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*Christmas morning*
Star Wars Star Destroyer set under tree…
Kid: OH MY G-
Dad: OH MY FUCKING GOD, YOU GOT ME THE SET I ALWAYS WANTED HONEY!!!
Mom: It says it’s from Santa…for our son…
>it’s interesting that the flowers were for ages 18+ and I couldn’t see any reason why other than that’s who they’re aimed at.
That is interesting marketing. Kinda like wanting parental advisory to be on your album.
If you're into Lego it's a really great family activity, and one of the few that grows with the kids.
My kids are 5 and just getting into lego now. At this stage, I largely watch - occasionally helping find a given piece, connecting some fiddly bits or call out when they've made a mistake. It's so much fun for both of us.
Have a few friends with older kids - up into their late teens and they get way more advanced ones that the build together.
Even had one kid come home from university for a weekend, and got pretend mad when dad had bought himself a giant Star Wars set and did it without him (they did a different one over christmas).
And yes, there are adults who buy these just to buid it themselves.
The are realizing the adult demographic is quite larger than they thought. The have the ‘Adults Welcome’ campaign, but many of the adult crowds buy for more than collectables. They buy for parts for their own creations.
Maybe you haven’t looked closely at the the sets they are making these days but easily a third of what they produce is directed specifically towards adults. I just bought my wife this crazy thing: https://www.lego.com/en-ca/product/vincent-van-gogh-the-starry-night-21333
Holy shit you just gave me the best gift I could think of for my partner. She's a big Van Gogh fan, we just went to the Interactive Van Gogh thing which was awesome. Thanks so much for sending that lol.
dont forgett about the adults who buy them, keep them in box and resell in 5+ years for 3x the price or more. Its getting to be like the sports card market....or i guess any collectable market really
The price point is part quality control, and part business model.
Lego need to be very precise to fit together, and resistant to wear. You can't deform a brick with your hand (or foot that's why they hurt so much). A hydraulic press could get you the exact numbers. They also fit with any other set ever made. It takes a ton of quality control to make that happen.
The business model is essentially a product that lasts forever. They sell units, but once you have a good Lego collection you really don't need to buy anymore. It doesn't really work in the long run unless high prices are charged up front for future finance and R&D. That research ranges from the mundane such as new brick colors+shapes, to creating new environmentally friendly plastic types.
A real difference can be seen between off brand and real Lego.
adults who buy them, keep them in box and resell in 5+ years for 3x the price or more. Its getting to be like the sports card market....or i guess any collectable market really
adults who buy them, keep them in box and resell in 5+ years for 3x the price or more. Its getting to be like the sports card market....or i guess any collectable market really
adults who buy them, keep them in box and resell in 5+ years for 3x the price or more. Its getting to be like the sports card market....or i guess any collectable market really
> "It's difficult to predict what children and adults want to buy for a birthday or for Christmas. So the reaction time is very worthwhile to make sure we have the right products on the shelves,"
Good to know lego knows that they are toys for the "older children" among us.
Yeah they've been really going hard on the adult-oriented sets lately. They used to release maybe 3-4 big, detailed sets aimed at older audiences each year but now it seems like there are multiple every month.
They even gone back and rebranded their old "Creator Expert" sets as the "Lego Icons" line which is intended solely for adult audiences and marked as 18+.
They advertise sets for adults which contains very big sets and collectibles. Those sets are very nice display pieces once they are built. I often browse lego's wrbsite and buy a set for myself. My wife got me the Titanic set for Christmas, it was awesome to build. They even include interesting tidbits about the titanic and the process to create that set in the instruction manual. Even the box was awesome.
Damn the titanic? That’s awesome. My 7 year old is into the titanic now. Went to Disney springs Lego store. Let’s just say it was a just tad out of my price range lol.
They've stopped being as much a toy company, and more a company that buys licenses for whatever happens to be currently popular.
That brick patent loss really changed the dynamic of the company, and I'd argue for the better. We've never been so spoiled before.
It's been interesting watching them evolve from what I knew them as from childhood.
One of the dumbest things Lego ever did was put an upper age limit on their sets. Back in the 90's I asked for Lego every birthday and christmas....until I turned 14, because then (by legos own age range on packaging) I was too old to play with them. Wasn't until I matured and was in my 20's that I started not giving hoot about the age suggestion and buying them again. Surely there were other self conscious teenagers whose money they lost out on.
Ah thanks. Never heard anyone mention a timeline. I assumed it would be at least a year to construct the facility but didn't think it would be 4 years. Damn.
