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 Castle / Ninja / 29
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Subject: 
Re: Whoo hoo!!!
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.castle.ninja
Date: 
Wed, 28 Feb 2001 18:34:06 GMT
Viewed: 
2758 times
  
John Robert-Blaze Kanehl wrote:

In lugnet.castle.ninja, Chris Barker writes:
I started off with a 3053 (about
US$75 here in Tokyo) and a couple of 3050s.

$75 for a 3053?  Holy cowl!

Yeah 7,800 yen to be exact.  14,800 yen for the FNF. And we do not have
anything like Walmart where stuff can be bought at closeout prices.
Even the used pricing in online auctions over here is outragous.


A week or two later, I
found out about KK's work and realized that a good castle was indeed
possible.

I think KK has set a new benchmark for enthiasts and Lego Company designers.
If you think about it,  KK's Castle structure could easily be broken down
into a series of hig qulity play-filled "sets".

Maybe KK could be convinced to do something like the GoB folks do and
make his sets available as custom kits!

Why TLG designed the Ninja
theme the way it did is beyond me.

The thing that really carps me about the structures is the over reliance
on the BURPs.  The thing I really like is the "ninja walls".  I even
appretiate that there is a color variant wall.

few months I'll be doing the battle of Nagashino in Lego.  In the long
term, I'm planning a website which will tell the story of the
senoku-jidai, in lego of course!

Very cool subject matter...lots of action + strategy.

Yeah!  One part will be a Sengoku ruleset variant on Plastic Hammer
(pending permission from the original authors of course)


I also wish TLC had kept up the Ninja line for longer than they did.
I'd like to have seen more big castles like the FNF.

Amen to that!  With the release of the FNF in the fisrt year, I thought TLG
was setting up a multi-year roll out of Japanese (later maybe Chinese)
castles and sets.  I would love to speak to a Lego Company decision maker
someday and find out what the deal was on a few themes.

I wonder if the line could be resurected?  Since Castle has been through
several "generations" why couldn't Ninja?  How about an Edo subtheme?
I'd also like to see more "leaders" besides the Shogun and Ninja
Master.  How about a Ronin/bandit cheif and some Daimyo or variant
Shoguns? Even better, let's have an Emperor!


The Second generation of Ninja sets seemed either unfinished or hastily
conceived.  I can't decide between the two theories.  On one hand it seems
like the "Beige+Blue sets" were under-developed or half-done.

I personally like the beige+blue.  Most Japanese castles were made of
wood and then coated with plaster so the beige works nicely. White is
good for Himeji castle or Osaka castle, but I like beige for smaller
structures. Only problem is beige gets expensive when you want to do a
whole structure instead of just a facade.

The Emperor's
stronghold has some interesting details and could easily have been the
center structure of another FNF style castle.

That would be really cool! 3053 inspires me more than 6093 to be
honest.  My "gatehouse" is based on two 3053s.  I want more 3053s!

It seemed very odd to
introduce the 3x3 Blue corners and new pattern rock walls for only one run
of one set (it's happened many times before though)

Blue is good for roofs IMNSHO. Black or red roofs don't work too well
for Japanese castles.  Dark grey would be more accurate, but blue looks
nicer.


On the other hand, the second generation of Ninja sets may have been
designed to capitalize on the popularity of the first year's offerings or
they were already in the development pipeline when the plug was pulled on
the theme.  So maybe they just said, "gimme what you got and we will run
with it".  In the cities I lived in, the Ninja sets disappeared faster than
the Adventurer or other themed sets.  However, the prevailing opinion is
that the Ninja theme was a dismal flop.  (which may bear out given the
amount of Ninja sets I have acquired at deep discount)

Oh how I miss American discount stores!  I order more stuff used from
the US but having to pay shipping on the big sets can eliminate alot of
the savings.


As a side note,
oddly enough some of this line never got released here in Japan.

I believe you mentioned this before, I don't recall...that seems very odd.
Which sets did not get released in Japan?

I'll have to compile a list on that, see my other post in this chain for
some info.


I also
wonder who thought up the name for 3050; "Shanghai Surprise"?!?  Someone
in TLC needs a geography lesson ^_^

Chris Barker
chris@superfami.com

Shanghai Surprise...hmm maybe the surrise is all the Emperor's...He went out
for a little galley trip around the coast and ooops....took a nap...ended up
in China?

O_O Imagine sailing from Japan to Shanghai on a boat that small!

Chris


just more of my random musings....

                     John



Message has 2 Replies:
  Re: Whoo hoo!!!
 
(...) The Mini Heroes Collection, sets 3344, 3345, 3346, add a little more variation. I especially like 3344 with it's black armor and horned helmet. I think he makes a pretty cool Ronin leader or a Diamyo for your red army. Would have been nice if (...) (24 years ago, 28-Feb-01, to lugnet.castle.ninja)
  Re: Whoo hoo!!!
 
(...) Chris, Now you got me intrigued. Who are the GoB folks ? Do they have a website ? I might explore the possibility of a custom castle if people are interested but I don't even know how to gauge interest ? Also, to make the custom set reasonably (...) (24 years ago, 28-Feb-01, to lugnet.castle.ninja)

Message is in Reply To:
  Re: Whoo hoo!!!
 
(...) Know that feeling well...lol (and I never really had a dark age) (...) I remember buying the 6089 Stone Tower Bridge and 6093 FNF in the same week shortly after they were released. After I built both of them, I realized that I would need MANY (...) (24 years ago, 27-Feb-01, to lugnet.castle.ninja)

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