Future Constraction Lines

[MakutaDreadscythe]

I'm personally more of a fan of the technic approach with an emphasis on functionality. Granted System intergration would be more open, but I like sets that "do cool stuff". 2001 Rahi were the pinnacle of this idea IMO, though more refined.

I personally hold functions in higher esteem than looks because that's how LEGO works and plays best; it's got it's own unique style. Once it tries too hard to be accurate (Star Wars) it loses it's charm and starts competing with more screen accurate figures/toys.

[JoeyB]

I'm totally up for some really wild Sci-Fi and Fantasy figures, stuff we've really never seen before. While Galidor's execution was awful, the idea of regular people meeting super-bizarre alien lifeforms is right up my alley! Aliens inspired by stuff from, like, Wayne Douglas Barlowe's Expedition would get me hooked instantly, just a bunch of cool-looking creatures with neat functions! For Constraction to continue, I think a System/Technic/CCBS mashup featuring the best aspects of each system would be great, bringing in the wild functions and support of Technic, the durability, simplicity and volume of CCBS, and the fine detail of System pieces. I don't know, there's so much they could do, I'm more excited by what I can't imagine they'd make over what I know I want.  

[Leewan]

On 28/03/2018 at 11:31 PM, Digger of Bricks said:

Constraction dinosaurs utilizing the Ultrabuild system would be cool! 

Yeah, but we'll have to wait for the Jurassic World trilogy to be over, because such sets would risk to compete against future JW3 / JP6 sets. Unless they do Jurassic World Constraction sets, but I'd rather have non-licensed dinosaurs. And I think anything that's not humanoid would be cool, actually, to show what can be achieved with CCBS.

 

On 29/03/2018 at 12:37 AM, MakutaDreadscythe said:

I personally hold functions in higher esteem than looks because that's how LEGO works and plays best; it's got it's own unique style. Once it tries too hard to be accurate (Star Wars) it loses it's charm and starts competing with more screen accurate figures/toys.

If it's something totally new (or another reboot of an in-house theme) it won't have to compete with more screen accurate figures/toys.  And you can have functions and looks. Some of the Star Wars sets do. I don't think we should have to choose between both. Of course, integrating functions requires more parts, and eats up a part of the budget that could be solely used for "cosmetic" elements, so it's more about finding the right balance between these two aspects for a given price point.

 

On 30/03/2018 at 2:48 AM, JoeyB said:

I don't know, there's so much they could do, I'm more excited by what I can't imagine they'd make over what I know I want.  

Yeah, something new and surprising would be great. Like RoboRiders, when you think of it, that was crazy : "To counter the virus, the species created wheel-shaped armour for themselves, and six motorcycle-like machines, called RoboRiders, to travel in."

@Digger of Bricks mentioned the competition aspect, I'm wondering if we could see a sports-based theme. That would be a good way to put the emphasis on competition, and to create sets with interesting and different functions. It doesn't have to be a theme inspired by a real-life sport, like the Hockey sets from the 2000's, though.

[Digger of Bricks]

4 minutes ago, Leewan said:

Unless they do Jurassic World Constraction sets, but I'd rather have non-licensed dinosaurs.

Well, as far as licenses go, how about a constraction line based upon Warner Bros' MonsterVerse? Though they wouldn't necessarily be dinosaurs, there are quite a few sets you could get out of such a theme! So far, we have Godzilla, MUTOs, Kong, Skull Crawlers, Rowan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah making up the kaiju we've seen/know of in this franchise.

But, having said that, I too would much rather see more in-house themes from Lego when it all comes down to it. Hey, how about Biomechanical Dinosaurs? 

[TwistLaw]

12 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

Hey, how about Biomechanical Dinosaurs? 

 We lost that train in 2010.

But in general I don't see LEGO making ccbs themes out of other people's stuff. If they'll ever resurrect constraction, it will be with a in-house theme. They need to regain prestige at the eyes of the customers.

If Star Wars didn't do, neither will Godzilla. They need a CCBS Ninjago, which would have been G2 in a better world.

[Digger of Bricks]

3 hours ago, TwistLaw said:

We lost that train in 2010.

Wait, what are you referencing to? Sorry, I'm clueless. 

[Leewan]

7 hours ago, TwistLaw said:

If Star Wars didn't do, neither will Godzilla.

And a MonsterVerse theme has a much smaller potential than Star Wars. You could do two or three waves, and then run out of creatures to represent (and it's not because it exists in a movie that it can be made as a good Lego set, what I mean is not all the monsters can become sets). A brand new theme has more chances to last for several years.

