The most iconic thing about modern Lego is how they can keep increasing the price while quality takes a deep dive and the marks will just buy it anyways
@@rooknado Stickers have always been present, in fact they used to be way worse. There are sets where the minifigure torsos were stickers or where the stickers would span across multiple pieces, both of which have been stopped. And yeah, I hate them as much as the next person, and obviously I'd prefer having printed pieces, but it's not a new thing.
In the olden days there used to be character packs for all themes, I still have a bunch of 90s space and castle packs, as well as small sets with just a great fig with a horse or a small build, instead of making them all exclusive to huge sets.
it's a side effect of them chasing the merch/collector market rather than just being creative toys. the cool un-named astronauts and pirates and knights on horseback weren't used as currency in the way that licensed characters are... honestly i could only watch this video up til the ~15 minute mark because the idea of wanting these very speciic star wars characters to be in these specific sets was so alien to me. lego never used to be about that.
@didaididai207 this. In the end I don't care if someone just wants the minifigs from Lego. I fell in love with Lego again this year, when I got myself the Saturn V. The child in me is still in awe as how great it feels to see the things come to life. At 44 I am in no means rich, but I can buy a set every month and have something that I like to have on display, plus I get to build it myself (as a disabled person whos right hand doesn't work nearly as well as it should, the building these bricks lets me train my fingers to stay nimbler).
Ive always thought that they could make millions and make fans very happy if they sell minifigures like funkos. A bunch of franchises that might not need a sets, and even adult ones like game of thrones or breaking bad, and that we get only the minifigure of the character with a few accesories, like the cmf but you know what character youre purchasing. As a fan I would definitely obsess collecting Minifigures of my favorite characters and shows, besides the fact that you can customize them by switching pieces, they are compatible with any Lego set and they are smaller and easier to storage than funko
They tried this with Lego dimensions, many people didn’t even play the game they just bought the packs for the unique minifigures. The concept works because it allowed LEGO to release Minifigs that didn’t really need a whole set dedicated to them which allowed them to appeal to more niche fandoms. But they cancelled it for whatever reason, I think it was because the game didn’t catch (even though it was a good concept). They could have just removed the video game character discs and sold just the minifgures. They had a gold mine and fumbled it.
@@joshmagosh1619yeah, they made money on the sets but the game stuff cost a lot. You're right they should have just sold the figures alone. I know I bought Chinese versions of a lot of the dimensions figures
@@MJ-uk6lu i know about the CMF minifigure blind bags, what I’m describing is slightly different, CMF doesn’t often make licensed CMF series and when they do they are limited to one franchise.
I believe that the perfect example on how to do minifigures is Lego Sonic. It sticks to a reasonable amount of figures for each price, side builds for each non-focus character and immaculate detail throughout, without compromising the theme budget, allowing for really good builds
It's funny that you say that because Sonic is getting a dedicated episode of this series I've been doing because it really hasn't actually been very good at all.
I LIKE HOW YOU "LEGO FANS" COMPLAN ABOUT EVRYTHING AFTER YOU CRY ABOUT GETING IT FOR YEARSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SOME ARE BAD SO ARE GOOD IT COSTS MONEY EVREY THIG DOSE FOR CRING OUT LOUDE
As a brand new AFOL, I find it a little frustrating how pretty much all mini figs you can buy in stores, meaning without buying separate pick a brick parts and making your own (which I ended up doing) are either Star Wars related or some other kind of superhero-which, as a toy aimed at children, I understand, but as someone who wants to just build MOCs of buildings in my neighborhood, having a Yoda/Boba Fett/Luke Skywalker/etc. mini fig kind of breaks the idea lol
The solution to the Lego minifigure problem is simple. Replace every minifigure in every theme with Legacy Kai. Lego's annual profits will reach One Zillon Dollars instantly!
I am tired of LEGO hyper fixating on one character from each franchise (Batman, Ironman) and giving us a million slightly different variants when they have a Bible’s worth of other characters to pull from. I get they’re popular so you want to give people ample opportunities to get some version, but it just leads to other characters equally as popular being overlooked. We also need more just plain average filler characters, It’s impossible to world build when you’ve got 15 different Batman and 0 citizens.
I miss the older themes (such as castle and space) that were not nearly as centered around a few specific heroes and villains, or had hundreds of different side characters. Army building was so much easier and cheaper. If I wanted a few to become medics, engineers, outlaws, or the faction leader, I could just slap on a different color or type of helmet/hands/weapon or whatever.
i used the castle pieces to make unhinged architectural follies, i made wigs for the outlaws because there weren't enough female characters lol... i also built a castle on a boat when we got a pirate set😭it was great! i don't like all the licensed stuff because i feel like it's quietly setting rules about what you can and can't do - those are known characters with their own personalities and settings, they're prescriptive in a way that random spacemen or soldiers are not. but i feel like those sets aren't really aimed at the same market as the older themes
One thing that I seriously care about in a selection of figures is design consistency. Like I got a DC set with Batman and Aquaman in it. Batman had really good torso printing with complex detailed shading, but Aquaman just had flat outlines for the muscle detailing. Idk maybe I'm just autistic
the minifigure and brand recognition are the only things they have over its competitors. i always find it funny whenever a new Lego product is released that id consider buying i just hop on ebay 3 days later and buy it new without minifigure and safe like 30% if its a Star Wars set with special figures i can go up to 50%
This is very true the last couple o' years around this time Menards for those who know have been putting bootleg Legos on the shelves, I pulled a tire from one the fake sets and one from a Lego bucket and they're not only the same brick but same quality and yes the fake minifigures are so bad most sets didn't have any this year.
I think the Lego Japanese garden, I don’t know if that’s what it’s officially called, could really benefit from a mini fig. My friend has it, and she and her boyfriend got custom mini figs of themselves at the Lego store and put them in the garden. They look so cute and fit perfectly in the scene.
Long ago, LEGO used to make character/battle pack sets for each different theme and/or sub-theme, for "supplemental purposes". The better ones have characters that are not already in sets. I myself have bought some of these. Why they don't do this anymore is beyond me. It would solve a few of these problems. Those who want/need more minifigures to bolster their numbers, and those who are only interested in minifigures for collecting purposes can benefit from this.
The only demographic who wouldn't benefit is those who have a lot of minifigures with "nothing to do" and not enough ships, accessories or vehicles to go around. But, you can't please everyone.
They still sort of do. The problem with this is that Lego doesn't have licenses to produce "Action Figures" so any such set needs to contain a substantial build element such that it still qualifies under their "Construction Set" licensing.
You're absolutely right in the cultural value/impact of a minifigure versus a standard brick or even set. Something like the millennium falcon set made an impact when it was released, but the lego star wars game series, when the minifigs were put front and center as playable characters, has endured far longer and enjoyed basically ubiquitous popularity since its release
When I was a kid, there were no characters in Lego, period. There was Space Guy in blue or Pirate with hook or Knight with shield. I used my sets to build the base bullds, but that was day one, eventually they all joined in the same large bin, and to rebuild an old set meant hours of finding the pieces first, but that was the fun. The entire point was to break free of the box designs and design your own creations, and we played with action figures the same way. All these sets may have sold a lot of plastic, and I'm sure you've had fun with them, but what cost you've paid in the endless freedom of dreams is the price you won't even know to miss.
100% this! it genuinely makes me sad if this isn't the normal way to play with lego any more. but if you're paying through the nose for some specific licensed replica batmobile or whatever then i guess the idea of breaking it up to put in the mixed lego box afterwards is terrifying... they've realised that selling glorified 3d jigsaws to adults is more lucrative than selling imaginative building toys to kids. it's a shame.
