Results 21 – 25 of about 8400.
|
Search took 0.00 CPU seconds.
|
|
| |
In lugnet.lego.direct, Brian Bagnall writes:
> The initial post has some decent points. I guess the Star Wars licence payed
> off for Lego (we'll never know since it's a private company) but when I
> first heard how much they paid for it I was aghast. Wasn't it something like
> $50 million or $100 million?!
>
> The points about Bionicle, etc.. are pretty moot. If no one likes them they
> won't buy them and your problem will be solved. Lego is obviously not giving
> up on traditional bricks and technic, so you have no worries. Just don't buy
> the new sets.
>
> I've sometimes looked at the pricing for some parts and wondered though,
> specifically with Mindstorms parts. Some seem cheap, like the remote
> control, but others seem way over priced like the temperature sensor and
> other sensors.
>
> When all is said and done, lego still means quality product and quality
> customer support. The 2 times I called consumer affairs they were
> outstanding and generous to the extreme. (especially considering the first
> call was due to missing parts in a kit I bought used from E-Bay, and the 2nd
> callw as to get an English CD for Cybermaster).
>
> - Brian
> www.mts.net/~bbagnall
>
> p.s. I have a hard time believing the previous message was posted by a 12
> year old too. Do you have a home page or something on the internet we can
> see? Or maybe an article on the internet that was posted about you? Sorry to
> be suspicious but this is the internet after all. :)
Heres a link that has my picture:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?lsearch=kruer
I have to use my moms name because of the Child Protection Act that dosn't
let me give out personal information.
Also, email Robin Werner. I was present at the GATS 2002 Jacksonville
display. I think Robin will recongnize me.
Anyway, the problem is that most kids have never known any of old Lego, and
of the current inventory, they like what Lego is giving them. However, we
don't. Most of the market is taken up by 6-12 year olds, and with the
present day games, which are mostly video games and computor games, older
Lego wouldn't sell with the present action-addicted, lower-attention span
kids. Stuff like Bionicle is just what they like. Old space sets are
boring to them. They will buy Bionicle, though.
Still, other than the horrible main themes, Lego is pretty good. The
Legends and Classics redeem Lego alot. I'm just dissapointed that the
'traditional' themes (space, technic,and town) are either almost extinct, or
replaced with such stuff as Jack Stone and those flex-wire things that
replace technic beams.
John Kruer
|
|
|
|  
jack, stone, video
(score: 6.019)
|
|
| |
Several sales that may have not yet been mentioned:
As you can see below, new price first then the amount of discount in brackets.
Myer: on sale until November 11th, 2001.
===========================================================================
**DUPLO**
3267 Brick Runner - $16.95 (save $7)
3266 Learning Tubes - $24.95 ($8)
3085 Race Action - $54.95 ($15)
3095 Wildlife Park - $79.95 ($20)
**JACK STONE**
4605 Fire Response - $14.95 (save $5)
4606 Aqua Resque Transport - $19.95 ($5)
4607 Copter Transport - $33.95 ($10)
4608 Bank Breakout - $29.95 ($10)
4609 Fire Attack - $44.95 (no saving)
4610 Aqua Resque Super Station - $79.95 ($20)
4611 Police HQ - $109.95 (no saving)
**BIONICLE**
8531/8532/8534/8535 - $9.95 each
8537 Nui-Rama - $19.95
8548 Nui-Jaga - $39.95
8549 Tarakava - $49.95
8538 Muaka & Kane-Ra $79.95
8539 Manas $119
**TECHNIC**
8307 Turbo Racer $79.95
8458 Silver Champion $195
**STAR WARS**
7127 Imperial AT-ST $14.95 (save $4)
8007 C3PO $39.95 ($15)
7166 Imperial Shuttle $49.95 ($5)
**OTHER LEGO**
5827 Royal Coach - $39.95 (save $36.29)
6617 Monster Trucks - $69.95 ($50)
7317 Aero Tube Hanger $99.95 (normal price?)
___________________________________________________________________________
Target: on sale until October 28th, 2001.
===========================================================================
**DUPLO**
3093 Playground - $22.45 (save $22.50)
2994 Tub (includes tubes etc) - $34.95 ($5?) EXCLUSIVE
4177 Creator (includes video) - $34.95 ($10) EXCLUSIVE
**ALL $16.95**
4702 Harry Potter - The Final Challenge?
???? Life On Mars - T3 Trike
7127 Star Wars - AT-ST
4605 Jack Stone - Fire Response
4119 Creator - Alphabet Bricks?
4174 Creator - Max Goes Flying
4115 Creator - All that Drives - Red Bucket
4122 Basic - Blue Bucket
6773 Alpha Team - Helicopter
2947 Action Wheelers - Speedster Pullback
???? Technic - Yellow Technic Bike?
