatim-ly. For instance, a "ninja mecha pilot" suit could have a helmet that would vaguely resemble the Series 9 Battle Mech's headgear, with the face-mask doubling as a breathing apparatus and his eyes shielded by a visor. Thereby, it'd evoke a ninja's headgarb without actually being such. My overall point, I find it much smarter to EVOKE such inspirations rather than just stick a ninja in a fighter jet and call it a day. The Nexo Knights' suit designs evoked medieval knights' armor rather than copy it.

That's very good point, though I guess I wouldn't be fussing over this lamentation as much if such locomotives weren't as commonplace within the City theme on a regular basis.

It's the medieval ninja garb I'm rather nitpicky about. While their attire can take slight stylistic cues from the genres/tropes that various waves aspire after, they never go all the way like Nexo Knights had done. If these ninja pilot mecha, why not give theme them attire that seamlessly blend medieval Japanese design motifs with Jaeger Pilot suits?

Can't it be varied on a wave-to-wave basis anthologically, like I had suggested?

Heh, an American streamlined steamer could've been sweet, though it would've just barely fit within the theme's modern context. At least a more vintage diesel such as the F7 wouldn't have felt too out-of-place. Technically Toy Story 4 is getting a Duplo train set, though that doesn't exactly count.

On a individual wave-to-wave/year-to-year basis, I wouldn't mind the inconsistency as much if the theme were to act more like an anthology in its narrative; but, why couldn't they maintain some sort of retrofuturistic coherency for each individual wave? One year would have Renaissance-era technology with DaVinci-esque Clockpunk mecha and flying craft, the other going for more of an 80's Cyberpunk urban vibe, and so forth. Just give our characters some retrofuturistically-approprate attire to boot keeping with the set vibe.

For me, I'm just slightly disappointed that it's only a modern diesel engine, as we pretty much receive one of those every four years from the City theme. Sure, it only makes sense since the theme is set in a modern-day context and all; but, given that it has a slight retro tinge with a 1950's Diner in its set lineup, they could've made that engine more evocative of a EMD F7 locomotive just to further cement the character of the theme. P.S. I know this may possibly be the only train set we'll see for this year, but do think this topic should be renamed 2019 LEGO Trains @technic70s? I don't believe we have such a discussion topic yet for this year.

Screen Rant - Bumblebee Officially Reboots the Transformers Movie Series Confirms Hasbro

If kids don't care much about those aesthetic technicalities, why shouldn't the theme evolve to be more retrofuturistically coherent? You see, I'm just asking for Ninjago to try and be more like Nexo Knights. In my eyes, that theme did it right, as the knights actually "dressed for the occasion" so to speak.

Personally, I'd wish to see a hard reboot that takes the aesthetic of the theme in a direction that's either completely medieval/DaVinci-Punk or completely futuristic/Cyberpunk, none of this half-baked look anymore.

Well, reusage of that mold I most certainly hope to see soon here!

I'm thinking not, as there've been a LOT of themes whose summer waves looked to have been excluded from display. City, Technic, Friends, Ninjago, DC/Marvel SuperHeroes, Collectable Minifigures, Disney Princesses, Minecraft...

Also, anyone here think Lego could reuse Woody's (and Jessie's for that matter) new hair/hat mold outside of its originally intended context for future CMFs?