Nexo Knights 2016

[ZCerberus]

A general reminder....

1. Let's not talk about which forum the thread belongs in. Staff is most likely going to move this to the action forum, but that is a staff decision. We have discussed all the same points you have.

2. Let's try to avoid starting posts with "you're wrong" and go with "I disagree", especially when we are talking about people's opinions as it is much more friendly and fits the forum better.

[CaptainToad]

A few years back, the Creator theme reinvented itself with introduction of minifigs and desireable new buildings. Some more innovation will keep this theme fresh. Therefore, why not put castle buildings in this line? I'm talking detailed, more serious, fully closeable, Creator standards, but a little up-marketed. A nice watchtower, a mill, a market scene, bakery, blacksmith, inn and ultimately a castle. Not all at once, two per wave max. How about it?

that would be awesome!!!

[Rayskull]

If anyone has pics of the moving castle please share with me, I've seen the other pics but the moving castle seems essential.

[SirBlake]

Or if you're a Ninjago fan. At any rate, considering that you're not spending much on sets, doesn't this leave you with a reasonable amount of money to order parts via bricklink/Bricks and Pieces? In my experience with other themes, sets rarely offer many pieces that are useful to make things in the same style, but at a larger scale. Since less of your money is going into these sets that are less than optimal for MOCcing, that money should allow you to get exactly the things you need for MOCcing. The more specialized pieces needed for Castle MOCs are still offered in Nexo Knights as far as I can see.

Since I really only deal in castle, money is not really a factor. New designs for parts and figs are the priority and it looks like very little of either will be useful from Nexo based on the pics.

[CaptainToad]

Since I really only deal in castle, money is not really a factor. New designs for parts and figs are the priority and it looks like very little of either will be useful from Nexo based on the pics.

exactly!

i guess there will be many useless parts in regard to some serious castle buidings - colors might be incompatible,too, we'll see

[Lyichir]

I don't think that themes are gradually going on any direction

They just need to try different stuff each time. Otherwise it would be boring and repetitive

We already got a theme like this one: KK2... and it got 3 waves. LEGO is just revisiting a specific style of Castle already made

At some point, they will revisit Fantasy Era and everyone will be happy again

I think the KK2 comparison is apt—really, as far as I'm concerned one of the most promising aspects of this theme is that it seems to be a lot like what KK2 could've been.

Mike Rayhawk has shared a lot of concept work for KK2 on his website, and it seems like at least initially, the theme was intended to have more of a science-fantasy flair like this theme. There were transforming castles, and the technological-looking armor from the action figures and art actually seemed to represent a more high-tech sort of "power armor". Ultimately, I get the impression that these promising aspects of the theme ended up slightly "neutered", in a way—instead of going full science fantasy, the theme tried to have it both ways. The Lego Magazines tried to educate kids about historical castle facts and terms using the sets, despite the decidedly NON-historical nature of the theme, and the promising concepts of elaborate transforming castles were instead reduced to a fairly disappointing castle on a BURP with sections that rotated to change their color. I think the "jellybean knights" might be remembered more fondly today if the theme had embraced its the zaniness inherent in its concept, like Ninjago would later do, instead of rejecting those aspects and trying in vain to pass as a more ordinary historical fantasy theme.

[Robert8]

Mike Rayhawk has shared a lot of concept work for KK2

Thanks for sharing!

Actually.... Fortrex looks pretty similar to this:

[LegendsOfNinjago]

In the last few episodes of the Ninjago TV show, alternate dimensions/realms were mentioned. Would LEGO dare to make a connection between themes like that?

I think it the idea is cool.

I could see it happening. An official crossover to the point where we see sets is highly unlikely. But having an in show crossover would be killer!

Edited September 27, 2015 by LegendsOfNinjago

[Aanchir]

I can see your point, but still think you're wrong. Kids are not only five years old, Lego can target older kids. A ten-year-old won't like a set designed for nursery-aged kids. I admit that Chima has it's own charme and as time goes may will be remembered as a classic theme by those who played with it as small kids despite I don't like it at all. A classic Castle theme's targeted for the 8-12 years old and adults can see value in theese type of sets too. So I think we don't want a theme for adults, just want a more sophisticated theme primarly targeted for the 8-12 years old kids. Lego already has every moulds to make it just needs to give the green light for the designers.

