[CUUSOO] The Infinitely Modular Classical Temple Building Set

[Blakstone]

The new CUUSOO images really do pop. Good job.

Between the Battling Ram and the Catapult, I have to pick the Battling Ram. Not only do we get a lot of catapults with the Castle line, the Battling Ram has a lot of the Roman shields. I would tell CUUSOO that I would likely buy three. One or two to keep and one to give shields to all those Roman Commanders.

Neither build looks too complex for LEGO or CUUSOO.

[cloneman155]

I was really hoping Lego would head this direction. The battering ram is wonderful, along with the Hannibal sets. Unfortunately, it seems like Lego picks smaller sets, and rarely follows through with an actual theme, but still, you have another vote :)

[The Real Indiana Jones]

The new CUUSOO images really do pop. Good job.

Between the Battling Ram and the Catapult, I have to pick the Battling Ram. Not only do we get a lot of catapults with the Castle line, the Battling Ram has a lot of the Roman shields. I would tell CUUSOO that I would likely buy three. One or two to keep and one to give shields to all those Roman Commanders.

Neither build looks too complex for LEGO or CUUSOO.

Thanks again! And yes, I realized that part of the solution for getting everyone the huge armies they crave is to include as many extra shields as possible attached to everything... For starters, it makes great decoration, but more importantly, people can create a ton of "Foreign Auxiliaries" by getting a lot of ancient-looking minifigs like Dastan et al on BrickLink, then get hemets and weapons on BrickForge and BrickWarriors, and then they can use all of the extra shields from these sets here to make them all part of the corps.

Voi-la! Everyone's army just doubled! =D

Rome and especially Egypt *always* used foreign auxiliaries from a variety of nearby lands... Their armies wouldn't look complete or correct without them!

Oh, and I may just include the catapult in the Odyssey set, for the part where the Cyclops hurls rocks at Odysseus's ship at sea.

Edited August 1, 2013 by The Real Indiana Jones

[The Real Indiana Jones]

Yay, over 3330 views here! =)

If you quick look back at the bottom of page 2 of this thread, you can see the battering ram and catapult, and get the idea of what the ballista et cetera will be like.

For the chariots, you have the option of using two 3-long-bars to add a third and fourth horse, or you can just go with two for maximum maneuverability on the battlefield, and use the other two horses for cavalry units or to be officer's mounts.

In Egyptian murals, the Pharaoh is always shown ultra-heroically driving and shooting single-handedly, but in reality it was always a two or three man operation. One man drove and the other one or two stood on the back to shoot. Here you even have enough room for three.

The horses will all be the newer type, since with this design they can all rear up in unison for a cool battlefield pose! You can push and steer the chariot by grabbing the little tab at the back where the archer is standing. And if you tap down on that same tab, the horses will all go up and down like a "galloping" motion.

Ramesses gets one in gold, Caesar gets one in dark-red, Boudicca gets one in dark-green, and Nebuchadnezzar gets one in dark-blue!

Ben-Hur time! =D

Edited August 2, 2013 by The Real Indiana Jones

[Faefrost]

I love the battering ram set. The pics are well framed and the entire concept just pops and seems distinct.

The catapult is a really nice catapult. However its downside is, as other have said, we get a lot of catapults. It's further compounded by yours having a somewhat similar look and feel to what we would almost expect to find if or when Lego makes a LotR Minas Tirith set or sets. It would work if it is bundled with something a bit more distinct and set defining. But on its own would probably run into trouble.

[The Real Indiana Jones]

I love the battering ram set. The pics are well framed and the entire concept just pops and seems distinct.

The catapult is a really nice catapult. However its downside is, as other have said, we get a lot of catapults. It's further compounded by yours having a somewhat similar look and feel to what we would almost expect to find if or when Lego makes a LotR Minas Tirith set or sets. It would work if it is bundled with something a bit more distinct and set defining. But on its own would probably run into trouble.

