Unpopular Opinions about LEGO

[Stuartn]

5 hours ago, 1974 said:

I may be in the minority though.

I actually agree. In terms of train and minifgure parts, I don't really mind as they aim to improve Lego, but in terms of other products it seems to go against the purpose of the site, which is to discuss Lego.

1 minute ago, Toastie said:

Well, Ole, in principle you are entirely right, and I am totally with you. 

...

Thorsten

I do agree with that sentiment as well.

[MAB]

I think there is an issue that a lot of knock off companies obviously do clone what LEGO already produces and thus are "bad". Yet the same companies often go further and do have unique parts that LEGO didn't produce that enhance LEGO playability, and in that sense are partly "good".

[1974]

On 4/27/2021 at 1:45 PM, Lego David said:

Have you ever heard about the term "nice part usage"?

When I was a kid in the late 70's/80's we hadn't coined the NPU yet, but yeah for sure we glossed over cool ways to use parts in official sets, catalogues and mostly the IDEA books (6000, 200 and 250)

Looking at my IDEA books from before that I'm sure my dad also marvelled over the cool ways LEGO parts could be used in the 60's

That's the entire IDEA of LEGO

Still a lot of parts are completely useless to me compared to others. If every part was equally usefull I'd need to own multiples of every part ever released and I think that would be tough to sell to the missus

 

10 hours ago, Toastie said:

Well, Ole, in principle you are entirely right

Can you engrave that onto a 1x16 brick, please?

While my personal feelings towards that crap is that it shouldn't be here, at least not the direct knock-off stuff it's not my opinion only. It's in fact in the charter of this forum :

"Clone and Competitor Brands: A Clone brand or competitor brand, is a product manufactured by a legitimate company. For Example Oxford,Mega Blocks. Kreo or Character Building. These are companies that do not infringe copyrights and provide a competitor product, such as licenses and themes LEGO do not produce. It is fair to discuss, compare and share these brands and their products in the Community section of the Forum. 

Bootlegs, Rip-Offs and Fakes: These manufacturers copy designs and minifigures from LEGO, other companies and even fans, to produce their own infringing products which they then sell, often at knock down prices. There are hundreds of names attached to these products and varied quality between them. We will no longer accept discussion and sharing of these products on Eurobricks. Most of these "brands" are facing legal cases and we have no interest in supporting them by providing a place for their criminal products to be seen."

I know there's a section of EB were such matters can be discussed (dark place, I don't go there), I feel it's creeping into the normal forums at an alarming rate. I really do not understand that CADA car beging discussed in the Technic forum for instance. While TLG may look the other way with train stuff being made as long as it's not in direct competion (I have my idea/sources - but for sure we're not going to get an official statement on that) I'm positive that TLG would like to bury CADA ten feet under ground

I imagine that it's also harming EB's special relationship with TLG

Now, I understand that some MOC'ers don't give a darn and will use anything. Some cuts, paints, heck some people only build virtually. That's cool and not really any of my business. Some just want the cheapest parts even if they're knockoffs and even it pisses on TLG legally. That is not cool to discuss here

I'm sure there's other places for that. I think there's a LEGO knock-off sub-reddit

Just using official parts made by TLG is indeed a limitation. And I like that

Edited to add the EB rules. So yeah, CADA which IS a direct knock-off shouldn't even be discussed in the Community section

Cheers,

Ole

Edited April 29, 2021 by 1974

[Lego David]

38 minutes ago, MAB said:

I think there is an issue that a lot of knock off companies obviously do clone what LEGO already produces and thus are "bad". Yet the same companies often go further and do have unique parts that LEGO didn't produce that enhance LEGO playability, and in that sense are partly "good".

It still baffles me that after so many years, LEGO still hasn't produced double-sided plates, a piece that many knock-off companies do have. So, yeah, I absolutely agree with this. 

[1974]

They have, the did more than two decades ago. I know, I've owned a lot of them. For some reason TLG have deemd us not worthy for such an advanced part

Or perhaps it's because it was patented by another company and TLG respects that?

