MAB

Remember as well that animal moulds need far less tolerance than bricks and other system parts. It doesn't really matter if an animal mould becomes slightly worn so long as any connection points work well enough. If single connections on an accessory become slightly loose or slightly stiff, it doesn't matter too much compared to on building parts. Similarly if the animal grew in size by even 1% due to wear in the mould, it is not a big deal.

The link between hot cross buns and religion is probably no stronger these days than the link between Santa and Saint Nicholas.

I think they know minifigures sell larger sets like this, and also necessary for scene type sets. I doubt a Castle or a Viking village would sell well without them. I see quite a difference between these and the more traditional 3 in 1 smaller animal or vehicle type builds. And there are now loads of recreation type 3in1 Creator sets with figures. Sets like 7346 beach house (2012) had a figure, when it's neighbours 7345 and 7347 didn’t. It is hard to play with a house without a figure, whereas it is easier to play with a vehicle or a buildable creature like a dinosaur or monkey.

I cannot really think of anything that is non-religious but associated with Easter outside of the bunny and an egg. So bunny suit and egg suit. I guess they could do a lamb / sheep suit. But do people decorate their houses for Easter like they do at Christmas?

Same here.

They obviously wanted a side build to do the Bilbo disappearing feature.

Yes, it has poor part out value and I would never invest in a set like that for parting out these days as the minifigures will be on PAB so available cheap and in huge quantities.

I thought it was to reduce thickness of the thickest part to allow quicker cooling and hence higher production.

I remember the advert for it on brickset but it didn't seem to offer anything new at the time and not as useful as rebrickable. I guess others feel the same if it hasn't taken off.

There are also the 'Christmas jumper' characters in the SW advent calendars (and Marvel) to help parody what they get up to when not at work being a Jedi or Sith, a bit like the Star Wars Holiday Special. And the holiday diorama set they did in the same way.

They are not so important if there are subthemes though. For example, City is often characterised as a lot of subthemes, so Police, Fire, Harbour, Jungle, Volcano, etc. LEGO does have a films section under Interests rather than Themes (might be called movies on other national sites): https://www.lego.com/en-gb/categories/movies There, they do put SW with HP, LOTR, Jaws, JP, Avengers, Home Alone, Snow White, and so on as well as Orient Express, D&D and some others. Personally, I don't think it matters how many themes there are but it seems to upset a number of people here. It comes up every six months or so, and it is nearly always a complaint about the number of licensed themes rather than then number of licensed sets. Gabby's Dollhouse does not compare to Friends when it comes to numbers of sets, but they both count equally as one theme. And it always seems to be the argument that unlicensed themes have been cut at the expense of unlicensed themes which have grown in number. But of course the reality is different when looking at numbers of sets.

It does become messy. There is currently no Lord of the Rings theme as it is ICONS and Brickheadz even though LEGO has a LOTR tab in the menu. But I don't think LOTR fans mind that much although obviously having a theme of kid focused sets would mean cheaper and more variety in sets. It is the human need to classify everything in a hierarchical way that puts one badge before another. There has been a space sub-theme of City, with Space written on boxes along with the Classic Space logo. Yet the marketing badge for City trumps the Space badge so there is no Space theme. Last year (and still in stock this year) was very good for space sets and was essentially the year of space, yet not a single Space theme set was issued. While there is no Space theme on the website, there is a Space entry under interests leading to https://www.lego.com/en-gb/space, similar for dragons, trains, films, fantasy, gaming, etc. This is why I think people should concentrate on actual sets rather than themes. The thread is complaining about too many licensed themes and comparing themes as if they are equal. An easy way to reduce the number of licensed themes is to put an ICONS badge on the Zelda set, and that instantly reduces the number of licensed themes by 1 without actually changing any availability of sets. I doubt Zelda fans would care if the box had an ICONS label too. This could be repeated a number of times to further reduce themes. But what really matters is availability of sets.

It is definitely luck when they put them out, especially in stores that only have one box on the shelves at once. The point was more that it is now less likely that people buying them all (whatever they are doing with them) and visiting stores specifically to do so are less likely to be doing it compared to the start. So if you see a box now even with some missing it is worth checking. That said, I just emptied my local Waitrose of wolfpack guys! Until their next box comes out. Stores here seem to have two models for selling. One store near me put probably 8 boxes out right at the start and I think they were all plundered on day 1 and I don't think they have restocked since. Another couple of stores only ever have at most about one and a half boxes on the shelf at any time and bring one out as needed. Whether these restock, or just have them stored out back, I don't know. Their shelves are definitely tidier than the first type!

