The long wait is finally over. After many weeks of teasing on the arrival of the largest ever LEGO Ideas set to date, Hasan Jansen of the LEGO Ideas blog site has finally broken the news. As LEGO’s 2nd Ideas set for this year right on the heels of Adventure Time (21308), the LEGO Ideas NASA Apollo Saturn V (21309) will be available to the public beginning 1st of June. The brainchild of LEGO and space fans Felix Stiessen (saabfan) and Valérie Roche (whatsuptoday), the towering set (standing one meter high) is their personal tribute to NASA’s iconic Apollo Space Program.
This space-bound set clocks in at 1,969 pieces which is, quite cleverly, a sort of an Easter egg for Apollo Saturn V’s successful launch on July 20, 1969. At such scale, the LEGO Ideas NASA Apollo Saturn V (21309) is currently the largest LEGO Ideas set that will be offered to the public. The LEGO Ideas Design Team was keen in rendering the set as accurately as possible, keeping it at an approximately 1:110 scale of the original Saturn V rocket with all its offload sections, lunar lander, command service module, and three, never-before-seen microfigs of NASA’s heroes: astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins.
Build the first rocket to land people on the Moon!
Display and role-play with this majestic meter-high LEGO® brick model of the NASA Apollo Saturn V packed with authentic details. It features three removable rocket courses, including the S-IVB third course with the lunar lander and lunar orbit.
The set includes 3 booths to display the model horizontally, 3 new-for-June-2017 astronaut microfigures for role-play recreations of the Moon landings, plus a booklet about the manned Apollo missions and the fan designers of this educational and inspirational LEGO Ideas set.
Features a meter-high (Approximately 1: 110 scale) model of the NASA Apollo Saturn V with a removable S-IC first rocket internship with hand rocket engine details, removable S-II second rocket internship with rocket engine details, removable S-IVB third rocket internship with the Apollo spacecraft and rescue rocket at top of the whole spacecraft, plus 3 booths to display the model horizontally.
The Apollo spacecraft features the lunar lander and the lunar orbiter.
Also includes 3 new-for-June-2017 astronaut microfigures.
Great for display and role-playing the manned Apollo Moon missions.
Includes a booklet about the Apollo manned Moon mission and the fan designers of this set.
As a fan of the LEGO Ideas platform, it delights me to see how my favorite projects can get to see the light of day to become a possible LEGO set that I can actually pick up straight from the shelves of my local LEGO Store. Being a fan-based site in itself, the team behind LEGO Ideas has to carefully consider many factors before giving a project a ‘go’ or ‘no-go’ decision. Putting in mind what the fans want, the LEGO Ideas Review Team must keep tabs with other factors such as the size of the set, its viable cost in the market, and of course, the licensing issues involved. Perhaps amongst these, it is the licensing issues that are the most challenging to untangle.
LEGO became stronger as a brand because of its tie-up with other third-party brands and licenses.
The LEGO Ideas Review Team must put into account both the intellectual property (IP) issues outside and within LEGO’s portfolio. Needless to say, it is a very delicate dance to say the least in trying to work out the IP conflicts that may arise in developing a new LEGO set. A LEGO Ideas project that gained the necessary 10K votes may therefore receive a thumbs up sign from the majority of the LEGO fan community, but will still fail to become a set if there are conflicts with certain active licenses or themes.
This week, the LEGO Ideas Team has just announced a major revision on their project submission guidelines stating that submissions based on third-party licenses that are deemed active in TLG’s portfolio will no longer be accepted. This means that if you’re planning to submit a project that is based on Star Wars, Marvel or DC Superheroes, Disney characters, or any theme that is currently developed by LEGO, then this project will be turned down right away. We’re not sure if this means that it will not even have the chance of being posted on the site to rally for support, but what is sure is that it will absolutely fail to become an official LEGO set.
