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"Lego Legacies" Set Line


fishers64

What do think about this idea (see below)  

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I was thinking about all the recent news articles, and I thought of this: 

 

Could Lego bring back the sets (not the story, but the sets) of old themes under the same banner, like Lego Legacies or some other name, using modern Lego parts but maintaining the old themes' aesthetic qualities? For example, they could produce a few Exo-Force, a monorail train, and maybe a few Fabuland-style sets (maybe even a couple Galidor :P) under this name and sell them. I'm thinking that this would not be big (maybe only 1-3 sets per year, and perhaps in limited release) but it might be a good idea to appeal to parents who remember the old lines, and little kids who like trains.

 

What do you think of this idea? Would you like to see this idea? Would it actually be possible? Or is this another one of my crazy ideas? Vote and discuss away!  

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This is actually a really inquisitive and interesting idea! I'm not sure if I would personally purchase any of these sorts of sets, but it certainly could give LEGO some business. I think that with the return of Bionicle such a "Legacy" line wouldn't do as well as it would under the circumstance that Bionicle would not be returning. But regardless, I'd love to see some Exo-Force sets get sold again!

 

-Rez

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I don't think this would ever be practical.

 

Your proposal is very similar to the Lego Legends line, which was notoriously unsuccessful. The sets used modern parts to recreate older sets, which meant that collectors or older fans were not that interested (because the sets were inauthentic), while younger fans saw little appeal in the outdated designs. There was just no audience.

 

It sounds like you intend these sets to be homages rather than the replicas the Lego Legends theme tried to come up with, but either way I just don't see potential there. Many older sets just aren't that appealing apart from nostalgia, and even if you distilled them down to their best aspects, the resources used on their design and production would reap greater rewards if applied to a completely new set or modern theme. And of course the people who hold the highest regard for old designs are also the most picky (and the most likely to own the originals)— so if the new sets fall short of the old by any measure, they'll be scorned.

Formerly Lyichir: Rachira of Influence

Aanchir's and Meiko's brother

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If they just did this with Space, releasing some good old blue with yellow cockpits, trans-orange chainsaws, and insectoids, I could see it doing fairly well. I've still seen a pretty good fanbase across the internet for Classic Space (see Exo-Suit), and it could do well. Most other themes already have very similar, modern counterparts (Alpha Team=Ultra Agents, Castle, Bionicle ;P), so they would be pretty much pointless to rerelease. Still would be cool to see some modern Roboriders or Johnny Thunder though.

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This wouldn't work for things like Exo-Force, but what if they made one or two older sets part of the relevant current line? For example, they could release an old Castle set as part of the current line. This might make it appeal more to kids, while also satisfying older fans.

Edited by John Smith
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I don't think this would ever be practical.

 

Your proposal is very similar to the Lego Legends line, which was notoriously unsuccessful. The sets used modern parts to recreate older sets, which meant that collectors or older fans were not that interested (because the sets were inauthentic), while younger fans saw little appeal in the outdated designs. There was just no audience.

 

It sounds like you intend these sets to be homages rather than the replicas the Lego Legends theme tried to come up with, but either way I just don't see potential there. Many older sets just aren't that appealing apart from nostalgia, and even if you distilled them down to their best aspects, the resources used on their design and production would reap greater rewards if applied to a completely new set or modern theme. And of course the people who hold the highest regard for old designs are also the most picky (and the most likely to own the originals)— so if the new sets fall short of the old by any measure, they'll be scorned.

Yes, I'm looking to create sets in the style of the old ones, not recreate the exact sets themselves. They would be entirely new, but based on them. 

 

It would be like if say, Exo-Force was still around as a product line today and was releasing new ones. New Exo-Force sets would be different than old ones. And if they made a monorail set today, it would be markedly different from old monorail - probably use vastly different parts and concepts, for one thing. They could make big changes to appeal to today's kids if they needed/wanted to.

 

In that sense, they would be entirely new sets - but putting them together in a single theme and giving a limited release would avoid the expense of keeping all the concepts going at once, since they could be rotated out by each wave. It's a way of appealing to a niche audience with something that isn't big enough to support its own theme anymore.

 

You have some good points here anyway though, but that's what I'm thinking. :) 

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Yes, I'm looking to create sets in the style of the old ones, not recreate the exact sets themselves. They would be entirely new, but based on them. 

 

It would be like if say, Exo-Force was still around as a product line today and was releasing new ones. New Exo-Force sets would be different than old ones. And if they made a monorail set today, it would be markedly different from old monorail - probably use vastly different parts and concepts, for one thing. They could make big changes to appeal to today's kids if they needed/wanted to.

 

In that sense, they would be entirely new sets - but putting them together in a single theme and giving a limited release would avoid the expense of keeping all the concepts going at once, since they could be rotated out by each wave. It's a way of appealing to a niche audience with something that isn't big enough to support its own theme anymore.

In that case, I would think it would make more sense to release things like this as a part of LEGO Ideas, not as a new product line. That way, not only would the fans be able to tell LEGO exactly what kind of changes they'd be willing and able to tolerate, but there would be a way to measure which "niche" themes still have a substantial-enough support base to support individual sets. Even though the Exo-Suit was way different from actual classic space, it was a great example of how the LEGO Group can use fan input throughout every step of the design process to ensure they create a set fans love and not one that's viewed as unfaithful to those fans' wishes.

 

Really, there's nothing stopping people from creating projects like this on LEGO Ideas right now!

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This is an interesting idea, but it seems like LEGO Legends didn't generate a lot of sales. Personally, if LEGO did this with sets I'm nostalgic about, I'd probably just think, "This is a nice move," and never buy any.

 

Also, inflation could play a factor. Consider the original 1999 Trade Federation Droid Fighter (<$10) and the 2014 Vulture Droid (>$20). It's true that the new model is larger and includes minifigures, but that's not the only reason it's over twice as expensive. Today, LEGO would be stuck either charging noticeably higher prices for the same set or watering down the complexity to save on parts (the second option would really turn off older LEGO fans who might be nostalgic for the originals).

"You are an absolute in these uncertain times. Your past is forgotten, and your
future is an empty book. You must find your own destiny, my brave adventurer.
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