2012 themes and sets?

[Klaus-Dieter]

Hello everybody!

Since the first half of 2011 is now over and since we've already got information on, pics of and even reviews of the majority of this year's sets, I thought it would be interesting to discuss about which themes and sets you think - or even better know - that we'll get next year.

Here are my ideas:

City

Construction Site (?construction site, ?cement mixer, ?garbage truck, ?truck with jackhammer and other tools, ?excavator, ?skip)

Rescue (?hospital, ?rescue helicopter, ?ambulance, ?doctor's car)

?Zoo

?limited edition set(s): ?supermarket

Creator

Duplo

"Girls' theme"

?Cars

?Pirates of the Caribbean

?NinjaGo

Racers

?"Indian Quest"

Hero Factory

Technic

Star Wars

?Endor BPs, ?X-Wing, ?TIE Fighter, ?Tusken Raiders with "bison"

?new theme

Western or Romans or something completely different?

Minifigure Series 6, 7, 8

Kingdoms

?siege tower, ?knights' camp, ?outer bailey

Exclusives

?Jabba's Palace

?big Kingdoms set (?knighs' tournament re-design, ?huge castle)

?big City set (?pleasure cruiser, ?truck stop, ?some sort of new 7641 or 10184)

?Winter set (?candy shop, ?apothecary, ?family house, ?train station)

?Train set (?cargo center, ?engine shed, ?big central station, ?elevated train)

What do you think?

Klaus-Dieter

Edited July 1, 2011 by Klaus-Dieter

[Holodoc]

What do you think?

I think there are waaaay to many question marks to comment any further than what I just did.

But speculation ON nevertheless.

[Hoboman]

While I do not know what will happen for sure, I do hope some of your ideas do happen.

I want to see more Castle for sure. I would also like to see some new theme like a Western theme. But I will leave the heavy speculation to those who know more than I do.

[muscleman]

isn't a bit Early ?

[Hoboman]

isn't a bit Early ?

It is never too early to dream.

[Bearded Castle Guy]

It is never too early to dream.

I don't mind dreaming but sometime there is a time and a place or it, NOT while driving! for instance My personal feeling is it's a little early for the speculation, but my views on the matter are not controlling So speculate away! I'm likely to avoid the thread for now, got other fish to fry(err moats to fill? err pieces to sort, that's it! other pieces to sort!).

[David Thomsen]

Okay, start with the inevitable... Castle, City and Space. Oh, and Star Wars, of course.

I don't imagine 'Kingdoms' will be replaced with a new Castle theme so soon, so we can expect more of that... I doubt they'll have more civilian sets, though. I'm pretty amazed they had civilian Castle sets at all. But we might see a new faction, like... forestmen? And maybe some dragons?

I imagine we'll see more Alien Conquest sets next year, the last two Space themes lasted for two years each so this will probably be the same. I haven't really been following this theme so I don't know what to expect.

City will continue the same, of course. Between 2010 and 2011 we've seen Police, Airport and Fire, so we'll get Hospital or Construction in 2012. Probably mostly Construction, with maybe a hospital and an ambulance. I don't know.

Star Wars... I don't follow this theme either. There'll be an Exclusive based around a noteworthy location, though... maybe the dirt farm Luke grew up in, or whatever. I also thought of Jabba's Palace, so this seems to be something people are expecting.

I don't know if Harry Potter will continue, given the fact that there will be no more movies. I wouldn't count on it, though. At least Star Wars has ongoing fictional material, and a lucrative *cough* I mean, a dedicated fanbase. Pirates of the Caribbean... maybe another wave or two. Still need a lot of characters, and the Flying Dutchman will sell like hotcakes.

Atlantis... so long and thanks for all the fish! Pharaoh's Quest... I'm guessing we won't see more of this. We only saw one wave of the 2009 pirates, which was similarly a revisitation of a previous line.