 

4 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

Wait, what are you referencing to? Sorry, I'm clueless. 

I can't remember the exact quote, but before BIONICLE G1 was cancelled, in 2010, there were plans to explore Bota Magna, where live... biomechanical dinosaurs.

[JoeyB]

On 4/3/2018 at 3:37 PM, Digger of Bricks said:

Well, as far as licenses go, how about a constraction line based upon Warner Bros' MonsterVerse? Though they wouldn't necessarily be dinosaurs, there are quite a few sets you could get out of such a theme! So far, we have Godzilla, MUTOs, Kong, Skull Crawlers, Rowan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah making up the kaiju we've seen/know of in this franchise.

But, having said that, I too would much rather see more in-house themes from Lego when it all comes down to it. Hey, how about Biomechanical Dinosaurs? 

Hmm... I made a submission on Ideas for Lego MST3K, and I have the Atlantis Shadow Snapper, I want- no...

I need Gamera.

[Digger of Bricks]

On 4/4/2018 at 11:40 AM, Leewan said:

A brand new theme has more chances to last for several years.

By a "brand new theme", do you mean an in-house theme as opposed to a licensed one?

On 4/4/2018 at 11:40 AM, Leewan said:

I can't remember the exact quote, but before BIONICLE G1 was cancelled, in 2010, there were plans to explore Bota Magna, where live... biomechanical dinosaurs.

Ah, okay, thanks for that clarification! 

[Leewan]

1 hour ago, Digger of Bricks said:

By a "brand new theme", do you mean an in-house theme as opposed to a licensed one?

Yup, a theme created from scratch, and not based on a pre-existing universe.

[Kalhiki]

While I'd prefer an in-house theme, I wouldn't mind seeing constraction Jurassic Park/World. After all, if it's just CCBS Dinos they'd be making, Dinosaurs are just... y'know, Dinosaurs. It's not like it's a specific character.

Plus, with JW's whole "build your on Dino Hybrid" thing, customizing figures or having combi models would work well, too for the line.

 

[ToaSerwain]

On 5/4/2018 at 10:39 PM, Kalhiki said:

While I'd prefer an in-house theme, I wouldn't mind seeing constraction Jurassic Park/World. After all, if it's just CCBS Dinos they'd be making, Dinosaurs are just... y'know, Dinosaurs. It's not like it's a specific character.

I mean, that sounds great as a concept, but I do not think that a license theme would be necessary. Because in its entirety, if you want to get more bigger and complex dinosaurs builds with actual original textures and functions, that would be great for an original ccbs line in my opinion.

 

On 30/3/2018 at 2:48 AM, JoeyB said:

While Galidor's execution was awful, the idea of regular people meeting super-bizarre alien lifeforms is right up my alley!

Galidor execution marketing-wise was okay, at least better than G2 that is, but I think it didn't go through because of BIONICLE at the time being on its highest and the personal bias towards it and G1. 

Actually the sets were pretty great and the articulation was through the roof, but the problem was that it didn't really click with kids and afols denied its existence like G1. I do think that a galidor-ish ccbs theme concept-wise anyway because human heads are literally nightmare fuel, would be great with the setting and getting unique characters and designs.

 

 

[Digger of Bricks]

3 hours ago, ToaSerwain said:

I do think that a galidor-ish ccbs theme concept-wise anyway because human heads are literally nightmare fuel, would be great with the setting and getting unique characters and designs.

As long as such a constraction line has more system compatibility beyond just Technic pins, I guess it wouldn't be that bad.

If anything, given the popularity of the Jurassic World line, I could sort of imagine Lego doing a line of Dinosaur only sets, using the same system of prefabricated parts they use currently. It would be a action figure theme similar to Collectable Minifigure line, a spiritual successor of sorts to this 2001 theme.

[Kalhiki]

6 hours ago, ToaSerwain said:

I mean, that sounds great as a concept, but I do not think that a license theme would be necessary. Because in its entirety, if you want to get more bigger and complex dinosaurs builds with actual original textures and functions, that would be great for an original ccbs line in my opinion.

Very true. It wouldn't be necessary for a Dino line to be JP/W specific, but considering the current popularity and hype around the franchise what with the new movies coming out, I feel it'd be more logical for Lego to just market the line as a JW tie-in.

Either way. CCBS Dinosaurs need to happen.

2 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

If anything, given the popularity of the Jurassic World line, I could sort of imagine Lego doing a line of Dinosaur only sets, using the same system of prefabricated parts they use currently. It would be a action figure theme similar to Collectable Minifigure line, a spiritual successor of sorts to this 2001 theme.

