dviddy

Available at Fred Meyers stores in the US Pacific Northwest.

I just... there are people who can get LDD to work for more than five minutes. That's what always gets me.

Hey man trust me I'm with you. I'd much rather have Spider-Man battling Doc Ock on top of a building. New York has some awesome buildings and it'd be neat to see them fighting on something like the modular buildings. But that's because like everyone in here complaining, I'm an adult, and when I buy Spider-Man sets, it's because I love Spider-Man (or the Avengers, or Iron Man, basically all the Marvel stuff [and also Star Wars EU stuff!]), and I'm planning on displaying them. I don't need goofy Spider-Man vehicles either. I'm just explaining why we get them, and whose fault it is. I know I love learning new reasons behind things from TLG reps, and so I always assume everyone else wants to know why this thing they are always complaining about keeps happening.

The 5% figure (while also given in 2009) is still up-to-date as of the end of fiscal year 2013, as per the numbers TLG representatives give out at public appearances. And you're right, they don't show secondary market activity, because the secondary market doesn't make TLG any money, and they do not support it. Your appeal to the secondary market as some sort of point that adults buy more than TLG's numbers indicate is, well, a tad on the ridiculous side. By its definition, those are sets that TLG has already made their money off of through the primary sale. TLG cares only about "first sale". They are a company that wants to expand profits and make money. Labeling evidence given through story as "merely anecdotal" is not a blow-off statement, it is a factual and statistical response, because that is exactly what it is. TLG invests billions of dollars in research. That is worth far more than your story about some kid you know or some adult collector you talked to at a used toy store or whatever. Anecdotal evidence has a purpose (as it is usually what sparks a company's actual research), but all your post amounts to is "I know what they say but I don't believe them, because there is no way that kids play with their sets in a different way than I do, and there's no way some dumb kids want all these vehicles that market research shows they want, because it's not what I want." You're always welcome to say what you'd prefer and how you'd wish something was different. My point in posting was that all these "bases and forts and locations would sell better" or "why does TLG keep making these characters and not these ones" posts are missing the information that is freely available to AFOLs through TLG's own communications. Kids prefer vehicles in their play, and bases/forts/locations need to be more detailed, hence the higher-price-points for sets that serve as locations. That the more affordable sets are generally vehicles is because kids prefer vehicles for their play purposes. Adults generally collect for either specific parts or for display, which is why we prize things like the modular building line. But we are not the target market, and we, as adult consumers, do not make up enough of the market to be tailored to in a way that compromises TLG's actual base (kids). TLG is a toy. That is sold primarily for children. And as for the character complaints, those decisions are out of TLG's hands, Marvel and DC (and Lucasfilm) tell TLG which characters to use in which settings. TLG then makes them. TLG does not make the character or brand decisions (such as Ultimate Spider-Man vs a Thor2 set). Those are handled by the owners of the property. (And as for the idea that TLG 'plays it safe'... http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/how-lego-stopped-thinking-outside-the-box-and-innovated-inside-the-brick/)

AFOLs make up less than 5% of global LEGO sales. It's enough to be important (which is why TLG has an entire department for adult fan interactions, where KimT and Kevin Hinkle work). But not enough to influence set design. If you want TLG to make more bases, convince German boys (TLG's number one market) that this is what they want. Anecdotal evidence from how "all the kids you know want bases" is not going to get that done. :/

That TLG, Marvel, DC, Disney, Warner Brothers, etc, don't produce many setting and location sets or toys with the billions of dollars they pump into market research, test and focus groups, and whatnot, should tell you otherwise. Companies want to maximize their profits- if their research said "plenty of kids would buy a set if it was a well-designed location" you'd see more location sets. Clearly the play patterns we as adults had as kids and the things we like now (setting sets since most of us who buy sets for the actual set [versus when I buy a set for the parts for a MOC] are displaying them, not playing with them) are different than current play patterns. Remember that kids are going to play with these 99% of the time- not set them on a shelf to look cool.

Is it seriously necessary for every single person to write mini essays on each and every set image when they aren't even super clear? You all end up saying the same things over and over.

We will probably never get a minifig that looks like the ASM SDCC one, as exclusive SDCC merchandise is usually under contract not to be produced and released outside of SDCC.

