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Lego has made star wars and harry potter (both licensed (probably spelled that wrong)) with yellow figures in some sets/waves, so I don't see why Lego cant start including fleshies in non-licensed themes

To clarify, both the yellow Star Wars and Harry Potter minifigures came out before the change to making licensed figs flesh colored. They have not make a licensed minifig that was yellow except Spongebob, since and won't.

Bluesecrets wrote:

Lego has made star wars and harry potter (both licensed (probably spelled that wrong)) with yellow figures in some sets/waves, so I don't see why Lego cant start including fleshies in non-licensed themes

To clarify, both the yellow Star Wars and Harry Potter minifigures came out before the change to making licensed figs flesh colored. They have not make a licensed minifig that was yellow except Spongebob, since and won't.

Yes, which is because people dont have yellow colored skin. I occasianally prefer yellow pieces to flesh, but mostly flesh is my favorite. My idea was that Lego should produce all minifig pieces in flesh and yellow, so people with all preferences could get what they want. I think this should be done for all themes, not just this one.

But, even if lego stuck with yellow on a new vikings theme, I would still buy it.

Bluesecrets wrote:Do you really want a Vikings line ruined by being a license? They have less parts. They are more expensive. Sometimes the builds are...meh. Don't we have enough licenses right now?

Yes and no (That's why it was a joke. Like SSchmidt commented on, I don't really expect 10 year olds to watch it ). I'm more than aware of the circumstances surrounding licensed sets. Are they more expensive and have less parts (generally)? Yes. But to be honest, do they have better parts (generally)? I'd say so. Look at the new LotR line and we've got new arches, leaves, weapons, etc. Who says lines are 'ruined' by licenses? There's absolutely no way of knowing whether or not the Viking line would be 'ruined' or not. Licenses are sometimes amazing. Think back to PoP. We got new animals, colors, parts, minifig accessories, etc. And so much tan. And trust me. I get it. I haven't bought a Star Wars set in like four years because they've gotten so outrageous. And non-licensed sets are pretty awesome too for saving a few dollars (still depends on the set), but for such a quality toy, I'd be willing to spend a bit more to have some new pieces and fun (especially Vikings).

Licensed or not. Yellow or Flesh. Just give us Vikings, Lego...please.

~FB~

Ferretclaw wrote:My idea was that Lego should produce all minifig pieces in flesh and yellow, so people with all preferences could get what they want. I think this should be done for all themes, not just this one.

I'm quite certain that Lego has previously officially declared that all non-licensed themes will continue to be produced in yellow. How would your idea work? Would each kit include a set of both flesh and yellow heads and hands? That seems like an extremely unlikely proposition, particularly when you consider that torsos and legs often have either flesh or yellow printing to indicate exposed skin (a situation that seems awfully likely with a theme like Vikings).

With long-running licenses like LOTR/Hobbit and Star Wars, fleshie-lovers have more choices than ever for their figs, and a lot of the better prints in circulation are exclusive to flesh tones. I think the current system works pretty well in allowing people who prefer either yellow or flesh to have a good selection of each.
I don't think it would be cost effective for them to produce all fig parts in both tones, and I think that if they started going that direction, it would mean the eventual demise of yellow figs, which would sadden a lot of collectors.

I can't imagine that linking Vikings sets to a license from a History Channel series would bring anything new to the table. I can't imagine that show has a big fan base (I'd never heard of it before Googling it in response to this thread, so it's not like replacing Johnny Thunder with Indiana Jones, or generic Pirates with Pirates of the Caribbean. And as long as you are generic enough (i.e. don't use actual character names from that show) there are no intellectual property rights that go along with a Viking longship or other designs.

