Latest Cuusoo decision

[Meatman]

So this pretty much confirms that any project that is using custom parts to gain interest should just be eliminated right from the start. Using custom parts and custom renderings of parts to gain supports knowing that they are not going to happen is deceiving. Cuusoo needs to start nipping these projects in the bud from day one. Why let something go on and on and on when the Cuusoo team knows that it isn't going to happen?

Every project on Cuusoo including renders should be done with parts that exist and Cuusoo should stress this.

Here is another Zelda project just about to hit 10,000 supports and it is destined to fail

http://lego.cuusoo.c...deas/view/32525

Edited October 31, 2013 by Meatman

[Faefrost]

And I want to ask about "The Glory of Rome" as an example. He has three images. One is a $13 gladiator battle pack. Another is a $30 set with a chariot and a campsite. The third is a $150++ warship that would need to include a minimum of 12 figs.

So is "The Glory of Rome" doomed? I think it should be. Add to that:

1) I think they have already said no to gladiators and blood-sport, specifically when they rejected The Hunger Games.

2) He still has several new molds shown on his page, so thousands of his votes were gained in direct violation of the rules.

3) He gave up in a huff over a year ago, actually writing veiled accusations of fraud against TLG right there on his Cuusoo page!

I might really like to see them make that giant war-ship as a UCS set, but overall I'd say he's doomed himself!

It would face a tougher review. But it is far from doomed. Yes he proposed a theme. But what he proposed is a bit more scalable than the Miniships. In the case of the Miniships each voter could have wildly different interests or wants. Loyal Starbucks customer? McDonalds fan? Just city building type. Etc. there was no way to differentiate or distinguish. Whereas with something like this there is a high degree in common in all the voters. They want Roman's! The only real debate becomes size. That makes Lego's job of pruning it into a single set a little less unpleasant. Still not ideal but doable.

The Gladiator scene is probably a non issue. Lego made the Gladiator figs. Besides the scene has them fighting a beast. It may just skirt the edges of blood sport enough to be ignored or allowed. Worst case the scene is not made. But it probably isn't an instant turndown. I think the chariot set would be the more likely one to be made anyway.

All of this is academic. It looks like the creator walked away from the project as some sort of protest of the MWT. So this likely isn't happening.

So this pretty much confirms that any project that is using custom parts to gain interest should just be eliminated right from the start. Using custom parts and custom renderings of parts to gain supports knowing that they are not going to happen is deceiving. Cuusoo needs to start nipping these projects in the bud from day one. Why let something go on and on and on when the Cuusoo team knows that it isn't going to happen?

Every project on Cuusoo including renders should be done with parts that exist and Cuusoo should stress this.

Here is another Zelda project just about to hit 10,000 supports and it is destined to fail

http://lego.cuusoo.c...deas/view/32525

The question isn't so much "is the project proposing custom parts", as "does the project require custom parts, and are those parts exclusive to the project or project theme?" Most of these projects have been up there for a long time. Most from before the abilities for new parts became clearer. At the end of the day the question in review is does it need the new parts, or can similar effect be gained without them? And honestly, as we have seen a few times, this is a question best asked at the point of review. Largely because in the intervening time some new mold might have been created for another line, such as CMF's, that would be an acceptable substitution.

In a nutshell. A project will fail for needing new molds. But it should not be auto archived, as an alternative may be produced while it is gathering votes.

[The Real Indiana Jones]

It would face a tougher review. But it is far from doomed. Yes he proposed a theme. But what he proposed is a bit more scalable than the Miniships. In the case of the Miniships each voter could have wildly different interests or wants. Loyal Starbucks customer? McDonalds fan? Just city building type. Etc. there was no way to differentiate or distinguish. Whereas with something like this there is a high degree in common in all the voters. They want Roman's! The only real debate becomes size. That makes Lego's job of pruning it into a single set a little less unpleasant. Still not ideal but doable.

The Gladiator scene is probably a non issue. Lego made the Gladiator figs. Besides the scene has them fighting a beast. It may just skirt the edges of blood sport enough to be ignored or allowed. Worst case the scene is not made. But it probably isn't an instant turndown. I think the chariot set would be the more likely one to be made anyway.

All of this is academic. It looks like the creator walked away from the project as some sort of protest of the MWT. So this likely isn't happening.

Yes, you are probably right on...

The gladiators are not a big deal, but it definitely hurts him. Lego did make the gladiator, but they won't do a set with blood sport or combat to the death or fighting versus real-world animals. So anyone who voted mainly for the gladiators, then their vote will have to be discounted, and that adds a big dose of ambiguity.

Yes, the more serious business issue is the question of "Which set were people really voting for?" At his current rate, he will reach 10k in about 5 years. There's at least a few different Rome builders who could easily pass him in that time.

