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Thoughts on Future Lego in 2014

xccj

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So I just posted about my buying habits on this year’s sets, and now I’ll look to the sets coming out for 2014. At least in the winter, anyway. I’ll focus on the ones that are public on BrickSet, just so that way I don’t accidentally discuss any unreleased sets. (But I’m pretty sure most of them have been revealed by now.)

 

Again, I’ll start off with the theme I’m most excited for: Ninjago. It’s rebooted with robots and new vehicles and everything. And a fair amount of purple elements, although so far 3 or the 4 villain groups that the Ninjas have faced have included purple highlights. And Ninjas with hair! Finally. Their hair in the show helped give them personalities, and although I was able to recreate Zane, Jay, and Cole’s hairs (granted, Cole’s was expensive to find at the time) Kai and Lloyd were more difficult, so it’s cool to see new molds for each of them. The vehicles don’t necessarily look revolutionary, but they look good enough and have a plethora of interesting new pieces within them. I’ll probably try to get them all, except for maybe the MechDragon (due to cost) just as a way to make sure I complete my 2014 Ninja collection. And the new techno-blade weapons are cool too. (Because I may have picked one of the sets up at a Fred Meyers who released them a couple of weeks early… maaaaaaaybe.)

 

I’m much more torn on Hero Factory. On one hand, I love the idea of more mechs using the ball-joint system they have going, and some of the designs look pretty good. But on the other hand… the whole idea of constraction sets is to build your own larger hero, like a Toa or whatever, and by reducing the protagonists to minifigs again feels like you’re losing some of that feel that made Bionicle so great. Yeah, there’s still the constraction monster figures, and then the mech, but I’m worried about the direction this is going, like build-you-own-figure will soon be a thing of the past. (Not to mention that the strange look of the Hero figs seems to feel more like an off-brand set compared to traditional Lego sets… but I guess that’s a complaint that Exo Force probably got with it’s robots, and it’s the complaint that certain AFOLs have been giving about Bionicle this whole time.) All the same, I’m interested in some of the new parts and colors they’re coming out with, so I’ll probably grab one or two.

 

Legends of Chima looks interesting. It seems like the former warring tribes now have to unite to face the spiders and scorpions and bats? I dunno the story, but some of the newer figs look okay. Most of the vehicle sets aren’t exactly appealing to me; they have okay designs but nothing that’s a must buy. However, the Rhino one looks really cool (is that sand blue??) so I’ll try and save up for that one. The Legend Beasts seem to be very hit-or-miss types. The eagle and wolf are good, but the lion and gorilla are laughable, and the crocodile gets a middle slot. Still, lots of cool curved pieces and new ball joints in good colors, not to mention some classic figs. (Also, Eris comes in like 3 cheap sets this year?? Why’d I go out of my way to buy her at BrickCon??) Anyway, I think I’ll pick up a few.

 

The Lego Movie is also promising to release some really awesome sets. A few seem to focus on Emmet and friends on their adventures, while others have classic city vehicles being transformed into jets or mechs to fight cube-shaped bad guys. I, for one, absolutely love the idea of things like the Fire Truck mech. There’s like no other theme this would fit into, and it’s too wacky for a standard city theme, so I think it’s awesome that they’re fitting this in with the movie. Plus, lots of great City minifigs that look cool, in addition to seemingly having a higher percentage of females in there. (Although a fair amount seem to be the damsels-in-distress with the vehicle transformation sets.) Realistically, I’d want most all of them, but to start out with I’ll probably just aim for the Cycle Chase and the Ice Cream Truck.

 

Also related to the Lego Movie is the 12th wave of Collectible Minifigures. And I WANT THEM ALL!! Very few duds in here. Maybe dynamite-robot guy is a little unappealing, and the Cop and President Business and Emmet are just slight alterations from their in-set counterparts. But I don’t care, I’d still want em! However, if wave 13 is really just the Simpsons… well it might be the first wave I skip entirely. I have no real desire to buy the Simpsons, even if I’m not opposed to the theme as much as some people are. I’ll just show my opinion based on my purchases. Of course, I may change my mind if they come with some exceptionally good elements or designs that would be good for customization.

 

The upcoming Hobbit sets are also not quite up my alley. The Dol Guldur do not appeal to me in the slightest, although the figs are decent. Really, they look kind of like the Moria set from last year, where a bunch of detail was put into lackluster walls. Maybe it’ll make more sense once I’ve seen the movie. The Lake Town one does look good, and the Elf Army seems like a pricey army-builder with a mild build included, but neither really call out to me either. I’ll instead hold out for some hopeful LotR ones next year… if some of those do come out.

