Unpopular LEGO Opinions

SirBrickalotOfLego

So sometimes I find myself having opinions regarding LEGO that don't typically follow popular convention, and I'm sure I'm not the only one, so feel free to share yours - let's keep it civil.

Personally, I have a couple;

• I don't understand the buzz around Pirates of Barracuda Bay. I do think it looks lovely in its Black Seas Barracuda form, but as the shipwreck, I just think it looks dull and doesn't seem to have much going on. I don't really have any nostalgia for pirates though so I suppose that plays a part.

• I do not care about the state in which my set boxes arrive. As long as the pieces and instructions are fine, I have no problem with creases or dents - it's going in the recycling anyways.

• barring some outliers, I don't really think most LEGO sets are "overpriced". I think many are pretty fair in what is asked when you consider the quality of builds, and to be honest, most sets nowadays go on sale almost immediately. However I do understand the argument about declining print quality, but once that's improved I see no problem with asking prices.

• I have absolutely no problem with stickers! I used to be a bit turned off by them but I think that was the incessant complaining from the community rubbing off on me. 

So there's my hot takes. Of course if you have a differing opinion that's fine and I'm welcome to hear any counters, but more so I'd love to hear your controversial opinions.

KungFuKenny

I know it may raise some eyebrows, but I sometimes let my Fabuland figures co-mingle with my regular minifigures...🙂

I’ve chimed in before on the box issue, but I’ll state my case-

1.  I really like the box art
2.  I have room to keep them
3.  Walking around a room filled with lined-up vintage boxed sets makes me feel like I’m perusing the LEGO Vault except I can build any of the sets I want!
4.  Keeping boxes increases resale value if I sour on a theme or need money to buy something else

And BTW, #21322 Barracuda Bay is an awesome set and I think #10190 is ugly and NOT a modular, so there... 🙂

560Heliport

PPP ratio is meaningless to me! What matters is what kinds of parts am I getting for my money? 1x1 studs and cheese slopes just aren't worth much. I want parts and colors that are new (to me). I don't mind stickers: sometimes I use them, sometimes I don't. I save unused ones for possible use in a MOC. I wish they gave us extras.

PJ76uk

Interesting, I too much prefer the ship form rather than the shipwreck form of PoBB. In fact the shipwreck was only built following the instructions, photographed, then immediately transformed to the ship which is still on display in my lounge! Boxes, yes I understand why some prefer pristine boxes, but for myself they are disposed of once opened, so only prefer good boxes for gifting. This hobby is expensive, but nobody is forced to pay the prices, as you say theres always sales and discounts or buying cheap on the after market. For myself I'm happy to pay the price I feel is right and these days you always have to factor in licensing. I prefer printed parts but am not put off by stickers, in fact I much prefer "modern" stickers to the ones of yesteryear which sometimes straddled several bricks making it hard to disassemble!

autolycus

I don’t mind Star Wars set “rehashes”, not even Luke’s Landspeeder or Snowspeeder.

JudgeChuck

I like Lego Minecraft, so there! :-P

;-)

CCC

It's fine to cut, glue, dye and paint LEGO. 

Paperballpark

CCC said:

It's fine to cut, glue, dye and paint LEGO. 

Well Lego designers do, so... ;)

im2cre8iv

I think a lot of LEGO buildings/modulars are a bit of a bore to build. Much too repetitive for my likes

Istokg

Displaying LEGO CMFs in shadow boxes on a wall.... pure kitsch.

Cymbeline

I've never said this out loud let alone expressed it on the forum but I find the new Hogwart's Astronomy Tower is a big disappointment and lacks the charm of the Great Hall and Clock Tower. I like the minifigs, chocolate fountain, green house, and other details but the building itself, no.

Modeltrainman

I don't mind that Disney sets mostly us minidolls.