The blue 2x4 plates came from me (prototype parts that have never been in any sets), the others are TYCO and have been around for many years

There's a thorough going through by my friend Wouter on that site

Edited April 29, 2021 by 1974

[Peppermint_M]

As the writer of the Clone policy: It is a weird line these days as TLG spuriously goes after anyone they can, Zuru being one case and the recent 1x5 patent file even though Cobi and Mega have had them for years. Then we have the purchasing of a fan community resource (Bricklink, I mourn you) and the stripping of previously acceptable fan custom parts from the site. Not to mention the weird dilution of the term "minifig" by including Disney Cars etc into what really should only count the actual figures with limbs and a head! Minifigures are the one patent TLG could hang on to, but if they themselves are going to dilute it so much as to include an actual building set then they will certainly find it hard to challenge someone like Zuru again (I have a few samples of their figures, not excellent but fun enough for a kid to play with).

So yeah, unpopular opinion: TLG are damaging themselves by trying to be the only brick brand.

[1974]

18 minutes ago, Peppermint_M said:

(Bricklink, I mourn you)

Yeah, that site should have stayed independant. Wonder what Dan might have said on the matter

They only bought it to protect the brand, no real money is being made there. I think the BL future looks very bleak indeed

20 minutes ago, Peppermint_M said:

So yeah, unpopular opinion: TLG are damaging themselves by trying to be the only brick brand.

That's neither unpopular and nor untrue

21 minutes ago, Peppermint_M said:

As the writer of the Clone policy ..

So, how do feel about the CADA discussion in the Technic forum?

[Peppermint_M]

3 minutes ago, 1974 said:

So, how do feel about the CADA discussion in the Technic forum?

Hm, as it was a more technic based brand, I had not come across it. I am surprised it has not been reported and moved out yet!

[MAB]

I thought all those CADA posts were supported and permitted by the mod Jim. Even to the point that they are better than LEGO's powered up.

[1974]

Then rewrite the policy

[Toastie]

10 hours ago, MAB said:

I thought all those CADA posts were supported and permitted by the mod Jim. Even to the point that they are better than LEGO's powered up.

Phew.

I'd rather be very careful using a name - and as we have this nice tool: @Jim - together with "I thought", "supported and permitted", and "even to the point that they are better". I sure assume that everything after "I thought" is exactly that: Your very personal view.

Yes, we can now get out the big guns and cite all over the place who has said what and when. Yes, mods have some responsibility. But this forum is hopefully still in the public domain and not in TLG heaven (or I am out the moment I learn it is): Mods may very well have a "take", particularly when they have a point. PUp is definitely nice. CADA electronic crap is in many regards - I am sorry - better. Over and out. As it is with BuWizz and ZipZap. Why? Because the BuWizz folks can still steer, react, and change on a short call. Regarding BuWizz, there is ample of in depth discussions, questions, replies, responses in the Technic forum; the designers are not nailed to whatever to suffer in TLG hell because - they - well - don't clone bricks - other than their nobs on the brick. Fine with me! With regard to TLGs PUp: There is an outdated PDF on GitHub with a good amount of spelling errors.
It just does not work anymore this way.

9 hours ago, 1974 said:

Then rewrite the policy

I really agree (again) with you Ole on this. As far as I am concerned, there needs to be a clarification on this. And not the "in the Train forum they make TLG better" by all these custom parts but when it comes to improved electronics by a Chinese(?) company, who also clones things as if there were no tomorrow, it is blasphemy. These rules need to be sharpened, I totally agree. This will become a very delicate line though. As it is/was with the acquisition of BL by TLG.

And then the rules need to be applied with the equivalent of a sledgehammer; otherwise things may derail even faster than remotely anticipated.

Totally just my view. Nothing else.

Best
Thorsten

     

 

Edited April 29, 2021 by Toastie

[eldiano]

Here’s an unpopular opinion I Hate about LEGO.  Not enough reissues of older sets, rather than reimagine older sets I just wish they just re-release them as is, just as they did the blackseas barracuda in 89-2002 for example and the castles line up

[Lego David]

5 hours ago, eldiano said:

Here’s an unpopular opinion I Hate about LEGO.  Not enough reissues of older sets, rather than reimagine older sets I just wish they just re-release them as is, just as they did the blackseas barracuda in 89-2002 for example and the castles line up

In general, I feel like LEGO is really missing out on the Nostalgia market. Many other companies, such as Disney, have built themselves upon constantly re-releasing their Classic Animated Movies, and sure enough, this strategy has worked for them for almost 80 years. Not only do you have the older nostalgic crowd, but you also bring those Classics to a new generation that has never experienced them before. Heck, Disney movies have made much, much more money from the re-releases than they did from the original release! 