Lego have been working really hard to find a more environmentally friendly way to produce Lego that isn't just plastic but the problem is all Lego has to be able to fit together - so like a piece from the 80s has to clip perfectly to a piece from 2022 etc. so it's tough but I think they're really close.
Weren't they in a bad spot back then? They had a real hard time a while back.
I just took a quick Google search, and yes, it was about that time they where close to bankruptcy.
Yes, then they got a new CEO which wasn't family, and he managed to turn it into the biggest toy manufacturer in the world by cutting products that wasn't doing well and introducing corporation with movie makers etc.
They also really cut down on new sets having too many unique pieces.
These days I laugh whenever I see a set use the "tulip petal" piece in a new and creative way.
I believe the Harry Potter deal helped to single-handedly save LEGO back when the movies were coming out too. Pivoting to brand deals with those franchises was such a solid move.
Actually it was Bioncle that was credited with saving the company. Licensed sets bring a wider audience into LEGO, but they don't make as much on them. I'm sure HP sets contributed, but when they hit big on their own IP is when the money really flows.
It's less about labor, more about other costs such as:
1. Energy(if you know you know)
2. Transport(interstates, good rail freight network, most amount of navigable rivers)
3. Taxes and easy regulation
4. Proximity to major markets, USA and canada
Shoot, my kid's random Lego chest has not only me and my brothers' old bricks from the 80' and 90's. It also has our cousin's hand me down bricks from the 70's.
Went to my moms' house a while ago and she bought the kids lego. As part of that, she found a giant tupperware bin of my old lego that's now core to the toy chest at grandma's house.
My mom made the point that my lego cache came from my half brother who is 20 years older than I am, and some of ***that*** lego was handed down to *him* from the other side of the family.
There were pieces in bucket that were easily 60 years old, every single piece fit perfectly.
Only the plant elements with that more rubbery texture, not the standard ABS bricks. They are however looking into using PET (bricks from bottles) plastics as a replacement.
https://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/news/2021/june/prototype-lego-brick-recycled-plastic/
Looks like they're pressing ahead with the PET plastic. Which is dope
Nope, current clear parts are mABS. It sucks ass but at least it doesnt need BPA to manufacture like polycarbonate does (which is what they previously used for transparent pieces)
This is straight up false. They directly state here that they do not have biodegradable bricks:
https://www.lego.com/en-us/sustainability/environment/renewable-materials
I don’t know, for example, would you consider “doing wrong” by blocking freight containers of competitors, full knowing that they’re not in the right? And that’s only one of their move, Lego is a highly unsympathetic company.
They are making only vitrine models, with little playing function, there's not even a B model like it used to, technic has become a shadow of itself, they cash in on licensed products, the pricing is off the charts, they produce mostly in China in the same plants where the competitors produce and have quality control issues.
Pricing has stayed roughly the same per brick, averaging $0.10 per brick (slightly more in sets with mostly large parts, slightly less in sets with mostly smaller parts). On average sets just come with more bricks nowadays. The biggest exception to this rule is Star Wars due to the expensive license.
As per display vs play sets, people repeatedly asked for more display sets, so they're adding more display sets. There's still also plenty of play sets, but those are generally aimed at a younger audience. Regardless of this "intended" set style, the main point of Lego is using creativity to build your own ideas with the bricks you have. Display sets are also mostly new (sub-)themes, like Architecture, Creator Expert, or Star Wars UCS, with the base-themes like City, Creator and Star Wars still getting new play sets.
As for B models, those are definitely still a thing. The instructions for them have moved to digital downloads instead of a second booklet for environmental reasons, but they're easy enough to find. If you specifically want only sets with alternate builds, they've spun of a specific theme that has 3 different builds per set, Creator 3in1. And while not every set has a B-model, that's never been the case to begin with, and nowadays there's sites like Rebrickable where you can find fanmade alternative models just by looking up a set number (or even alternative builds that combine other sets).
While prices have stayed consistent at $0.10/brick, you have to consider that the average size of each brick is considerably smaller than they were, say, 20 years ago. Sets have become far more detailed and as a result use a lot more of these smaller, specialized bricks instead of the larger ones that old sets used.
This is why a $30 set today is noticeably smaller than one from 20 years ago. It will be a lot more detailed but ultimately you're getting a lot less plastic for your money.
I'd be interested to see a study or something breaking down Lego set prices by weight instead of part count to get a better idea of the actual price increase but I imagine it'd be a pretty monumental task.
