Future Castle Sets?

[x105Black]

I'm always surprised that they've never reprised the Forestmen

I really don't get why they've never gone back to this either. It was one of the best!

[Blondie-Wan]

Well, how did Forestmen sell?

[BrickJagger]

Well, how did Forestmen sell?

How would we know?

The Forestmen technically did come back as the Dark Forest, but since those didn't sell well, the idea has not been revisited. Little did Lego know, it was their bad designs keeping people from buying those sets, so the concept itself.

[Aanchir]

The Forestmen technically did come back as the Dark Forest, but since those didn't sell well, the idea has not been revisited. Little did Lego know, it was their bad designs keeping people from buying those sets, so the concept itself.

Dark Forest was an extremely tiny, limited-release theme (I think mostly exclusive to North America). To me that indicates that even BEFORE Dark Forest, the LEGO Group's considered Forestmen extremely niche. After all, even in the late 80s and early 90s there were fewer sets with Forestmen than other factions that they coexisted with. Brickset's Forestmen tag lists 9 classic sets, their Black Knights tag lists 12 classic sets, their Black Falcons tag lists 16 classic sets, and their Crusaders tag lists 24 classic sets. And those were the days when LEGO kept factions around for more than one year, so if Forestmen sets were selling as well as those other factions, they'd have had plenty of time to develop and release new Forestmen sets to capitalize on that demand.

I don't think "bad designs" can be solely blamed for Dark Forest's mediocre sales or the LEGO Group's reluctance to bring back the forestmen. Many late 90s themes had bad designs and sold poorly as a consequence of that. But that hasn't stopped LEGO from revisiting concepts from that time period like underground exploration (Rock Raiders/Power Miners), undersea exploration (Aquazone/Aqua Raiders/Atlantis) bug-shaped spacecraft (Insectoids/Galaxy Squad), ninja (Ninja/Ninjago), and Egyptian exploration (Adventurers/Pharaoh's Quest). Perhaps Forestmen as a concept just didn't have the mojo these other concepts had.

Robin Hood and his merry men are still fairly well-known, but they aren't as much of a fixture in pop culture as they used to be, at least speaking from my experience in the United States. Maybe in Great Britain where his legend originated, it's a different story... I remember Robin Hood appearing as a character on Doctor Who a season or so ago. I have no idea how popular he is in mainland Europe, which is a big market for the LEGO Group, or Asia, which they're trying to expand their foothold in.

Edited October 18, 2015 by Aanchir

[gedren_y]

I found it quite odd that Forestmen had black trees while Dark Forest had brown trees. I still would like a return of the sigil and civilian/greenwood attire.

[Dr.Cogg]

TLG did the Ewok village, grant it, that's Star Wars, But TLG's forest designs have gotten a lot better.

[BrickJagger]

I found it quite odd that Forestmen had black trees while Dark Forest had brown trees. I still would like a return of the sigil and civilian/greenwood attire.

I don't think that brown existed then.

[thetang22]

There were brown barrels and chests at that time, as well as various weapons...the brown Forestmen shields, and lots of other stuff.

[Aanchir]

I don't think that brown existed then.

It existed, but not in basic bricks, arches, or wall panels. Kind of like how when Yellow Castle was made, basic bricks didn't come in grey (though I don't know if it was for the same reasons).

[x105Black]

TLG did the Ewok village, grant it, that's Star Wars, But TLG's forest designs have gotten a lot better.

That's a great set.

I agree that LEGO has gotten much better at forest design. I think it's the perfect opportunity to bring back this faction!

[Dannylonglegs]

That's a great set.

I agree that LEGO has gotten much better at forest design. I think it's the perfect opportunity to bring back this faction!

I totally agree! Have you seen the Elf's Treehouse set? That thing is very well designed, and I think it sells the forest residence very convincingly! Just replace purple with dark green and dark red with dark brown, and you've got a Forestmen treefort!

~Insectoid Aristocrat

[AlphaQuad]

I really wish LEGO would release the Castle Giant Chess set as a classic. It is the best chess set LEGO has ever released and it could make a lot of Castle fans happy in lieu of no Castle for a while :)

[x105Black]

I totally agree! Have you seen the Elf's Treehouse set? That thing is very well designed, and I think it sells the forest residence very convincingly! Just replace purple with dark green and dark red with dark brown, and you've got a Forestmen treefort!

