LEGO Collectable Minifigures Series 17 Rumors and Discussion

[Robert8]

7 hours ago, Exetrius said:

WAIT WHAT? ... Would you please be so kind to provide the source of this? 

Here it is 

http://www.lcc.builders/2017/03/06/series-17-niet-beschikbaar-in-be-nl/

[Wesley D]

If they won't sell them in the Netherlands and Belgium, I'm done with the CMF's.

The price increase alone was already bothering me. €3,99 for blind bags

[Brick Dangerous]

7 hours ago, Robert8 said:

Here it is 

http://www.lcc.builders/2017/03/06/series-17-niet-beschikbaar-in-be-nl/

It does indeed seem to be the case, as Zusammengebaut reported on it independently:

http://zusammengebaut.com/lego-minifiguren-sammelserie-71018-17-serie-macht-sich-rar-22591/

[Giac88]

Guys, it won't be a new Mr Gold, it's impossible! This Highwayman is one of the 16 collectibles, and so not a 17th extra MF as Mr Gold was...

[BrickFit26]

I also don't think it's not a new Mr. Gold situation. I think it's a game LEGO has done to keep us all in suspense until we actually get them in our hands.

[ProvenceTristram]

There isn't a single figure in this series that I want... which is kind of frightening.

Edited March 10, 2017 by ProvenceTristram

[Brick Dangerous]

I want almost every single one of them ... which I find even more frightening. 

[Gomek]

On 3/6/2017 at 9:46 PM, BrickHat said:

Mr. Gold got a lot of bad publicity. I doubt they're going that route. It just seems like they're trying something new in the way they are promoting the series. Maybe since putting it on the pamphlet, they just decided to run with it and keep it a mystery.

Mr. Gold was possibly the the most insensitive thing Lego has ever done. Building up a lot of kids hopes and then crushing them over and over.

And the fact that they limited it so badly the prices sky rocketed was just a slap in the face to everyone who loves minifigures. and not to mention a big ^@#$ U to completists.

Lets not do that again.

 

[22kane]

5 hours ago, Gomek said:

Mr. Gold was possibly the the most insensitive thing Lego has ever done. Building up a lot of kids hopes and then crushing them over and over.

And the fact that they limited it so badly the prices sky rocketed was just a slap in the face to everyone who loves minifigures. and not to mention a big ^@#$ U to completists.

Lets not do that again.

 

Agreed. You cant even get a case on eBay without paying at least $800 or more. It's insane! That was definitely a bad move. Not that Lego meant it to go that way but that's what happens when the collectors are let loose.

[TheLegoDr]

I think all the figures should be a mystery, even on the box art! No one will know what they are buying. It will be brilliant! Brilliant, I say!

 

Actually, I'm always torn on each series, but I end up getting a full set just because. In case I need a utensil or face or print, I have it...but they sit in a box and I never look at them. How do I break myself from having a complete set?? Especially at $4/each, it is hard to swallow.

I need help!

[Wesley D]

If they make it so hard to collect them all, why should we even bother?

I only buy second hand opened bags anymore, and even then only minifigures I really want AND will use for display.

I miss the excitement of opening the bags, but I hate buying a pig in a poke (which results in having too much minifigures except for the ones I want) or the feeling being watched standing in the toy store examinating all those blind bags.

 

I'm not sure if I'll buy one of this series, but I'm fond of the bulldog! I hope he'll be once in a regular set (like the chihuahua now has been), but I won't set my hopes too high, as for example the seagull isn't released anymore, even not in the upcomming Old Fishing Store.

[jjr_2009]

To me, the only saving grace to the whole Mr. Gold fiasco was that I really didn't care for the design that much and that I am by no means a completionist. The only series that I own completely is Series 16; however this series might be shaping up to be my next complete series, as I love almost all of the figures!

[x105Black]

11 hours ago, Wesley D said:

the seagull isn't released anymore, even not in the upcomming Old Fishing Store.

Wow, missed opportunity.  Should have come with 2+.

[K_Tiger]

40 minutes ago, x105Black said:

Wow, missed opportunity.  Should have come with 2+.

Well, the seagull wasn't in the original Ideas post. I would hope that would be one of the changes LEGO would make, using gulls instead of the owl in the original.

[Brick Dangerous]

On Fri Mar 10 2017 at 3:34 PM, Gomek said:

Mr. Gold was possibly the the most insensitive thing Lego has ever done. Building up a lot of kids hopes and then crushing them over and over.

