What other themes would you like in CCBS?

[Wiriamu]

Anyone who's read the Star Wars topic I started knows I'm big into CCBS; I've gone on at length about how Lego needs to do more Star Wars Buildable figures. But why stop there where there are plenty of other themes you could get into? Of course Lego has dabbled in Marvel and DC previously, and there's plenty more they could do there, but what do y'all think would make a great new CCBS theme?

 

Personally, I think it would be great-though unlikely-if Lego went back to the Middle Earth mythos with a CCBS line; I mean, they created a virtual CCBS Sauron as a boss in LEGO The Lord of the Rings: The Video Game for crying out loud! A recreation of that as an actual set would be great (especially if they could include a minifigure Sauron along with him) but that's just the start of possibilities. An Elendil/Isildur model would seem like a natural counterpart, though I don't know if they're big enough characters that Lego would want to produce them, but there's plenty of other more recognizable candidates. You could have at least four wizard sets (the two Gandalfs, Saruman, and Radagast) along with a Ringwraith, preferably with an interchangeable cowl and Witch-King helmet. Then of course there's Aragorn, Lurtz, Legolas, Bolg, Eowyn, Gothmog, Tauriel, Azog, Elrond, Warg, Boromir, the King of the Dead, Theoden...you get the idea.

 

Of course a Middle Earth line would be uniquely suited to feature additional smaller sets, between at least 15 Dwarves (Thorin's company, Dain Ironfoot, and Gimli), at least 5 Hobbits (Bilbo and the Fellowship members), and Gollum. Some larger sets, such as trolls, Ents, the Balrog, an Eagle, or a Fell Beast, wouldn't go amiss either. Middle Earth is the line that most sticks out to me of the current licenses apart from the aforementioned comics lines.

[Sybre]

This has been said many times before, but here I am, ready to say it again: Exo-Force. Hero Factory's Invasion From Below arc has proven to us that we can get some pretty solid mechs using the CCBS system. I can't even imagine what a modern-day Exo-Force would look like; that's how promising it is!

 

Okay, okay; I'll toss a more original hat into the ring. Anybody remember Vikings? You probably don't, but the theme was about a bunch of nameless bearded men with weapons battling mythical creatures starting at three times the size of each warrior. Imagine how awesome a CCBS Vikings theme could look, especially with the monsters. You could get different Vikings in a variety of shapes and sizes along with all these cool, imaginatively-designed beasts. Think of how awesome a sea serpent would look with that kinda treatment!

 

Also, remember Knights' Kingdom? Yeah, a CCBS reboot won't be happening so long as Nexo Knights is around; let's not even get into that. The reason I bring it up is because we've found a cure for BIONICLE Syndrome back in 2015. If you remembered Knights' Kingdom back from 2004-2006, you'd also remember that it was three years worth of clone sets. It did even less than BIONICLE did back in the day; at least BIONICLE mixed things up every once in a while when it got too clone-heavy. However, BIONICLE 2015 was a revolutionary year because it tapped into CCBS's potential more than Hero Factory ever did. We got all these varied body types and a bit of personality to go with them, and that's something Knights' Kingdom to benefit from. I mean, we got Jayko: the fledgling knight who's quick on his feet, Santis: the serious powerhouse of the team, Rascus: the lighthearted jokester, and Danju: the intelligent and calculating knight. Imagine all that getting reflected in a CCBS line BIONICLE 2015 style. I could see it working once Nexo Knights runs outta shield power.

 

While I'm here, how about a CCBS version of LEGO City? *crickets chirp* I'll see myself out.

[Lyichir]

I don't know for sure whether CCBS would be the right system for it, but I'll repeat my long-held desire for Elves and maybe Friends or DC Super Hero Girls to get adapted into "buildable dolls". The character designs in those themes are great and I'd love to get them in a larger form. And I think that expanding into the full-size doll market would be a great way for Lego to follow up on the success of those themes with girls.

 

I also think that it's about time for Lego to give DC and Marvel Super Heroes figures another go. The first attempt was near the introduction of CCBS in general and had some shoddy designs, but the Star Wars figures have shown that Lego has gotten much better at adapting pre-existing licensed characters to Constraction.

