Rejected Ideas projects to be considered for BrickLink Designer Program

I left bricklink once it had been assimilated so these are all off limits to me. That guarantees that classic space themed sets will be among those released :(

I hope some awesome modulate are included.

kakapo & aquarium please!

If licensed ideas are removed how many are left? I assume IP also includes brands, like for cars/planes.

Is this chance for great theme set mocs to come back ? Like the original bionicle figure (technic ones) rock raiders and power miners :D

Really happy to hear that they are initiating such a program again. Only disappointed that this time it is restricted to these past Lego Ideas projects. Although I am in this list, somehow I doubt that I will be asked and I would prefer to participate with a different design (I've have had it on my shelf for a year, just waiting for such an opportunity...)

There is potential here for hundreds of unanticipated LEGO dollars oozing right out of my pockets.

If 1/3 of the sets I fell in love with through Ideas get produced? They can have it! :)

This is great news. Fans will get to choose via highest vote wins for the ideas sets they want.

I welcome this news.

I honestly don't recognise the majority of those 'failed' 10k projects (apart from the T-Rex). Did they all get to final stage or are some sets removed before that final approval decision? (due to licensing or being modulars or whatever).

@xboxtravis7992 said:
" @tcisneros1220 said:
"Bricklink is owned by LEGO, so how is this not LEGO making the sets? No LEGO designer involved? "

I think so. No Lego designer, no need to follow the official Lego set design rules. This is less an official Lego set and more a high end MOC that just happens to be released through Lego's backdoor instead of their main release method. "

Did you not read the article?....... ‘The LEGO Ideas team will first contact the designers from January, and then the BrickLink team will proceed with the onboarding process for participating designers.’

They mean the designers who made the Ideas submission, NOT their own in-house team. Personally i’ll be having a good look at this, as Ideas is my fave theme.

I seem to remember some issue with international postage costs on the first Designer Programme (anyone?) hopefully Lego can use their massive supply chain to sort that.

Thanks @NathanR2015 for the helpful link.... Really glad Castle in the forest is going to be an option, and if some of those beautiful Modular buildings get the green light then it could prove expensive.

This is a good thing and provides an opportunity to get some interesting sets. I'll probably get a few. Not certain I'll end up spending more total dollars on Lego, but I'll get more value for my dollar and that's a good thing.

It feels right that IP based Ideas have to pass that high bar to get accepted but original Ideas can get a second chance.

There are a lot of modulars amongst the rejected Ideas, which I'm guessing will be very expensive, but some lovely buildings which I would think would be very popular.

I really want that little aquarium, I thought it had a good chance but maybe it was just a bit small for the sort of thing they want to release as an Ideas set.

Interesting initiative and good to see IP-based designs excluded. Will be watching this with interest. I had forgotten sets like RobenAnne's [of Old Fishing Store Ideas success] The Lighthouse which would be a lovely companion piece to OFS as part of a mini Sea front 'modular' range.

Would hope for some modular - Victorian London or Bricks and Bloom would be great. Hoping semi official collaboration will allow for some shared shipping flow, making the sets more widely accessible...

@NathanR2015 said:
"On the face of things, it is brilliant, but Lego Ideas only lists 41 rejected projects that are non-IP:
https://ideas.lego.com/search/global_search/ideas?idea_phase=idea_idea_not_approved&contains_ip=original_projects&query=&sort=top

So I'm hopeful we'll get little models like the pursuit of flight, or the clockwork aquarium. But I'm a little disappointed this rules out some of the real-space projects. Or Futurama. Or Stitch. or even Concorde."

I'm a bit disappointed of the IP thing as well (just because I'd like a few more NASA items - can't get enough of the stuff!) but of the list you graciously provided us with, I counted 19 of which I would be interested (19 out of 41 is most definitely out of my budget but I'm fairly convinced that more than one of those will eventually become available in the future). I'm also looking forward to see a remake of classic space (many very nice designs have been proposed and Lego is not intelligent enough to jump on those sure-win proposals.)

