Latest news about Lego animal moulds

[williejm]

11 hours ago, SketchBrick said:

Definitely a strong pattern, I wonder what we'll get next year?

Also there are a few other new moulds included with CMFs, like the falcon and koala from this year, and last year's toucan.

Can’t believe @Lion Kingdidn’t include the Great Squirrel Invasion of Lego City ;) 

🐿️🐿️🐿️🐿️🐿️🐿️🐿️🐿️🐿️🐿️

[Lion King]

3 hours ago, williejm said:

Can’t believe @Lion Kingdidn’t include the Great Squirrel Invasion of Lego City ;) 

🐿️🐿️🐿️🐿️🐿️🐿️🐿️🐿️🐿️🐿️

Haha! Well, I will offer my sincere apology to the Great Squirrel Army. :)

14 hours ago, SketchBrick said:

Definitely a strong pattern, I wonder what we'll get next year?

Also there are a few other new moulds included with CMFs, like the falcon and koala from this year, and last year's toucan.

Agreed on the strong pattern. 

I’m hoping we would get Forest subtheme next year - tehre are several missing forest animals, such as fox, fawn, raccoon, moose, duck, wolf, etc. 

[SketchBrick]

4 hours ago, Lion King said:

I’m hoping we would get Forest subtheme next year - tehre are several missing forest animals, such as fox, fawn, raccoon, moose, duck, wolf, etc. 

Forest/wilderness would be a good pick. They can reuse the bear and bear cub moulds plus newer animals like squirrels, and there are good opportunities for new additions like you said. I would love to see a beaver!

My other pick would be revisiting the jungle subtheme, since it will have been 7 years since that was last released.

[jonwil]

I would like to see Australian Outback as a theme. Use existing animals like the koala, snake, spider etc and introduce a few new ones like a kangaroo, emu or platypus.

 

 

[williejm]

I don’t know which way they will go next, but I think we can assume it’s ‘wild’ animals rather than farm, and land rather than sea. 
There are three obvious ways to go using existing animals and adding to them with new ones, I think. 

Asia - revisit the tiger, reprint for snow leopard, use new bear cub mould for baby pandas, reuse monkey, crocodiles, snakes etc. What could be a new mould? Maybe adult panda, orangutan, Red panda, peacock, crane, wild goat? 🐯🐼🐵

Forest - revisit bear with new added cubs, reuse stag, owls, eagle, falcon, squirrel. New? Moose, baby or other deer, fox, wolf, raven, raccoon, boar, woodpecker🦌🦝🐿️

Australia - reuse existing koala, crocs, snakes, spider, sheep, rabbits. New kangaroo, cockatoo, lizard, platypus. 🦘🐨🐊

any of those could be done with just a few new animals moulds. 

12 hours ago, jonwil said:

I would like to see Australian Outback as a theme. Use existing animals like the koala, snake, spider etc and introduce a few new ones like a kangaroo, emu or platypus.

Agreed - really lends itself to a variety of vehicles to include, as well as some buildings & scenery that would be new to Lego. I think using all-yellow minifigs for such a range remains a challenge (they did it with the Wildlife Rescue sets but honestly, it’s more than a bit awkward now)

[RichardGoring]

1 hour ago, williejm said:

Agreed - really lends itself to a variety of vehicles to include, as well as some buildings & scenery that would be new to Lego.

They did the Australia postcard recently. Could be nothing, could point towards it. Although it's Creator and City, so maybe not a lot of collaboration between the two.

[williejm]

5 minutes ago, RichardGoring said:

They did the Australia postcard recently. Could be nothing, could point towards it. Although it's Creator and City, so maybe not a lot of collaboration between the two.

Agreed. Did seem significant. Also that they included a brick built cockatoo, AND that it was the first postcard to be for whole dang country - not just a city :)

Also a lot of City themes and sets are foreshadowed by Creator sets. Including many of the animals that are brick built in them (bear, orca etc)

[Roebuck]

18 hours ago, SketchBrick said:

I would love to see a beaver!

Would not be surprised if that pop up in a theme soon

4 hours ago, williejm said:

 or other deer

Roebuck schmoebuck!

[williejm]

Beaver would be a fun one for a CMF 

47 minutes ago, Roebuck said:

Would not be surprised if that pop up in a theme soon

Roebuck schmoebuck!

You know it. 

[williejm]

Just noticed that the new version of the Great White Shark for 2023 has the ‘angry eyebrows’ eyes! Why, Lego, why?! 

The previous GWS was perfect with a simple eye. Now all the sharks have angry eyebrow eyes, and the adult crocagator similarly gets the evil eye treatment… 

[Roebuck]

1 hour ago, williejm said:

Just noticed that the new version of the Great White Shark for 2023 has the ‘angry eyebrows’ eyes! Why, Lego, why?! 

