Subject:
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Re: Lego Buildings with 4 Walls
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general
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Date:
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Sun, 1 May 2005 21:14:50 GMT
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Viewed:
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958 times
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In lugnet.general, John Riley wrote:
> In lugnet.general, Gerhard R. Istok wrote:
> SNIP
> > It seems that TLG is very stingy when it comes to re-issuing windows in colors
> > that have not been produced in 20 years. This is not the same way for other
> > bricks. I have 4 2x2 inside corner white regular sloped bricks that I got from
> > 2 copies of a circa 1977 Helicopter/Ambulance set (#770). These were highly
> > prized by me since I know that no other set had them. Until, that is, the Harry
> > Potter Screaming Shack came out recently. Now these same white pieces can be
> > purchased for less that 25 cents each on Bricklink. Why TLG doesn't do the same
> > thing for current production windows is very baffling to me. That is why I
> > blame someone in the Billund corporate beaurocracy.
>
> It's not exactly stingy. Currently, windows are rarely used in the widely
> distributed lines (HP, SW, AT, KK). Without wide distribution, there is not
> always enough revenue to cover the costs of creating new molds or changing
> existing molds to new colors. What you're suggesting with windows will further
> increase the company's losses.
And you may be right. Perhaps the AFOL community (even with the addition of a
smaller scale architectural line) are just not significant enough of a
population to warrant ever getting special parts not produced for the general
public.
>
> >
> > OK, now to get back to the Architectural sets with 4 walls. I noticed that the
> > #4886 has over 650 pieces. Wow, I was surprised by that. I was just looking at
> > the parts count for the old 1960's Town Plan sets (#810/#725) and they also
> > contained about the same number of parts, but they created 7 buildings, not one!
>
> 4886 comes with instructions for 3 models, plus inspiration for 4 others. I
> fail to see the point that you're trying to make.
What I was saying is that in that old set you could build 7 buildings
SIMULTANEOUSLY, not take one appart to build the next model, like the 4886.
>
> > Therein lies a problem that Lego has with new 4 wall constructions. In the
> > 1949-75 era the Lego scale was 1:87 (door = 3 bricks tall). Today it is more
> > like 1:43 (door = 6 bricks tall). So doubling the scale doesn't double the
> > volume of a building, it makes it 8 TIMES AS LARGE!!! (2 wide x 2 long x 2 tall
> > = 8). And it is this minifig scale that is hindering (IMHO) TLG from producing
> > some nice real architectural buildings.
>
> The volume is 8 times larger. But for costs, we need to worry about the amount
> of brick. Since the buildings are hollow, only the surface area matters (i.e.
> dimensions of the walls and roofs). Which is only 4 times larger. Still, a
> significant increase.
>
> MORE SNIPPING
>
> > Why should TLG produce architectural sets in a classic scale? Because I think
> > that there is a large "untapped" market of folks who are not Lego fans per se,
> > but who are interested in architecture. I am subscriber to the "National Trust"
> > magazine. It is for the National Trust For Historic Preservation, and has
> > nearly 700,000 members. If TLG marketted some architectural sets to this
> > market, I bet more than a few would be interested. I am surprised that TLG
> > doesn't already try to market some of their already existing models, such as the
> > Statue of Liberty, the Sopwith Camel bi-plane, etc. to preservationists and
> > armchair architects.
>
> The market you mention (700,000) is probably not large enough for TLG to go
> after. The few adult-oriented sets that have come out (SW UCS) have
> extraordinary broad appeal; the number of SW fans is staggering.
That could well be the case, since we don't have insider information on
marketing populations.
>
> That, and I suspect that most of those people who are interested in architecture
> and would build with Lego already do so. Those that don't would only be buying
> the one or two sets that have great interest to them; it would be difficult to
> pinpoint which set would do well.
I don't think that the AFOL community has reached its full population potential.
I think that there are a lot more adults who had Lego as kids, and haven't come
out of their dark ages yet.
>
> MORE SNIPPING
>
> If you can somehow make the case for making windows in a widely released set
> that would sell well with their core market of children, then maybe TLG would do
> it. But sets like 4886 don't meet that criterion.
Perhaps when #4886 was produced, someone at Billund went to the inventory stock
to see what window colors was available IN STOCK. Perhaps that is how they are
going to determine the designs for future Designer Sets, go check out the
available stock (since the Designer sets are produced in such limited number)
and work from there.
>
> The aesthetic case, I understand. It would be great to see new windows, in
> either scale. But the demand is just not large enough to offset the upfront
> costs of producing new molds or changing the colors of existing molds.
>
> As for marketing, well, TLG could definitely do a better job of positioning
> their products. And I'm not talking about to AFOLs and hobbyists; I'm talking
> about their core target market, children. But that's another post for another
> time.
And John, you may be right. Perhaps there will never be a business case for TLG
to ever produce parts specifically for AFOLs. That is kinda sad though.
Back in 1963 there were about 150 different Lego parts (in all colors). Of
those 150, 20 were windows/doors. That is about 1 window/door type part for
every 13 different Lego parts produced back then. Today there are over 11,000
Lego parts. with (and I'm guessing here) around 1 window/door type for ever
1,000 different parts. That too is kinda sad.
Gary Istok
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Lego Buildings with 4 Walls
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| In lugnet.general, Gerhard R. Istok wrote: SNIP (...) It's not exactly stingy. Currently, windows are rarely used in the widely distributed lines (HP, SW, AT, KK). Without wide distribution, there is not always enough revenue to cover the costs of (...) (20 years ago, 1-May-05, to lugnet.general)
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