Subject:
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Re: Time cruisers or Time losers? (was:Re: Pirate/castle helmet...)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general
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Date:
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Fri, 24 Mar 2000 15:49:25 GMT
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Viewed:
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2389 times
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In lugnet.general, Shiri Dori wrote:
> Please enlighten me. I know there is a general hate directed toward the TC,
> but I'm not sure *why*.
Two big things that seriously bugged me about Time Cruisers:
1. Prices were too high.
2. Because of the high concentration of speciality parts, and the
diverse nature of these speciality parts, it was very hard to build
anything substantial out of the pieces in a set.
#2 may sound like a minor point, but it speaks to the value of a set.
Once I had the Flying Time Vessel in my hands, about all I could manage
to build out of it (other than small, trivial models) was the Flying
Time Vessel. So the TC sets weren't very flexible. LEGO's strength is
its flexibility; it's "a new toy every day".[1] If a set isn't
flexible, it loses a lot of value.
Some minor problems (IMO):
3. TC was the first series where the minifigs had a strong identity out
of the box. When minifigs are generic, having many copies doesn't
matter. But having multiple Timmys is kinda weird, and a problem. Even
if Timmy wasn't annoying (and he is).[3]
4. The minifigs have noses and googly white eyes. That's just weird.
5. Too many 'spare parts'. The extra hats and stuff are OK, and are
probably a good thing for kids who play after they build. But for many
AFOLs, the spare parts are trading fodder, at best.
Personally, I think the TC/TT *models* were great--they were fun, and
funny, and sometimes even cool, in a 1950's Sci Fi B-movie way.
Some good things (again, IMO):
1. The sets weren't juniorized (TC/TT was from The Time Before Town Jr).
2. Lots of cool parts.
3. The models didn't take themselves too seriously.
4. The models all had some action elements--flapping wings, spinning
discs, ect. The mechanism to spin the propellors on the 6491 Rocket
Racer <http://www.lugnet.com/pause/search/?query=6491-1> was
elegant--very simple, but ingeneous. Who'da thunk of using the
skid-disk <part:2654> as a bevel gear?[2]
What would be really cool is an Adventurers Time Travel theme. Sort of
an HG Wells _The Time Machine_ thing.
Steve
--
1) That's probably a major misquote. But I still can't imagine
childhood without it.
2) 'Gear' is probably the wrong word -- there's no teeth involved.
3) Of course, since they're time travelers, meeting themselves is
explainable. But that's a copout explanation.
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