True! And so, I will probably just include the catapult in the Odyssey set, for the part where the Cyclops hurls rocks at Odysseus's ship at sea. No one will be getting multiples of the Odyssey. It's not really 100% needed there either, since the Cyclops really throws the rocks by hand, but it could add some fun battle play value there for $5!

And you can see that lot of the military objects are totally inter-changeable from one civ to another, and from one set to another. So once I get everything designed, I will make some quickly pasted collages to show what I might include in each set, so people can see and comment and vote for what things they like best.

Edited August 2, 2013 by The Real Indiana Jones

[The Real Indiana Jones]

Excellent! 5 votes in one day may seem microscopic, but it is actually very quick progress for any set under 200 votes, and my curve is definitely accelerating!

To celebrate, here is something that I am sure a lot of you have been waiting for... The Ballista..... Schwiiinnng!! =D

It uses a rubber-band stretched across the front to snap both arms forward, which are strung to the square assembly to pull it forward, which shoots the spears.

I think this should be almost immune to mis-fires. Six-stud-length-chains might also work, in place of the strings, to connect the arms to the square assembly.

I've never seen anyone design a solidly-working one as accurately as this at minifig-scale before. If you have seen better examples, let me know.

Plus, if someone wants to build and test this, feel free to go ahead, and maybe make a quick video so we can see how well it works.

therealindy

Edited August 2, 2013 by The Real Indiana Jones

[GravGunner]

I really LOVE what I am seeing I so hope this gets picked up!

Very good job on designing the sets, and equally good job at presenting them, which is an underestimated skill for CUSOO

[robuko]

The battering ram with shields looks like a vote-winner to me. I agree with the commentators who suggested you need one focus project to concentrate the votes, and this could be it. Love your work here.

[The Real Indiana Jones]

The battering ram with shields looks like a vote-winner to me. I agree with the commentators who suggested you need one focus project to concentrate the votes, and this could be it. Love your work here.

Yes, I will probably finish the whole Roman set first and foremost, since it has such a huge fan-base, and then I'll bring all of the other civs up to that same level to match it.

I really LOVE what I am seeing I so hope this gets picked up!

Very good job on designing the sets, and equally good job at presenting them, which is an underestimated skill for CUSOO

Thanks and thanks again!

I am definitely accelerating... And considering the fact that all projects really start to accelerate rapidly between the 100-vote and 1000-vote checkpoints, I definitely could win.

1) "Competitor L.O." is scheduled to take 4.3 more years.....

2) "Competitor M.T." is scheduled take 4.8 more years.....

3) "Competitor G.O.R." is scheduled take over 5.8 more years.....

They are all very far away, so by that time, I can definitely overcome that one-year-head-start they all got. At the very least, all I have to do is pass the 5000 mark by that time.

At 5000 votes, Lego starts to put together prototypes based on the project images, and then the idea is officially "on their radar screen". After that, even if another set passes the 10,000 mark first, they will take into consideration that all the others had such a huge head start, and since it is literally a "million-dollar-decision" for them, they will decide on what is best, and not just pick the set that posted first and passed first!

Edited August 3, 2013 by The Real Indiana Jones

[Mike S]

You have some great ideas here, my favorite of which is the hanging gardens because of its uniqueness. But your best bet votewise probably is the roman era although I suspect that LEGO may have something similar already in the works.

[The Real Indiana Jones]

Yes! I just verified that they are officially selling the Cuusoo sets ***AT TOYS R US, ON THE SHELF, IN THE STORES*** ... and they are advertising the sets in the monthly catalog... and the sets are clearly labeled as Cuusoo Sets with a three-digit serial number... and the instruction booklet advertises the Cuusoo site, and it gives a nice bio of the creators... So that all seems to mean that they are confident enough to start advertising, cross-promoting, and directing web traffic towards the Cuusoo Site now, and so they officially consider the Cuusoo Program to be a success!

