Two years ago, in 2011, 90 percent of Lego's consumers were boys. A tough statistic to swallow for those of us who grew up playing with Lego's gender-neutral buckets of bricks. But the statistic came straight from Lego, which was then focused on boys with franchised sets based on properties like Star Wars and The Avengers after weathering a disastrous period in the 1990s that left the company on the brink of collapse. "Construction had never worked for girls, for whatever reason," says Garrick Johnson, a toy analyst for BMO Capitol Markets. "It took [Lego] four years of research to figure out how to address the girls' market, how to attack it the right way." Lego Friends turned out to be one of the biggest successes in Lego's history. They're five adorable little dolls with distinctive names and storylines and sets that encourage girls to build karate studios, beauty parlors and veterinary offices. The line doubled sales expectations in 2012, the year it launched. Sales to girls tripled in just that year.
Johnson says the company carefully studied differences between how girls and boys play. "When boys build a construction set, they'll build a castle, let's say, and they'll play with the finished product on the outside. When girls build construction sets, they tend to play on the inside." And research showed that girls loved little details, says Lego brand relations manager Amanda Santoro. "When we were testing this, we asked girls what would you like to see in a Lego school?" she said, as she showed off the line at Toy Fair, the massive industry event held each year in New York City. "Of course, they said an art studio. So we see a lot of detail here with the different paint canisters and the canvas here [a Friend] is creating." David Pickett blogs about Legos at Thinking Brickly, where he's criticized the Lego Friends' gender implications. "Their legs can't move independently, so they move as one big block," he points out. That's not the case with "minifigs" — the classic Lego minifigures with stocky little torsos, snap-off heads, and feet designed to click onto Lego blocks.
Additionally, Lego Friends cannot turn their wrists. "That sort of sends a message about what we expect women being able to do physically," Pickett notes. Lego Friends triggered the ire of Joy Pochatila, a scientist and mother of two small girls. Her first reaction to the line was dismissive. "Why can't they just play with regular Legos? Why does it have to be girl-driven?" she wondered. But Pochatila also was dismayed by how many of the regular sets revolve around male superheroes. "You don't see a Wonder Woman set," she points out. Her husband, Davis Evans, is a staunch Lego defender. When presented with the minifigs' skewed gender numbers, he argued that the androgynous figures could be read as female. Pochatila said she'd prefer a few more specifically female figures, ones that reflect a real-life ratio. And it's hard, she admitted, to argue with Lego Friends' appeal, the complexity of their sets and their overall message of empowerment. The success of the girl-centric Lego Friends has led to little girl dolls popping up in construction sets all over the place, including pink ones from Mega Blocks and Mattel's Barbie.
That's great, say fans, for developing STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) skills for girls. But critics wonder, would it be so hard for Lego to develop — even market — toys for girls and boys to enjoy together?As usual here we are to hear about your favorites from 2013. There were 12 LEGO Technic sets released this year, a figure that has been increasing slowly for more than a decade now. It is time to run our usual set of polls, and get to know which are your preferred 2013 LEGO Technic sets and those that you bought. As we know not always what we prefer is exactly the same we can afford to buy, hence we have once more launched two polls, to get clear answers for both questions: Vote for the best 2013 LEGO Technic set! Tell us which LEGO Technic sets have you bought, from the 2013 assortment? Let's just recap what we got in 2013:41999: 4x4 Crawler Exclusive Edition 42000: Grand Prix Racer / Race Truck 42001: Mini Off-Roader / Mini Buggy 42002: Hovercraft / Propel Plane
42004: Mini Backhoe Loader / Telehandler 42005: Monster Truck / Monster Buggy 42006: Excavator / Tracked Tractor 42007: Moto Cross Bike / Speedway Bike 42008: Service Truck / Crane Truck with Semi-Trailer 42009: Mobile Crane MK II / Reach Stacker 42010: Off-road Racer / Dragster Combi Model 42011: Race Car / Dragster Combi Model Thinking about more than one set, that you really like!? As usual for this type of TBs polls, you may select multiple entries. So let's try to find which were the favorites in 2013, and the best sellers.Find the polls in the right column and... You may also leave any comments to support your choices, if you have some remarks you like to share with us. TechnicBRICKs contents may be sporadically updated, if the authors finds further relevant info about a certain post, or content/spell mistakes. Hence please don't be surprised if you find few changes at later visits, relative to a previous read. TechnicBRICKs often shows other peoples' creations and/or images.
