Custom Lego Pieces

[TheWebExpert]

Currently, Lego has a place where you can submit design ideas for new sets.  If enough people vote for the set, then Lego makes the set a reality (basically).  Quite a few new sets have entered the realm of reality this way.  It's spurring on creativity & design.

However:  What about people who want to design new Lego pieces?  After building set #42075 First Responder according to the "A" instructions, I wasn't truly happy with its fender.  As you can see in the picture, there's a gap between the "arm" and the fender. When you open the hood, that "arm" just sort of hangs there, loose.  I thought, 'hey, there should really be a piece that connects these two to stabilize things.'  I looked around, but couldn't find a piece that fit the bill.  So, I broke out my Fusion 360 and designed one.  And then I designed another, and another, and another.  To date, I've designed twelve unique pieces (four pieces with a "left" version and a "right" version, plus one piece with two parts, and two singletons).

However:  Lego informs me that there's no mechanism for submitting part ideas... only KIT ideas.  In order to submit these designs, I'd have to make a kit around them.

 

Questions:  1).  Is there anyone out there up to the challenge of designing a kit that people would vote for, so that these parts can be created; 2). Is anyone interested in these parts?  3). Is there a different way of getting these pieces made?  I'm sure I'm not the only one who could find a use for them.  Any help is appreciated.

[dr_spock]

I think a problem you may run into is LEGO Ideas is generally no new parts (unless LEGO get directed by Disney like the Steamboat).  Best to read through their Terms & Conditions on the Ideas site. 

You could put them up on Thingiverse.  Or sites like Shapeways if you want to make some revenue from it.

[TheWebExpert]

Yeah, I suppose... Sigh. It's just that they SHOULD have a site for part ideas. I'm not the only one who's come up with modifications

[Johnny1360]

I am always on the lookout for new pieces, even if they are only new to me, however I don't really like to see new pieces introduced unless they are truly needed or useful. I like to build using what is available and don't really see the need to make new pieces just for the sake of making new pieces. Also most of the pieces you have made up can already be accomplished with existing parts. Nowadays if you really need a specific part they seem to be easy enough to make with modern 3D printers and there are several companies that would be glad to do it. 

Having said all that I do think it is great seeing what parts others would like to have, in fact there is a thread in the general discussion topic that is full of great ideas and a wonderful wish list of future parts. You should check it out, it may even give you a few ideas. Anyway keep the ideas coming who knows you may actually see your part made into reality. 

Edit:  check out page four, "Do you dream of new LEGO parts" great ideas in there. 

Edited March 19, 2019 by Johnny1360

[TheWebExpert]

I'll check it out.  Even if you could "accomplish" the same thing with two (or more parts), it seems better (for small parts such as these) to do it with one instead.  One part I made is designed for the string & hook.  You have to tie the string to the hook.  But most of the models it's used on, you have to UNtie it and REtie it in order to use it for a different model - which is difficult, and also gets the string frayed.  I thought, create a connector that you can permanently tie onto the string, but which would pass through holes; simply snap it on or off to remove the hook.

Can you provide me a link to that page?  I couldn't find it.

[Johnny1360]

@TheWebExpert I unfortunately don't know how to link it but it it is on page 4 of this sub-forum General Discussion about 14 topics down and it is called do you dream of LEGO or something similar. 

I like your idea with the string, I always seem to have to cut it when I can't untie it, which obviously can only be done so many times. 

[ShaydDeGrai]

On March 19, 2019 at 12:11 AM, TheWebExpert said:

Yeah, I suppose... Sigh. It's just that they SHOULD have a site for part ideas. I'm not the only one who's come up with modifications

I'm afraid this falls into the category of "tried and rejected" as far as TLG goes.

Lego CUUSOO (the precursor to Lego Ideas) used to support submissions for new parts in its very early days, but the "feature" was dropped as part of a general overhaul of how the site worked (and in anticipation of what would become Lego Ideas).  Having had some part designs posted under Cuusoo, I was disappointed when they dropped the concept and, the next time I had opportunity to meet with members of the Cuusoo team in person I asked why they'd made the move.

