LEGO Ideas Make it Move Inventor Kit
Posted by Huw,
Steve Guinness, the fan designer of 21327 Typewriter, and winner of the first ever LEGO Masters, has developed a new LEGO Ideas project, the Make it Move Inventor Kit.
We recently had a chance to ask him a few questions about it, and also about what he's been up to following the success of his typewriter project.
Brickset: What have you been doing since you had success with your LEGO Ideas Typewriter project?
It would not be exaggerating to say that the LEGO Typewriter had a huge impact on my life!
When I designed the prototypes for that Ideas project, I was a full-time schoolteacher of Design and Technology. But with the financial benefits of receiving royalty payments on all sales of the official LEGO Typewriter set, I was able to go part-time with my teaching and develop my own business as The Brick Consultant, working self-employed designing and building bespoke LEGO commissions, running LEGO workshops in schools, libraries and museums and also working freelance for the LEGO group on various social media and YouTube projects.
12 months ago, I gave up my part-time teaching role and am really enjoying being full-time self employed and am really luck to be involved in a wide variety of different LEGO projects. As the sticker code says on the back of the LEGO Typewriter, Never give up on your dreams!
What is your new project all about?
In my “Inventor Kit” I have designed several different working models to teach and inspire about movement and mechanisms. It covers all the areas of S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) by looking at some well-known inventions and discoveries by a group of famous inventors.
My original submission contained 11 different models, each with a different mechanism, including a Light bulb, DNA helix, clockwork robot, telephone, steam engine, piston engine, artist, musician, early video game, the internet, and a display stand.
I have since added a few updates with extra designs but hope that the final kit (if it reaches the 10,000 goal and gets selected) would contain 10-12 models.
What inspired this idea?
As a Design and Technology teacher, I designed and built wooden Automata with my pupils for many years and it was always a project that the pupils enjoyed, learning about simple mechanisms such as the cam and follower, and then using their imagination and creativity to use these mechanisms in a fun wooden creation.
For the past few years I have really enjoyed building LEGO Automata, I started my making mechanical modifications to my 8x8 LEGO minifigure Habitat designs and then got hooked on the idea of making things move.
A lot of people reach out to me on my social media, asking for help with simple mechanical designs, I think the complexity of some LEGO Technic builds can put some people off, but I want to teach simple mechanisms, using Technic and System elements as an introduction to prove it doesn’t have to be too complicated.
What age group is it aimed at?
I currently run regular workshops in local libraries and primary schools for kids aged 6-11, and I have trailed many of my Inventor Kit models, getting the pupils to build simple LEGO mechanisms, understand how they work, and then adding on their own ideas by building extra parts with LEGO pieces.
Outcomes like swimming fish, flying dragons, and dancing minifigures bring joy to the lesson and show the pupils can really learn through play. But I have also run workshops for AFOLs: last year I was invited to do a talk and a workshop at the Brick Rodeo LEGO convention in Austin Texas. This was so much fun and helped me to realise that my Inventor Kit idea would have appeal to all ages and not just kids.
What have you been doing to try and get supporters?
You would think that as I have been fortunate to already have a successful LEGO Ideas project that would make it easy to get a second project up to the 10,000-supporter milestone. However, it’s not! I have put in a lot of effort publicising my idea on social media, displaying at LEGO shows, and talking about my ideas in local schools.
It is great to receive really positive feedback, but the hardest part is converting these views in to votes. As you know, to vote on LEGO Ideas you have to be over 16, and you must log on with a username and password. These simple steps are totally understandable but do unfortunately put some people off from going ahead and adding their vote of support.
At a busy LEGO show, I may talk to hundreds of people, give out flyers, show my models in action, but only get 50 votes for the day’s effort. I am very grateful when people share my idea with their family and friends and it’s great to see a spike in vote numbers when the idea gets shared by fan media or similar.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article. If you like my project, please head over to LEGO ideas and add your vote of support.
Steve Guinness (thebrickconsultant on Instagram),
131 likes
34 comments on this article
Very cool!
Love, Steve. Such a nice guy
Not my cup of tea, but I really like the backstory and will make sure to vote for it so it will get you 0,01% closer to your goal!
Wow, I didn't realise the royalties were enough to go part time on! I understand why people push their projects so hard now. Well earned in this case!
