Interview with Simon Scott, fan designer of The Nightmare Before Christmas
Posted by Huw,
One of the most anticipated LEGO Ideas sets of the year, 21351 The Nightmare Before Christmas, will be available in just over a week.
Ahead of that we have an exclusive interview with UK-based fan designer Simon Scott, in which he explains how he promoted his project, why he thinks this one passed when a previous attempt failed, and what he likes most about the finished set:
Brickset: Simon, please tell us a bit about yourself.
Simon Scott: I've been an active LEGO MOC builder for around the last 6 years and have been an AFOL since the birth of my children 14 years ago.
I started building MOCs by taking part in building challenges on Facebook through a dedicated LEGO group. Since then, I have joined multiple LEGO user groups based in the UK and also helped run Brickish, the UK's largest LEGO user Group, as part of the committee from 2022 to 2024.
I enjoy displaying my creations at charity shows around the UK and have made many wonderful friends in the community as a result.
The approved project was not the first Nightmare before Christmas one you submitted, right?
Correct, my original one did reach 10,000 supporters in just under 3 months back in 2020/21 but wasn’t picked. I wasn’t looking to resubmit the project again because I thought that if LEGO wanted it they would have picked it there and then. However, seeing other projects being successful on their second or third attempt, and encouragement from close friends, swayed me towards trying again.
Why do you think this one succeeded when the earlier one failed?
I think timing played a huge factor in it this time around, along with some changes I made with the addition of the Town Hall and adding levels of playability throughout the original model by expanding the house and graveyard area.
Original project:
Approved project:
How did you promote the projects, and were there any methods that were more successful than others?
Originally, I posted to over 150 Facebook groups that covered Disney, Halloween, Christmas, NBC fan sites and, of course, LEGO groups too.
I kept a record of when I posted and tried not to spam the groups too often. I tried to become an active member in the larger groups so that it wasn’t all take take take - a habit that I see so many Ideas builders fall into.
During the first submission, I created a Facebook page called ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas - A LEGO Ideas Project’ which helped me provide regular updates and explain the process to those unfamiliar with how LEGO Ideas supporting works. There are a lot of NBC fans that aren’t LEGO fans but still want the set!
For the second submission, the Facebook page from the original did a lot of the work as it had amassed nearly 4,000 followers, combined with my Instagram @tvrulesmylife. This resulted in getting the required 10,000 supporters in just 38 days, which I think definitely showed LEGO how popular the idea was!
This one passed review in February 2023. How have you coped with waiting so long for it to be revealed?
Even though I couldn’t say, I knew the set wouldn’t be released until September 2024. LEGO made it clear that there was a build up of Ideas projects (12 ahead of mine) that still needed to be produced, and my expectations were managed very well by the design team.
What was your involvement during its development?
I had several video calls with the design team from August 2023 to May 2024 and felt fully involved. The project wouldn’t move forward unless all stakeholders, (Disney, Tim Burton Productions, LEGO & myself) were in agreement - though it's hard to argue with Disney I believe!
My feedback was taken on board and, to be fair, there was very little that didn’t align with what I wished for in the official set.
Are there any aspects of the final model that you particularly like?
I love that the design team have hidden Christmas decorations within the storage spaces of the buildings to help turn Halloween Town into their version of Christmas town - just like in the film.
I also love the selection of figures chosen, and that the Mayor has been included in brick-built form. I couldn’t include him in my original submission as I didn’t have access to specialised stickers or prints. But it makes total sense to have the Mayor with the town hall.
Conversely, is there anything in your model that didn't make it into the final one, but you wish had?
There isn’t actually - LEGO hit every tick on my list. I’m really happy with how it turned out. It is a more realistic version of Jack’s house that you see in the film compared to the one I originally built.
I know there have been a lot of comments online about the character ‘Oogie Boogie’ not being included. Sometimes it is just not possible with the direction that LEGO is given by the IP holders. He was never in either version of my original submissions and does not feature in any of the scenes of the film that I built originally either.
I understand there's an Easter Egg in the set. Care to give us a clue?
I did want to be placed on a gravestone originally but was beaten to it by the builder of Hocus Pocus last year, so we didn’t want to repeat that.
References to me do feature twice in Jack’s formula calculations to create Christmas though. The designers said it was a nod to me for creating the set in the first place, as without it the official set would not exist.
Do you have any other projects on LEGO Ideas at the moment?
I don’t, no. I sort of feel that I have that box ticked off my bucket list, and it happened so organically that I don’t think another submission could compare.
I don’t build specifically for Ideas but if I feel one of my MOCs is up to scratch I may put it on and try for a second time in the future.
