LEGO to release ‘Ben 10: Alien Force’ sets, due out spring 2010 [News]

According to Animation Magazine, Lego has brokered a deal with The Cartoon Network. According to a press release from LEGO, Ben 10: Alien Force LEGO sets are coming in 2010.

Now I admit that I’m out of the loop on this. I’m not an afficiando of the Cartoon Network. Is this a good thing or bad thing?

Thanks to Bruce of MicroBricks for the heads up. Also thanks to Ean for the press release link.

38 comments on “LEGO to release ‘Ben 10: Alien Force’ sets, due out spring 2010 [News]

  1. juanito banana

    i dont like this cartoon and is bad because lego have more job to do like
    lego rockband, harry potter, indiana jones 4 and thats bada i dont like and the sets will be bad

  2. Nannan

    I have no idea what Ben10 is, I hope we’re not getting somethng like Galidor again. At least the short-lived Avatar sets were good.

  3. Foamrider

    Wow. This is unexpected. I would honestly label the show as ‘mediocre’, if LEGO has to bring in more licenses, I’m *sure* there are better choices out there…

  4. Brickwares

    I wouldn’t underestimate the Ben 10 license. It’s a very popular show with Males in the 5-9 age group. It makes a lot of sense from a marketing standpoint. The reports also say that the sets will be in a new direction for Lego, (i.e. no-standard). Maybe they’ll be Bionicle-like? Or something else? Galador like?

    Some people are excited, as one of the Ben 10 “forms” is a creature with 4 arms, leading to speculation of a new torso piece. Too early to say, until we know more about how the sets will look.

  5. Jacob

    I think it will be a cross between Galidor, Avatar, and Agents. If nothing else, we’re going to get some very sweet alien figs.

  6. l0b0t

    This seems like a poorly thought out idea; there are plenty of other properties that would make better licensed sets. These licensed franchise sets are growing tiresome. IMHO Lego would do well to return to more generic building sets that require imagination and creativity. Also, what’s up with all the violence, conflict, & xenophobia in Lego sets of the past decade or so? One of the reasons my parents were so supportive of my childhood Lego obsession was that Lego of the 1970s had no good/evil, hero/villain dichotomy and was, rather, based around communal constructivism and imaginative cooperation. Whereas themes such as Space Police, Power Miners and others are more us v. them, yellow skin (human?) is normative and good while alien/mutation/deviation is evil/criminal. We are bombarded by that message enough in the modern media and Lego used to be a welcome, escapist respite.

  7. Daedalus

    I don’t understand the negativity that swirls when we’ve seen nothing yet. Brickwares is right; this is a marketing decision, and from the little info we have, seems to be a smart one. I know virtually nothing about Ben10 other than how much I’ve see the merchandise in the aisles. This is an opportunity for LEGO to create new revenue and attract younger fans, while cranking out new elements that we might end up loving.
    As far as the “us vs. them” mentality, I think the current themes provide a good balance. Some are obviously centered around conflict, but for the most part, that’s up to the individual. My nephew was having one of the rock monsters drive the power miner vehicles around, giving the miners rides. It’s got more to do with actual parenting and the child’s personality than the toys themselves.

  8. claytonjr

    The cartoon is very futile and common place. The good side is it’s full of creatively designed ships and aliens, and that side can be a good add-on to the LEGO science fiction collection. On the bad side, as l0b0t and others noted, is it’s full of the disseminated manichaeist vision of the universe, so widespread on the LEGO sets of today.
    Speaking of it, I still don’t understand why the humans were using the martians as a energy source in the Mars Mission sets…

  9. Graeme Allen

    Do not want!

    Seriously, Cartoon Network? Half the shows on there are pretty bad, if you ask me. The rest are worse.

  10. Kojubat

    My youngest son is in the aforementioned 5-9 age bracket, and loves the Ben 10 universe as much as building with LEGO. This announcement is going to make my ears hurt with his excitement.

    Alien Force is a little darker than the first go around (non-subtitled Ben 10), and I enjoy watching it with him. It has some pretty good acceptance themes – one of the main characters is a reformed villain, many of the ‘bad guys’ just have different motives without being necessarily evil, and the overall series enemy is a case of fighting /against/ xenophobia.

    I, for one, am pretty interested to see what this line brings to the table. The aliens are significantly more varied than most other science fiction shows, which should make for some interesting models. The only real issue is the oft-mentioned requirement for vehicles – besides Kevin’s car and Max’s RV, there aren’t very many iconic modes of transportation in the series.

  11. The Ranger of Awesomeness

    “The only real issue is the oft-mentioned requirement for vehicles – besides Kevin’s car and Max’s RV, there aren’t very many iconic modes of transportation in the series.”