I feel like the mechanisms should be focused on replicating actual mechanical devices, like the first two or the tin robot. An automaton of the Mona Lisa on an easel is slightly baffling to me. What would it even do, and how are the concepts of mechanisms and oil painting related?
Can Brickset posts have videos? This is one Lego set that needs video to capture what the set really does.
I love the Lego automata that Steve Guinness posts on his instagram. I hope this set gets enough votes, and eventually gets made.
@MisterBrickster said:
"Wow, I didn't realise the royalties were enough to go part time on! I understand why people push their projects so hard now. Well earned in this case!"
Brickfanatics reports that the Transylvania designer has now easily made over a million pounds (appox. $1.5 M) with his 3 BLDP sets.
https://www.brickfanatics.com/bricklink-first-millionaire-lego-designer/
Really like the concept, though indeed a video would be helpful. I guess some just rotate, and with some others....I have actually no clue. Also, for something like the piston engine, I'd think there would be more creative ways to actually show the process. Still, would probably buy this. Though I think it would be even better if these would be a range of separate pocket money sets!
EDIT: only now noticed the video on the Ideas page, the light bulb and Pong are actually pretty brilliant!
@StyleCounselor said:
" @MisterBrickster said:
"Wow, I didn't realise the royalties were enough to go part time on! I understand why people push their projects so hard now. Well earned in this case!"
Brickfanatics reports that the Transylvania designer has now easily made over a million pounds (appox. $1.5 M) with his 3 BLDP sets.
https://www.brickfanatics.com/bricklink-first-millionaire-lego-designer/ "
And they recently added a limit of 1 design per year per designer, which is good ,giving more people a chance. And yes designs are chosen by votes, but votes can be manipulated, especially anonymous accounts / VPNs / Bots .
Also is why I think raising ideas to higher then 10000 isn't going to have the desired results, as it would just give more power to those influencers/streamers which could rack of thousands of votes a day (some twitch streamers can have thousands to tens of thousands of viewers and that's just 1 media )
That said, nothing against those designers, I just think it shouldn't turn into a place of an "elite few" earning multiple times the money of Senior LEGO designers tbh.
@StyleCounselor said:
" @MisterBrickster said:
"Wow, I didn't realise the royalties were enough to go part time on! I understand why people push their projects so hard now. Well earned in this case!"
Brickfanatics reports that the Transylvania designer has now easily made over a million pounds (appox. $1.5 M) with his 3 BLDP sets.
https://www.brickfanatics.com/bricklink-first-millionaire-lego-designer/ "
Wow!
@StyleCounselor said:
"Brickfanatics reports that the Transylvania designer has now easily made over a million pounds (appox. $1.5 M) with his 3 BLDP sets.
https://www.brickfanatics.com/bricklink-first-millionaire-lego-designer/ "
Considering all sets are produced in equal numbers, that all sounds like a huge incentive to design sets as big (and thus expensive) as possible....
With Ideas it would probably even out somewhat as a cheaper set will likely sell in bigger numbers, but in BDP it's all the same 30k (or now 50k) sets regardless of price and demand.
Fun interview with such a talent! I can imagine Steve inspired lots of children when he was a teacher :). All the best with getting 10k votes.
Nah. The typewriter was just a boring recreation of a glorified paper weight. Cute builds, but hope this never takes an ideas spot. Should we do a 1 to 1 of a stapler next? We need more Barracuda Bays and A frame cabins, not uninspired globes and an hourglasses.
It looks great.
I love this Idea. I was fortunate to be able to attend Steve's workshop at Brick Rodeo last year. It was a lot of fun. This project puts more detail into the simple mechanisms he showed us how to build during the workshop. He's also a really fun guy. If you get a chance to attend one of his workshops or see him in action you'll have a blast!
@TeriXeri said:
"Also is why I think raising ideas to higher then 10000 isn't going to have the desired results, as it would just give more power to those influencers/streamers which could rack of thousands of votes a day (some twitch streamers can have thousands to tens of thousands of viewers and that's just 1 media )"
I think Guiness's account of his struggle to get votes despite his past success is damning evidence enough that the vote threshold shouldn't be raised.
