Return of the Goat
Posted by CapnRex101,
Whether commanding high prices on BrickLink, grazing in the fields of MOCs or hanging from bonsai trees, the LEGO goat has developed an interesting reputation among LEGO fans! This doubtless relates to its extraordinary price on the secondary market nowadays, having only appeared once, in 2011's 7189 Mill Village Raid.
After hinting towards its return with a poster in 71799 NINJAGO City Markets, the animal has finally reappeared in the latest series of Collectable Minifigures, which will be released in January. Our full review of the series is coming soon, but first, we are focusing on the goat alone and comparing the new piece to its popular predecessor.
These two components are outwardly identical, other than the medium nougat blotches on the original goat, of course, as well as a change in the shade of the horns. I am sure this is simply because the exact colour formulation of dark tan has been updated since 2011, rather than an intentional alteration. Otherwise, the shaping, pose and stud position is the same.
When 71045 Collectable Minifigures Series 25 was revealed, I wondered whether the new goat would feature dual-moulded horns. After all, elements combining multiple colours are frequently dual-moulded nowadays, especially when the secondary colour appears in more than one place on the piece. The horns are printed though, as seen from the tiny smudges along their edges.
However, looking under the goats' hooves does reveal a subtle adjustment, as there are now circles on each one. These are presumably a part of the manufacturing process, appearing in the same place on many LEGO animals produced recently. In any case, this does confirm that the mould is not completely unchanged.
I think a new mould was indeed produced for the goat, but based as closely as possible on the original. This was probably a good decision because the existing piece completely matches the style of other LEGO animals and looks excellent. The plain white colour is rather dull though, so I hope alternative colours will be produced in the future and doubtless they will be, since LEGO would be incredibly mean to repeat their action from 2011!
Are you looking forward to the return of the goat and what animal should LEGO produce next? Let us know in the comments.
303 likes
100 comments on this article
(Mike drop)
It always seemed like nonsense to claim the goat mould had been destroyed so they couldn't possibly re-release the old goat... like they don't just make new animal moulds for every other friends set (I appreciate they are expensive).
If it is indeed a new mould (as it appears to be) I imagine the lack of additional printing is due to lack of budget. But seeing as I got a bunch of 'new' (albeit bootleg) goats from a certain chinese website in a variety of colours, I'm not fussed about rushing out to try find this one unfortunately...
Grey would be nice though.
Looking forward to a lime green one.
THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME.
https://youtu.be/SzpmTooVDYM?si=e6aIuO6ibqnJH5Gx
@classicstylecastle said:
"It always seemed like nonsense to claim the goat mould had been destroyed so they couldn't possibly re-release the old goat... like they don't just make new animal moulds for every other friends set (I appreciate they are expensive).
If it is indeed a new mould (as it appears to be) I imagine the lack of additional printing is due to lack of budget. But seeing as I got a bunch of 'new' (albeit bootleg) goats from a certain chinese website in a variety of colours, I'm not fussed about rushing out to try find this one unfortunately...
Grey would be nice though."
I feel like the lack of additional printing might also simply be a concession to the fans who have shelled out for the old ones, to avoid devaluing the classic ones completely.
I wonder what will happen to the OGoat prices on BL.
Time to retire 76956 and remake it.
@ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME.
https://youtu.be/SzpmTooVDYM?si=e6aIuO6ibqnJH5Gx"
"I'm gonna shorten that."
@watcher21 said:
"Time to retire 76956 and remake it."
The remake will be identical, save for new hair on the minifigures. The new release date will be the only way to get the LIMITED EXCLUSIVE *T-rex Feeding Station with a single tethered Goat* Insider EXCLUSIVE!
I need one for my T-Rex break-out! 76956
I find this goat thing, even within the context of inner-Lego world club, to be a bit strange. Do people really care so much about this mold or missing a goat on their layout so badly, or is it purely because it's "rare"? Will old-mold goat owners will looks down on new-mold goat owners? Now that we have a new goat, what's the next animal to resurrect? So many questions, I guess you can't escape the power of the goat.
finally, I can get the medieval village
Great to see Michael Jordan back in LEGO form
@watcher21 said:
"Time to retire 76956 and remake it."
LAUNCH/EXIT17 Apr 22 - 31 Dec 23 , just 11 days and it will retire.
@ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME.
https://youtu.be/SzpmTooVDYM?si=e6aIuO6ibqnJH5Gx"
I was convinced that would be a link to LL... nope :)
@classicstylecastle said:
"It always seemed like nonsense to claim the goat mould had been destroyed so they couldn't possibly re-release the old goat... like they don't just make new animal moulds for every other friends set (I appreciate they are expensive).
If it is indeed a new mould (as it appears to be) I imagine the lack of additional printing is due to lack of budget. But seeing as I got a bunch of 'new' (albeit bootleg) goats from a certain chinese website in a variety of colours, I'm not fussed about rushing out to try find this one unfortunately...
Grey would be nice though."
Who has ever said the old mold had been destroyed? Only time I know this ever happened at any toy company was Kenners Star Wars Cloud Car and that was also more by accident because of the lack of care and license transition to Hasbro.
I also got alternate brands goats because Lego took so ridiculously long. Definitely feel no need to replace them for more than 5 times the price with CMFs. And the new medieval village will likely also only come with two.
