brickbride

Some more observations on the sets: Little Garden: Dorry's axe looks completely wonky, the blade is nearly as long as the handle, wtf is that about? And does Zoro not have Wado? You can see Kitetsu on the front picture and both Kitetsu and Yubashiri on the back of the box, but no white sword. I also don't like the giants' faces (although they're much, much better than the faces HP got for such abominations like Hagrid's Motorbike Accident and the new Flying Ford, but that's a very low bar.) The cloaks for the giants are a nice touch, though. Also this might be the only set in which the Zoro minifig's terrible smirky faceprint is actually sort of appropriate (although then he should still have yellow paint on his pant leg, and not be wielding his swords). Drum Island: I'd like to see the castle from the back because I suspect it's pretty much a facade (like the Arlong Park pagoda). Nice fig selection, though Vivi's and Luffy's coats now look like shirts because of no leg printing. (Not that LEGO would know how to properly print bright light orange on dark blue.) Marine Ship: That scene did so not happen in the live action but for a marine ship it's the best possible choice - giving us Garp's iconic ship, the Zoro vs Tashigi duel (in which he used only one sword not the three he's shown using on the box), and the rest of the missing straw hats from the Loguetown set. Of course now I'm truly annoyed that this particular cash grab by LEGO means you can't complete Loguetown without buying a completely unnecessary marine ship. Nope, I'm not going to start collecting this theme. Loguetown: This is actually the set I'd like the most but see above. It just feels so incomplete and includes none of my favourite characters. If they'd just split up Loguetown into two sets (say, Sanji/Luffy/Smoker/Dragon with the bike and a fish market build, and Zoro/Tashigi/Nami/Usopp with the sword store, map seller, and phone booth) so you could make your own Loguetown mini modular with all the characters I might be sorely tempted. But there's no way I'm buying a butt-ugly marine ship (not LEGO's fault, it just looks like that in Canon) I don't need in order to complete Loguetown so no Loguetown it is. Buildable Chopper: desperately trying to be cute IMO and absolutely uninteresting to me. You know what that face looks like? Not Chopper. Instead it looks like one of those buildable store signs for Friends. Check out 41691 (Doggy Day Care) and tell me I'm wrong. Chopper's Hideout: definitely the best set overall in terms of design and minifig selection. It's just that I don't care for either of these people all that much so I'd have no use for it. But hey, now your kids can play "Chopper poisons his father figure with deadly mushrooms and Kureha is left to pick up the pieces" with all the participants of the scene! (I'm not really joking because it's not as if Kureha would hang out there in any other circumstances.)

I'm glad the sets have leaked now so I won't have to read any more answers to my posts saying that of course we won't get Dragon. ;-) That scene with him, Luffy, Sanji, and Smoker was such a no-brainer that I can't believe I was the only one to call it. I was also right that they'd make Tashigi exclusive to the Marine Ship. I don't think the Giants or buildable Chopper look all that good but apart from that there's a lot here for everyone. Definitely better than the first wave. That said I'm not sure I'm going to start collecting this theme no matter how much I love the Netflix adaptation.

Does anyone really expect for us to get Alvida? I don't. She's a comparatively minor character and she'd only fit in the Loguetown set where Buggy, Smoker, and Tashigi are all more popular/viable options. Maybe even Dragon (simply because he'd neatly fit into a scene with Luffy, Sanji, and Smoker.) I very much doubt they'd give us another circus tent right after the first one so I'm expecting Loguetown to focus on Smoker, not Buggy or Alvida. Possibly Tashigi, too, for her duel with popular main character Zoro but like I've said before I could see LEGO skipping her and just putting her in the marine ship.

Like others have said, two large and expensive Enterprises within a short amount of time would a bit much. Even those people who like both TOS and TNG probably have their favourite and might not want to buy both if the sets are too similar. And TNG wins that race not because it's any better but because the people who grew up with it are in that perfect "fourty-something nostalgic adult" range that LEGO just loves to milk for all they're worth.

