[Editor: We are due to see the results of the largest LEGO® IDEAS review period, within the next day or so. With 57 submissions to LEGO IDEAS reaching 10000 votes in the lead up to May this year, we have been told to expect the biggest LEGO IDEAS announcement ever, very soon. Now, while LEGO sets are our focus here on the Rambling Brick, we can’t ignore the fact that some of the clone brick brands have been lifting their game over the last couple of years. I was sitting down, having a chat with Branko when he suggested “Some clone brick brands have released a sets similar to some of the Ideas submissions under review.” So, while LEGO IDEAS is always looking for ideas that push the envelope of what can be done with LEGO Bricks, producing something new and innovative, I can’t help but wonder “Is the IDEAS review process influenced by the way they have been taken up by Clone brands? ” and the converse question:”Do Clone brick brands look at submissions gaining traction on LEGO IDEAS and adapt them for their own purposes?”

Read on as Branko takes a look at a couple of LEGO IDEAS submissions that appear to already inspired clone brick brands along the way…]

I enjoy looking through all the ideas that are proposed and reviewed on LEGO ideas, and I have gotten the impression I’m not the only one. More and more am I seeing competing brands release sets that seem very closely related to some LEGO ideas.

Join me as I go over a handful of these. I am guessing that the LEGO IDEAS Review Team will not approve these under their own banner. They are very well aware of their competitors and they have easier targets to choose. This saddens me a bit, since the designs are all great, but let’s face it more sets have always been rejected than accepted.

I will also comment briefly on a few categories that we see recurring in these reviews regularly

Competing brands

Like it or not, competing brands are offering more and more sets that are original in their design (as compared to LEGO sets). This might speak to the appeal of the idea, and it makes me wonder if the LEGO IDEAS review team takes this into account. You might also wonder if these companies have seen the ideas submissions and taken it into their own product lineup?

The following ideas seem very similar to some ideas submissions under review:

Cuckoo clock

I love seeing a cuckoo clock and I love the idea of having a working version in ‘LEGO’. On the left is WORKING CUCKOO CLOCK by marginibuilds. As it turns out, one is already available for purchase through another brand.

Jukebox

The JUKEBOX WITH BLUETOOTH SPEAKER by Brickmaster84 (left) excites me as I have always loved the big colourful style of American jukeboxes. It won’t be a surprise then that I have already purchased the model seen on the right, which comes with lights! Although I would love to see what LEGO would make of this, I can imagine they may opt to steer clear and focus on another subject instead.

Medieval Knight

Knights are a popular subject matter for LEGO builders, and the competitors are aware of this. As such many medieval sets are available, and specifically also mounted large scale knights.

The style varies a lot and this tickles my curiosity; did TrumanBricks (the designer of MEDIEVAL KNIGHTand also the LEGO IDEAS Van Gogh Starry Night.) also have something to do with these other knights out there? Do any of these LEGO ideas designers have connections to the other sets out there? Or are some ideas just inherently good, with global appeal?

Boeing 737

The release of the 10360 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft earlier this year causes some discussion on detail versus LEGO character (specifically on the nose cone). Many brands offer planes at various levels of detail or complexity, so I feel that LEGO could easily ignore it in this case and support NOLINOR BOEING 737-200 by Design and Create. However, I also feel that such a model is a bit too close to the 747 released earlier and the LEGO City scale planes out there. Again, there may be more exciting options out there: I would be surprised to see this one selected.

Smurfs and mushroom (house)

THE MUSHROOMS COLLECTION by Keczup offers a realistic view of mushrooms where SMURF VILLAGE by The Half Blood Baron offers a typical fantasy view. Bricklink designer program has had two fantastic sets released featuring a Mushroom house and village. In addition, there is already a brick-license out there for smurfs from the looks of it, so it feels unlikely that LEGO will go down this path.

If you can get your hands on Jonas Kramm’s fantastic Bricklink Designer sets, I highly recommend it as a consolation.

Do you think LEGO looks at competition?

The whole premise of LEGO ideas is to provide sets that are different and new compared what is already out there. The results of the IDEAS review are typically quite a surprise, which is part of the fun.

I will be keenly looking at the above submissions to see whether the LEGO IDEAS review team have decided to go ahead with them. I wonder if they actively consider their competitors?. Perhaps they do and want to show they can do better? Perhaps they want to be nice? Perhaps they do entirely their own thing. I know for a fact that LEGO keeps an eye on their competitors, but whether the LEGO IDEAS team is affected, I don’t now.

Have you been in touch with some of these other brick brands about your design? Has a random brick brand stolen your MOC? Do you have some (secret) notes from the LEGO Ideas team? Let me know if you have some insights.

Thanks Branko.

We will all be looking forward out to see what is comes out in the announcement tomorrow. The teaser features 5 designers, as well as the LEGO Ideas design manager: Does this mean we will be seeing 5 successful submissions? Consider me intrigued.

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Until Next Time,

Play Well!