Aanchir
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Everything posted by Aanchir
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Oh, okay. I thought Shakar was talking specifically about Bionicle, not about constraction in general.
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Slight correction: 12 guaranteed-to-be-winter sets. Five Toa, five creatures, one set with both a Toa and a creature, and a villain. This is actually one short of the January 2015 total of 13 sets (six Protectors, six Toa, and a villain) — however, it's probably safe to assume the Kopaka and Melum Unity Set will be larger than any of this year's January sets, so the total number of sets might have been reduced in accordance. It's certainly possible we might have more January sets next year than this year, but there are three main reasons that people suspect these latest five sets discovered to be summer sets. First of all, it would mirror this year's release pattern, as Shakar and Dorek said (twelve new sets to replace last year's winter sets, then five new sets to replace this year's summer sets). Second, a lot of people are skeptical of a new Ekimu the Mask Maker set being released less than six months after Mask Maker vs. Skull Grinder. And third, a lot of people are skeptical about two sets named Umarak being released as part of the exact same wave. It's not like either of these last two scenarios would be unprecedented, but the latest five sets discovered being summer sets certainly seems more likely.
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Just to chime in, I learned one reason for some instances of this problem while I was on the LEGO Inside Tour. The printing machines LEGO uses for minifigure parts can only print a set number of colors on each surface of a part. So for instance, they can only print six colors on the front of a torso and five colors on the back of a torso. Getting a clean, pure white color on a non-white piece often requires the white part of the pattern to be printed twice (effectively two coats of ink) — however, this means one fewer color can be printed on the surface in question. The rebel flightsuit in the first post already has six colors on the front: White, Medium Stone Grey, Dark Stone Grey, Black, Bright Blue, and Dark Orange. So printing a second coat of white would require removing one of those six colors.
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I wonder if Toys 'R' Us might have an exclusive set this year like the Dareth vs. Nindroid set from last year (and if so, what characters it would include). I'm still frustrated about not getting Nya's non-samurai costume from season 3 in any sets! Maybe if we're lucky we might get it this year? Fingers crossed...
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It's a book (probably an activity book or junior handbook) based on a LEGO theme. "Childish" sort of comes with the territory. But with that said, I always think it's sort of ironic how people compare this to Ninjago or Chima and then worry the sets are going to be "too childish". Ninjago and Legends of Chima sets are regularly aimed at an audience as old or older than the intended audience for Castle themes. A $10 Castle set is typically aimed at ages 6–12, whereas any $10 Ninjago or Chima sets from the past two years has been aimed at ages 7–14. A $100 Castle set is typically aimed at ages 7–12 or 7–14, whereas any Ninjago or Chima set priced $70 or up has been aimed at at least ages 8–14 (Nindroid MechDragon and King Crominus's Rescue, two $90 sets, are aimed at ages 9–14, as are some $120 sets from both themes). Incidentally, the last non-exclusive Castle set aimed at ages 8–14 was Vladek's Dark Fortress, a "jellybean knights" set.
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I first started noticing the remolded 3M and 4M shells in this year's sets, though afterwards I believe I also noticed them in some of last year's sets. I discussed them in this review, and even included an image showcasing the difference (top row is the original version, bottom row is the new version). The design IDs have even changed: the old design IDs for 3M and 4M shells are 90641 and 90640; the new design IDs are 10498 and 14533. I don't think the level of detail of a part tends to have much impact on how much of the budget it uses. More complex molds are more expensive, but that's not "complex" in the sense of having lots of detail so much as in the mechanical sense. For instance, a mold that allows for two or three color co-injection would probably be more expensive than one that does not, and a mold that separates into just two sections is cheaper than one that needs additional "sliders" to mold in detail from more sides.