Why would a bunch of Baroque Works members be on board a marine ship? Also I'm pretty sure this would be our only way to get Tashigi. I'm expecting the Loguetown Chase set to be Luffy, Sanji, Smoker, and Dragon with the bike ('cause LEGO love bikes) and maybe a little "Loguetown" sidebuild. I've finally managed to finish season two (real life got in the way) and like I'd half expected going in, for me the season peaked at Whiskey Peak. That was an excellent episode in terms of both stunts and writing. I also loved Reverse Mountain, and liked Loguetown a lot, and enjoyed the two Little Garden episodes more than I thought I would. Drum Kingdom, to me, was the least enjoyable part. It didn't need to be three episodes long and the only characters I found at all compelling were Kureha and Hiriluk. Maybe Dalton too but certainly not Chopper. And while I mostly adore what the make-up and costume department have done with the source material, his heavy point form with the clearly painted on blue nose looks terrible. I hope they'll keep his appearances to a minimum going forward. My minifig predictions: 75641: 271 pcs, $30 (Chopper and Hiriluk's hideout) - Chopper and Hiriluk, possibly also Kureha but I doubt it 75642: 547 pcs, $60 (Loguetown Chase) - Luffy, Sanji, Smoker, Dragon 75643: 576 pcs, $70 (Buildable Chopper) - no minifigs 75644: 733 pcs, $70 (Giants of Elbaph) - just the two buildable giants with no minifigs going by the set name, otherwise it should have been something like "Little Garden Adventure" 75645: 1063 pcs, $100 (Drum Island Castle) - Luffy, Nami, Wapol are a given; not Hiriluk (I'm sure he'll remain exclusive to the smallest set); I expect seven or eight figures total at max which means they'll have to pick and chose among Kureha, Sanji, Vivi (either Kureha or Vivi seems likely in order to up the female quota), Chopper (likely), those two jesters, and Dalton (also likely) 75646: 1705 pcs, $170 (Marine Ship) - likely Garp's ship with the dog figurehead from season one; characters should include Tashigi (we sort of can assume she and Smoker came to the Grand Line with Garp even though that wasn't shown?), Koby, Helmeppo, Smoker, Garp himself, Bogard, IDK who else? Truth be told that sounds like a boring selection and a lot of uniform parts (though at least Smoker's bare-chested under the jacket and Tashigi wears non-standard clothing) and I'd find an island set much more interesting. But I guess they figure ships will sell best? This would give us no Baroque Works members at all but I don't think it's that unlikely. It also means that Zoro (a very popular character) and Usopp wouldn't be in any sets this wave which seems weird to me, but on the other hand I don't see where Zoro would fit into this selection (possibly Loguetown but surely we won't get six minifigs for EUR 60). We'll see.

Unless I'm mistaken the hat does not cover the back of his head so he always has his alternative expression visible. I hate this in figs, it gives me Quirrell/Voldie vibes. ;-) I agree that the colours seem way off at first glance.

We can argue all day if Drum Island will be a playset by anyone's definition but my point stands regardless: The cheapest set likely to include Luffy will be EUR 50 or so, this is clearly more of an adults/display theme than a kids' theme. Does your idea for collectible Baroque Works members include Mr 7, then? Because given his only full appearance in the live action I very much doubt LEGO would go there.