Lego still sells Classic brick boxes. Also I put leftovers from sets into same box and then decide to build something random. My only gripe is that there are too many colors and you get very little of each color. So if you want to build something that doesn't look like rainbow barf, that sucks. Also same with shapes. There's no need to add random crap, 2x4, 2x2 brick and bricks with slopes would be enough. Anything more complicates stuff and Lego doesn't give enough pieces of each. I personally had a blast rebuilding old Lego house as it only had white, red, black bricks and green baseplate.
The issue of having made monkie kid sets almost unobtainable outside the Asian market is doubly absurd, considering that another original Lego theme - Ninjago - is based on the whole context of Far Eastern fantasy, of which one of the representatives is the novel Journey to the West.
They’re easily obtainable thru LEGO’s website, but they’re VERY expensive. I feel like they dropped the ball on making it a worldwide thing. I feel like it would be an easy change to amend to
Would still cost the same since LEGO does free shipping at $35. Still it’s not tangible like in-store, and not in people’s faces either. Doesn’t help it’s case.
What I think is crazy is the minifigs amount takes away from the budget of parts. The reason the Cole mech is so detailed, yet has literally only the pilot. No side builds or enemies. Is anything besides the main build took up budget for the designer, another minifig? Smaller main build. The problem is the more figs you do the more they set is forced to become barebones. That’s why sets like Hoth base are so bad. More figs, less actual builds. It’s also why a ton of 18 plus sets refused to have any figs. Because they took budget from the build which they need every piece. Minifigs should not reduce part budgets, should be part of their own budget. You can do more simple designs, but if you want more unique figs. Less common ones. This way you can get a set that’s huge but has plenty of cool figs. Also I love main builds, Cole mech in particular a ton. It’s a very awesome build, I love the tech it does. But only Cole? No characters related to him, or any arch rival. Nope. You’d have to buy another set to give him an actual enemy. Also side note, fuck the new mech elbows and knee part. Such an annoying piece. If I want any of the figs I get stuck with this piece that rack my brain to use. It’s so hard. It so could have been a new joint type. Like imagine?? It would be useful in smaller builds and still move a decent amount.
Are you talking about the generic parts that are used in all Lego builds or the exclusive parts in the figures? Remember the new Iron Man Mech? Sure, you got a new mech with new parts. But $26 for 86 parts? Not all that went to the actual parts but license and design.
@ apparently every already existing piece and specialized pieces all have basically an internal budget. The more unique large pieces you use, the less small ones you can afford to use. So you need to balance both to make sets at certain price points. While minifigs due to printing and all that, o guess take a bit from budget. It’s hard to explain but that’s like the iron man. Lots of large pieces but you can’t use them elsewhere, instead of small bricks for details. I think that’s why the eco joint was made, one piece instead of 2-3. Saves like a lil bit, plus restricts movement some.
Regarding Padme in the Clone Wars gunship, I can see 3 possible reasons why they re-used the outfit instead of doing one more faithful to the scene. One is that the better outfit might have been more expensive to produce (e.g. required printed legs or a more complex torso print or something). The second is that the rights-holder made the decision for whatever reason. And the third is that LEGO decided that the particular outfit they used would make the set more appealing somehow. Oh and another possibility is that at the time the designs were made, LEGO didn't have all the information they would have required to produce the minifig with the scene-accurate outfit.
Let’s be clear. The outfit is not a reuse. It is a brand new design based on a design we have already got before. If the rights holder was specific about their needs for the set, the Padme we ended up with would not have been included. It is very likely LEGO suggested Padme and got the okay, rather than get Lucasfilm’s directive first. It’s quite the common practice for them, especially for a set with concepts over nine years old at the time of the product’s release. Oh ya. “An Old Friend,” the episode the Gunship should have been based on, was televised publicly nine years before the LEGO set released. LEGO had all they would need including full access to the old production materials to make it right but chose not to use them.
I believe that Lego went for a more iconic outfit instead. That’s Padme’s main outfit in TCW, so a lot more versatile from a play stand point and more recognizable from a collectors view.
How to calculate lego: 0.10 ¢ a brick (generalized) + $3 a minifig. If it's 20% higher in price than that then its licensing. But lego has NOT gone up cause "inflation" (their base themes like space and city are the same prices or better than what they were 10 years ago) But with that said the minifig scalper market has gotten wild cheap for buying lego sets in box without minifigs. Like a $180 millennium falcon (1k pieces) for $70 in box minus figs.
It is a Very Unifying Way to Collect things from Any Medium in a Consistent Way, but better then Fun-co Pops because it can interact with the Whole Lego System.
@nicklegostava Weird question here, but why are you capitalizing only certain words in your comment? I understand it for Lego and Funko* Pops as they are brand names, but why "Very Unifying Way [to] Collect" and not "better than* Funko Pops"? Both very and better are adjectives but you don't treat them the same? No hate or offense meant, I'm just very curious of the thoughts/reasoning. Whenever I come across comments like yours it stands out to me because I read them with a kinda emphasis when typed with random or al capitals as you do. Not quite, not quite but almost like... "It is a 👏Very👏Unifying👏Way to 👏Collect things from 👏Any👏Medium in a 👏Consistent👏Way, but better than 👏Funko👏Pops because it can interact with the 👏Whole👏Lego👏System." I look forward to your thoughts about it.
Wow, it was so much easier back in the day. Back then you had the choice between a white or red classic spaceman. And if you were lucky enough, you might have got one of each in a particular set. And as for being really spoilt, one got two of each in a set such as the Galaxy Explorer!
I still have that original space explorer set, with the box and all 4 figs but pretty worn. Was my uncles as a kid back when it was new, then passed down to us when we were kids. A real testament to durability to survive 5 boys through the years lol!
It also baffles me how some people put so much value on mini figures. Like do people actually like the figures or are they just hoping it’ll be valuable in the future?
People actually like them. Lots of people even get entire sets just for them. You see this at play on resale sites where people sell just the minifigs for nearly the price of the entire set they came from, and then sell the set without the Minifigures at half the set’s retail price since they’re missing. The minifigs have a value some do not recognize. Depends on the characters and sets of course.
That’s the only appeal of every $20-25 battle pack since 2018. But I get what you mean with the larger sets. I just laugh at the people who place such value on these things, because I thought the same way for a few years. It’s not safe for your shelving, wallet, or motivation.
Ninjago frustrates me because I'm convinced if Exo-Force had a cartoon, it'd still be around. But now all Lego does is Ninjago and licensed junk. There's barely any originality. Have we even had a sci fi theme in the past decade? Anything even _remotely_ similar to Aquanauts or M-Tron or Power Miners? Nope it's all Harry Potter, Star Wars, Superheroes, City, and Ninjago.
I bought quite a few of 31120 Creator 3in1 castle sets. The potential in there is unlimited as you can see from the sheer amount of MOC builds on rebrickable. So the brick selection is as perfect as you can get. But the 100$ set contains only two soldiers and one rather out of place (pirate?) smith. There should have been a knight with a horse, no excuse, LEGO! One or two more civilians would not hurt the story-playing, but the knight on horseback was in every one classic castle ever released. Writing that down I found the omission of the knight so obvious I would be surprised you did not talk about it in a video in the past already (this is my first video of yours). Have a nice day, everybody!
Well, could be worse. Bonsai has 101 pink frogs and you are left with tons of leftover pink frogs. I added some to my alien display as frogs vs aliens theme, but I still have tons of those frogs.
