Unpopular LEGO Opinions

560Heliport

I like the Sand Green roofs for Hogwarts. I have lots of 1x2 and 1x4 plates and 1x2 tiles from PAB, so I'm thinking about recoloring my 2018-2020 Harry Potter sets.

Phoenixio

I love Vidiyo.  It's a really unpopular opinion reading comments on here, but damn is that theme vibing with me.  I simply don't understand where the hate is coming from.

There's this general dislike monotone builds, and Vidiyo is far from that.  Such a colorful theme!  And not even that, but all the subthemes as well!  Robo Hip Hop with all its shiny gold and silver pieces, Pirate Punk with its dark teal, Candy Pop with all its pastel colors...  There's something for everyone!

There's this general trend about accusing Lego of not innovating for minifigs, but look at Vidiyo!  Fantastic prints, tons of dual moulded pieces, new heads and accessories like dragons and wings, even arm and toes printings!  The quality is through the roof!

There's this general hatred of the app, but Vidiyo is still Lego first and foremost.  Especially now that wave two has arrived, with fully buildable sets!  And not only that, but they can combine with previous figures from the same musical theme!  The app is an afterthought, probably more niche, but why are people judging the sets through the app?  It's just a bonus thing!

There's this general insinuation that Lego is out of original theme ideas, but is that true?  Vidiyo is one of the most basic themes out there (music), and yet it had never really been done!  There's stuff for everybody in there.  From ETDM to Dragon Metal, there's a subtheme for you I'm sure.  Even lone Discowboy is really good looking and nice.  Who doesn't like music at all?

There's this general accusation that Lego uses too many stickers for custom pieces, but have you counted the number of printed tiles in Vidiyo?  It's a Christmas miracle for printed tile lovers.  They can serve as posters, albums, screens, grafiti, and whatnot.  It's something never seen before in any other theme. And they have this hidden function for those who actually partake in the app.

I imported wave 2 and just started building them, with great excitement.  I can't wait to mix all the figures released so far with the rest of their bandmates and stages.

Did they release products in a weird order?  Was the price tag a bit difficult to gobble for BeatBoxes?  Sure.  But the marketing decisions seem to cloud a ton of people's judgment on the theme itself.  There's a lot of good stuff in there, and I for one will gladly buy whatever comes next for that series.  It's a product line like no others, and I really hope it survives the hate and is looked fondly upon in the future.

jnscoelho

A while ago I bought #17101 Boost Creative Toolbox so that my daughters could start learning some basic "coding" and see if that would spark an interest.
They spend more time using the app trying out sounds and useless stuff than coding and making the build do something. In other words, they don't play with the LEGO, they just get lost in the app.
And that is my problem with app-based LEGO. I want my girls away from cell phones, not bound to them all the time.

As for VIDIYO, I like the minifigures and some of the new sets, but I just can't justify paying 20€ for a Beatbox from which I only want the minifigure. Even 10€ seems too much. I'll probably get one or two of the new sets, if the discounts are good, but I'll never install the app and it will be purely for the minifigures and the builds.

pxchris

Phoenixio said:

I love Vidiyo.  It's a really unpopular opinion reading comments on here, but damn is that theme vibing with me.  I simply don't understand where the hate is coming from.

I actually agree with you on most your points.

My biggest complaint from the get-go with Vidiyo has always been the price.

SumoLego

After being able to examine the Adidas Sneaker, I am now 100% sure that this is the worst 'set' ever created.

I'll be eagerly waiting brick-built POGS or Beanie Babies.  I'd rather have an endless stream of Millennium Falcons, Helicopters and Lighthouses than wasting production schedule time on brick-built approximations of footwear.

Fauch

but it's saved money

Yellowcastle

But we can’t unsee it... :o)

Yellowcastle

We should do a Razzies for worst set ever. Lol :o)

JudgeChuck

Yellowcastle said:

We should do a Razzies for worst set ever. Lol :o)

#5002941 I'll take my prize now, please! ;-)

KungFuKenny

#4040-1 was one of the most disturbing polybags I can remember…

While #4612 had a whopping 6 pieces for $4 

And #8009 gets a “nice try but no cigar” award..

SumoLego

Those are some pretty terrible sets.  I'll stick with the plastic sneaker as the worst.  

That Bionicle sticker pack is not unique.  There are terrible TLM, Friends and Creator useless sticker polys as well.

autolycus

Some of the early SW technic droids were great! That R2 is really really terrible. What on earth made them allow that into the wild?!

MrJackson

No discussion of worst set ever can be complete without a mention of the garbage #75201 First Order AT-ST

Yellowcastle

TLJ, like an angry Balrog, lashes out again from the pit...

