Category: LEGO Ideas

Side-by-Side Comparison of the LEGO Ideas Ship in a Bottle (21313) with its Original Custom Build.

If you haven’t been keeping up with news, the newest in-production LEGO Ideas set, Flagship Leviathan – Ship in a Bottle (21313), is ready to whip up a storm when it hits stores in February. You can even get it earlier at a creator’s signing event in Utah on January 27.

The journey from custom fan design to official packaged set has been long though. LEGO Ideas project contributor Jake Sadovich had first submitted his proposed set way back in November of 2016, got its 10,000 supporters a month later, and then eventually approved by the LEGO Ideas Review Team in August of the following year.

Since then, it would take about half a year (which is almost at an end this January 2018) before the Ship in a Bottle (21313)  will be out for interested collectors to buy. In that period, LEGO designers would go on to make some necessary alterations and improvements to Sadovich’s original design.

But how different is the LEGO Ideas Ship in a Bottle (21313) compared to the original proposal? Sadovich helpfully answers that by posting a photo of his original creation and the official version on the AFOLs of Facebook closed group page. At first glance, the final version’s smaller than the prototype.

ship in a bottle comparison 2

ship in a bottle comparison 3

That isn’t the only difference though. Sadovich self-depreciatingly hints to a possible higher-difficulty assembly level of his work by saying that set 21313 is even more “user-friendly”. Perhaps the smaller size means a smaller number of pieces to put together. We can find out for sure this coming February 1.

The LEGO Ideas Second 2017 Review Results Is Disappointing, But It Also Hints on an Exciting Future Set.

LEGO Ideas can be perceived as a godsend to the really skilled near-Master level builders with custom set ideas in their mind. If their set passes the approval of 10,000 like-minded fans, then the LEGO Ideas Review Team could be convinced to make it official. However, there’s never an absolute guarantee of success.

This was hammered home back in 2015 when the LEGO Ideas panel selected none of several set proposals that were sufficiently supported for review. It has happened several times since, most recently this January 22 when six set pitches in the Second 2017 LEGO Ideas Review all came up short with panelists.

One possible reason the Ideas panel gave for turning down a submission project would be that the set in question shares similarities to an either already existing LEGO, or something that’s being developed in the pipelines by LEGO designers. Of course, if such a thing happens, the reviewers can’t say it out loud to protect secrecy.

That seems to be the case as Hasan explains it in the Second 2017 Review Results video. Parts of his speech were bleeped out, but it implies that “set X” shared some similarities to a “giant [bleep]” that LEGO will introduce soon.

Speculation abounds on which of the six “Second 2017 Review” sets has a coincidental in-house developed counterpart that led to its rejection. The Brick Fan has an interesting theory that maybe “set X” is the “Luke, I am your Father” set design by szabomate90. Why? Hasan’s censored words seem familiar.

A lip reading by the Brick Fan might have it that Hasan was saying “Bespin”. Star Wars fans know that Bespin/Cloud City was the place in Empire Strikes Back that Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader had the fateful encounter. Maybe LEGO Star Wars has a Bespin set incoming?

If true, then this possible set could be a re-imagining of the LEGO Star Wars Cloud City that was released in 2003. It would also be similar to the new Mos Eisley Cantina set (75205) from an earlier 2003 version (4501). It’s only rumors for now, but we’ve been surprised before.

Signing Event in Utah with Creator of LEGO Ideas “Ship in a Bottle” (21313)

It had been one of the most unconventional set designs ever to pass muster at LEGO Ideas. While we had the photos from the Ideas proposal for reference, the first images of the official set for Ship in a Bottle (21313) took time coming; but when it did, just wow.

Old Fishing Store (21310) may have looked complex and detailed, but it seems not enough compared to the wonder of seeing the scale-model Flagship Leviathan inside a side-mounted bottle. And with its release by LEGO on February looming ever closer, the company is hyping it up as much as possible.

For instance, there’s going to be a series of signing events at selected LEGO stores with the Ideas designer for Ship in a Bottle (21313). Jake Sadovich will get to do as his LEGO Ideas creative predecessors have done before in their time: signing boxes of their freshly-released model sets.

