xboxtravis7992

I actually saw the Enterprise Bridge for sale yesterday at a store. It might be fun to build and display; if I wanted it for play value I would have just made a Lego MOC. Still I gotta hand it to Megablocks; as much as I dislike their build quality and what not... They have landed some great license agreements. First Halo, now Star Trek... Lets just hope TLG can maintain its Star Wars license though! I would die if I ever witnessed Megablock Star Wars

Agreed. It was a smart move to reboot the line and scrap the overly complex story telling. It has been 6 years since G1 ended and I don't think I have all of its story figured out since it is so darn complex once you learn about the serials and what not. However G2 is almost far to simplistic. Yeah we have got some good moments every now and then, but the main story devices are rather dull and straight forward. JtO might have given us great set pieces and cool visuals, but it didn't give a compelling story or great characterization. Lego needs a balance; a story that has depth and meaning to it; yet one that is also simple and easy to follow. G1 had a strong plot motivator, the secret robot buried underneath the island that drove the writing forward. I just don't feel G2 has more to it than "fight villain of the week" style story telling.

Seeing though that LOTR/Hobbit sets were produced well into 2014; and Pirates running last year, is it a huge issue that there aren't historic themes right now? Lego Sci-Fi seems to come and go to, and there can be a few year gaps in-between themes such as Space Police or Alien Invasion. (If anything Nexo-Knights would be just as strange to classic Sci-Fi fans as it blends knights with Lego sci-Fi and lacks the SPACESHIP focus of almost every other Lego Sci-Fi theme). Still I have a gut feeling that by 2017 or 2018 we might see another Historical theme arrive on the scene, and while it might not be Fantasy/Classic Caste to avoid stepping on the toes of Nexo-Knights, it might be something like the American West, Mythology, or even more Pirate themed sets. And what is not to say Nexo-Knights might not eventually produce a large D2C style set with a more historic bent? Look at Ninjago's Temple of Airjitsu, strip it of its theme specific details and you have a pretty darn good representation of an Asian pagoda style building. Besides I am ranting because I am getting tired of hearing the complaints lobbed towards Nexo-Knights because "it is not a historic theme." Well it isn't, get over it! I don't care for the theme either, but I see no reason to declare 2016 a wasted year just because a toy company created a theme that appeals to; dare I say it, children! I've been waiting for a solid Wild West theme since I missed out on the original, and the Lone Ranger was so short lived despite producing some of my fave sets; but I'm not going to bash a theme if Lego calls it "The Rock Island Cowboys" and it turns out to be a mix of Rock Raiders and Bionicle; but everyone is wearing a cowboy hat. Besides taking that attitude dismisses what Lego has done right this year; and there has been quite a few great sets this year. If my income was larger I would have actually bought A TON MORE of sets this year; if anything I think Lego has had more home-runs than strike outs this year.

Glad they green lighted the Beatles set and the UCS style Saturn V rocket. I had three favorite projects from that round and two were approved! Yah! Sad for the 20,000 Leagues one though :(

And I just noticed, that guy piloting the luggage cart... It's Matt the Radar Tech... Bwhahahaha!

Wands look shorter at least. I missed out on these versions back in 2011 so I won't mind getting them though. But that hair...

Ah Daevster that's where you went! Lost you since you went inactive on MOCpages. Honestly I have been wanting to build a MOC like this for years, I just haven't done it yet. Sector 2 is gorgeous would love more shots there. I still think the Star speeder can use some nose work though, but it's the hardest part to get right. I'm dying on LDD figuring out how to rebuild my design.

Yes. Please lets not do that. Eurobricks really isn't the place to be discussing social and political issues anyways. Now if we want to talk about Lego sets as per the course in EB; yes quite a few fail that ratio. I mean one female Toa in a team of six? What is up with that?

I could remove a hand from my Alice and turn her head around. Would that work? :)

Looks at Toa Nuva side by side with Mata... Refreshes memory... Dang I guess the masks are the only real difference :P Maybe the Mata-Nuva comparison was not the most well thought out part of my argument. But I think my point still stands some consumers may have found the 2015 and 2016 sets to similar to justify the second purchase. Still hard to prove how much it might have affected sales though.

Find an AFOL willing to pay $15 for a factory error figure. Sell it and try and find a new Alice fig. Profit.

I just commented on the project to inform them of the rumors. I hope they realize the official Castle set was in development before they built their MOC and hopefully we don't have a repeat of the Ghostbusters incident again :P Now if it was the Disneyland castle instead of the Disney World one that is what the rumored set will be, I'd have likely supported it.

Yes it is a fine balance. Products should look different enough to justify a second purchase, but can't look to different as in the Metru-Hordika change that they seem completely different... :P

Gali Master of Water, Umarak the Hunter, and Mask Maker v. Skull Grinder are my favorites out of the ones I own.

