LEGO Ideas review results - two approved projects!

@ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"Prediction: Lego will release a GWP of a minifig-scale phone booth scene in conjunction with the larger set. People will scream. (Guessing the glass doors would be stickered to simulate the actual design. The MOCs out there are close, but can't quite capture the grid paneling.)"

What they *ought* to do is make that GWP a Harry Potter set of the Visitor's Entrance to the Ministry of Magic. Or, actually, just make that a regular set.

@dvw2 said:
" @ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"Prediction: Lego will release a GWP of a minifig-scale phone booth scene in conjunction with the larger set. People will scream. (Guessing the glass doors would be stickered to simulate the actual design. The MOCs out there are close, but can't quite capture the grid paneling.)"

What they *ought* to do is make that GWP a Harry Potter set of the Visitor's Entrance to the Ministry of Magic. Or, actually, just make that a regular set."

That would go well next to the Dimensions-style minifig-sized TARDIS MOC that I have. (Which is currently sitting outside my King's Cross.)

Ratatouille and the mushroom house were my favorites--I'm a little bummed that neither of them were picked.

I LOVE Nightmare Before Christmas, but I already own the Jack and Sally figures from a few years ago, and I don't have the money or the space needed for a large set based on that property.

The phone box will make a great display piece. It's not really my thing, but I can imagine a lot of people enjoying it!

finally NBX, LEGO have the minifigures already

Nightmare is also in the next review wave. It's sucks, as in this case both projects are nice, and in fact not the details of this particular build decided but the theme itself. It is similar to what happened with Doctor Who Ideas set. And it is some way unfair to the other creators.

Well I'm not surprised the project based on a Disney-owned brand made it, especially when they already made collectable minifigures from that movie.
I never cared for Nightmare Before Christmas and I never buy sets based on real life objects so I can't say I'm excited by those results.

@tris said:
"There were so, so many promising projects here... The mushroom house, polaroid camera, mystery shack, witch house, even the krusty krab or the walkman... And I'd be lying if I said I didn't love the mata nui robot, though I hardly expected that to pass... the log fume and the cats, the cute little thomas the tank engine (could've finally been another affordable ideas set at that scale)!! And they picked these..? These are such weak choices. Honestly, why? I know nightmare before christmas is popular but that scene will not make a good or affordable set, I love lilo & stitch but I would have the same concerns for that... and the phone booth is so so plain. If someone wants to make one it would be so easy and as a set it's boring. Why would you make that into an actual set? I couldn't be more disappointed with this honestly."

a diffrent model of the polaroid camera is alredy in progress, (a better built one might i add) by the magnificent minibrick productions!

The phone booth looks good for what it is! Not too interesting to me personally, but congrats to the designer!

The NBC looks great! I’m sure it’ll make fans of the movie very happy. Glad it got picked.

Of course the two of the sets I cared about the least won.

Very happy with the nightmare before christmas, but I’m so sad ‘Heartstopper’ didn’t make the cut. It would’ve been such a cute small wholesome set…

The phone box is ok, but I wouldn't buy it. We still have one in our village actually, it's now used as a book swap.

Love the Nightmare Before Christmas set though, looks great and will probably buy it as we love the film.

I actually quite like that phone box! And at a decent price I might even be tempted to buy it. That said, it looks pretty sizable though (apparently 1856 pieces), so if Lego sticks close to the fan design this might become a bit more expensive than I (and probably most people) would want to pay for something like this. I'd say at anything above €100 it will be a pretty tough sell.

I don't think that's as much an issue with The Nightmare Before Christmas. This certainly won't be a cheap set (and not one I'd buy either), but this has much broader appeal. And I think as it is it is pretty excellent! Hope Lego doesn't change too much. I do feel that the background makes it stand out much more than it would on its own, a brick built background would increase the price way too much, maybe they could do something creative with the box?

These weren't my favorites of the bunch though, but to be fair I don't think this wasn't exactly the strongest selection of candidates to begin with. And I'm not that surprised that the sets I liked more weren't picked.

I am rather surprised by these choices, although not unpleasantly so (not that either set is something I'm likely to purchase, as big a fan of Tim Burton as I am).

