MAB

There is a difference between being a success and becoming evergreen. And I don't think you can compare volume of sets from licensed and unlicensed as there are too many other factors, especially for current tie-ins. For example, was LOTR a success? Lone Ranger? POTC? Buzz Lightyear? Trolls and Minions? None became evergreen but that doesn't mean they were not successful. Look at what happened with Ninjago. That was intended to be a fixed (3 year) run, then replaced by Chima which was meant to last for a similar time, to be replaced by Nexo Knights. Even though Ninjago was meant to be fixed length, they realised how successful it was and so rebooted it. The same did not happen for Chima or NK, suggesting those were not on the same scale as Ninjago. At the same time they were trying out Space themes - Alien Conquest, Galaxy Squad - as well as other themes such as Pharaoh's Quest, Monster Fighters, Atlantis, etc. If any of those had showed the promise that Ninjago did, I imagine they would have been repeated in some form. Ninjago only got its continuity and large numbers of sets because of how it was accepted by the audience. Whereas the Space themes (and Castle from ~2010-12) did not. I still don't buy the argument that it is Star Wars and Harry Potter that are keeping Classic Space and Classic Castle themes off the shelves. I believe that LEGO sees no business case to bring back those as full evergreen themes as another in-house continous theme - Ninjago - covers the same buying population as those themes. Even if the storylines and minifigures are different, the set types (modern land and air vehicles, mechs, ancient buildings, ships, fantasy characters and dragons) overlap significantly with sets that the kids that might buy if they were into Space or Castle themes if they existed. In that sense, continuity and volume is killing Castle and Space since it is the continuity and volume of so many ideas and themes that go into Ninjago year after year that means those ideas are not explored in other themes. Kids are getting continuity in the characters they know, but still building ships, architecture, dragons, fantasy vehicles, etc.

You might as well say you are paying for the sets that they send out for review to fan media sites, toilet paper for their headquarters and other buildings, parking spaces for their factory employees, etc. If they didn't do GWP, I doubt the RRPs for regular retail sets would drop at all.

LEGO fans, but not necessarily LEGO customers. Most of my new LEGO purchases do not come from LEGO. There are many other retailers that have better incentives than LEGO for the same products. I only really buy exclusives from LEGO.

That is a coincidence. We have had plenty of Space and Castle themes since 2000 but presumably those were not selling that well enough to make them evergreen. Then Ninjago came along and captured the imagination of modern kids, and apart from the few years when it was planned to finish, after bringing it back it has gone from strength to strength and covered many ideas and the audience that those previous one year in-house themes would normally take. Licenced to non-licensed is about 50:50 when it comes to sets. It sometimes feels there is more licensed output as licensed themes tend to be smaller (and therefore more of them) compared to the big 3 in-house City, Friends and Ninjago.

No we don't. LEGO customers pay for them. If you don't buy anything from LEGO then you don't pay for them.

They are incentives to place orders at certain times. I don't mind waiting a couple of months to buy a set if there is a decent GWP.

People often blame licensed themes for taking away or replacing unlicensed ones, but there is not really any evidence that this is true. There are more unlicensed sets now than ever. Ninjago overlaps with many of the ideas from classic themes - they've done futuristic tech, supersonic type jets, mechs, dragons, historical architecture, ships, and so on. They also appeal to kids today that would have been buying classic themes decades ago.

This would be the start of a gradual death for LEGO and I cannot really see the point of having one licensed theme. Keep a balance like now (about 50:50) or have none if they want to make a stand against licenses. If LEGO tell Disney that they no longer want their licensed properties, they'd pull them all and Mega Bloks or some other clone would soon be doing Star Wars and Disney. Same with Warner Bros. None of these large companies would be giving LEGO one license per year, as they will have moved their properties to another manufacturer that is willing to keep them on shelves. Some AFOLs might think that is great, and LEGO can go back to being unlicensed only. But with people buying other brands, LEGO would start to lose market share, not just for licensed but unlicensed too as people get more used to buying other brands and fewer designers are needed. We'd end up with 100% unlicensed but probably less choice of unlicensed sets compared to now.

Friends overlaps with City and seems to take some of the non-emergency services ideas, and Ninjago has quite strong overlap of ideas (but not necessarily minifigs) with the other three. I cannot see LEGO killing of those two in-house themes.

