OLD TRU Exclusive set poll

[Deinonychus]

EDIT - Okay, so it's an old poll, but somehow I was just emailed about it NOW, so perhaps there's something up...

The LEGO Kids Inner Circle has a new poll about a new CITY set to be sold in Toys R Us next year. They show three pieces of concept art, then ask for a vote, then ideas on them.

So, I picked the Truckstop, despite thinking the Train Fanatics will force the "Transport" one through. Even suggested tossing a Lot Lizard into the set (which I'm sure will be ignored ). They also asked for how you'd describe each set, to which the only response for #3 could be "10184 Town Plan"

Also, at the beginning of the questionnaire, they asked for types of themes that haven't been done before, from which I leaped at the chance to suggest 1920's Gangsters, Victorian Steampunk, and an original LEGO Superhero line.

So, this is sort of like the big Star Wars poll that resulted in the Home One set. Any way you slice it, it's a satisfying amount of interactivity between LEGO and the consumers

[Legoliner Pilot]

This poll is quite old. About 6 months, I think.

Some of the sets have already been released (e.g. the Cafe in that one drawing is the Pizzeria)

[David Thomsen]

Wow... that really is Town City Plan. Are you sure this isn't an old poll that you've stumbled upon? I can't seem to find it. Probably because I'm not a member.

If I could vote, I'd choose the third one, making the suggestion that they at least try to make it different from Town City Plan. I think more civilian buildings would be great, expecially the toy store.

My dream lego range would be 18th century aristocratic lego. Like, the society that the Admiral returns to when he's not fighting pirates. There could be an Opera, and a Ballroom, and a horse and carriage, and elegant dresses and powdered wigs... except it'll never be made, because it's not exactly a kid-oriented theme. Ahh, though...

[YG-49]

Yes, the Café and bus are City Corner, and the tanker is to be released next year. (Maybe that's the one that got picked?)

[fyparr]

Here is the link to the poll, originally from April. However, I do not recall TRU ever announcing which set won. Perhaps they are running it again?

EDIT: According to this article from BrickJournal the voting closed April 24th. However, as YG-49 has pointed out, several of the drawings have already become sets.

Edited September 26, 2009 by fyparr

[Deinonychus]

Well I'm stumped. But anyhow, I edited the original post a little to reflect this information. Guess I need to build less and read the forums more

[YG-49]

Also, the Sports car in #3 has been released too.

[Piranha]

Nice I like the concept artwork, I had not seen that yet

I recall voting for the train transit set

The sets I can spot that have been released or will be

- Sports Car

- Bus from City Corner

- Octan Tanker (next year)

- Town Hall from Town Plan

- Transportation Truck

This also might be a hint at plausible future sets

- The Taxi with Taxi stop

- The blue tram/train

[YG-49]

In the background of the train one you can see what looks like the Train Station.

[David Thomsen]

That the taxi turns up three times in two images makes me think it might not be too far away.

I like the traffic conductor in the third image with the duck on his head. Hopefully that gets released as well.

[Rick]

Most of the sets were already released/announced when the poll was first released. But indeed the Octan tanker is only up for 2010, so there may be more hints - the obvious one appearing in two of the pictures being (a) 'Taxi'-set(s) - in the pictures.

[MetroiD]

Regarding those taxis, yes, by the looks of it, they've obviously got a taxi set ready or in the final stages. I'm not sure if I really like it though

To me, the only exciting thing out of those 3 pics is the monorail - and the sheer fact that its presence there shows that TLG have not actually forgotten ALL about the monorail and their fans' requests to re-release something along the lines of 6399 Airport Shuttle. I would enjoy a modern tram too, but I'd definitely rather spend my money on a monorail.

Which is, naturally, what I voted for in the first place back when the poll was active

[arturo83]

To me, the only exciting thing out of those 3 pics is the monorail - and the sheer fact that its presence there shows that TLG have not actually forgotten ALL about the monorail and their fans' requests to re-release something along the lines of 6399 Airport Shuttle.

I really hope they will re-release set 6393, without modifying anything from the original set

I also hope they will finally release the Gangster-theme, keeping the '80s style of building and the warm colours shown in this picture!

Edited September 26, 2009 by arturo83

[Matt Dawson]

monorail? Yes Please even more so than bringing back 9V trains (stuff the latter if a monorail is mooted)

Edited September 26, 2009 by Matt Dawson

[Klaus-Dieter]

That's a great and very interesting topic, Deinonychus!

This poll was last April and I'm sure that the Truck Stop lost it and either the Public Transportation Center or the City Square will make it.

