Interesting Ideas
Posted by rock99rock,
Here we are again with some of the latest LEGO Ideas project submissions. I’ve weeded through the pastures of entries over the past month to bring you some notable builds worth a word or four.
Globe
Earth! The original frontier… This brick Globe is a sight to behold. By my rough calculations, this is 15” (384mm) tall and similar measurements wide. That makes it about 50% larger than a basketball.
There are a total of 3300 pieces in this creation. Now, this has significantly more pieces than any approved Ideas projects. That said, this has a few things going for it raising its potential as a valid candidate. It uses (from what we can see) the most simple of bricks from the LEGO repertoire. In combination with that and its simple design (again, from what we can see), it lends itself to an intriguing crossroads of widely available cheap parts and mass appeal.
Although it has a simple design, the Globe itself is massive in terms of brick models and the abundance of the same parts might lead to a complicated instruction manual. I remember building the Statue Of Liberty and can imagine experiencing those same headaches from the instructions that might accompany this set. Without seeing the inner structure we can only make assumptions at this time, but I would surmise that the wall of the Globe is 3-4 bricks thick allowing for proper support of the exterior. To alleviate the cumbersome build I would suggest that the Globe be broken into modular parts, such as 8 equal sides (hemispheres, quartered). They could be adjoined internally using technic pins such as the Modular sets are combined.
With a proper stand, the Globe would make an awesome display and conversational piece. It has educational qualities and appeal that is ageless and borderless.
- PROS: Educational qualities, Conversation piece, Mass appeal
- CONS: Cumbersome build
The Mythical Crimson Dragon
RAAWWWWRR! Look at this huge beast! I can visualize this monster hanging out on top of King’s Castle bringing with it all the terror those poor minifigs can imagine.
The creator mentions challenging the limitation of weight in order to allow for a higher level of mobility and interactivity. He elaborates by discussing the dragons shaking tail, which looks like it has a serpentine level of connectivity. He also mentions that the wings can wave.
Now there are a few issues with this submission initially. Namely, the single picture leaves a lot to be desired. Multiple angles or even a video of the aforementioned features would do this project wonders. Theres also no mention of dimension or piece count, though guesstimates put it above the 1000 piece mark. A quick search on the ‘net for more information on this creation yielded zero results.
UPDATE: The creator has just added new pictures and dimensions to the updates tab on his project page. I can see a matching stand, allowing the dragon to assume the flying position. It is just under 3 feet (83cm) long!
- PROS: It’s a big bad dragon
- CONS: Lack of information
Carousel
Have you purchased your ride tickets yet? Hey, no cutting in line, kid! This set takes me back to the days of simplicity, when my only worry was which flavor to get from the ice cream man.
LEGO is no stranger to carousels, producing one as recent as 2013 in the Winter Village Market. This Ideas project is slightly larger than that one, and is a bit more realistic as far as the movement of the horses. Included in the project are pictures giving glimpse into the internal gears which drive this motion; a very nice touch indeed. The creator also included a video which shows this motion here:
There is little to critique here. Not having the power functions would save a bit of coin, having them increases its appeal. It is an excellent submission in terms of build, information, visuals and motion. What a great addition this would make to a City park, or compliment the Fairground Mixer. Having missed out on purchasing the Grand Carousel at a reasonable price, this set would help fill that missing void in any collection.
- PROS: Carousels are a proven LEGO product, Interactive playability, Good appeal
- CONS: Too soon for another carousel?
The IT Crowd
0118 999 881 99 9119 7253! If the Big Bang Theory can get approval, why not The IT Crowd? We’ll discuss that. The now off-air sitcom premiered in 2006 and ran for 4 seasons on Channel 4 in the UK. A special finale was subsequently filmed and aired in 2013. This show has become a cult classic on both sides of the pond, and rightfully so.
This 35 stud-wide vignette is unmistakably the home of the quirky IT department stuck in the basement of Reynholm Industries. Jen (no doubt holding “The Internet”), Moss, Roy, and even Richmond are the included minifigures. The shelves of junk, posters, coffee mugs, couch and rugs are represented truthfully in this miniature recreation.