Buildable Chopper. Buildable Gum-Gum Fruit. Buildable Giants have also been reported before and we don't really know that the Little Garden set will contain anything else. That would be three out of seven, nearly half. And we've had this discussion before in the HP forum but large sets like Drum Island and the Marine Ship that are clearly aimed at collectors in terms of price, minifig selection, and subject matter (what kid wants to play "Marine Ship"?) I don't count as playsets. This wave will likely have two sets, tops, that could be of interest to your average kid (the Loguetown chase and Chopper with Hiriluk). And that only with qualifications. Like with the first wave, the smallest set is not really an "affordable set for kids", giving us, say, Luffy and Zoro (the most popular characters) for a small price the way it would be in other themes (even with a really stupid execution like a Luffy mech or Zoro in his racecar chasing Luffy or what have you). It's really more of an add-on for adult collectors, giving us characters that aren't in any other sets so you have to pay extra for them (Shanks and Makino, and now Hiriluk). Don't tell me that your average kid that enjoys One Piece but whose parents are on a budget would be happy playing with just Young Luffy, Shanks, and Makino, and now Chopper and Hiriluk. All in all, despite the overall family appeal of One Piece (there's a kids' dub, the manga is popular amongst kids, the first Netflix season somehow managed a PG-13 rating mostly on technicalities and even won two Kids' Emmys), LEGO seem to treat it more like an adults theme IMO. EDIT: I've found it a common misconception on this forum, and in other forums, that LEGO (or any large business really) would put the customer first. They do not. Of course they advertise it that way, but they do not. In this case: Some people seem to think that LEGO would have any interest in giving us a complete line-up of One Piece characters. But really why would they? What they want to do instead is pick whatever they think sells best. They won't give us a third wave with all the stuff they've left out of the first two, since all of that would be a bigger risk (in terms of whether it would sell) than just going with the staples. Which means we'll continue getting the most iconic and well-known stuff (Merry, Baratie ...) and the more popular and marketable stuff out of the rest (thus three sets out of seven with Chopper because he's cute). But Kuro, Kuroobi, Kaya, and various assassins aren't particularly popular or iconic so LEGO doesn't care if we miss out on them. It's like people constantly clamouring for playsets for LOTR. I keep pointing out that no kid these days is interested in LOTR, thus no playsets. Mostly what those people really mean is that they want LEGO to make cheaper sets for the theme, but again why would they? LEGO don't care whether you can afford to only pay USD 50 but would love to have a LOTR set. Sure, if they don't make one, they'll miss out on your fifty bucks. But there are probably more people who would also like to just pay fifty bucks but instead grit their teeth and buy Bag End instead since there's no other option, so overall LEGO make more money by not giving us mid-size LOTR sets. They aren't obligated to make the theme accessible to those on a small budget, and they don't care to do so because for all their marketing they don't really put the customers first, they put themselves first. We will continue getting what sells, and if it's stupid Gum-Gum Fruits than it'll be stupid Gum-Gum Fruits galore. And not just in this theme, either - like I've said "round shapes with a scene in it" are a thing these days. If they do well overall (Gum-Gum Fruit, HP Cauldron, football stadium ...), we'll have a miniature Death Star with Palpatine in it over at SW in no time. Just like we're now getting Chopper after the (presumed) success of HP Dobby and Marvel Groot.

I doubt it, though. All the stuff they left out is less iconic and/or family-friendly (creepy Kuro, Whiskey Peak, various assassins). And given how much even the Merry and Baratie get discounted these days, and how the second wave will mainly consist of buildable figs and large collectors' sets, LEGO don't seem confident in the theme's overall mass appeal. Again this is quite independent from the Netflix series' success. Avatar 2 is a good example (a terrible movie IMO but a good example) that a property's success and a LEGO theme's success don't have to go hand in hand. (Though One Piece definitely has more collectors' potential than Avatar 2 in terms of merch, but that also means more competition for LEGO.)

Did we really need the Gum-Gum Fruit (which I predicted would come at the expense of Whiskey Peak and/or Loguetown) and two Chopper sets? But LEGO don't care about accurately representing the entire season or anything like that. Every theme these days gets cute buildable creatures galore (Dobby, Groot), so Chopper it is. Every theme gets stupid buildable round shapes with a scene in it (HP Cauldron, soccer ball with a stadium in it), so Gum-Gum Fruit it is. To round out the wave, even more buildable creatures and then the big, minifig-laden sets collectors buy. Oh, and motorbikes. LEGO has a thing about those, too.

I think the show is doing fine but that doesn't always have to translate into set sales. For example Avatar 2 was a huge box office hit but the sets were shelf-warmers. With One Piece I got the impression that a lot of fans bought the whole set wave right away in order to show support, but the sets themselves aren't all that attractive to casual viewers (pricing, figure selection, design), thus the recent discounts. Which is probably why they're going in a different direction with the season two wave (fewer playsets, more buildable objects/creatures). We'll see how this pans out. Netflix: build sets for Loguetown and Whiskey Peak LEGO: make a purple orb and stick two season 1 minifigures of the same character next to it (one with a new face print but still) Also it's EUR 70 for 482 pieces AND part-exclusive? Yikes. It's like they WANT to kill this theme.

