LEGO Direct : 3485


LEGO Company / LEGO Direct / 3485

Re: what makes a legend? —Geoffrey Hyde

"Brad Justus" <legodirect@lego.com> wrote in message news:GLH3tC.Iw@lugnet.com... [snip] (...) we're (...) order (...) plates, (...) of (...) different (...) so (...) How does not having the mold for an element affect it's reproducibility? I would (...) (23 years ago, 20-Oct-01, to lugnet.lego.direct)

Re: what makes a legend? —Larry Pieniazek

(...) Sure, there is SOME way (...) But that's it. Cost. This is a low budget operation and molds are not cheap. Precision tolerances are pricey. I have heard numbers batted around that I have a bit of faith in even though they were speculation... (...) (23 years ago, 20-Oct-01, to lugnet.lego.direct)

Re: what makes a legend? —Allan Bedford

(...) The solution here seems obvious... and free. Use more plain old regular bricks in the design of future sets. No need for new molds. No debates over specialized/juniorized parts. And best of all, more good old fashioned bricks with which to (...) (23 years ago, 24-Oct-01, to lugnet.lego.direct)

Re: what makes a legend? —Larry Pieniazek

(...) "every problem has a simple solution. Unfortunately, it's often wrong" Just thought I'd toss that out to ponder. (...) Great advice in general. Not a valid response to Geoffrey who is asking "why can't we have this part back that we don't have (...) (23 years ago, 24-Oct-01, to lugnet.lego.direct)

Re: what makes a legend? —Scott Sanburn

To All, Something to think about in terms of mold cost. When I worked in a plastic injection molding plant in Fowlerville, Michigan, a few moons ago, they were making molds for various hard plastic parts for various customersd, such as Ford. A (...) (23 years ago, 24-Oct-01, to lugnet.lego.direct)

Re: what makes a legend? —Allan Bedford

(...) Strange quote. The way I've heard it is, "The best solution is often the simplest one." Maybe I should stop hanging around software engineers. :) (...) I wasn't really trying to answer Geoffrey's question. My apologies if it seemed that I was. (...) (23 years ago, 24-Oct-01, to lugnet.lego.direct)

Re: what makes a legend? —Lindsay Frederick Braun

(...) <and later> (...) That's been my reading of the subject. LD has to go to the feeding trough as an intruding tendril of the company, rather than as its lifeblood--in a sense, it's a shoot off of the main vine that continues to get stronger, but (...) (23 years ago, 24-Oct-01, to lugnet.lego.direct)

Re: what makes a legend? —Steve Demlow

(...) Lego Direct cannot, as a matter of policy, create new molds for its sets, so it has a big impact. (This is a totally different restriction than that of using existing molds with new colors, as has already been done in LD sets.) One specific (...) (23 years ago, 21-Oct-01, to lugnet.lego.direct)

Re: what makes a legend? —John P. Henderson

(...) Actually, I recall trying to adapt different helmet and hairstyles to older sets, and I have sometimes found that they did not fit. Certain hairstyles in Town can only be used in vehicles that have sunroofs or no roof, and in Space certain (...) (23 years ago, 23-Oct-01, to lugnet.lego.direct)

Re: what makes a legend? —Richard Marchetti

(...) Pardon me, but how do you know this? I'd like to see a reference for this statement. Has Brad, or someone else, stated this emphatically somewhere before? -- Hop-Frog (23 years ago, 24-Oct-01, to lugnet.lego.direct)

Re: what makes a legend? —Matthew Gerber

(...) Oh man...I remember seeing a post where Brad did say this (at BrickFest™), but I'll be darned if I can remember where/who. Larry might be the one to remember...he may have been the one who posted it originally. Brad did mention not having old (...) (23 years ago, 24-Oct-01, to lugnet.lego.direct)

Re: what makes a legend? —Larry Pieniazek

(...) Is that a TM or an SM? GRIN. (...) I cannot confirm or deny that Brad said this. (...) ++Lar (23 years ago, 24-Oct-01, to lugnet.lego.direct)

Re: what makes a legend? —John Neal

(...) Richard is correct in questioning this, because it isn't true. LD can do just about anything it wants, but within certain boundaries. Brad could initiate a new theme, but the process to do that is long and time consuming (years). They could (...) (23 years ago, 24-Oct-01, to lugnet.lego.direct)

Re: what makes a legend? —Richard Marchetti

(...) Yeah, but in this case I am trying to raise the specter of element molds now gone, and not necessarily worry about "new" elements or themes. There seems to be at least an assertion that LD will not reproduce molds for elements from the past in (...) (23 years ago, 24-Oct-01, to lugnet.lego.direct)

Re: what makes a legend? —Matthew Gerber

(...) While I see your point, Richard, I think the crux of the matter, and perhaps the ultimate answer to Brad's original question is this: In order to keep development/marketing costs down for LEGO Direct, rather than trying to figure out what (...) (23 years ago, 24-Oct-01, to lugnet.lego.direct)

Re: what makes a legend? —John Neal

(...) 15K sounds cheap-- more like twice that. Remember, LD is *direct*, and doesn't have the luxury of a huge market (like retail). LD can release a set with no new parts and could sell merely 1,000s and be profitable, but a new theme needs to sell (...) (23 years ago, 24-Oct-01, to lugnet.lego.direct)

Re: what makes a legend? —Steve Demlow

(...) John and I were both there and heard Brad say the same thing (unless John knows something I don't, which may well be true) but apparently we have different interpretations. I took Brad's comment about "no new molds" to mean that it was part of (...) (23 years ago, 25-Oct-01, to lugnet.lego.direct)

Re: what makes a legend? —John Neal

(...) Maybe you know something I don't! Are you referring to Brad's visit to the GMLTC (which I *missed* because I was out of town?) but apparently we have (...) I am not disagreeing with Steve-- it isn't relevant, really, from where the policy (...) (23 years ago, 25-Oct-01, to lugnet.lego.direct)

Re: what makes a legend? —Steve Demlow

(...) Yep - I assumed you were referring to the same event, but obviously not. (...) We can hope!! (And, buy, to encourage the hope in a concrete way. ;) Steve (23 years ago, 25-Oct-01, to lugnet.lego.direct)

Re: what makes a legend? —Jeff Findley

(...) My suggestion was to use the newer-style space/town helmet with a clear visor. The old, non-visor, helmets are a more retro look, but they were *very* fragile. I think less than half of my old style helmets survived. The thin piece below the (...) (23 years ago, 25-Oct-01, to lugnet.lego.direct)