Ideas for Lego sets - the more 'out of the box' the better!

piratemania7

I agree with @kingDave and have similar views. Lets not forget as much money as we AFOL's and others on here spend on LEGO. TLG is primarily concerned with and focused on catering to those young ones who LOVE the fire and police sub-themes. ( heck I did then ). So i get it, but with city being so popular why dont they want to expand? They seem to be somewhat in different areas, IE the recycling/garbage truck and other such vehicles coming out but what about other areas?

Jenni

^ They just did a whole mining theme, most of which seemed to end up on clearance. They are trying some things, I'm sure the construction theme will be revisited in the not too distant future too.

My 9-year-old lamented the other day that she was too old to get the circus Duplo, if they're serious about reaching girls not just through Friends they should really do an animal based theme.

piratemania7

I agree, zoo could go a distance. I just think unless you MOC your own buildings and such its hard to really come up with a diversified and interesting cityscape.

TheLoneTensor

The problem with mining is that, while really cool imho, kids can't necessarily relate. There are a myriad of things they could try (or try harder, as some have been touched already):

Zoo
Park
County fair
Road repair
Post office
Bank
City hall
Restaurant
General store
Cinema
Grocery store

piratemania7

@tensor I was thinking a grocery store! Problem is, it reminds me a lot of the modulars and where do you cross the line into the advanced models from the more widely distributed sets that kids will love? I think they should come up with a simpler line, IE not as elaborate or as detailed as the modulars and thereby save on cost and then selling price but also be able to cut back on piece count and still keep it attractive.

TheLoneTensor

I thought the same as I was ending the list saying "hey, those are modulars."

But, think of the green grocer and just the grocery part. that could make a nice little $30-ish standalone set. That was actually my (and my sons') favorite part of that set, the little milks, juices, fruit etc. Even the vent for the cooler captured the magic that easily could be enjoyed by a kid in a normal city setting. After all, what kid hasn't gone to the grocer?

meyerc13

We're way off topic, but what the heck. Everyone seems to agree that LEGO makes fire/police because kids like those themes. OK, makes sense. Then why do they make harbor and mining? As an AFOL, I love those themes, but I doubt many kids are thinking, "Gee, I wish I had a container ship."

I've got two little ones - 5 and 7. Things that interest them - fire, police, ambulance, buses - LEGO is right that kids love those. However, for whatever reason, LEGO seems to think that kids are craving gold mines and docks more than they are craving schools, zoos, concerts and other things that they actually encounter in real life. That's the thing that I just don't get - why focus on police/fire but not other things that little kids love?

I think a lot of it has to do with the vehicle focus in City over the past few years. A school could have a bus, but that's about it. A zoo could have a groundskeeper's cart, maybe a tram, but not much other than that. I suspect LEGO discards these themes because they aren't vehicle-centric, and I think that's where they are going wrong.

Imagine if we had a park with a food truck? A school with a bus? A zoo theme? I think LEGO could score big with any of those.

cheshirecat

^ I think thats right, but why LEGO are going right. Most people buying LEGO probably aren't interested in buying a school for a lot of money. Vehicles hit the price point nicely, and importantly can be done to a level of detail/interest that compares favourably/equally to other toys. As afols we'd probably love a school with modular science wing, sports hall etc. Or a zoo where each enclosure is bought separately. For us it would be cool (and our lucky kids!) but for the average lego buying public it would probably do really badly.

prof1515

Instead of a zoo, which is limited in playability and variety (aside from animals), Lego would be better served with a safari line. A variety of vehicles and settings could be used, akin to the Adventurers line but with animals instead of treasures.

River safari including a boat and hippopatamus and crocodile.
Truck with a rhinocerus.
Jeep and zebras and lions.
Camp with chimpanzees, a leopard,
Motorcycle with antelope/gazelles.
Helicopter with elephants.

It wouldn't have to be limited to African wildlife either, as yearly lines could focus on different parts of the world.

binaryeye

meyerc13 said:

I think a lot of it has to do with the vehicle focus in City over the past few years.

