LEGO Ideas review results

oh dear

Typical political correctness ploy... sigh. At least we might get some neat torso prints from it to use in MOCs.

what a shame the construction site should have passed.

Super disappointing

Awesome! Another set with females that LEGO will probably produce 5 of and sell out in a 5 hours like the last one.

Honestly LEGO Ideas is a massive joke.

A big disappointment for me :(

"Typical political correctness ploy... sigh."

I think its worse than political correctness, it sexist!

Hand picking people for recognition based solely on their gender?

Was hoping for Eagle-V, but I'll just have to make it myself. At least they are still considering Voltron. Seems like they want to do Voltron, but probably need more time to negotiate the licensing.

Really? Far too similar to research institute!

I'm excited about adding some quality female diversity to my Minifigs. Fingers crossed on Voltron, and like so many others, I am sad that the construction site will not be.

A lot of people being very negative today! I rather like it, and it should go very nicely with the Saturn V when that is released.

I think they missed an opportunity here, Lego should have gone with two sets that compliment each other; the women of NASA and the observatory.

I'm very happy with this result.

I'm utterly flabbergasted that anyone would call this a politically correct choice and even more floored someone would choose to call it sexist. Honestly, it's 2017. How many more tractors, trains, cars and dump trucks do we need? It's ok to spread things out a little.

Personally, I would have liked the Addams Family house, but this a fine choice

Was hoping for the construction site but didn't really believe it would get through... Congrats to the winner (but not really interested)

It's not the most interesting set but it will definitely get the company some really positive publicity. If it led to Lego releasing a number of sets for the different minifig versions of NASA crews and scientists with micro versions of rockets/modules/landers/control rooms etc, that would be interesting.

Wow...some of these comments...

I'm not excited about the selection but it is a worthy choice. My only disappointment was the lack of update on the Saturn rocket model. Looking forward Golf GTI to the next round, although probably a long shot.

LEGO should honestly just bring back the NASA theme. Rerelease the Mars rover and the first female scientist set because they sold out in 3 hours to 2 days and never made more. Then release the Saturn 5 set, this set and the observatory.

I guess I'll have to make my own spaceballs stuff

Another missed opportunity

Oh come on! I was really rooting for Voltron! Still being considered.. What does that mean in terms of odds of actually making it into a set?

Very weak turn out this year. Construction site is that only set that peaked my interest.

I just wish LEGO would start releasing more approved Ideas sets. They were approved for a reason.

I agree with magpie9 in terms of synergy of theme that can be offered at different price points were the Women of NASA and Observatory both offered. That said, the bulk of Ideas portfolio is geared around lower price points than to have two large "modulars" in the product mix simultaneously. While I possibly will buy the Old Fishing Store, I would definitely skip it in favor of Mountain View Observatory.

I'm floored that TheKnitKnight is floored by a sexist comment then goes on to make a sexist comment.
Are you saying that tractors, trains, cars and dump trucks are for the boys?

Personally, I was rooting for the Obsevatory.

Interesting result, not one of my favorites but still not a bad choose. Well, it was much more likely than yet another insistence of a SW or Modular idea.

Interesting that the minifigures in the Women of NASA set use the Simpsons' skin colour palette, i.e. yellow to dark brown. I have seen that in LEGO promotional material, too. I wonder if this is an inkling of a future policy for all of LEGO, i.e. no more Caucasian fleshies.

Not political correctness? And what if this would be Men of NASA project?

My guess is they'd like to make the Voltron set, but are having trouble working out a licensing agreement.

Regarding the winner, I'll probably get berated for this, but I sort of feel like they didn't have a choice but to approve it. If they hadn't, the negative feedback would have been overwhelming. My personal opinion is the set is too close to the Research Institute one and therefore should not have been approved, but due to the bad press they would have received I understand why Lego approved it.

This is absolutely terrible

Can't say I'm overly excited about this set. Not much of a build from what I recall. I guess its more for those into space and history. Will wait to see the final set to make a decision on purchasing it.

I strongly suspected this result was going to be either the observatory and NASA, I figured the observatory since we already had and Ideas set of women scientists.

The next round doesn't look any better. It's nice to see peoples MOC of Lego themes, IPs and uber large sets but it has become tiresome and known that they aren't going to happen.

My favourite to Ideas sets are Birds and the Maze....originality counts.

While I dont really have any interest in the Women of NASA set I'm happy for those that are looking forward to it. For me, I was hoping the Addams Family House would make but didnt really expect it too since it seems pretty large (size and part count). I am happy though that Voltron is still in the running.

A bit disappointed, while the set is okay, why no Challenger or Columbia crew?

Wow, huh, okay.. I mean its cool I guess but an actual unique new set would have been cooler and better

@TheBernician - I apologize if that's how my comment was interpreted. My intention was that on most sites I see (MOC Pages, etc.) the most favorited and voted on items tend to be machinery, cars, etc. I understand it's a popular subject, just not everyone's main interest. I'm happy t see other things included.

Research Institute sold well. This will sell well too because it's space. It might not be the most interesting of sets but people need to relax. To claim this is sexist or political correctness is ludicrous. This is what equality looks like, people.

The fact females were so unrepresented in LEGO was the problem. Now that that whole sets are coming out with only women, people are getting upset? So you're fine when it's an all male set but ANOTHER all women set? That's two now! Well, that's just outrageous! Next they'll be wanting the vote and a licence to drive cars!

"The Research Institute sold out too quickly and they should have made way more!"

"This is too similar to the Research Institute so they shouldn't have picked it!"

Choose one guys, can't be both.

This set makes even more sense for Lego to produce in light of the huge stateside success of "Hidden Figures" since it includes Katherine Johnson, the main character of that movie.

I agree that Lego should definitely consider bringing back a proper NASA theme. It's pretty clear at this point that there's large and sustained interest since this is the THIRD Ideas set based on NASA's history. They could try running it as a more upscale collector-focused line like Architecture this time.

Meh.. was hoping for the observatory. At least there's Saturn 5 and the fishing store to look forward to.

This was a great 'idea' the first time with the Research Institute, now it's just pandering. And once again, you will see an onslaught of 'women of .....' sets on the Ideas site.

Next period looks really promising, on the other hand!

Political correctness my foot! There's one crucial factor that people often leave out when complaining about political correctness.
If someone wants to control what *you* say (because of political correctness or for any other reason), I understand why it would upset you.
If someone else says or does something that happens to be "politically correct," that's entirely in their rights!
In this case, LEGO made their own decision about what set to release. If you want to call it sexist, fine. Complaining about it as "political correctness" doesn't make sense. It's like saying "You're trying to be a nice person! Stop it!"

Regarding the Votron I think someone called it on the other article, they're probably seeing if they can get the video game licence and get it in to Lego dimensions like Adventure time.

I was hoping for the Addams family but thought is was too big to be considered, please for the Women of NASA set. Not really my bag but nice to have something which isn't just another vehicle

Another box of minifigures. Lame

another ideas set to pass on. not interested and disappointed in the results.
however, the next batch of products is a tough one (iron giant, ship boathouse, ford GT, Lego store etc).

Nooooooo! I was expecting the Little house on the praire would become a set. Not into Voltron, so this is a huge disappointment ):

Ugh. None of the best ideas passed. Another disappointing Ideas review. Seriously, they have made plenty of things like this (research institute etc), why not switch it up. Merchant's House, Modular Construction Site, or the Lamborghini were the ones I would have liked to see.

Well since the Brickset comments seem upset I called their decision a "political correctness ploy," I feel it is worth explaining my dissatisfaction with their decision. Was it smart for it to include Katherine Johnson who was depicted in a film recently? Yes. Do these women deserve to be recognized? Yes. But so does John Glen, Warner VanBraun, etc. Furthermore as an American I love NASA, but... let's be honest that the U.S.S.R made an equal contribution to space exploration which Lego deserves to recognize (the U.S.S.R. historically sending women to space first). That is why I called it "politically correct," because it stoops to the modern social political trends to earn Lego "public brownie points." 

Just as I think an all male Lego set (like what we saw often in the 90's) was a mistake; I also think an all female set falls into the same error. You can't call one an error while calling the other flawless. If we really want to celebrate space exploration, let's celebrate all of it; and stop trying to draw lines along gender, race, and ethnicity for the politics we want to promote. STEM fields need to be promoted among both boys and girls, not just one or the other. Remember, in the modern US at least; more women are getting degrees then men now in school, suggesting that a method is needed to promote both genders to go to school, not just one or the other.

