LEGO's 90th Anniversary Theme: Hopes and Speculations

andhe

MaffyD said:

Every fandom is full of great people! :-)

I dunno. I went to one of those 1940's festivals in a small village while visiting my parents a few years back. As well as your regular army uniforms there where a bunch of guys dressed up as German SS with their display in a roped off area. Those guys seemed kinda sketchy. 

CCC

andhe said:

MaffyD said:

Every fandom is full of great people! :-)

I dunno. I went to one of those 1940's festivals in a small village while visiting my parents a few years back. As well as your regular army uniforms there where a bunch of guys dressed up as German SS with their display in a roped off area. Those guys seemed kinda sketchy. 

Like this ... :-)

(bad language warning)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiLVAz-Jczg

MaffyD

Well, when I say 'full of' I didn't mean 'comprised 100% of great people'. Maybe 'nearly full'? But not Nazis, obviously.

I can't believe I felt the need to write this post, but anyway...

MaffyD

I've just had another thought which has a good side and a bad side:

Maybe they're messing with us, and they'll produce all 3 top-voted sets? That's good, right?

But the poll is to know exactly how much mark up they can put on each one to maximise profit...

The_Rancor

^ That may have an element of truth to it. The rabid Bionicle fans could be assumed to be willing to pay more than other theme fans for approximately the same sized set, because they’re so desperate for it (which could also recoup new mould costs a little).

I would pay a premium for an Adventurers set but it doesn’t seem like it’s happening any time soon.

B1z

@Russell844 hey that's awesome! I did similar, but with my brother. 

@The_Rancor I can't speak for other Bionicle fans of course, but personally I'd like to see how Bionicle could be done with minimal new molds.

benbacardi

So the top themes are out: https://ideas.lego.com/blogs/a4ae09b6-0d4c-4307-9da8-3ee9f3d368d6/post/6c5a05b4-e29c-47ec-8841-a2bce1f8933e

They were:

1. Bionicle
2. Classic Space
3. Pirates

But LEGO admit they may have made a mistake in the way they grouped things:

However, we've seen an absolutely huge amount of support for Castle and each of the subthemes of Castle. We believe that we have made a mistake in not having all the Castle themes as just the one option to vote on in the first round. Even if you combine 'Classic Castle' and 'Forestmen' and not all of the other Castle subthemes, it pushes the number of votes up and Castle would be in the top three.

So they've added a fourth option to the final vote:

1. Bionicle
2. Classic Space
3. Pirates
4. Castle

BrickBelt

I love both Bionicle and system Lego, but I'm just not particularly excited about those options. There's nothing about old Castle or Pirates that I they can't replicate just by making a new theme, IMO. Pirates of Barracuda Bay and the Blacksmith are already great modern sets that call back to those. Classic Space is cool I guess, but I voted Bionicle because that would be the most interesting IMO.

andhe

Do you think they're panicking about Bionicle winning the vote? Quick stick in castle so we can drum up some more votes for something else! Or perhaps they WANT Bionicle to win so they're hoping that the classic trinity will split the vote... It's all a conspiracy!

(I'll vote castle, though I do feel like a hypocrite as I intially liked the new Blacksmith, but can't justify a purchase... so probably unlikely to buy whatever the release for this also...).

Mr_Cross

I voted for space again. Really don't mind any of those three four winning though.

The_Rancor

Remember! The amount of votes this time doesn’t determine the winner statistically - only TLG decide which theme wins out of the 4 they’ve narrowed down (I’d say the same on the front page based on the responses). You could just assume Castle is there because TLG already had some good ideas for it and would like it to win too, if you like conspiracies. They effectively changed their own rules after all.

Words can’t describe how happy I am that Castle is at least acknowledged and in the running. That’s definitely what i’m backing from the shortlist, as Adventurers is shafted for now. I’d likely still buy a good Space or Pirates set (possibly Bionicle depending on its design & price) but there’s no question I’d buy Castle if that won!

