CUUSOO Corner

Sherlockbones

When is the next review, next spring?

Joseph

An interesting note on the review text:

Please note: If a project does not pass the LEGO Review please do not interpret that as an indication that we will not consider similar projects in the future.

I wonder if that means that projects that are rejected for some reason, especially a conflict with existing plans (like the western modular), may actually have some chance if resubmitted in the future.
Also, I'm starting to wonder if they can/will accept more than one product in a review as the reason for rejecting EVE is it "presented a more challenging business case when considered alongside other potential products in this Review period."

Legogeek

Personally I don't see any UCS style sets passing the CUUSOO review. Too many pieces, and too high of a selling price to satisfy a broad target audience. I think TLG wants to keep the projects and pricing at a realistic level, aimed at average consumer incomes. Or not. Really, we won't know what is possible until it actually happens.

For the next review my personal vote goes to Curiosity, although I have a feeling Portal may have a much better chance.

Joseph

Sherlockbones said:

When is the next review, next spring?

"The [Spring Review] deadline is March 3rd at midnight, GMT, so start rallying your supporters now!"

LegobrandonCP

WOW, THE MODULAR WESTERN TOWN FAILED?

Bad timing with the Lone Ranger theme. :( I haven't watched BTTF yet, but I guess I'll have to now.

gofigure19

Purdue Pete would sell plenty to Purdue grads, current students and even just Purdue fans. Granted most of the interest would be centered around Indiana but they would sell. I would take multiples of them but I think the current version needs some revisions!! Could set up a potential NCAA mascot line.

mathew

Legogeek said:

Maybe it could have been done as a mini modular, but I doubt it would have sold well.

Yes, I like the idea of a mini modular western town.

However, I think a western town done in the style of Diagon Alley would be a great idea.

mathew

LegobrandonCP said:

WOW, THE MODULAR WESTERN TOWN FAILED?

Bad timing with the Lone Ranger theme. :( I haven't watched BTTF yet, but I guess I'll have to now.

First off, it didn't "fail". Fail would imply that it sucks which it clearly doesn't. It was by far the best of the finalists. And the Lone Ranger license probably had nothing to do with it not being made. It's just clearly too large of a set for Lego to take a big risk on.

Bumblepants

^no global appeal in USA school mascots, and worse than that, you are limited to fans of one of many schools in Indiana. To make sales worthwhile you would need to cover at least 30-40 of the biggest NCAA schools and designing separate models for each one is just unrealistic. Sure a handful of people would be thrilled to buy them, but not enough to justify the product when something with broader appeal could fill that slot instead.

Joseph

mathew said:

And the Lone Ranger license probably had nothing to do with it not being made. It's just clearly too large of a set for Lego to take a big risk on.

That may be true, but it's not what Lego claims was the problem:

"The Modular Western Town project conflicts with an ongoing project at the LEGO Group. As a result, the project does not meet the business case requirements and has not passed the LEGO Review."

cheshirecat

^ I suspect Mathew is right and that Lego's comment is just the easiest reason to pick as an excuse, presumably its part of it but would it have gone through without the Lone Ranger? We'll never know.

A mini mod western wouldn't work at all imo. The nice thing about the project was it appealed as both a modular style building in terms of technique and complexity but also had massive playability.

I would eat my hat if the Purdue Pete gets passed - it probably wouldn't sell more than two copies outside of the US, its not a particularly good model anyway and the last thing Lego want would be a swathe of US and Worldwide University/Team/Club specific projects. It would be a nightmare alleyway for TLG to find themselves down.

mathew

Joseph said:

^

mathew said:

And the Lone Ranger license probably had nothing to do with it not being made. It's just clearly too large of a set for Lego to take a big risk on.

That may be true, but it's not what Lego claims:

The Modular Western Town project conflicts with an ongoing project at the LEGO Group. As a result, the project does not meet the business case requirements and has not passed the LEGO Review.

It's easier for them to say that it conflicts with an existing theme than to just say "It's too much of a financial gamble for our conservative minded business model."

Joseph

^ Agreed; I'm just saying that the Lone Ranger licence may still have played at least a small part in their decision.

CCC

mathew said:

LegobrandonCP said:

WOW, THE MODULAR WESTERN TOWN FAILED?

Bad timing with the Lone Ranger theme. :( I haven't watched BTTF yet, but I guess I'll have to now.

