LEGO® CUUSOO 空想 - Turn your model wishes into reality

[Bobskink]

At least you can rest assured that there'll never be official versions your Pulp Fiction Duplo figs, eh?

Yup, that one is safe. But in the future I will never do Lego liscenses again.

Just saw this: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/AB920174/lego2014/img_0961.jpg

[Faefrost]

Yeah, that was my concern with it from the beginning. I actually have the original Discovery series lander in my desk and they're both sufficiently accurate models that, at first glance, you could mistake the Cuusoo project for a straight build of the official kit ( I don't mean to diminish the work of the designer, when two people are building models of the same real-life object at the same scale it's only natural to expect them to resemble each other.)

Perhaps they could modify the proposal to give the mission commander a golf club, custom print "Shepard" on his torso and call it Apollo 14 - It wasn't the first lunar landing, but it was the most accurate (according to mission plans) and included two of the longest golf drives ever performed by a human (thanks to the lower gravity, Alan Shepard beat the Earth based record of 515 yards by about 3000) yards. From everything I've read about the guy, something tells me he wouldn't have objected to being immortalized in Lego.

Hmmm? I notice the Apollo 11 project disappeared? I wonder if it ran afoul of one of the new rules? I also wonder if they have or are considering some below board mechanism for detecting or determining creator abandoned projects? That Apollo 11 had the distinction of being one of the oldest projects on CuuSoo. Going back at least 5 years. What happens to a project if the owner can no longer be found or contacted?

[Faefrost]

The Bird project has hit 10k. Congrats to Detomaso on his simply delightful little creations. And the best of luck in review. Although honestly so long as the scope is limited to just 1,2 or 3 birds (which I think he did when the rules changed) I think this one has a very very high chance of being made. It's different. It shows Lego in a different way. It's something your Mom would like and display in the public spaces of the house. And Lego designers tend to adore organics done well in Lego.

Well done, I hope to see this one on the shelves next year.

[Sarah]

The Bird project has hit 10k. Congrats to Detomaso on his simply delightful little creations. And the best of luck in review. Although honestly so long as the scope is limited to just 1,2 or 3 birds (which I think he did when the rules changed) I think this one has a very very high chance of being made. It's different. It shows Lego in a different way. It's something your Mom would like and display in the public spaces of the house. And Lego designers tend to adore organics done well in Lego.

Well done, I hope to see this one on the shelves next year.

OOh. I hadn't seen this.

I bought the Back to the Future CuSOO for my sister this year.

If the Robin is made, and price is reasonable, I can see another Lego CusOO Christmas purchase next year for my mom. (She may need to get grandkids to put it together for her. I'm not sure she'd enjoy the process)

Edited January 20, 2014 by Sarah

[Blondie-Wan]

Aaaaaaaand now...

Ghostbusters: 30th Anniversary is a go! The Female Minifigure Set is still under consideration, and the Landrover that was still being considered from an earlier period has finally been declined.

It appears that although of the two Ghostbusters projects they're officially doing only the one called "30th Anniversary," the overall content of the set will actually be closer to the other project, in that it will be "just" the ECTO-1 car and the four Ghostbusters themselves, without the converted fire station base found in the 30th Anniversary project proposal. One would think they'd therefore choose the other (or both, in the sense of declaring the set to be inspired by both projects and giving each a share of the profits), but apparently not. That must sting a lot for the submitter of the declined one, though the reasons (30th Ann. being first to hit 10k votes, plus the final set's car model being closer to it than to the other version) do at least make sense.

Edited January 30, 2014 by Blondie-Wan

[AFOLguy1970]

Aaaaaaaand now...

Ghostbusters: 30th Anniversary is a go! The Female Minifigure Set is still under consideration, and the Landrover that was still being considered from an earlier period has finally been declined.

It appears that although of the two Ghostbusters projects they're officially doing only the one called "30th Anniversary," the overall content of the set will actually be closer to the other project, in that it will be "just" the ECTO-1 car and the four Ghostbusters themselves, without the converted fire station base found in the 30th Anniversary project proposal. One would think they'd therefore choose the other (or both, in the sense of declaring the set to be inspired by both projects and giving each a share of the profits), but apparently not. That must sting a lot for the submitter of the declined one, though the reasons (30th Ann. being first to hit 10k votes, plus the final set's car model being closer to it than to the other version) do at least make sense.

