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Forum - View topicNEWS: Lego to Create Speed Racer Toys
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NNUfergs
 Posts: 15 Location: Nampa, ID |
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I admit, I am pretty exited to see the Wachowski Bro's new film, but let's be honest. The fact that LEGO is making a toy line based the movie that is sure to sell solely because of the directors, is so far removed from actual anime that I don't see why it's on this website.
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Vicserr
 Posts: 480 Location: Carolina, Puerto Rico USA |
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Well, the original property is anime (Mach go, go, go), so at least it does have some relevance.
And Lego does have an anime inspired property with Exo-Force |
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mrsatan
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 915 |
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Lego was a lot more charming before they sold out. They actually first sold out with Star Wars. (Which is not mentioned in the article.) Lego also has an obviously anime-inspired toyline, whose name escapes me at the moment.
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JELEINEN
 Posts: 253 Location: Iowa |
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I take it you haven't bought a LEGO set in a while. The fact is that there's a wider variety of colors and parts than ever, which makes for some great building. The Star Wars and Exoforce sets have been great for the parts. If you want something a bit more old school, then the different creator sets are definitely worth checking out.
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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Care to explain how exactly a toy line can "sell out" in the manner you're speaking of? Do you feel the artistic integrity of a bunch of colored blocks was compromised when you could suddenly use those colored blocks to make Star Wars ships? |
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Dargonxtc
 Posts: 4463 Location: Nc5xd7+ スターダストの海洋 |
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I am surprised GATSU hasn't shown up to make some off the cuff remark...
Anyway, I have always loved Legos. Ever since I was a little kid. And I loved it when they came out with the Star Wars brand(1999). Even though I was way too old, I still have some of the nicer Star Wars ones sitting on shelves that I had bought from back then. And still have all my old ones going back to the 80's in a big trunk. As far as this goes, I think it is really neat that a Hollywood movie based on an anime is getting a Lego release. I am not sure if I will be getting any of these though, because the design will probably not appeal to me, but who knows, no one has seen them. (everyone knows you only buy designs you like right?) Plus, I am still deciding whether or not to order the new Star Destroyer(the 3,000 pcs., not 20,000 pcs.). I have no where to put it, but how the hell cool would that be? Okay, well I think it would be cool. 
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CorneredAngel
 Posts: 854 Location: New York, NY |
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Maybe wasn't the best way of saying it. But I know there's a few people out there, myself included, who think that Lego lost something when it started spoon-feeding kids play ideas or directions or whatever. |
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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They didn't stop selling the normal Lego sets when they released Star Wars ones. |
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Top Gun
 Posts: 4814 |
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True, they didn't, but the Star Wars sets marked the first outside-license-based model line that LEGO ever created on a widespread scale. Now don't get me wrong, I thought the marriage of LEGO and Star Wars was a completely awesome idea (hell, just look at those amazing collectors' edition super-detailed sets), and I own several of the earlier sets myself, but at the same time, it marked the beginning of a trend that only seems to be bigger than ever these days, that of creating set lines based on pre-existing franchises instead of letting kids create their own stories with the models that they offer. I grew up with LEGO during the early-to-mid 90s, the days when the LEGO System lines were in full swing. Pirates vs. the Armada; Wild West; the castle/forest lines; the Egyptian/jungle adventures; the realistic NASA-esque sets (though LEGO later partnered with NASA to make actual space sets, which was even cooler); all of the original sci-fi space lines like Blacktron, Space Police, Ice Planet, and Exploriens; and hell, all of the ordinary everyday sorts of sets like police, firemen, towns, pizzerias, campers, rafters, banks, and who knows what else. Just about all of these concepts have been dropped by the wayside in favor of movie/TV licenses. Even the models themselves seem to be less complex as a rule; the sets I've seen advertised today have all sorts of large pre-formed pieces, in opposition to all of the sub-assemblies I used to have to build back in the day. Hell, even the Bionicle concept started out really well with the Web tie-in, but then it just got very out-there and re-invented the setting several times for the sake of new model lines; I think they're finally getting back to Toa vs. Makuta just now. I know change is inevitable, but I just wish at least part of the company's lineup had stayed similar to what I used to love 10-15 years ago.
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testorschoice
Posts: 468 |
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A look at the Lego website shows that the company still does the following classic and new in-house lines: Mars Mission Castle Factory/Creator/Racers/Technic City Aqua Raiders Knights & Kingdoms Vikings Dino Sports Bellville Clickits Best of all, Lego now has these options that were completely unavailable 15 years ago: Mindstorms (Rubik's-Cube-Solving Lego robot? It's been done) User-customizable sets (No Lost City of Atlantis set? Design your own online) Easy Lego Bulk Ordering (Not enough green bricks for your landscape? Get a bucket) These last three options alone have given Lego more possibilities for sheer creative freedom than ever before, not less. |
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Dargonxtc
Posts: 4463 Location: Nc5xd7+ スターダストの海洋 |
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Blacktron and Space Police were among my favorites, and I believe those too had pre-formed "rare" peices. Thing is, what is really unimaginative is the idea that you can only use those pieces for one thing and one thing only. Hell, you can build a ton of different things with just the pieces that come with the Millenium Falcon alone. No previous Legos needed. I don't know where the idea came that the blocks themselves have become sold out, when frankly you can still make your own designs as simple or as hard as you would like. By the way you can buy bulk blocks for cheap if you know where to look.
Was I sad to see the Blacktron and Space Police lines end? Yes I was. Just as I was sad when Classic Space ended. But if you look at the hundreds of different models of just those lines, and look at it as a collection as a whole they were really quite brilliant. And if they would have added any more, I think they would have been milking the tit a little too much, even for my tastes. From a business angle, since most of those lines are over a decade(some over 25) old, I think it would be awesome to bring some of them back and start the cycle anew, mixing old with the new. But that is more of just my inner Lego fanboy in me talking. |
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penguintruth
 Posts: 8503 Location: Penguinopolis |
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Legos might be cooler now than they've ever been. It makes me wish I was young enough to get away with playing with them. Then again, I do actively watch cartoons, but there has to be a limit somewhere.
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Top Gun
Posts: 4814 |
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The thing is, I always strictly stuck to building models by-the-numbers; I don't exactly have what you'd call creativity, so to me, it was the models themselves that mattered, not what you could use their bricks for.
I know that some of the older models did have specialty parts (like any of the cockpits/windows from the space sets, for instance), but what I was referring to were some of the finer parts, like hinges for instance. I know that some of the last LEGO sets I built had these rather bulky click-style hinge pieces, instead of the variety of fully-swinging hinge parts that I had used on older models, and that's just one example. Doing direct comparisons between the older models I have and the newer models I've seen, there just seems to have been a better sense of finer detail and more intricacy on the older LEGO System stuff. In any case, I'm glad that a few of the more recent product lines seem to be going back to the more classic town/castle themes; I just hope that the licensed products won't drown them out.
(And yes, I'm fully aware Mindstorms was a fantastic product idea, but that actually came out right in the middle of my LEGO-building glory days, so I kind of think of it as one of the older products anyway.) |
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