And then we'll get a Whole New Theme! With any luck we'll get India Quest, or some other continuation of the New Adventurers. Otherwise I'm sure there'll be a new theme nobody can possibly predict, but it will involve at least two factions and a battle between good and evil...

American Elections 2012?

Edited July 2, 2011 by David Thomsen

[snaillad]

Now that the seocnd wave is pretty much all out, I suppose in the next coming months we may see the list of sets for retailers to order for next year. I imagine Pharaohs quest will have another wave in Jan, and probably an in-house new theme along the lines of Power miners/Ice etc. Just my guess though

Bring on the speculation!

[cimddwc]

Alright, let's speculate.

It's been a while since the last construction sets, so there gotta be a new series of that. And given how fast Police and Fire are updated, I wouldn't be too surprised to see a new incarnation of firefighters in H2 already.

Hospital and ambulance? Maybe as part of the girls theme (if that's gonna be reality role-play based); add a helicopter and you got a little crossover to "typical boys interests"...

Alien Conquest could get a second wave with stationary/ground-based alien sets - making themselves a home after they conquered Earth in the first phase, if you will.

Pharao's Quest? Maybe continue with the same characters in other areas, such as the already mentioned India, or Jungle, or something like that (hoping that TLG won't jump on that idiotic 2012/Maya bandwagon, fitting though the year may seem).

Some more Kingdoms might be nice, a new faction maybe, though I can't imagine a dragon added to this rather realistic theme. Harry Potter? Well, after the movies, there are DVDs to be purchased, so that's a reason to continue this theme.

[Brickdoctor]

Since you mention Star Wars, I'll say that I definitely expect another wave of Menace sets. No idea what they'll be, (popular guesses in the SW forum are MTT and AAT) but the movie is being rereleased in 3D, and we know from this year's summer wave that TLG is releasing sets to go along with those movie releases.

[Andy D]

Pharaoh's Quest: Some folks feel that Egypt is done, but I believe there is still room for more in Egypt. Others have mentioned India... That sounds great as well. Ankor Wat would be terrific!

Andy D

[Mr_Malfoy]

.

And then we'll get a Whole New Theme! With any luck we'll get India Quest, or some other continuation of the New Adventurers. Otherwise I'm sure there'll be a new theme nobody can possibly predict, but it will involve at least two factions and a battle between good and evil...

American Elections 2012?

I'm pretty sure that any sets of that theme with Sarah Palin( ) in it would sell like hotcakes...

[Cwetqo]

I heard something about new Dino theme. Nothing more, just that, so it might be anything.

[Aanchir]

We know for certain Ninjago is continuing into 2012, because there's a TV series coming out towards the end of this year, and because we've seen a teaser for 2012 Ninjago in the back of the online instruction booklet for the Fire Temple.

But in general, the stuff on this list is so highly speculative, I don't see any reason to bother at this point. Better to wait until more teasers have had time to emerge so we're at least working with a definitive partial list beyond the obvious themes like Technic, Star Wars, City, and Minifigures.

[David Thomsen]

But in general, the stuff on this list is so highly speculative, I don't see any reason to bother at this point.

It's possible to make speculations based on known patterns, though. Obviously not about specific sets, but the ebb and flow of specific themes is fairly measurable.

• City Fire, Police and Airport sets all released between 2010 and 2011. Need a 'big' theme for 2012. No City construction sets since 2009, and this is a known recurring subtheme. High probability of their return.
  
• In 2007, Humans and Skeletons released in Castle 'Fantasy' theme. Next year, Trolls and Dwarves introduced. Seems likely that a new faction will be released in 'Kingdoms' theme, probably something different from the two existing factions, and going by the 'realistic' nature of theme, Forestmen seems the most likely choice.
  

These things I think are fairly likely. Probably there are other patterns I can't think of right now. I think an 'Alien Conquest' ground-based alien set is probable as well, since they like to do things slightly different in the second year of a theme's release.