I'm similar. I watched ROP all the way through and thought it got better towards the end but it isn't as good as the movies. By its nature it is more drawn out, but that is what TV episodes do. I find the Stars TV shows quite boring compared to the movies. I got through Obi Wan and the Book of Boba Fett, but couldn't get into The Mandalorian. I wasn't a fan of TBOBF episode that was entirely about the Mandalorian. I think I probably preferred ROP over the SW series. But yeah, without merchandising agreements, I doubt LEGO will be going there. I'm not really sure toys would be that popular anyway, given the age demographic that watched ROP.

If doing such a theme, I'd like them to go wider and continue for more than one year. Call it Timelines or something like that, and have each wave feature a different era in history and place. That way each wave is essentially a one and done theme, and after 18th Century Europe they could move on to ancient China, then Roman Europe, ancient Egypt, and so on. Everyone knows what we're getting for a particular era and if you dont like that one, anotger one comes along in a year. If they really need continuity of characters, they could have a named couple that show up in all eras, a bit like the different generations in Blackadder or Stitch and Mo in the American cartoon version of Horrible Histories.

That's for US viewers. It was 45% for worldwide. Part of the low numbers might be down to attracting the wrong viewers in the first place who start watching. It is an issue with advertising to all viewers rather than using demographics to advertise to just those likely to complete. Then there are all the people that want it to fail, either because it is not the movies or because they have more racist tendencies and so bomb both feedback and viewing completion.

I can understand people getting miffed if someone goes to a specific board where people are discussing something and keeps posting the same negative posts. If you don't like something then fine, say why and say it once then leave that discussion if there is nothing positive for you in it. Instead go to somewhere that discusses things you do enjoy. So if you don't like Star Wars and prefer unlicensed space builds, hang out in Space and not Star Wars.

I doubt very many people care that you don't like Star Wars or other licensed themes. Not every LEGO fan likes every LEGO set. What is important to many fans is that LEGO makes something that interests them and not only things that are interesting to them. SW typically accounts for about 30 retail sets per year out of maybe 500 or so across the whole portfolio. This is usually less than the number of retail sets for City, Friends and Ninjago themes. If someone prefers to badge themselves as having an aversion to products that they don't like rather than by what they do like then it sounds like they tend to have a pessimistic rather than optimistic view about the hobby.

There are various pieces slightly thinner, if you think about all the parts used to hold flick missiles. The 2L technic connector can make a reasonable cannon and is available in various metal like colours but won't fit a 1x1 round brick inside.

Look at what they did with the first The Simpsons CMFs and the concurrent The Simpsons house. Quite minor differences were used for some characters. I imagine sales of the large ICONS set are tiny in comparison to (hypothetical) CMF sales, and they wouldn't worry too much about being too similar.

I was a kid of the 70s, and it was similar then. Kids playing named characters such as Robin Hood or stereotypical Cowboys and Indians or Cops and Robbers. Making up a story around a character that they understand is much easier than making up a story about a character they know nothing about. Even if someone makes up a story about a generic Spaceman they will be basing it on other stories they have heard. To me, Star Wars is many things, not one. There is the OT, the PT, the ST, the EU, the CW, the various TV series, and probably other things I know nothing about. I'm interested in some bits, but not all.

I find new parts from sealed sets come pre-scratched by LEGO. The last couple of years, things have got worse.

If you want to be purist, then you'd have to use the normal orc one, even if not movie accurate. I have a couple of brick warriors ones that I use, although I prefer them with heads and hair and the helmet in hand. That way, you can see who they are.

Licensed sets ARE proper sets.

They all look pretty good under those light conditions. Do the connections still work OK? With ABS bricks I found low temperatures (about 50C) but long times were better than short times and boiling.

I already have orc Frodo and Sam, they are easy to make with existing parts. Rohan Merry and Gondor Pippin would be good though.

Other brands would still have gone down the licensed route and LEGO would be a minor brand today. If LEGO were still doing just the same themes, they probably wouldn't have survived. Not producing any new products is bad for business. Also juniorization was not the reason for going close to bankruptcy, it was too many expensive parts not being reused in multiple sets. Those parts are not necessarily simple for juniors.

The figures are about 2.50 Euros each if you buy on online PAB. Ideal for those who don't like the set.

It will dry eventually. It might be months, depending on the environment it is put in.But if you aren't taking it apart to clean it, presumably you don't need to take it apart to check it is dry. You might get water marks, but again if they are on the insides does it matter if you are not taking it apart. An issue with washing a set is bits falling off, and of course not soaking stickers. Yellowing happens in all light conditions. It is usually worse in bright sun, not so bad in ambient light and slow in the dark. Yellowing affects white and light parts most obviously but will presumably affect all parts. Fading affects darker parts more obviously but presumably happens for lighter parts too.