The show has been off the air for some time now, though continues to find an audience anytime it reruns. The fact that this is older intellectual property that is no longer producing might be a con. Compared with the Big Bang Theory set, I believe the audiences are to some extent similar. The appeal for the BBT set relies heavily on the fact that it is still producing today, and is a concurrent marketing model for its own LEGO set. The IT Crowd would only get this effect from its reruns.
The only thing that irks me are the posters. They appear to be individual stickers laid across multiple bricks each. Maybe its just a personal opinion, but that is just a big no-no for me. Then I wonder, if the stickers were placed on tiles then hung on the walls, would the set look as clean as it does in the picture? Probably not and such is the trade-off.
- PROS: Smartie cereal, Roy, Moss
- CONS: Aunt Irma, Poster/Sticker Method, No new episodes :(
Luxury Sport Yacht
Pardon me, but do you have any Grey Poupon? The feeling of power and luxury consume me when looking at this set. I know as well as anyone that this is a grand longshot for approval, but that isn't going to stop me from writing about this masterpiece.
This yacht is emanating luxury. At over 2ft long, the footprint is quite large. Within the hull, its creator has included some very nice details like a living room, bar area, bedroom and engine room. The ship is vertically modular, allowing the removal of a few top layers to expose the fine innards. The bottom portion of the hull can be removed when not on the display stand to allow for a more realistic experience when using the floor or table as a makeshift water surface.
Its hard to find any faults with this creation. Perhaps its just a limitation of the parts available, but I would like to see the black slopes representing the front windshield actually represented with transparent bricks or screens. It would be expensive, but such is the price of luxury is it not? This model could bring in a whole new market to LEGO for all we know.
- PROS: Sleek, Impressive design and features, I’M ON A BOAT!
- CONS: Good caviar is not cheap
Featured Designer - Marzio1805
The Gnomes are invading! Over the past month, Marzio1805 has submitted 3 new projects all based on Gnome housing. These models pack incredible detailing from the foliage, interior living space, to the exteriors of the homes. All three models have a trademark “tip of the hat” if you will, with the roofing of all the structures mimicking the unmistakable shapes of Gnome headwear. Give them a gander and throw some support his way should you see fit.
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36 comments on this article
There is so much junk on IDEAS I can't stand it. When it was CUUSOO I would log on every day and there would be three or four projects that I would support, but now most of the projects are terrible. Now I only find something that I think is worth supporting maybe every three days. What needs to happen is the Mods simply need to use their judgment and not approve silly MOCs that look terrible.
The carousel is too similar to the one used in the Winter Village Market for me, I would not buy. It looks like they've copied it and added a couple of extra details. However, I am in love with that dragon!
^^ I feel the same, which is one of the main reasons why I proposed this article to Huw. Of course at the time, I didn't know I'd be the one sifting through the madness that is the pool of Ideas :)
^ When building a traditional carousel, it would be difficult to look like it is not a copy. However, this particular iteration is vastly superior to the Winter Village Market version because of the direct gearing method, and up/down motion of the horses. Its a ground-up new build.
Those are some awesome ideas!
I agree with MOCDoc that there are so many useless things on IDEAS. Some don't look like anything, some are almost copies of what we've seen before and some don't contain proper description. That's sad for the guys who make something, because their projects are almost impossible to find.
BTW, not meant as spam, how do you guys think about my VT-49 Decimator? https://ideas.lego.com/projects/95753
I would love to have the gnome sets. I would buy all 3. It would be a great series to go with elves and dwarves.
Too bad rock99rock didn't include my project this week. Currently trending well though.
https://ideas.lego.com/projects/97483
Maybe next time.
P.S. @MOCdoc do you think this project of mine is one of those junk ideas?
^ I wouldn't say it's particularly impressive, but I don't think it's junk. There are hundreds of projects I would see erased before it.
^^^
@Lama-mantis
Although your design is very good, I think it is pointless Idea. There is absolutely no point in submitting a project where TLG already have the license. They already have the authority to build any Star Wars craft. Therefore, no credit will be given to such an Idea.
At the risk of sounding rude, I think it is lazy and unimaginative.
There are far too many grey spaceships and Star Wars based projects on Ideas.
TLG already produce too many Star Wars sets.
We are still missing some crucial scenes from The Return of the King and some of the projects based on that theme need more support.