Change "kids" to "AFOLs", and you've got IDEAS. ;)

[Mr bricking it]

I just hope that the release for this series isn't handled as badly as the release for series 16. Granted, the re-release of the Disney series sorta got in the way and messed it up, but searching for series 16 was one of the most stressful ordeals I've ever been through. It took me two months and trips to several different stores to get a full series, most of the places I went to were sold out or mostly picked through by the time I got to them.

Edited March 11, 2017 by Mr bricking it

[22kane]

2 hours ago, Mr bricking it said:

I just hope that the release for this series isn't handled as badly as the release for series 16. Granted, the re-release of the Disney series sorta got in the way and messed it up, but searching for series 16 was one of the most stressful ordeals I've ever been through. It took me two months and trips to several different stores to get a full series, most of the places I went to were sold out or mostly picked through by the time I got to them.

That's interesting. In Pennsylvania,  I couldn't get away from Series 16. They were everywhere and plentiful. I guess it depends on the area and overall demand but for me this was one of the easiest series to obtain so far and I started with Series 2. Disney was the second easiest to obtain for me. 

[Cagast]

6 hours ago, Brick Dangerous said:

Change "kids" to "AFOLs", and you've got IDEAS. ;)

   That's spot on....

[Oederland]

On 10.3.2017 at 8:54 PM, 22kane said:

Agreed. You cant even get a case on eBay without paying at least $800 or more. It's insane! That was definitely a bad move. Not that Lego meant it to go that way but that's what happens when the collectors are let loose.

TLC knows about AFOLs and how sets and minifigs out of production are sold, and that those prices can be extreme. So well, I think they meant it to go that way, or at least they wanted to give a try as an experiment, knowing that it might end up that way. They can make a lot of money with the CMFs, and they can make even more money if some of the attractive minifigs are rarer, and if one is extremely rare (similar to the figures in Kinder Surprise). Maybe they were surprised that it ended up that extreme.

In any case, CMFs already cost 3,99 € in Germany by now - 4 € for a minifig of poorer-than-normal quality (and the quality is certainly not poorer because it's made in China, it's ridiculous to believe that it is impossible to come up with ABS of the same quality within China). I wouldn't be surprised if prices increase for future series - as long as they sell reasonably well. 

Edited March 13, 2017 by Oederland

[Itaria No Shintaku]

19 minutes ago, Oederland said:

TLC knows about AFOLs and how sets and minifigs out of production are sold, and that those prices can be extreme. So well, I think they meant it to go that way, or at least they wanted to give a try as an experiment, knowing that it might end up that way. They can make a lot of money with the CMFs, and they can make even more money if some of the attractive minifigs are rarer, and if one is extremely rare (similar to the figures in Kinder Surprise). Maybe they were surprised that it ended up that extreme.

In any case, CMFs already cost 3,99 € in Germany by now - 4 € for a minifig of poorer-than-normal quality (and the quality is certainly not poorer because it's made in China, it's ridiculous to believe that it is impossible to come up with ABS of the same quality within China). I wouldn't be surprised if prices increase for future series - as long as they sell reasonably well. 

On the other hand you should consider that they have far more printings than the normali minifigures, that most of the new minifigures mold are used for this theme and that the most iconic minifigures that are not themed in the last 8 years came from this theme.

Plus, most of these minifigures are meant to be collected so it means that you assemble them, put in a display case and simply store forever. They are less meant to be plaied so it's acceptable a quaility decrease I believe.

[Darkdragon]

31 minutes ago, Itaria No Shintaku said:

poorer-than-normal quality

In the first few series, yes there were issues with the plastic. However, I think this has been rectified and they really do not seem to be of substandard quality compared to set figures anymore. I know for one thing that I can't just immediately pick out CMF legs without seeing the print, it use to be that just a glance in a box of legs or simply touching the plastic and I knew it came from CMF or a magnet set. These days they seem to be the same look and feel as all the others.

32 minutes ago, Itaria No Shintaku said:

most of these minifigures are meant to be collected

I don't know what TLG is thinking or not, but I would be surprised to hear if they agree with this statement. I think that they expect all of the figures to be played with by the target market and not simply stored on a shelf. Typically, that is not what kids would do and they are selling these for children.

 

Anywho, this topic seems to be getting offtrack

[Forresto]

I just realized this is the series to get if you're a huge fan of Fallout and want to make mocs.

Rocket boy - Works as either a Nuka Cola mascot or one of those rockets you find on playgrounds or really anything that involves a rocket. 

Buck Rodgers -The whole get up screams to be used in a Fallout inspired Moc and the ray gun looks almost exactly like the alien ray gun weapon you can find in every game. 

Gladiator & Battle Dwarf - Totally Raiders

Strongman - While the figure probably will work for another raider, the dumbbell is seen on the pip boy for one of the seven S.P.E.C.I.A.L.'s.