Have fun... Mel
|
|
|
|
jack, stone, video
(score: 6.015)
|
|
| |
In lugnet.loc.au, Kerry Raymond writes:
> > Was, in Grace Brothers city store today (same chain as Myers). They had a
> > large table of HP LEGO (sans Fluffy and Express).I asked was there a sale • on
> > soon as I'd heard such and they said yes.
> >
> > Yes, Tommorrow.
> > Yes, 20%
> > Yes, all LEGO.
>
> I went to my local Myer at Indooroopilly today (Thursday), grabbing a
> catalogue at the entrance. Bad news!
>
> Yes, Harry Potter Lego is featured in the catalogue, but at full price! No
> discounts.
> There is 20% off some brands of toy but not for LEGO.
>
> The good news is that some Lego items are on sale. The best deal was the
> Silver Champion at $195 (down from $295). There were also Star Wars (e.g.
> Imperial Shuttle -- a nice set, that one), Bionicles, and miscellaneous
> other sets reduced; all of discounted Lego appeared to be stuff released
> last year or early this year. More recent releases like Jack Stone appeared
> to be at full price.
>
> As far as I could see, all the Harry Potter sets were available (other than
> the ones we know aren't in Australia yet) and were priced as follows:
>
> * Sorting Hat $11.95 on the boxes (the shelf said $12.95 and it scanned at
> $12.95 so demand the box price!)
> * Final Challenge $19.95
> * Snape's Classroom and Winged Keys both $39.95
> * Hagrid's Hut $59.95
> * Hogwart's Express $89.95
> * Hogwart's Castle $159.00
I posted information about Myer and Target sales yesterday!
I guess no-one saw them :(
Mel :P
Here it is again:
Several sales that may have not yet been mentioned:
As you can see below, new price first then the amount of discount in brackets.
Myer: on sale until November 11th, 2001.
===========================================================================
**DUPLO**
3267 Brick Runner - $16.95 (save $7)
3266 Learning Tubes - $24.95 ($8)
3085 Race Action - $54.95 ($15)
3095 Wildlife Park - $79.95 ($20)
**JACK STONE**
4605 Fire Response - $14.95 (save $5)
4606 Aqua Resque Transport - $19.95 ($5)
4607 Copter Transport - $33.95 ($10)
4608 Bank Breakout - $29.95 ($10)
4609 Fire Attack - $44.95 (no saving)
4610 Aqua Resque Super Station - $79.95 ($20)
4611 Police HQ - $109.95 (no saving)
**BIONICLE**
8531/8532/8534/8535 - $9.95 each
8537 Nui-Rama - $19.95
8548 Nui-Jaga - $39.95
8549 Tarakava - $49.95
8538 Muaka & Kane-Ra $79.95
8539 Manas $119
**TECHNIC**
8307 Turbo Racer $79.95
8458 Silver Champion $195
**STAR WARS**
7127 Imperial AT-ST $14.95 (save $4)
8007 C3PO $39.95 ($15)
7166 Imperial Shuttle $49.95 ($5)
**OTHER LEGO**
5827 Royal Coach - $39.95 (save $36.29)
6617 Monster Trucks - $69.95 ($50)
7317 Aero Tube Hanger $99.95 (normal price?)
___________________________________________________________________________
Target: on sale until October 28th, 2001.
===========================================================================
**DUPLO**
3093 Playground - $22.45 (save $22.50)
2994 Tub (includes tubes etc) - $34.95 ($5?) EXCLUSIVE
4177 Creator (includes video) - $34.95 ($10) EXCLUSIVE
**ALL $16.95**
4702 Harry Potter - The Final Challenge?
???? Life On Mars - T3 Trike
7127 Star Wars - AT-ST
4605 Jack Stone - Fire Response
4119 Creator - Alphabet Bricks?
4174 Creator - Max Goes Flying
4115 Creator - All that Drives - Red Bucket
4122 Basic - Blue Bucket
6773 Alpha Team - Helicopter
2947 Action Wheelers - Speedster Pullback
???? Technic - Yellow Technic Bike?
Have fun... Mel
>
> So, we've been given a bum steer by the Myer staff on this one!
>
> Kerry
|
|
|
|
jack, stone, video
(score: 6.014)
|
|
| |
Okay, first visit of the year to LLW on Sunday. Dived in about 3PM and got
caught by the rain at the end of the day! There are no new major rides, but a
few surprises around the park. The first thing to note was that The Beginning
had been given a makeover; new frontages to the Big Shop and Cafe, and a new
shop dedicated to Lego Clothes on the left as you enter. The Cafe has been
rebranded as "The Pit Stop Cafe", due to it's proximity to the Racers ride.
From what we could see, they're still running with just the 3 Racer centres
downstairs - I wonder if they'll ever open the two above them.
