The death of the creator house?

jonboy2000 · October 2012

Having seen the latest image of next years creator house and the one just released I can't help feeling these are on a rapid decline. The number of pieces and quality of the buildings seems to be diminishing year by year.

Short_Round · October 2012

I was lamenting this as well. Apart from the fact that they're keeping blue roof bricks (I don't like the red ones), the new houses look pretty weak.

coolpix · October 2012

I hope it's only a temporary thing, since Creator houses are some of my favorite sets.

fourstud · October 2012

Pitfall69 · October 2012

It's hard to compete with the Modular Buildings. What they need to do is offer Creator Houses like that of #4954. Maybe 2 minifigures, no car, no furniture. Keep the price around $90.

LegobrandonCP · October 2012

Just finished building the Seaside House. Totally not worth $60 CDN. Good thing I got it for $27. Way too small and it doesn't come with baseplates anymore. In fact, the 3 instruction manuals are 2/3 of the box's weight.

meyerc13 · October 2012

I wonder if they are going to keep the Hillside House, with the Seaside House replacing the Lighthouse, and the new Cottage replacing the Log Cabin? If so, we should expect the replacement for the Hillside House to be the next flagship in the Creator house series.

LegoFanTexas · October 2012

LegobrandonCP said:
Just finished building the Seaside House. Totally not worth $60 CDN. Good thing I got it for $27. Way too small and it doesn't come with baseplates anymore. In fact, the 3 instruction manuals are 2/3 of the box's weight.

I have to agree, the Seaside House is really a sad disappointment. Have you built the older Beach House? (4996)

I agree that they hit the peak with 4954, but we probably won't see that again for awhile, and it won't be $90, that's for sure! :(

LegobrandonCP · October 2012

^ Yes, I do own the yellow beach house.

Pitfall69 · October 2012

^Even if it is $100 I would be happy.

Pitfall69 · October 2012

Ok. How about 1/2 of the Pet Shop? Just a stand alone Creator Townhouse or Shop that you could add to your Modular Buildings.

caperberry · October 2012

I was sad to see such a small set as I look forward to the Creator houses. But trying to cheer myself up... it has a sliding door. Cute! And it turns into a windmill. Classic!

And after small comes big...? Pleeeease...

Jenni · October 2012

While a bigger one would be nice it's not the size that's the problem. Just compare this one to the Log Cabin, which would you rather have? The Seaside House was a disappointment having just 60 more pieces than the cabin for an extra $20 but at least had some interesting ideas like the surf. This is just disappointing at any price point, it looks like it should go with the My First LEGO Set stuff.

LegoFanTexas · October 2012

Pitfall69 said:
^Even if it is $100 I would be happy.

So would I, but do you really think they'd do a 1,000+ part house like that for $100 today? Seaside House is nearly 13 cents a part, is it not?

I would imagine 4954 would be closer to $149 these days. :(

Si_UKNZ · October 2012

31009 meh

itsnotme · October 2012

Everybody is upset that the new winter village set is too expensive, everybody is upset that the new creator house is too cheap... TLG just can't do anything right apparently.

Pitfall69 · October 2012

They can and they do, but this is a stinker as far as I'm concerned. The Hillside House was pretty good. The Seaside House is ok, but I liked the Beach House better. The Lighthouse was nice but the Log cabin was crap.

LegoFanTexas · October 2012

itsnotme said:
Everybody is upset that the new winter village set is too expensive, everybody is upset that the new creator house is too cheap... TLG just can't do anything right apparently.

The Log Cabin was a nice try, I suppose they were aiming for a price point there, but it needs another 200 parts to do it right.

The new Winter Village set is amazing, I'm not complaining at the price at all, it is a bargin for the price.

Pitfall69 · October 2012

I think the complaints were about the price point not being around the same as the other ones, but it is bigger and it looks great!!!

ACWWGal2011 · October 2012

CM4S said:

?

Any word on what the MSRP will be on that set?

LegobrandonCP · October 2012

^ I'm guessing $29-39.99.

On a side note, what is up with the 5 digit set numbers?

EDIT: Never mind, I remember reading about it here: http://brickset.com/news/article/?ID=4076

herekittykitty · October 2012

See, that price point makes me happy - that's something I can buy and and stick in my kid's Easter basket, or give as a school reward. I can't buy her a $100 set unless it's Christmas or birthday, so she will only get so many of those.