I am looking forward to seeing the set. Indeed, it has to be difficult for the other person who submitted virtually the same thing, except they also had the fire station. It reminds me of school, when you had to do show and tell in front of the class, and the kid that goes right before you brought the same thing you did.

Also looking forward to the exosuit, although the sole reason for doing so is to get that classic space guy.

[Xyver]

The Ghostbusters: 30th Anniversary proposal as originally submitted only had the Ecto-1, the building came later. I would say most people voted for the car and the figs, rather than the building anyway. I felt it was a better model than the other one, hence the decision going its way.

I do not see LEGO ever producing a large building through CUUSOO, it will never meet their market case. That's why the LandRover failed, it was just not possible to keep the price down to a reasonable level to keep it justifiable.

I am a bit surprised about the Wizard of Oz not making the grade though, I would have thought that would be a good brand fit. Maybe someone else has the licence for that.

Poptropica was never going to happen, too small a niche, as was FTL. The ATLAS just wouldn't have any market appeal, especially to kids.

The Female Minifigure Set, well, it is a good idea for LEGO, but maybe as a polybag type of series rather than CUUSOO, so I don't know about that one.

From the way I read all of their blog updates, anything Ghostbusters is pretty much now off the table for passing review, though if this set sells well, they may do their own theme for it, as with Minecraft. This would go the same for BTTF. So all of you people wanting to submit other ideas for these now established themes, don't get your hopes up. The same goes for all other existing licences, your sets just aren't going to happen. The Assualt on Wayne Manor is a prime example. This is a fantastic idea, but for two of the reasons I've already listed (size and existing licence) it will never pass review.

The only hope for the next review is the Japanese Old Style Architecture, the rest don't stand a chance. I guess that set will test the size limit for CUUSOO, it's ability to pass review will be determined by their ability to scale the models back a bit.

[Vee]

From all the sets you mentioned, the Japanese set was the only one that I supported. Beautiful! I root for it.

[The Real Indiana Jones]

I do not see LEGO ever producing a large building through CUUSOO, it will never meet their market case. That's why the LandRover failed, it was just not possible to keep the price down to a reasonable level to keep it justifiable.

The only hope for the next review is the Japanese Old Style Architecture, the rest don't stand a chance. I guess that set will test the size limit for CUUSOO, it's ability to pass review will be determined by their ability to scale the models back a bit.

Do you remember the Modular Western Town Saloon? Everyone was excited for it, but then it just got pre-empted by the conflict with The Lone Ranger movie license. But if not for that random event, they would have definitely made the modular saloon building, and it would have been the first Cuusoo set to top $100 or maybe even $150.

And I think the reason the motorized Land Rover got rejected is simply because it had a lot of complex internal gearing that was susceptible to cracking the plastic gears, and nothing to do with its size per se... So I think the everyone is being too pessimistic to say they won't do a larger building or a larger set.

And yes, I am hoping that Japanese Architecture will help to answer the debate on "how big a set are they willing to make?"! I think they will shrink it to $80-$120.

Edited January 31, 2014 by The Real Indiana Jones

[GregoryBrick]

Do you remember the Modular Western Town Saloon? Everyone was excited for it, but then it just got pre-empted by the conflict with The Lone Ranger movie license.

But if not for that random event, they would have definitely made the modular saloon, and it would have been a modular building for at least $100 or maybe $150.

I can't find any source for this, do you have one? The conflict may have been the reason, but if that hurdle wasn't there there certainly could have been others. Once there is an initial, compelling reason to not approve a CUUSOO proposal, I doubt TLG / The CUUSOO team are going to bother to see if there would be any other further obstacles which might also result in a failure to approve the proposal.

[The Real Indiana Jones]

I can't find any source for this, do you have one? The conflict may have been the reason, but if that hurdle wasn't there there certainly could have been others. Once there is an initial, compelling reason to not approve a CUUSOO proposal, I doubt TLG / The CUUSOO team are going to bother to see if there would be any other further obstacles which might also result in a failure to approve the proposal.

When we are talking about Cuusoo's rationale, it is always based on educated guesswork. Just do a search for "MWT Saloon" here on EuroBricks, and you will find many pages.

So I guess we will have to wait for the announcement on the Japanese Architecture set to get any real official info regarding how large a Cuusoo set they will do.

In the meantime, I think that all of the winners so far have been disappointingly small... If I am waiting for years, I want something bigger!! =D

Edited January 31, 2014 by The Real Indiana Jones

[GregoryBrick]

Well, you did say "they definitely would have made it, if not for the competing sets", so I thought it was more than speculation. Thanks for clarifying.

