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LEGO CUUSOO update & project reviews

by Thita (admin) on June 20, 2013

We haven’t talked about LEGO CUUSOO for quite some time, so I thought I should give you an update. As you might know, CUUSOO is a platform where LEGO fans can submit their ideas for future LEGO sets and have others vote on them. Once a project reaches 10,000 votes LEGO will consider it for production (see link with further info at the bottom of this post). One of the reasons for the lack of news is the extremely long time the CUUSOO team has been taking to decide on projects that have been under the review process. Take a look at this helpful chart the LEGO CUUSOO team put together to remind us what’s under review:

Since this chart was posted the LEGO CUUSOO team did finally announce their decision for the Fall 2012 batch, which included the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover by Perijove, the UCS Star Wars Sandcrawler by mb_bricks, and the Thinking with Portals! project by Team Jigsaw. See the official announcement in the video below. You can also read more about each project on CUUSOO’s official blog: Fall 2012 LEGO Review

The LEGO CUUSOO team also posted some clarification on why the review process has been taking so long: “Since we began quarterly review batches last year, we’ve been learning that it’s difficult to give definite timeframes to expect results. Our posts on the review process present a nice framework for how we consider a project for production–but it is by no means an easy process. Ultimately, the products we release must fit our brand and strategy, have a strong business case, and a final model must fit our design, buildability, and playability standards. These factors are compounded when working with license partners, each of whom has their own terms and standards.” The LEGO review process goes through four distinct stages; Brand Fit Analysis, Business Case Development (including License Agreements if applicable), Model Design, and then a Final Review, where the findings of all prior stages are reviewed together. Also remember that CUUSOO is still in Beta, meaning the LEGO team is figuring out what’s the best way to manage the concept as they go along and gain more experience. You can read more on CUUSOO’s official blog: LEGO CUUSOO Review Process.

The bottom line is that the LEGO CUUSOO review process takes a long-long time – much longer than many fans anticipated, and even when a project is approved it seems that actual production takes even longer. The upside is that LEGO is doing their job to make sure the project will actually be successful as an official LEGO product. On the other hand taking so much time to release a project kind of knocks the steam out of it. There is still no official word on when the Back to the Future DeLorean Time Machine by m.togami will be released, although there are some rumors it might be before the end of this year. This is a CUUSOO project that was approved way back in December of last year. 😕

There is also a new batch of LEGO CUUSOO projects that just reached 10,000 votes under the 2013 Summer Review. These include the Mini Shop Series by Pekko we featured here before (see link at the end of this post), the Minifig Scale Batmobile Tumbler by Brent Waller, and the League of Legends of LEGO – The Raid on Baron Nashor by Addam. All three projects will now go through the same review steps as discussed above. I would expect we won’t hear about the result until the spring of 2014.

From all of these LEGO CUUSOO projects the one I like the most is the Mini Shop Series. It would fit really well into any LEGO City layout. Also, the Space Troopers would be great as the news LEGO Space theme. I know Legend of Zelda has many fans, and this is the second time a Zelda project made it to the top. The previous one was rejected, so likely it will be the fate of this one as well. I can’t really relate to any of the other projects, but they obviously have fans based on the votes they received. Also, here are some CUUSOO projects that are currently very close to achieving the required 10,000 supporters. You can find them at the LEGO CUUSOO Homepage.

And for currently available LEGO CUUSOO products you can check out the Online LEGO Shop. There are rumors that the LEGO Minecraft set might have two more sets added and make it a series.

What do you think? How do you like the Mars Rover that has been selected, and which of the other projects under review do you like? Is there a project you are currently supporting and hope will make it to the review stage? Feel free to share and discuss in the comment section below. 😉

If you would like to learn more about CUUSOO and see other featured projects, check out the following related posts:

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Best LEGO Lord of the Rings dioramas part 2

by Thita (admin) on June 19, 2013

in Featured LEGO Creations

(Written by Meneldur)

We have covered some of the best LEGO Lord of the Rings dioramas made by LEGO fans previously (see: The Best LEGO Lord of the Rings Dioramas) and I thought it was time for an update and talk about even more awesome LEGO Lord of the Rings creations. I’m a huge fan of Lord of the Rings and basically anything connected to Middle-Earth, so I’m always excited to see what LEGO fans make within the theme. Here is just a little glimpse into what you can do with LEGO if you are a Lord of the Rings fan…