According to StoneWars, the Arlong Park set is going to retire by the end of July, with Buggy's Circus Tent and Windmill Village retiring by year-end 2026. I wonder how well the theme does. The sets seem to mostly have been well-received (not by me but generally I mean :-)), and a lot of One Piece fans seem to have bought the entire line straight away, but I've also noticed them being discounted a lot lately; Amazon currently has the Baratie for like -38%, so I'm kind of wonderng if they didn't expect even more demand given the IP's popularity. Anyway, if anyone feels their collection is terribly incomplete without Cowboy Mihawk duelling Smirky Zoro, now's your chance.

Just because LEGO base their sets on a specific part of a franchise doesn't mean that's the reason people buy them. LotR is at its heart a literary franchise, and I'm sure many people buy the sets because of their love of the books, not the movies (which the sets are barely even based on, i.e. Barad-Dur doesn't appear in the movies in that form). IMO as a books fan the LotR movies were okay-ish and the Hobbit movies were pretty terrible. There's certainly room for improvement in both cases when it comes to adapting the source material. It's not as clear-cut as you make it out to be with many other franchises, too. The HP theme is based on the movies but many people are HP fans because of the books. A lot of people buy the One Piece sets because they're fans of the anime, even though they're based on the Netflix show. If all the newer LotR content tanks (and I fully expect "Hunt for Gollum" to be Hobbit-levels of terrible, though it might still make money given the overall dearth of new LotR content) it won't change people's fondness of the original source material. By which I mean mainly the LotR book trilogy, and that is still an enjoyable read these days. If all the newer ST content tanks, people will still have TOS, TNG, DS9 and whatever you want to count after that. But like I've said a lot of it hasn't aged particularly well in terms of special effects, writing, and characterisation. It works for a certain target group because of nostalgia - like LotR does - but unlike LotR I doubt that it can draw in new viewers these days. EDIT: Fun fact - ever since I've written anything in this thread I'm being swamped with online ads for "ST: Starfleet Academy".

Yeah, I've always felt that DS9 was the last "big" ST show. Voyager wasn't as popular in my circles and anything after that even less so. The reboot movies were fun for what they were but ultimately forgettable. I know we still have Lower Decks and suchlike but I would consider ST more niche these days, no longer a huge cultural phenomenon. The same is true for LotR up to a point. But at the heart of it LotR will always be a litereary franchise, and the books are timeless classics. So I don't think it suffers as much from having no really popular new content as ST - a TV franchise - does. Anyone can still read LotR these days and admire the beauty of the language, whereas younger audiences probably can't watch the older ST content without cringing about the special effects and some of the writing and characterisation.

The problem with playsets is that they're mainly for kids, and - just like with LotR - there's no real target group here. Show me one kid these days who cares about Bilbo Baggins or Spock, let alone cares more about them than about Ninjago, K-Pop Demon Hunters, or what have you. So LotR is a fair comparison. BrickHeadz would probably make sense (both Picard and Spock would be very recognisable with little effort) as would dioramas. But I wouldn't expect small playsets (only small GWPs) and I certainly wouldn't expect minifig battlepacks because if LotR doesn't get these (where there's a lot of demand) there's no reason for Star Trek to get them. And actually Star Trek is even less culturally relevant than LotR these days. LotR regularly has new stuff come out (the Rings of Power series, and the Hunt for Gollum movie reported for 2027) whereas even the Star Trek reboot had its last movie what, ten years ago? This theme pretty much exclusively runs on nostalgia. As for future sets, the question should therefore be what is the most iconic to a certain target group (nostalgics in their mid-fourties that have the most disposable income). That's probably also the reason they started with TNG instead of TOS because the TNG target group skews younger. Also minifigs would be a main draw since that's what separates LEGO from the competition. I'd expect us to get the TOS crew sooner or later (the series itself may be a little too old but its still the most impactful part of Star Trek, everyone knows who Spock is!) and the DS9 crew as well, and for LEGO to pick subjects that reflect this. I.e. a Bird of Prey might be an iconic type of ship but who would it be manned by - a bunch of generic Klingons? Not likely when LEGO could instead make people pay for actual beloved characters. Maybe we could get the Bounty (from Star Trek IV, which is probably still one of the most beloved ST movies) which would allow us to get the TOS crew with it.