feature

Does the LEGO IDEAS review team look at competor brands? Or Vice versa?

BrankotheFather editorial, feature, IDEAS, Lego , , ,
A collage of various LEGO model submissions displayed in a grid format, featuring vibrant designs and creative builds, with text overlay asking if any of these are already on store shelves.

[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…]

An animated cuckoo clock model, crafted from LEGO bricks, showcasing intricate details and colorful design elements as the cuckoo pops out and moves.
A detailed LEGO model of a jukebox, featuring vibrant bricks and various design elements, displayed on a wooden surface with a blurred background.
A detailed LEGO model of a knight in armor riding a horse, featuring a lance and colorful design elements, displayed against a light background.
A detailed LEGO model of an airplane with 'NOLINOR' branding, positioned next to a small forklift and a minifigure, set against a plain background.
Three LEGO models of mushrooms displayed on a bright green background, featuring a large gray mushroom with a flat cap, a yellow mushroom with a rounded top, and a red mushroom with white spots, each set on a base with green foliage.
A colorful LEGO model featuring multiple mushroom-shaped houses, each uniquely designed in different colors, with small figures and accessories surrounding them.

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

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Minifigures On Parade (MOPs) Three years On: Updating our collaborative build standard.

ramblingbrick editorial, feature, Lego, Minifigures, MOC , , , , , ,

Time flies when you are having fun. Or have a lot going on around you. Or…and so on. I can’t believe it is over 3 years since I published my original description of MOPs – Minifigures on Parade/ Minifigures on Patrol – back in July 2022. MOPs is a modular platform for community participation. I initially proposed an 8×16 plate, on a standardized base, including a raised ‘middle 8’ plate. Advantages of the format include the capacity to start simple, and build up, as well as the scope for storytelling within the space available.

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What’s up with white?

ramblingbrick 18+, Deep Dive, Experiments, feature, ICONS, Lego, Review , , , , , , , , ,
A close-up of LEGO pieces in different shades of white, with text overlay reading 'I Spent My Afternoon Comparing These Two Shades-Of White'.

In which we examine a few elements in the new shade 426 White, and explore the effect of some of these changes and more.

While I was reviewing at the 10360 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft recently, I noticed that the white tiles and plates appeared to be ‘more white’, and indeed less opaque than that which had been seen in recent years. New Elementary published an article on article acknowledging this change and a revised cool yellow recently.

I am curious about the specific rationale behind the change, so I thought I would take a look at some of the parts in 10360, compare them with other examples that I have, and see if there are obvious advantages to the new pigment. I’ll also set a test in process, to see if this new pigment is able to resist yellowing on sun exposure.

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What Plant is That? Exploring Minifigure-Scale Flowers and the 21353 LEGO Ideas Botanical Gardens

ramblingbrick 18+, feature, Lego, Review , , , , , , , , ,

The new LEGO IDEAS set 21353 The Botanical Garden boasts over 3700 pieces, 12 minifigures as well as 4 birds and 4 other animals. But its main claim to fame is the fact that it includes 35 different species of plant. With some interesting recolours already available via the existing Botanicals Collection, I thought it might be worth scouring the images of the set, and matching up the flowers with a list provided by the LEGO Ambassadors Network.

Although… That list might not quite be complete…

This won’t be a comprehensive review, as I don’t actually have the set in my hands, rather a tour in search of the plants matching the description. Once we are done, we will take a quick review of floral elements appearing in minifigure scaled sets over the years.

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The Evolution of LEGO Dragons: Part 1 the Classic Dragon

ramblingbrick Castle, feature, Lego, nostalgia , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Today I want to get on my hobby horse and talk about LEGO Dragons.

80112 Auspicious Dragon

It is now more than 30 years since the LEGO Dragon first appeared back in 1993 and in the 2024, the Year of the Dragon, they seem to be everywhere. Not just the Seasonal Asian Festival sets and Ninjago, but also in Creator, Disney Princess, Ideas, and Minecraft, for a start.

Introduction

In this series, I will look at the way that Dragons have been depicted in LEGO sets over the years.

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They had me in Stitches!

BrankotheFather Disney, feature, Lego , , , ,

Today, Branko takes a look at several Stich models, and considers how models are displayed in LEGO Stores around the world..

Years ago (2016) I bumped across this Stitch model on LEGO Ideas and I fell in love with it. Regardless whether or not the idea would get approved by LEGO Ideas, I set about building this wonderful creature based on instructions by Tyler Clites (who went on to win US LEGO Masters season 1 with Amy Clites in 2020).

This year, LEGO suddenly released its own design of a larger Stitch model,43249, (affiliate link), which I obviously bought as soon as I could.

In relation to this new Stitch set, I made two observations how LEGO sets are displayed in store: this varies a lot per store and per country, and I like getting a bit of inspiration beyond ‘what’s in the box’.

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A Brief History of Crossing the Themes Part 3: Time Cruisers

ramblingbrick Deep Dive, DREAMZZz, feature, Lego, nostalgia, Time Cruisers , , , , , , , , , , , ,

We are celebrating the final half of season 2 of LEGO® DREAMZZz by looking at themes, books and more that made a point of inspiring kids to combine sets of multiple themes in creative play. We have already looked at the 6000 Ideas Book and explored the adventures of Max Timebuster throughout the 1994 catalogue. Today we move on to one of the themes regarded as a spiritual predecessor to DREAMZZz, the 1996-97 Time Cruisers.

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A Brief History of Crossing the Themes Part 2: Introducing Max Timebuster

ramblingbrick Castle, City, Deep Dive, DREAMZZz, feature, Lego, Retro Review , , , , , , ,

The Characters in LEGO DREAMZZz travel from Brooklyn, to Fantasy worlds, to Villages to castle, to worlds made entirely out of Candy. But this is not the first time that being able to travel between different LEGO Themes has been used as a framing device for a LEGO narrative. Last time, we looked at the 6000 IDEAs book and followed the adventures of Mary and Bill as they traveled from Town to Space to Castle.

Today, we meet Max Timebuster, a miscreant who jumps between pages of the LEGO Catalog, gathering bits and pieces as he goes.

Joins us for a healthy bit of 90s nostalgia as we continue our survey of ways that LEGO Media have encouraged creative play by having characters Cross the Themes

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A Brief History of Crossing the Themes: Part 1 The Adventures of Bill and Mary/6000 Ideas

ramblingbrick Deep Dive, DREAMZZz, feature, Lego , , , , , , , , ,

In the run-up to the latest installment of the LEGO DREAMZZz animated series dropping on September 6 2024, I thought we might start a small survey of other ways that books, comics and other media have been used to encourage builders to ‘Cross the Themes’

The Storytelling behind LEGO DREAMZZz provides an interesting mechanic that allows fantasy creations to exist in the otherwise mundane world of LEGO City. Many of the sets in the theme exploit this excuse to mash up fantastical ideas with the mundane. The choices provided for each model also make it a little easier for kids to come up with a different final toy in the set.

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Belated Birthday to the Minifigure

ramblingbrick feature, News , , , ,

It’s just past the 29th of August in some parts of the world, but it would be remiss to let the day go past without acknowledging that this was the day in 1977 that INTERLEGO AG (as they were then known) filed the patent documents for the LEGO Minifigure.

These little guys have been travelling with me, from time to time, since the late 1970s so I found them a cake.

Happy Birthday.

Patents were filed simultaneously in Australia, Denmark and the United Kingdom, with other countries to fill soon afterwards. Read on to see some of the Australian patent application documents.

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