It's also a lame minifig pack disguised as a set, so it has that against it too.

Pretty lame results this time around imo, but not too surprising. This result is at least better than nothing making the cut at all.

I'm not a huge fan of this set, but that's only because it's small vignettes, and I prefer bigger models. It's neat though. I agree with what others have said, it would be cool if this coincided with more Space/NASA sets. I've loved the NASA sets they've made in the past, and bricklinked my own Lunar Module even. So I might pick this up at the end of the day.

Honestly, I'd like it if they just made little vignettes or minifigures of some of the astronauts from the beginnings of NASA and the days of the moon missions.

@ xboxtravis7992
My thoughts exactly.

Really disappointed with this. Feel it's similar to, but not as good as, the Research Institute. It's really just a collection of minifigures.

Personally, I wanted the Addams Family house to succeed. With the right release date, that would have sold really well ahead of Halloween.

Couldn't we have had the best of both worlds and had an observatory WITH some NASA women in there?

I love Lego Ideas- it's given us awesome and unique sets like the EXO suit, Wall-e, the soon-to-come old fishing store, etc. that all have great builds and interesting techniques used, which always makes it surprising and disappointing when sets like this get picked. I have no problem with "women of NASA"-I certainly don't find it sexist, but it ought to be in the context of a true Lego model. It seems silly that people who poured work into complex and creative mocs can get beat out by people who just put minifigures on a baseplate and post it on facebook pages like "I $@* love science" to get 10,000 votes.

I hope that doesn't sound rude to its creator, it just seems like it sells the other creators short.

Eh. Once again, I understand that women in science don't get enough credit but I feel like making 2-3 sole sets on it just makes it rehashed and, well, politically charged. I would've much preferred the Construction module or Hadron Collider. Voltron looks decent, but if it gets by it WILL be severely chopped down.

@ xboxtravis7992

Thanks for elaborating. I can't argue with anything you said.
I just get irked by the logical fallacy of people who jump from "I don't want you to decide what *I* say" to "I don't want you to decide what *you* say." I can see now that you weren't doing that.

Disappointing result, but hey - at least I'll save some money!

I only want VOLTRON!!!

Really hoping Red Dwarf gets through next time, they already have the Doctor Who license from the BBC, so licensing for this shouldn't be an issue.

Just a reminder, this set skyrocketed to 10K in something like 2 weeks. That means there is really big set of interested peoples outside AFOLs (the AFOL targeted sets took like few months to year to get there) That means lot of possible customers outside of usual LEGO crowd (even if they have lower conversion ratio ).

Also worth noting is that 2016 movie "Hidden Figures" which is about NASA women. Considering it is a "plain" historical drama it ended up 18th in box office overtaken only by animated movies and blockbusters (many of them already having LEGO themes) !

While the set will not be definitive pick for me. I'm not selfish and I'll gladly have other peoples have their LEGO interests fulfilled.

In the meantime, I'll hope for a giant Voltron mech ... :D

@cjedwards
Actually political correctness is a way of deciding what other people say - by creating specific climate of opinions etc.

Super excited about this. Honestly didn't think any of the sets would be chosen.

Adams Family set would have been awesome! I hope the Bus from AoS gets picked! That set is spectacular! Congratulations to all creators though, all of the sets are really nice!

We need the Voltron set!!

As a fan of space and NASA I'm happy for this set. It also makes sense considering the success of the Woman in Science Ideas set and the recent movie, Hidden Figures.

I was hoping that they would also announce the finished model of the Saturn V Ideas set!

Want to get this, but would have preferred the lambo

As someone who is working towards an Observatory job, that would have been Epic! Don't they usually release 2 sets from each stage?

@parsom
I understand what you're getting at, but I'm talking about the situation where a person decides for themself to say something that is "politically correct" and people attack them for doing so.

women of NASA might be neat, but there isn't any play value. I thought that was the point of LEGO. That is what helped sell the Research Institute. This is just a display of notable women. I'll gladly buy it for more variety/diversity in my people population, but I'd like to see some play value here for my daughter to get interested. She loves female figures, but this might be a hard sell. It will depend on price for sure.

xbottravis - well said - I completely agree.

If this was extended into a series of men/women from space from different nations and periods, that would have been better. Maybe some space monkeys and dogs too from test programs; actually that would be pretty cool.

Saying all of this, at least the first minifig looks like a female business type NOT wearing a pant suit, so that's actually pretty useful.

I predicted right!

As a female scientist, I personally find groupings like "Women in science" pretty patronizing. It's like there are (real) "scientists" and "women scientists" (wow, who knew!), and they are for some reason separate groups. I do understand the need to encourage young females to enter STEM fields, but ghettoizing "women in space," etc. hardly seems like the right approach to me. More useful would be to make a "Heroes of NASA" set, and have 50% female minifigs and 50% male (proportionate to the gender distribution of the population at large).

Also I think the builds on this set look pretty boring, lol. Overall a disappointing choice in my opinion.

I love NASA and all that (can't wait for the Saturn V), but isn't this now the third or fourth Ideas set based on space? And the second Ideas set featuring female scientists? Seems a bit overkill to me, but I'm sure there are still many people who will enjoy it.

Four poor vignettes with 5 minifigs - seriously this is the winner? Why? What is cool about it?

I'm all for spotlighting women in fields such as these which are often male dominated, but this is pure political correctness once again. This is a missed opportunity to create something unique. This is far too similar to Research Institute and too closely related to the recent movie Hidden Figures. SinKiller Nick and I are channeling the same thoughts here. Rather than choose no set, they're going with this one since it'll be easy to manufacture and sell without many licensing issues. Major missed opportunity here Lego.

Wow!!! Well I guess I know how to win and get my ideas selected???? Hmmmmm let me construct 5 U.s president minifigs, throw them on magnets! I can't lose!!! But seriously this is a shame only for the fact that with all those beautiful sets they chose the most simple little set....

Signal that virtue, TLG!

Friends has had a number of well-done science sets for the gals...

Can anyone think of a "male" science set they put out, actually?

I mean, we would have to reach for things like the Alien Conquest and Agents "labs" that exist only so heavily armed vehicles can have interiors and/or targets.

This is disappointing news.

I'm disappointed for sure. Little House On the Prairie should have been the one! And they already made the Female Scientist set, do we really need another, and by the same platform when there was much more (and better) options? LEGO, if really want to make so many sets like that (which you must), just make a separate theme please! *sigh*

^ninjagoyo, someone tried submitting a male project and it was deleted. He got banned for a while too. So there goes that idea. :P

In LEGO's defense, if the Idea had been "Unsung heroes of space travel" and had included a more diverse group of people, I bet they still would have approved it.

Vladimir Komarov needs more love.

This stinks. I would have loved quite a few of those others. I wish the creators would follow up with plans to sell on their own.

Their site just went down.

aww man, I like their choice, but I really wanted the Little House set...

Apparently, some seem to think that each and every Ideas set that personally appeals to them should be produced and all others are garbage.

Ugh I wanted the Lamborghini or the Construction Site or even the Addams Family house but not the women of NASA its a rip-off

Buuuuh!!!

I'm very disappointed with this result.
I would have preferred an actual Lego set such as the Landspeeder or the Modular Construction site to another minifigure pack (I'm looking at you Research Institute).
I'm really getting tired of Lego trying to be so PC...

Will be interested to see the final product, somehow I doubt it'll be much like the proposol apart from the main idea behind it. Kind off disappointing this makes it through (purely based on the proposal) and the beautiful National Park Service Centennial Vignettes didn't. (for which there could be plenty of reasons other then LEGO not wanting to make it a set, I know)

Well, the reaction to this is depressingly predictable. I think it's a nice idea. If you don't, that's fine too.

If it offends you on a personal level, maybe you should sit down, pour yourself a drink and have a nice long think about why that might be the case, and whether it's a healthy attitude to have in the 21st century.

Of the 12 options, this is the last one I would have picked. No disrespect to the ladies but 5 more minifigs is the LAST thing we need.

Its a disappointing win and they ought to just spin off a science subtheme given how many wins science has in ideas. But if any of the whiners hadn't noticed there have been many many sets not just the two packs of female minifigs, we've had satellites and mars rovers and subs, and a bit of sci-fi too. Getting upset specifically about it being a pack of women's minifigs tells us all we need to know about you.

