Robianco

Well the first thing I'll do is apologise for any offence caused. As I don't know you personally I can safely say it's nothing personal. I think my opinion comes from how I see Cuusoo. With regards to your Tumbler... Would I buy it if it released? Yeah... probably... as I would any really good release of Batman's Tumbler as I like the design of the vehicle. Do I think it's a good Cuusoo project? No... I don't. It could be beautifully designed and have hours, days, weeks or months of development to perfect it... as a build it may be great... but as a Cuusoo project it 'appears' a lazy one. For the simple reason that it's a pre-released item from an existing line. And I use the term 'lazy' as I have blank canvases to fill almost every day of my working life and it would be easy to rework an existing idea... it could be considered 'lazy'. It's like if there was a superb UCS build of Slave 1... or a great Snowspeeder build (because they're 2 of my favourite ship designs from Star Wars)... would I buy them? In a heartbeat. Do I think they'd be made as a Cuusoo project? Not a chance. TLG have the licenses... they know what would sell... they've spoken to the license holders and their designers are more than capable of putting these out if they were going to happen... they simply don't need a prompt from MOC makers.... so if those particular items were going to be in the pipeline anytime over the next 2 years or so they'd already be pencilled in... And I'm going to include all the rest of the BTTF projects. We've got the Delorean and Marty and Doc. I don't actually think we need Marty's truck submitting, or Biff's Ford, or Doc's truck or the train from BTTFIII submitting as Cuusoo projects. It's not that they're not well done... it's just that the 'line' has been created... it's now down to TLG and their designers (now they have a license of some kind) what else comes out from that line. And I think this is where my opinion of what Cuusoo is, or should be, about may differ from others. You see I'm of the opinion that any release from an existing line is a lazy one. And the acceptance of those ideas into Cuusoo review will cause TLG problems. What if Cuusoo is inundated with ideas about the next Super Heroes line... every conceivable character, scenario or vehicle is submitted by tens, if not hundreds of contributors. They'd be Lego versions of scenes from books, comics or films... possibly great ones... scenes that resonate with fans of those characters.. those moments. Where do Lego go then? Surely they have ideas of releases many months in advance... the license owners will have briefed them on what they'd like to see to support their venture... be it a film, TV programme, Game.. whatever. The designers have worked on things... figure prints have been started... new mould concepts considered... But all the these scenarios have been covered by Cuusoo submissions... Brick Queen mentioned about her sewer design and certain things being taken from her designs in one of her video blogs... even in jest... who knows how far in advance that was worked on by Lego and whether it has any resemblance to what is actually released but it opens up the possibility to 'That was my idea and they ripped it... where's my 1%?'. So not matter what TLG put out someone... or several people... will call foul and claim that TLG ripped them... or they didn't have the vision to put it out when they 'should' have. They'll call TLG and their designers lazy back... lazy for just using Cuusoo as an ideas pot for them to pick from what they will and sit back laughing in a lego-made vault of cash. Cuusoo should be more about the early Japanese releases... Nothing to do with current line... totally out of the blue... using Lego for what it was intended... to make your own creations, not just use it as a big nudge to TLG to make your favourite minifigure because they haven't got round to it yet. MOCs are special.. all of them. From the first creations made by my 4 yr old that resemble a barely standing tower of doors, windows, flowers and pink bricks to the incredible worlds created by some.... worlds that just wouldn't work as boxed up official releases... but that doesn't mean that they should be made by TLG. People should submit their ideas to Cuusoo... even as a way of showing other Lego fans what they've done but if its not right for release then I hope people don't say Cuusoo is failing because I don't think it is. I think it's just having to choose very specifically what actually works as a Cuusoo reviewed release regardless of how quickly it gets its 10,000 votes. Damn it!... I started my reply to an earlier comment this morning then went out for the day before finishing it. Your post sums up rather well exactly how I feel about Cuusoo also.

Perfectly put!

I don't think 'Fresh, "outside", ideas are what were rejected here. I don't think 'make figures of X character from X licensed theme' is fresh or 'outside' thinking. That rules out several of the sets rejected. I think the android set was, essentially, rubbish. It's a logo... that's it. It has no personality... no life. Nothing. Pete... such a specific audience and not a particularly interesting build. Batman Tumbler was just a lazy submission... released several times, in different sizes already and not even the best MOC out there.

I must admit... I think Lego have it pretty much spot on with their choice. To be honest... I find people's approach to Cuusoo a little odd... and selfish... Not that that there's anything wrong with that but it needs to be viewed for what it is. Lego could simply tell people to go and make their MOCs just like thousands of people are already doing... but they're giving people an opportunity to submit them and have them judged by their peers... then possibly go into production. I'm actually for the idea that you can't submit licensed product. Get people creating things that aren't just a case of visualising some video game characters or creating a torso design based on a film character... Look at what has been rejected. I think it causes all kinds of issues of 'Why wasn't my design chosen as people love this game/movie... surely it would sell?'. I originally wrote a long message going through what I thought of each rejected submission but ultimately I think each piece was either just never going to get made because of it's subject matter or licensing / production issues came in to play. Now I'm going to bugger up my previous comment by saying I hope they produce a Ghostbusters set! Although if they don't... it won't be through laziness, lack of vision, failure to see the potential or any other the other things that can be thrown at them... it'll be down to licensing and other very practical reasons.

