General Nexo Knights Discussion

SMC

Hi all we are starting to see pictures for this line and if you wondering what prices they will be here they are.

70310 Knighton Disc Launchers 9.99 €

70311 Chaos Catapult 9.99 €

70312 Lance's Robo Horse 19.99 €

70313 Moltor's Lava Launcher 19.99 €

70315 Clay's Blade Cruiser 39.99 €

70316 Jestro's Companions of Darkness 49.99 €

70330 Ultimate Clay 9.99 €

70331 Ultimate Macy 9.99 €

70332 Ultimate Aaron 9.99 €

70333 Ultimate Robin 9.99 €

70334 Ultimate Monster Masher 9.99 €

70335 Ultimate Lavaria 9.99 €

thebrickgeek

Does anybody think nexo knights will last long?

eggshen

I will go on record for saying that it will go for at least 4 waves. First wave is just a taste of the fun. Second wave will have larger sets including the mobile castle, probably a bad guy base, and will wrap up the lava monsters. Then Jestro will have to recruit new baddies to help retrieve the magic books (or whatever). Third wave will introduce the new baddies and probably a new type of play function in the smaller sets. Rinse, lather, repeat until interest fizzles.

Pretty much standard form for the Big Bang themes. 

Penkid11

^The mobile castle is a winter release set, and apparently there are several store exclusives as well.

If one were to look up the preliminary images of these, they will notice a Castle/City in the background (a la Skyra's Mysterious Sky Castle). I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up as our flagship set for Summer.

This theme will certainly rely on the TV show for sales in the same way that Chima did. Hopefully the writers are A LOT more engaging and they get quality voice actors. That was undoubtedly Chima's downfall. Something that Ninjago excelled in.

chuxtoybox

The Jestro character looks cool, but the silly name isn't helping give reassurance in the theme. Really not a lot to go on, but there does seem to be some cool things for those who do MOCs. I like the translucent orange chains and what I can see of the villains. 

Jestro's Companions of Darkness sounds like the coolest set but of course it also has to be the most expensive.

 I would have preferred a strictly medieval based Castle theme but maybe that's going the way of the dinosaur. (Real dinosaurs, not LEGO dinosaurs, which are obviously still a popular theme.)

CCC

If four waves means two years then it seems likely.

promobricks

There are a couple more Nexo Knights sets coming in January. I have 16 sets in total on my list: http://www.promobricks.de/lego-nexo-nights-neue-produktlinie-startet-mit-16-sets-anfang-2016/7790

Shib

I'd imagine they have it planned similar to Chima - 2-3 years then potential to extend it if the demand is high enough

andhe

I wonder what "Giant Moving Castle" (70317) will be?

Yes I'm kidding. I know you shouldn't judge on prelims and leaks... but what I have seen looked pretty disappointing. Harking back to the dark days of lego castle (Knights Kingdom etc). Merlock’s Library (70324) could be interesting, though it doesn't look like they'll be much outside of the minifigures that will appeal to castle builders (in terms of parts etc). Most of the sets seem to be based around techno-vehicles similar to the Chima and Ninjago themes.

Shib

I was in dark ages during KK2, but I actually like a lot of it (having got a few sets on the cheap) to me the problem with this as an AFOL is that it isn't a castle theme...it has knights and castles, but the inclusion of robots and wacky motor vehicles makes it sci-fi. Given that LEGO have the biggest fantasy/sci-fi cross over licence possible (Star Wars) trying to so something like that in an in house theme seems pointless to me.

However that said, I can see these appealing to kids who like Ninjago, and if we get useful armour/weapons/fantasy looking beasts, then it will be something for me to be interested in. The pod racer looking set for example I might pick up for the lava/ball monster things as they could be used (or modified for use) in a fantasy setting.

CCC

andhe said:

I wonder what "Giant Moving Castle" (70317) will be?

Probably not as good as this ...

thebrickgeek

If they give nexo knights a tv show it will probably last longer

Ayliffe

^ That's what they said about Chima...

