Quick look: 40954 Germany Postcard

Replace the name tag with Legoland, and I'm in.

Another argument against the car being a Beetle is that it seems to have a front grille. "The postcard does offer two choices for the label (of course, both are stickers), so you can choose either Germany or Deutschland." 854088 did the same thing, with English and Chinese options being provided. Side note: My spellcheck recommended replacing "Deutschland" with "Deutschmark." This thing has really selective knowledge sometimes.

@GirlWoman said:
"I don't feel like this represents my country very well. Is this how people see the country from the outside? All whimsical with castles and medieval buildings? And is Munich's town hall really in the top 3 of most recognizable locations/buildings in all of Germany to people? Personally, I first heard about it a year ago."

Modern day society all to often resorts to stereotype countries/people

Lego pulled another 75098 Assault on Hoth to cut costs

@GirlWoman said:
"I don't feel like this represents my country very well. Is this how people see the country from the outside? All whimsical with castles and medieval buildings? And is Munich's town hall really in the top 3 of most recognizable locations/buildings in all of Germany to people? Personally, I first heard about it a year ago."

For me, the New Town Hall /is/ one of the most recognizable buildings in Germany, as Munich was the first German city I visited. That makes this card go from 'interesting' to 'must buy' for me. (Not quite sure I agree with the colors, I probably would have gone with more tan than white. Although, my memory pictures it more as [old] gray, but my photos from the 90s are more dirty tan. And saying that, I'm guessing I've known about it longer than most people complaining about it have been alive! :D )

Also, given the Munich connection, I would definitely say the car was probably more BMW than VW.

Pleasant enough, but nothing spectacular. Will get it because,
a) I've got the rest (apart from 40520 of course)
b) It's dirt cheap
c) The next one might be better!

When you do a 'google' search for Germany pictures, you get: Brandenburger Tor, picturesque castles, quaint villages, imposing churches/cathedrals and majestic river cruises - that's probably the 'whimsical' side of it. The thing with Germany is, while all the previously mentioned items are nice to visit, the country is more about the experience. There should be brezel and wiener and a biergarten. While folkloric, a lederhosen guy would be nice (there was one in the cmf). I suppose if they begin putting minifig in the postcards, the price will rise substantially. I don't collect those, but this is probably one of my least favourite of that series. (The blue line on the train should be red.)

@MeganL wrote: ".. but I'm not sure if there's a castle in Germany that has a train running below."

I know of Castle Hirschhorn (Burg or Schloß, https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burg_Hirschhorn ). If you take a local or region train from Heidelberg following the Neckar river upstream you will pass underneath.

At the river Mosella there is Kaiser-Wilhelm-Tunnel next to Burg Cochem - but this castle look much different from the Lego interpretation.

Sorry - wikipedia only in german:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiser-Wilhelm-Tunnel
https://reichsburg-cochem.de/?lang=en

@Tupperfan said:
" @shaase said:
" @GirlWoman said:
"I don't feel like this represents my country very well. Is this how people see the country from the outside? All whimsical with castles and medieval buildings? And is Munich's town hall really in the top 3 of most recognizable locations/buildings in all of Germany to people? Personally, I first heard about it a year ago."

Modern day society all to often resorts to stereotype countries/people"

Modern day? Stereotypes are as old as people and countries! And as a fellow Canadian, I'm sure you can identify a few of our stereotypes throughout the years."

Well, take off you hoser. There's no Canadian stereotypes, eh.

@GirlWoman said:
" @RUL said:
"And where is the mosque?"

Don't be ridiculous. Lego would never do anything representing Islam or Arabs outside of orientalist dreck like Prince of Persia and racist stereotypes in Indiana Jones."

Taj Mahal?

@BelgianBricker said:
" @GirlWoman said:
" @RUL said:
"And where is the mosque?"

Don't be ridiculous. Lego would never do anything representing Islam or Arabs outside of orientalist dreck like Prince of Persia and racist stereotypes in Indiana Jones."

Taj Mahal?"

That's a tomb, not a Islamic mosque. Plus, I don't think India is considered an Arabic country either... also, the Taj Mahal is considered a work of architectural art, like Notre Dame or the Pyramids of Giza.

