LEGO secrets...

icey117 · July 2014

I've been on this (and other) LEGO sites for 5 years. And my impression is that either everyone has started respecting the guide-lines... Or TLC has done an amazing job to stop all leaks. The images get later and later out... and at a few occations the press releases are "surprising" us with new set revelations.

Am I right?

kennywest · July 2014

Interesting observation. I think both. As a member of a LUG, we're not allowed to publish any watermarked pictures on forums or other places on the Internet. When I was on the Inside Tour, earlier this year, we all had to sign a Non Disclosure Agreement which prohibits us to reveal any of the secrets we've seen during the tour. No top-secret stuff was revealed during the tour though. We only got some previews of sets that were coming later this year (like the arctic series and a new chima set, all of this is available now at your local toy-store). The top-secret stuff, i.e. the development of sets 2015 (and probable 2016), happens behind closed doors. And not even Inside Tour people are allowed there.

Huw · July 2014

It's a bit of both. It's in webmasters' interests to respect the guidelines and LEGO does seem to be getting better at preventing leaks.

CCC · July 2014

While I prefer the toy fair / comic con type reveals, it is nice when they mess up and accidently publish something themselves that reveals a secret. I also like the drip feed of things like CMF in their own magazines / adverts.

KingDave · July 2014

Is there a gap in the market for a rebel Lego website dedicated to revealing all the news and pictures as soon as possible and to hell with the (Lego) Man? Wikileaks for Lego.

DadsAFOL · July 2014

Anonymous people will still post scans of the watermarked retailer's catalogs. These were available last Fall for 2014 sets with a little digging. It's a catch-22 for Lego -- then need to get their retailers to place orders for the 2015 sets that will hit the streets mid-December through January, but they don't want to reveal publicly too far in advance. The risks are really high - if you are a legit fan site, they'll cut you off from the press releases, photo packs, and the occasional advance "review copy" of new sets. If you are a retailer, they will cut off your ability to order, which would be devastating.

So the "bricki-leaks" type site is a gap, but unlikely to be filled any time soon.

akunthita · July 2014

LEGO has been doing an excellent job with contacting websites and LEGO fan groups that leak images and work with them, educate them, or if worse comes to worse force them to comply. Any website/blog/forum/LUG who want to stick around and appreciates the LEGO brand would be crazy not to comply. The perks of being able to be in direct contact with LEGO, be part of their release campaings, and in general be accepted by LEGO as a website on their good-side are far grater than the fleeting excitement of leaking stuff.

Also, leaking upcoming set images is not like wiki-leaks which leaks the dirty laundry of corrupt governments and organizations and by that doing a noble public service. It does far more harm then good. Do we really want to support and give tips to LEGO's competitors? Because that's pretty much the only result of leaking images.

Having said that, individuals still leak images on social media sites, as well as upcoming minifigs on eBay. So the leaks are still there, but it went more underground and harder to find. Sites owners who have a relatioship with LEGO won't want to risk their relationship and don't repost these leaks, but they are there.

So yeah, to answer your question, LEGO has been doing an impressive job at keeping leaks down by being proactive, reaching out to the LEGO fan community and asking for their help/cooperation. Even if they can't stop individual leakers and factory thiefs. Stopping leakers is a recurring topic at the LEGO Ambassador forum.

Also, LEGO has been doing leaks themselves - which is just as fun for the public, but it is under LEGO's control. Think of the whole campaign of how the Minecraft sets, LEGO Ideas sets, and some of the new themes have been revealed with little teasers and such. A brilliant idea; take control of leaks by doing it yourself! ;)

ACWWGal2011 · July 2014

that's been happening a ton in the last year and a half. Used to be a lot of leaks besides very recent stuff and rumors and now almost nothing or it takes ages to get the desired data.

Look at the CMF wave. Especially starting with wave 9, they started really holding back images to the last mintute. Like CMF series wave #12(i'm talking about the ones with official numbers, not side trips) should be out anytime yet we might have 10 known figures at best and that's between some image in a foreign catalog plus recently some in the latest magazine.