The sad thing is, if Series 25 is going to be anything like the Marvel Series 2, then all those stupid scalpers will be breaking into the boxes. And since everyone is anticipating the new goat piece, I'm almost certain the one that'll be stolen the most is going to be the Goatherd minifigure.
Please LEGO, just package CMFs in paper bags already!
@elangab said:
"I find this goat thing, even within the context of inner-Lego world club, to be a bit strange. Do people really care so much about this mold or missing a goat on their layout so badly, or is it purely because it's "rare"? Will old-mold goat owners will looks down on new-mold goat owners? Now that we have a new goat, what's the next animal to resurrect? So many questions, I guess you can't escape the power of the goat."
Who is that down there? I think one of the plebians was mouthing some sort of comment, but they're so far that I can't really make out what they're saying.
La, dee, da... Has anyone seen my top hat and monocle? Nice goat. It'll go great with all my.... cash.
@elangab said:
"I find this goat thing, even within the context of inner-Lego world club, to be a bit strange. Do people really care so much about this mold or missing a goat on their layout so badly, or is it purely because it's "rare"? Will old-mold goat owners will looks down on new-mold goat owners? Now that we have a new goat, what's the next animal to resurrect? So many questions, I guess you can't escape the power of the goat."
For collectors a hing like a rare goat is something to obsess about. Unfortunately, I missed out on the Medieval Market set when it was on shelves, because I wasn't into Lego then ("Dark Ages"). Due to the inclusion of the rare goat, this set exploded in price so much that any chances of getting it are out of the window for anyone who isn't a hardcore collector with a higher than average disposable income. Luckily Lego will remedy this next year with a remake that'll hopefully be an appealing update of the original set. That'll fulfill my need for the Medieval Market. It seems Lego is finally beginning to notice people like little toy animals to accompany their little toy people in their little toy cities.
@AverageChimaEnjoyer said:
"The sad thing is, if Series 25 is going to be anything like the Marvel Series 2, then all those stupid scalpers will be breaking into the boxes. And since everyone is anticipating the new goat piece, I'm almost certain the one that'll be stolen the most is going to be the Goatherd minifigure.
Please LEGO, just package CMFs in paper bags already!"
+1 for CMF paper bags. They work perfectly fine for magazine minifigs.
I'd really like an American bison.
Let’s Gooooooooooooooat!
@TeriXeri said:
" @watcher21 said:
"Time to retire 76956 and remake it."
LAUNCH/EXIT17 Apr 22 - 31 Dec 23 , just 11 days and it will retire. "
I know what an happy coincidence.
@classicstylecastle
Lego is just a pain by not producing (farm) animals for years, glad to see we're getting even more.
Non print gives both variety and lets old one keeps their value
@watcher21 said:
"Lego is just a pain by not producing (farm) animals for years, glad to see we're getting even more.
Non print gives both variety and lets old one keeps their value"
I wish Friends had the "Minifig" style animals, but minidolls feet are too big to stand on a 1x2 gap , so they had to make an entirely new horse etc for it (which got adapted quite a few times, even recently)
The other friends animals also seem to still change on a regular basis, at least I think they do fit bettter alongside minifig styled animals now, as the eye prints have removed most of those overly stylized eyelashes.
For example, the new Friends goats seen in 42617: Farm Animal Sanctuary and 42632: Farm Animal Vet Clinic are actually quite good.
@miamiheat631 said:
"Great to see Michael Jordan back in LEGO form"
Great to see Lebron James in LEGO form...
There, I fixed that for you.
@CapnRex101 said:
"I am sure this is simply because the exact colour formulation of dark tan has been updated since 2011"
Now this is printed and not moulded, but moulded dark tan parts have varied in colour quite a lot recently, with the slopes of 21060 Himeji Castle being the primary example.
Another difference is the weight - the new goat unsurprisingly weighs less than the original: according to Jay's brick blog the weights are 2.1 grams vs 2.42 grams.
@StyleCounselor said:
"(Mike drop)"
Give Mike a hand getting up, will you?
@CaptRex101 you ask "what animal should LEGO produce next?", you should ask what piece would Lego produce next (mudguard for tire 30.4,...) and what set would Lego produce next (backhoe in minifig scale,...)
@elangab said:
"Now that we have a new goat, what's the next animal to resurrect? "
The monkey from Pirates would be my first choice: https://brickset.com/parts/design-74499
@560heliport said:
"I'd really like an American bison."
An absolute must if they ever bring back the Western theme!
@Ridgeheart said:
" @woosterlegos said:
" @miamiheat631 said:
"Great to see Michael Jordan back in LEGO form"
Great to see Lebron James in LEGO form...
There, I fixed that for you.
"
You sure do have a weird way of spelling "Muhammad Ali"."
say it with me now:
B-A-B-E
R-U-T-H
@tim1724 said:
" @elangab said:
"Now that we have a new goat, what's the next animal to resurrect? "
The monkey from Pirates would be my first choice: https://brickset.com/parts/design-74499
@560heliport said:
"I'd really like an American bison."
An absolute must if they ever bring back the Western theme!
"
The bison almost existed back in '96, same as Western trains on black monorail track. (I've seen pictures!) Alas, what might have been.
@Murdoch17 said:
" The bison almost existed back in '96, same as Western trains on black monorail track. (I've seen pictures!) Alas, what might have been."
Backstory please
And how do they make this glorious return? In a stupid little box....
@gunther_schnitzel said:
"Looking forward to a lime green one."
I'm looking forward to one in Neon Yellow!
