The Brick Connection – A novice Lego fan explores the great brick world of LEGO

Less than 35 days until Fall!

Yes, that is how I am greeting you today. I am so sick of this hot, humid weather in Delaware. I’m sick of waking up at 5am so I can go on a run without dying of a heat stroke and then being exhausted all day, every day because I’m getting up at 5am multiple times a week!

Okay, rant over.

How are you guys???

It looks like everyone enjoyed the last two weeks talking about LEGO Ideas, and the amazing fan-created, potential LEGO sets.

I don’t want to have to explain again how LEGO Ideas works, although I’m sure a lot of you are already aware of the site. But if you missed the previous posts here they are:

Women of NASA LEGO Idea

LEGO Ideas: Supported, Reviewed, Produced

By the way, last week I talked about the Rolling LEGO BB-8 project that is currently up for review by LEGO and my strong desire to see LEGO approve this set and guess what? After posting my blog on our Facebook page as I do every week, someone commented on the post to tell us that he was one of the creators of the Rolling BB-8! His name is James and he referred us to his project partner, Mark, who left this comment:

It’s a hoot to read your article. It’s been a black hole quiet period as we wait for the September announcement...fingers crossed!

Yes, fingers crossed! I wanted to go back real quick and take a closer look at the project. I mean just the idea itself sounds amazing, but look at what James and Mark were able to put together so it wasn’t just an idea, but a reality. This video gives you a great look at how it all works:

Check out the full project, including what the inside of BB-8 looks like, here.

Like I said last week, it should be another month before we find out which of the 9 projects currently being reviewed will be approved by the review board to become official LEGO products.

But this week I wanted to talk about the projects that are only in the first stage of LEGO Ideas; the ones that are still working towards that 10,000 supporters goal. Unfortunately, most of them will not get there, but let’s take a look at some of the more interesting ones…

First up, I want to give a shout out to Nick, an engineer with NASA who messaged us about his LEGO Idea after my Women of NASA post.

Nick’s project is the NASA Space Launch System and Mobile Launcher:

Here’s what he said about his background and the project itself:

I actually work on the real rocket over here at NASA and really wanted to develop a physical model of the rocket I see every day. The set includes a Block 1 Rocket (including upgrades to Block 1B crew/cargo and Block 2 configurations with Advanced Boosters), a Mobile Launchpad, a working scaled Crawler and an scaled Orion. I've recently also partnered with the US Space and Rocket Center and Space Camp in Huntsville Alabama on the project. We've started working together to both promote the set and to start a raffle that will give supporters of the set a chance to win a Lego SLS of their own along with tickets to the US Space and Rocket Center and other prizes.

You can check out Nick’s website to see how you can win the set and tickets to the space center here. Of course you have to actually support the set, like I did to have a chance at winning. I didn’t enter the raffle though, so that gives all of you a better chance of winning. And you can still win even if Nick’s project doesn’t become an actual LEGO product.

Best of luck, Nick! And thanks for sharing! (I mean, the guy’s an actual NASA engineer, that’s gotta get him some extra interest, huh?)

In order to support projects on LEGO Ideas you have to create an account, which I did. And now I get weekly digest emails (that you can unsubscribe from if you want) that tell me about what’s been trending: popular projects and profiles, etc. It’s also where you can be notified about any updates to the projects or people you are following.

You can also look up for yourself what projects are popular right on the site by going to the Discover page. There you can look at the staff picks and projects that are trending for the month. You can look ones up based on tags like car, building, city, and Star Wars. And you can filter your search based on the status of the project: gathering support, in review, project approved, etc.

Here are some of the ones that caught my eye:

Apollo Program Moon Explorers

Can’t get enough of these space sets! NASA’s Apollo space program took men to the moon (Apollo 11) and it took men to the brink of death (Apollo 13). This set would be about 1200 pieces. It includes the Apollo Spacecraft Command and Service Module, the Lunar Module, the Lunar Roving Vehicle, and three minifigure astronauts.

The project has now been supported by yours truly. It has over 3400 supporters, with 489 days left to make it to 10,000. I’ll say it has more than a 50% chance of achieving full support. 

UCS Rey’s Speeder

No, this is not just a different version of the Rey’s Speeder set that was released last year. This an ultimate collector’s series version. Robert Lundmark built this after seeing The Force Awakens, but originally it was just for his own enjoyment. He posted pictures online and here’s what Lundmark says happened:

Ever since I first posted images of the model online, people have asked me if I have instructions for it and if they can buy it. Sadly, I don´t have any instructions and I don´t want to part from it. I like it too much on my shelf. And then came the suggestion that I should make it a project on LEGO ideas...

And he did! I don’t believe he knows how many pieces he used to build it, but it’s a lot! The vehicle is about 18 inches long, while LEGO’s set is maybe 6 inches. I love my Rey’s Speeder set and think a bigger, more detailed version would be awesome. So I have now supported this project. It has over 6100 supporters so far with 664 days left to achieve 10,000. I’m going to give it a 90% chance to achieve full support. But I’m worried LEGO won’t approve it because… I don’t know; they’re very picky and probably already working on a ton of Star Wars sets. 

Starbucks Café Modular

This is a beautifully detailed set. The three story building is completely enclosed; no open back. But, if you take the floors off there is even more detail inside. Each floor has its own particular look. There’s the area for the Starbucks staff to make their creations, seating for customers, a lounge area, and even a damn bathroom! Very cool! Unfortunately it is looking unlikely that this project will reach the review stage. I supported it and it has over 7800 other supporters. But, it has been gathering support for almost two years now and only has 27 days left to reach the 10,000 goal. Still, the LEGO craftsmanship has to be commended. Well done!

Pirate Ship Ride

Ok, how is this project not gathering support like crazy? Of all the ones I’m talking about today, this might be my favorite. It’s a Motorized Swinging Pirate Ship Ride with the LEGO Power Functions 8883 medium motor and 88000 AAA battery box.

I don’t know what all that means, but I am excited! Basically, the ship actually swings on its own. So cool! And there’s just so much great detail too. The ride can fit 22 minifigures. 

This ride in its many real-life versions is always a favorite for me at amusement parks. The one at Funland in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware is particularly fantastic. (And I always love to sit in the back row. Feels like you’re flying!)

The set is over a foot high and about 17 inches long. It’s still early in the support process. I was supporter #915. And there are 320 days left to reach 10,000. (Although if it reaches certain milestones, it can get up to a year added to that.) I’m definitely going to keep my eye on this one. 

Finally, I thought I’d take a look at a project that literally just got on the site:

Go Kart Racing Circuit

Posted two days ago (August 16^th), this simple, but fun set would be an easy build, but has a lot of playability. If they could make the cars motorized then that would make it 10 times better. I can’t tell if that is the creator’s intention anyway, but hopefully it is. I was supporter #41 and there are 364 days left as of now. I have absolutely no idea if this will take off or not, but I am now “following” the project so I can stay updated.

And that’s my look at just some of the thousands of project currently trying to gather support on LEGO Ideas. Many will try, few will achieve the initial goal, and even fewer will actually see their dream come to fruition. 

That is the harsh reality of LEGO Ideas. 

Thanks for reading. Let me know your thoughts on any of the projects I mentioned. And let me know which of the other current projects you are interested in? See them all at LEGO Ideas.

Until next time……………..stay cool!

*Compliments, general feedback, and constructive criticism are welcome. Any haters that are gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate can go step on some Lego with their bare feet.*