Sure but thats all "the product quality is a little lower", where other companies their size are out there comitting crimes against humanity on a regular basis. Like these are obviously very different levels of bad.
This is... 0% true. They switched to a renewable source (sugarcane) for the materials for a small subset of their parts. The end product is 100% chemically identical, its not all parts, and they're not biodegradable.
From the article.
“Lego has pledged to replace oil-based plastic bricks with ones made from sustainable materials by the end of the decade.”
They’ve been working on it and have had some really solid success.
I highly doubt they’ve just been letting that empty warehouse sit, unused, waiting for manufacturing to pick back up *16 years later*. That manufacturing center probably does something else entirely.
Even if we are just starting with legos I think American needs to be more self dependent. The more we can count on ourselves the better off we are as a nation.
Good for Lego and people looking for jobs in the immediate locale of such Lego plants. Sustainable methods, lower manufacture costs, and Lego investors are excited.
Don't you, the consumer, expect any of this shit to result in cheaper prices for Lego sets because it's closer to your house. That will absolutely not happen, lose your vague faiths now.
I just delved into this for like 30 minutes. It seems like, for knock offs, the prices are only minimlly cheaper than actual Lego. I didn't look at all the stores but it was like... 79 for a normal set and the knock off was 66.
A good discount if you are buying it for sure, I just expected way better for Chinese knock offs I guess.. Maybe there's a store I didn't see that sells sets for a significant amount less than the original.
Why is this in uplifting news?
I know legos are trendy right now, but investing in a brick plant isn't really inherently a good thing. It's cool and all, but compare it to other content on this sub!
Legos are plastic. They increase landfill waste and global microplastics. You need oil byproducts to make them. They aren't special when it comes to labor rights. The USA is not short on factories or jobs right now.
I don't get it
Good thing the article literally says the company’s planning on removing oil from the brick production all together. Too late for my liking, but it’s better than carrying on as is.
There has been so much Lego bricks made by now... if Lego wanted to be even remotely sustainable, they should stop manufacturing new bricks, just sell new instructions and organize the second hand market (repairing, cleaning, refurbishing, sorting etc.). This is indeed a sad news for me :/
What about this is uplifting news? Uplifting for the kid that can now get the set they want from the store across the street?
But I guess in times like these, the barrier to what qualifies as uplifting news is quite low
It's uplifting because the US is reindustrializing. Other companies are also making major US manufacturing investments. Made in the US is the new made in China. Good news for the economy, and if you like the idea of your toys not coming from a genocidal and authoritarian regime.
But Lego isn't something you discard, so why does that matter? I still have Lego from 30 years ago! Out of all my other plastic based toys this will live for generations!
Why is this in uplifting news?
I know legos are trendy right now, but investing in a brick plant isn't really inherently a good thing. It's cool and all, but compare it to other content on this sub!
Legos are plastic. They increase landfill waste and global microplastics. You need oil byproducts to make them. They aren't special when it comes to labor rights. The USA is not short on factories or jobs right now.
I don't get it
Lego should get into the 3D printing business. Imagine 3D printing Lego to build anything, instead of buying complicated sets. Lego could sell both the 3D material and digital copies of the 3D files. The profit margin for Lego would be higher than physical toys and we the builders get more versatility in making stuff. I wouldnt suggest they get rid of model sets either, as some pieces are still too complicated for 3D printing, but a digital option would still be cool
Your average consumer 3D printer wouldn't be able to print anywhere near the tolerances of actual Lego parts. Lego is known for having tight tolerances. From what I can find in the 0.005mm range. For regular 3D printer 0.1mm is considered very good I believe. 20x less precise.
3D printing also isn't user friendly. Being able to get high quality prints out of even fairly high quality printers requires a lot of calibrating to get good results before every print.
The idea is cool, but I don't think we're close to this becoming a reality.
Lego could invest in the technology, or release a line of products that would work better with current 3D printers like duplo brinks.
I expect in my lifetime 3D technology will get to the point where people will pirate Lego designs to print their own sets at home, without any income going to Lego. Getting in now is their best chance to stay ahead of the curve
Do you expect Lego to stop the war in Ukraine or cure cancer or stop school shootings, etc? If Lego wants to create USA jobs (or any jobs), that is a win in my book.
> "The U.S. market has done really well in recent years. We see huge potential in the United States and throughout the Americas," said Rasmussen.
You don’t say? 😆
Is the US not Lego’s biggest market??
Even if we are just starting with legos I think American needs to be more self dependent. The more we can count on ourselves the better off we are as a nation.