 

The Batman Super Hero sets are intriguing, with a nice expanded cast including Robin II, Nightwing, Batgirl, and the Flash! In particular, I’m eyeing the Joker Steam Roller with Batgirl. The Steam Roller looks okay, albeit relying on a few larger pieces, but the Bat Plane or whatever looks awful. I can’t tell if it has a function or not, but I’m torn on if the minifigures and parts there are worth it. (And I guess they'll have Spider Man ones comming out too? Not that interested, but I'll wait and see. Although future X-Men or Captain America models for a summer release would be really great!)

 

I’m really no longer interested in Star Wars now that I’ve acquired the original trilogy figs that I wanted. So most of the sets are bleh as far as I’m concerned. Except the Micro Fighters. I’ve heard a lot of criticism for them, but I love the chibi look and can’t wait to get a smallish Millennium Falcon to be on display! I wish they had continued the planet sets, but I suppose they’ll continue to make micro ships in polybag form, and these new models are a great new size. And hey, the scale was applauded when it was the NYCC Slave II promotional set, so I’m happy that they’re expanding this and making them affordable too! (I assume they’ll be affordable at $10-$12)

 

Some of the upcoming Friends sets have some decent colors in them, and I’m particularly interested in the ones that include the penguin and a dolphin… sure, they’re just large molds BUT IT’S A CUTE PENGUIN AND DOLPHIN!! Related to that are the new Disney Princess sets, which have some good usages of colors I want like purple, lavender, and azure. None of the Princess ones really seem like must-buys for me, even though they’re nice designs, but gosh if they had made one with Jasmine and Aladdin, I would’ve bought that one up in a hurry. (I would say Aladdin is one of my favorite Disney movies ever.) I’ll be curious to see if the Princess line is as successful as Friends.

 

And then there’s Technic. Um, I don’t really buy a lot of Technic, even if I build in it quite often, but mostly I BrickLink the specific parts I need. I guess I like it better when I’m building Rahi out of it.

 

And then there’s the Mixels. The previews we saw of them make me think they’ll be affordable and have some good pieces in nice colors, not to mention a good amount of the new mini ball joint that intermingle with standard System elements. I’m excited for them, but I really haven’t seen what all the sets will be like. If they are impulse priced, I’ll probably pick em all up.

 

TL/DR Summery:

 

So, for now, if I had to pick a few themes to focus on, it would be Ninjago and The Lego Movie (including the full wave of Series 12 minifigs), along with the Chima Rhino truck, Star Wars Millennium Falcon and X Wing Micro Fighter, the Friends sets with the penguin and dolphin, and one or two Hero Factory mechs.

 

So which ones are you interested in?

 

:music:

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dviddy

Yay for Fred Meyer! I am enjoying the little Ninjago 2014 set I picked up for myself. Lloyd's blonde hair is really adorable.

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xccj

It's like you let me know they were on shelves and I actually went to the same store! (I spent my weekend geeking out over the ninjdroids.)

 

(Oh yeah and Fredies had at least the $12 set for $10 and the $60 for $50, which I decided not to point out to anybody there...)

 

:music:

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dviddy

Dude that same store today was wiped OUT of the new Hobbit sets. I'm betting a PORTLUG guy probably came in and grabbed all of them himself. There are a few of them who like to do that.

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Vorahk1Panrahk2

I think I'm going to have to disagree with you on Hero Factory. They certainly do go against what constraction sets have been for the last twelve years, but personally I think that's okay. In my book there's absolutely nothing wrong with changing up the formula a bit, and the builds look pretty good to boot.

 

As far as other themes go, Chima, Friends, and Princesses look pretty fun (and, as you said, provide some great colors), but I just don't have the money (or space!) to go out and keep buying LEGO so I think I'll just admire the glossy pictures and leave it at that. I do want to buy one of the Star Wars sets, if only to see how the new spring missiles will work.

 

My only focus this year will be Hobbit and Lord of the Rings sets- I love the theme too much to let these go. I do agree with you that Dol Goldur (and to an extent the Elf Army) are lacking in terms of the actual builds (especially when compared to last year's sets), but I still plan on throwing money at them, if only for the figures. And, of course, I will be buying more minifigures because they're cheap, don't require a lot of storage space, and are awesome in pretty much every way.

 

My interest in Ninjago, Superheroes and Lego movie sets is pretty much nonexistent. I do like the builds for the Lego Movie, just not enough to buy any.

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fishers64

I have my eye on the new HF and the Lego Movie. I want to see the actual movie, though, before I decide on which of the latter to pick up, if any.

 

Edit: Also the new Creator and Chima, although not as much as those previously mentioned.

