Subject:
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Re: Sith Infiltrator
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.starwars
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Date:
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Fri, 14 May 1999 21:34:50 GMT
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Reply-To:
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cmasi@cmasi.chemSAYNOTOSPAM.tulane.edu
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Viewed:
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732 times
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Steve Bliss wrote:
> On Fri, 14 May 1999 15:07:15 GMT, Christopher Masi
> <cmasi@cmasi.chem.tulane.edu> wrote:
>
> > The strange thing about the Star Wars LEGO is the return to a more classic LEGO
> > building style. While Lucasfilm Ltd. probably has control over the design or
> > approval of designs I would guess that what is really controlling these designs
> > is money. After all, "All Star Wars elements are property of Lucasfilm Ltd.
> > and/or Lucas Licensing Ltd." I would guess that LEGO has to pay a licensing fee
> > for any bricks created specifically to model anything from the Star Wars
> > universe. For example, the droids (R2 and the Battle Droids) the designs on the
> > minifigs, the helmets, the scanner binocculars, the light sabers, the nose
> > piece for the X-Wing, the blasters (laser things on the wings) the cockpit
> > canopies, maybe the engines (I doubt it with these), the cockpit displays, the
> > printed tiles. If LEGO uses a lot of regular bricks then no one can haggle over
> > who owns the brick. Thus, it may be less exspensive to create models with a
> > high piece count than to create models with specialty pieces which would
> > require LEGO to pay a licensing fee.
>
> I don't think TLG is paying LFL per piece -- I'd guess they are paying
> either a flat rate, or a percent of the profits.
Percent of the gross sales I'll bet.
>
> As for the ownership of whatever, I'd guess LFL owns the likenesses of the
> characters, devices, and vehicles. TLG probably owns the designs to the
> parts. If this is true, TLG can use all the new parts in other, non-SW
> sets. But they couldn't use the 2x2 slope with the image of the AT-AT
> walker.
I agree that it is not strictly a penny per piece arrangement, and I agree that
LEGO probably owns the desings to the actual minifigs, the 2x2 slopes, the R2 head
and body, and LFL probably owns the images on those bricks, but I wonder about the
elements created specifically for these sets. Have the Snow Speeder binocculars or
the blasters shown up in any other set? It is interesting that the Rebel in the
Snow Speader set carries a TV camera (old style not new style with tile film)
rather than a new Star Wars style blaster (I know molds cost alot).
> The battle droid and R2 parts could be a grey area. A plain R2 head is a
> generic TLG part, very similar to the bell jar part from the Adventurers
> line. A plain R2 body is still pretty generic. The R2 legs? Hmm. Those
> are kind of iffy. The battle droid goes pretty much the same way -- some
> parts are fairly generic when taken out of the 'battle droid context'. But
> other parts, particularly the head, are pretty specific.
>
> It has always been cheaper for TLG to make sets with generic bricks, rather
> than special pieces. With plain bricks, they can manufacture a lot of them
> and spread around the fixed costs. With special parts, they make fewer,
> and the fixed costs (especially designing and building the molds) end up
> being a larger part of the per-piece cost.
>
> Steve
Too bad LEGO discovered that if they make a few special bricks and use them
everywhere it is even cheaper (a.k.a. juniorizing; which is an idea with good
intentions gone completely astray...maybe we should call it FrankenLEGO). I guess
the real confusing thing is that everything else (and I do not think that is an
exageration) LEGO is producing right now has be severely juniorizied so why did
Star Wars LEGO escape this trend?
Does the same licensing statement appear on Matel's or MicroMachines boxes?
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Sith Infiltrator
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| (...) I don't think TLG is paying LFL per piece -- I'd guess they are paying either a flat rate, or a percent of the profits. As for the ownership of whatever, I'd guess LFL owns the likenesses of the characters, devices, and vehicles. TLG probably (...) (26 years ago, 14-May-99, to lugnet.starwars)
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