I just don't understand why LEGO wouldn't do the same. Maybe it is because the original Legends re-releases from 2001-2002 were a big flop? At that time, those sets were LEGO exclusives, and this was during a time when LEGO Brand Stores were close to non-existent and the Online Shopping was just at its beginning. So it makes perfect sense why those original re-releases flopped, but... would they still flop again today, with LEGO Stores almost everywhere and LEGO.com selling most of the LEGO exclusives? Not to mention the 18+ line, and all the other stuff LEGO has recently done to appeal to the adult nostalgia market. 

I find it so odd that they stress themselves out releasing as many 18+ sets based off Nostalgic IP's as they can, when they could just as easily use their own Nostalgia properties!

Edited May 1, 2021 by Lego David

[1974]

The colours, the moulds and the (ability) to make boxes with opening flaps do not exist anymore

TLG is immensely proud of it's heritage but going forward have always been very important

I do not think we're going to see re-issues like the Legend series. Ever

[jimmynick]

LEGO is absolutely killing it on the nostalgia front. Some examples off the top of my head:

• the classic minifigure packs
• the LEGO Movie
• Pete Reid's exo-suit
• Barracuda Bay
• re-releases of the big boi MF and DS
• Taj Mahal rerelease
• 20th Anniversary SW Figures

Other products, like monorail, are bygones because (I think I've heard) the moulds no longer exist. But TLG do what they can to suck money from our wallets by leaning on nostalgia

[Lego David]

6 hours ago, 1974 said:

The colours, the moulds and the (ability) to make boxes with opening flaps do not exist anymore

The depends a lot on the set re-released in question. They can specifically avoid stuff they can't do anymore, and try to recreate something with parts they currently have at their disposal. And to be fair, unless we're talking about super expensive stuff like raised baseplates, I don't think re-issuing some older molds would be that big of a deal either. Also, if just straight-up re-releasing a set would be impossible, how did they manage to do that back in the early 2000's? 

Also, why can't they do opening flaps anymore? I can understand why they can't do certain types of packages like Canisters anymore, but what's the issue with opening flaps? Aren't those just pure cardboard too? 

6 hours ago, 1974 said:

TLG is immensely proud of it's heritage but going forward have always been very important

Ehhh... I wouldn't be so sure about that. Every time we do get nods to TLG's heritage, it is mostly either because of AFOLs or because of designers, not because TLG itself is "proud of its heritage". 

3 hours ago, jimmynick said:

LEGO is absolutely killing it on the nostalgia front. Some examples off the top of my head:

• the classic minifigure packs
• the LEGO Movie
• Pete Reid's exo-suit
• Barracuda Bay
• re-releases of the big boi MF and DS
• Taj Mahal rerelease
• 20th Anniversary SW Figures

I don't know, they seem to be doing that more often with licensed themes, not with their own original stuff. Also, stuff like Exo-Suit or Baracuda Bay wouldn't have existed without first being submitted to LEGO Ideas. Also, D2Cs being re-released doesn't count, because those aren't really for Nostalgia's sake as much as they are because of high demand.

[1974]

2 hours ago, Lego David said:

The depends a lot on the set re-released in question. They can specifically avoid stuff they can't do anymore, and try to recreate something with parts they currently have at their disposal. And to be fair, unless we're talking about super expensive stuff like raised baseplates, I don't think re-issuing some older molds would be that big of a deal either. Also, if just straight-up re-releasing a set would be impossible, how did they manage to do that back in the early 2000's?

Before 2003/4 TLG still used the same colours that were used in classic sets. Many of the moulds were also in use at that time. Today the colour palette have been changed completely and many of the moulds for common parts have changed. The classic wedge plates, aka "space wings" are not in production anymore. Nor are important parts like CC walls, CS windscreens, all the printed parts etc. (Raised) baseplates are actually the last of TLGs worry

2 hours ago, Lego David said:

Also, why can't they do opening flaps anymore? I can understand why they can't do certain types of packages like Canisters anymore, but what's the issue with opening flaps? Aren't those just pure cardboard too?