The previous GWS was perfect with a simple eye. Now all the sharks have angry eyebrow eyes, and the adult crocagator similarly gets the evil eye treatment… 

Yes I noticed that too, it could be a render so it is the old one or that one was of the marked so long that they had to bring the part back from storage and than decided to have the same type of eyes as the other sharks in the set..I was planning on saving some money on it, but I guess I must have two for my collection if it has new eyes

[williejm]

1 minute ago, Roebuck said:

Yes I noticed that too, it could be a render so it is the old one or that one was of the marked so long that they had to bring the part back from storage and than decided to have the same type of eyes as the other sharks in the set..I was planning on saving some money on it, but I guess I must have two for my collection if it has new eyes

Dude, sharpie on some eyebrows 

[lifeinplastic]

Pleased to see the 2 seal variants introduced this year. I agree with @williejm that the next wildlife subtheme is likely to be forest (either temperate or a tropical climate). Sadly I don't think we will get another Savannah/Safari subtheme next as there were only recent Wildlife Rescue sets based in Africa. A real pity as I think some of the main omissions of fairly 'basic' animals within Lego's range are Giraffes, Hippos, Rhinos and Zebras. Unless they make a zoo subtheme (which seems less likely given that this hasn't happened previously), these animals only really fit into African-based wildlife sets and are probably too big to feature as an accessory to a CMF series.

It is of course very good we are now seeing a lot more animals introduced. However, Lego are very late to the game and still decades behind Playmobil when it comes to animal inclusion. I was looking at their current 'Wiltopia' sets to see what they had to offer and what is still missing from Lego (not including any mascara-wearing Friends equivalents)...

• Alligator (Lego has the Crocogator hybrid)
• Alpaca
• Anteater
• Arctic Fox
• Bear (Lego version exists)
• Beaver
• Butterfly (Lego version exists)
• Caiman (Lego version exists if the Baby Crocogator counts)
• Cockatoo
• Deer (not really - the Lego mould is a reindeer - the Wiltopia version is also a fawn but there are deer in other themes)
• Dolphin (Lego version exists)
• Eagle (Lego version exists)
• Elephant (Lego version exists)
• Fish (Lego version exists)
• Flamingo (Lego version exists as a garden accessory)
• Frog (Lego version exists)
• Gazelle
• Gorilla
• Hedgehog
• Heron
• Hoatzin
• Hummingbird
• Ibex
• Jaguar (Lego version exists)
• Kingfisher
• Koala (Lego version exists)
• Lemur
• Lion (Lego version exists)
• Manatee
• Meerkat
• Monkey (Lego versions exist)
• Moose
• Ocelot
• Orangutan
• Panda
• Parrot (Lego version exists)
• Peacock
• Penguin (Lego version exists)
• Polar Bear (Lego version exists)
• Raccoon
• Red Panda
• Reindeer (Lego version exists)
• River Dolphin
• Seal (Lego version soon to be available)
• Skunk (Lego version exists)
• Snake (Lego version exists)
• Squirrel (Lego version exists)
• Swordfish
• Tapir
• Tiger (Lego version exists)
• Tortoise (the Playmobil version looks more like a turtle, which is odd as I know Americans call tortoises turtles but not vice versa)
• Toucan (Lego version exists)
• Turtle (Lego version exists)
• Vulture
• Wolf 

Being lazy, I could only be bothered to list the Wiltopia animals but Playmobil has many other themes with even more animals (for example, badgers, foxes, wild boars, pheasants, marmots, plus lots of farm animals and pets and one very odd looking set with a bear on skis). It should also be noted that there are lots more baby variants to the above as well, plus everything listed above is all currently available, whereas most of the animals in Lego form are now extinct in the wild (RIP camels and ostriches). Decades in the future, the burning question our grandchildren will be asking us is if Lego really did once have a goat mould!

Edited May 6, 2023 by lifeinplastic

[williejm]

Just gonna get in before @Roebuck and say I think the existing ‘deer’, in Lego, although marketed as either generic or ‘reindeer’, is most like a red deer stag. In popular culture of course ‘reindeer’ is pretty vaguely interpreted. That said, I think we should count the existing one as a red deer (= N American elk) stag, rather than an reindeer/caribou.

it doesn’t affect your list totals @lifeinplastic, and on reflection I think you’re right that forest is more likely than savannah-y next year. Stand-alone or precursor sets do of course still happen though, so who knows? I also enjoyed imagining what a Lego hoatzin would look like, and how useful the existing Phoenix would be for one …
 

PS - you still need to update that CMF list in your signature @lifeinplastic  🐨

[lifeinplastic]

@williejm - Yeah, though in fairness I did include the caveat that we don't officially have a deer as the Lego version is implied it is a reindeer but I don't wish to upset Roebuck!

Hopefully we can get some stand alone sets like the otter battlepack for some of the missing animals (I think lemurs would be most suitable for this), although I think the missing African creatures deserve a big set with those I listed above, plus gazelles and meerkats too. Smaller animals could find themselves in regular CMF series (most likely would be a beaver I think). Normal city sets could include a swan and a fox in urban sets without having to explore areas outside of the City.