My point was not focused on the build but the look. I agree that the 2016 sets were boldly trying to do something new build wise, but as characters they look the same. My Gali Uniter that I just got was built far differently from the Toa Masters, but when put side by side she looks awfully similar to the previous Gali. I think I failed to clarify this was my intent in the comparison. Yes the Toa Nuva build wise where blandly identical to the original Mata; but the changes in masks and weapons meant not only did they look vastly different; they might have been easily mistaken for completely new characters by a casual customer. Same thing happened in Hero Factory 2.0 and 3.0; blandly enough the same build but with enough new trimmings they looked different. There is no mistake the 2016 Toa are just the 2015 Toa which are reboots of the 2001 Toa. From a story perspective I think that is the better approach, but in terms of sales it is the classic "comes with a new hat" syndrome. And unfortunately Lego didn't do a lot to showcase the vast differences in build style from 2015 to 2016 in advertising; heck even today I was amazed at how much Technic has returned to the Bionicle building systems, but this isn't something you notice unless you have the set in hand (or read a highly detailed online review).

In happy news I finally bought Gali and Akida; my first Toa set from this year. I hope to get Kopaka and Tahu sometime, but since I have all the 2015 Toa they aren't much of a priority compared to some other sets Lego is making right now. And in a more somber tone; I'd like to comment on why Bionicle might have not found its market this time around. With the rumors coming in heavier and heavier that it will end in 2017, I think now is a time to comment on what I think it did right and wrong; and more importantly what its LEGACY will be if it ends early. I think it is critical to take note of the legacy Bionicle will be leaving behind even if it bites the dust within the next year. So something I feel G2 has messed up on big time is it's advertising. I know the social media campaigns have had some success, but I can't help but feel like Lego missed it's target audience with the advertising methods used. There is no doubt in my mind that Bionicle's Facebook page is the main focus of advertising in many ways, alongside JtO and last year's web animations. However there are some issues here, the Facebook page appeals mostly to TFOL and AFOL fans of Bionicle (I often see Sco... I mean Aanchir commenting on it, a reminder that yes the page is geared to the older crowd). Sure the Facebook page has some great stuff; but the issue is that the commentators on it are mostly G1 fans who still care about G2; a fanbase which is rather small and limited compared to the 8-14 demographic Lego wants to market this stuff to. In fact Facebook user rules don't allow anyone under 14 to form an account on there, so it means the majority of the target demographic is outside the loop. So lets look at the other to main advertising features, the Web Animations and JtO. Yes they were both simplistic, and the Web Animations fortunately are far more accessible than the original G1 animations where, as YouTube is a reliable and famed video streaming service. So I have no doubt the Web Animations reached their target audience. However JtO's Netflix arrangement might have been detrimental to it's use for advertising. Yes I am sure plenty of kids saw JtO on Netflix; but what about those who don't have Netflix? Look at how Ninjago by being aired on Cartoon Network has reached a larger audience, and has generated far more buzz for that brand. Could Bionicle's sales have been bolstered had it been on cable TV instead of online streaming? Hard to answer but I am sure it is a factor. I also think that JtO might have turned away some of the G1 fans who were interested in the new Bionicle. I know that in my opinion I found it hard to tolerate the simplistic dialogue and the predictable plot, despite the best visual moments. Also the lack of TV based advertising for G2 is strange, I know from memory that the G1 TV commercials where very well done, and the fact almost all G2 commercials are YouTube only has limited it's exposure. Another factor is the simple story. Now let me explain, I do think Lego was right in their assumption to make the story simpler to understand and easier to follow, and that helped bring new fans in at first. However a complex and more layered story is more likely to create lasting fans. From my understanding the novel's had a more complex story drive and world building to them, which was very appropriate as in G1 most of the complex story was portrayed in books or comics. However the lack of widespread distribution for the novels meant that for the most part the simplistic animations and JtO where the only main story materials. This is great for first time viewers; but what happens when a fan who enjoyed the animations wants more from the story? If he/she can't find the novels or graphic novels in stores they aren't going to find more reason to follow the action. Admittedly I have no idea if reading long serial novels is as popular as it was 16 years ago (G1 had the fortunate blessing of a large percentage of children who were reading serial novels thanks to Harry Potter, the Series of Unfortunate Events, and film revivals of old series such as Lord of the Rings or Chronicles of Narnia). Another attribute that has hurt Bionicle is its own fan base. There is ample evidence that the older TFOL and AFOL fans have been caustic since the line's revival. While I think it is okay for AFOL's to express their criticisms, the amount of trolling and flame wars here, on BZP, and TTV have made the fanbase harder to access and less likely to retain longtime fans. I remember a large reason I stopped buying G1 sets was because of my distaste as a child with my interactions with the fan community online. With the community even more toxic right now, how many new Bionicle fans have turned tail and abandoned the brand completely because of it? It is something that as a fanbase we should look in introspectively. Yes I agree as adults we do have a right to criticize and express our distaste of certain decisions made by Lego; but we must avoid the toxic feeling that has plagued our community for a long time. Another detriment to Bionicle might be set design. G2 has had some WONDERFUL sets; but looking at the issues with some sets shows G2 has some strange choices. In G1 and Hero Factory sets had a far more limited color palette, with a primary color, an accent color or two, and some colors for structural pieces. G2's colors have been all over the map from the trans purple and trans neon orange on Skull Basher to the five shades of brown on Pohatu and the Dark (Metru) Blue arms of Kopaka. It is a strange color choice. Furthermore G2 has kept it's hero designs rather consistent; which while great for a story might not be good for sales... How can you convince a jaded parent that the six Toa Uniters are that different from the previous Toa Masters from 2015? There isn't enough variation in them to identify them as vastly improved. (This is actually the reason I didn't buy a new Toa Uniter until TODAY, because I don't feel pressured to buy sets that are so similar to last year's). Even the Toa Mata to the Toa Nuva changed the visual look with new radically different masks and tools, despite being the same build type. It is hard to casually look at Tahu Master and Tahu Uniter together and see what is "improved." Yes I know the gear actions and articulation are wonderful on the G2 sets; but the visual designs themselves are all over the place. Lastly another factor is the fact Traditional Lego has exploded in popularity. Remember Lego put so much in G1 because it was its only hit line at the time that didn't have to pay royalties to George Lucas. But now in 2016 Lego is huge. I am glad Lego has had such success, but with it there is no surprise Bionicle is no longer a huge priority and is stuck playing second fiddle to other Lego themes. So with all those detriment to the line listed, I still won't believe it is being cancelled until it actually happens. Like all fans that was supposition and hypothesis. I will wait to see what happens to the line and then make a final assessment. With that said, what if Bionicle is canned in early 2017? I strongly believe that it will still have a huge Legacy that will immortalize it in Lego's minds. Just look at how Faber is already working with Lego to install a Bionicle exhibit in the Lego Idea House. Do you realize that means Lego is dedicating part of their Idea House to be entirely a Musuem Exhibit for Bionicle? No matter how you cut it, Bionicle still is the toy that saved Lego. Like Fabuland and Classic Space, it will hold a part in the minds and mentality of future Lego designers. Just look at how it was mentioned in The Lego Movie; I doubt the film makers knew the theme was going to be rebooted, yet they included it because it is important to Lego. Sure it might not be rebooted again (or it might) but it will still play a part in Lego for years to come. Just look at how much Ninjago or Nexo Knights takes from Bionicle with the idea that the story is focused on color coded elemental powered people fighting evil. Besides, just imagine the easter eggs that will show up after Bionicle is long gone; I just want to see a kid in a City set with a T-shirt with the three virtues printed on it! Don't worry if the line is cancelled again, it will find a way to get new life even if it is no longer being produced.