Fauch

andhe said:

Merlock’s Library (70324) could be interesting

for 25$, I guess it will be more like Merlock's bookshelf.

Aanchir

Ayliffe said:

^ That's what they said about Chima...

And Chima lasted three years (six waves). That's a pretty good run, all things considered.

Just looking at other action-adventure themes of the past decade, Knights' Kingdom II and Exo-Force each only lasted two and a half years (five waves); Atlantis and Power Miners each only lasted one and a half years (three waves); Agents and Vikings each only lasted one year (two waves); and Dino, Dino Attack/2010, Pharaoh's Quest, and Monster Fighters each only lasted half a year (one wave).

Chima certainly never got as big as the LEGO Group expected it to get, but there's no doubt it was a popular and successful theme. Its success just wasn't as extraordinary as that of Ninjago. LEGO didn't anticipate Ninjago becoming an evergreen theme and I doubt they ever expected Chima to become one, either.

dragonhawk

andhe said:

I wonder what "Giant Moving Castle" (70317) will be?

Add 4 sets of (giant) tires underneath #70404 Kings's Castle ???

CCC

We don't get the TV shows for China in the UK, but quite a few kids in my sons class seem quite knowledgeable about sets and characters. Maybe it is not as liked as Ninjago by adults, but kids like it. I wreckon they'll like Nexo Knights too. The fools. :-)

Ayliffe

^ Auto-correct strikes again... I wonder if there is much demand for "Lego China"? ;P

Lyichir

dragonhawk said:

andhe said:

I wonder what "Giant Moving Castle" (70317) will be?

Add 4 sets of (giant) tires underneath #70404 Kings's Castle ???

From what I've heard from folks who have seen images, it actually has large treads.

Mynatt

^It has the same treads as 8043.

From the images, that there are 5 main heroes,  Red, Blue, Green, Dark Silver/Orange Mix, and Light silver or something of the sort by the looks of the minifigures, however the protagonist's vehicles are based around a Blue/White/Neon Orange look. The baddies are red, black and also contain Neon Orange in them, these are known as the Lava Monsters, jester is their leader. 

Fauch

lava monsters... this is actually a power miners reboot. this explains the wackyness.

CM4S

It's Merlok, not Merlock. 

tamamahm

Fauch said:

lava monsters... this is actually a power miners reboot. this explains the wackyness.

This is what I have been wondering. Are the lava monster going to look similar to the power miner creatures?? That was one of my son's favorite series ever. 

ETA: Okay then. Nevermind. I did a bit of googling. I think the interest is going to be zero from his side. 

Fauch

to be fair, the monsters seemed to be the best part of power miners. not sure about bright green vehicles, the more industrial look of rock raiders seemed more fitting.

Aanchir

Fauch said:

to be fair, the monsters seemed to be the best part of power miners. not sure about bright green vehicles, the more industrial look of rock raiders seemed more fitting.

Brightly-colored mining vehicles are actually more realistic than the dingy, steampunk-esque color scheme of Rock Raiders — the same as how construction vehicles tend to be bright yellow. Visibility is very important in dark underground environments.

I've read someplace (BrickJournal, I think?) that the color scheme for Power Miners was basically selected by looking at all kinds of real-life mining vehicles and then ruling out any color schemes that were too close to other current or recent LEGO themes (like yellow and grey, which would have been too close to LEGO City construction vehicles, or white and orange, which would have been too close to LEGO City coast guard vehicles).

Fauch

yeah,it actually looks right in the lego city mine, but I think power miners look weird, maybe because I picture a mine being dark and dirty.

binaryeye

Mark Stafford posted something interesting at reddit in response to the disappointment Nexo Knights isn't a steampunk theme. This doesn't sound good for those hoping for such a theme in the near future.

What I found most interesting, though, is the reasoning against steampunk; that kids are confused by it because they don't understand its origins. Do kids really need to understand how something came to be to enjoy it?

Dedgecko

Give Metal Beard his own series -- BOOM -- steam-punk will be everywhere.

