Mylenium

Very funny! Mylenium

The overall composition (in pure artistic terms) isn't good IMO. It needs to have some depth. E.g. the mountains on the sides of the waterfall should arch ever so slightly forward at the edges to give the impression of a deep valley and similarly the river should not flow straight out of the frame and centered to boot. I also tend to think that the base shouldn't at all be square/ rectangular, but rather a wedge or two separate plates joined at an angle. This would give a lot more separation (like it is presumably in the real park) and allow to build some extra surrounding landscape that connects everything. I also would build the prismatic spring from transparent bricks and plates - a white base underneath, then transparent yellow, orange and blue 2x1 and 1x1 plates arranged suitably. You could even mimic the sulfuric deposits with pale yellow and the transparent blue parts would give an nice carribean blue/ green-ish sheen almost automatically from the light reflecting and scattering inside. For the geyser I'd simply use this part: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=35032c#T=C. I'm sure LEGO would be ready to produce it in white or transparent clear if the project ever comes to fruition. Mylenium

I never claimed any such thing, but responses to these sets here in Germany, at least on the forums and blogs I watch, have been very negative as in "So what?". And in fact you have it wrong - as a regular buyer of Friends sets and similar weird stuff as well as already having bought the Party Bus and the Systar Ship I'm totally game for these "White" TLM2 sets, it's just that my impression is the rest of the local AFOL community really doesn't give a damn, even more so since many of them also consider the TLM2 sets weak in comparison to those for the first movie to begin with. No idea if that is true, as that was before I took an interest in LEGO, but I would argue that none of this is in any way conducive to generating sales. Well, whatever, it's of course subjective. We will have to see when LEGO release their sales figures. I would predict, though, that TLM2 doesn't make it into the top five, given the circumstances, at least for the German market... Mylenium

Don't think so. I doubt that the Animal Care Center is even selling well, given how other big sets like Mia's House or the Heartlake City Resort can be had for massive discounts and are more easily available. If at all I would imagine that there would be an exclusive set tying in with the Amusement Park theme this year. That would make a lot more sense, though I'm not sure what it would be, given that the other sets already cover a lot of ground. Otherwise with so many good Friends sets coming this summer I don't think there would be any reason to add even more and keep them exclusive... Mylenium

But then again, Nuremberg Toy Fair was in February when the film wasn't even released in many territories and things looked a lot different. They couldn't have known that it would end up being such a dud. Therefore it doesn't seem too far fetched that they would change their plans now in light of this total disaster that it turned out to be. It just wouldn't make sense to still release them. Nobody I know cares even for the Sparkle Spa and Space Palace and LEGO will be lucky if those sell reasonably okay at all. Time to move on and bury this dead horse... Mylenium Oh, c'mon! This is an AFOL forum, after all. Clearly we tend to obsess about the minutest things all the time, yet the rest of the world really doesn't care. The rest is of course a matter of personal experience and perception, but here in Germany I don't hear much talk about the movie anymore and the sets are stuck on shelves, even the small ones. So perhaps them "selling briskly at full price" is more of an exception than the rule? Was no different with the Ninjago movie, BTW, so perhaps that "wrap up" wave might not make much sense, unless those sets would be another Ninjago City Docks that could be appreciated on its own merits, not because it is tied to a movie?! Just sayin'... Mylenium

This could be argued a million ways, but suffice it to say that for every DaVinci, Rembrand or van Gogh painting that were preserved, there's another ten or twenty that were lost, destroyed by the artists themselves, painted over and so on. Why should that be different with LEGO? Sure, it's regrettable sometimes, but you'd really need to get down to a base level philosophical discussion about what makes art and how its value to society is viewed. Personally I have no interest in having every LEGO build be easily replicable by ways of instructions. Part of the fun is drawing inspiration from some of that stuff and trying to unriddle it, not actually recreating it. It's the same as with paintings - if we understood DaVinci's thought process behind the Mona Lisa, the techniques he used and all that stuff, it would lose all its mystique and mystery. You also have to see the other side. Nobody would even be able to keep track of all this and in the end, just as the original LEGO models might have been lost, the instructions could get lost at some point. You know, doing a video on YouTube does not equate immortality, when YouTube may not even exist in a future or nobody can play those deprecated video formats anymore. However you spin it, it remains a fact that a lot of "art" gets lost and simply fades into oblivion and any efforts to preserve it can only go so far. I don't expect it to be any different with LEGO. Mylenium

