The best of the worst Lego Ideas

[anothergol]

That said, as long as they've come up now, I'll just quickly note that the Shoes creator joined just two weeks ago and is already supporting 39 projects, while the Arlo creator joined just six days ago and is already supporting nine projects.

I still don't get your point. A project needs 10.000 votes anyway, that's a big lot - hopefully there aren't 10.000 of members doing that kind of crap.

Trust me that a project that gets voted, got its votes mostly from 1-time registerers, through social media. Not much from Lego Ideas users.

And as someone already pointed out, many just support & leave comments in order to get votes in return. I too got similar stock comments.

Finally it still doesn't matter, as Lego Ideas doesn't need more voters. Lego can't keep up with the voted stuff & has to reject a lot of projects, why would it need more stuff voted for?

[MAB]

It makes me wonder, if a website with a large membership could organise 10000 of its members to all vote for a few really crap projects, or better still, 100 projects. What would lego do when 100 projects all reach the same review stage?

[AFOLguy1970]

It makes me wonder, if a website with a large membership could organise 10000 of its members to all vote for a few really crap projects, or better still, 100 projects. What would lego do when 100 projects all reach the same review stage?

I would imagine that most would be rejected unanimously by the review board in short order (think about round one of American Idol auditions). They would probably then narrow the field down to what they feel are the likely contenders and proceed in normal fashion. The video announcing the results would likely not showcase all of the projects in review. I would expect a comment to the effect of "We have many worthy projects in this round" and maybe a quick slideshow of some of them while they are discussing it.

[Blondie-Wan]

I still don't get your point. A project needs 10.000 votes anyway, that's a big lot - hopefully there aren't 10.000 of members doing that kind of crap.

Trust me that a project that gets voted, got its votes mostly from 1-time registerers, through social media. Not much from Lego Ideas users.

Not so - if you actually look at what those users supported, you'll see a lot of the same popular projects over and over - including multiple projects that have actually become sets. And that's from just a handful or so, maybe a bit over a dozen, of users singled out in this thread for their own projects. That suggests to me that if we went through all of the literally thousands of creators of less-refined projects, we'd find a healthy percentage of the votes for almost every Ideas project that has become a set, with the sole likely exception of the Minecraft project (which really did garner almost the entirety of its support in a very short time from Minecraft fans outside the Ideas user base, thanks to the social media campaigning).

Finally it still doesn't matter, as Lego Ideas doesn't need more voters. Lego can't keep up with the voted stuff & has to reject a lot of projects, why would it need more stuff voted for?

Because it can "keep up" with them just fine, and precisely because it has to reject a lot of stuff. That means they don't always have as many viable options as they'd like in a review batch. Why do you think they recently made a point of soliciting more original, non-licensed projects (note that they didn't say they wanted fewer licensed ones, only that they wanted more non-licensed ones)? Remember, they recently had a whole review in which they were unable to approve anything, despite it being the largest review batch to date. That's because lots of the ideas that make it to review, while nice ideas, just aren't doable for one reason or another. They want to be always able to approve something; they don't like having to give bad news. One of the things that would help with that is having a larger percentage of non-licensed projects, since those are easier to say yes to, but another is simply having larger review batches - i.e., more things making it to review. And with not all the approved projects having made it through so quickly, it's possible some of the approved projects - the ones that actually became sets - would never have made it to review if the Ideas user base had been smaller.

Edited May 27, 2016 by Blondie-Wan

[anothergol]

Because it can "keep up" with them just fine, and precisely because it has to reject a lot of stuff. That means they don't always have as many viable options as they'd like in a review batch. Why do you think they recently made a point of soliciting more original, non-licensed projects (note that they didn't say they wanted fewer licensed ones, only that they wanted more non-licensed ones)? Remember, they recently had a whole review in which they were unable to approve anything, despite it being the largest review batch to date. That's because lots of the ideas that make it to review, while nice ideas, just aren't doable for one reason or another. They want to be always able to approve something; they don't like having to give bad news.