[Faefrost]

When we are talking about Cuusoo's rationale, it is always based on educated guesswork. Just do a search for "MWT Saloon" here on EuroBricks, and you will find many pages.

So I guess we will have to wait for the announcement on the Japanese Architecture set to get any real official info regarding how large a Cuusoo set they will do.

In the meantime, I think that all of the winners so far have been disappointingly small... If I am waiting for years, I want something bigger!! =D

This is really the only "official" statement they have made regarding size.

http://blog.lego.cuusoo.com/2012/05/29/cheat-sheet-how-to-pass-the-lego-review-with/

Item 3

Consider your model size and potential cost. While we’re known for building large models, not every large model is practical for us to produce from a business perspective. We will not rule out a large model initially, but it might run into trouble when we build a business case.

I think the safe bet is for most project types, $99 is probably the limit. The best guideline for anything larger would be what if anything do they produce at larger price points, regularly or repeatedly, in their D2C market, that they would have good similar sales data. The less directly applicable data they have (and no not wild megablocks guess manipulation of the data, I mean a product that pretty well lines up with the proposal. ) the less rick they will be willing to take on, and the smaller a set must be to pass review. As I have said before, my guess is that most likely the only things that they would go above that price point for, at this stage of CuuSoo would be a really nice Modular Building, a nice Train, or a larger Technik set. While I suspect that they have more than enough data to support a large Star Wars set, chances are the license holder would veto it, as whatever it is would already be covered under the existing license and production plans. I suspect that we have had 2 projects that would have been dancing right around the $99-$150 price point just barely fail review after much internal debate. The Winchester and the MWT. Both of those would have fallen into the existing data sets from the Modular Buildings, Haunted House and Now the Simpsons House.

[jonwil]

I cant see the UCS DeLorien winning, its too big for what it is and too similar to the current set. But unless Universal says no, I see nothing that has been said that would indicate that the BTTF train (when it hits 10k) would not be able to hit production. Its not directly competing with any existing LEGO products (Lone Ranger train is far enough gone that it wouldn't be a factor) and it complements rather than competes with the BTTF car set (I own the car set and would buy the train in a heartbeat if it actually ran on train track)

Personally I think LEGO should tighten up the rules for Cuusoo a bit more. If they have specific knowledge from Lucas or their own product planning that rules out any Star Wars Cuusoo sets, they should remove all the Star Wars ideas from Cuusoo completly and not approve any new ones. Same with Disney, Marvel and Warner stuff.

[Faefrost]

Personally I think LEGO should tighten up the rules for Cuusoo a bit more. If they have specific knowledge from Lucas or their own product planning that rules out any Star Wars Cuusoo sets, they should remove all the Star Wars ideas from Cuusoo completly and not approve any new ones. Same with Disney, Marvel and Warner stuff.

I suspect that the rules governing existing licenses are extremely complex, vary from license to license, and that the CuuSoo staff have no more understanding of them then we do. An existing license will impose some greater restrictions. But it is probably not a global ban on everything related to the subject.

Take Star Wars. It is a safe bet that anything in system scale, that depicts ships, character or scenes from the 6 primary movies, the Clone Wars TV series or the Rebels TV series will fail review. Lucas's license assumption is most likely that these subjects are already covered and already under TLG's pervue and expectation to design in house, with no outside involvement. But some of the more exotic subjects, such as video games or EU books or comics? They might be allowable. Non system scale stuff (that Lego has never done before) such as the Lightsaber set might still be viable. And honestly no one will know until the lawyers get asked. And the lawyers do not get asked until a project hits review.

Now with all of this said, there are probably a few safe assumptions regarding pre existing licenses and CuuSoo.

- Any subject from an existing or ongoing license that Lego has already produced a version of in system scale will absolutely fail review. No questions asked. Prior art exists.

- Any subject that can best be described as "what Lego already made, but much better!" Will fail. Heck this one does not even need a license. Without a radical new approach prior art will once again be in play.

- Any project that requests a new set or subject from a prior but no longer active license will face some real rough going. Moreso than a small all new license such as BttF or Ghostbusters.

- We will never know all of the licenses that may cause trouble. Nor will CuuSoo staff. Just engaging in licensing discussions with a third party will often be sufficient to preclude something like a CuuSoo project. As an example, because of a disgruntled artist we know that TLG engaged in discussions and did some research work regarding a Thundercats license. The license never came to fruition and TLG used their research work as the basis for Chima, but it is probably still enough to block a Thundercats CuuSoo set.