I have a strong suspicion that all my grandchildren and nieces will be receiving one of these. I already have a collection of Lego MoC automatons so I will probably get one for myself as well.
@Ottozone said:
"Nah. The typewriter was just a boring recreation of a glorified paper weight. Cute builds, but hope this never takes an ideas spot. Should we do a 1 to 1 of a stapler next? We need more Barracuda Bays and A frame cabins, not uninspired globes and an hourglasses."
Comments like this make me *really* wish Brickset had a Thumbs-Down response option. Yeesh!
Thanks to all the commenters who keep it positive and charitable, even when sharing critical or contrary opinions. And thanks to the Brickset team!
@spiritedmatt said:
" @Ottozone said:
"Nah. The typewriter was just a boring recreation of a glorified paper weight. Cute builds, but hope this never takes an ideas spot. Should we do a 1 to 1 of a stapler next? We need more Barracuda Bays and A frame cabins, not uninspired globes and an hourglasses."
Comments like this make me *really* wish Brickset had a Thumbs-Down response option. Yeesh!
Thanks to all the commenters who keep it positive and charitable, even when sharing critical or contrary opinions. And thanks to the Brickset team!
"
Really positive of you to show upset with my opinion! A frame cabin is a great Ideas set!
@WizardOfOss said:
"Really like the concept, though indeed a video would be helpful. I guess some just rotate, and with some others....I have actually no clue. Also, for something like the piston engine, I'd think there would be more creative ways to actually show the process. Still, would probably buy this. Though I think it would be even better if these would be a range of separate pocket money sets!
EDIT: only now noticed the video on the Ideas page, the light bulb and Pong are actually pretty brilliant!"
Thank you for pointing out the video, I hadn't noticed that before. And as you said, the Pong one is great!
@Ottozone said:
" @spiritedmatt said:
" @Ottozone said:
"Nah. The typewriter was just a boring recreation of a glorified paper weight. Cute builds, but hope this never takes an ideas spot. Should we do a 1 to 1 of a stapler next? We need more Barracuda Bays and A frame cabins, not uninspired globes and an hourglasses."
Comments like this make me *really* wish Brickset had a Thumbs-Down response option. Yeesh!
Thanks to all the commenters who keep it positive and charitable, even when sharing critical or contrary opinions. And thanks to the Brickset team!
"
Really positive of you to show upset with my opinion! A frame cabin is a great Ideas set!"
By Ideas' own dint of not wanting to repeat themselves too much, the notion of "more A-Frames and Barracuda Bays" was self-defeating. Besides that, just saying "CASTLES AND PIRATES AND PIRATES AND CASTLES" over and over - don't worry, friend. TLG and BL have heard you loud and clear. You will not want for grey bricks and peg-legs, ever again. From now until the end of the world, which may be sooner than you think, you will be able to build castley and piratey things. Maybe combine them somehow! Sailing castles? Castles made out of ships? "Pirastle", you're welcome. Vote now, get me to 10k.
Moreover, the very reason Ideas is hesitant to tread the same waters twice is likely why we won't see a Mystery Shack any time soon (because, you know, the A-Frame cabin exists). In light of this, whether you like the type-writer or not, at least it was original at the time. The fact that TLG itself, outside of the Ideas-project, decide to run the "real life, legofied"-concept INTO THE GROUND, is not Guinness' fault.
And my dude, coming into an interview to crap on the guy's builds and clamouring for more of the same of what you've already been feeding on so well, is kind of a faux-pas.
Now. All of that said, I do think the treshold of 10k should be raised. I'm glad Guinness managed to clear that bar, but it's just too damned easy for anyone with an audience of mindless drones to flood the zone with more boring, uninspired slop. Let's see what's on offer today aaaaand of course it's more castles, more pirates, more Taylor Swift, more old sitcoms. It's soulcrushingly BORING, is what it is.
It doesn't matter. The Ideas-project, much like the endless stream of regurgitated suggestions, is something that should have been put out of its misery years ago.
Let's make this happen!
Looks like so much fun.
Only 9 hours left on BDP pre-orders. https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-5/main.page
Interestingly none have sold out (I know they increased the available numbers on some of the sets).
@8BrickMario said:
"I feel like the mechanisms should be focused on replicating actual mechanical devices, like the first two or the tin robot. An automaton of the Mona Lisa on an easel is slightly baffling to me. What would it even do, and how are the concepts of mechanisms and oil painting related?"
