Latest Ideas competition seeks 1980s-inspired submissions
Posted by Huw,
It seems that LEGO thinks it has not produced enough sets based on 1980s TV shows and films because the latest Ideas competition 'if we could turn back time' is seeking submissions based on iconic IPs from the decade.
Find out more at the Ideas blog and let us know what films or shows you think could yield a winning entry in the comments.
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Weird set choices on the graphic. The TRON set is based on TRON: Legacy from 2010, not the 1982 movie, and Seinfeld, though the first episode came out in 1989, is definitely more of a 90s show.
Give us more Indiana Jones sets already, those are pure 80's !
Blade Runner - it would go well with the Ninjago City sets.
They could always try the A-Team, which has hit 10k more than once (not to mention already shown up in Dimensions) and been denied every time. Maybe we can just skip ahead to the part where they tell us what they have in mind? I doubt we'd ever get Lonestar's space-Winnebago, but I'd certainly buy it if it happened.
And agreed, Seinfeld is only technically 80's.
I want Short Circuit's Johnny 5. It was an ideas submission in the past, but got rejected.
MASK perhaps :)
Transformers is an 1980s cartoon. If the rumors are right and we are getting a Bumblebee set this year, that would be all kinds of awesome.
Seems like Lego is pretty well informed about all the things we, the adult cows to be milked, grew up on in the 80s :)
It seems like they keep rejecting the 80s sets people want. Gremlins, ET, A-Team, Totoro... Probably not going to get Aliens or Terminator or Mad Max... what else is left? The Breakfast Club? Full House?
The reason for the 3 sets in the graphic is "Entries that are selected to participate in the Fan Vote will receive the following: 21314 Tron: LEGACY , 21328 Seinfeld , 10300 Back to the Future Time Machine "
To save other people checking the A-team and Magnum P.I. are OK, getting 8-stud versions of the van or Ferrari would be cool for me. These are banned - Knight Rider, Airwolf, Dukes of Hazzard, Miami Vice, Blade Runner, Akira. The maybe options are Blackadder and the Young Ones.
ALIENS!
Dungeons & Dragons cartoon!
Smokey and the Bandit! Ok, I know it came out in 1977 but the next 2 movies were from the 80s! ;)
Perhaps we could have some Star Wars sets - there were a couple of films released in the 80s, and it'd be great to see an X-Wing in LEGO form.
More seriously, and IP considerations notwithstanding, I'd be all over an Speed Champions-scale KITT or A-Team van, or perhaps KITT at the same scale as 10300.
Otherwise, MASK.
Not sure I get this, haven't Lego turned down Kight Rider, A-Team, ET, Gremlins, BTTF Train and Red Dwarf to name but a few.
@Oeuf0platieN said:
"Give us more Indiana Jones sets already, those are pure 80's !"
Except that the films take place in the 30s
@TransNeonOrangeSpaceman said:
"Blade Runner - it would go well with the Ninjago City sets."
a tad dark, no? there's what amounts to a r**e scene in that film…
Lego's pretty blunt about it for once. Normally they just act like the 99th IP from the decade is an amazing miracle that has never happened before.
I've said it before, but lego's quest to license every IP under the sun continues...
Ummm... Tron: Legacy came out in 2010, and although Seinfeld did debut in 1989, it only really became a popular 1993-1994 and is almost always considered a 90s show.
But if we can get LEGO Red Dwarf, Blackadder, Blade Runner, The Terminator, Aliens or more Back to the Future sets, that would be pretty nice. I could even go for a Ferris Bueller set. Some of those seem more likely than others though.
This struck me as very odd, considering as others have said, the Lego Group has consistently turned down almost all of the major 1980's IPs even when they achieve 10,000 votes multiple times.
(Maybe I'm just salty they turned down the brilliant A-Team submissions)
@Judgeguy said:
" @Oeuf0platieN said:
"Give us more Indiana Jones sets already, those are pure 80's !"