I doubt it - Lego isn't gonna stream out more Ideas set because more projects get voted, they have their limit for what's just a side, mostly D2C line (I'm sure that, compared to boxes that every toy shop in the world is loaded with, it's nothing).

And I insist that Lego Ideas has more value for Lego than the sets themselves. It's free Lego advertising by users themselves, everywhere possible.

[rodiziorobs]

And I insist that Lego Ideas has more value for Lego than the sets themselves. It's free Lego advertising by users themselves, everywhere possible.

This is absolutely true. Plus, every once in awhile some news outlet will get hold of something and run a feature or an article on "what might be the next Lego set", which drives more traffic to the site and to Lego's brand.

I think Blondie-Wan also has a point though, about Ideas not wanting to alienate users who post lousy projects. Perhaps it is not just because they might stick around and vote for other, better projects, but rather so that all users can have a good "brand experience".

TLG probably wants to avoid any person having an actively bad experience with the brand to the point that they are more willing to make a couple people roll their eyes at sub-par projects (people who probably will keep up with the Ideas site and stay brand-loyal regardless) than send someone away because they 'aren't good enough' for Lego.

[Blondie-Wan]

I doubt it - Lego isn't gonna stream out more Ideas set because more projects get voted, they have their limit for what's just a side, mostly D2C line (I'm sure that, compared to boxes that every toy shop in the world is loaded with, it's nothing).

That doesn't contradict what I said, though. They have a set number of production slots put aside for Ideas sets - yes, they're few and far between, and don't amount to much of their business, but they do have them. And they do want to have viable Ideas projects to produce in those slots. If they have more viable sets than they can do at once, they just queue them - note that we've occasionally been waiting on as many as three approved sets at once. They've also approved multiple sets at once on at least three occasions, and they've approved as many as three projects from a single review batch (albeit by doing two right away, and the third after it was held over for a while).

And as you yourself point out, the whole Ideas program is quite possibly more valuable to them for publicity than for the actual revenue directly generated by the small number of sets it produces, many of which are limited editions - but that supports my argument as well. It doesn't do much for the brand or fan goodwill or any of that if they have an entire review go by without a single set they can approve. They want to be able to produce Ideas sets, not just for whatever they can directly earn by selling them, but also for the publicity, buzz, what have you.

[Blondie-Wan]

TLG probably wants to avoid any person having an actively bad experience with the brand to the point that they are more willing to make a couple people roll their eyes at sub-par projects (people who probably will keep up with the Ideas site and stay brand-loyal regardless) than send someone away because they 'aren't good enough' for Lego.

Absolutely.

[Wodanis]

There is a point I understand from that post, people who create poor Ideas projects oftentimes support great Ideas projects. And I will admit I had forgotten to consider that action.

But, for those who want to find those great projects; I think Ideas is unnecessarly cluttered by the poor projects many of which have been highlighted here. Yes I'm glad the creators of low quality projects are supporting other projects, but low quality Ideas tend to make it hard for me at least to find the great ones.

Exactly true! I'm mortified by all the crap that clutters up Lego Ideas. It's one of the reasons my project hasn't been receiving more support. When my project was trending it allowed people to see and/or support it. Now I'm lucky to get 20 votes I had hoped To reach 10k.

As for some of the creation by children. It was my understanding that Lego ideas was for the teen to adult crowd. Lego used to have a thing where they would showcase kids creations and frankly I think they need it again. Most of these awful ideas are kids trying to showcase their creation.

[Exetrius]

As for some of the creation by children. It was my understanding that Lego ideas was for the teen to adult crowd. Lego used to have a thing where they would showcase kids creations and frankly I think they need it again. Most of these awful ideas are kids trying to showcase their creation.

I'm fairly certain that many children (and adults too!) use LEGO Ideas to showcase their creations. On the LEGO site, most themes have a gallery section for that purpose, but views and 'like' counts are very low. In addition, I think the train of thoughts of those people is like this: "Why not showing my awesome cool creation, while having a chance that it even becomes a real set? A free, possibly beneficial, gamble!"

