CUUSOO Corner

LegoFanTexas

Would be interesting to know why Portals didn't happen, that hit 10,000 votes in record time, less than a week if memory serves.

It is, I think, a mistake on their part, but there might be reasons Gabe didn't want to do it.

Bumblepants

Since they delayed Portals it makes me think they wanted to do it but ended up not being able to work out a deal. Surprising given how much Portal merchandise there is out there. I have a Portal spatula.

tmgm528

LegoFanTexas said:

Would be interesting to know why Portals didn't happen, that hit 10,000 votes in record time, less than a week if memory serves.

It is, I think, a mistake on their part, but there might be reasons Gabe didn't want to do it.

I dont know about Gabe........Hes a strange man Im sure he has his reasons.....(Just like not making Half Life 3!)
In other news....Space Troopers NO!

tmgm528

Although I must say its kinda cheaty the crammed 3 reviews into 1 :/ Wasn't it supposed to be one per review?

Crowkillers

tmgm528 said:

Although I must say its kinda cheaty the crammed 3 reviews into 1 :/ Wasn't it supposed to be one per review?

They needed to get caught up.. We would end up having pass/fail videos for models that were 2+ years old...

CCC

rchadd said:

maybe they will brand the exosuit to fit with galaxy squad range

I hope not. They should just leave it as a one off special.

CCC

tmgm528 said:

Although I must say its kinda cheaty the crammed 3 reviews into 1 :/ Wasn't it supposed to be one per review?

I don't think they ever guaranteed that one per review would be made. Plus four per year is probably too many.

pillpod

I'm not into mechs and builds like that, but the exo suit looks great. I hope they keep it as complex, or nearly as complex as the original. And hopefully it comes with a unique minifig.

Wizard of Oz minifigs would be interesting for the next review.

Aanchir

Something I notice is that a lot of projects (Thinking with Portals, Legend of Zelda, Mini Shops series, Space Troopers) had a common liability: they were designed before it was well-understood that new molds and full themes could not be produced through LEGO Cuusoo. Some of the creators DID try to pare them down to one or more projects that could exist independently without the support of a full theme, but few of them as single sets would likely have the same depth of support.

edgarallanpoe1422

Hopefully TLG will see the commercial worth of that Technic Land Rover, it's an absolutely superb feat of engineering. I mean anyone can walk into a store and buy a technic set with cool mechanical functionality but that Land Rover is something else entirely. There would simply be nothing else like it and that uniqueness and singularity as a technical achievement would draw collectors and enthusiasts alike in droves. It would be on the radar of *anyone* with any sort of serious interest in lego.

Unfortunately it appears that something's going to have to give in the way of complexity to bring the price down to anything approaching a reasonable level but as for me if Lego put that set into production with little to no alteration (or, heaven forbid, made it better) they could name their price.

klatu003

http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/51716#



Since this is an existing license, don't think this has a chance, but I thought all my fellow LoTR fans would like to see it. He has included Galadriel, which fills one of our minifig holes.

Crowkillers

edgarallanpoe1422 said:

Hopefully TLG will see the commercial worth of that Technic Land Rover, it's an absolutely superb feat of engineering. I mean anyone can walk into a store and buy a technic set with cool mechanical functionality but that Land Rover is something else entirely. There would simply be nothing else like it and that uniqueness and singularity as a technical achievement would draw collectors and enthusiasts alike in droves. It would be on the radar of *anyone* with any sort of serious interest in lego.

Unfortunately it appears that something's going to have to give in the way of complexity to bring the price down to anything approaching a reasonable level but as for me if Lego put that set into production with little to no alteration (or, heaven forbid, made it better) they could name their price.

It has nothing to do with the complexity of the model, but more so the reliability of it...

Lego models(especially Technic) must follow strict legal building laws to provide the consumer with a end product that is fail safe...

You are never going to see a motorized model from Lego with a transmission that doesn't automatically downshift itself so that the consumer doesn't try and drive it starting out in 5th gear and destroy the parts...

edgarallanpoe1422

Crowkillers said:

edgarallanpoe1422 said:

Hopefully TLG will see the commercial worth of that Technic Land Rover, it's an absolutely superb feat of engineering. I mean anyone can walk into a store and buy a technic set with cool mechanical functionality but that Land Rover is something else entirely. There would simply be nothing else like it and that uniqueness and singularity as a technical achievement would draw collectors and enthusiasts alike in droves. It would be on the radar of *anyone* with any sort of serious interest in lego.

Unfortunately it appears that something's going to have to give in the way of complexity to bring the price down to anything approaching a reasonable level but as for me if Lego put that set into production with little to no alteration (or, heaven forbid, made it better) they could name their price.

It has nothing to do with the complexity of the model, but more so the reliability of it...

Lego models(especially Technic) must follow strict legal building laws to provide the consumer with a end product that is fail safe...

