Legends of Chima 2013

[xxlrocka]

A rabbit.

Come on then, Lego. Hit me with all of your tribe ideas. Not that I care.

Or is that set fake?

[just2good]

No it is real got to get exciting; new

[Garmadon]

To say the truth, it looks awfully fake. That torso is the same as the one on winzar, and the "rabbit head" just does not fit with the other LoC minifig head/hats.+

Also, it appears that the legs are also a wolf's, and I am sure that LEGO would not make a rabbit with a torso and legs from a wolf (a rabbit in wolf's clothing ).

[krystalKING]

Don't you love it when everyone forgets to look at their calendar? Its April 1st, obviously fake.

But its a pretty good joke, so thumbs up to Just2Good!

[PenPlays]

To think!

All this photoshop and still people are none the wiser. It's nice to see Lego re-using some of those old Belville molds.

[Kai NRG]

No it is real got to get exciting; new

Are you sure? Rabbiz? And with a wolf torso and pants? Worriz anyone? IMHO the car thing looks completely photo-shopped.

Edit: Of course, it is April 1st too...

Edited April 1, 2013 by Kai NRG

[Lyichir]

That's a lot of Chi. Anyway, I've been thinking of picking up a Speedorz to get one of these new sword pieces. How good for MOCcing would you say they (the swords) are?

Any part is good for MOCing if you use them creatively enough. The Chima swords don't have any connection points besides the handle and the space for the lightsaber blade. And the Lion sword has a lion face on the crossguard. You can still use them creatively (one raven vehicle uses the Croc sword as a mix of blasters and talons), but they're don't have any hidden versatility that I know of.

What I DO think are useful for MOCing are the new large tooth/claw pieces (used for the beak of Razcal's Glider, among other things). You can always try out parts like these on LDD to see if you can find a use for them before you get them.

[just2good]

To doubt it is not nice guys its from brifckset.com so it is real okay you know your wrong im right :)

http://www.brickset.com/detail/?Set=30256-1

[CM4Sci]

I know some poly bags can be bad...

But this...

:P

-Sci

[Kai NRG]

To doubt it is not nice guys its from brifckset.com so it is real okay you know your wrong im right :)

http://www.brickset....il/?Set=30256-1

Yes, brickset has had several funny ones today...

[Vindicare]

To doubt it is not nice guys its from brifckset.com so it is real okay you know your wrong im right :)

http://www.brickset.com/detail/?Set=30256-1

Well, if Brickset said it, it must be true.

I'm really not liking the "new" helmets for the figs. It looks to be a normal head. That's strange...it must be Winzar in disguise with a cheap rubber mask on! Yeah, that's gotta be it. He's trying to infiltrate the CHI Temple by posing as an innocent and cuddly bunny.

[Tobias_Jay]

Can I just say I did not fall for the rabbit tribe for a second

I purchased Crawley's Claw Ripper today, it certainly is a neat looking set. Crawley is a very nice looking figure, his second face however, scares me. Leonidas is great but those who collect Chima might have a lot of him. Why he has the same sword as Laval, however, confuses me. But the Claw Ripper is a great little vehicle. Maybe some more parts would improve the model, but it is mighty fine looking anyway. The back wheels are new in this colour I believe, so that is a bonus. I really recommend it to those who are a fan of the crocodile tribe or those who have the money. To think that this was the only set that I thought was disappointing from the first wave.

[Oky]

Not sure if this has been discussed already or if this is even the right place to discuss it, but apparently Legoland Florida is going to get a whole new section completely devoted to Chima.

When I heard about this I thought it was an early April Fools joke. Chima isn't bad, but it certainly doesn't seem popular enough to warrant an entire section of a theme park. What do you think?

[Spider-Man]

When I heard about this I thought it was an early April Fools joke. Chima isn't bad, but it certainly doesn't seem popular enough to warrant an entire section of a theme park. What do you think?

It seems to me LEGO is really putting all their eggs in this one basket. I get the feeling they are just going to keep throwing money at Chima until it becomes the big hit they apparently want it to be.

Edited April 3, 2013 by Spider-Man

[CM4Sci]

That costume.

-Sci

[Aanchir]

It seems to me LEGO is really putting all their eggs in this one basket. I get the feeling they are just going to keep throwing money at Chima until it becomes the big hit they apparently want it to be.

That's not "putting all their eggs in one basket"; it's just the same strategy they pretty much always have with "big bang" themes. Sure, they're doing things they've never done before with Chima, but they did with Ninjago as well and that turned out well. And in fact, it's probably safer to try new marketing strategies with a new theme than with an older one because the first year is when the hype for the theme will generally be at its peak.

