fred67

@Brandon Pea @danth @Masked Mini 10% is a decent chunk, but if you run a company are you going to target 10% or 90%? When we talk about why no new castle sets, or us train fans ask why new Creator Advanced train, it's because they make more money elsewhere. They've actually said it outright in the past. Now consider this - they didn't say AFOLs are 10% of their market - they said we're 10% of the revenue. Why? Because we have more money and buy more expensive sets. I imagine, as a percentage of their audience, we're much less than 10%. So it seems they've actively been doing this the past few years; my opinion is that profits, as great as they are for TLG, are slipping slightly (it's just not feasible to keep the kind of growth they had - it was bound to level off and fluctuate, so I don't know why everyone seems to panic about it), they are suddenly saying "well, AFOLs have more money, so maybe we make even more expensive stuff for them." And that's around the time you start seeing the UCS Falcon, Hogwarts - even the Disney Castle - I'm sure a lot of children in wealthy families got one, but I'm also guessing the majority were sold to, and for, adults. The big car sets (Mustang, Chiron), and Ideas probably also had a lot to do with it. So we're 10% of the revenue because we tend to be the ones buying the more expensive sets. UCS sets weren't new, of course, there's always been a market for the expensive, detailed sets, but there was a big jump in those giant sets in the past few years. So I wouldn't expect to see the creator trains (not that they'll never make one, they do surprise us occasionally), or bulk bricks in single colors (castle fans have wanted "gray buckets" for a long time). If they try to get more AFOL money, it'll be on ridiculously expensive large sets, IMO. I don't think they're asking what AFOLs want, I think they're just trying to hook more adults with the giant nostalgia sets - Star Wars, Disney, Harry Potter (think about HP's main target audience - they are all adults, now). My mom (90) has Disney sets - she's not a LEGO fan, she's a Disney fan. I have a friend at work with the Mustang because he's a Mustang fan. Another coworker wanted the HP set because he's a big HP fan. EDIT: it also occurs to me if they start making an "adult" line of sets, they can cross boundaries they wouldn't have crossed before, sets based on the Matrix, or Mad Max, or some other license they wouldn't have touched in the past. TL;DR; I think they are catering to adults, not AFOLs in particular, and I don't think AFOLs will see the kind of things they are hoping to see after hearing about this statement from TLG.

I realize it seems like a ball-park, off the cuff value, it's interesting to find out we're like 10% of revenue. I think a lot of AFOLs overestimate our importance.

Agree with @icm and @howitzer, I've been replacing baseplates for modulars with four 16x16 regular plates for a while; need to go back and redo some of the older ones. I just wish things would match, so getting rid of baseplates entirely - and making larger regular plates - would be great. Even if 32x32 is too big, maybe 16x32 would work. I understand the appeal (I actually have a number of Pharaoh/Egyptian ones in light tan that I actually went out of my way to buy), but would rather see something like burps take up where raised baseplates were used. As far as the moon ones go - I do not have one; they look really cool, but again, I have a bunch of gray 48x48 baseplates and would prefer a crater rock piece that could be placed anywhere.

I understand that people want an actual new train, but I don't understand the dislike for this set - it's a 40th anniversary set, it's supposed to remind us of what LEGO trains were like 40 years ago. A new EN or Maersk caliber set would be awesome, too, as a celebration of LEGO trains, I agree, but apparently there's no love for us rail fans. If they don't think it's worth it, they don't think it's worth it. I actually hope I can just buy this. I simply don't buy a lot of new LEGO anymore, and I'd rather pay $20 than have to buy a $99 set at full price.

It's just really difficult to try to gauge the value of LEGO sets; PPP is not adequate because of the variance in parts themselves; weight might be interesting, but when they bulk up sets by giving you two 2x2 instead of one 2x4, they are adding extra weight to the set while PPP figure goes down. While PPP values seem to have stagnated, on the whole, the fact is you get a lot more small greebles and small bits for aesthetics than we used to get. It's interesting, but really only passingly so, and still doesn't explain why, for example, a 3-in-1 building has a PPP nearly half that of a city set, neither are licensed.

A little obsessive about it myself, too. If I want a set for pieces, I'll have to buy two so that I can build one and use the parts from the other. I do enough PAB walls, bulk orders, brick boxes, and bricklink shopping that I have a huge collection of parts to build with, though. Although, like a lot of others, I have more LEGO than space to display it or time to build it.

@Brandon Pea I was remiss in not discussing it - it sounds like a great offshoot; "City Advanced" maybe? Just remember, though; if LEGO is doing something (or not doing something) and you're wondering why, the answer is always "because money." They do what they think will sell the most.

Weird thread... two years old and still going. Reading through I see some comments I agree with - I'd like to see more "adult" (detailed, I guess) versions of stuff. I feel like the "adult" version is modulars, but they don't give the same kind of sets. We get a bookstore and laundrymat before getting a police station or hospital. I hadn't been paying a lot of attention, so I checked out the city sets at S@H (US). It's what I remembered - these have a lot of play value, they are for kids, and kids like them. There's little "realism" there. They are also RIDICULOUSLY overpriced. When people complain about SW the response is often "Disney Tax," but what's the excuse on City? So I looked where I actually have bought before - the Creator 3-in-1 sets. And there you go - several much more "realistic" sets that are actually reasonably priced, and because they're 3-in-1, with a number of sets you get a lot of possibilities. But sure I'd like to see "adult" city stuff. Modulars could be beefed up with some smaller sets throughout the year.