I know. Look at the numbers of sets in various unlicensed themes and you will see there is way more new choice every year now than 10 years ago, or 20 years ago, or 30 years ago. Look at when the classic type minifig based themes essentially disappeared - it is about 2010-14, which was the rise of Ninjago and the introduction and growth of Friends. Many unlicensed minifigure based themes are now media promoted over the long term, as LEGO found that worked well for Ninjago. Chima, Nexo Knights, Friends, City, Monkie Kid, Dreamzzz, all have been media based now. Keeping those themes on the shelves means they are advertised by the existing media for the following years when TV shows are repeated or on streaming services. LEGO knows this works. Similarly, in theme parks they want to keep rides and displays current for many years, so one year themes no longer fit their way of longer term experience based advertising now. Many Ninjago sets could easily be badged as a separate theme, but include a Cole or Jay minifigure and they are a Ninjago set instead and kids that have been into LEGO for years will recognize it and use it alongside their LEGO from 5 years ago, and kids new to LEGO will buy in and be able to use it alongside sets bought five years in the future. New kids to LEGO can play with new sets alongside their older siblings old sets of the same theme. If you put a City of Atlantis set from Atlantis (2011) next to the Scorpion Pyramid from PQ (also 2011) then they don't go together very well, even though they are both ancient architecture, as the heroes and villains are totally different as they are from different themes. But if they had made a single theme and included the same heroes in these sets without changing anything else (such as Cole and Jay in one and Lloyd and Kai in the other), then they suddenly become playable together. It also becomes playable with a set such as Jungle Dragon from 2021 or the Super Storm Jet from 2025 because of the longevity of the characters and the theme over a decade. That is why the number of themes goes down even though the choice of available sets is still just as and if not more varied. That other people can enjoy something based of a new or old movie that they enjoy, or a video game, or they can build a flower has no impact on that at all.

Themes are just badges to collate similar items together. If they were rebadged with a higher level in the hierarchy then the number of overall themes drops massively even though the number of sets stays exactly the same. For example, have a Movies theme and a Video Games theme. That reduces the number of licensed themes even though the choice of sets is exactly the same. Having enough choice of what you like is important, rather than diminishing the choice of what other people like.

With numbers of sets added in. 123 sets excluding constraction, 150 including it. But in 2024 - City 58, Creator 27, Dreamzzz 21, Friends 50, Monkie Kid 10, Ninjago 46, Seasonal 15. Just those themes total 227 sets. City has doubled in size, or quadrupled if you add in Friends. And look at the "creative" themes. Castle plus PQ plus Space totalled just 23 sets. These have disappeared but similar ideas appear now in City, Friends, Monkie Kid, Ninjago. So the choice of sets has gone up, it is just that the number of themes has gone down as they have consolidated their range. But if you sub-label City 2025 you have Space, Jungle, Racing, Traffic, Construction, Fire, Police, Harbour and Trains. Split those into individual more traditional smaller themes and you have Emergency, Construction and vehicle, Space, Jungle Exploration, Racing cars, Trains, Ships. Same with Friends splitting into Space, Transport, Houses, Shops, etc.

That is because those unlicensed themes have essentially consolidated and become much bigger, and in some cases have also become evergreen / continuous. Presumably this is so that advertising costs are reduced and consumer knowledge of the theme increases and continues from year to year. Count the number of sets rather than themes and you will soon see.

In your opinion, and it is great that you enjoy that one theme more than other themes. However, the fact that other themes exist is not a bad thing as not everyone thinks the same and different themes inspire other people. That does not mean that the themes they enjoy are not creative or badly designed. Botanicals, for example, have inspired many people to buy and build flowers, including people that were not previously into LEGO. Some even go on to design their own plants using LEGO. If LEGO had not done those sets, they wouldn't have done more sets aimed at the same demographic that Dreamzzz is aimed at, as they would have even more internal competition (there is already some overlap with Ninjago). Other themes target other people to increase overall sales.

If you know what the differences are then they are obvious. Run your finger down the side and feel the different style tufts. That is obvious if you know what to feel for. The other one to feel for is the teeth, run the end of your little finger around the mouth opening - the fox is smooth and the wolf isn't due to the teeth.

Nice examples of packing a lot into a small space.

I just tried it putting them both under the table. Run your thumbnail or a fingernail downwards on the side. The wolf feels a bit like a gear / cogwheel with equally spaced jumps whereas the fox catches once then quickly slips past the second. The ears and nose I probably couldn't identify by touch alone.

There is no more creativity in the Night Hunter, someone (not you) designed that figure for LEGO to sell toys and media content. I think you are confusing familiarity with creativity. You seem to be so familiar with Star Wars characters that you cannot use them or their parts in other situations. Maybe if you watch Dreamzzz episodes over and over then you will become familiar with them and not able too see the characters in other situations.

The obvious difference is the three jagged tufts on the side of the wolf face compared to those on the fox, then also the teeth, the different ears, the different shape muzzle / nose.

I think only for USA. It has been continuously out of stock for Europe and nearly all the cheap ones in quantity on bricklink are from American sellers, suggesting that they have not been available elsewhere.