So here is something to celebrate! The Roman set is now officially right at the $125 mark, so I need to trim it down just a bit, because that is the maximum price for a Lego set that Toys R Us will risk to put out on the shelf in the store (with a big magnetic anti-theft security-band locked around it).

And they seem to be setting the precedent of doing all printed parts and no stickers in the Cuusoo sets. If that is so, then it's a perfect time to get parts boldly printed with real Roman inscriptions! Remember all the real printed hieroglyphics panels in the old Adventurers sets? Those days will return.

With the Triumphal Arch, you get loads of panels and medallions that can easily be printed with a variety of realistic Roman imagery to add some must-buy value, plus four golden stallions. The golden coffering under the arch-way uses 100% Lego-Legal techniques. Let me know if there is anything more I can add to it, including perhaps the color scheme. I want the realistically vibrant ancient pigment colors to be an eye-grabber and a selling point.

You have some great ideas here, my favorite of which is the hanging gardens because of its uniqueness. But your best bet votewise probably is the roman era although I suspect that LEGO may have something similar already in the works.

Yep, that's the reason I branched out to do Stonehenge and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon too... It's totally possible that someone could beat me to become the first Greco-Roman set... Or perhaps we will all get pre-empted by Lego, since they have been toying with the idea of an Ancient World theme for years... But if they do, I have a feeling that they won't think to do the Celts or Babylon... And as soon as people have the Greeks, they will want a Middle-Eastern Civ to fight against, and as soon as they have the Romans, they will want to have more Celts to fight with! There are a million cool possibilities! And if it becomes a theme, one way or another, it could easily support more than one wave, or even multiple sub-themes! =)

Edited August 4, 2013 by The Real Indiana Jones

[pogie]

I really like the arch. The coloring is great. Because of the condition of the ruins currently and most artists renderings, people envision Roman construction as monochrome white, grey etc. Spectral analysis ongoing in the Forum shows that the buildings were painted a variety of bright colors, reds, blues, yellows et al. You've done a great job capturing this. The micro figs in the niches are particularly cool.

IMO this set has zero chance as a Cuusso project. Great MOC but no playability, too expensive and again, you are diluting your concept with waayyyy too much. Concentrate on a few things and wait and see what happens rather than cranking this stuff out and throwing it on the pile. Incoming "you are wrong and here's why....I've got a lot more coming"....sigh

Edited August 3, 2013 by pogie

[The Real Indiana Jones]

...Great MOC but no playability...

Playability? There's a War-Elephant, a Legion, Chariots, a Battering-Ram, and a real working Ballista... Again, I totally don't understand your negativity!

(EDIT: Sorry, or perhaps you misunderstood my intent. I admit that I write a ton of text, and I don't expect anyone to read it all, or remember it all! The arch is included in the Rome set because it is singularly iconic to Rome, and because any viable set needs to have enough traditional brick-building to justify the minifigures, so that Lego doesn't just label it as "just a battle-pack" or "just a minifig pack". In fact, I think that is the #1 reason that will lead the top-ranked Rome project on Cuusoo to get ultimately rejected. I hope that clarifies what I am aiming for!

Edited August 3, 2013 by The Real Indiana Jones

[pogie]

My negativity relates to you presenting this as a Cuusso project. You are on here talking about Lego actually picking up your project as a Cuusso concept. You are not designing a Cuusso project, you are designing a theme. If Lego puts out an ancient civilization theme it will be as an official Lego theme not as a Cuusso project. The MSRP of the sets that you've designed is what $1000-$1500? More? This is not what Cuusso is about.

As for playability I am referring to your arch. Each set needs to stand on its own, and the Arch, while a nice display piece has no playability.

I am not trying to bash you and this is not personal in any way. This thread has just struck an off chord with me when numerous people all post basically the same thing, that you are doing too much and diluting your concept. Your response in each case is that the poster is wrong, here's why, and btw I've got 10 more sets that I'm working on. I think you have done some great design work here, and if this is how you like to build and express your creativity, great. To think that Lego is going to look at your 15 +/- sets and release them is a stretch.