Charmiefcb

I like how they added that useless elevator in the FO AT-ST just to keep the price up. One of the few Star Wars sets I refused to buy.
That Technic R2 is a complete mess but to be fair Technic is one theme that has really improved and maybe they should have another crack at Star Wars. Hell alot of the Star Wars sets rely very heavily on Technic.

JudgeChuck

MrJackson said:

No discussion of worst set ever can be complete without a mention of the garbage #75201 First Order AT-ST

Or its big brother: #75177 First Order Heavy Scout Walker!

560Heliport

JudgeChuck said:

MrJackson said:

No discussion of worst set ever can be complete without a mention of the garbage #75201 First Order AT-ST

Or its big brother: #75177 First Order Heavy Scout Walker!

I gotta disagree here! There were a couple of pictures of the model in a book, "The Art of The Last Jedi" (I think). The Lego set was a pretty good version of the vehicle. It's not #75177's fault it got cut from the movie. 

KungFuKenny

MrJackson said:

No discussion of worst set ever can be complete without a mention of the garbage #75201 First Order AT-ST

This photo from the review by @CapnRex101 still makes me laugh..

I know they have to work with what they are given, but I like to imagine what the designers were saying in the planning sessions… “we’ve already made AT-STs with heads, so…”, or maybe “Hey, maybe it will look sportier as a convertible?”…

560Heliport

What's next? A walker without legs? 😛

autolycus

That AT-ST could have been a GREAT set if it had implemented a play feature that allows it to be either the full, undamaged version, or the head-blown-off version. Missed opportunity of the highest order.

stlux

KungFuKenny said:

MrJackson said:

No discussion of worst set ever can be complete without a mention of the garbage #75201 First Order AT-ST

This photo from the review by @CapnRex101 still makes me laugh..

I know they have to work with what they are given, but I like to imagine what the designers were saying in the planning sessions… “we’ve already made AT-STs with heads, so…”, or maybe “Hey, maybe it will look sportier as a convertible?”…

That's not what actually happened. In a session with Jens Kronvold Frederiksen (head of the Lego Star Wars team) in Billund in 2019, he shared that they had actually made a "complete" AT-ST version with a play version to blow the head off.
Lucasfilm then proceeded to tell them "You can't do that - the AT-ST is never shown undamaged in the movie." So as Lucasfilm didn't want to sign off on the set, we ended up with that abomination...

Maybe a better response would have been to never release #75201 instead, but I don't know what that would have meant licensing-wise. 

MaffyD

^ Or just not set the price as if it was a complete walker. You could MOC a whole host of alternate heads on that thing if it was £15 cheaper.

The_Rancor

stlux said:

"You can't do that - the AT-ST is never shown undamaged in the movie.”

That’s not even true, which is even more ridiculous! It prominently ‘has a head’ until BB-8 makes it walk forward which pulls the head off.

bricktuary

I both Like, and HATE, extra parts, especially rare or unique ones.

They always immediately freak me out - did I miss something? Have I messed up somehow.
Then, what do I do with them - they belong to THIS set, but this set doesn't need them.

Should I put them in the big random parts box? Put them back in the box the set came in never to be used? Keep them specifically as spares in case.... well, in case of what?

What if I want to sell the set in future? Will I need the spare parts or not?

It's the worst part of every build for me.

iwybs

560Heliport said:

What's next? A walker without legs? 😛

That's called the Clone Turbo Tank.

autolycus

bricktuary said:

I both Like, and HATE, extra parts, especially rare or unique ones.

They always immediately freak me out - did I miss something? Have I messed up somehow.
Then, what do I do with them - they belong to THIS set, but this set doesn't need them.

Should I put them in the big random parts box? Put them back in the box the set came in never to be used? Keep them specifically as spares in case.... well, in case of what?

What if I want to sell the set in future? Will I need the spare parts or not?

It's the worst part of every build for me.

I’m with you on all of this!! I put the extras from every set in a labeled snack size ziploc bag. I hate myself for doing it instead of just dumping them in a single container, but I’m with you: do I need to include them if I sell a set? They belong to THAT set!!

pxchris

autolycus said:

I put the extras from every set in a labeled snack size ziploc bag.

I used to do this exact same thing... however I'm not at all concerned about re-saleability and I finally realized that it was both silly and pointless for me to try to keep track of the extras from every set individually. I now just keep all of my extra pieces together with a small bit of sorting (printed pieces, and minifigure accessories being the primary two types I pull out) done on them. This way if I ever happen to need one of those extras because I loose a piece in a rebuilt or whatever the case may be, it's easy enough to find. For a very small number of select sets I do still have the extra pieces in a tiny ziploc labeled appropriately... but I couldn't even really tell you why specifically for those.

