Yeah. Probably their worst licensing idea.

I saw them at TRU last week and couldn't believe the mark-up. I'll wait till they make it to the clearance shelf.

which doesn't help because licensing is lego's worst idea, hey we've got this super awsome toy to help foster kids imaginations so were gonna repackage some shit they already know so they can relive all the adventures from their favorite movie which came from someone elses imagination so they don't have to use theirs because you know kids don't need to use their imagination

I agree
Didn't need License when I was a kid to have fun with Lego.

Ach, who is at the helm of this ship? Not only do the character sets of these recent Legos completely destroy any potential for imagination, as you said, the playsets themselves are completely non-flexible when it come to building. Whatever happened to the days of just having boxes full of coloured bricks? AND on top of it all Mega Bloks already did it.

when we were kids spacemen didn't even need visors on their helmets to keep out the vacuum of space... ah simpler times

I really like the LOTR set I just got (9471 - Uruk-hai Army) and I don't think anyone dislikes the Star Wars sets really, so licensing isn't all THAT bad

They have the whole "Creator" series too so it's not like they've abandoned creativeness

There was a whole thing on NPR last week about how licensing saved Lego so in that respect I'm fine with them doing whatever they need to to not go out of business.

yea I keep the minifigs and let my son play with all the lego. If these themes keep them relevant and in business- then i'm all for it.

this to me is a sign of 1-3 things
1. lego had some shit management (guessing this isn't the case)
2. more parents need to actually be parents so their kids grow up not to be a cancer on this world(ding!)
3. some parents who ARE being good parents are having their work undone by their child interreacting with society and needs to take a more hands on aproach to parenting by slapping the shit out of every idiot they come across(ding ding ding!)

and this just brings up a relevant fact in the toy world period (past,present and future) what the hell is up with kids NEEDING a media tie in to play with a toy? I don't get it, although alot of what I played with as a kid pertained to licensed characters I would never go blah at a toy because it had no "relevance" zoids are one of the coolest toys on the planet and they went decades without a major tie in (back story in pamphlets I am not going to count) smogun don't need no stinkin' movie to shine, astro-mu 5 are killer (no big movie there) I understand it all from the corporate marketing side but on the side of a child who likes toys I do not, maybe someone could shed light on this as like I said even as a kid hypez meant little to me, some of the coolest shit I had was generic as hell like the turkey hand puppet with a light sensor in its mouth that would cause it to crow loud as hell when you opened the mouth

to help you understand- I'm sure the tie in is for the adults. the kids could care less lego is lego.
I'm going to buy him lego regardless so the pot is sweetened when i get a lego version wolverine.

Actually, I can't remember my sources but I'm fairly sure that Lego's most popular lines are Ninjago and City. I've actually looked nearly everywhere in four cities and online for Ninjago sets for my son for Christmas and can't find any. I'm just back form our local TrU and they didn't have a single set left, even the very pricey ones!

Lego did have fairly shitty management at some point and it was on the verge of going under before they pulled in someone from outside the family who had the company do a 180. At that point, they were producing much too many different kinds of parts - they cut by something like 30-40% since if I remember well, so the "back then we only had bricks" argument is actually closer to the truth than it was fifteen years ago.

I also disagree that licensed sets kill kids' imaginations. Whatever we build together, my kids will usually stop after a few steps in the instructions and start building their own models that have nothing to do with Star Wars, Lord of the Rings or whatever.

Look at the sets of these last few years and the sets of ten years ago. The quality of the designs has improved tremendously, and that's using the same parts that were available. I think -that- is a major bonus.

And I'd totally play devil's advocate and say I believe a lot of people here buy toys because they're produced by a particular maker or artist. That isn't very much different from licensing, no? And let's please not get into hype... The scale is different, but the mechanism is the same. I think Hebdige's Meaning of Style is still totally valid.

Just random arguments from a sleepy brain...

Their packaging is top notch too. A separate little bag just for the painted helmet and the cape was enclosed in a small cardboard box. Shows that they care about the collectors, and not just putting out product as cheaply as possible

I also still need to go to Legoland...if there are any exclusives there I can get them for you guys

edit: actually, legoland is getting mixed reviews. pretty pricey and not much to do for adults apparently...

I grew up with turtles, so Im all in for these.

Also, a lot of the vintage stuff that people seek here is just a toy licensed after a movie or series. The model helps the company stay in the public eye and at the same time it provides new ways for the bricks to be on the market.

Nobody's brain is getting zapped. It all comes down to good parenting and even at that, nobody does that right.

You can always order or buy simple bricks from the lego store. I do that for my little cousins.

I started building again, with Melissa's bricks.
I need to dig my own out of storage.
It's so damn fun.

...and there are no exclusive sets there. The sites are not owned by Lego anymore. Apparently the place is great for younger kids. I think Bryce went recently? Maybe he can tell you more.

Ah, that sucks. Maybe when I have kids

Got these two today (good reviews on Amazon)

Yeah. Legoland is great if you have kids. It's so kid friendly and the lines are extremely short. My kids enjoyed it. I got a chance to geek out over legos. Strictly for adults not so much.


I just saw another license got approved. Back to the Future. Kind of cool but something I probably wouldn't buy.

I think my parents bought my son the lego death star for Christmas... is it wrong to be jealous of your kids legos?

yes very. or you can just send him to his room and then you have the deathstar all to your self.

I want to get that so bad. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a deal. Hoping to grab one eventually for under $300.00.

He did get it and I am jealous! I wish you luck but they always seem to go up in price whenever Lego is not offering them. I've seen them selling for a grand on ebay but I assume anyone buying at that price is unaware that Lego busts them back out every so often. Even at the retail price it's not to bad considering the number of pieces and mini-figures included. I think we will start construction this Sunday. Hopefully no rebels blow it to shit.

I got it about 3 years ago. It actually is the model that made me start collecting Lego again. Had it destroyed by the kids three times since. It now lays in a big tub till I find the courage to build it again, which won't be before we move. I recommend it to everyone. I'm fairly sure it will go way up in price once they stop production. Oh and I recommend getting a round rotating board for around $10 at Ikea. Makes displaying it really nice.