MAB

I'm not too sure it is a problem but anyway the solution is excellent.

I don't really see how having a name printed on the box changes 2020's City from previous ones. Does a child play with an otherwise generic police set in a different way because the box says the names are Duke and Vito or Sam and Snake? In this set, I imagine Duke Detain will chase Vito. Whereas in this set, I imagine the unnamed policeman will chase the unnamed crook. I cannot really see the difference in play. Kids can still make up their own stories if they want to, but to me the roles of the characters in those stories will be more imposed by the clothes they wear than the names on the boxes.

There are some interesting pieces in there but I cannot really see that many people paying those sort of prices on sets that will go out of fashion very quickly.

Probably, there have been in the past. They usually run Black Friday though to Cyber Monday. Although remember that amazon have deals throughout the year and Black Friday ones might not be any better than regular year round deals.

So this set probably fits the bill perfectly if you are after a police station and like the design. It appears to be quite simple and has some decent play features. I wouldn't buy it for myself, this is too simple for anything I'd want and it is not the sort of thing I'd buy as a basis for a MOC. I also wouldn't buy it for my son (11) as it is too simple for him and he is looking towards sets for higher age ranges. And my daughter (8) wouldn't be interested. But 5 or 6 years ago, I would have purchased it for my son, if the price was right. It looks like a decent set for the lower end of the intended age range.

Also if you are just starting off, sometimes it is worth forgetting about colour and just learn how to use the basic pieces. You are unlikely to want to keep any MOCs at this stage anyway, so use these to learn about form rather than building a finished display piece.

There are two reasonable cars / trucks and a police motorbike. And they are not skinny 4-wide ones either. There is a modern style police station. There is a nice new British Bulldog. The set has both a light brick and a light and sound brick. There are seven police/crook minifigures. There is a number of play features, obviously driving the trucks, the break-out of jail play feature, the motorbike chase, flying the drone, the search light, plus other play features in the police station. It looks quite simple to build for six year olds. If a number of those features are of interest to you, then I'd buy it. If not, then I wouldn't buy it. But like most LEGO sets, if you need to ask someone else why you should buy it then chances are it is not for you.

Those other brand pods sell well, so I can see why LEGO are doing them. The interesting thing about these ones is that they stack so I can see them being used for some interesting storage (non-LEGO stuff, hair clips, etc) too, ideal for little girls' rooms. The little pods are also good for a kid to put in their bag when travelling or going to a restaurant.

These things can be quite useful. My kids have two of the recent 'pods' each. They are all red ones from Ninjago Movie, these ones, as they were really cheap at the time: I pulled out the 6x6 circular plates and picture and replaced them with different colour circular plates on both sides. Each can hold two minifigures and a small handful of parts. They are ideal when travelling, or for having in a restaurant or similar where you want your kid to have something to do and be quiet. I imagine the new ones will be similarly popular for the same reason. She has even worn the red neckerchief before too.

I see probably 2-3 large built figures per year at specialist toy auctions in the UK, but more frequently I see buildings and so on. You also occasionally see them at catawiki auctions, like this one: https://auction.catawiki.com/kavels/8528241-store-display-lego-lucky-luke-sculpture

His poncho looks like a doormat.

Old store displays are not that rare and they come up reasonably frequently at toy auctions and so on. Bear in mind many toy stores had something like this on display back in the 80s and 90s. Earlier still, there were models of buildings, ships, etc.

I think the Friends sets look great. I'm not too sure about the crazy bus, but the buildings continue strongly for me. One downside I see is that cake icing part. It is a shame it appears to be quite random in the sides, where the icing drips down. If this was more regular like the new large "flower" cogs, then we would have ones that could transfer rotation from one axis to another. But still, it looks good for the intended purpose.

It's an interesting fitness concept - make people climb some steep stairs before they can buy a burger!

They were in Ninjago in 2015, then again in 2018. So I guess this means that LEGO found they were successful enough first time around to bring them back in a later wave. And now they are trying them out in one City set. What is what they did? Remember - this is ONE set aimed at younger kids. They also added flyers to Ninjago (2x waves) in the past 5 years, and they must have been successful enough to do it twice.

Yes, so you can still get a brick-built helicopter if you like brick-built-helicopters. The last City Police helicopter in this style was 2017 (I think). So they are not taking away brick-built helicopters, but they are adding some simplified ones with the flying play feature. Again, I still don't see what the problem is.

You said you've seen the ones (plural) to be released in 2020 and don't like them. The buildable one is very similar to previous ones, so if you like previous ones there is still something for you in the 2020 range. LEGO is doing something extra here, not taking away brick-built helicopters (or brick-built sets in general). I think it is great that LEGO are putting other play features in City sets, especially aimed at younger kids. They have learnt that things like spinners and fliers have been relatively popular in Ninjago, so it is good they are trying out other ideas in their core City range. It is fairly necessary that they are simple construction, since if they are brick-built they will break when they hit the floor. LEGO has catered and is still catering for people that want brick-built vehicles. Yet they do something extra, even though the majority of new sets still follow the build styles they have done in the past, and they get slammed for it.

In the UK, the Post Office have nothing to do with delivering the mail. The Post Office sells stamps and some postal services, but it is the Royal Mail that delivers mail. A third company, Parcel Force also delivers some mail. Many of our post offices have disappeared as they have moved into other stores, and their buildings turned into things we really need, such as cafes, mobile phone stores and vape shops.

So what is wrong with this 2020 one ... compared to this 2017 one?

AFOLs have complained about the frequency of helicopters in City, so LEGO might as well go all out and make them as playable as possible for kids. I would have loved these flying ones when I was a kid. We had similar toys, but not lego compatible ones. We are getting a jewelry store: Sure it is simple, but it shows that if you want any building to be a jewelry store just put some jewels in it. Sets like this show kids can act out an action scene, such as the theft of a jewel and the subsequent police chase and capture of the robber, with an incredibly small amount of parts.

I almost said the same thing, but looking at this image, she appears to have some connection with Egypt (I have no clue about the source, I don't play the game). So the Egyptian Queen hair might be appropriate.

Where is the location of Newbury defined? I thought it was just some town, somewhere.

Yeah, but most coverings will do that. Worse still, any soft covering will knock bits off or out of the window. Personally, I'd just move the LEGO away from the window.

If all you want to do is cover it up, then why don't you just use a cardboard box or a blanket or anything that blocks sunlight.

As above. PAD printing is really only for doing very large runs of the same print on every part. If you want to do just a few copies of lots of designs, it is not for you. You can get relatively cheap presses if you don't mind manual stamping, for things like stamping a company advert on pens or golf balls. But they are one colour only and you have to align things very well if you want more than one colour in multiple passes / stamps.