Unboxing the Design your own City set
Posted by Huw,
Last month we wrote about a service that LEGO trialled in Denmark called 'Design your own LEGO City set' or, rather, configure one from a range of options. Judging by the number of views, comments and likes on that article, there's a lot of interest in it.
Brickset reader Andreas ordered one and he now has it. If you're curious to see what's in the box, find out after the break.
The front of the flip-top box is custom-printed with the models Andreas selected in the app, and with his name in the corner.
The back and a side show all of the available options: vehicles, buildings, minifigs and animals.
The parts are packed in bags, as usual.
Below we can see each individual sub-model is packed separately and each one has its own instruction manual, as predicted. The minifigures, too, are packed separately.
The bags are identified with a label. The sticker sheet presumably contains stickers for all of the possible subassemblies.
It's certainly an interesting development, one with huge potential. The project landing page now states that "the pilot project has been completed, and we are now in the process of analysing the feedback we have received.
"At present, we are unfortunately unable to confirm the project's future plans, and our primary focus is to test the concept and gather as much information as possible that can help us further develop the experience and understand its future possibilities."
Let's hope that the trial was a success and that it's rolled-out worldwide, and with more themes.
Thanks to Andreas for the photos.
148 likes
40 comments on this article
This line has great potential. Imagine the joy of the person receiving the toy when his/her name appears on the box.
@kinggregus said:
"This line has great potential. Imagine the joy of the person receiving the toy when his/her name appears on the box."
Yes, I totally agree
I love the ala carte aspect of this - choosing what different buildings/vehicles/people/animals you want to add to your town, that you may not have picked up within other sets, due to any number of reasons. I hope this becomes a reality in the future for everybody.
How many pieces come with this set? I guess it might vary by the specific builds that are selected. But what is the ballpark number of pieces?
A genius idea, and I think the longevity/strength of it depends on the quality of the minibuilds that are available. There will always be a small contingent that will be interested, just for the novelty or so they have their name on the box, but if they have solid options and enough variety then this could be a fantastic 'theme'
It could be employed as an army builder for Star Wars (given that we've heard rumbling that battle packs could be going away), hallways of Hogwarts with nameless figs from each house, goon and civilian packs for Marvel/DC/Ninjago along with regular builds to beef up surrounding cities. Lots of potential
Hopefully it does well and can be applied to all themes, including licensed themes.
I want this, but for a Chinese New Year and Winter Village setting. Although something tells me they’ll first do Friends, if they do decide to continue with this concept. I’d also like them to add more value options, because 100 bucks is a lot for me and I really don’t need that much stuff (and half of the options are really boring anyways).
I'll have to get my hand on that sticker sheet. It's perfect for city building!
If they wamted more data then the company should have made a general announcement because they teested this on one single market and without any real feedback from interested parties. From the looks of it I want: that crane, the bank truck, the half bank, a mountain lion the birthday scene and the Fire HQ as well the Cop survey tower to enhance sets I already bought previously.
@fakespacesquid said:
"A genius idea, and I think the longevity/strength of it depends on the quality of the minibuilds that are available. There will always be a small contingent that will be interested, just for the novelty or so they have their name on the box, but if they have solid options and enough variety then this could be a fantastic 'theme'
It could be employed as an army builder for Star Wars (given that we've heard rumbling that battle packs could be going away), hallways of Hogwarts with nameless figs from each house, goon and civilian packs for Marvel/DC/Ninjago along with regular builds to beef up surrounding cities. Lots of potential"
I honestly want this to enhance builds of sets (Fire HQ, Bank) and to get builds I missed in larger sets (crane, bank truck) as well that mountain lion so your last sentence is spot on.
Is it possible for the bank to be in the same set as the bank truck and police truck? I'm just wondering in case this set comes to the U.S., because those builds are from City sets I was actually interested in when they were available.
This just needs more options and it would be great
If there's a set price, People gone be exploiting that, Great bday present tho
@HandPositions said:
"Is it possible for the bank to be in the same set as the bank truck and police truck? I'm just wondering in case this set comes to the U.S., because those builds are from City sets I was actually interested in when they were available."
Yes, this was absolutely possible. I played around with it, and even made and bought my own (i.imgur.com/MU3NK8B.png). I'm a big fan of this concept.
I also found a bug that allowed you to submit an empty box, which was quite humerous!
For a comparison with the above builds, the current police station 60246 with 743 pieces costs $100, but this is usually discounted on-line for $80. If they gave you a choice of some separate creator builds that you could combine into a singe large terraced build then I would be more interested, something like choosing either a pet shop or cafe in 31097 extended to a toy shop, book shop, bicycle shop etc.
In terms of managing this in the database, I think you could work with the common factors of each sub-model:
Set 81007
May contain Truck, Bank, Crane, Helicopter...
May contain Police Chief, Surfer, Crook...
Then each sub-model would have its own entry with a fixed number of pieces. Depending on how the feedback phase goes we could anticipate something similar if this becomes a mass-production item.
^ We'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it!
I think it's a great idea!
Maybe Lego Stores can implement this as a unique selling point: either your child gets to choose what he/she wants in a box or a customer can choose their own as a surprise for their child or someone else's child:
Customer comes in and asks for a £25 Gift Set. The staff gives said customer the options that make up a £25 Gift Set via a computer screen in store (vehicle, building, figures, accessories - all limited to a particular quantity).
Then once finalized the staff member would go to stockroom and pick all the prepacked items (obviously this room would be well organised) and put them in a generic Lego City Box and then sealed with Lego Tape.