If you don't mind the square shape CMF stands could work to.

I stand in the middle ground for the PT. Do I think it is the weakest group of Star Wars theatrical films we have? Yes. Do I think it is horrid rotten trash worth burning? No. I would argue that Revenge of the Sith stands really well on its own and is as strong as many of the OT films. Sure it ain't no Empire Strikes Back; but Revenge had some great moments and some nice drama. The fact that the awkward flirting between Anakin and Padme from AoTC had turned into the banter of a married couple in ROTS also made a lot more sense and helped the film. Even the two weaker films in the PT AoTC and PM; had their moments. The final battle of PM is SO COOL. No arguing the Maul vs. Ginn/Kenobi is so well done, and the other battle scenes are cool to. AoTC had some cool set pieces to (and as any Mythbuster's fans know thanks to Adam's old ILM photos, AoTC did use traditional models and matte paintings for Kamino, which is really really cool). Arguably the weakest link in the PT is the acting; and I honestly don't believe that is the actors fault. Remember that Natalie Portman for example has an OSCAR for BEST ACTRESS that she got after the PT for a later film role. Ewan McGregor has also shown he can do some good acting. I think the fact is George Lucas's weakness was directing actors and writing dialogue. He had a talent for visionary stories and cool settings which SHINES in the PT in my opinion, but he never could direct actors to behave like real characters. I think this is apparent even in the OT; the acting in A New Hope is actually very poor (Hammil's Luke going form obnoxious to likable every 5 minutes, Carrie's fake British accent switching to American accents all the time...). The strongest film in the OT, Empire has the best acting though; and it is noteworthy they are all the same actors from the previous film. The main difference with Empire was that George was working on setting and overall plot, while the director Kasdan made the actors perform well. The chemistry between Han and Leia, the "I know" line, even the eccentric talking Jedi muppet all worked very well with Kasdan's directing. So yeah I just don't think George was a very good director of actors. Fortunately the PT does have a few characters who shine through his bad directing (McDirmids's Palpatine comes to mind). However the PT shines as a testament to George's visionary and imaginative ideas; from the beautiful worlds visited to the overall mythic plot. Also on note about the PT's CGI... Yeah it was way overdone, but ILM did push the boundaries of CGI at the time with those films. I'm glad that The Force Awakens had a more balanced approach to effects; everything was a practical effect when possible, but then became a CGI effect when needed. That was a great approach to it, and combined the best of the PT and the OT together.