TLG simply do not have the production equipment to make those boxes anymore. Not only did those classic boxes have flaps, they also had inserts. They were mostly manually assembled. TLG don't like that today

2 hours ago, Lego David said:

I wouldn't be so sure about that. Every time we do get nods to TLG's heritage, it is mostly either because of AFOLs or because of designers, not because TLG itself is "proud of its heritage"

Most of TLG's designers are AFOLs

[Tube Map Central]

Do retro sets have to be exact duplucates? Not for me personally.

 

[Lego David]

1 hour ago, 1974 said:

Most of TLG's designers are AFOLs

Yeah, that was my point. I am willing to bet most of the tributes to Classic themes that we do get are made mostly because those AFOL designers suggested them to TLG, not because TLG itself commissioned them. 

1 hour ago, 1974 said:

Before 2003/4 TLG still used the same colours that were used in classic sets. Many of the moulds were also in use at that time. Today the colour palette have been changed completely and many of the moulds for common parts have changed. The classic wedge plates, aka "space wings" are not in production anymore. Nor are important parts like CC walls, CS windscreens, all the printed parts etc. (Raised) baseplates are actually the last of TLGs worry

I have to agree, recreating exact duplicates would be impossible. But that doesn't mean they couldn't just straight up re-build those sets with the parts currently in production, right? As far as I am concerned, a remake of the Galaxy Explorer would be fairly easy to recreate, with the only part that might be hard to bring back being the crater baseplates.

[1974]

1 hour ago, Lego David said:

Yeah, that was my point. I am willing to bet most of the tributes to Classic themes that we do get are made mostly because those AFOL designers suggested them to TLG, not because TLG itself commissioned them. .

That's not how TLG works at all

[Aanchir]

6 hours ago, 1974 said:

TLG simply do not have the production equipment to make those boxes anymore. Not only did those classic boxes have flaps, they also had inserts. They were mostly manually assembled. TLG don't like that today 

A lot of them also had transparent plastic windows to display the pieces, which is exactly the sort of single-use plastic that LEGO is trying to eliminate from their current packaging. Take that away, and the only advantage remaining for an opening flap like that is adding slightly more space for pictures of or information about the set on the outside of the box.

Edited May 1, 2021 by Aanchir

[TeriXeri]

Might be unpopular, but the more I look at 2021 sets, the more the Friends Horses start to grow on me, also for use for Minifigs, might get the forest stable set at some point maybe.

Edited May 2, 2021 by TeriXeri

[The Island Chronicles]

Another unpopular opinion: this years City Wildlfe Rescue sets are perfect. 

[Flak Maniak]

21 hours ago, Poodabricks said:

Another unpopular opinion: this years City Wildlfe Rescue sets are perfect. 

Certainly this one is unpopular with me! When I saw the monkeys, my only thought was "I'm off to buy some of the old monkeys on BrickLink", and when I saw the elephant I thought it was frankly embarrassing to not have the body be brick-built, for it to have no articulation in the legs whatsoever.

[danth]

On 5/1/2021 at 4:36 AM, jimmynick said:

LEGO is absolutely killing it on the nostalgia front. Some examples off the top of my head:

• the classic minifigure packs
• the LEGO Movie
• Pete Reid's exo-suit
• Barracuda Bay
• re-releases of the big boi MF and DS
• Taj Mahal rerelease
• 20th Anniversary SW Figures

Other products, like monorail, are bygones because (I think I've heard) the moulds no longer exist. But TLG do what they can to suck money from our wallets by leaning on nostalgia

Agree but disagree.

- Exo-Suit was like 7 years ago and doesn't really resemble anything from Classic Space other than the minifigs

- LEGO Movie? How? The first one had the Spaceship but that was also 7 years ago. Second one had Benny's Space squad. But that was the extent of it. Not exactly killing it.

- Star Wars -- agree, but I would consider ALL the Star Wars sets as nostalgia. The OG movies are 40 years old. The prequels are 20 years old. The sequels were based on nostalgia for the OG movies. They're not only "killing it" here, they're mutilating the body.

- Barracude Bay. Agree, and would add the Blacksmith and even the Pirate and Castle Creator sets. But they are the only examples of what I consider "killing it" in a GOOD way. What we need is MORE of that. Including Space. We need it every year IMO. Keep it up!

EDIT: Also Harry Potter. The last movie was released 10 years ago!

Edited May 3, 2021 by danth