July saw the early VIP release of two sets which is quite unusual. The Creator Expert Aston Martin DB5 was officially released in fame and glory on July 18. Five days later, the highly anticipated LEGO Ideas Voltron set was released. Unfortunately, I feel this set has been overshadowed by other events involving LEGO such as Comic-Con and overhyped Aston Martin release. Was Naomie Harris really needed to unveil the grey car? It seems like LEGO got it wrong here. Their mission is to "inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow" with the purpose to "inspire and develop children to think creatively". Yes, the James Bond car is creative in its ways of executing building techniques, but zero points are awarded for originality. Voltron too isn't original, but at least it provides the possibilities for creativity. The fact that it's a mech creates various ways to display, play with and customise your Voltron, especially with the four lions being able to be featured as solo submodels (can you spot them?) of the main build.
LEGO should have looked to acknowledge this set better and improve its marketing. Coming from the Ideas theme, the Voltron set gained the vote of confidence by 10 000 fans which has since increased due to the idea being approved and available on shelves (I know this because I am one of these people). The LEGO Ideas base is where fans can have their say. The community was very happy with the decision to approve Voltron, especially those in Asia. It took a long time and some setbacks before showcasing the final model and the date was announced for its release. All the major fan bases for LEGO knew about this set arriving on the market soon. So why did LEGO change its focus to a monochrome car when they knew Voltron was on everyone's minds? This was supposed to be the special July release exhibiting the talent of a fan designer.
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