The Fast Food jerker -Absolutely 50's figure that works with Fallout's theme and vibe.

The Chef - Goes with about anything really.

The Surfer - Doesn't go with Fallout but looks totally like it could be some variation of Starfleet uniform. 

[Oederland]

59 minutes ago, Darkdragon said:

In the first few series, yes there were issues with the plastic. However, I think this has been rectified and they really do not seem to be of substandard quality compared to set figures anymore. I know for one thing that I can't just immediately pick out CMF legs without seeing the print, it use to be that just a glance in a box of legs or simply touching the plastic and I knew it came from CMF or a magnet set. These days they seem to be the same look and feel as all the others.

I might not be up-to-date, as I have bought just a few minifigs and no more regular sets for quite a while - basically since the debacle with 70500 Kai's Fire Mech, with printing on the front going off on one of the minifigs, which has never happened to me before (not even in the late 80ies and 90ies, when I was playing actively and not just changing the pose once in a while). And I wasn't that happy with the quality of the minifigs in the spinner sets (loose legs), same holds for e. g. the Samurai CMF. I can't complain on Frightening Knight and Rogue so far, but the issue with the loose legs only appeared after a while on the other minifigs, not right from the beginning. I have the impression that they have already become somewhat looser on the Classic King.

59 minutes ago, Darkdragon said:

I don't know what TLG is thinking or not, but I would be surprised to hear if they agree with this statement. I think that they expect all of the figures to be played with by the target market and not simply stored on a shelf. Typically, that is not what kids would do and they are selling these for children.

You shouldn't underestimate the factor, as children love to collect stuff in general, which does not necessarily imply that they are aware of that. Collecting is what themes like Nexo Knights and Ninjago are about as well, individualised minifigs that you can only receive by buying different sets. Add factor unpredictability to sell more products, leaving aside whether the children try to collect the whole series or to get those minifigs that they find attractive. Alternatively, put attractive items into large sets, but release smaller ones as decoys. As a consequence, children might get into a theme by receiving a small gift, then asking for large ones. This is nothing specific to Lego. For Lego, it is obvious to different extent in different themes, but quite interestingly, within the Castle domain it was possible to obtain the king via the largest set (of the first wave) only for the last two subthemes, the leader of the bad fraction and the princess were in another (also a large set), armoured horses have been available in larger sets only and so on. I don't think this is by chance, but rather product strategy. If you want to get a king and can obtain it from a small set, some children might just take this one (either because they are really already happy or because the parents tell them that they ought to be so ;) ). If you want to get a mounted knight and can obtain it from a small set, why buy the larger one.

[Itaria No Shintaku]

11 minutes ago, Oederland said:

I might not be up-to-date, as I have bought just a few minifigs and no more regular sets for quite a while - basically since the debacle with 70500 Kai's Fire Mech, with printing on the front going off on one of the minifigs, which has never happened to me before (not even in the late 80ies and 90ies, when I was playing actively and not just changing the pose once in a while). And I wasn't that happy with the quality of the minifigs in the spinner sets (loose legs), same holds for e. g. the Samurai CMF. I can't complain on Frightening Knight and Rogue so far, but the issue with the loose legs only appeared after a while on the other minifigs, not right from the beginning. I have the impression that they have already become somewhat looser on the Classic King.

You shouldn't underestimate the factor, as children love to collect stuff in general, which does not necessarily imply that they are aware of that. Collecting is what themes like Nexo Knights and Ninjago are about as well, individualised minifigs that you can only receive by buying different sets. Add factor unpredictability to sell more products, leaving aside whether the children try to collect the whole series or to get those minifigs that they find attractive. Alternatively, put attractive items into large sets, but release smaller ones as decoys. As a consequence, children might get into a theme by receiving a small gift, then asking for large ones. This is nothing specific to Lego. For Lego, it is obvious to different extent in different themes, but quite interestingly, within the Castle domain it was possible to obtain the king via the largest set (of the first wave) only for the last two subthemes, the leader of the bad fraction and the princess were in another (also a large set), armoured horses have been available in larger sets only and so on. I don't think this is by chance, but rather product strategy. If you want to get a king and can obtain it from a small set, some children might just take this one (either because they are really already happy or because the parents tell them that they ought to be so ;) ). If you want to get a mounted knight and can obtain it from a small set, why buy the larger one.

I actually think there are reasons different by the one you pick.

I believe that in a small set you usually get a lot of minifigures compared to the price of the set. For example: in a 10€ set you usually get 2 minifigures, which means 1 every 5€. This means that  you should get 16 for a 80€ set. Which actually doesn't happen. You get 8 (eg). So, if I pay 10€ per minifigure at least I expect them to be more important than the ones you get for a 10€ set. Which actually is the case.