First off, it didn't "fail". Fail would imply that it sucks which it clearly doesn't. It was by far the best of the finalists. And the Lone Ranger license probably had nothing to do with it not being made. It's just clearly too large of a set for Lego to take a big risk on.

You're right. It didn't fail. It just didn't pass.

CCC

So now BTTF has passed the review, who is up for the UCS version of this?

http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/16541

richo

well the results are almost exactly as I predicted, with the reasons I thought!

Very happy with the BTTF. was never too fussed either way on the modular western town, especially as The Lone Ranger sets look really good. I do feel a bit for the western town builder though, as it was a very good build.

Steve_J_OM

I can't help but feel it's a sad indictment of the whole process that something as fantastic and original as the MWT got rejected to pacify their release of yet another licensed property. One which, more over, could be forgotten about within two years unless multiple films are produced. Though I accept some of the other reasons for rejection put forward here, particularly with regards to the size and likely price point being a risk to get behind.

TLG have also probably taken note of how Minecraft has attracted new fans of Lego because of the ready-made fanbase it has. And that fanbase is surely dwarfed by something as classic as BTTF - can you imagine how many people who've never bought a Lego set in their life will be buying this out of nostalgia?

LegobrandonCP

But I what about the video Marshall Banana posted?

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_4uzq0XvjMM

LegoFanTexas

LegobrandonCP said:

WOW, THE MODULAR WESTERN TOWN FAILED?

Bad timing with the Lone Ranger theme. :( I haven't watched BTTF yet, but I guess I'll have to now.

Aren't you pretty young, as in teenager, or maybe 20?

If so, BTTF is totally worth watching, but do keep in mind that you're watching it out of time (no pun intended). The movie is now almost 30 years old, and while still very good, many things will seem out of place in 2012.

Some of the predictions for 2015 are actually close, some are way, way off.

Fun to watch, just keep in mind the culture it was made in.

Picopirate

I am quite happy with BTTF. I will finish my TH this weekend and would like to recreate the clock tower scene from the first movie. Sure the TH looks a little different than the one in the movies but it has the 4 pillars, clock tower, etc. so it is close enough.

The western modulars were okay. But they would not only cannibalize sales form TLR, but also from the other modulars. And frankly, I doubt there would be many people willing to spend upwards of $150 for one western themed set let alone an entire series. I think a set similar to the medieval market (with two smaller fold-able buildings) would work.

Even if Disney was the main reason for the downfall of the western modulers, it was still the right choice. You give up one good set but Disney has the potential for MANY great sets. Heck, even if TLR flops, the LEGO sets look fantastic.

The_Mack

My thoughts of what I've learned about getting a Cuusoo model past review.
1. Keep your set small, don't go overboard with it's size. I think a large format, puts you and them in a difficult place regarding cost.
2. Don't make a set that requires new molds. Make it with what exist already. They aren't going to spend the money for a new mold for a set that is only 10,000 units.
3. It really needs to be aimed at kids, have a high play value, and the more mass market appeal, the better.
4. Licensing can/could be an issue, if it's original or public domain it will be that much easier for them to make it. (So far it doesn't seem to be a problem.)
5. I think TLG is very careful about letting the outside trying to design something for them, because of the royalty issues. Don't submit something that is already licensed by LEGO. i.e. Star Wars. I may be wrong about this, but it kind of feels that way. i.e. "The Modular Western Town project conflicts with an ongoing project at the LEGO Group."

BTTF made it because it was a small set that used existing molds. Has a decent market appeal. I thought licensing would be an issue, but I was completely wrong about that. It also doesn't conflict with any existing current market sets.

I thought the Eve Rifter would of made it because of the same points, but market appeal seems to of been it's downfall. "a challenging business case when considered alongside other potential products in this Review period."

As for the next review, I would love to see Thinking with Portals get made, It has the most mass market appeal, & high play value. But I think the Curiosity Rover will make it because it's so much easier for them to do. UCS Sandcrawler I think will be difficult because it's pretty massive, and it's a licensed item that they could do, or possible have already done in house.

bea

Disappointed western town didn't make it but I was expecting it wouldn't.