The answers I got varied slightly from person to person, but in general it boiled down to:

* Marketing / Cuusoo concept - Most people just didn't get excited (enough) about new parts to be able to compete on the same playing field as pop culture inspired kits.  The original Cuusoo allowed submissions of stand-alone kits, multi-kit themes and parts.  It failed to produce anything but kits.  The premise of the website was really built around apples-to-apples comparisons and kits-themes-parts was more of an apples-to-oranges-to-banannas kind of operation.

* Financial risk - New parts represented a larger risk for TLG than kits.  A limited production run of a Cuusoo/Ideas kit is 10,000 units (and for argument sake let's say the MSPR is $50/unit).  So if the whole run sells out  it generates, at most $500,000 in revenue, from this we need to deduct the cost of parts, packaging, labor, shipping, wholesale versus retail price, and the royalty for the original submitter/designer.   To keep things simple let's say that amounts to half the total MRSP, so a modest sized kit only represents about a $250,000 investment and if the kit is successful, they can make more for the same or even lower cost.  High precision, multi-plate injection molds can cost three to four times what they'd invest in an initial run of a single kit (depending on the complexity of the part).  If there's no real demand for the part, it could take years to recoup/amortize such an investment.

 * International intellectual property rights issues - when a part is designed in-house by someone under contract specifically to design parts it is a much easier case to say TLG "owns" this globally, pay a flat fee and make as many copies as they want for years to come.  Unlike kits, that have limited production runs and the designer is given a percentage of the sale (a royalty), after investing in tooling new molds, parts are something TLG wants to be able to produce en masse without paying a recurring licensing fee.  Law governing flat fee for IP ownership in perpetuity varies by country and is more of a hassle to lock down than a simple royalty based structure.

* Liability for previously existing intellectual property - part of new part design is ensuring that any new part is not infringing on existing patents owned by other companies.  Lego kits are usually "protected" by trademarks and copyrights, but the raw parts themselves are (or at one time were - patents expire) often protected by patents.  This, in many law abiding countries, limits what clone manufacturers can legally produce.  Unfortunately, several of the first new part submissions on Cuusoo were basically rehashes of bricks unique to Mega-bloks and other clone brands and TLG didn't want to go to the time and expense of exhaustive patent searches for every user submitted idea, nor did they want to be lax about such searches and commit to an idea that might result in a law suit somewhere down the road.

[Aanchir]

Something else about parts is that after severely overspending on new parts, molds, and colors in the early 2000s that only showed up in a few sets, much greater control was given to a LEGO department called Design Lab that holds that type of stuff to much stricter standards according to how much it'll cost to introduce, how big a budget the particular sets that need them most have to cover those costs, how it can best be designed for manufacturability, how many sets/themes will be able to use them, how well the same outcome can be achieved with other pieces, and even some weird esoteric stuff we might not typically think about like whether it has enough free surfaces to mark it with the part number, LEGO word mark, and copyright date.

So even if LEGO were able to grapple with all the obstacles ShaydDeGray stated above, it'd be pretty difficult for any casual fan without knowledge of all the specific factors Design Lab will take into account to get a new part design approved — even a fan with actual 3D modeling or manufacturing experience/expertise. Even many part designs actual LEGO designers wish to introduce for the types of sets they specialize in can take many years to be approved, if they ever see the light of day at all!

Remember, part of the point of LEGO Ideas is to help LEGO fans feel like they have a way to make real contributions to a toy brand they love. A system like that for parts, in which the vast majority of parts could easily get rejected on obscure technicalities, might just as easily do the opposite, making fans feel powerless to actually make their dreams a reality no matter how hard they worked to achieve it.

[TheWebExpert]

Wow.  Both of you made some really great points - things I hadn't considered.  All I had thought of was "hey, wouldn't it be cool if I had such-and-so part."  I'm thinking on what I have so far; ultimately, I am intending to submit a design for a set.  If I can use any custom part design in my set, I will do so... but only if it's absolutely necessary.  Thanks for your input!