@Murdoch17 said:
" @BelgianBricker said:
" @GirlWoman said:
" @RUL said:
"And where is the mosque?"

Don't be ridiculous. Lego would never do anything representing Islam or Arabs outside of orientalist dreck like Prince of Persia and racist stereotypes in Indiana Jones."

Taj Mahal?"

That's a tomb, not a mosque... also, the Taj Mahal is considered a work of architectural art, like Notre Dame or the Pyramids of Giza."

The Taj Mahal is an iconic piece of Islamic architecture, so yeah, LEGO does make builds that represent Islam, contrary to what was proclaimed.

Also, if you ask Europeans what the Notre Dame stands for, noone will tell you it is "a work of architectural art" - ( there are way more impressive cathedrals, lke the Sagrada Familia for example) - but everyone will tell you it's a church...

@GirlWoman said:
" @RUL said:
"And where is the mosque?"

Don't be ridiculous. Lego would never do anything representing Islam or Arabs outside of orientalist dreck like Prince of Persia and racist stereotypes in Indiana Jones."

You call him Dr. Jones doll!

@GirlWoman said:
" @BelgianBricker said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
" @BelgianBricker said:
" @GirlWoman said:
" @RUL said:
"And where is the mosque?"

Don't be ridiculous. Lego would never do anything representing Islam or Arabs outside of orientalist dreck like Prince of Persia and racist stereotypes in Indiana Jones."

Taj Mahal?"

That's a tomb, not a mosque... also, the Taj Mahal is considered a work of architectural art, like Notre Dame or the Pyramids of Giza."

The Taj Mahal is an iconic piece of Islamic architecture, so yeah, LEGO does make builds that represent Islam, contrary to what was proclaimed."

So the universally recognized world heritage site, Taj Mahal. And I would also count the Fountain Garden as being inspired by Islamic culture. So that's two examples. Out of thousands of sets, out of thousands of years of history, two sets. And not a single minifigure included. That's the hill you want to die on?"

I just want to clear the air here regarding my post, as I feel maybe I misspoke or something. I thought one of the above posters was saying the Taj Mahal was a mosque, and was correcting the record on that. Apologies if I offended anyone!

@Murdoch17 said:
" @GirlWoman said:
" @BelgianBricker said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
" @BelgianBricker said:
" @GirlWoman said:
" @RUL said:
"And where is the mosque?"

Don't be ridiculous. Lego would never do anything representing Islam or Arabs outside of orientalist dreck like Prince of Persia and racist stereotypes in Indiana Jones."

Taj Mahal?"

That's a tomb, not a mosque... also, the Taj Mahal is considered a work of architectural art, like Notre Dame or the Pyramids of Giza."

The Taj Mahal is an iconic piece of Islamic architecture, so yeah, LEGO does make builds that represent Islam, contrary to what was proclaimed."

So the universally recognized world heritage site, Taj Mahal. And I would also count the Fountain Garden as being inspired by Islamic culture. So that's two examples. Out of thousands of sets, out of thousands of years of history, two sets. And not a single minifigure included. That's the hill you want to die on?"

I just want to clear the air here regarding my post, as I feel maybe I misspoke or something. I thought one of the above posters was saying the Taj Mahal was a mosque, and was correcting the record on that. Apologies if I offended anyone!"

Probably best to leave Jabba’s Palace unmentioned.

Aside from the bus the London postcard doesn’t especially reflect the experience of living in London, either, so I’m pretty sure all of these are aimed at tourists, and what tourists think matter and recognise is not the same as residents. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.

@GirlWoman said:
"I don't feel like this represents my country very well. Is this how people see the country from the outside? All whimsical with castles and medieval buildings? And is Munich's town hall really in the top 3 of most recognizable locations/buildings in all of Germany to people? Personally, I first heard about it a year ago."

As a preamble, I love Germany, have traveled there on numerous occasions and will, in fact, be going to Munich in 1 week on business...

...this is definitively not how most people from these parts see Germany :D :D :D

My family emigrated from Germany in 1963 (yes, I'm THAT old!), so when I heard "German Postcard" I was excited and ready to buy it. I was so looking forward to having a LEGO postcard of my home country. But then I saw it and said, "Was ist das?" I was so disappointed in the selection of "iconic" locations.