The_Rancor

I agree with most of the first set of opinions here:

• I couldn’t care less what the quality of boxes are and I can’t believe people find the space to store them, I struggle with just the models and instructions stacked away together. There are exceptions for really rare items but that in itself is rare.
• I love stickers - sometimes printed parts are printed offset or don’t look quite right (plus there are less of them from the ‘10s onwards). Stickers give people the option of applying them or not
• I also don’t think Lego is generally too overpriced. Sometimes there are things that make the mind boggle (Unikitty Party Time and Resistance Transport Pod i’m looking at you!) but I think Lego’s more or less as expensive as it’d always been.

I also have a couple more edgy ones that I’ve been simmering on for a while:

• Maybe it’s a generational thing (because the theme had already gone before I was born) but I don’t get what’s so amazing about Fabuland. Or perhaps more to the point, why do so many people complain about seemingly single use stylised moulds and juniorisation when that’s exactly what the Fabuland fans (and there are many on Lego fan sites) are reminiscing about?
• Ninja (Castle subtheme) is the only ninja-based theme that matters for me. Perhaps having an interest in the historical element and Samurai biases me, but I loved the original moulds, prints and characters they made. Sure there was no ‘big bang’ tv series back then and the parts palette was smaller but it had great character. It did suck that the UK didn’t get the second wave though. The Ninjago Movie subtheme is a great theme on its own but would feel much the same if the Ninjas were just regular young characters or Power Rangers, it has very little to do with ninja by that point.
• Not sure if this is a popular or unpopular opinion but I’m not a big fan of most of the Ideas sets that are churned out, primarily because of licensing. Sets like Barracuda Bay and Old Fishing Store should be what the concept is all about, but on the whole it’s turned into a platform of grasping for licenses, which at a personal level I’m also almost never interested in. Looking forward to the blacksmith shop set though, and maybe the typewriter or piano too, so non-licensing still has a part to play.

Oh and actually an extra one -

• We need more LSW sets from the prequels and spinoff movies. There are plenty of fans out there TLG! And a million more well on the way.

itsmebookmum

Jack Stone was just misunderstood and didn't deserve all the hate....

(I may be lying)

560Heliport

itsmebookmum said:

Jack Stone was just misunderstood and didn't deserve all the hate....

(I may be lying)

Certainly didn't deserve the hate... if you don't like a LEGO set, no one is forcing you to buy it! 

vanvonfull

Hmm. 

Some good things to think on and clear the air.

Sell me your Lego with thrashed boxes, because they will go right to the bin anyway. 

My thoughts: 

I never wanted/bought a classic space set and still haven’t (even though I was a child of the ‘80s). I was all in for castle and pirates. I dont have modern space sets on my want list either. I made it through the first couple bags of the Saturn V and I don’t know which tub I put the rest of it in. I sure like looking at collection sets of them tho. 

I also enjoy what stickers bring to most sets. 

I’m disappointed that architecture is a lot of skylines. I don’t like their scale. The Architecture theme used to be gold and that time has passed for me. 

Star Wars (Ep IV-VI) fueled me getting out of my dark age, but I haven’t been impressed for a few years by most offerings from the line. 

On that note I have 3 UCS sets and I want to downgrade them to smaller sets and spend the money/ save the space for other sets.

brickheadz are boring. I have maybe 40 of them (when they were on discount I just kept grabbing more). I’ll probably part them all out except my holiday & Bill Murray/slimer ones... maybe sell the ones that appreciated. 

I have all of the 8 wide speed champions But I won’t be keeping them. Great builds, but I’m not a gearhead and they wouldn’t fit my (still hypothetical) city...Im still buying the 6 wides I missed.  

Hidden side is my favorite line right now. Colors, parts, builds and diversity of scenes. (I haven’t seen the videos or played the game, they have just been rewarding pickups that I’ve always managed to get on discount). I might pay full price for the next wave...

Despite having seen plenty of Seinfeld/Friends/Big Bang episodes, I wouldn’t want them on my shelf in LEGO form... & they are the weakest ideas sets. Shows with laugh tracks & forced pauses for live studio audience laughter takes me out of the magic of what might have been a good show. 

Rogue one is my favorite Star Wars, & I love the sets. 

vanvonfull

whoops that was a long tirade. I went back to edit it down but can't for some reason. sorry.