Yeah, a reboot of the 2001 theme is actually what I was thinking. If there's any Constraction theme (I guess that's considered Constraction? Kinda, not really?) that needs a reboot, it's the old Dinosaurs line.

 

[Lyichir]

7 hours ago, ToaSerwain said:

Galidor execution marketing-wise was okay, at least better than G2 that is, but I think it didn't go through because of BIONICLE at the time being on its highest and the personal bias towards it and G1.

Actually, there were some pretty significant marketing snafus for Galidor. Perhaps most notably, its potential sales in the UK were crippled by the fact that the TV show (which was intended as the primary marketing vehicle for the theme) legally couldn't be aired alongside the release of the sets due to advertising laws—by the time they could have begun airing the show there, the line had basically already folded. This was neatly avoided by Bionicle G2 by relying on web-based and streaming story media (which of course was not really as much of an option for Galidor in an era when high-speed internet was a rare luxury). In the U.S. it was aired on the fairly unpopular Fox Kids network, which probably didn't do it any favors either.

[Aanchir]

Yeah, in general Galidor reveals the falsehood of the idea that more marketing = better marketing. It was not just a failure, but a hugely expensive failure, in part because so much money was sunk into promoting a theme that had not adequately proven its merits.

Generally, I don’t agree with the notion that constraction themes NEED a massive media presence like Bionicle G1 or Ninjago in a way that System themes don’t. Granted, some media presence is almost essential, given that constraction is pretty much invariably character-driven, but themes like Elves and Knights’ Kingdom II have done alright for themselves with around the same amount of media or less than Bionicle G2 got. I don’t see why that sort of lower-risk approach is fundamentally incompatible with constraction.

[Digger of Bricks]

8 hours ago, Kalhiki said:

Either way. CCBS Dinosaurs need to happen.

It would sorta be interesting if we saw a constraction line of Zoid-like dinosaurs. 

[ZORK64]

Lego Zoids would be certainly a cool thing to happen. I'm not really familiar with Zoids, but I've seen various MOCs based on it, and it looks pretty cool.

[optimus-convoy]

I think my honest answer to "Where do you want to see constraction go from here?" is pretty simple: "Whatever the cheapest way is that they can sell me new and interesting Bionicle/ccbs parts or parts in new colors." Maybe one route to go down would be Creator style sets focused on Technic and CCBS. Like lets say you have a "Hero" themed set that focused on a simple function and gave you ideas for a few different body styles and gear. Then just rinse and repeat for your "Creature" set, "Alien" set, etc. That being said, I also like some of the other ideas proposed that may fall more in line with what you would expect from a Bionicle/HF successor: Exo-force revival, Tron-esque digital dudes, Zoid-like mecha creatures. I'd just be hesitant for any other licensed CCBS lines. Largely due to all the issues Star Wars had with likenesses, builds, parts selection, and pricing.

[Digger of Bricks]

5 hours ago, ZORK64 said:

Lego Zoids would be certainly a cool thing to happen.

At least a constraction line with more of an 80's vibe and less of a Giger-esque one would be different for a change.

[ZORK64]

I wouldn't call the Bonkles Vibe Giger-esque, but I get what you mean.

optimus-convoy's idea sounds also pretty good, and I can agree with his sentiment to 100% - as long as the pricing is right, I'm rather flexible when it comes to the actual set designs.

[Digger of Bricks]

1 minute ago, ZORK64 said:

I wouldn't call the Bonkles Vibe Giger-esque, but I get what you mean.

But, having said what I did about the aesthetic of past constraction lines, what has been done in the past does fit better for Technic compatible parts, whereas something with a more Zoid-like aesthetic is probably more fitting for System based sets instead.

[Shakar]

18 hours ago, optimus-convoy said:

I think my honest answer to "Where do you want to see constraction go from here?" is pretty simple: "Whatever the cheapest way is that they can sell me new and interesting Bionicle/ccbs parts or parts in new colors." 

Truth to be told, I agree.  By now I know what I want to build so I'm less interested in builds and more interested in new parts/recolours. CCBS still has many "recolour slots" to fill, some of which are rather prominent (eg to this day, we still don't have CCBS fists in gold or titanium metallic!), and perhaps new colours to explore too (pink, lavender, and pastel colors in general). 

[Kingriedak]

Soo, is there any talk/news of CCBS popping up in the summer? or in 2019? or at all?

Maaan, I gotta know whether to pay attention to future lego catalogues or not

[Yeow]

Outside of a few polybags and a couple D2C/retailer exclusive sets, we already know everything that is going to be released this summer. Winter/Spring 2019 would be the earliest we could see a new CCBS theme.