Like it was already mentioned there are in every picture sets which already have been released or will be released next spring.

For example:

The Winter Toy Shop will be released this autumn - so it's very unlikely that we'll get another toy shop included in that TRU Exclusvie.

Althought this set is brilliant I'd so much want a regular, non-winterly toy shop which would go with the regular (non-winter) City sets, too.

And even remember that there was a side note at this poll which said that not all of the elements shown in the different pictures will actually finally then be included in this set.

For example:

If the Public Transportation Center won we surely won't get a bus station, a bus, a tram, a tram station, an elevated train, an elevated train station, a hamburger stall and even some additional cycles and cars.

Since the awesome Town Plan was firstly released last year and we got the amazing City Corner this summer I bet that TLG will release the Public Transportation Center with an elevated train, two stations, a small hamburger stall, a taxi, a bicycle and some minifigs - let's say a modern remake of the classic Airport Shuttle.

Only if TLG released only train sets this summer but no civilian sets the City Square would supposably make it.

It may be either the Public Transportation Center or the City Square - if TLG designed them in a classic style (like 10184 or 7641) I surely would like both!

Klaus-Dieter

[prateek]

Wasn't there already a topic about this? I like the City roundabout

[Legoliner Pilot]

I love the monorail. My city needs an elevated train.

Edited September 26, 2009 by Legoliner Pilot

[Luke McAwesome]

My vote goes to the truck stop. Getting some more semi's would be awesome, wouldn't it?

I also love how blissfully unaware that cyclist is about the havoc about to ensue when that monorail takes off.

[Rick]

My vote goes to the truck stop. Getting some more semi's would be awesome, wouldn't it?

I think we got a good amount of trucks already, so I don't really agree. One per year would be fine with me...

I also love how blissfully unaware that cyclist is about the havoc about to ensue when that monorail takes off.

I think that's supposed to be a tram line. I really hope TLG releases a tram with a track system that somehow blends in nicely with the road plates: maybe we'll see the four-wide (or six-wide, however you define the width of the track) track from the Indy-set back next year.

[Klaus-Dieter]

My vote goes to the truck stop. Getting some more semi's would be awesome, wouldn't it?

If TLG did them in that nice way - meaning with car doors, nice accessory and minifigs - like in the Wind Turbine Transport set or in the Truck And Forklift set I wouldn't mind them, too, Striker. But since we already have got a gas station there supposably wouldn't be much exciting and new in a truck stop. Imo a depot/warehouse/cargo center (like the awesome one from some decades ago) with a big depot, an office, a forklift and two trucks would be much more interesting and appeal much more to kids as well as adults, too.

I think that's supposed to be a tram line. I really hope TLG releases a tram with a track system that somehow blends in nicely with the road plates: maybe we'll see the four-wide (or six-wide, however you define the width of the track) track from the Indy-set back next year.

I totally agree with you, Rick!

A tram would be really nice!

But I see a big problem there - namely how to make baseplates with tracks already inside but which should be on the same level like the baseplates of the buildings?! If you asked me, a tram will surely not happen. But you never know.

An elevated train would be awesome!

But that TLG uses the up-down tracks from the IJ set is very unsupposably since (if I'm not wrong) they are much too short: if a train wants to drive up and down them its wheels will leave the tracks (or the train (parts) are only aible to be around 6-8 stucks wide - but how would that look like?!). Nevertheless TLG could use the curved tracks and create two new molds: one straight and one bigger up-and-down-going.

Like already mentioned I think that it whether we'll get the Public Transportation Center or the City Square will very much depend on wether we'll get many Train sets in summer or not. If there are two new train sets in summer I can't imagine that TLG will release another train set as an Exclusive, too.

If the City Square won I could well imagine - and even hope - it including a cafe, a shop (but no idea of which kind - perhaps a grocery?), a hotel, a small park, a taxi, another car, a bicycle and some minifigs.

That it will include a post office and/or a bank is imo not very supposably since these were sets in which even JFOLs are interested very much - so it'd be better to release them as/in regular sets.

Klaus-Dieter

[Piranha]

I also noticed that in the conceptional art of the Town Center, the Brown building that says Cafe on it, looks like the Pizza restaurant from City Corner!

I draw two conclusions from this

There are many sets in the Truck Stop and City Square that have been made already

However in the Transportation art only the Bus exists

This makes me think that the exclusive will be a train or

Highly likely a monorail because that is more exclusive and they are planning regular trains for 2010.