Sure I've been away from my homeland for some time, but still, I only recognize a few of the selections, such as Brandenburg Gate, and the small orange building seems to represent "Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber". Unfortunately I did not recognize Munich’s Neues Rathaus, even though I had family in Munich.

Do a search for famous sightseeing locations and there are a few more obvious places that come up, such as Neuschwanstein Castle (there would have been nothing wrong with having it repeat in this set), The Rhine Valley, the Black Forest, Heidelberg Castle... and like somewhere else brought up, replace the car with a Brezel (und Bier)! Maybe I'll have to build my own postcard.

-I googled "LEGO building encased in flame yellowish orange play doh with receding hairline" and got this set as the first hit.
-the vehicle is clearly Cliffjumper as he had been originally raised by Bavarian parents back on Cybertron.
-The Brandenburg Gate looks like it hiked up its jeans to cross the Rhine.
-I appreciate the reuse of some of the Avengers molds from 76354 Helicarrier, though it's unclear what Vision is doing to Hulk.

@GirlWoman said:
"I don't feel like this represents my country very well. Is this how people see the country from the outside? All whimsical with castles and medieval buildings? And is Munich's town hall really in the top 3 of most recognizable locations/buildings in all of Germany to people? Personally, I first heard about it a year ago."

I'd have to agree. The Rathaus in Munich is a very attractive building (as is Neuschwanstein tbf) but it isn't the first thing I'd think of to put on a postcard representing Germany. The Brandenburg gate is, and then probably the Berlin TV tower (and then Kolner Dom). Mind you, they did a Berlin skyline set a few years ago; so maybe just doing a load of the major sights in Berlin felt too much like a repeat..

I think this one's a miss sadly. The London one wasn't great either. My favourite by far is the Japan postcard.

@GirlWoman said:
"I don't feel like this represents my country very well. Is this how people see the country from the outside? All whimsical with castles and medieval buildings? And is Munich's town hall really in the top 3 of most recognizable locations/buildings in all of Germany to people? Personally, I first heard about it a year ago."

it was the same for 40818 italy postcard... several places like Venice, Pisa... Cinque Terre (Liguria)? And others I can't recognize (Valle dei Templi in Agrigento???)...
stereotypes from American movies where Italy is stuck in the 60s (Luca, anyone?) ??

Can I add a request for a Lego Vatican, or...?

@CCC said:
[[ @danieltheo said:
[[Must admit if the text wasn't there I wouldn't have picked this out as Germany - perhaps a general scene from central Europe but surely Germany is too large and diverse to be adequately represented in such a small snapshot.]]

I imagine that is true of most countries. I dread to think what they'd put in if they did a UK one. At least with cities they can get a few stereotypical postcard sights in.]]

Or a US one. I mean, even if you leave out Hawaii and Alaska, there's still a *lot* of stuff to condese into that postcard.

@ohrmazd in United States, 30 Mar 2026 12:39

@Tupperfan said:[[ @shaase said:[[ @GirlWoman said:[[I don't feel like this represents my country very well. Is this how people see the country from the outside? All whimsical with castles and medieval buildings? And is Munich's town hall really in the top 3 of most recognizable locations/buildings in all of Germany to people? Personally, I first heard about it a year ago.]]

Modern day society all to often resorts to stereotype countries/people]]

Modern day? Stereotypes are as old as people and countries! And as a fellow Canadian, I'm sure you can identify a few of our stereotypes throughout the years.]]

Well, take off you hoser. There's no Canadian stereotypes, eh.]]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOK9tkE8Db0

@legogeek said:[[My family emigrated from Germany in 1963 (yes, I'm THAT old!)...]]

So there were two Germanys when you left.

@danishbricklayer said:[[ @GirlWoman said:[[I don't feel like this represents my country very well. Is this how people see the country from the outside? All whimsical with castles and medieval buildings? And is Munich's town hall really in the top 3 of most recognizable locations/buildings in all of Germany to people? Personally, I first heard about it a year ago.]]