We always try to credit the author(s) and link to their main publishing website, and if possible with their name in real life. Since this is not always possible, we request that if you find something here that is yours or from someone you know, you leave a comment on the respective post and claim the authorship. TechnicBRICKs is optimized for Firefox 16.0 and 1600x1200 resolution displays or wider. LEGO® is a trademark of The LEGO Group of companies which does not sponsor, authorize or endorse this blog. LEGO, the LEGO logo, the Brick and Knob configurations, the Minifigure and MINDSTORMS, are registered trademarks of The LEGO Group. Original LEGO images are copyrighted by The LEGO Group and are used here in accordance with their fair play policy.The LEGO Group began making plastic interlocking blocks in 1949. The company has since produced an exciting range of construction sets for everything from spaceships to pirate galleons. Every LEGO fan has his or her personal reasons for thinking a particular set is a worthy purchase.
Options include the number of bricks, exclusive minifigures, blocks in rare colors, and an enjoyable building experience. With so many sets available, it is easy to find something to suit all tastes. LEGO often makes sets based on popular movies, but set 10232 offers something completely different: a cinema to show those movies. This collectible model features a range of accessories for recreating a star-studded movie premiere and six minifigures. As part of the LEGO Modular Buildings collection, it is possible to combine the Palace Cinema with other buildings to create an entire town. In 2008, the LEGO Group worked in association with Cuusoo to create a new website called LEGO Cuusoo, which later became LEGO Ideas. The site encourages brick fans to submit their custom projects. Site visitors vote for the best ideas, which go on to become official LEGO products. For movie fans, the "Ghostbusters" Ecto-1 set, released through LEGO Ideas in 2014, is a must-have. Sometimes big is best, and in 2007, LEGO launched the largest "Star Wars" themed building set ever, the Ultimate Collector's Series Millennium Falcon.
This set appeals to collectors for the 5,195 brick count, the cool theme, and a good selection of minifigures, including an exclusive Obi-Wan Kenobi figure. The Ultimate Collector's Millennium Falcon was LEGO's largest kit until 2010, when the Taj Mahal set went to retail. The set does not include any minifigures, but it is a genuine challenge to construct, boasting 5,922 pieces. LEGO had the rights to produce construction sets based on the popular "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies; however, nothing from that range compares to the majesty of the Imperial Flagship launched in 2010. This classic sailing ship comprises 1,664 pieces, looks suitably large and impressive on display, and includes nine minifigures, including several exclusives such as Brickbeard the pirate. Most LEGO construction sets are for children aged 6 or older. However, for parents who want to get their children involved in this exciting hobby, there are LEGO Juniors sets. These kits use the same bricks but have simpler designs and easier instructions.
For young superhero fans, aged 4 to 7, set 10672 is a good choice. It features a fun Batcave scene, the Batmobile, and three minifigures, including Batman and Joker. Some LEGO sets offer a challenging build, some are for display, and some are great fun to play with. The Batcave set from 2012 is quite entertaining. It comprises Batman's hideaway with a working elevator and holding cell, a drilling tank, and the Batcycle. There are five minifigures, including exclusive versions of Bane and Bruce Wayne. For anyone looking for a grownup LEGO project suitable for displaying, the Statue of Liberty from 2000 is a perfect choice. This advanced sculpture is a challenging build with 2,882 pieces. In 2014, LEGO released the iconic house from hit television series, "The Simpsons." It is a large build with over 2,500 pieces and includes exclusive minifigures for all the Simpson clan, plus long-suffering neighbor, Ned. It is an essential construction set for any fan of the cartoon show.