Yes, it's the need for vehicles that limits what themes are produced. Look at the City sets from the past five years and see if you can find any that don't include a vehicle. There are a couple, but they're so small it likely wouldn't have been possible to include a vehicle. There is one that was larger, but it had limited availability.

tensor said:

After all, what kid hasn't gone to the grocer?

Most kids likely have. But most kids likely haven't fought a fire, chased a thief, or rescued a surfer from a shark. I imagine LEGO has determined that kids are more likely to be interested in themes that present extraordinary situations. Re-enacting a trip to the store to pick up milk just isn't very inspiring if it can actually be done.

prof1515 said:

Instead of a zoo, which is limited in playability and variety (aside from animals), Lego would be better served with a safari line. A variety of vehicles and settings could be used, akin to the Adventurers line but with animals instead of treasures.

This would be fantastic. Though they'd have to be careful about the presentation to make it very clear no harm was being done to the animals. Adding a photography aspect might be an interesting way to do that.

TheLoneTensor

binaryeye said:

Most kids likely have. But most kids likely haven't fought a fire, chased a thief, or rescued a surfer from a shark. I imagine LEGO has determined that kids are more likely to be interested in themes that present extraordinary situations.

Ya think? Actually, it's more along the lines that Lego has determined that those things simply sell, and that's why they sell them. The reason why is only a supporting argument.

The point is, it'd be nice to expand the thought beyond police police police fire police police random police police fire police police. Imagine giving kids their own, smaller version of modulars for their little city.

piratemania7

I have always liked the versions of pizza shops TLG has come out with. All they need to do, TLG is go down a major block in a big city and come up with a dozen ideas! Ugghh

skeet318

prof1515 said:

Instead of a zoo, which is limited in playability and variety (aside from animals), Lego would be better served with a safari line. A variety of vehicles and settings could be used, akin to the Adventurers line but with animals instead of treasures.

River safari including a boat and hippopatamus and crocodile.
Truck with a rhinocerus.
Jeep and zebras and lions.
Camp with chimpanzees, a leopard,
Motorcycle with antelope/gazelles.
Helicopter with elephants.

It wouldn't have to be limited to African wildlife either, as yearly lines could focus on different parts of the world.

The zoo isn't the theme....city is. The zoo works as a one and done like bank transfer or the emergency building. Lego lions, tigers, and bears will move it.

Yellowcastle

This discussion was created from comments split from: Is this a new shark?.

prof1515

skeet318 said:

The zoo isn't the theme....city is. The zoo works as a one and done like bank transfer or the emergency building. Lego lions, tigers, and bears will move it.

The theme can be whatever Lego wants it to be. A zoo is boring from a kid's perspective as it's a static display. No vehicles, mini-figures and animals that just stare at one another and large builds that amount to just enclosures? Little to no play potential, dull building and a lack of variety outside of the figures themselves. It's not a one and done, it's a none and why would we do it?

skeet318

prof1515 said:

skeet318 said:

The zoo isn't the theme....city is. The zoo works as a one and done like bank transfer or the emergency building. Lego lions, tigers, and bears will move it.

The theme can be whatever Lego wants it to be. A zoo is boring from a kid's perspective as it's a static display. No vehicles, mini-figures and animals that just stare at one another and large builds that amount to just enclosures? Little to no play potential, dull building and a lack of variety outside of the figures themselves. It's not a one and done, it's a none and why would we do it?

Really? How many children do you have, sir? Anybody in market research? You can get mauled at the zoo....

prof1515

Yeah, I can see Lego's description for that line now...

"The lion enclosure is fun-filled Your kids can recreate the mauling at the zoo. Includes a lion, boxy half-built enclosure and two kids, one for mauling and another with a camera to photograph it!"

"The bear enclosure is fun-filled. Your kids can recreate all the fun of watching the bear sleep, eat a fish or have your mini-figure climb over the railing and get mauled! Includes a bear, fish, boxy half-built enclosure and two kids, one for mauling and another with to watch."

"The crocodile enclosure is fun-filled. Your kids can spend hours watching the crocodile sit and do nothing or recreate the moment when a kid falls into the pen and gets his arm torn off by the reptile! Includes a crocodile, boxy half-built enclosure and two kids!"