I wasn't remotely surprised that my favourite Lego IDEAS submission, the absolutely stunning The Art Center, was rejected, because modulars are rarely, if ever, approved (the Home Alone House being an exception of sorts, since it's based on an IP), but I hope this now means that the designer, Brickester, will now consider submitting it as a BrickLink Designer Program design, assuming it meets all the requirements, as I suspect it's the type of design that will find favour and sell out quickly via BrickLink.

RIP Mata Nui / Great Spirit Robot.

And two Disney IPs two years in a row.

@UK67Mac said:
"Telephone box is booooring for people outside England.

But excited for the 'The Nightmare before Christmas' one. Hope its not another 200€+ Set"
Funny, my opinion is quite the opposite. I find the telephone box highly appealing, yet couldn't care less about the Nightmare before Christmas set, since I never liked that movie in the first place and would not buy this set or wouldn't even keep it if I got it as a present.

Anyway, to each their own. Happy for all the fans who have clamored for such a set for ages.

I'm definitely going to get the Nightmare Before Christmas set. It is a huge part of our holiday celebrations at our house. Very cool.

@Classicsmiley said:
"I'm getting to the point where I really dislike seeing the review results. There are so many excellent creations that get passed by, that the disappointment completely overshadows any other feeling.

I'd really hate to be on the review team at LEGO."

Amen

I am cautiously happy with the phone booth because I often need red parts for my MOCs (nowadays, everything is white, bley, dark bley and black). Maybe with that set, we will get a few recolours in red). The other set is cool but not my cup of tea. Still waiting for Orient Express.

P.S. Not quite sure if people realise how big the phone booth is.

Disclaimer: I haven't read all the comments.
I kind of like the telephone box, also and in particular with its surrounding setting (and no, I'm not British). Not saying I'll necessarily buy it, but I'd consider it.
I do really like Nightmare as a movie / story. But I have almost zero interest in getting some representation of it in Lego form...

Seems quite opposite to what most people think. Luckily, it's just opinions (or preferences), you can't really argue about these.

Really excited for the Nightmare Before Christmas and surprised by some of the fantastic submissions, like Mushroom House and Night at the Museum, that didn't get approved.

Curious what the final Nightmare Before Christmas set will look like as I strongly prefer the design in the next review over this one. It is just more evocative of the style in the movie and more refined. I wouldn’t mind some of the extras in this set adding to it, but I hope the look is more like the other.

Well, not for me, but Lego is making plenty of stuff that is for me. Seems likely that there's a fan base for both of these, so I'm happy for them. Congrats to the designers.

Maybe the retirement of DOTS is a secret plot to bring back Scala , and their Barbie like figures, and this Phone Booth is their first set to the new scale of dolls /s.

could of made telephone box blue.... added stickers for doctor who

Long limbs for Jack Skellington may be a reality!!!

Well none of my top ten submissions in that round were approved, although I did at least support one of them. Six of my favourites were probably never going to be chosen due to being modulars or castle-related, but I'm surprised that Cats wasn't chosen. Perhaps they have something similar in the pipeline already.

If LEGO were prepared to make a telephone box I'm surprised they needed Ideas to suggest it. It's such an obvious set to make after the two London buses they've done. This will become a mainstay of the Leicester Square store for tourists.

If the phone box comes with a Technic figure, I'm there.

Am guessing the phonebox won't be minifig scale or London Bus scale but if it was constraction scale it'd be fun. They could add a constraction figure in a suit, bowler hat and holding an umbrella to complete the London stereotype set!

Well, that's money saved for me. That telephone booth is not gonna do well.

I'd like the phone booth set to be modular compatible on 16x32 baseplate so you can add it to either side of a non-corner building to make it a corner. Add some landscaping/walkway/benches. But knowing Lego they'll probably make it a foot tall and a standalone adult display set for telephone enthusiasts that costs $150.

The telephone box needs a superman fig

They may have denied Spongebob, again, but we finally got Nightmare Before Christmas. So it's not as bad.

(Sees all the incredible builds that were turned down) My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.

@jkb said:
"Don't forget: They'll be nothing like what you see above."

So you are saying there is a chance to get a modular with the telephone box?

Whew. Some sets I don't want to buy.