KungFuKenny

stlux said:

That's not what actually happened. In a session with Jens Kronvold Frederiksen (head of the Lego Star Wars team) in Billund in 2019, he shared that they had actually made a "complete" AT-ST version with a play version to blow the head off.
Lucasfilm then proceeded to tell them "You can't do that - the AT-ST is never shown undamaged in the movie." So as Lucasfilm didn't want to sign off on the set, we ended up with that abomination...

Maybe a better response would have been to never release #75201 instead, but I don't know what that would have meant licensing-wise. 

Yeah, I figured that the designers had constraints on the design process…I still like to think up funny rationales for weird sets though ;-)

Astrobricks

KungFuKenny said:

stlux said:

That's not what actually happened. In a session with Jens Kronvold Frederiksen (head of the Lego Star Wars team) in Billund in 2019, he shared that they had actually made a "complete" AT-ST version with a play version to blow the head off.
Lucasfilm then proceeded to tell them "You can't do that - the AT-ST is never shown undamaged in the movie." So as Lucasfilm didn't want to sign off on the set, we ended up with that abomination...

Maybe a better response would have been to never release #75201 instead, but I don't know what that would have meant licensing-wise. 

Yeah, I figured that the designers had constraints on the design process…I still like to think up funny rationales for weird sets though ;-)

I’m guessing there was an agreed upon number of sets in the licensing deal, so if they’d skipped the AT-ST, they would have had to come up with a new one to take its place.

andhe

There must be lots of licensing/marketing decisions and restraints like this that happen behind the scenes only for designers to get berated by us with complaints of 'why didn't they put my favourite character or include this exact detail that I wanted in this set etc etc '

stlux

Astrobricks said:

KungFuKenny said:

stlux said:

That's not what actually happened. In a session with Jens Kronvold Frederiksen (head of the Lego Star Wars team) in Billund in 2019, he shared that they had actually made a "complete" AT-ST version with a play version to blow the head off.
Lucasfilm then proceeded to tell them "You can't do that - the AT-ST is never shown undamaged in the movie." So as Lucasfilm didn't want to sign off on the set, we ended up with that abomination...

Maybe a better response would have been to never release #75201 instead, but I don't know what that would have meant licensing-wise. 

Yeah, I figured that the designers had constraints on the design process…I still like to think up funny rationales for weird sets though ;-)

I’m guessing there was an agreed upon number of sets in the licensing deal, so if they’d skipped the AT-ST, they would have had to come up with a new one to take its place.

Plus that this set had been scheduled to fill a certain price point in the range.

Yellowcastle

I would love to get more insight like this as to how/why decisions are made behind the scenes.  Why did Castle in the Forest not pass?  Was it too close in time to The Blacksmith Forge?  Did Mos Eisley originally include a landspeeder only to have it removed for separate sale?  Are designers being forced to include road plates, this lessening what can actually be done with the buildings?  The recent City sets with roads IMHO were awful, especially when compared to the recent Creator 3/1 buildings.

SumoLego

^ We're not so different, you and I.

Aanchir

Yellowcastle said:

Are designers being forced to include road plates, this lessening what can actually be done with the buildings?  The recent City sets with roads IMHO were awful, especially when compared to the recent Creator 3/1 buildings.

I think that's more just because the City theme tends to have less complex and detailed buildings than Creator 3-in-1 by default. I don't see the buildings in sets like #60291 and #60292 as any sort of departure from the norm in that regard — if anything, they strike me as an improvement on their previous counterparts in sets like #7641 and #8403!

Plus, even AFOLs have been complaining for YEARS about sets like #60097, #60200, and #60271 containing disconnected buildings and scenery without any actual roads or sidewalks connecting them (as well as about the quality of the buildings themselves compared to Creator buildings).

And anyhow, according to the designer interview that New Elementary conducted earlier this year, designers had been pushing for with a new road system like this for years, since it would allow them to include roads in sets with more varied street layouts and price points than the old 32x32 baseplates with fixed road markings (echoing the statement they provided to Brickset).

Yellowcastle

SumoLego said:

^ We're not so different, you and I.

You and I are very much alike. Archaeology is our religion, yet we have both fallen from the purer faith. Our methods have not differed as much as you pretend. I am a shadowy reflection of you. It would take only a nudge to make you like me, to push you out of the light.

KungFuKenny

Yellowcastle said:

SumoLego said:

^ We're not so different, you and I.

You and I are very much alike. Archaeology is our religion, yet we have both fallen from the purer faith. Our methods have not differed as much as you pretend. I am a shadowy reflection of you. It would take only a nudge to make you like me, to push you out of the light.

I was thinking more Austin Powers than Indiana Jones…
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kUTKxh3Vlek&feature=youtu.be

Yellowcastle

Yellowcastle: Kenny - that video you've posted - if it's your goal, go in peace with it, but leave us the post.  It will reduce our loss on this trip.

KungFuKenny: We will take what we wish, and then decide whether or not to blow your post from the water.

