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Subject:	Re: New Skin Tones coming? (was: Re: Scans from new danish 2004 catalog)
Newsgroups:	lugnet.general, lugnet.dear-lego
Date:	Mon, 2 Feb 2004 22:48:37 GMT
Viewed:	3425 times

In lugnet.general, Matthew Miller wrote:

Tim Courtney tim.courtney@SPAMCAKE.zacktron.com wrote:

I’ve had mixed feelings about this, but now I am prepared to welcome the changes. While I love yellow minifigs, I believe having the chance to see skin-toned figures will enhance the realism of the LEGO line.

I question the need to “enhance” the realism.

What if it meant more sales and wider appeal?

The Lego world is its *own* very special and unique realism. Changing the minifigs to be more like exact models of the real world rather than abstract (and well-recognized!) representations is a mistake.

But TLC is already moving in that direction! Take facial expressions on the minifigs. I think these enhance playability (and apparently so does TLC) over a ubiquitous classic smiley. You are sounding a little reactionary here, Matt. I should know, because I find myself tending to be that way more and more as I get older:-)

I like the minifig, but since TLC has “already gone there” WRT various flesh tones, I believe that it is a Good Thing® and should be expanded. I’d bet that a survey of kids would confirm this. A survey of 40-somethings would probably result in different results, but the bottom line is that there are millions more kids than AFOLs.

My speculation is that, at first at least, the flesh tones will be used only on figures that represent real people -- first the sports figures, now Harry Pottor actors, and so on. This reasonably-neatly sidesteps the whole racism can of worm But like the color model shift in the new greys, this breaks compatibility with older sets. Lego is an amazing toy because it’s *exponentially* fun/useful/cool. The more sets you have, the better everything works. Changing this so they don’t work together as nicely is the wrong direction.

TLC has changed the fig many times over the years. I just don’t buy the “don’t change because it’s a change” argument. Change is necessary and good.

JOHN

Message has 4 Replies:

		Re: New Skin Tones coming? (was: Re: Scans from new danish 2004 catalog)
(...) You mean that if there is a competitor with minifigs being 'more human', children would choose it just for that? In such case everybody would play with Ken & Barbie (pun intended). (...) Oh my. The grins (you call that 'facial expression') are (...) (21 years ago, 2-Feb-04, to lugnet.general, lugnet.dear-lego)

		Re: New Skin Tones coming? (was: Re: Scans from new danish 2004 catalog)
(...) I think that's unlikely. It certainly decrease the appeal to me. That's obviously a small sample size, but I've been right before. :) (...) Possibly. I don't mind the not-exact-classic-smiley faces, but I do prefer the ones that are more (...) (21 years ago, 3-Feb-04, to lugnet.general, lugnet.dear-lego)

		Re: New Skin Tones coming? (was: Re: Scans from new danish 2004 catalog)
(...) Out of curiosity, does anyone suppose that TLG's decision to move toward flesh tones might have been, at least in part, motivated by the fact that successful competitor brands have been marketing flesh-toned figures for years? This, coupled (...) (21 years ago, 3-Feb-04, to lugnet.general, lugnet.dear-lego, FTX)

		Re: New Skin Tones coming? (was: Re: Scans from new danish 2004 catalog)
I have followed this thread and now I want to add my thoughts, for what they are worth. I really like yellow. When I think of a minifig I think of a yellow face. I have, however, been quick to accept the new facial expressions and choose those above (...) (21 years ago, 5-Feb-04, to lugnet.general, lugnet.dear-lego, FTX)

Message is in Reply To:

		Re: New Skin Tones coming? (was: Re: Scans from new danish 2004 catalog)
(...) I question the need to "enhance" the realism. The Lego world is its own very special and unique realism. Changing the minifigs to be more like exact models of the real world rather than abstract (and well-recognized!) representations is a (...) (21 years ago, 2-Feb-04, to lugnet.general, lugnet.dear-lego)

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