I've never not gotten a response from the website, but then I'm in the US and not Romania. The US website also has a chat feature, and ultimately a phone number to contact them. I find it hard to believe the Romanian site is much different.

It's a fair point; TLG profit margins are north of 20%; I believe CMFs are probably closer to 50% (maybe more). That said, if you pay $40 for a set with two figures you want, they are still making a lot more than if you bought two CMFs. So, I would say that it's not "just" about making profits, it's about maximizing profits. But I agree with others on a point - if the SW CMFs were largely background figures that you wouldn't be able to get otherwise in sets, and rounded out with the main characters in rare design (like military dress instead of standard uniforms), or with a hairstyle they may have had only in one or two scenes, then they could conceivably to both. So you make the point - exclusive desirable figures in sets - but perhaps many of those extra characters or designs are something they are also planning. I guess the bottom line is that whatever TLG doesn't do, but could if they wanted to, can be explained by "because money."

It's really well done; the little interior is a nice touch.

@MAB Good point.

LEGO's "rules" tend to bend and break when it seems like they can make a lot of money. A lot of weapons released in sets are still in use and modern (think Indiana Jones... WWII era weapons, particularly classics, like revolvers, are still used). I'm not suggesting that the amount they make from a Futurama set would be worth it, but if the Simpson's were acceptable, then certainly this would be. I find it amusing that @MAB mentions Norrington, when Jack himself was always drunk (or trying to get drunk) at every opportunity. I wouldn't doubt he says the word "rum" more than "treasure."

That's a great idea. I've been working a lot with PF and using outlets instead of batteries. I get it - my remote controlled stuff needs batteries, but everything else in the city doesn't. Why should lights and amusement park rides and so forth need batteries? I've taken to using standard 9/12V connectors; I recently "fixed" my 9V train connectors (plastic deteriorated) using the PF extension cables. I spliced in 9V connectors, and it's all very generic. Allows you to use things this, to connect a bunch of devices (I have one of these); I also noticed this one, too, which looks interesting for a train layout (which is what I'm hoping to set up). These are the cables I put together. One nice thing is I was able to use white on the Winter Village layout. The only drawback is you can't arbitrarily switch polarity, but given the kind of control you should have over PF motors, it shouldn't be all that bad.

I'm nobody to TLG, just like you.

I agree that the new system is pretty pointless without decent reward options. I'd have gotten that VIP set, but I've never seen it available. However, I don't get the hate for it, either - it's not very different than it was before if you just want to use it for discounts. I bought Corner Garage with $50 off today. First time using points since the new system, I didn't even realize I had so many points. The only reason I even accumulated points is: exclusives, giveaways, and the rare steep (like 30%) discount. But it's always been the case that VIP points were never a bargain over cheaper prices elsewhere, anyway.

@ks6349 so you want to punish everybody else in every other market that might want to save their boxes because there are some scammers in Asian countries. I understood perfectly what you wanted, I just don't agree with it.

Another programmer - I was able to hack a little thing to run my trains, but it wasn't particularly complex, either. There are a few blocks here and there that I just have no idea what they are supposed to do (like the new "play" block that has what looks like an electrical circuit on it).

@SteamSewnEmpire I get where you're coming from, but commuting to a large city (from the suburbs) every day, most cities are packing in every little thing they can - super dense, no room to even build parking lots making life very difficult for most people. There's green space, to be sure, but a small cluster of trees here and there. Frankly, I prefer the latter pictures, too, but only because that's the speed of life I'd like to be living, not because it's any more or less "real" as the first couple of pictures.

I feel like my issue may have just been repeatedly connecting - I'd only run for a minute or two at a time. Don't know. Could be cheap batteries. Like I said, I got rechargeables, but I'd never experienced anything like it from LEGO. I did read reviews of the train that complained about battery life, but nothing on the order that I experienced it.

@Toastie Thanks, I'll give it a whirl. I have Windows 10 Home 1903; should be pretty up to date.

Was wondering about this; I'm using python/bleak on windows... in my first test I was able to see the hub, then connect, then list it's available services. A few moments later, I was able to see the hub, but then couldn't connect. It doesn't seem like I should need a dongle if I was able to connect a couple of times before having problems.

@Unfinished_Projects good point. To be fair, though, having experienced years of promises from people/companies trying to make LEGO compatible 9V products, I'm a little jaded until I actually see something. I actually don't think you're going to get the track for much less than it's going for now, either, it's just good to know it's there and available (when it actually is), to know that the hobby is still alive.

It's cool; would love a new monorail from TLG, but looks like we're stuck making our own. If you haven't seen this thread, perhaps it will inspire you to make a motorized version.

Ahhh.... no... I was more interested in "could I" and figuring out the programming than making it look pretty. I just attached it to the top of the tender and built a solid yellow wall. I suppose if I was doing it "for real," I'd aim it down and put color coding on the track. It's not something I really need for the Disney Train; if I was in a Train LUG and was doing a Disney section, I might try it. I was really just excited for my first PU train, and the programming possibilities.