[hueybricks]

I don't know if it would be next year or the year after but a Hobbit theme series would be popular.

As for the adventure series I would like to see pioneers of aviation or something like that, I thought

the aeroplane sets from the pharohs quest looked pretty good.

[MacK]

I sure hope that they do continue with "Alien Conquest", as I'm loving the theme. In addition to "Star Wars", "Pirates of the Caribbean" may see more releases as there are still some great possibilities for sets.

Perhaps Lego may even gain a new license for 2012 .

[Jedi master Brick]

I don't know if it would be next year or the year after but a Hobbit theme series would be popular.

Theres always been speculation in the middle earth area. Endor bps likely the ohter ppssiblillty is naboo bps . We may see a flash speeder, I always liked them. For Kingdoms I would like a pub as civilan set but dugenoens (spelling) need a go. We Just have to wait and see

Edited July 3, 2011 by Jedi master Brick

[Masked Builder]

I think the Endor battle packs are entirely possible. While that may not be Endor, it will be some sort of original Trilogy Battle pack.

[sok117]

I think the Endor battle packs are entirely possible. While that may not be Endor, it will be some sort of original Trilogy Battle pack.

Agreed, the first OT battlepacks had a tatooine background, so one could argue those were tatooine battlepacks? then came hoth, so logically, endo will be next year.

[Brickdoctor]

Agreed, the first OT battlepacks had a tatooine background, so one could argue those were tatooine battlepacks? then came hoth, so logically, endo will be next year.

More specifically, the first ones were A New Hope BPs. The second ones were Empire BPs. Logically, the third ones should be Jedi BPs, though they don't have to be Endor BPs. (though that is the most likely choice) Edited July 3, 2011 by Brickdoctor

[Mr. Elijah Timms]

Interesting topic, and it's always fun to speculate about what's coming next.

To elaborate on Klaus-Dieter's original post, I'll offer my thoughts-- and please remember this is pure speculation and wish list-kinda stuff on my part:

City

From what I've read, we have confirmation of a return to both the Construction and Rescue themes. Personally, I've been pretty heavy on the construction stuff and don't really feel like I'll need much, but I never did get the Cement Mixer and would really go for one of those. Beyond that, I just have a hunch we're going to see a radically new designed Back Hoe/Dozer combination unit. I'd bet we'll see another job site as well, which might be exciting-- the last one surely was.

As for the Rescue stuff, bring it on! Just like I dove for the first time into the Harbour theme this year, I have no past history of Rescue and certainly anticipate Hospital, Ambulance, Rescue Copter sets. I'd also love to see a Rescue Minifig Pack of doctors, surgeons, nurses and patients.

I'm sure we'll see some other sets, but I'll just wait to speculate one those. Like Lightning Tiger has hinted in the past, the idea of the never-chosen Truck Stop Fan's Choice set still making its way as a TRU exclusive or something is a very realistic possibility.

Creator

The Creator houses have become an annual staple at this point, and I'm sure we'll see at least one more next year. I'd love to see them tackle an Apartment Building, but that would probably be quite pricey.

Pirates of the Caribbean

I'm assuming we're going to see a continuation of PotC. The movie was big and there's already confirmation of a 5th in development. It'll be interesting to see if TLG can continue output of the line up until the next movie's release. I guess there's a lot of sets that can be mined from the second and third movies-- and the fact that they've already been envisioned in the video game is a big plus. Personally I think the very first level, at Port Royal, is just beautiful and probably would be a great playset.

NinjaGo

With a TV show on the way, this thing will continue to be marketed hard at the pre-teen boy set. I'm guessing we'll see much more dragons, and perhaps more buildings as well. Not my thing, but I have nothing against it, either.

Pharaoh's Quest

There's been much speculation about this line either drying up or moving to another location a la 'Adventurers.' Quite frankly, I have a gut feeling that TLG probably had designs for more Egyptian sets and adventures, but the sets just don't seem to be selling that well. If they'd have moved a lot more pyramids, I think we'd continue to see more PQ sets-- but I don't have sales figures or marketing intel. Who knows?

