NYCC Lego Announcement

kooz

I keep hearing that Lego will make an announcement on the opening day (Thursday) of the New York ComicCon. Does anyone have any info on this? Will there be any exclusives? Anyone know how the announcement is going to be made? What will be announced? Etc. I'm going to the event but have no advance intel yet, and Lego isn't officially scheduled anywhere.

lessjunkfood

If TLG is going to go ahead and make one or more Dr. Who sets as many speculate this would be an ideal place to make the announcement.

Aanchir

It's hard to tell exactly what the LEGO Group's special event will entail since it's not 100% clear whether it's a brand-new announcement or a reveal of something that's already been announced in some fashion.

LEGO is definitely going to be revealing some things about the new BIONICLE theme, as they've stated on the LEGO Bionicle Facebook page, so that's PROBABLY going to be the topic of their special reveal event. But that could also just be something they're simply planning to unveil at their booth. No telling at this point!

I will be attending the special reveal event myself (I won some tickets on Eurobricks), so I will be sure to take lots of pictures and report back on what I saw!

kooz

@Aanchir, I have tickets to the Con, but are there special tix for the reveal?

Aanchir

kooz said:

@Aanchir, I have tickets to the Con, but are there special tix for the reveal?

I don't know if there are any type of special tickets, but the e–mail I got about it after winning the Eurobricks raffle does say the LEGO panel is invite-only. It might be that they have a "guest list", and will be checking badges and admitting only the people who they specifically sent invitations to.

Even if you don't get to see the actual panel, there's still the possibility that whatever sets they reveal might get shown at their booth afterwards. It wouldn't entirely surprise me.

Also, I do believe that some of the guests from BZPower plan to record video of the whole panel and post it online, though that might depend on whether the LEGO Group allows video recordings. I know some companies don't like their panels being recorded, and having never been to Comic-Con I don't know where TLG stands on that kind of thing.

ACWWGal2011

kooz said:

I keep hearing that Lego will make an announcement on the opening day (Thursday) of the New York ComicCon. Does anyone have any info on this? Will there be any exclusives? Anyone know how the announcement is going to be made? What will be announced? Etc. I'm going to the event but have no advance intel yet, and Lego isn't officially scheduled anywhere.

I've heard of two rumors. First is the doctor who rumor. Second is the JP stuff but the problem is I don't know if that is a solid rumor since ive heard people say that kreo might have the license.

ProfessorBrickkeeper

It's Bionicle. LEGO just confirmed that in a follow-up email to those of us invited to attend. It also sounds like we may get some hands on time with the models at an after-hours invite-only RSVP party at the new Flatiron brand store.

CCC

Does Jurassic Park count? That seems more comic con quality than bionicle.

plasmodium

Strange. I can't see Bionicle having much appeal to the comiccon crowd, tbh. Maybe they're trying to create a new audience...?

Bandit

Bionicle had a large comic book presence, which I imagine is being reintroduced. Hence the logical comic-con tie in.

Aanchir

plasmodium said:

Strange. I can't see Bionicle having much appeal to the comiccon crowd, tbh. Maybe they're trying to create a new audience...?

BIONICLE had a pretty huge presence at Comic-Con back in its heyday, so it doesn't surprise me that they chose New York Comic Con as the site of their big reveal. It's always been a very media-driven theme, so they might also be announcing whatever media tie-ins happen to be planned for next year's sets.

You have to keep in mind that while other LEGO themes are enjoyed primarily as a hobby, BIONICLE has a fan following that is much more similar to other TV and movie franchises, in terms of people being extremely attached to the story and characters and not just to the products or premise. Subsequent story-driven themes like Ninjago, Legends of Chima, and The LEGO Movie have also had shades of this, and fittingly, all three had panels dedicated to them at San Diego Comic-Con earlier this year.

plasmodium

Aanchir said:

plasmodium said:

Strange. I can't see Bionicle having much appeal to the comiccon crowd, tbh. Maybe they're trying to create a new audience...?

BIONICLE had a pretty huge presence at Comic-Con back in its heyday, so it doesn't surprise me that they chose New York Comic Con as the site of their big reveal. It's always been a very media-driven theme, so they might also be announcing whatever media tie-ins happen to be planned for next year's sets.

