Glued magnet sets

[prateek]

Who thinks they should lower the price of magnets since the demand is gonna drop it like it's hot!?

I for one will be very happy if it happens, so I can get cheap magnets

[Brickdoctor]

Well, Hasbro have the license to create Action Figures of Star Wars characters. Lego have a seperate license to create building toys based on Star Wars.

In the early 2000s, Lego created "sets" that were baseplates with a card back, with a single figure stood on it. They had to stop making these, as they were getting a little too close to Action Figure for Hasbro's liking.

The magnet packs are along a similar line. Gluing the figures to their bases making them fully magnets and not playable figures keeps Hasbro from causing a ruckus.

The battle packs seem to be safe, they come with a building set that all the figures can sit on are fully within Lego's remit and far from Hasbro and theirs.

You can try and argue that Lego figures do not count as Action Figures, but they are articulated figures, which in legal words are the same thing, and quite likely what Hasbro are given permission to make from LucasArts. (In fact, by the look of the old Star Wars figures, Lego figures have more articulation!).

So Lego have to stop making detachable magnets.

To add a little tidbit to that, the BPs are okay because the minifigs are sold as 'accessories to a building kit', much the same way that lightsabers are sold as accessories to minifigs.

[Lord Embo]

Who thinks they should lower the price of magnets since the demand is gonna drop it like it's hot!?

I for one will be very happy if it happens, so I can get cheap magnets

I think the prices of the magnet sets will most certainly drop since demand is going to decrease thanks to glue. Then again, lowering prices(except for random sales) are often a sign that said product is going to be discontinued. Oh well, if they stop magnet sets it won't affect me in any way now that they're glued.

Lord Embo

[Arigomi]

When the story about magnet sets being glued first broke out, I was expecting more discussion about how to safely remove the glue. The blind packaging of collectible minifigures didn't stop people from finding ways to circumvent it.

[Lord Embo]

When the story about magnet sets being glued first broke out, I was expecting more discussion about how to safely remove the glue. The blind packaging of collectible minifigures didn't stop people from finding ways to circumvent it.

That point is well made. Us all complaining won't do anything; we need to figure out a way to remove the glue rather than getting grumpy about glued magnets. It's not going to accomplish anything at all, whereas trying to figure out a solution will be mutually benefitial as sales will increase(when a way to seperate the figs from the magnets is discovered) meaning our beloved TLG will gain more profit, whereas us collectors will be able to get rare minifigures for much less(generally) than the set(s) the minifigs in question are from. So stop complaining and try to find answers to how to remove the glue!

End of rant.

Lord Embo

[Etzel]

When the story about magnet sets being glued first broke out, I was expecting more discussion about how to safely remove the glue. The blind packaging of collectible minifigures didn't stop people from finding ways to circumvent it.

That point is well made. Us all complaining won't do anything; we need to figure out a way to remove the glue rather than getting grumpy about glued magnets. It's not going to accomplish anything at all, whereas trying to figure out a solution will be mutually benefitial as sales will increase(when a way to seperate the figs from the magnets is discovered) meaning our beloved TLG will gain more profit, whereas us collectors will be able to get rare minifigures for much less(generally) than the set(s) the minifigs in question are from. So stop complaining and try to find answers to how to remove the glue!

End of rant.

Lord Embo

It's not that easy, TLG uses a glue that melts the plastics together and thus making it impossible to separate the parts without damaging them. This problem has been discussed several times before (it's not the first time someone is disappointed about glued minifigs you know, remember KKII- and Viking Chess sets and all the keychains? ) and so far I haven't heard of a sufficient method to solve the problem.

[Aanchir]

It's not that easy, TLG uses a glue that melts the plastics together and thus making it impossible to separate the parts without damaging them. This problem has been discussed several times before (it's not the first time someone is disappointed about glued minifigs you know, remember KKII- and Viking Chess sets and all the keychains? ) and so far I haven't heard of a sufficient method to solve the problem.

I didn't know this about the glue, but it certainly explains a lot. I had a glued mini Y-Wing Starfighter keychain, and it was glued. I knew it might break-- I'd had that sort of experience with many keychains in the past, primarily minifig keychains. What I didn't anticipate was that the actual plastic would break long before there was any trouble with the glue that held it together!

[ZORK64]

Since I'm used to buy Lego (and other stuff aswell) rather in real stores than the internet, I didn't even knew about the Magnet Sets until a Lego Store opened here. Since then, I bought only two of the SW sets to get a few Minifigs, like Vader and a Scout Trooper.

It's a pity that the figs gonna be glued onto the magnets, since that decision also makes the Magnet bricks harder to customize.

But anyway, I'm more into Action Figures, so it's not a big loss to me.

[Henchmen4Hire]

I was told the lego set in store displays are shipped to them pre-assembled and glued together, would it be possible to muscle the bricks apart or is the glue indestructible?

