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> In lugnet.market.theory, Frank Filz writes:
> > Kevin Wilson wrote:
> > As for the time, designing a kit for production takes longer than building a
> > single-use model (especially if you're making complete interior detail and
> > complete openable-ness so all that detail can be accessed); then you have to
> > LDraw it, split it into buildable steps, generate bitmaps of a suitable
> > quality for printing (not the same as screen quality), lay out instructions
> > (anything up to 86 pages of them in my case), print them (860 color pages is
> > a non-trivial print job), generate parts lists (combining multiple LDraw
> > files to do so), source the parts, sort the parts, make the packages, bind
> > the manuals, photograph the model, build the web page, market the kits....
> > there's more to doing this than may at first appear. Most people who start
> > doing it never get to production with their first kit and of those who do,
> > many never produce another.
It does indeed sound like a lot of work.
> Yet, I still feel the kits are priced
> above the level I am willing to spend. Part of that is that with my
> extensive collection, I don't feel like paying a premium for someone
> else to find the parts, I've probably got them already. I am open to
> buying instructions and stickers,
I wonder if some other 'guild' will attempt to fill this marketing void?
Why not offer just high quality step-by-step instructions for models you can
build with parts you already have?
> but I'm not sure there's a good enough
> market to justify the price the kit seller would feel is fair for the
> effort they have gone in to producing the kit.
Based on the very low quantities in the production runs and the overall
limited scope of these products, it seems as though the market for these
products is likely quite a tiny niche.
> On the other hand, I suspect these kits will be one of the most frequent
> sources of sets to find their way into the My Own Creations line.
I have to hope this won't be the case. For only one reason really; these
kits tend to gravitate towards existing themes and styles already offered by
LEGO. I'd really like to see LEGO Direct step out and find some kits that
don't fit into the pigeon holes the rest of the company already confines
itself to.
How do you do this? More sculptures. More non-minifig scale models.
Technic-styled models. The list goes on. So long as it's not a train or
castle set. These two themes have already been too heavily favored by LEGO
Direct.
> One
> reason is the quality of the set.
Agreed. But other builders have come up with things that are of an equally
high quality but haven't gone to the trouble to 'mass' produce it.
> The other is the fact that so many are
> designed with currently available parts which increases the chance that
> LEGO Direct can get the set produced.
It strikes me that the first model in the My Own Creation Series offers lots
of basic and not-so-basic bricks at an affordable price. This should be the
standard not only for other sets in the series, but for every product the
company produces.
> The My Own Creation series will be
> a win win for everyone since LEGO's ability to market to a much wider
> audience than GoB
GoB? Qu'est-ce que c'est?
> can reach and the ability to acquire the parts at cost
> should allow them to offer the designer more than they could ever hope
> to see from selling the sets themselves. They probably won't sell as
> many copies of the Blacksmith Shop as the Guarded Inn,
I don't know. It is certainly a more fully realized building and looks much
better designed that the 'fabled' Guarded Inn.
> but I could see
> them selling something like 1/3 to 1/2 as many pretty easily (and at
> less than 10 cents a brick assuming the price and piece count is
> correct, we will be buying many of them to part out - in fact, it's kind
> of amusing that a set developed from parting out official sets is one of
> the best candidates for parting out itself -
Is it just me, or is there something out of whack with this sort of
thinking? If this really is a strong reason that people would want to buy
this set, then the company needs to look at bulk parts in a brighter light
than ever before.
> I'm suspecting part of the
> price break hints at the real costs of developing a set
If development costs were really reflected in the cost of a LEGO set, then
the Jack Stone Police Headquarters would cost $1.99... tax included.
> [it's reasonable
> to pay an untested designer less than one which has a lot of history,
> even if the reality is the skill is the same]).
It would seem to me that this sort of deal is fairly new for the company.
It's much more likely that the regular in-house designers/developers/master
builders are salaried. This new My Own Creation deal is something that
likely saw the designer offered a fee to purchase all production and
marketing rights to this set. This sort of payment (in my mind) would be
based entirely on the set and not on the designer at all.
Regards,
Allan B.
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: "MOC" Blacksmith Shop on lego.com
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| (...) I agree that it would be nice to see a variety of sets. I think however that you will continue to see a heavy weighting in favor of town, train, and castle. Why? Because I think the bulk of LEGO sales are in these categories (though space is (...) (23 years ago, 17-Dec-01, to lugnet.market.theory, lugnet.general)
| | | Re: "MOC" Blacksmith Shop on lego.com
|
| (...) It's a very compelling reason. I haven't bought a set for the main model in years; everything is a parts source. I'm positive I'm not the only AFOL out there like this, either. I've pre-ordered my first (mumble) copies already, strictly for (...) (23 years ago, 17-Dec-01, to lugnet.market.theory, lugnet.general)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: "MOC" Blacksmith Shop on lego.com
|
| (...) Though I have not yet even thought about entering the kit market, I can agree with everything Kevin says. Yet, I still feel the kits are priced above the level I am willing to spend. Part of that is that with my extensive collection, I don't (...) (23 years ago, 17-Dec-01, to lugnet.market.theory, lugnet.general)
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