Yes we had the Lone Ranger in 2012 but it would be cool to see an unlicensed Wild West theme again. 

I don't know how successful it would be. I recently sold off my western collection and one lone ranger set and had a hard time doing so. I set what seemed liked reasonable prices for used sets based on past sales on eBay. I had to keep lowering my price week after week because there wasn't interest. I did sell some sets that way but I ended up selling the last couple to a Bricks and Minifigs store for a low price after 2 or so months of being listed for sale on Ebay and Offerup. 

Now maybe if Lego puts its marketing machine behind the effort they could have some sales but I think their efforts would be better focused on more generally popular themes. It is sad I have to say this but I was genuinely surprised at how bad the market was. It might be that it is the used market vs new market but vintage sets traditionally were valued in online markets. That does not seem to be the case in today's market.

 

Edited October 28, 20231 yr by durazno33

1 hour ago, durazno33 said:

I don't know how successful it would be. I recently sold off my western collection and one lone ranger set and had a hard time doing so. I set what seemed liked reasonable prices for used sets based on past sales on eBay.

What were those prices like compared to Bricklink? I know I personally don't ever buy old sets on eBay unless it's available for bid because they're pretty much universally more expensive than buying the same set in the same condition on Bricklink (the only time I've ever found even a comparable deal is on a handful of Paradisa sets a few years back, and even that was only in hindsight because there were two unadvertised sets contained within the one I intended to buy).

I just checked the price of 6769 (the only one I have in my spreadsheet to be able to compare data do) and it still seems to be holding strong value-wise. Average price of sold sets on Bricklink in the last six months is £30 up on what it was two years ago. Other sets' recent sales seem to be what I'd expect them to be based on the price of 6769 and their relative sizes, so it doesn't seem that the market has crashed.

Honestly I think the biggest hurdle to a return of Western as a theme isn't its value (as you say, Lego's marketing can sell it for sure if they want to) but more the issue of modern sensibilities. Although less problematic than the Islanders, there are potential issues with Lego incorporating Native Americans into sets if they don't take the time to do it with care, so a Western theme would really be limited to bandits versus cavalry - certainly enough material for a single wave, but I have a hard time thinking of enough genuinely good ideas to make a Western theme with any staying power before you simply run out of things to cover.

I still want to think that it should be possiblee to depict Native Americans in a sensible way, like Lego depicts vikings or the traditional Chinese New Year, just to name a few. At least we got a Hovitos warrior in the Indiana Jones Golden Idol set. Maybe Lego fears that children would play "Cowboys vs Indians" and that's the reason why they shy away from the whole theme. I think there is so much to discover and so many adventures to experience in a Lego Western theme, even if Lego wants to skip Native Americans and the US Army.

• Townsfolk battlepack with animals and accessoires
• Stable and barn
• Sheriff's Office
• Stagecoach
• Saloon
• Paddle steamer
• Gold mine
• Town center with various buildings
• Train station
• Train

Add bandits if you like and let them ambush the stagecoach or the train.

 

I would love to see some Wild West-themed sets some days! But this theme is quite tricky. 

6 hours ago, Yperio_Bricks said:

I still want to think that it should be possiblee to depict Native Americans in a sensible way, like Lego depicts vikings or the traditional Chinese New Year, just to name a few. At least we got a Hovitos warrior in the Indiana Jones Golden Idol set. Maybe Lego fears that children would play "Cowboys vs Indians" and that's the reason why they shy away from the whole theme. I think there is so much to discover and so many adventures to experience in a Lego Western theme, even if Lego wants to skip Native Americans and the US Army.

• Townsfolk battlepack with animals and accessoires
• Stable and barn
• Sheriff's Office
• Stagecoach
• Saloon
• Paddle steamer
• Gold mine
• Town center with various buildings
• Train station
• Train

Add bandits if you like and let them ambush the stagecoach or the train.

 

Agreed. 

And I will like to see a “diorama” set, such as a gold rush at riverbank with gold nuggets

I don't think the Wild West has the interest it had 20-30 years ago, but a 3in1 set or Viking Village esque set would probably do quite well. Keep it law enforcement vs bandits with some townsfolk and ranchers - leave the cavalry and Native American parts out of it. 

 

So i just learned that Lidl, a big German chain of discounter supermarkets, will sell Western sets under their own brand Playtive Clippys. The sets even have the Lucky Luke license. There will be 4 sets, a saloon, a sheriffs office, a bank and a stagecoach. The designs are rather simple and the minifigures are... not very beautiful, but it again shows that this empty void will be filled by Lego's competitors. And these Playtive sets can be found in thousands of supermarkets from tomorrow on (i think) and usualy sell very well.

Is it too much too ask Lego to design some basic Western sets, like a saloon, a sheriff's office, a stagecoach, an a bank? Quite depressing. I guess the market is "too small" for them

 

16 hours ago, Yperio_Bricks said:

And these Playtive sets can be found in thousands of supermarkets from tomorrow on (i think) and usualy sell very well.

 

Presumably that is because they are cheap, rather than because of the subject matter.

2 hours ago, MAB said:

Presumably that is because they are cheap, rather than because of the subject matter.

You must be right like always. Nobody likes Western, Police, Fire Brigade, or the supermarket (that looks like a real supermarket and not like Lego's) and people only buy the sets because they are cheap.

1 hour ago, Yperio_Bricks said:

You must be right like always. Nobody likes Western, Police, Fire Brigade, or the supermarket (that looks like a real supermarket and not like Lego's) and people only buy the sets because they are cheap.

That is not what I mean. I mean that any brick building set will sell well if it is cheap in a supermarket, no matter which theme it was. Wild West selling well for them would not mean it would sell as well for (expensive) LEGO. If Playtive does cheap Fire, Police, and Town sets, they'd sell well, as would cheap Spaceships sets and cheap Castle sets and cheap modern military sets.