The Lone Ranger 2013

[ExoBro94]

For some reason, that packaging turns me off from this set. I just don't like it! The font and color reminds me of Spongebob. But thats not and indication of its success at all. In fact, I honestly think that this theme (at least the larger sets) will do quite well. Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer are starring, so that alone will drive people to the movie. Also, the demographic of the movie and the demographic of the lego set matches up perfectly. These type of sets all come down to demographic match when investing for a short term. Longer term investments have different factors. I really think this theme will do well, especially since the sets were released before the movie.

[Snowcrash]

I personally have high hopes for the theme. That said, I also really liked Atlantis and Pharaoh's Quest, so what do I know.

[steelmelt]

The Stagecoach looks like a huge winner. I could see that being a $100 set plus a couple years after EOL

[Grolim]

I think the train is a definite winner. The Mine should do ok as well as it can be paired with the train. The others I have hopes they will do well as it is a western theme that Lego really needs. But doing ok to doing spectacularly will most likely depend on the movie success.

[Fcbarcelona101]

I saw all of them completely built and displayed yesterday at the LEGO store, and I really liked them. But other than the train, I think we will have to wait until the movie is released and see how popular they become.

[redeemed763]

I have pretty high hopes for the Colby City showdown myself, it reminds me of the old Gold City Junction and Sheriff's Lockup from when I was kid.

[sadowsk1]

There are alot of interesting factors surrounding this theme that have people really unsure as to what it will do in the secondary market. People have brought up some really good things to think about on here, such as the fact Lego hasn't done a Western theme in a long time, and the proven theory that the train sets always seem to do well in the secondary market. That being said, I still believe there's quite a bit at stake regarding how well the film does at the box office. Google the new Lone Ranger film and you'll see that this film had all kinds of issues and concerns during production. Things like this always spook shareholders/investors. If the movie tanks, it doesn't necessarily mean that the toy line is going to suffer, but the POP theme sure did. It could be risky to invest alot of capital into this theme...in my opinion this one is somewhat of a gamble still, at least until we know a little more.

I agree. I think the might do well in either instance, but a lot of it hinges on the popularity of the movie. I hope the movie is unpopular so the toy is deemed worthless and then I can scoop them up for my personal collection at a good price.

[Spartikis]

The train will do well, all trains do well. maybe the mine, as thats a pretty cool set, the rest will have a terrible ROI. It was the same for POTC, the pirate ships have been a great investment all of the other sets are terrible.

[stephen_rockefeller]

The train will do well, all trains do well. maybe the mine, as thats a pretty cool set, the rest will have a terrible ROI. It was the same for POTC, the pirate ships have been a great investment all of the other sets are terrible.

I personally would never claim to know for certain what will happen, but this seems like it could be accurate.

[Quacs]

For some reason, that packaging turns me off from this set. I just don't like it! The font and color reminds me of Spongebob. But thats not and indication of its success at all.

In fact, I honestly think that this theme (at least the larger sets) will do quite well. Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer are starring, so that alone will drive people to the movie. Also, the demographic of the movie and the demographic of the lego set matches up perfectly. These type of sets all come down to demographic match when investing for a short term. Longer term investments have different factors. I really think this theme will do well, especially since the sets were released before the movie.

I'm actually a little concerned about the movie rating. Target ages on the Lego sets are 7-14, and these targets usually skew a little old (my son is 5 and has already built Comanche Camp). Yet, the rating of the movie is PG-13, not PG, so some parents may not allow their kids to see the movie. If the movie was rated PG, I would say this is a slam dunk.

I'm actually a little concerned this movie could fall in between demographics. Typically, westerns are popular with young kids and older men. However, the younger kid demo shrinks significantly with the PG-13 rating and I'm a little concerned that's who DISNEY is catering this movie to, which could turn off older men. There's also a LOT of summer movies coming out from Pixar/Dreamworks that will be competing with this that will have broader appeal and a PG rating.

