Petiton to reissue the Cafe Corner

[stephen_rockefeller]

I am not posting this to get people to sign it, I find it hilarious that this person thinks that the world would be a better place if LEGO reissued this set. You missed the boat man, accept it and move on! http://www.change.org/petitions/lego-reissue-the-cafe-corner-lego-kit

[Alcarin]

Yeah... guy wants it but obviously does not want it enough to pay 900$ so he does not deserve it really... when i want something bad enough id pay what it takes to get it...

[TheDarkness]

That ship has sailed. Download the instructions and piece it all together bit by bit if you want it cheaper

[Grolim]

So can us investors start a counter petition to say don't bring it back :-)

[jaisonline]

The petition sorta reminds me reprints in the comic book world. Drove me crazy in the late 1980s. I am still not a fan of the vintage castle reissues Lego did. Refreshes every 5 years are expected by now but a reissue? While we are at it, why not reissue the UCS MF and The Zombies. I would also like the Indy sets.

[Alcarin]

The petition sorta reminds me reprints in the comic book world. Drove me crazy in the late 1980s.

I am still not a fan of the vintage castle reissues Lego did. Refreshes every 5 years are expected by now but a reissue? While we are at it, why not reissue the UCS MF and The Zombies. I would also like the Indy sets.

yeah i am even against refreshes...

There is so much new to make there is no need to refresh anything apart from some general sets like Castle or Police Station/fire station etc...

everything else should be new and different...

Refreshes makes me think LEGO is lazy and greedy....

[CNH1974]

I do not understand his logic. He is saying that Cafe Corner stimulates a child's mind. So the newer modulars do not?? Also it would suggest Lego would have to make a set in perpetuity if it was popular - cough... Death Star... cough... But I agree with refreshes, it keeps things...well... fresh. You may not like the newer models, and I often don't, but it is personal taste. If they did not refresh, then set 381 would still be the current Police Station. And, yes, I was an annoyed 9 year old when they replaced it in 1983.

[stephen_rockefeller]

He is just being a skeezer......he missed the boat and doesn't want to pay SM prices. He is using kids as a poor excuse.

[Snowcrash]

Pay up ya cheapskate. It's not like you can't find the set at any price, there's plenty of them out there. They were also available at retail for over a year and at a very affordable price by Lego standards. Nobody to blame but yourself if you didn't buy one...

[tigereyes5811]

You know it's LEGO fault for not reissuing. They need to reissue everything...stimulates the child's mind! Bunch of b.s.

[chinothegeeko]

Thanks for sharing! Good laugh this morning.

[SirSydney]

I just looked. He has 183 signers.. Only needs 17 more. For what I don't know.

[stephen_rockefeller]

I was bored and looking through the petitions.......80% of them are ridiculous.

[Ed Mack]

There are so many different sets that could be built, yet people want remakes all the time? I say NO. How's them apples? There are hundreds of other options for a modular building, I want to see them, not another knockoff.

[Blackjack]

What's the fun if they remake it?

[spener90]

I wouldn't mind if they did another variation of it, or something similar. I bought the CC when it came out though, so it doesn't make me at all upset. I just wish I had bought 20 of them, it would have paid for college.

[Alcarin]

I wouldn't mind if they did another variation of it, or something similar. I bought the CC when it came out though, so it doesn't make me at all upset. I just wish I had bought 20 of them, it would have paid for college.

Or even better if LEGO made a million and they would not appreciate at all...

It doesnt go like that retroactive.... :P

[CNH1974]

Besides, if we have too many corners, we would be driving in circles.

[Guest ph4tb0i]

Heh, this topic seems to come up a lot. Well it was quashed by the High Almighty Jamie Berard (if you don't know who this guy is you don't deserve to be playing with Lego ):

http://www.bricksetforum.com/discussion/3836/petition-to-reissue-cafe-corner/p3

I normally don't chime in, but after reading three pages of discussion I can't help but comment on a few things.

First, thank you to everyone who has supported the modular line over the years. I'm psyched that we were just able to release our 7th building! Hopefully sales will continue to stay strong so we can continue to grow and evolve the concept.

In regards to re-releases, we have considered them many times over the past several years. We learned a lot from the LEGO Legends line. First and foremost is that fans' memories are extremely difficult to match with original products. Those sets which were exact re-releases, for some reason seemed smaller, less detailed or somehow not quite as grandiose as remembered. Compared with current sets, the price value also seemed to be lacking. Sets with substitution bricks were blasted as not being authentic enough and somehow not true to the original masterpiece. In the end, more fans spoke of wanting re-releases than those who actually purchased them.

Speaking of substitution elements, the Cafe Corner could not be re-released again today without a reasonable amount of reworking and substitution elements. Our bricks are constantly evolving and improving which can cause issues when trying to stay true to an original design. For example, we no longer have the molds for the doors which were used for both the corner and side door. Our substitution options for these doors would be 1 brick taller which would affect the look and build of the entire set. The wall elements used in the mid-floor now have extra support structures which look slightly different than the originals. Our 1x6x1 arches have changed as well as several other elements.

So far all of the modular buildings with the possible exception of Market Street have lived in the market for an average of 3 years. Cafe Corner was retired with the launch of the Grand Emporium. Considering that our standard retail range usually lasts 6 months to 2 years, I believe there has been a reasonable amount of time to purchase each of the modulars.