The biggest surprise came when walking between France and the Railway Yard in
Miniland - Belgium (and Italy) had disappeared! That whole island has been
transplanted to a new section down by Holland and replaced by a Racing display.
This includes a neat figure of eight racetrack, with a couple of
guest-controlled sports cars and a video display showing the action (using
active cameras rather than a recording). As each car completes its lap, it's
called into the pits and pnuematically controlled figures "attend" to it.
There's also a guest-controlled dragster race and all the usual funfair stuff
that appears at race tracks. They've even done one of my favourites from LLC,
the bungee-jumping crane - more of which later...
We carried on down to My Town, but apart from painting the lighthouse,
switching over to a Jack Stone themed stunt show, and changing over the train
to an Explorer theme, not much had changed. Oh, the motocycle shop has gone and
been replaced by a food outlet (that's real food, not stuff made from ABS!),
and Brick Brothers is now aligned with selling My Own Train/Metroliner and Jack
Stone, again probably due to the proximity of themed attractions. We didn't see
any changes across in the Pirate/Castle areas, although the castle shop is
selling the Blacksmith's Shop. This prompted a discussion with the shop's
supervisor, who bemoaned the merchandising of the set - it dosen't match in
with the HP or Knight's Kingdom themes, nor with the Hidden Inn, hence it was
difficult to find the appropriate place to display it. [N.B. It's £25 at
Windsor, unlike the £29.99 online, plus season ticket holders get 10% off that
too] Naturally, I helped her sales targets by buying one!
When we returned to Miniland, one of the animators was overseeing the
racetrack. We chatted about the amount of work that had been undertaken to get
the display set up over the winter and he opened up about some of the issues
they'd encountered. One of the more frustrating seemed to be the susceptibility
of the bungee-crane to wind! Even with a light breeze, the string tends to
"leap" off of the pulley at the top of the boom, rendering it inoperable...
Apparently the variant in Billund has the same problem, whereas the Californian
one is in a more sheltered position. An outcome of this discussion was that the
family and I were invited down into the Miniland control room to have a look at
the control system and things such as the items under repair or pending release
for the first time. Apparently, a fair amount of the repair work revolves
around correcting problems that the guests have caused - finger-snapped models,
a case of sabotage when someone caused a train to crash inside a tunnel by
placing one of the moving vehicles on the track so that it was pushed in by the
train, even a child climbing to the top of the hill above the Scottish dam!
Other tidbits of information were:-
Each remote control car costs around £4,000...
Don't expect to see the Miniland airport implemented... (long story...)
The rotating tube station platform was disabled as a safety precaution against
guests getting injured (!!!)
If anyone has any ideas on other animations they can do around Miniland,
particularly using pneumatics, they'd love to know!
When we finally got back to The Beginning we dived into the imagination centre,
where they've got a display of scale models of the crown jewels... The amount
of GOLD lego that they've used is impressive!!! (I can't think of any sets
containing gold pieces, as distinct from gold-plated... These were definitely
not plated) I didn't have a lot of time, but suspect that the displays would be
almost impossible to photo because of the lighting and glass covers.
With the removal of most of the clothing range, the Big Shop was given over to
carrying the sets and the park merchandise. Notable exceptions were that the
Santa Fe Chief, the Breezeway Cafe and Pizza To Go weren't there. They had the
pirate sets and the full range of sculptures though.
Once the kids had gone to bed I was about to start on the blacksmith's shop,
when my wife reminded me that her PC was dead and needed my attention - so
three hours, and a number of machines disassembled and reassembled later, I
went to bed... Only to come down to breakfast next morning to find that my
darling chidren had taken it on to make it up for me!
I'll just have to buy another for myself!
Cheers,
Kev
|
|
|
|
jack, stone, video
(score: 6.012)
|
|
| |
In lugnet.general, Allan Bedford writes:
> > Lots of kids complain I bet. They hate that it takes so long to build, that
> > it's difficult to do (you've got to pay attention to the pictures and find
> > the right bricks!), etc.
>
> Whoa whoa.... back the truck up.
>
> Who are these attention deficit disorder delinquents?
My younger brother, for one. He complained that they took too long to build.
And upon several occasions where I've seen kids playing with Lego (my
cousins of varied ages, other family's kids, etc) I've seen kids get
frustrated and find the need to ask for help. Becuase they can't find the
piece they need. Because it doesn't look like the one on the box. Because
they can't get the pieces to fit right. Etc. Sad but true.
And what's sadder? People don't speak up when everything's AOK. Parents who
bought Lego and had their kids build the models successfully don't call to
complain. Nor do they call to congratulate. The most they do is buy another
set. (Ok, OCCASIONALLY they call to congratulate-- but it's rare). But the
parents whose kids are having problems with it? They call right in and give
the company a piece of their mind. Even if they're in the minority of Lego
buyers, they're the most frequent vocalists.