They can't all be big houses, right. I do love some of the older ones, but I appreciate that there is some variety in price points, too. Log cabin and this for the kid, modulars for mommy, the mid size ones we can split.

cbaker1974 · October 2012

Set title should be "Garden Tool Storage Shed"

duilim · October 2012

I'm hoping that this will be a repeat of 2011 which saw the smaller log cabin released in the first wave and the larger hillside house released in the second. I wouldn't be surprised if another creator house is scheduled for the second wave. I agree that this year's house set was a little disappointing but it was only last year that we had hillside house, the previous year we had apple tree house and the family home the year before that. Overall, it's been a good selection so I think it might be premature to declare the creator homes on the decline. Without doubt the best of the lot was 4954 but I doubt that we'll see such a set again.

Ondra · October 2012

I dont think so, there are every year creator modular houses and almost every second half big building.I think, next year we will get big house in 2H.

luckyruss · October 2012

The really good thing about the earlier sets - i've found 5891 apple tree house or 4956 to be a great examples of this but the same applies to all - is that you get a great selection of bricks for your own houses and buildings ... With this, there barely seems to be enough to build anything ( perhaps apart from a tool shed!).

Let's hope there is another larger one ( at the 50-60 price point say) later in 2013.

Bumblepants · October 2012

Usually the small stuff drops in the first half and the bigger releases follow in the second half when people buy bigger things for Christmas. I imagine there will be a bigger Creator house in the summer along with the $120-130 SW sets etc like @Ondra said

odueck · November 2012

Wow, that new Creator house is disappointing. I'm also disappointed that I missed out on some of the older sets in the line like 4954 and 6754. I do have all five of the currently available Creator buildings and will probably continue to buy new ones.

beegeedee · November 2012

I'd love to get my hands on #4954 and I have #6754 picking it up off ebay for a decent price - the problem is there's only so many houses and ideas you can have, so many cars, lawn mowers, barbeques etc.

The modulars for me are way too expensive - I want them all and have none.

I have 4 of the more recent creator houses, 5 if you count 2 log cabins - they were on sale. I am waiting for the seaside house to come down in price.

prevere · November 2012

I don't mind something lighter on my wallet. Normally it's always bigger, bigger, bigger. In this case I think the little guy works for a change.

T_Lars · November 2012

I agree with those who are looking forward to a smaller set like this. I like it. It reminds me of the small vacation sets of my youth (6360 and 6592), cute and cheap. I do however lament the loss of all the flat 1x2 and 1x1 pieces that the creator homes used to come with, but have been left out in the last few releases.

madforLEGO · November 2012

Well smaller sets make sense.. the economy is what it is, so I'm guessing LEGO is also trying to hit a demand target for LEGO; cheaper LEGO sets like houses but nicer quality.. this is not like a brick bucket where 3/4 of the brick are 2xX's so that is nice, but if it above 20 dollars then that is a bit disappointing.
What would be nice is a bucket with enough pieces where you could be two or three different houses , and two at the same time (or one 'row' house) so you can add to a neighborhood with your mods...

Renny · November 2012

I kind of like the smaller buildings that are in the Creator line. Sure the Model home was great, however having smaller less expensive sets are even better for Lego fans who cannot afford the larger, more complex modular buildings. If everything was bigger and more expensive, Lego would start losing a lot of business.

brickmatic · November 2012

I wish LEGO did a brick bucket with 3/4 of the brick being 1xX's instead of 2xX's.

mdelleman · November 2012

If anyone is interested I have 2 - 4956 sets available for sale. PM me if you'd like more info.

mathew · November 2012

I like cheaper creator sets too. For example, the log cabin is a great set for the price. It offers three decent builds and most of the parts are perfectly usable for other projects.

maques · November 2012

31009 - Anderson's toolshed - indeed...
Now we only need Beavis and Butthead minifigures.
Anyone care to move the project to Cuusoo? I would definitely cast my vote... :-)

As for 4996 Beach house vs. 7346 Seaside house, yes a little bit smaller, yes cost more - but this is seen as a general LEGO "trend" which would worth a whole new thread.

Red roof little boring, medium blue bit interesting, so compensates.
Crab, fish, brick-duck, fences, some tan (sand) elements...
No baseplate - so what, we all have a lot... If there was a baseplate in it, then we would all rant about "without a baseplate, it would be cheaper..." :-)

So whoever find 7346 small, buy 2 on a sale (BOGOFree?) then create something bigger. (Yea, me too, so I'll get 4 once its price "settles").