I really, really want the vintage tram project to be chosen!

Is a cruise ship really IP? Cus I would love the Queen Victoria Cruise Ship to become a reality

Great news! I think that Lego Ideas and the Bricklink together will make fan designers and fans very happy. Can someone remind me in the first round of the Bricklink designer program, what compensations did the fan designers get?

Bricks and Blooms, Food Stand Diners, Pursuit of Flight, and the Great Fishing Boat are my personal favourites of the eligible projects.

Would be interesting to see if this will be a one time thing or annual event, and also what's the threshold needed for a set to be produced. The non IP sets pre-selected by Lego probably will be a non-competitive set with the Lego existing/upcoming products. Would be great if modulars are selected but I doubt it. I think RobenAnne's ideas would be a good one

This is a great idea! But not for my wallet...

How much for RobenAnne’s entire seaside village?

Excellent plan if local shipping can be sorted this time.

Given what LEGO considers "IP" in the context of the studio gallery on Bricklink, I dont think things like the Bionicle set will be appearing here.
Of the things that might potentially be up for this, I would potentially buy:
Retro Bowling Alley (I have always wanted to see LEGO do a bowling alley)
Chemical plant (industrial buildings are always cool to see)
Modular arcade (an arcade is also something I have wanted to see in LEGO)
Food stands (they remind me of the food stalls in video games like Rollercoaster Tycoon)
Surf Rescue (although if it just came with the same generic minifig prints we get in City sets like the "Fun at the Beach" there would be no point really, its the surf life saver/surf rescue figures that make the set work for me)
Boat Repair Shop (my favorite of all the nautical themed projects and a good companion to the Fishing Store)

I think this is an excellent idea.

I am very excited for this, but at the same time, my wallet is terrified

Awesome stuff, I bought from the AFOL Designer Program last time and have bought from Ideas platform too. A great initiative hopefully at a more time and cost effective way for LEGO group that will keep packaging and designer time costs down. Great.

My only problem with this is that, although I was interested in several of the AFOL Designer Program sets, they were IMO too much more expensive than regular Lego sets of the same general size to justify the purchase. Ideas is able to keep the price more reasonable, presumably because of the cost savings of using Lego processes and procedures. I don't see how this proposal would solve my problem. What would be wrong with selling the instructions rather than the entire sets--or at least making that an option?

I do give TLG credit for trying to find a way to make use of the excellent designs which, for whatever reason, weren't suitable for the full Ideas treatment. I just think this hasn't solved the difficulties yet.

While no IPs will prevent things like historic spacecraft and the Concorde, I don't mind at all. Prevents more film and TV sets from cropping up.

Personally, I feel those without an IP were some of the best sets ever done on Ideas, and can't wait for them to resurface through the Designer Program.

Good idea, but I am slightly annoyed by restrictions still presumably being in place.

Oh well, we’ll get an Ebon Hawk one day...

I think it will be a good way to encourage more original design submission!

This is a great idea as lots of unapproved Lego ideas project that reached 10k votes are fantastic designs and would be much more expensive to create even with instructions given bricklinking so many pieces.

Of those 41 non-IP projects, really hope robenanne’s lighthouse would be one. Sand blue is a rare color and it looks the best of out his other unapproved ideas. Makes a great companion next to his old fishing shop.

Bricks and blooms also look fantastic as a modular and food stand diners would be a great set in the cheaper range. Shame the Victorian London Christmas would probably be too large for this project.

I got a set from the original AFOL designer program so am definitely looking forward to supporting this one in 2021!

While I hope the open contest format returns at some point, I like this idea and hope it has staying power. Non-IP projects are some of the highest-quality projects on Ideas. Not being able to tap into an existing fanbase, they need to be to get the votes. Fan designers will also have to put in a little more work to make designs work within the current selection of production parts. I really hope the program ultimately encourages more original concepts in the Ideas program to balance the abundance of IP-based designs.