But honestly? I don't think that's the problem. I think the problem is that
many of these kids find building boring. Following 38 steps in an
instruction booklet to get a toy isn't as much fun as, say, the resolve
necessary to play a video game. Video games are much more entertaining to
them WHILE working towards the eventual goal. Lego building is seen more as
tedium. I think.
> Take an average group
> of 100 adult males. How many of them have the patience and smarts to make
> it all the way to the end of a Super Mario Bros game? Now take an average
> group of 100 10-year-old boys and give them the same challenge. I'll put my
> money on the group who hasn't started shaving yet.
>
> This idea that video games and television and computers has ruined kids
> attention span is such utter nonsense. I grew up on all those things (mind
> you the first home video games, non-cable TV and Commodore PET computers)
> and I still found time, attention and desire to build the first Expert
> Builder Auto Chassis (http://guide.lugnet.com/set/853 ) when it came out. I
> was 9 years old. I'll bet any 9 year-old kid today could build that same
> set faster than I did then, and certainly faster than I can today.
It's not that they can't. Far from it. It's that it's seen as boring. TV,
video games, movies, commercials, toys, computers, and even news media are
all focusing more on hype these days. Flashing colors and big action and sex
and violence are all really entertaining. And there's more of it.
Commercialism in this country (and spreading) has figured out that grabbing
someone's attention is the most important part. By constant exposure to
instant gratification of being entertained, one quickly looses patience for
things that aren't so instantly gratifying.
> > Result? They complain. And they don't play with the sets. Parents complain.
> > Lego hears the complaints. They dumb down the sets. The kids complain less.
> > And we complain more. Who's the larger market base? Kids by far. They win.
>
> Who's buying them the sets? The parents. Please the parents.... please the
> company's bank account. Result? The kids get more sophisticated sets,
> adult fans get something they actually *want* to buy, and the company
> doesn't go broke. Everybody wins.
Agree-- but the trick is to convince the parents that sophisticated sets
will help their kids get smarter and more patient, rather than advertise as
something to keep your kids from complaining. And it's really too bad
parents don't often work that way. Some do. And I applaud them. Many don't.
> > BUT. The interesting thing is that there ARE kids who want it as a building
> > toy. And the ones that have the resolve and patience to build a
> > non-juniorized set get less attached to Lego since it's not as much fun. It
> > means less long term "hard-core" fans.
>
> Exactly!!!! A point I've been trying to make for weeks now. This is the
> real problem. And it's not one that we'll see today, it's a long way down
> the road... if the company's even still in business then.
And we've been trying to make for 4 years :)
Part of the good thing about tedium is that the goal becomes better. The
more you work at something, the more valuable the result. If the kids have
to work hard to build a Lego set, great! They'll be really proud when they
finish. And they'll be eager to build again to get the same feeling they had
at the end. The problem is that too many give up halfway through while being
distracted by something more interesting.
Which makes you question who the target audience should be. The GENERAL
population of kids? Or the future AFOLs? Personally I think Lego should be a
building toy. Not a fad. Not a mainstream toy. Do fads make more money?
Sure. But they're not as long lived. Will Bionicle make money? Sure. But
it'll die. Will Jack Stone line make money? Sure. But even 3 years down the
road, the kids who played with it won't care anymore. They'll be on to
bigger and better toys. But a building toy? That's good forever. Heck, even
in my dark ages I built school projects & stuff out of Lego. And the pieces
I loved when I was 6 worked to contribute to the things I'd build when I was 12.
> > Also. Will Lego's sales REALLY be hurt if they take juniorization away? I
> > dunno. How much will sales drop? I dunno. How much would they pick up? No
> > clue. It's really too bad that there isn't good market data available. Plus
> > there's so many other factors that it's tough to judge... What's best for
> > Lego? Nobody knows. We just know what we want.
>
> To bad the company isn't even willing to *try*.
They are trying. At least starting to. They realize that *something* was
wrong. In 1998 (1 year after juniorization started) they lost money for the
1st year ever in the company's history. Juniorization's fault? Maybe. But so
many other things were going on it's hard to tell. But they knew SOMETHING
was wrong.
And they're bringing back sets. Pirate sets, the Guarded Inn, the
Metroliner-- All non-juniorized sets making a comeback. And the best part?
As Brad mentioned to the congregation at BrickFest '01, it wasn't even AFOLs
who were the big buyers of the Guarded Inn. It was kids. It was parents. A
light at the end of the tunnel perhaps? Maybe there are still enough parents
and kids who want less juniorized sets? And maybe TLC will change its
thinking? We can only hope.
DaveE
|
|
|
|
jack, stone, video
(score: 6.009)
|
More: Next Page >>
|