 

Other than that I'm not really sure. A lot of the other themes I'm a fan of would not make much sense as CCBS themes due to using standard minifigures to depict their characters across all media (like The Lego Movie, Nexo Knights, and Ninjago). And even among licensed themes, there aren't a lot of properties that have as much sway in the action figure market as Star Wars or Super Heroes.

[Aanchir]

Ninjago would seem a plausible candidate. It's one of the LEGO Group's strongest IPs, it's action-oriented, and it's got nice colorful character designs. Many knock-offs have already created their own Ninjago-based CCBS characters, though they're usually fairly generic.

 

The biggest obstacle with Ninjago is that compared to Chima or Super Heroes, it might be tough to really vary the hero designs too much. Some of the ninja costumes have been fairly varied (including the current Season 7/Hands of Time costumes), but not to the extent that they strongly imply very different heights, physiques, or silhouettes. Also, there's the question of what the characters' heads should look like. Human-like heads with noses and other realistic features might look peculiar on characters who have never been portrayed as humans in any media (well, besides a surprising cameo in a LEGO Friends episode). So keeping their heads minifigure-shaped might be the best solution.

 

Nexo Knights could also be fun in constraction. In its case, its main characters have more obvious variations in their designs (particularly in the case of Axl), and their heavy armor offers more room to vary the builds than a more tight-fitting outfit might. As with Ninjago, keeping the characters' minifigure-shaped heads might still be ideal. A comic from one of the European Nexo Knights magazines gives a taste of what CCBS Nexo Knights might look like.

 

Elves is another theme I'd love to see in constraction, but perhaps a riskier prospect, considering it's a girl-oriented theme and LEGO hasn't really dabbled in those as far as constraction is concerned. Girl-oriented action figures/"action dolls" are increasing in profile across brands like DC Super Hero Girls and Miraculous, but given many girls' higher expectations of realism that prompted the creation of the mini-doll, some new pieces (like a new, more streamlined arm beam or shell) might need to be introduced in order to make CCBS builds seem less boxy. LEGO would also have to think hard about how to maximize potential for rebuilding without slipping into totally unnatural territory — customizable outfits would be ideal, but this might require a different approach than many other CCBS sets.

 

Super Heroes wouldn't be a totally new theme to CCBS, since LEGO had some Super Heroes CCBS sets in 2012, but it might be worth another shot if there aren't any rights issues. Superhero characters are a staple of the action figure market, and so are probably among the most promising licensed brands for CCBS sets. They often have very colorful and distinctive costumes as well as exciting powers. Judging from recent CCBS sets, I think LEGO would be able to design Super Heroes constraction sets much better today than they did in 2012. It's possible that the DC Super Hero Girls theme also might also be a safer way to experiment with girl-oriented constraction sets than an in-house theme.

[Chro]

This has been said many times before, but here I am, ready to say it again: Exo-Force. Hero Factory's Invasion From Below arc has proven to us that we can get some pretty solid mechs using the CCBS system. I can't even imagine what a modern-day Exo-Force would look like; that's how promising it is!

exo was the first line i was really obsessed with as a kid, i'd love to see a ccbs reboot

[Wiriamu]

I was never really into Exo-Force, but I could definitely see the potential for it; I definitely remember Knights' Kingdom and honestly think it better-apart from the monotony-than Nexo Knights. I think you could get quite a lot out of it, particularly with the opportunity for an expanded cast. As for Ninjago, while it certainly would be different, it seems like it would no greater a departure than The LEGO Ninjago Movie. More feminine CCBS figure would probably appeal to a wider group, so long as they don't overdo it; I think that the Buildable Jyn Erso was a nice example at least so far as an action line goes.

[Sybre]

 

This has been said many times before, but here I am, ready to say it again: Exo-Force. Hero Factory's Invasion From Below arc has proven to us that we can get some pretty solid mechs using the CCBS system. I can't even imagine what a modern-day Exo-Force would look like; that's how promising it is!

exo was the first line i was really obsessed with as a kid, i'd love to see a ccbs reboot

 

I never got too far into Exo-Force as a kid, but I loved it enough to miss it when it left. I'd kill for a reboot, especially after seeing what we had with Hero Factory's IFB.