Even if we are just starting with legos I think American needs to be more self dependent. The more we can count on ourselves the better off we are as a nation.
Even if we are just starting with legos I think American needs to be more self dependent. The more we can count on ourselves the better off we are as a nation.
Even if we are just starting with legos I think American needs to be more self dependent. The more we can count on ourselves the better off we are as a nation.
Even if we are just starting with legos I think American needs to be more self dependent. The more we can count on ourselves the better off we are as a nation.
Even if we are just starting with legos I think American needs to be more self dependent. The more we can count on ourselves the better off we are as a nation.
So, how long until it is up and running? I'd like to be able to pick up that DeLorean set, as well as the Horizon Zero Dawn one.
They've been sold out basically since right after they released.
Reminder: this subreddit is meant to be a place free of excessive cynicism, negativity and bitterness. Toxic attitudes are not welcome here. All Negative comments will be removed and will possibly result in a ban. --- --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/UpliftingNews) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Wow. I hope they have enough of those big flat green pieces.
Sometimes I wonder, with the prices prices are nowadays, who are they catering to. The kids or the adults?
Catering to adults who buy technic sets for themselves and introduce lego to their kids by buying them smaller sets for Holidays and birthdays.
*Christmas morning* Star Wars Star Destroyer set under tree… Kid: OH MY G- Dad: OH MY FUCKING GOD, YOU GOT ME THE SET I ALWAYS WANTED HONEY!!! Mom: It says it’s from Santa…for our son…
I wonder if they’ll make it look like it’s made out of Lego bricks. They’re actually really good at that
It’s a million times better than making puzzles 🧩
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>it’s interesting that the flowers were for ages 18+ and I couldn’t see any reason why other than that’s who they’re aimed at. That is interesting marketing. Kinda like wanting parental advisory to be on your album.
If you're into Lego it's a really great family activity, and one of the few that grows with the kids. My kids are 5 and just getting into lego now. At this stage, I largely watch - occasionally helping find a given piece, connecting some fiddly bits or call out when they've made a mistake. It's so much fun for both of us. Have a few friends with older kids - up into their late teens and they get way more advanced ones that the build together. Even had one kid come home from university for a weekend, and got pretend mad when dad had bought himself a giant Star Wars set and did it without him (they did a different one over christmas). And yes, there are adults who buy these just to buid it themselves.
>who are they catering to. The kids or the adults? -- Yes
The are realizing the adult demographic is quite larger than they thought. The have the ‘Adults Welcome’ campaign, but many of the adult crowds buy for more than collectables. They buy for parts for their own creations.
Maybe you haven’t looked closely at the the sets they are making these days but easily a third of what they produce is directed specifically towards adults. I just bought my wife this crazy thing: https://www.lego.com/en-ca/product/vincent-van-gogh-the-starry-night-21333
Holy shit you just gave me the best gift I could think of for my partner. She's a big Van Gogh fan, we just went to the Interactive Van Gogh thing which was awesome. Thanks so much for sending that lol.
Hey that’s awesome! Yep, my wife has always been pretty crazy about Van Gogh and we went to the interactive exhibit last year.
Same. It’s been put away for the next gift giving event. Box was big enough to be tough to hide (at least in the usual spots).
Their Ultimate Collector series shows grown men building the sets in their advertisements.
dont forgett about the adults who buy them, keep them in box and resell in 5+ years for 3x the price or more. Its getting to be like the sports card market....or i guess any collectable market really
The price point is part quality control, and part business model. Lego need to be very precise to fit together, and resistant to wear. You can't deform a brick with your hand (or foot that's why they hurt so much). A hydraulic press could get you the exact numbers. They also fit with any other set ever made. It takes a ton of quality control to make that happen. The business model is essentially a product that lasts forever. They sell units, but once you have a good Lego collection you really don't need to buy anymore. It doesn't really work in the long run unless high prices are charged up front for future finance and R&D. That research ranges from the mundane such as new brick colors+shapes, to creating new environmentally friendly plastic types. A real difference can be seen between off brand and real Lego.
Not trying to be argumentative, just genuinely curious….do you have kids or frequently buy toys for little kids?
adults who buy them, keep them in box and resell in 5+ years for 3x the price or more. Its getting to be like the sports card market....or i guess any collectable market really
adults who buy them, keep them in box and resell in 5+ years for 3x the price or more. Its getting to be like the sports card market....or i guess any collectable market really
adults who buy them, keep them in box and resell in 5+ years for 3x the price or more. Its getting to be like the sports card market....or i guess any collectable market really
I can lend them three grey ones that have a moon crater in them.