@elangab said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
" The bison almost existed back in '96, same as Western trains on black monorail track. (I've seen pictures!) Alas, what might have been."
Backstory please
"
It's not my original photo:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/55973205 @N08 /50847308426/in/album-72157637424318833/
@ToysFromTheAttic said:
" @elangab said:
"I find this goat thing, even within the context of inner-Lego world club, to be a bit strange. Do people really care so much about this mold or missing a goat on their layout so badly, or is it purely because it's "rare"? Will old-mold goat owners will looks down on new-mold goat owners? Now that we have a new goat, what's the next animal to resurrect? So many questions, I guess you can't escape the power of the goat."
For collectors a hing like a rare goat is something to obsess about. Unfortunately, I missed out on the Medieval Market set when it was on shelves, because I wasn't into Lego then ("Dark Ages"). Due to the inclusion of the rare goat, this set exploded in price so much that any chances of getting it are out of the window for anyone who isn't a hardcore collector with a higher than average disposable income. Luckily Lego will remedy this next year with a remake that'll hopefully be an appealing update of the original set. That'll fulfill my need for the Medieval Market. It seems Lego is finally beginning to notice people like little toy animals to accompany their little toy people in their little toy cities.
"
The market didn’t include a goat. That came later with the Mill Village Raid. That being said, very excited to hear we may be getting more Medieval stuff. :o)
@elangab said:
"I find this goat thing, even within the context of inner-Lego world club, to be a bit strange. Do people really care so much about this mold or missing a goat on their layout so badly, or is it purely because it's "rare"? Will old-mold goat owners will looks down on new-mold goat owners? Now that we have a new goat, what's the next animal to resurrect? So many questions, I guess you can't escape the power of the goat."
As an owner of the goats since buying the set when it was available, I don’t get it either. Unless we’re both unaware of a large “Fight Club” esque LEGO farming community.... I was shocked when I first learned how much the giant the going for & I still don’t understand it.
This article warrants an encore performance of the song of lament from the CMF series announcement:
High on a hill was a wealthy goatherd
Layee odl, layee oh woe is me
Loud was the wail of the wealthy goatherd
Layee odl, layee odl-ohhhh
Danes in a town that was quite remote heard
Layee odl, layee oh woe is me
Anguish and sobs from the goatherd's throat heard
Layee odl, layee odl-oh woe is me
Oho layee odllee-oo
Oho layee odl ay!
Oho layee odllee-oo
Hododlleeoay!
A man with a part worth a big banknote heard
Layee odl, layee oh woe is me
Men with the rare critters by the tote heard
Layee odl, layee odl-ohhhh
Men with the Bricklink stores to devote heard
Layee odl, layee odl-oohhh
Men in the halls of the toy cutthroat heard
Layee odl, layee oh woe is me
One AFOL with great part bloat heard
Layee odl, layee odl-ohhhh
He yodeled back to the wealthy goatherd
Layee odl, layee odl-ohhhh
All your goats ain’t worth a lousy groat, heard?
Layee odl, layee oh woe is you
What a duet for a churl and goatherd
Layee odl, layee odl-oohhhhhhhhhhhhhh *sob*
(with apologies to Rodgers & Hammerstein)
Great to get the goat back finally :D
I am sure Icons medieval town square 10332 will have a variant or two, maybe even a goat kid mould.
I want a lot of animals in Lego form, but roe deer is on top of the list. More likely could be pigeons for the modular street and crows for Castle sets ;)
The lack of spots is... certainly a way for people with the original to feel like they still have something that's not obsolete. I hope they keep making them in many colors (and that mill village raid comes down in price now)
@gsom7 said:
" @CaptRex101 you ask "what animal should LEGO produce next?", you should ask what piece would Lego produce next (mudguard for tire 30.4,...) and what set would Lego produce next (backhoe in minifig scale,...)"
I'm not following - what does a mudguard and a backhoe have to do with a goat?
@elangab said:
"I find this goat thing, even within the context of inner-Lego world club, to be a bit strange. Do people really care so much about this mold or missing a goat on their layout so badly, or is it purely because it's "rare"? Will old-mold goat owners will looks down on new-mold goat owners? Now that we have a new goat, what's the next animal to resurrect? So many questions, I guess you can't escape the power of the goat."
What I don't understand is: why the goat? MANY different LEGO animals only appeared in one set, yet only the goat gets folks going ga-ga over it. Why?
Weigh them. Apparently there is quite a difference.
@Vindicare said:
" @elangab said:
"I find this goat thing, even within the context of inner-Lego world club, to be a bit strange. Do people really care so much about this mold or missing a goat on their layout so badly, or is it purely because it's "rare"? Will old-mold goat owners will looks down on new-mold goat owners? Now that we have a new goat, what's the next animal to resurrect? So many questions, I guess you can't escape the power of the goat."
As an owner of the goats since buying the set when it was available, I don’t get it either. Unless we’re both unaware of a large “Fight Club” esque LEGO farming community.... I was shocked when I first learned how much the giant the going for & I still don’t understand it. "
I guess you don't talk about goat club :)
@dimc said:
"I wonder what will happen to the OGoat prices on BL. "
Based on similar re-releases in the past, not much. The volume of sales is so low anyway and the new ones is different enough to distinguish them, so sellers with them will keep holding out for high prices. Anyone that was willing to pay £50+ for a rare part will still be willing to, even if there is a cheaper similar common part. I doubt many of sales in the past couple of years were because someone wanted a goat to use.
