New York Times Article Highlights Success of LEGO

legogal

This morning's paper has an awesome article about LEGO with a first class speed build video of the Taj Majal, which resembles just how our family built it at the kitchen table over four days. Enjoy!

legogal

Here is the link: http://nyti.ms/1YlsTnq

kiki180703

^^ Taj Majal (autocorrect strikes again!) Cool! I'm currently bricklinking my own Taj Mahal. I now have about 500 pieces :o)

legogal

Wow! That will take a LOTTA bricks! Good luck!

kiki180703

^Thanks! ;)

chuckp

Interesting article. 

“My company sells to consumers 14 and older,” he said. “That’s the biggest difference: They sell to moms and 7-year-olds; I stick to what I know best.” 

Those are fighting words, Todd MacFarlane! ;)

Aanchir

From an AFOL perspective it's kind of peculiar to hear MacFarlane Toys and Mega Brands speak so proudly of the "realism" of their toys that comes from so many super-specialized pieces. I mean, I guess it makes sense — they wouldn't spend so much extra money to create all those specialized bricks if they didn't think it was serving them well. But a lot of the timeless charm of LEGO, even brands like Bionicle that use hardly any traditional bricks, comes from the versatility of its component parts, and the amount of things you can build with them. Yet instead of trying to compete with LEGO on those grounds, some of the LEGO Group's competitors seem to have decided to go in the exact opposite direction, making their sets less and less about the bricks and building potential, and more and more about the finished model.

If that strategy works for these companies, more power to them! But I think it speaks to what a behemoth of a brand LEGO is that even its imitators are afraid to confront it head-to-head on the strength of its design principles. Instead, they adopt a policy similar to some LEGO customizers like BrickArms, carving out a niche by doing exactly what LEGO doesn't.

CCC

Why would they go head to head and try to make just the same stuff as Lego? There are people that want detailed but buildable models, they fill that niche. 

Fauch

and yet lego still makes more detailed models

Fauch

there are actually some interesting looking bricks in mcfarlane toys

Dedgecko

"The answer lies within the brand’s name and the quality that Lego has built over the years,” Mr. Lachman said. “It’s a brand that spans generations.”


The final quote is what TLG needs to double down on.  Set, build, and part quality is slipping since I've gotten back into LEGO the last two years.  In the 80's and 90's I never had bad instructions, missing pieces, or pieces that structurally failed due to stress build-up.  That's what The Lego Movie brought back to my mind, a quality build product, with creativity that knew no limits.  That's why I've dropped hundreds of dollars of not thousands (I'm afraid to add it all up) on Lego for myself and daughter the last couple of years.  Clean it up LEGO.

SumoLego

Although the Game of Thrones and Walking Dead sets are impressive in their own right, I would be hard pressed to identify those as building toys.

Also not sure why Pley was included in the story.  A bit disparate from the rest of the article.