Except that the films take place in the 30s"
Sure, but they were produced in the 80's, which is what this competition is about (or am i misreading ?). Indiana Jones is even mentioned explicitely in the guidelines of the competition, as a licence that could work but is not allowed due to exisiting licensing with LEGO.
Also, Back to the Future doesn't show much of the 80's either by the way, neither does Seinfeld...
Max Headroom.
Anything that would get us a Linnea Quigley minifigure!
Give. Me. Danger Mouse - he's the greatest!
@Zink said:
"Pandering to the geezer demographic"
Awwwh. Does po' Zinky need a binky?
oh my god!!! YESSSSSSSS
@iamkevinwill said:
"Give. Me. Danger Mouse - he's the greatest! "
Looking forward to seeing the Blackadder 2 throne room playset, or Blackadder 4 trench scene diorama
Or maybe The Young Ones house modular building. Complete with Motorhead playing in the front room. And a sound brick that says, "To the station!" "Music!"
@Slave2lego said:
"oh my god!!! YESSSSSSSS
@iamkevinwill said:
"Give. Me. Danger Mouse - he's the greatest! "
"
This is the correct answer. Powerhouse!
@iamkevinwill said:
"Give. Me. Danger Mouse - he's the greatest! "
Count me in!
I definitely would like a mini figure scale Back to the Future III train and DeLorean (done better this time) on Lego rail tracks with the three figures (cowboy Doc and Marty plus Clara), and the option to convert the train to a flying time machine.
Star Trek movies and The Next Generation TV series? Please!
Blacktron!
ThunderCats hoooooooooooo!
Oh, and ALF. You've got to bring back ALF. Not just in pog form. The NECA figure showed there's great potential with ALF (I have two of those). I mean, imagine Willie Tanner in minifig form.
I'd also be up for more living room type sets, for shows like The Golden Girls, The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, Full House, ALF, Frasier, and Married... With Children. And yes, I know some of those are (more) 90s than 80s, but some of those are still being aired, so plenty of people who love those shows.
A large scale model of the Jetcar from Buckaroo Banzai would be a dream come true. I've seen so many amazing Macross YF-19 models that I would overpay for in a heartbeat. Did anyone mention The Last Starfighter? A Gunstar would be crazy awesome.
I also second all of these mentioned before: Goonies, Blade Runner (!!!!!), Akira.
Ferrari Daytona Spyder from Miami Vice.
The Cannonball Run, all those great great vehicles, Rolls Royce, Aston Martin, Dodge Ambulance and an obligatory cop car, plus who doesn't want a Dom DeLuise as Captain Chaos minifig?
Dukes of Hazzard vehicles please, Dodge Charger, Uncle Jessies truck and Daisy's Jeep and a police car, plus Boss Hoggs Cadillac convertible would make a good collection - never going to happen obviously as none of this stuff is PC any more for various reasons...
Much rather they move on to the 90s and finally give us sets based on The Iron Giant and Frasier. :o)
EDIT: Hang on, I forgot Red Dwarf started in the 80s. Also long overdue.
How about MacGyver! Mac's houseboat, Mac's Jeep or Harry's pickup, Phoenix HQ, Dalton Air plane, Cleo Rocks set with stage and underground Murdoc's lair, HIT training course with traps and snake pit… lots of material to cover!
M.A.S.K. could be really nice based on some of the fantastic MOCs around. The vehicles don't need as many complicated transformations as Transformers so would work easier at Minifigure scale. A unique dual-moulded helmet for each character might be stretching it however.
@joakimthoresen said:
"MASK perhaps :)"
That would be one way to get a Cher minifigure.
I would also add Airwolf but I don't think The Lego Group is much interested in helicopters.
Give me the Blue Thunder with the rotating M61 Vulcan machine gun and you can ask for a lot.
Star Blazers please!
Well, obviously most of the 80s is best forgotten, but one icon that needs Lego-ising.... Metal Mickey!
Alright, but all the best IPs are already taken (SW, IJ, ...) or not allowed by their IP checker: Aliens, Blade Runner, D&D, Robocop, Terminator ... ):
@woosterlegos said:
"Star Blazers please!"