They better downscale the phone booth and make it affordable. The ideas submission is too massive to make a good desk display model and I don't see people spending hundreds on it either way.

I got the Ministry set purely for the phonebox that came with it.

No interest in this ideas set since it's not minifig scale.

Also the proportions on that letter box are way off. The brim at the top is far too wide.

I voted for London phone cabin, as far as I remember. Anyways, a good MOC and will be a magnificent set. Congrats to the author/authors

Ah man, the Mushroom House and Mystery Shack didn't make it.

Oddly enough, this is one of the few times we've been given a reason a set didn't make it through... in a round about way. Back when the BIONICLE GWP was revealed last month it's designers did an interview on the set's design process. They more or less confirmed that a set release of the Great Spirit Robot was never happening because it was too niche. Most BIONICLE buyers left around 2003, so as iconic as the 2008 plot twist is in the fanbase there's a lot of more casual people who'd be left scratching their heads at it.

The phone booth is one of the least interesting sets from the ideas line so far, it'll hit the 33% discount 3 weeks after release.

TNBC, I'll wait to see the result and pricing. Mainly interested in the jack and sally's silhouette with the moon and curled rock, other buildings are not that interesting.

Looking back at all of the submissions, what was chosen makes sense.
As much as many of us love the various houses (Escape Game, Garage, Lilo & Stitch, Mushroom, Muddy Waters, Alchemist, etc.), they don't stand a chance of being selected. They're beautiful and creative, but Lego isn't going to select them.
The A-Team van is an iconic 80's set that we'd all love to see made into an official Lego set, but since Universal owns the rights, I'm sure licensing agreements are holding that back.
The scientific sets like the orrery and clockwork solar system won't be chosen either because no one owns the rights to these devices, so why would Lego agree to build them with rights going to an external set designer? If Lego produces these, it'll be done in-house with no licensing issues.
A breach subsidiary of Paramount owns Garfield, so we all know that isn't going to happen at Lego. It stands a better chance of becoming a set for Megablocks since they have franchise rights with them already.
Scrutiny of these sets only leaves a small handful as realistic choices. With Disney owning The Nightmare Before Christmas, it's a logical choice. There's already established licensing between Lego and Disney franchises, so this themed set stands a better chance of becoming an official Lego set. The London phonebooth is also a realistic option since Lego has already created many London-themed sets in the past, and it fits in with Big Ben, the Doubledecker bus, and the London Bridge. Hopefully, we can see some of these submissions become sets through Bricklink or with instructions sold separately, allowing builders to recreate them independently.

Would love to see the sea turtle and cats designers offer their instructions. Those were the 2 I was pulling for, but, without much hope.

Nightmare set should be fun for my Halloween setup, though!

Phoneboxs do exist outside London so not sure 'London' needs to be part of the name.

Phonebox should come with an alternative build of a community library or defibrillator considering most have had the phone removed. Think Lego missed the peak of phonebox relevance in the mobile phone age.

@Zoniax said:
" @LeonHardJPG said:
" @UK67Mac said:
"... Hope its not another 200€+ Set"

We have hope. Rebellions are built on hope!

"

There never was much hope... just a fool's hope."

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.

Emily Dickinson

Both are interesting choices. Depending on price, I may pick one or both up. But I'll have to wait until final product and how my budget is doing until then. Too many other sets taking precedence.

RIDICULOUSLY IDIOTIC CHOICES!! THERE WAS 49 OTHER IDEAS THAT WERE A MILLION TIMES BETTER THEN THIS! I MEAN, A PHONE BOOTH?!?! YOU’VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!!!

A lot of the rejected stuff is perfect Bricklink Designer Program feeder material.

Sigh… I was really hoping for the mushroom house…

@TheEpicLuke:
First single project, or first general concept? Because I know The Office was their whipping post for several years, and there have probably been at least three Legend of Zelda rejections (I can think of two offhand, and the Wind Waker boat could have been awesome).

@naota_XD:
Ironically, releasing that one GWP probably put Bionicle on the restricted list for at least a year, as a newly-reactivated theme (assuming Sad Tahu hadn’t already done that).

