Spongebob Squarepants 2012 Discussion Thread

[Justin]

Exactly what I was thinking

-Sci

The problem with that, is that they would have to swap out his satchel for a full beard.

[just2good]

Since of recently picked up the 2009 Krusty Krab Adventure set, I'm contemplating on buying the Flying Dutchman set. It looks like it could fit in with my Pirate collection, if it ultimately has to go there.

[just2good]

A new Spongebob film has been announced for 2014! What does this mean for LEGO Spongebob? Hopefully, there will be (at least) a wave of 5-6 sets in the next two years.

Also, last week I found the Glove World set at Target for $15. I couldn't drive myself to pick it up, though.

[YangHao6998]

I am not sure if I should get the 3818 Bikini Bottom Undersea Party set or just wait hopefully for 2013 and 2014 sets to come out? Someone please review the set

[Solscud007]

I am not sure if I should get the 3818 Bikini Bottom Undersea Party set or just wait hopefully for 2013 and 2014 sets to come out? Someone please review the set

There is no review of the set? I have it but it is not organized at all. The set is ok. Nothing to get terribly excited about except for the minifigs. If you like festive figures then sure get this set. Mrs. Puff and Gary is what sold me on the set.

I want the flying dutchman but the set is a bit pricey.

[prateek]

I am not sure if I should get the 3818 Bikini Bottom Undersea Party set or just wait hopefully for 2013 and 2014 sets to come out? Someone please review the set

You could check Youtube:

[GuntherThePenguin]

I still want a Pearl and Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy!!!! After we get those, (and perhaps a Larry the Lobster) they can end the theme. I am happy they kept it alive this long though! Especially so we could get a FD.

[YangHao6998]

You could check Youtube:

*snip*

Thanks

Edited April 10, 2012 by CorneliusMurdock
Removed quoted videos. There's absolutely no need to quote videos.

[Blob of Nothingness]

New sets looks pretty good.

[KadasBence]

Flying Dutchman could get a beard. Most of this figures are too poor detailed.

[Lyichir]

Flying Dutchman could get a beard. Most of this figures are too poor detailed.

It'd be hard to give the Flying Dutchman the right sort of beard. His beard in the show starts at his chin and culminates with a thin moustache that doesn't even meet in the middle. Contrast that with every single LEGO beard piece, which are all much fuller than the Dutchman's and completely obscure the mouth. LEGO would have to create a brand new beard piece, and not only would that see limited use on any other figure, but it might not be feasible at all to get fine enough detail on it (it would certainly need to be made out of the rubbery, less breakable plastic used on parts like Exo-Force hair, and even then it could be hard to create fine enough detail). LEGO's solution (printing his beard on his face and torso) is far from ideal, but it's the only way I can conceivably see them making a Dutchman fig.

As for the other figures, I can't see why you're complaining. Apart from Patrick needing side printing on his legs, I think the Spongebob line has amazing figs, especially considering LEGO is working with a unique, non-human art style.

[Solscud007]

My friend Ottolam helped me get this at the Elizabeth, NJ Grand Opening.

There is nothing on the back.

Edited June 18, 2012 by Solscud007

[The_Chosen_1]

Very cool! I may have to try and track down one of those.

[just2good]

Very cool brick! I have one of these with Buzz on it from a Toy Story building event, and it's very nice.

[purpleparadox]

Neat brick. I saw one pic before, and should've realized the size, but I didn't understand how tall it is until now.

[Bilbo Baggins]

Great brick. But why Duplo?

[CorneliusMurdock]

I've merged this with the 2012 discussion thread.

Great brick. But why Duplo?

Duplo has a lot of room to print on it. Because of that, Lego uses this size brick for a lot of event or promotional materials.

[Oky]

Duplo has a lot of room to print on it. Because of that, Lego uses this size brick for a lot of event or promotional materials.

I think what he meant is: Why didn't/don't they use the 2x4x3 Lego brick which they use for some events and is pretty much the same size as the Duplo brick instead? I've been asking myself the same question. I can't imagine that it is easier to print on the Duplo brick than the System variant, and the latter would be much more useful to most people.

[Solscud007]

Maybe TLG thinks that only little kids would want these bricks? to incorporate into their Duplo collection?

