Subject:
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Re: Is Model Team still with us?(was: Why did Model Team die?)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.modelteam
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Date:
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Sun, 11 May 2003 16:56:22 GMT
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Viewed:
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4006 times
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In lugnet.modelteam, Mike Case writes:
> I'm not sure Lego ever gave up on this market segment. The last
> official Model Team sets, #5563 -- the Racing Truck and #5533 -- The
> Red Fury, were released in 1999. The next year, Lego introduced the
> Ultimate Collector Series sets, which is basically Star Wars Model
> Team .
I'd never actually thought of it this way. My first inclination was to
look at it as MT ending the year SW was introduced, which would effectively
mean that SW killed MT the same way that Blue killed Tan (it's an M&M thing,
not a Phaze thing).
> Since then, they have released 3 more Star Wars sets that certainly in the >spirit of Model Team. Of course, this includes the largest model set ever >sold by Lego, #10030 -- The Star Destroyer.
Three? Oh, right, I keep forgetting the Naboo Fighter. Truthfully,
that one's more in the style of Model Team than any of the other four SW:UCS
sets.
> And this isn't just a Star Wars phenomenon, Lego has also released 2
> Model-Team-in-spirit sets that have nothing to do with Star Wars:
> #3451 -- The Sopwith Camel, and #10024 -- The Red Baron.
Still, those weren't released under the Model Team name, and they were
only released through LEGO Direct, and later through TRU for the Sopwith.
I'm not sure they consider them to be a continuation of the old MT line, or
if they fall more into the Sculpture line. Remember, TLC has been dropping
the construction type names (Duplo/System/Technic) in favor of theme names
because some of the themes have begun to cross the boundaries of
construction (primarily Star Wars and Racers). That being the case, if they
were considered to be related to Model Team, the MT name should have made a
comeback with the two airplanes (not so much with the SW:UCS, since those
fall under the larger SW theme)
> Another similar set is expected this year -- The Wright Flyer.
Really? I hadn't heard that, and they didn't have anything present at
Toy Fair (then again, if it's LEGO Direct they wouldn't show it to other
retaillers). It makes sense, given that it's the 100th anniversary of the
year the airplane was born.
> Arguably, the basic Superchief set could also be considered MTiS because of >its level of detail and lack of a train motor.
Yeah, but it's rather small compared to the old MT sets. I realize
that it's probably intended to be easily modified to work with the standard
Train system, but I would expect a MT train engine to be about 24" long.
> As if any of this was not enough to make you think Model Team is still
> with us, this year's retail line up of sets includes 4 more sets that
> are MTiS: the 3 creator sets (4402, 4403, and 4404)
The official name for that sub-series is "Advanced Designer". The
seven theme-builders that have already been released are "Designer", the
four motion-oriented sets are "Inventor", and the two basic buckets are
"Creator". So says the 2003 Product book given out at Toy Fair.
> and the Space Shuttle Discovery #7470.
Don't forget the #7471 Mars Exploration Rover. IIRC, it was actually a
bit larger than the Discovery (though I think it weighs less), and it had an
amazing amount of detail. It's probably the closest TLC has ever gotten to
releasing something in 1:1 scale, not counting any small Duplo animals. Or
the Dragon sculpture, which is of an indeterminate scale.
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