@dvw2:
I’d be curious to see if that would be allowed. We know from Steamboat Willie and Sesame Street that you can’t submit a project that relies on new elements, but that they’ve relaxed the rules so they can opt to make new elements if they want to. HP is an active theme, so the IP is on the restricted list. You can’t submit HP projects, and smart money is on the Ideas team being banned from rolling a submitted project into an active theme.

@legoguy:
Doctor Who is on the banned list because they already did one Ideas set for that IP. Anything more would require a general theme.

Well, at least time I won't have to worry about space for these 2. Their space will remain in the store. Nice to get some breathing space for a change.

Nightmare before Christmas was an easy win since they could theoretically make that at any time with Disney’s blessing. Killing two birds with one stone.

the big problem is the selection grouping, there are too many being submitted for review at a time, smaller groups would help. Another is you know by now which types of sets won't succeed.

I'm glad on the telephone box, the other is an easy pass.

@UK67Mac said:
"Telephone box is booooring for people outside England.

But excited for the 'The Nightmare before Christmas' one. Hope its not another 200€+ Set"

These phone boxes were used all over the United Kingdom, Malta, Bermuda, and Gibralta!

Nice! I really love the Red London Telephone Box! Great display piece!

These aren't the sets I was looking for. There were plenty of sets in this round I had interest in and had voted for. These weren't them. Congrats to those that were chosen, nice builds but not my cup of tea. At least we will be getting a version of the Viking Village. I don’t bother speculating on which sets will be chosen because most of the ones I would actually consider buying never get chosen.

@sipuss said:
"Ah man, I had high hopes for the mushroom house..."

I think it is a perfect set. I am stunned.

Cool! Very pleased with the Nightmare Before Christmas choice, if only because the build process should be most unorthodox!

In September I wrote "I'd put my money on the walkman or the phone box".
The phone box was predictable but not very interesting.
Shame the Walkman wasn't selected. It's not a game console but it would have fit into the retro theme.

All that waiting for a phone booth? I know retro is "cool" these days... but a phone booth? Kuddos to Nightmare, though. Not my thing, but nicely done and I'm sure will be a great set. Not surprised A-Team failed again, but that's the only one I would have been interested in for this round.

@bnic99 yes! Speed Champions KITT and A-Team!

The telephone box is tempting, as would be a TARDIS at the same scale.

The red British telephone booth will look striking on display. I'll put that on my list.
And The Nightmare Before Christmas will be EXCELLENT, plus the great figs to come from it.

For the others rejected, we've already had 7623 Temple Escape plus we're getting a new Temple Escape this year anyways so we're covered on that.
The Great Wave is already done with 31208
The Steampunk Skyship is already covered with 70810 MetalBeard's Sea-Cow.
CaDA already has done an excellent licensed Orrery from JK Brickworks.
The Chinese Garden is kinda' covered with the various chi-com New Years sets.
Petra I suspect is coming within the new Indiana Jones wave?

I would've enjoyed the tall clockwork Orrery, Mushroom House, Viking Village and Arts Center myself and an all-new Krusty Krab! sigh ;)

Hopefully they'll sort out the scale of the phone box as the lamppost and postbox are not in scale to the phone box.

@domoka said:
"Am guessing the phonebox won't be minifig scale or London Bus scale but if it was constraction scale it'd be fun. They could add a constraction figure in a suit, bowler hat and holding an umbrella to complete the London stereotype set!"

40308

The expression of something 'having outlived itself' seems a better fit with every passing Ideas review.

The Telephone Box looks superb, with excellent levels of detail throughout. Will be a definite buy so long as it ends up fairly close to the original submission, especially the classic A and B button telephone.

@PurpleDave said:
" @TheEpicLuke:
First single project, or first general concept? Because I know The Office was their whipping post for several years, and there have probably been at least three Legend of Zelda rejections (I can think of two offhand, and the Wind Waker boat could have been.)"

For a single project. The Office was selected on it's third submission by the same creator. Ideas made a big deal about it (although more realistically they picked The Office because they finally secured the rights), and seemingly ignored Ratatouille despite achieving the same feat. For general concepts, there are too many to count, even for ones that don't reach 10k supporters.