The only reasonable thing left for the exclusive would be a modern day Airport shuttle

I also think that the 2010 Trains will be a blue Train like in the art, basically a modern day Metroliner

Speculation is fun

[Klaus-Dieter]

I partly agree with you, Macoco.

On the other hand I disagree with you according to the possible contents of the different poll options: TLG somehow was a bit unhandy with what they included in those three pics and what not. Mainly the City Square option did nearly inlcude only sets we already got this and last year (toy shop, sports car, town hall and the architectual design of the cafe) although many boxart pics of all these City sets (apart from the awesome 10199 WTS) were at that time already on the web. What I want to say with that: The pics were only ideas for possible contents of the three poll options and no final list of their contents. So you can't say that only because of we already got or will get this and that set it's unlikely that we will get the poll option which showed a very similar content to this set already in the picture.

On the one hand I totally agree with you: If the Public Transporation Center won we will surely get a modern version of the Airport Shuttle.

I only am a bit sceptical whether a possible re-design of the Airport Shuttle wouldn't compete against other new regular train sets out in summer since many people then surely would only buy one. But if TLG released the City Square people would nevertheless buy some of the new (regular) train sets.

Well, only time will show. Hopefully we'll soon get a hint which option won.

Clear is that we'll see the final result at the earliest around Toy Fair - perhaps even later since the (exclusive) City sets are most of the time shown much later than e. g. the SW sets.

Klaus-Dieter

[Piranha]

I partly agree with you, Macoco.

On the other hand I disagree with you according to the possible contents of the different poll options: TLG somehow was a bit unhandy with what they included in those three pics and what not. Mainly the City Square option did nearly inlcude only sets we already got this and last year (toy shop, sports car, town hall and the architectual design of the cafe) although many boxart pics of all these City sets (apart from the awesome 10199 WTS) were at that time already on the web. What I want to say with that: The pics were only ideas for possible contents of the three poll options and no final list of their contents. So you can't say that only because of we already got or will get this and that set it's unlikely that we will get the poll option which showed a very similar content to this set already in the picture.

On the one hand I totally agree with you: If the Public Transporation Center won we will surely get a modern version of the Airport Shuttle.

I only am a bit sceptical whether a possible re-design of the Airport Shuttle wouldn't compete against other new regular train sets out in summer since many people then surely would only buy one. But if TLG released the City Square people would nevertheless buy some of the new (regular) train sets.

Well, only time will show. Hopefully we'll soon get a hint which option won.

Clear is that we'll see the final result at the earliest around Toy Fair - perhaps even later since the (exclusive) City sets are most of the time shown much later than e. g. the SW sets.

Yes everything you said is true and gives reasonable doubt.

I like to draw alot of conclusions though

The Monorail would compete with the trains but don't the trains already compete with each other?

For example, your in the store, you have a Cargo Train and the Passenger Train, you can only buy 1

That is competition is it not?

I would see though if the Monorail looks more appealing, but I would find it hard to chose a Monorail over a well designed modern day metroliner

I would like to see both, but If I only see one then I am still happy

[Klaus-Dieter]

I have an interesting theory:

If TLG really released new Train sets in summer and doesn't want that a possible new passenger train competes with a possible exclusive nelevated train: May it not be that TLG will release an elevated train (meaning the Public Transportation Center option) as regular train set (as/instead of a passenger train) and release the City Square as the TRU Exclusive?!

Imo this would make much sense:

1. No competition between new regular passenger train and new exclusive elevated train since there only will be the elevated train - but as regular train set.

2. JFOLs would very much like an elevated train as much as AFOLs - an elevated train is even much more interesting and something much more in particular than the common regular passenger trains. So JFOLs as well as AFOLs would buy this set.

3. The fans of civilian City sets would be pleased since they will get their exlusive City Square set.

Imo this would be the perfect deal for TLG itself as well as for their customers - AFOLs as well as JFOLs: kids get their passenger train set which will this time be an elevated train, adult train fans get their beloved new elevated train and (adult) civilian City fans get their beloved exklusive City Square set. So everybody is happy and TLG probably will sell two sets instead of perhaps only one since many AFOLs then would not only buy the elevated train but even the City Square, too.

What do you think?

Klaus-Dieter

Edited October 6, 2009 by Klaus-Dieter

[Piranha]

I think that is an excellent idea for a compromise!

Make the 2010 train set an elevated rail or monorail and the TRU exclusive a Town Center

This is also a way to include 2 trackside structures with the elevated train if it is based off the Airport shuttle

I also think we will see the Taxi and stand as a set, which is great because I thought it was cute.

Next year If we get all those I will be very happy and the overkill of Fire and airport sets won't bother me