Ninjago spinner and booster packs revealed

Posted by Nightshroud99 in Canada, 04 Nov 2011 16:27

Those are really colorful! Nice find!

Posted by Nuckal42 in United States, 04 Nov 2011 16:42

It's about time. They've been on Brickipedia for a month! Also they have the HERO Factory sets!

Posted by DrDaveWatford in United Kingdom, 04 Nov 2011 16:54

Also worth mentioning that there's an interesting closer look at some of the upcoming Friends sets and figures on TheBrickBlogger - link below :

http://thebrickblogger.com/2011/11/2012-lego-sets-lego-friends-girls/

Posted by jonbuddy in United States, 04 Nov 2011 17:00

Can anyone explain this whole "Chinese-made" thing? Genuine LEGO needs to be made in Denmark or the USA.

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 04 Nov 2011 17:19

Hey Huw, look: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12010305 NEW SET IMAGES FOR DINO SETS!

Posted by Cligra in United States, 04 Nov 2011 17:23

Despite the Chinese plastic, I'll probably pick up a few of the booster packs...

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 04 Nov 2011 17:27

Huw, time here at Brickset passes too fast: Brickset says the last comment was posted 7 minutes ago, but it can't be! Look at the date I posted it... :P

EDIT: Now 6 minutes. :P Look at the date of this comment. :P

EDIT 2: Now 6 minutes, look at the date of the comment below- YOU GET THE IDEA! :P

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 04 Nov 2011 17:31

@jonbuddy: The Chinese factory is not actually owned by LEGO: It's called "outsourcing", I think. A company tells another company to do something for them. In this case, LEGO asked a Chinese company to produce these small sets. I think... :P

Posted by Thomson & Thompson in Canada, 04 Nov 2011 18:11

Very interesting idea. I don't think I'll get any.

Posted by Isabella and Lego Liker in United States, 04 Nov 2011 18:22

I know some sets have parts that come from Mexico and even Belguim as well.

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 04 Nov 2011 18:28

@Isabella and Lego Liker: Mexico and Belgium are always better than China. :P I think the Mexican factory is the newest one.

Posted by LegoAdventures in Australia, 04 Nov 2011 18:34

@jonbuddy: LEGO is still and always has been Danish, and the the LEGO Headquarters is at DK-7190 Billund Denmark. The other known European Molding Plant is located at Nyíregyháza, Hungary. There are also two other Plant's, one in Monterrey, Mexico and Kladno, Czech Republic.
-Denmark.
-Hungary.
-Mexico.
-Czech Republic.
All 4 Quality Molding Plants are in well-sustained countries and are perfect when it comes to Quality. Unfortunately LEGO started to branch off to other countries in the late 2004. 100% Off all LEGO set's back from 1949 - 2000 had 3 Countries of production: Made by LEGO A/S DK-7190 Billund Denmark, and Components made in Denmark, Switzerland and the U.S.A. So the two major Molding Plants were Denmark and Switzerland.
-Denmark.
-Switzerland.
-U.S.A. For packaging, as the Boxes back then were decorated and displayed with trays.

From 2000 - 2003 many of the LEGO set's still said, Made by LEGO A/S DK-7190 Billund Denmark, or Components made in DENMARK and SWITZERLAND (The new capitalization of the letters). LEGO then started using China for very small things like Textiles and Plush Toys.

When I purchased my LEGO 4709 Hogwart's Castle 2 Years ago in a New Sealed Box I noticed it said Made by LEGO A/S DK-7190 Billund Denmark, but in Brackets below, as if re-printed it said (Textiles made in China). This set was a very popular set, the most popular set back in 2001 - 2002, as sold more than 1,000,000 they may have had to make the Textiles in China to reduce cost. I don't see this as something bad as no bricks were made there, but just a little info.

I then checked all my LEGO Harry Potter set's from 2001 - 2003, they all said either Made by LEGO A/S DK-7190 Billund Denmark, or Components made in DENMARK and SWITZERLAND. I have checked many sets from 2000 - 2003 and basically 99% say Made in Denmark, or Components made in DENMARK and SWITZERLAND. It all changed however in 2004.

I bought the LEGO 4852 Lego Spider-Man vs. Green Goblin - The Final Showdown, as was surprised to see it said Made by LEGO Korea. I had never seen, even today a LEGO set entirely made in another Country. However the Quality wasn't bad at all, and felt completely normal, aside from the sticky wheels. I had looked at many LEGO set's and some do say Korea in the list of countries, normally found at the end. Many of the Metro Nui Bionicle sets say Components made in DENMARK, SWITZERLAND and KOREA. One said Components made in DENMARK, SWITZERLAND, CZECH REPUBLIC and korea. as if they has put it on at last minute notice.