I'd have to agree. The Rathaus in Munich is a very attractive building (as is Neuschwanstein tbf) but it isn't the first thing I'd think of to put on a postcard representing Germany. The Brandenburg gate is, and then probably the Berlin TV tower (and then Kolner Dom). Mind you, they did a Berlin skyline set a few years ago; so maybe just doing a load of the major sights in Berlin felt too much like a repeat..]]

They've repeated numerous Architecture subjects *within the Architecture line,* so I don't think they were trying to avoid a repeat.

@GirlWoman said:
"I don't feel like this represents my country very well. Is this how people see the country from the outside? All whimsical with castles and medieval buildings? And is Munich's town hall really in the top 3 of most recognizable locations/buildings in all of Germany to people? Personally, I first heard about it a year ago."

Neuschwanstein Castle, Brandenburg Gate, and ummm...uh...sorry, not really an architecture buff, so I'm at my limit with two. Does the gate even really count as a building? Does it have an interior?

" @yellowcastle said:
"-I googled "LEGO building encased in flame yellowish orange play doh with receding hairline" and got this set as the first hit.
-the vehicle is clearly Cliffjumper as he had been originally raised by Bavarian parents back on Cybertron.
-The Brandenburg Gate looks like it hiked up its jeans to cross the Rhine.
-I appreciate the reuse of some of the Avengers molds from 76354 Helicarrier, though it's unclear what Vision is doing to Hulk."

I lol-ed at your Cliffjumper and especially Brandenburg Gate comment but can't for the life of me figure out the part about The Hulk"
Reasonably confident that Vision is the stack of two five-petal plates next to the train, but I'm not seeing Hulk either.

The car looks a little like a Porsche Cayenne.

The car probably runs on diesel so it’s banned in many cities and the train is probably an hour late. Otherwise a nice set!

@GirlWoman said:
"I don't feel like this represents my country very well. Is this how people see the country from the outside? All whimsical with castles and medieval buildings? And is Munich's town hall really in the top 3 of most recognizable locations/buildings in all of Germany to people? Personally, I first heard about it a year ago."

With Cologne/Köln cathedral seeing about 6 million visitors a year, as a world heritage site and Germany’s most visited landmark, it’s not immediately obvious to me why they’ve chosen a town hall, impressive though that is, instead.

As for the castles and whimsy, I’m afraid that for people from countries where they don’t have things like half timbered buildings, they are a novelty.

It’s no worse than all the tourists who come to the UK and declare it to be “just like Harry Potter!”, which would be the equivalent of us going to New York and declaring it to be OMG just like Friends (or whatever).

@stefwaffles said:
" @GirlWoman said:
"I don't feel like this represents my country very well. Is this how people see the country from the outside? All whimsical with castles and medieval buildings? And is Munich's town hall really in the top 3 of most recognizable locations/buildings in all of Germany to people? Personally, I first heard about it a year ago."

With Cologne/Köln cathedral seeing about 6 million visitors a year, as a world heritage site and Germany’s most visited landmark, it’s not immediately obvious to me why they’ve chosen a town hall, impressive though that is, instead.

As for the castles and whimsy, I’m afraid that for people from countries where they don’t have things like half timbered buildings, they are a novelty.

It’s no worse than all the tourists who come to the UK and declare it to be “just like Harry Potter!”, which would be the equivalent of us going to New York and declaring it to be OMG just like Friends (or whatever)."

I wouldn't go to the UK for the Harry Potter. I'd go for the Agatha Christie and the Doctor Who. In all seriousness, I'd love to see the UK, and see (among other things) buildings that were already old when the country I live in was founded.

The car seems to me the tiniest possible Lego rendition of a Porsche and I do not mind that at all :)

@GirlWoman said:
" @BelgianBricker said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
" @BelgianBricker said:
" @GirlWoman said:
" @RUL said:
"And where is the mosque?"

Don't be ridiculous. Lego would never do anything representing Islam or Arabs outside of orientalist dreck like Prince of Persia and racist stereotypes in Indiana Jones."

Taj Mahal?"

That's a tomb, not a mosque... also, the Taj Mahal is considered a work of architectural art, like Notre Dame or the Pyramids of Giza."