The ways of LEGO parts bulk lots are as mysterious as the ways of the lord... It's perfectly possible, though. Especially for small and mid-sized sets people often underestimate how many of them are actually on the market and for the right price it will be easy enough to buy the leftovers after they've been EOL'd. The sets in question seem to fit that bill nicely, so it's not impossible one of the resellers bought an entire palette of unsold sets from a big retail/ grocery store chain for a very low price that could last for another ten years. Therefore I'd say it's legit, surprising as it may seem that they still have such large quantities available after so many years. Mylenium

Yes, they are, at least based on my observations. It's the same gag I keep citing for Super Heroes sets and their situation here in Germany: You can go to a store three months later and recognize the same boxes based on damage marks, meaning they haven't moved or sold at all. There are also continually heavy discounts on those sets, which furthers the impression that in order for anyone to even consider them, they have to be cheap. Arguably though, they have been seriously overpriced to begin with, which no doubt also didn't help. LEGO's speculation of milking the film clearly has exploded in their face on so many levels and now they're hitting the brakes to not garner further losses, likely just as they were about to start production on those other sets... Mylenium

Again: I don't think so. You're seeing a tidal wave where there could never be one. The economics wouldn't add up either way. Sticking with the Modular Buildings example, aside from LEGO's strategic considerations it's simple economics. Modulars are large, relatively pricey sets that sell in relatively small numbers over long periods of time and while there might be room to squeeze in one or two per year in addition to LEGO's official releases, this can never exceed a specific overall number. Simple math: Currently there are still three Modular Buildings officially on sale via LEGO or third-party retailers and their combined MSRPs are something like 570 Euro. People who haven't already bought them all and are backlogged already have their financial burden cut out for them. Now imagine how much of a race this would become if you were to release more sets via crowdfunding that by there nature likely already would be more expensive and have a smaller window of opportunity to get them. Even for people with lots of money it might not be possible to keep up. Therefore crowdfunding projects in this line would quickly run dry and only the most attractive ever come to fruition, if at all. So for all intents of purposes, I can't see that it will ever be "loads" of similar sets competing for buyers. This will regulate itself in the end. It even scales down to smaller, more affordable sets as people buying those likely have less money to begin with and also couldn't manage yet another ton of extra releases. Also consider that there's always some sort of saturation point for pretty much any theme and practical limitations. Assuming there even were tons of Castle sets and money wasn't an issue, after a while buyers might stil lstay away because everything has been said and done already or they may not have the space to make things even bigger. You know, not everyone has a dedicated LEGO room for giant builds... As for selling instructions - I think that's kinda missing the mark. Creating good instructions is its own art and not everyone who is able to do great MOCs might be inclined to do spend his time creating instructions and putting up with the quirks and shorcomings of digital brick creation. More importantly, though, it resolves nothing for the buyer. You still have to hunt for parts and potentially spend a small fortune in doing so and if nothing else, a sensible crowdfunded effort should at least take those worries off one's shoulders to appeal to a broader audience. Mylenium

Allow me to disagree, as I genuinely think many decisions on LEGO Ideas are naturally colored by the overarcing corporate strategy. Let's be honest - a lot of sets simply get kicked out during reviews because LEGO have plans of their own. I for instance find it completely pointless when people submit Modular Building style entires because you can tell how it will end and they get dumped every time. Clearly LEGO would not want anyone to meddle with their own plans for this series. Yet this obvious relation doesn't stop people from filing such new projects on Ideas and say what you will, some of them are gorgeous. Therefore it seems to me they would be totally deserving of a second chance and if an affordable, crowdfunded set would be an opportunity to do just that and give people another nice building, why not? Similar points could be made for many other themes and subjects, even if you concede to the constraints, limitations and practicalities that come with LEGO Ideas... Mylenium