The 2023 Disney Celebration Train is the perfect example of LEGO getting it right when it comes to fig count and selection. It costs $40 in the US and has no less than 6 minifigs including unique variants of both Mickey and Minnie, a Moana minifig (something we will probably not see again anytime soon given that Moana is normally depicted with a minidoll), Peter Pan and Tinkerbell figures that have only otherwise appeared in a more expensive diorama set plus a Woody figure not seen since 2019.
My favorite minifig as a kid was a plain smiley face guy with a red shirt and blue pants. If I felt really fancy, I'd put the hat on him. My brother and I would make "farms" and have a whole little economy. We rarely used the licensed characters, unless we needed somebody to come cause trouble. (Ninja turtles often got repurposed into villains) I don't actively search out Lego, but I don't remember the last time I've seen a plain smiley face guy in a set. :(
In 1991 I wanted nothing more than Star Wars Lego's to exist, two of my favorite things. No I got a hospital set with an ambulance so I can play "E.R." but even that wasn't even out yet.
I enjoyed the bit about the coruscant guard gunship. Lego fr cheaped out on that set compared to the AT-TE from the year prior. Which are are both in the exact same $140 price range.
I absolutely adore Lego Monkie Kid, as it's a beautifully animated series and I wish I could get more of the sets, but one of my main issues outside the price point and size of the sets is the fact that they are Lego store exclusive, meaning you're unable to get them anywhere else and since I don't have a lego store in my state it means I have to order them online adding shipping to the cost if it's a small set and it really sucks
Plenty do compete, they just aren’t as global as LEGO. I’ll be the first to admit that quality from 3rd party brands has increased at an exceptional rate over these past few years. They just don’t have the same hold on the world LEGO does. Or, at least not yet anyways.
@@PenPlays Oh absolutely. Unfortunately most of it stems from lego having an iron grip on any small detail of those bricks. They fight tooth and nail so that other companies have itm maximized difficult to produce and sell...
@@mikes9753 They do have a 3D design protection on those, yes. But Lego attacks every figure that looks even close to their figurines, like the QMan figurines. They look nothing alike, but because of some judges, they are "too similar"... Also the quality of Lego bricks has gone down so much over the years, they are not the quality leader anymore, unfortunately
They used to be meant to rebuilt, with various re-usable pieces and few one-use pieces and illustrations or even instructions for at least 3 different things to build even from a $10 set.
I'm guilty as I own expensive minifigs such as D.va and Akita, but I bought those before their prices soared and I never intend to sell them. Is Lego's monopoly the main reason minifigs sell for more than other more detailed figures?
i saw the parts on a news site for PAB and i was so sad when they weren't on there... 2023 summer ninjago PAB wave is still the best of them all... at least they put the TOS armor on PAB i guess..
Because with the QR code on the bottom of the new boxes, you can find out what they are faster and don’t have to risk getting a bunch of the same ones. That’s why
@@PenPlaysOhh wow the qr code tells you what is in the box? 😮 So they aren't really blind bags anymore? I was an expert in squeezing out what was in, never got a duplicate once. Only got a character wrong a couple of times in the mario set, they were impossible to tell lol and once or two otherwise, but never got a duplicate
I agree with the price being lowered to bring more customers, i cant remember how many times i picked up a set i liked and then put it down cause its a small one for $40, i have one lego set that was on sale because its just alot
People were lead to believe that it was due to a contract preventing them from selling “standalone action figures” but that was debunked some time ago. We don’t know for sure; but I would assume it’s because they want to charge you more knowing you’ll buy the characters anyways.
I’m one of the people that buy Lego sets mostly for the mini figures. Yes I do love the build. But I also love have a mini figure of my favorite characters! It’s like having action figures but I love the art style, how uniform they all look next to each other. My favorite sets are Indiana jones and early ninjago. Love all those mini figures!
the 1 fig/$10 of set price is always the metric i have gone by for 2 decades and lego did for so long. Once the lego group realized the desirability of minifigs it seems they set a standard of $5 per fig. Generally in ADDITION to the build of the set. Do the math it works with most sets now.
Some star wars setw would really benefit if they got a battlepack taped to them for free. "Here, have 3 clones and a super droid, and a crab droid build". Would solve a lot of problems with CW sets
The minifig holds value to me. But it does not decide a set being good or bad. If for example talking about the latest medieval village center set. Even if it has some "unique" figures, I care less if they are unique. More that they fit the scene and basically have some good looking figures populate the place. A house alone is but a building. But the figures with it make it a home. That kinda thing. So yes figures are important. And they should mesh with the set but the lunacy that lives in certain communities that focus on a certain IP baffles me. No figure is worth 100s of dollars. Sorry.
I cannot believe they jumped on the "blind bag" wagon. Now you do not know what minifig you are getting. Bricksearch had a free app that let you scan them, now they want $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year to use it. They should sell in 3-packs or as complete sets. I complained to Lego about this and they just acknowledged a complete minifig aftermarket.
Based on what do you determine the production costs are higher and higher. I'm pretty sure it's all very very relative. NOONE bought the hoopty i'm sure lol maybe now at almost 50% yeah but the hoopty was insane.
For my part, I am perfectly fine with this trend. I keep getting my hands on awesome lego builds that are sold new, minus the minifigures. People are buying the sets for the minifigs alone and then go on to sell the building blocks for peanuts, haha. Just got the latest Harry Potter Great Hall, brand new still with the original box, for 50 dollars
I suspect Disney/Marvel/Lucas or Warner Bros/DC or whoever charges more in licensing for a product based on something that's current (e.g. a movie that's being released into cinemas or a TV show that's just premiered on streaming) vs something that's older. So e.g. The Marvels (a brand new film that was about to launch in cinemas at the time the Hoopty launched) or X-Men 97 (a brand new TV show that's still current and having new episodes made) might cost more to license than, say, something based either on an older film/TV show or on something from the comics.
I’d argue it shouldn’t apply, as they kinda exist as their own thing, but LEGO doesn’t see it that way. With that in mind, I’d say one should account for the value of only two minifigs, but, as we’ve seen recently, LEGO sees them have a value of an entire $30 set on their own which I know is something no one would agree with.
And some builds are nice to display as-is, but if they’re going to have Minifigures, they might as well have all we would expect. It is a need, indeed.
@PenPlays true true, i'm very character centric so if i don't have space on my room for something(as i collect other things aside from lego) i can atleast display the minifigs but builds are important too if they are good, i usually go for mechs and smaller build so characters are a must for me, but yeah, your video is pretty good
No the problem they have with the minifigure is that they run out of stock and then you can't buy any more minifigures especially with custom builds they need more variety
its beyond tempting to just say “stars fans coping as always” but this video isnt just a rant personally i see prints in general as the most significant part of a set, including minifigures but not exclusively. prints often provide more detail than what can be gotten with a build. minifigures are great and all, but also i think what makes lego something to hold onto long term is building things, not just for semi-annual purchase of sets
I hate minifigs, i never liked them or cared much for them. Even my in my fav themes like; (Power Miners, Aqua Raiders, Atlantis an Sonic) i couldnt care if a set came with one or not, i only like the builds an the minifigs are just to have a nameless jobber be there to interact with the world/set. But im a bionicle/technic enthusiast so i dont think my opinion is too relevant to the majority.
The Lego group and it's demand for it's products have ballooned to the point where the CEO's no longer care about quality or the customer's experience. The bottom line and their pockets are all that matters now. After 2020, the Lego product has begun a downfall to which there is no stop to until the consumer pulls back again.
watched the whole thing and though I do agree with you, you have spent a hell lot of time on something LEGO will not give a rats ass about (sadly). They totally lost the human element in their business imho.
Minifig collectors are the funkopop people of the lego fandom and I don't respect them. But I will take their discounted sets minus the figures on facebook marketplace all day.