However, I don't understand why back to the future got picked over EVE. I just don't see those films being relevant today. To me, it just looks like "another car" and Lego already skews towards vehicles.

cheshirecat

The disclaimer about the guy being affiliated to the cuusoo project was interesting.

mathew

bea said:

I just don't see those films being relevant today. To me, it just looks like "another car" and Lego already skews towards vehicles.

Just another car? As long as they add the era-specific interchangeable features to DeLorean and the minifigs with their era-specific torsos this should be a great set.

Again, why would anyone think that the western town had the slightest chance at winning. It's a great looking MOC, but totally un-realistic as far as being released as a set.

pharmjod

I guess I wasn't thinking of the western town as one set, but as multiples. A sub theme of the modular town in general. LEGO could have milked it for a while. Hopefully that is one they will revisit in the future. So much potential there. Back to the Future will be fun though.

binaryeye

pharmjod said:

I guess I wasn't thinking of the western town as one set, but as multiples. A sub theme of the modular town in general. LEGO could have milked it for a while.

LEGO isn't looking to make multiple sets from CUUSOO concepts. And why would they create a second line of modulars to compete with the existing line?

LegobrandonCP

mathew said:

LegobrandonCP said:

WOW, THE MODULAR WESTERN TOWN FAILED?

Bad timing with the Lone Ranger theme. :( I haven't watched BTTF yet, but I guess I'll have to now.

First off, it didn't "fail". Fail would imply that it sucks which it clearly doesn't. It was by far the best of the finalists. And the Lone Ranger license probably had nothing to do with it not being made. It's just clearly too large of a set for Lego to take a big risk on.

Yea, fail wasn't a good choice of word. But instead of making one large set, I was hoping LEGO would split the town into separate buildings and sets.

LegobrandonCP

deleted

bea

While there is probably a fan base for back to the future, I suspect a lot of the folks in that category are those who saw the movies as children or teens and are now 30-something or 40-something.

With Minecraft, there were parents who wanted the sets for their own kids because the kids loved the game. How many kids today love back to the future? At least EVE is current and they could have captured some of the same interest.

With Lego's constant "kids first" mantra, I thought they would prefer to tap into that market rather than middle aged nostalgia.

It seems however, I'm wrong, and Lego's analysis presumably showed that the market for back to the future is bigger than EVE. I'm just surprised, that's all.

Aanchir

bea said:

While there is probably a fan base for back to the future, I suspect a lot of the folks in that category are those who saw the movies as children or teens and are now 30-something or 40-something.

With Minecraft, there were parents who wanted the sets for their own kids because the kids loved the game. How many kids today love back to the future? At least EVE is current and they could have captured some of the same interest.

With Lego's constant "kids first" mantra, I thought they would prefer to tap into that market rather than middle aged nostalgia.

It seems however, I'm wrong, and Lego's analysis presumably showed that the market for back to the future is bigger than EVE. I'm just surprised, that's all.

Keep in mind that Back to the Future is already receiving a big marketing push for its 30th anniversary and is still fairly well-regarded as a family film franchise. It's a common staple of TV movie marathons, and is frequently referenced in popular culture (even one Ninjago episode from the most recent season had several blatant Back to the Future references).

It should also be noted that parents tend to be gift-givers, and they are more likely to react favorably to franchises they are familiar with. It's related to the reason why moral panics around things like violence in media almost invariably focus on new, "dangerous" things rather than things considered classics-- brand names that adults are familiar with establish trust. Unfamiliar brand names, on the other hand, are met with skepticism (I can't tell you how many modern franchises my dad has dismissed as "gimmicks", including several LEGO lines).

Anyway, woot. Saw BttF Part 2 for the first time last week. Really makes me that much more excited to see how this product turns out.

Ma1234

mathew said:

Joseph said:

^

mathew said:

And the Lone Ranger license probably had nothing to do with it not being made. It's just clearly too large of a set for Lego to take a big risk on.

That may be true, but it's not what Lego claims:

The Modular Western Town project conflicts with an ongoing project at the LEGO Group. As a result, the project does not meet the business case requirements and has not passed the LEGO Review.

It's easier for them to say that it conflicts with an existing theme than to just say "It's too much of a financial gamble for our conservative minded business model."


No.

As somebody who has does licensing contracts as part of my job, I assure you with 100% total certainty that the licensing deal for Lone Ranger includes a clause forbidding LEGO from producing a competing Western theme simultaneous to Lone Ranger.