@Tc99m said:
"Ah man, I was really hoping for the Clockwork Solar System :( Really, really disappointed it (again) didn't make it, even though they got the required amount of votes in such a short time."
It'll come around again. :o)

Gutted Thomas the Tank Engine didn't make the cut.

@gloslegofan said:
"Gutted Thomas the Tank Engine didn't make the cut."

You're not alone... not by a longshot.

Bummed about the Civil Engineering Bridges; I would have loved that, and it was unique compared to what typically turns into a LEGO set. I also share the communal disappointment that none of the many, many medieval village sets were chosen... clearly the community has a demand for those that's going unmet :/

Man, I was kind of rooting for Thomas the Tank Engine (he was my childhood!), and I would have probably picked up the University, Bluey and Japanese Village as well.

Of these, the Telephone box just looks boring to me, and I'm not sure if it will be a big success outside of the UK. Nightmare Before Christmas isn't too bad though, and I would prefer a set based on that over Hocus Pocus. The interesting architecture of the film might lead me to purchasing it, but I'll. have to see how it turns out.

@night13flyer said:
"could of made telephone box blue.... added stickers for doctor who"

When the set comes out, I will change it to be blue regardless. Even if I don't actually get the set, I will try to do what I can to make it blue. If I do end up getting it, it will go on display beside 10258

Nightmare Before Christmas has a market and a fan base.

Telephone Box is an interesting choice, to use the term loosely. It feels like one of those random subjects a knock off brand might make.

@MonsterFighter said:
" @UK67Mac said:
"Telephone box is booooring for people outside England."

Weirdly I was thinking the main market for the phone box is outside the UK, especially in the USA.
Red phone boxes are almost non-existent here but US tv shows seem to think they’re still in widespread use. "

Yeah my extended family in England says tourists love them but they'd never go in one because drunk people would always use them as toilets.

Telephone booth will go nicely with london bus!
Likely appeals to casual buyers and I suspect will outsell the other one. Anyone that has ever visited the UK will appreciate it so there is probably a bigger market than most would think.

The christmas one will have the cinematic fans ready to go, but is still likely a niche set. By that size it is not going to be cheap.

An ideas project died for Nightmare Before Christmas

Nothing in this round really had me excited. There are a few sets in the Summer 2023 round, Pixar Up and Sewer Underground, that are hopefuls for me.

@vzarmo said:
" @jkb said:
"Don't forget: They'll be nothing like what you see above."

So you are saying there is a chance to get a modular with the telephone box?"

Possibly. With all the changes, a modular may be within the parts budget. Maybe it will be something completely different, like a dinosaur or whatever the most implausible addition is - who knows how designers' and product managers' minds work?

@Brick_Belt said:
" @MonsterFighter said:
" @UK67Mac said:
"Telephone box is booooring for people outside England."

Weirdly I was thinking the main market for the phone box is outside the UK, especially in the USA.
Red phone boxes are almost non-existent here but US tv shows seem to think they’re still in widespread use. "

Yeah my extended family in England says tourists love them but they'd never go in one because drunk people would always use them as toilets. "

There you go, LEGOs first UCS potty. It was a matter of time.

Sad there is no bluey. my family recently discovered it and it is incredible. Alas

Meh and don't care.

On the flip side it means more money not spent, on the other hand there goes my dream of that tuscan villa.

It's not the telephone booth I would buy. I would prefer a different, Iconic British phone booth, one that's blue. And says Police. and travels through Time And Relative Dimensions In Space.

I am not a fan of the Nightmare Before Christmas in any sense.

Both are an easy pass.

It's about time for a Nightmare Before Christmas set!! I've been waiting for that for years! The CMFs and Brick Headz were just a tease. I hope it's just as big as the fan submission and that it has tons of minifigs.

@UK67Mac said:
"Telephone box is booooring for people outside England.

But excited for the 'The Nightmare before Christmas' one. Hope its not another 200€+ Set"

You forget that the telephone booth is one of the entrances to the Ministry of Magic in Harry Potter. There will be more demand for this than you think. I'm going to start working on my complimentary Harry Potter toilet MOC...

Was hoping for the mushroom house but these sets are so great. Love the telephone box!

