Legends of Chima 2013

[Kalhiki]

Speaking of the show, do we know who's animating it? I'm hoping the same guys who did Ninjago. I love the more realistic incarnations of the vehicles.

Also, I pronounce it Chee-mah because of the word "chi" and "Chy-mah" sounding too much like China.

Didn't watch the video. Yeah, I can't stand those guys to where I won't watch a video on a yet to be released minifigure.

Kalhiki

[The Crazy One]

Chee-mah, Shee-mah, Ki-mah, doesn't matter to be honest, and until the adverts for the show and sets we won't know. (I actually prefer TBS' Shee-mah to Chee-Mah).

Anyway, these sets are fabulous. Perhaps the Croc smaller set is a tad boxy, but it's certainly a design we haven't seen before (which can't be said for the Lion tank). I think overall, I'm already more enchanted by these sets than I was with NinjaGo on it's first release. However, where LOC will be compared is how it continues through the waves. I think it's fair to say NinjaGo just got better and better. Considering how open Chima will be to race expansion etc, I can see it becoming even more impressive. I want Pandas next so then we can have a giant Panda mech. I mean come on, who doesn't want a giant panda with over sized weaponry?

[TheLegoDr]

With that animation, I really like the Croc there. I didn't like them straight on. I love that first Lion-o, Lion picture. I love Thundercats, so I am enjoying the Lion aspect of it. With the new Thundercats show this last year, I'm surprised TLG didn't follow with that. Either way, this theme isn't winning me over, but I like some of the designs. I will wait until I see better images up close, but I may end up picking up some of the cheaper sets.

[deskp]

Well, if the teaser site says anything about how the show's animations will be, I'm watching it.

Has a show been confirtmed or is people just assuming soemthing will repalce ninjago show?

[just2good]

Has a show been confirtmed or is people just assuming soemthing will repalce ninjago show?

It was leaked somewhere that Chima would get a TV show. Plus, it would be the logical thing to do.

[Kai NRG]

Has a show been confirtmed or is people just assuming soemthing will repalce ninjago show?

I believe it has been confirmed that LEGO will have a show airing on CN next year, and Chima is the obvious candidate.

[DraikNova]

That's correct.

Incidentally, the animal types I think could be featured in Chima are bears (in which an exclusive Panda set could be made) and monkeys.

[PenPlays]

The moment I see a Chima Panda (I call it "Chee-ma" because the word chi, meaning life force, is pronounced "Chee") I will paint myself black and white and dance around like a giddy little child who just got every toy he ever wanted. BRING ME PANDA!!

[Masked Builder]

All of the sets look nice. I'm definitely into the Eagle's vehicles. We'll just have to see how the rest of my theme buying works out.

[Sid Sidious]

Coming in 2013: Return of the Tank Treads!

[Aethersprite]

So a show for Chima has been confirmed?

[Aanchir]

So a show for Chima has been confirmed?

It's heavily implied. There hasn't been a press release as far as I'm aware, and I can't remember if we got any confirmation from the retailer's catalog, but let's look at the facts:

• Chima seems to be the major new release for 2013, since it's been hyped by Mark Stafford (who wore a 2013 shirt with Chima's trademark question mark icon at some UK AFOL events), given top billing in the retailer's catalog, and given a quite substantial size for its first wave.
  
• The Chima sets actively seem to be taking Ninjago's place in a lot of ways, with the card game/kinetic game featured in the "Speedorz" sets, the significant number of characters, many of whom get unique character art in one set or another, and of course many of the design elements such as the vehicles heavily defined by sculptural motifs.
  
• We also know that Chima will be getting a significant multimedia angle, since there will be several Chima books, probably including some written by Greg Farshtey (who wrote most of the BIONICLE and Ninjago prose stories and graphic novels). The only other themes we know of so far to be getting this amount of media are LEGO Friends and LEGO Hero Factory (the latter of which already has a TV series of a sort, if you count two to four episodes a year as a TV series).
  
• If LEGO Friends (the only other probable candidate out of the themes currently known) were the theme to be getting a TV series, there's very little reason to think we wouldn't know about it by now. The announcement of the LEGO Ninjago TV series came in April of 2011, just a couple months after the one-hour TV special (a.k.a. "Season 1") aired for the first time. We did get an announcement of an "untitled LEGO project" in March, but you'd think they'd be willing to disclose its subject if it wasn't based on a brand-new theme.

Overall, while we don't have official news about a Chima TV series, I think it's seeming incredibly unlikely for LEGO's new TV series to be based on any other theme.

[PenPlays]

The only other themes we know of so far to be getting this amount of media are LEGO Friends and LEGO Hero Factory (the latter of which already has a TV series of a sort, if you count two to four episodes a year as a TV series).