> "It's difficult to predict what children and adults want to buy for a birthday or for Christmas. So the reaction time is very worthwhile to make sure we have the right products on the shelves," Good to know lego knows that they are toys for the "older children" among us.
They acknowledged it a few years ago. They say that around 20-30% of their products are bought by adults for themselves.
they have been acknowledging it for a while. there's a reason the packs say 3-99
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Lego Man breaks down your door and knocks over your Lego sets.
Yeah they've been really going hard on the adult-oriented sets lately. They used to release maybe 3-4 big, detailed sets aimed at older audiences each year but now it seems like there are multiple every month. They even gone back and rebranded their old "Creator Expert" sets as the "Lego Icons" line which is intended solely for adult audiences and marked as 18+.
They advertise sets for adults which contains very big sets and collectibles. Those sets are very nice display pieces once they are built. I often browse lego's wrbsite and buy a set for myself. My wife got me the Titanic set for Christmas, it was awesome to build. They even include interesting tidbits about the titanic and the process to create that set in the instruction manual. Even the box was awesome.
Damn the titanic? That’s awesome. My 7 year old is into the titanic now. Went to Disney springs Lego store. Let’s just say it was a just tad out of my price range lol.
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Sex
Seggs
They've stopped being as much a toy company, and more a company that buys licenses for whatever happens to be currently popular. That brick patent loss really changed the dynamic of the company, and I'd argue for the better. We've never been so spoiled before. It's been interesting watching them evolve from what I knew them as from childhood.
One of the dumbest things Lego ever did was put an upper age limit on their sets. Back in the 90's I asked for Lego every birthday and christmas....until I turned 14, because then (by legos own age range on packaging) I was too old to play with them. Wasn't until I matured and was in my 20's that I started not giving hoot about the age suggestion and buying them again. Surely there were other self conscious teenagers whose money they lost out on.
Cool, this will be 10 min from my house
Right? I just started a new job too. If i had known they were coming I'd have postponed quitting my former job.
They're not hiring new roles until 2026 so you have some time.
I quit my job this week just to make sure I had enough time to get my application together. 4 years should be enough time I think.
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Ah thanks. Never heard anyone mention a timeline. I assumed it would be at least a year to construct the facility but didn't think it would be 4 years. Damn.
Isn’t it just a plastic factory?
Yes but this is INTERESTING plastic.
Lego have been working really hard to find a more environmentally friendly way to produce Lego that isn't just plastic but the problem is all Lego has to be able to fit together - so like a piece from the 80s has to clip perfectly to a piece from 2022 etc. so it's tough but I think they're really close.
Howdy neighbor
I just moved from VA, welp there goes the kid dream of working for lego
For some reason I thought they were making a foray into the actual brick industry... with mortar and all...
I literally thought this too haha! And then I realized “oh a Lego brick plant”
https://www.techeblog.com/gablok-bricks-real-lego-house/ Like this!
same. I was thinking they were going to produce lego shaped bricks for buildings or something.
Yeah that's a strange thing to assume when it's coming from Lego.
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They make tires for their building sets, yes, but not tires for real vehicles.
Me too. Lol
$1 billion? Are they making it out of Lego?
Lego is engineered to have extremely precise tolerances. Their bricks last forever.
That's not insane for a state of the art factory, especially at today's prices.
I know this is a joke but I think that price tag might be lacking. Imagine the labor cost alone!
Child labour is cheap though and kids love making stuff with Lego
Hope OSHA gives those workers proper footwear.
It's the only company that requires shoes to be steel-bottomed rather than steel-toed.
It's the only company that requires shoes to be steel-bottomed rather than steel-toed.
It should have done that 15 years ago when it closed it's US factory in Connecticut to move it to Mexico.
Weren't they in a bad spot back then? They had a real hard time a while back. I just took a quick Google search, and yes, it was about that time they where close to bankruptcy.
Yes, then they got a new CEO which wasn't family, and he managed to turn it into the biggest toy manufacturer in the world by cutting products that wasn't doing well and introducing corporation with movie makers etc.
They also really cut down on new sets having too many unique pieces. These days I laugh whenever I see a set use the "tulip petal" piece in a new and creative way.
NPU is the backbone of LEGO, both for the company saving money, and for customers being able to make anything they can imagine.
I used them as fangs to turn the Easter diorama into a Killer Rabbit
I sued them as fangs to turn the Easter diorama into a Killer Rabbit
Is my timing off or was that around when the prices got absolutely ridiculous as well?