I used to be a CMF nut now between the prices going up, the figures being disappointing, and the Mr. G stunt; I am done with the whole mess. Last wave I bought from was series 11 when it shortly came out and the last figure purchase was 2 months ago but that was only b/c I found a scientist for a buck and the head, hair, and flasks I wanted were bound to be cheaper then Bricklinking the parts.

bobabricks · July 2014

^I used to go after the whole series until I noticed I was wasting money on CMFs I didn't even want so I only buy the 4-6 best in the series.

CCC · July 2014

The recent CMF leaks / reveals have been quite early compared to earlier series, haven't they? I can't remember when the Greek goddess and the other first batch were revealed, but about 4-6 weeks ago? And the series is due out in September (or do I have the date wrong?) so it'll be a good 3-4 months. I know a couple of series got early reveals, when two series were out at once, but otherwise not especially. Remember some were speculated from the parts database, and were a little off from reality.

bobabricks · July 2014

We used to see pictures of the next series as soon as a series comes out (ex. series 5 just came out, pictures for series 6 just came out).

ACWWGal2011 · July 2014

CCC said:
The recent CMF leaks / reveals have been quite early compared to earlier series, haven't they? I can't remember when the Greek goddess and the other first batch were revealed, but about 4-6 weeks ago? And the series is due out in September (or do I have the date wrong?) so it'll be a good 3-4 months. I know a couple of series got early reveals, when two series were out at once, but otherwise not especially. Remember some were speculated from the parts database, and were a little off from reality.

Not really. Like bobabricks said, the images of the next wave used to be a lot closer to the release of the previous wave. No clue on the release date since that's something lego is being mega secretive about. We could see the figures pop up in the uk tomorrow or it could be next month. who knows!

I was debating about getting 1 for my numbered wave collection but the problem it's 4 bucks due to the MMO code that i have no use for since i hate the game(I played in closed beta and I hated it) and i'm not willing to shell out 4 bucks per figure.

cheshirecat · July 2014

So in summary... It's amazing how compliant websites are when lego send them free stuff. Is that basically what we're saying? ;-)

tamamahm · July 2014

cheshirecat said:
So in summary... It's amazing how compliant websites are when lego send them free stuff. Is that basically what we're saying? ;-)

I do not think it is that simple. I have see a similar decrease in leaks from a different high end toy (American Girl) in the last two years.

Part of the reason that companies are being more careful, I suspect is due to the recession. The reality is that leaks can negatively impact the bottom line of a company. It is not just about competitors. It is about consumers seeing info about upcoming sets, and deciding to wait on that upcoming new set instead of a purchase of a current set. We have seen years where American Girl got stung by that. Lego has such a fast flip rate of themes, because they know what is new sells, so they need to get those items to sell. They do not need consumers waiting on future purchases.

I think lego websites that are run by AFOLs do realize there is a fine line. People want to see new sets, but there is also a balance with recognizing and respecting the intellectual property of the company one is a fan of. I think many do recognize the difference between a legitimate leak out in the public domain, versus a leak of confidential pictures that do have potential to hurt a company.
While It may not seem like a large difference, the difference can often be in the timing.

CCC · July 2014

I had a more in depth look back on eurobricks for series 6. It seems that the first two (alien and liberty) were leaked early in July, and the rest of the series at the start of August. So, yes, six months.

But these were not leaks from the catalogues or the artwork, they were figures that leaked from the factory. Virtually every post leads to (mainly now defunct) Chinese websites.

Maybe we are not getting so many CMF leaks due to lego tightening up the security at the factories. Or maybe the workers have realised there is more money to be made by faking superhero minifigs rather than wasting time leaking images of new figures.

icey117 · July 2014

tamamahm said:
It is about consumers seeing info about upcoming sets, and deciding to wait on that upcoming new set instead of a purchase of a current set.

Solid point... I just wonder how many kids in the 5-12 yr would surf for leak and wait? Also the themes are so different - most AFOLs are completists or or selectists.

bobabricks · July 2014

I'll buy a series 12 CMF if I really want it and I guess the price is that bad compared to minifigures I buy on BrickLink for up to $50. :P

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