Blondie-Wan

I was quite glad to see another run done; I'd already managed to get one the first time around, but now I have a second copy that my fiancée will receive for Christmas. Now if only they'd do another run of the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover - I desperately want that one as well, but it sold out about as quickly as this did... :( Alatariel's original concept was indeed just a general female minifigure set meant to show women in a variety of professions, but as it was made up of numerous unrelated vignettes, LEGO CUUSOO staffers advised her to trim it down so that it was more like a true single set, something they've done several times with numerous projects that seem to depict a whole theme more than a single set. She opted to pare down her proposal to just three, all of them science-themed, naturally enough - science is cool, it seems to appeal to LEGO fans in general, and it's an area in which many actively seek to encourage more participation by women to counteract discrimination against them in the field, all in addition to Alatariel herself being an actual scientist. With those three vignettes selected, the project took on a more cohesive theme - not just professional women, but professional women in science. As it happens, Alatariel now has a similar project that might work well as a companion piece to the first; this one has moved away from the original core concept of professional women (as the figures in this new project aren't necessarily all female, as the project creator has herself indicated in the comments) and onto the final one of scientific researchers, albeit now out in the field rather than the lab. It's doing well in voting, and appears to be on track to amass the required 10,000 votes in plenty of time, so it's just a question of whether TLG would want to do another set of this sort.

Yeah, why isnt it in the licensed themes forum? I third this. Why isn't this in Licensed?

One of the Targets here that had these at clearance pricing a few weeks ago, and completely sold out, has now restocked them in significant quantities, and put them back at full regular pricing (actually, as far as I can tell this is the first time they've had Series 12 at its official price of $3.99 - previously they only ever had them for $2.99 or less). Also, a few days ago Toys 'R' Us actually had a good deal on them - 2 for $5 - and amazingly, the one I went to actually had plenty in stock for the sale. I'm under the impression now that several stores have recently gotten additional stock of this series (just in case any of you weren't able to get as many as you'd like a couple months ago, when they first came out).

It would help if you'd post a picture, so we can see what you mean. Mine are all "normal," I think (with the usual hollow stud with a little y-shaped thing in it), but I'll double check. Looking back at my older posts here, I see something I'd like to update: I did eventually see Series 1 at a couple other stores in Tallahassee (where I lived then; I recently moved to Stone Mountain, part of the greater Atlanta metropolitan area), though they were smaller toy stores in less well-known chains (a Learning Express and a Hobbytown USA). Toys 'R' Us is the only major chain I ever personally saw Series 1 in, though, but beginning with Series 2 I began seeing them in Target, Walmart, etc.

Coolness!

Speedy, if I may ask, how did you come by this set so quickly?

You got their left arms printed? Why? The upcoming Star Wars - Episode VII: The Force Awakens isn't a reboot at all, just a continuation. I do think giving a new version of this a different spin, like an all-female team, will be the right approach for a reboot, as opposed to merely casting new guys in the same roles and starting over to tell essentially the same story. This should be better (though my first pick would be a straight sequel - but only with all the original principals, which now can never happen due to Ramis's sad passing). I'm cautiously hopeful the reboot will bring new LEGO sets for both reboot and classic Ghostbusters, similar to how the Superheroes and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles lines represent different iterations of those franchises.

I don't know that I care for the name "Classic". To me, it sounds like a response to those people who complain about LEGO offering "only sets with instructions for one specific model nowadays, unlike the good old days when you could just buy a bunch of bricks and use your imagination", completely unaware that LEGO has always (well, for several decades, anyway) offered both types of sets. It seems to be conceding to those consumers' misconceptions, and pretending "yeah, we stopped offering basic bulk brick boxes for years, but now they're back," but then I guess it's easier than educating buyers to correct misconceptions. The important thing is that these do look great. They do seem to have better mixes of parts and colors than the bulk assortments of recent years, and I love that it'll now be possible to get more colors of baseplates in bulk. Does anyone know how many baseplates come in one of those baseplate packages? The images of them in headered bags (as opposed to the current shrinkwrap packaging) seems to me to suggest they'll have more than one per bag (as does the pricing)... Edit: never mind; Brickset lists the tan baseplate set as having one piece, so there we go.