As for 31009 "Small Cottage" I found another new use, I think it could be used in a modular building, as an "elevator" :-)

Dread_Pirate · November 2012

IMO the seaside house is not that bad. The wave is kinda cheezy and I would have rather had some clear 1x1 rounds to make ripples over a crested wave. The house is very similar to what you find around the Atlantic coast with a small room on the lower level that is flood protection and usually has a ladder or very minimal staircase leading to the main level of the house. A little furnature would have been cool. I like the little shower on the side of the house. Those are used on beach houses to wash off the sand and salt before going into the house... Nice touch. I only paid $45 for mine and I dont think it was out of place. Things that could have been better.

1. printing on the surf board.
2. A female minifig to go along with the guy.
3. furnature such as a table, TV and a bed.

I think that those could have been added and the price point of $49 could have still been met.

MinifigsMe · November 2012

I like the little houses, makes it affordable to buy a few to make a street. It does look a little basic (and why are there no double slopes for the top of the roof anymore?) but it's the perfect price point for most people getting gifts for friends rather than their own sons and daughters. I think they missed a trick ad the minifig should have been a girl (or both) to entice girls towards this away from friends (not that they want to stop them buying friends of course) but this would appeal to those girls maybe growing out of the pink phase but still enjoying the Lego.
I like the windmill :)

caperberry · November 2012

^ Creator has been a (relatively) gender-neutral line in terms of sales, which is why they didn't use to include figs. I wonder how it's skewed now that the figs are always male!

Bumblepants · November 2012

^seems like all they need to do is toss in an extra wig and the minifig could be male or female as long as the stick with the classic smiley face. Then everybody wins

Picopirate · November 2012

The lackluster creator series has convinced me to move to the modulars. I just wish Lego would include alternate instructions for the modulars

Stormsworder · November 2012

Is 31009 a real set? It's a total mess. It looks like the sort of thing I'd build out of various different sets when I was about 10.

lulwut · November 2012

Disappointed they're cutting back on the size of the houses. I built the Log Cabin and sold it. I'm passing on the seaside house. This new one looks like another pass.

stoneboi · November 2012

31009 is disappointing... creative juices running out?

madforLEGO · November 2012

stoneboi said:
31009 is disappointing... creative juices running out?

Id say it is more a reflection of the global economy right now than lack of creativity.
LEGO has proven many times over to be very creative, BUT that comes at a cost (See the latest Town Hall, or other mods)

I think LEGO is trying to make sets that are houses for cheaper prices, which means less parts.
Of course if this set comes out and it is any more than 25 bucks then I would say there is an issue.
It should really not be more than that IMO. Id say it is more worth about 20 dollars.

Picopirate · November 2012

I would agree but... Lego is not dropping the price of sets across the board. The town hall is more expensive than previous modulars, the horizon express is more expensive than previous unpowered trains, the winter village cottage is more expensive than previous seasonals, etc. If this were a sign of the times then I would expect all series to be simplified. From what I can tell, only the creator houses have been simplified. There is now a good selection below $30 but the $30-60 range (which is the sweet spot for people who don't want to make the leap to the modulars) is getting anemic.

Aanchir · November 2012

Picopirate said:
I would agree but... Lego is not dropping the price of sets across the board. The town hall is more expensive than previous modulars, the horizon express is more expensive than previous unpowered trains, the winter village cottage is more expensive than previous seasonals, etc. If this were a sign of the times then I would expect all series to be simplified. From what I can tell, only the creator houses have been simplified. There is now a good selection below $30 but the $30-60 range (which is the sweet spot for people who don't want to make the leap to the modulars) is getting anemic.

That's partly because they are catering to different markets. Parents buying LEGO Creator sets for their kids might not be willing to pay as much as AFOLs buying Direct-to-Consumer sets for themselves.

It should also not be ignored that Creator price points are still diverse. The Highway Pickup is $80 USD, the Seaside House is $50 USD (slightly more than the Apple Tree House), and the Transport Choper is $35 USD. But in the past several years, the 1HY sets have consistently stuck to lower price points while the 2HY sets have expanded into higher price points.

As for why creator houses are becoming smaller at higher prices, part of it definitely has to do with the increase in landscaping details and the introduction of minifigures. These things could easily drive up prices at a higher rate than they drive up piece counts.

icey117 · November 2012

Yup, quite a decline since the 4954 from '07. Maybe the creator theme sell better with smaller sets so they changed strategy.

icey117 · November 2012

Maybe, the idea is that the Modular theme is taking the more detailed buildings, and the Creator theme the lesser detailed buildings.

Btw, just build the 5766 Log Cabin and found it great value for the money!

Decker · November 2012

@icey117 I have to agree with you on #5766 . I just built it a couple days ago myself and I was very happy with the value of the set. It was a fun build. I am considering get a second one to do one of the alternate builds as well. This was my first Creator House and I will certainly be getting more.

The death of the creator house?

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