You have to keep in mind that while other LEGO themes are enjoyed primarily as a hobby, BIONICLE has a fan following that is much more similar to other TV and movie franchises, in terms of people being extremely attached to the story and characters and not just to the products or premise. Subsequent story-driven themes like Ninjago, Legends of Chima, and The LEGO Movie have also had shades of this, and fittingly, all three had panels dedicated to them at San Diego Comic-Con earlier this year.

I stand corrected! I received a few of the Bionicle comics with my Club Magazine back in the day, and I realised they were actual proper comics (published by DC, right?), but I assumed they never had much audience outside the 8-14 year olds they were aimed at.

Aanchir

plasmodium said:

Aanchir said:

plasmodium said:

Strange. I can't see Bionicle having much appeal to the comiccon crowd, tbh. Maybe they're trying to create a new audience...?

BIONICLE had a pretty huge presence at Comic-Con back in its heyday, so it doesn't surprise me that they chose New York Comic Con as the site of their big reveal. It's always been a very media-driven theme, so they might also be announcing whatever media tie-ins happen to be planned for next year's sets.

You have to keep in mind that while other LEGO themes are enjoyed primarily as a hobby, BIONICLE has a fan following that is much more similar to other TV and movie franchises, in terms of people being extremely attached to the story and characters and not just to the products or premise. Subsequent story-driven themes like Ninjago, Legends of Chima, and The LEGO Movie have also had shades of this, and fittingly, all three had panels dedicated to them at San Diego Comic-Con earlier this year.

I stand corrected! I received a few of the Bionicle comics with my Club Magazine back in the day, and I realised they were actual proper comics (published by DC, right?), but I assumed they never had much audience outside the 8-14 year olds they were aimed at.

I'm a little surprised that the BIONICLE comics had as big an audience as they did myself, but apparently it was something to behold. According to the book Brick by Brick, "At one point in 2003, the DC Comics Bionicle books, with a circulation of 1.5 to 2 million copies every other month, were the world's most widely read comics." Not sure whether that was just LEGO Magazine subscribers or whether they were distributed through other channels at that time... I wasn't really a comic book fan back then so I never got to see whether they were sold at comic shops.

Brick by Brick has a whole chapter dedicated to BIONICLE since it was, for all intents and purposes, the only thing keeping the LEGO Group from going bankrupt in 2003, and it became something of a model for future LEGO themes and initiatives to follow.

AdeelZubair

I see that these are better than LEGO Hero Factory but I would like LEGO to add more technical elements to the figures and also make larger figures like Karzahni. This set is my childhood :D

Aanchir

Adzbadboy said:

I see that these are better than LEGO Hero Factory but I would like LEGO to add more technical elements to the figures and also make larger figures like Karzahni. This set is my childhood :D

Larger (>$20) figures generally tend to show up in the summer, so I definitely wouldn't rule them out. Especially since there are so many smaller sets in the first wave! Releasing even more after that might result in fewer sales for the new ones, since they'd have so many older ones to compete with on store shelves.

Andor

Adzbadboy said:

I see that these are better than LEGO Hero Factory but I would like LEGO to add more technical elements to the figures and also make larger figures like Karzahni. This set is my childhood :D

What set is it is awesome!

AdeelZubair

Andor said:

Adzbadboy said:

I see that these are better than LEGO Hero Factory but I would like LEGO to add more technical elements to the figures and also make larger figures like Karzahni. This set is my childhood :D

What set is it is awesome!

#8940 Karzahni: http://brickset.com/sets/8940-1/Karzahni

kooz

They had 500 freebie masks which were gone wishing 10 minutes of opening. I'll note that Mega Bloks had 3 different exclusive minifig packs at their location, as well as huge areas to build and take home whatever you build. I'm a Lego guy all they way, but Mega Bloks won this con hands-down. I mean, still, they're Mega Bloks, but their display, booth, and give aways were much more impressive. I found Lego's to be a disappointment.

ACWWGal2011

kooz said:

They had 500 freebie masks which were gone wishing 10 minutes of opening. I'll note that Mega Bloks had 3 different exclusive minifig packs at their location, as well as huge areas to build and take home whatever you build. I'm a Lego guy all they way, but Mega Bloks won this con hands-down. I mean, still, they're Mega Bloks, but their display, booth, and give aways were much more impressive. I found Lego's to be a disappointment.