You do realize Legends of Chima and Ninjago are both aimed at older kids than most Castle themes? And that no set larger than a polybag in either theme has been directed towards five-year-olds?

A $10 Legends of Chima or Ninjago set like 70123, 70229, or 70500 is typically aimed at ages 6–14 or 7–14. A $10 Castle set like 6918 or 7040 is typically aimed at ages 5–12 or 6–12.

A $50 Legends of Chima or Ninjago set like 70144, 70223, or 70735 is typically aimed at ages 8–14. A $50 Castle set like 7947 or 7093 is typically aimed at ages 6–12 or 7–12.

A $90 Legends of Chima or Ninjago set like 70145, 70227, or 70725 is typically aimed at ages 8–14 or 9–14. A $100 Castle set like (not counting direct-to-consumer sets like the Medieval Market Village) like 7946 or 7097 is typically aimed at ages 7–12 or 7–14.

Now, you want to turn our attention to older (pre-2000) Castle themes? In those cases, yes, the larger sets (generally, sets that would be around $50 and up after adjusting for inflation) were generally aimed at ages 8–12. Even so, Legends of Chima and Ninjago sets priced as low as $40 tend to be aimed at ages 8–14. So aside from 10193 Medieval Market Village and 10223 Kingdoms Joust, both aimed at ages 12 and up, I don't think it can really be argued that LEGO Castle has ever been aimed at a considerably older audience than Legends of Chima or Ninjago.

[x105Black]

Thanks for sharing!

Actually.... Fortrex looks pretty similar to this:

That looks like a Chima castle, considering the overt animal motif. A medieval Cat's Lair from Thundercats.

[nemorino]

You do realize Legends of Chima and Ninjago are both aimed at older kids than most Castle themes? And that no set larger than a polybag in either theme has been directed towards five-year-olds?

Thanks for your answer and research. My opinion is that the age recommendations are based on two things:

1. how complex is the building process and

2. how violent or shocking the subject of a set.

So if they put soldiers, weapons or scary figures into the set the recommendation will be higher. Thats why Chima or Ninjago is recommended to e.g. 14 years old kids. (Can you imagine a 14 years old playing with Laval and Cragger? At this age usually they play video games like Call of Duty or Battlefield. Some age recommendations seem absolute nonsense to me.)

My experience based on a 7 and a 3 years old boy. Both love Chima and Ninjago and that's why I saw some episodes. I know that serious things can look childish, but unfortunately Chima isn't Usagi Yojimbo, it is as childish as it looks. That's why I think that Chima is aimed for 5 or so years old kids despite any recommendations.

On the other hand I can remember how good time I had building 6054 way back when I was 12. I was too old to play with it but the building process was fun and the set looked really good. (I still think 6054 is one of the best Castle sets ever.) I don't think that a Chima set (even a more sophisticated one) would have been so much fun to me. But I can be wrong :-)

[Aanchir]

Thanks for your answer and research. My opinion is that the age recommendations are based on two things:

1. how complex is the building process and

2. how violent or shocking the subject of a set.

So if they put soldiers, weapons or scary figures into the set the recommendation will be higher. Thats why Chima or Ninjago is recommended to e.g. 14 years old kids. (Can you imagine a 14 years old playing with Laval and Cragger? At this age usually they play video games like Call of Duty or Battlefield. Some age recommendations seem absolute nonsense to me.)

I'm a 24 year old adult who had a great time playing with 70144 Laval's Fire Lion, and when I was 14/15 I was a big fan of Exo-Force, another cartoony theme with a similar building level. You're right that the building process is a factor in the age recommendations. Notably, themes like LEGO Legends of Chima and LEGO Ninjago tend to integrate a lot more LEGO Technic than themes like LEGO Castle or LEGO Pirates. Some of the functions in these sets — like the aforementioned Laval's Fire Lion — tend to be quite elaborate (I reviewed that set here, including a video of the function).