However, the perception of 'having a chance' is wrong, mostly. MOCs and Ideas projects both have very different standards. It is very often that I see projects by adults that are just MOCs, especially the "UCS" ones. I dislike seeing "You can now also support this on LEGO Ideas!" at the bottom of a MOC post here on EB.

Ideas, LEGO sets, are designed with a market in mind; a restricted parts assortment; a trade-off between play and looks. Thís is the part where you show that you have what it takes to stand in the shoes of a real TLG designer! To me, it would be shameful to have your 10K supporters project model completely resized, redesigned; reimagined; by the TLG design team in order to make it a marketable set.

Sorry for my rant, but I wanted to write off some frustration.

Edited May 29, 2016 by Exetrius

[Blondie-Wan]

I dislike seeing "You can now also support this on LEGO Ideas!" at the bottom of a MOC post here on EB.

Ideas, LEGO sets, are designed with a market in mind; a restricted parts assortment; a trade-off between play and looks. Thís is the part where you show that you have what it takes to stand in the shoes of a real TLG designer! To me, it would be shameful to have your 10K supporters project model completely resized, redesigned; reimagined; by the TLG design team in order to make it a marketable set.

Tangentially, I do as well, but for me it's more of a complaint with Eurobricks's approach to Ideas than it is with Ideas itself. The way things are now, it lets us only post Ideas projects as MOCs, presenting them like we would any other MOC, while just kind of mentioning almost in passing that they're Ideas projects. I get that EB doesn't want to become just other people's advertising venue, but there's no danger of that anyway, and I don't think this approach services either the projects or this community well.

[CM4Sci]

I'm fairly certain that many children (and adults too!) use LEGO Ideas to showcase their creations. On the LEGO site, most themes have a gallery section for that purpose, but views and 'like' counts are very low. In addition, I think the train of thoughts of those people is like this: "Why not showing my awesome cool creation, while having a chance that it even becomes a real set? A free, possibly beneficial, gamble!"

However, the perception of 'having a chance' is wrong, mostly. MOCs and Ideas projects both have very different standards. It is very often that I see projects by adults that are just MOCs, especially the "UCS" ones. I dislike seeing "You can now also support this on LEGO Ideas!" at the bottom of a MOC post here on EB.

Ideas, LEGO sets, are designed with a market in mind; a restricted parts assortment; a trade-off between play and looks. Thís is the part where you show that you have what it takes to stand in the shoes of a real TLG designer! To me, it would be shameful to have your 10K supporters project model completely resized, redesigned; reimagined; by the TLG design team in order to make it a marketable set.

Sorry for my rant, but I wanted to write off some frustration.

This is exactly why I like to design my MOCs as LEGO sets. I add play features and try to make them look like they'd actually be sets. My Polar Explorers theme is a big example of this. I really hate seeing 10k piece MOCs get 10k supporters when people should or just know that it won't be made. EVER. Ever ever ever.

[Exetrius]

Tangentially, I do as well, but for me it's more of a complaint with Eurobricks's approach to Ideas than it is with Ideas itself. The way things are now, it lets us only post Ideas projects as MOCs, presenting them like we would any other MOC, while just kind of mentioning almost in passing that they're Ideas projects. I get that EB doesn't want to become just other people's advertising venue, but there's no danger of that anyway, and I don't think this approach services either the projects or this community well.

I know, EB doesn't facilitate letting people view your creation as a project. With the current rules, the best we can do is stating it's a project at the beginning of the post and putting more emphasis on the designing process and the compromises you made to fit the desired assets. As far as advertising goes, sacrificing your signature for a big thumbnail is really the only option, I suppose.

This is exactly why I like to design my MOCs as LEGO sets. I add play features and try to make them look like they'd actually be sets. My Polar Explorers theme is a big example of this. I really hate seeing 10k piece MOCs get 10k supporters when people should or just know that it won't be made. EVER. Ever ever ever.

Yeah, your projects are really the way to go, CM!