Mr_Cross

I don't actually like the futuron guys with their diagonal zip all that much! :-0
I wish they looked more like this:

Speedman29

I don't care if LEGO releases an updated version of a set or another helicopter or lighthouse. Its a childs toy and they are just introducing a new generation of kids to the sets we loved growing up.
I don't the excitement over classic pirate sets and despite my love for classic space as a child, I don't ever want it rereleased.

Redbullgivesuwind

They really need to cut back on the number of Star Wars sets they make and free up space for more interesting themes.

Huw

LEGO needs to ditch Star Wars altogether and go back to original space themes.

Brainslugged

Huw said:

LEGO needs to ditch Star Wars altogether and go back to original space themes.

Mods.... get this clown outta here!

CCC

Huw said:

LEGO needs to ditch Star Wars altogether and go back to original space themes.

I agree partially. Bring back AC and GS. 

Another one - Galidor is not as bad as most people make out. Sure, they are completely different from LEGO system. But as an action figure building series, they are quite fun. I bought a load for my kids, and they still get used quite a lot. They are less customisable than Bionicle and the SW buildable figures and similar, but much quicker to build and more robust for play.

eMJeeNL

Huw said:

LEGO needs to ditch Star Wars altogether and go back to original space themes.

Exactly that. Thank you, oh Huw. ;)

DB361

Here's one that I've always felt a bit out on a limb on...

Sand Green. Massively overrated. I just cannot understand the clamour for parts in this colour. Yes, it's the perfect fit for something like the Statue or Liberty, but for a duller, more worn out green I much, much prefer Olive Green. And for anything else, Sand Green just isn't anywhere near the top of the list of being a go to colour. It serves very little purpose.

560Heliport

I want to let you all know that my "likes" for your comments indicate support for you expressing these opinions- not that I necessarily agree with them!

JudgeChuck

560Heliport said:

I want to let you all know that my "likes" for your comments indicate support for you expressing these opinions- not that I necessarily agree with them!

What a let-down! I thought you were a fellow Lego Minecraft aficionado! ;-)

Fizyx

JudgeChuck said:

560Heliport said:

I want to let you all know that my "likes" for your comments indicate support for you expressing these opinions- not that I necessarily agree with them!

What a let-down! I thought you were a fellow Lego Minecraft aficionado! ;-)

Personally, when I first saw the Minecraft theme, I thought it was kind of dumb and unnecessary.  But then I got my first Minecraft set (I can't even remember what it was now, but it was one of the smaller ones), and now I own every Minecraft set except a couple of the just newly released ones, and I'll be getting them.  I love the focus on using bricks over smaller detail pieces that we see in other themes, there are really clever little builds or action scenes in almost every set, and they all have fantastic play-ability.  I think they are one of the strengths of the current LEGO line up, and they bring a lot to the table that you don't find in other themes.  Honestly, if you just dismiss the theme out of hand, I feel like you're doing both LEGO and yourself a disservice.

(To be clear, I'm not saying that you can't like the Minecraft theme, just don't knock it till you try it, and you have to admit that it has it's place, even if its not your cup of tea :) )

EDIT:  For another unpopular opinion, from what I've seen on this board at least, I think BrickHeadz are great. They may have been a little over-saturated right after the release of the theme, but overall I am 100% onboard with them existing.  Especially as the designers have gotten more and more creative with the form as time has gone on.  They're just great little sets that are quick, easy builds for easily recognizable, fun pop-culture relevant characters. I hope they continue to exists for a long time!

The_Rancor

Huw said:

LEGO needs to ditch Star Wars altogether and go back to original space themes.

I can understand this opinion and it’s probably popular amongst non-SW fans, particularly as many believe our lack of non-licensed Space ‘adventure’ sets is because of the existence of Star Wars (and NASA sets) by this point. Also, definitely understandable for those jaded by the constant re-releases of the same vehicles over and over again which make the theme look very tired and uninspired.

I just want TLG to feel a little less constrained to the ‘we must have a TIE fighter, X-Wing, Millennium Falcon and Snowspeeder on sale at the same time’ business model.

