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Comments
I've said it before, but the mixer really should have been several sets down in this series. A set like the Ferris Wheel really should have been first, or a different mixer iteration.
Adding more pieces would not significantly improve the model, it would just satisfy those that insist bigger is better.
I think there's validity in saying that the midway games and secondary truck could have been left out of the Mixer model and the retail price dropped to $99, but the truck is an integral part of the Mixer-style ride.
So far, it's not clear if this line is supposed to be amusement park rides, or traveling carnival rides.
I'm just going to come out and say I think the set is great. I thought it was great before it was released and when I first purchased it. When I wanted one of the holiday giveaway sets this past season I thought the second copy I purchased was great too.
It's unique, it all folds up into the truck, and for me at least here in the U.S. There is nothing more original or rural/country American than a good old fairground and all the carni extras that follow suit. (Both in real life and LEGO world).
The design is another awesome effect especially once you add power functions. I have not but I have seen video and you can do this with EVERY set. Finally, Jaime designed this set no? So basically we can all go to Jaime and say this set you designed? Sucks. Right? I mean that's the message that I seem to have gathered above.
Oh and another point, with the Ferris Wheel now out you create history. You create a trend. If they come out with a third set for this new theme the mixer will be that all powerful first set in a theme - one that oh so many people missed out on because they had to bash it and go buy Mixels and Elves sets (no offense intended once so ever).
At any rate, everyone enjoy their Saturday I'm back to pumping fluids and getting some more rest. :smile:
As for telling someone that their design sucks. Yes, I would tell them right to their faces. The lead designer for the Pontiac Aztek should be drawn and quartered. What a piece of crap!!!! When I was still working in the automotive industry, the designers and engineers would all go to the Detroit Auto Show before it was open to the public. When we were there in 2001, I told the Pontiac guy what a piece of crap that car was and that it might signal the demise of Pontiac if they kept putting out awful cars like that. My buddy happened to buy one and it spent more time in the shop than on the road and guess what?... There's no more Pontiac.
Yes, I know exacty why GM axed their Pontiac brand, but if it was successful, it wouldn't have been axed.
I also think it will do well EOL. However will it out perform a mod, both in production or EOL? Doubt it, only because I think it is easier for those to justify a EOL price if the set has enough parts to build a building. Mixer, while having many parts, also has parts dedicated to designs that may not sit on a display (namely The semis that transport the mixer)
I think with the Ferris wheel that may be LEGO learning from 'mistakes' with the Mixer set, which is to now dedicate all parts to what the set is, not what is 'transporting' it.
If I live to be 100 years old, I will never understand how some people think and how they can be so careless with their hard-earned cash!
The buyer thinks that they will not be able to get the set anywhere else
Buyer thinks they will get it before anyone else- which is unlikely as @Farmer_John says
I would hazard a guess that many people still do not realize that there is a LEGO retail online shop that they can go buy it from.
That is of course if these 'pre-order' sellers are not just taking the money and running
I know a lot of kids need to safe up in order to buy, but when it comes to adults, if you need to save to buy, I'd be saving for something else. But then again, Legos in all it's exspense, is still cheaper then a ball game for four or dinner and a movie out. And at the end of the day, at least with Legos, you still have something to hold and touch! :)
But sometimes a dinner and movie are a different kind of investment...in a relationship. At least that's what my wife tells me. :smile: But I still think there's plenty of quality time to be had building Lego sets. :wink:
It's called the Fairground Mixer, and fairgrounds are almost always the site of traveling carnivals and not the site of a fixed amusement park.
The base of the mixer is the trailer of a semi. It's designed to be packed up and transported. It's pretty darn integral from where I sit.
It's not really what TLG promises to deliver at that price point, as there have been 27+ more expensive sets available during the Mixer's lifespan.
Personally, I think every single one of the modulars, at the roughly $150 price point, are all "showpieces" and "awe inspiring". Would you agree? Maybe not... it's all in the eye of the beholder.
I think it's fair to perhaps expect a bit more out of a $150 set. LEGO won't hit a home run with every set. While it may be an accurate depiction of a fairground mixer (vehicles necessary and all), I'd agree that it's a little lacking in the "wow" department that some other sets at the same price point have, in my opinion.
got cajoled into riding it once by two children I had taken to the fair. Once.