LegoMom1

^^^How is a zoo static? Lots of energy at the zoo. I still have such fond memories of the zoos my now almost 15 year old son and I built when he was only 2. Almost every night after dinner we would take out his bucket of duplo and build a zoo. Also, our zoo did have a vehicle, it was a zebra print jeep. This nightly build continued for at least 6 months. We would dump the bricks on the floor and build our zoo. When the zoo, (the build), was completed, we would admire our work and then disassemble it and put the bricks back in the bin. The next night we repeated these steps with a similar, but not exact design as the previous night. With a bit of imagination, play is never boring nor is it static.

I am not saying that I am supporting a zoo themed set, although I'm not opposed to it, I am just saying that a zoo set from a kid's perspective is neither boring nor is it static.

CircleK

I'm going to go with my standard answer to this one. I would love to see a Mythology inspired theme that makes use of the some of the great figs brought to us by CMF. I'm just not sure how popular it would be with kiddos.

LegoMom1

CircleK said:

I'm going to go with my standard answer to this one. I would love to see a Mythology inspired theme that makes use of the some of the great figs brought to us by CMF. I'm just not sure how popular it would be with kiddos.

I love this theme. My son studies Latin in school, so the mythology based CMFs are definitely our favorites. I would love to see more.

prof1515

A zoo is a rather static place when you look at the prospect of sets. You can't really build much by way of structures, small sets are virtually impossible and vehicles are limited. Lego emphasizes more action and "play features" in their lines and that's potentially missing from a zoo. Additionally, Duplo differs from Lego given the high number of large, specialized pieces and the lesser emphasis on "play features" so comparing the two isn't quite as simple as it would seem.

skeet318

prof1515 said:

Yeah, I can see Lego's description for that line now...

"The lion enclosure is fun-filled Your kids can recreate the mauling at the zoo. Includes a lion, boxy half-built enclosure and two kids, one for mauling and another with a camera to photograph it!"

"The bear enclosure is fun-filled. Your kids can recreate all the fun of watching the bear sleep, eat a fish or have your mini-figure climb over the railing and get mauled! Includes a bear, fish, boxy half-built enclosure and two kids, one for mauling and another with to watch."

"The crocodile enclosure is fun-filled. Your kids can spend hours watching the crocodile sit and do nothing or recreate the moment when a kid falls into the pen and gets his arm torn off by the reptile! Includes a crocodile, boxy half-built enclosure and two kids!"

Ha. Not exactly. I was saying stuff does happen at the zoo. Your suggestion of a theme is just a rehash of the dinosaur line with animals instead of raptors. I don't remember that line doing so well. You didn't answer my question either. No kids, huh.

prof1515

skeet318 said:

Ha. Not exactly. I was saying stuff does happen at the zoo. Your suggestion of a theme is just a rehash of the dinosaur line with animals instead of raptors. I don't remember that line doing so well. You didn't answer my question either.

Considering my recommendation of a safari theme dates back to a decade before Lego ever introduced a dinosaur line, it's hardly a rehash. Additionally, the dinosaur themes have all been fairly poor in design. Still, that doesn't alter the argument against a zoo since any of those themes, be it dinosaurs or lions, would have more play potential than a zoo.

I didn't answer your question since it's irrelevant to the discussion. However, if you must know, I have nieces. Different kids like different things and being a parent gives you no more insight into how kids think than simply observing children does. Being a child? That might give a different perspective but simply having children doesn't.

skeet318

Heh...I got a pretty good idea as to why you don't have any kids. You're entitled to your opinion. I never would have targeted you or trashed your Safari line if you hadn't been so dismissive of the idea of a zoo. I'm not wasting anymore of your time, my time, or the people's time arguing a point that is opinion based. A poll might settle it....snarkiness not so much. I would like to hear other people's ideas. I won't criticize...

prof1515

Does your idea as to why I don't have kids involve the Loch Ness Monster? The atomic weight of Nitrogen? The square root of the speed of light?

