Lego is the most popular toy of all time

Hey, so my fav toy is also the most popular toy of all time!  🙂

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Retro Survey results are in

By peter jenkinson | August 13, 2010

According to the recent survey we did together with Firebox it is Lego® making it to top slot as most popular toy of all time. Our global survey of 3,000 people found 70% that 70% of you prefer retro toys to modern ones, and almost half of people still own toys from their childhood. Almost half of 20-40 year old’s surveyed – men and women alike – still own toys they had when they were young, whilst 20% have passed them on to friends or family – indicating that an impressive 70% of retro toys are still around today. Take a look on the Firebox Facebook page, they’re calling for Toy fanatics to join in the banter, for more info on this great big survey read on…

Top toys of all time

Top of the list from the males surveyed was Lego, Game Boy™, Transformers® and Action Man®. The females opted for Barbie® as top, with Lego, My Little Pony®, Game Boy and Sindy® following suit. Christian Robinson, Managing Director of Firebox.com says: “We are not surprised that Lego came top of our survey- it is timeless and popular with young and old, male and female alike. Our modern range of Lego licensed products is hugely popular – proving that the brand has evolved since the 1960’s into a global phenomenon.”

Retro vs. modern

78% of females and 63% of males surveyed prefer old fashioned toys to modern ones. The majority of those surveyed were aged 20-40. Christian says: “Now the kids of the 70’s and 80’s have reached an age where they are facing adult responsibilities. They are looking back to their childhood when life was simpler – powering nostalgic feelings and fond memories of the toy brands of their youth.”

Many survey participants emphasised a desire for the return of the original versions of retro toys – as opposed to cheaper, plastic, modern day editions that are available today.” Christian adds: “Retro toys have always sold incredibly well for us. We launched the Atari Classics and Namco Plug & Play TV Games in 2004 – iconic self-contained joysticks which let you play retro video games on your TV set – and sold close to 20,000.”

Retro toys requested to return

When asked what toy consumers would like to see make a comeback, the original Game Boy was the number one choice, with Thundercats® and Big Trak following suit. Die-hard fans of Big Trak will be delighted to hear that the iconic, programmable electric tank from the 1980’s is making a comeback in the form of Big Trak and Big Trak Junior – in the next few weeks. Christian says: “We have already taken hundreds of pre-orders for both Big Trak products and we expect them to be huge hits this Christmas. An exact replica of the original, Big Trak will appeal to those thousands of men who always wanted one when they were children – and is set to wow a new generation. Big Trak Junior is a cool desktop toy that’s perfect for office professionals as it will accommodate various forthcoming modern accessories including a webcam and foam rocket launcher.”

The ‘Toy Story’ effect

Action Man is the number one toy that consumers hypothetically say they would want to be – if they were a toy. Other popular toys in this category include heroic figures such as Barbie, Transformers, My Little Pony, Power Rangers®, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles® and He-man™. This list demonstrates the dramatic effect that various forms of popular culture – including television, film, books and comics – can  have on a toys’ success, often catapulting a brand to worldwide fame within day.

Loads of nice MOCs today

Must be a fruitful weekend for many AFOLs cos I saw loads of new stuff on Flickr and here are some that I like. 

Must be a record number of featured MOCs at one time here. Am so tired I shall ‘close shop’ for the night to rest…

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Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop by_Matn

“Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop is located in a side street off the main road in Hogsmeade. It’s a small tea shop owned by Madam Puddifoot favoured among Hogwarts couples, and was where Harry Potter and Cho Chang went to on Valentine’s Day in 1996.

After a hard day of work Madam Puddifoot is cleaning things a bit up. She has just put the milk bottles outside and is now cleaning the front of her little tea shop a bit. It’s getting dark outside and her cat wants to get in.

More pictures at: Brickshelf MOCpages Eurobricks“

Castello Rosso  by busboy489

This was built for the Classic-Castles 32×32 primary color challenge. It’s quite rare to see castles made in red so it really caught my eye.

Joe’s Mobile Dairy by gearcs

It amuses me somehow, thought Joe’s expression is really cute.

Gamble House by The Brick Scho

Looks like an asian version of the architecture series.

Midnight Dragon by ((Primus))

I’m not a technics person and I don’t think I could ever create stuff like this.

GHL 77-6 by nolnet

“Standard vehicle for the OPD (Orbital Parcel Delivery) department of GHL (Galactic Handling and Logistics). Loading it is always a hassle. Due to massively overcrowded engine compartments, useless or redundant scanning equipment and other misplanned gadgetry it’s almost impossible to load cargo into the GHL 77-6.

It has, however, comfy blue suede seats for the two man crew, complete with state-of-the-art dashboard thingamabobs, cup holder and a six-disc CD changer.

Built for GHL’s first contest.“

Spam with a nice chianti by davekaleta

This one really made me smile. Over in Singapore the equivalent of spam is ‘luncheon meat’, more specifically a certain brand from China that caused a mini-‘luncheon meat’ crisis a few years ago when they were banned for a while. Yeah, I love my luncheon meat with instant noodles, yum yum.

Un-named creation by Proudlove

This is a cute alien huh?

My modular Winter Toy Shop

This post is in response to a request from an EB member who wanted a closer look at the modular winter toy shop in the street pic I posted in my modular corner cinema entry (Link  to post).