You are never going to see a motorized model from Lego with a transmission that doesn't automatically downshift itself so that the consumer doesn't try and drive it starting out in 5th gear and destroy the parts...

You know I really don't think the kind of material stresses exerted by lego's fairly modest electric motors are enough to break parts. In any case, it would be the role of lego's professionals to improve the reliability of the transmission if it ever made it to that stage of consideration.

CCC

With just a couple of well / badly placed gears, you can massively increase torque.

mdelleman

I have never been a fan of Technic but if that Land Rover gets out there close to the presented model I will buy 2+ at whatever price they deem fair.

Crowkillers

edgarallanpoe1422 said:

Crowkillers said:

edgarallanpoe1422 said:

Hopefully TLG will see the commercial worth of that Technic Land Rover, it's an absolutely superb feat of engineering. I mean anyone can walk into a store and buy a technic set with cool mechanical functionality but that Land Rover is something else entirely. There would simply be nothing else like it and that uniqueness and singularity as a technical achievement would draw collectors and enthusiasts alike in droves. It would be on the radar of *anyone* with any sort of serious interest in lego.

Unfortunately it appears that something's going to have to give in the way of complexity to bring the price down to anything approaching a reasonable level but as for me if Lego put that set into production with little to no alteration (or, heaven forbid, made it better) they could name their price.

It has nothing to do with the complexity of the model, but more so the reliability of it...

Lego models(especially Technic) must follow strict legal building laws to provide the consumer with a end product that is fail safe...

You are never going to see a motorized model from Lego with a transmission that doesn't automatically downshift itself so that the consumer doesn't try and drive it starting out in 5th gear and destroy the parts...

You know I really don't think the kind of material stresses exerted by lego's fairly modest electric motors are enough to break parts. In any case, it would be the role of lego's professionals to improve the reliability of the transmission if it ever made it to that stage of consideration.

Those motors are easily strong enough to destroy gears.. I have already seen axles twisted into a screw...

You are never going to see a large drivable vehicle with motors running through a transmission released from Lego using any of the current parts.. The driving rings are not made to take that kind of punishment and be placed under that type of torque... I've ruined driving rings in a simple 2 speed chassis with nowhere near the weight

And like I said Lego cannot trust the consumer to make certain that they change the gears properly... This model would have to have some type of automatic gear down feature to prevent damage...

edgarallanpoe1422

Crowkillers said:

edgarallanpoe1422 said:

Crowkillers said:

edgarallanpoe1422 said:

Hopefully TLG will see the commercial worth of that Technic Land Rover, it's an absolutely superb feat of engineering. I mean anyone can walk into a store and buy a technic set with cool mechanical functionality but that Land Rover is something else entirely. There would simply be nothing else like it and that uniqueness and singularity as a technical achievement would draw collectors and enthusiasts alike in droves. It would be on the radar of *anyone* with any sort of serious interest in lego.

Unfortunately it appears that something's going to have to give in the way of complexity to bring the price down to anything approaching a reasonable level but as for me if Lego put that set into production with little to no alteration (or, heaven forbid, made it better) they could name their price.

It has nothing to do with the complexity of the model, but more so the reliability of it...

Lego models(especially Technic) must follow strict legal building laws to provide the consumer with a end product that is fail safe...

You are never going to see a motorized model from Lego with a transmission that doesn't automatically downshift itself so that the consumer doesn't try and drive it starting out in 5th gear and destroy the parts...

You know I really don't think the kind of material stresses exerted by lego's fairly modest electric motors are enough to break parts. In any case, it would be the role of lego's professionals to improve the reliability of the transmission if it ever made it to that stage of consideration.

Those motors are easily strong enough to destroy gears.. I have already seen axles twisted into a screw...

You are never going to see a large drivable vehicle with motors running through a transmission released from Lego using any of the current parts.. The driving rings are not made to take that kind of punishment and be placed under that type of torque... I've ruined driving rings in a simple 2 speed chassis with nowhere near the weight

And like I said Lego cannot trust the consumer to make certain that they change the gears properly... This model would have to have some type of automatic gear down feature to prevent damage...

Apparently I stand corrected then. Still, if lego has any ambition to really take the technic theme to the next level, they're going to have to include things like transmission, disc braking, ackerman steering, and so on. Because this land rover really makes lego's retail technic sets look like kid's stuff in comparison.

vitreolum

I doubt they will make some really intricate models, if I'm not mistaken the largest sets are aimed at 11+, they have to keep them within certain limitations.

edgarallanpoe1422

vitreolum said:

I doubt they will make some really intricate models, if I'm not mistaken the largest sets are aimed at 11+, they have to keep them within certain limitations.