I do want to say some sets really REALLY should've slid in more figures for more options to get the ninja for the ninjago part 4 figures for 70$?? (Kai's Climber mech)... it really feels like they could've thrown in nya too. But I do want to know if set designers have very specific rules to follow on adding figures in, whether some sets are allowed to have 1-2 extra other ninja than the feature ninja in their respective vehicle. I do need to say that some waves definintely need more sets, especially for 2024 ninjago so far.
like, i KNOW we have a ton of waves and sets but not enough sets that give us cheap options for the ninja (120$ min for Climber Lloyd, Nya, Zane is rough)
It’s like I said, LEGO gives the Ninjago team a limited budget, so if one set needs more minifigs, another is going to get less. It’s very ineffective, as LEGO has billions of dollars to work with, but that’s the current state of things.
I believe they know that, which is why they have so many exclusive minifigs in there. But think of it this way for example: if there were 12 sets, you’d likely be paying the same amount of money at retail all the minifigs as you would to get just the six sets out now with them in it? You’d be spending the same amount of money over time, they just expect more up front.
@ maybe it’s also just me wanting the fact there’s more ways to get dupes of figures sometimes plus more location related thingies I like collecting but like having duplicates for stop motion yk
@@ElectricPeaPlayz each set is designed for sale at a certain budget. For example: Cole's Dragon Titan Mech designer chose to give the set only one minifigure to maximise the amount of parts that could be used on the main mech build. I imagine that the designers for Kai's Climber Mech could have included another figure, if the build had less parts.
I agree it is way too anoying to have the characters exclusive to one set as During the Ninjago season 14 (the island ) I wanted to get all the ninja however I couldn’t get the hole collection as there was no repeatless sets to choose The keepers village : coal Kai jay Katamaran sea battle : Zane Kai jay The jungle dragon: Lloyd Zane The bike set : Lloyd nay The distribution of characters ment that I needed to skip out getting Zane and now in my collection it is the island ninja and the VS Zane
I couldn't care less about the sets. I just want Minifigures. Been collecting since a month again and already have around 160 and love every single one of them.
You could even buy a Friends advent calendar without a single figure in it in 2018 - 🤪! It is sad to say this, but Lego hates girls - big time 😩👎🤮💩! Also, they do not know what is going on in several of their licensed themes, which shows how little knowledge or "quality control" - if any - they have 😵💫.
This video was great, I find you always approach things from a consumer first perspective and I do really like the whole minifigure by price angle. One thing, Marvel wise, I am surprised I never see people talking about how bad The Hoopty was in terms of price, not including a villain, holding certain minifigs hostage etc. I feel like it went under a lot of radars because the film isn't that great but compare that to the egregiously priced X-Jet and it makes the Jet look like deal of the century... I know it's like comparing a turd with a turd that includes Wolverine, but would LOVE to hear what you think of The Hoopty. Love what you do man, keep it up.
Thank you for the kind words. That comparison got me laughing. I think what’s really not going to help the jet in the future as well is that the only exclusive minifig it has now is Magneto, and for most people, it’s the inferior one. This just means good discounts are inevitable. I look forward to it.
I would for parts, otherwise yeah no thanks. I would have hard time selling the minifigs, however I would rather blanks them and then make custom prints. There is a solution for everything ... But yeah only if I get them for free.
take the free set, use the pieces to build something more fun (bonus points if you mix it up with other random sets) and post the result somewhere it'll annoy merch collectors :D
dude is just complaining for the sake of complaining. Lego still has the print quality among ALL big toy companies. Yes. I have been comparing them for quite a long time now
But do you check printing LEGO printing before the 2010’s? They’re comparable now, LEGO’s arguably being some of the worst, but back before then, LEGO was the best at it. That is why people complain. The difference in quality is jarring
Compared to other brick companies on the market, LEGO has some of the worst printings nowadays. If they even have prints and dont use stickers for everything...
The Lego movie is popculture to you?😂 get out of your lego bubble, Ive never heard anyone talk about it and I didnt even know it was thing... Adults and Lego are one thing and one thing only, Cringe...
I, HATE minifigures, i never liked them as a kid and dont like them now, i just want to build LEGOs i dont want plastic figures that inflate the price even more than what its supposed to be.
The whole point is that they go with the set, what is the point for kids and stop motion/moc creators as well if there’s nothing to actually go with the builds stupid logic
@@orhandalegend there is objectivity that the vast majority of people want and like fighters in sets, you’re in the complete minority here. Tf is the point in making the sets if there’s no figures to go with it. Your argument is absurd
My kids get mega blocks. Its sad, because I had LEGOs as a kid. But for what they charge nowadays for LEGO brand, its almost like they don't even want people buying them anymore 🫤
The most iconic thing about modern Lego is how they can keep increasing the price while quality takes a deep dive and the marks will just buy it anyways
And how they suck. BRING BACK CONSTACTION. They have notvm had any since 2017. I been buying bootlegs
I wouldn't say that I've had any quality issues with newer sets, it's more like increasing prices while keeping the same overall quality
The average consumer, the parent of a child, does not give a damn about "quality" in these sets.
@@onemoreweirdo207Printed pieces to stickers is inarguably a downgrade, despite the increase in price.
@@rooknado Stickers have always been present, in fact they used to be way worse. There are sets where the minifigure torsos were stickers or where the stickers would span across multiple pieces, both of which have been stopped.
And yeah, I hate them as much as the next person, and obviously I'd prefer having printed pieces, but it's not a new thing.
In the olden days there used to be character packs for all themes, I still have a bunch of 90s space and castle packs, as well as small sets with just a great fig with a horse or a small build, instead of making them all exclusive to huge sets.
it's a side effect of them chasing the merch/collector market rather than just being creative toys. the cool un-named astronauts and pirates and knights on horseback weren't used as currency in the way that licensed characters are...
honestly i could only watch this video up til the ~15 minute mark because the idea of wanting these very speciic star wars characters to be in these specific sets was so alien to me. lego never used to be about that.
@didaididai207 this. In the end I don't care if someone just wants the minifigs from Lego. I fell in love with Lego again this year, when I got myself the Saturn V. The child in me is still in awe as how great it feels to see the things come to life. At 44 I am in no means rich, but I can buy a set every month and have something that I like to have on display, plus I get to build it myself (as a disabled person whos right hand doesn't work nearly as well as it should, the building these bricks lets me train my fingers to stay nimbler).
Without mini figs, whatever would drive to predatory Lego scalpers?
Maxifigs? Millenium Falcons?
If Lego stopped making figs the global economy will collapse
Ive always thought that they could make millions and make fans very happy if they sell minifigures like funkos. A bunch of franchises that might not need a sets, and even adult ones like game of thrones or breaking bad, and that we get only the minifigure of the character with a few accesories, like the cmf but you know what character youre purchasing.
As a fan I would definitely obsess collecting Minifigures of my favorite characters and shows, besides the fact that you can customize them by switching pieces, they are compatible with any Lego set and they are smaller and easier to storage than funko
They tried this with Lego dimensions, many people didn’t even play the game they just bought the packs for the unique minifigures. The concept works because it allowed LEGO to release Minifigs that didn’t really need a whole set dedicated to them which allowed them to appeal to more niche fandoms. But they cancelled it for whatever reason, I think it was because the game didn’t catch (even though it was a good concept). They could have just removed the video game character discs and sold just the minifgures. They had a gold mine and fumbled it.
They used to sell blind bags with figures in it here in Australia! Not sure if they do that anymore though?
They already kind of do. But you don't know what you will get.