No one should... When the designers are designing for Hero Factory, they are thinking, "We have to have an action figure robot series out at all times. If we don't we are going to loose all of our Bionicle fans!" Crossed that point, and still Hero Factory is in production. It's the only Lego I see on clearance these days, and yet there are more coming in 2013.

They could have used the valuable time spent on those for spinners for Ninjago's last wave. I sure hope Legends of Chima, whenever it will end, will not share that sad fate.

[Aanchir]

No one should... When the designers are designing for Hero Factory, they are thinking, "We have to have an action figure robot series out at all times. If we don't we are going to loose all of our Bionicle fans!" Crossed that point, and still Hero Factory is in production. It's the only Lego I see on clearance these days, and yet there are more coming in 2013.

They could have used the valuable time spent on those for spinners for Ninjago's last wave. I sure hope Legends of Chima, whenever it will end, will not share that sad fate.

Hey, you're talking to a Hero Factory fan here... personally, while the TV episodes are somewhat badly-written, I find that theme a tremendous asset to the LEGO brand, what with its brilliant building system (knocks BIONICLE's out of the park IMO) and engaging story (the Hero Factory Secret Mission chapter books which started coming out this year put the TV episodes to shame, while the tongue-in-cheek Hero Factory FM podcast from 2010 had many moments of hilarity).

Meanwhile, the lack of spinners for Ninjago this year probably has less to do with "not enough time" and more to do with "we don't want to draw attention and sales strength away from the Speedorz". If there are two lines of "kinetic/card game sets" at one time, then retailers and end users alike will often end up choosing between the two rather than getting both. Whereas if it's just the Speedorz, they can occupy the same shelf space Ninjago sets once did and hopefully gain attention from former Ninjago fans. Not to mention that the expense of writing cards that create dynamic gameplay and hiring freelance artists to illustrate those cards is probably reserved for the cards in the Chima sets.

[DraikNova]

You make a good point Aanchir.

[Aethersprite]

You make a good point Aanchir.

Agreed. Given how Ninjago's show worked exceedingly well for Lego in terms of promoting the theme, I guess Lego would pick up from there with a show for Chima.

[The Crazy One]

All the Speedorz pictures we currently have show them all presented with scenery and obstacles. Will they release single sets with just a driver, some weapons, and a vehicle to compare to NinjaGo or are Lego seemingly more fixed on the larger, task driven sets?

[Aanchir]

All the Speedorz pictures we currently have show them all presented with scenery and obstacles. Will they release single sets with just a driver, some weapons, and a vehicle to compare to NinjaGo or are Lego seemingly more fixed on the larger, task driven sets?

I think if there were any smaller Speedorz sets than the ones we've seen in the first half of the year, then we'd have seen pics by now. However, there's nothing stopping TLG from introducing sets at a lower price point in later waves, like they did by introducing booster packs in the second year of Ninjago.

[DraikNova]

Personally, I prefer these slightly larger sets. If only they would make a 100-euro Speedorz set. Two vehicles would mean we would get about 90-euros worth of architecture.

[Robominer]

Personally, I prefer these slightly larger sets. If only they would make a 100-euro Speedorz set. Two vehicles would mean we would get about 90-euros worth of architecture.

With the shrinking size of sets and more detail on minifigures, I don't think so.

[Devorath]

With the shrinking size of sets and more detail on minifigures, I don't think so.

While I like detailed minifigures, IMO what an action theme needs is something to make it special, most of the time the figs, and something else. WR passed me by, because the figs were boring and the story was nothing, zip, nada. A hard out brawl like we are seeing in Chima might not be the best possible plot, but I shall have to see...

[Deathleech]

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who can't stand the Brickshow. I mean the guy posted a video over 7 minutes long and his review of the figure stopped a little over half way through, at which point he proceeded to drone on and on about focus groups or something he was pretending to be knowledgeable about. And really that's my biggest gripe with the Brickshow, and especially the younger brother, they get too off topic and start talking about random things (and worst yet usually they don't even give correct facts/information about them). Of course I have tons of other problems with the show too, like how they will do horrible music fades and the music will crank up while one of them is still talking at the end, or how he seems to just pause for no apparent reason multiple times in a video, but that's a whole nother story.

As for the Chima line I would LOVE to see a panda and rhino faction added on.

[Jargo]

Pandas, Rhinos and Monkeys. "If you have any poo, fling it now..."

[Aethersprite]

If Chima is to last long, maybe Lego could have a rotation system with the factions, or have one permanently defeated and replaced with another. Five factions is already a lot to handle - we're not getting enough sets per faction right now. I do hope we get proper raven sets in the summer.

[Kai NRG]

If Chima is to last long, maybe Lego could have a rotation system with the factions, or have one permanently defeated and replaced with another. Five factions is already a lot to handle - we're not getting enough sets per faction right now. I do hope we get proper raven sets in the summer.

In the list we got, there was another Raven vehicle, 70012 Razars Chi Raider (priced around USD 40 in the rumor as well)