[Lyichir]

I think what he meant is: Why didn't/don't they use the 2x4x3 Lego brick which they use for some events and is pretty much the same size as the Duplo brick instead? I've been asking myself the same question. I can't imagine that it is easier to print on the Duplo brick than the System variant, and the latter would be much more useful to most people.

Well, for this brick in particular, Duplo probably works better. Spongebob is taller than he is wide, like this Duplo brick, whereas the 2x4x3 brick is wider than it is tall.

[Aanchir]

Just was looking at Legend of Korra merchandise on nickshop.com and I saw this AMAZING LEGO Spongebob video in a sidebar ad. I can't find it anywhere else (tried both Youtube and Google Video Search), nor can I find any very convenient address (it won't open directly in my browser, though that might be a matter of me not having the right plugins). Anyway the URL is here:

http://gcdn.2mdn.net/StudioFiles/videos/227034/456977/1337360233797_video.flv

It's obviously fairly recent (it uses some of this year's sets), but it certainly caught me completely by surprise. Very professionally-made and entertaining to watch!

[The_Chosen_1]

That file extension doesn't appear to pull anything up for me...darn. I'm not having any luck finding the video on the site, either.

Edit: Nevermind, found it! Looks like it's just the opening theme done in LEGO, but yes, it's very well done.

Edited July 22, 2012 by The_Chosen_1

[refriedbeans]

Thanks for linking that! I believe the person who created it also made the "Don't Be A Jerk It's Christmas" video. (It's available on LegoClubTV's Youtube channel)

[Lightning Dragon]

Many people will probably hate me a lot after I say this, but I still think TLG should've continued The Last Airbender theme instead of Spongebob: more possibilities for sets. They could probably make Legend of Korra sets too if they had continued The Last Airbender, but they never will

Edited July 22, 2012 by Lightning Dragon

[Lyichir]

Many people will probably hate me a lot after I say this, but I still think TLG should've continued The Last Airbender theme instead of Spongebob: more possibilities for sets. They could probably make Legend of Korra sets too if they had continued The Last Airbender, but they never will

I don't think continuing it "instead of Spongebob" would be necessary. The Spongebob theme is plenty successful, and although they retread set concepts frequently, that's more because those scenes remain iconic and thus need to have a presence on store shelves. In the meantime the theme has slowly branched out to feature other scenes like the Flying Dutchman's ship, and the classic scenes of the Krusty Krab and Spongebob's pineapple have continued to improve incrementally.

I do think the Avatar theme was mismanaged, and that the Spongebob theme was given preferential treatment. Consider how the Spongebob theme introduced a total of three new molds compared to Avatar's one (the ugly, out-of-scale Momo). Nonetheless, I think this may have more to do with Nickelodeon's licensing terms than Lego's own mistakes. Nickelodeon continually showed that they had no idea how to properly merchandise an epic series like Avatar, and it showed in all of their toy partners, not just Lego. For instance, the action figure lines ignored every key female character in favor of non-canon depictions of male characters. This was decided by the action figure manufacturers, but Nickelodeon still stood by as that happened. The timing of the theme was an issue as well: Not only was the Avatar fandom still young when the theme debuted, but Lego was still recovering from their fall in the early '00s, and it showed in the quality of the sets. If an A:TLA or Korra theme were to debut now, it could probably have been made far better than the half-baked sets of 2006.

I don't think a Korra theme is impossible just because of the A:TLA theme's failure, but there's a number of considerations that make this less likely. First of all, Lego currently has an in-house "fantasy martial arts" theme in the form of Ninjago. Lego has suggested that Ninjago will have a limited lifespan, but we also know that it will be continuing at least into next year, and since a Korra theme would be in the same genre, Lego may hesitate to run both themes at the same time. Secondly, we haven't seen any licensed Korra toys at all yet, and it's unclear whether this is because Nickelodeon is taking care to get it right this time, or because they may not be pursuing Korra toys whatsoever. Finally, even if Nickelodeon was at fault for the A:TLA theme failing, Lego may still wish to avoid a similar debacle altogether. Currently, I think one of the best chances we have now at a Korra theme would be if a well-designed Cuusoo proposal could be made.

But that's getting slightly off topic. In summary, it's not really the fault of the Spongebob theme's success that the Avatar theme failed. The theme faced a whole slew of issues that made the theme less successful than it otherwise might have been, and a Korra theme today would face a whole different set of issues which could still be just as problematic.