Of course one could argue that LEGO didn't think it sell well regardless, but LEGO can't have non-licensed Western sets right now.

mathew

Ma1234 said:

mathew said:

Joseph said:

^

mathew said:

And the Lone Ranger license probably had nothing to do with it not being made. It's just clearly too large of a set for Lego to take a big risk on.

That may be true, but it's not what Lego claims:

The Modular Western Town project conflicts with an ongoing project at the LEGO Group. As a result, the project does not meet the business case requirements and has not passed the LEGO Review.

It's easier for them to say that it conflicts with an existing theme than to just say "It's too much of a financial gamble for our conservative minded business model."

Of course one could argue that LEGO didn't think it sell well regardless, but LEGO can't have non-licensed Western sets right now.


I'm not saying that you are wrong. Lego might say that it is in conflict with The Lone Ranger theme, but why even nominate it in the first place if it has zero chance of winning? They might as well have a designated 'Out of Contention' category to award those that meet the 10,000 votes but not the other requirements.

To go further, wouldn't a Zelda theme infringe on The Hobbit? Both are fantasy based with similar content. Back to the Future is a genre bending sci-fi fantasy trilogy that winds up in the wild west. Doesn't that also conflict with The Lone Ranger?

I'm saying that Lego's excuse is a stretch to cover the real truth. In reality neither would be true conflict as far as sales go. The Western Town modulars would appeal to collectors (namely adults) who could afford it and the Lone Ranger sets would appeal to kids. If anything they could compliment each other. Adults would purchase Lone Ranger sets to populate the rest of their town.

Redbullgivesuwind

^I think lego did look at it in part that way. They may even have gone to Disney and asked about putting this in. Hence why the delay. It would fit, as @Mathew argues, in with the Lone Ranger theme.

Also did anyone else think that maybe the Eve project was reject because they couldn't agree on terms. It's just the way that Lego phrased the rejection. With the size of it online I can't believe that it was down to possibly poor sales.

I think as well as looking at size when submitting I think people also now really need to start thinking like lego. As in does this model have a buissness case behind it, how well would it sell, who am i building for adults or children, is there a clash with an existing or up coming theme. Those I think are also part of the reasons I think MWT was rejected. Despite the TAFOL protests on the front page that they would buy it. Something that size will always beyond the reach of their wallets and beyond most childrens building ability.

SilentMode

Redbullgivesuwind said:

I think as well as looking at size when submitting I think people also now really need to start thinking like lego . . . Something that size will always beyond the reach of their wallets and beyond most childrens building ability.

To keep things brief, this is the direction FOLs should have taken with CUUSOO from the beginning, as opposed to showcasing big and overly detailed models. This is also how I tend to design and build.

Redbullgivesuwind

^completely agree with you. I think that has been the issue from the start. its not what do lego/public (excluding FOL). Itswhat do I want. When the former is much more important.

Basta

I think BTTF suits CUUSOO, a single set with a large cult following that will be popular, just last year NIKE had the limited edition Air Mag shoe from BTTF and that got a lot of media attention and sold well. EVE doesn't appeal to me, but I'am one of those 30 something's.

I also think "if" Lego are unlikely to release large sets like the Western Modular and the UCS Sand Crawler as part if the CUUSOO program, they should just say so and not go through the whole process of voting and then review.

Crowkillers

No.



As somebody who has does licensing contracts as part of my job, I assure you with 100% total certainty that the licensing deal for Lone Ranger includes a clause forbidding LEGO from producing a competing Western theme simultaneous to Lone Ranger.

Of course one could argue that LEGO didn't think it sell well regardless, but LEGO can't have non-licensed Western sets right now.

This is more than likely the exact reason, but then that also means that Lego knew full well when the Western Buildings were gaining steam in the support process that the project was dead in the water... So why make people wait 6 months to tell them that it wasn't going to happen..?

Well, they probably didn't want to leak out "early" that the Lone Ranger them was officially going to happen... Even though many people had known about it for months anyways...

Joseph

^ Considering that the Lone Ranger was very hush hush, that could be the case. One thing that would be interesting to see is how they would react to something similar in the future (after the LR is gone) having said:
"Please note: If a project does not pass the LEGO Review please do not interpret that as an indication that we will not consider similar projects in the future."

Aanchir

Crowkillers said:

No.

