Original Lego 1980-2003 (Depends on what you mark as Original, Could be back in 1961)

Examples:

One of the most famous and best castle sets:

Most famous and best Pirate ship yet:

Most fun Star Wars set I got:

And plenty of other classic sets.

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New Lego: 2004-Current

Examples:

Proberbly one of the most stylish and best Star Wars set to be realeased this Millennium:

New Pirates (Imperial Uniforms and Pirate Costumes may be good but set quality...Not as good as the Original):

Most playability and fun set in 2005, Shame I didnt get it...:

So, Which do you prefer?

Personally I prefer the Old sets. More quality, They were much cheaper and they are good looking.

And dont be saying Originals for Old people!

EDIT: Added Both option

Edited January 23, 200916 yr by Joey Lock

I voted original but it really depends on the set because some origans look hurrendous and some look great. I said original because the 3 original sets you chose were some great sets that i love.

I prefer the originals. They have a much more "lego-y" feel to them. Much more real bricks in sets and they require more creativeness and imagination.

There was just much more playability and moccing capabilities per set, with 1 set you could make a lot more alternative models than you can with most of todays sets, which have more specialized pieces. The design of (most) older/original sets was also better, especially if you compare the means they had to design sets, you would expect current sets to be much better, since there are a lot more pieces available nowadays, but that is not the case.

Edited January 23, 200916 yr by Fluyt

I've voted for original! I particularly love the sets of the 80s and early 90s.... and I miss the old colours, especially for castle sets.

Old sets, but the brick quality is the main reason for that. Many of the set designs today are actually better than what we had 20 years ago (particularly in the City and Creator themes), but the translucent bricks, inconsistent colors and crushed manuals/sticker sheets in large sets take away some of the enjoyment of building them. I rarely buy new sets at the moment except those that I think are exceptionally good.

In the case of Technic sets, I liked the studded construction of the old sets better. They actually felt like Lego and were more fun and intuitive to build. The recent sets have great functionality, but I sometimes find them tedious to build. Ideally, they should use a mix of both types of construction, like many of the late 90s sets did.

Space was also much better in those days. We didn't have any Space at all for several years lately and Mars Mission was disappointing, although the new Space Police line may be a lot better.

Personally I prefer the Old sets. More quality, They were much cheaper and they are good looking.

This aspect of it is just due to inflation. Most things were cheaper back then. That being said, there has been a big price jump on all Lego this year.

Isn't this division to "original" and "new" quite arbitrary? I would prefer to think that LEGO has evolved throughout the years. Whatever happened in 2004 (?) wasn't the first change the product went through, and it won't be the last either.

My first SYSTEM sets (that I still have) date back to the beginning of the 90's, but I quite like the new ones. I know they use much more specialized pieces that earlier, but that also adds more aesthetics, technicality and action-elements to them.

I've voted newer sets,

Nostalgia annoys me, and i've only really been seriously collecting for a few years ago, so only really have newer sets and I mainly display them. Thesets have become bigger and much more greebled.

compare:

1999: Y-wing + Tie fighter

2007: Y Wing

They have a much more "lego-y" feel to them.

Hmm all sets produced after 2003 must be Mega Bloks than I guess!

I voted New, the set designs are all much more detailed and 'cleaner', and the greater variety of minifigs is great too.

Before I vote, could you just clarify whether you mean newer sets in general vs. older sets in general, or the examples that you chose for us?

-Ricecracker

There is a certain nostalic feeling relating to the old sets that will always give them an advantage. Though I must say, I feel the older sets relied more on regular bricks and less on curved slope bricks (which I hate) and technic techniques (which I also dislike).

I think that's what makes the Medieval Market such a great set. Hardly a curved slope or technic brick in the set...

Steve

Hmm all sets produced after 2003 must be Mega Bloks than I guess!

You know what I mean .

The older sets capture the essence of LEGO more, more like build your own creations, use your imagination, while the newer ones seem much more limited and leave less to the imagination.

Like TLG is making model-kits, instead of a toy with which you can build your own creations (with alternate models on the boxes, and idea books, which we both don't get (much?) anymore).

I'm missing the ''both'' option here.

They both have great elements to play and build with, so i like 'm all!