The first scheduled date for Sadovich signing newly-bought boxes of his LEGO Ideas Ship in a Bottle (21313) will be at the LEGO Store at the Fashion Place in Murray, Utah. He’ll be there on January 27 from 10 AM to 1 PM EST. Lucky Utah builders, meeting him first.

Meeting a LEGO Ideas designer like Jake Sadovich and getting his autograph on your copy of their work is pretty cool. The bonanza for LEGO Ideas Women of NASA (21312) creator Maia Weinstock is one example. It also means an early shot at getting set 21313, coming out February 1.

Here’s Your Chance to Design The Next LEGO Gift With Purchase Set With the LEGO Ideas Moments in Space Contest.

Coming from its successful “Build Your Own LEGO Ideas Logo” contest, the LEGO Ideas Team is back and this time, in search of the first ever, community-inspired, LEGO exclusive Gift With Purchase (GWP) set. It seems that LEGO has finally considered the idea of a fan-designed LEGO GWP ever since the idea was discussed extensively across LEGO fan forums. The announcement has been made over at the LEGO Ideas website, and will eventually follow a classic space theme.

LEGO Ideas Moments in Space

Titled as LEGO Moments in Space, the contest is open to all LEGO fans, ages 13 and above, and will run from January 15 until February 9, 2018 at 6AM EST. Entries should be able to fit on a 16 X 16 stud LEGO baseplate, using around 300 standard LEGO pieces and elements coming from themes such as LEGO City, CMF, and Creator. As the contest title suggests, entries must capture that space exploration or adventure vibe. Entries using LEGO Digital Designer are also accepted.

Of course, what’s a LEGO contest without those sweet, sweet prizes? The Grand Prize winner will have the bragging rights to have his original creation featured as the next LEGO GWP sometime in 2019, a $250 LEGO shopping spree over at shop.LEGO.com, and a collection of past exclusive LEGO GWP sets, including:

5037118 IDEAS Moments in Space Grand Prize

 

Ten (10) Runner Ups will also be selected and each of them will receive a $125 worth of LEGO shopping spree also on shop.LEGO.com plus the Mini Piggy Bank (40251), Snowglobe (40223) and Christmas Build Up 2017 (40253).

5037123 IDEAS Moments in Space Runner Up

Be sure to check with the LEGO Ideas Moments in Space Contest website for the complete list of rules and guidelines to be observed. I am personally excited to see how this contest will turn out. I’m a fan of some of these smaller, vignette type sets so I am particularly curious how a Space-themed GWP set will turn out. Just be sure to submit your entries on or before the said deadline. Happy building!

 

 

Winners of “Build Your Own LEGO Ideas Logo” Contest Revealed

Back in November, LEGO opened a design contest both to celebrate the first decade of their fan design-to-official set support platform LEGO Ideas, but also to spruce up the design for their logo. Interested participants needed only to submit their artistic creations in LEGO bricks, other materials or digital CGI.

Winners of the contest would receive some of the famous sets to be released under the LEGO Ideas program, with the Grand Prize contestant having his design be adopted as the new official logo. The deadline for entries passed on December last year, and last Friday, the winners were announced.

From LEGO’s last count, a total of over 600 entries were sent to the Build Your Own LEGO Ideas Logo before the December deadline. The Grand Prize Winner was a contestant known as L87R85, whose design, Switch on the Ideas, shows a light-bulb, wire and plug rendered in CGI bricks.

5057772 SWITCH ON THE IDEAS 0IspidrnFnlhEg thumbnail full

The LEGO Group hasn’t quite made clear yet when this new logo will be used for LEGO Ideas, whether on website or as labeling on future sets. What is known, however, is that while only the Grand Prize entry becomes the official logo, LEGO will also use the runner-up entries.

As LEGO celebrates the 10th year of what originally began as LEGO Cuusoo, the non-Grand Prize winning designs will also be utilized in the event for tribute. These contestants also received two NASA-themed LEGO Ideas sets while L87R85 won six; check more details in our last article about the contest.

4904054 Grand Prize r8XMiK 1SJPAQw thumbnail full

See the other runner-up designs in the official LEGO Ideas website, along with judges’ commentary on the logos including L87R85’s Grand Prize winner. And here’s an advance greeting to LEGO Ideas for another ten years or more of helping fans crowd-fund great build designs into future best-selling official LEGO sets.