Good to get a set that is probably aimed as much outside of AFOL as inside, sort of like the bubbleheads.

But can't help but wonder if/when Lenin will pick some more ideas to bring out like the wave of alternate modulars. Shame Lego can't have a d2c online only subsidiary to sell small batches of "almost"

Ugh... c'mon LEGO! Little House on the Prairie was perhaps my only real shot to get the soon-to-be-wife on board with my AFOL ways! You've officially relegated me to a life of rolled eyes and long sighs when a bright yellow bag comes through our front door!

But for real, I'm not overly impressed with this selection - not for its subject matter but for the fact that its just not that interesting of a build. Vignette scenes with a few figs are great for the seasonal "impulse purchases", but are underwhelming for an official IDEAS set.

Women of NASA seems ok and I'll probably pick it up depending on how unique the minifigures turn out to be. This set seems like a relatively low risk set to produce because it will likely hit a low price point and LEGO has already seen how a set like this, ie: Research Institute, does in the market. It's a little surprising this set was chosen because the history of NASA is American focused, so I'm not sure how well it would do outside the American market. However, I could see this generating some buzz and free publicity outside of the standard LEGO customer based on the subject matter. Personally, I would have much preferred Adams Family Mansion, Merchant's House, or the Observatory.

I'm surprised so many people dislike this pick. It's not bad at all. The last time we got an ideas "female scientists pack" it sold out so quickly that the Lego online shop practically crashed. The research institute was such a great set, so I'm confident this set will be good.

I'm super excited about this, it was probably the set I most wanted to get approved this time! I'm dumbfounded by some of the negativity in the comments here - women are over 50% of the human population, and if you look at all the figures LEGO had produced over the years they have a lot of catching up to do to approximate that benchmark. This is an excellent choice, and depending on how soon they have it ready for production it might also benefit from the hype wave of Hidden Figures. Plus if the Apollo set comes with its astronauts then the "real-world NASA subtheme" gender split will mostly balance out.

Disappointing. The vignettes in the research institute had some charm and the variety of jobs was more imaginative. Most of the vignettes here look boring and blocky. Hopefully, the production model improves on that.

Nice idea, I'm happy with the choice and will buy it when it's out.

@Zander: The image shown is the fan model, so very likely things will be changed, such as the appropriate skin colour of the minifigs.

And regarding this 'political correctness' stuff: holy cow, people are thin skinned.

For the last 10 years LEGO is producing over 400 sets per year! And just one (1!) new set with all female minifigs gets people upset. I really thought LEGO fans where more open-minded.

If you are a boy and you like themes beyond police, fire department, construction or cars, you're stuck with Friends, that uses very different colour schemes and minifigs. If you're a girl and you like themes beyond cake-shops, malls, etc. you get the regular LEGO sets with just the token female minifig. Yes, I'm using an hyperbole, but the point still stands.

Very disappointed with this choice. I will not buy this set.

Very disappointing decision - for some it reeks of political correctness, for me it reeks of laziness.
Is the current UCS team behind this decision ?

Wow. That is so extremely disappointing, what the heck.

Just cause political correctness, jesus, that's what it's come to now! We've already wasted one set on a project like this. We could have gotten an.. observatory.. well none of the projects were really that interesting but this? I am not waiting an entire year for this to come out! It's probably already finalized and the box art finished!

I'm not very surprised about the sets that didn't make the cut. As for the one that did, to me it's a bit too much of a repeat to be very original. As with most sets heavily reliant on minifigs, I'll skip this one.

doh

Good grief.

Worst case scenario, you get five unique minifigures and an assortment of parts and, I assume, an educational packet with some history about these five underrepresented women. Which provides an informative experience for children (you know, LEGO’s core demographic) that teaches them something they maybe didn’t know, and -most importantly- empowers young girls to see that women of all races can make a career for themselves in the STEM fields. And even if it doesn’t come with such a packet, it still signals to children that these women are important enough figures that LEGO decided to make a set out of them. So what’s the problem here?

Instead, the majority of these comments are the usual bleats of manbabies who cry “PC!! PC!!” whenever women get tossed even the barest scraps of acknowledgement. Who is being hurt by this set existing? Why is THIS the hill you dudes choose to die on?

................ Disappointing, to be honest...............

Its a safe pick for Lego for some positive publicity... That's about it. Personally I think its boring small minifigure collection, an easy pass this time around! But I'm sure some will enjoy it, cant like then all! If they were put together with observatory that would be much better

NOOOOOOOOO!!! i wanted the little house and the landspeeder :-[ voltron would be good

You know, I told myself I wasn't going to comment, but all the cool kids are doing it :P

From a perspective as a Lego fan: it's a minifigure pack and too closely resembles an Ideas set we got already. A little disappointing as Ideas has always been a source for doing something different at the request of the fans. If anything, it seems fans, both those who wanted this set and those who did not, generally preferred other sets over this one.

From a perspective as a computer engineering student and space enthusiast: it's pandering, plain and simple. Best to call it what it is. The thing about something like space exploration is that it's far too big to worry about little details like what kind of people did what. A man went into space to complete the mission? He was as critical to the mission as anyone else. A woman developed the equations to complete the mission? She was as critical to the mission as anyone else. Like any engineering project, NASA is about the team and the mission, not about the factions or races or gender divide or ethnicities or fill in the blank within the team. Past Lego space sets celebrated the accomplishments of the mission and the attitude of exploration - that who you are doesn't matter as much as how hard you worked to accomplish that end. This one just seems to be a marketing stunt for the sake of "diversity" and it's getting a little old.

I hope Voltron will work for a future Lego project. Now those would be some awesome sets!

Child of a 37-year NASA employee, worker in science and tech for over 20 years, father of a ten-year-old daughter. Could not be more thrilled by this set. Of all these, Margaret Hamilton and Katherine Johnson especially deserve to be held up as American heroes.

I'm getting kind of sick of realistic space sets. The Curiosity Rover, the Apollo XV, and now the Women Of Nasa project. While I really like the first two projects, this new one just seems like the Research Institute (Which at least had a cool dinosaur skeleton) except not as good. Yet another publicity-oriented set that's only going to be made in very small quantities, because it's not about selling the set itself but instead about getting the mainstream media talking about LEGO sets.

I really hope Voltron can make it, it'd be really cool!

Lego Ideas has gone down hill...

The all important 3rd & joint 19th women into space. Lisa Nowak could have made an interesting addition.

So, moving on to more interesting subject... when is The Fishing Store going to be released?

From Merriam-Webster; sexism: prejudice or discrimination based on sex. If a model is selected mostly based on the fact they are women (It is next to impossible to argue that this has been selected for playabillity) then this is sexism - it goes both way you know. While not for me, it seems like the main usefulness of this set is to be diluted in a minifig population as it offers some variety of new torsos. I believed sets like "fun in the park" and "fun at the beach" were supposed to fufill that need. For me the biggest problem with a selection such as this is it completely undermine the whole concept of "Idea" and the voting process. To me it was a place where "out-of-theme" and "elaborate" sets could be created and a way to get what Lego would not produce as a regular product. This round had outstanding creations submitted and such a selection is a severe insult to all the great models on offer and completely defeats the purpose of "Idea". In fact, this selection goes against the selection rules of Lego as it promotes an agenda (a. Politics and political symbols, campaigns, or movements). Having read and understood the rules I have come to believe that the selection process is so messed up that I am (and I surmise quite a few other are too) loosing interest in the whole program as we are realizing that the models of true interest are hardly ever selected. While I only supported one model of this list (not important which one now) I would have been happy with 10 out of the 12 proposals.

Lego ideas gets so many great ideas shut down by Lego. I feel like Lego is purposely picking the girls mini figure set again (which in my opinion is very boring) to act like girls are equal to men buy picking girls over men doesn't seem equal to me..:

On the one hand, I am a great fan of everything Lego Space'y. On the other hand I really had my hearts set on the construction site Modular, even though I kind of knew it wouldn't get chosen. Perhaps Lepin will jump at the idea ;-)

Seriously though, I think this is one of the worse sets of the current selection and I have no idea why Lego chose this over some of the others. But I have enough Lego Ideas sets still to build, so I can easily skip some, like this one. Really looking forward to that Saturn V though.

They choose a set with little building and then at the end of the video say, "Happy building." The irony! I feel really badly for people that actually created masterpieces only to be bested by a minifigure pack.

