Subject:
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Re: TLG investigation (Long)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.dear-lego
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Date:
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Sat, 13 Feb 1999 10:52:47 GMT
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Viewed:
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1179 times
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Jeroen Ottens writes:
> My job is to design some of the new Lego Technic models. However I am also
> involved in a group which is investigating the possibility of starting up
> International Lego Clubs for Juniors and Adults. • <snip>
> What could Lego do to help you?
> Would an official Lego certificate give extra value, even if it would mean
> that you would loose some of your freedom (Lego has to protect his/her
> image)?
> If you are member of a lego-club (and that can be seen in the broadest
> sense as possible) and you think you have something to say, please do.
Emailed, posted to Lugnet and rec.toys.lego - It has already reached there!
I have read the entire thread and taken some notes. From these I have come up
with many things to say.
Firstly, an international club would be great. I for one would join, as I'm
sure would many people from here, and RTL. However, If such a club was to be
formed It would be best if it was offline. I know of many AFOL's (Adult Fans of
Lego) in and around my hometown, and fewer than half of them have internet
access. Instead the club could take a form similar to that of the UK Technic
Club with a quarterly or thereabouts magazine posted to each member.
However, this official Technic club of which I am a member falls down in a few
places. Often I find Lugnet/RTL to be more informative, and carry more up to
date info/scoops than the club mag. Scans of the forthcomming Lego catalogues
appear on the internet as soon as they are released in the US which is usually
before the club mag gives any info. The club mag also contains too much
non-Lego information for my tastes, but then at 22 I am not the target
audience.
They used to run features on members designs, which was my favorite part of the
mag, and I would love to see such articles reappear, even if in another club -
perhaps with an award or prize for people who's work was featured, say a gold
plated minifig? Such a feature must of course not be restricted to younger
members.
The Technic club, and UK Lego club I believe, have their own club shop. This I
find to be very useful for picking up old kits/souveneirs which are difficult
to find outside Legoland Windsor. Again such a shop/mail order scheme would be
great, especially if it gave access to unique sets not available in local
shops. i.e. Allows people in the UK access to US specific sets and vice versa.
The club should also allow access to BULK PARTS which is often mentioned here.
I know TLG are against offering such a service, but is it really as difficult
to setup such a scheme as we are led to believe? Consider the parts you
yourself have access to for designing sets. Could such a warehouse containing
rows of shelves of bricks sorted by colour and type be setup so that someone
just has to walk down the rows putting the parts together in bags, then
possibly weighing them to ascertain price?
Club events have been mentioned, and would be likely to attract me. Possibly
organised buildathons, mindstorms robosports events, and sneak previews of
forthcomming kits (in the flesh) could be organised similar to the mobile
exhibitions, or even in fixed locations such as the Legoland themeparks.
The buildathons, robosports, members features, and even other competitions
should be competitively judged in various age groups, one being adult, the
group in which most Lugnetters belong, but also an age group not represented in
most contests.
Many people have expressed their interest in re-released sets. Although this is
not something which I strive for, some of the earlier sets contained nice parts
and ideas which I can no longer get without scouring the second hand market. If
I could obtain them easilly, and in new condition this is the route I would
take, and so TLG would make more sales. Some say re-releases would be a bad
idea, reducing the value of originals, but I disagree. Just look at what
Matchbox(tm) have done with their original series of diecast toys. Different
packaging, and slight modifications from the original mean they can easilly be
told apart.
The club mag should not only give access to the above, but also be informative.
It should (like UK Technic club) give sneak previews, but also tell of such
kits as are not widely available. For instance, the 8219 go-cart was available
1998 in New-Zealand, and nobody else in the world would have known of this set
had it not been for an individual on that side of the world. If the existance
of this set was made known, along with information along the lines of 'this
kit/theme has only been produced in small numbers, and as such is only
available in X-country as a test market, but if successful will become
internationally available next year' it could save many people the difficulties
involved in finding someone to buy and ship the set internationally for them.
Club members should not only have a voice, but should be able to receive
feedback (lacking in Technic club). That way, not only would TLG hear direct
from the customer what they don't like/would like, but those afraid to ask
would also get to hear your response.
Currently I feel that Lugnet is the nearest to an unofficial Lego club as I
have found, it being moderated unlike the archaic RTL, and is in fact more
informative and a better place to obtain unusual parts than the official UK
Technic club.
What I think you should strive for is an official, moderated, offline club
similar to Lugnet, which addresses some of my points above.
I would be MORE than happy to pay a reasonable sum for such privelages.
Sorry if the above is too long/vague/off topic, but it is now after 10am and I
forgot to go to bed last night!
Finally, noting the times of your posts, the first around midnight, the second
on a saturday morning I deduce these are not comming from work. If you *are* in
fact an employee of TLG, do your bosses know of, and endorse your posting here?
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Message has 3 Replies:
 | | Re: TLG investigation (Long)
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| David Till <esvvn@csv.warwick.ac.uk> wrote in article <F73A7z.Fst@lugnet.com>... <snip> Finally, noting the times of your posts, the first around midnight, the second on a saturday morning I deduce these are not comming from work. If you *are* in (...) (26 years ago, 13-Feb-99, to lugnet.dear-lego)
| | | Re: TLG investigation (Long)
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| (...) This would be nice of course, but even nicer with an on-line extension, to cover people from neigbourhoods, that are not crowd enough to form a local club. I'm the only AFOL on the net from Turkey (of corse there could be some, but I don't (...) (26 years ago, 13-Feb-99, to lugnet.dear-lego)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | TLG investigation
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| Hi everybody, My name is Jeroen Ottens. I work at Lego Futura Technic Billund (the development department of Lego as you will probably know). ... Yes I am one of TLG ... My job is to design some of the new Lego Technic models. However I am also (...) (26 years ago, 12-Feb-99, to lugnet.dear-lego)
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