And Robotech and Battle of the Planets
Don't know about anyone else, but personally I'd like to see a Last Starfighter set. Or He-Man, which LEGO may not do because it's Mattel. But hey, 10302 exists now, so who knows...
Ooh! And don't forget about Fraggle Rock!
...and what about the original TRON?
Light cycles, Light tanks, Flynn's Recognizer and the end MCP battle with giant Sark would be awesome to get in brick form! Sark's cruiser would also be great at microscale or even midi scale, like the SW ships we've been getting recently, and the Flynn Arcade would make a great modular building too. (I think the solar-sailor might be a bit of a stretch though, because gravity is a thing, sadly.)
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@kdu2814 said:
" @joakimthoresen said:
"MASK perhaps :)"
That would be one way to get a Cher minifigure."
MASK as in M.A.S.K. the TV series :) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.A.S.K._(TV_series)
Imagine some of the "sitcom sets" we could get ...
Cheers - too close to alcohol. The Cosby Show is also out, Diff'rent Strokes also.
What does that leave ... Golden Girls, A-team, MacGyver, Knight Rider, Fame, Miami Vice, Cagney and Lacey, The Wonder Year, Dallas and Dynasty.
I'd buy a Young Ones set, same with Only Fools and Horses and Open All Hours. Blackadder or Red Dwarf could also be good.
IPs not allowed:
- Snow White
- Disney Princess
Hmmm...
Rambo, what else? ??
I mostly prefer that scene, when Rambo picks up the motorbike and starts his odysse.
One I would definitely buy is Monkey. But of course, too much overlap with Monkie Kidd. Done in a traditional way, those figures would be great.
Smurfs!
Rent-a-Ghost...
If there was Lego M.A.S.K. I think it would be the greatest thing that ever happened to me. I feel it's unlikely. KITT or the A Team van would be awesome. Or Dangermouse & his (appropriately angular) car!
The A-Team, The Goonies, Knight Rider, and Beetlejuice are all 1980s films and TV shows that got a minifig and small build in Dimensions, but yet to get a full set.
I think a Speed Champions scale KITT would do really well.
@Joce1275 said:
"Smurfs!"
imagine price 25 smurfs with the set
would be great get all those mushroom houses
I would love to see He Man Masters of the Universe sets
We desperately need an updated 21103 that has Marty in Doc in their BTTF3 western wear.
Not being familiar with the M.A.S.K. tv show, I was starting to wonder if there was a bigger following for the Eric Stoltz movie than I realized or if people were thinking Jim Carrey's The Mask was in the 80s.
I know it's not a big enough appeal, but I'd love the truck from Fall Guy...especially if they made some chrome parts for it. Not going to happen, but I'd be stoked.
ALF
I think one of the iconic 80's movies for me was The Breakfast Club or Ferris Bueller. The former might be a bit boring with students in a school but the latter with a Ferrari California might work...seen several renditions of the infamous "roll back the odometer" scene :) UPDATE: These IPs not allowed :(
I know it said movies and shows but was thinking of MTV and all the iconic 80's music videos.
I have a sudden dread we will see a "Michael Jackson's "Thriller" graveyard"...pretty much changed the concept of a music video from a mere 4min showcase to a 14min production LOL
UPDATE: Michael Jackson not allowed however MTV is new and has not been considered
Best. Decade. Ever. So much awesome!!!
I need the Gunstar One prototype from The Last Starfighter with Alex, Grig, Centauri (with two heads or a two-sided head), Centauri’s Starcar, Maggie, Louis, Beta Alex, and the Starfighter standup cabinet. Any additional content is icing on an awesome cake.
Oh and original TRON. Every color lightcycle, a tank, a recognizer; all of it.
@sbpyrat said:
"Not being familiar with the M.A.S.K. tv show, I was starting to wonder if there was a bigger following for the Eric Stoltz movie than I realized or if people were thinking Jim Carrey's The Mask was in the 80s.
I know it's not a big enough appeal, but I'd love the truck from Fall Guy...especially if they made some chrome parts for it. Not going to happen, but I'd be stoked."