Agree. There's a lot of misinformation and false interpretations of the underlying legal case being thrown around across different media. Mylenium

Care to elaborate? Mylenium

Nobody was killed. Don't be naive! They're coming back under a different name. Mylenium Unlikely. After all, it took LEGO eleven years to even get this minor "victory" taking it through several courts. And law being what it is, the whole song and dance simply starts anew when the company resurfaces under a different name... My 2 Cents. Mylenium

You will have to check your local legal regulations regarding "fair use" and all that stuff. This question cannot be answered easily and universally. A logo isn't just a trademark, it's also artwork and that alone could mean that it may not be legal to use it freely under one law, but another law may still prohibit it. Furthermore you'd have to differentiate between commercial and non-commercial use. It may be totally fair to produce a T-Shirt using a LEGO trademark to express you fandom, but you would still not be allowed to sell it as merchandise without LEGO's express permission even for deprecated/ inactive trademarks. Again: No simple answers here so I would suggest you check with a Taiwanese copyright lawyer, check respective legal websites in your country and contact the regional LEGO representratives. Mylenium

Yes, really. It just looks pretty *meh* to me. But each his own... Mylenium

Have a gander at the back side images on the box here: https://www.promobricks.de/lego-friends-neuheiten-zweiten-halbjahr-2019-offizielle-setbilder There is a small insert that shows the red light brick next to the skeleton on the ship, which is in turn placed behind the borded off window in teh aft section of the ship. so it stands to reason that it is meant as some sort of spooky house effect with the window lighting up red as well as settting the mood for the skeleton. Mylenium I'm pretty sure we'll see more colors of both. The coral piece seems to be designed in such a manner that it could also double as a cactus when the holes are plugged or multiple of these elements plugged together act as remnants of trees and bushes. Likewise I expect the fish set to come out at least in yellow and white at some point, as that would make perfect sense e.g. for the Butterfly Fish. There also should be Tan clam shells... Mylenium

There's a million arguments pro and contra, of course, but suffice it to say that from my POV the main hinderance always will be how LEGO are actually involved. This makes or breaks everything, regardless of distribution model. Point in case: Even a crowdfunding model needs to be economically feasible in the long run and that simply cannot be achieved if you have to use expensive rare parts off Bricklink or put up with weird pre-order procedures and other shenanigans just because it's not officially tied to LEGO. You can see some of this in the MOC market already. Many times it's really complicated to get from digital instructions to actual models. Yes, someone packing up nice boxes would eliminate some of the worry, but I just can't see it working on a mass level. Also, if you check Kickstarter's statistics, you can see that the majority of projects never make it beyond a certain point and don't come to fruition. Similarly, the games industry is already moving away from early access/ crowdfunding because in the end when everyone does it, the pressures of having to compete for funds kills any advantages and benefits this approach may have had. Same for many more specialized crowd-funded projects like the Raspberry Pi community, where people seem to design new boards every week and ask to fund production. It all only works under certain conditions up to a specific points, but not as a generalized standard business model. For those reasons I think crowdfunding LEGO sets will and should remain an occasional thing that people consider a fun diversion from the norm. If someone did it in a reliable, financially sane fashion, I could totally get behind buying a nice model once a year in this manner, perhaps one that I supported on LEGO Ideas, but that didn't make the cut. I wouldn't want it to be another race where you chase sets for collectibility value, however, or are flooded with too many choices one can't keep up with. Mylenium

Apparently I can only speak for myself, but my issue with many digital builds is that they haven't proven that they can work in reality and therefore I'm always skeptical, even more so since my line of work as a 3D artist doing engineering visualizations has taught me a thing or two about how you can a) make a totally rubbish piece of machinery still look good and b) how in reverse you can concoct the nicest machines in a CAD program and in practice they still don't work as expected. That's the reason why engineers still build prototypes. I guess it's that ambiguity that makes me wary about pure digital creations. I don't mean to use it against the OP or anyone who's doing it, but it's just how I feel about the matter. I don't think making them even more "lifelike" would help in any way, as in my opinion it doesn't mitigate the deeper underlying issue. And it would be a pain to actually make digital models look slightly crooked, add subtle variations in color and placement to each brick like they would have when built physically. The effort required to do so could easily rival a full commercial production. Mylenium