@tjkemperle said:
"Nothing in this round really had me excited. There are a few sets in the Summer 2023 round, Pixar Up and Sewer Underground, that are hopefuls for me. "
Lego are releasing Carl’s House from Up this year as part of the Disney 100 celebration so the Ideas submission for Up won’t be approved.

Terribly sad!! There were two of the worst candidates!

@Andhe said:
" @UK67Mac said:
"Telephone box is booooring for people outside England.

But excited for the 'The Nightmare before Christmas' one. Hope its not another 200€+ Set"

....

Would make a nice shelf piece, and actually fit on a shelf unlike the forementioned eiffel tower etc!)

...."

Unless they decide to make it a 1:1 scale. That would be spectacular!

Judging from the size, the telephone booth may not come cheap. And for TNBC set, it may be reduced in size by excluding the right half, making it more accessible.

With so many amazing projects reaching 10k, Lego only selecting 2 out of 51 will inevitably lead to a lot of disappointment, exactly as I predicted months ago. Even if you love one or both of their picks, there's so many great builds every wave that ALSO deserve to be sets.

It baffles me that, despite how much the Ideas platform exploded in popularity in recent years, Lego still only chooses 1-2 sets every cycle, the same number they chose back when each wave had maybe a dozen projects. At this point, we're up to a 96% rejection rate this cycle, and that's just sad.

Lego really should increase the number of projects approved each cycle. There's clearly enough interest in the platform to approve a few more sets each round, and it'll only lead to more happy customers.

Very excited for Nightmare! Not excited for Ministry Muggle Entrance or whatever that thing is.

Tardis or phone booth hmmm...
split difference rotary phone..

I’m rather pleased with this selection. Quite honestly, if I had to pick 2 from the group these might be what I would choose.

That said, I doubt I’ll be buying either one. I’m afraid Nightmare Before Christmas will be too large and expensive, although if it is reasonable I can see myself getting it.

As much as I like the phone booth, I really don’t need it. I have a London phone booth bank that is probably the same size that I’ve had since I was a kid. More recently I bought a pool table and splurged for a London phone booth cue rack which I love and no Lego set could ever compete with (unless it was actual size).

I love the phone box. Day 1 purchase. From what I can see the detail looks very good. I love using a minifig sized phone handset as the door handle. I hope that makes it into the final model.

@CCC said:
" @sjr60 said:
" @1265 said:
"Does the telephone booth come with it's own urine."
No. For guaranteed authenticity you must provide your own. "

I would have thought for authenticity it would be someone else's, although it depends what you got up to in phone boxes. :-)"
Could be swapped via Bricklink.....

The Nightmare Before Christmas looks great, interesting build and at long last something original and completely different. So glad TLG are willing to take a gamble for a change. On the downside from the size of the minifigs looks very large, so likely to be expensive which may make the 10k supporters think twice. Shame you cannot have it both ways. The telephone box on a smaller scale with bowler hat mini-fig would make a great GWP, but I think this has already been done.

@wookie2 said:
"Excited for the Nightmare Before Christmas set. Love the movie and I've been wanting a set for ages.

All the moaners really need to get a grip. I don't buy Friends; Duplo; Ninjago; Monkie Kid; and most City to name a few but it doesn't bother me that they're out there. "

Yeah but here the ideas are coming from Lego fans and not from Lego itself. I hope you see the difference.

However people should stop uploading their ideas like modulars or (similar) sets what we got in the past. They should just sell it on rebrickable.

Boring choices, again!!

Those selections are understandable, though I'm not sure I'd buy any, except if Night Before Christmas contains nice minifigs.

I'm especially gutted that the Krusty Krab and Mystery Shack proposals were rejected (again)…

@MegaBlocks:
Now that I think about it, the bars sticking out of the lamppost look almost perfectly set at eye-level, compared to the phone booth. That’s not some crazy British way of testing blood alcohol level, is it?

@Doctor_Hugh:
The problem with rejecting stuff too early is it tips everyone off that they plan to release it as a set. There’s also the issue that it may take long enough for a new project to clear 10k, and go through review, that the conflicting set could be released, put the IP on the restricted list, retire, and let the IP fall off the restricted list before they have to finalize the results. It’s highly unlikely they’d wait out that process rather than just continuing the existing theme, but you never know.