Thank you, I'll take 1% of all related sales.

Dedgecko

binaryeye said:

What I found most interesting, though, is the reasoning against steampunk; that kids are confused by it because they don't understand its origins. Do kids really need to understand how something came to be to enjoy it?

No, all you need is some yellow, vertical scrolling text, some pew-pew, and some big hulking vehicles floating through the environment.

Bumblepants

I think my first and probably only Nexo Knight set will be whatever starter set gets tossed in with my May the Fourth order next year.

CCC

^ Lucky Americans, getting free crap that no-one wants. :-)

TheUltimateTFOL

I'm really hoping the Moving Castle has some sort of transformation feature. Kind of like 70806 Castle Calvary but without having to rebuild the whole set.

thebrickgeek

Ayliffe said:

^ That's what they said about Chima...

that's true!

dragonhawk

TheUltimateTFOL said:

I'm really hoping the Moving Castle has some sort of transformation feature. Kind of like 70806 Castle Calvary but without having to rebuild the whole set.

The mecha horse has wheel sticking out of its stomach so there is a good chance it may be able to transform like the bear mech from Chima.  So there is hope for the moving castle :)

Fauch

because that bear mech was by far the best designed chima set XD

dragonhawk

Fauch said:

because that bear mech was by far the best designed chima set XD

Something tells me you have not seen that new mecha horse yet :D 

Rainstorm26

I took a look at the pictures.  I really don't see how any self-respecting AFOL would have any interest in those, except maybe for some interesting parts.  They better hope that a TV show can garner interest in these sets with kids.

Bumblepants

^Even for parts, I don't think they will be that useful for most MOCers. Maybe for sci-fi builders but with so many bright colors I think money would be better spent elsewhere.

binaryeye

Most sets tend to look more tempting in official photos. And not only because the photos are posed in such a way to best display the model, but simply because the preliminary images don't depict the finished minifigures, model(s), and parts.

I'm fairly sure I see one new piece in the images that MOCers will likely want: It's similar to a cheese slope in being 1x1 and 2/3 height but is pyramidal in shape. I could be wrong, but I don't know what else it could be.

Fauch

you get a billion cheese slopes per set anyway. will probably be soon the same for this pyramid piece.

Aanchir

Rainstorm26 said:

I took a look at the pictures.  I really don't see how any self-respecting AFOL would have any interest in those, except maybe for some interesting parts.  They better hope that a TV show can garner interest in these sets with kids.

If I had a dollar for every time I heard something like this about a theme I like (Bionicle, Ninjago, Elves, Atlantis, Power Miners, etc)... well, I certainly wouldn't feel so bad about how much I've spent on LEGO this year!

An AFOL's self-respect does not hinge on the themes they like having other AFOLs' approval. Heck, it wouldn't surprise me if AFOL designers like Mark Stafford were involved in creating this theme. Certainly he's been involved in plenty of other themes that were initially met with disbelief or disapproval from other AFOLs (including a few of those I've listed above).

Some AFOLs are inevitably going to hate this theme for its silly concepts and bright colors. Other AFOLs are probably going to love it for those very same reasons.

Rainstorm26

Time will tell.

SumoLego

Rainstorm26 said:

I took a look at the pictures.  I really don't see how any self-respecting AFOL would have any interest in those, except maybe for some interesting parts.  They better hope that a TV show can garner interest in these sets with kids.

Let's not lose perspective here... we're talking about a children's toy.

Mynatt

I noticed the same piece, I could only see it it gold but I feel that it would have plenty of potential in grey. I could go for a few...

CM4S

binaryeye said:

Most sets tend to look more tempting in official photos. And not only because the photos are posed in such a way to best display the model, but simply because the preliminary images don't depict the finished minifigures, model(s), and parts.

I'm fairly sure I see one new piece in the images that MOCers will likely want: It's similar to a cheese slope in being 1x1 and 2/3 height but is pyramidal in shape. I could be wrong, but I don't know what else it could be.