The Taj Mahal is an iconic piece of Islamic architecture, so yeah, LEGO does make builds that represent Islam, contrary to what was proclaimed."

So the universally recognized world heritage site, Taj Mahal. And I would also count the Fountain Garden as being inspired by Islamic culture. So that's two examples. Out of thousands of sets, out of thousands of years of history, two sets. And not a single minifigure included. That's the hill you want to die on?"

It's the hill you died on by proclaiming nonsense like "Lego would NEVER do ANYTHING representing Islam"

Surprisingly entertaining discussion here today. No mention of brick built crosses?

@GirlWoman said:
" @BelgianBricker said:
" @GirlWoman said:
" @BelgianBricker said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
" @BelgianBricker said:
" @GirlWoman said:
" @RUL said:
"And where is the mosque?"

Don't be ridiculous. Lego would never do anything representing Islam or Arabs outside of orientalist dreck like Prince of Persia and racist stereotypes in Indiana Jones."

Taj Mahal?"

That's a tomb, not a mosque... also, the Taj Mahal is considered a work of architectural art, like Notre Dame or the Pyramids of Giza."

The Taj Mahal is an iconic piece of Islamic architecture, so yeah, LEGO does make builds that represent Islam, contrary to what was proclaimed."

So the universally recognized world heritage site, Taj Mahal. And I would also count the Fountain Garden as being inspired by Islamic culture. So that's two examples. Out of thousands of sets, out of thousands of years of history, two sets. And not a single minifigure included. That's the hill you want to die on?"

It's the hill you died on by proclaiming nonsense like "Lego would NEVER do ANYTHING representing Islam""

But they wouldn't. They aren't. "

Because they did, and I showed you they did.
The Taj Mahal is one of the most amazing representations of Islamic culture. You can disagree, but then you are wrong.
So own that you were wrong when you said they "would NEVER do ANYTHING to represent Islam", instead of doubling down on your original claim.

"The train is running underneath the mountain where the castle is (which would also confirm this isn't Neuschwanstein), but I'm not sure if there's a castle in Germany that has a train running below."

These are not meant to be accurate scale models. Look at the London and Paris ones, they have the geography of the location all wrong. They have just put landmarks next to each other to fit them in like putting multiple pictures on a postcard. It is the same with the skyline sets, the geography is wrong but again it is not meant to accurately depict the city.

@BelgianBricker said:
" @GirlWoman said:
" @BelgianBricker said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
" @BelgianBricker said:
" @GirlWoman said:
" @RUL said:
"And where is the mosque?"

Don't be ridiculous. Lego would never do anything representing Islam or Arabs outside of orientalist dreck like Prince of Persia and racist stereotypes in Indiana Jones."

Taj Mahal?"

That's a tomb, not a mosque... also, the Taj Mahal is considered a work of architectural art, like Notre Dame or the Pyramids of Giza."

The Taj Mahal is an iconic piece of Islamic architecture, so yeah, LEGO does make builds that represent Islam, contrary to what was proclaimed."

So the universally recognized world heritage site, Taj Mahal. And I would also count the Fountain Garden as being inspired by Islamic culture. So that's two examples. Out of thousands of sets, out of thousands of years of history, two sets. And not a single minifigure included. That's the hill you want to die on?"

It's the hill you died on by proclaiming nonsense like "Lego would NEVER do ANYTHING representing Islam""

Strictly speaking, they won’t, and haven’t. There is a mosque on the Taj Mahal grounds, but it’s not included in any of the sets they’ve produced. The main structure of the Taj Mahal is a mausoleum. The architectural style draws from secular sources as much as it does from Islamic culture. And it can just as easily be classified as Middle Eastern, which sidesteps the whole religious aspect.

@GirlWoman:
The “brown thugs” from Temple of Doom were Thuggee cultists, and were never linked to Islam in the film. I don’t know if they tied to any real religion, but the whole ripping hearts out of chests thing is pretty out there.

@GirlWoman said:
" @BelgianBricker said:
" @GirlWoman said:
" @BelgianBricker said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
" @BelgianBricker said:
" @GirlWoman said:
" @RUL said:
"And where is the mosque?"