Yeah overall its been a great year in my opinion; here are my thoughts on some themes I have taken note of: D2C Sets: Brick Bank looks awesome, and I can't wait to get it. I think the Ghostbusters set was well designed but has been WAY overhyped by the Gen-Xer's in the AFOL community. So much Ghostbuster's hype from the AFOL's has forever killed any interest I had in the franchise (then again being born in the 1990's means I missed the original films to, so generational differences explains why I have no love for the Ghostbusters)... Minecraft village looks like it would be fun to play with. Anyways , Assault on Hoth was a let down but the rumored Disney Castle, Winter Train, and Death Star might offer something far better. Star Wars: Yeah not a lot of standout sets from the first wave of 2016; but mind you the spectacular 2015 TFA sets are still on shelves so it isn't a deal breaker for me since I'd rather have money to get those than many current Star Wars sets. Oh and again gotta mention the Hoth failure... However thanks to the leaked Rogue One Set images, looks like we will have a better second half of the year for Star Wars than we had a first. Marvel Superheroes: Outta the ball park! This has been a great year. I want all the Civil War sets, and a few of the Spider-Man and Avenger's Assemble sets have caught my eye to. Very well done this year. Bionicle: To many ups and downs, its been a rollercoaster of bad and good this year. Some spectacular sets like Umarak the Hunter were produced, and some bad design choices were made to (*giant piston-ed torso shell*) . The worse part of this is the rumors that the theme will be ending for good in 2017; and unfortunately the Bionicle fan community is the most ill-behaved of the FOL communities when rumors of their line's demise strike. Honestly half the fun of the theme has been ruined by the flame wars and suppositions that are erupting in the fan community. Mind you that is not Lego's fault, that is ours! Anyway, if the line ends soon I'll still have fun with a few more sets, Umarak the Destroyer, and Ekimu 2.0 have both caught my eye; and I got to enjoy a blast from my childhood return for even a brief moment. Technic: I don't normally buy Technic but this year has produced two standout sets, the Porshe, and the Mine Bucket Loader drill thingy... I want them. It is rare for me to actively want Technic sets but this year I want two of the ones that are coming out. Very well done in my opinion then! Trains: Still waiting for pics of the rumored Winter Train... Speed Champions: I feel like a dolt since I haven't got any from this year yet, but the focus on American Muscle cars has struck my fancy! I want them, I just need to get money to do it. So to sum up my opinions a lot of themes have done very very well this year. The only two themes I see were week links this year was sadly though Star Wars and Bionicle. At least in the case of Star Wars I still have the opportunity to buy last year's sets; and Bionicle also had a strong 2015 performance that I own many sets from.

A great engine from a legendary steam locomotive class, so well captured in Lego! Well done, it looks great! P.S. Do you think after we finish building a new T1 4-4-4-4 in the states, think someone will start work on a NYC Hudson replica? I want one

Yes this is spectacular. I really ought to buy an Obi-Wan myself, just such a cool head piece.

Well that's a lot of Spanish and other Latin based names... For those I recognized in Spanish where: PoS- Piedra=Stone PoI- Helio=Ice PoF- Mono= Monkey? Don't know if that was intentional. PoJ- Broma= Joke/tease PoW- Nadar= Swim The only one I don't recognize is the Protector of Earth.

All of these are awesome, but as stated before that 0-6-0 is the standout model here!

That bird is beautiful and has officially convinced me to buy Ekimu 2.0 this summer just so I can then Bricklink the bird for him.

Understood a galaxy of resources might have helped the Empire last a long time after Palpatine fell, but I dunno I always imagined the Empire was a cult of personality focused on The Emperor. With Palpatine gone I don't see how the Empire could hold together. But I do imagine there had to be Moffs somewhere rallying stormtroopers and trying to reastablish the Empire. I'm willing to bet a few small "imperial hold outs" still existed side by side with the First Order and Republic during the events of TFA.