It's too bad for all those historical fantasy Castle fans who thought this line would be more Middle-Earth-esque, but I do think this looks like a great theme. Moreover, given what we know from TLG's research that led to Friends (i.e., about most girls not really responding to traditional minifigures), I'm very glad to see the range of minidoll lines being expanded upon. What are people's thoughts about the longevity of this theme - will it be an ongoing fantasy complement to the more realistic, City-esque domain of Friends, or is it more of a "seasonal" line of just a few waves, like most of the others discussed in this forum (Atlantis, Power Miners, etc.), to be replaced by a new minidolls-based adventure theme in a year or three? Tangents: Not that that's a bad thing! Agreed, though the core show it's based on is better still, as I'm sure you're more than aware. I'd honestly dearly love official My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic LEGO sets; it's too bad there's no way it'll ever happen. (Darned competing corporate ownerships, getting in the way of everything - it's kind of hard to whip up brick-built figures of Slinky Dog and Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head that are minifigure-sized and look good next to the official versions of the other Toy Story characters. At least minidolls might offer passable attempts at Barbie and Ken...) Oops. Sorry - I just assumed everyone here with any interest in it would have seen it already. My apologies! If it's any consolation, most of those basics are laid out fairly early in the movie. Honestly, I think the best bet will be for TLG to someday do official Star Trek sets. It's unlikely, but it could happen someday, if Hasbro doesn't hang onto the construction toy license.

I have a mix of Star Wars, City, and Friends calendars from different years, and they all have the numbers / dates in the same places each year, despite those numbers being in no particular order and the different calendars bearing different printing. Presumably LEGO's designers use a shared packaging template for all Advent Calendars from all themes each year, and it includes numbers assigned to all the little compartments, so they all remain in the same places, even though everything else changes including even the looks of the numbers (the typography).

"LEGO Licensed: All Speed Racer, all the time"

That sounds remarkably like the plot of My Little Pony: Equestria Girls.

Not to mention this approach is what allows the frog to cling to the side of the tree. That might be the very reason why they went with this design, actually.

I haven't noticed anything like that, and truth be told, I don't think the "CMFs" are really much lighter, either. But you could try weighing them... TLG puts fewer minidolls in sets in general than they do minifigures, probably because of the cost. They're less standardized (there are a number of different arm, torso, hips and legs molds for them that all get used a fair bunch, whereas nearly all minifigures use the same parts for the basic anatomy, with the various exceptions like peg legs and so on making up only a tiny percentage of the total), plus they've been around way less time. Right now, no minidolls-based set has more than four figures (and I think there's only one with that many), whereas there are several minifigure-based sets with figure counts in double digits. I suspect that with time, as cost amortization (from both time, and increasing numbers of themes using minidolls such as Disney Princesses and Elves) makes minidolls less costly, they'll become more plentiful in sets, but I also think it's going to take a while.

There isn't room in the description for the name of everything that goes in this forum, so I'd argue it should hit the high points. Alternately, it could show just whatever licensed themes are current (so, for example, right now we could have The Simpsons, Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, The Big Bang Theory and / or Jurassic Park instead of Harry Potter, Indiana Jones or Toy Story. However, that would mean constantly changing the description to keep up with every theme discontinuation, every single-wave thing like Speed Racer or one-and-done set like Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, and I'm sure nobody wants to change it that frequently. I think it's better to use the "major" licensed themes. Perhaps, if The Simpsons and / or Jurassic Park stick(s) around a while and / or produces a lot of material, adding them to the description would be a good idea. I think we'd need a little more for either of those themes than what we currently have or know we're getting, though.

I'd avoid saying "Disney," since it encompasses licensed themes that don't go here (Pirates of the Caribbean and, now, Star Wars), and because it's too broad - it could cover Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, Toy Story, Cars & Planes, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, The Lone Ranger, Mickey Mouse & Friends, Peter Pan / Jake & the Pirates, Winnie the Pooh, the Marvel Comics Universe (and adaptations / offshoots thereof), and Disney Princesses (which itself encompasses Brave, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, and Frozen), all of which have been / will be LEGO sets and themes. If we listed it with any of those it'd be redundant, and if we listed it without them, people wouldn't know where to look for some of those.

That forum includes lots of non-LEGO stuff, though. Since this is a LEGO fan site, shouldn't there be a distinction between LEGO games and non-LEGO ones?