The only 80s Mask I could think of was the Eric Stoltz movie, so that was surprising. LOL, but I guess we'd get a Cher figure and she seems 80s to the max.
Do you build the set with your own pieces or with a digital software?
@AverageChimaEnjoyer said:
"Don't know about anyone else, but personally I'd like to see a Last Starfighter set. Or He-Man, which LEGO may not do because it's Mattel. But hey, 10302 exists now, so who knows...
Ooh! And don't forget about Fraggle Rock!"
This made me laugh! Thanks.
An entire theme of Bigfigs. That would be great! BY THE POWER OF GREYSKULL!!
On that note, GI Joe would be awesome (ain't gonna happen).
@Oeuf0platieN said:
"Give us more Indiana Jones sets already, those are pure 80's !"
I'll take any excuse to get another Indy set ;)
Robocop
I suspect Die Hard is a little outside their usual IP, but I'd put it as more likely than Beverly Hills Cop or Big Trouble in Little China.
Most of the iconic 80s stuff isn't really appropriate for kids (anymore) and thus not allowed on the platform, so it's a pretty weird theme to pick. They of course could've used "18+" in a sensible matter for once, but we all know that's not going to happen.
Back in the 80s, there was this Danish manufacturer of interlocking building bricks. They had some really awesome IPs. I have lots of nostalgia for the monorail they made in the 80s, but it was too expensive for everybody to buy back then. How about figuring out who they were, licensing it from them, and making a new monorail!
Gotta go with some of the suggestions already made. I'd love a lego Starbug from Red Dwarf.
But A-team, Blackadder, Gremlins, Blade Runner, Mad Max, Knightrider.... Cartoons like M.A.S.K, Brave Starr, He-man.... Theres too many things to name.
12v trains would make a good comeback genre. What could be a better fit for 1980s inspired LEGO than 1980s LEGO?
The Goonies?
Lots of minifigures, action scenes, vehicles (jeep, ATV), the ship etc.
Surprised no one else mentioned this yet, but The Princess Bride would make a great theme. They could do a set for each of the three duels against Inigo, Fezzig and Vincini, a beautiful castle (would break up the castles we get from Harry Potter and Disney), Miracle Max’s, the bedroom with grandpa reading the book, so much potential!
I wasn't around in the 1980s and funnily enough am far more familiar with pop culture of the 60s and 70s (while being mostly interested in 1930s, 1940s, 1950s).
As far as I can tell, the 80s is a strange one to pick because there aren't that many IPs they can actually do. The overwhelming majority of IPs have either already been done, are owned by another company, or are inappropriate for Lego (as pretty much all the comments here attest to).
I like Golden Girls a lot, although iirc they turned down the Ideas project of that already. It would be a good sit-com set (for a show that was actually good) and the kitchen would give us some great furniture and prints for MOCs.
I think it would have been better to expand the time period to like 1960s-1980s (so lots of potential ideas there and ones that haven't been done before), or maybe 1990s as someone mentioned (I'd personally prefer the latter option but 90s would also make sense).
The other thing is just make more of the much requested 80s property sets, like Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters, the A Team, Goonies etc. Why they aren't doing that, I don't know.
@hardwax said:
"To save other people checking the A-team and Magnum P.I. are OK, getting 8-stud versions of the van or Ferrari would be cool for me. These are banned - Knight Rider, Airwolf, Dukes of Hazzard, Miami Vice, Blade Runner, Akira. The maybe options are Blackadder and the Young Ones.
"
Why should A-Team and Magnum P.I. (which I both love) be OK, but Knight Rider be banned? They did a Knight Rider Dimensions set with Michael Knight and K.I.T.T, like they did with the A-Team van and B.A.
Where’s the difference?
Plus there's more realistic violence on Magnum and A-Team than on Knight Rider. Though one might argue that the way the violence is presented on the A-Team is more comical and over the top than on other shows.
@kolaxanthe : you do know that there are tons of Star Trek sets available already?
@gunther_schnitzel : Robocop is a licence already available elsewhere - see Star Trek (as well as Stargate, incidentally, even though that's not 80s material).