Even if the movie stinks, I think the exceptional sets will stand well on their own. The western theme will carry this line. The train will be a winner. The stagecoach is a phenomenally designed set and will be a run-away winner. The cavalry "battle pack" will be a good source of Civil War era union soldiers for MOCers. The others, Colby City/SIlver Mine/Comanche Camp will be the true question marks in the line and could go either way. My major concern is with Silver Mine Shootout since it falls in the "$60-$80 base" category that really tanked the POTC line. Whitecap Bay, London Escape have been total duds on the secondary market. Will its integration with the train be enough to save it?

[Quacs]

I personally would never claim to know for certain what will happen, but this seems like it could be accurate.

Unfortunately, this is factually incorrect. Look at the smaller sets of the POTC line. They have actually performed well. As I mentioned in my previous post, the stinkers have been the medium to large base sets. I see success at the small set and large set ends of the POTC theme (although I guess it depends on how you define success). I bet LR follows suit.

[Huskers1236]

I'm actually a little concerned about the movie rating. Target ages on the Lego sets are 7-14, and these targets usually skew a little old (my son is 5 and has already built Comanche Camp). Yet, the rating of the movie is PG-13, not PG, so some parents may not allow their kids to see the movie. If the movie was rated PG, I would say this is a slam dunk.

I'm actually a little concerned this movie could fall in between demographics. Typically, westerns are popular with young kids and older men. However, the younger kid demo shrinks significantly with the PG-13 rating and I'm a little concerned that's who DISNEY is catering this movie to, which could turn off older men. There's also a LOT of summer movies coming out from Pixar/Dreamworks that will be competing with this that will have broader appeal and a PG rating.

Even if the movie stinks, I think the exceptional sets will stand well on their own. The western theme will carry this line. The train will be a winner. The stagecoach is a phenomenally designed set and will be a run-away winner. The cavalry "battle pack" will be a good source of Civil War era union soldiers for MOCers. The others, Colby City/SIlver Mine/Comanche Camp will be the true question marks in the line and could go either way. My major concern is with Silver Mine Shootout since it falls in the "$60-$80 base" category that really tanked the POTC line. Whitecap Bay, London Escape have been total duds on the secondary market. Will its integration with the train be enough to save it?

I wouldn't worry about the rating. Half the Harry Potter movies were PG-13. Lord of the Rings was PG-13. Pirates of the Caribbean was as well if I remember correctly. HP has been a huge success, all signs point toward LotR doing the same and PotC didn't completely flop, though it wasn't a huge success either.

[kerrmando]

I actually think the Comanche Builder set could be a huge success. Look at past sealed indian sets. Everyone wants their Native Americans (to use to correct term).

[Quacs]

I'm actually a little concerned about the movie rating. Target ages on the Lego sets are 7-14, and these targets usually skew a little old (my son is 5 and has already built Comanche Camp). Yet, the rating of the movie is PG-13, not PG, so some parents may not allow their kids to see the movie. If the movie was rated PG, I would say this is a slam dunk.

I'm actually a little concerned this movie could fall in between demographics. Typically, westerns are popular with young kids and older men. However, the younger kid demo shrinks significantly with the PG-13 rating and I'm a little concerned that's who DISNEY is catering this movie to, which could turn off older men. There's also a LOT of summer movies coming out from Pixar/Dreamworks that will be competing with this that will have broader appeal and a PG rating.

Even if the movie stinks, I think the exceptional sets will stand well on their own. The western theme will carry this line. The train will be a winner. The stagecoach is a phenomenally designed set and will be a run-away winner. The cavalry "battle pack" will be a good source of Civil War era union soldiers for MOCers. The others, Colby City/SIlver Mine/Comanche Camp will be the true question marks in the line and could go either way. My major concern is with Silver Mine Shootout since it falls in the "$60-$80 base" category that really tanked the POTC line. Whitecap Bay, London Escape have been total duds on the secondary market. Will its integration with the train be enough to save it?

I wouldn't worry about the rating. Half the Harry Potter movies were PG-13. Lord of the Rings was PG-13. Pirates of the Caribbean was as well if I remember correctly. HP has been a huge success, all signs point toward LotR doing the same and PotC didn't completely flop, though it wasn't a huge success either.

I hear you on HP, but the first three movies were all PG. Hook the kids early in PG and follow them with more mature films later. That's not the case with Lone Ranger - the only movie in production right now is PG-13. Also, HP had a tremendous following from pre-teens before the movies were released, while LR is relatively unknown among kids.