PS - I forgot the Signature police were on patrol tonight - duly updated!

Edited May 6, 2023 by lifeinplastic

[williejm]

36 minutes ago, lifeinplastic said:

PS - I forgot the Signature police were on patrol tonight - duly updated!

I don’t know if I’m flattered or worried…

[Roebuck]

8 hours ago, lifeinplastic said:

Sadly I don't think we will get another Savannah/Safari subtheme next as there were only recent Wildlife Rescue sets based in Africa. A real pity as I think some of the main omissions of fairly 'basic' animals within Lego's range are Giraffes, Hippos, Rhinos and Zebras.

It is of course very good we are now seeing a lot more animals introduced. However, Lego are very late to the game and still decades behind Playmobil when it comes to animal inclusion. I was looking at their current 'Wiltopia' sets to see what they had to offer and what is still missing from Lego (not including any mascara-wearing Friends equivalents)...

Lego have a lot of catching up to do on Playmobil however what I find very interesting now is that basically every animal comes in only one set. So they manage to include several new ones meanwhile keeping the older moulds in circulation by including them as well. Apparently that is important since they cost less from the budget to include in a future set if they are part of the active part selection. Therefore the leaked medieval village set full of mostly farm animals could include a lot of the animals that currently are in other sets without using a lot of the budget to bring them out of retirement and instead use that budget on a goat mould or two  If that set comes out in a year or two it will also help keeping the animals there in circulation for say a City farm subtheme a couple of year after that..
I would guess that next time we get a African subtheme the elephants, lions and monkey will only come in one set each and the other spots are filled in with some of the animals you are asking for. The leopard with cubs is also something that can be included without using much of the budget and giving us something new

[Pchan1983]

On 5/3/2023 at 11:03 AM, Lion King said:

Not if you order orcas off PAB

based off the price of a lot of recent novelty pieces.... it will be more economical to buy multiple of the sets

[Murdoch17]

On 5/4/2023 at 3:34 PM, SketchBrick said:

Forest/wilderness would be a good pick. They can reuse the bear and bear cub moulds plus newer animals like squirrels, and there are good opportunities for new additions like you said. I would love to see a beaver!

My other pick would be revisiting the jungle subtheme, since it will have been 7 years since that was last released.

It's been seven years since Jungle theme?!? Man, I suddenly feel old. (Then again I remember wanting the original Adventurers elephant 20 years ago) 

Edited May 7, 2023 by Murdoch17

[Aurore]

The baby dragon mould that comes in the next Ninjago wave is awesome! 

[AstroFalcon]

1 hour ago, Aurore said:

The baby dragon mould that comes in the next Ninjago wave is awesome! 

Yep. Hope we either get that in more colours and designs or we get other moulded dragons at that scale. I would really like to make a dragon tamer faction in my fantasy world (perhaps viking styled like HTTYD?) and this little guy is perfect. 

[lifeinplastic]

On 5/6/2023 at 11:11 PM, williejm said:

I don’t know if I’m flattered or worried…

I'd be worried just in case Lego do listen to fans and they make the figure and isn't very popular! I will therefore change my choice! 

 

On 5/7/2023 at 8:44 PM, Murdoch17 said:

It's been seven years since Jungle theme?!? Man, I suddenly feel old. (Then again I remember wanting the original Adventurers elephant 20 years ago) 

I always think an Adventurers reboot would give us a much higher chance of new animals, although I can't see it with the Indiana Jones sets currently available again. Perhaps there will be a tribute figure in the CMF line, like the Johnny Thunder lookalike with chameleon.

[Lion King]

Not sure what kind of new animal molds we will hope for if we would get Jungle subtheme next year?

[SketchBrick]

7 hours ago, Lion King said:

Not sure what kind of new animal molds we will hope for if we would get Jungle subtheme next year?

They would definitely include some reuses/reprints of the big cat mould for another jaguar/panther/tiger and add the new cub pieces. I could also see a reuse of the newest monkey moulds and maybe the CMF toucan or chameleon.

If they keep with the pattern of the past few years and include 4-5 new animal moulds in the summer subtheme, I think a new monkey/primate type would be really cool! Wishlist items might be a tapir, anaconda, and new bird type.

[Lion King]

15 hours ago, SketchBrick said:

They would definitely include some reuses/reprints of the big cat mould for another jaguar/panther/tiger and add the new cub pieces. I could also see a reuse of the newest monkey moulds and maybe the CMF toucan or chameleon.

If they keep with the pattern of the past few years and include 4-5 new animal moulds in the summer subtheme, I think a new monkey/primate type would be really cool! Wishlist items might be a tapir, anaconda, and new bird type.

I. Would like see tiger with printed stripes down its back. The previous tiger figure lacks back stripes. 

If it’s an Asian june, it would be tiger, Asian elephant (maybe new ears, but I doubt it). We need panda and its cub!