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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Tue, 6 Aug 2002 00:17:02 GMT
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Viewed:
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3205 times
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In lugnet.dear-lego, Suzanne D. Rich writes:
> 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..
Jumping in with constructive comments is never redundant. :)
> > 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.
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 and only experience ordering DACTA was frustrating and expensive.
The fact that it is marketed at the institutional education sector isn't
bad, but again it's something that LEGO does at the exclusion of something
else; marketing the same products to the private consumer.
But I agree with you entirely. I wish DACTA all the success in the world.
> 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..
See above. If you can't find it, how can you buy it?
> > 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' :-/
O.K. Maybe not my best example ever in one of these arguments. :)
But in principle, I still think that finding a secondary market to which the
LEGO brand can be licensed is something the company needs to explore.
> > 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.
Yes, that was exactly what I was thinking!
> 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?
K8 boxes? I've read the footnote below and I still can't figure out what it
is. :)
> > 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?
Not sure, don't watch the show. They aren't robots, they're remote
controlled vehicles. ;)
> > 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.
That was the missed marketing opportunity I mentioned above.
> > 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)
Should it have been, "up until about the mid-90's?"
Or, perhaps it should have been that there were good sets available up until
this time. I'm really not sure, sorry.
> > then how is it possible that today's kids don't
> > need advanced building sets like these?
>
> What is there to need? (serious question)
Kids have needed construction toys for eons.
Wooden building blocks
Meccano
Plastic model kits
Light Bright
LEGO bricks
The 'need' as I see it, is the need to create something that didn't exist
before, using a base set of construction elements. I'm sure not every kid
needs this outlet, but I suspect some benefit immensely from it.
> 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.
Isn't Junkyard Wars full of action? O.K. it's a bit hokey, a bit staged,
but it's still fun and hey, if you watch the little cartoon animations, you
might actually learn something. :)
> 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.
And I think they did that brilliantly with Mindstorms. But why not try to
continue to capitalize on that success? As I've said before, I think both
the new and the old Technic pieces have their place in this potential
marketing initiative.
> 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?
a) I don't think kids have changed *that* much. I had TV, an early home
computer and Meccano as distractions when I was a kid. I still spent
hundreds upon hundreds of hours playing with LEGO.
b) I don't have any delusions that old-style Technic can stick around. But
some of its parts can, can't they? Can't we have new and exciting sets that
still manage to incorporate classic bricks?
> > 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.
This wouldn't mark the first time I'd been in the minority on such a
subject. But I'm sticking to my guns. The battle is not lost, it's just
time for a new strategy.
> [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.
Regards!
Allan B.
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Technic's only in a coma (WAS Re: Technic's Dead )
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| (...) I'm just jumping in to this thread now, sorry if I'm redundant.. (...) nope, no way. (IMHO) (...) 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 (...) (22 years ago, 5-Aug-02, to lugnet.dear-lego)
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