Any love for Chima...?

thedoctor46 · January 2015

I've just started to watch Legends of Chima and have to say I'm really enjoying it. I was just wondering how popular the TV show is as I've not seen much critical aclaim online. Really this post was about the TV show but I'd be interested in peoples opinions on the sets as well, as a minifig collector I think the Chima ones are some of the best TLG have done.

tamamahm · January 2015

The show.. I was only able to watch 2-3 episodes. I just could not stand it. The voices of some of the main characters were too grating. Even the main characters were somewhat annoying I was really annoyed with one of the early episodes were the main female had to be 'saved'. Nevermind that she had wings and could have flown out of the way at any time. I just could not handle the show.

My kids did not get into it either.

Compare this to Ninjago. Our entire family watched it.

Now, Chima may have become better, but those first few episodes turned us off.

Peter1975 · January 2015

Not a single set in my collection... Just don't like it.

Legopassion8 · January 2015

I like the sabretooth tiger tribe, but that's just mostly because I like cats...

Penkid11 · January 2015

The characters in the TV show did get some getting used to. The show began to grow on me after episode 10 (a lot later than the average person is willing to watch). The series began to really pick up at that point.

The sets were good in 2013 and in early 2014, but once the Fire vs. Ice stuff started, the real quality sets began to be produced. All of the villain vehicles feature a hidden escape vehicle, whereas every hero vehicle had a transformation (I'm a sucker for transforming Lego sets). All the minifigs have gorgeous printing.

Aanchir · January 2015

I enjoy the sets, the characters, and the storybooks by Greg Farshtey.

I have not collected the sets with anywhere near the same level of dedication I devote to Ninjago, BIONICLE, Hero Factory, or The LEGO Movie, but I do truly enjoy those that I've gotten.

The Speedorz are an interesting concept but I don't have nearly as much fun with them as I did with the Ninjago spinners — there's just too much of a learning curve for me in learning how to launch them effectively to clear different challenges, whereas Ninjago spinner gameplay was simpler to figure out (with or without the text-intensive card game component).

Also, I feel like the card game component of the Speedorz sets is poorly integrated. All it decides is your equipment, and it's sometimes hard to tell how much of that even affects the gameplay and how much is merely cosmetic. The Ninjago spinners felt more intuitive to me — playing a card that added shields on the edge of your spinner or raised your spinner off the ground made it harder for the enemy to hit your character, playing a card that gave your character a second weapon made it easier to hit your opponent, etc.

I couldn't really get into the TV series after the first three episodes, although some people have told me it gets better, so one day I ought to give it another chance. I liked the humor of those episodes, but a lot of the dialogue felt a bit stilted. I kind of prefer the storytelling style of the books.

The cast of characters is interesting and diverse. I love that unlike Ninjago which suffers a bit from "token girl syndrome", it regularly features hero and villain characters of both genders, and with various personality traits.

I have heard some people say it's more popular in Europe and Great Britain than it is in the United States. Not entirely sure whether there's any substance to those claims.

dannyrww · January 2015

My whole family loves Chima. The cartoon was great and my daughters enjoyed seeing a strong female character featured (In the last season Eris showed up the "boys" quite often). Its a shame that it looks like it came to an end with the last episode and other than the army builder packs (I have at least one version of every Lion other than Long tooth) the last wave seems rushed. The beavers and bears seem thrown together and do not look like the show designs.

Shib · January 2015

When I first saw the Chima sets advertised I hated them with a passion. I thought they looked ridiculous and I completely did not get it. Then I picked up a couple of Chima sets massively reduced (around 75% off) and although it can be a mixed bag theme I have to say after building some of the sets it's become my favourite current 'action' theme. I have zero interest in the cartoon, I'd rather have my own stories in my head than be lead by a cartoon for a non licenced theme.

I've actually found that the bird vehicles/mechs that I've built are extremely satisfying in terms of proportions as to what they represent, and I say that as someone who used to work with birds of prey. #70003 : Eris' Eagle Interceptor was very much the set that won me over, even with it's slight flaws - e.g Eris has to remove her Wings before getting in - it's still a great design, one that I want to remake in brown at some point.

The sets can be a real mixed bad though, #70129 : Lavertus' Twin Blade for example has a nice play feature but I found the set boring to construct and when finished looked sloppy and unfinished - I suspect this was restricted by price point. That said it features one of the partly brick built minifigures which are one of the things I really like about the theme.

I'd say the biggest highlight of the theme for me though were the Legends Beasts. Low price point, nice little builds full of character, I really hope we see some more of those, although I really hope that TLG casts those mini ball joint pieces in more colours first - it'd really benefit the mixels theme too!

Venunder · January 2015

I am surprised they only cast the ball joints in grey and grey.
Tan, Dark Tan, Brown, White, and Olive Green would have been more useful.
With Mixels the joints should have been the same colour as the Mixel.

Shib · January 2015

^completely agree, if they do start doing them in additional colours I'll likely BL some/buy extra mixels to upgrade my Legends Beasts.

krklint · January 2015

I've completely enjoyed Chima, because it is the current theme that is reaching massive clearance. massive clearance means new random parts to play with :cold_sweat: Yup, currently loving Chima for all the discounted reasons.