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That's elements as in "building elements" — in other words, 30 new molds in the sets. Not elements as in "elemental powers" from a story standpoint. Though I think it was an estimate rather than an exact count. Here are the ones I've counted so far: Mask of Fire Mask of Water Mask of Jungle Mask of Earth Mask of Ice Mask of Stone Protector Mask Mask of Creation Skull Spider Mask Skull Spider Leg Skull Mask Bull Skull Mask Gearbox Head Eyestalk Piston Shell Detail Corroded Shell Detail Ribcage Shell Toa Axe Toa Sword Toa Boomerang Toa Shovel Six-Shooter Barrel Six-Shooter Hub Hook Axe Hook Sword 5M Bone Detail Beam So 27 new elements, not counting various less Bionicle-specific new elements like the flame elements used as Skull Grinder's horns, the 1x1 beam/bushing used for Lewa and several of the Protectors, and the 3M pin/double axle used in Lord of Skull Spiders and Skull Grinder, nor the recent remolds of the basic 3M and 4M CCBS shells with the back corner faceted off.
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Well, it's been pointed out to me that the LEGO Shop verifies these names (http://shop.lego.com...ask-Maker-71312 gives you a "Product Not Available" message instead of a "Page Not Found" message like you'd get for a bogus set name like http://shop.lego.com...o-Manager-71312 or http://shop.lego.com...k-Hoarder-71312). That's enough to convince me that they're legit. They could turn out to be summer set names, though it'd be really surprising to get summer set names this early. The possibility of getting different versions of the same character within a single wave cannot be entirely ruled out. After all, 8989 Mata Nui and 8998 Toa Mata Nui came out the same wave, as did 7167 William Furno and 7158 Furno Bike. And there's also plenty of precedent for getting a character two waves in a row, especially from one year to the next. Still not sure what to expect of these sets, though. The word "Beast" certainly has more of a sense of danger than the word "Creature". Does that mean the "beast" sets are evil creatures? Or just more powerful ones? Hard to say at this point. Also, what could be expected of the Ekimu set? Many people are expecting a size upgrade, but it could just as easily be an armor upgrade. One thing's for sure — Umarak the Destroyer definitely sounds like a more powerful and dangerous version of Umarak the Hunter.
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If those new names are legit, then it speaks well for the Bionicle theme's success, since it would mean a considerably bigger wave for the first half-year than this year's. (17 sets instead of 13). I'd prefer to know the source before I speculate on them, though, since they are the sorts of names and numbers that a person could easily make up. EDIT: I've been told that the LEGO Shop method of verification works for them, so I'm ready to believe they're legit.
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First of all, when Bionicle started out there WASN'T a separate element of plantlife. That element wasn't made canon until at least 2006. Second, if a jungle is such a bad fit for air characters, where would you have put them? Mountains were already taken by ice characters, and treetops are one of the only other "airy" locations around on a natural-looking tropical island. Seeing as Lewa still has some wind powers and Pohatu has sandstorm powers, I don't feel like there's a glaring hole at all. Bionicle G2 isn't the only franchise that lacks a dedicated air element, either. The closest Pokémon has ever had to an air element is the flying type, which is not even treated as a type of its own in the trading card game. The elements in the MegaMan Battle Network games were Fire, Water, Electric, and Wood (there were wind-themed battle chips which were given a formal type in later games, but it was not considered an elemental chip type). The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time had sages with the elements of Light, Forest, Fire, Water, Spirit, and Shadow — Earth and Wind sages were not added until The Wind Waker. Lewa's colors are where the issue lies, not his motifs, which in G2 don't have any obvious plant-related traits. So giving him jets, vents, etc. (which they sort of did with his mask anyway) wouldn't have solved the problem one bit. Only changing his colors would have, and Lewa's green color is every bit as iconic as his air powers. Plus, considering this is a reboot and the new Lewa is effectively a new character, making his powers include both plants AND the wind is one of the smaller changes they could have made. In Bionicle, Jungle is an element. If they had called it Plantlife or Wood it would not have changed the meaning. They probably just chose to call it Jungle because they felt it sounded better or more poetic, just like how they introduced a Jungle Tribe in 2009. You might not like it, but I'm sure the LEGO Group had their reasons for choosing and sticking with the term Jungle.