Today we’ve updated our Guidelines and House Rules to clarify the types of models we will accept as LEGO® Ideas projects. The main focus of this update is that we will no longer allow projects that are based on currently active licenses in our product portfolio, like Star Wars, MARVEL Super Heroes, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, and so on.
We’ve updated our Guidelines about licensed properties to reflect this, and added a list of restricted licensed properties to the License Conflicts and Resolutions page in the Knowledge Base. If we retire a third-party license and it didn’t enter the LEGO portfolio via LEGO Ideas we’ll remove it from our list, and you’ll then be welcome to submit projects based on it.
For clarity, LEGO Ideas list down all of the Active Licenses and other Restricted IPs based from previous LEGO Ideas sets, which you can find below:
Entertainment
Star Wars, MARVEL Super Heroes, DC Super Heroes & Super Hero Girls, The LEGO Batman Movie, The LEGO NINJAGO Movie, The LEGO Movie, Disney characters (Mickey Mouse, Minnie, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Goofy & Tinker Bell), Moana, Rapunzel, Aladdin, Cars, Whisker Haven Tales with the Palace Pets , Angry Birds, Pirates of the Caribbean, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Miles From Tomorrowland, Doc McStuffins, Sofia the First, The Simpsons, Knight Rider, Mission Impossible, Midway Arcade, Lord of the Rings, Gremlins, A-Team, Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts, Sonic the Hedgehog, Portal 2, E.T. & The Wizard of Oz.
Stand alone buildings (Big Ben, London Tower Bridge, US Capitol Building, Louvre, Buckingham Palace, Burj Khalifa, Eiffel Tower & Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum).
Buildings contained in the skylines (London, Sydney, Chicago, Venice, Berlin & New York).
Restricted IP from LEGO Ideas:
Shinkai 6500
Hayabusa
Minecraft
Back to the Future
Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover
Ghostbusters
The Big Bang Theory
WALL•E
Doctor Who
The Beatles
Caterham
Adventure Time
Apollo program
Women of NASA concept
That’s a pretty long list. Good thing though (if you can still look at it that way) that LEGO gives an assurance that if ever a licensing issue has been resolved, or if an active, third-party license has been retired already, then fans are free to submit similar projects later on. Furthermore, this doesn’t mean that active projects that have currently reached 10K support, or even those that are still gathering support will be shot down right away. They will have the chance of being promoted in the LEGO Ideas platform, but will have a slimmer chance of passing through the Review Stage.
Projects currently being reviewed, as well as active projects that reach 10,000 supporters in the future, will still be evaluated as part of the LEGO Review. Just like before, these projects would have a slimmer chance of passing the LEGO Ideas review, as they overlap with existing licenses in the LEGO product portfolio.
This means that entries such as the UCS Rey’s Speeder, the Volkswagen Golf MK1 GTI, and the Hulkbuster UCS may never stand a chance against other, non-licensed entries. Additionally, submissions that are based on any existing official LEGO Ideas set, whether active or retired, will no longer be allowed as well.
This decision from the LEGO Ideas Team received a lot of mixed reactions from the LEGO community. Some argue that such move severely limits the projects that fans really want to see, while on the other hand, it is considered by some as a wise, and practical decision (from LEGO’s viewpoint, I guess) so as not to put our hopes up on something that can never happen in the first place.
I think only time can tell if these changes in the LEGO Ideas platform will work out for the better. As of now, I’m excited to see how the final LEGO Ideas Apollo II Saturn V set turn out, and if my favorite LEGO Ideas project, Voltron Defender of the Universe, will finally become an official set.
So what do you think about this change in LEGO Ideas? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
At the start of this month, LEGO gave us a teaser on what to expect from its second upcoming LEGO Ideas set for 2017. Based on NASA’s iconic Apollo 11, the next Ideas set slated for release this June is said to be the largest, most complex build that the Ideas Review Team has ever designed. The partial image alone gives us a hint on the sheer size of this build. According to Hasan Jensen,
Apollo 11 Saturn V
LEGO designers, Carl and Mike, have been hard at work on what is the most complex LEGO Ideas set we’ve ever approved! We’ve finalised the model design but there’s still plenty to do before this rocket is ready for lift-off!