LEGO Ideas Ship in a Bottle (21313) Officially Launched!

After the teaser that LEGO shared via social media a few days ago, the veil is now officially lifted for the next LEGO community inspired set – the LEGO Ideas Ship in a Bottle (21313) by Jake Sadovich. This set, along with the still yet to be revealed Voltron – Defender of the Universe, was successfully considered to be the next fan-inspired set during the LEGO Ideas Third 2016 Review Stage.

The LEGO Ideas Ship in a Bottle (21313) will be available in-store and online at all LEGO brand stores near you and at shop.LEGO.com beginning February 1, 2018 and will retail for $69.99. Here’s the official word from LEGO together with a bunch of pretty crisp images.

LEGO Ideas Ship in a Bottle (21313)

Available: February 1, 2018.
Ages 12+.  962 pieces.
US $69.99 | CA $89.99

Build and display a classic LEGO® Ideas Ship in a Bottle, featuring a highly detailed ship with the captain’s quarters, cannons, masts, crow’s nest, flag and printed sail elements. Place the ship inside the LEGO brick-built bottle with a buildable cork, wax seal element and water-style elements inside, then showcase it on the display stand featuring the ship’s ‘Leviathan’ nameplate, globe elements and a built-in ‘compass’ (non-functioning) with compass rose and spinning needle. This wonderfully nostalgic construction toy also includes a booklet about the set’s fan creator and LEGO designers.

  • This building set for kids and adults features a LEGO® brick-built bottle, ship and a display stand.
  • Bottle features a detailed, buildable cork with new-for-February 2018 wax-seal-style element and over 280 translucent-blue, water-style elements inside.
  • Ship features a raised deck at the stern, captain’s quarters, 6 cannons, 3 masts, a crow’s nest and assorted elements, including printed sails and the ship’s flag.
  • Display stand features the ship’s ‘Leviathan’ nameplate, a built-in ‘compass’ (non-functioning) with detailed compass rose and spinning needle, 2 globe elements and gold-colored detailing.
  • Includes a booklet with building instructions, plus information about the set’s fan creator and LEGO®
  • LEGO® Ideas Ship in a bottle on display stand measures over 3″ (10cm) high, 12” (31cm) wide and 3” (10cm) deep.
  • Ship measures over 3″ (8cm) high, 5” (14cm) long and 1” (5cm) wide.



21313 Prod

Third 2017 LEGO Ideas Review Project Candidates Announced.

The Third 2017 LEGO Ideas Review qualifying period ended earlier today, and we now have a list of seven projects that qualified for the LEGO Ideas Review Stage. These are the projects that fans supported for, and were able to gather the necessary 10,000 votes during the voting stage. For the first time ever in LEGO Ideas, 3 out of these 7 projects were all credited to Robert Bontenbal (aka RobenAnne), the fan designer of the LEGO Ideas Old Fishing Store (21310).

It is expected that the LEGO Ideas Review Team will announce the next LEGO Ideas set from this batch sometime this Summer. Take a look at the 7 projects that qualify during this period.

Pop-Up Book by JKBrickworks & Grant_Davis_

pop up book

 

Boat House Diner by RobenAnne

boat house diner

 

The Lighthouse by RobenAnne

the lighthouse

 

The Dive Shop by RobenAnne

dive shop

 

Jaguar E-Type Roadster by Ozzyeatingbats

jaguar

RuPaul’s Brick Race by SeeMarkGeek

brick race e1515455933507

 

The LEGO Christmas Story House by twrt0es

christmas story

Frankly, most, if not all of these sets, are somehow lacking that ‘wow’ factor that characterized earlier projects like the still to be revealed, Voltron – Defender of the Universe (21311?), Ship in a Bottle (21313), and NASA Apollo Saturn V (21309). I’m placing my cards on the Pop-Up Book and the Jaguar E-Type Roadster, but still, both are relatively underwhelming as compared to the sets that I mentioned.

We just have to see how things will turn out this Summer when the result of this recent review cycle is announced. What LEGO Ideas project do you believe will make it to the cut? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

LEGO Ideas Ship in a Bottle (21313) Teaser Reveals First Official Image.

