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Comments
and while we're on the subject...where the hell is my hoverboard and jet pack?
And did someone insinuate (by saying it directly) that there is no difference between Star Wars and Star Trek? That'll get you a condescending tongue-lashing! And inundated with MegaBlok photos.
Other than the height of the Town Hall, the Ferris Wheel is an attention-getter for a modular town. And it moves, so that increases the 'wow' factor.
Coincidentally, I heard on the news last night that Barney Frank came out of his dark ages...
So.... when do we start speculating on the retirement of the Palace Cinema and complaining about the next modular?
So with that, I boldly predict that the Mixer is going the way of the dodo bird by the end of 2016.
It will be interesting to see if it survives the holidays though.
Anyway...
When it first came out, I thought it was about $30 too expense. Even though the piece count was there, it didn't look like a $150 set. THEN...the Ferris wheel was released and I became even less enchanted with the mixer. I want the Ferris wheel. It's impressive to see built. The mixer is still just okay. I'm sure it'll have those that want it years from now, but I personally see the Ferris wheel as being the better investment of the two.
My my point being, is that while I would love to be a completist and have the mixer to go with the Ferris wheel, there truly are sets I prefer far more than the mixer.
Today: $150 for the Mixer?! Meh... I would rather have a Modular.
The day the Mixer retires: Wait! It's gone?! Oh shit!!!
The day after the Mixer retires: Oh Thank god! I scored a Mixer on eBay for $200. My collection would have been incomplete and worthless without it. It's my favorite set in ever!
The only other thing I could think of that could be included is a Dropper Ride or a possible Roller Coaster set which would include loads of picecs
Although I think the most recent Carousel is fantastic, its not quite the right scale as compared to the Ferris Wheel and Mixer.
(And the whole [incorrect] Market Street rationale for not including it in an unofficial fairground sub-theme would also apply. Until someone at Lego identifies the Carousel as part of this theme. Then I will shed many translucent blue 1x1 tiles.)
Then Lego will just rehash the MIxer, only difference will be changed figures. See Winter Village line.
Also, one other note. Our kids have been a little too young to go to the 'Midway' of our state fair where all the rides are until this year. They had almost the perfect spitting image of the Mixer there, trailer and all. I always though the design was a little 'Legoized' and slightly flawed due to how the people had to load, but they had little platforms so that all the cars could be loaded at once. It was nearly identical to the Lego version. Should have taken a picture. It made the set even that much cooler to me.
I'm sure the mixer is a nice set, but I agree with others. It just doesn't look it...similar to the Winter Village Market... it's a fun set, but it doesn't seem as substantial due to how it is broken up...
I don't see myself ever getting the mixer, although I did recently start bricklinking my own version of the Carousel since my daughter is getting the Ferris Wheel for her birthday...I had no interest in the Carousel prior to that (and I still don't care for some of the features on it). But I actually like the mixer side games more than the mixer itself.
I have a hard time matching it up with the Ferris Wheel though. I think it's because the Ferris Wheel is a permanent structure while the Mixer is designed to be able to go from place to place.
I feel like the Carousel and Ferris Wheel go together better than the Mixer goes with either of them.
The Carousel is a stand-alone set from years past and isn't part of the current fairground iteration.
Blasphemy!
(Who designed the Carousel?)
I think the biggest problem perceived with the Mixer is that it is too expensive, especially when compared with the FW. I agree, but only by $10-$15 because once you build both you realize that the Mixer is a dense model and the FW is large, but mostly air.
Buy it or don't buy it, but as with lots of exclusive sets, if you are on the fence you may regret not buying it later.
I got the Mixer at the employee shop when I went on the Inside Tour earlier this year, but it wasn't very high on my wish list before that and I mostly bought it because it was a good deal and I had extra room in my shipping box. My brother and I have built it, but it's now back in its box because my family's house just isn't organized enough to have a permanent display space for it (part of why I've been trying to cut down on extraneous LEGO purchases this year). That's another mark against it compared to the Grand Carousel or Ferris Wheel — it's not very space-efficient, since you have to spread everything out a great deal for an ideal display.
For better or worse, a big reason the Mixer doesn't get any love is its price tag. Fairgound set completists will bite, but the rank-and-file buyers are more discriminatory with their cash. It certainly would have done much better in the $100 price range, but I'm not sure how it could have been pared down and still had something resembling a set.
It's not that I'm totally unimpressed by it (and as I've said before, it technically has a good piece count for the price), but it's that overall regardless of look, play features, or price per brick, it doesn't seem like a $150 set to me.
For the most part, I ignore the number of pieces when it comes to price because I build my sets and my son (okay, really it's me) plays with them. So I don't necessarily balk at a set that may be $50 but only contain 350 pieces. If the end result is a good set then the lack of the additional 150 pieces means nothing to me. But that goes the other way too, meaning I don't buy a $50 set just because it has 650 pieces.
There is obviously a lot going on with the mixer and a lot when it comes to play features, but I just can't get it out of my head that (to me, not everyone is the same) it's not a $150 set. I'd be definitely be in at $100 and would be thinking seriously about it at $120, but eventually I draw the line for myself and $150 is over that line.
The statement "a lot of work to get everything folded or unfolded" is interesting. To me, it doesn't sound like a play feature, it sounds like a pain. Play features shouldn't be work, they should be fun.
(And this will continue to be my position until I can get my hands on one.)