Edited May 29, 2016 by Exetrius

[anothergol]

Ideas, LEGO sets, are designed with a market in mind; a restricted parts assortment; a trade-off between play and looks. Thís is the part where you show that you have what it takes to stand in the shoes of a real TLG designer!

I don't think that a Lego Ideas project necessarily has to be "playable", and nowhere on the website it tells about "adult" sets being forbidden.

While it's sure that an Ideas project has to use today's parts (and I've seen many projects use old hinges & parts that Lego is clearly never gonna produce again), I don't think that it has to be solid, playable & feature-loaded as a common Lego set. Architecture sets aren't designed for children, don't have play features, and aren't designed to be tossed around without breaking - I don't see why an Ideas project couldn't be just like an Architecture project.

This is exactly why I like to design my MOCs as LEGO sets. I add play features and try to make them look like they'd actually be sets. My Polar Explorers theme is a big example of this. I really hate seeing 10k piece MOCs get 10k supporters when people should or just know that it won't be made. EVER. Ever ever ever.

But why suggest projects that are just like what Lego would/will do by itself, anyway? Lego Ideas is the chance to get Lego produce stuff they would NOT normally do, no? When you get a set in every toy shop in the world, it has to be designed for children, tested with children, solid, playable, etc. But you won't find an Ideas set next to them, & those will be mostly D2C. Really, if Ideas would better be used for something, it's to tell Lego that there are adults out there who want MOC-quality sets. Unless that's not what you want, but I know it's what I want. I'm 40, I really don't care if a set is solid, I won't swoosh it around, it will sit on a shelf. Right now my choices are limited to UCS sets (..while the latest UCS is a playset..) and Architecture. Meanwhile, I see daily many MOCs that I would buy as sets, but I can't (which is normal - I'm not Lego's target customer).

And those giant MOCs that you all complain about, *I* would buy the. And it's not because Lego has rejected the few ones that got voted so far, that they will never release any. Lego does produce large D2C sets, and I don't see why none could come from Ideas. I can imagine a lot of other reasons for those large projects to have been rejected. When you vote for a project, you have a "$200+" choice btw.

Edited May 29, 2016 by anothergol

[Lyichir]

But why suggest projects that are just like what Lego would/will do by itself, anyway? Lego Ideas is the chance to get Lego produce stuff they would NOT normally do, no? When you get a set in every toy shop in the world, it has to be designed for children, tested with children, solid, playable, etc. But you won't find an Ideas set next to them, & those will be mostly D2C. Really, if Ideas would better be used for something, it's to tell Lego that there are adults out there who want MOC-quality sets. Unless that's not what you want, but I know it's what I want. I'm 40, I really don't care if a set is solid, I won't swoosh it around, it will sit on a shelf. Right now my choices are limited to UCS sets (..while the latest UCS is a playset..) and Architecture. Meanwhile, I see daily many MOCs that I would buy as sets, but I can't (which is normal - I'm not Lego's target customer).

And those giant MOCs that you all complain about, *I* would buy the. And it's not because Lego has rejected the few ones that got voted so far, that they will never release any. Lego does produce large D2C sets, and I don't see why none could come from Ideas. I can imagine a lot of other reasons for those large projects to have been rejected. When you vote for a project, you have a "$200+" choice btw.

Not all of the conveniences like stability and playability are just for kids. A lot of adults value those things too—including new customers who might be drawn in by a new license. Even though those sorts of customers are often adults, their building level isn't necessarily going to be the same as your average AFOL, so they're definitely not going to want something that'll fall apart easily or be a huge challenge to build.

Beyond that, there is one other very good reason why we don't see gigantic sets coming out of Lego Ideas. Normal Lego sets are generally developed on a much longer timetable than Ideas projects are, and Lego's factories are already scheduled far in advance to be working at close to full capacity. Because Ideas sets are not necessarily planned as far in advance, their production needs to be squeezed into an already tight schedule, and that's much harder to do with a large $100 set than with the $30–$50 sets that normally pass review. Not necessarily impossible, but certainly much more challenging.