I like both, while the older sets have their nostalgic charm, the new ones have a much more astheticaly pleasing form, with the new curved and sloped parts.

I'll go old. The sets were more conducive to rebuilding (in my opinion), aquazone, western, and consistant showings by the big four themes is the other big decider.

Though I think this will really spin on whether you're a starwars fan or an all round lego lad. Starwars (I don't own any) does seem to have improved dramatically, while a lot of other themes were allowed to crumble... I also think recent lego releases have become too reliant on a special fig or piece to overcome other conceptual difficulties. That said there have been some great exceptions lately

God Bless,

Nathan

Hmm this is a REALLY hard and tough question

I've pretty much grown up with the newer 2003-on sets but but for the other half of my life with Lego has been back-2003

The sets today are pretty awsome! But the sets back then are also awsome and not to mention cheaper Even if I have more newer sets I have to say original

Well, it all depends of which theme and your preference in my opinion. Some themes like Space maybe are better in the old days than the modern counter parts like MM just cause they have a certainlt charm that lack in some new design and models . But for other themes like SW the new look really benefit them even if some old models are still great (Most of them in my opinion) and sometimes the newcomers can´t beat the old ones in this themes like in the case of the new AT-AT. Just look at the old one and it looks exactly like in the movie and now is truly a masterpiece that the collectors really love (I myself own one ) and the new one is just ruined cause they sacrifice look over playability, something that I don´t exactly like . Also some new sets are more intended for kids in the actuality. I know in the 70s and 80s some sets are great but certainly lack of playability if a young child doesn´t have imagination. Nowadays many kids prefer thing that destroy or save each other, that the cause that many of the sets now have flick-fire missiles, sliding doors, secret compartments, etc. and that cause the world have changed so the TLC must change with it.

Personally I would be neutral in this one cause I don´t exactly like the whole old sets or the whole new sets is just that they have their "pros" and "cons" .

Well, it all depends of which theme and your preference in my opinion.

Yeah, this question is a bit meaningless unless you restrict it to specific themes. As I said earlier, I think the recent City and Creator (which is essentially what the more advanced Basic sets used to be) sets are better overall, but Space and Technic were better 15 years ago.

Voted both. LEGO has changed in many ways, for better and worse. Stickers, large pieces, and flick-fire missiles are examples of how LEGO has disappointed; better part selection, awesome minifigs, good rounded elements are examples of how LEGO has improved.

I think they are all good for different reasons. The only complaint is the size of some of the vehicles produced today. Have you seen the Agents convertible? It is HUGE! I think TLG is trying too hard to be able to seat two people side by side. I like the original cars in that sense. I told my wife yesterday, who was telling me how to drive, that I wish I drove a LEGO car. She said "Why, because it only has one seat?"

This is similar to the debate of the yellow faces to the tan. It is good to have a growing and changing company with new products and designs, but sometimes the original stuff is still the best.

Thanks for the topic. It is great to see what others are thinking too.

Interesting topic. I have to say though, that "original" is not a great term for everything pre-2003. I have a hard time considering any star wars sets "original".

That said, I picked both. Newer sets have tended to be very well designed, and when you take inflation into account, LEGO is actually CHEAPER now than it was at almost any other time in it's history. However, there were some great themes and sets that LEGO produced in the past. In the past there were many more "civilian" type of Town and castle sets, yet LEGO seems to be revisiting these kinds of sets this year, so maybe next year will be the best ever.

Meh....brick is brick. I still have mostly pre-1990's bricks, but look forward to building up stock of the new colors, in particular the browns and tans.

They both have their pros and cons.

The older sets definitely have the nostalgia going for them, but the newer sets definitely have a much better look to them.

They both have their pros and cons.

The older sets definitely have the nostalgia going for them, but the newer sets definitely have a much better look to them.

"My name is Inigo Montoya, You killed my father, Prepare to die"

Guessing you like the Princess Bride movie to?

newer sets are more life-like. older sets while bulky or cartoony are smaller and easier to moc.

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/godfrey/Test/pict0242.jpg

see? the new dirt bike looks sleek. the older bike is cutesy.

the new dirt bike looks sleek. the older bike is cutesy.

On the other hand, the new bike is cartoonish in its large scale relative to the fig, the new one is just ridiculous...

God Bless,

Nathan