Lets talk color vomit

[andythenorth]

5 hours ago, agrof said:

Many teenagers are able to repair their bicycle, moped, so should we expect color coded metal parts in real-life counterparts too ? (Imagine a real gearbox with full color of gears, bolts, bearings...)

Nah, I think colour is a valid poka-yoke.  We're already in a grid based system with pre-fitted plug-in components.  That's quite a long way from Kansas compared to actual metal-bashing. 

I know a couple of engineers who dislike the whole concept of Lego Technic because you can't bend it to fit, and you can't weld ABS.  Well you can.  But not with an arc welder 

[agrof]

I am not sure, I got your point. We agree about color coding and poke-yoke. I do believe it is an effective WORKING method, but I just don't find this an effective LEARNING method after a while. It helps a lot till a child learns and gets familiar with the whole Technic system, but after knowing the connection properties and constrains, I think next step could be to focus on shapes, and functions. For me, color coding is not helping here further - but I understand if some find this useful. I can deal with this. 

Or, I just should consider LEGO as an entry door to that level I am wishing for, and in reality I should look for this in other engineering - like repairing a bicycle, this is also a possibility.

[Bublehead]

I think we are still in a "learning curve" situation with TLG and their Technicolor kerfluffle. The biggest problem is the sharing of common parts in small beginner sets with larger complex ones.  They need the Technicolor for the smaller sets and the entry-level sets for the children, but the larger sets share the same small components and TLG is not about to mold in two separate colors in two separate runs to fill their warehouse for a single common part, basically doubling the manufacturing overhead and storage requirements. That is not cost effective. People need to accept the fact that they are a company out to make money and everything they are doing has that goal in mind. They spend millions of dollars to figure these things out and pay a lot of people a lot of money and yes even after that they still may be making a mistake in the long run. They have teams of child psychologists and experts in the field trying to figure out what makes playing with Lego fun and enjoyable to the broadest market.  For now we are stuck with the Technicolor and if it improves sales of Lego I'm all for it because without Lego my drug of choice goes away.

[Ngoc Nguyen]

Not to mention there is always a chance that any Lego set is the first set for someone.

[Wolf_Zipp]

21 minutes ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

Not to mention there is always a chance that any Lego set is the first set for someone.

That´s right , I think some buyed the Porsche as first set.

I talked with a man at my last Expo , who buyed this and had it only half finished after a couple weeks. He drive a real Porsche.

[Omikron]

1 hour ago, Wolf_Zipp said:

That´s right , I think some buyed the Porsche as first set.

I talked with a man at my last Expo , who buyed this and had it only half finished after a couple weeks. He drive a real Porsche.

AFOLs buy sets because it's LEGO, porche drivers buy it because it's a porche

[agrof]

@Bublehead@Ngoc Nguyen Not sure if your comments were meant to me, but I feel myself called.  Sure, I am aware of the mentioned perspectives as well, I deal with phenomenons like these daily. I can't help, I just feel somehow unnatural to use poke-yoke in learning process (what I consider LEGOing to be, it is not a productive activity) - in general.

@Omikron Exactly that was the strategy to open new market for LEGO. Now petrolheads are also turning heads to LEGO.

Edited May 29, 2018 by agrof

[Omikron]

Just now, agrof said:

@Bublehead@Ngoc Nguyen Not sure if your comments were meant to me, but I feel myself called.  Sure, I am aware of the mentioned perspectives as well, I deal with phenomenons like these daily. I can't help, I just feel somehow unnatural to use poke-yoke in learning process - in general.

@Omikron Exactly that was the strategy to open new market for LEGO. Now petrolheads are also turning heads to LEGO.

* Emperors voice

-YES, feel the bricks flow through you!

* Vader's voice

-Join me and together we will rule the galaxy!

[sirslayer]

lol, @Omikron

Do you prefer the red or blue Lego saber ??? Nomadic soul!!! 

 

Edited May 29, 2018 by sirslayer

[Omikron]

9 hours ago, sirslayer said:

lol, @Omikron

Do you prefer the red or blue Lego saber ??? Nomadic soul!!!

Purple

Edited May 29, 2018 by Omikron

[allanp]

15 hours ago, Omikron said:

Purple

I didn't realize you were Samuel l Jackson 

[Omikron]

Just now, allanp said:

I didn't realize you were Samuel l Jackson 

Say "what" one more time! I dare you, I double dare you!

[Maaboo the Witch]

4 hours ago, Omikron said:

Say "what" one more time! I dare you, I double dare you!

Does 42080 look like A MESS?! 

[Omikron]

5 hours ago, Maaboo35 said:

Does 42080 look like A MESS?! 

