MAB

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.

Just because you don't have enough imagination and cannot see a licensed minifigure or its parts outside of its theme does not mean others do the same. It is no different to using a Dreamzzz character outside of its theme expecially if you are a Dreamzzz fan and know the associated media. Here is the actor behind your night hunter figure ...

Now this is the subjective scores thread... ICONS The Lord of the Rings - Rivendell Creativity: 10 Displayability: 10 Minifigures: 9 Colourscheme: 10

Do you have permission from Capcom or whoever the IP rights holder is? As the designer would be selling something based on the rights holder's IP. If you have a 3D digital model, you can usually run it through pixelation software to obtain a plan for 2x4 bricks which usually looks OK at that large scale.

It may also be that they are eventually retiring both, but have large stocks of one of them so it doesn't appear to be retiring. Back in PF days, I bought a load of the M-motor then a few weeks later went to buy more and it had already been marked as sold out then retired. Yet they still stocked and sold the L, XL and servo for quite some time after that.

Indeed, not every character has to or can fit into every other theme as if it did then that would mean they are all very plain. I was pointing out that sloth torso one as a rebuttal of Boba Fett not fitting into castle - there are plenty of unlicensed figures that cannot fit into Castle (or Space, or any other theme). Not every figure can fit into Castle, whether it is licensed or unlicensed. However, most licensed and unlicensed figures could be used to fit into some other theme but not all themes. I've also used very identifiable characters like Darth Vader and Simpsons in CITY MOCs - the whole of Vader in the windows of a Collectables Store, as well as in a cinema foyer, the Simpsons heads as masks in a fancy dress shop, a storm trooper and cyber man outside a petrol station (there is a real one near me that has daleks too).

I'd probably go for four wheels so vehicles can be built, a couple of windscreens that double up as windows in buildings, a couple of larger plates maybe 6x10 and 4x8, then a combination of smaller bricks and plates in maybe 4 different colours. When I travelled a lot, I used to take some lego with me but with different constraints. To keep down the volume and weight, I used to take an old tobacco tin full of parts for making MOCs. Obviously at that size, it was microscale all the way. I had a 6x10 plate in tan, then all the other parts were no larger than 1x2. I could still get in a good number and combination of bricks, plates, tiles (inc black 1x1 round tiles for wheels), headlight bricks for SNOT builds and windows and doors, cheese slopes, etc.

It looks like I'll be doing a PAB purchase rather than a set purchase.

I wonder if some of the hype is dying down and collectors and resellers are not hitting all stores as heavily now. I was in a department store at the weekend and scanned and picked up one wolfpack, then yesterday in a supermarket I saw a newish box with only a few taken out and a half box and found another 4.

These licensed figures could all make good bounty hunters for castle ... and many others. Boba Fett would not as he doesn't have the right look. However, neither does this Dreamzzz figure. I wouldn't use this torso in a medieval castle setting.

So what is the point, and what is stopping you from marking the stores that you don’t like as 'least favourite' and hiding their items when browsing or using wants lists?

Some of the minidoll themes have become pretty good for action too. Elves was great. I imagine if they had a bit more variation abd done a few more male characters, it could have turned the heads of stalwart collectors of minifigure based themes.

There is also another realm of LEGO creativity, in what you do with a set once it is built. When I was a kid, we (and I think many families) did not have huge amounts of LEGO and very few actual sets or instructions so we would build what we wanted to (not very well with limited brick types), then play with what we had built, then tear it down and build something else next time. Whereas many kids today seem to have lots of LEGO, enough so that they don't need to tear down to build something else. Plus parts are much more specialised than a pile of 2x2 and 2x4 bricks plus a few wheels and windows so it is harder for them to tear down a house and turn it into a train or a plane. So for them, creativity can also be more about play and not just building and rebuilding. My daughter has had the Heartlake Grand Hotel built for probably 8 years aside from once when we broke it apart and rebuilt it during covid. But she has frequently played with it, making up stories about the guests and staff even though the main build is essentially a fixed doll house. It is a different type of creativity but creative nonetheless. And that type of creativity is possible with both unlicensed and licensed sets.

It is not a very good asylum if inmates can escape.

I would probably go for the older one if I wanted to make it truly vintage using only vintage parts, but the new one if I was also using modern parts in the build. It really depends what the build was for. Most of my builds are modern part based, even ones inspired by old sets. For those I nearly always use new parts rather than vintage even if the vintage parts exist. But I wouldn't really call them a restored set. If you want genuine LEGO rope/string then you are often better off looking for longer lengths on bricklink than the exact length you require. It is often cheaper if a long length came in a common set. Then cut it down. It is the same with tubing, often better to buy longer and cut it down.