@CCC said:
"Weigh them. Apparently there is quite a difference."
I have always thought the material used for the original goat was slightly odd, with a shinier finish than usual, so I wonder whether the plastic mix is different.
Of course, there may just be an area of the new element that is hollow that was solid on the original, but I am not going to conduct an autopsy to find out!
@CapnRex101:
The circles are probably from ejector pins, used to pop parts out of the mold once the cycle finishes and the mold opens. There is one other physical difference that I can see. Check the shape of the cavity formed into the belly of each goat. There’s a narrow slot that runs between both sets of legs, and a flared section that fills the space between the front/rear legs. The front and back wall of the two flared bulges appears to be angled differently on the new goat vs the old.
If you want to test plastic density non-intrusively, dunk them in water. Knock the air bubbles out of the bellies, and if one floats but the other sinks, you’ll have your answer for sure. If one sinks faster than the other, after removing the bubbles, that would also kinda confirm a different plastic formula. My guess is the CMF goat is Chinese production. If the original was individually bagged, it likely was too. And there is a marked difference between the plastic used for CMF S1 (100% Chinese) and CMF HP2 (the final 100% Chinese wave).
@classicstylecastle:
It’s not that they _couldn’t_ make a new mold. It’s that having a goat mold would make it easy to put the goat in various sets, but needing to make a new mold so soon after the first put the bar so high that set designers found it much easier to simply punt the ball and do something different until someone else wanted it _SO_BADLY_ that they’d burn part of their new part budget to commission a new mold. And as a set designer, this wouldn’t even strictly be their call. They’d need to get approval from their lead designer, where, say, a new color of horse was something any designer could request. It’s like penguins jostling each other at the edge of an iceberg. They all want to dive in, but nobody wants to be the one who risks it all and goes first.
@elangab:
Ever hear of star-bellied Sneetches?
@Anonym:
One of the set designers mentioned in a published interview that a set designer called for the goat to go back into production, but it was discovered that the mold had been damaged since the first set retired. Apparently the damage was extensive enough that they couldn’t simply repair the mold, and they were budgeted for a simple recolor vs tooling up a new mold. So, plans changed, and the goat got dropped from whatever set would have been the second use.
@AverageChimaEnjoyer:
More likely, they’d just steal the goats and leave the lonely goatherds behind. But the goat may pop up on online PAB, now that it’s back in play.
@darthsutius:
Goat chow. They’ll eat anything.
@Ogre:
People knew from that interview that they weren’t likely to pop up at any random moment, so rarity was established pretty conclusively. But feel free to go buy some elephants, camels, and ostriches.
New goat is also lighter (it seems its made with WAY different plastic quality)
@PurpleDave: Yeah, you're probably right about the Goatherds. Does LEGO usually put CMF parts on Pick-A-Brick? I think they might've for the centaur bodies, but I'm not sure.
@elangab said:
"I find this goat thing, even within the context of inner-Lego world club, to be a bit strange. Do people really care so much about this mold or missing a goat on their layout so badly, or is it purely because it's "rare"? Will old-mold goat owners will looks down on new-mold goat owners? Now that we have a new goat, what's the next animal to resurrect? So many questions, I guess you can't escape the power of the goat."
It's 97% because it's rare and 3% because older AFOLs just recently learned the whole "greatest of all time" initialism that has been around for over 25 years.
"However, looking under the goats' hooves does reveal a subtle adjustment, as there are now circles on each one. These are presumably a part of the manufacturing process, appearing in the same place on many LEGO animals produced recently."
Every Lego fan should at least watch this video once, to understand the manufacturing process of plastic injection molding.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMjtmsr3CqA
I hardly dared take the two original goats from their sealed plastic bag. Maybe now is the time...
@Anonym said:
" @classicstylecastle said:
"It always seemed like nonsense to claim the goat mould had been destroyed so they couldn't possibly re-release the old goat... like they don't just make new animal moulds for every other friends set (I appreciate they are expensive).
If it is indeed a new mould (as it appears to be) I imagine the lack of additional printing is due to lack of budget. But seeing as I got a bunch of 'new' (albeit bootleg) goats from a certain chinese website in a variety of colours, I'm not fussed about rushing out to try find this one unfortunately...
Grey would be nice though."
Who has ever said the old mold had been destroyed? Only time I know this ever happened at any toy company was Kenners Star Wars Cloud Car and that was also more by accident because of the lack of care and license transition to Hasbro.
I also got alternate brands goats because Lego took so ridiculously long. Definitely feel no need to replace them for more than 5 times the price with CMFs. And the new medieval village will likely also only come with two."
Below an excerpt from the great book The Secret Life of LEGO® Bricks by Daniel Konstanski:
Today, element coaches lead a yearly parts catalogue review effort. Thanks to the digital EBT database, they can tell exactly how many products a given part has been included with in recent years. Design teams each select an element ambassador from their ranks to join this review effort and make their case for parts that should be preserved for one reason or another. An element that may not currently be in use could be working its way through the approval process as a key piece in new products. Their argument must be robust, however. This team ‘polices’ the element library, keeping it trim and agile.
When an element does not make the cut, it is marked as retired and its mould is destroyed. This practice stems from a study that was conducted during the initial reduction in elements and which yielded surprising results. The LEGO Group found that for most moulds the cost of remaking them was less expensive than five years of storage. That finding became part of the calculus during yearly evaluations. If a strong case can’t be made for an element in the next five years, retirement is more economical than storing its mould.