@MaxA said:
"I've somewhat stopped caring about the Ideas voting process, because Lego (understandably) has so much more to the process than the public can participate in. There is far too much time between the steps where fans are involved, with far too little payoff. There isn't much that can be done to fix most of the delays. However, I had one idea:

What if Lego allowed for voting on all non-licensed sets that fit a certain set of criteria (i.e., not a modular, less than XXXX pieces) and the top vote getter was automatically produced?

That might generate more excitement. They really should have a few different processes (one for licensed themes, one for modulars, etc)."

They have started to have more competitions that lead to sets (like the viking set) lately. They'd have to significantly increase the minimum vote requirement, 10k just isn't that big of an indicator anymore when Lego is doing gangbusters with adult-oriented sets. A small fandom can meet that in a few months.

It would also greatly help with the set designs. So many that make it to 10k are just well-polished MOCs that stand no chance at getting approved. But they look cool so people vote for them. If the Bricklink Designer Program is as successful as it seems, maybe it would do them good to start clearly defining what can be submitted where. Maybe the BDP is for sets over a certain number of pieces.

In a perfect world Lego would screen all Ideas submissions when they are submitted. They would determine IP feasibility, how much it fits the definition of a Lego set, and if the idea is developed enough to be successful. Having that process would've saved sets like the Office or BTS from going through so many submissions—imagine having someone from Lego contact you and say, can you make this more complex? Or less complex? Or have better aesthetics? I'd also make this the point where they get to say "this is a more niche idea" or "this is an MOC" and send it over to the BDP where getting 10k purchases or whatever is the only requirement to getting produced. If they did this the viability of the ideas submissions would go up, and a higher percentage would get approved

I find the discourse around Ideas approval maddening each time they are announced. Half to three-fourths of the sets weren't going to make it in the first place, but people seem to think getting to 10k is a guarantee that it will be a successful Lego set, but that just isn't the case.

Maybe moving to a more regimented process would really help boost Ideas again back to where it seemed to be years ago. But really Lego is just a victim of their own success: everyone thinks they have the chance to design an official lego set, and who wouldn't want that no matter how many ideas are rejected?

@ha21 said:
"I find the discourse around Ideas approval maddening each time they are announced. Half to three-fourths of the sets weren't going to make it in the first place, but people seem to think getting to 10k is a guarantee that it will be a successful Lego set, but that just isn't the case.

Maybe moving to a more regimented process would really help boost Ideas again back to where it seemed to be years ago. But really Lego is just a victim of their own success: everyone thinks they have the chance to design an official lego set, and who wouldn't want that no matter how many ideas are rejected?"

Very well said. I think a fantastic BrickLink article idea would be comparing rejected ideas versus approved. There already are a few articles comparing approved vs final product, but rejected ideas tend to share a lot of design traits:

Of the 51 approved ideas sets, only 12 were over 2,000pcs and only 3 cracked the 3,000pc point. Lego is explicit in the rules, that 3,000pcs is the limit. 1/2 to 3/4 of the sets in each wave never had a chance to begin with just because of part count. The digital design programs tell you how many parts you’ve used! Just look at the approved wave before this; almost all we’re under 1000pcs, maybe even less than 500! Some rejected submissions even use parts that haven’t been printed since the 80s or 90s which is a delusion to think they’ll ever be reprinted.

But I think your final point is the most accurate. Lego did this to themselves by opening up Pandora’s Box and letting a fan create a real set, especially using licensing.

@ha21:
The problem with basing the rules on licensed IP is that, while a loyal fanbase can easily put a licensed idea over 10k in short order, it could put the bar well out of reach of non-licensed projects. It also creates problems for projects that would need to be licensed, but aren’t based on genre IP, like the Women of NASA (where they had to sign deals with the 4-of-5 women from the original project who ended up in the final set).

I agree on the feasibility bar being much higher than people believe. This is especially true for licensed IP that doesn’t have a worldwide audience. Even stuff that is/was really popular in the US hasn’t always performed well, but if the main market is instead a nation with a population that’s not even 1/10th the size of the US, it’d have to be something that would sell even if the IP was stripped from it, like the Tallneck, or the Ninjago Modulars.

@vzarmo said:
" @wookie2 said:
"Excited for the Nightmare Before Christmas set. Love the movie and I've been wanting a set for ages.

All the moaners really need to get a grip. I don't buy Friends; Duplo; Ninjago; Monkie Kid; and most City to name a few but it doesn't bother me that they're out there. "

Yeah but here the ideas are coming from Lego fans and not from Lego itself. I hope you see the difference.

However people should stop uploading their ideas like modulars or (similar) sets what we got in the past. They should just sell it on rebrickable. "

Lego have opened an avenue for the more feasible sets that get rejected to be made via the Bricklink Designer Program which whilst I liked some of them I didn't pursue them but I'm still happy for those who did. Complaining at every Lego Ideas review approval reveal isn't going to change the current process as Lego make what they feel are both feasible and will bring them profit.

Obviously some people have gone via other roots with their submissions once rejected via 3rd parties but overall the Bricklink Designer Program will hopefully see some of the non-licensed builds featured in this last phase up for discussion at a later date.

The Nightmare Before Christmas is my favorite movie so I'm very pumped about it for sure. I now a lot of people complain about the pricing, but if the value is low the piece count and overall appearance of it suffer. I'm Okay with a $200-$300 tag on this one if it looks amazing. Can't wait to see it.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
wheres the walkman1

I was expecting the Inspector Spacetime fans to be excited for the telephone booth, but since the set doesn't include minifigs of the Inspector and Constable Reggie, I can understand their disappointment.

@davefaust78 said:
"...
The scientific sets like the orrery and clockwork solar system won't be chosen either because no one owns the rights to these devices, so why would Lego agree to build them with rights going to an external set designer? If Lego produces these, it'll be done in-house with no licensing issues.
...
The London phonebooth is also a realistic option since Lego has already created many London-themed sets in the past, and it fits in with Big Ben, the Doubledecker bus, and the London Bridge."

You make some good arguments, but I feel like your view of the "scientific sets" is flawed. LEGO [Ideas] could realistically design every single set that's chosen, in house (IP or not); I doubt they need much help in that regard. They could also get "new" ideas for sets by simply trolling the various social media sites people post MOCs to and not spend money on a platform for fans to submit projects.

Additionally, your argument here could very well be applied to the London sets you mentioned towards the end (or even the Disney sets); why pay a fan royalties for a set based on an "established" theme (especially when you're already paying royalties to another party, as is the case with the Disney/NBX set)?

@sipuss said:
"Ah man, I had high hopes for the mushroom house..."

That was my favorite, such a unique look and feel. I wonder if LEGO would ever consider a Smurfs set for IDEAS??!!?

Another London item... well, just build the all town in lego... the Lisbon tram was great and it would be the one and only lego set ever representing something from Portugal...oh well...

These 2 sets are unbelievably boring. I was waiting for the the Clockwork solar system or the orrery, something interesting that hasn't been done before.

Love it. I'll probably get them both.

It is interesting to see how many British themed sets they made over the years. I have a whole shelf dedicated to it, with the Tower Bridge, Big Ben, London bus, the Mini, the DB5, the Tardis and a Knight Bus from Harry Potter. On the wall above it I will hang the Rolling Stones logo, but I still have to build that one.

@Rutger:
Unlike Germany, the UK didn’t stop buying just because the US surpassed them in total sales. I don’t have any numbers to back me up, but I kinda wonder if the UK has the highest per capita sales of any nation.

And that I can identify, you’re missing at least two Routemasters, at least three Minis, three Sopwith Camels, one DB5, the London skyline, Sherlock Holmes, Shakespeare, two different King’s/Queen’s Guard, the polybag minifig that looks sorta like that style of guard, Lester, the Beatles, the Yellow Submarine, and enough other Harry Potter stuff to probably force you to find a new place to live. And of course, a lot of the Star Wars filming took place at Leavesden…

@Rutger:
Ooh, I was only thinking stand-alone Minis. There’s also the Speed Champions 2-pack. And there’s William Wallace, the bagpiper, and Tartan Batman.

@Rutger:
And Team GB minifigs!

The phone booth better reek of urine.