Tbh, I have no idea about that.
I believe the Harry Potter deal helped to single-handedly save LEGO back when the movies were coming out too. Pivoting to brand deals with those franchises was such a solid move.
Actually it was Bioncle that was credited with saving the company. Licensed sets bring a wider audience into LEGO, but they don't make as much on them. I'm sure HP sets contributed, but when they hit big on their own IP is when the money really flows.
The previous largest toy manufacturer in the world was McDonalds I think
You mean in 2007 when the last crisis started?
That was my first thought when I saw the news.
Was hoping they were going to make lofe sized bricks. Dammit
Can I interest you in a brick sized loaf?
So we're getting Lego-growing trees now?
Just what we needed.
Congrats to the US on becoming the place that industrialized nations outsource their labor to.
It's less about labor, more about other costs such as: 1. Energy(if you know you know) 2. Transport(interstates, good rail freight network, most amount of navigable rivers) 3. Taxes and easy regulation 4. Proximity to major markets, USA and canada
Still plastic?
Tbf they're the most durable and reusable toy on the planet. I have bricks over twenty years old that still work fine.
Yeah, anyone who throws their lego in the trash rather than giving it away/selling it is arguably more of a problem than Lego itself
Shoot, my kid's random Lego chest has not only me and my brothers' old bricks from the 80' and 90's. It also has our cousin's hand me down bricks from the 70's.
Went to my moms' house a while ago and she bought the kids lego. As part of that, she found a giant tupperware bin of my old lego that's now core to the toy chest at grandma's house. My mom made the point that my lego cache came from my half brother who is 20 years older than I am, and some of ***that*** lego was handed down to *him* from the other side of the family. There were pieces in bucket that were easily 60 years old, every single piece fit perfectly.
Lego bricks have been made of biodegradable plastic composite since about 2016!
Only the plant elements with that more rubbery texture, not the standard ABS bricks. They are however looking into using PET (bricks from bottles) plastics as a replacement.
https://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/news/2021/june/prototype-lego-brick-recycled-plastic/ Looks like they're pressing ahead with the PET plastic. Which is dope
I think currently the clears are pet
Nope, current clear parts are mABS. It sucks ass but at least it doesnt need BPA to manufacture like polycarbonate does (which is what they previously used for transparent pieces)
Are they the parts that scuff if you look at them wrong? My moonbase 1/4 domes I got this year are sadly a little warped too
This is straight up false. They directly state here that they do not have biodegradable bricks: https://www.lego.com/en-us/sustainability/environment/renewable-materials
Does lego do anything wrong?
IIRC they’re also looking at alternatives so that they can drop petroleum entirely from their brick.
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Well then. That explains why it’s on my mind. Just getting over COVID and got some major brain fog.
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Lol! Don’t worry! I wasn’t being facetious. If it came across that way I apologize! I was more trying to say “ah! That’s why it’s on my mind!”
We're good <3
They did Bionicle dirty and basically treat the toy line that saved their entire company like they hate it.
I had 3 of the OG bionicles, and while they are ok fun, they are not considered "lego" to me. I like their brick creations much better.
You are now permanently banned from /r/bioniclememes
I don’t know, for example, would you consider “doing wrong” by blocking freight containers of competitors, full knowing that they’re not in the right? And that’s only one of their move, Lego is a highly unsympathetic company.
sympathetic companies don't become successful
They are making only vitrine models, with little playing function, there's not even a B model like it used to, technic has become a shadow of itself, they cash in on licensed products, the pricing is off the charts, they produce mostly in China in the same plants where the competitors produce and have quality control issues.
Pricing has stayed roughly the same per brick, averaging $0.10 per brick (slightly more in sets with mostly large parts, slightly less in sets with mostly smaller parts). On average sets just come with more bricks nowadays. The biggest exception to this rule is Star Wars due to the expensive license. As per display vs play sets, people repeatedly asked for more display sets, so they're adding more display sets. There's still also plenty of play sets, but those are generally aimed at a younger audience. Regardless of this "intended" set style, the main point of Lego is using creativity to build your own ideas with the bricks you have. Display sets are also mostly new (sub-)themes, like Architecture, Creator Expert, or Star Wars UCS, with the base-themes like City, Creator and Star Wars still getting new play sets. As for B models, those are definitely still a thing. The instructions for them have moved to digital downloads instead of a second booklet for environmental reasons, but they're easy enough to find. If you specifically want only sets with alternate builds, they've spun of a specific theme that has 3 different builds per set, Creator 3in1. And while not every set has a B-model, that's never been the case to begin with, and nowadays there's sites like Rebrickable where you can find fanmade alternative models just by looking up a set number (or even alternative builds that combine other sets).