Super disappointing, worst of nominated has won...

This is a huge disappointment. The subject matter and build style is far too similar to the Research Institute. I can see Spaceballs and the Lamborghini not being chosen due to the possibility that LEGO was not able to reach licensing agreements, but the observatory had much more artistic merit. A bunch of minifigures is not in the original spirit of LEGO Ideas.

The only positive from a building standpoint I can see from this set is the possibility of printed NASA logo elements.

They could literally call this set Hidden (Mini)figures.

Will probably still pick it up, would go nicely with other Space themed sets, but I'm pretty disappointed the construction site didn't get picked.

Oh come on, I was really hoping for LEGO Spaceballs :-(

The only way I will be happy is if they include a nice little spacecraft model or maybe an explorer 1 model. Other then that it's crap in my opinion.

Wow, am I the only one who wanted Lovelace and Babbage? I guess I'll have to make it myself.

I hope it has some useful new head-prints and maybe some useful parts. Depends on the price whether I'll get it or not.

Edit: Yeah, I could definitely understand it if the creators of the intricate models were annoyed by this..

But IMO everyone else is blowing it out of proportion. Apparently I was a little too late to make the "muh feminist-jewish-bolshevik conspiracy" joke

Although I'm not particularly thrilled by the builds (I wanted the observatory or the Prairie House), I approve of the idea of recognizing five women who have made important contributions to the space program - it's certainly at least as appropriate for Lego as recognizing four men who made important contributions to mid-century psychedelia. Plus, Lego has never made an orange ACES suit for the space shuttle before. Now space builders can buy a bunch of Mae Jemison figures and outfit their entire shuttle crew in accurate clothing.

JonMarten:

Here's another 21st Century attitude to aim for; people can form their own respectful opinions without have someone 'self-enlightened' talk down to them in the most condescending fashion. A world without belittling would absolutely be a better place.

chickensuitgal:

Manbabies? Can folks on here please hold off on the childish name calling? The people who argued this set is PC did not call names or insult anyone.

The fact is NASA was/is overwhelmingly male, but no one would ever do 'Men of NASA'. It would be like making an NBA LEGO series with only Asian and white players.

Personally I don't mind the set at all, but it is a bit on the virtue signalling side of the spectrum. Who cares really - I hope they make it.

It's like watching the oscars all over again.. instead of invention and playability they've choosen this "being pollitycaly correct" illness. How about beeing fair to other competitors?

Gaaaah there were so many good sets they passed up. Toys shouldnt be influenced by political correctness or such, we need sets like we got last year, great ideas which were well designed.

Glad to see their still considering Voltron, but NASA is still good. Good timing also dice Hidden Figures just came out.

Yuck! Lego Ideas is such a great platform, its a shame that they waste it on stuff like this. I visit Lego Ideas a lot and absolutely love the site. However, I've never actually bought a Lego ideas set. And there is a reason why: the projects they pick are usually trash, this one being a perfect example of it. Ideas is a site for awesome, one-of-a-kind custom models that can become sets. Not simple minifigure packs promoting women. :-(
However, I suppose we can still look forward to the Old Fishing Store...

Personally I want Ideas to be about fan-designed sets you can BUILD. On that basis alone I am very disappointed by this choice. Mini figures are the supporting cast so to speak. NOT the main and only star. This is not a set. This choice is a kick in the face of any serious builder who is trying to submit creative builds to the IDEAS platform.

Also I can see the marketing department being very excited about this since it is bound to get a lot of publicity and earn TLG a lot of brownie points. Political choice? Absolutely.

The worst is that I will very likely buy it since I collect these IDEAS sets. I am a sucker I guess.

What I'm wondering is, why did the minifigure pack was even allowed as a possible Ideas set? One of the rules of Ideas is this:

We don’t accept projects that request only LEGO Minifigures, a new LEGO Minifigure series, LEGO Minifigures with accessories, “battle packs,” or “army builders.” We only consider Minifigures as a part of a set that includes a substantial LEGO model.

So why did a minifigure set win? Or will a 'substantial Lego Model' be included? as per their own rules?? (and no, IMHO the 'sets'depicted in the fan model don't equate a 'substantial lego model')

Since alot of people are complaining about another female-based (and very simple) set, why can't Lego make a set with female AND male scientists? Like if only one gender at a time can have access to a lab...

Geez... Who didn't see this coming??? ...sigh. ...Where are the legitimately 'Fun' sets?

Congratulations to the designer on getting through! I prefer my sets heavier on bricks and lighter on minifigs so I'm going to pass on it, but I'm sure there's an audience for it. Personally, I'm just crossing my fingers for the tram in the next review... :)

Virtue signalling bullcrap. If they make a full-sized NASA control room, then yeah, it would be cool. But if it's a bunch of dioramas that anyone could easily cobble together from their own parts, then no one cares.

Somewhat boring I say. Ideas sets in general I think seem to have lost their pizazz.

The only thing I want to know out of curiosity is, will this minifigure set come in a blister pack like the other battle packs I have? Or will they box it up like its an actual Ideas set?

"Sorry... no... there's a mistake. Merchant's House, you guys won best Ideas build."

Leaving aside everything else, isn't this more or less exactly the same set as one they've already put out?

With all the different styles of models (and I'll admit bias. I love giant transforming robots. Voltron would've been my pick), it just seems odd to rehash something they've already done.

Wow the racism and sexism from the LEGO fans here is disgusting.

I honestly rather LEGO admit that Ideas is a messed up joke and not announce any sets than have announced this thing.

I'm rushing over to Ideas now. I have a few submissions being added, one for Hidden Figures, then one for forgotten female scientists of the 19th century. I mean let's milk this rehash.

This doesn't surprise me at all, and I don't think it has anything to do with political correctness; it's business. It's small, so it will be cheaper to produce. 10000 votes in a few days. Even if those 10000 people don't buy it, with a cheaper price tag, many folks who didn't vote for it will still pick it up. It's a safe risk for LEGO.

The same can't be said about the others.

Love it! Will buy it! The Modular Construction site was incredible, my hope is custom instructions will be released on a MOC site. Please stop whinging about it being PC, that response in itself is tedious and predictable. It got 10k supporters, so obviously there is a target market that is not you. I feel secure enough as a man to celebrate women that have done incredible things alongside there equally incredible male colleagues. Hopefully girls will be inspired by this, and not put off by male ranting every time something like this appears.

What is going on here? This is seriously a very b o r i n g choise! (and I love female minifigs.

I vote for "Male midwives" as the next LEGO idea set to be released.

TheAuk:

The continuous bellyaching from most of these forumgoers that a set honoring the frequently overshadowed women scientists, astronomers and astronauts of NASA was selected just as a ploy to “pander” to the “PC crowd” is condescending and insulting in and of itself but whatever dude.

Really, what about the MEN though.

Great. Something to go with my "Men of NASA" set, finally.

Well. That should be an interesting set. More excited for the rocket and fishing store, though.

By the looks of it they're still negotiating Voltron... I really really want that to happen.

Most of those other projects are too big to be feasible, awesome though they may be.

EDIT: WOW some of you guys are mean! It has nothing to do with the movie Hidden Figures, this was put up long before that came out, and there is an actual build with it. It got 10K votes in a week and is inexpensive to produce, it would be kind of stupid not to make it anyway.

And Research Institute will have come out four years ago by the time this comes out anyway.

Who are these 'Women of NASA'? I've never heard of any of them. It looks like another dull minifig-based Ideas set like that 'Research Institute' one.

To be honest though, this set would probably have been just as disappointing if it had been 'Men of NASA' featuring men I'd never heard of.

Great choice! The Observatory and Little House on the Prairie also would have appealed to both guys and gals.

Well this is lame, definitely passing XD

I have to agree with some of the folks here calling this a very "politically correct" choice as well as a massively sexist one. Instead of at the very least having a "Nasa Crew" set, we have to have a female-specific one. It's a very sad time we live in IMHO. Worst possible choice for sure.

Not to be "un-pc", but i would much rather like this if it were the astronauts who 1st landed on the moon.

@Zander
3 of the 5 figs have the classic yellow faces; which for you =caucasian; interesting perspective considering that the world has proportionately more "other" flesh tones than caucasian and what does that even really mean? Italians? Spaniards? Greeks? Brazilians? Guatemalans? Argentinians? Saudis? where would they all go?

