Cardinal

Please stop referring to LEGO pieces as LEGO. It is a box of LEGO pieces, bricks, or components, not a box of LEGO. LEGO representatives have begged you time and again to stop destroying their trademark. Thank you for your cooperation. Thank you for respecting LEGO as a company and a trademark. I will be going around the forum issuing e-tickets and virtual trademark violation citations to those who wantonly defy LEGO's policy. Sincerely, The Grammar Police (Cardinal and possibly others) PS. This is not a joke. I don't want to see LEGO's trademark destroyed. I am doing this out of respect for the company's wishes.

Eurobricks at it again. They lock my awards thread and then censor and alter my thread title for this thread. They added the word "opinions" to the title thread. I did not add the word "opinions" nor did I give anyone permission to do so. Having my thread locked is offensive and biggoted enough, but to censor and ALTER my speech is nothing short of morally criminal, a misrepresentation of my words, totally inexcusable and wrong. I will not voluntarily subject myself to this tyranny. My posts always gain huge views and replies because I have something to say and my posts strike a chord with people and carry weight. My posts are exciting and fun, and they stand out in this forum. I will now once again depart the Eurobricks community indefinitely. For those who support me, please voice your views to the owners of this website. Frankly, the moderators are once again abusing the community. Thank you, Cardinal

Yes that was me! I come crawling back to Eurobricks. It's the best LEGO forum on the web. And to you Faefrost I simply say no! I refuse to grow up and I think you do too!

I predict Lone Ranger sets will be a bigger bomb than Prince of Persia. And I like the western themes in general. Spitfire, you have to read all my posts on Star Wars in particular. It's a very special theme. I have some SW sets and figs and love them, I love SW, and yes, it is a licensed theme, but it is so entwined with LEGO and there is such a great history there with all the sets that SW has almost become an honorary in house LEGO theme. So yes, not everything is black and white, of course. BTW SW is the only licensed theme I buy.

Xboxtravis I agree with some of your points. SW LEGO has become almost an honorary in house LEGO theme if that makes sense. LEGO and SW are infused absolutely, and I do like LEGO SW. That is my one exception to the licensed stuff.

I think I'm just sick of all the shelf space being devoted to SW ships. I don't care if they exist, I just LEGO would put more effort into the more "artistic" or "creative" endeavors like all the things I've mentioned, stuff like Atlantis, Fantasy Era, new historic theme etc. I give LEGO huge props for their modulars and collectible minifigs. The two best things they've ever done IMO.

Just looking at all the Fantasy Era stuff. Some day I want to get every single set and display em together. Absolutely incredible toy design.

Someone in the Castle thread hit it on the head when they said that the LOTR minifigs are amazingly detailed while these new Castle figs are very plain. Imagine if LEGO were putting that same extraordinary effort into detailing their own medieval stuff. Really taking it to the next level. Now that would be amazing! The new Castle stuff is a huge step backwards. Look at some of the amazing, amazing sets from the Fantasy Era. Those need to be improved and expanded upon! Evolve that! The younger target age argument for the new castle stuff is the best argument I've heard. I will have to think about that. But for me, it still doesn't erase the disappointment with the new Castle stuff and my general dislike for Lord of the Rings (sorry, the theme just doesn't interest me, and I didn't like the movies either.)

Flieger, a lot of monied interests want LOTR to be to medieval what Star Wars is to Sci-Fi. And they have been fairly successful within the last 15 years or so in implementing this.

Also, about the sabotage theory, which I said seems credible but I'm not backing it 100%...According to the theory, it's unclear whether LEGO are doing it intentionally from the top down or if there is some imposter within LEGO or from another company or monied interest etc. It's a conspiracy theory with a lot of possibilities. Or you could be right and the designs were just junk. I find that so hard to believe. Go back and look at those new Castle sets posted on the front page. Something ain't right. PS. Galaxy Squad overall is still alarmingly bad, esp the minifigs. One man's opinion. The set you posted is good though, but it doesn't negate my overall arguments.

In the short term, of course chasing the hot licenses will bring more money. But it cheapens the legacy of the company and will eventually lead to bankruptcy. I haven't even mentioned this point, that if you base your company's content in large part upon licensed IP, beware that other company. If there is a hugely popular IP, other companies can compete for it, etc. Build your own IPs, nobody can touch them, they can only try to copy them. Tereglith, I'm an honest guy. I gotta say that Galaxy Squad set you posted looks pretty good.