Mini licensing rant -
Licenses only limit set designs. If, say, you want to make a subtheme of fire fighters (something LEGO seems to do every other year), you can do pretty much any type of truck, helicopter, firehouse, character, etc. If, OTOH, you wanted to link them to a license (let's say the old 70's TV show Emergency), you would have a specific truck (or a few, I only barely remember that show) and a small number of characters. There are ONLY two reasons to go with a license:
1. You will bring in a big fan base that might not otherwise buy LEGO (this also includes getting free press by announcing the theme, taking advantage of the hype and other marketing surrounding a blockbuster movie, etc). E.g. how many people got pulled into LEGO (or more importantly, pulled BACK in) because of the Star Wars theme.
2. You can make specific desired figures or other elements that even a lot of people who are already into LEGO really want, and would be very hard to otherwise get for pretty much everyone but the customizers. E.g. I've always wanted a Superman fig.
</rant>

Bruce

AK_Brickster wrote:

Ferretclaw wrote:My idea was that Lego should produce all minifig pieces in flesh and yellow, so people with all preferences could get what they want. I think this should be done for all themes, not just this one.

I'm quite certain that Lego has previously officially declared that all non-licensed themes will continue to be produced in yellow. How would your idea work? Would each kit include a set of both flesh and yellow heads and hands? That seems like an extremely unlikely proposition, particularly when you consider that torsos and legs often have either flesh or yellow printing to indicate exposed skin (a situation that seems awfully likely with a theme like Vikings).

With long-running licenses like LOTR/Hobbit and Star Wars, fleshie-lovers have more choices than ever for their figs, and a lot of the better prints in circulation are exclusive to flesh tones. I think the current system works pretty well in allowing people who prefer either yellow or flesh to have a good selection of each.
I don't think it would be cost effective for them to produce all fig parts in both tones, and I think that if they started going that direction, it would mean the eventual demise of yellow figs, which would sadden a lot of collectors.

I actually really like some yellow figs, and deffinatly do not want them to be discontinued. And I agree that it would not be cost effective to include both yellow and flesh versions of figs in a single set. Maybe they could sell yellow versions and flesh versions? I.e. the same set, some versions with flesh and some with yellow... I have not thought this through all the way, just throwing out ideas for other fleshie lovers. Lego could also have an option on online orders to replace yellow figures with flesh versions?

But to clear this up, I do not want a license for vikings. I do not even know what tv show everyone is talking about, so it obviously doesnt have a huge fan base anyway. So we are all in agreement about that. But to defend licensed themes in general, Lotr has some great newpieces, and star wars does too. They have some huge sets in these lines, so it is not always true that they have less pieces. But still, licensed themes should stick to movies and whatnot.

The licensed sets vs. non-licensed and yellow vs. fleshie aside, I think a second coming of the viking theme would be great. I don't see why you couldn't have both fictional and historic mixed within the same theme. A typical run of sets is what, like 5 or 6 sets for the first wave? Divide it up between the sets and add the 2 or 3 random polybags. I'm sure with all the creative power TLG has, they can find a way to explain why there is both fiction and historic sets in the same theme. Better yet, leave it up to the customers to make the connection as to why

This is a fantastic idea! I could see it as a license theme from Vikings (Love that show!) or just a come back from the first run. I definitely like historical when it comes to vikings so no horns on the helmets please and a few dragons (I think they existed) would be nice but maybe mostly do 2 or more viking factions fighting it out.

Exploring, seafaring Viking raiders for the win!
The Vikings line back in the day was and is one of my top favorite theme. I think like QuickBlade said a mix of historical with a more fantasy-like twist. I was reading through the other comments and thought that villages, raids and other ideas would really broaden the scope for another line of Vikings. Especially the meeting/trading with other peoples and cultures makes me hope all the more that something like this would happen. Besides that, I don't think I can really add to what everyone else has said...