Star Wars

OT took a back seat in 2011 to the Clone Wars and revisits of PT sets. We hear lots of rumblings about possibilities, like Jabba's Palace revisited, and quite frankly I don't know quite what to think. They could launch an entire Jabba sub-theme just featuring the sets and characters from the sequence in ROTJ, and there's plenty of new figures to be mined, which is becoming a real factor in these sets. Personally, I'd love a Weequay or Ree-Yees minifig, and until ACPin goes into business mass-producing his own creations, we have yet to see a Rancor. Finally, Sand People with Bantha. WE NEED THIS, LEGO...

I'm not a Clone Wars guy, but I'm certain we'll see plenty of these sets continue as well. I think it's great that a new generation has their own connection with Star Wars, and I'm not at all jaded to see a focus on these at all.

NEW THEME?

There's been a lot of rumblings about a return to the Western theme, and a few minifigs to imply curiosity from their end. I'd REALLY REALLY love to see Ancient Greece done by Lego, and now with the column pieces from Atlantis, we can do this! THIS... IS... LEGO!!!

Minifigs

Yeah. These aren't going away. I'm not going to speculate on what figs, but it's a done deal we're getting more. Money talks.

Kingdoms

Love the dedication to the peasants and civilian side this year. I don't expect it to continue, of course... Lion Knights took a huge back seat this year, and I expect to see them return in a big way next year. As for sets, I'd love to see a return of the archetypical Lego Knights Joust type of set, perhaps a Dragon Knights Siege Tower, and maybe a Lion Knights Warship. Personally, I'm still holding out hope for a return of the Forestmen, but only time will tell...

Alien Conquest

I've read a fair amount of talk saying that Alien Conquest might be a one and done, or that there's no room to grow. I just don't see it; we've see the UFO's and other craft, but there's certainly more things we could see from the Alien Race themselves, like perhaps a Space Station or a Landing Craft. And, almost like the Dragon Knights in 2010, the ADU seemed to not get all that much attention in this year's sets. I'd bet on seeing an ADU Headquarters set and some other support sets, like an ADU Ground Crew or even an ADU Attack Shuttle.

Finally, and it's probably way too peculiar, but I'd love to see an Alien Crash Site set... A half-destroyed UFO in the middle of a quiet farm, complete with the alien pilot, his clinger, and a family of farmers to terrorize. Yes? No?

Town/Modular

I'm not a Modular collector, but not for a lack of wanting them. I've just chosen it's beyond my budget. But we'll see another one, and I'm sure TLG already knows exactly what type of building it will be. Given their flair for hinting the next in each one, I'm going to make my bold prediction now-- in honor of the painter outside the Pet Shop, TLG will release... A HARDWARE STORE.

As for the Winter sub-theme of Town, I'm absolutely in love with it, and I'm guessing this year's Post Office will be one of the single highest selling sets of the year. Next year I'd like to see either the 'North Pole' playset or a Family Chateau, complete with room for a newly designed Santa & team to land on top and drop down through the chimney.

I know there's plenty more to speculate on, from Harry Potter to the Girls Line, but I'm just not informed enough to make educated presumptions about any of these lines, so I'll end it there. And wow, that certainly seems to be enough!

Edited July 6, 2011 by Mr. Elijah Timms

[skewiz]

I've heard that the Hobbit theme will be released along with the movie.

[Aanchir]

I've heard that the Hobbit theme will be released along with the movie.

Sounds more like a rumor than anything. Now, I don't doubt that such a theme is possible, but I do have doubts that info on it would be leaked this early (especially when none of the big LEGO fansites have picked up on it).

[mobricki]

I've heard that the Hobbit theme will be released along with the movie.

I hope this is true. I would love to see a Lord of the Rings theme!! It would last quite awhile too.