Oldfan

Yellowcastle said:

Yellowcastle: Kenny - that video you've posted - if it's your goal, go in peace with it, but leave us the post.  It will reduce our loss on this trip.

KungFuKenny: We will take what we wish, and then decide whether or not to blow your post from the water.

I don't know, I'm making this up as I go along...

CapnRex101

Yellowcastle said:

I would love to get more insight like this as to how/why decisions are made behind the scenes.  Why did Castle in the Forest not pass?  Was it too close in time to The Blacksmith Forge?  Did Mos Eisley originally include a landspeeder only to have it removed for separate sale?  Are designers being forced to include road plates, this lessening what can actually be done with the buildings?  The recent City sets with roads IMHO were awful, especially when compared to the recent Creator 3/1 buildings.

That question about Mos Eisley Cantina has been answered, fortunately!

With regard to the Castle in the Forest, I imagine similarities with #21325 Medieval Blacksmith were decisive. Had they been divided by a couple of years, both might have been possible.

Yellowcastle

Thanks, Cap.  Not sure how I missed that interview.  It still is a noticeable absence, though I personally am glad to not have had competing speeders.

“I designed 75271 Luke's Landspeeder a few months before I started to work on the final design for 75290 Mos Eisley Cantina. Luke’s Landspeeder is iconic enough to warrant its own set because it works very well as a small vehicle that is widely recognisable and offers plenty of play value. On that basis, the Landspeeder was not considered to be an add-on for 75290 Mos Eisley Cantina when it was being designed.”

KungFuKenny

Yellowcastle said:

SumoLego said:

^ We're not so different, you and I.

You and I are very much alike. Archaeology is our religion, yet we have both fallen from the purer faith. Our methods have not differed as much as you pretend. I am a shadowy reflection of you. It would take only a nudge to make you like me, to push you out of the light.

Interestingly, about two days after this comment I saw that a local Alamo Drafthouse theater is showing the original Raiders of the Lost Ark.  I’m excited to be seeing one of the formative movies of my childhood on the big screen again tomorrow night!

Speedman29

KungFuKenny said:

Interestingly, about two days after this comment I saw that a local Alamo Drafthouse theater is showing the original Raiders of the Lost Ark.  I’m excited to be seeing one of the formative movies of my childhood on the big screen again tomorrow night!

I love seeing films from my childhood or older re-released in cinemas. Would be great if the Indy trilogy got a release over here (Crystal Skull never happened!) I watched The Italian Job (Caine original) when it was shown for its 30th anniversary in 1999. Also watch Alien for its 40th anniversary the other year.

Bumblepants

KungFuKenny said:

Interestingly, about two days after this comment I saw that a local Alamo Drafthouse theater is showing the original Raiders of the Lost Ark.  I’m excited to be seeing one of the formative movies of my childhood on the big screen again tomorrow night!

I miss Alamo Drafthouse, glad they were able to stay afloat. My friend took me to their $1 mystery movie night and we saw Class of '84. Now that is a wild time I would never have had otherwise. Also unlimited popcorn sounds great until you hit that fourth basket.

Yellowcastle

I used to manage movie theaters so I had the privilege of building and showing some classics like Jaws and Rear Window... not to mention the soon to be classics Unforgiven, Jurassic Park, Tombstone, In the Line of Fire, Braveheart, A Few Good Men, Gladiator, The Patriot, etc.  Never got a chance at my all time number one Raiders. But what a fun job. :o)

SumoLego

KungFuKenny said:

I was thinking more Austin Powers than Indiana Jones…
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kUTKxh3Vlek&feature=youtu.be

I was just putting the finishing touches on my silver nehru jacket.

But I do have an affinity for archeology.  And Indy.

andhe

KungFuKenny said:

I was thinking more Austin Powers than Indiana Jones…
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kUTKxh3Vlek&feature=youtu.be

I can't believe people in the comments of that video only just discovering that Mike Myers played both Austin Powers and Dr Evil... Surely that's the whole joke.

autolycus

andhe said:

KungFuKenny said:

I was thinking more Austin Powers than Indiana Jones…
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kUTKxh3Vlek&feature=youtu.be

I can't believe people in the comments of that video only just discovering that Mike Myers played both Austin Powers and Dr Evil... Surely that's the whole joke.

There was a funny response to that saying, "Alright everyone. Keep this person away from Eddie Murphy films. We can’t afford to lose such a precious brain."

I can only imagine their reaction to being told about the cast of the barber shop scenes in Coming to America!

SumoLego

andhe said:
...discovering that Mike Myers played both Austin Powers and Dr Evil...

I'm sure their minds will melt once it is discovered Goldmember and Fat Bastard were played by the same actor as well... 

Yellowcastle

Or if they ever find out who number 2 works for...

FollowsClosely

5,000 sets produced is better than 10,000.