Possibilities are endless and, whilst logistically it would be more difficult to implement than selling a normal Lego item, there is much potential on the way it's seen as a personalized item
And no hospital building
Other than the custom box, how is this different than TLG just selling the minisets individually?
60271 Main Square elements will embody this new idea for sure. Hope for its spread.
I really hope that this turns out better than Lego's failed project to create custom sets through Lego Digital Designer. This idea seems a lot more feasible since there isn't as much customization per set. It would be great if this becomes widespread and is introduced to other themes.
Does anyone know what the flyer inside the box says?
I, too, hope this is successful, just as I hope anything TLG undertakes is successful, but I have my doubts about sustainability or scalability here. There is also something about the vanity factor that concerns me. I would feel better about it if any parent could order a custom sticker to come with any set that they could apply to the face of the box noting that it was made for [insert name]. The child receiving the set would be just as thrilled, and the added cost to the parent would make it so much more widely available. LEGO is expensive enough already for most people. Some folks work very hard to provide a $40 set for their children, and I would like for those families to have joy, too.
1 suggestion: Add more dogs or cats to the animal section
@Schmopiesdad said:
"I, too, hope this is successful, just as I hope anything TLG undertakes is successful, but I have my doubts about sustainability or scalability here. There is also something about the vanity factor that concerns me. I would feel better about it if any parent could order a custom sticker to come with any set that they could apply to the face of the box noting that it was made for [insert name]. The child receiving the set would be just as thrilled, and the added cost to the parent would make it so much more widely available. LEGO is expensive enough already for most people. Some folks work very hard to provide a $40 set for their children, and I would like for those families to have joy, too."
Having a personalised name on the box isn't really the point of this. Any parent could buy a custom sticker from a print shop or make one at home, and both options would be much cheaper than anything similar provided by LEGO. The point of this is to provide children the opportunity to make their own set, something which I would've found incredibly appealing when I was younger. Granted it is an expensive option (and that would've put the kibosh on it when I was younger) but I think that is to be expected from such a product.
I wish LEGO would expand this for Classic Space and Trains. Just not for Friends or anything licenced.
A Ninjago version could be pretty awesome.
LEGO Factory in a new way.
I want this with technic (The Small sets not the 200+ sets)
I feel that if 60271 Main Square had been more along these lines then it might have been better received. A selection of buildings and vehicles to create your own City set (and scene).
If they do continue this idea, would like to see more non-police/fire elements as there's plenty of options for buying those already.
I really don't like that these 'recent' (a decade or more?) sets don't have baseplates.
@Perchik said:
"Other than the custom box, how is this different than TLG just selling the minisets individually?"
Probably no different, but for a lot of people the custom box (literally a unique item in many cases) will be a great selling point. Generally speaking, you can pretty much put anything in a posh gift box and add a good percentage to the price for the extra sales you'll get.
@Gridlock007 said:
"A Ninjago version could be pretty awesome."
Wow, I wish you hadn't said that... now I'll be scouring the net for leaked info for years waiting for this to become a reality!
@Snazzy101 said:
" @Schmopiesdad said:
"I, too, hope this is successful, just as I hope anything TLG undertakes is successful, but I have my doubts about sustainability or scalability here. There is also something about the vanity factor that concerns me. I would feel better about it if any parent could order a custom sticker to come with any set that they could apply to the face of the box noting that it was made for [insert name]. The child receiving the set would be just as thrilled, and the added cost to the parent would make it so much more widely available. LEGO is expensive enough already for most people. Some folks work very hard to provide a $40 set for their children, and I would like for those families to have joy, too."
Having a personalised name on the box isn't really the point of this. Any parent could buy a custom sticker from a print shop or make one at home, and both options would be much cheaper than anything similar provided by LEGO. The point of this is to provide children the opportunity to make their own set, something which I would've found incredibly appealing when I was younger. Granted it is an expensive option (and that would've put the kibosh on it when I was younger) but I think that is to be expected from such a product. "
Actually I see the personalised box as a really big selling point. Just goes to show we all want different things from our Lego :)
I know I'm not the only person who used to spend hours studying the alternative models on box-backs and day dream over the little leaflets showing other sets. Having my very own box professionally and officially created based on my own individual, and potentially unique, Lego set would be awesome. I see a good market for this. Obviously it's totally 'extra deluxe' and unnecessary, but for some this will be off-the-scale cool.
Hey, one day there might even be a strong aftersales market for these sets if they were made and owned by kids who later went on the be world famous musicians or world leaders :D Quick, someone who can use Photoshop start the mems NOW!
@mr_Fikou said:
"I want this, but for a Chinese New Year and Winter Village setting. Although something tells me they’ll first do Friends, if they do decide to continue with this concept. I’d also like them to add more value options, because 100 bucks is a lot for me and I really don’t need that much stuff (and half of the options are really boring anyways)."
I totally second the Friends theme, because on the "girl" theme there are more everyday shops and buildings, whereas in the City sets the most dominant buildings are police stations
This is a great idea, although the models are not overly interesting. Basically you pay what you widh for. I would include couple of Jaguars into the mix just for the kicks.
Great idea. Now all they need to do is rollout worldwide.
I wonder if this thread is some of the feedback Lego is analyzing? If so, as a parent I would love this and get one for each of my children. As an AFOL, I would probably get at least two different sets.
imagine if lego starts making star wars battlepacks like this
A super heroes version of this would be awesome.