Earlier today, LEGO gives another clue via its Twitter page on what we could further expect from Ideas fan designer Felix Stiessen (aka saabfan) and his LEGO Ideas Apollo 11 Saturn V set. In this image, we see a portion of a brick-built Lunar Lander in a gray and gold color scheme that has just landed on the lunar surface. We also get to see a silhouette of an astronaut minifigure – borrowing heavily from Neil Armstrong’s words – ready to make that one small step for LEGO bricks.
If you recall, the original project submitted by Felix Stiessen shows the whole LEGO Apollo II to about 1 meter high and made up of 1,179 bricks. It also packs a ton of play feature since the set is meant to be modular in a sense because of its detachable rocket stages, including the Apollo spacecraft itself, the Lunar Lander and Lunar Orbiter.
After some revisions done by the LEGO Ideas Design Team, and considering what LEGO teases about the set’s final version, then we can confidently say that this may perhaps, be the biggest Ideas set that the LEGO designers team have come up with. LEGO promises to give more updates on this exciting set, so stay tuned.
It seems that this year’s LEGO Ideas achievers are off to a good start. Following the lead of 2017’s first batch of LEGO Ideas projects review stage qualifiers, comes a picturesque modular that will not shy away from the impressive LEGO Creator Assembly Square (10255). The LEGO Ideas platform has seen a lot of modular entries over the years, but this original creation from Marco Schwarzel or better known as McMarco over at LEGO Ideas, stood out for its excellent use of orange and white pieces designed with the Mediterranean in mind. McMarco’s LEGO Ideas Venetian Houses come in as the 5th qualifier for this year’s first LEGO Ideas Review Stage. Check out the details of his striking modular creation.
VENETIAN HOUSES
“One generally sits far too seldom at the sea.”
This double modular size model comes with two wonderful Mediterranean buildings. Both houses are dedicated to various cultural activities. The set adds a southern flair to every LEGO building collection. As a long-time fan of Venice I could not resist to add a picturesque bridge, a typical water canal and, of course, a gondola. And it could be the first modular set on shelves with direct access to the sea!
Features:
Fully playable, all parts are accessible with no problems.
The set can be placed the other way around, with one long canal as a result.
Since the news of the upcoming announcement of the 2nd 2016 LEGO Ideas Review results has been slated for the end of February, many have been eagerly and anxiously waiting for their bets to happen (including myself). Earlier today, the month-long wait has finally partially ended with the proclamation of the winner as announced by LEGO’s Marketing Manager, Lise Dydensborg via the LEGO Ideas’ website.
Out of 12 projects that achieved 10,000 supports from LEGO fans during the second review qualification period between the months of May and September 2016, the results were finally revealed. The winner as it turned out, is the Women of NASA by Maia Weinstock (or 20tauri). Watch the announcement below.
The set consists of five collectible minifigures that celebrates the accomplishments of notable and accomplished women who worked for NASA such as Margaret Hamilton, Katherine Johnson, Sally Ride, Nancy Grace Roman, and Mae Jemison, all of which has contributed significantly in the field of science and technology. Each minifigure comes with a vignette-type build that shows them in their respective fields of expertise.
Frankly, the announcement came as a bit of a surprise and has received mixed reactions from the LEGO community. There are those who laud LEGO for giving more emphasis on sets that inspire budding scientists regardless of their gender, while at the other end of the spectrum, there are those who lament the fact that it is such a small set with very limited play features. However, as announced by Dydensborg, the LEGO Ideas Review board has been working hard to review and finalize its decision on another qualifier. Those who are eagerly waiting for Lendy Tayag’s (also known as len_d69)Voltron – Defender of the Universe to become an official LEGO Ideas set may have to wait a little longer since the fate of this project will be sealed once the Third 2016 Review results are in sometime in May. Admittedly, the LEGO Ideas Review Board needed more time to consider this project for various reasons.