As for my 2 Cents: how about Dallas, Dynasty, Falcon Crest, Simon&Simon or Hart to Hart. All quintessential 80s stuff to me.
And let's not forget Tripods while we're at it
;-)
Oh and one or two more British series I loved to watch that hardly anyone seems to remember:
Dempsey & Makepeace
Men of the World (where John Simm of Life on Mars and Doctor Who fame got his acting break). Granted, the latter is from the early 90s.
Has Battlestar Galactica been mentioned? That was 80s wasn't it?
@waylander said:
"Has Battlestar Galactica been mentioned? That was 80s wasn't it?"
1978 for the original series, 1980 for the low-budget 'Galactica 80' follow-up.
@AustinPowers said:
"As for my 2 Cents: how about Dallas, Dynasty, Falcon Crest, Simon&Simon or Hart to Hart. All quintessential 80s stuff to me..."
Lots of soaps in that list. I had no idea that you are such a softie? That's not stereotypically German? ;)
Iran Contra Hearings playset.
5th thru 7th Doctors when? We all want a 'Trial of a Timelord' LEGO sets, right?! Or how about the iconic bad-guy face-melting scene from the end of the 7th doctor serial 'Dragonfire'?
(sort of kidding)
I've Always Wanted to see Lego do Inspector Gadget
Make AHA's "Take on Me" videoclip in Lego form. That'd be true art.
Having thought long and hard on this 80’s thing. The only product LEGO could put out that I would definitely buy is a large scale (ie: Mustang, Camero, Corvette etc) version of the … General Lee Dodge Charger. :)
@StyleCounselor said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"As for my 2 Cents: how about Dallas, Dynasty, Falcon Crest, Simon&Simon or Hart to Hart. All quintessential 80s stuff to me..."
Lots of soaps in that list. I had no idea that you are such a softie? That's not stereotypically German? ;)"
You'd be surprised if you saw the ratings Dallas and Dynasty (or Denver Clan, as it was called here) had over here at the time. Both were absurdly popular. My father loved both, and I got to watch quite a few episodes as a kid too. I loved both theme songs in particular, as well as all the cool cars the protagonists drove. Couldn't care less about the plots though, especially since I didn't understand most of the intrigues and woven webs of deceit at the time. Those weren't kids' shows after all.
Funnily enough, I have been playing one of those casual farming games on my mobile for years, and my farm I actually named "Southfork". Granted, Southfork was a "ranch" and not a "farm", but the building in the game looked similar enough to invoke the memory in me ;-)
@LegoBatmanLandon said:
"I've Always Wanted to see Lego do Inspector Gadget"
The new noir detective CMF has the perfect hat and coat for inspector gadget, although a moulded hat with his hair would work better for the character. Inspector Gadget would be fun in Lego.
@Ephseb said:
" @TransNeonOrangeSpaceman said:
"Blade Runner - it would go well with the Ninjago City sets."
a tad dark, no? there's what amounts to a r**e scene in that film…"
Everybody also has easy access to the IP checking tool by clicking on "submit a new Idea", very first page.
Blade Runner, Miami Vice, Airwolf are all denied IPs apparently.
All the obvious 80s IPs have already been submitted at least once and rejected.
Seems like they want us to look up those rejected IPs and do a redesign so it is technically a new submission.
They should rather go more often through rejected Ideas submissions and simply take what was ok but wasn't chosen because 40-50 projects reaching the 10k votes threshold each quarter year prevents everything from becoming a set. At this point everything that could be a Lego set has already been submitted it feels like and whoever had the idea first should be honored over whoever submitted the same thing a second time.
@AustinPowers said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"As for my 2 Cents: how about Dallas, Dynasty, Falcon Crest, Simon&Simon or Hart to Hart. All quintessential 80s stuff to me..."