560Heliport

JudgeChuck said:

560Heliport said:

I want to let you all know that my "likes" for your comments indicate support for you expressing these opinions- not that I necessarily agree with them!

What a let-down! I thought you were a fellow Lego Minecraft aficionado! ;-)

I do have #21125 and #21157! I'm sure if I played the game, I'd have a lot of the sets.

autolycus

Huw said:

LEGO needs to ditch Star Wars altogether and go back to original space themes.

I accept that you feel this way, but you should be tarred and feathered publicly for saying it out loud! :)

klinton

I feel like most of my opinions are terribly unpopular.

I freaking love the Trolls theme. It's just so out there, full of colour and wacky characters. I wish there was more of this unbridled fantasy and less of City/Ninjago/Star Wars/etc.

I really don't like "fleshie" minifigs. I wish they were all yellow, regardless of the license.

I will never buy a set for 'investment'. Every set is bought with the intention of being built within a week of purchase. The boxes are jettisoned upon completion of the build. 

I loathe Batman. I cringe every time I purchase a set for a random DC character and am stuck with yet another Bat-plane/sub/boat/rocket/whatever.

I rather like minidolls. I was indifferent to them until DC Superhero Girls hit, but I've become accustomed to seeing them in my collection. They freely intermingle with all of my other minifigs.

I think that's it for now. :p

JudgeChuck

560Heliport said:

JudgeChuck said:

560Heliport said:

I want to let you all know that my "likes" for your comments indicate support for you expressing these opinions- not that I necessarily agree with them!

What a let-down! I thought you were a fellow Lego Minecraft aficionado! ;-)

I do have #21125 and #21157! I'm sure if I played the game, I'd have a lot of the sets.

Those do seem to be two very random sets, to only have those and not others. I'm curious to know why you bought them, specifically, or were they gifts?

560Heliport

I like treehouses, and it was 30% off at Barnes & Noble; the pig one was on sale at Target and I just thought it looked neat.

Fireheart

LEGO sets should never be built or taken out of the box, the box should be kept pristine, and they are only purchased for the monetary increase! 😜

Charmiefcb

I don't mind the new named characters in Lego City. One thing I would do is separate the City theme. So the Space sets from last year and the Divers sets from this year are different themes altogether.

As others have said before I don't mind them making new versions of sets very soon after a similar one was retired. IE Lukes Landspeeder. Those sets must be very popular hence why they get numerous re-releases. I like seeing how these sets evolve and how they're built each time. The 2018 X-Wing is by far the best X-Wing (not counting UCS) they have done and I can't wait to see if they can improve on it in a couple of years.

Just on other saying ditch Star Wars for numerous space themes. I believe Star Wars and a new Space theme could co-exist. A new Space theme would only exist if it had a TV show tie in. How good would a TV show about all the 80's and 90's Space themes be? Spyrius, Blacktron and the Insectoids are trying to take over the universe and the Exploriens and their allies have to stop them.

I think Lego is reasonably priced for what you get in parts and build time.

Boxes are for recycling. Not against people collecting the boxes they up too much space.

I don't like the new 18+ packaging. I don't think colorful packaging will turn away adults new or getting back into Lego. The basic black just looks boring.

JudgeChuck

560Heliport said:

I like treehouses, and it was 30% off at Barnes & Noble; the pig one was on sale at Target and I just thought it looked neat.

As good a reason as any! :-)

legobod

Fireheart said:

LEGO sets should never be built or taken out of the box, the box should be kept pristine, and they are only purchased for the monetary increase! 😜

    How about building them in the box without opening it like a polybag?

catwrangler

- As much as I appreciate the artistic potential all the new colours create - and I've got sets using them that look really good! - there's a part of me that strongly prefers the look of sets from the "bricks come in only eight colours, and two of them you'll barely see" era. I'm turning into the brick colour equivalent of my partner, who mistrusts pieces invented after the 80s...

- I'm also a four-stud-width purist where cars are concerned. Again, irrational, given that the poor minifigs struggle to fit even two people into a car, but there you go...

- Nexo Knights had some of the most inventive and fun set designs over the past few years. 