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Wow, I wish you were joking. The problem with kids not associating green sets with air was never specific to Lewa. Blaming LEGO for kids thinking of green as a plant color instead of an air color is unbelievably silly. And calling a deliberate change to a character's element a "mistake" is just as silly. There's no reason air is inherently a better element for Lewa then jungle. The Wind is Green trope did exist before Bionicle, but part of the reason for that is associating wind with the Wu Xing elemental phase of wood/tree, which is associated with both wind and plantlife (much like the Bionicle element of Jungle). And of course, the association of the color green with plantlife is much older than the association of the color green with wind.
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Thanks so much! I always appreciate your insights into the themes you've worked on, even though I know your hands are tied when it comes to talking about upcoming themes! You realize you're calling Tiger's Mobile Command "such a horrible set" in a reply to the person who designed it? I know you probably didn't mean for that comment to sound rude or like a personal attack, but it certainly comes off that way. I got quite a few Chima sets, but could never quite commit to collecting it since I was already collecting quite a few other themes like Hero Factory, The LEGO Movie, and Ninjago. Still, I really love some of the sets I've gotten. I also think Tiger's Mobile Command seems like quite a nice set. Love the "tiger-stripe" treads, the elegantly sculpted head, and the claw bikes! If Nexo Knights ends up being anywhere near as colorful and distinctive as Legends of Chima I can see it becoming quite a popular theme with kids, whether or not adults are prepared to open their minds enough to appreciate it. I'm sure some people in this thread are already surprised to hear how nostalgic other AFOLs are for Knights' Kingdom II. Ten years from now, I think we'll see the same for Legends of Chima, and while some older AFOLs will never warm up to it, others will appreciate it as a remarkably imaginative and well-constructed theme. Bear that in mind if Nexo Knights turns out to be just as off-putting to the AFOL "old guard" — the themes which seem too wacky and kid-oriented for the AFOL community today are often the themes that will help to create the AFOL community of tomorrow.
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Actually, it's a slightly incomplete version of this model from this book/set.
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I think Makuta has other ways of exerting his influence. Even when the Lord of Skull Spiders was controlling the Skull Spiders, I think it was Makuta ultimately pulling the strings. From "Island of Lost Masks", pp37–38: And from p107, which is further into the story than the webisodes so far:
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So this is a thing: http://www.disguise.com/brands/mixels
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The upper legs. But yeah. If they ARE dark red, that more or less confirms this is a fake. Random incidental parts in a polybag in unique colors? Preposterous. If we get exclusive recolors in an extended-line polybag, they will be the FOCUS of the set. Otherwise there's no point not using more common parts.
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Looks REALLY dubious to me. The consistency of the transparent colors and some of the angles make it seem like an LDD model with the head and arms shopped on. Not to mention the wonky angle and white backdrop might make sense for a catalog leak, but extended-line polybags like this generally do not show up in leaked catalogs. The edges are excessively pixellated, which means either that the photo was even smaller and sloppier than the usual leaked photograph, or that the image was cropped and skewed digitally to make it LOOK like a small, sloppy photograph. And of course, seemingly dark red leg beams and feet (which don't appear in ANY other sets, let alone other sets currently in production) seem like the most blatant kind of pandering, and something you would not see in a polybag of this kind. So I definitely wouldn't count on this one being real.
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Who says everyone didn't like those? Nindroids was not well-received because it didn't innovate much from the standard LEGO formula, but Shadow of Ronin (which integrated several new game mechanics and told an original story) seemed to get fairly good reviews, and my brother and I loved it. Both games were different from the show, but I don't see how that's a problem since they were not trying to be exactly like the show, nor should they necessarily have been. I think eliminating LEGO building from future LEGO Ninjago games would be an incredibly bad move. The show is not by any means the limit of what people expect from a LEGO Ninjago game. After all, the Star Wars movies don't include a lot of actual building, but that doesn't mean that the building in the LEGO Star Wars games seems wrong or out-of-place. In fact, one of the frequent criticisms of LEGO games in general is that they don't include enough LEGO building. There's nothing wrong with including game mechanics that are NOT reflective of the TV show as long as you also include enough game mechanics that ARE reflective of the TV show, like Spinjitzu, the Tornado of Creation, vehicle and mecha combat, and the characters' elemental powers.