Don't be ridiculous. Lego would never do anything representing Islam or Arabs outside of orientalist dreck like Prince of Persia and racist stereotypes in Indiana Jones."

Taj Mahal?"

That's a tomb, not a mosque... also, the Taj Mahal is considered a work of architectural art, like Notre Dame or the Pyramids of Giza."

The Taj Mahal is an iconic piece of Islamic architecture, so yeah, LEGO does make builds that represent Islam, contrary to what was proclaimed."

So the universally recognized world heritage site, Taj Mahal. And I would also count the Fountain Garden as being inspired by Islamic culture. So that's two examples. Out of thousands of sets, out of thousands of years of history, two sets. And not a single minifigure included. That's the hill you want to die on?"

It's the hill you died on by proclaiming nonsense like "Lego would NEVER do ANYTHING representing Islam""

But they wouldn't. They aren't. Look at the amount of sets representing Chinese culture, as an example. We got a long-running theme based on Chinese/Japanese culture.

…

There are more Muslims in the world than Chinese people.

….

Muslims are part of our society and essential part of humanity's history, and they are essentially being ignored by Lego."

Are the world’s two billion Muslims buying much Lego, though? Because Lego started making sets for the Chinese audience when the one billion Chinese population started buying a lot of Lego.

Back when the UK and Germany were the biggest market, we got Deutsche Bahn branded trains, and fish and chip shops.

And when the US started buying more, we got Star Wars and all the American IPs.

Lego are a company aiming to make products for people who want to buy them.

@stefwaffles said:
"

@GirlWoman said:
" @BelgianBricker said:
" @GirlWoman said:
" @BelgianBricker said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
" @BelgianBricker said:
" @GirlWoman said:
" @RUL said:
"And where is the mosque?"

Don't be ridiculous. Lego would never do anything representing Islam or Arabs outside of orientalist dreck like Prince of Persia and racist stereotypes in Indiana Jones."

Taj Mahal?"

That's a tomb, not a mosque... also, the Taj Mahal is considered a work of architectural art, like Notre Dame or the Pyramids of Giza."

The Taj Mahal is an iconic piece of Islamic architecture, so yeah, LEGO does make builds that represent Islam, contrary to what was proclaimed."

So the universally recognized world heritage site, Taj Mahal. And I would also count the Fountain Garden as being inspired by Islamic culture. So that's two examples. Out of thousands of sets, out of thousands of years of history, two sets. And not a single minifigure included. That's the hill you want to die on?"

It's the hill you died on by proclaiming nonsense like "Lego would NEVER do ANYTHING representing Islam""

But they wouldn't. They aren't. Look at the amount of sets representing Chinese culture, as an example. We got a long-running theme based on Chinese/Japanese culture.

…

There are more Muslims in the world than Chinese people.

….

Muslims are part of our society and essential part of humanity's history, and they are essentially being ignored by Lego."

Are the world’s two billion Muslims buying much Lego, though? Because Lego started making sets for the Chinese audience when the one billion Chinese population started buying a lot of Lego.

Back when the UK and Germany were the biggest market, we got Deutsche Bahn branded trains, and fish and chip shops.

And when the US started buying more, we got Star Wars and all the American IPs.

Lego are a company aiming to make products for people who want to buy them. "

There are definitely Muslims in countries TLG deems important markets - including China and the US- and yes, they buy LEGO, too.

@GirlWoman said:
"7195 "

Generic probably-Egyptians. There’s nothing in Raiders that links them to Islam. Sallah, maybe, but not the Cairo goons.

@stefwaffles said:
"Are the world’s two billion Muslims buying much Lego, though? Because Lego started making sets for the Chinese audience when the one billion Chinese population started buying a lot of Lego."

Ah, you beat me to it! I meant to bring that up earlier, and forgot to. Yes, Denmark being in Europe, the earliest sets appealed to Europeans. Technically, it was the shift to IP like Star Wars that caused the US market to take off, and Monkie Kid was designed to appeal to the SEA market. In both cases, it was the sets that came first, but they were actively pursuing growth in China (I don’t know if they realized how big the SW license would be in the US). There’s a LEGOLAND park in Dubai, but Dubai is trying to build international tourist appeal, so how much of that is interest within the UAE vs trying to draw western tourists in, I couldn’t say.