Incidentally, here's the map for the "World of Chima". It's one ride (perhaps even replacing one that was going to get retired anyway), a 4D movie, and a "Speedorz Arena" (in other words, I'm thinking some play tables with organized events). Nothing extravagant, and it helps that the money TLG is "throwing at" this attraction isn't all their own-- Cartoon Network's sponsorship relieves some of the burden. When Chima loses popularity, then it will be no huge expense to convert the ride into a ride for another theme, change some of the decor, and play a different film in the 4D theater. This is standard operating procedure for co-promotions at theme parks. Sometimes a name change and a new paint job is enough to tie a ride to a newer, trendier franchise.

[Oky]

It seems to me LEGO is really putting all their eggs in this one basket. I get the feeling they are just going to keep throwing money at Chima until it becomes the big hit they apparently want it to be.

Yeah, I'm getting that feeling as well. They did the same with Ninjago, but in that case it worked because the theme on its own was popular. With Chima it feels like they're just trying to force it into popularity.

(Nice Easter themed analogy by the way. )

That costume.

What about it? Are you always creeped out by life-size versions of minifigures?

When Chima loses popularity, then it will be no huge expense to convert the ride into a ride for another theme, change some of the decor, and play a different film in the 4D theater. This is standard operating procedure for co-promotions at theme parks. Sometimes a name change and a new paint job is enough to tie a ride to a newer, trendier franchise.

I guess you're right, although it still surprises me that they are doing this with Chima and didn't do it with a more proven successful theme like Ninjago.

By the way, is it just me or is shooting water the Legoland equivalent of flick-fire missiles?

[CM4Sci]

What about it? Are you always creeped out by life-size versions of minifigures?

No, it's just funny when the costumes look silly.

-Sci

[Good Cragger Fan]

Exciting; new!

The red background on the picture of the Rabbit minifigure on the right side of the polybag tells us that he (or she) is a villain (or villainess).

Edited April 4, 2013 by Good Cragger Fan

[Kadabra]

The red background on the picture of the Rabbit minifigure on the right side of the polybag tells us that he (or she) is a villain (or villainess).

You do realize this was an April Fool's joke, right?

[Aanchir]

Yeah, I'm getting that feeling as well. They did the same with Ninjago, but in that case it worked because the theme on its own was popular. With Chima it feels like they're just trying to force it into popularity.

(Nice Easter themed analogy by the way. )

What about it? Are you always creeped out by life-size versions of minifigures?

I guess you're right, although it still surprises me that they are doing this with Chima and didn't do it with a more proven successful theme like Ninjago.

By the way, is it just me or is shooting water the Legoland equivalent of flick-fire missiles?

With Ninjago, they did have at least one ride at various LEGOLAND parks as well as a temporary Ninjago miniland in Germany (which I think is pretty significant-- it's certainly a very big investment for a temporary exhibit, and it's the only themed miniland other than the Star Wars ones). They just didn't go that one additional step and dedicate a new park section to the theme.

Again, sometimes it's risky to wait until a theme has been "proven successful" to do something like this, because normally by that point it's on the wane. Certainly Ninjago's success wasn't expected to stay as strong throughout 2012 as it did, hence why the decision to continue the story into 2014 came so late. Now, the press release on the LEGOLAND Florida set says that the new expansion is inspired by the positive reaction Chima has had with kids. Whether that's just preemptive PR talk based on focus group testing and the like or solid facts based on actual sales and viewership numbers isn't totally clear, but it's clear that they have some reason to anticipate Chima being a hit, and they want to be ready to take advantage of that rather than waiting until the theme hits its peak and thus missing their biggest opportunity to promote and profit from the theme.

Additionally, it might just be that the time wasn't right for a Ninjago theme park expansion. LEGOLAND Florida is well-suited to expansions like this because it's so new, but it didn't open until October 2011, and in 2012 their biggest park development project was the addition of a water park. So it's quite possible they simply didn't have the time or resources at that time to develop a theme-specific expansion. Or alternatively, perhaps they wanted a bit longer to gauge how interested people were in the park and its new expansions before doing something this groundbreaking.

And finally, Ninjago did have one thing Chima doesn't have: a promotional truck tour. This is not something that was new to Ninjago by any means (BIONICLE had several, and LEGO Games also had some to tie in with its launch), but it's possible that with this promotional campaign aimed at bringing the Ninjago experience directly to kids around the globe, they didn't see any need for a permanent or semi-permanent Ninjago attraction in its debut year.