LOTR is a different animal than LR. Target demo for LOTR movies weren't kids aged 6-12, they were targeted to teens and adults. Same with Hobbit.

Younger kids and older men enjoy cowboys and Native American movies. The summer movie line up includes Epic, Monsters University, Despicable Me 2 and Turbo on the PG side, and Man of Steel and IronMan 3 in the Super Hero/PG-13 genre. That's a lot of competition for the entertainment dollar, especially for a movie that is a reboot of an ancient franchise that hasn't been relevant in 40 years.

Look, I freely admit I could be wrong about Lone Ranger and frankly I hope I am. I just see a lot of hurdles for this flick to overcome to have meaningful effect on the theme's Lego sales. Like I said before, I am bullish on most of this line.

[TheOrcKing]

Well I just saw all six of The Lone Ranger sets at Target and they're pretty sweet in my opinion. I can kind of see where the color of the box is similiar to those Spongebob packages but I really do not see that at all when I look upon these in person. They caught my eye very nicely to the point where I really wanted to walk out of the store with them all right then and there!

I have a really good feeling for these sets but of course am pondering cautiously how good the source film will be in the end since that will/could have a major impact. Heck, the recent Iron Man 3 sets are cool themselves but the film wasn't and that is probably the reason behind them not moving off shelves too well. Either that or everyone is buying all the Superman "Man of Steel" sets; thoses babies are gone!

[forestgirl27]

 

I did not know there was a movie coming out. I was in Target, took one look at the stagecoach set, fell in love with the red-headed woman and the rest of the stagecoach set and bought it. It was only after I got the set home and was google-ing the Lone Ranger to show clips of the old series to my nephew that I discovered the exact match between the set and the new Disney movie.

 

I think this theme may stand on its own, whether the movie succeeds or fails.

 

 

 

[JoshTX]

Spongebob Squarepants....The Lone Ranger....The Lone Squarepants....SpongeRanger....

[stephen_rockefeller]

Most themes have something that drives it. Whatever that something is can drives the themes success or drive it into the ground. So I think this themes performance WILL rely on the movie ratings.

[forestgirl27]

Well, maybe the theme will be iffy as a whole, but the stagecoach with the red-head is quite appealing. Maybe not to the guys, but as a female it is great to see that red-head in her outfit and hat from that time in history. Maybe it's a girly thing.

[akohns]

This theme will be a winner. Primarily because Lego hasn't done a true Western them in almost 15 years compared to space themes that continue to bomb because they is a new one every two years and Star Wars is just way cooler.

This theme has a lot to offer even if the movie doesn't do that well.

 

I have to agree though, the boxes are ugly!

[kerrmando]

I think the theme will be an investment winner, especially bc we are sure to be able to find them on some sweet mark downs, and then ride them out until they increase a lot!

[stephen_rockefeller]

I thought the stagecoach was a head turner as well. Here is the thing, if the film bombs, no kids are gonna want the sets. Those same kids coming out of their dark ages are still not going to want the sets as adults. I think a lot of what drives the secondary market is AFOLs just coming out it their dark ages. So saying that the theme will do great regardless of the movies performance might be a bit misguided IMO.

[Sauromosis]

There seemed to be quite a lot of activity around the Lone Ranger sets at the Lego Store Grand Opening in St. Louis last weekend. I was planning to get a stage coach but already gone when I went looking on Sunday. I saw several people buying the train also but it was not sold out.

 

Did you get the store building giveaway?  We had a birthday party and I couldn't be there for the Grand Opening.  The store was a little smaller than I expected.

 

Regarding Lone Ranger, ditch everything but the train.  The train is special.

[TheOrcKing]

The Lone Squarepants.....

 Wait, wasn't there an episode of Spongebob set in the ol' west of Bikini Bottom?

[MikroMan]

I think the Lone Ranger theme will be selling regardless of the movie's success. As others have said, LEGO hasn't had a western theme in a long time, plus some sets really look awesome. I hadn't know about the film when I was buying the Stagecoach set, I picked it up just because I thought it looked cool and I only had one western set.