Edited May 29, 2016 by Lyichir

[anothergol]

How could it be a challenge to build? I'm even surprised that there is a difficulty question when you vote for a set. I mean, "it's just Lego", the only thing that's difficult with Lego, are stickers. The rest, it may be more or less time-consuming, may require more or less attention, but it can't be "difficult" for an adult.

& what's sure is that an adult doesn't want parts in rainbow colors just to aid the building, if they end up ruining the model.

[rodiziorobs]

Beyond that, there is one other very good reason why we don't see gigantic sets coming out of Lego Ideas. Normal Lego sets are generally developed on a much longer timetable than Ideas projects are, and Lego's factories are already scheduled far in advance to be working at close to full capacity. Because Ideas sets are not necessarily planned as far in advance, their production needs to be squeezed into an already tight schedule, and that's much harder to do with a large $100 set than with the $30–$50 sets that normally pass review. Not necessarily impossible, but certainly much more challenging.

This is, I believe, the reason the Maze was able to be produced. It's the largest Ideas set so far, yet included no minifigs or accessories or printed parts, and what was included is largely basic bricks, plates, and tiles in colors Lego already has in large production numbers. Despite its larger size, it probably wasn't too much of a crunch on production resources.

Edited May 30, 2016 by rodiziorobs

[antp]

How could it be a challenge to build? I'm even surprised that there is a difficulty question when you vote for a set. I mean, "it's just Lego", the only thing that's difficult with Lego, are stickers. The rest, it may be more or less time-consuming, may require more or less attention, but it can't be "difficult" for an adult.

Indeed it is rather a question of time and attention required when building, but I suppose that's what they call "difficulty"; i.e. is the target 6+, 12+ or 16+ for example.

For a non-AFOL adult I suppose it is less a problem then, if they buy a big set of thousands of parts they expect probably a long build time, like when assembling a large jigsaw puzzle.

Edited May 30, 2016 by antp

[pittpenguin123]

Reminds me of my youth in high school

"average high school" Yah every school has Medusa and some one turned to stone in it.

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/142990

He dosnt even explain why he made it or what is is. https://ideas.lego.com/projects/142473

true gem

every kid wants this.

some of these are so bad its funny.

They will approve any thing to go onto voting page wont they?

[Airbenderfreak]

I wish I had discovered this thread a long time ago! I'll admit, I've seen projects so bad I actually supported them out of pity!

[Exetrius]

Reminds me of my youth in high school

"average high school" Yah every school has Medusa and some one turned to stone in it.

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/142990

-snip-

Pretty accurate, since these represent the teachers... They are real MONSTERS!!!

To be honest, the dino is actually pretty cute and has good articulation too and come on: who doesn't love dinosaurs!

[Duncan Young]

Here's one

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/143266

A masterpiece to be sure ;)

Oh and this one-

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/143221

Not a bad build but it's really the concept...

Finally-

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/142901

Do these people not read about this sort of stuff

[Blondie-Wan]

Oh and this one-

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/143221

Not a bad build but it's really the concept...

I'd agree it's not the best fit for TLG's brand standards, but at the same time, it is an iconic moment from the narrative universe of one of their major licenses. I sometimes wonder whether they might have mixed feelings about licensing DC at all, but there you go.

Finally-

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/142901

Do these people not read about this sort of stuff

Well, no, actually, not everyone. I think the only place the upcoming set has been discussed are a handful of LEGO fansites, like this one, and even among LEGO fandom, not everyone frequents them. TLG hasn't officially announced this set yet, as far as I'm aware. It's unfortunate that this submitter didn't know about the set, but it's not like the set is common knowledge to everyone yet.

[xboxtravis7992]

Finally-

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/142901

Do these people not read about this sort of stuff

I just commented on the project to inform them of the rumors. I hope they realize the official Castle set was in development before they built their MOC and hopefully we don't have a repeat of the Ghostbusters incident again :P

Now if it was the Disneyland castle instead of the Disney World one that is what the rumored set will be, I'd have likely supported it.

[wiz]

Some of these make me question Humanity's intelligence. I wonder how many of these were trolls.

This one even admitted to being a troll:

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/142545/