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A Problem I Have With Lego


Bambi

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Every theme has to have these big vehicles.

In Ninjago, they have to have these big vehicles. I never followed the line, but from what I can remember it didn't start out that way. Now they've got helicopters, aircraft, and whatever else. It can't be simple, they need to make ninjas be using vehicles. It takes the fun from it, especially since every other theme is about people with their cars and helicopters or whatever.

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Ninjago did have big vehicles from the very start, but in its first year it was only the villains that had them.

 

Honestly, though, I don't mind. I think the vehicles in themes like Ninjago and Legends of Chima tend to be pretty awesome. The only disadvantage of the emphasis on vehicles is that there tend to be very few location-based sets, but that's not entirely a new trend... after all, themes like Space, Aquazone, and Alpha Team have always had a similar modus operandi.

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Ninjago did have big vehicles from the very start, but in its first year it was only the villains that had them.

 

Honestly, though, I don't mind. I think the vehicles in themes like Ninjago and Legends of Chima tend to be pretty awesome. The only disadvantage of the emphasis on vehicles is that there tend to be very few location-based sets, but that's not entirely a new trend... after all, themes like Space, Aquazone, and Alpha Team have always had a similar modus operandi.

Yeah, that more of what I meant. The over-emphasis on vehicles so there's not many location-based sets takes the fun out of it.

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I'm with you. The Creator Sunset Speeder and the Ninjago X-1 Ninja Charger - two similar cars in one year. (The X-1 is ritizer, though.) Planes also seem to be a thing for multiples. 

 

The thing about "location" sets is that they tend to use more parts and be expensive, though. Cloud Cuckoo Land was an exception, but the rule still applies. They probably include the vehicles to make a wider variety of price points. 

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The fact is that they sell. Regardless of the theme, they're popular. And frankly, I think they're easier large sets to design and make fitting across themes than buildings and such.

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I totally agree. Like someone on MOCpages said, just compare the Orient Expedition Scorpion Palace  with any similarly sized NInjago or CHima set, and you'll see how much it has gone downhill.

OK, I'll bite. Scorpion Palace is a 341-part set that cost $50. Factoring for inflation, its actual cost at any point in the past four years would be between $60 and $65 dollars.

 

So I think it's fair to compare it with The Croc Swamp Hideout and Sir Fangar's Ice Fortress, both of which cost $70, or Lavertus's Outland Base, which costs just $60. All three sets have a similar footprint to the Scorpion Palace and as many or more action features, not to mention over 600 pieces each. Lavertus's Outland Base in particular has more than twice as many pieces as the Scorpion Palace, and while some of those pieces go towards the included vehicles, that still tells you a lot about the actual building value of sets from the late 90s and early naughts.

 

As for the Ninjago theme, $60 in 2011 would buy you the Spinjitzu Dojo, which is not as tall as the Scorpion Palace but boasts a similar footprint, a similar number of action features, and 373 pieces. $70 in 2011 would buy you Garmadon's Dark Fortress, a considerably larger set than the Scorpion Palace with 518 pieces and far more action features. And $70 in 2013 would buy you the Temple of Light, which wasn't quite so large but included two floors and a formidable mech.

 

So yes, there are a lot of location-based sets in both themes that offer a comparable or better value than the Scorpion Palace for around the same price. "Someone on MOCpages" doesn't know what they're talking about.

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Also keep in mind that LEGO does focus group testing with their target audience. I'm guessing that vehicles tend to test better than playsets, probably because kids can run around and swoosh them and such. And who needs a playset when you're 6-8 and any furniture in your house becomes a playset? Put them on a table and you're on a mountain. Put them under a table and you're in a cave. Put them in the tub and you're in the ocean. Et cetera. Clearly there's still a market for the playsets, and a sizable one, or else they wouldn't get made, but there's probably more interest overall in vehicles.

 

And Aanchir makes some great points about comparing the new with the old. I have fond memories of a lot of old sets from the 90s, but I feel that modern sets just blow them away.

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And who needs a playset when you're 6-8 and any furniture in your house becomes a playset? Put them on a table and you're on a mountain. Put them under a table and you're in a cave. Put them in the tub and you're in the ocean.

Good point. I understand that the vehicles sell better, but again, that takes some of the fun out of it for me. I'd rather build my own vehicles and buy a playset than buy a vehicle and build a playset.

Oh well, I guess it doesn't matter too much since I don't really buy Lego that often. Maybe the new Bionicle sets will change that? :P

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