➡ LEGO Lord of the Rings Amon Hen – if you have read the previous post, then you have seen the beautiful LEGO Lord of the Rings Rivendell diorama by the two sixteen year olds, Jack Bittner and Blake Baer. This is another epic masterpiece from them with stunning details. There is a wide assortment of trees to give the scene a realistic and natural feel – something not easy to achieve in LEGO. Also notice the uneven base with various levels of elevation, giving the diorama even more authenticity. I love all the detailing, and the Seat of Seeing looks spectacular! There is even the scene where Sam is drowning; you can see Frodo’s loyal servant and friend all the way over to the right. Check out the full gallery here: LEGO Lord of the Rings Rivendell

LEGO Lord of the Rings Amon Hen by Jack Bittner & Blake Baer

➡ LEGO Lord of the Rings Minas Morgul – this is another epic recreation from the films. It was built in mid-2011 for the “Journey of the Fellowship” collaboration at BrickWorld 2011 by Dave and Stacey Sterling. Minas Morgul fell to Sauron when the Dark Lord returned to Mordor. It became a place of great evil, from which the Witch-King came on his way to Minas Tirith. The green, translucent tiles used for the Morgul River look fantastic and really give the water a murky, ominous feel. The tower itself would look even more fabulous if it were made of glow-in-the-dark bricks however that would most likely cost lots of money since glow-in-the-dark elements are very rare and “precioussssssssss”. Sam, Frodo, and Gollum are hiding at the base of the tower. Check out the full gallery here: LEGO Lord of the Rings Minas Morgul

LEGO Lord of the Rings Minas Morgul by Dave and Stacey Sterling

➡ LEGO The Hobbit Dioramas – the diorama below is also from Blake Baer (the same teen who’s work was featured above), and one of my favorites. It depicts Lake Town upon the Long Lake, also known as Esgaroth. It was decimated by the dragon Smaug near the end of The Hobbit. The buildings are striking and Smaug is epic. Blake has done many more LEGO The Hobbit creations, including Beorn’s house, a scene depicting a part of the Battle of Five Armies, the trolls, and the escape of the dwarves in barrels. Each specific scene has the chapter title of the book that inspired it; such as “Queer Lodgings”, “Barrels out of Bond”, “Roast Mutton” etc. You can check out the full gallery here: LEGO The Hobbit Dioramas

LEGO The Hobbit Fire & Water by Blake Baer

➡ LEGO The Hobbit Hobbiton – yet another diorama from The Hobbit with eye-catching detail and marvelous intricacy, created by Brick Vader. I think this creation truly caught the “grassiness” of a hobbit-hole. Also notice the hinges to curve the section above the round door – a nice detail. I also really like the animal pen, and the translucent studs loosely set in the treasure-box lid and the bucket to make the water more realistic. The chimney looks fantastic and the fence and farming implements also give a nice touch. You can check out more pictures in Brick Vader’s Flickr Gallery.

➡ LEGO Lord of the Rings Battle of Helm’s Deep – to finish off today’s round-up of the best LEGO Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit dioramas, here is one massive layout by Rich-K and Big J, depicting the epic battle at Helm’s Deep. It includes about 150,000 pieces and 1,700 minifigs, and took four months to build. Yeah, the thing is huge! You can check out the full gallery here: LEGO Lord of the Rings Battle of Helm’s Deep

LEGO Lord of the Rings Battle of Helm's Deep by Rich-K & Big J

Do you feel inspired by these awesome LEGO Lord of the Rings and LEGO The Hobbit dioramas? Would you like to start building some on your own? You can check out the currently available LEGO Lord of the Rings and LEGO The Hobbit sets at the Online LEGO Shop to get you started. The highly anticipated #10237 LEGO Lord of the Rings Tower of Orthanc set is now available for VIP members! From June 17th through June 30th, you have the exclusive opportunity to purchase the new #10237 LEGO Lord of the Rings Tower of Orthanc before anyone else, plus, as part of early access, you will receive a free, limited edition LEGO The Lord of the Rings poster. Just sign in with your VIP account! 🙄

What do you think? How did you like the LEGO Lord of the Rings and LEGO The Hobbit creations featured above? Do you have a favorite? Is there any other Lord of the Rings inspired LEGO creation that you really like? Feel free to share your thoughts and discuss in the comment section below! Also, just thought to mention that I’m a TFOL (Teen-Fan-of-LEGO) and this is my first post here at theBrickblogger. I hope that in the future I will be writing more – after all the world of LEGO is so vast and diverse it would take many years to feature everything that can be done with LEGO bricks! Your feedback and suggestions for future posts are welcome! 😉

For more LEGO Lord of the Rings news, reviews and discussions, check out the LEGO Lord of the Rings section, or select from recent posts below:

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LEGO CUUSOO update & project reviews

Best LEGO Lord of the Rings dioramas part 2

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