It's not sexist, to all you who may be saying. I looked it up, and now there is an equal amount of different male and female astronaut minifigures!

It's not sexist because I looked it up?!?! What the hell is going on here?! I feel like I'm surrounded by Trump people! "I'm not racists or sexist because I say so!".

Disappointing selection of sets in this review. I thought the modular construction site was unique.

Man, so many people get so easily triggered when women are in the forefront.
Get over it.
It's not PC or sexist to have a set about important women in history. If you have a problem with that for that reason then you're part of the problem.

I have to say I am pretty bored with Lego ideas now. I can't put my finger on what makes me think it's horrible but it just is. I love MOCs don't get me wrong but they should just stay as that and not made into actual Lego sets. You can get too much of a good thing and I think Lego is getting dangerously close to that point.
May be I'm being cynical but when everything is made into a Lego theme it becomes less special and devalues everything else.

I'm really getting pissed with Ideas. The last Ideas set that I even considered buying was the Doctor Who set, or the Wall-E set. Now I have nothing against projects like the Yellow Sub, or the Fishing store, but Caterham could've been a technic/creator set. Adventure Time is just like prototype brickheads (honestly what was the point? We got/could get those same characters with Dimensions), and don't get me started on the Maze. I have nothing against this project per se, except for the fact that if these minifigures actually came with an actual, appealing structure, instead of a plaque and some side items, I might've liked this. I wanted LHotP to make it. I loved the show and I loved the project. But why is it canned? Because Lego Ideas is trash.
Unless these figs have usuable parts (i.e. reddish-brown or dark-flesh heads for me), it's a total skip.

@GreenBrickGiant

MakeIDEASGreatAgain! ...Hahahahahahaha :D

I would have preferred one of the buildings, but these will go nice with the Saturn V when it is released.

I expected this one. But the Observatory would have been a good companion set.
Everyone start looking for http://brickset.com/sets/7468-1/Saturn-V-Moon-Mission

@Sabreman64 "Who are these 'Women of NASA'? I've never heard of any of them."

That's... like, the entire point of this set. Giving recognition to accomplished scientists frequently overlooked due to their gender.

Why are there no "men in nursing" or "men in hairdressing" etc etc. This is just sexist, and a boring set imho!

The one thing I hoped for in this video was a hint, when they will release Apollo 11 Saturn-V set. But I have been disappointed in that regard.

@Jeddostotle7

"That's... like, the entire point of this set. Giving recognition to accomplished scientists frequently overlooked due to their gender."

Umm... if that is the case, why is Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson not included? They were completely overlooked by the maker of this set, despite them being the focal point with Katherine Johnson, of the 'Hidden' Nasa workers. Fairly sure this helps point to the truth that they just googled Female Nasa members and selected the most popular one's that appeared.

“When the Computer Wore a Skirt: NASA’s Human Computers” opens to the public Saturday, Jan. 21, and focuses on three women — Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson and Katherine Johnson — who were illuminated in Margot Lee Shetterly’s book “Hidden Figures” and the major motion picture of the same name."

I am hoping for some interesting new prints!

---WHY EACH SET DIDN'T MAKE IT---

Spaceballs Eagle 5- Unfortunately, this wouldn't make it, as spaceballs isn't exactly for kids. Although AFOLS would appreciate it, kids are still the target demographic.

Addams Family Mansion: Just too darn big. There wouldn't really be a good way to keep all the detail while keeping the price down, so it was just too hard. It also could've been too hard obtaining the license.

Merchants House: Although is beautiful, just too big. Simple as that. Also, wouldn't be too practical as a LEGO set, it seems.

Large Hadron Collider: Such a niche market, and not many kids would be interested. For example, my little cousin who is OBSESSED with LEGO wouldn't just go "Ooh! A $70 Hadron Collider! Mommy, I want this!!"

Lego Observatory- Mountain View: Again, just too big. That's my best reason for this not making it.

Modular Construction Site: LEGO has made SO many construction sets, I'm guessing they didn't feel like this was that necessary because of that factor. Also, WAY TOO BIG.

UCS Landspeeder: We've already known that LEGO refuses to make Ideas Sets based off licenses that they already own, so simple as that. Hopefully we'll get one in 2018 or 2019.

Lamborghini Veneno Roadster: Though it is a cool build, it's really big, and LEGO can just make one on their own if they want to, so no appeal from them, I'm guessing.

Lovelace & Babbage: Niche market, and doesn't appeal to kids that much. It's far more appealing than the Collider, but just didn't make the cut, I'm guessing.

Little House on the Prairie: Probably too hard to get the license, or people might not even be interested in that property anymore- it hasn't had a TV Show, Movie, or at least something to keep it relevant. Also, this MOC is too big to become a set, although they could've made it smaller.

Voltron- Defender of the Universe: This one is still in the review period, so we'll have to see. I'm guessing they're still requiring the license for it.

I'm OK with the winner chosen, but it seems really similar to the Research Institute in concept. People are saying it's 'perfect timing with the hidden figures movie,' but by the time this is actually on shelves, it'll be completely irrelevant.

I've read all the comments so far up to this point... yes ALL of them! And I'm, let's say 'interested' at the variety of language and speculative reasoning behind the NASA set. A couple of people have crossed the line. Plenty of people are believed to have crossed the line but I don't think they have. Most people are just plainly disappointed at the choice of set!

Surely this mostly stems from two things:
1.) Build-wise, it seems like one of the least exciting Lego Ideas to pass review
2.) The gender bias obviously pushes a lot of buttons so gets people 'debating'

Plus it's worth noting that a female American scientist higher up in the comments is not too keen on the 'us' and 'them' vibe raised by 'women' of NASA. Although I still wouldn't have been overly interested, it would have been nice to have a mixture of men and women of NASA in the set. Or, you know, something like a working Lego centrifuge.

I have no idea what Voltron is but it certainly looks intriguing - sort of like a Transformers proposal but a different license.

At least we have the old fishing store on the radar!

Quincy you win best comment. However unlike America, which can become great again very easily (Ban corporate money and impeach everyone!), Ideas was never great, it's always been a horrible mess LEGO didn't really know what to do with it besides steal set ideas from it.

I don't think it has anything to do with getting bad press here. They could have chosen TWO models if that's where the money is. My guess is that they want to see how the old fishing store will do first before releasing something like a modular building. Plus, they said they were still looking over voltron. The women of NASA gives them positive press coverage so it's a no brainer but they should have chosen another one as well.

Just as lame as the last girl minifig set. Just trying to buy a little more feminist credibility. They will kill the whole Ideas concept if they keep selecting sets like this one. Just call this the NASA women battle pack, release it in a blister pack, and save Ideas sets for those that people put a little effort into designing and building.

@101DALEK

Your points are accurate, well thought out and seem like a great explanation of why each of the others did not get a set... though still hope we get Voltron.

@The Rancor
I think as you've probably discovered, the main problem is simply that the set makes the gender of the Nasa members the focal point;

Its worth noting that the Research Institute also was intially called the 'Female Research Institute' however that was just female figures and it had a fairly unique though basic build. Alatariel the creator also made other sets other than female focused and did not attempt to push an agenda with the set.

The 'women of Nasa' ideas however is made by someone whose only three projects have been female figure sets trying to jump on the popularity of the Research Institute. Its clear that gender is the priority here instead of the accomplishments and as the member of Nasa in the comments mentioned... it promotes an 'us and them' mentality which is completely the opposite of what it should be doing.

What is "disappointing" is the hate on this thread. I think it was the wise choice.

While the Women of NASA project may not be that interesting to AFOLs (although I'm really looking forward to the special printed pieces), the fact that it achieved 10,000 votes in just fifteen days says volumes. Very few projects get that kind of support that fast. So obviously people like it. Just let them be happy with their winning choice. LEGO is already making plenty of awesome sets for AFOLs.

I liked all these sets in their own way, but I thought the Merchant's House was the most creative and original style of building I have seen in a long time. There are no illegal connections in it, which I find amazing. I wish that there were always the LDD or printed directions for Lego Ideas sets. I would pay for the printed directions for that set and many others. I wish that was a direction that Lego Ideas would go if possible through software innovation.