You're right! ;) Lots of those in these sets. I think some come in gold too.

chuxtoybox

So I think this is looking cooler. I like that axe that guy with the horns on the right is wielding. He looks cool in general. The villains definitely look cool. I hope those shields are all printed and not stickers. Definitely a lot of good fantasy pieces for MOCs.

I'm all for evil jesters but I hope he doesn't have a skeleton body with molded boots.

The play features seem kind of Duploish or Nerfish or Fisher Priceish. I can't quite put my finger on it.

legomatt

^ Looks like someone at Lego might have a faded memory of Hasbro's 'VISIONARIES' (Knights of the magical light). Those (pictured nexo) Knights all appear to have a heraldic 'totem' animal on their armour, which no doubt reflects their in-world personality/bestows them with abilities.

Hopefully that's where the similarity with Visionaries' totemic cyber-knights ends. But somehow I doubt the story-arc will be much different, as it all ultimately points down the same logical path if no concerted effort is made to do otherwise... e.g. fighting over some faux magic-nano-tech, which contains the source-(code) of all their powers, possibly with the aid of a neutral/enigmatic know-all wizard riffing off 'merlin'/'warlock' for a name, whom foolishly attempts to maintain balance between both sides, with such mind-blowing psycho-babble as 'without dark, there is no light, without light... I can't find the bathroom'.

REALLY Wizlinmerlock? Well, now my outlook on the universe is totally changed... by the way, i still have to fight the bad guys in a duel to the death, right?

'Oh yes, yes. So here's a magic sword, and a nexo-spell to create cyber-fireballs'.

'Cheers Wizmorklin, mate, that's what i came for, but it's ok now 'cos i "learned a lesson", yeah?'.

"Yes, ignoring sagely-given wisdom while being bored and headstrong makes you the good guys... oh they've already gone'.

'...Let's kick nexo-butt guys!'

If this comes to pass, forgive me if a little yawn escapes my mouth, I'll try to do it discretely. :oP

However the potential for same-old lame-old story arcs aside, i'm still looking forward (as ever) to see what monstrosities - i mean designs - they produce in yet another attempt at something Knightly, (having already failed dismally with the ultimate sword & sorcery license there was)... but then, we might get battlepacks with this if it starts to flag.

Dedgecko

My four year old daughter is starting to become interested in the Ninjago line, Nya in particular.  I wonder what she'll think of this debacle.

VorpalRyu

I'm still stuck on the whole kids don't get steampunk! What? Our little mister six has some learning difficulties & he loved seeing some of the steampunk stuff we came across in Spotlight the other day... He helped me design the steampunk Slave I microfighter (the twin steam pipes on the back was his idea). I think that is just a cop out cause the designers haven't managed to come up with designs the kids can understand are steampunk.

veedubguy83

I have always loved the Castle themes...  This isn't looking very exciting to me...

Aanchir

VorpalRyu said:

I'm still stuck on the whole kids don't get steampunk! What? Our little mister six has some learning difficulties & he loved seeing some of the steampunk stuff we came across in Spotlight the other day... He helped me design the steampunk Slave I microfighter (the twin steam pipes on the back was his idea). I think that is just a cop out cause the designers haven't managed to come up with designs the kids can understand are steampunk.

Not all kids are alike, and LEGO has to cater to a very wide global audience. From what I hear, many German kids in particular have a very strong, sometimes a bit arbitrary sense of what is "right" or "wrong", to the point that the German kids in LEGO City focus groups might react with sadness or disgust if presented with a LEGO fire truck that isn't red, because in their eyes that's not how fire trucks are supposed to be. And Germany has long been a very important market for the LEGO Group.

For my part, I would love a Steampunk theme! But I can easily believe the designers when they say that it hasn't resonated with as many kids as their other ideas have, and I certainly wouldn't assume it's their fault for not coming up with satisfactory steampunk designs.

Now, as I understand it, LEGO Ninjago is getting some balloons and airships next year... so that might make some steampunk fans happy depending on how those turn out.