Good argument Tereglith. However, it feels to me like Super Heroes and even Star Wars may be headed for the ash heap within the next decade. Think of all the insanely popular properties that now have only a small devoted following. The world is changing fast and faster than ever. Interest can collapse quickly in anything. And it works both ways. An odd example, but WWE was almost bankrupt and gone in the late 90's, but over the past few years is just about the biggest money maker in entertainment. And you mention the Western, a perfect example of my point.

I said discontinue Star Wars ships, not sets, and keep the Falcon. And as I mentioned, LEGO seems to be intentionally destroying space with Galaxy Squad and needs to go back to the drawing board with their space themes. I liked Alien Conquest. They can do so much better than Galaxy Squad.

I mean to say that if LEGO is relying on all these licensed themes, they will be dependent upon the companies with the rights to those themes, and if and when that goes sour, LEGO goes bankrupt. Instead LEGO should focus on things like Ninjago, Chima, in-depth redesign of Castle, taking it to the next level again and again with modulars, NEW, ORIGINAL themes, etc. And yes a CMF Statue of Liberty would be cool too! Ebay prices for that fig are already double to triple retail.

Thanks for all the great replies. As a side note, I think there is credibility to the theory that LEGO is intentionally destroying their original space and medieval themes in order to clear the way for LOTR and Star Wars to permanently take over (Galaxy Squad and the new Castle sets are so bad that I think they were intentionally designed not to sell. Sorry, I don't mean to offend, just one person's opinion.) Whether a mole from Lucas or LOTR has insidiously infiltrated LEGO to make this happen, or whether it is LEGO's intent to destroy these themes, I can't say.

I think the best thing LEGO can do right now is a bold new historic theme. By the way, the superhero trend over the past ten years or so is about to go off a cliff, mark my words. Mass public interest in superheroes is about to collapse. Please consider these recent licensed themes which are now cringe-worthy: Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, Prince of Persia, etc. LEGO is drifting to a place they don't want to go. I would almost be cool with them abandoning all licensed themes, even Star Wars (though I like it). They should invest in their own IP's. Look at the recent success of Ninjago (though I'm not a huge fan, I applaud their efforts here), and Chima is very good stuff as well. BTW I say Atlantis is the best LEGO theme of all time. Are you feeling what I'm getting at here?

I think the licensed themes are going to bankrupt LEGO. Star Wars is my only exception, and even the Star Wars universe might go sour in the public's eye within a few years. Especially if the new movies are no good. By the way, that's why they're making the new movies. Star Wars merch sales across the board have almost completely collapsed over the past 4 years. LEGO should focus on building their own themes because nobody can take those away from them, and they aren't trendy. Trust me on this. If LEGO continues to embrace licensed themes while neglecting (or intentionally destroying? My evidence: Galaxy Squad and new Castle sets) their original themes, LEGO as we know it will be gone within the decade.

We need: Statue of Liberty reissue New Carousel, much larger than original, more detail Ewok village City Zoo (has there ever been one?) New historic theme (Anything really) The following themes and sets need to be cancelled immediately: Lord of the Rings Hobbit Lone Ranger *facepalm* ALL Superhero sets (it's over, just admit it to yourself) Galaxy Squad Star Wars ships of any kind (keep the Falcon, that's it) The following theme needs to be revamped: Castle (needs to be more like Fantasy era, expand on that feel)

I'm back to say that this confirms the theory that LEGO is intentionally destroying their classic lines to make room for more licensed themes. These Castle sets are truly horrendous. Ugly colors, and perhaps the most boring, stale design imaginable for each and every set. They couldn't be any less interesting. Keep in mind I'm not knocking LEGO at all. These sets are intentionally designed not to sell. LEGO has achieved their goal. They want to make Lord of the Rings and Hobbit their permanent medieval themes, just as Star Wars has basically eliminated LEGO space themes. I just had to post here on this. The set pictures speak for themselves. Go on, admit the theory was right.

Thanks for your replies. This only confirms my decision to leave the forum. If I had gotten backed up by members then I might stay, but you all jumped on the tyranny bandwagon. And those who might agree with me are too afraid to speak up and stand up for what is right. That disappoints me but I understand. Of course I understand this is a private forum. Did you not read my earlier posts? That isn't the point. If I stay on this board and am part of this community, I drive traffic, which drives revenue (advertising dollars) for the owners of this website. The owners of this website allow suppression of speech at the whim of an administrator, and I find this immoral and unacceptable, even in the context of a private forum. Therefore, I cannot, as a moral principle, stay on this forum. I cannot reward suppression of free speech. I will instead choose to drive traffic and revenue for forums that allow free expression. That's my doing my part. The market has to reward free speech too. So, with this message, I sign out for good. That is something I truly regret. I wish you all the best.