Though it's hardly unknown of lego to target far more mature interests, a good example of which would be the architecture range, for instance. In fact in the same way they add extra information and context about each building in the instruction manual, for a technic set like this they could also give a more in-depth explanation of all the various components and mechanisms that go into the piece along with a short history of their development. The sum total would be a highly marketable piece to anybody with any sort of serious interest in lego and a real gift to the technic crowd. Could even get picked up on the internet and burnish the brand; Sheepo's video's already had half a million hits.

Crowkillers

edgarallanpoe1422 said:

Crowkillers said:

edgarallanpoe1422 said:

Crowkillers said:

edgarallanpoe1422 said:

Hopefully TLG will see the commercial worth of that Technic Land Rover, it's an absolutely superb feat of engineering. I mean anyone can walk into a store and buy a technic set with cool mechanical functionality but that Land Rover is something else entirely. There would simply be nothing else like it and that uniqueness and singularity as a technical achievement would draw collectors and enthusiasts alike in droves. It would be on the radar of *anyone* with any sort of serious interest in lego.

Unfortunately it appears that something's going to have to give in the way of complexity to bring the price down to anything approaching a reasonable level but as for me if Lego put that set into production with little to no alteration (or, heaven forbid, made it better) they could name their price.

It has nothing to do with the complexity of the model, but more so the reliability of it...

Lego models(especially Technic) must follow strict legal building laws to provide the consumer with a end product that is fail safe...

You are never going to see a motorized model from Lego with a transmission that doesn't automatically downshift itself so that the consumer doesn't try and drive it starting out in 5th gear and destroy the parts...

You know I really don't think the kind of material stresses exerted by lego's fairly modest electric motors are enough to break parts. In any case, it would be the role of lego's professionals to improve the reliability of the transmission if it ever made it to that stage of consideration.

Those motors are easily strong enough to destroy gears.. I have already seen axles twisted into a screw...

You are never going to see a large drivable vehicle with motors running through a transmission released from Lego using any of the current parts.. The driving rings are not made to take that kind of punishment and be placed under that type of torque... I've ruined driving rings in a simple 2 speed chassis with nowhere near the weight

And like I said Lego cannot trust the consumer to make certain that they change the gears properly... This model would have to have some type of automatic gear down feature to prevent damage...

Apparently I stand corrected then. Still, if lego has any ambition to really take the technic theme to the next level, they're going to have to include things like transmission, disc braking, ackerman steering, and so on. Because this land rover really makes lego's retail technic sets look like kid's stuff in comparison.

Well to be fair the sets that Lego produces are "Kid Stuff" as that is their target audience... There is no doubt in my mind that Lego's Technic Design team cannot produce highly complex models that function and look better than any AFOL can, but the reliability has got to be there. This Land Rover is very cool, but there are many things that it boasts that you are not going to see Lego ever do because 1.) it is not built to their legal specs and 2.) it does not work 100% of the time...

There is a reason why we haven't seen any Power Functions motorized models other than the snail speed crawler and even slower 8043 Excavator...

vitreolum

Indeed, they could do a "technic expert" line or something like that. What I'd really like to see would be a mix between technic and system, like sariel's tow truck. One of the main downside of technic for me is the unfinished look of the model, the crane truck is the closest to what I want them to look like if they don't want to combine.

Crowkillers

I am quite sure that the Technic designers at Lego have built some amazing prototype models that the public has never seen... Has anyone ever seen these prototypes of the 8070 Supercar..? This is something that people do not get to see very often...

Schwallex

Is that Markus and Uwe in the second photo? I didn't know this was their model. TLG should make more (or really, any) designer videos for Technic like they do for the Exclusives. Give credit where credit's due. I could build a decent modular any day, but what the Technic folks accomplish is just way out of my league. The brick is so much more straightforward than the beam.

Crowkillers

Schwallex said:

Is that Markus and Uwe in the second photo?

Yes.

SirBen

Adapted Quote:

edgarallanpoe1422 said:

the kind of material stresses exerted by lego's fairly modest electric motors are enough to break parts.

Photographic evidence can be seen at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/10476516054/in/pool-builders-lounge/

CCC

The way that axle has failed is really quite beautiful. A good method to make screw axles!

JamesJT

"Assault on Wayne Manor"
http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/50007

vitreolum

That is amazing. It will never become a reality, but I'm sooo making one of these.

BrickDancer

^^Wow, color me impressed! Awesome Wayne Manor with the 4-part hinge opening. Lots of time and attention was paid to this one. And it also shows how a Modular footprint can be pushed to the max.

monkey_roo

Have to say thanks for showing the link to that Wayne Manor, that is fantastic I would love to see it, or a version of it made, hope it gets enough votes to ask the question if nothing else.

durazno33

Want a heavy duty lego castle?

http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/49537

Steve_J_OM

The Fall 2013 review is in - I won't spoil it in case anyone wants to watch the video without knowing, but damn I'm excited :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QT5zu1x65Q&feature=youtu.be

MorkMan

So is it officially off the list? Or is it possibly coming in another season or two? Do we have a definite "no"? I really like the vignette....

vitreolum

Unfortunately it's off the list, it will not be made... this was my favorite as well.