Lots of soaps in that list. I had no idea that you are such a softie? That's not stereotypically German? ;)"
You'd be surprised if you saw the ratings Dallas and Dynasty (or Denver Clan, as it was called here) had over here at the time. Both were absurdly popular. My father loved both, and I got to watch quite a few episodes as a kid too. I loved both theme songs in particular, as well as all the cool cars the protagonists drove. Couldn't care less about the plots though, especially since I didn't understand most of the intrigues and woven webs of deceit at the time. Those weren't kids' shows after all.
Funnily enough, I have been playing one of those casual farming games on my mobile for years, and my farm I actually named "Southfork". Granted, Southfork was a "ranch" and not a "farm", but the building in the game looked similar enough to invoke the memory in me ;-)"
That's hilarious.
My Mom was into Dallas. I didn't really care who shot J.R. I was just happy that he got his due.
Yet, no one I knew really watched Dynasty. Ironic, since my family has been in Colorado for six generations. So, I can't tell you how much of the show was similar to 80s Denver in reality. Knowing how much of a soap opera my family is, the show was probably pretty close.
Mork & Mindy, on the other hand, was very popular in my household. Who doesn't love Robin Williams? It also captured late-70s Boulder (just east of Denver) quite well... aliens included!
BTW, that would be a great 80s Lego set. Colorful characters and a great historic house.
Jayce and the wheeled warriors
@StyleCounselor said:
"Mork & Mindy, on the other hand, was very popular in my household. Who doesn't love Robin Williams? It also captured late-70s Boulder (just east of Denver) quite well... aliens included!"
Ah yes, another show that was quite popular here too. It was called "Mork vom Ork" in Germany. I can't recall having seen it back in the day, but the name of the show coined a phrase that is still used to this day over here.
@AustinPowers said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
"Mork & Mindy, on the other hand, was very popular in my household. Who doesn't love Robin Williams? It also captured late-70s Boulder (just east of Denver) quite well... aliens included!"
Ah yes, another show that was quite popular here too. It was called "Mork vom Ork" in Germany. I can't recall having seen it back in the day, but the name of the show coined a phrase that is still used to this day over here. "
What's the phrase? Nanu-nanu?
My Grandma would be so proud. I'm finally learning more German.
@ToyTownBreakDown said:
"Iran Contra Hearings playset."
We would finally get an Ollie North mini figure! I'm sure he would love that.
@StyleCounselor said:
" @AustinPowers said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
"Mork & Mindy, on the other hand, was very popular in my household. Who doesn't love Robin Williams? It also captured late-70s Boulder (just east of Denver) quite well... aliens included!"
Ah yes, another show that was quite popular here too. It was called "Mork vom Ork" in Germany. I can't recall having seen it back in the day, but the name of the show coined a phrase that is still used to this day over here. "
What's the phrase? Nanu-nanu?
My Grandma would be so proud. I'm finally learning more German. "
I would LOVE a Mork & Mindy set!
I would honestly love a KITT to go with my Ecto-1 and Delorean - and I would be happy to have more Transformers to go with Optimus Prime.
Castle Greyskull and the Crystal Castle from He-Man and She-Ra could be fun.
Labyrinth, The Princess Bride and The Neverending Story would also score highly for me - although I appreciate that Lego probably will not bring out a Return to Oz set that has Princess Mombi's hall of heads... (although I do kinda feel like making my own now with some of those spare minifigure heads)
Has Buckaroo Banzai been mentioned yet?
How about Crystar the Crystal Warrior? Lego already has a deal with Marvel, I think a Crystar sub-theme could gain some traction.
Pedantry alert: Is Seinfeld really an 80s show, when most of its episodes were filmed and aired in the 90s?
Someone already suggested Goonies, but I would like to second a One-Eyed Willie pirate ship would be amazing.
@brigadeschick :
I think megaBloks has already done Castle Greyskull.
Edit:
My bad, looks like it was MegaConstrux that did a Castle Greyskull.
Xenomorph Queen and Power Loader, T-800, VF-1 Valkyrie fighter, G1 Megatron, G1 Starscream, G1 Bumblebee, A-Team Van, Kanedas's bike, Mechagodzilla, Thundertank, Viper Mk II, Robocop and ED-209, Predator.