Some of the people tallying up the theme votes need to remember many people just voted for 2 or 3 Castle subthemes at once in the first wave - that person would only count as one this time. But there were some ‘side votes’ for Bionicle alongside 2 other themes that people might choose to discard this time too.

bricktuary

Sad for Trains, happy for Castle. If nothing else, surely that many people voting for Trains shows there's a demand for some more AFOLy train sets, although we did just get the CC, hopefully it sold okay.

pxchris

The tough choice is really choosing between Space, Pirates, and Castle... I honestly would love something from all three! Pirates is of course where my heart lies and I would really, really love to see some more classic Pirates inspired sets. However, I do have to admit that the excellent point was made by others about just how well they captured classic Pirates aesthetics with Barracuda Bay. So after much deliberation, I feel like Space ever so slightly edges out Castle for me. But really, I would just love all three please (assuming they're actually done in a way that pulls those nostalgia strings in the right way).

bricktuary

It's pretty obvious that the solution is to have some Pirates defend a big yellow Castle from some Spacemen. And maybe the Spacemen arrive by train for some reason.

Name one of the pirates Kopaka and job done.

Fizyx

andhe said:

Do you think they're panicking about Bionicle winning the vote? Quick stick in castle so we can drum up some more votes for something else! Or perhaps they WANT Bionicle to win so they're hoping that the classic trinity will split the vote... It's all a conspiracy!

I actually think the complete opposite is true.  The if they were really worried and trying to avoid it winning, they would be reducing the number of ending candidates as much as possible to do their best to avoid splitting the vote, as splitting the vote between more System choices is going to be the best way to dilute System votes and give Bionicle the best chance of a win.  By adding Classic Castle, I get the impression that they either don't care if Bionicle wins, or are confident that it still won't win even if they add another System choice.

MinifigInSpace

Hands down, Classic Space is at the top for me. But I'll take anything Castle or Pirates in a heartbeat too. I'm very disappointed that Adventurers didn't make it though. If it's Bionicle... simply put, I would have to wait and see how a set would turn out. 

I'm glad LEGO grouped together the subthemes of Castle! It totally deserved to be among the top four themes. 

autolycus

I think they did the right thing to add Castle. That one was far more fragmented than any of the other lines, and as they noted, received the most unique voters by far. >33k unique voters, compared to a total of 24k votes (not unique voters) for Bionicle in 2nd. Strong showing by Bionicle, for sure!

I have voted for Castle. I recommended a gray stone castle as the set and minifig accessory packs (like HP, Fairgrounds, etc.) for the different factions.

Russell844

I too voted for Castle, and I requested peasant houses or something else that shows everyday medieval life. I'm tired of castle walls.

Aanchir

andhe said:

Do you think they're panicking about Bionicle winning the vote? Quick stick in castle so we can drum up some more votes for something else! Or perhaps they WANT Bionicle to win so they're hoping that the classic trinity will split the vote... It's all a conspiracy!

Nah, I think the main reason for putting Castle back in the running is to placate AFOLs who felt like the Castle theme was "cheated" by splitting it into separate subthemes. This way it has the same chance of being chosen as any of the three results that won in the first round.

I don't see any reason to think they'd be outright opposed to any of these choices, particularly when they have designers who'd be plenty excited and inspired to create an exclusive set based on ANY of these options.

For my part, I voted for Bionicle in the second round. It's the theme that was most impactful and formative for me as a child, as well as the one that first got me involved in the online LEGO fan community. Moreover, it's had a huge influence on my subsequent favorite themes like Ninjago and Elves, and on a lot of my favorite sorts of MOCs to build like posable characters and creatures.

MaffyD

The real question (if it matters, and I'm not sure that it does) is all those people who voted for themes outside the top 4 - where will they now send their single vote? It could be very interesting. I still think it's all a bit strange, and potentially divisive.

andhe

Fizyx said:

I actually think the complete opposite is true.

Aanchir said:

Nah, I think the main reason for putting Castle back in the running is to placate AFOLs who felt like the Castle theme was "cheated" by splitting it into separate subthemes.

Yeah I was only joking around. What ever way the votes would have swung there would always be cries of foul play or Russian bots or unfairness somehow.

My imaginary scenario for this thing goes like this - LEGO have an internal contest for designers to pitch ideas for a 90th anniversary set based on any theme of their choice. LEGO then take these themes and use them as the basis for a public vote, having already got initial designs 'in hand' for all the options. 

Some of this may or may not be true, I'm just making the assumption that they're not going to wait for the final vote until making their choice or starting the design process for it.

bricktuary

One thing I do hope is that whatever they decide, it isn't too slanted towards AFOLs. One of the great things about the Classic lines like Castle and Space is their relative simplicity, flexibility and rebuildability. For me they were much more interactive and playable than the newer, more complicated sets, and I even include the wonderful new Pirates of Barracuda Bay set within that.