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Aanchir

Lloyd (and Sensei Garmadon) don't have new molds for their hair. It's the same as Anakin Skywalker's hair from the Clone Wars sets (and from some of the more recent Episode III sets). With the new recolors for those two and the new mold for Kai, younger Lloyd is now the only character from the Ninjago sets who doesn't have an appropriate hairpiece (the show uses Ron's hair from the original Harry Potter sets, but that has never been released in Brick Yellow/Tan). I'm excited about the new Ninjago sets, and they're beautiful designs, but I'm going to be putting them off until I'm satisfied with my Ninjago 2013 collection.

 

I love the new direction for Hero Factory I don't see what's wrong with pushing constraction in a different direction. In fact, I hope it encourages more System fans to make the leap to constraction with the knowledge that the sets will be considerably more compatible with the sets and figs they already have. Constraction has long had a stigma of being too childish for most AFOLs to take seriously. I think adding minifigures might have the potential to change that in their own small way.

 

Plus, just as with the BIONICLE playsets, this opens a whole new world to MOCists, since it is no longer completely impossible to MOC Hero Factory settings at a reasonable scale. I already have a MOC of the assembly tower underway on LEGO Digital Designer. Furthermore, there's no reason constraction HAS to be only for large, buildable figures - there are microscale System sets; why not microscale constraction sets?

 

My favorite of the Hero Factory sets is Furno Jet Machine. Beautiful skeleton design, and I don't think it would have been nearly as well-suited to anything OTHER than a mech. In fact, changing the content of the sets opens up a world of new building opportunities, since mecha models do not need to look as lifelike as character or monster models. Evo XL Machine is also brilliant, and integrates a clever Makuta-esque gear function using a Technic turntable. Looks like we can expect a BZPower review fairly soon.

 

The Chima legend beasts are brilliant and I hope to eventually get all of them. A lot of people have said they look silly, but I don't think so. They're a bit cartoony, but so is the theme as a whole, and there's a certain amount of cartooniness that is inherent to the LEGO brand. Nothing wrong with that. The other Chima sets are also cool, but I don't want to commit to frantically collecting yet another theme besides Ninjago and Hero Factory.

 

I'll be more than satisfied with the Legend Beasts, I think. Lion and Wolf are top priority because they have the new joint pieces in the largest quantities, and I look forward to getting a chance to really experiment with those. The Eagle is my next favorite, but it doesn't offer the same amount of immediate MOCing potential. Crocodile is cool. Gorilla is not at the top of my list, but it's a Mark Stafford design so I know I can expect a quality model there.

 

The LEGO movie sets are cool, and the movie looks like it's going to be phenomenal, but as I said, I don't want to commit to yet another theme. I'm running out of spaaaaaaace.

 

You sure about picking up all the Mixels? It's not going to be too expensive, necessarily, but... there's going to be 27 of them total. I think you can probably afford to pick and choose, and you'll still end up with lots of great MOCing parts. I was excited about the Mixels myself, but less so now that I've seen the Legend Beasts, which replace that zaniness with stylized elegance while still being a treasure-trove of MOCing parts. It helps, of course, that my younger brother is hyped about the Mixels and insists he wants all of them, whereas he has no interest in the Legend Beasts.

 

So for me, it's gonna be Hero Factory, Legend Beasts, and Ninjago. I'm more excited about Ninjago than the Legend Beasts from a collecting perspective, but as I said, it'll be a while before I'm done with Ninjago 2013. Plus, it may turn out that the summer Ninjago sets (if there are any) provide even cooler opportunities to get the new figs. So I'm going to bide my time with regard to that theme and hope it pays off in the long run.

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xccj

Oh, that's an Anakin hair piece? Eh, really don't pay attention to Clone Wars stuff at all, but it's a good fit. And I can do without kid Lloyd... annoying bugger anyway. :P I always imagined Kai with the hair from the sleeping kid, but the new mold works.

 

And to be clear, I'm not saying that this is a bad direction for Hero Factory to move in, or that I'm against minifig versions of larger characters. (Guys, remember who's going out of his way to make Toa Mata Minifigs?) It's not so much the single series but a nagging worry that this may be a perminant move for the theme. (That, and I dunno if the constraction sets have been selling so well lately, so that too could lead to the demise of this construct system, which would be a legit reason even if it disappoints me.) But these are just mild worries and I'll wait to see what the theme brings.

 

My problem with the legend beasts is that the first episodes of the show had them as really organic and majestic creatures, and the gorilla's face in particular doesn't look either IMO. Still, useful parts, and the eagle and wolf seem to be pretty good designs.

 

Also, 27 Mixels? I was only aware of like 6, but if those are just for the first wave... hmm. If that's the case, I hope they start using some abstract colors, like they did with the Slizers, and don't stick to repeating a few drab shades, like they kinda did with Bionicle in the end.

 

:music:

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