@@joshmagosh1619yeah, they made money on the sets but the game stuff cost a lot. You're right they should have just sold the figures alone. I know I bought Chinese versions of a lot of the dimensions figures
@@MJ-uk6lu i know about the CMF minifigure blind bags, what I’m describing is slightly different, CMF doesn’t often make licensed CMF series and when they do they are limited to one franchise.
I believe that the perfect example on how to do minifigures is Lego Sonic. It sticks to a reasonable amount of figures for each price, side builds for each non-focus character and immaculate detail throughout, without compromising the theme budget, allowing for really good builds
It's funny that you say that because Sonic is getting a dedicated episode of this series I've been doing because it really hasn't actually been very good at all.
@@PenPlays wdym?
An hour of LEGO problems? Sign me up
I LIKE HOW YOU "LEGO FANS" COMPLAN ABOUT EVRYTHING AFTER YOU CRY ABOUT GETING IT FOR YEARSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SOME ARE BAD SO ARE GOOD IT COSTS MONEY EVREY THIG DOSE FOR CRING OUT LOUDE
I AM NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT YOU BUT ALL BIG LEGO YOUTBERS IF YOU CAN STOP COMPLANIG ABOUT LEGO THAT DONT DO LEGO
But it’s their job, they earn money with complaining about LEGO🤷♂️
@ that is true
As a brand new AFOL, I find it a little frustrating how pretty much all mini figs you can buy in stores, meaning without buying separate pick a brick parts and making your own (which I ended up doing) are either Star Wars related or some other kind of superhero-which, as a toy aimed at children, I understand, but as someone who wants to just build MOCs of buildings in my neighborhood, having a Yoda/Boba Fett/Luke Skywalker/etc. mini fig kind of breaks the idea lol
Okay but the minifig blind box series' exist, and Lego City is packed full of generic ones.
The solution to the Lego minifigure problem is simple. Replace every minifigure in every theme with Legacy Kai. Lego's annual profits will reach One Zillon Dollars instantly!
ZILLIONS!!!
I am tired of LEGO hyper fixating on one character from each franchise (Batman, Ironman) and giving us a million slightly different variants when they have a Bible’s worth of other characters to pull from. I get they’re popular so you want to give people ample opportunities to get some version, but it just leads to other characters equally as popular being overlooked. We also need more just plain average filler characters, It’s impossible to world build when you’ve got 15 different Batman and 0 citizens.
I miss the older themes (such as castle and space) that were not nearly as centered around a few specific heroes and villains, or had hundreds of different side characters. Army building was so much easier and cheaper. If I wanted a few to become medics, engineers, outlaws, or the faction leader, I could just slap on a different color or type of helmet/hands/weapon or whatever.
i used the castle pieces to make unhinged architectural follies, i made wigs for the outlaws because there weren't enough female characters lol... i also built a castle on a boat when we got a pirate set😭it was great!
i don't like all the licensed stuff because i feel like it's quietly setting rules about what you can and can't do - those are known characters with their own personalities and settings, they're prescriptive in a way that random spacemen or soldiers are not. but i feel like those sets aren't really aimed at the same market as the older themes
Come on, Lego now has like 3 castles and they have many space themed sets. There's really no shortage of those.
One thing that I seriously care about in a selection of figures is design consistency. Like I got a DC set with Batman and Aquaman in it. Batman had really good torso printing with complex detailed shading, but Aquaman just had flat outlines for the muscle detailing. Idk maybe I'm just autistic
Me too :)
the minifigure and brand recognition are the only things they have over its competitors. i always find it funny whenever a new Lego product is released that id consider buying i just hop on ebay 3 days later and buy it new without minifigure and safe like 30% if its a Star Wars set with special figures i can go up to 50%
This is very true the last couple o' years around this time Menards for those who know have been putting bootleg Legos on the shelves, I pulled a tire from one the fake sets and one from a Lego bucket and they're not only the same brick but same quality and yes the fake minifigures are so bad most sets didn't have any this year.
I think the Lego Japanese garden, I don’t know if that’s what it’s officially called, could really benefit from a mini fig. My friend has it, and she and her boyfriend got custom mini figs of themselves at the Lego store and put them in the garden. They look so cute and fit perfectly in the scene.
Long ago, LEGO used to make character/battle pack sets for each different theme and/or sub-theme, for "supplemental purposes". The better ones have characters that are not already in sets. I myself have bought some of these. Why they don't do this anymore is beyond me. It would solve a few of these problems. Those who want/need more minifigures to bolster their numbers, and those who are only interested in minifigures for collecting purposes can benefit from this.
The only demographic who wouldn't benefit is those who have a lot of minifigures with "nothing to do" and not enough ships, accessories or vehicles to go around. But, you can't please everyone.
They still sort of do. The problem with this is that Lego doesn't have licenses to produce "Action Figures" so any such set needs to contain a substantial build element such that it still qualifies under their "Construction Set" licensing.
You're absolutely right in the cultural value/impact of a minifigure versus a standard brick or even set. Something like the millennium falcon set made an impact when it was released, but the lego star wars game series, when the minifigs were put front and center as playable characters, has endured far longer and enjoyed basically ubiquitous popularity since its release
When I was a kid, there were no characters in Lego, period. There was Space Guy in blue or Pirate with hook or Knight with shield. I used my sets to build the base bullds, but that was day one, eventually they all joined in the same large bin, and to rebuild an old set meant hours of finding the pieces first, but that was the fun. The entire point was to break free of the box designs and design your own creations, and we played with action figures the same way. All these sets may have sold a lot of plastic, and I'm sure you've had fun with them, but what cost you've paid in the endless freedom of dreams is the price you won't even know to miss.
100% this!
it genuinely makes me sad if this isn't the normal way to play with lego any more. but if you're paying through the nose for some specific licensed replica batmobile or whatever then i guess the idea of breaking it up to put in the mixed lego box afterwards is terrifying... they've realised that selling glorified 3d jigsaws to adults is more lucrative than selling imaginative building toys to kids. it's a shame.
Lego still sells Classic brick boxes. Also I put leftovers from sets into same box and then decide to build something random. My only gripe is that there are too many colors and you get very little of each color. So if you want to build something that doesn't look like rainbow barf, that sucks. Also same with shapes. There's no need to add random crap, 2x4, 2x2 brick and bricks with slopes would be enough. Anything more complicates stuff and Lego doesn't give enough pieces of each. I personally had a blast rebuilding old Lego house as it only had white, red, black bricks and green baseplate.
The issue of having made monkie kid sets almost unobtainable outside the Asian market is doubly absurd, considering that another original Lego theme - Ninjago - is based on the whole context of Far Eastern fantasy, of which one of the representatives is the novel Journey to the West.
They’re easily obtainable thru LEGO’s website, but they’re VERY expensive.
I feel like they dropped the ball on making it a worldwide thing. I feel like it would be an easy change to amend to
@PenPlays Right, I was referring to availability in physical stores.
Would still cost the same since LEGO does free shipping at $35.
Still it’s not tangible like in-store, and not in people’s faces either. Doesn’t help it’s case.
I miss the inclusion of generic figures, i.e. plain clones troopers, b1 battle droids, or regular just normal figs
What I think is crazy is the minifigs amount takes away from the budget of parts.
The reason the Cole mech is so detailed, yet has literally only the pilot. No side builds or enemies.
Is anything besides the main build took up budget for the designer, another minifig? Smaller main build.
The problem is the more figs you do the more they set is forced to become barebones. That’s why sets like Hoth base are so bad. More figs, less actual builds.
It’s also why a ton of 18 plus sets refused to have any figs. Because they took budget from the build which they need every piece.