- As CuuSoo themselves have admitted, some licenses carry specific non compete clauses. Having license A may block TLG from other license B. As an example it has long been suspected that the Star Wars license specifically blocks Lego from picking up a Star Trek license. Now granted this is starting to evolve. The classic example of toy related non compete clauses has always been Marvel and DC Comics. But in recent years since Warner Brothers and Disney have entered the picture (and following a long history of both with Diamond Direct in the specialty market) they have come to rethink these policies. These days they get more cash out of Batman and Spider-Man playing nicely together on toy shelves. But most licenses probably are not there yet. So you may find that your fantastic CuuSoo project of a Battlestar Galactica Colonial Viper is specifically blocked by the existing SW license.

Just a few things to think on.

[Faefrost]

So we haven't done one of these in awhile. Let's play prognostication on the in review and upcoming projects. Amazingly as the CuuSoo rules tighten up I think it becomes much easier to guess how things will go.

First up in review;

Sherlock - Sadly as we discussed, I don't see this one passing the review. I think a classic book 221B would have been a slam dunk. But the modern era TV show is too dark and adult, and will follow The Winchester and Serenity projects into too adult for brand fit. A shame it's a great little display set.

Macross VF-1 Valkyrie - Would be a slam dunk if it wasn't for the legally messy and weirdly split license. Sadly I think Lego's Licensing Lawyer will take one look at the Macross license and quit on the spot in horror. He will then wander the earth seeking a place where they have never heard of IP law.

Legend of Zelda - How many of these have we had so far? Will fail for the same reason as the others. It would have been eliminated in the rule change if it wasn't already in review. New parts.

Japanese Architecture - the real wildcard in this group. I can't see where the creator ever specified which of the three sets to take precedence? Gut says no, too big and too niche. But you never know?

Adventure Time - A well sized and topical set. Cons, a popular new show on the rise. May not want a small CuuSoo license. May be overpriced as a license. A lot of strange printing to avoid new parts.

R/C BttF DeLorean - as cool as it is, I doubt they will do two deLorean's. Like Minecraft the winning BttF set will probably preclude the IP at least for a time.

Edited February 5, 2014 by Faefrost

[Faefrost]

Let's not forget;

- Birds - Actually I think this has one of the better chances. It's unique, colorful, something totally different, and amazingly crafted yet of a good set size. I see no downside for this one. Likely to be made.

And the stuff that sits in the top 10 or so upcoming;

Apple Store - May run afoul of TLG's hesitance to promote someone else's brand at their own expense. Without the Apple branding it is really a kind of featureless grey and trans clear box. They might surprise, but I'm leaning no.

BttF train - I think that any further BttF sets will be done internally between TLG and Universal. With no further CuuSoo sets. Much like Minecraft.

Invisible Hand - too big. Appeared on screen in SW movies so Lucas probably already considers it likely without CuuSoo. Plus a somewhat similar Malevolence set did horribly. Too many failure points. No chance.

Light sabers - a really neat and different take on the Star Wars license. Might actually pass. So long as Disney/ Lucas doesn't veto.

Labyrinth Marble Maze - Very clever design. Very unusual. I would not be surprised to see this as a winner.

Warsaw City Bus - hard to tell, but leaning just barely towards no. It's a wonderful build, but a little dull and might conflict with City sets.

Piano - anyone's guess. A strange yet oddly compelling little set. I'd buy one.

Batman Wayne Manor - Ugh! Perhaps my all time favorite project. Just gorgeous. I so want one. Yet I think it will slam against already active licensing issues.

DC-3 - Stunning. I would buy two, one for my father who has never even looked at Lego. But all that chrome? To close to call.

Minecraft, Too Many Items - Too many CuuSoo Minecraft sets. None further will be made through CuuSoo. Minecraft is an active internal license now.

[The Real Indiana Jones]

...And the stuff that sits in the top 10 or so upcoming...

And looking at Glenbricker's "Days to 10,000" Chart, there are actually a lot of sets which are a bit lower down right now, but they are moving ahead significantly faster than the rest, and so they are scheduled to reach 10,000 even sooner than a lot of the sets that are currently on page 1... The rankings actually fluctuate surprisingly quickly every day, so it's hard to predict!

BrickSauria: It's still on page 3 for the moment, but it's moving very fast, and so it's actually fourth-in-line to reach 10,000. I think it's a guaranteed winner!