[Oederland]

Maybe I should have stated that I played with Lego in the late 80ies and early 90ies. Back then the distribution of minifigs/parts was a different one (at least in my opinion). Black Monarch's Castle e. g. featured 12 minifigs and three horses, two of those armoured, Black Knight's Castle included 12 minifigs (one of them a ghost) and four horses. The ghost was featured in a small inexpensive set as well, not just a large one. When the green dragon was introduced in 1993 there were three sets of different size right from the beginning to obtain that dragon. The wizard was available in those three sets and another small one. 1995's king with shiny helmet was included in both the largest castle set (with cape, plume, and shiny sword on armoured horse), one featuring a carriage (no cape, but plume and shiny sword) and a small set (neither cape nor plume, but at least shiny sword). So I think it was easier to obtain certain "attractive" items to some extent.

2 hours ago, Itaria No Shintaku said:

I actually think there are reasons different by the one you pick.

I believe that in a small set you usually get a lot of minifigures compared to the price of the set. For example: in a 10€ set you usually get 2 minifigures, which means 1 every 5€. This means that  you should get 16 for a 80€ set. Which actually doesn't happen. You get 8 (eg). So, if I pay 10€ per minifigure at least I expect them to be more important than the ones you get for a 10€ set. Which actually is the case.

Well, I don't think that children or parents really determine the price-per-piece or price-per-minifig ratio. E. g. the castle is a large structure with many bricks, so people accept it to cost more money. The main motivation behind the large sets is still to sell a certain structure, be it a castle, a police station, a volcano, a crashed plane, or a combination of certain vehicles. This as such might or might not be attractive enough, and by adding some rare attractive items (the king, the armoured knight, the leopard) you can (try to) reach more people. In my childhood these items were still easier to obtain, at least to some extent.

I don't claim it to be a universal law, it wouldn't work anyway as the rareness/attractiveness depends on the theme, and I don't want to claim that e. g. a castle without a king wouldn't sell, but in some instances, where it makes sense, TLC seems to follow that rule. I'm not sure how representative my childhood is, but when I wanted to get a larger set it often took some time and I had to highlight the advantages of the set to convince my parents, and I wasn't successful all the time. To give an example, I had begged for 1822 Sea Claw 7 after seeing it in a brochure of a supermarket, and (somewhat surprisingly), my mother just bought it, I guess because it was sold cheaply considering the size of the set. For some more submarine action I got 6115 Shark Scout at a later point. Then I asked for 6155 Deep Sea Predator or 6190-1 Shark's Crystal Cave (not sure any more which of those two I was looking for), but I ended up with 6135 Spy Shark. My mother was like 1) you get another diver of that fraction 2) you get a plant (for whatever reason I liked those bushes and still do ;) ) 3) you get a submarine with that orange-transparent window 4) you have a magnet on 1822. Well, she was right, wasn't she  . If there had been some "rare" items I might have won. This might also explain why the sets available in some themes has been reduced. Back then there really was some interference or redundance between sets, like the mentioned three submarine sets with that front window, or the three Castle sets with the green dragon.

In contrast, looking at Nexo Kinghts: In the first wave the smallest of the regular sets consisted of a soldier and monsters available also in the larger sets, so none of the main characters. Five intermediate sets with one of the heroes each or the king, no redundancy. Two more intermediate sets with the queen and Aaron in one case and Ava and Lance in another. Finally the large set with Jestro and his mobile (plus Lance) and the largest set with three of the heroes (no Lance, no Macy). Thus, for Jestro you need 70316, for Axl and the Merlok hologram piece you need 70317, for the queen 70325, for the king 70327, for Ava 70324, for Macy 70314, for Moltor 70313 - in other words, many sets to "collect them all". There are also the cheap Ultimate sets, but the heros have different appearance with their transparent parts, which might be a reason to buy them in addition and not as a replacement (and still no Axl).

In the second wave there's a cheaper set to get Macy and two new sets with Axl, but they are both expensive. Jestro remains available in expensive sets only. You get some new Ultimate sets, but the heros again have a different apperance compared to the regular sets. In the third wave TLC introduces new monsters and new items for the heros (the orange-transparent ones). It's only now with the "Battle Suits" sets that the heros become available cheaply in their "default" apperance. So there is definitively a strategy how the minifigs are distributed across sets, ensuring that you have to spend quite some money - which is absolutely legitimate, as TLC is not a non-profit organisation.

Edited March 13, 2017 by Oederland