Minifigs should not reduce part budgets, should be part of their own budget. You can do more simple designs, but if you want more unique figs. Less common ones.
This way you can get a set that’s huge but has plenty of cool figs.
Also I love main builds, Cole mech in particular a ton. It’s a very awesome build, I love the tech it does. But only Cole? No characters related to him, or any arch rival. Nope. You’d have to buy another set to give him an actual enemy.
Also side note, fuck the new mech elbows and knee part. Such an annoying piece. If I want any of the figs I get stuck with this piece that rack my brain to use. It’s so hard. It so could have been a new joint type. Like imagine?? It would be useful in smaller builds and still move a decent amount.
Are you talking about the generic parts that are used in all Lego builds or the exclusive parts in the figures? Remember the new Iron Man Mech? Sure, you got a new mech with new parts. But $26 for 86 parts? Not all that went to the actual parts but license and design.
@ apparently every already existing piece and specialized pieces all have basically an internal budget.
The more unique large pieces you use, the less small ones you can afford to use.
So you need to balance both to make sets at certain price points.
While minifigs due to printing and all that, o guess take a bit from budget.
It’s hard to explain but that’s like the iron man. Lots of large pieces but you can’t use them elsewhere, instead of small bricks for details.
I think that’s why the eco joint was made, one piece instead of 2-3. Saves like a lil bit, plus restricts movement some.
Regarding Padme in the Clone Wars gunship, I can see 3 possible reasons why they re-used the outfit instead of doing one more faithful to the scene. One is that the better outfit might have been more expensive to produce (e.g. required printed legs or a more complex torso print or something). The second is that the rights-holder made the decision for whatever reason. And the third is that LEGO decided that the particular outfit they used would make the set more appealing somehow.
Oh and another possibility is that at the time the designs were made, LEGO didn't have all the information they would have required to produce the minifig with the scene-accurate outfit.
Let’s be clear. The outfit is not a reuse. It is a brand new design based on a design we have already got before. If the rights holder was specific about their needs for the set, the Padme we ended up with would not have been included. It is very likely LEGO suggested Padme and got the okay, rather than get Lucasfilm’s directive first. It’s quite the common practice for them, especially for a set with concepts over nine years old at the time of the product’s release.
Oh ya. “An Old Friend,” the episode the Gunship should have been based on, was televised publicly nine years before the LEGO set released. LEGO had all they would need including full access to the old production materials to make it right but chose not to use them.
I believe that Lego went for a more iconic outfit instead. That’s Padme’s main outfit in TCW, so a lot more versatile from a play stand point and more recognizable from a collectors view.
How to calculate lego:
0.10 ¢ a brick (generalized)
+ $3 a minifig.
If it's 20% higher in price than that then its licensing.
But lego has NOT gone up cause "inflation" (their base themes like space and city are the same prices or better than what they were 10 years ago)
But with that said the minifig scalper market has gotten wild cheap for buying lego sets in box without minifigs.
Like a $180 millennium falcon (1k pieces) for $70 in box minus figs.
It is a Very Unifying Way to Collect things from Any Medium in a Consistent Way, but better then Fun-co Pops because it can interact with the Whole Lego System.
@nicklegostava Weird question here, but why are you capitalizing only certain words in your comment? I understand it for Lego and Funko* Pops as they are brand names, but why "Very Unifying Way [to] Collect" and not "better than* Funko Pops"? Both very and better are adjectives but you don't treat them the same?
No hate or offense meant, I'm just very curious of the thoughts/reasoning. Whenever I come across comments like yours it stands out to me because I read them with a kinda emphasis when typed with random or al capitals as you do.
Not quite, not quite but almost like...
"It is a 👏Very👏Unifying👏Way to 👏Collect things from 👏Any👏Medium in a 👏Consistent👏Way, but better than 👏Funko👏Pops because it can interact with the 👏Whole👏Lego👏System."
I look forward to your thoughts about it.
Wow, it was so much easier back in the day. Back then you had the choice between a white or red classic spaceman. And if you were lucky enough, you might have got one of each in a particular set. And as for being really spoilt, one got two of each in a set such as the Galaxy Explorer!
I still have that original space explorer set, with the box and all 4 figs but pretty worn. Was my uncles as a kid back when it was new, then passed down to us when we were kids. A real testament to durability to survive 5 boys through the years lol!
hyper realistic minions don’t make sense scale back the detail and lower the price they’d look a lot better anyway
It also baffles me how some people put so much value on mini figures. Like do people actually like the figures or are they just hoping it’ll be valuable in the future?
People actually like them. Lots of people even get entire sets just for them. You see this at play on resale sites where people sell just the minifigs for nearly the price of the entire set they came from, and then sell the set without the Minifigures at half the set’s retail price since they’re missing.
The minifigs have a value some do not recognize. Depends on the characters and sets of course.
That’s the only appeal of every $20-25 battle pack since 2018.
But I get what you mean with the larger sets. I just laugh at the people who place such value on these things, because I thought the same way for a few years. It’s not safe for your shelving, wallet, or motivation.
I barely even cared about them as kid. I liked buildings and random small bits a lot more.
Ninjago frustrates me because I'm convinced if Exo-Force had a cartoon, it'd still be around. But now all Lego does is Ninjago and licensed junk. There's barely any originality.
Have we even had a sci fi theme in the past decade? Anything even _remotely_ similar to Aquanauts or M-Tron or Power Miners?
Nope it's all Harry Potter, Star Wars, Superheroes, City, and Ninjago.
I bought quite a few of 31120 Creator 3in1 castle sets. The potential in there is unlimited as you can see from the sheer amount of MOC builds on rebrickable. So the brick selection is as perfect as you can get. But the 100$ set contains only two soldiers and one rather out of place (pirate?) smith. There should have been a knight with a horse, no excuse, LEGO! One or two more civilians would not hurt the story-playing, but the knight on horseback was in every one classic castle ever released. Writing that down I found the omission of the knight so obvious I would be surprised you did not talk about it in a video in the past already (this is my first video of yours). Have a nice day, everybody!
Well, could be worse. Bonsai has 101 pink frogs and you are left with tons of leftover pink frogs. I added some to my alien display as frogs vs aliens theme, but I still have tons of those frogs.
Just saying this out there:
Love your bricks and your figures equally. Just like how you don’t need to pick a favorite son.
You definitely do need to pick a favorite son
The 2023 Disney Celebration Train is the perfect example of LEGO getting it right when it comes to fig count and selection.
It costs $40 in the US and has no less than 6 minifigs including unique variants of both Mickey and Minnie, a Moana minifig (something we will probably not see again anytime soon given that Moana is normally depicted with a minidoll), Peter Pan and Tinkerbell figures that have only otherwise appeared in a more expensive diorama set plus a Woody figure not seen since 2019.
My favorite minifig as a kid was a plain smiley face guy with a red shirt and blue pants. If I felt really fancy, I'd put the hat on him.
My brother and I would make "farms" and have a whole little economy. We rarely used the licensed characters, unless we needed somebody to come cause trouble. (Ninja turtles often got repurposed into villains)
I don't actively search out Lego, but I don't remember the last time I've seen a plain smiley face guy in a set. :(
Lego has a price problem
In 1991 I wanted nothing more than Star Wars Lego's to exist, two of my favorite things. No I got a hospital set with an ambulance so I can play "E.R." but even that wasn't even out yet.
38:45 my good sir where is our obligatory reference to Bionicle?
I enjoyed the bit about the coruscant guard gunship. Lego fr cheaped out on that set compared to the AT-TE from the year prior. Which are are both in the exact same $140 price range.