Lego_Lord_Mayorca

I'm a Star Wars fan, and at this point, after over 20 years, I'll concede LEGO Star Wars had a good run and now it's time to retire the line for as many years as it takes before Lucasfilm develops a Star Wars "something" that contains a plethora of new, interesting ship and vehicle designs. I miss Space themes, and seeing what we get from Star Wars now is just not convincing me we'd be missing out on much if the theme was gone. So yeah, I'll join Huw out on that limb!

More unpopular opinions:

- Classic Space is put on too high of an altar of reverence. Pioneering? Definitely. But not all that it is cracked up to be. Space sets got better than anything offered pre-1988 and before its demise.

- Minifigures are important, but not so important as to merit collectible, individually bagged ones, uber-detailed printing and decoration on their parts, or inclusion in a set to help drive up the price point.

- Modular town layouts where the builder just tiles over the studded part of the roadplate adjacent to the Modular building, thereby creating a ridiculously massive sidewalk, look just as bad as Modular town layouts where the studs are left exposed. Either build the building in such a way to incorporate the roadplate underneath the building's sidewalk, or build your own roads without roadplates at all.

Tkatt

^I cut off all but 2 rows of studs on my road plates. Saves on tiles, the sidewalks don't get too wide, and I gain space for building. 

I guess that means my unpopular opinion is that modifying LEGO baseplates to suit your needs is just fine. 

560Heliport

I like Legends of Chima!

Fizyx

560Heliport said:

I like Legends of Chima!

*Shocked gasps from the crowd*

Bumblepants

560Heliport said:

I like Legends of Chima!

Yeah there were a lot of good Chima and Nexo Knights sets. I might have overlooked them but my son had great enthusiasm for both and it worked out well. Was able to get most of the big sets at significant discount so he had great birthdays/christmases and I didn't spend too much.

CCC

560Heliport said:

I like Legends of Chima!

Nothing wrong with that. The TV series wasn't that bad either (if you have kids). And Speedorz are fantastic fun if you have hard floors.

CCC

Charmiefcb said:

One thing I would do is separate the City theme. So the Space sets from last year and the Divers sets from this year are different themes altogether.

If you want them to be separate, they can be. But why would they advertise them that way? They can be combined together within the same City. Putting different branding on them implies they are not part of the same overall theme.

Th1nDiesel

Lego_Lord_Mayorca said:

-Modular town layouts where the builder just tiles over the studded part of the roadplate adjacent to the Modular building, thereby creating a ridiculously massive sidewalk, look just as bad as Modular town layouts where the studs are left exposed. Either build the building in such a way to incorporate the roadplate underneath the building's sidewalk, or build your own roads without roadplates at all. 

I get around this by using dark red tiles to make a cycle path.

daewoo

Lego has been and is being run by hypocrites.  Their stances on petroleum (without which they wouldn't exist) and modern war leave a particularly bad taste in my mouth.  I love the product, but the company leaves much to be desired.

bpk2300

More of a personal struggle here, but deep down I believe most of the Friends sets have amazing and interesting builds, with great color schemes. The vehicles of the theme are stupendous. I think some of them represent the best of what Lego can be. I just can't bring myself to buy the theme for a myriad of reasons :-x 

Fizyx

Th1nDiesel said:

Lego_Lord_Mayorca said:

-Modular town layouts where the builder just tiles over the studded part of the roadplate adjacent to the Modular building, thereby creating a ridiculously massive sidewalk, look just as bad as Modular town layouts where the studs are left exposed. Either build the building in such a way to incorporate the roadplate underneath the building's sidewalk, or build your own roads without roadplates at all. 

I get around this by using dark red tiles to make a cycle path.

This is actually a really great solution and looks awesome imo!

Charmiefcb

The thing that makes Friends great is that unlike Belville etc Friends are actually proper Lego sets. Not over simplified dolls with a few large Lego pieces. Only a slight redesign and different colours and most Friends sets would fit into City.

I have no interest in the range and won't buy one for myself but I do buy them for someone from time to time. The last few years looking at the sets before I buy them has made me appreciate them and wish that I had something like that when I was growing up.