Absolutely! I really like that Treehouse set, it's great for that theme.

They've definitely got the skill, but do they have the gumption?

I was actually hoping for, and kind of expecting, a return to Forestmen sometime soon. With the popular Elf, Forestman, and Forest Maiden minifigures, it's obvious that they haven't given up on the theme altogether. I was also hoping to see a Wolfpack minifigure done in a similar vein.

And I was really hoping for a return to Castle in general. With the new King, the new shield with the Egyptian, and many other new parts, I think they've got all the makings for one of the best Castle themes yet. Throw in some of the new parts from Nexo Knights and it could be great. Maybe they're waiting for a few more CMF series and Nexo Knights to bring out more new parts, and giving the cyber-castle theme a chance to breathe in the meantime.

[kouz-one]

I don't really get the Nexo Knights line, Isn't it some sort of Ninjago stuff? I mean that line can directly be in competition with the other, no?

I think that's the same public who is targetted on these 2 lines... so what's the point?

I would love to see the fantasy era amount of sales, compare to the last castle line sales. With a "so basic and no brainstorming" design, that's not a surprise that the castle line doesn't work so great .

Edited October 19, 2015 by kouz-one

[-Noel-]

Yeah. That would be awesome…

[kouz-one]

This set is pretty cool, but I'd never get 200€ in that anyway :p

After a closer look, the figs got nothing that special... plus there's a bunch of useless skeletons.

I'd prefer get my money into real sets like the troll warship, the skeleton tower, the King castle siege, etc... even the calendar of that year is a better bargain IMHO.

Edited October 19, 2015 by kouz-one

[Isundir]

Robin Hood and his merry men are still fairly well-known, but they aren't as much of a fixture in pop culture as they used to be, at least speaking from my experience in the United States. Maybe in Great Britain where his legend originated, it's a different story... I remember Robin Hood appearing as a character on Doctor Who a season or so ago. I have no idea how popular he is in mainland Europe, which is a big market for the LEGO Group, or Asia, which they're trying to expand their foothold in.

I'd much rather see a return of Wolfpack for example, awesome sigil aside, too much green on those minifigs... well I wouldn't mind a re-release if they kept the green to the sigil alone but that's highly unlikely.

I don't really get the Nexo Knights line, Isn't it some sort of Ninjago stuff? I mean that line can directly be in competition with the other, no?

As I understand it isn't the Ninjago line coming to an end and being replaced by Nexo?

Edited October 19, 2015 by Isundir

[x105Black]

I'd much rather see a return of Wolfpack for example, awesome sigil aside, too much green on those minifigs... well I wouldn't mind a re-release if they kept the green to the sigil alone but that's highly unlikely.

As I understand it isn't the Ninjago line coming to an end and being replaced by Nexo?

Wolfpack would be great as well.

And it's Chima that's ending, Ninjago has apparently become an 'evergreen' theme.

[MAB]

I totally agree! Have you seen the Elf's Treehouse set? That thing is very well designed, and I think it sells the forest residence very convincingly! Just replace purple with dark green and dark red with dark brown, and you've got a Forestmen treefort!

And replace the (minidoll) elves with (minifig) elves, they've got (another) winner.

[kouz-one]

LEGO Ninjago Cole’s Dragon (30$?)

Ninja Bike Chase (30$?)

LEGO Ninjago Sky Shark (50$?)

LEGO Ninjago Jay’s Elementary Dragon (40$?)

LEGO Ninjago Raid Zeppel (60$)

LEGO Ninjago Tiger Widow (???)

LEGO Ninjago Misfort Keep (70$-100$?

Seems we will have Ninjago for a while

Quite interested to see what these dragons will look like...

Edited October 19, 2015 by kouz-one

[Aanchir]

It wouldn't make much sense to release it as-is when many of the minifigure parts from it have been out of production for years now. The fact that it was able to reuse so many then-current parts and decorations helped keep the price down (as is typically the case with any chess set). Having to re-introduce all those elements would be a lot more expensive and push the price up a great deal (on top of the inevitable price increases from inflation alone). That's not even getting into all the other elements that might have to be re-introduced, or have their section of the set redesigned.

I would LOVE if LEGO introduced another "giant chess set" at some point, because the Castle one was amazing. My brother was doodling concepts for a Ninjago Giant Chess Set on LEGO Digital Designer back in 2011 or 2012, but never got it finished enough to present on LEGO Ideas. Of course, the recent Pirates Chess Set isn't too shabby either, considering how much value for money it offers and how the pieces can all be packed up inside the board itself. So something along those lines for LEGO Castle could also be pretty neat.