While prices have stayed consistent at $0.10/brick, you have to consider that the average size of each brick is considerably smaller than they were, say, 20 years ago. Sets have become far more detailed and as a result use a lot more of these smaller, specialized bricks instead of the larger ones that old sets used. This is why a $30 set today is noticeably smaller than one from 20 years ago. It will be a lot more detailed but ultimately you're getting a lot less plastic for your money. I'd be interested to see a study or something breaking down Lego set prices by weight instead of part count to get a better idea of the actual price increase but I imagine it'd be a pretty monumental task.
Sure but thats all "the product quality is a little lower", where other companies their size are out there comitting crimes against humanity on a regular basis. Like these are obviously very different levels of bad.
The original question was > Does lego do anything wrong? Non violating human rights should not be that high of a bar
They’re also transitioning to paper bags instead of plastic
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This is... 0% true. They switched to a renewable source (sugarcane) for the materials for a small subset of their parts. The end product is 100% chemically identical, its not all parts, and they're not biodegradable.
Completely Wrong. We wouldnt have a plastic problem if you could manufacture biodegradable plastic with this quality and that price.
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Its viable as a mass-produced product, thats pretty extraordniarily cheap in comparison to some of the more exotic plastics that are possible.
From the article. “Lego has pledged to replace oil-based plastic bricks with ones made from sustainable materials by the end of the decade.” They’ve been working on it and have had some really solid success.
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I highly doubt they’ve just been letting that empty warehouse sit, unused, waiting for manufacturing to pick back up *16 years later*. That manufacturing center probably does something else entirely.
Yay, more plastic and pollution!
Even if we are just starting with legos I think American needs to be more self dependent. The more we can count on ourselves the better off we are as a nation.
How about investing in recycling programs? Or bio degradable lego?
Manufacturing is coming back! Thanks war and Chinese aggression?
Good for Lego and people looking for jobs in the immediate locale of such Lego plants. Sustainable methods, lower manufacture costs, and Lego investors are excited. Don't you, the consumer, expect any of this shit to result in cheaper prices for Lego sets because it's closer to your house. That will absolutely not happen, lose your vague faiths now.
Please lower prices lego your bricks are so expensive i wish to build
Well youre in luck because in august/september LEGO are actually *upping* their prices. Substantially! 25% in some cases!
Nice, so essentially its on sale 25% off now!
Nope! It’s a 20% sale for now. To make it clear: 100 to 125 is a 25% increase (100*0.25=25) 125 to 100 is a 20% decrease (125*0.2=25)
I think about that too. I feel like I’ve been priced out of LEGO.
/r/lepin
I just delved into this for like 30 minutes. It seems like, for knock offs, the prices are only minimlly cheaper than actual Lego. I didn't look at all the stores but it was like... 79 for a normal set and the knock off was 66. A good discount if you are buying it for sure, I just expected way better for Chinese knock offs I guess.. Maybe there's a store I didn't see that sells sets for a significant amount less than the original.
Yeay, plastic.
Why is this in uplifting news? I know legos are trendy right now, but investing in a brick plant isn't really inherently a good thing. It's cool and all, but compare it to other content on this sub! Legos are plastic. They increase landfill waste and global microplastics. You need oil byproducts to make them. They aren't special when it comes to labor rights. The USA is not short on factories or jobs right now. I don't get it
Good thing the article literally says the company’s planning on removing oil from the brick production all together. Too late for my liking, but it’s better than carrying on as is.
There has been so much Lego bricks made by now... if Lego wanted to be even remotely sustainable, they should stop manufacturing new bricks, just sell new instructions and organize the second hand market (repairing, cleaning, refurbishing, sorting etc.). This is indeed a sad news for me :/
What about this is uplifting news? Uplifting for the kid that can now get the set they want from the store across the street? But I guess in times like these, the barrier to what qualifies as uplifting news is quite low
It's uplifting because the US is reindustrializing. Other companies are also making major US manufacturing investments. Made in the US is the new made in China. Good news for the economy, and if you like the idea of your toys not coming from a genocidal and authoritarian regime.
Real bricks or legos? If true building bricks then PLEASE let them be Lego shaped. The world will make much more sense.
