Monster Fighters

[banthafodder]

I am very excited about this new line. I was impressed with the studio monsters several years ago and had always wished that they would bring it back and expand upon it. Finally we will see it in 2012. With the usual suspects of mad scientist, wolfman, Dracula, and Frankenstien, there is also a haunted train. A HAUNTED TRAIN!!!!! (for emphasis) and a creature from the black lagoon. The Dracula castle looks absolutely awesome and a we also get a Munster type car. This is a perfect follow up to the alien conquest theme for nostalgic monsters and I for one will be blowing a ton of money this next year with all the awesome sets and themes. Now, I really hope they follow this with Halloween based sets like the Christmas village sets. Pardon me while I go get an extinguisher, my wallet is ablaze.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcfFMUKy ... fYwMzfD8xQ

[buriedbybricks]

The set with the fish man will henceforth be called "The creature from the Brick Lagoon".

That is all.

[MrCRskater]

Just came across this today before finding this thread. It's an interesting concept, and while I like a few bits here and there (like the ghost train), this is probably doomed to fail. Many of the sets look like the old Adventurer's sets from the early 00's, which weren't that great. Also, the "monsters" thing isn't really a theme that's on kids minds these days the way robots (transformers), cars ("Cars" movies, also, ubiquitous), pets, and other things are. Not to mention that this line is essentially being launched alongside DC/Marvel and LotR. . . look for these on deep discount next christmas.

[Draykov]

We'll see...in my mind this fills the void that will be left by Harry Potter pretty well. I think it has a shot to be successful. I scoffed at Ninjago, but it seems to be doing very well. Something like this may not appeal as much to the ADHD 4th-7th grade crowd. It seems like more of a theme for the old fogies who remember the studios monster line from the early 00s, but you never know.

[GIR3691]

This does feel very retro. Surprising considering it's more of a Halloween theme than anything else, and we already got most of the monsters through the Collectible Minifigures line. Of course, this is a good way to re-use all those molds. Makes sense I guess.

Is this the replacement for Pharaoh's Quest? First impressions would point that way.

Personally I'd rather see a return of the Time Cruisers theme.

[ufjason]

I liked the monster theme that had been running through the minifigure packs. As a stand alone figure they're an amusing addition to collect. As a theme (especially seeing the designs of these sets) I don't like them. The whole theme looks really bad, I can guarantee this one will fail and be on clearance end caps quickly. Not trying to be negative just realistic.

[Draykov]

I can guarantee this one will fail and be on clearance end caps quickly.

Can you?

[sparkart]

Interesting to me, and probably to Universal Monster fans. From the collectible figures, I've already assembled a Monster Squad, with the Gillman played by an Atlantis Barracuda Guardian.

My favorite monsters are the ones who were just misunderstood, and as much victim as they were victimizer, like the Wolfman, the Gillman, and Frankenstein's creature.

If anything, this give us more theme fodder for building contests, "From Bricks to 'Bominations"?

Reminds me...I have to add the new Wolfman movie to ye olde DVD Netflix queue. Haven't seen it yet. I think to put me into the mood for these new sets, I should go rewatch some favorites, too.
For the Gillman, it's the original for me, Julia Adams is so pretty.
For Dracula, Bram Stoker's Dracula makes me laugh out loud whenever Keanu is onscreen, but Gary Oldman is fantastic.
For Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein,
For the Wolfman, American Werefolf in London,
For the Mummy, don't really have a favorite, didn't really like the new Mummy movies, and the old ones, meh.

But back on topic, I think these sets are a great way to get a kind of licensing awareness, without actually having to pay for a license. Brilliant.

[THX 1138]

Some of those vehicles look pretty cool, especially the hearse and the green convertible.

[Marty]

When I heard about these, I thought, well at least "Lego" will put some serious thought into these, after all even they couldn't stuff this up. Given all the material out there to go on?
Dare I say it?
No! Not this time. So far all I have had to go is a bunch of fuzzy pictures & grainy video and based on that I'm not going to make a judgement (for once!)
I'll wait till there are better pictures before casting my opinion, but here's the thing, Lego's on notice, stuff this up and you'll be messing up a good opportunity. This is a good idea to tie-in all the monsters and add a few. "Mind you", Monster Fighters as a title, it would have be better changed to Monster hunters.