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Not quite new — that version's been in circulation since 2009. But yeah, it's different than the older version that the Manas used
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Maybe Kindle editions are region-locked and the Kindle version has only actually been released in the United States? I've noticed some of the people commenting on not being able to get the Kindle version are not from the United States, and that some other countries' versions of Amazon (like Amazon.co.uk) do not seem to have a Kindle version listed.
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The way LEGO handled Bionicle five to ten years ago when it was a theme in decline is not necessarily the ideal way for Bionicle to be handled. You're right that Ninjago is a much bigger theme than Bionicle, but that doesn't at all change that the "big 1HY wave, small 2HY wave" seems to have a proven track record for success. Ninjago's debut year was the LEGO Group's most successful launch for a new product range ever. The 2014 LEGO Movie range, too, was incredibly successful. So why would the LEGO Group mimicking this release pattern for Bionicle be a bad thing? Plus, one of the reasons Bionicle was so successful is because of how affordable the sets were. This is part of why large creature and vehicle sets like the Rahi never sold as well as the smaller and more affordable heroes and villains. Particularly the Manas, which was an abysmal failure — there's a reason LEGO never released another motorized Bionicle set. So I don't think it's too surprising that the creators of the Bionicle reboot chose to make the enemy characters for 2015 Toa-sized instead of releasing them as titan sets that are outside many potential buyers' reach financially. If this year's sets sell well, then maybe that might encourage the LEGO Group to expand the theme to include more larger sets. But for now, they're playing it safe by sticking with a more affordable price range that is supported by their experiences with other recent constraction themes like Hero Factory. I think this is a much better strategy than taking huge risks with $35-and-up sets before the theme even has a chance to generate a new audience.
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Is it really "cheap" to have fewer sets in the second half year than the first? It seems to me that's what the LEGO Group does with a lot of their themes, even the ones that are a really big deal for them. Look at last year's LEGO Movie sets: fourteen sets (and a collectible minifigure series!) in the first half of the year, just three in the second. Or at Ninjago's debut year in 2011: ten playsets, ten spinner sets, and a spinner starter set in the first half of the year; just five playsets and four spinner sets and in the second half of the year. Or this year's Elves sets: six sets in the first half of the year, just two in the second half. For that matter, look at the European release pattern for the 2001 Bionicle range: six heroes and six supporters in the first half of the year, five enemies in the second half of the year. Seem familiar?
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I don't know. It's true that the large Toa this year are $20, but that's partly due to inflation. If the new Tahu or Onua set had been released back in 2003 or 2004 they would have been closer to $15. By comparison, if a 2003 or 2004 titan like Makuta or Krekka were released today it would probably cost at least $25. And this makes sense with the sets' sizes — this year's Tahu may be roughly the same height as the 2003 Makuta, but the classic Makuta is still noticeably heavier/bulkier than the new Tahu if you hold one in each hand (just as Tahu, in turn, is noticeably heavier/bulkier than a Toa Inika despite being similar in height). A $25 or $30 Bionicle titan set would certainly be larger than any of the current Toa, but probably no bigger than some of the Bionicle theme's larger titans like the titan version of Takanuva (which cost $30 in 2008 and would probably cost closer to $35 today). I mean, Vader here is a $30 set. I imagine a $30 Bionicle set could easily be bigger (since it wouldn't need to cover Star Wars royalties) and pack in more functionality, but I doubt it would be absurdly tall or bulky. By the way, cache.LEGO.com now has pictures of these sets! 75107 Jango Fett | Box 75108 Clone Commander Cody | Box 75109 Obi-Wan Kenobi | Box 75110 Luke Skywalker | Box 75111 Darth Vader | Box 75112 General Grievous | Box
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I think it's extremely unlikely that the "villain pack" will not be released anywhere else. At this point I feel it's just a question of where and when.
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Yes, there is!