I don't have kids because I don't want kids. Never have. It's that simple.

cheshirecat

Moving on... its probably reasonable to think that LEGO have done the research on this and that, and I can see why, exciting themes like Police, Fire, Rescue sell well.

There are other sets which probably do well, like Bank and Money Transfer, Museum Break-In for example. But both of those are interesting because they tie in with police. My boys certainly wouldn't be interested in a 'play' bank where you pretend to cash a cheque or apply for a mortgage. Similarly, although they love museums, and would probably love to see a decent MOC museum would play with a LEGO CITY museum for all of about 2 minutes. Similarly a green grocer to buy some carrots? No. A green grocers that's ablaze with an old woman that needs rescuing from an upper floor window?Perhaps.

I have got kids, 2 boys, and one thing that I know for sure - if its not a LEGO store or other toy shop they hate shopping with a passion. On the rare occasions I've had to go with them, they don't like banks either, unless they see an armoured guard carrying a big box of money.

The zoo idea is probably a bit boring - we had the duplo ones and at that age they loved them, but rarely played with it as a zoo - invariably it would be mixed with train parts to make some kind of giant animal tower on wheels. If you look at the duplo sets, the most exciting thing that they show is feeding time - I'm just not sure that would fly with 5-8 year old boys? The safari line would be a good idea (in our house the dino range is a favourite) but has nothing really to do with CITY.

I don't want to be accused of being sexist, but most of the things discussed seem to me to be more aimed at girls - play as a recreation of every day activiites. Thats like a dolls house or a toy kitchen or toy shop, from what I've seen thats a girl thing (and a young boy thing, say 2-4 years old). As such, it wouldn't be popular as a part of CITY and the advent of Friends makes it even less likely to happen now.

jasor

^ yes and no about Friends. TLG could create most of these sets, including a zoo, in the Friends world. Just look at the "CMF" style polys. They are all cute lil animal based, and my girl LOVES them. She would want a Friends zoo, without a doubt.

Shopping Malls, Grocery stores, etc...all could questionably do well in the Friends line. (Even the zoo. :D )

cheshirecat

^ Oh yes I totally agree, I can see them happening as part of friends. I meant its less likely to happen as part of CITY now because of friends.

CCC

It would be a shame to go all cute-sy with the animals though. I don't want polar bears with bows on their heads.

jasor

^ But if they had accessory ports (is that what you would call them?), think of all the cyborg polar bears that could have antennae and such...

Seriously, though. Depending on the color pallette, of course, Friends Zoo or grocery store could be a great thing

CCC

^ It is not so much the accessories, as they are easily removed, it is the shape of the friends animals that doesn't really fit in with regular sets. Much like the minidolls are different to minifigs.

jasor

Doe-eyed polar bears, FTW.

skeet318

cheshirecat said:

Moving on... its probably reasonable to think that LEGO have done the research on this and that, and I can see why, exciting themes like Police, Fire, Rescue sell well.

There are other sets which probably do well, like Bank and Money Transfer, Museum Break-In for example. But both of those are interesting because they tie in with police. My boys certainly wouldn't be interested in a 'play' bank where you pretend to cash a cheque or apply for a mortgage. Similarly, although they love museums, and would probably love to see a decent MOC museum would play with a LEGO CITY museum for all of about 2 minutes. Similarly a green grocer to buy some carrots? No. A green grocers that's ablaze with an old woman that needs rescuing from an upper floor window?Perhaps.

I have got kids, 2 boys, and one thing that I know for sure - if its not a LEGO store or other toy shop they hate shopping with a passion. On the rare occasions I've had to go with them, they don't like banks either, unless they see an armoured guard carrying a big box of money.

The zoo idea is probably a bit boring - we had the duplo ones and at that age they loved them, but rarely played with it as a zoo - invariably it would be mixed with train parts to make some kind of giant animal tower on wheels. If you look at the duplo sets, the most exciting thing that they show is feeding time - I'm just not sure that would fly with 5-8 year old boys? The safari line would be a good idea (in our house the dino range is a favourite) but has nothing really to do with CITY.