Yupp, definitely. And the nature of the forum with its many sub-categories tapeworm threads doesn't help. You could post the most awesome thing and it would still go unnoticed when it gets buried in the wrong sub-forum or on page 20 of an endlessly long thread... Mylenium

Yes, of course the kids and people who haven't heard of the older sets won't mind, but regardless, to me it feels kinda lazy. In contrast to you I also don't think that they necessarily tried their best. That Octopus Carousel set is just *ugh*. If there were at least some quality in there, perhaps I could get behind it, being that octopi rank among my favorite animals, but this just totally puts me off. But yes, thankfully there's the ocean-themed line that looks so much better, so I'll focus on that as well (and the gorgeous restaurant) :-) . Mylenium It has been good for a while, the frequent dips in quality with really ugly sets notwithstanding. Most more conservative LEGO fans simply put too much face value on the colors putting them off. If they'd be more willing to look past that, they'd often discover interesting ideas. It's almost the same with the currently ongoing discussion about the 3in1 Creator sets being underappreciated... Mylenium

Suffice it to say that this is not specific to this forum. I'm constantly wondering about these things when people buy 200 or 300 Euro sets as if it were nothing, while I struggle to even buy 20 Euro Friends sets and keep up with every new release cycle. The rest is open to interpretation. We all have to find ways to make this expensive hobby work for us. Ironically I chose it to get away from all that digital nonsense I do as a 3D animator/ graphics artist and prefer the physicality of using genuine bricks, so as per your example I'd probably still try to buy those 5000 bricks off Bricklink over time or by cannibalizing sets. Agree, though, that it's tough. Mylenium

Yupp, they're great, even more so since despite being very inclined to Technic, I really hate it when conventional brick models are ruined by Technic parts peeking out everywhere. Mylenium

Well, you could from the Light Lavender plates and knives. *giggle* I agree, though, this looks amazing. If all Friends sets looked that good, the Friends series wouldn't be treated as much as the ugly step child by many AFOLs... Mylenium I have to agree. Most of the sets immediately evoke this "Not again!" and "It's been done to death already." feeling, considering that a lot of the stuff really looks like rearranged bits and bobs from sets available only two or three years ago. Mylenium

Depends on what you're looking at, I guess. I would argue that the distribution of actual play features is a bit uneven across sets, but that doesn't mean that there aren't enough in absolute. Of course it's true that you could buy a small City set and have tons of play stuff and in contrast a big Star Wars set might have zero, but in a way some of that is intrinsic to what the series try to replicate and how "realistic" they are. Currently the only thing that totally rubs me the wrong way is how terribly dumbed down many Technic sets are, as by their nature they should be overflowing with functional features, but for most other series it's actually pretty okay if only you look in the right places. Mylenium

Yeah, sure, but you're aware that at that age many of them can't even name and differentiate the primary colors verbally, let alone name specific shades. This even extends to your point about kids throwing tantrums if they don't find their favorite color - they couldn't tell you what they want, just that something is missing or off. I've worked in the graphics and media industry for 25+ years, have had a strong background in traditional painting and other arts ever since my childhood and occasionally like to nerd out on weird science stuff. 'nuff said, I believe?! Feel free to obsess about whatever is your preferred color theory and I'm sure we can have tons of fun (or not) discussing Pythagoras, DaVinci, Newton, Goethe and all the others who have dabbled in this from the scientific to the obscure, including human perception vs. physical color properties. Yes, I know "harmonious" is not just putting nice-looking colors next to each other, but point in case: Those minutia irrelevant to the larger demographic. It's a whole can of worms, but at the same time I think generalizations and simplifications on a forum not specifically dealing with art theory or exact optical science are okay. Let's just not go there end endlessly debate the merits of what makes a true "pastel" or not and similar things. I think we both have better things to do with our time. Mylenium Edit: Just for kicks: https://myleniumsbrickcorner.wordpress.com/2019/04/19/coral-bliss-an-analysis-of-legos-new-2019-color/