Darth Punk

One cannot judge a product soley by ads. A good deal of ads are directed at a very specific demographic. I find a good many of the toy ads to be annoying and what little tv we do watch usually do not have ads for lego friends. The few that I have seen were bad, but not any different then Barbie ads which are equally insipid. I think that some people look at Legos and they fail to get the big picture. Especially when they are criticizing the fact the TLG sells sets and not just random bricks in a box. That some how children are being told what to play with. Or marketing is directing the child to only play hang out by the pool. Yes a child can build these things, but unlike the vast majority of toys they can take them apart and make anything they can imagine. That is the power of Legos. To create the toy inside your head and then play with it. It really is as simple as that and the rest is really window dressing. Any toy that can empower a child is going to be popular, any toy that can be reinvented over and over is going to be popular. And any limits placed are usually by adults who seem themselves to be failing to use their own imagination.

Most children can decern the difference between the arctic and the city and can usually tell you more than you ever want to know. Most children learn by means other than looking at boxes. If a child is learning only by looking at a box that is the fault of the parent, not TLG. If a teacher if grading a paper based an untaught subject they are hardly a teacher. I guess the stars are full of wars too? The only storm I see is imaginary but rather boorish. Maybe they could call it the Valdez .

Ever read Under the Black Flag by David Cordingly? Highly recommend it.

Yes

I really think TLG should have more interviews like this. It would really help people to better understand the process and why TLG does what it does.

Duplos are a great starting point and very good for developing fine motor skills. My younger daughters are much more into the duplos than my older one ever was. Plus they coming in a wide range of colors that we keep mixed together so one doesn't dominate over the other. As for starting point I meant in terms of going forward now, not in terms of a child's age. I also see the line of friends evolving. You can already see people who mainly build city sets interested in the diversity of some of the friends sets that could be added to their build. I think the city lines greatest weakness is its lack of diverse building types. I know they are expanding but you still see it being dominated by fire and police themes. I imagine over time that sets will be,created that could easily be interchanged into either line. And while both lines will still have their,core type sets they will also have sets that blur the lines. Which I think it TLG's ultimate goal.

Where did you get the crate on the right, with the trays?

Which no one has seen as far as I know. I imagine all stores will have them by the 17th.

The predications of the sea cow going for $250+ always seemed way overpriced. There are very few parents who are going to buy a set that expensive for their children. Not to mention the adults who aren't going to spend that on a quirky ship. If it was over $200 I was seriously thinking of not buying it myself. Although my first second wave purchase will surely be spaceship, spaceship, spaceship! Usually £170 means $170. Not sure if I have ever seen a dollar to the pound price before.

One only has to look at toy,shelves to gauge the success of the friends line. By the beginning of last December the friends sets were completely wiped out. And stayed that way until January. Not the same can be said of other lines like city. I know because I have three daughter, one who very much loves the friends line. I find it rather odd that some people expect TLG to produce this perfect product that some how every one will love and will solve the inequities of society. I don't know of a single line that TLG makes that is loved by all. Most if not all lines also have their detractors. I see the friends line as a starting point, because you have to start,somewhere. How does a company interest girls who are so used to being showered with dolls and pink and pastel colors by their parents? How do you interest those who,would rather play house and tea time instead of chasing bad buys or building cars? The friends line is something that millions of girls can relate to and speaks to how they play. They aren't going to,pick up Legos is they only see topics they have no interest in. The ultimate goal,of TLG is to get those girls to pick up Legos and see that they too can enjoy building. If it takes making them pink so be it. Pink is just a color after all. I see that much of the initial reaction to the friends, other than the doll figures, is to the colors. Its not TLG's fault that colors are very stereotyped. I will make this mention that at one time in history pink was a boys color. Red symbolizing war and manhood, and pink representing a young warrior. Is it TLG's responsibility to,fight and change color stereotypes that are reenforced by parents all the time? And as for dolls, before Kenner launched the first Star Wars action figures, both boys and girls played with dolls. All the gi joes from before that time were very much like dolls. You could dress,them up and the moved much like,dolls you see today. But with Star Wars and forward boys toys have taken many different forms in how they were presented. Where girls have always had the basic variation of a doll. Is it TLG to say hey sorry no dolls here, despite,you, your mother etc having always played with dolls? Do you think you are going to get their attention? We all know the answer is no. You have to start somewhere and in a form that girls can relate to. Once you have their attention, have them building you can then begin to show them the world of Legos is much larger than heartlake city. My daughter while loving friends has also been interested in monster fighters, TLoR/Hobbit and starting to show interest in Star Wars. She loves helping me build and display sets and that has become greater than the view these are just for boys. I imagine other have or will experience this all well. But you have to start somewhere and that is the key. TLG has made a great start and despite all the criticism I see friends gaining the potential to go head to head with TLG much bigger lines. One last note. I noticed on the survey that only a small percentage who completed the survey were parents. Most were AFOL who were just merely voicing their uncredetialed opinion. If those AFOL ever do decide to become parents you will see yor perspective will become affected. Especially if you have girls,I have three. Having grown up with only a brother and a mom whose favorite color was blue there were not a great deal of pastel colors in my life. That of course has changed greatly. I also see how easily it is to fall into reinforcing the gender stereotypes of color. Both my wife and I strive to strike a balance and teach our children that colors are just that, colors. In some ways Legos help to teach that message and show a variety of themes can be fun because building is what is the best fun of all.