    Which, sadly, leads me to believe it will be galidor-style. :( If tehy go that direction, that sucks. If they do something remotely system, I’ll be okay with that. And if they do a new type of properly scaled alien minifig, I’ll jump up and down. Whatever they do, it’s sure to sell. There’s plenty of a fanbase for the show, which I’m not fond of, but my little brother and all his friends love. Good for LEGO for getting the license, Ben10 is something I’d expect to see from MegaBloks. :P

  12. IanxIntrospect

    I agree with it being more of a megabloks type theme, but if they make Alien Force legos I’d be interested.

    there are no doubt going to be some interesting new pieces either way

  13. polywen

    AWESOME!!!! I’ve been trying to make a custom Ben 10 minifig anyways. The show is great. My kids love it, this is awesome!!! There’s alien spaceships, there’s the omnitrix, and alien bounty hunters, dimensional portals, so many cool things to make sets out of. For all you haters, hey… just don’t buy it!!!

  14. joemerchant

    Long time Ben 10 fan since I was 33. My daughter and I loved watching the original series (pre-Alien Force). I don’t see this set going for more than one or two years. I’m hoping it’s not the bionicle model style. Though as a new style, does that mean not mini-fig scale? Hmmm. It would be a great short run series for lego but I’m not sure how they’d do it.
    Vehicles:
    Max’s Van
    Kevin’s Car
    There was an episode with a Semi used by an alien
    Some type of alien spacecraft. There are a few, just depends on how prominent of a piece they decide to use.
    Locales:
    Warehouse
    Castle – remember the Knights?
    Food stand / restaurant where Ben fights Cash.
    Characters:
    Max
    Ben
    Gwen
    Kevin
    Cash
    Knights
    Aliens
    Ben 10 Aliens.

    So here’s my guess…1-2 characters per set. Each set includes a locale or vehicle. Limited run.

    Worse case scenario…Some funky scale. I’m wondering though, given the gadgets used, could we see some sort of technic meld with the standard mini-fig scale?

  15. CatJuggling

    Like Kojubat, my son will go nuts when he hears this. Likely a good financial move, license-wise. If it’s more standard, the RV and Kevin’s car will likely be on my personal list of “must haves.” Wouldn’t it be great if they got one of the Lugnuts guys to build the car? :p

  16. thwaak

    Since I buy not for sets, but for pieces…anything that gives me new pieces and/or new colors is just fine in my book.

    Also, from the article the exact quote about new elements is:

    “The toy line will feature never-before-seen LEGO elements and what the company calls “a new twist” on classic LEGO.”

    New twist? Interesting…

  17. Zepher

    Smart business choice. Maybe they won’t be the most appealing sets ever, but it could at least give us some interesting pieces, if handled properly. Even if it’s handled strangely, new interesting parts are everywhere.

  18. Creative Anarchy

    Not to snipe but if you don’t know much about a show you probably shouldn’t criticize it. The show is a them versus them theme that’s incredibly critical of racist notions. The main characters usually fight to end conflicts or persecution or because they foolishly make assumptions about creatures who are different than themselves. Of greater value to lego fans is that there is a lot of curved technology so ample room for cool new parts.

    I’m excited about the prospect of exotic minifig pieces and more pinks. Also Kevin’s car often mentioned is a powerminers-green Shevelle. If they do an even passable minifig scale model of it I can’t imagine anyone who would be upset with this line. I really hope they don’t do something weird scale-wise with this.

  19. Josh Post author

    @Creative Anarchy – “Not to snipe but if you don’t know much about a show you probably shouldn’t criticize it.

    Could you please mention who you intend your comment for? I have to assume that it was intended for either Nannan or myself, since we were the only ones who admitted to not knowing what ‘Ben 10’ is.

    I don’t think either of us criticized the show. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

  20. Aloha Monkey

    Bleach. Not a good decision. From what I have seen of this show the plot is cheesy and cliche and the animation is shoddy at best. I really can’t picture this mediocrity in LEGO, and don’t see it lasting more than a year or two.

  21. Yeow

    I have not seen the show. However, the problem I have about this license is that I really can’t see Lego releasing two space themes unless they are somehow different from each other. That, or Space Police is only getting one run… ;[

  22. Puddleglum

    ^Well, they’re already running Star Wars and Space Police in parallel, right? But I would be bummed if sales of Ben 10 sets happened to cannibalized Space Police III . . .

    As for whether or not it will be successful, who knows? If it is, hey, I’m all for anything that helps LEGO pay the bills. If it’s not, I’m sure they’ll drop it.

  23. polywen

    The only thing that could top this would be a Pokemon Lego set!! Brick built Pikachu! Sets come in round Pokeballs like the little creator sets.

  24. Ryan H.

    I could care less what licensed themes LEGO does; If we get new/good parts out of them, then does it matter? And if we don’t, then just don’t buy the sets. There’ll always be plenty other LEGO themes.

  25. Memsochet

    I doubt that Space Police 3 would get the boot to make room on the shelves for Ben 10. Ben 10 isn’t space themed at all. All but a few episodes take place on earth. Basically the aliens come to earth for Ben to fight. If any of the current lines were to get dropped it would more than likely be Agents.

  26. "Big Daddy" Nelson

    BEN 10! I’m not for licensed themes, but the aliens are mostly original (new parts) and with some luck we’ll get a red ‘Aloha Shirt’ minifig torso from Maxwell. ;)

  27. Chandler Parker

    Oh, no, they didn’t. Oh, dear God, no.