As somebody who has does licensing contracts as part of my job, I assure you with 100% total certainty that the licensing deal for Lone Ranger includes a clause forbidding LEGO from producing a competing Western theme simultaneous to Lone Ranger.

Of course one could argue that LEGO didn't think it sell well regardless, but LEGO can't have non-licensed Western sets right now.

This is more than likely the exact reason, but then that also means that Lego knew full well when the Western Buildings were gaining steam in the support process that the project was dead in the water... So why make people wait 6 months to tell them that it wasn't going to happen..?

Well, they probably didn't want to leak out "early" that the Lone Ranger them was officially going to happen... Even though many people had known about it for months anyways...


TLG is very secretive, even internally. I see no reason they would even think it necessary to make the LEGO Cuusoo staff aware of upcoming themes prior to the summer review, and meanwhile they might not have wanted to make the public aware so soon that they were working on a Western project. It's a problem TLG often has when trying to engage directly with fans... they almost never want to give people too much of an idea what to expect from future products, at the risk of their competitors realizing TLG has done their market research for them and rushing similar products to market before TLG can release their own.

Ma1234

To go further, wouldn't a Zelda theme infringe on The Hobbit? Both are fantasy based with similar content. Back to the Future is a genre bending sci-fi fantasy trilogy that winds up in the wild west. Doesn't that also conflict with The Lone Ranger?

Zelda might infringe on Hobbit. I certainly would want to exclude other licensed, historical fantasy themes if I were WB. LEGO would make an argument one is book-based and the other video game-based, and they don't overlap. It's a deal point that could honestly go either way.

No way BTTF infringes on Lone Ranger whatsoever. That's too narrow.


I'm saying that Lego's excuse is a stretch to cover the real truth. In reality neither would be true conflict as far as sales go. The Western Town modulars would appeal to collectors (namely adults) who could afford it and the Lone Ranger sets would appeal to kids. If anything they could compliment each other. Adults would purchase Lone Ranger sets to populate the rest of their town.



Doesn't matter what reality is. The LEGO license for Lone Ranger not only precludes LEGO from making other Western-themed sets, it also likely puts a moratorium on other Western-themed sets for a set time after Lone Ranger is discontinued.

dr_teng

The LEGO BTTF set has already been posted all over the internet, including to many sites that don't traditionally pick up LEGO news articles at all. For those worrying about the appeal, clearly, there's a ton of interest and it's obvious why they picked it. It's another Minecraft style set. Affordable enough for impulse purchases, a well liked licence that likely won't be too expensive, and they'll likely sell every set they can produce as well as free marketing for other LEGO products.

Cortez

Although the BTTF DeLorean is a day-one purchase for me, I hope they redesign it to include functional gullwing doors and wheels which can be rotated between road and flight modes.

y2josh

Cortez said:

Although the BTTF DeLorean is a day-one purchase for me, I hope they redesign it to include functional gullwing doors and wheels which can be rotated between road and flight modes.

Agree completely (though the wheels do appear to have a rudimentary road/flight mode function). The one they show in the video barely resembles the DeLorean and doesn't appear to have any of the more iconic features that I would really think the DeLorean would need. We'll see if that's what the final model ends up looking like, though.

Si_UKNZ

Exo-Suit near 10000!

Not far to go now .. 9154 votes at the moment ..
http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/6135#

CCC

For me, it's still the best non-licensed idea on there.

atkinsar

Excellent, it'll still take a wee while to get there but it will hopefully be worth the wait. Pete Reid is a great builder and a nice bloke. I'm not gonna say its a no brainer for passing the review because quite frankly, who knows. What I will say is, I think it's the right sized model so it should have a good chance.

jocappy

That would sell well.

Si_UKNZ

Peter Reid is an absolute genius.
It'd be nice to see something get through Cuusoo that showcases the best of AFOL design.

Diggydoes

As much as i would like to see a set like the exo-suit pass the review on cuusoo i somehow feel that it maybe is a "too complex"build to get produced. It looks awesome but also a bit flimsy and i can't imagine TLG to produce it as is,maybe they prove us wrong and redo the design a bit?!..

Sherlockbones

Pete Reid, isn't he a football manager? :P
I personally want the Portal set to be made, love the game, I imagine the set if built will be the room you start in with a cube and the Portal gun