@Murdoch17 said:
" @elangab said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
" The bison almost existed back in '96, same as Western trains on black monorail track. (I've seen pictures!) Alas, what might have been."
Backstory please
"
It's not my original photo:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/55973205 @N08 /50847308426/in/album-72157637424318833/"
could you repost the link?
@yellowcastle said:
" @ToysFromTheAttic said:
" @elangab said:
"I find this goat thing, even within the context of inner-Lego world club, to be a bit strange. Do people really care so much about this mold or missing a goat on their layout so badly, or is it purely because it's "rare"? Will old-mold goat owners will looks down on new-mold goat owners? Now that we have a new goat, what's the next animal to resurrect? So many questions, I guess you can't escape the power of the goat."
For collectors a hing like a rare goat is something to obsess about. Unfortunately, I missed out on the Medieval Market set when it was on shelves, because I wasn't into Lego then ("Dark Ages"). Due to the inclusion of the rare goat, this set exploded in price so much that any chances of getting it are out of the window for anyone who isn't a hardcore collector with a higher than average disposable income. Luckily Lego will remedy this next year with a remake that'll hopefully be an appealing update of the original set. That'll fulfill my need for the Medieval Market. It seems Lego is finally beginning to notice people like little toy animals to accompany their little toy people in their little toy cities.
"
The market didn’t include a goat. That came later with the Mill Village Raid. That being said, very excited to hear we may be getting more Medieval stuff. :o)"
You're obviously right. Thanks for correcting me! Another set I'm hoping to get a remake, as I felt that original left something to be desired.
Federer looking as good as ever
@piteous said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
" @elangab said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
" The bison almost existed back in '96, same as Western trains on black monorail track. (I've seen pictures!) Alas, what might have been."
Backstory please
"
It's not my original photo:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/55973205 @N08 /50847308426/in/album-72157637424318833/"
could you repost the link?"
Flickr links don't work here on Brickset. You'll have to copy paste it into your search bar. Sorry.
Now all we need is for a set designer to blow their new moulds budget on a bunch of monorail track elements and a cypress...
2024 is going to be a GOAT year for Lego
I would like a Siamese Cat.
Also a Black small plume for the forestmen. I lost mine 40 years ago and for some reason LEGO has never made that part in black ever again. I will not pay $50 for one.
@AverageChimaEnjoyer:
It depends. Prior to the Unikitty wave, when 100% of CMF parts were made in China, the only way they’d get CMF parts on PAB/BAM is if someone pitched making a duplicate mold for use in Europe (I asked a Friends set designer when she did a panel at Brickworld Chicago). Generic hair, and commonly reusable items like the surfboard/snowboard/skis/ski poles have all made it through this process. Aztec headdresses…not so much. If we knew for sure where the goat was being made, that would be fairly easy to answer. If it’s in China, I wouldn’t bet on it until it shows up in a retail set. If it’s European, it’s a lot more likely.
The centaur body got used for 75967, so that seems more likely to have put the centaur bodies on PAB than 71029-6.
@Murdoch17 said:
" @piteous said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
" @elangab said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
" The bison almost existed back in '96, same as Western trains on black monorail track. (I've seen pictures!) Alas, what might have been."
Backstory please
"
It's not my original photo:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/55973205 @N08 /50847308426/in/album-72157637424318833/"
could you repost the link?"
Flickr links don't work here on Brickset. You'll have to copy paste it into your search bar. Sorry."
Copying and pasting the link didn’t work either. 404 error
@Gataka
According to the rumor, the goat mold was broken by accident, not simply discontinued and destroyed. I'm pretty sure the rumor started before 2016, which is five years from the goat's 2011 inception and when it would have been discontinued.
@Kynareth said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
" @piteous said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
" @elangab said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
" The bison almost existed back in '96, same as Western trains on black monorail track. (I've seen pictures!) Alas, what might have been."
Backstory please
"
It's not my original photo:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/55973205 @N08 /50847308426/in/album-72157637424318833/"
could you repost the link?"
Flickr links don't work here on Brickset. You'll have to copy paste it into your search bar. Sorry."
Copying and pasting the link didn’t work either. 404 error"
Remove the spaces after pasting the link, and you should find that it works
@woosterlegos said:
" @miamiheat631 said:
"Great to see Michael Jordan back in LEGO form"
Great to see Lebron James in LEGO form...
There, I fixed that for you.
"
My good friend, is that the fella from space jam?
@AverageChimaEnjoyer said:
" @PurpleDave : Yeah, you're probably right about the Goatherds. Does LEGO usually put CMF parts on Pick-A-Brick? I think they might've for the centaur bodies, but I'm not sure."
Yes, they do. The goat will almost certainly end up on PaB eventually. It will sell-out quickly and repeatedly.
What I wonder is how great the demand will be, and whether Lego can accurately guage the demand, meet the demand, and/or scale-up to meet the demand? How much goat meat will still be left on the bone by the time the craze is over?
@560heliport said:
"I'd really like an American bison."
Definitely.
Also, going from what was made for friends: we could use foxes and hedgehogs.
For the northern hemisphere, badger, weasel and beaver would pretty much complete the list (maybe with lynx).
For savannah, there is still hippo and rhino missing amongst the big ones (the Friends giraffe was pretty good). Plenty of small ones missing.
