I am done with Lego. And no, it's not because I stepped on a brick in the middle of the night last night, suffering what can only be described as the worst pain in the world, although yes, that's a permanent source of rage for every parent, really. No, I'm done with Lego because that sacred cow of millions of geeks who grew up happily constructing elaborate vehicles, castles, cities, and imaginary lands, is no longer the Lego of our childhood. It's time to face the hard truth: Lego is evil now. On the one hand, the story of Lego's resurgence in the past few years is a remarkable tale of innovation and canny survivalism. The patents on Lego's brick design began expiring in the early 2000s; the original patent expired in 2011, and despite many attempts by Lego to get its patents extended indefinitely and then to trademark the design, the company was eventually forced to admit that innovation was its only road to continued success. Enter the new saga. Lego 2: The Licensing. It started with "Lego: Star Wars," of course, and the library of licensed Lego goodness now includes, to name just a few, Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, Harry Potter, Spider-Man, Batman, Speed Racer, Indiana Jones, Toy Story, Cars, The Lord of the Rings, the Hobbit, Super Heroes (including figures from Marvel and DC Universe), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and even, heaven help us
, a set based on the new "Lone Ranger" movie. Here's a list, if you're in the mood. Things really got genius in 2011, when Lego went ahead and created its own original series, Lego Ninjago. The premise is brilliant, from a merchandising and sales perspective. There are six main characters, five of them ninjas who have to go through various stages of training and ninja accomplishments -- meaning multiple permutations of minifigures from just the primary cast. Then there's a different set of villains for each season, each set of villains has its own vehicles, weaponry, and mechs, as do the ninjas, and virtually no single minifigure is available for sale all by its little lonesome -- only as part of a set that ranges from $10 if you're lucky to $100 and up if you're the parent of a fanatical 3-, 4-, 5-, or 6-year-old child. Now there's "Chima," a show that aired once, near as I can tell, but which has still spawned a million minifigs. Plus, many of the themes also now have companion character encyclopedias, which are little more than catalogs for greedy, brand-obsessed children.
The hype around the must-have toys is so intense it's even led to full-on Lego fraud rings, and I myself bought a sketchy standalone minifigure on eBay that arrived wrapped in tissue in a Ziploc bag, just to avoid spending $30 or $40 on yet another ridiculous "set." My biggest complaint about the licensed sets, other than their always increasing cost, is that they're basically the antithesis of the Lego model: where I remember building and learning to build with the Lego blocks of my youth, these new sets simply require children to follow somewhere between 100 and 300 steps to build a very specific, one-time use vehicle or environs. Then, 2 to 7 hours later, they're done, moved on to the next shiny branded toy. Yes, of course, you can deconstruct the sets and build something else out of the blocks, but many of these new pieces are specialty parts that hardly fit anywhere else: wings, bolts, circular attachments, pointy triangle blocks. They're less interchangeable than they've ever been.
Plus, with all the emphasis on characters, the minifigures are the focus of most of the attention: kids will beg their parents to buy a $40 set, mine the minifigures, and toss the rest into a separately sold, branded storage bin. And do not get me started on the Lego for girls sets that have started to spring up in the last year or so. After all, once Lego is no longer even remotely about creativity, problem solving, or imaginative thought, why not go all the way toward pandering to ludicrous gender stereotypes and producing a bunch of pink crap. I'm hardly the first to complain about Lego moving to a licensing model that costs a lot, turns our kids into brand slaves, and dampens their creativity -- but what really gets my goat is that the company is simultaneously trying to cling to its creative roots by releasing imagination-oriented sets and products for adults. Take the newest release from the Lego Architecture Studio line, which, wonder of wonders, consists of a box of bricks, no instructions, and "a world of endless creative possibilities."
As a parent and a consumer, I am exercising my right not to fill my child's life with Yet Another Piece of Plastic, and I'm sorry to report that Lego is included in the "your grandparents can get that for you" list. I bought him a good old-fashioned box of bricks for $30, and someday soon I am going to get a 3D printer and some decent CAD software and you are going down!We’ve seen a lot of next year’s sets over the past week, but here’s another one: Ninjago. Below are 7 sets from the new lineup, which feature the ninja masters facing off against metallic snake warriors called the Vermillion. As usual there are lots of cool vehicles, dragons, and mechs. See all 7 sets below. Check out more brand new sets: 2017 Nexo Knights sets BMW R 1200 GS Technic setTell all your friends!Today we are going to be taking a look at the new Lego Ninjago sets for 2014. We will bring you all the news on release dates, new themes, prices and what sets to expect from Ninjago in 2014. If you are a fan of Lego then this page should be just what you are looking for.