Castle in the Forest by Povoq!!

Pirates and Castles ahoy! Finally!

I count 16 I might be interested in but price will be the determining factor.

@NathanR2015 said:
"On the face of things, it is brilliant, but Lego Ideas only lists 41 rejected projects that are non-IP:
https://ideas.lego.com/search/global_search/ideas?idea_phase=idea_idea_not_approved&contains_ip=original_projects&query=&sort=top"
I remember lots of those old projects. I remember when "Japanese Old Style Architecture" was for review on Lego CUUSOO. It has more official Lego comments than user comments. I miss Lego giving each project individualized praise for hitting certain milestones rather than an automated message.

Ever since I got the survey email I've had my fingers crossed for the BIONICLE 20th Anniversary set!

There's lots of projects that I think people on here would love to snatch up, like the clockwork aquarium or the bowling ally. Here's hoping when stuff finally becomes available for preorder Brickset does an article explaining all the intricacies of placing an order, as I unfortunately haven't gotten any of the AFOL Design program sets before.

I very much enjoyed the first wave although I missed out on the Castle. I bought the Science Museum and enjoyed the build but there were some design decisions that were dubious or flawed. That’s probably the drawback of not having a LEGO designer finessing the final product - the builds might not be as solid as they could be. Good luck to the projects being considered!

Is TLG feeling the pressure from Bluebrixx's 2021 lineup, which looks absolutely incredible and features top-tier designers like RobenAnne, who designed the Old Fishing Store? The blue guys have no shortage of QC issues on their hands, so it remains to be seen if they can be viable, but they are trying hard.

I think LEGO just found a way not to invest any effort in redesigning an Ideas submission from start to finish and thus block their designers and use up factory resources for something that maybe got the 10K only by social media push. Instead they can outsource the whole set creation and if there is no LEGO brand on the box they are not eligible about the build quality, stability (all those CAD only projects), packaging or aftermarket support. In fact they would only make the parts (maybe a few recolors but I am certain no new moulds), sell them for a good profit and all the rest handled by BL third party partners. Due to pre-ordering LEGO would know exactly how much to produce and only the hard-core fans willing to spend full price would jump in. No more retail distribution, no more discounted sets over a 2-3 year period, it would be just like the BL ADP, which was far from great and very expensive.
But I am happy to see BL considered as an alternative solution, as it must be frustrating to have a submission rejected in the review phase without a real explanation and the rights to it blocked for 3 years.

Potentially awesome idea. It would depend on what they approve for this, and the cost,. but there are some great MOCs there that I would happily purchase.

IMHO, they should use kickstarter somehow in this as well.

Chemical Plant pls

Only really need Food Stand Diners and Gingerbread House, those are brilliant, imagine the cost of buying any of the gazillion modulars that are represented...

I think they should also add the winners and runners up of the Lego ideas competitions that they hold, as they have already gone through a tough judging process.

I just hope that those that are chosen are able to use the TLG mass production facilities to keep costs down, as unsure whether the original wave of crowd sourced products were produced using pieces from the bricklink community inventory or purchased as individual pieces from Lego spares resulting in the high prices. I'm also finding that I'm needing to use more and more stores to obtain all the parts I need in bricklink now as each store is getting low on the most popular inventory items compared to a few years ago, e.g. good luck to anyone trying to build a steam train moc!

Meanwhile looking forward to 2022 as this gives me a whole year to work on something never seen before!

@CCC said:
"I wonder who is going to do all the picking and packing of these sets. If it is Bricklink in-house, then they are either going to need more staff, or LEGO will need to invest in more automated picking equipment. Last time, this was done by hand."

TLG has some experience in automated filling of bags and boxes, so I think that will be more of a programming issue ;-)

I wonder if parts in new colours will be considered.
Probably those eligible will need to submit a digital design beforehand that will be commissioned by TLG for stability and "legal building techniques" issues.