No surprise there on the mb front. Judging by what I've seen in store and online, the mega bloks company is an increasing threat to Lego. Quality is climbing while the prices are epic! I saw this amazing 800 and something piece fire station kit made by mega bloks for something like 40 bucks at Walmart while a Lego set with that count would be at least 90 bucks. I got this adorable my life as cupcake bakery set that's a steal at 10 bucks. And mega bloks has really been making at least some sets that are thinking outside this box while Lego seems to be stuck in a rut.

kooz

I think Lego has a clear leg up in the actual builds in terms of technique, but judging by what I saw today, MB has several good licenses, and their Sponge Bob sets are better than the Lego versions from when Lego had that license. I agree I think it has to be on Lego's radar as a real threat. The Barbie sets look great and entirely comparable to Friends, even though that's not my thing.

Aanchir

kooz said:

I think Lego has a clear leg up in the actual builds in terms of technique, but judging by what I saw today, MB has several good licenses, and their Sponge Bob sets are better than the Lego versions from when Lego had that license. I agree I think it has to be on Lego's radar as a real threat. The Barbie sets look great and entirely comparable to Friends, even though that's not my thing.

I was not too impressed with the Mega Bloks booth, in part because it WAS all licenses. There were not a whole lot of original ideas on display.

I know to a lot of AFOLs, this year's BIONICLE booth and giveaways might not have been all that exciting, but I have seen BIONICLE fans raving about them on various sites. Not to mention how the AFOLs who won invitations to the LEGO Group's BIONICLE panel and LEGO store event got what I consider to be the experience of a lifetime. How often do you get the chance to build whatever you want from the parts of sets that won't even be available until January, show off your creations to actual LEGO designers, and then keep whatever you build? And all on the LEGO Group's dime?

All things considered, I think Mega Bloks did put their best foot forward, but I think as far as word-of-mouth advertising is concerned, the LEGO Group's approach will probably end up making a far bigger splash.

Incidentally, if anybody wants to see my photos of the event, I have a gallery right here. Unfortunately the Flickr mobile app screwed up the order, but you should still get a decent idea of what the presentation at the LEGO panel and the LEGO store building event were like.

AdeelZubair

NYCC LEGO Bionicle presentation: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=ms.c.eJxF0NkRxDAIA9COdrhk4~;4bSxZi8ftGgGyFaiIysc0M66cXjgDIQzidwCTM35T5hbMKFAO9Qz9YIX8I3x9ApEeUYHUljOCVkCSgEn4G6sqekW7qtwd0FRh3qPZSIfSIccS0wQlRVzBQr33~;7YJ3MWEx7y~_cplFnc~;NsRMHif0Q11cOmkZ3gWVgBuBQ9kvkAJ1RcxA~-~-.bps.a.1511854842388927.1073741835.1472651449642600&type=3

kooz

Honestly found the lego staff guys to be pretty rude and kid of a-holes at this con. I get that if you got the special press pass treatment, maybe it was a super cool experience, but for the vast majority of people, they were just not friendly, snapping at people, and generally rude. Which is crazy. Maybe they weren't lego employees and we're just some hired hands, but really bad job by lego for this con.

Tazakk

Aanchir said:

Not sure whether that was just LEGO Magazine subscribers or whether they were distributed through other channels at that time... I wasn't really a comic book fan back then so I never got to see whether they were sold at comic shops.

BIONICLE comics were definitely in comic shops through 2001 and 2002. I'm not sure about 2003, but if that statistic is true it seems quite likely.

plasmodium

^I remember a friend-of-a-friend coming to school with a Bionicle comic which he claimed to have bought in a shop. My copy arrived a little later with my magazine (that week or later, I think). That would have been well into 2003.

BrickDancer

^^^They're typically like that at SDCC too. Must be the heavy crowds making them grumpy.

GIR3691

kooz said:

Honestly found the lego staff guys to be pretty rude and kid of a-holes at this con.