I love everything. That big, Confidential watermark is a great design, and the way it falls across all the potentially interesting parts of the builds and stops us from actually being able to see much of anything is brilliant construction. So basically, these are small photos that don't even show off the construction or even real LOOK of the sets, and you can't even really see the minifgs' and their parts, and everything is obscured so I don't understand how anyone can say anything but "yep, those look like they're made with HF parts for sure."

... It's also because Marvel didn't tell TLG to do a set based on Thor: TDW. Once more, Marvel/Disney tells TLG what they want to see in sets (which characters together, which locales, vehicles, etc), and TLG makes them. TLG just does what the property owner asks for. TLG does not make the character or property decisions.

You all know that TLG doesn't make the decisions regarding who is in which set or what kind if setting or vehicle it is, right? The property owner, either Disney or WB, says "give us a set with Deadpool, Wolverine, Magneto and a helicopter" and TLG responds with prototypes of those ideas until the property owner is happy. So if you want more buildings and less vehicles, you'll have to show Disney or WB market research that pushes them that way.

Sure, if they had any for sale on there. Which they don't. Bricklink has not been good for Hero Factory bulk parts, unless you want the red shells that came in that little Ninjago mech.

I have five of the new Surge. That's how I feel about him. Or rather, how I feel about those glorious exo-force robot arms in blue.

This is one of my favourite sets ever from the constraction lines. He's just so swooshable and the wing gimmick is crazy fun. On the contrary though, I think he looks very much the part of classical European dragons, though the neck does lose the flow. I remember building the set and just marveling at how simply TLG made the torso shaping into such an organic looking dragon torso.

That's weird, because Germany is LEGO's biggest and most important market. Germany out-buys all of the other markets by a good chunk. As Kevin and Steve before him have said, if you want something to be successful, it "needs to appeal to German children first and foremost."

I'll be manning the registration desk on Thursday and Friday, so anyone who is attending as a full attendee will most likely see me. I'll be exhibiting the same BIONICLE MOCs I've had since BrickfairVA started in 2008, plus all the ones I've built since then, as well as a giant new dragon MOC I'm finishing up as I type! BrickfairVA is the best North American LEGO convention as far as display, organization, and fan interest by far. If you only ever get to go to one, make it BFVA.

I went to my local LEGO store yesterday, and they did NOT have the brain packs, they said that TLG is a week behind on shipments and most US stores will not have them until next week. This doesn't seem too different from the monthly $75 polybag that most US stores do, but it does seem like this hasn't been planned well.

Laval and Worriz are basically the same build as well.

I totally believe you, but they are much more solid looking than the eyes from that Vahki. They don't look any different next to my red parts as any other red part.

Razar is my favourite of the three Chima sets I've purchased so far (Eris, Worriz, Razar).

The discount has been discontinued at all LEGO conventions because it was impossible to duplicate in the European market. I've got a review for Bulk sitting on my computer that is just missing a few more photos. It never got finished as I had a big computer problem a few months back that took a few months to resolve.

I'll be doing some BZPower reviews for these pretty soon. Once I get through all my vacation photos to edit.

They aren't playing it cautious, they're being smart. The truth of the matter is, as Kevin Hinkle has said, HF and other constraction sets sell "well enough to not get cancelled". BIONICLE was an expansive multimedia platform that existed at a perfect storm of multimedia crossover, a time that we probably won't see as intensely and as deeply again. I love HF, and I love the new parts and the constraction stuff, but the reality is that it's not a big money-maker, and that is why it doesn't get the big push. A big push would be a big waste of TLG's resources. I love the line, but it doesn't sell the way early and mid-years BIONICLE did. Like Dorek said, it's a niche-market that does what it needs to do financially, and won't probably do much more.

The decision to cancel BIONICLE in 2010 was sort of abrupt, yes, as there were two more movies planned for the series to be relased each year. 2011, however, was the original end-date from the several LEGO reps I've talked to. And in a way, yes, HF killed BIONICLE, as the community team and a few of the designers from other themes have said that the BIONICLE set designers were more excited about the HF system, and wanted to do something different instead of the same BIONICLE stuff they'd been doing. In the end, they beat the story team in the debate over BIONICLE's cancelation.

I think the BA Evo is the definitive version of the character, much like the Breakout Breez was for her character. Breakout Evo is so boring. This set looks delightful!