It's now been close to three years since I started this thread, and there's still been no action on it. I wouldn't bother bringing it up, were it not for not merely the description but the actual forum name of LEGO Action Themes having been recently changed to LEGO Action and Adventure Themes. If an actual forum title can be changed so quickly, just to provide a slightly more fitting title to accommodate a single new theme, then surely the nearly three years of careful consideration the mods have put in on the description for LEGO Licensed must be about to pay off in a big way... right? ;) *ahem* So, anyway... how about, "Disney Princesses, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, SpongeBob Squarepants, Superheroes, Toy Story, and more"? It's relatively short, and hits what I think are the high points, for these reasons: Disney Princesses - a broad licensed theme that actually encompasses several different fictional universes under one broad licensing banner; also likely a long-running theme as it already has a substantial catalog upon which to draw with additional material regularly in production, and addressing a distinct market niche Harry Potter - the second-biggest licensed theme ever as of the end of its run, with well over half a hundred sets released over roughly a decade (off and on again); a popular theme based on a well-regarded and beloved franchise; some likelihood of theme resurrection with forthcoming "Fantastic Beasts" films added to franchise Indiana Jones - one of the larger and more successful licensed themes, with four waves of sets covering four movies, plus lots of ancillary stuff (videogames, etc.); likely to return whenever the franchise is either continued or rebooted SpongeBob Squarepants - one of the longest-running licensed themes Superheroes - likely to emerge as one of the biggest licensed themes ever, with essentially limitless potential; broadly encompasses two major subthemes, Marvel and DC (which in turn encompass / supplant / expand upon previous Spider-Man and Batman themes); highly popular Toy Story - mid-sized, fairly substantial licensed theme (two waves of boxed "System" sets, plus various promo polybags, plus a line of DUPLO sets); based upon particularly acclaimed and beloved franchise; likely to return with forthcoming Toy Story 4; personal favorite of forum regulator ;) So, that's my current proposal - "Disney Princesses, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, SpongeBob Squarepants, Superheroes, Toy Story, and more". I'm tempted to add Minecraft, which I think belongs here and which I think may prove to be one of the more substantial licensed themes, having already gone from a single CUUSOO micro-world set to a whole series of such micro-worlds, and then expanding into minifigure scale sets, as well as being based upon source material uniquely synergistic with LEGO. The only reason I haven't is that for whatever reason, all the Minecraft discussion seems to be elsewhere, and the mods appear as unperturbed by this as by the woeful inadequacy of the LEGO Licensed forum description. But anyway... So, what do you all think?

Ahhhh, this was a nice return of the classic theme, and yes, it's hard to believe it was that long ago already. Yow. I got all the boxed retail sets, excepting the Advent Calendar, which I believe was not released here in the US, and the two large ships, which I was never able to afford. Alas. I thus have: 6239 Cannon Battle (x2) 6240 Kraken Attackin' (x2) 6241 Loot Island 6242 Soldier's Fort 6253 Shipwreck Hideout 8396 Soldier's Arsenal 8397 Pirate Survival I do wish I'd managed to get more. My three favorite sets? Possibly all ones I don't have...

Ah, cool. I thought there might be, but wasn't sure; that's why I used the wording I did, so I'd be safe no matter what. So, that does establish that they're willing not just to make the hair / headgear for the two figure types interchangeable, then, but to actually use them that way in sets (which was already the case in one direction, anyway, since male minidolls in Friends have used minifigure hair). Hopefully we'll get all these hair types used more broadly across all themes.

... and not horrified by the prospect of modding elements, of course. Though we haven't seen many (any?) hair elements created specifically for the minidoll themes turn up in minifigure sets yet, it's within the realm of possibility they might turn up in one, with yellow ears (and / or new colors for the hair as well).

Whoa, whoa, whoa - Target currently has a Microfighter Star Destroyer discount?!

Hey, congrats on your Ideas success, and welcome to Eurobricks!

Ah. The posts immediately preceding Legoman's are all specifically about the extant set, and for that matter so is the thread, so that wasn't entirely clear to me. That said, the official LEGO Ideas blog says the results of the review including the GB HQ are due in late January.

Find out? We got the results, months ago - the project became an honest-to-goodness set, and was released months ago. You can get official LEGO Ghostbusters right now!