Ok, new idea:

I think I might undertake a project of vikings 2.0. I felt creative this morning, so I just came up with some set ideas. There are TONS of norse creatures still not made into sets. There is the kraken (I actually thought this was greek, but it turns out that it was originally a giant mythological norse crab), wolves Garm, Moongarm, Skoll and Hati (all wolves, I know lol), then there are of course the iconic Frost Giants and Jotuns, enemies if the gods... There is Andvari, essantially a giant pikefish that could shapeshift into a dwarf (in lego this would just be the pike, no dwarf). Grendel, usually classed as a troll but sometimes as a dragon, and Gullinbursti, who is a giant monstrous boar with golden spikes. There is the dragon/sea sepent (can be either one) named Jormungand. There is another dragon/sepent called Ormar or Ormr. There is a dragon at the end of Beowulf known only as "the firedrake".

Lego can also use dragons from mytologies besides nordic, such as they did with the wyvern dragon. The wyvern was not norse, just generic european. Some other dragons they can use are: Catalan dragon (no front legs), Lindworm dragon (2 legs, 2 wings), the Balaur dragon had multiple heads; so did the hydra. There is mention of Turkish dragons that shoot flame out of their tail, instead of their mouths.

So I will probably build some of these for fun, then pit them against viking fortresses, boats, towers, and siege weapons, for the feel of the old sets. I also love the concept of viking raid sets with villagers and whatnot. Maybe they will go on cuusoo, maybe not. If anyone else wants to contribute, that would be great. help is always nice.

Made a thread on this here: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=24064

It would be really cool if we all could design a few "sets" as we would like to see them.

Actually, they did Jormungandr (AKA the Midgard Serpent) the first time around in this set.

The Kraken would be a good one, though. They could incorporate both descriptions by making it a weird squid-crab hybrid.

Yes, but actually Ofnir is another name for Nidhogg, and they did them as seperate things, so I figured maybe they could take some more creative liscencing and make jormundgar and midgard serpant seperate lol.

Quickblade22 wrote:The licensed sets vs. non-licensed and yellow vs. fleshie aside, I think a second coming of the viking theme would be great. I don't see why you couldn't have both fictional and historic mixed within the same theme. A typical run of sets is what, like 5 or 6 sets for the first wave? Divide it up between the sets and add the 2 or 3 random polybags. I'm sure with all the creative power TLG has, they can find a way to explain why there is both fiction and historic sets in the same theme. Better yet, leave it up to the customers to make the connection as to why

My thoughts exactly...and I'm always for letting the buyer/owner make their own explanations...
-Tower

Ferretclaw wrote:Yes, but actually Ofnir is another name for Nidhogg, and they did them as seperate things, so I figured maybe they could take some more creative liscencing and make jormundgar and midgard serpant seperate lol.

Fair enough. And I guess if they treated it as a real revival rather than a continuation-after-long-hiatus of the original Vikings, some repetition wouldn't be a disaster. Maybe if the Midgard Serpent is a sea serpent, "Jormungandr" could be a land-based giant snake?

As long as we're reimagining monsters in order to avoid too much repetition, they could get creative with the wolves too. For example, Skoll and Hati are two wolves in the myths, but in a LEGO set they could be a two-headed wolf. That sort of thing.

They might want to avoid using dragons, though, for a few reasons. 1) Something like half the sets in the original Vikings line had dragons. 2) Castle is doing a pretty good job of carrying the dragon torch. 3) Nobody wants a C&D from DreamWorks, yeah?

Another thing they could do with a new Vikings line is make subtle references to Marvel's Thor and Loki as an inside joke. Like putting Thor's face on a portrait inside a cottage or mead-hall.

Yeah that would be really cool (thor/loki thing) I always liked their renditions of the gods, but I am not a big fan of the other superhero stuff so mostly its just BL and ebaying the figures for me.

Anyway, its is probably better to avoid copying the dreamworks dragons, but I think that some dragons are in order. Besides, these are all brick built, and molded dragons in castle are nice but they dont quite cut it for me. It just wouldnt feel like "vikings" without 1 or 2 dragons. And the old ones are very rare and expensive these days.

Jormungand as a land serpent sounds good to me. (Heck, it can go in the water if it wants, its just the box art that really gives you a clue)