Interesting news, though the postage and import duties made the previous program a no-go for me in Europe. Would be great if sets could be shipped from both USA and Europe. Delighted than IP sets aren't allowed, they often crowd out the other stuff in IDEAS. Really hope the wonderful Chemical Plant gets another chance, it was always obvious LEGO wouldn't approve it as a mainstream release with their obsession over signalling their green credentials.

@NathanR2015 said:
"On the face of things, it is brilliant, but Lego Ideas only lists 41 rejected projects that are non-IP:
https://ideas.lego.com/search/global_search/ideas?idea_phase=idea_idea_not_approved&contains_ip=original_projects&query=&sort=top"

There are 50 projects if you count the "achieved support" as well and 66 if you take the ones that are currently still in review.

Swan Dutchman's Ginger Bread House, for sure. I was disappointed when it was not selected, and would definitely order it if it was released on Bricklink.

@northgeorgiamasonry said:
"This is a great idea! But not for my wallet...

How much for RobenAnne’s entire seaside village?"

Yes, I will take anything from RobenAnne, thank you!

StoneWars did some further filtering of the remaining sets in scope, and they have 13 candidates left: https://www.stonewars.de/news/bricklink-afol-designer-program-runde-2-ideas/
Apart from licenses, they also removed sets with parts no longer in production and those that compete with existing TLG themes (e.g. modulars).

BlueBrixx did their usual "better to ask for forgiveness than to get permission", and they now have RobenAnne on board after first illegally copying his designs. So it is extremely unlikely TLG will still pick up any of his designs for ADP v2.

@Iwanex said:
"So does this mean I can still get that Bionicle 20 year anniversary set ?"
Probably not: Bionicle's still IP, just one owned by Lego themselves, which means it probably falls into the "IP-based designs not being eligible". I wouldn't complain if it did get another chance, but I don't think it's very likely.

Cost is still gonna be prohibitive for me here; but all the same, I'd love to see Castle in the Forest, particularly, become available. I can't really see any others on that list that I'd personally have much interest in; but I'm happy for those who will get a second chance at other designs they liked :D

I'm personally hoping for more of RobenAnne's creations, however I know some of his parts are hard to find going by the Boat Repair Shop and would love to see the Dive shop created.
I'd also like to see the Surf Rescue set created, but having read the creators updates, I fear he is no longer with us. So it would be great for Lego to create this set and donate the money to a skin cancer charity, as this was what the creator was trying to raise awareness off.

The Castle in the Forest
Kakapo
Clockwork Aquarium!
The Lighthouse
(in no particular ofer)

I wonder if shipping to outside US would remain an obstacle for non-US buyers

Anything I can add to the Old Fishing Store (RobenAnne) would be an insta-buy for me, and I sure ain't buying clone bricks.

@R0Sch said:
"There are 50 projects if you count the "achieved support" as well and 66 if you take the ones that are currently still in review."

There are 2 in this category I would buy: the Motorized Lighthouse and the 'Classic Castle'.

@gylman said:
"Anything I can add to the Old Fishing Store (RobenAnne) would be an insta-buy for me, and I sure ain't buying clone bricks. "

You can download the instructions and use Bricklink to build them out of Lego bricks if you wish, but there's not really a huge difference in quality. The clone RobenAnne sets are a bit wonky, but my real Lego 10232 has a bunch of cracked 1x1 rounds, so it's not like the Danish guys are perfect.

Anyway, I'm hoping we see the new Caribbean Clipper, either as a formal Ideas set, or a Bricklink Designer Program set. We have great pirate ships, but nothing for them to actually raid.

Really hoping this means Anatomini will be made. Gutted it was never approved, i assume because it would have been too expensive https://ideas.lego.com/projects/a7687039-bb20-45f4-b8e4-11619720245c