Never really took an interest in those kinds of violent video games myself (though I won't pretend my own interests were representative of a typical teenager's), and considering that most of those are rated M in the United States — and lot legal to sell to kids under age 17 — I think it's a mistake to generalize those as a typical 14-year-old's favorite pastime. That said, it's true there are far more 14-year-olds who play these sorts of games than there probably should be. But would teenagers who prefer those games really be any fonder of LEGO Castle than LEGO Legends of Chima?

My experience based on a 7 and a 3 years old boy. Both love Chima and Ninjago and that's why I saw some episodes. I know that serious things can look childish, but unfortunately Chima isn't Usagi Yojimbo, it is as childish as it looks. That's why I think that Chima is aimed for 5 or so years old kids despite any recommendations.

For what it's worth, the LEGO Legends of Chima TV series is rated TV-Y7 (ages 7 and up) in the United States. The storytelling of LEGO Legends of Chima definitely seems to be more childish than that of Ninjago from the few episodes I've seen (though I hear it gets a little bit more sophisticated as the series goes on), but let's be honest here... most LEGO Castle story media like picture books and comic books, even those from many years ago, are childish in their own right.

The only reason fewer people associate LEGO Castle with this kind of childish storytelling is that most LEGO Castle themes are not as media-driven to begin with as LEGO Legends of Chima or LEGO Ninjago. When there is LEGO Castle story media, adults can more or less ignore it and still understand the sets' context. But adults seem to have a harder time enjoying a theme like Ninjago or Legends of Chima without being able to enjoy the story behind them.

On the other hand I can remember how good time I had building 6054 way back when I was 12. I was too old to play with it but the building process was fun and the set looked really good. (I still think 6054 is one of the best Castle sets ever.) I don't think that a Chima set (even a more sophisticated one) would have been so much fun to me. But I can be wrong :-)

You may have enjoyed 6054 as a 12-year-old, but it was a different world back when that set came out. I think many kids today, growing up in a world of action-packed cartoons and video games, would rather role-play as warriors with intense high-tech vehicles and magical weapons than as Robin Hood and his merry men. Also, nowadays many toys, including LEGO, can boast lots of more exciting action features than more traditional LEGO Castle sets are generally able to offer. Compared to vehicles that transform, shoot missiles, or deploy smaller vehicles (which ties in with the LEGO Technic integration I mentioned earlier), the most common features of LEGO Castle sets (like catapults and walls that can be rearranged or repositioned) are likely to seem a bit more old-fashioned.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying there's no place for more traditional sorts of themes in today's LEGO landscape. In fact, as a dedicated LEGO fan myself, I love seeing LEGO sets that reference these more traditional parts of the brand's heritage. But I think it's a mistake to assume that pre-teens and teenagers are more likely to enjoy the more traditional LEGO themes than the wackier action/adventure themes. After all, a big part of why so many AFOLs enjoy the more traditional themes is because they are the themes that so many of them grew up with, not because they actually have more advanced designs or more sophisticated stories. And in many cases, firing up the imaginations of kids who are "growing out of" the type of LEGO themes their parents grew up with is part of the purpose for these action/adventure themes.

[mrx_tnn]

Can anyone sent me PM with that pictures? I miss it.

[dzidek1983]

My 5 year old son has some Ninjago and Bionicle and currently the Bionicle robot lies dead in a box and the Ninjago parts we implemented in a Castle set that he likes to play the most.

[SerenityInFire]

I think a fantasy/castle theme has just as much potential for playability as these other new themes that LEGO has been coming up with.

[Amazing Bricks]

I think I'm seeing a pattern here. Ninjago, a whole different take on a Ninja theme came out in 2011. Nexo Knights, a whole different take on a castle theme coming out in 2016. 2021, a whole new take on a western theme.

[CM4Sci]

I think I'm seeing a pattern here. Ninjago, a whole different take on a Ninja theme came out in 2011. Nexo Knights, a whole different take on a castle theme coming out in 2016. 2021, a whole new take on a western theme.

Oh man, can't wait to see that!

