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Lego won't make modern war machines, but others are picking up the pieces

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Re: Lego won't make modern war machines, but others are picking up the pieces

#11

Post by Bakary »

probably_wrong wrote: post #9

Good for Lego. One of my adult epiphanies was realising that having superpowers would not realistically solve anything. I grew up with so much media telling me that problems can be solved with violence that I never questioned it. And if the problem is not solved it's only because the good guys don't want to use as much violence as they should. Gotham's problems would be a thing of the past if the vigilantes would fin…

To paraphrase SMBC, if you had Superman generate cheap energy by turning a handle, it would solve actually quite a few of our problems. It would not make for compelling reading, however.

I don't know if Lego are actually leaving money on the table since much of their business is tied to their constructed image and reputation as being wholesome.

Re: Lego won't make modern war machines, but others are picking up the pieces

#12

Post by ThePadawan »

DoingIsLearning wrote: post #10

One thing I do miss from both Lego and Meccano is the generic sets. Maybe they can still be bought online, but whenever I walked into a toy store these past years, all the sets have a theme and a 'prescribed' thing that you are meant to build. I just want to buy a bucket of parts for my kids to sort out what to build on their own. It somehow feels really restrictive nowadays. I understand they are probably making a l…

There is a German Youtuber "Held der Steine" ("Lord of the Bricks/Stones") (and don't think "Youtuber", think "actual knowledgable person who makes videos") who notoriously slams Lego for their policies too.

He's very charismatic, and I learned from watching him that there is simply a very large aftermarket of Lego pieces on various ebay-like sites. Since they don't detiorate (much), consumer prices for random assortments of bricks are much much lower there, so new pieces never really compete.

Re: Lego won't make modern war machines, but others are picking up the pieces

#13

Post by CDSlice »

DoingIsLearning wrote: post #10

One thing I do miss from both Lego and Meccano is the generic sets. Maybe they can still be bought online, but whenever I walked into a toy store these past years, all the sets have a theme and a 'prescribed' thing that you are meant to build. I just want to buy a bucket of parts for my kids to sort out what to build on their own. It somehow feels really restrictive nowadays. I understand they are probably making a l…

It sounds like you are looking for Lego Classic[0] which are pretty much just buckets of bricks. I have seen them in stores although not as prominently featured as say the Star Wars sets. The Creator 3 in 1 theme[1] is also made up of generic pieces. Although they do come with instructions for three different models it’s also pretty easy to use the parts to make your own designs. Finally, there isn’t anything stopping you from buying a bunch of sets and dumping all the pieces into your own bin or bucket. That’s how most of my family’s sets ended up anyway after our sets got scrapped for parts to make new things.

[0] https://www.lego.com/en-us/themes/classic [1] https://www.lego.com/en-us/themes/creator-3-in-1

Re: Lego won't make modern war machines, but others are picking up the pieces

#14

Post by guitarbill »

ThePadawan wrote: post #12
DoingIsLearning wrote: post #10

One thing I do miss from both Lego and Meccano is the generic sets. Maybe they can still be bought online, but whenever I walked into a toy store these past years, all the sets have a theme and a 'prescribed' thing that you are meant to build. I just want to buy a bucket of parts for my kids to sort out what to build on their own. It somehow feels really restrictive nowadays. I understand they are probably making a l…

There is a German Youtuber "Held der Steine" ("Lord of the Bricks/Stones") (and don't think "Youtuber", think "actual knowledgable person who makes videos") who notoriously slams Lego for their policies too. He's very charismatic, and I learned from watching him that there is simply a very large aftermarket of Lego pieces on various ebay-like sites. Since they don't detiorate (much), consumer prices for random assort…

Just to clarify, "Held der Steine" literally translates as "Hero of the Stones". "Lord of the Stones" would be "Herr der Steine". (However, I don't know if Thomas has a canonical translation that he prefers, or if he's even ok with the name being translated.)

He also runs a toy store; a German publication referred to his YouTube channel as a "side-gig". That maybe explains the knowledgable-ness.

Re: Lego won't make modern war machines, but others are picking up the pieces

#15

Post by meowster »

rozab wrote: post #6

There was good conversation about this when it happened: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23917537 I'll repeat what I said then: that the V-22 set directly funded arms manufacturers and thus was a huge jump past the line Lego had set themselves. Personally, I think it's good that Lego are taking this moral stance. We all know about the links between military media aimed at children and recruitment, and I think it…

The link in the original discussion is dead, here is it archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20200722155031/https://www.gizmo...

Re: Lego won't make modern war machines, but others are picking up the pieces

#16

Post by Tomte »

guitarbill wrote: post #14
ThePadawan wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a German Youtuber "Held der Steine" ("Lord of the Bricks/Stones") (and don't think "Youtuber", think "actual knowledgable person who makes videos") who notoriously slams Lego for their policies too. He's very charismatic, and I learned from watching him that there is simply a very large aftermarket of Lego pieces on various ebay-like sites. Since they don't detiorate (much), consumer prices for random assort…

Just to clarify, "Held der Steine" literally translates as "Hero of the Stones". "Lord of the Stones" would be "Herr der Steine". (However, I don't know if Thomas has a canonical translation that he prefers, or if he's even ok with the name being translated.) He also runs a toy store; a German publication referred to his YouTube channel as a "side-gig". That maybe explains the knowledgable-ness.

His store is only open three days every month (well, outside of Covid). He's a full-time YouTuber now, with the store as his fun little side gig.

It used to be the other way around, though.

Re: Lego won't make modern war machines, but others are picking up the pieces

#17

Post by ThePadawan »

guitarbill wrote: post #14
ThePadawan wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a German Youtuber "Held der Steine" ("Lord of the Bricks/Stones") (and don't think "Youtuber", think "actual knowledgable person who makes videos") who notoriously slams Lego for their policies too. He's very charismatic, and I learned from watching him that there is simply a very large aftermarket of Lego pieces on various ebay-like sites. Since they don't detiorate (much), consumer prices for random assort…

Just to clarify, "Held der Steine" literally translates as "Hero of the Stones". "Lord of the Stones" would be "Herr der Steine". (However, I don't know if Thomas has a canonical translation that he prefers, or if he's even ok with the name being translated.) He also runs a toy store; a German publication referred to his YouTube channel as a "side-gig". That maybe explains the knowledgable-ness.

Hah, I literally only noticed from your reply that it wasn't Herr der Steine!
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