A Nexo Knights chess set is another possibility! That theme seems like it could easily have enough figs for a chess set — Squirebots and mini lava monsters would make great pawns, and there seem to be easily enough other characters for the other pieces.

[Aanchir]

I don't really get the Nexo Knights line, Isn't it some sort of Ninjago stuff? I mean that line can directly be in competition with the other, no?

I think that's the same public who is targetted on these 2 lines... so what's the point?

Well, they're not much more similar than Chima and Ninjago, and both those themes generally did well (aside from the Speedorz, and I don't think competition with Ninjago is what really hurt their sales). Ninjago and Nexo Knights are both science-fantasy themes aimed mostly at ages 7–14, but saying they can't coexist is like saying Castle and Pirates sets can't coexist because they're both historical fiction themes aimed mostly at ages 6–12.

LEGO Ninjago Cole’s Dragon (30$?)

Ninja Bike Chase (30$?)

LEGO Ninjago Sky Shark (50$?)

LEGO Ninjago Jay’s Elementary Dragon (40$?)

LEGO Ninjago Raid Zeppel (60$)

LEGO Ninjago Tiger Widow (???)

LEGO Ninjago Misfort Keep (70$-100$?

Seems we will have Ninjago for a while

Quite interested to see what these dragons will look like...

I think your price estimates are a bit off. Toysrus.ca has some of the sets listed for much lower prices than your estimates, and those are in Canadian dollars — the USD prices tend to be even lower.

And yeah, Ninjago isn't going away any time soon. Besides Ninjago being an evergreen theme now, there's also still the LEGO Ninjago movie coming in 2017.

[Isundir]

And replace the (minidoll) elves with (minifig) elves, they've got (another) winner.

It still boggles my mind how anybody ever thought minidolls were a good idea, yes even for girls. LEGO is LEGO and Minifigs should be Minifigs, not incompatible dolls

[Aanchir]

It still boggles my mind how anybody ever thought minidolls were a good idea, yes even for girls. LEGO is LEGO and Minifigs should be Minifigs, not incompatible dolls

I think that's an awfully narrow-minded way of thinking. LEGO has had many, many types of figure over the years, including the old-school buildable "construction figure" from the Homemaker sets, Fabuland and Jack Stone figs for preschoolers, the articulated Technic figures for older builders, and constraction sets like Bionicle for people who want to build and customize their own action figures. The minifigure has had the most staying power of any type of LEGO figure, but it is not the only figure that is "true LEGO".

Not to mention, some people don't like the minifigure but do like the mini-doll. Are those people somehow unqualified to enjoy LEGO play and building the way City or Ninjago fans do? The minifigure is not the be-all and end-all of the LEGO building and play experience. And as hard as it is for some minifigure-lovers to admit it, the minifigure is not flawless. Its proportions are awkward (as demonstrated by the tremendous challenge of fitting two side-by-side in a six-module-wide vehicle), and its features are far from lifelike. These flaws don't matter to all builders and potential builders, but clearly they do matter to a lot of them. The mini-doll is not flawless either, but to many people the flaws it corrects are more significant than the ones it introduces.

I've been quite impressed with the mini-dolls in the Elves theme. Unlike, say, the Exo-Force minifigures, they actually closely resemble the lifelike art style used to promote the theme. Their outfits also have a great deal of detail that would not be nearly as feasible with minifigures (particularly in terms of shoes and skirts, since minifigure feet are tiny, and minifigures cannot sit down while wearing uniquely shaped skirts).

Edited October 19, 2015 by Aanchir

[gedren_y]

It still boggles my mind how anybody ever thought minidolls were a good idea, yes even for girls. LEGO is LEGO and Minifigs should be Minifigs, not incompatible dolls

Not this debate again.

MInidolls are not for the established Lego buyers market. Have you ever heard of Polly Pocket? This kind of figure is popular with a certain buying market. The minidoll has been a successful venture for TLG acquiring market share.

I've bought Friends, Disney Princesses, and Elves for parts, but I've also found some uses for the figures. Now if only TLG would release the minidoll parts in LDD. I have an idea on how to use the head for a giant acorn.

Edited October 19, 2015 by gedren_y