I have to disagree with thehornedrat. I built my model (Not plugging it here but if you are curious I have the same user name on IDEAS as well...) using LDD because some of the elements I wanted to use were not available in the colours I wanted. And digging through 11 boxes of lego to find just the part you want is a lot harder than finding it on LDD...
With all due respect to all the creators, some of whom are posting here ... I don't even bother with the Ideas website for that reason. Every time I check in there, there's just *so* much junk there never should've been approved in the first place. It's like, yeah, let's take twenty random pieces, throw in a couple of minifigs (and if you're lucky, the person has used actual pieces as opposed to just LDD), and hope Lego makes it into a set! And, no. *sigh* And for every genuinely great set (and let's be honest, there's a few good ones. I absolutely adore some of the trains), there's like a dozen where you just scratch your head and wonder, what the hell is that?
@The Sly Fox: Well, what's the point of posting, for example, a globe? TLG has the right to create non-licensed stuff, so they already have the authority to make every planet they want to make. So, simply said, you say that about 80% (roughly estimated value) of the submitted ideas is pointless, because LEGO can already make it. And you say that the only 'good' ideas need licenses that LEGO doesn't have.
@Venunder: If you have read the first paragraph of the VT-49 Decimator, you see that most of the 'grey spaceships' produced by TLG are just re-made ships. However, most of the submitted SW projects from IDEAS aren't something we've seen before. I didn't post another AT-AT or Star Destroyer, I posted a not very well known VT-49 Decimator, something LEGO has never created before.
Neat Ideas, that Dagon looks good.
^You are so right, seems they only want to keep buying the same sets over and over again.
@Llama-Mantis
The point by of ideas is for new original conent (typically non-licensed) and to see how much interest there would be for such a set. To my knowledge TLG has never done a massive globe, so therefore it's a worthy attempt to see how many people would care to purchase it.
Ideas done in LDD, but without an appropriate renderer look awful. And they should require the instructions posted in the Ideas submission, since they are immediately available.
As most people posting here said, I agree that a lot of Ideas Projects are just useless.
Who wants to buy most of them anyway?
And why haven't the Moderators decided to delete those useless ones?
But some guys from EuroBricks ought to get their stuff up on there. That would make it interesting, for after all, we want Interesting Ideas.
I'd love to see some good Whacky Races and Red Dwarf MOCs, not necessarily branded but in the style of.
I'd have to agree with most of these comments, there are a lot of bad Ideas projects. I find it especially annoying that so many people spend 10 minutes creating projects on LDD and submit them (No offense to those who spend time on their LDD models).
BTW, I saw a couple people putting up links to their projects, and I couldn't resist doing the same.
https://ideas.lego.com/projects/97273
@Lama_Mantis: I thought your project was nice, just supported.
@The Sly Fox: At least it looks as if Lama_Mantis put effort into his project, unlike 75% of projects on Ideas.
I also agree, there are a lot of atrocious projects on Lego Ideas, but I wouldn’t be too set against LDD. Having had to spend the last 11 months about 800 miles away from every Lego brick I own, it’s been the only way I could keep building and get my own project (https://ideas.lego.com/projects/94885) out onto Lego Ideas!
@Dedgecko: Require instructions? I haven't gotten a sensible set of instruction out of LDD in my life!
@Lama_Mantis: I also thought your project was nice, just supported it as well!
@Lama-mantis
First off, I think your project is very nice.
However, I think you missed the point about the license. Many people believe that TLG will not make any Ideas project if it is based on an existing license. It's not about whether your ship has been made before or not. Basically, if they wanted to make a VT-49, they would. But they wouldn't use an Ideas project to make it.
I thing Lego want Ideas to give them new concepts of models to make, whether or not they require a new license.
And I think they will only really build a new licensed product from Ideas if they want to only make a one-off model, not a Theme of models. So, for example, we're unlikely to see another Back To The Future, Ghostbusters or Big Bang set. Of course, Minecraft disproves that theory ;-)
The other think the TLG want is an official place for people to show off their models and feel involved. I think they're successful there.
@visumoham
I always thought LDD only allowed you to use parts/colours that are available, other in sets or on PAB, yet you're saying the opposite.