In regards to Voltron, I cant remember where I heard it but I heard a rumor that the owner of the Voltron IP liked the project. Now that doesn't mean that there wouldn't be licensing issues of course but my gut feeling is that the licensing and brand fit aren't the issue but instead the issue is finding a way to produce it at a price point that TLG can live with whilst still respecting the original submission and the underlying IP (its unclear from the project submission just how many parts it has but I bet its a fairly big number)

As for Women of NASA, I will reserve final judgement until I see the actual set but if its got some nice prints or something, I will buy one (I am still mad that the research institute went from "not yet available" to "sold out" before I got the chance to grab one)

@ Scarilian ...

"The 'women of Nasa' ideas however is made by someone whose only three projects have been female figure sets trying to jump on the popularity of the Research Institute. Its clear that gender is the priority here instead of the accomplishments and as the member of Nasa in the comments mentioned... it promotes an 'us and them' mentality which is completely the opposite of what it should be doing."

Thank you for saying that, because I feel that too.

The response to complaints (regarding the choice of Ideas set) seems to universally be, "It's giving recognition to women who are marginalised in their profession".

And okay, but in terms of male scientists of NASA, are they *not* marginalised? I could name maybe two employees of NASA (Neil Armstrong and, I don't know, that other guy. Does that even count? And I'm fairly certain there were far more people employed in the space program than just the astronauts).

I feel like, making this about gender misses the point that scientists themselves are marginalised and forgotten about, and that's not happening solely due to an oppressive vendetta against female scientists and technicians.

I also still think it's an odd choice because they've already done something very similar, and I was really hankering for Voltron. But I suppose that's a whole 'nother issue.

@snackyfrench
Thanks for putting words into my mouth and in so doing insinuating that I'm racist.

The three yellow-skinned minifigures represent Caucasians *in real life*. The other two represent self-identifying African Americans. I'm not equating yellow minifigures with Caucasians; LEGO is in this set! This is a departure from LEGO's policy of representing real Caucasian people and licensed characters in flesh tones. I was just wondering if this was the beginning of a new approach for LEGO. That's all.

Incidentally, attempting to shut down discussions about race by asserting that there is no such thing is the epitome of authoritarianism masquerading as liberalism. The fact that race may be a fuzzy set does not diminish from its value as a demographic variable. Law, medicine, anthropology, sociology and policy-making all recognise race as a useful classification.

And before anyone else accuses me of racism, please be aware that I'm a member of an ethnic minority, the great grandchild of someone who was murdered for being a member of that ethnicity, and that my fiancee is a completely different race from me.

I'm surprised Voltron is actually being considered. I thought it would be rejected outright, but I'm glad that didn't happen.

As for Women of NASA, we all knew it was going to be picked anyway. I'm looking forward to the NASA-related elements (sadly it is likely they will be stickers) that will likely be included the in the set.

Booooo!

My disappointment in this selection is for several reasons. I don't believe this set shows any imagination or creativity or skill....all things that Lego claims to encourage and cultivate in their product. Anyone can put a group of minifigures together and call it whatever group they want. I didn't think those ideas were even suppose to be submitted. I also think this is a slap in the face to the creator of Merchant House which is an absolutely stunning model - yes too big for Ideas - that shows incredible skill and angles and geometry that isn't found in a regular Lego set. And the same could be said about Addam's Family. Such a disappointing selection and one I believe makes TLG hypocrites.

Lego Ideas continues disappointing me. It's not getting any better. LI is a joke.

None really stand out for me, but I guess with 10,000 supporters someone's interested. I personally feel, sometimes if the sets are too niche then there's no point releasing one just for the sake of it.

Very disappointing to be honest. The NASA Figures are SUPER easy to make on your own as I have done seven of those before. Something with a bit more of a challenge would had been more entertaining and more to get people to buy. I was honestly looking toward the Addams Family one. That would had been a big grab. After the Haunted Mansion was fully successful, the Addams would had been a great response. Now I'm going to have to pass on yet another LEGO Ideas set. Hopefully the Addams Family does come later on. The Wayne Manor did qualify too but look what happened? Years later and the TV Version of it pops out. Same thing with the Goonies.

Women of NASA is a great call in concept. Research Institute was immensely popular, such that it was nearly impossible to get if you missed the release date. (IIRC my local store ran out of every delivery within 48 hours.) Having the Ideas-level instruction book (with plenty of background info) to go along with the set will really help with the idea of inspiring girls for STEM fields, which I'm all for. My only hope is that they make some improvements in the playability of the set. The Research Institute vignettes still encouraged my daughter to play with them, but these ones seem much more limited as is.

Also, VOLTRON ISN'T DEAD!!!!!!!

I'm stoked the TLG is allowing us the fan community the opportunity to get our LEGO ideas into real LEGO sets, pun intended or not intended you decide.

Another great set will make it into production. As for the next Twelve up for review my hope is for the trolley.

Personally I'm not disappointed in the conversation/debate running wild on this article. I actually think it's healthy to have different opinions. Plus, if you're commenting on this article, you probably have a vested interest and passion for LEGO in some way, shape, or form. If I worked at TLG, I'd have my men (and women, see what I did there) trolling articles like this to get the pulse of the community. You guys are all great. Carry on.

Double standard at Lego?! I just submitted a new idea: The Bronte Sisters. (1) It has 3 female characters - a sure win. (2) It is inexpensive to produce - 12 pieces - and no licensing fees. (3) It would help kids learn about their writings - (of course no one heard of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights and this must change) - which was probably under-represented versus the male writings of the time. (4) It would also help young women into a fulfilling writing career which is sorely needed as most books nowadays are written by men. Unfortunately for the world at large, Lego did not pre-approve my idea whereas a set similar in all points just got approved and will be made into a set...

Honestly this is the lamest set they could pick, who is going to buy five figures in an ideas set which usually have a price tag around 50$

@ Zander, I think you missed the point that this is not a LEGO set, it's someone's submission built with what they could get their hands on, and the official version has not been revealed yet. Given that it will be a licensed set representing real people, I would be very surprised if the final version did not have the proper flesh tones.

And stud shooters....

I think that the Ideas range in principle is fine and some of the choices (correction, sets that are deemed suitable enough) are great. I would never have been able to buy the Caterham or Yellow Submarine otherwise.

I also don't mind a set focusing on women. For example, as a father of 2 girls I was 'shocked' that during the local LEGO Mindstorms contest it was implied my daughter would be happiest preparing the presentation since 'surely no girl is actually interested in making and programming the robot'. I stood-up for her of course. But we still need to understand there are some male-dominating preconceptions and patterns out there that many of us men - possibly all, but I can only speak for myself - still apply in our every day lives. With no ill intent, simply not aware. But I am sure I will get 'crap' now for saying this.

However, this is a BULL&*% set simply for the fact it is only minifigures. LEGO is a CONSTRUCTION TOY, not a 'doll' manufacturer.

What message are we sending girls if one of the few sets that puts women first (no pun intended) in the IDEAS series is a minifigure only set? I my mind it kind of destoys the point that construction toys are for boys AND girls.

Very disappointing. What about a Lego Carl Sagan?

Boring! Aren't you all drowning in minifigures? Apart from a few, I usually sell or donate my minifigures, and prefer sets without them actually. Don't you prefer to build things instead of just collect little men and women?

Boooo!

I completely believe in gender equality and women's rights, but I am sick and tired of people using Lego to protest these views. We have already had a set like this (Research Institute) which included an astronomer anyway.

Why can't we have Lego sets that are for everyone? Modular Construction Site, Mountain Observatory or Hadron Colider should have won. And where is the play value?

I have actually had rude comments posted on my Lego Ideas projects with people complaining that there are not enough female minifigures.

Why all this fuss, it is just plastic bricks! Go complain to Barbie that there should be more males!

Is it really essential that there is an exactly equal number of male and female minifigures in a set? If there were absolutely no females or there was some sexist subject matter, then it would be ok to complain, but this is just over the top.

I am sure there are heaps of female Lego fans who would not care about how many female minifigures there are, as long as it is a detailed and enjoyable set.

My message to Lego: Please return to the original ideas of the Lego Company, created by Ole and Godfred Kirk Christensen, instead of trying to please selfish minorities.

So are you guys deliberately ignoring the built models shown underneath the minifigures or what?

It's mind-boggling the mental hoops being jumped through to discredit this set as something bad. LEGO isn't holding a gun to your head and making you buy it. Nor does this set suddenly erase every other set, theme, or Idea submission that has come before it or will come after it. Nor is it somehow worse for children because it showcases minifigures! It wouldn't be the first set to do so (you could argue that's what Dimensions is all about, or even previous Ideas sets like The Big Bang Theory). It is completely innocuous. There are no losers in this situation, except maybe the people who continue to bellow and hand-wring every time LEGO does something (ANYTHING!) to balance out the gender disparity in their offerings.

