MAB

So what was wrong with them, and what should be in sets aimed at kids? This is the perennial problem with new versions of old themes. They have to be different but similar. They have to have loads of stuff wanted by adults but sell well to kids.

Would unlicensed forestmen sell to Zelda fans though? Probably not. They would want licensed Zelda sets. Is it that castle and medieval themes are popular, or that there are popular licenses set in castle / medieval times? They also do nice ancient Greek gods.

It's probably time for another Jabba. It's been eight years since the last one.

Not very often. But then the same is true for non licensed builds too. I don't vote for good builds that are not licensed if I wouldn't be interested in buying them.

An alternative explanation is that they just wanted to try out another way of doing ghosts. If they want to do the shrouds again, no doubt they will. They made a mould for a ghost shroud for Vitruvius that got used in a single set not so long ago.

You've lost my vote.

That is not what happens in licensed though. Some people submit absolutely terrible builds based on popular licenses and they don't go anywhere. If it is just vote for your favourite licensed theme, then also have vote for your favourite past lego theme, or for your favourite object you want to be made from lego without needing a build. There is skill in the builds for licensed themes, just as there is for non-licensed themes. I don't really see why some people see no value in licensed IDEAS submissions. There have been licenses I am a fan of, where I have not voted due to the bad build.

It is a pointless discussion until there is more info. This is one of the downsides of databases leaking no real information.

In other words, IDEAS is no longer needed.

I think no. More interest in realistic space through City, yes. SciFi space, no.

Yes, so hopefully we would get some more new general use ones. But I doubt they'll come in a 3in1.

I wasn't around at the time! I don't think lego cares too much about what we need, especially for 3in1 creator sets. And I find most of the Fantasy Era and Kingdoms peasant torsos work well for women.

So you'd cut out anything licensed based and only sell IDEAS sets to what for the most part will be existing LEGO fans, instead of attracting new buyers? Lego probably has a pretty good idea what the next object on the shelf type set could be and could go on producing those forever. They also probably know they can repeat some large models with a classic theme vibe. However, they do seem to need help with working out which licenses would do well as one off sets.

The forestmen hat was in the statue for the city square set, and they might pair that with the green female torso in POBB and Blacksmith to create a forest forestwoman.

It is very hard to tell fakes from genuine if printed on lego parts. It helps if the seller has things like entry tickets to help prove they were there, but all the parts can be reproduced by the decent fakers (decent as in quality rather than morals). Even the blister packs can be faked very well.

Also purple was the colour for Roman emperors, so has been known for a long time.

But why bother with that when it won't necessarily appeal to fans of the IP if it is not the actual IP. IDEAS is meant to appeal to a wide range of fans and not just existing LEGO fans.

Some kids like dancing around, especially those that don't like to sit quietly playing with LEGO. This is LEGO trying to get into the interactive toys market.

What is original about a ship in a bottle, a globe, a typewriter, a piano, a maze, ... these are all existing objects copied in lego form. Why is that any different to an original lego design based on a licensed property?

That is also a selling point for parents though. They know their kids can go on there and everything is moderated.

(1) Character centric and (2) posability LEGO can do. (3) Price is probably a bit harder. The SH mechs are currently $10 or so aren't they? If they had a head instead of the minifigure, would Bionicle style fans buy into something like those? A tribe of 3x Mixels were I think $15 and could be "maxed" into some nice designs but were still quite small.

Here in the UK they have gone from £3.49 for a CMF currently to £3.99 for these. However, CMFs at £3.49 hang around a lot longer than they used to as there has been a price rise recently, although this might also be partially due to the licensed themes as people don't tend to buy multiples of each. For us, they were £1.99 from Series 1-10, then £2.49 until Series 16, £2.99 until Series 19, £3.49 for Series 20+21, so £3.99 a figure is expensive compared to what longer term collectors are used to. I'm not sure where the licensed themes fit into the price line as I rarely buy them and only ever at a discount. I think the BAM figures are still 3 for £5 here too (although I haven't been in a LEGO store for over a year now), to put it into more context. In a store, if my kid could buy one of these for £4 and three BAM for £5, I know where I'd be aiming them.

You might not support what you are calling gimmick-based products such as VIDIYO or Super Mario, but other people do. Personally, I am not a fan of the art sets and I think they are a bit of a gimmick pretending that a poorly pixelated image is art. I am also not that bothered about real life objects made into LEGO sets that cost way more than the actual object and don't do what the object is meant to do. But LEGO cannot please everyone with every product. And they should not aim to.

I don't. They release approximately 800 sets a year. VIDIYO is about 1-2% of that. If they didn't take risks we will never have anything new and we would never had have CMF, IDEAS, Modulars or 18+ sets, or Mario. I remember back in 2010, people saying that CMF were doomed as there is no way people would pay £2 for a minifigure, especially when you didn't know what it was going to be.

That is an excellent spot for that part. It looks great.