Actually, haven’t found a purpose for it yet, so not a toy shop (since there will be a TRU in my town 😉 ) and the interiors are not done up too. But 1st some background…

1st Version – Winter Toy Emporium

This is my first modular MOC, or rather, the 2nd incarnation of it.

My first originally looked like this, and actually came complete with interiors, winter landscaping and little scenes that I found amusing (I especially liked the last pic below). I named it ‘Winter Toy Emporium’ and worked on it around October 2009, just after the Winter Toy Shop (10199) was available. 

This took 2 sets of Winter Toy Shops and 2 sets of Harry Potter Shrieking Shack (4756):

2nd version – Unnamed White Building

Somehow, I found  the building lacking and besides I really didn’t have space to keep it displayed.

So still using the parts from the 2 Winter Toy Shops (10199), I decided on a mostly white themed building that still retained the stuff I loved in 10199 – the distinctive roof and the red and white awnings.  I also kept the chimney and fireplace. It also comes with a 3rd floor living quarters for the shop owner, and an attic storage area.

I think you’ll agree the 2nd version is a lot girlier… not sure if by conscious or unconscious design but I do like it that way – hey, whatever I can do to make my town more comfy for ladies k? 😛

I thought of making it a lingerie store, but I really didn’t have enought princess leia or mermaid torsos to make that happen. So the possibilities now are either a clothing store (ladies of course!) or a nice cafe, y’know, the kind where gals love to get their dose of desserts?  But it’s not gonna happen unless I get a huge order of Bricklink parts…

You may have noticed that it looks kinda lopsided? It’s something I struggled with but couldn’t fix without taking away the part I like most about the 10199 -the roof.  So my ‘solution’ is to put it next to a shorter building, like my cinema or Marketstreet… some new street views:

Update on 16 Aug: Realised I forgot that the white building works as a double storey building too. So a few quick snaps today, and in black and white background just for variety. 🙂

Lego City MOC and techniques

Came across a couple of MOC in the past 2 days that taught me new stuff I think I could apply in my own Lego town.

First, a hotel room interior by NewRight that at first glance I thought was a real room. Hey, it was a thumbnail view on Flickr k? 😛

Next, I like the pipes in this vignette of waste collector by Ezechielle from EB (link here).

I also like the idea of using the T-junction road plates for other purposes as Bachus, also from EB, has shared (link here). He even did a step-by-step to show how it’s done, so nice!

[Side complaint: I really can’t stand how TLG insists on packing straight plates with others – evil ploy to make us buy more??].

New stocks at Toystation

Hogwarts and sheep game is in. Restocks of mmv, series 1 figs and architecture series. Special offer on the tie defender.

Blogged via iPhone 4 while eating at Island Creamery. 🙂

Do you need to buy the collectible minifig series 2?

Yeah, I thought so… and in case you thought you didn’t/wasn’t/will resist the temptation… then don’t look at the pic below.

More pics can be found in – 2×4 –‘s Flickr account.

Btw, I heard the series 2 figs (8684) will be available from 1st week of September. Apparently they are already in Singapore. Guess it’s also good that my wallet can recover from recent purchases. 😛

Hi-res pics of Winter Village Bakery 10216

I’m loving the new hi-res pics that Grogall from EB has shared. Click here.

I’ll update this post and embed the pics tonight.

Blogged via iPhone 4

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Update: – Pics updated and 360 degree view link here.  Enjoy!!!

Updated again: – Official press kit and box art courtesy of Grogall from EB (link here). Video also embedded.

10216 – Winter Village Bakery
Ages 12+
687 pieces
US $ 54.99 UK £ 49.99 DE €54.99 € CA $74.99

Return to yesteryear with this festive holiday scene!

It’s a winter wonderland in this snow-covered little town! A special-delivery evergreen, all ready for decorating,
arrives at the tree-seller’s stand by horse-drawn cart, while ice skaters frolic on the frozen pond with colorful lights
and a curious owl perched overhead. Just look out for the freshly-shoveled snow piles – one skater has already tumbled in head-first!
At the bakery nearby, the friendly baker prepares delicious holiday treats in his oven and rings up sales at the cash register.
Push the glowing LEGO Power Functions brick to fill the building with warm interior light! Includes 7 ½ minifigures, snow owl, horse and lots of winter accessories.

• Includes 7 ½ minifigures as well as a snow owl and horse!
• Features LEGO Power Functions light-up brick which lights the interior of the bakery when you push it!
• Includes lots of fun winter accessories like a dark blue minifigure hood with new fur print!
• Prepare holiday treats and ring up sales at the cash register!
• Skate on the frozen pond made of 8×8 transparent blue plates!
• Interesting elements include a camera, tan baguettes, croissants, green apple, 8×8 transparent blue plates,
medium blue tiles and even a new ‘caramel’ color for several brick and arch elements outside the bakery!
• Features an evergreen tree for decorating, tree seller’s stand and even a horse-drawn cart!
• Bakery measures 7″ (18 cm) wide!
• Completed model (depending on space allocated between the individual parts) measures 16″ (40 cm) wide, 12″ (30 cm) deep and 7″ (18 cm) high!