It would be a real shame if all we got was a Creator Expert-style Castle that I put on a shelf and tell my kids to keep away from :)

MinifigInSpace

MaffyD said:

The real question (if it matters, and I'm not sure that it does) is all those people who voted for themes outside the top 4 - where will they now send their single vote? It could be very interesting. I still think it's all a bit strange, and potentially divisive.

That's a good question. I think it matters too, but as there are so many people with so many backgrounds voting, I don't think we'll ever know. Unfortunately, I can foresee many people being so upset that they won't bother voting at all in the second round.

I can imagine Trains voting Classic Space and asking for monorail. Imperials for Pirates and asking for Imperials as foes. Model Team for Bionicle. Aquazone/Divers might choose Space and ask for Seatron (the prototype space/ocean theme). Adventurers... that's such a unique theme, but maybe the majority would choose Castle or Pirates? Time Cruisers and Studios could easily pick any of the top four.

pxchris

MinifigInSpace said:

Model Team for Bionicle

Wut...???

MinifigInSpace

pxchris said:

MinifigInSpace said:

Model Team for Bionicle

Wut...???

...Yeah I admit that was random. It was kinda a joke, as no other themes are similar to Bionicle  :)

mustang69

Pirates is the only one I would buy anything from. I liked the space theme as a kid but it just doesnt fit in my current interests. If Bionicle looks anything like the figures from the previous theme I will definitely not get any of those, they never interested me.

PDelahanty

Pirates just got Barracuda Bay.
Castle literally just got Medieval Blacksmith.
Space hasn't had anything big since Benny's Spaceship Spaceship Spaceship back in 2014.  It's time for Classic Space to get a nice big dedicated set that's not a movie tie-in!
Obviously no to Bionicle.  Celebrate 90 years of Lego by celebrating the Lego System, not a weird offshoot of non-system parts.

Brickchap

I got my father's opinion (a non-Lego fan who didnt really grow up with it). He said Castle as it has the most options for ideas. He didnt know about Forestmen, Fright Knights, Wolf Pack etc. Ironically he enjoys building model boats (he is building the Victory right now) yet he said castle. I actually bought POBB 1. because Ive always wanted a large sailing ship in Lego and 2. to have my own 'model boat' in the house.

So I voted castle. Its a shame Pirates and Imperials were separated, Im still hoping we get a Imperial themed set to go with POBB this year. We really need a fort or naval ship for the Barracuda to attack!

For me it was out of Pirates and Castle since while classic space is cool I prefer realistic space stuff. In saying that I recently bought some classic space stuff to use as Cold War era missiles and launch vehicles since well, thats exactly what a lot of it was based off wasnt it? In that respect I wouldnt be much annoyed if classic space wins since its an important part of Lego history and unlike stupid Bionicle can be used with all other Lego things. Eg I can use the wing pieces to make old planes, a monorail could be turned into a regular City one etc.

Any System set is better then Bionicle. Its called the System of Play after all... btw, @PDelahanty I liked your description of bionicle!

However, to castle. I requested that multiple siege engines be included and enough attackers and defenders along with play features to go with the siege engines such as 'breakable' walls using jumper plates and tiles. I also wrote that some civilian buildings and people would be good such as in Kingdoms Joust, the Millhouse Raid and Medieval Market Village.

In short, Id like to see a Castle set that is sort of Battle of Helms Deep-Kingdoms Joust-Medieval Market Village combined. I really liked how Kingdoms Joust had some village buildings built into wall segments.

I thought about a big castle set (say a larger version of the Kingdoms Kings Castle for example) but if we want peasants as well then the amount of knights on each side would be significantly reduced.

However, if we instead got just the front of the castle so to speak, a big gate tower with some modular walls (can be rearranged) and then say four village buildings to put either in front or behind the walls that could work really well.

That way they wouldnt need to include as many knights on the defending (or attacking) side so that some minifigs could be left over in order to have some civilians. As well as peasants Id also like to see some noblemen and court ladies, with suitably detailed dress pieces. Along with that there would be a battering ram (the gates being able to be 'broken down') and either a catapult or trebuchet for the attacking knights. A siege ladder (basically just a brown ladder piece) could also be included as another siege machine. Id love to see some hot oil (like in Dragon Fortress or whatever the wizards castle was called in Kingdoms) and some other traps and creative defence mechanisms.