@StyleCounselor
I would say they are not that great at gauging the demand. I had a very hard time with only partial success in getting purple helmet and oxygen tank as well as white and red space torsos.
Apologies if this has already been discussed in the comments above, but I find it lazy that TLG didn’t include more detailed printing on this new goat element.
You can hit me with all the rationale you want, but consider this: the goat released in 2011 is arguably more detailed than one released in 2023. Spare me the cost costing measures blurb- TLG turns profit. I find it so disheartening that Lego is trending towards more detail overall but in specific pieces, they don’t measure up to their historic counterparts. Even if they didn’t want to reuse the same color they could have selected an alternative color for spots on the goat.
Might seem like a niche gripe but we heard this same sentiment with the non-printed Majisto fig in the recent GWP remake. I don’t know if it’s a measure motivated by money or creating false scarcity/demand, but the lack of printing ain’t the way.
And say what you will, but lack of detail and novel element creation spawns/fuels third party accessory companies who are willing to fill a void that TLG isn’t.
@SwingTop said:
"Every Lego fan should at least watch this video once, to understand the manufacturing process of plastic injection molding.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMjtmsr3CqA "
Thank you so much for bringing this guy and his videos to my attention.
I always love to find new high quality YouTube channels, and his videos are top notch. Easy to follow, even for a non-native speaker, and highly educational. Plus his voice is really pleasant to listen to imho.
While it certainly is nice to bring back a beloved animal (only due to the rarity and scalper hyper-inflation) and re-do a new mould, I can also see TLG really cheapened out on it, by making an inferior moulding tool (those circles are not intentional, but a quality issue when ejector pins don't close flush in the cavity), by using a less dense plastic (to save material costs, why else?) and by the lack of body printing. Instead of redesigning the tool to enable 2K-moulding, which they had no issue in doing for Disney in a Friends set, they simply pulled out the old 3D-model and let the Chinese make a cheaper tool. Minimal effort, maximum hype.
Meanwhile the 2024 Friends sets showcase not one, but three different coloured and printed goats (1 baby + 2 adults). And I ask myself again, why can Friends use regular chickens and birds but absolutely needed new curvier goat moulds? It makes zero sense if the official excuse is always limited new part budget and container storage space.
@HOBBES said:
" @560heliport said:
"I'd really like an American bison."
Definitely.
Also, going from what was made for friends: we could use foxes and hedgehogs.
For the northern hemisphere, badger, weasel and beaver would pretty much complete the list (maybe with lynx).
For savannah, there is still hippo and rhino missing amongst the big ones (the Friends giraffe was pretty good). Plenty of small ones missing.
@StyleCounselor
I would say they are not that great at gauging the demand. I had a very hard time with only partial success in getting purple helmet and oxygen tank as well as white and red space torsos.
"
I agree with you. When I think I've purchased something early, the reality is they have waves of releases. Yet, there is a finite point when it ends. At what will they sell and we still want to buy?
@Matt_Z_ said:
"Apologies if this has already been discussed in the comments above, but I find it lazy that TLG didn’t include more detailed printing on this new goat element.. "
Calling LEGO lazy in the same sentence where you admit to not have read any of the previous comments is funny.
Having checked my knock-off goats against those pictures above it does apear that they are different moulds, so not quite the conspiracy I was suggesting.
Would this make the Prince of Persia ostrich the animal that’s been gone the longest (that would presumably be released using the same mould)?
@legomanijak said:
"Federer looking as good as ever"
Especially happy that you said that given your nationality.
@AustinPowers said:
" @SwingTop said:
"Every Lego fan should at least watch this video once, to understand the manufacturing process of plastic injection molding.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMjtmsr3CqA "
Thank you so much for bringing this guy and his videos to my attention.
I always love to find new high quality YouTube channels, and his videos are top notch. Easy to follow, even for a non-native speaker, and highly educational. Plus his voice is really pleasant to listen to imho."
That's fantastic! Salutations, my friends.
Nice that kanye west is in minifigure form
@HOBBES: I would really want a fox! But the thing highest on my list is definitely a LEGO wolf. Other than that Akira Ninjago person and the Wargs, we don't have any LEGO wolf mold.
Yes, please don't place it just on one set....
@yellowcastle said:
" @Matt_Z_ said:
"Apologies if this has already been discussed in the comments above, but I find it lazy that TLG didn’t include more detailed printing on this new goat element.. "
Calling LEGO lazy in the same sentence where you admit to not have read any of the previous comments is funny.
"
I didn’t know I was held to the same standard as TLG. I only put that caveat out there in case I was repeating some common themes. I could have not said that, and you’d never have known.
Looking back over the previous comments now, it actually doesn’t appear that anyone mentioned this exact gripe. Weird comment, but anyways, sound off. Merry Christmas.
@Murdoch17 said:
" @Ridgeheart said:
" @woosterlegos said:
" @miamiheat631 said:
"Great to see Michael Jordan back in LEGO form"
Great to see Lebron James in LEGO form...
There, I fixed that for you.
"
You sure do have a weird way of spelling "Muhammad Ali"."
say it with me now:
B-A-B-E
R-U-T-H"
You missed out the second 'e' in Efren Reyes.
@Matt_Z_ said:
" @yellowcastle said:
" @Matt_Z_ said:
"Apologies if this has already been discussed in the comments above, but I find it lazy that TLG didn’t include more detailed printing on this new goat element.. "
Calling LEGO lazy in the same sentence where you admit to not have read any of the previous comments is funny.