Andor · January 2015

I enjoy the Chima Though I have only watched 6 episodes. To me it clearly written for a younger audience but it has some funny parts like LEGO for almost all their stuff. Gorillas and Raven are my favorite. The detail on most of the minifigures is amazing. But some vary great from their show counterpart. e. g. you never get a happy Gorzan, and the Beavers are just lacking IMO. I own #70140 Stinger Duel. I bought it on clearance. I was very pleased with the result. And if I wasn't so crazy about LOTR and The Hobbit. Then I would most certainly pick Legends of Chima as the theme to collect.

dannyrww · January 2015

And apparently it would seem Chima is over after the Summer wave...kind of guessed this though from the finale of the show.

waynegg · January 2015

Yeppers...LOVE THAT IT IS GOING AWAY :P

Brickarmor · January 2015

I was very intrigued with the concept of the theme, but I think it has been haphazardly executed. My son and I watched the first season on the web, he never asked me about the second season, and I haven't bought him any sets after wave one. As a parent, it's a PITA to have to try to remember the characters names while playing. But I wonder if in hindsight the Chima lineup will be seen as a source of minifigs and parts we never would otherwise gotten.

richl · January 2015

I had very little time for the Chima cartoon until my son started getting into it, but I've come to like it - it's no Ninjago but it's better than a lot of other stuff on TV aimed at kids.

The sets themselves are actually pretty interesting builds with lots of play features. My son didn't really get into Speedorz but they have some decent minifigs in some of them that don't show up anywhere else.

gmonkey76 · January 2015

I didn't like the theme as a whole, but any new parts/colors are welcomed additions for MOC.

Oldfan · January 2015

I've never seen the show, I'm not interested (no kids of the proper age in my house, either).

The only sets I have are the freebies sent out by the LEGO shop every so often over the past couple of years.

While I'm not very interested in heavily-modified minifigures for myself, the new heads and helmet molds of the Chima characters have been a boon to webcomics like Legostar Galactica and MOC'ers who are looking for unique alien looks.

chuckp · January 2015

Like many others, I'm not really interested in the theme, but I love the parts.

NeilJam · January 2015

Never really got into the show, and the kids didn't like it either. However, I do like the concept and got most sets. The characters reminded me of Battle Beasts when I first saw them. Kinda disappointed the theme is ending this year, I would have liked to see more animal tribes added.

chuxtoybox · February 2015

I was just looking at all of the sets listed on Brickset and I see that there are sets that have no picture and say "this set was not released". Does this mean that they are never going to be released because Lego is ending the line? I was just getting into collecting Chima and Lego decides to end it! No wolf battle packs for me then.

AdeelZubair · February 2015

LEGO has really got good product designers and the buildable items are amazing, however I do believe that LEGO Legends of Chima is now officially overkilled: too many characters and too many sets. The first wave was great and strong, now they are just repeating the same stuff and making kids collect all the sets for more sales. It's understandable LEGO is a business but really is this how you treat the consumer? I think they need to slow down and produce quality sets that are worth the money. It shows in someone who has bought many sets so I cannot begin to imagine what a kid must feel when they have a pile of Chima sets at their disposal (probably make a really cool MOC.) Seriously now LEGO needs to slow down and think through the sets, minifigures and stories. I think LEGO Ninjago is also in this situation where the same stuff is recycled. Maybe It's time for a replacement and one that is not just lengthy because of the demand. If you do have demand make sets that are better than the current sets. For me the first wave of Chima is still the best but I'm not complaining about the new LEGO elements just don't let yourselves do what you did over 10 years ago when you had loads of different pieces, which took away the aspect of LEGO: creativity.

sklamb · February 2015

I don't see how the most Fire vs Ice Chima sets can be considered "recycled." The Mammoth Stomper? The Flying Phoenix Fire Temple? Even the constraction figures, which normally don't appeal to me at all, were enticing enough that I imported my favorites from Europe. Admittedly the 2015 sets aren't quite up to that standard but they're still, IMO, beautiful, displayable and extremely play-worthy. I'm another fan of the flying machines/creatures in particular and the new Phoenix and Vulture sets went onto my wish list at once!

kor · February 2015

I've never watched the show but do enjoy the minifigs. It's not a line that I feel I must have one of every figure from but I do have a good assortment.

krklint · February 2015

I'd love the minifigs if they didn't have an orange or blue circle in the middle of each torso. To me, that "dot" removed a good deal of playability and alternative design use to these minifigs. Love the helmets and heads though. Great heads for MOCing aliens (as mentioned above).

CCC · February 2015

krklint said:
I'd love the minifigs if they didn't have an orange or blue circle in the middle of each torso. To me, that "dot" removed a good deal of playability and alternative design use to these minifigs. Love the helmets and heads though. Great heads for MOCing aliens (as mentioned above).

Some of the torsos are still good though. For example, this one ...

Rub the front print off, turn the torso round and you have a nice torso for an armoured character such as an "elemental" fire warrior or elf.

It still pairs nicely with the legs ...

Pumpkin_3CK5 · February 2015

The show was pretty silly funny and I like the look of the minifigs. The builds in the sets are cool as well. I like the assortment of tribes we got as the show progressed. It sucks that it ended and I wish they didn't rush the ending.

Any love for Chima...?

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