mobi

Unless we know Lego's market segmentation, we won't be able to guess how large is AFOL market for Lego to release sets just for AFOLs, which may not have enough market for kids.

I want to see a proper super car likes of 8880 or 8466. It must have 4WD, suspension, brake and a proper working gearbox. Opening doors, bonnet, roof etc. would be nice. It must also look good aesthetically (recent studless models are usually better looking). Ideally same set should offer a FWD car, RWD car and 4WD car as alternate models. If power function is added, it should drive the vehicle rather than just operating auxiliary functions! PS: Could not post this to that site. Somehow it was not accepting my Wordpress log in.

The 8070 super car is no match against legendary 8880, 8466 or 8448. I personally find recent sets are getting better at cranes and trucks but for super cars, 1990s sets were still better.

See thru boxes Printed instruction for all alternate models Universal Technic sets [was excellent for multiple models, spare parts etc.] Technic Supercars with gearboxes like 8880, 8466, 8448 etc. Pneumatics [they are now reintroducing it though] Studded beams [somehow can't like studless beams]

That YouTube clip at least explains why Lego includes power function in most sets now because children want them!

There are already several reviews of it available on Internet including some very good videos in YouTube.

We all know that some expert Lego builders have created MOCs which are far better than Lego's own official sets. But so far Lego showed no interest to adopt these MOCs as official sets. I understand that there is a similar initiative in Cusoo but only time will tell if that concept will bring out anything good from Lego. When Lego develops an official set, how do they know whether fans will like it or not? Where do they get the confidence that public will accept anything they bring out? Is their fan base as large as Apple's so hat they are confident that anything from them will just sell? Has there been any large Technic set which did not do well in the market? From various forums and YouTube comments, I came to know that some of the expert builders wanted to help Lego with building instructions if their wonderful MOCs but Lego did not show any interest. What do you think?

I asked Lego about their policy about this. They said bigger sets are usually kept for 2 years and sometimes 3 years max. Smaller sets are replaced sooner. The licensed sets (usually non Technic) may be replaced much sooner based on legalities of the agreements.

A more appropriate metric will be what percentage of your annual income you spend on Lego. That will also prove how much fanatic one is about Lego

I am not looking forward to Lego Technic ships. Technic is best for land vehicles with wheels and realistic mechanism. To make a ship realistic, its hull must be made of single mold so that it can float in water (or water tight if made by parts). There should also be some cogs for fun factor. For same reason, I could not find any interest in Lego trains as well. For pure train modelling, Hornby, Bachman etc. brands produce much more realistic models. Having said so, I do know Lego sells trains in quite good numbers. So, in short, Technic cars/trucks/cranes have no equivalents in other brands. For ships, trains etc. there are lots of alternatives which are better than Lego.

Because with so many holes the ship will sink.

What is the usual timeframe Lego keeps a set alive? Is there any minimum and maximum timeframe? Does Lego ever reduce price for Technic sets? Is there any special policy for Technic sets or Lego treats all sets as equal?

But you can't say they would not have sold more sets if they reduced price of some sets by removing power functions.

How do the Lego clones stand against the originals? I heard about Megablocks micro bricks are fully compatible with Lego. Did anyone try them? Does it also have clones for axles, differentials, cogs?

Whether it is good or bad is in the eyes of the beholder.

I think this thread should be broken for each themes. For example, I am only interested in Technic sets where as this thread mostly lists other themes. A theme specific thread will help members to spot deals much faster.

This is current Technic line up (as per Lego website - some no longer available though) Set Parts PF 8071 593 No 8110 2048 Yes 8065 119 No 8067 292 No 8069 609 No 8043 1123 Yes 9395 954 No 9397 1308 Yes 8081 590 No 8070 1281 Yes 8066 141 No 8068 408 No 8109 1115 Yes So there are 5 large sets (parts > 1000) of which all come with power function.

There is a review in Brickset.com It does seem like a good set to me Price is also good. In fact when I compare 9395 and 9397, the 9397 seems somewhat overpriced.

Why nowadays Lego supplies power function in almost every set? Not only it pushes up sets' prices but also one would end up with so many battery boxes. I liked the 1990s concept of selling motors separately and providing the instruction to show how a set can be motorised. In many sets power function just drives auxiliary mechanism rather than powering the whole vehicles. Lego motors and electronics are not long lasting as their mechanical bits. This might affect the resale value of the sets. For example, my 8479 barcode truck is still fine but sensors do not work any more.

This new technology might even be a death knell for Lego unless they can bring out something which can't be copied. Don't forget what happened to Kodak. You are correct when you mentioned there will be obviously pirated market for blueprints. But it all depends how reliable and mainstream 3D printing becomes in next few years. With affordable and quality printers, people will be manufacturing sets at home.

It is not the case of Lego shop undercutting other retailers but the other way round! Lego can't sell less than retailers price because that means retailers not willing to sell Lego products. But often retailers manage to give 10-50% discount on some sets which is quite amazing.