I don't want to be accused of being sexist, but most of the things discussed seem to me to be more aimed at girls - play as a recreation of every day activiites. Thats like a dolls house or a toy kitchen or toy shop, from what I've seen thats a girl thing (and a young boy thing, say 2-4 years old). As such, it wouldn't be popular as a part of CITY and the advent of Friends makes it even less likely to happen now.

cheshirecat said:

Moving on... its proobably reasonable to think that LEGO have done the research on this and that, and I can see why, exciting themes like Police, Fire, Rescue sell well.

There are other sets which probably do well, like Bank and Money Transfer, Museum Break-In for example. But both of those are interesting because they tie in with police. My boys certainly wouldn't be interested in a 'play' bank where you pretend to cash a cheque or apply for a mortgage. Similarly, although they love museums, and would probably love to see a decent MOC museum would play with a LEGO CITY museum for all of about 2 minutes. Similarly a green grocer to buy some carrots? No. A green grocers that's ablaze with an old woman that needs rescuing from an upper floor window?Perhaps.

I have got kids, 2 boys, and one thing that I know for sure - if its not a LEGO store or other toy shop they hate shopping with a passion. On the rare occasions I've had to go with them, they don't like banks either, unless they see an armoured guard carrying a big box of money.

The zoo idea is probably a bit boring - we had the duplo ones and at that age they loved them, but rarely played with it as a zoo - invariably it would be mixed with train parts to make some kind of giant animal tower on wheels. If you look at the duplo sets, the most exciting thing that they show is feeding time - I'm just not sure that would fly with 5-8 year old boys? The safari line would be a good idea (in our house the dino range is a favourite) but has nothing really to do with CITY.

I don't want to be accused of being sexist, but most of the things discussed seem to me to be more aimed at girls - play as a recreation of every day activiites. Thats like a dolls house or a toy kitchen or toy shop, from what I've seen thats a girl thing (and a young boy thing, say 2-4 years old). As such, it wouldn't be popular as a part of CITY and the advent of Friends makes it even less likely to happen now.

Hmmm.....so add more police cars and call it elephant break out? :)

skeet318

^joking....kinda!

cheshirecat

As sad as it might be im sure a rampaging elephant set with a squashed car and some chasing cops would sell better than an elephant in an enclosure with a near by ice cream stall.

jasor

^I'd buy one... ;)

danstraindepot

How about a 'Theme Park' Could incorporate an animal area (Like Animal Kingdom, or Bush Gardens), have interesting rides, sci-fi areas, concession stands, etc. I could go on and on with ideas. Still works with a city. And gives an excuse to make things 'exciting' without being violent.

mathew

prof1515 said:

...being a parent gives you no more insight into how kids think than simply observing children does.

I can tell you for a fact that after living 34 years without kids and then having kids that you are completely wrong. Kids change you and give you insight into things. If you had kids then you would know. You don't know.

0909090

What about Sports theme comeback? We could get new football stadiums, lots of football related sets like we get back in 1998 brickset.com/browse/themes/?theme=Town&subtheme=Football
LEGO could recreate famous football players, release them in sets. Everybody would want them to collect. Also football sets are fun, I'm not a football fan in real life by any means, nor did I ever enjoy playing football, but these sets were fun at least for me as I had them when I was a kid. They offer a lot of playablity and I've always enjoyed building and modifying my stadiums and such. Last true football sets were in 2006 though only few of them. In 2007 we got promotional minifigure and that's it. In late 90s and early 00s we got a lot of great football and sports related sets which were great. I think it's a good time to revive this theme. There's so much more potential not just football. There are a lot of sports which haven't been done by LEGO. :)

EKSam

Jenni said:

^ They just did a whole mining theme, most of which seemed to end up on clearance. They are trying some things, I'm sure the construction theme will be revisited in the not too distant future too.

My 9-year-old lamented the other day that she was too old to get the circus Duplo, if they're serious about reaching girls not just through Friends they should really do an animal based theme.