My last word on this, is that I think it is sad. I thought this was a discussion forum, not a dictatorial playground for people to exercise their tyrannical fantasies. Def, I'm disappointed that you didn't take my side when I think you realize that I'm in the right. I'm also disappointed that no other members here have backed me up. I think this entire community is scared of some sort of tyrannical reprimand from you people if they stand up for me. If nothing else, I'm now more convinced than ever that people are obsessed with control and power. And when a person has even the slightest window to exercise control or power over others, they are ravenously eager to do so, and will do so at the slightest inclination. Whether that exercise of control is right or wrong seems to be of no concern to them, what is important to the tyrant is the feeling of superiority they get from their exertion of power. I find this to be sad and almost depressing. It really is typical and reflective of the darker corners of human history. My post on Galaxy Squad was made just a few hours ago, and already has nearly 200 views. I guess people were interested after all Rick. Maybe the discussion might have went somewhere after all. I wish they could have been able to speak their mind and have their views heard. But you took that away from them because in your almighty opinion the thread wasn't worth keeping open. Having that opinion is just fine, but forcing your opinion on the entire community by locking my thread, that is a different thing entirely. It was an immoral decision. So I guess, thanks for the lesson in human nature. I wish we were all a little more enlightened. All the best.

Def, thank you for the reply and I appreciate it. But why does Rick have the power to quash discussion, simply because he "doesn't see this discussion going anywhere"? That seems to be his arbitrary opinion, and nothing more. Why doesn't he just ignore my post then, instead of locking it? Perhaps others might like to chime in? I think if the post were unlocked, some people might like to have a say on this topic, don't you? Def, I would like to know, how I would go about appealing Rick's lock of my thread? Is there an appeal process? Or who can I email, etc. Thank you for your reply. Yes, it is true that you have no obligation to provide a free forum and I respect that, but as a consumer I'd rather not drive traffic in a forum where overzealous administrators, desperate to exert power over people, are locking threads based on their arbitrary opinion. I can't be a part of such a forum out of moral principle. Thanks.

Dear Eurobricks, It appears that administrator “Rick” locked my post, and in my view I can’t understand why he did. This was my first post on Eurobricks, and I took some time to craft it. I thought this was an interesting line of discussion based on some interesting viewpoints that have come to my attention. Why not just let people discuss this aspect of the Galaxy Squad theme instead of immediately locking the topic? I am an American so you’ll have to forgive my intense value of the concept of freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is designed to protect controversial opinion, not happy, agreeable, gentle opinions. I’m sorry Rick doesn’t like freedom of speech, and instead chose to quash a discussion that might have yielded some interesting analysis. It seems "Rick" is a little eager to exercise his "administrative" power, I'm afraid. Perhaps he was puffing his chest out like a gorilla as he locked my thread. I will be awaiting your reply. If you decide not to unlock my post, I will accept your decision, but I will have to move on from eurobricks. As a new LEGO fan, this seems to be a depressing thought, but one I must follow through on based on principle. My post was no offensive in any way, it attacked nobody, it was not inappropriate. It hopefully, is, the start of a great discussion. With that, I formally request that you unlock my post about the Galaxy Squad theme. Thank you for your time. Very truly yours, -Cardinal

SHOCK NEWS: RUMORS THAT GALAXY SQUAD WAS INTENTIONALLY DESIGNED TO FAIL... Abound this week are internet rumors of a conspiracy theory, that powerful individuals within LEGO have produced Galaxy Squad with the intention that the line should fail. But who would do this and why? Rumors are that powerful corporate executives at LEGO want to kill off LEGO's original space lines all together. Some rumors take things a step further, and would have us believe that some executives want to kill off ALL of LEGO's original lines...but again, this begs the question, why? There are two possibilities, according to the rumors. #1 possibility...Some LEGO executives plan to maximize LICENSED themes, in order to maximize PROFITS. #2 possibility...Lucasfilm moles have infiltrated LEGO, and in order to maximize STAR WARS sales, it was made certain that LEGO's next space line would fail so miserably that, out of financial necessity, there wouldn't be any more original LEGO space themes... SUPPOSEDLY, such an operation has been going on secretively since 1998, and at the HIGHEST levels at LEGO. UNFORTUNATE, if these rumors are true. And one has to wonder, the Galaxy squad sets seem to be...let's just say, not too easy on the eyes. The models, to be kind, look like rejects from 1990, and the figs, dare I say, and I apologize for being so plain about it...they appear to my eye to be downright ugly. One also must consider the Alien Conquest line, which unfortunately, was a financial disaster for LEGO. What do you make of these rumors? Interesting for sure.