'ha (our name for haushapt) always told me: never underestimate a micro item's effectiveness or iconicity, think in nodules.
I absolutely adore Lego Monkie Kid, as it's a beautifully animated series and I wish I could get more of the sets, but one of my main issues outside the price point and size of the sets is the fact that they are Lego store exclusive, meaning you're unable to get them anywhere else and since I don't have a lego store in my state it means I have to order them online adding shipping to the cost if it's a small set and it really sucks
Pretty much all but two of Monkie Kid’s sets are over the free shipping threshold so shipping costs should not be an issue for ya.
one of the biggest reasons is the monopoly lego has. They dont need to increase standards, if other manufacturers are not allowed to compete.
Plenty do compete, they just aren’t as global as LEGO.
I’ll be the first to admit that quality from 3rd party brands has increased at an exceptional rate over these past few years. They just don’t have the same hold on the world LEGO does. Or, at least not yet anyways.
@@PenPlays Oh absolutely. Unfortunately most of it stems from lego having an iron grip on any small detail of those bricks. They fight tooth and nail so that other companies have itm maximized difficult to produce and sell...
@@KatojanaCADA and FU making bricks with LEGO quality but i think minifigures are patented so only Lego can make them with that design.
@@mikes9753 They do have a 3D design protection on those, yes. But Lego attacks every figure that looks even close to their figurines, like the QMan figurines. They look nothing alike, but because of some judges, they are "too similar"...
Also the quality of Lego bricks has gone down so much over the years, they are not the quality leader anymore, unfortunately
@@PenPlays they might be. Sembo and Sluban has their own original sets. They're more into mecha sets than building or scenes.
I'm an adult that recently got back into Legos and honestly I've been pretty satisfied with all the mini gigs that come with my sets.
The X Mansion has to be a shining example of this Problem
They used to be meant to rebuilt, with various re-usable pieces and few one-use pieces and illustrations or even instructions for at least 3 different things to build even from a $10 set.
I'm guilty as I own expensive minifigs such as D.va and Akita, but I bought those before their prices soared and I never intend to sell them. Is Lego's monopoly the main reason minifigs sell for more than other more detailed figures?
43:20 the pab team confirmed we won't be getting full tournament and Climber figs on PAB :(
They realized we weren’t buying the sets to get them, so they’re forcing us to get the sets to get them.
Can’t say I’m surprised, sadly
i saw the parts on a news site for PAB and i was so sad when they weren't on there...
2023 summer ninjago PAB wave is still the best of them all... at least they put the TOS armor on PAB i guess..
@ElectricPeaPlayz yeah happy they did at least that, very useful pieces
@@PenPlays yeah me neither
Happy we got all the molds and parts tho
@@AdiR9234 i agree
The mystery packs were great when you could squeeze them and find what you wanted. Now they come in boxes. Why would anyone buy them now?
Because with the QR code on the bottom of the new boxes, you can find out what they are faster and don’t have to risk getting a bunch of the same ones. That’s why
@@PenPlaysOhh wow the qr code tells you what is in the box? 😮 So they aren't really blind bags anymore?
I was an expert in squeezing out what was in, never got a duplicate once. Only got a character wrong a couple of times in the mario set, they were impossible to tell lol and once or two otherwise, but never got a duplicate
Great video btw
This video should be required watching by all employees of lego.
I agree with the price being lowered to bring more customers, i cant remember how many times i picked up a set i liked and then put it down cause its a small one for $40, i have one lego set that was on sale because its just alot
I buy lego sets semi annually as an adult, and I don't see the appeal in including minifigs on every set. I only use them as set pieces.
Oh boy 1 hour of lego problems sign me up
Is there a reason licensed mini figs aren’t released in packs without a set/ vehicle to build?
People were lead to believe that it was due to a contract preventing them from selling “standalone action figures” but that was debunked some time ago.
We don’t know for sure; but I would assume it’s because they want to charge you more knowing you’ll buy the characters anyways.
The most iconic thing the Lego brick known for is getting stepped on by Bare feet.
I’m one of the people that buy Lego sets mostly for the mini figures. Yes I do love the build. But I also love have a mini figure of my favorite characters! It’s like having action figures but I love the art style, how uniform they all look next to each other. My favorite sets are Indiana jones and early ninjago. Love all those mini figures!
That Star Lord is Terrible given there is a Star Lord minifig with his actual outfit, i have one!
the 1 fig/$10 of set price is always the metric i have gone by for 2 decades and lego did for so long. Once the lego group realized the desirability of minifigs it seems they set a standard of $5 per fig. Generally in ADDITION to the build of the set. Do the math it works with most sets now.
Some star wars setw would really benefit if they got a battlepack taped to them for free. "Here, have 3 clones and a super droid, and a crab droid build". Would solve a lot of problems with CW sets
The minifig holds value to me. But it does not decide a set being good or bad. If for example talking about the latest medieval village center set. Even if it has some "unique" figures, I care less if they are unique. More that they fit the scene and basically have some good looking figures populate the place. A house alone is but a building. But the figures with it make it a home. That kinda thing. So yes figures are important. And they should mesh with the set but the lunacy that lives in certain communities that focus on a certain IP baffles me. No figure is worth 100s of dollars. Sorry.
I cannot believe they jumped on the "blind bag" wagon. Now you do not know what minifig you are getting. Bricksearch had a free app that let you scan them, now they want $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year to use it. They should sell in 3-packs or as complete sets. I complained to Lego about this and they just acknowledged a complete minifig aftermarket.
There are so many free apps other than Bricksearch you could use
Based on what do you determine the production costs are higher and higher. I'm pretty sure it's all very very relative.
NOONE bought the hoopty i'm sure lol maybe now at almost 50% yeah but the hoopty was insane.
Legp needs invest in finising the Hobbit game
Funny how mtg does crossovers and it destroyed any immersion players had. Lego does it and everyone loves it.
For my part, I am perfectly fine with this trend. I keep getting my hands on awesome lego builds that are sold new, minus the minifigures. People are buying the sets for the minifigs alone and then go on to sell the building blocks for peanuts, haha. Just got the latest Harry Potter Great Hall, brand new still with the original box, for 50 dollars
Maybe its just my nostalgia for 90s lego but the newer minifigs are overly detailed imo
okay youtube ill finally watch it😭
I wish they’d do Legends figures and ships in the Star Wars series.
I suspect Disney/Marvel/Lucas or Warner Bros/DC or whoever charges more in licensing for a product based on something that's current (e.g. a movie that's being released into cinemas or a TV show that's just premiered on streaming) vs something that's older.
So e.g. The Marvels (a brand new film that was about to launch in cinemas at the time the Hoopty launched) or X-Men 97 (a brand new TV show that's still current and having new episodes made) might cost more to license than, say, something based either on an older film/TV show or on something from the comics.
How would big figs change the mini fig per interval thing
I’d argue it shouldn’t apply, as they kinda exist as their own thing, but LEGO doesn’t see it that way.
With that in mind, I’d say one should account for the value of only two minifigs, but, as we’ve seen recently, LEGO sees them have a value of an entire $30 set on their own which I know is something no one would agree with.
1:01:43 Every time I bought a Hero Factory set. I've never gotten a Bionicle!😖
The problem with the builds is that they are just that, you need a minifig to pose or play with
And some builds are nice to display as-is, but if they’re going to have Minifigures, they might as well have all we would expect. It is a need, indeed.