[BrickJagger]

I think I'm seeing a pattern here. Ninjago, a whole different take on a Ninja theme came out in 2011. Nexo Knights, a whole different take on a castle theme coming out in 2016. 2021, a whole new take on a western theme.

Maybe steampunk Western?

Don't forget that they'll probably turn Space into a Big Bang between now and then as well.

What if we get new Vikings during Nexo's run instead of regular Castle sets?

[Amazing Bricks]

Maybe steampunk Western?

Don't forget that they'll probably turn Space into a Big Bang between now and then as well.

What if we get new Vikings during Nexo's run instead of regular Castle sets?

Totally agree with you, Vikings deserve a reboot. It's been a long time since that theme came out, we definitely need this before another normal castle theme.

Oh man, can't wait to see that!

Just watch it happen

[Robert8]

Maybe steampunk Western?

That would be amazing!

[ShastaSerpentine]

I feel like we should give Nexo Knights a chance, it brings some new stuff to the table such as new pieces and a new theme if you will, it gives a touch of modern to the castle theme, it has robots, (as seen in clay's rumble blade) and monsters, if they made a tv series, i hope they would not make it extremely cringeworthy like Chima, the floating castle sounds very nice too.

[CM4Sci]

I feel like we should give Nexo Knights a chance, it brings some new stuff to the table such as new pieces and a new theme if you will, it gives a touch of modern to the castle theme, it has robots, (as seen in clay's rumble blade) and monsters, if they made a tv series, i hope they would not make it extremely cringeworthy like Chima, the floating castle sounds very nice too.

What floating castle?

There will be a TV series.

[BrickJagger]

What floating castle?

He's obviously talking about the rolling one, Sci.

[DraikNova]

What if we get new Vikings during Nexo's run instead of regular Castle sets?

That would be amazing. But considering how they seem to have exhausted most of the basic concepts (giant serpent, giant dragons, giant wolf), they'd have to put in a lot of work to find concepts that they can use. While they made both Jörmungandr and Fenrir, I can't see them making their sister, Hel, for example. Most of the monsters that would be suitable for LEGO sets are just variations on the theme of bloody huge wolf. But then again, there's also the chance for LEGO to have elves, dwarves, zombies, giants and pretty much most creatures used in western fantasy. Plus there's the Hafgufa (think island turtle mixed with whale), which could make an interesting design.

[Aanchir]

That would be amazing. But considering how they seem to have exhausted most of the basic concepts (giant serpent, giant dragons, giant wolf), they'd have to put in a lot of work to find concepts that they can use. While they made both Jörmungandr and Fenrir, I can't see them making their sister, Hel, for example. Most of the monsters that would be suitable for LEGO sets are just variations on the theme of bloody huge wolf. But then again, there's also the chance for LEGO to have elves, dwarves, zombies, giants and pretty much most creatures used in western fantasy. Plus there's the Hafgufa (think island turtle mixed with whale), which could make an interesting design.

What they already released in the 2005–2006 Vikings line is mostly irrelevant since that was a decade ago, and kids today wouldn't have had an opportunity to find any of those sets on store shelves. If they wanted to stick with the whole mythology-inspired fantasy monsters idea, we'd surely get new sets of Jörmungandr, Fenrir, and some of the iconic dragons, just as we inevitably get a new Tyrannosaurus Rex, new raptors, and a new pterodactyl in any new Dino theme.

LEGO also surely has enough useful joint and curved slope pieces out by now that they could probably do a great job making those kinds of creatures more lifelike than they were in the original Vikings theme, where they used an odd blend of System bricks and more specialized Bionicle elements. Just look at the Legend Beasts from LEGO Legends of Chima to see what's possible today even at a small scale.

Overall, though, with both Ninjago and Elves maintaining a focus on dragons, I don't know if LEGO would be keen on yet another theme along those lines. Granted, we're talking 2017 or later, so maybe Elves would be less focused on dragons by then. But I can't say the same for Ninjago, which has always had at least one dragon per year and isn't going away any time soon. Of course, LEGO could always prove me wrong and introduce a robo-dragon in the summer wave of Nexo Knights.