That's been my experience overall at NYCC. I think it's just because it's a convention full of New Yorkers.

kooz

Almost everyone else I dealt with at the NYCC was really polite and nice. It was really just the Lego folks. I suspect it's because most vendors with giveaways have either enough for almost everyone who asks, or has a system like a spinning wheel with various prizes, most of which are lousy. At Lego they have only 500, and they are gone within 15 minutes of the doors opening. The people there spend the rest of the day dealing with those of us who don't run fast enough to get one. It's ridiculous that they can't find a better system for exclusives.

Aanchir

kooz said:

Almost everyone else I dealt with at the NYCC was really polite and nice. It was really just the Lego folks. I suspect it's because most vendors with giveaways have either enough for almost everyone who asks, or has a system like a spinning wheel with various prizes, most of which are lousy. At Lego they have only 500, and they are gone within 15 minutes of the doors opening. The people there spend the rest of the day dealing with those of us who don't run fast enough to get one. It's ridiculous that they can't find a better system for exclusives.

I think they're damned if they do, damned if they don't. Some people really love the raffle system at SDCC and some people really hate it. Just earlier I was reading FBTB's writeup and they seemed to really like how the exclusive mask giveaway was handled: "Unlike SDCC, NYCC handles its lone LEGO exclusive giveaway, a clear Tahu Mask, as they should all be done – the first 200 visitors to the booth get the mask. No tickets, no lottery, no spending 3 hours in the hope that you might get something. Just get your mask and move along."

I can sort of see where they're coming from... after all, some people's gripes with other exclusive giveaways, other than long lines and disappointment, is the idea that too many exclusives end up in the hands of so-called "scalpers" who then sell them to turn a profit. So not only does this method prevent the long lines, but it also ensures that the people most likely to get the exclusive masks are the people who make the BIONICLE booth their first destination.

I also have to agree with FBTB's writeup that it was nice that the BIONICLE booth didn't have any issues with crowds, since there was not really any buying or selling going on — just get a photo, poster, and/or mask, watch the video they had up on the big screen, and move on.

I somewhat disagree about their statement that there was "really not much reason for anyone to spend too much time at the booth", though... during the times when they had actual LEGO designers and art directors there, I stuck around just to get a chance to speak with Cerim Manovi (BIONICLE's creative director and one of the guys who helped invent the current Character and Creature Building System used across all constraction themes).

It's worth noting that this is my first time at an event of this scale, though, so I had no idea what to expect — and all the BIONICLE stuff went a long way in redeeming what otherwise would have been a hectic, crowded, exhausting experience. I felt very lost and a little bit anxious at other parts of the event, but the LEGO booth was a sort of a safe haven where I could escape some of the crowds and spend time with people who shared my interests.

LEGO's decision to make some of the events invite-only might have disappointed some people, but it definitely helped reduce the stress of worrying about not getting a seat, like I later experienced when waiting in line for the Legend of Korra panel. From what I've read, even some AFOLs at the invite-only events who had never previously been BIONICLE fans enjoyed their experience and what they saw of the new theme.

If any die-hard BIONICLE fans are disappointed about not getting a mask, and you're not concerned with getting it MISB, BZPower has a bunch of them which will probably become either contest prizes, raffle prizes, or rewards for people who mail in their MOCs to BZPower to be displayed at LEGO conventions across the United States.

kooz

Here's a way to solve the lottery, first come-first-served, and "didn't get anything" problems: don't make it such a limited release. Make it an early release, then available to the public a week later. Or make it limited only to those who come to the Con, but make enough for everyone who comes by the booth.

Seriously, Mega Bloks did that. They also had a build area where kids (or adults) could build from a pit of parts from each series (Barbie, Halo, Call of Duty, whatever). They also had at least 3 huge models I can remember seeing. There was more action, and everyone left with something better than a poster.

We all know Mega Bloks are not as good as Legos. Quality-wise, they aren't Best-Lock, but they're far from Lego. And the builds aren't nearly as creative. And the figures are like action figures, unlike Lego's minifigs, and Mega Bloks just don't look as good. But they had a booth with constant activity and a steady stream of kids and adults visiting, staying for more than a few moments, and leaving with a toy to take home. Lego should learn from that before Mega Bloks really steps up their quality and makes a real run at the crown.