"
I didn’t know I was held to the same standard as TLG. I only put that caveat out there in case I was repeating some common themes. I could have not said that, and you’d never have known.
Looking back over the previous comments now, it actually doesn’t appear that anyone mentioned this exact gripe. Weird comment, but anyways, sound off. Merry Christmas. "
No insult intended. It just gave me the giggles. I too think they mailed it in here but am happy to get another animal for my city. Happy Holidays to you and everyone here as well.
@yellowcastle said:
" @Matt_Z_ said:
" @yellowcastle said:
" @Matt_Z_ said:
"Apologies if this has already been discussed in the comments above, but I find it lazy that TLG didn’t include more detailed printing on this new goat element.. "
Calling LEGO lazy in the same sentence where you admit to not have read any of the previous comments is funny.
"
I didn’t know I was held to the same standard as TLG. I only put that caveat out there in case I was repeating some common themes. I could have not said that, and you’d never have known.
Looking back over the previous comments now, it actually doesn’t appear that anyone mentioned this exact gripe. Weird comment, but anyways, sound off. Merry Christmas. "
No insult intended. It just gave me the giggles. I too think they mailed it in here but am happy to get another animal for my city. Happy Holidays to you and everyone here as well."
Understood, tone and intended meaning can get lost through text. No worries, have a great holidays dude.
They have hinted the return much earlier: the goat has been a constant feature in LEGO's magazine for several years now
I even made an instagram post about the return of the goat way back in juli 2021
Greatest Of All Time!!!!!!!
@HOBBES:
I was able to grab 20 matched pairs of helmets and airtanks, without any problem. The first time I saw either, they were listed as Out Of Stock, but as soon as I saw that they were both being delisted, I hopped on and got an order ready to go. At least two members of my LUG have mentioned that they missed the airtanks.
Also...no wolf? Or are we counting that one dog as Husky/Malamute/Wolf? How about walrus and muskox? Red panda? Other panda? Moose and porcupine?
@Matt_Z_:
Maybe the designer had a specific breed of goat in mind, like this guy:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/A_white_irish_goat.jpg
Minifigs is a different matter, but not one that's as simple as you'd think. A lot of the commentary on Aberforth is that the torso design looks great, but it's buried behind his thick beard. Legs are less likely to be decorated, so what decoration Aberforth received is largely wasted. Conversely, I was thrilled when the S3 Fisherman gave us our first proper Santa beard, and got some to swap with the Majisto beard they'd been using for Santas up to that point. And then remembered that the torso was blank, which is hard to ignore when the beard isn't covering the entire front surface.
From what I've heard, the printing machines are being run at max capacity, so you're not talking about the added expense of putting one print on one part, but the added expense of expanding a factory building somewhere so a new printing line can be installed. That's a _HUGE_ investment, which will not be paid off by simply making all the newly printed parts more expensive to produce. Until someone decides that trigger needs to be pulled, it's a priority game for the set designers.
@Fandabidozi:
Orient Express elephant has it beat by a few years, and the PoP camel is tied with it.
I am happy to see the return of the goat! Hopefully it will eventually be available via PAB, and more colors please!
What other animals would I like? So many, so many...
For starters, more farm and city critters...
rooster
duck
goose
bull / steer / oxen
donkey
mule
more dog breeds!
pigeon
crow
Wilderness wildlife:
wolf
fox
moose
bison
wild boar
...to be continued.
@HOBBES said:
"Also, going from what was made for friends: we could use foxes and hedgehogs.
For the northern hemisphere, badger, weasel and beaver would pretty much complete the list (maybe with lynx)."
My list would be deer, chipmunk, raccoon.
The Lego deer already in production was a disappointment. It's closer to a caribou. It's massively out of scale, towering over minifigures. Real deer are only 3 to 3½ feet at the shoulders, and not taller than people even with a good set of antlers, which females don't have. That said, I've seen brick-built deer that look fantastic, so maybe the need isn't so pressing there.
Chipmunks are omnipresent in the woods.
Raccoons are less often seen because they're usually nocturnal, but are also omnipresent in North America (and introduced beyond), and we already got one for Friends.
@elangab said:
"I find this goat thing, even within the context of inner-Lego world club, to be a bit strange. Do people really care so much about this mold or missing a goat on their layout so badly, or is it purely because it's "rare"? Will old-mold goat owners will looks down on new-mold goat owners? Now that we have a new goat, what's the next animal to resurrect? So many questions, I guess you can't escape the power of the goat."
Give it 5 years and people will want the sheep resurrected. (I got a few for myself, still think I should have gotten more).
For some random reason, I've decided to start, not collecting as I'm not a completionist, but gathering Lego animals very recently and this is either fortunate or unfortunate timing as I would now like to add a goat to my small "gathering".
@AllenSmith:
I could go for a chipmunk element. But this deer you refer to...do you mean the reindeer from 40499? If so, caribou is just the North American name for reindeer.
@PurpleDave said:
" @AllenSmith:
I could go for a chipmunk element. But this deer you refer to...do you mean the reindeer from 40499? If so, caribou is just the North American name for reindeer."
Yes, but it was originally introduced as Harry's stag patronus, which should have been a red deer. But it really isn't one. European red deer are bigger than American white/black-tailed deer, but still not that tall—around 4 feet at the shoulder. Caribou/reindeer apparently can be up to 5 feet at the shoulder. Lego's deer thing is definitely closer to a reindeer in size and antlers, although they body shape is more deer-like. And it's as big as a horse. Whatever Lego's deer thing is, it's not suitable for a typical forest deer.