Finally, do you have any tips for how to achieve 10,000 supporters on LEGO Ideas?
I think finding the right subject matter is key. I was lucky that mine was a relatively untapped theme within LEGO, and it has a huge worldwide following that would sell well for them - that is ultimately what it comes down to.
Unless you have a YouTube channel with tens of thousands of subscribers you will have to put the effort in and market your set, whilst balancing how often you put content out to gain supporters.
If you’re passionate about a project, it should come across in your submission, and you need to be prepared for a long process to gain supporters. Even though both of my submissions gained supporters in relatively short times, it's easy to lose faith and enthusiasm.
Having the support of some fantastic friends in the AFOL community certainly helps too!
Thanks, Simon!
The 2,193-piece 21351 Disney Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas will be available at LEGO.com from September 1st, priced at £169.99/$199.99/€199.99. You can read our review here.
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14 comments on this article
The article picture threw me off for a second. I thought that was the final set and was very confused!
Good job and congratulations, Simon Scott!
Simon seems like a top lad! Congratulations on your success!
Thanks for the insightful interview.
Congratulations to Simon Scott!
Regarding release dates for Ideas, it's not hard to figure out that there's typically about a year delay between when they announce the results of a particular review, and when any approved projects are finally released. In rare cases, they may get the set to market earlier, but you should always plan for a one year delay, especially when trying to pair your project up with a milestone anniversary. I don't think we've seen a single project release in time for the anniversary that was used to promote it.
@Mica86 said:
"I find it strange the platform allows multiple attempts. Especially when they give prizes for getting to that 10,000."
Prizes? What prizes? If your project gets approved, you'll get profit-sharing, and ten free copies of the set, but you don't get any of that just for making it to review. I've never heard of getting anything but bragging rights and a badge on your account for making it into the 10K club, and I don't think they do anything to acknowledge frequency of clearing 10K.
"I thought of submitting before but i don't want to make instructions...that sounds miserable to do,"
I've also never heard of any requirement that you, the project submitter, include instructions. Someone internal is going to design the actual set, and they may choose to hew closely to your submission, or they may ignore the design completely.
"Completely puts me off! That and having to get peoples attention...icky i don't wanna do that either."
Now that...you do have to do. It's not unheard of for someone to reach 10K without putting in a lot of effort (I believe Minecraft did it with one post, but that post came from the creator/owner of the game, and went out through his company social media account), but you need to be willing to put in a lot of promotional work if you want to actually reach 10K.
Simon is such a nice guy. If that were my original submission and LEGO turned it into that poor of a completed model, I'd be Don Corleone every day. ("Look how they massacred my boy?")
@Mica86 said:
"he whole proccess is so demanding i bet tons of good ideas never get submitted.
Ive got a couple builds im certain would get to 10,000 but ill never have the inclination to jump through so many hoops for it.
Yeah, I've got a spaceship MOC that I'd love to submit, but I don't want to jump through those hoops. For one thing, the extent of my social media presence is a tiny Tumblr blog. Even if the blog was much bigger or if I were on Facebook, I wouldn't know how to effectively promote it if I did submit. By the way, did Pete Reid had to do much promotion, or was he able to rest on his laurels as a celebrity MOCer?"
@gatorbug6 said:
"Simon is such a nice guy. If that were my original submission and LEGO turned it into that poor of a completed model, I'd be Don Corleone every day. ("Look how they massacred my boy?")"
he says repeatedly in the article that he was involved with the design process and is happy with the finished product
@gatorbug6 said:
"Simon is such a nice guy. If that were my original submission and LEGO turned it into that poor of a completed model, I'd be Don Corleone every day. ("Look how they massacred my boy?")"
It’s not that poor of a final model at all. And the designer says he’s happy with it and it includes all that he wants to. The final version is a much better set, while the original submission is a good MOC.
Congratulations Simon. Looks a fantastic model. Thanks also for sharing your insights. Very inspiring.
I met him. He was really nice and open. I had a great chat. Hoping best for his sets.
I really like the new set. But,...... I really like it a lot less when I see the original. The central building really needs more presence, like the original.
We really needed a Boogity and a fatter Santa.
@StyleCounselor said:
"We really needed a Boogity and a fatter Santa."
“Eat Papa, Eat. Whoever heard of a skinny Santa?"
Wait…wrong IP…
@PurpleDave said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
"We really needed a Boogity and a fatter Santa."
“Eat Papa, Eat. Whoever heard of a skinny Santa?"
Wait…wrong IP…"
"Should I fix you some sandwiches?"
"I don't want any f%^*ing sandwiches! What is it with you fixing f%^*ing sandwiches?!"
Oops, also different IP = Bad Santa.