Changes in System - The End of the Brick?

[fishers64]

So back in the day, I played with Lego sets that were Lego bricks. You know, those 2x2, 2x4 kind of things. I still have that old box somewhere. 

 

About a year ago, I bought a small Lego car with the Creator name on it. It was small, so I expected an easy, simple build. Instead, I found to my considerable shock that there was not a single actual brick in the set. The build was tricky and actually composed entirely of plates. But as I have continued purchasing System, I have found this trend to largely continue. I was glad to see the one brick in Rascal's Glider and the white "foot" parts in Cloud Cuckoo land...but so far in my Lego buying explorations I have met very few actual bricks.

 

Maybe it's because I've been producing smallerish sets, but that still doesn't make too much sense - bricks should be easier/cheaper to produce than parts that need new molds, right? And while it could be argued that bricks are too blocky and clunky, I've seen plates subbed in where bricks could do just as well. 

 

So what do you think? As System becomes more "themed" and more niche like Bionicle was, what do you think will happen to more standard hallmarks? Is the standard brick's demise on order? What do you think?

 

towers. more towers.

[Ballom Nom Nom]

A plate is a type of brick. I'm not sure exactly why you're treating them as completely different.

 

~B~

[fishers64]

A plate is a type of brick. I'm not sure exactly why you're treating them as completely different.

 

~B~

Considering that: 

 

1) Plates can have smooth tops. To my knowledge, bricks don't.

 

2) It takes much longer to build a tower with them. 

 

3) The amount of pain in my fingers to separate them is greater.

 

It is an important distinction that needs to be addressed. 

[believe victims]

You're conflating a set being small with a set being designed solely to be cheap to produce. Small sets use more plates than bricks because they need smaller detailing than the taller bricks would allow.

 

Standard bricks are nowhere near on their way out. Why would they be? Even in the most derived shaped sets, they are crucial to a solid inner structure, at least in large sets. There aren't as many exterior classic bricks as before because LEGO has used the parts at its disposal to make sleek, stylish cars and robots and boats and animals and what have you.

 

If you're really jonesing for a more classic-brick experience, might I recommend one of these? Of course, even these don't solely include classic bricks (since limiting yourself to classic bricks seems like an arbitrary and hampering handicap to give yourself) but perhaps it's close enough for you.

 

(Don't build a dinosaur like the one in 10693, though, or I will hunt you down.)

[Aanchir]

Standard bricks are totally not going away at any point. As Wally mentioned, a smaller impulse-priced set is less likely to have full-size bricks than a larger set. But bricks are still incredibly commonplace. The Juniors and Classic themes in particular use them extensively, since those two themes aim to deliver a timeless and kid-friendly free building experience, and even this year's more "themed" sets like City, Pirates, and Elves still include plentiful basic bricks. In fact, if you had bought a larger Creator set, you would have been practically guaranteed to get a fair sampling of larger bricks.

[Banana Gunz]

Eh, it's just evolution over time in my opinion. It was kind of inevitable. Honestly, I don't think they're on their way out. They're still used in tons of sets to my knowledge, though more as structural parts. If we're looking for bricks being used for the outsides of models... well things have gotten more complex than that. I remember buying a police station a long while back, and most of the walls were large panel bricks rather than regular ones. Interesting, eh.

[Rahkshi Lalonde]

as nice as classic bricks can be, they really don't do well for a model's shape, and, as mentioned,smaller models will use fewer of them to make their shape.

 

because they are, well, brick-shaped?

 

(a building-based set would be more likely to have "brick-shaped" elements than a vehicle or animal, i think. :0)

[Munty]

I can't imagine why Lego would ever say goodbye to the classic brick, nor should they. It's been a staple of the brand for longer than I've been enjoying it!

 

As has been mentioned above, the issue is most likely that you're buying smaller sets. Creator sets will rarely include anything like a 2x2 brick simply because it has so little adaptability and the whole point of creator sets is that they allow builders to arrange the same bricks in very different ways. That said however, perhaps you should try one of the creator buildings as to my knowledge every single one of them contains standard bricks! These include sloping bricks for the roof, single width bricksfor the walls and often the double width bricks you're missing out on for structural support.

Edited February 7, 2015 by Munty

[Xabla]

They never will, it just isn't main anymore.

[Lyichir]

Eh, it's just evolution over time in my opinion. It was kind of inevitable. Honestly, I don't think they're on their way out. They're still used in tons of sets to my knowledge, though more as structural parts. If we're looking for bricks being used for the outsides of models... well things have gotten more complex than that. I remember buying a police station a long while back, and most of the walls were large panel bricks rather than regular ones. Interesting, eh.

The use of large panel bricks fulfills the same function compared to regular bricks that regular bricks provide compared to plates. They both make it so that a set can go together quicker and more easily for young builders (can you imagine making a large building using nothing but plates?) and are less expensive to produce than their smaller brethren (three stacked plates use more plastic than a similarly-sized brick, and to create a wall the size of a large wall panel often takes five or more bricks).

 

Neither of these things are really anything new, so while Lego is constantly changing in small ways, basic bricks are never, ever going away.

[Banana Gunz]

 

Eh, it's just evolution over time in my opinion. It was kind of inevitable. Honestly, I don't think they're on their way out. They're still used in tons of sets to my knowledge, though more as structural parts. If we're looking for bricks being used for the outsides of models... well things have gotten more complex than that. I remember buying a police station a long while back, and most of the walls were large panel bricks rather than regular ones. Interesting, eh.

The use of large panel bricks fulfills the same function compared to regular bricks that regular bricks provide compared to plates. They both make it so that a set can go together quicker and more easily for young builders (can you imagine making a large building using nothing but plates?) and are less expensive to produce than their smaller brethren (three stacked plates use more plastic than a similarly-sized brick, and to create a wall the size of a large wall panel often takes five or more bricks).

 

Neither of these things are really anything new, so while Lego is constantly changing in small ways, basic bricks are never, ever going away.

 

 

Yeah, I know. I'm aware of their usage, but it just shows that there are other alternatives to the basic brick that Lego finds efficient or better aesthetically. I don't know how I feel about these panels myself, since they reduce part counts by some and can make sets less expensive but on the other hand are less practical in my style of building (though they can sometimes find their uses).

[Toa Turing]

They've been getting less common in standalone sets over the years as Lego adds more detail to their builds. However, they will always be used to some degree, especially in larger sets, and they will always be the staple of "classic" boxes of Legos. I suppose you could say that Lego has divided. There are the boxes of basic bricks are the more detailed sets that make up the other themes. I think it's interesting to note the rebranding of the boxes of basic bricks as "classic." It may seem to indicate a new direction for Lego, but I think it's just an acknowledgement of the direction they've been going for decades.