Ninjago of course ended back in early 2013 but there is news on the horizon and that is what we are looking at on this page. Lego Ninjago first hit the shops back in early 2011. This was a completely new theme for Lego and since it’s introduction it has gone on to be one of the most popular themes of modern times. Over the past few years we have seen some wonderful sets come out and there have also been smaller sets known as Spinners and Booster Packs. Then in 2012 there was a massive announcement about the end of Ninjago! This shocked fans all over the world and they voiced their anger and outrage at the decision. Lego then brought out a new range called 'Legends of Chima'. This has not been as well received and fans have kept asking for a revival of Ninjago, so what happens next?Big News For Ninjago In 2014So when Kevin Hinkle first made the announcement about Ninjago ending back in 2012 this came as a real shock to fans the world over. This was one of the most successful lines Lego had ever released so it seemed strange to end it just as it was at it's most popular.
There were only three seasons of the show broadcast and it seemed there was room for so much more. So the big news is that it looks as though Ninjago will be back in 2014. The news was first released on the message boards and it was simply stated that Ninjago will indeed be back in 2014. The new theme that was released in place of Ninjago was Legends Of Chima. This new theme is very similar to Ninjago with lots of sets based on vehicles and it looks as though some new ones will also have a battle theme to them much like we are used to with Spinners and battle arenas. We do not know if Chima will continue and run alongside the new Ninjago sets or if it will be retired altogether. So what can we tell you about new sets for the year? Well the first big news we can bring you is that there are going to be seven new sets released early 2014. We are not sure of an exact release date yet but that will no doubt soon come. The new enemies will be a kind of Cyborg also known as Nindroids.
We expect there to be a new storyline coming out soon which will feature all the new characters. The first one we have seen is called General Crypton, he was leaked and sold on eBay. So chances are he will feature in a few of the new sets. So now we know for sure that Ninjago is coming back in 2014, let's take a look at some of the new sets we are getting.The New Kai Fighter Set A New Direction For Lego NinjagoAs you would expect there are going to be lots of new minifigures included with these new sets. Some are totally new characters and some are just remakes of our favourite Ninjago heroes, so let's take a look at the sets. Kai Fighter - The first one we can have a look at then is called the Kai Fighter. This features our old friend Kai and also General Cryptor as the two minifigures. It is a nice looking space ship built very much in a classic Lego theme. This set will be priced at around $20 and although it is said to out in 2014 do not be surprised if it shows up for Christmas 2013.
OverBorg Attack - This sets again features two minifigures and these will be OverBorg and Lloyd. The main vehicle is a kind of bike with some pretty mean looking weapons included. You also get Lloyd on a little bike. Again this one is likely to retail at around $20. Thunder Raider - This is a slightly bigger set and will have close to 350 bricks, it will cost around $30. We expect this one to have three minifigures which will be Jay, Cole and a Nindroid. This one features a clever looking robot and another vehicle, this looks like being a really exciting set with lots going on.From The OverBorg Attack Set NinjaCopter - Another kind of helicopter but unlike previous Ninjago copters we have seen this one will have a very futuristic look to it. This one will cost around $60 and be a really good one with lots of excellent minifigures to add to your Ninjago collection. Hover Hunter - We are expecting the Hover Hunter to be the smallest of the new releases for 2014 so it will also be the cheapest, we expect this to cost around $12.
Nindroid Mechdragon - A larger set and one that looks like it is going to be really good. This one will cost a little more but is going to be a really good one to get hold of. We expect this to retail somewhere in the region of $70. It is quite a complicated build so maybe a little more tricky than some others. It is also one of the most colourful Lego Ninjago sets we have seen. Destructiod - The final set coming out is the Destructiod, this is likely to be the largest and most expensive of the new sets, but also the most desirable. All of these new sets are going to be very hotly anticipated, we have been waiting along time for the return of Ninjago so this really is going to be exciting when these new sets hit the shops in 2014. Chances are that later in the year there will be another wave of new sets for us to get to grips with as well.More New Lego For 2014Away from Lego Ninjago there are lots of other big releases coming out over 2014. The Star Wars theme is still in full flow, there are lots of exciting new sets to be released from there.
Another theme that has been doing well is the Superheroes theme, with new superhero movies coming out in 2014 we are expecting lots more sets based on films such as Ironman, Thor and possibly even a second wave of Avengers toys. One of the biggest new releases of recent times was of course the Lord Of The Rings Lego sets. These hit the shops in June and have been massively popular with Lego fans all over the world. At the end of the year Peter Jackson releases the second part of The Hobbit and we are expecting to see new sets based on that. They could well hit’s the shops early in the new year or possibly even later in 2013 so they will be around in time for Christmas. But next year there should be more LOTR sets brought out and more from The Hobbit. So as you can see there is going to be plenty to look forward to over the coming year when it comes to Lego. Admittedly Ninjago fans may have been a little bit disappointed that the series was coming to an end last year, but now with this fresh news it really does look exciting going into 2014.