The more attempts LEGO makes to reach an audience outside of the grown adults complaining endlessly about women in toys, the better we will all be for it. They have my every blessing in this regard.

Awesome!! I love this idea and it's a bit sad that so many people are so unnecessarily angry about it. But I guess they can't please everyone.

And one additional note: being a woman and/or of a marginalized group and wanting to see yourself and people like you reflected in the media and products you love and grew up with and still consume is -not- an agenda.

I was hoping they would bring out the Star Wars land speeder but i dont think I'm gona buy this sets now.

I'm quite disappointed as I would have loved the observatory, the construction site or the fantasy house - great original ideas, no licensing and fun to build. Congratulations to the winning entry, but I really believe some of the other ideas are worthy of further consideration.

Once again, the smallest set wins! I'd love the S.H.I.E.L.D. Bus to win next time, but I expect it's too big.

@chickensuitgal Built models? Those handful of bricks thrown together???

From the LEGO Ideas guidelines:
"We only consider Minifigures as a part of a set that includes a substantial LEGO model."

I counted roughly 23 pieces on the Nancy Grace Roman display. That's not substantial....

I wonder if they'll rename the set to sort of de-politicize it like they did with Research Institute. Maybe they can call it "Hidden Minifigures" ;)

If the "set" had 5 men...

What a waste of a slot.

My main gripe with the set is that it indeed seems just like a minifigure pack with a few mini-vignettes added, nothing interesting in terms of a build. Very few pieces and even fewer interesting ones.

I don't care that it is especially WOMEN of NASA and not simply PEOPLE of NASA, I just find the accompanying stuff totally boring. Actually my favorite part of the set is Mae Jemison's outfit, as it would indeed make a great suit for all the Astronauts of those various Lego Space Shuttles I have.

And Voltron? Never heard of that either, but I am a sucker for the original Transformers cartoon TV series, and this looks similar enough, which is why I would definitely get me a Voltron set, should it indeed get chosen as well.

Worst choice ever. Who do they target with this set? I'm not going to spend my money on that one. Even worse that the Marble Maze.

Well over 100 comments in the forum too!

There's always sunshine after the rains! This Ideas set is great to save a bit of money to spend on all those many far better Lego sets!

I like this choice and will be buying it but I really wish some of the others had passed too. I knew the Addams family house was too big but it really was a magnificent well thought out set. I also really wanted the merchants house and observatory to pass. I thought they had a chance but I guess I was wrong.

To all the insane people who don't see that their comments are sexist and frankly just plain arrogant, ignorant and stupid...

Lego released the Brickheads today, there are 9 males and 3 female figures. No one has an issue with that?!

This isn't equality. Equality is equal number of men and women, which is GOOD.

This is overly slanted. :\

The Green Brick Giant

If you cannot express your point without calling people insane, sexist, arrogant, ignorant and stupid I would suggest you leave commenting for those who can.

The winner makes absolute sense purely from a sales perspective. High demand (although obviously not from users here lol) as it did reach 10K votes very quickly, it should be avail. at a low price point, and will sell out quickly, just as Research Institute did. I hope they learned from their mistake and make more copies of this set, as Research Institute sold out far too quickly. It was a neat little set, though a bit overpriced, and way overpriced now that it's only avail. on the secondary market.

From an AFOL perspective it is a bit dissapointing, I would have loved to have gotten my greedy for plastic hands on that Eagle 1 from Spaceballs (most likely not approved due to its' innapropriate for Lego material - although they did make a Deadpool minifig!), or the Little House set. I suspect most fans of Little House are limited to the US and of a certain older age range (such as myself). The Observatory, Merchant's House, and Adam's Family House would've all been great sets, although would have been too large for Ideas sets (I'm interested to see the piece/price count for the Old Fishing Store). Voltron would be cool to see, although very much doubt I'd buy it, I just wasn't that "into" it as a kid. The Landspeeder looked great (except it would've needed a new windshield piece). Lego will never produce a SW Ideas set, so stop submitting them, they end up being such a tease!

From a Human perspective I am dissapointed by many of the comments so far. Being "politically correct" is never a bad thing, as it is by definition an attempt to refrain from offensive (and often ignorant and hurtful) assumptions, labels, and language. We should all be more "PC" and treat eachother as equal members of the same human race, rather than merely members of group A, B, etc. Sadly, compassion has become an endangered behavior.

So in the end I don't blame Lego at all, as others have pointed out it's not like this set "beat out" the other competetors, they were all judged based on their own merits and had this set not gotten the ok then none of the sets from this wave would have been released. I'll pick it up as a nice minifigure pack, if the price is right, and of course if it doesn't sell out in two minutes.

^ Its not that this set is politically correct, like you say its great when we treat each other as equal members of the same human race, rather than merely members of group A, B, etc. But this set does not do this it treats people as A and B or rather X and Y.

This is about positive discrimination and whether you think that is a good idea or not.

@chickensuitgal
From the Cambridge dictionary; agenda: a list of aims or possible future achievements.
Being a woman and/or of a marginalized group and "wanting to see yourself and people like you" reflected in the media and products you love and grew up with and still consume IS definitely an agenda. Not having an agenda is: being a woman and/or of a marginalized group and normally going about one's life without forcing their "wants" on other part of society - as most people not having an agenda do every day. (I actually don't care much if people have an agenda - I'm sure they have a reasonable reason for that - but denying the fact and telling people to embrace that agenda as the new normal is definitely not the way forward).

I do not believe ANYONE has a problem with a women Lego set. Heck, Lego can only produce Lego women Minifigures till the end of time and it won't matter much to anyone. I read every single post of this thread and, summarizing them all, I believe the reasons why there is so much discontent is as follow:

(1) It goes against Lego's own rules for approving/selecting a product. Namely, from the Acceptable Project Content - Keep your project's content appropriate - article a. Politics and political symbols, campaigns, or movements. Also from the No Minifigure-only projects, Minifigure series proposals, or "battle packs." - We only consider Minifigures as a part of a set that includes a substantial LEGO model. Why has this set been pre-approved in the first place??? There is no point establishing rules if you are blatantly transgressing them.

(2) The concept (or appeal for the fans) behind Ideas is to submit models to Lego which Lego would not normally produce as their regular range. If anyone has been paying attention, you will notice that roughly 75% of the sets that get the 10,000 votes ARE large models with very elaborate design and construction techniques - most of these proposals would fall in the $200+ category and that's what people are voting for. The "Women of NASA" proposal has no BUILDING appeal whatsoever and anybody can slap together such a kit on pick-a-brick in a matter of minutes. Remember, a minifig is 4 pieces of plastic. If you assemble such 4 pieces and put a name under them then for you that's what it is.

(3) A bit more muted but I suppose I will put it anyway for the sake of completeness. "Women of NASA" is a set that might separate more than unify both genders. Words used on this thread talk about (real) vs. (female) scientists or (us) versus (them). There is also mention of: "where are the men of NASA", not the astronauts but the designers, engineers and research people? The sole fact that this is a minority of complaints speaks volume to the fact the people, in general, have no problems with a set promoting women. Also, most of these comments come from women who are recognizing that forcing an issue is never the solution.

Personally, I don't even care about point 1a. If women do have an agenda to further promote themselves (as there is still some more work necessary on this point), fine by me, I'm all for variety and power to the ladies! But I don't see the point of Lego offering good designers a chance to propose complex models and then refusing them all because they are too big. I will spell it out again: judging by the votes, it seems like fans want big complex sets (with rare colors). That said, Lego might have a different view on this based on sales of their biggest sets...

Basically, "Women of NASA" is a fine kit for those interested in that sort of thing (I am told that the CMF range is extremely popular so this should do very well) It should just not have been done as part of the Idea program.

I should always set myself up for disappointment. Is it so much to ask for a cool looking building? Loved the observatory and the merchant's house. This? There's no way I'm buying a set comprised solely of small models and 5 minifigures...
(I will admit, sure, it's a nice commemorative set, but not something I want to see take up a slot in Ideas.)

And this is exactly why I LOATHE Lego ideas. So many good ideas, so many terrible winners. I understand licensing etc, but they shouldn't get your hopes up in the first place with ideas that are obviously superior.