The next batch of projects is already being assessed as part of the Third 2016 LEGO Review period. Similarly, there 12 projects being considered for this stage and the results will come out in May, together with the decision whether or not to make Voltron happen.
What do you think of the LEGO Ideas Women of NASA? Will you pick this one up once it is in stores? Still betting on Voltron to become an official LEGO Ideas set? Let us know in the comments below.
February is almost over and this could only mean one thing for LEGO Ideas fans: the results of the Second 2016 LEGO Ideas Review Stage are about to be announced! As we previously reported at the start of this month, LEGO Ideas’ HasanJensen promised all the nervously excited fans of the community-based LEGO fan site to stay tuned during this week to see who will emerge as the victor among 12 hopefuls, which will follow the likes of other LEGO Ideas sets such as Adventure Time (21308), Caterham Seven 620R (21307), and The Beatles Yellow Submarine (21306) just to name a few. Furthermore, there is still a lot to expect for this year since the Third 2016 LEGO Ideas Review Stage qualifiers were already announced as well.
While waiting for the official results, let’s catch up with the most recent LEGO Ideas projects that won the hearts and votes of LEGO Ideas fans. These four proposed sets officially comprises 2017’s first LEGO Ideas projects that qualify for review sometime in May.
This project is based on the 1980s Universal film entitled ‘The Blues Brothers’ starring John Belushi and Dan Akroyd. Both on a mission to save their beloved orphanage from shutting down, the Blues Brothers must find a way to raise $5,000 and their light bulb idea is to organize a concert. Eini’s Blues Mobile borrows heavily from the Ghostbusters’ Ecto One, with an over-sized speaker on top, and plenty of musical accessories.
I’m a fan of classic gaming, and I owe this voracious interest of mine to Nintendo’s Classic FamiCom. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that I haven’t set my eyes on other gaming platforms during that Golden Age of retro classic gaming. For me, one particular name that stood out other than Nintendo was the name SEGA. So imagine my excitement when I saw this LEGO Ideas project SEGA Classic Arcade Machines that features a minifig-scale version of the classic SEGA arcade games that fans like me grew up with. This entry by SpacySmoke features three particular arcade games that took the lead during their heyday: Space Harrier, Out Run, and Thunder Blade. The set also features 2 SEGA fan minifigures and the legendary SEGA game designer Yu Suzuki.
Another gaming relic that hails from the 80s is now potentially set to be immortalized in plastic bricks, thanks to the creative ideas of Ymarilego. The popularity of this project was absolutely amazing, earning the necessary 10K votes in just almost a month. The Dungeon Master LEGO Ideas project is based on the role-playing video game with the same title, developed by Atari ST in 1987. Ymarilego’s project features the same basic elements as of the game given a LEGO twist. Similarly, there are plenty of options on how to build this set depending on the Dungeon Master’s intentions and cunning plan. The project itself may be laid out in many different ways, and maybe combined with other similar rooms for a myriad of possibilities and endings. It boasts 9 minifigures, with a dimension of 8X8 studs for each room and 16X16 for the lairs. This project is a sure winner for playability and countless adventures.
Featuring one of the world’s premier aerobatic teams, this recent LEGO Ideas project has proven its mettle when it garnered the support of 10,000 followers since it was introduced last month. The Red Arrows Hawk by M4 CUS is based on England’s renowned Royal Air Force (RAF) Aerobatic Team famous for their stunts and maneuvers that they can flawlessly execute at 6 feet apart and at a top speed of 350mph. The set itself replicates the iconic bright red colors of the BAE Hawk T1.
There are 3 more projects that are almost at the 10K mark, and may potentially be the next sets to make it for the Review Stage. We’ll keep a close eye on this, and make sure to bookmark our page as we wait for the results of the 2016 Second LEGO Ideas Review Stage.