He's trying to convey that both Science and Art disciplines require observation, experimentation, and critical thinking.
In the designer's description...'movement, arts'...
"I have designed a unique kit that can build 11 different working models to teach and inspire Lego builders about MOVEMENT and mechanisms.
It covers all the areas of S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, ARTS and Mathematics."
@TeriXeri said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @MisterBrickster said:
"Wow, I didn't realise the royalties were enough to go part time on! I understand why people push their projects so hard now. Well earned in this case!"
Brickfanatics reports that the Transylvania designer has now easily made over a million pounds (appox. $1.5 M) with his 3 BLDP sets.
https://www.brickfanatics.com/bricklink-first-millionaire-lego-designer/ "
And they recently added a limit of 1 design per year per designer, which is good ,giving more people a chance. And yes designs are chosen by votes, but votes can be manipulated, especially anonymous accounts / VPNs / Bots .
Also is why I think raising ideas to higher then 10000 isn't going to have the desired results, as it would just give more power to those influencers/streamers which could rack of thousands of votes a day (some twitch streamers can have thousands to tens of thousands of viewers and that's just 1 media )
That said, nothing against those designers, I just think it shouldn't turn into a place of an "elite few" earning multiple times the money of Senior LEGO designers tbh."
Indeed. Personally, I think they should cut the "prize money" awarded to BDP designers to maybe a fifth of what it is now. They would still get great submissions and it wouldn't be making millionaires out of the chosen few that then dominate.
wow! Winner of the first ever LEGO Masters
You should be in some kind of record book...
Maybe you could come up with a name for that, Mr.
Not based on an existing IP, I’m definitely supporting this one!
@Crux said:
" @Ottozone said:
" @spiritedmatt said:
" @Ottozone said:
"Nah. The typewriter was just a boring recreation of a glorified paper weight. Cute builds, but hope this never takes an ideas spot. Should we do a 1 to 1 of a stapler next? We need more Barracuda Bays and A frame cabins, not uninspired globes and an hourglasses."
Comments like this make me *really* wish Brickset had a Thumbs-Down response option. Yeesh!
Thanks to all the commenters who keep it positive and charitable, even when sharing critical or contrary opinions. And thanks to the Brickset team!
"
Really positive of you to show upset with my opinion! A frame cabin is a great Ideas set!"
By Ideas' own dint of not wanting to repeat themselves too much, the notion of "more A-Frames and Barracuda Bays" was self-defeating. Besides that, just saying "CASTLES AND PIRATES AND PIRATES AND CASTLES" over and over - don't worry, friend. TLG and BL have heard you loud and clear. You will not want for grey bricks and peg-legs, ever again. From now until the end of the world, which may be sooner than you think, you will be able to build castley and piratey things. Maybe combine them somehow! Sailing castles? Castles made out of ships? "Pirastle", you're welcome. Vote now, get me to 10k.
Moreover, the very reason Ideas is hesitant to tread the same waters twice is likely why we won't see a Mystery Shack any time soon (because, you know, the A-Frame cabin exists). In light of this, whether you like the type-writer or not, at least it was original at the time. The fact that TLG itself, outside of the Ideas-project, decide to run the "real life, legofied"-concept INTO THE GROUND, is not Guinness' fault.
And my dude, coming into an interview to crap on the guy's builds and clamouring for more of the same of what you've already been feeding on so well, is kind of a faux-pas.
Now. All of that said, I do think the treshold of 10k should be raised. I'm glad Guinness managed to clear that bar, but it's just too damned easy for anyone with an audience of mindless drones to flood the zone with more boring, uninspired slop. Let's see what's on offer today aaaaand of course it's more castles, more pirates, more Taylor Swift, more old sitcoms. It's soulcrushingly BORING, is what it is.
It doesn't matter. The Ideas-project, much like the endless stream of regurgitated suggestions, is something that should have been put out of its misery years ago."
Nah. More of the same would be just pirates or castle or space. I'm talking about inspired builds, which includes A frame cabin, botanical gardens, etc. You have this preconcieved notion of only castle/space/pirates which is untrue. If anything, the lego-ified real life objects are all the same. Let's put the passive aggressiveness away, this is a criticism of Lego Ideas, not you or the designer. It is a good MOC, but would be lackluster to take a coveted Ideas spot.