    After having my brain killed like a poisonous mushroom in the theater by a preview for this, I’m downright disturbed at this decision. Ah, well, it’s just another license similar to “Speed Racer,” if you will. Perhaps we’ll even get a few interesting parts.

    /optimistic

  28. Creative Anarchy

    @Josh – I didn’t name names because I wasn’t intending an attack. It seemed several posts were criticising a show unrelated to Ben 10.

    Even if folks have a negative impression of a theme it still means that there will be new pieces and new colors to work with. Something like Ben 10 won’t be a threat to similar themes unless it’s successful. Most likely it’s been on a back burner for a while and is going to fill the empty shelf space as Star Wars begins to slow down rather than supplant lines that have just recently launched. Really anything that’s good for lego is good for us. I think most of us agree that Galidor was bad for Lego, they seem to at least. But we’re riding the crest of a lot of excellent Lego products. A lot of fans say its a renaissance for the company. There’s no reason to assume Ben 10 will be a bad licenced line until we see models we dislike.

  29. KryptonHeidt

    Yaynewparts!

    Personally, I couldn’t care less about the show, but I can’t wait to see these sets, and the new pieces (and hopefully figs) that come with! :)

    -Krypton-

  30. polywen

    I just don’t understand the overly negative reactions of some. Remember how some people responded to Power Miners? Show of hands…

  31. Patrick Rennie

    Ben 10 is a superhero show – a science fiction based one, I admit, but so is Superman. So this license would go into the Spiderman/Batman slot or kids’ television slot. Both Star Wars and the proprietary space lines would seem to be safe.

    Like many kids’ shows, not all adult fans will enjoy it. However, Ben 10 has been so popular that it is currently on its second series. The fanbase is there for the license to profitable for LEGO for a least a couple years.

    Good news. Looking forward to what they come up with.

  32. gptee

    i didn’t even know this cartoon ever existed. this is for the kids, so i wouldn’t trash it just yet. let’s see what it looks like. :)

  33. Octopunk

    I haven’t been hooked into watching the show but I love the action figures. Since the creation of Spawn figures, the most prevalent action figure design has been hyper-detailed, dull-colored, overly-posed, and joyless. (The last one imo, of course.) There have been few counterexamples over the years, and Ben 10 is one of them (DC Animated Universe would be another). The toys’ design sensibility is to have fewer lines, but to make sure they’re in the right places. Like Playmobil, and LEGO.

    So I’m psyched. I hope they make more sets than they did for Avatar, and I really hope the “twist” doesn’t ruin it, and we all know it could (Galidor bad!).

    I also feel that TLG needs to keep making their own aliens, and that themes with conflict and big guns are good. Pyew! Pyew! Buboooooom!

    (Except for Mission to Mars. The blatant imperialism creeps me out.)

  34. snowleopard

    Well, I’m doomed. My boy lives on Ben10 and I WILL hear about it. For those that don’t think this will work for Lego, I suggest you actually go out and see what kids are playing with and watching. Ben10 will probably be a slam dunk. That said, keep the Galidor-esque parts in the ‘we-learned-our-lesson’ bin and everything should be ok.
    If Lego picks up Byakugan I may have to take extreme measures to limit my son’s exposure to LEGO.

  35. Berntsen

    Mehhhhh. I’m pretty tired of all the licensed themes, the only good thing that comes with them, in my opinion, are minifig heads / torsos / accessories and the occasional special part. I wish LEGO would just go back to their roots and make detailed sets with a lot of pieces that represents different sides of everyday life, like the old town/train sets.

    Oh well, times have changed…

  36. LegoFace42

    Ben 10 is an excellent license. Fits perfectly for the 4 year old to 8, 9 year old market. My son loves the show. The multitude of aliens and characters alone is worth it for unique and original minifigs. For sets, you’d have Max’s van, Kevin’s Car, Vilgaxx Starship, Dr. Animo’s lair, The Plumbers, The Omnitrix and on and on…tons of material to pull from.
    And it’s a great show ‘old school’ style. Solid storytelling…not convoluted and cluttered with nonsensical violence. It follows a strong plot through each episode with morality to boot. Great art and animation and strong continuity.
    And as for a ‘new twist’ on Lego. I suspect since Ben 10 has this alien ‘watch’ that’s attached to his hand, he can metamorph into various aliens using the DNA codes from the watch…lego will come up with a way to ‘transform’ Ben into these aliens somehow. Should be interesting to see.

    And like I said…there’s so many unique aliens, the minifigs would be collector’s items for sure.

  37. LegoFace42

    Another license Lego should seek, is the Marvel Comics Universe. Who wouldn’t love a large Galactus figure to build in scale with a Silver Surfer mini-fig?
    The Baxter Building, X-Men’s Blackbird plane, Asgaard alone would be worth it (with Rainbow Bridge of course).
    Even a Lord of the Rings series would be great. As well as a 50’s sci-fi series…one set for each movie like Forbidden Planet, Day the Earth Stood Still, etc and even a Universal Monsters movie series…Frankenstein, Dracula, etc.

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