Tap on that F5 key and be sure to keep a close eye on the LEGO Ideas website. HasanJensen of the LEGO Ideas blogsite has just announced that the results of Second 2016 LEGO Ideas Review Stage may be announced anytime soon. This second wave of LEGO Ideas qualifiers from 2016 consists of twelve (12) awesome projects that garnered the necessary 10K votes from other LEGO enthusiasts, to have a shot at becoming an official LEGO set.
Quite frankly, the LEGO Ideas Review Team was apologetic for being a little behind schedule, knowing the patience and anticipation that the LEGO fan community has shown since September of last year. Here’s what HasanJensen has to say:
We know that, as with all review result announcements, you all are waiting in anticipation and counting the days until the next one. While we strive to be able annouce these results at consistent dates throughout the year, bumps in the road do occur when dealing with things that are outside of what we can influence and control.
This means we’re a little behind, as we would have liked to reveal the results around the end of January or start of February. Don’t worry though, the results are coming. In fact, we’ll be shooting our video in early February and expect to have the video and results ready for your viewing pleasure toward the end of the month!
The good news is…we’ve got good news! 😉
Stay tuned!
Though admittedly delayed with regards to their timetable, the LEGO Ideas Review Team has confirmed that filming of their official announcement is on its way, which means that they have come up with a decision already on which project is chosen to become an official LEGO set. If there is one particular LEGO Ideas Review Stage that I’ve kept a close eye on, I can fairly say that this is by far the most exciting one that I ever anticipated. With 12 equally awesome sets, it is surely difficult to be in the shoes of the review judges.
Earlier today, the LEGO Ideas blog site announced the launch of its latest community-based platform, the LEGO Ideas Test Lab. Initially open to selected LEGO Ideas and LEGO Rebrick members, the LEGO Ideas Test Lab is a challenge-based site where members are encouraged to develop a Fourth Build Challenge based on the more recent LEGO Creator 3-in-1 sets. Here’s the full announcement:
What’s that now? LEGO Ideas Test Lab?
Today we’re launching LEGO Ideas Test Lab, a test version of an updated LEGO Ideas software platform. We’ve emailed invitations to 5,000 of the most active LEGO Ideas and LEGO Rebrick members. Please help us test the new platform between January 18th and April 14th. If you didn’t get an email invite, you’re still welcome! The test is limited to 7,500 people. Head over to LEGO Ideas Test Lab to sign up.
On LEGO Ideas Test Lab we’ll be running a new kind of challenge during this period, which differs from the standard LEGO Ideas and slightly from the LEGO Rebrick experience that you’re used to, but don’t worry – neither of these two classic experiences are going away. On LEGO Ideas Test Lab, you can participate in an exclusive Fourth Build Challenge, that’s about expanding upon given LEGO Creator 3in1 sets. You can also join in small activities along the way and socialize in the Community Café.
We can’t wait to get started and are very excited about what we’ll learn from testing this platform together with many of you. We’re looking forward to how LEGO Ideas Test Lab will shape the future of LEGO Ideas.
The LEGO Ideas Team assured that the LEGO Ideas and Rebrick platforms are here to stay. The LEGO Ideas Test Lab will be more like – based on the name itself – a testing ground for more possibilities on their existing sets. It’s more like a feedback mechanism where LEGO can hear or consider additional set suggestions from builders and community members based on their existing ones. If you wish to be part of this new contest, head to their sign-up page to register.
Once registered, you can have the opportunity to join their very first Fourth Build Challenge starting February 1st, where a winning design will be selected, and several LEGO prizes will be given away. The winner will also feature his design in the LEGO LifeMagazine and app. As a warm-up, this latest LEGO Ideas activity also offers several building exercises where you can participate and develop your own creations based on the given criteria. The thought behind The LEGO Ideas Test Lab reminds me of the Iron Builder Challenge hosted by the Builders Lounge, though at a much toned-down level.
If you’re in for a challenge and want to sharpen your brick-building skills, then this is one LEGO community-based platform that you may want to sign-up too.
