AFOLCON is in full swing

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While I am building 75137 Carbon Freezing Chamber in readiness for a review, Huw is at AFOLCON at the moment and has just sent me some photos and information from the event. Mark Stafford, a leading LEGO designer, hosted a presentation about the Nexo Knights theme which was particularly interesting apparently. Here is Huw to tell you about it...

"Nexo Knights is the latest 'big bang' LEGO theme, a term used to describe product ranges which receive the highest level of promotion like Legends of Chima and NINJAGO which have gone before. AFOLCON attendees were first shown a video explaining the Nexo Knights storyline which seems to run along the same lines as that of NINJAGO. It doesn't appeal to me but it will probably prove popular with children.

70315 Clay's Rumble Blade at AFOLCON

"We were also able to see some sketch models showing the development of some Nexo Knights sets. Unfortunately I was not able to photograph those but I did get to take a couple of shots of 70315 Clay's Rumble Blade which Mark worked on. The splitting function is very impressive in person and I have actually been tempted to purchase one or two of the smaller sets when they are released in January!"

Expect more updates from Huw and I as the weekend continues.

19 comments on this article

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By in Canada,

Wish I could've been there. Not only am I increasingly interested in Nexo Knights the more I learn about it, but Mark Stafford has designed sets from many of my favorite themes, and it would be an honor to get to meet him. :)

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By in United Kingdom,

No need to brag about 75137, Capn... :)

Clay's Rumble Blade looks pretty good, I didn't realise it split apart like that!

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By in Canada,

Ah, good, pics are working now.

Clay's Rumble Blade is definitely a creative shape. I love that the main "flyer" portion of the craft is sword-shaped, and that the part of the vehicle that remains when the flyer and bikes are removed sort of resembles an oversized ballista. The bikes are a bit chunky but overall I like them as well. And of course, I love the Squirebots! :)

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By in United States,

That's awesome, Mark's a great designer. For what it's worth, though, as someone who's not a child but is excited for this theme, it bothers me a lot that everyone keeps implying that it's only fit for children.

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By in United States,

Yep, it's another theme centered around several heroes, each with their own color designation....like Ninjago, Knights' Kingdom II, Bionicle, Hero Factory, Galaxy Squad.... Still want the parts, though :)

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By in Canada,

@Lego_Nerd98: Don't forget Elves! Arguably Exo-Force, too, though that theme wasn't as strict with its color coding as the others. The Exo-Force characters' hair colors stayed the same but their uniform and mech colors didn't. Even Alpha Team had this to an extent, though it was much subtler.

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By in United States,

@Aanchir Yep! There has been a lot of them. Rock Raiders too, come to think of it :)

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By in Puerto Rico,

Carboon Chamber? Could have gone with the Hoth landscape scene but it does have a lot of people wanting an Uggnaught.

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By in Netherlands,

This theme is awesome, and i'm pretty sure most AFOLs will like it, maybe it will just take a few months to get used to it. I know for sure lots of kids will like it. That 70315 looks superb!

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By in Germany,

I am so glad I do not like the theme at all. For once one that I do not have to buy any sets of. :)
And another male character-centered theme, how about an even distribution for once?

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By in Australia,

@Mechalex
The expected target audience ratio shouldn't / needn't have any bearing on the character ratio.

It assumes that boys only want to play with male characters, and girls only with female characters - which couldn't be further from the truth - my daughter loves Buzz LIghtwear, and my 2yr-old son takes his talking Jessie doll everywhere.

Whilst I think the Gender PC card gets played a little too often, I do think it's important that both boys and girls grow up having a balanced view of what roles each sex can play in life - be it in a fictional setting such as exo-nights, or 'role play' setting such as Friends.

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By in Czechia,

This is a very nice set design. The detachable flying part looks actually as a sword!

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By in United Kingdom,

Was the designer a M.A.S.K. fan? This reminds me of Buzzard that Miles Mayhem used (as well as Switchblade) in one of my favourite cartoons from the 80's. I'm still not sure if this theme is for me, but I will wait till I see the boxes and have a good look.

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By in Canada,

@Mickitat: I can agree that more female characters would be an improvement to Nexo Knights. Although, judging from some details that were accidentally put up on the website early and then removed, there will be at least three female villains, which is a much better track record than Ninjago has had with gender distribution.

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By in United States,

The variety of LEGO IP using colors and elements is not unique to TLG. Power Rangers, Voltron, Visionaries, and even GI Joe: Real American Heroes all got onto that train.

It helps align characters to a purpose / cause other than simply good guy / bad guy.

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By in United States,

I had said this in the forum before I even knew that the sword broke off the vehicle, they need a giant robot to wield it!

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By in United Kingdom,

^^ it also helps push merchandise

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By in United Kingdom,

I think the implication was that the animation was just for kids; not the sets themselves. It does seem pitched somewhere between Chima and the dialogue-free comedy shorts shown in Legoland parks - though that may just be these promotional shorts rather than the full animated series.

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