LEGO has released its first ‘official’ (aka non-leaked) image of the next LEGO Ideas set slated to be released this January. Released via its social media channels, this fan designed LEGO set from Jacob Sadovich features his original Ship in a Bottle, Flagship Leviathan, which was successfully considered to be an official LEGO Ideas set during the LEGO Ideas Third 2016 Review Stage.

As I mentioned in my previous post, there was a leaked image of 21313 that made its rounds over LEGO fan forums and Instagram which allowed us a first look at the set. I love how the designers recreated the bottle’s overall, streamlined appearance. Its base was thoughtfully recreated as well, and attention to detail was evident on how the cork was made using reddish brown and gold LEGO pieces. However, I expect that the ship’s design will be more faithful to Jacob’s original creation which is more realistic and aesthetically impressive.

The LEGO Ideas Ship in a Bottle (21313) is expected to be released anytime soon this January, so more official images will be out anytime soon.

Teaser for LEGO Ideas Ship in a Bottle (21313) Found in German LEGO Store Flyer

The thing about LEGO Ideas is that, like “ideas”, they pop up, get a lot of attention, and eventually fade from popularity until they get brought up all over again. The Ideas set “Women of NASA” (21312) might still be in the forefront, but some of its predecessors have gone.

“Out with the old,” perhaps, but the new are coming soon enough this year. At least three proposals for LEGO Ideas will be debuting in turn this 2018. One of them, “Ship in a Bottle – the Flagship Leviathan” already has a number (21313) and is reportedly coming out this month.

For something expected to be introduced in January, there’s still precious little info released to the public about the Ship in a Bottle (21313). Thanks to some sleuthing by Promobricks, a LEGO Store flyer from Germany has been found with a teaser, a blueprint illustration showing how it’ll look like.

LEGO Ideas Ship in a Bottle 21313

The blueprint is fairly basic in its interpretation, but it shows how the structure of the Flagship Leviathan contained inside a bottle, complete with side stands and cork. Hopefully LEGO will follow up on this preview with official images later on .

LEGO Ideas Ship in a Bottle (21313) Revealed!

UPDATE: These images were intentionally blurred – and we all know the reason why.

The reveals just keep on coming. Earlier today, we have what it seems to be our very first image of the next LEGO Ideas set, Ship in a Bottle (21313) by Jacob Sadovich. If you recall back in August, LEGO Ideas Ship in a Bottle (21313) is based on the MOC that Sadovich successfully submitted and approved during the LEGO Ideas Third 2016 Review Stage. Eventually, it topped the rest of the candidates together with my very own, personal favorite Voltron-Defender of the Universe by Leandro ‘Lendy’ Tayag. These two sets were given the thumbs up, seal of approval by the LEGO Ideas Review Team with the Ship in a Bottle finally having a release date of January 17, 2018 as reported by Zusammengebaut.

4633435 Ship in a bottle The Flagship Leviathan

Apparently, LEGO insider afro_man_news1 was able to capture this image which was eventually shared across LEGO fan forums. I have to say that the LEGO Ideas Design Team really poured out their hearts in the thoughtful redesigning of the LEGO Ideas Ship in a Bottle. As any Ideas set, they tweaked on the original design, improved its overall looks, and the result simply wows anyone in their tracks. Check the image below.

ship in a bottle 21313 1

What I love about this Ideas set is the fact on how the designers recreated the base, giving it an overall classic old school look. The designers were also keen in details such as the bottle’s cork and the globe pieces mounted on top of the base. I’m not quite sure if it’s a new piece, but it simply looks gorgeous! The bottle itself is now more streamlined, which gives the set a more natural look. I just feel that the ship itself is a bit underwhelming, quite bulky as compared to the original vision of Sadovich. In any case, the LEGO Ideas Ship in a Bottle (21313) is still a very beautiful set which would be a fitting prelude to Voltron once the final product is unveiled. LEGO Ideas has seen a lot of excellent sets recently, and this recent offering further affirms the creative talents of the LEGO Community.

As mentioned earlier, the Ship in a Bottle (21313) is expected to be out on shelves by January 17, so it will  not be long until we see official images of it.