Aleydita

I expect the reasoning for this one is the complicated licensing. There are 20+ books, at least 4 films, a stage musical and other stage adaptations, some of which are still in copyright while others have lapsed. It would have been a nightmare trying to negotiate with all those who might come forward and claim ownership of the rights.

BuriedinBricks

The copyright situation would probably be a mess. I don't know who owns what anymore outside of Disney, which obviously has control of at least a few of the characters/concepts following the Oz movie.

I almost wonder if they could end up doing sets if they ever tried to reboot the original. I don't think they should remake it, but it wouldn't shock me if they are at least considering it.

JamesJT

Another amazing mansion...
http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/53799

dougts

Another cool MOC that would never be produced as a Cuusoo set

jediami65

Yeah that's a nice one, same with the Wayne Manor http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/50007 from the same person DarthKy.

Crowkillers

Isn't there a X-men mansion/school already coming out this year?

Those 2 projects are really really great, but didn't Cuusoo already say that they didn't want projects based on existing themes..?

jediami65

http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/6135

I was looking forward to a set of these: they were approved and said to be released in 2014, and it could still be, but am I curious how we have not seen or heard anything since the initial reveal. We have seen the Ghostbuster set now in pictures at the 2014 New York Toy Fair, the Exo Suit was approved be earlier has but nothing has been shown. I am curious to see if they have back tracked on this from any reason.

DrLegOBrick

http://blog.lego.cuusoo.com/2014/02/16/lego-ghostbusters-revealed-toyfair/
Have a read of the article, particularly the last bit as it should answer your question.

jediami65

Thanks for that @DrLegOBrick: I guess they shifted priority to the Ghostbusters set as this is the 30th anniversary year, makes good business sense.

CCC

I imagine it is taking a while to make the build lego legal and the model stable enough for less expert builders.

TheLoneTensor

CCC said:

I imagine it is taking a while to make the build lego legal and the model stable enough for less expert builders.

There's no way they hadn't already done this before it was announced as a winning model.

dannyrww

TheLoneTensor said:

CCC said:

I imagine it is taking a while to make the build lego legal and the model stable enough for less expert builders.

There's no way they hadn't already done this before it was announced as a winning model.

I was thinking the same thing...they probably knew early on they would approve it even as it reached the 10,000 vote mark...not that I have a problem with that. This is a set that I didn't want to wait too long for and I get the idea of having it as a 30th anniversary set too.... just wish they had slimer in the set.

dannyrww

That being said the exo suit is a nice piece that I can't wait for as well. Should come in at a nice price point too with no licensing fees

Aanchir

TheLoneTensor said:

CCC said:

I imagine it is taking a while to make the build lego legal and the model stable enough for less expert builders.

There's no way they hadn't already done this before it was announced as a winning model.

For the Exo-Suit? Impossible, since they said on the LEGO Cuusoo blog that they are seeking feedback from Pete Reid to make sure to get it just right. How would they have those conversations before it was announced as a winning model?

"Hey, umm, we know your model hasn't been announced as a winner yet, but, err, on the off chance it DOES get announced as a winner, would you, err, help us out? Hypothetically speaking, of course..."

Something tells me that would seem a little bit fishy.

jediami65

dannyrww said:

Should come in at a nice price point too with no licensing fees

I was thinking the same that it should be decently priced based on license fees, I can see a little army of these in my future, I hope they make them in multiple colors like a variation of the Halo Spartans.

TheLoneTensor

Aanchir said:

TheLoneTensor said:

CCC said:

I imagine it is taking a while to make the build lego legal and the model stable enough for less expert builders.

There's no way they hadn't already done this before it was announced as a winning model.

For the Exo-Suit? Impossible, since they said on the LEGO Cuusoo blog that they are seeking feedback from Pete Reid to make sure to get it just right. How would they have those conversations before it was announced as a winning model?

"Hey, umm, we know your model hasn't been announced as a winner yet, but, err, on the off chance it DOES get announced as a winner, would you, err, help us out? Hypothetically speaking, of course..."

Something tells me that would seem a little bit fishy.

Impossible? (Honestly, why do people throw around such absolutes around here?). If it's in the evaluation phase, and they approached the designer for feedback, it would make total sense for him to contribute. Who would say no? At that point there would be no indication of winning or not winning, just feedback, direction and clarity while they were still evaluating all the finalists.

There is no way in the world that a 99% complete model wasn't created, tested and fully evaluated by the Lego team well before it was announced as a winner. If they are seeking feedback now, it's probably just a courtesy to "make sure to get it just right."