Great find. Should be required reading for everyone here.

I thought I would revive the subject of hoods. There is a new hood used for Wyldstyle in the new lego movie. http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=15428pb01 Any chance we would see this on elves if we get any? Someone in the Star Wars discussion posted this pic of one painted.

Bag End. It's a great looking set. Can be used for both the hobbit and TLoR.

I say if you really want it don't wait to buy,it. The prices are only going to rise, especially for helms deep. It's a bit of a gamble to rely on eBay as there are most likely others in your same position. You might get it cheaper but not by very much.

Someone mentioned about a second lego movie. http://www.thebrickfan.com/the-lego-movie-sequel-already-in-the-works/

What do,you consider steep?

Not really, because TLG core customers are not AFoLs, they are children. Children who every year discover Legos for the first time. And while TLG takes into considerate AFOLs, if a decision for a set is between an AFOL direction or a children friendly direction, AFOLs are going to lose every time. I know that seems very obvious, but some don't seem to show that kind of understanding. I see people complain all the time calling TLG stupid,because they don't agree with a set or a line. I'm sorry to say they are not,basing their sole success with keeping people here happy. They didn't become a billion dollar company by being stupid. While we might not understand the whys and probably never will the,one thing that can be counted on are sets geared toward children. I'm not defending TLG, it's just the way it is and complaining about it,isn't going to change anything. I do however believe in constructive criticism because TLG does monitor sites like this when conducting market research. Bad mouthing someone is never a good way to get someone to listen to you or find find your critiscm valid. A good message badly delivered can be easily ignored.

I think you answered your own question. Lucas liked action figures, thus action figures were produced. The license holders of TLoR are not interested in action figures, thus no battle packs or action figures. I think if you really want to,know ask the,license holders, not TLG. You are much more likely going to get an answer.

And how was I suggesting that? Oh that's right i wasn't. I've realized that despite this being a lego site, one must be very literal otherwise,some people just don't get it. My response was aimed at the criticism that arctic does not belong in a city theme. My response was to state everyone gets to make their decision. What that has to do with spare parts I have no idea.

That's right, there are two parties that decide. Each with their goals and that is how these things get determined. Not just one,party ordering fries and the other making them. Which was the original point.

I agree. And who knows maybe someone with a great deal of pull really liked the character and it filled an open exclusive spot. Sometimes there is not just one reason, sometimes a variety of needs are met by making one choice. Or it is as simple as one choice is better than the alternative. There is no one size fits all way to doing anything or why things happen. The reasons can be as variable and different as the characters you see in a set.

You seem to be missing the point. A license holder just doesn't have over free rein to someone just because they are being paid. And yes you protect the,long term value of your license, because a license holder has a long term stake. Poor sales or poor conditions could affect the image and value of your property. So one does not take such things lightly. Licenses like these take weeks, months and sometimes years to work out. They came be extremely complicated and depending on the parties spell out everything in great detail. A smart person, business just doesn't hand over a license because someone is waving a wad of cash in their face. That's called bad business and many entities have lost a great deal of money when not being careful. I never claimed they were bad sellers, I said they are a tiny part of what TLG sells. I'm sure they make money, but not a great deal. They target a certain customer who will then buy bigger sets as well. Plus you are talking about buying multiples, not one child buying one set of each, which is how they are mostly sold. AFOL buy year round, while children tend to buy around holidays thus looking what is gone around Christmas is a good reflection of what children want and buy. Exactly, companies can rise and fall due to branding. There is a reason Disney stops selling movies and brings them out at a later time. License holders have a tremendous stake in their property and making sure it is well taken care of.

Well some might, like Disney. Not to mention that TLG when attempting to gain the license puts forth a plan of set numbers and price points, even if the license holder cares or not. If someone came to me wanting to license a product I,would want to know what they plan to do with it. Because in the end as the license holder I would want to maintain and protect what is mine. The price someone is,going to pay is going to be based on how they use said license. I do this in my business all the time.

Personally I don't see armies as the main focus of TLoR. Nor do I think that TLG sees armies in general a necessary part of their business. People assume that TLG is the driving force of Star Wars battle packs when it could easily be the license holder. These battle packs only target a very small market, which is why even after Christmas the shelves are usually still full of them. Children are not asking for multi packs of the same set of figures, they would most likely find that very boring and very limiting in terms of imaginative play. As a lover of Tolkien's work, don't people realize one of the main reason he wrote TLoR was to show that war is very bad. It involves pain and suffering often times for needless reasons and the only real result of war is death and destruction. War is not to be glorified nor celebrated, and those like Tolkien who have have been know this first hand. That was Tolkiens message to the world.

I see Legos as toys to be played with by those who use their imagination to make whatever kind of world they want. I find it funny when adults are trying to define the limits of how toys can be used. If someone doesn't want to include scientists from cities doing exploration in the arctic that is just as ok as someone who want to do so. TLG is selling toys not replicas and the only limits on using lego sets are your own imagination. That being said, I live near a very large city but I still appreciate and enjoy areas far away from myself,,including the arctic.