Lego should just release animal packs like they used to do for things like road signs, trees, decorative elements etc etc.
Have a farm animal pack with cows, calves, goats, pigs, piglets and chicken. Do one lot plain and the other lot printed.
You could do also do forest animals, jungle animals, sea life.....
Bricklink - where you can find all Lego scalpers in one place.
Anyone prepared to pay the prices for things on there has more money than sense.
@Trooper1308:
Scalping is trying to buy up all or part of the available supply as it’s released, and then use the artificial scarcity to resell at a higher price immediately. If you sit on it for a long time, or if it’s something that’s out of production, it’s not really scalping. And if it’s out of production, Brickset is set up in a way that encourages the market to set its own price. You can’t sell a goat for $20+ if there’s nobody who’s willing to pay that much.
@AllenSmith said:
" @PurpleDave said:
" @AllenSmith:
I could go for a chipmunk element. But this deer you refer to...do you mean the reindeer from 40499? If so, caribou is just the North American name for reindeer."
Yes, but it was originally introduced as Harry's stag patronus, which should have been a red deer. But it really isn't one. European red deer are bigger than American white/black-tailed deer, but still not that tall—around 4 feet at the shoulder. Caribou/reindeer apparently can be up to 5 feet at the shoulder. Lego's deer thing is definitely closer to a reindeer in size and antlers, although they body shape is more deer-like. And it's as big as a horse. Whatever Lego's deer thing is, it's not suitable for a typical forest deer."
Some comparisons of shoulder height range...
caribou / reindeer - 85-140 cm
red deer - 100-120 cm
elk - 122-170 cm
moose - 168-211 cm
average height human male - 175 cm
average height human female - 163 cm
In other words, we need new Cervidae figures.
@Trooper1308 said:
"Lego should just release animal packs like they used to do for things like road signs, trees, decorative elements etc etc.
Have a farm animal pack with cows, calves, goats, pigs, piglets and chicken. Do one lot plain and the other lot printed.
You could do also do forest animals, jungle animals, sea life.....
Bricklink - where you can find all Lego scalpers in one place.
Anyone prepared to pay the prices for things on there has more money than sense."
Just use P @B...
@PurpleDave said:
" @Trooper1308 :
Scalping is trying to buy up all or part of the available supply as it’s released, and then use the artificial scarcity to resell at a higher price immediately. If you sit on it for a long time, or if it’s something that’s out of production, it’s not really scalping. And if it’s out of production, Brickset is set up in a way that encourages the market to set its own price. You can’t sell a goat for $20+ if there’s nobody who’s willing to pay that much. "
Yeah but it does not stop those with no concept of supply and demand for making a scapegoat (pun intended) out of people who had enough forethought to buy spares to sell when LEGO stops making parts. While there can be exceptions to this, basically its sour grape most times to whine about resellers being scalpers as they wish they could do the same. In reality most parts or sets that are in new condition would be much more expensive after the set is retired if it was not for those 'evil scalpers' holding back new sets for later distribution.
As for this goat being in PaB, unlikely to occur unless it appears in a set (which a variant of the goat in CMF is likely going to be out) its also why its not worth it to me to buy an entire box of CMFs just to get goats out of it. The really sad thing is that people will still be forking over a ton for these on sites like eBay when if they just did a little investigative work, and had patience, they will likely find a goat on PaB for a lot better price (even though LEGO is purposefully raising the prices on their parts on their PaB site knowing what they typically go for in the secondary markets thanks to owning BL). Now, while it may not be the same as in the CMF series or original goat, most just want a goat, and do not care about the printing on it.
@Ogre said:
" @elangab said:
"I find this goat thing, even within the context of inner-Lego world club, to be a bit strange. Do people really care so much about this mold or missing a goat on their layout so badly, or is it purely because it's "rare"? Will old-mold goat owners will looks down on new-mold goat owners? Now that we have a new goat, what's the next animal to resurrect? So many questions, I guess you can't escape the power of the goat."
What I don't understand is: why the goat? MANY different LEGO animals only appeared in one set, yet only the goat gets folks going ga-ga over it. Why?"
I agree. It is a pity the part was so little used, but I feel that there is a lot of hype just based on how rare the part is, rather than how much use it is .
@classicstylecastle said:
"But seeing as I got a bunch of 'new' (albeit bootleg) goats from a certain chinese website in a variety of colours, I'm not fussed about rushing out to try find this one unfortunately..."
I also got the aforementioned bootleg ones from an infamous Chinese website ??. Was actually quite impressed with the quality tbh!
I am rather looking forward to this series though, that's for sure
I would like to see domestic buffalo. When I was a child, I used to take my grandparents' two buffaloes to pasture.. It could very simply be a black cow.
It is definitely a new mold. The molds wear out over time with use or just age. With use most molds last about two years before needing to be replaced. I've heard that simply in storage they can last 10 years, but I haven't seen an official statement about that. Either way the original probably got worn out from the initial set production run and if not it would have aged out just in storage. LEGO designers tried bringing the goat back for both the Pop-up Book and the Blacksmith Shop IDEAS sets, but neither time could they fit the new mold into the production budget of that particular set.
https://www.brickfanatics.com/the-lego-group-tried-to-resurrect-the-goat-for-21315-pop-up-book