Goonies: Fifth-in-line to finish... Will they do more '80s movies?

DiscWorld: Sixth-in-line to finish... This is at the top of page 2 right now, and it will hit page 1 soon, and then reach 10,000 in a short time. A wonderful set!

Wall-E: Seventh-in-line to finish... Currently on Page 3, and moving ahead fast. I think they will definitely do it.

Technic-built Snowspeeder: On page 5, but zooming ahead... This is a unique Technic-built version, so they might do it.

Micro Minas Tirith: Just arrived on page 2... This is a unique micro-scale version, so they might do this one too.

Iron Man Hulkbuster: There have been a lot of people wanting this idea, so it is moving fast.

'80s Era Batmobile: A distinctly different version, so maybe they will do it.

Daft Punk: They are on page 3 now, but robot-rockin' to the top! So they are actually fifteenth-in-line to reach the finish line. This would be awesome! =D

Edited February 10, 2014 by The Real Indiana Jones

[Faefrost]

It looks like the Apple Store hit 10k. So congrats to the designers.

[Doom2099]

Legend of Zelda - How many of these have we had so far? Will fail for the same reason as the others. It would have been eliminated in the rule change if it wasn't already in review. New parts.

Japanese Architecture - the real wildcard in this group. I can't see where the creator ever specified which of the three sets to take precedence? Gut says no, too big and too niche. But you never know?

It seems like Japanese influenced sets have gotten quite a bit of love from Cuusoo. I wonder if the sales of the previous sets will warrant that continuing?

[The Real Indiana Jones]

It seems like Japanese influenced sets have gotten quite a bit of love from Cuusoo. I wonder if the sales of the previous sets will warrant that continuing?

Japanese Architecture - the real wildcard in this group. I can't see where the creator ever specified which of the three sets to take precedence? Gut says no, too big and too niche. But you never know?

Japan-themed sets have always been popular, in fact Ninjago is an entire theme focused on Japan, with its own TV show. The only question is if they feel like they have reached a certain saturation point for the moment, and if they feel like they have enough Japanese sets out on the shelves for now. Even so, they might just do it to help promote Cuusoo.

Edited February 10, 2014 by The Real Indiana Jones

[Faefrost]

Japan-themed sets have always been popular, in fact Ninjago is an entire theme focused on Japan, with its own TV show. The only question is if they feel like they have reached a certain saturation point for the moment, and if they feel like they have enough Japanese sets out on the shelves for now. Even so, they might just do it to help promote Cuusoo.

Yeah, but that has more of a highly stylized westernized anime'ish take on a pop culture show with some Japanese (and Chinese etc) elements. I somehow think the Japanese buildings is kinda targeting a slightly different market. At least unless the roof pops open and launches a cyborg ninja dragon on wheels.

As I said above. It's some great MOC's. I am just thinking it might be dancing on the border as a retail product. It isn't a downright "never ever gonna make it" fail. It may actually be viable. But it is a narrower margin than say the Ghostbusters set. It may benefit from being a somewhat strong contender in an otherwise weak review period. Probably the most commercially viable of the sets in that group would be the Macross one. But baring some legal miracle, I still think the licensing will be fatal on that one.

Which brings up one of those other subjects that we have never quite had a handle on. Is each review period limited to 1 winner? Must each period have a winner? Etc. I think the truth is a little more convoluted. Is there an official policy of one winner per period? Or a limit of such? No! BUT There are two factors that may tend to negate that in practice if not policy. The first is they obviously have a hard limit on production slots for CuuSoo per year. And that seems to pretty much be 3, on a 4 month cycle. So the review team will be doing their level headed best to avoid generating much if not any backlog in that production chain. They don't want to let production get too far behind fan enthusiasm. By the same token, with now 3 review periods a year CuuSoo probably does not want to let a review cycle pass with nothing but bad news. That has a huge negative impact on the whole project and concept. Letting the fans go 8 months + without an announcement when they have stuff in for review can get ugly. So in practical effect they will probably try and pick one and only one project per review cycle. They may shift some things in some ways, like do 2 one cycle and maybe none the next. So I would expect that if they don't like any of the current ones under review the Female Minifigs project may suddenly be revealed as a winner. To keep the positive going but not backlog the system. (It would be a clever if sneaky approach if on strong cycles they take a real close runner up and keep it "in review" some extra time to hold it in reserve in case the next entire wave is impractical for production.) In the long run it is probably a safe bet that we will not see much more than 3 projects pass review per year. Even if they say that each review block is not technically going head to head. (yeah yeah your job interviews claim that you are being evaluated solely on your own merits with no comparison to the other candidates that day as well... I don't think any of us believe it there either.)