[The Real Indiana Jones]

...numerous people all post basically the same thing...

Honestly, there are actually many many more people looking and commenting than just the few you are reading here... And overwhelmingly, almost all of them are telling me to add more. If you think they are all wrong then that's cool.

Also, the official rule on Cuusoo is that themes are totally fine, BUT you MUST put each distinct set on a separate page, so that voters can vote on each set idea distinctly and individually. Putting multiple sets on one page is cheating. That's the rule.

And that is the #2 reason why I think that the top-ranking Rome set on Cuusoo will ultimately get rejected, and why I am stepping in to fill that eventual void.

And the #3 reason I think it will be rejected is that it is just a badly-designed chariot with a tree and five minifigs... Or is it the $150 war-ship lower down?... Or is it the poly-bag-sized-set with five gladiators lower down? Who knows?! I'd love to hear criticism on that one!

Edited August 3, 2013 by The Real Indiana Jones

[The Real Indiana Jones]

All, right, and here is the final element of the Rome set. I think this is totes adorbz, and it takes me back to the days of The Adventurers set 7414.

Hannibal V, the great-great-grandson of the conquered military genius is back for revenge, and Caesar is forced to defend the capitol at all costs.

Here again, you get 8 extra shields, so you can equip additional men as auxiliaries in the army. I will add graphics to the shields and update it soon.

And here is the tentative line-up for the full set below. I may alter it a bit in various ways based on feedback. I was shooting for $100, but I crept over budget a bit. Just like this, it would be about $120 including a *minimum* of 7 minifigures. You can see close-up pictures of all of the various elements if you scroll back over the last few pages of this thread... It's like a scavenger hunt, Yay! =) And tell me if you don't think this is at least a little bit better than the current-top-ranking Cuusoo Rome set I was referring to earlier. I actually have a huge ton of other work I need to do this week, so I will let people comment freely for a few days, and then fix it!

I.M.C.T.B. Module 2: Caesar Defends the Capitol (multiple prototypes / work in progress)

Revision 02c, August 03, 2013

by "therealindy"

Edited August 4, 2013 by The Real Indiana Jones

[The Real Indiana Jones]

...If Lego puts out an ancient civilization theme it will be as an official Lego theme not as a Cuusso project...

Ah, and I want to talk about this point especially, because this mis-conception is very common, and I hear it a lot.

Here is a mathematical argument...

Usually, when creators or inventors submit an idea to a corporation, they get at least a 5% or 10% royalty... but for Lego, it is only a tiny 1%. They can swing that because there are thousands and thousands of AFOLs who design Lego just for fun, and who gladly do it for free every single day. So now for a moment, let's even imagine that they actually have an entire Ancient World theme on their drawing board. But then if they look at the various Cuusoo contributions, and they say "Hey, the stuff this contributor is creating is at least good enough to increase the final sales numbers ***by just TWO tiny percent*** or more", then logically and mathematically, the optimal business decision is for them to go ahead and make the set through Cuusoo, because ***they are ONLY giving up ONE percent***, and all of the rest of the extra is just money in their pocket, for doing the minimum amount of work... Plus, they get all of the PR good-vibes that come with creating a lifelong fan's dream. So essentially, it is a "Classic Win-Win-Win Situation" for them, with absolutely no downside.

Or, to think of it another way... Why do you imagine in your mind that Lego has some sort of vendetta *AGAINST* all the Cuusoo submissions? They are logical business-people, and they are essentially going to look at it as a business decision of A versus B, and they will choose the option that generates more profit and the most good PR. If the Cuusoo set is projected to make even a tiny 2% increase in profits, plus some good PR vibes as a bonus, then they will logically and happily go ahead and make the Cuusoo set instead of their own sketches! It's that simple.

Does that make sense?

