FBTB

Category: LEGO CUUSOO

  • LEGO Says ‘No’ to Shaun of the Dead

    LEGO Says ‘No’ to Shaun of the Dead

    It was only a few weeks ago that Yatkuu’s LEGO CUUSOO submission “The Winchester – Shaun of the Dead” reached 10,000 votes and entered the review process. Now we have word straight from LEGO it has been rejected. LEGO states:

    LEGO CUUSOO gives the opportunity to submit product ideas, however all LEGO products, regardless of age target, must be content appropriate for our core audience. With this in mind we have decided that – good though the model is – the film Shaun of the Dead contains content that is not appropriate for our core target audience of children ages 6-11.

    It makes sense, given Shaun of the Dead is a bloody, R-rated film, but it would have been fascinating to see the evolution of the project from MOC to official LEGO product. Still, we have the next potential product to look forward to, as pointed out on Brickset, EVE Online Ships reached the goal for LEGO review.
    I have to admit, I have little enthusiasm about this particular entry. It’s not that it bad, it’s quite the opposite. Each of the selected models have been wonderful in their own ways. The problem is, it’s another “licensed” model, following in the footsteps of Minecraft and Shaun. Where’s the love for models not tied to any specific brand, be it video game, TV show, or movie? LEGO Back to the Future would be awesome, as would LEGO The Legend of Zelda, but going through LEGO CUUSOO doesn’t seem to be the right avenue for properties that must be licensed (i.e. have additional costs) in order to be produced. Models such as Modular Western Town or simply western themed sets, for example, make more sense.
    Or does nostalgia and pop culture rule?

    [via Brickset, LEGO CUUSOO Blog]

  • Another LEGO Cuusoo Milestone: Shaun of the Dead

    Chances are you’ve already heard the news. Yatkuu’s LEGO Cuusoo submission “The Winchester – Shaun of the Dead” has reached the required 10,000 votes for product consideration! This was no doubt related to Simon Pegg’s mention of the project on Conan O’Brien’s TBS talk show. But don’t get too excited yet. There is no guarantee this, or something similar, will see the light of day as an official LEGO model. Yes, Minecraft made it through the LEGO’s review process fairly swiftly, but this may prove a much more difficult challenge, considering the film’s themes and appropriateness as it is an R-rated comedy. Consider LEGO’s own words on the achievement:

    In our previous message, we noted that due to the themes behind Shaun of the Dead, there would need to be some significant internal discussion for us to agree to produce this as a product. Please understand that this discussion has yet to take place, and while we appreciate your work and celebrate this big success with you, we are not guaranteeing production.

    What do you think? Will it make it through LEGO’s review process or will it be bludgeoned away by a cricket bat?

  • CUUSOO Japan Launches 21101 Hayabusa

    21101 Hayabusa

    LEGO CUUSOO Japan’s latest model, 21101 Hayabusa, went on sale in Japan I assume today since I got the press release today. Unlike their first model, however, 21100 Shinkai 6500 Submarine, this set will be available at LEGO Shop@Home in limited quantities later in the year. No release date has been given yet but we’ll keep you up to date on any developments. Official press release below.

    BILLUND, Denmark – The Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa, the second LEGO® CUUSOO release, has gone on sale in Japan, while a limited number of Hayabusa sets will also be available exclusively online via shop.LEGO.com later in the year. No release date has been set yet.

    The original Hayabusa model on LEGO CUUSOO was built by Daisuke Okubo and achieved 1,000 supporters on the Japanese-only version of LEGO CUUSOO in the spring of 2011. LEGO model designer Melody Louise Caddick designed the final model, refining earlier concept models based on Daisuke’s original project.

    The model is priced at ï¿¥ 4,118 in Japan, USD49, EUR49

    LEGO CUUSOO is a website where LEGO fans can submit their ideas for new LEGO products and collect votes to make their ideas become a reality. They can also vote for other users’ ideas. It can be found at https://lego.cuusoo.com

    LEGO CUUSOO began in 2008 with a Japanese site that attracted hundreds of ideas and saw thousands of votes cast by a 35,000-strong community. It was launched globally in October.

    The first Japanese product, the Shinkai 6500 submersible, went on sale in Japan in February 2011. A project backed by Minecraft developer Mojang became the first user-sponsored project to be approved on the global version of LEGO CUUSOO.