Edited April 4, 2013 by Aanchir

[Oky]

Again, you have some good points, but I still don't think that World of Chima is going to draw in as big a crowd as a World of Ninjago would have. The press release only states that it is the highest tested theme in recent years, which doesn't necessarily mean that it will actually be successful. If you look at toy isles right now you'll see that Ninjago is still flying off the shelves while Chima is mostly warming the shelves. I can understand that they want to be ready for when the theme finally takes off if it ever does, but I still don't see why they couldn't have based this Legoland expansion on a safer bet like Ninjago, especially since they seem to plan to continue the theme next year.

Oh well, I personally don't really care what they have or don't have at Legoland, so I just hope Lego's plans work out in their favor.

[Spider-Man]

(Nice Easter themed analogy by the way. )

Thanks I'm glad somebody enjoyed it

Additionally, it might just be that the time wasn't right for a Ninjago theme park expansion. LEGOLAND Florida is well-suited to expansions like this because it's so new, but it didn't open until October 2011, and in 2012 their biggest park development project was the addition of a water park. So it's quite possible they simply didn't have the time or resources at that time to develop a theme-specific expansion. Or alternatively, perhaps they wanted a bit longer to gauge how interested people were in the park and its new expansions before doing something this groundbreaking.

You make a lot of great points, and I agree with most of them. My biggest concern is just that I feel there hasn't been enough feedback yet to warrant them putting in this vast amount resources. I will trust TLG and assume they know far better than I do, it just seems like a weird business strategy to give a relatively new, and at this point unproven, theme this must attention.

Oh well, I personally don't really care what they have or don't have at Legoland, so I just hope Lego's plans work out in their favor.

At the end of the day this is my exact same feeling. I am not a huge fan of Chima, at this point, so I am not saying it doesn't deserve all the stuff it's getting. I just hope TLG knows what they're doing, and I'm sure they do.

[CM4Sci]

Just finished building Wakz's Pack Tracker. Super cool set! I'll record a review tonight, who knows when I'll upload it. Now I have 3 Winzars.

-Sci

[Aanchir]

Again, you have some good points, but I still don't think that World of Chima is going to draw in as big a crowd as a World of Ninjago would have. The press release only states that it is the highest tested theme in recent years, which doesn't necessarily mean that it will actually be successful. If you look at toy isles right now you'll see that Ninjago is still flying off the shelves while Chima is mostly warming the shelves. I can understand that they want to be ready for when the theme finally takes off if it ever does, but I still don't see why they couldn't have based this Legoland expansion on a safer bet like Ninjago, especially since they seem to plan to continue the theme next year.

Oh well, I personally don't really care what they have or don't have at Legoland, so I just hope Lego's plans work out in their favor.

First of all, they haven't had much time to plan a Ninjago attraction, since it was at one point intended to conclude after 2013. So yes, it IS continuing, but the park organizers had little to no way of knowing that far enough in advance to plan a project like this. Ninjago, for the most part, was a riskier bet, not a safer one, since TLG did not anticipate its appeal lasting more than the typical 2-3 years for a play theme, and newer themes typically have more hype surrounding them than older themes by default. As far as most people knew, opening a Ninjago attraction in 2013 would have been more or less like opening an Exo-Force attraction in 2008. Better to tie an attraction with a theme that was on the rise than a theme which was (as far as anyone could project) on the wane and soon to be discontinued.

I don't know where you're getting the info about Chima sets being shelfwarmers and Ninjago sets flying off the shelves. I'm generally very skeptical about anecdotal evidence like that as support for whether a theme is successful or not, because often it's just dependent on which theme has more fans in a particular area (I've seen this kind of evidence used to proclaim the imminent death of Hero Factory for about as long as the theme's been in existence, and yet that theme's known to be continuing in 2014).

Now, I've been at college pretty much all year and there aren't many toy stores in my immediate area (those there are tend to stock sets somewhat sporadically), but I haven't seen any signs of either theme significantly outselling the other. From what I've witnessed, the smaller sets from both themes tend to disappear quickly (still haven't been able to find Kai's Fire Mech anywhere since I made up my mind to look for it), while the larger sets take longer to clear out (some stores seem to have quite a few Garmatrons still in stock). Overall, if sets lingering on shelves was a sign that the theme as a whole was suffering, then it's easy to understand why Ninjago was going to be discontinued, since two of these same toy stores I mention STILL haven't cleared out their stock of Skull Trucks from 2011 or Samurai Mechs and Bite Cycles from 2012.

Edited April 6, 2013 by Aanchir