Every year, Lego releases sets(vignettes) for Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween and Thanksgiving. I suppose it would not be so hard to release a set similar to "Women of NASA" every 8th of March: International Woman's day (just next week!). They'd have plenty of material to work from as mentioned in this thread and it would also be much more helpful in raising awareness of women's contribution to society through the ages. This would be extremely collectible, would teach a little bit to just about everyone (just a one page on her life and achievements would be enough, those interested could further their knowledge on the internet), and would most likely bring interesting period torsos for those who buy sets for moccing!

@HOBBES

This is a great idea, should petition for Lego to do this instead of turning ideas into figure set packs with miny vignettes.

chickensuitgal...

You like the set. Great! Others don't. Great!

You are indeed pushing an agenda, and if you want gender balance then perhaps it should be male astronauts and scientists for the first 5 or six NASA LEGO kits - to make the balance accurate (just like there should be more women in many LEGO sets which LEGO is doing).

The fact is, young men are now significantly under-represented in universities and have a much higher suicide rate.

Today in 2017, rather than living in the past, if anyone needs positive role models it's boys. A great message is that boys too can be scientists and read books, and don't have to following the abundance of negative male stereotypes that pop culture pushes today.

I HATE bringing up politics, and NEVER will I start with any commentary, but I will respond when agendas start creeping in.

Oh give me a break. This is such a joke. The set hardly has anything to it! They only accepted it in hopes that they will not appear "sexist". I bet when the builder of this thing made it he had that in mind. Pretty smart, but it's still another set that is lame and obviously not good enough but we picked it so that we can be fair to all genders. What a joke.

I'll approach this the same as the RI: depending on price and availability, I might pick it up. Of course, I never did get that one because it was on sale for about ~20 minutes before secondary market was the only option. Buying it now? No way.

Also like the RI, I don't really have much of an opinion on the subject matter, but am more interested in its value as a parts pack with good value.

Of course, for me that is the same for any IDEAS set, which is why I have yet to buy a single one (although I did win a copy of the Maze, which I loved as both a mechanical, functioning set, and a parts pack; however, I would not have paid RRP for it); they just tend to be, in my view, not worth the price of admission.

The only IDEAS set I have seriously been tempted to buy was the Exo-suit, and even then only when it was marked down to clearance. For other reasons, though, I decided not to.

Maybe, eventually, some IDEAS set will win me over completely, but it hasn't happened yet.

Very disappointing set with little building in it. It's like a female NASA battle pack.

lame.
shame.

(Nothing against women of course, or NASA, but a minifig set, really?)

Some sadly predictable comments on here. Some of you seem to think that discrimination or gender inequality has never existed. I think it's great that Lego has picked a set that celebrates women's achievements in an industry that has always been very male dominated, and where women have most likely had real difficulty building a career in. Some of you could do with living life in other people's shoes to see what it's like trying to succeed while overcoming obstacles that your male counterparts don't have to deal with.

Lego possibly entered the new stage - with commercial success comes the courage to enter controversial topics like "gender science" - no offence I have no idea how to call it precisely.

I think Afols here are not upset, because women achievements are being celebrated - that is perfectly cool, but because the proposed set has a poor quality and probably breaches the submission rules. Should the vignettes be improved, it could be a really nice set - and NASA is THE brand for space sets. I will buy this set for sure - I think lot of us here will or?

As a collector I love Special sets. Perhaps there will be a set with laughing men in pink called Gay Parade soon - would that not be fun?

The ultimate stage would be a set like this. http://raster.art.pl/gallery/artists/libera/libera_lego.htm
Can you imagine kids playing with such sets? Very educational, but really scary.

@davidzeman I don't know why you even see this as 'gender science', whatever the hell that is. I think people are looking too much into it. It's a set that celebrates women's achievement in NASA. That's all it is. No big deal.
If people don't like the set, that's cool. I don't care much for it myself and won't be buying it. It's when people get their feathers ruffled because they think it's 'virtue signalling' or 'inverse sexism' or some other nonsense, that it gets silly.

Not sure where you're going with gay parade sets and death camps. That's just daft.

Wow...brutal.

I don't mind that the set was chosen. It was kind of the obvious choice wasn't it? The people that are really ripping it aren't divorcing themselves enough from emotion and really looking at the field of choices.

It is paramount to remember that this is a product competition, not a "hey design a cool MOC" competition. It is a PRODUCT competition, so the idea is...design a product. And honestly, a product needs to be able to SELL. What was chosen? Highest probability to be able to be sold. Voltron too possibly, and glad to see it has not been ruled out.

Just my take, for what it's worth. Congratulations to the winner and the hopeful. To those that did not win? The designs are really good, very cool stuff. I would love to Bricklink the parts and try to build any of them. Outstanding talent all of you, I am always floored by you 10K folks.

I actually see this set as a kind of milestone. So far lego produced cities full of smiling people, action heroes, friends, technic sets....all reflections of the positive side of the real world.

There are lego weapons, tanks, armies, but only in the context of fantasy worlds like e.g. Star wars.

Women of Nasa come from the real world. They passed despite their poor design and despite the rules for Ideas projects. Lot of people like it, lot of people think this goes too far in promoting feminist agenda. It divides people, unlike other lego sets where you either like or do not like the set design, but nobody has anything against e.g. hospitals or police stations.

I read that recently the first gay person appeared in Disney fairy tale, will there be gays in Lego world soon as well? Would people like it or not?

I mentioned lego death camp to demonstrate the contrast. The design is good, educational value is good, it brings strong emotions - but it is horrible - it reflects the horrible side of the real world - it is something purely negative and the negative aspect is brought forward by the contrast with the overall positive nature of lego products.

@TheBrokenPlate - Gender Science is something that you can study at University and graduate - assume it is related to promotion of women rights and gender equality, that is all I know.

250 comments, did we break any records yet Huw?

spacysmoke: Hidden Minifigures. I love that, you have made my day.

TheAuk: in reply to your comment: I completely agree with what you say. You know, apart from some licensed sets we rarely get male scientist mnifigures. The CMF scientist was a lady and the only male ones are mad scientists.

I hate it that the women who are limited due to male dominance are the ones that that don't complain. Its the ones who have power that make all the trouble.

If the Suffragettes came back to life and made a set like this I would be happy because they had a real reason to complain.

Have you seen the original Town Plan box? (1955) It had a boy (kjeld christansen) and a girl (his cousin) playing together, and it was a reasonably 'boy-themed' set.

Where is that now? This set is just making the gender gap even wider. Lego has, in the 21st century, turned to gender stereotypes and this is what happens...

I cannot understand how people cannot grasp the idea of gender equality. It seems as though people only want either male or female dominance.

If Lego made normal sets eg. observatory, and included both male and female minifigures in all occupations , would that not be gender equality?

Hello everybody, Let us leave aside all polemic about gender...

What surprises me most is that according to Ideas' rules no minifig set is allowed as "project" and, finally... here we have a brand new Ideas product which is just 4 generic minifigures with zero play value ... wow!

I bet power rangers will make it to 10k and go through as well! But at least they look cool.

I know I'm a bit of a minority here in saying this, but I for one welcome that it's not another TV show come LEGO set. Thinking back, as a kid, TV shows didn't play that much of a role in my imagination.

Space Travel, rockets, planets, and the science involved in looking beyond earth, on the other hand I found really inspiring. Having said that, I would have enjoyed another pack of research scientists (like the female scientists) regardless of gender just as much, and would have been OK if they were just part of the City Space Theme and not specific people.

I think, for me personally, the hallmark of a good LEGO set is whether you would enjoy the entire set regardless of what specific character the minifig is supposed to be. And in that regard I really enjoy how good the City sets have become over the years.

@Dario72: Are you even looking at the actual project? Each fig includes a substantial vignette related to their field, just like with the earlier Research Institute set. The idea that this has "zero play value" is just plain wrong whichever way you slice it.

It seems like LEGO Ideas is slightly biased towards space sets.

@lyichir: you see, we are free folks here and if you like this set and it has great play value for you, good! Go buy it. But do not tell me what is wrong or right when talking about personal taste. I never asked your opinion.

I will just say this to get 300 comments

You have to pick volition for sure please please i grew up with that cartoon and I'm 40 and still watching it I've tried designing it on lego designer it takes a long time to make it perfect so i decided to create the ultimate star trek interprise with detail compartments still working on the disc shape hard as help