[dr_spock]

Sometimes "color vomit" is required to make a piece stand out and LEGO knows that.  You probably have to really hurt LEGO's bottom line to make them go to back to the old color scheme for pins and axles.

Day 101 of 365: Killer Bee by dr_spock_888, on Flickr

Marsellus would like his briefcase back now, pretty please.

The standard brown briefcase would have blended in with the floor...

 

[aminnich]

I do not think I need to tell you that this is completely different 

[Omikron]

7 minutes ago, aminnich said:

I do not think I need to tell you that this is completely different 

Yeah, nobody likes JarJar

[allanp]

Hahahaha!!!!!

But why such garish bright colours like bright red, bright blue, orange, lime and so on. You can use different colours but still make it harmonious. I think part of the reason why I liked technic as a kid and can continue to like it as an adult is because to me it was never just another dumb toy, which may be just a pleasant illusion but the overly bright colours ruins that illusion for me. The 8880 gearbox for the time was great and feels like a real gearbox when it was  first released 24 years ago, Chiron gearbox is great with its new pieces, but the colours scream THIS IS A CHILDS TOY which is strange with its 16+ age rating. And I still maintain that, when people are still inserting differentials in backwards despite brightly coloured coding the axles left to right, colour coding doesn't seem to achieve its desired effect. In this case better to have pictures in the instructions showing an example of both the right way with a tick and the wrong way with a big red cross, and big letters saying PAY ATTENTION, or we'll make a Lego jar jar Bink's movie!

[Omikron]

I guess kids this days are less hardcore. I grew up with plastic models which required cutting out of vacuum form, gluing, filing, more filing, thinning paint, paint, even more filing, re thinning the thick paint, realizing you had the wrong thinner, assembly, suffer, be pride of yourself.

Then models started to be more easy - no excessive cutting or filing, glue in the box, sometimes even paint., couple of years ago I saw plastic models that didn't require glue and even paint, just some minor cutting.

Now I look at technic and it keeps going pretty well, however sometimes I see either mistakes or weird decisions in an official set and I wonder what type of drug was involved.

[Bublehead]

1 hour ago, Omikron said:

what type of drug was involved.

Sometimes I think we get decisions that are made when they are NOT getting their meds.  

[dr_spock]

10 hours ago, Omikron said:

I guess kids this days are less hardcore. I grew up with plastic models which required cutting out of vacuum form, gluing, filing, more filing, thinning paint, paint, even more filing, re thinning the thick paint, realizing you had the wrong thinner, assembly, suffer, be pride of yourself.

Then models started to be more easy - no excessive cutting or filing, glue in the box, sometimes even paint., couple of years ago I saw plastic models that didn't require glue and even paint, just some minor cutting.

Now I look at technic and it keeps going pretty well, however sometimes I see either mistakes or weird decisions in an official set and I wonder what type of drug was involved.

They probably had breathe in too much plastic cement vapour when they were kids and now are product managers.       I was surprised when I saw a bunch of Gundam kits that snapped together instead of gluing at an anime convention over the weekend.  Back in my days snap-together plastic model kits were for those too young to handle chemical solvents.  Times have changed.

 

[Bartybum]

I mean, if there’s an alternative to using solvents for plastic modelling that achieves the same results then why bother with solvents?

Edited May 31, 2018 by Bartybum

[Bublehead]

Sorry off topic, but snap together kits NEVER looked better than the glued ones. With glue there were less gaps in seams. And we all know what people think about gaps. 

Now back to your regularly scheduled topic...

You can remember your grandfather saying “kids these days” and now that I am older, the phenomenon is not lost on me.  There is a generational difference between my generation and those that followed.  My play time was divided up between physical activity, playing with toys, and watching television (including commercials) on a time table somebody else scheduled.  “Kids these days” have it divided up even more, with social media, the internet, physical activity, watching videos (not necessarily TV), and they don’t have to watch commercials as much as we did, nor watch just what was on at the time, they have streaming services and YouTube and can watch what they want when they want. So TLG has to adapt to fit into this paradigm. The toy MUST keep them engaged to be effective in selling more toys. If a child loses interest, then TLG has lost the game. Technicolor is one way they have changed to try and ensure the child finishes the build and plays with the toy.  So, yes, there is a big difference between my experience with Lego and Technic when I was young, and the experience “Kid these days” have, and as sticks in the mud, we AFOLs need to understand Lego’s predicament and cut them a little slack.

Edited June 1, 2018 by Bublehead
Wrong adjective

[aminnich]

This Is way off topic now

[bombcar]

You all do realize we’re  on a forum dedicated to snap-together plastic models, right?