Edited August 3, 2013 by The Real Indiana Jones

[pogie]

Hmmm. The fact that Cuusso is sold in maybe 10% of retailers versus a full blown theme being carried by every retailer would cause TLG shelving a full theme in favor of a Cuussc theme to make no sense whatsoever. I don't think you are dealing in reality here at all.

[The Real Indiana Jones]

Hmmm. The fact that Cuusso is sold in maybe 10% of retailers versus a full blown theme being carried by every retailer would cause TLG shelving a full theme in favor of a Cuussc theme to make no sense whatsoever. I don't think you are dealing in reality here at all.

Lego is the most popular toy line on Planet Earth. What is to stop them from putting Cuusoo sets in every store they choose, including Wal-Mart and Target...? You seem to be stuck in the limited mind-set that just because they haven't done something YET, means that they never WILL. Think BIG, Bro!

In the 70's they only had five colors... Then they made MORE!

In the 80's they only made sets up to $100... Then they made them BIGGER!

For most of the 90's they did not have any licensed themes... Then they decided make it COOLER!

"CITIUS, ALTIUS, FORTIUS"!!!

therealindy

Edited August 3, 2013 by The Real Indiana Jones

[pogie]

Yes TLG business model has changed over the years. If you think they are going to completely revamp their entire Cuusso project to bring your massive lineup to walmarts around the world you are deluding yourself.

Put down the mouse and snap a few bricks together. You might like it.

Done here, for the last time.

[The Real Indiana Jones]

^ Yes, Agreed! There are hundreds of wonderful quality MOCs to see here on EuroBricks, and all the other AFOL sites... If you don't like mine, then just go look at someone else's!

And I've been "snapping a few bricks" since 1978! Believe me, they didn't have LDD back then...! =D

Have Fun!

Indy Out

Edited August 3, 2013 by The Real Indiana Jones

[The Real Indiana Jones]

Wow! Almost 4,000 views on this thread now...!

I re-posted this as an all-new project and it is up now, so go ahead and try clicking the image.

I will redo all the graphics with slick POV-Ray and Photoshop renders as soon as I have more time to explore that.

The amount of text is brutally minimal this time. Not my usual style! Let me know if you think that works better, Thanks!

I.M.C.T.B. Module 2: Caesar Defends the Capitol

Revision 03c, August 04, 2013

by "therealindy"

Edited August 8, 2013 by The Real Indiana Jones

[The Real Indiana Jones]

OK, after a surprising delay in the approvals process, the new Rome project is up now for voting.

It may even overtake the old one before the end of the day... Click the pic if you want to see!

Edited August 8, 2013 by The Real Indiana Jones

[The Real Indiana Jones]

OK, now that the big new Rome set is complete and posted, next let me consult the "Hive-Mind" here regarding various prototype shield designs...

I will probably choose three or four Greek designs for the Greek set. And then Carthage will be in the Rome set, and Nubia will be in the Egypt set.

For starters, for any Greek scene with hoplite warriors, we definitely need to have Athens and Sparta in it. Those are just absolute must-haves.

For an Odyssey set, we might also do Mycenae and Troy. For Mycenae, we could use the "Mask of Agamemnon". For Troy, a horse is standard.

Argos was also a major player, and their shield had the image of a Hydra on it. This one might be totally optional. What do you think?

The Myrmidons are the legendary troops of Achilles in the Iliad. Their Shield could be done with a clever print over a normal round shield.

Carthage will appear in the Rome set. They have a lot of different icons, but I like the palm tree. The text says "Qart-Hadast" in Phoenician.

Nubia will appear in the Egypt set, also with a War-Elephant. Their text says "Ta-Seti" in the Meroitic Script. Let me know if that is inaccurate!

This is the primary source material I am looking at for the Nubians, from various tombs in Egypt and in the Sudan.

As you see, they are shown as being distinctly African, and their shields are very similar to the iconic Zulu style.

therealindy

Edited August 9, 2013 by The Real Indiana Jones