What do people think? Oh and to clarify the village buildings wouldnt be anywhere near as big as medieval market village or the blacksmith shop. Perhaps something along the lines of the Winter Village Post Office and Bakery size? (maybe that would be two businesses with homes above)

B1z

@PDelahanty @Brickchap

Honestly I disagree with this assessment about Bionicle’s validity. I think it’s too limited to only imagine Bionicle as a “weird offshoot”… Surely a worthy tribute to both Lego and the Bionicle theme could be created within brick-based Lego System?

After all, this is exactly what I’m attempting to show fans/non-fans with my Bionicle project on Lego Ideas!

----------

So, I almost couldn’t pick a theme this time around. I like all of these themes, but too bad Adventurers didn’t get in!

I’m not as excited about Classic Space, but when I think about classic Lego up till today – I have to admit that Classic Space does come to mind as recognizable.

Pirates and Castle are more engaging for me personally, and iconic among Lego themes as well… but like others have said, we’re already getting sets recently.

In the end, I rationalized that I’d rather wait to have a full-on-new theme for Castle/Pirates/Space. While I would also like to see Bionicle reimagined as a theme, I ended up choosing it due to its impact within my life and Lego hobby, as well as it's importance in Lego's history at the turn of the millennium. It also has not received a truly nostalgic celebration form Lego since its original retirement in 2010.

JudgeChuck

I have voted for Classic Space again. It's simply because, for me, it is the most nostalgic theme, plus we have had recent Castled and Pirates-related sets recently, as has been pointed out. I certainly wouldn't be disappointed if either of those themes won out in the end though.
Sorry, Bionicle is just not my cup of tea. YMMV. ;-)

BrickBelt

It's really a shame Adventures didn't make the cut. I feel like it has a lot more character than Pirates, Castle, or Classic Space and it hasn't had any sort of recent tribute or revival.

andhe

BrickBelt said:

It's really a shame Adventures didn't make the cut. I feel like it has a lot more character than Pirates, Castle, or Classic Space and it hasn't had any sort of recent tribute or revival.

The 18+ haunted House had numerous adventurers references, though that did seem an odd fit, rather than referencing old monsters/studios sets for example.

There was also the Johnny Thunder type in the series 20 (?) cmfs. But yes I agree a true updated adventurers themed set could have been fun. Let's hope Lego use the results to develop more than just the 90th anniversary thing. 

BrickBelt

andhe said:

BrickBelt said:

It's really a shame Adventures didn't make the cut. I feel like it has a lot more character than Pirates, Castle, or Classic Space and it hasn't had any sort of recent tribute or revival.

The 18+ haunted House had numerous adventurers references, though that did seem an odd fit, rather than referencing old monsters/studios sets for example.

There was also the Johnny Thunder type in the series 20 (?) cmfs. But yes I agree a true updated adventurers themed set could have been fun. Let's hope Lego use the results to develop more than just the 90th anniversary thing. 

Yeah plus he showed up in the Lego Movie sets. He's made a few appearances but there hasn't been a set specifically based off Adventures. I'd be tempted to make something for Ideas if I wasn't already so busy with other projects. 

pxchris

The other thing that Adventures has going for it that Classic Space/Castle/Pirates don't necessarily is that it was one of the earliest in-house themes that had a fully formed storyline built around it. Pirates had a small bit of that, especially with the tie-in comic and books, but Adventures definitely took it to a full other level.

CCC

For some themes, you don't need to be told a story to know what is going on.

catwrangler

Interesting. I do think it was the right decision to amalgamate the Castle votes and include it, but if they're choosing based on "fairness" to the various themes then it does seem that Classic Space or Bionicle ought to get the nod, given how we've recently been thrown a bone in the shape of POBB and the Blacksmith set for the other themes. You might even argue that it's Bionicle's turn, given that Classic Space fans at least got a homage in the form of Benny's ship (I know, it's not the purest tribute to the theme imaginable, but it might be part of TLG's internal deliberations). 

I wonder if for Bionicle they would make a large-scale version of one of the classic figures. Is a foot-high Bionicle figure something fans of the theme would enjoy? It seems so, given that a quick Google shows there are some really cool, ambitious large-scale Bionicle MOCs out there. Would that allow TLG to rely on existing Technic moulds? 