In celebration of the release of the LEGO Ideas Adventure Time (21308) set, LEGO Rebrick has announced another brick building competition where budding master builders are called upon to bring to life their favorite character in the Land of Ooo. Simply dubbed as ‘Contest Time’, participants will craft their best brick-built rendition of the most fascinating characters ever to join in the hit animation series, Adventure Time.
The contest is open to all entrants ages 13 and above, where entries must be submitted before February 10, 2017. Here are the contest guidelines and rules.
CONTEST DESCRIPTION
What time is it? It’s contest time! An Adventure Time™ contest, to be specific. There are many fascinating characters and creatures within the Land of Ooo…craft your favorite or create your own as a brick-built figure and show it off in this contest. One lucky grand prize winner will receive a limited-edition Adventure Time electric guitar featuring exclusive artwork signed by members of the Adventure Time™ cast! Mathematical!
Entry Deadline
Submit your entry no later than the 10th of February 2017 at 10:00 a.m. EST.
A panel of judges from Cartoon Network and the LEGO Group will select one grand prize winner and two runner-ups in an online meeting between judges. They will judge winners upon:
– Overall coolness and originality (25%)
– Most inspired details (25%)
– Relevance to look and feel of the characters (25%)
– Best use of LEGO® elements (25%)
In the event of a tie, the entry with the highest creativity score will prevail. Should an additional round of judging be necessary, judging will again be done in an online meeting between judges.
How to enter
– Create a character or creature from Adventure Time ™and build it as a brick-built figure using LEGO elements
– Take up to five photos of your creation and submit them to the contest
– Make sure to show off all angles of your creation
– Use the description field to tell us about your entry
– When you receive a “Success!” pop-up notification after clicking “submit” on the entry submission page, your entry has successfully been submitted. Our moderation team will review it within 1-3 working days to make sure it fits all the contest rules
Bear in mind that entries must depict Adventure Time characters that were NOT included in the official LEGO Ideas set. You may also submit entries that are entirely original as inspired by the show. Furthermore, these brick-built entries must follow the same style as seen from the LEGO Ideas Adventure Time set, following a measurement of 4 inches (10 cm) tall and 8 inches (20 cm) wide including all elements. Check out the complete set of contest rules right here.
There will be three winners to be announced on February 22 – two runner ups and one grand prize winner. Runner ups will be receiving a signed copy of the LEGO Ideas Adventure Time (21308) set and a collection of Adventure Time goodies from Cartoon Network. The grand prize winner will bring home not just the above prizes, but will also have the bragging rights of owning a limited-edition Adventure Time electric guitar featuring exclusive artwork ($899 USD SRP) signed by members of the Adventure Time cast.
Be sure to mark your calendars on February 10 and until then, have fun in building your most ‘Mathematical’ LEGO Adventure Time creation.
The LEGO Ideas blog site has just announced the qualifying projects that made it to the 2016 LEGO Ideas Review Stage, consisting of twelve exciting sets depicting various licenses and MOCs. The clock rang this Monday morning, January 9 at exactly 12:00AM Central European Time or GMT+1 signifying the end of a long leg for most of these projects. These projects represent potential LEGO set concepts that garnered the needed thumbs-up votes from 10,000 supporters between the months of September 2016 until early January of this year. I have many personal favorites from this batch and among these, The Iron Giant by BrettCuv tops my list for this group, and probably the 2nd LEGO Ideas project that I am willing to invest on perchance it becomes an official set, next to Lendy Tayag’s LEGO Ideas Voltron – Defender of the Universe.
Without further ado, here are the Third 2016 LEGO Ideas Review Stage Qualifiers:
The Second 2016 LEGO Review Board is also about to wrap up, so we’ll finally get to see the next official LEGO Ideas set following RobenAnne’s first successful project which is the Old Fishing Store. Which among these finalists is your personal bet? What LEGO Ideas project would you like to see next as an official LEGO product? Share us what you think in the comments below, or join us in the conversation over our Facebook page.
