smazmats

Glad I’m not the only one who’s been thinking this. While I do think Dreamzzz is a bit distinct form the other two, but Monkey Kid and Ninjago feel so stale now. Hot take, but I think Ninjago needs to retire yesterday. While it has been super successful, I think its success has limited Lego to always playing it safe with future themes and now if there is a new concept for an original theme, its either just merged into the next Ninjago wave, or it gets the full “Ninjago treatment” with a host of expensive tie-in network tv shows, interactive apps, etc with the hopes that it would match the success of Ninjago. It just doesn’t seem like an original theme could be released on its own anymore (I.e. just sets and maybe a low budget web series or something) at the frequency we were getting 10-20 years ago. It is kind of understandable though as times have definitely changed and it’s probably way safer to just sell large licensed DTC sets to adults like we have now then spend resources developing in house themes for kids. If it’s not broken why fix it? Also… totally nostalgia talking, but if Lego was to cancel monkey kid / Ninjago and replace them with yet another Asian/sci fi/ fantasy inspired theme, I would be 100% on board for an Exo-Force reboot.

100% my experience as well. While I'm technically not a Technic builder, I am a Rebrickable creator and figured I'd share my 2c. When I used to sell premium instructions from 2020 - early 2023, I would typically see between 12-40 sales per month at the peak in 2021, but by the end of 2022 I was typically seeing between 10-22 sales a month. By the beginning of 2023, I was feeling burned out juggling all the administrative work off making/selling instructions plus a full time job and decided to pull the plug and just make everything free since sales were starting to decline anyways. I was so much happier afterwords and could enjoy Lego again as a hobby rather then a business . I also think another reason for the sales slump besides the "pandemic-wind-down" is that Rebrickable is more mainstream and there are just more MOCs to compete with (were almost up to MOC #200,000 now). If you don't have an off site following /get viral on reddit or youtube, its impossible to get traction on your MOCs. Even their own promotional tools like the designer plan promo posts are over saturated (to their credit, It looks like they have improved it somewhat. When I was subscribed, It could take days to get featured on their Instagram page due to the backlog) and IMO never were very effective at getting sales. On the Free vs Paid debate. I'm still in support of paid Instructions to an extent. Instructions can be a PITA to make and can take a long time to put together. I think it is worth it to pay creators for their hard work. However, once you start to charge money for something, there is a certain level of quality to be expected. Things like test building if designed all digitally in stud.io (especially with larger, more expensive builds where physics becomes an issue) or cleaning up he inventory to remove unnecessary old/rare/outdated parts should be standard practice, but aren't always followed. Also, I think there is some value in having a mix of free and premium instructions. Free instructions for smaller builds are an easy way of advertising yourself and showing off your skills as a MOC designer to users who will hopefully buy your premium instructions later on.

I dont buy a whole lot of sets, but when I do, I generally will build and keep them on display. My criteria for deconstruction is simple: I will keep it until I need parts from it, or I need the space to display fore something else. Also if its a more expensive set, I will be more likely to keep it together and try and substitute parts out if I need it .

So with today (Feb 20th) marking the 62nd anniversary of the launch of first American in orbit, I would like to share my own mini Lego interpretation! This is built in 1:220 scale using a modified version of my Mercury Atlas MOC and launch pad and a lot of leftover 1x2 double cheese slopes from a previous MOC. It is a replication of a famous photo from the launch (AKA KSC-62PC-0011)! Also more images of the non launching rocket/Pad + scaled Redstone if anyone is interested!

Up until last month, I thought the same. If you still have it, look at the receipt. When I got mine, I did notice they were different than the ones I got from “true” Lego stores in the past. It had more info about the company operating the store

On a similar note, If the stores are operated by a third party, they aren’t plugged into the official VIP system. I recently had a similar experience when I visited the new Lego store in Sydney and they also couldn’t find my info because they used a different system. It was kind of annoying that even though it was officially licensed by TLG (and even promoted by them), they couldn’t seem to bring the loyalty program over as well

There are a couple I can remember from the early Lego IDEAS/CUUSOO sets: The Hayabusa Project Manager - J. Kawaguchi, from the Hayabusa set Pete and Yve from the Exo suit set. Even though its a fictionalized version of them, I think it’s worth counting. They are based on the original project designer (and very well known AFOL) Peter Reid and his girlfriend Yvonne.

Thanks Peppermint_M!

Aside from the accessibility/affordability issues it introduces, I'm not entirely opposed to this. There are a lot of proposed IDEAS sets nowadays that are massive in size because everything is done digitally now and result in $$$$$ sets if they are selected ( though I do admit it was less of an issue last year since we are seeing more sub $100 sets). I'm sure the Lego designers that are tasked with designing the final product might appreciate it more, since you have to account for physics and Part availability with IRL builds.

I primarily build scale rockets and spacecraft, and over the past couple years a decent sized community has grown around this shared MOC niche with a dozen or so regular builders. Pretty much everyone builds to the same couple of scales so it is often the case that the same thing can be created multiple times by different people. I totally get what you are going through and I too have been through this exact experience before. For me personally, If there is a similar design, I generally try to look at similar models with a set of criteria that one would use to evaluate work for fair use. The biggest thing I try to look for is how much of the original model is used. Generally, I expect about 60% of the MOC to be original. If you were to remove all the similar features/builds from the new design and it can't stand on its own (more in a figurative sense then structural) and the build is unrecognizable, there is definitely a case to be had. I also find it helpful to "downsize" the comparison where rather then the entire model all at once, compare a bunch of the smaller details, one at a time, to see how much was copied. I have found that often MOCs can look pretty similar from afar, but when compared up close there can be a lot of variation. If its on Rebirckable, I also try and see what the MOC internals look like if possible, as there should be more variation due to the reduced requirement for accurately capturing details, and similarities should be less of a just a coincidence. Offering instructions (both free and paid) also complicates things, but I may use that as a determining factor of how much I need to respond. If there are no instructions and they are just showing off a MOC that clearly infringes on my own, I may just ask them to credit me as a inspiration or ignore it, however if they are trying to sell it, I will report it to rebrickable to get it removed, as it is essentially functions the same as my existing MOC and is competing with it. Nathan is pretty good with responding to take-down requests if there is enough evidence of infringement. I did look at the comparison you provided between the time machines and unfortunately, I do not think there is a case here. There are definitely similarities on some details of both MOCs, but I can also see a lot of variation in the hoods and rear bodywork that is original and unique to each model .

Hey Mods, May I ask for my username on eurobricks be changed to "smazmats". I recently changed my Lego screen name across all platforms and would like it to be consistent here as well Thanks!

Hey everyone, I would like to share two of my latest space MOCs, the NASA Mars exploration rovers Perseverance and Curiosity. Both are built in 1:45 or minifig scale. I'm super exited for the Technic set, but I thought it would be fun to have a smaller version that can comfortably live on my desk as well. Here is Perseverance and Ingenuity, the first interplanetary helicopter that traveled to Mars with the rover in 2021. And here is Curiosity, using its ChemCam, a Laser/spectrometer instrument that analyzes the composition of rocks. If anyone wants to build one themselves, I did publish free instructions for both MOCs on my Rebrickable profile! Perseverance and Ingenuity Curiosity

Very nice conversion of the original model! Love all the little details and extra bits hanging off of it.

Oh yeah totally...All the poor, poor, companies that shamelessly steal and profit off the MOCs from the AFOL community absolutely need our encouragement, support, and protection....

On a similar note, Brick separators are also really great at opening Pistachios…