I also looked at many of the LEGO Harry Potter set's. The 4757 LEGO Hogwarts Castle says Components made in DENMARK, SWITZERLAND, SWEDEN, CHINA and KOREA. The LEGO 4756 Shrieking Shack says Components made in DENMARK, SWITZERLAND, KOREA, CHINA and HONG KONG, and the LEGO 10132 Motorized Hogwarts Express says Components made in DENMARK, SWITZERLAND, HUNGARY, CHINA, KOREA and MALAYSIA.

However still I saw no Bad Quality at all?. It was all top notch. Maybe the Boxes, Electrical Wiring or Packaging was made in China and Korea. The Shrieking Shack had a custom mechanism which looked to be what I think was made in China/Korea/Hong Kong, the Hogwarts Castle has a wind-up Motor, and the Hogwarts Express has Electrical Wiring and a Battery Box and Magnets, all of which could be made in China/Hong Kong/Korea/Malaysia. I still never saw any Quality issues and they all have great Quality.

In 2005 I read all of the LEGO Star Wars sets. 100% of them said Components made in DENMARK, SWITZERLAND and the CZECH REPUBLIC. The 7261 Clone Turbo Tank said DENMARK and the CZECH REPUBLIC.
I thought the Korea and China phase has passed but the LEGO 8421 Mobile Crane said Components made in KOREA, HUNGARY, CHINA SWITZERLAND and the CZECH REPUBLIC, not even including DENMARK.

From 2006 - 2007 A lot of the set's had numerous countries in them, from Denmark, Switzerland, Hungary, Germany, Austria, Sweden, China, Korea and the Czech Republic. For such a small set the LEGO 7776 The Shipwreck said Components made in DENMARK, SWEDEN, AUSTRIA, GE

Posted by CapnRex101 in United Kingdom, 04 Nov 2011 18:52

I am quite liking these actually, unlike the actual sets offered up next year for Ninjago.

Posted by LegoAdventures in Australia, 04 Nov 2011 18:54

- GERMANY, KOREA, HUNGARY and the CZECH REPUBLIC.

From 2008 - 2011 I have seen many sets saying Components made in DENMARK, HUNGARY, MEXICO and the CZECH REPUBLIC, Components made in DENMARK, HUNGARY and the CZECH REPUBLIC and Components made in DENMARK, HUNGARY, MEXICO and the CZECH REPUBLIC. The Pirates of the Caribbean sets has Poland in the list, and the LEGO Harry Potter sets has Sweden, some set's still have Germany and Austria including the Exclusives.

LEGO has been around since 1890 - When they made Wooden Toys, until they started making Plastic Bricks in 1949, which is an Exclusive Plastic ONLY to LEGO, made by acrylonitrile butadiene styrene - ABS, sourced from Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, and then to be processed in the State Of the Art Machines in the LEGO Factory made in Germany - Quality, Quality, Quality.

LEGO is the 4th Largest Toy Manufacture in the World with a Revenue of $9 Billion. Behind Mattel, Hasbro and Konami which 99% of their sets are made in China. So technically speaking LEGO would be 1st considering all 3 of those companies produce 1000's of different branded and types of Toys.

The pieces made in China now-days are the specialty pieces in the specially wrapped plastic bags - although some may not, you would have to check the box, if it did not say China then it isn't made there, but most likely it is because of the singular bag inside the other bags. The Plastic is a rough Matte finish when looked at the source of light, and the lines on the LEGO are not define their almost translucent. LEGO thankfully only makes certain elements in their sets from China. Non-Sets with Cards or Bay-Blades, Plush Toys, Electrical Components and Specialty pieces.

LEGO has always been Quality, and 100's of Millions around the World love LEGO, Young to Old, it's more of a Phenomenon than a Toy, with 46 LEGO stores around the World, Theme - Parks, Video Games that have some Millions and ranked Critical Success, TV and Movies, Pop Culture, Art, Science, Magazines, Websites. When all looked into prospective it is truly an inspiration and I'm sure it will remain Quality, as it is very lucky for it to be still Quality in these times.