Personally, I would love to see Castle winning. In my comment I said I'd like to see Forestmen and Wolf Pack figures, and that it would be cool if they did a set that incorporated some landscape features (like the new Monkey Kid mountain/waterfall set) - I suggested the characters might have taken over a ruined tower in the forest for their base. But I also really like people's ideas in this thread for how a set could incorporate more of everyday life in medieval times. A new windmill would be amazing.

I wouldn't buy a Bionicle set as it never really grabbed me, but I'd buy one for any of the other three themes. If they do Pirates, it seems logical for them to do a fort, with ships and islands so recently and well served by POBB, for which a fort would be the ideal companion piece. Also, a fort might well appeal to Castle fans.

MinifigInSpace

catwrangler said:

You might even argue that it's Bionicle's turn, given that Classic Space fans at least got a homage in the form of Benny's ship (I know, it's not the purest tribute to the theme imaginable, but it might be part of TLG's internal deliberations). 

I believe Benny's Spaceship (2014) was released before Bionicle was rebooted (2015). So technically Bionicle was the most recent of the two to have a turn... but the again, they were released so close together.

But I'm totally on the same page with you on the themes. I too would buy any of them with an exception of Bionicle.

The_Rancor

^ It’s even longer ago the last time we had a medieval Castle theme - 2013, and just to labour the point, 2003 was the last time we had Adventurers in the form of Orient Expedition. So both of them have had longer to wait to come back ;)

CCC

It isn't being done on turns anyway. 

NateMN2020

The_Rancor said:

^ It’s even longer ago the last time we had a medieval Castle theme - 2013, and just to labour the point, 2003 was the last time we had Adventurers in the form of Orient Expedition. So both of them have had longer to wait to come back ;)

Adventurers is out of the running. So you could just as easily say M Tron should be picked since it’s been gone since 1990. A complimentary set could be made for either Pirates or Castle to existing sets (a fort or Imperial ship to go with Bariccuda Bay, a big big Castle to go with the Blacksmith.) I wouldn’t be super surprised if we saw some form of all four of the finalist themes in some form over the next year. Which one gets the official 90 year tribute designation will be interesting though.

PDelahanty

I hope that the 100th Anniversary set is a GIANT $250 set that has a Lego Movie-style mashup of Castle, Space, Town, Pirates, Train, Friends, Fabuland, Technic, a brick-built wooden duck, some mid-1970s limbless minifigs, Duplo...and maybe even Bionicle.

The_Rancor

I cast my vote in the end just yesterday as I realised I hadn’t actually done it yet! Lucky I remembered as I believe the vote stops tomorrow on the 10th Feb so I almost missed my opportunity for my ‘two cents’.

Did TLG give a hint as to when they reveal their final choice or is it just kind of ‘wait and see’?

bricktuary

The vote is now CLOSED!

"

What now?

We will now begin to review all the votes and ensure their validity before sharing the information with the product development and selection team who will be working to bring this 90th Anniversary set to life so they can make their final selection and get started designing an epic LEGO set to celebrate our big anniversary.

As communicated in earlier blog posts, the second round vote will be kept a secret until the launch of the set in 2022 as we want to keep it a surprise for everyone.

"

SURPRISE -  IT'S A CASTLE WE DESIGNED IN LATE 2020

karrit

I think that is what we all are expecting it will be at this point. 

MinifigInSpace

...this must be why LEGO is doing a Space themed GWP in 2022.

Fauch

so in 2022, all the fans of themes which didn't win will complain it was rigged.

CCC

And speculate about it being rigged throughout 2021.

Marshallmario

Wow! That’s alot of hype to now leaving us all hanging for a year. I would have hoped after they sorted out the voting and made a decision on who won and what the theme was going to be they would have made an announcement. I get the set development may take a long time and they want to build interest for the release, but the theme? Throw us a bone!

The_Rancor

That is quite disappointing that we have to just have to sit on our hands until TLG ‘surprises us’ with their chosen theme AND set at the same time next year. I’m not sure I can keep the suppositions going until then!

On the other hand, it means TLG also has lots of time to mess with their own rules if needed before the final release happens.

Lego_Lord_Mayorca

Still clinging to my Time Cruisers idea. Look into your heart. You know it would work.

Or, at least save it for the 100th anniversary celebration.