[Saint]

Totally indestructible , you'll break the LEGO before you break the glue. That is when they use the good stuff for it, If they use blobs of glue , I'm not so sure, perhaps you can soften it up with some hot water .

If you don't see much of the glue-ing than it is LEGO-glue , that's part aceton part something else , part LEGO ( as far I know ) that makes it stronger than anything else , it fuses the parts together.

grtz Saint

[Henchmen4Hire]

Oh noes! Thanks!

[Zzz]

TLC makes some stupid decisions. I loved those sets. Got me some very cheap (multiple) minifigs. What's the sense of keeping the BL-prices high? No one knows..

[brickmack]

How could Hasbro sue LEGO over this anyway? It's not like LEGO stole any of their designs by not gluing the magnets. Also, to have even done the magnet minifigs in the first place (At least for StarWars) LEGO would have needed approval from LucasFilms, as would Hasbro for any toys they wanted to make. I don't see how Hasbro could be making such a big deal of this...

[Peppermint_M]

As explained before. Hasbro make action figures and have the license to make them. They make money from making and selling these Star Wars figures. TLG is also making money from selling Star Wars figures in a similar format, even though they have the license to make buildable brick based "play sets" with the figures as a compliment to the set. Hasbro have cottoned onto this sneaky practice of selling "magnets" that come apart so you can just play with the (action) figure. (Say what you will, but an action figure is an articulated figure)

If Hasbro started up their "Built to Rule" line again and made sets of Star Wars ships then TLG would not be amused.

[Henchmen4Hire]

I don't see how Hasbro could be making such a big deal of this...

It's just tomfoolery. If I were a street-vendor selling only watermelons and a guy across the street decides to start selling oranges, I'm not gonna get all pissy because he's selling oranges. He's selling a product that I don't carry and don't intend to carry at any time, so why am I gonna be upset about that? He's not maliciously cutting into my business, he doesn't even sell the same thing I am. All it does is give people more options for fruit to buy.

Hasbro is like "THEY'RE SELLING MELONS OVER THERE! WE HAVE TO STOP THEIR MADNESS! ORANGES ARE THE ONE TRUE FRUIT!"

Going by the definition of "action figure" though, I guess they'd HAVE to make a stink about it so LEGO doesn't keep pushing the limits and release figures that are "more action figurey", like the articulated Megabloks figs.

So, I guess we'll never see Star Wars Bionicles, huh? (not that I care lol)

Edited December 19, 2010 by DrNightmare

[Arigomi]

If Hasbro started up their "Built to Rule" line again and made sets of Star Wars ships then TLG would not be amused.

It's funny that you should mention this because Hasbro and TLG are competing in a different toy category. The LEGO Games theme has been doing fairly well and encroaches upon Hasbro's territory. I suspect that Hasbro's U-Build line was meant to counter this threat by leveraging the brand power of their famous games like Monopoly and Battleship. The intent is clear when you realize that some of the U-Build games use clone LEGO bricks. Unfortunately for Hasbro, the reception hasn't been favorable.

[Brickdoctor]

So, I guess we'll never see Star Wars Bionicles, huh? (not that I care lol)

Sorry if this has been mentioned before, because now it seems kinda obvious, but that made me think, is this whole licensing deal why TLG stopped making the Technic Star Wars sets? Those disappeared around the same time as the individual minifig sets.

[Follows Closely]

Is it safe to assume that all magnets are now glued?

These: http://shop.lego.com/Product/?p=852845 http://shop.lego.com/Product/?p=852843 ?

[winbrant]

Is it safe to assume that all magnets are now glued?

These: http://shop.lego.com/Product/?p=852845 http://shop.lego.com/Product/?p=852843 ?

All new sets released since Pharoah's Quest ones are glued. Those ones on sale are possibly older stock (early 2010) and are probably not glued...and hence the reason why they are selling them so as to get them out of the system. I have noticed at S@H there seems to be a reintroduction of some previously existing SW magents sets that I hadn't seen for awhile (Boba/Leia/Guard(2009), Chewie/Vader/Obi(2008), Yoda/Windu/Dooku(2009)) and will assume these are now glued.

[papa jedi]

All new sets released since Pharoah's Quest ones are glued. Those ones on sale are possibly older stock (early 2010) and are probably not glued...and hence the reason why they are selling them so as to get them out of the system. I have noticed at S@H there seems to be a reintroduction of some previously existing SW magents sets that I hadn't seen for awhile (Boba/Leia/Guard(2009), Chewie/Vader/Obi(2008), Yoda/Windu/Dooku(2009)) and will assume these are now glued.

The SW magnet sets are not glued yet,only ninjago and pharaohs quest are glued from what ive heard,I have gotten a few sw magnets since new year and they were as sweet as normal.

Read the description of any magnet sets you intend buying if they are glued it should say so.

Edited January 24, 2011 by papa jedi

[Brickdoctor]

I'd think that the recent 75% off sale of magnets would be to clear out the old ones, so if you go and buy a discounted pack from a Brand Store I'd think it'd be pretty safe.