All these naysayers just see an opinion they disagree with and start falsely labeling the person which preconceived false judgements without taking the time to understand their perspective.
@CCC said:
" @TeriXeri said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @MisterBrickster said:
"Wow, I didn't realise the royalties were enough to go part time on! I understand why people push their projects so hard now. Well earned in this case!"
Brickfanatics reports that the Transylvania designer has now easily made over a million pounds (appox. $1.5 M) with his 3 BLDP sets.
https://www.brickfanatics.com/bricklink-first-millionaire-lego-designer/ "
And they recently added a limit of 1 design per year per designer, which is good ,giving more people a chance. And yes designs are chosen by votes, but votes can be manipulated, especially anonymous accounts / VPNs / Bots .
Also is why I think raising ideas to higher then 10000 isn't going to have the desired results, as it would just give more power to those influencers/streamers which could rack of thousands of votes a day (some twitch streamers can have thousands to tens of thousands of viewers and that's just 1 media )
That said, nothing against those designers, I just think it shouldn't turn into a place of an "elite few" earning multiple times the money of Senior LEGO designers tbh."
Indeed. Personally, I think they should cut the "prize money" awarded to BDP designers to maybe a fifth of what it is now. They would still get great submissions and it wouldn't be making millionaires out of the chosen few that then dominate."
I have no problem with any of it. His three designs are some of the best sets I own. Why shouldn't he be rewarded? It's not like Lego is losing out. The customers certainly aren't negatively affected.
BLDP has become my favorite theme. My only worry is the rumor that Lego is likely to make him an official designer. That would likely curtail the creativity of his offerings.
I see the Ideas/BLDP scenario as a win/win/win for everyone involved. It's not great for my pocketbook. But, there's been a lot of fun sets.
@StyleCounselor said:
" @CCC said:
" @TeriXeri said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @MisterBrickster said:
"Wow, I didn't realise the royalties were enough to go part time on! I understand why people push their projects so hard now. Well earned in this case!"
Brickfanatics reports that the Transylvania designer has now easily made over a million pounds (appox. $1.5 M) with his 3 BLDP sets.
https://www.brickfanatics.com/bricklink-first-millionaire-lego-designer/ "
And they recently added a limit of 1 design per year per designer, which is good ,giving more people a chance. And yes designs are chosen by votes, but votes can be manipulated, especially anonymous accounts / VPNs / Bots .
Also is why I think raising ideas to higher then 10000 isn't going to have the desired results, as it would just give more power to those influencers/streamers which could rack of thousands of votes a day (some twitch streamers can have thousands to tens of thousands of viewers and that's just 1 media )
That said, nothing against those designers, I just think it shouldn't turn into a place of an "elite few" earning multiple times the money of Senior LEGO designers tbh."
Indeed. Personally, I think they should cut the "prize money" awarded to BDP designers to maybe a fifth of what it is now. They would still get great submissions and it wouldn't be making millionaires out of the chosen few that then dominate."
I have no problem with any of it. His three designs are some of the best sets I own. Why shouldn't he be rewarded? It's not like Lego is losing out. The customers certainly aren't negatively affected.
BLDP has become my favorite theme. My only worry is the rumor that Lego is likely to make him an official designer. That would likely curtail the creativity of his offerings.
I see the Ideas/BLDP scenario as a win/win/win for everyone involved. It's not great for my pocketbook. But, there's been a lot of fun sets."
Something I find far more troubling is former Lego designers (Marcos Bessa) selling exclusive minifigs on Bricklink for $11,000 a piece!!
https://en.hothbricks.com/lego-the-lord-of-the-rings-the-hobbit-the-official-minifig-of-peter-jackson-exists/
I've been following Steve on Instagram and enjoy every single post - there's always something fun and inventive about his builds.
Reminds me of the small 1980s Technic builds used to illustrate gearing etc.
I can see the appeal of a small school or club group with kids each making a model.
You really should have included a video of these in actions. Seeing the movement of some of them, especially the painting and music, makes these go from boring to charming.
Given that LEGO just released a STEM set, I can't see them making this one so soon afterwards.