Mid ride I threw up in my mouth and not wanting to spew all over the children in my care (and anyone else) I managed to swallow most of it back down while holding the remainder inside my mouth between tightly clenched jaws until the ride came to its natural conclusion what seemed like hours later
20 years later this remains one of my more unpleasant personal memories
What I'm saying is that the designers created a model that looks identical to something that exists in the real world: a mobile carnival ride that can be packed on a truck, and when deployed uses the flatbed as the base of the ride. They gave the model a name that matches that real world object. That's pretty strong evidence what the source material is, and that makes it integral and not superfluous. By contrast, I consider the large number of minifigs or the midway games superfluous to the Fairground Mixer set.
"Awe inspiring" is certainly subjective. If you showed the Mixer to someone that had never seen a LEGO set in their life, I think they probably would be dumbstruck. But that isn't us, so I'm saying that is not a reasonable expectation.
The closest I have been to feeling that is on this ride...
As a point of consideration that knowingly does not fit into a world-view on LEGO, the Ohio State Fair features a number of traveling rides that come in for the fair as well as at least one permanent installation ride (a sky-bucket). So the idea of a large fixed ferris wheel supplemented with many transportable supplements seems like a cohesive theme to me.
However, that's not the issue. You initially stated "the truck is an integral part of the Mixer-style ride," which is incorrect in its generalization. By that statement, you weren't talking about just the Lego mixer, you were talking about all mixer-style rides. The fact is, there are a number of mixers that exist; some utilize trucks, some do not. For those mixers that are stationary, and many have been for decades, the truck is not part of the ride in any way, much less integral to it.
I hate the fair.
http://www.domainofdeath3.com/whitetrashcarnierides/zipper/
Best quote from it:
“The combination of its location, its condition, and the virtuosity of its motley collection of ride ops provided for an unsurpassed impression of peril. I’ve had several garden variety near-death experiences, including being hit by cars, attacked by dogs, mauled by farm equipment, and, once, grazed in the face by a bullet. Only two times, however, have I really considered myself to be on the threshold of a violent, ugly death. Once was on an airplane that appeared destined for a crash-landing. The other was during my first ride on the Coney Island Zipper. To feel, all at once, the fragility of the mortal coil is an intense, revealing experience. On the plane, I felt resigned to my fate and grateful that my brief life had in many respects exceeded my expectations. On Zipper, in the midst of a seemingly endless forward free-spin, I felt blind, animal panic; even though I knew the odds favored my survival, I could not bring logic to bear on the sensations I was experiencing. That’s something I probably won’t get to experience again from a $3.00 flat ride…”
Would love to see someone construct this with Technic!
Here is the patented design for how the Scrambler collapses and stows: https://www.google.com/patents/US3078090
The ability of the LEGO model to collapse in a similar fashion and also achieve the motion of the ride is more "awe-inspiring" than it would be if it were simply bigger.
Check out the collapsing design of all the traveling rides this person has created under the 'rides' link: http://l-rides.com
The first time I saw it built in the store I said to myself "that looks like a large CITY set, not a direct to consumer exclusive "flagship" set from the Creator Expert line". Every day when I walk by it in my house I still think the same thing. It's a cool play set with lots of fun features. But it isn't a top notch display piece like most other Creator Expert sets are. That's my opinion. I've arrived at it based on my own observations and experience with the set. Feel free to disagree, but my opinion is valid and based on sound observations of what I believe is wrong with and/or could have been better about it.
I'm on of those full pay cheque for Lego people. But I live at home and my parents support me because of my disability. I bought the Mixer with almost my whole income (I only work 5 hours a week) from a month. But I don't have a family, flat or anything else that needs money.
I never wanted to buy it. But the Ferris wheel (and my Mum who rarely likes sets) made me buy it. We have the Volksfest and Frühlingsfest every year in out city with millions of visitors and so I have a special connection to those sets.
I'm not sure I was that taken with the mixer when it was first announced, but was tempted into buying it and am so glad I did. For me, the mechanics of it are completely amazing, and far more so than a big old modular box. Awe inspiring isn't something I would use to describe any of LEGOs current products, some MOCs I've seen at exhibitions definitely, but to me something with the cleverness of the mixer is far more appealing and impressive than most of LEGO's fare. Perhaps its the engineer in me but it takes it to the next level, without the un-lego-iness of Technic - i guess similar to why the imperial shuttle is the only UCS set (other than the MF) I have any interest in. I can see why people who focus on displaying LEGO might feel short changed by the mixer, she may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid.