This year’s Easter Sunday may have already passed, but the great Easter Egg hunt is really hard to let go of. True to its purpose of giving delightful surprises, these custom LEGO easter eggs by Dutch builder Koen (aka Swan Dutchman) is more than just a pretty sight (and they ARE really beautiful).
With themes such as Spring, Love, and Ice, these extravagantly adorned custom LEGO easter eggs can easily pass for a LEGO jewelry collection. Koen delights his audience through his aesthetic and technical expertise with clever use of unassuming parts and sparkling metallic effects. As you can see, the delightful surprise doesn’t end with the exquisitely beautiful exterior. Koen does keep the best things for last.
Koen’s impeccable attention to detail really shows in his creations. Just take a look at his official LEGO Ideas entry – the Gingerbread House – included in the next LEGO Ideas Review Stage. If you wish to see the rest of Koen’s creations, just head over to his Flickr page and leave a thank you note. Who knows, you might see one of these Easter surprises in your front yard.
The LEGO Ideas project, Jurassic Park Visitor Center, has hit 10,000 supporters and now moves into the review stage. This project created by LDiEgo features the iconic Jurassic Park location as seen in the original film.
It comes in at 2,623 pieces and includes 6 minifigures: John Hammond, Tim Murphy, Lex Murphy, Donald Gennaro, Ray Arnold, and Robert Muldoon. It also features a molder raptor figure. The Jurassic Park Visitor Center now qualifies to move on to the LEGO Ideas First 2016 Review Stage. Read on for this project’s full description and other details. If you’re excited to see this as a potential LEGO set in the future, then be sure to keep with tabs with our blog site.
Over the years, almost every new LEGO movie licensed theme has been created to match with a new theatrical release. In the case of big movie franchises, some sets based on previous films were produced before the ones based on the new films. This has happened with “STAR WARS”, “Toy Story”, or “Indiana Jones”.
So a good reason to release a fourth Jurassic Park movie was the chance to see LEGO products for the previous films, right?
Strangely, the last product license ignores the previous movies and is based only on the last film in the series, “Jurassic World”. It looks a lost opportunity for such a license deal.
The key elements in the Jurassic Park films are the dinosaurs, but the movies are also filled with lots of iconic vehicles, locations, and characters with a lot of potential for a complete building toy line.
The biggest set in a utopian Jurassic Park Theme would be the Jurassic Park Visitor Center.
The LEGO Ideas Jurassic Park Visitor Center project features a complex building in the facade, as well as some rooms inside to recreate every scene in the movie:
Main entrance hall, with two brick-built skeletons: a sauropod and a Tyrannosaurus.
“Les Gigantes” restaurant, with a gift shop.
Kitchen.
V.I.P. Dining Room
Emergency bunker
Showcase theatre
Control room
Genetics lab with cold storage room
The Jurassic Park Visitor Center also features several rooms that can be hinged or detached for a better play experience. There is also space for a secret compartment at the main entrance, under the stairs.
The dinosaurs menu… I mean, the minifigures included would be:
John Hammond
Tim Murphy
Lex Murphy
Donald Gennaro
Ray Arnold
Robert Muldoon
And “The Big One” molded raptor (A.K.A. “Clever Girl”).
Jurassic Park Visitor Center specifications (note that this could change if the project becomes a product)
We featured some of Jason Allemann’s work for quite some time now and we’re so proud and delighted that LEGO has finally and officially unveiled his creation – the LEGO Ideas Maze 21305.
A Closer Look at the LEGO Ideas Maze 21305
Here’s a look at the official box art and packaging for the LEGO Ideas Maze 21305. The set includes 769 pieces and will retail at $69.99 in the US and $89.99 in Canada slated to hit stores on April 1 (don’t worry, we’re not in the habit of pranking people on this date). Anyways, in addition to the basic design the set comes with a second castle-themed design.
The back side of the box shows how the maze is operated by using the tilt knobs and a very simple guide to changing the themed maze plates.
The latest LEGO Ideas product reinvents the classic ball and labyrinth game, but adds a twist of creative LEGO building to the fun.
Built entirely from LEGO elements, the LEGO Ideas Maze consists of a base frame and a simple tip and tilt mechanism made up of LEGO beams and axles. You turn the wheels to move the maze up and down or from side to side guiding the ball away from the traps.
The interchangeable LEGO Ideas Maze system means you can easily swap maze plates without having to rebuild the entire game. Once you’ve mastered the two maze designs included with the set, you will find lots of inspiration to start creating your own mazes using the bricks included or any of your own LEGO elements.
The set also includes a removable container to store the balls and a travel lock that keeps everything in place when you are carrying or storing the game.
This is the 13th product in the LEGO Ideas series, this time designed by LEGO fan Jason Allemann who has always been fascinated with this classic game.
Hey LEGO! Care to come up with your own rolling LEGO BB-8 set?
There have been plenty of fan-built LEGO BB-8s all over the internet, but none like what Mark Smiley created and contributed at LEGO Ideas. So, what set it apart from the rest? This custom rolling LEGO BB-8 actually rolls while keeping its head afloat! Mark goes on to show that his rendition of the skittish but loyal astromech droid is made of 100% authentic LEGO parts. Needless to say, this might be the coolest custom LEGO Star Wars LEGO BB-8 that we will see rolling around. Watch its demo video below.
How to Make Your Own Custom Rolling LEGO BB-8
Mark’s BB-8 received a great deal of thumbs-up from fellow LEGO Idea supporters, running at 2398 votes as of this writing. The interesting part is that it gained almost 2,000 votes since last Friday when Gizmodo featured Mark’s ingenious creation. As you may notice, the design of Mark’s BB-8 is reminiscent of that of Sphero’s BB-8 robotic toy.
Check Out the Inner Workings of this Custom Rolling LEGO BB-8
Unlike, Sphero’s absolutely cool and sophisticated version, the build of Mark’s BB-8 is surprisingly simple. Using magnets that are bolstered up from a central axle and stabilized by LEGO weights, BB-8’s manages to keep afloat while his main body is rolling.
It lacks any electric motor that allows independent motion, however, it comes with a desert-themed docking station that allows BB-8 to roll using hand-cranked wheels while it remains stationary. As expected, there is no standard LEGO piece for BB-8’s spherical body giving Mark experimenting on certain parts as the only option.
After countless trials and errors, Mark found the perfect spherical candidate: the desert planet from the Sebulba Podracer and Tatooine set (9675). Mark said, “It took a lot of experimenting…I think I ordered one of every dome and ball-shaped piece LEGO has ever made off of Bricklink just so I could try every option.” After a quick paint job, the desert planet of Tatooine now houses the mechanisms for this adorable rolling astromech.
The LEGO Star Wars Sebulba Podracer and Tatooine (9675) set was the basis for the spherical body of this LEGO Ideas Rolling BB-8 product idea.
Here is Mark’s commentary on his BB-8 design.
This unique BB-8 was designed with the primary goal of being able to move with his head staying up on top. The entire model was made using 100% Genuine Lego parts. His shells were of course carefully painted (and if this model is approved and created by Lego, the parts would come printed as so many Lego parts are).
Inside you’ll find Lego weights suspended from the central axle that bolster up two Lego magnets. Those magnets are held up close to the top of the ball and attract the two magnets built into the head of this custom rolling LEGO BB-8. The head uses a cockpit dome (painted), hinge parts, and the smallest Lego wheels to skate on top of the body. The body’s shell started out as Tatooine from the Lego Star Wars Planet series. The total part count is around 180 pieces.
This Rolling LEGO BB-8 is super fun to fidget with, and roll about, and satisfies a midpoint between static model and full-on electric RC. It would make a great addition to any Lego or Star Wars Fan’s collection!
We hope to see more support for Mark’s custom rolling LEGO BB-8 (I certainly voted for it) as LEGO gave him an extra 182 days as a way of giving a thumbs-up for the project. Perhaps future builds will incorporate NXT programming. The design potential is limitless. Just visit his LEGO Ideas page and click Support if you like to see this coolest LEGO BB-8 roll out in LEGO store shelves later on.
This custom LEGO Finding Dory managed to enter the LEGO Ideas platform and needs your support!