@Jenni

That was my 8 year old's reaction too when she saw the circus duplo so she insisted we buy it for our 8 month old baby.:-)

skeet318

mathew said:

prof1515 said:

...being a parent gives you no more insight into how kids think than simply observing children does.

I can tell you for a fact that after living 34 years without kids and then having kids that you are completely wrong. Kids change you and give you insight into things. If you had kids then you would know. You don't know.

:) This post soooo belongs in "Best of"!

CCC

mathew said:

prof1515 said:

...being a parent gives you no more insight into how kids think than simply observing children does.

I can tell you for a fact that after living 34 years without kids and then having kids that you are completely wrong. Kids change you and give you insight into things. If you had kids then you would know. You don't know.

"Simply" observing them for 16 odd hours per day for 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year gives you quite a bit of insight. Whether you are their parent or not! :-)

CCC

^^^ I'm sure football teams would sell well if done in official kits. The problem is licensing, having to negotiate to use officia kit with every club, having to update every year or so, etc.

Jenni

@EKSam She's not getting a younger sibling in order to get Duplo :). If only her cousins lived closer.

My daughter really liked the mine, what little girl doesn't want to dig for gold and jewels? But then she also has an unhealthy fascination with BURPs and includes them in everything she MOCs for LEGO Club meetings, including the Friends ones.

LegoMom1

mathew said:

prof1515 said:

...being a parent gives you no more insight into how kids think than simply observing children does.

I can tell you for a fact that after living 34 years without kids and then having kids that you are completely wrong. Kids change you and give you insight into things. If you had kids then you would know. You don't know.

Spot on. I think all parents would agree that, "kids change you and give you insight into things." Couldn't have said it better myself with the exception of having lived 44 years prior to having a child. (A decade more non-parent research and observation time.)

prof1515

mathew said:

prof1515 said:

...being a parent gives you no more insight into how kids think than simply observing children does.

I can tell you for a fact that after living 34 years without kids and then having kids that you are completely wrong. Kids change you and give you insight into things. If you had kids then you would know. You don't know.

Having children doesn't give you greater insight; you simply failed to see those things prior. There's a difference. However, having children can also lead to irrational views as well. In the end, the kids themselves are still not the cause. The evolution is a result of your ability or inability to observe and reason which is why some people do not experience any change as a result of parenthood while others do, for better or for worse.

mathew

prof1515 said:

Having children doesn't give you greater insight; you simply failed to see those things prior.

Just because you have nieces doesn't mean that you can understand the experience of taking care of another human being. One that requires 24/7 care and guidance. That requires that you are selfless. That requires un-conditional love and commitment. For me life became much more fragile after having children. I realized my own mortality much more. That I will hopefully die before my children and that they will carry on my legacy. I worry about their future. I worry about some crazed gunman opening fire on them at school. Someone that doesn't care about their life like my wife and I do.

You simply don't have that. And you never will unless you become a caretaker of some kind or have children of your own.

BrickDancer

I hate to step in to this fun conversation, but will any way just to call a time-out.

Having children is a very personal and important decision. Whether you do or don't. Just saying, this topic should be handled with a bit of sensitivity.

First because it's a person's choice all their own. Second are the varied pre-judgements that are insinuated or derived from a single fact of yes or no for what can be a complex situation (with a mostly negative connotation for those without). Third is because it might not be within that person's choice or ability to do otherwise.

It's not easy for those without children to rationalize their reasons sometimes when the default in society is to have one or more.

mathew

BrickDancer said:

Having children is a very personal and important decision. Whether you do or don't. Just saying, this topic should be handled with a bit of sensitivity.

Of course. And I'm not proposing that anyone should have children. It's just that you cannot have the same insight into children as a parent does.

BrickDancer

By sheer logic, you're right. Much more time watching & observing the younglings in action if you're raising them than visiting them.

But notice there was only a symbolic defense after the initial salvo? Simply because there's not much to use as cover when you're in the other camp.

It's something I learned a few years ago with an innocent question of 'why not?' when I asked an older coworker if she had kids. It wasn't what she said ("Just happier this way"), but all that she wouldn't say that gave me a better understanding about how complex it could be. It was palpable.