@PenPlays true true, i'm very character centric so if i don't have space on my room for something(as i collect other things aside from lego) i can atleast display the minifigs but builds are important too if they are good, i usually go for mechs and smaller build so characters are a must for me, but yeah, your video is pretty good
No the problem they have with the minifigure is that they run out of stock and then you can't buy any more minifigures especially with custom builds they need more variety
its beyond tempting to just say “stars fans coping as always” but this video isnt just a rant
personally i see prints in general as the most significant part of a set, including minifigures but not exclusively. prints often provide more detail than what can be gotten with a build.
minifigures are great and all, but also i think what makes lego something to hold onto long term is building things, not just for semi-annual purchase of sets
ninjago character are all Lego's original yellow.
5:41
Where’s the pink?
The minifigure is LEGO.
Or, have those micro figures, that are two blocks high?
Think back to those Lego board games
I hate minifigs, i never liked them or cared much for them. Even my in my fav themes like; (Power Miners, Aqua Raiders, Atlantis an Sonic) i couldnt care if a set came with one or not, i only like the builds an the minifigs are just to have a nameless jobber be there to interact with the world/set.
But im a bionicle/technic enthusiast so i dont think my opinion is too relevant to the majority.
The Lego group and it's demand for it's products have ballooned to the point where the CEO's no longer care about quality or the customer's experience. The bottom line and their pockets are all that matters now. After 2020, the Lego product has begun a downfall to which there is no stop to until the consumer pulls back again.
Can’t argue with that.
Dude don’t know how this ended up in my feed but I read something completely different in the thumbnail. I’m disappointed now
watched the whole thing and though I do agree with you, you have spent a hell lot of time on something LEGO will not give a rats ass about (sadly).
They totally lost the human element in their business imho.
nothing wrong with the quality of marvel minifigs. they’re dope af
Minifig collectors are the funkopop people of the lego fandom and I don't respect them. But I will take their discounted sets minus the figures on facebook marketplace all day.
Haven’t got a set in a while cos poor but i find the leg durability more problematic than the prints
I do want to say some sets really REALLY should've slid in more figures for more options to get the ninja for the ninjago part
4 figures for 70$?? (Kai's Climber mech)... it really feels like they could've thrown in nya too. But I do want to know if set designers have very specific rules to follow on adding figures in, whether some sets are allowed to have 1-2 extra other ninja than the feature ninja in their respective vehicle.
I do need to say that some waves definintely need more sets, especially for 2024 ninjago so far.
like, i KNOW we have a ton of waves and sets but not enough sets that give us cheap options for the ninja (120$ min for Climber Lloyd, Nya, Zane is rough)
It’s like I said, LEGO gives the Ninjago team a limited budget, so if one set needs more minifigs, another is going to get less.
It’s very ineffective, as LEGO has billions of dollars to work with, but that’s the current state of things.
I believe they know that, which is why they have so many exclusive minifigs in there.
But think of it this way for example: if there were 12 sets, you’d likely be paying the same amount of money at retail all the minifigs as you would to get just the six sets out now with them in it?
You’d be spending the same amount of money over time, they just expect more up front.
@ maybe it’s also just me wanting the fact there’s more ways to get dupes of figures sometimes plus more location related thingies
I like collecting but like having duplicates for stop motion yk
@@ElectricPeaPlayz each set is designed for sale at a certain budget. For example: Cole's Dragon Titan Mech designer chose to give the set only one minifigure to maximise the amount of parts that could be used on the main mech build. I imagine that the designers for Kai's Climber Mech could have included another figure, if the build had less parts.
Lego is teaching kids about Capitalism
I agree it is way too anoying to have the characters exclusive to one set as
During the Ninjago season 14 (the island )
I wanted to get all the ninja however I couldn’t get the hole collection as there was no repeatless sets to choose
The keepers village : coal Kai jay
Katamaran sea battle : Zane Kai jay
The jungle dragon: Lloyd Zane
The bike set : Lloyd nay
The distribution of characters ment that I needed to skip out getting Zane and now in my collection it is the island ninja and the VS Zane
I couldn't care less about the sets. I just want Minifigures. Been collecting since a month again and already have around 160 and love every single one of them.
so many good points in this video! i wish lego implemented these ideas!
30:38 I totally get your point, but nobody cares about dar ben (idk how to spell her name 🙁)
subbing for the commentary on balanced business related calculation; w nice
You could even buy a Friends advent calendar without a single figure in it in 2018 - 🤪! It is sad to say this, but Lego hates girls - big time 😩👎🤮💩! Also, they do not know what is going on in several of their licensed themes, which shows how little knowledge or "quality control" - if any - they have 😵💫.
This video was great, I find you always approach things from a consumer first perspective and I do really like the whole minifigure by price angle.
One thing, Marvel wise, I am surprised I never see people talking about how bad The Hoopty was in terms of price, not including a villain, holding certain minifigs hostage etc. I feel like it went under a lot of radars because the film isn't that great but compare that to the egregiously priced X-Jet and it makes the Jet look like deal of the century... I know it's like comparing a turd with a turd that includes Wolverine, but would LOVE to hear what you think of The Hoopty.
Love what you do man, keep it up.
Thank you for the kind words. That comparison got me laughing.
I think what’s really not going to help the jet in the future as well is that the only exclusive minifig it has now is Magneto, and for most people, it’s the inferior one.
This just means good discounts are inevitable. I look forward to it.
5:43 no it looks red???
LEGO Fortnite
Once we finally see another wave of LEGO Fortnite, if things seem consistent with the first wave, I'll get an episode of this series out on it.
Im begging for some more Posion Ivy minifigs 🙏🙏🙏
I won't even accept a star wars set for free..
I would for parts, otherwise yeah no thanks. I would have hard time selling the minifigs, however I would rather blanks them and then make custom prints. There is a solution for everything ...
But yeah only if I get them for free.
take the free set, use the pieces to build something more fun (bonus points if you mix it up with other random sets) and post the result somewhere it'll annoy merch collectors :D
@didaididai207 THAT'S FANTASTIC!!! 👏😀😂🙏
HOLY YAP
dude. too much.14 minutes in and it feels like nothing but complaints
Thank you for giving my video a try.
What did you not understand about "The Problem With" in the title?
dude is just complaining for the sake of complaining.
Lego still has the print quality among ALL big toy companies. Yes. I have been comparing them for quite a long time now
But do you check printing LEGO printing before the 2010’s?
They’re comparable now, LEGO’s arguably being some of the worst, but back before then, LEGO was the best at it. That is why people complain. The difference in quality is jarring
Compared to other brick companies on the market, LEGO has some of the worst printings nowadays. If they even have prints and dont use stickers for everything...
@omgwtflok you can find minifigures from other companies with far better quality prints for less than a dollar.
The Lego movie is popculture to you?😂 get out of your lego bubble, Ive never heard anyone talk about it and I didnt even know it was thing... Adults and Lego are one thing and one thing only, Cringe...
Not my fault you keep your head in the sand.
I, HATE minifigures, i never liked them as a kid and dont like them now, i just want to build LEGOs i dont want plastic figures that inflate the price even more than what its supposed to be.
The whole point is that they go with the set, what is the point for kids and stop motion/moc creators as well if there’s nothing to actually go with the builds stupid logic
Loud and wrong
@@SpaceBoyDigital are you dense? There is no objectivity in my *opinion*
@@orhandalegend there is objectivity that the vast majority of people want and like fighters in sets, you’re in the complete minority here. Tf is the point in making the sets if there’s no figures to go with it. Your argument is absurd
@ me not liking minifigures is the opinion my guy, im not asking you to not like it, i dont fucking care if im the minority.
My kids get mega blocks. Its sad, because I had LEGOs as a kid. But for what they charge nowadays for LEGO brand, its almost like they don't even want people buying them anymore 🫤