Thirteen years ago, Disney and Pixar introduced to us what could be the most famous of all sea creatures ever rendered in CGI. ‘Finding Nemo’ was hailed not just for the good, and family values that it offered but also for the technical feats that Pixar accomplished during its time.
Set in the colorful underwater world of corals, squids, turtles, and sharks (remember the oath: ‘fish are friends, not food.’), Finding Nemo has set a milestone in computer-aided animation. This year, a long-overdue sequel is now slated to hit the big screen and this time, the one missing might prove to be a little bit difficult to find. ‘Finding Dory‘ is Pixar Animation Studios latest 3D computer-animated comedy-adventure released by Walter Disney Pictures.
This Custom LEGO Finding Dory Aims to Become the Next Official LEGO Ideas Set
Following the timeline of the original 2003 hit movie ‘Finding Nemo’, Dory, the forgetful but ever-reliable Blue Tang fish, suddenly recovers her childhood memories. With the help of her friends, Nemo and Marlin, they set off to find the ‘Jewel of Monterey’ with the hopes of reuniting Dory with her family. And what better way to celebrate the release of this recent underwater adventure through a custom LEGO Finding Dory build over at LEGO Ideas.
Custom LEGO Ideas Finding Dory Features
To help out in the search, LEGO Ideas contributors BuildFiend and Nunki-psi, came up with their replica of our colorful threesome sea friends. With 228 supporters and a lead time of 263 days, the duo hopes to garner 10,000 nods of approval from other LEGO supporters in order for their creation to be noticed and hopefully produced by LEGO. Their original creation includes:
Nemo with a stand on a coral reef vignette (and a little shrimp!)
Marlin with a stand on a coral reef vignette (and a transparent jellyfish!)
Dory with a stand on a coral reef vignette (and Squishy!)
All builds are playable with each having a nice display piece. All of the characters’ fins (yes, even Nemo’s ‘lucky fin’) and eyes are moveable and poseable, including Marlin’s mouth. With a total brick count of 611 pieces, their proposed Finding Dory build is a pretty great compliment for the upcoming movie. Check out the rest of their photos below.
Nowadays LEGO seems to be into micro-sizing things that it finds worthy of attention. Even with its own theme sets, LEGO will throw in a micro-scale or two – such as the replica of a mini-sub in The Lost City of Atlantis, or the Phantom ship in the Star Wars collection. Nick Carlierti, a certified brick fan, pays tribute to his love for theme park fun with his own version of a micro-scale LEGO Disneyland MOC project submitted on LEGO Ideas.
Crossing Our Fingers for This LEGO Product Idea Micro-Scale LEGO Disneyland MOC
It’s amazing how these micro-scale sets are actually recognizable as the locations they’re trying to copy. With such few LEGO pieces, Nick’s attention to detail is pretty awesome. We hope to see his creation get the support that it deserves from LEGO.
Once it gets the needed 10,000 votes, then it’s up to the toy company to consider it for production. The only difficulty perhaps might be securing the rights to actually produce the set and we won’t find out unless the set gets the thumbs up from the LEGO jury.
Dive into the Details of this Micro-Scale LEGO Disneyland MOC
For now, check out this cool animation of Nick’s micro-scale LEGO Disneyland MOC. Want it? Support it on LEGO Ideas!
165 pieces | Includes 3 Research Scientists | $19.99
Explore the world and beyond at the LEGO Ideas Research Institute!
The LEGO Ideas Research Institute has everything that you need to explore the world below, around, and above us! Created by real-life geoscientist, Ellen Kooijman (alias: Alatariel), and selected by LEGO® Ideas members (formerly known as CUUSOO), this collection of scenes depicts three varied professions within the world of natural science.
Help the paleontologist study the origin of dinosaurs with the magnifying glass, map the skies with the astronomer and her telescope, and assist the chemist as she carries out experiments in her lab. This set also includes building instructions, as well as a booklet containing information about the creator and an introduction to each of the professions featured in the set. There’s a whole world of exciting professions out there to explore – build and role-play them to see if they suit you! Includes 3 minifigures: paleontologist, astronomer and chemist.