LDD has two modes, the standard one lets you choose parts in colours where the bricks actually exist (although some of the colour combinations aren't even listed on bricklink, I've always assumed they were test shots or reserved for use by Lego designers). The second mode is LDD extended, which lets you paint any brick in any colour (even if it never existed)
Wow, I would definitely get the earth if it is approved!
@omnium: Yes, I have noticed that Lego seem to take the ideas from some people's projects without giving them credit (e.g. the UCS Sandcrawler and the upcoming Star Wars Action Figures). Personally, I find it deceptive.
Have you considered doing the Lego Ideas Project, The Hobbit-Rivendell? It's a very good project with lots of supporters!
When I see an LDD project on Ideas I find myself much less inclined to vote for it. I just prefer the real brick ;) That's why when I submitted mine - it was all real (you can find it here: https://ideas.lego.com/projects/96989). I just think it shows better what the final outcome may be.
Maybe that's why I like the dragon most from those mentioned above.
This article is turning into a Lego Ideas advertising board :)
Hey... why all you people hating on LDD? When I had it, it was a great tool. Now, in terms of presentation, it can make bad models look worse, but...
Yes, I agree with this. There is far too much garbage on that site for me to take it seriously... even when I can actually USE it next year.
Re the IT Crowd Idea... Have you tried turning it off and on again?
I tend to agree with most of the comments here. I've posted on the Eurobricks forums about Lego Ideas issues before. (There are many) There are far too many ideas posted without thought/skill and or unrealistic projects that are far too massive to be made into a set. I do get annoyed with Star Wars projects. I love my Star Wars but Lego has concrete ideas for sets well in advance. Most of the projects are uninspiring to say the least.
I submitted my idea back in January and to Brickset in the hopes it would be show cased. I've had lots of enthusiastic responses to my project but looks like it was passed over on brickset for now. (https://ideas.lego.com/projects/90855)
I believe in brick builds for projects rather than using LDD. LDD is cheap and easy to do, which means any kid wih a computer will post an idea. It show more drive and passion to brick build a project and also enables the creator to sort out issues with the project head on.
^ For whatever it's worth, I quite like your modular police station. That's a nice design, and I think that'd look great along the street of Lego buildings.
The only thing I would've added was a Bat-signal on the roof :).
I agree with Wodanis. It is annoying to have to dig through the rubbish to find the gems. On the other end, there are popular builds that look like they would cost 300 bucks that I’m not interested in. They look great, but just not feasible.
I like to find creations that would be like a set that you would find on the shelf at your local store. Those are the ones that have a realistic chance of getting made. Here are a few I like:
Zelda Windwaker: https://ideas.lego.com/projects/2082
I dig the dragon boat.
Mini Batmobile: https://ideas.lego.com/projects/18729
It's just cute. Yes, I could make it easily, but I would buy that.
Star Wars Imperial Hot Tub: https://ideas.lego.com/projects/77783
Support those adorable trunks.
Cathedral of Learning: https://ideas.lego.com/projects/43478
I'm from Pittsburgh and, moreover, it's a great design.
Firstly, @ Wodanis, I supported your modular police station. I can see both sides of the argument, but don't be hating on LDD too much, it ended my dark ages. I'm all for brick built models, but sometimes there is no way to build something without painting bricks, which I'd rather not do. The real trick with Ideas is the promotion on social media, getting other sites to support etc, constant updates, and most importantly, having a good idea in the first place!
The dwarf sets are very cute. Thanks for pointing them out so I could go support them.
It's kinda funny all the people complaining about the junk on Ideas--you all realize, that's the entire point of crowd-sourcing, right? It's assumed there will be junk--and it's assumed that the best stuff will float to the top (and generally, it does).
As for digital, I see nothing wrong with that, either, so long as there really is a genuine and well-executed idea there. I've been using MLCad (and straight up L-Draw before that!) since the 90's and there's something to be said for not having to sift through a bin, dismantle a favorite model, or buy parts you don't have. Not to mention dealing with photography and lighting. I do make it a rule to verify that any piece I use exists in the chosen color, though.
Anyway, Ideas isn't perfect and it's not easy to get noticed, but it's still awesome that it even exists at all. And green Classic Space man was well worth any flaws we've had to put up with!
@Zordboy @privatematrix Thank you for supporting me. :)