The supermarket close to my house often sells Lego items, even when new, at discounted prices. The Council of Elrond is half price at £15 and the Riddles for the Ring set is £6 at the moment. Although being in Liverpool in the UK it might be a bit far for you to pop over.

I think it's a great looking fig. The pad printing is very clear and the right amount of detail where it counts... for me that's what makes it stand out from machine printed customs. Nicely done. I'm assuming that it being pad printed you've had to get quite a few done to make it financially viable? Are these going to be printed for you own collections or are you looking to set up some kind of store for these? Apologies if that's the kind of thing that needs to be done via PM.

That pretty much sums up custom figures on eBay for me!

Thanks for replying to my post. Firstly... Apologies if I commented about anybody copying an element... My professional life tells me that concept and development time isn't always indicated properly by a production or release date. My point was really about people offering more than just a printed head or torso. Lego has featured many popular figures in games and other media without releasing these to the public. Customisers are making these available... But taking things do much further! I own figures from several custom companies including Christo and Poppunkmunky as you mentioned... I regard them both very highly. I actually have them and other sellers on eBay saved and view new listings regularly... I actually placed orders for 7 more customs yesterday. Rather than having a 'favourite' I just watch what each of them are doing and look to pick things up although I only collect from certain lines and themes. Onlinesailin is another seller that has some excellent designs and print and thankfully in themes of interest to me. My only issue is they're not uk based!! Without wishing to offend anyone the UK based custom people are catching up now... Designs are getting better but at times are let down a little by some of the things I mentioned in my last post. This is something that creates the 'competition' between customisers... I don't think for one minute that any figure is the 'right' of one company over another but if 2, 3 or more companies produce the same figure... Bizarro for example... Or even the Lantern range... The design and print really comes into play and that can only be good for us buyers. I mean who doesn't want a range of Green Lantern corps with different, quality designs and all beautifully printed? I agree with you about errors happening with different print techniques... Unfortunately that just happens from time to time. I just find that the pad printed figures I have are closer to TLG figures and that's something I take into account. The problem I have is the more people start producing top quality figures the more it's going to cost me!

Is this thread still alive? I'm essentially new to this forum although I've read through this before without posting but I wanted to comment. There are so many people offering digital printing now that this thread may be more relevant than ever. I'd like to add that Christo's printing is the best custom printing available... from all the people I've bought from his are head and shoulders above anybody else... and that attracts the premium prices that he gets. There isn't a single custom printer that sells... even the more prominent printers such as eclipsegrafx that could handle the tattoo printing on Whiplash's torso for Christo's figure... and the custom made whips are what makes the figure totally unique. The Flash helmet is a perfect example of this... this is now being copied by another custom company but at slightly lesser quality... custom moulds are what's really taking these figures to another level. Short runs are not a guarantee of accuracy in print... far from it. Working in the design industry and having items printed in relatively small and large numbers you simply don't accept poorly aligned print whether you've asked for one or 1000 copies. A printer should give you exactly what your artwork is set out as... anything less and they can have it back and start again. I think for printing terms you need to find a machine that can handle more than the standard 4 printing colours... something that can handle good solid whites and metallic inks on both light and dark torsos. Showing any kind banding from the printer heads is also not acceptable for me. I think that's where pad printing should offer the best quality of print. It just has to be done right. I'd probably add that there are times when you can pick his figures up cheaper than others... asking for private auctions also helps to keep the costs down as they're a set price and can work out much cheaper than the final auction costs. The thing that really works for him is the designs he uses... everything is pin sharp and looks authentically TLG... and that's what lets a lot of other custom printers down. Roughly drawn muscle definition on torsos... poorly drawn masks and eyes on heads. I'm very critical when it comes to custom figures as if it looks out of place against genuine Lego minifigures then they're not worth the price as far as I'm concerned. There are some terrible custom figures on eBay and they sell by the thousands. He also tends to produce film accurate designs such as Captain America, Black Widow, Nick Fury, Green Lantern, Sinestro, Batman, Catwoman... much more authentic than some of the TLG comparable figures. I also think that gradient colours are a no-no on Lego designs. TLG doesn't use them so neither should custom designers... but that may just be me being fussy. There are some other great sellers who are really stepping up their game on the printing and design front... and if they keep pushing each other higher up the quality ladder then we'll all benefit as there'll be 3, 4, 5 or more people offering TLG quality product at competitive prices. Finally... and I thought I should mention... there's a seller in the US who is offering custom printed heads and torsos at $25 for 5 of each... so $5 for a head and $5 for a torso of your design. Might be a good time to test those designs people have and see if the figures they have in mind are popular enough to attract buyers. A good custom figure with a well designed head and torso would sell for happily around the $25 mark which is a decent margin to start with.