But there’s another issue that popped into my mind. The other day, we saw an inflatable Ramadan decoration with a human head poking out of the top, and my dad mentioned something about not having graven images. In any highly orthodox Islamic nation, just the presence of minifigs may cause a problem. Going after China isn’t a big deal, but how do you open up a market that has religious strictures against one of the core elements of your product line?

@GirlWoman said:
" @PurpleDave said:
" @GirlWoman said:
" 7195 "

Generic probably-Egyptians. There’s nothing in Raiders that links them to Islam. Sallah, maybe, but not the Cairo goons.

@stefwaffles said:
"Are the world’s two billion Muslims buying much Lego, though? Because Lego started making sets for the Chinese audience when the one billion Chinese population started buying a lot of Lego."

Ah, you beat me to it! I meant to bring that up earlier, and forgot to. Yes, Denmark being in Europe, the earliest sets appealed to Europeans. Technically, it was the shift to IP like Star Wars that caused the US market to take off, and Monkie Kid was designed to appeal to the SEA market. In both cases, it was the sets that came first, but they were actively pursuing growth in China (I don’t know if they realized how big the SW license would be in the US). There’s a LEGOLAND park in Dubai, but Dubai is trying to build international tourist appeal, so how much of that is interest within the UAE vs trying to draw western tourists in, I couldn’t say.

But there’s another issue that popped into my mind. The other day, we saw an inflatable Ramadan decoration with a human head poking out of the top, and my dad mentioned something about not having graven images. In any highly orthodox Islamic nation, just the presence of minifigs may cause a problem. Going after China isn’t a big deal, but how do you open up a market that has religious strictures against one of the core elements of your product line?"

So many things to point out with this. First of all, there are European Muslims. This isn't about expanding to new regions. Danish kids from Muslim families also love Lego. Secondly, why is it assumed that those hypothetical sets would only appeal to Muslims? Is that true for Ninjago, Monkie Kid or the Viking sets? Are those only bought by Chinese, Japanese or Scandinavian people? Thirdly, it is quiet a take to claim, that Lego sets would be against religious scripture of Muslims. Why would a City set including a new head scarf mold or a CMF based on Muslim historical figures (like we got multiple figures for the history of Rome, Greece, Scandinavia, South America, and many more) or a original historical action-adventure theme situated in the Islamic Golden Age be offensive to anyone? Please be serious. Representation matters. If there would be more Muslim representation in things like Lego, maybe there wouldn't be such weird comments made under this article."

Eyactly. You can get away with a certain degree of stereotype (Pretzel Girl = German, Bowler = British etc.) without becoming offensive or racist as long as your depiction stays somewhat respectful to the source material. Just don't look down upon other cultures.

It certainly is a mixed bag of er... Rather a nice set, but apart from the Brandenburger Tor I don't recognise much, especially if Neuschwanstein isn't that. Didn't know about Munich. Ulm was my guess. The car is probably a Beetle, but could be a Porsche, or a BMW (because of the gigantic kidneys).

The prints are nice on this set imho.
Would have been welcome to add a Thüringer in as well. That's just a small part.

I’d quite like a hijab option for City minifigs.

@GirlWoman said:
"I don't feel like this represents my country very well. Is this how people see the country from the outside? All whimsical with castles and medieval buildings? And is Munich's town hall really in the top 3 of most recognizable locations/buildings in all of Germany to people? Personally, I first heard about it a year ago."

As an Australian I agree. The only recognisable element in my opinion is Brandenburg Gate.

I did note the classic Germanic building but its just a random.

At least you got something beyond a generic outback shack and dunny (toilet).

As for whats known for Germany, well they cant do Cologne cathedral (religion) or Oktoberfest.

Youd think theyd have made a more VW Beetle looking car or mercedes style car.

I feel like Germany internationally is more cultural than landmarks, like Beethoven, Bach, Goethe, beer, pretzels, lederhosen und dirndl (not sure spelling), oompa music, general industry or river cruises, (then World Wars, Weimar Republic, Cold War etc. Interesting lego included the Berlin Wall in the Berlin skyline given the connotations)