Subject:
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Re: Technic's only in a coma (WAS Re: Technic's Dead )
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.dear-lego
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Date:
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Mon, 5 Aug 2002 19:16:26 GMT
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Viewed:
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2950 times
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Allan Bedford wrote:
> In lugnet.technic, Allan Portillo writes:
> > In lugnet.technic, Thomas Avery writes:
> > > In lugnet.technic, Jim Hughes writes:
> > > > Guys, I hate to break it to you, but Technic as a theme is dead...
> > >
> > > Jim, I appreciate your post, and all that you discussed. However, what are
> > > your comments on what Brad Justus said at Brickfest: "the Technic theme is
> > > not dead".
> > > http://news.lugnet.com/events/brickfest/?n=1015
> > >
> > > It's sad to see things turn out as they have. If Lego are really doing away
> > > with Technic, I wonder if they'll indroduce any more sets that represent, as
> > > you said, "function over form".
> > >
> > > TJ
> >
> > BRAD JUSTUS, WE ARE ALL LOSING FAITH
> >
> > AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
I'm just jumping in to this thread now, sorry if I'm redundant..
> I don't think Brad Justus and/or LEGO Direct alone can resurrect Technic as
> we have known it.
nope, no way. (IMHO)
> But I must agree that some of us are losing faith.
>
> LEGO (meaning the parent company) needs to take a look at the success of
> their own Mindstorms sets; Technic to the max. Maybe even the huge success
> of Bionicle; sort of Technic sculptures if you will.
What about DACTA? If price were not an issue, why wouldn't we buy a
zillion DACTA TECHNIC sets? could/should the adult community focus on
that possibility instead? I for one, would love to encourage those
products' survival, and I have more hope for that happening. ..at least
for a little while.
Assuming toy availabiilty is all about money, and adults say they're
willing to pay big bucks to keep nice sets from going away (as we
sometimes hear, "I'd pay TLC to re-release nice TECHNIC sets, I don't
care HOW much it costs!"), why aren't we buying DACTA like there's no
tomorrow? or are we, and I just don't realize..
> But also take a look at the popularity of a TV show such as 'Junkyard Wars'.
> This is nothing more than grown-ups playing with big real pieces of
building
> materials; not unlike LEGO bricks.
yeah, except it's made uber-macho with all that metal, sweat and grease.
And they're building full-scale weaponry. Without the deadly buzz saws
and blowtorches, I'm afraid most people would see it as 'Nerd Wars' :-/
> Many of the machines and mechanisms built on that show
> could just as easily be built with LEGO bricks.
What a cool education/club project series that'd be!
Homework: watch JW.
In class: build the winning model in under 2 hours.
Folks have talked in the past about running JW LEGO competitions,
complete with junk-heaps. That'd be a blast. And what a perfect use for
K8 boxes[1]. Wasn't there a proposed Junkyard-BrikWars for BrickFest '01?
> A missed marketing opportunity? Perhaps.
> What if the 'Junkyard Wars' producers licensed the LEGO brand?
btw, Didn't Battlebots have LEGO signage around their arena at one point?
> They could put out brick built versions of some of the more
> popular designs seen on the show.
I actually saw models of the JW constructions for sale as a series!
Pretty wild. Was not LEGO though.
> I don't think it's hard to see that the need for Technic is as great as
> ever. What may be missing is the insight to connect the studs, so to speak.
> If Expert Builder sets worked in the late 1970's and Technic sets sold well
> through the 80's and 90's,
Did the TECHNIC sets sell well through the 90's? (serious question)
> then how is it possible that today's kids don't
> need advanced building sets like these?
What is there to need? (serious question)
I know that TLC wasn't happy when their 90's research showed that boys
were building the main model, only to put it on a shelf. and that was
happening a lot. With releases in 1999, traditional TECHNIC was
essentially killed off in favor of something more sexy, and cool -
something to show off (and to look more attractive on store shelves).
The blocky look was out. Action was in.
TECHNIC turned away from the old solitary-kid, up close, quiet,
real-life functionality to a new high-energy shooting, grabbing, and
slamming activity. I think they wanted to look more like a "convertable
cool toy" company than a "construction kit you can use to make a cool
toy" company.
Many people say that kids have changed, and thus toys have too. They'll
say that kids lack the attention span for thinking about model assembly,
beyond a certain point, especially if it's something they want to use ASAP.
So, how do you really expect old-style TECHNIC to stick around?
> I changed the subject line of this
> posting because I believe that Technic isn't really dead, it's just in a
> coma. It can be brought back to life but it requires the will and
> determination of the company in order to see it through to it's logical
> reawakening.
I think it's dead. and the doctors in this hospital do triage.
Just my thoughts,
-Suz
> Just my thoughts,
> Allan B.
[1] where you never know what you'll get for pieces. I've seen K8s that
were circulated leftovers from educational events - filled with TECHNIC
parts.
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Message has 4 Replies:
 | | Re: Technic's only in a coma (WAS Re: Technic's Dead )
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| (...) Surely not. Think back to what the store shelves looked like. There is a reason that Technic has died. (...) What kids need is the experience of complex modularity with rules of certain varying granularity. Technic (and LEGO more generally) (...) (22 years ago, 5-Aug-02, to lugnet.dear-lego)
| | | Re: Technic's only in a coma (WAS Re: Technic's Dead )
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| Just my comments on Technic, and Lego in general... Most of us know that Lego is a company, and it does rely on a lot of market research, and it's important to realize that while we are a market segment, we are not the biggest market segment. Some (...) (22 years ago, 5-Aug-02, to lugnet.dear-lego)
| | | Re: Technic's only in a coma (WAS Re: Technic's Dead )
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| (...) Jumping in with constructive comments is never redundant. :) (...) My best guess is that most consumers (perhaps even some "adult LEGO fans") aren't either aware of DACTA or aren't informed as to how it can be ordered by an individual. My one (...) (22 years ago, 6-Aug-02, to lugnet.dear-lego)
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