Posted by Takeshi in Canada, 04 Nov 2011 19:30

Has anyone else noticed that for almost all of the new spinner sets, the stats on the cards appear to all be the same? Except for Snappa, they all have seem to have 2 fire, 1 lightning, 5 earth, and 3 ice. They all have the earth symbol in the upper left corner too.

Posted by Orthobotrex in Philippines, 04 Nov 2011 20:44

I'm not a fan of this theme but I'm looking forward to that booster pack chain weapon...

Posted by KillDeer in Canada, 04 Nov 2011 20:53

Do people actually play this spinner game? It's never really looked interesting to me at all.

Posted by jonbuddy in United States, 04 Nov 2011 21:18

@LegoAdventures, my mind imploded from the severely large amount of information just given to me. I never doubted LEGO's popularity or true and constant quality. Just the fact China was making Legos is what concerned me.

Posted by dougts in United States, 04 Nov 2011 22:36

^ nor will there be. Get used to it. the books have been done for a few years. the last movie came out back in the summer. there wont' be any more LEGO Harry Potter - unless and until new books or movies come out in the future.

Posted by LegoAdventures in Australia, 04 Nov 2011 23:22

@Jonbuddy :)

Posted by LegoAdventures in Australia, 05 Nov 2011 01:11

@Thank's, Sorry I do tend to get carried away a bit.

Posted by Dlakii in Australia, 05 Nov 2011 02:15

I'm guessing that based on this new approach, Ninjago must have proved to be very profitable and that LEGO is confident this will continue to be the case for a while. I'm not totally sure what I think of this approach, though - I can certainly see it being useful given the purpose of booster packs, but... I guess, as a former rabid collector of Kanohi packs, I wouldn't be one to talk if I objected. Still, if it means getting that kendo armour among other things, on the (relatively) cheap, there's no reason to complain.

Also, what's this about Lloyd - the big bad - being available in his entirety in booster packs? I find it vaguely amusing.

Posted by Huw in United Kingdom, 05 Nov 2011 05:34

I have to agree, there will be no new Harry Potter sets now, but look on the bright side, LEGO could be looking for another fantasy movie franchise to make sets for, so take a look through what's being premiered next year and see if anything looks like a possibility.

Posted by brix in United Kingdom, 05 Nov 2011 09:25

Wow! these look amazing! they make this year's look quite rubbish - wish I hadn't wasted my money on this year's and had just spent it all on nxt year's. Any ideas on prices? Hope they'll be £7.50 still!!! Definitely getting the starter pack! Snappa and Fang-suei look too similar I reckon.

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 05 Nov 2011 09:30

This should be under "New set news"... :P

Posted by Nabii in Denmark, 05 Nov 2011 09:30

Well you've branded these as inferior Chinese product, despite the molds being identical... wouldn't be so bad if it was true, the 2011 spinners where indeed made in China, but the 2012 ones are made in Billund. Bit late now though the disinformation is out there and the damage to sales is done.

Please don't make statement of facts unless you know them to be true Huw. This one hurts as I designed a lot of next years Ninjago sets including a spinner arena.

Posted by Classic Johnny Thunder in United States, 05 Nov 2011 10:10

@Huw I believe The Lord of the Rings: The Hobbit comes out next year.... LEGO Lord of the Rings would be awesome!

Posted by Rolyat24 in United States, 05 Nov 2011 10:51

@ClassicJohnnyThunder Yeah, I always thought Lego should do Lord of the Rings, or The Chronicles of Narnia.

Posted by cara in United States, 05 Nov 2011 11:25

Is that a new 1x2 brick with a faux brick facade molded on it? Dark tan, behind the swords and on the top left tower.

Posted by Gandalf1 in United States, 05 Nov 2011 11:55

@Classic Johnny Thunder: That is exactly what I was going to say! Lord of the Rings would become my instant favorite theme if they made it. :-D

Posted by Iustus in United States, 05 Nov 2011 12:14

I'm Chinese and I've been to China, and I'll say this: The Chinese rip-offs of LEGO have worse plastic than MegaBloks. HOWEVER: I doubt LEGO would sacrifice its plastic quality and be degraded to MegaBloks to sell a few more sets. So...despite the fact that these will be made in China, they SHOULD have decent plastic. But that's just me. :)

Posted by BrixBoxer in United Kingdom, 05 Nov 2011 13:06

@Cara - Yeah, they're new "brick bricks" I think theyre awesome!

Posted by Nabii in Denmark, 05 Nov 2011 13:11

And again - the 2012 spinners are made in Billund. BILLUND, Denmark. Too late now, the facts don't matter once you've described them as poor quality and made in China, that's what people are taking from this and it's going to be an up hill struggle to convince anyone otherwise.