Unfortunately this does not help those of you who missed out on the Cafe Corner and now want to buy it. As a fellow fan, I too am struggling to balance bricklink and Ebay LEGO purchases with maintaining a mortgage and relationship

All I can recommend is to keep your eyes open for bargains (craigslist, yard sales and word of mouth through friends) and keep up the optimism. I'm not sure I'll ever get all the sets I've always wanted...but I'm not sure that's such a bad thing...

Also interesting is how Lego didn't really put much thought into Cafe Corner, and thought it wasn't going to do well:

In 2006, Jamie Berard got hired by LEGO. And after impressing everyone with some of his other designs, he took the idea of "modular town buildings" to the LEGO design board. He suggested the idea of detailed buildings with interiors that could be re-configured to make a city block, with various shops, apartments, and so forth.

"Oh, you mean a dollhouse? No, we've test marketed those. They don't work."

"No, it's not a dollhouse. It's like a city building that--"

"Nope, sorry."

But he built a scratch model just the same, to show them how what he was talking about really was NOT a dollhouse, and actually might have some market appeal. And only after seeing what he built did they agree that it COULD be worth making. They didn't really expect much, though.

And when it hit the market, nothing had prepared LEGO for the reaction, especially from AFOLs, who heralded the set as the dawning of a new age! And it sold well enough that LEGO essentially couldn't help but consider it a brand new series of sets that they'd continue forever after.

[Diabolos80]

Okay so this petition is a bit cheesy, sure. And I know this is an investment forum, too. But I got no problem with a Lego re-issue. I want a CC, but obviously I don't think it's worth 1200 bucks. My kids just brought me out of my dark ages last year, so I wasn't around when it was selling at retail. Plus, there wasn't a Lego store where I lived back then, so I wouldn't have ever seen it, anyway. So i didn't really miss the boat, more like I didn't even know there was a river. Same goes for the MF. I'd love to build one but it's way over my budget at 2500 bucks. I would welcome a re-release with open arms. By the way, you guys saying oooohh if you want it pay for it ohhhhh, you're not allowed to buy any 10240s.

[CNH1974]

Heh, this topic seems to come up a lot. Well it was quashed by the High Almighty Jamie Berard (if you don't know who this guy is you don't deserve to be playing with Lego ):

http://www.bricksetforum.com/discussion/3836/petition-to-reissue-cafe-corner/p3

Also interesting is how Lego didn't really put much thought into Cafe Corner, and thought it wasn't going to do well:

In 2006, Jamie Berard got hired by LEGO. And after impressing everyone with some of his other designs, he took the idea of "modular town buildings" to the LEGO design board. He suggested the idea of detailed buildings with interiors that could be re-configured to make a city block, with various shops, apartments, and so forth.

"Oh, you mean a dollhouse? No, we've test marketed those. They don't work."

"No, it's not a dollhouse. It's like a city building that--"

"Nope, sorry."

But he built a scratch model just the same, to show them how what he was talking about really was NOT a dollhouse, and actually might have some market appeal. And only after seeing what he built did they agree that it COULD be worth making. They didn't really expect much, though.

And when it hit the market, nothing had prepared LEGO for the reaction, especially from AFOLs, who heralded the set as the dawning of a new age! And it sold well enough that LEGO essentially couldn't help but consider it a brand new series of sets that they'd continue forever after.

Oh dear I don't deserve to play with Lego

But he does make some interesting points. As part of my buying bulk lots, building the sets and selling on, I have come across quite a few sets I had when I was a kid. And I have thought; I remember these being bigger and more detailed. It must have been my imagination at the time. And "I" was also smaller :)

[redeemed763]

I just accept that I missed out on those, there will be more modulars released down the road than I will likely every be able to afford or display.

[Alcarin]

Okay so this petition is a bit cheesy, sure. And I know this is an investment forum, too. But I got no problem with a Lego re-issue. I want a CC, but obviously I don't think it's worth 1200 bucks. My kids just brought me out of my dark ages last year, so I wasn't around when it was selling at retail. Plus, there wasn't a Lego store where I lived back then, so I wouldn't have ever seen it, anyway. So i didn't really miss the boat, more like I didn't even know there was a river. Same goes for the MF. I'd love to build one but it's way over my budget at 2500 bucks. I would welcome a re-release with open arms. By the way, you guys saying oooohh if you want it pay for it ohhhhh, you're not allowed to buy any 10240s.

Yes, I completely understand you, but now think how many people here would want sets from 1980s and 1990s ...

I myself would love to buy another Black knights Castle for retail to build...

Do i complain cos I cannot? or since it costs 1200 to buy 1 sealed?

No I consider its too expensive and not buy it and move on and buy something else...

If I would want it more than anything on Earth I would skip 1 year holidays at seaside and pay 1200 for it and get over with...

If theres a will theres a way they used to say it...

It only depends how much you value it...

[sadowsk1]

If people are really interested in it they should just consider posting it on cussoo and letting people vote on it. If there is enough support then I think that is a petition Lego would take more seriously.

[Diabolos80]

Let me clarify: I don't really take time out of my day to whine about Lego sets i missed. But I do think it sucks when someone says, "Gosh it would be cool if everyone who wanted that retired set could get one for its original price," and everyone here says "hahaha no!" Maybe it's because I'm a builder first and an investor second, or maybe I'm just soft. But I can sympathize with people who, like me, will never convince their wives that a MF is worth 2500. To put it bluntly, I don't care about the sanctity of your collection. If you love Lego then you want to share it with everyone, regardless of when they joined the party.