[The Real Indiana Jones]

...Which brings up one of those other subjects that we have never quite had a handle on. Is each review period limited to 1 winner? Must each period have a winner? Etc...

Yes, that is still up in the air... They obviously want to do at least one winner per cycle to keep people happy, but they do not necessarily have to. And yes, if they have two good winners, they can take the option of doing them both, or they can hold one of them over just like you said so it can pop up later during a weaker cycle. Essentially, they are keeping all their options open.

I think that fairly soon they will be at the point where they will have enough good sets in each review, plus a few good ones held over, so they will have the option of doing multiple winners. And I have a feeling they will want to expand it eventually, because it increases the chance that there will be "something for everybody" and that everybody will like at least one set per review.

Plus, once the site goes fully live, there will be so many new entries and so many fast winners that it will make people angry if it is limited to just one winner per cycle! =D

[Blondie-Wan]

- As CuuSoo themselves have admitted, some licenses carry specific non compete clauses. Having license A may block TLG from other license B. As an example it has long been suspected that the Star Wars license specifically blocks Lego from picking up a Star Trek license. Now granted this is starting to evolve. The classic example of toy related non compete clauses has always been Marvel and DC Comics. But in recent years since Warner Brothers and Disney have entered the picture (and following a long history of both with Diamond Direct in the specialty market) they have come to rethink these policies. These days they get more cash out of Batman and Spider-Man playing nicely together on toy shelves. But most licenses probably are not there yet. So you may find that your fantastic CuuSoo project of a Battlestar Galactica Colonial Viper is specifically blocked by the existing SW license.

I doubt this is the case, at least with regards to Star Wars. For one thing, there aren't actually that many properties which are really all that similar to it, story-wise / thematically, aside from having spaceships and space battles. Moreover, there are in fact other companies which do produce toys from Star Wars as well as other franchises of the sorts you describe - Hasbro makes both Star Wars and Star Trek action figures and related playsets and vehicles, for example.

Not that it matters, of course - Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek both have other obstacles preventing LEGO sets based on them from happening. Hasbro's Star Trek license includes construction toys as well as the aforementioned action figures and whatnot, and they do in fact offer a number of KRE-O Star Trek sets. And Battlestar Galactica (the recent incarnation, anyway) is likely seen as a bit too dark and adult for TLG's target audience, in much the same way as Firefly / Serenity and Shaun of the Dead.

[Blondie-Wan]

A couple more things...

While I do think they'd like to have a bit of good news each review period, I think it's safe to say they won't go to any and all lengths to ensure it - if an entire review batch is full of wildly risky sets and they don't have any "still under consideration" sets from previous periods waiting in the wings, they're not going to approve something super-impractical and risk losing money on a product just to be able to tell fans "here's what we're making this time". They'll be honest and say "we just didn't have something with a good business case this time around" (or rather, they won't say anything since they no longer discuss specific reasons for declining proposals, but whatever they do say will at least be consistent with their reasoning - "we just weren't able to approve any this time; sorry about that," or some such thing).

Also, I think the Apple Store probably won't make it, though not necessarily because they won't want to - as they say, other brands can still be represented in sets as long as it's not purely the brand being sold, but a solid model of something that simply happens to be branded (otherwise they wouldn't have all those Maersk and Volkswagen sets), and I think they're also well aware of fan demand for a LEGO Apple Store, not just from this proposal but from other avenues as well. However, Apple is of course extremely brand-conscious itself, and its approach to branding for more than a decade now (ever since around when Steve Jobs returned to the company in 1996) has been one of utter control and self-management, to the point that they no longer really do the sort of brand licensing that once made it possible to buy things like Apple logo T-shirts, coffee mugs, etc. from third-party licensees. As much as we as LEGO fans might bristle at the idea, I think Apple would probably look at licensing a construction toy or model kit or whatever of one of its stores (or one of its products) as brand dilution, even if we ourselves might consider it an honor to be LEGO-ized. I suspect the store will therefore get nixed, not at LEGO's end, but at Apple's... though I'd honestly love to be proven wrong, and for both sides to agree it's a great idea. I'd personally love to be able to plunk an official LEGO modular building-style Apple Store in my LEGO city.

Edited February 11, 2014 by Blondie-Wan