Posted by Huw in United Kingdom, 05 Nov 2011 13:48

@Nabii, thank you for correcting me. It was wrong of me to assume they'd be the same as this year's although perhaps understandable given the precidence that was set. Does that apply to the booster packs as well?

I have no doubt the molds used in China are the same as those in Europe and Mexico, but the plastic formulation certainly isn't and that, in my opinion, is where the problem lies.

Now, if only series 6 and beyond CMFs could be made in Billund, too...

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 05 Nov 2011 13:53

When I saw Nabii's above comment, I thought, "Does he already have these spinners or something?! :P". But now I looked at his profile, and he is, in fact, LEGO designer Mark Stafford. :P So he knows. :P Would be nice to see him comment on reaction to new sets more often...

Posted by Classic Johnny Thunder in United States, 05 Nov 2011 14:46

Not trying to make anyone look bad, but the title says Ningago, when it should be Ninjago.

Posted by Nabii in Denmark, 05 Nov 2011 14:54

I can only comment a month before retail release, some of these might turn up 1st December in some regions so in this case I'm covered. I'm not saying there will be no China elements in these, some of our regular parts (a lot of the snake heads) are China made, so obviously they will be in there. Boosters the same, Billund but with some China.

All of the available minifigure production capacity is at full whack 24 hours a day every day, if we could bring it in house we probably would but it doesn't seem possible at this time or with current growth.

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 05 Nov 2011 15:00

@Nabii: So it's a mix? Huw won't be happy, then... :P

Posted by Classic Johnny Thunder in United States, 05 Nov 2011 16:01

@Nabii, would you be able to tell me if the 2012 Star Wars wave will be in the U.S. by December, or are you restricted from revealing that much? It's ok if you can't tell me, but I'd appreciate it.

Posted by Huw in United Kingdom, 05 Nov 2011 16:54

@Nabii, thanks for the clarification. Most Chinese parts are fine, it's just the minifig elements that for some reason seem so bad to me. Perhaps it's because it's easy to compare them with 'proper' ones.

@all, please don't embarass Nabii by asking questions he is not allowed to answer.

Posted by comandercody654 in United States, 06 Nov 2011 12:55

YYYYYYYYaaaaaay :D

Posted by JonnyRonny in United Kingdom, 06 Nov 2011 13:09

I think that nya is a samurai next year because look at the spinner with the samurai set. It has the pheonix logo that was also on nyas spinner.

Posted by theBrickBlogger in United States, 06 Nov 2011 13:31

@Nabii, I feel for you! It must hurt as a designer to have your work called inferior quality. At the same time I would like to add that the real damage here is not done by Huw. It has been done by LEGO itself.

LEGO should have never started producing minifigs in China! I mean the quality difference is noticed even by novices in the LEGO hobby! What makes it even worse is that after the out-cry from the LEGO-fan community LEGO promised up and down that they won't make minifigs in China any more. This was a couple of years ago and we are still waiting... So if the "LEGO has crappy quality" and "LEGO is now made in China" message is out there, the LEGO company is the one to blame.

As LEGO-fans most of us are ready to immediately forgive all misconduct and forget about the whole China-episode in a heartbeat if LEGO would actually follow up on its promises, and even more importantly; fix the quality issues! After all I don't care if LEGO is made on the Moon as long as it is the quality it used to be and should be. But that doesn't seem to be happening...)c:

I have LEGO from the '70s and '80s and none of them have quality issues. In news sets cracked bricks are common. (I have personally sent in a handful to Customer Service from a brand new set, hoping someone will do something about it, only to get a canned response.) And not to speak of the color inconsistencies in the past few years! It is just sad that the company strayed away from its original attention to quality and detail. As far I know LEGO is doing extremely well and making plenty in profits. Why not use a portion of those profits to get the quality back in order and clean up their own name?

Otherwise they (and persons like you who are employed by LEGO) will just have to live with the developing image in the mind of the public that LEGO's quality is slipping. If I were LEGO I would do something about this before the image becomes rock-solid and more and more difficult to turn around.

This is in the hands of the LEGO Group, there is no-one else to blame...

Okay, I'm off from my soap-box now...Next? (c:

P.S.: The new spinner-arena is lovely! (c;

Posted by sarlacc98 in United Kingdom, 07 Nov 2011 22:11

@ the brick blogger I agree made in china is lame

Commenting has ended on this article.

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