    Ideas supported by 10,000 votes are examined by a LEGO jury to check the models meet LEGO standards of safety and playability and support the LEGO brand. Consumers who have their ideas chosen for production will earn 1% of the total net sales of the product.’

    Hayabusa (“falcon” in English) is an unmanned spacecraft built by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), designed to travel to a small near-Earth asteroid named Itokawa and return sample material to Earth. Hayabusa’s mission began in 2003 and ended successfully in 2010.

  • 21102 LEGO Minecraft Revealed

    21102 LEGO Minecraft - 1

    If you’re like me, you don’t live anywhere near Copenhagen, Denmark where LEGO World is underway from now until February 19. It is there where the official LEGO Minecraft set was unveiled just moments ago. I’ve been fortunate enough to be sent the official pictures from the press release to share with you. It appears to be built in micro scale given that the mobs are about the same height as a microfig. I’m sure more pics will be up and available from attendees from the event soon. I’d keep my eye on flickr for pics.

    (more…)

  • LEGO World Copenhagen To Unveil Minecraft Micro World

    LEGO Minecraft Unveiling

    We’re hoping to see a lot of great stuff coming out of Toy Fair this weekend, but it seems like LEGO Minecraft won’t be one of them. For that we’ll have to wait until February 16th when it will be unveiled at LEGO World Copenhagen. If you were lucky enough to get an invite to the event, you can enjoy being one of the first to see the third LEGO CUUSOO model release, 21102 LEGO Minecraft Micro World and feel free to post any pictures you take here!

  • LEGO’s Next License: LEGO Minecraft

    LEGO Minecraft

    You know that little crowd-sourcing project of LEGO’s, LEGO CUUSOO, where you can vote on the fan submitted creations to hopefully see some of them turn into a real set? Well, the LEGO Minecraft idea has reached the 10,000 vote threshold to be turned into a real set. The official press release below, more pictures on the Minecraft page:

    BILLUND, Denmark – A project backed by Minecraft developer Mojang has become the first user-sponsored project to reach the 10,000 vote threshold on the new global version of LEGO® CUUSOO, opening the way for a LEGO set featuring Minecraft to become a reality.

    It took the project only 48 hours to gather votes from 10,000 fans of the project from around the world.

    “We’re really excited to see the fantastic enthusiasm of the Minecraft community. This is what LEGO CUUSOO is all about, connecting people’s passion to the LEGO brick,” says Paal Smith-Meyer, Head of the LEGO New Business Group. “It is still too early to say whether a Minecraft play set will become a LEGO product as it still needs to go through a review and approval process to ensure it meets our usual LEGO standards, but it is certainly a lot closer.”

    A go/no-go decision should be reached within the next few weeks. Assuming it is given a “go,” then development on any new sets will begin. During this time, LEGO model designers refine the product, while packaging, instructions, and marketing are developed ready for a production run. This will take several months.

    LEGO CUUSOO is an idea collection system that asks the Danish toy manufacturers’ consumers to submit and vote for their favourite ideas for new LEGO products. It can be found at https://lego.cuusoo.com . The site is currently in “open beta” and has been well received by fans and niche interest groups eager to see their ideas become official LEGO products.

    CUUSOO, which means ‘imagination’ or sometimes ‘wish’ in Japanese, has been developed with CUUSOO SYSTEM, a subsidiary of Japan-based Elephant Design that has worked with open innovation and crowd sourcing for more than 10 years.

    The LEGO Group has worked with CUUSOO since 2008 on a Japanese site that has attracted hundreds of ideas and seen thousands of votes cast by a 35,000-strong community. Now the time has come to test the concept internationally.

    The first Japanese product, the Shinkai 6500 submersible, went on sale in Japan in February 2011. The next Japanese LEGO CUUSOO model will be the Hayabusa unmanned spacecraft launched in the first quarter of next year.

    It took the Shinkai 6500, 420 days to reach 1,000 votes in Japan. Hayabusa took 57 days to 1,000. With the launch of the LEGO CUUSOO worldwide site the threshold was raised to 10,000 to reflect the larger audience.

    On LEGO CUUSOO, ideas that are supported by enough votes will be examined by a LEGO jury that will check that the models meet LEGO standards of safety and playability and support the LEGO brand. Consumers who have their ideas chosen for production will earn 1% of the total net sales of the product.

    In the case of the Minecraft project, Mojang and the collaborators have offered the 1% CUUSOO royalty to a charity of Mojang’s choice.