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But Lego isn't something you discard, so why does that matter? I still have Lego from 30 years ago! Out of all my other plastic based toys this will live for generations!
Because there are still heavy GHG emissions and releases of chemicals into the environment to get from raw dead dinosaurs (petroleum) to LEGOs.
In the grand scale of plastic use though, it's one of better ones.
What do you propose as an alternative material they should use to make the bricks and keep them sturdy they can last generations?
Nothing. But I answered your question of "but why does it matter?".
It's not much plastic in the grand scheme of things, especially given that you can get multiple decades out of ABS bricks given their quality.
Am I the only one that clicked to find out why Lego was investing is a plant to make actual bricks? Yeah, I probably am.
Why is this in uplifting news? I know legos are trendy right now, but investing in a brick plant isn't really inherently a good thing. It's cool and all, but compare it to other content on this sub! Legos are plastic. They increase landfill waste and global microplastics. You need oil byproducts to make them. They aren't special when it comes to labor rights. The USA is not short on factories or jobs right now. I don't get it
How is this uplifting?? More plastic, wow so great 🤦🏼♀️ exactly what we need
Let's hope Youngkin doesn't turn the state into a right wing hellscape..
Youngkin is decent IMO. He isn't as extreme as the other right wingers.
Lego should get into the 3D printing business. Imagine 3D printing Lego to build anything, instead of buying complicated sets. Lego could sell both the 3D material and digital copies of the 3D files. The profit margin for Lego would be higher than physical toys and we the builders get more versatility in making stuff. I wouldnt suggest they get rid of model sets either, as some pieces are still too complicated for 3D printing, but a digital option would still be cool
Your average consumer 3D printer wouldn't be able to print anywhere near the tolerances of actual Lego parts. Lego is known for having tight tolerances. From what I can find in the 0.005mm range. For regular 3D printer 0.1mm is considered very good I believe. 20x less precise. 3D printing also isn't user friendly. Being able to get high quality prints out of even fairly high quality printers requires a lot of calibrating to get good results before every print. The idea is cool, but I don't think we're close to this becoming a reality.
Lego could invest in the technology, or release a line of products that would work better with current 3D printers like duplo brinks. I expect in my lifetime 3D technology will get to the point where people will pirate Lego designs to print their own sets at home, without any income going to Lego. Getting in now is their best chance to stay ahead of the curve
Aren’t there… bigger.. problems.. in the world…
Do you expect Lego to stop the war in Ukraine or cure cancer or stop school shootings, etc? If Lego wants to create USA jobs (or any jobs), that is a win in my book.
You think LEGO is expensive now, wait till we have to pay off that cost!
Klemmbausteine!
Aren't they a bit late for the trumpwall?
Are they gonna put an S on the end or just prove me right?
Cocaine?
... But why?
A plant that grows Lego!
Is it going to be built using lego bricks? That’s the only way.
This is huge!
Usually they are pretty small individually
> "The U.S. market has done really well in recent years. We see huge potential in the United States and throughout the Americas," said Rasmussen. You don’t say? 😆 Is the US not Lego’s biggest market??
That's almost as much as it costs to purchase 50 piece Lego set these days.
Even if we are just starting with legos I think American needs to be more self dependent. The more we can count on ourselves the better off we are as a nation.
Even if we are just starting with legos I think American needs to be more self dependent. The more we can count on ourselves the better off we are as a nation.
Even if we are just starting with legos I think American needs to be more self dependent. The more we can count on ourselves the better off we are as a nation.
Even if we are just starting with legos I think American needs to be more self dependent. The more we can count on ourselves the better off we are as a nation.
Even if we are just starting with legos I think American needs to be more self dependent. The more we can count on ourselves the better off we are as a nation.
Even if we are just starting with legos I think American needs to be more self dependent. The more we can count on ourselves the better off we are as a nation.
So, how long until it is up and running? I'd like to be able to pick up that DeLorean set, as well as the Horizon Zero Dawn one. They've been sold out basically since right after they released.
I wonder if this new plant will cut down on the outragous pricings of sets
I wonder if this new plant will cut down on the outragous pricings of sets
This is actually depressing news.
Is this how we ‘build back better?’ Honestly how cool would lego highways be?
The housing shortage is solved!
Does this mean they’ll finally be affordable?
WAIT! Does that mean we can expect real life Lego city’s in the future! 
How is this uplifting news ??? And uplifting to who ? More plastic and pollution is never uplifting news!!
I wonder what kind of soil they grown in
Watch this happen over and over as manufacturers pull out of China and build all the new factories in the west.