The sets themselves, though I won't mention, need a bit of tweaking and they need to add the following...
Zombie's, with graveyard.
Haunted House with traps.
Kiddies bedroom with monster in the closet.
An of course Doctor Jekyll & Mr. Hyde.

Glad to see they finally made the creature from the black lagoon, but I thought he'd be darker?
That's black & while movies for you?

[sparkart]

Here are some color corrected pictures of the Gillman. I think his lips are as red as Julie Adams's. Maybe she kissed him.

[Walter Boy]

It seems like more of a theme for the old fogies who remember the studios monster line from the early 00s, but you never know.

Yep, that'd be me. I loved those sets, although I was never able to afford any as a kid.

Also, it is nice to see a 'different' theme for 2012. It's kinda been done before, but it feels somewhat refreshing. Can't wait to see them hit shelves later next year.

[Marty]

Old fogies, indeed?

The monster sets are nothing new, infact the new Ghost Train is nothing new, I remember a set called time twisters where there was a train with a ghost in it, the fact is that this time they're actually calling it "Monster Fighters?" Make's it official?
As for us old fogies, Monster's are still quite a draw card even in these teeny bop days.
The fact that you got the vampire, mummy & werewolf movies that are done to death and that writers use every angle to exploit this, is nothing new, but once in a while they do add a new twist which makes them popular again is not a bad thing.
So Lego has (thankfully) done this also, but I hope they give a lot more thought to the sets, as it would be a shame to miss the boat yet again!!!

Here are some pictures of two of the old sets;

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=5225907

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=5225908

[Marty]

Update, I've just watched a video of these in the Nuremberg toy fair, this is going to be an excellent theme, watch the video to see what I mean.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igQ-x_Y-p0M

[sparkart]

Marty, thanks for the link. The castle looks great! The hide-away stairs are too cool. About the only thing I don't like is the notion that the monsters are all "bad" guys. They're not all bad, just misunderstood!

[MrCRskater]

Wow, that caught me off guard. When the first images popped up a short while back, my initial reaction was "meh." But they've got some very well-developed models in this Monster line. That castle is fantastic - I love the way it folds out, not to mention some of the cool features they showed. Great to get a good look at that ghost train, which is very unique and looks to be full of great parts. Even that little green car is very slick, and the cannon shooter is WAY better than any putzy flick-fire missiles. Very sweet stuff!

[emmtwosix]

This theme just strikes a chord with me, for some reason. The prelims look really good and well thought out - much more so than I expected when I heard the theme's name. Maybe it's the retro, over-the-top, personalized vehicles (and the green flames!) but this just seems like it's going to be a hit...with the older crowd, at least.

From the collectible figures, I've already assembled a Monster Squad, with the Gillman played by an Atlantis Barracuda Guardian.

That's awesome! I had forgotten about that movie. I watched it probably a dozen times when I was a kid. Maybe that's the reason this theme is really resonating with me.

With Star Wars, collectible minifigs, LoTR coming out, and now this, I will be a very poor person this fall. Anyone have a get rich scheme I can buy into?

[bigospedros]

Just saw this over at BrickHorizon ... seems to be the concept drawings by a Lego designer. Interestingly, it shows the haunted house that we've seen a snippet of in the latest modular building video. I wonder if the other sets / figures will be made eventually ?

[banthafodder]

Just saw this over on the lego website. Due out in August. Some great looking zombie figures!
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/cli ... mbies-9465

[sparkart]

Heh, the violence implied by the zombie set is hilarious. The cattle catcher sweeps the zombies to the sides of the vehicle setting them up for a massive smackdown with the giant mallets. I really envy the job of the designers that get paid to come up with creative ways to kill zombies.

Some of these sets, I've got to pickup. I love the hot rod design of the vampyre's hearse, plus it comes with Captain America's motorcycle!