And yep, and the wildcard issue is "What kind of person would slander and accuse Lego of fraud right there at the top of his Cuusoo page?"

I'd say he's out!

On a brighter note, I'm guessing that since they had to say no to so many proposed licences, and since they now have a backlog of open production slots to offer, then Japanese Architecture is pretty much a guaranteed "yes" at this point! Hopefully it will also help to reassure people who were embittered after the Modular Western Town (MWT) was pre-empted by Disney's Lone Ranger, since it is such a similar set in terms of scale and price-point, and it's a historical themed set very similar to the Western Town. Also to show that a Japanese-themed Cuusooo set can co-exist happily with an internal Lego property like Ninjago. If I were the Cuusoo Team, I would announce its approval as soon as it hits 10k in two more weeks, or they can wait, since they will probably have to drop even more bad news about Macross/Robotech, plus the next Zelda submission, plus Adventure Time, for which the exclusive license to make figures is held by JazWares Toys... They will definitely need at least one happy announcement to balance those three out!

Edited October 31, 2013 by The Real Indiana Jones

[TheLegoDr]

They won't just say a proposal is confirmed right as it hits the bird. They will still need to do the review period to make sure it is feasible cost wise and piece wise. It may not be a guaranteed like you claim. We will just have to wait.

[Blondie-Wan]

And this one

" Proposals for IPs currently _licensed by_ other companies are acceptable but IP _originated by_ rival toy companies are not (i.e. My Little Pony, Cabbage Patch Kids, Masters of the Universe, etc.)"

Should be updated to modify the first statement. IP currently licensed and in active use by other companies is also not acceptable. And such projects will get archived at a certain level of support (1000 votes?). This applies to Dr. Who, Star Trek, Jurassic Park, Halo, etc.

Should this perhaps be modified a wee bit further? I'm thinking the important thing is whether another company has a construction toy license specifically. We all know of other licensed sets and themes for which LEGO holds a "construction toy" license, while other companies hold licenses for action figures and/or playsets (Star Wars being the most obvious example, but I believe this is also true or has also been true of Indiana Jones, Marvel and DC, Harry Potter, and several others).

This is important with regard to this:

If I were the Cuusoo Team, I would announce its approval as soon as it hits 10k in two more weeks, or they can wait, since they will probably have to drop even more bad news about Macross/Robotech, plus the next Zelda submission, plus Adventure Time, for which the exclusive license to make figures is held by JazWares Toys...

(bolding added by yours truly)

Ooh, that's a factor I hadn't considered / known about. But does it necessarily kill the project? It could be that JazWares' license is broad enough to just cover all toys in general, but if not, I'd hope LEGO has a shot...

Edited November 1, 2013 by Blondie-Wan

[The Real Indiana Jones]

They won't just say a proposal is confirmed right as it hits the bird. They will still need to do the review period to make sure it is feasible cost wise and piece wise. It may not be a guaranteed like you claim. We will just have to wait.

Yes, I just was exaggerating a bit. I know that they will have to wait. Plus I'm sure they will want to save the good news to balance out two or three more rejections.

Should this perhaps be modified a wee bit further? I'm thinking the important thing is whether another company has a construction toy license specifically. We all know of other licensed sets and themes for which LEGO holds a "construction toy" license, while other companies hold licenses for action figures and/or playsets (Star Wars being the most obvious example, but I believe this is also true or has also been true of Indiana Jones, Marvel and DC, Harry Potter, and several others).

This is important with regard to this:

(bolding added by yours truly)

Ooh, that's a factor I hadn't considered / known about. But does it necessarily kill the project? It could be that JazWares' license is broad enough to just cover all toys in general, but if not, I'd hope LEGO has a shot...

I am pretty sure that in the case of "A List" properties like Star Wars and TMNT, etc, the contracts are specifically written right from the start to deal with several different toy companies, and to clearly define who has the rights to produce what, before everyone signs on the dotted line. Most critically, they must clarify the legal grey-area of what exactly defines a "construction toy with minifigure playset" versus what is an "action figure playset" versus what is a "collector's shelf figurine", etc. I am guessing that all the companies involved just put their concept art images right there in the contract pages, and then all the competing toy companies all sign off on each other's designs right from the start, so no arguments pop up later. I'm sure that's also one of the many reasons they plan themes so far in advance.

On the other hand, if a competing toy company like JazWares already has the exclusive right to make toys out of the characters, then they hold all the cards, and so they can demand a crazy amount of money, or just say flatly no.

One force that might break the deadlock is if the IP creators really want the other toy company to cooperate with Lego, and so they can threaten to not renew the other company's contract after it's expiration date if they do not cooperate.

I made the point a few times over on BrickSet, because a lot of people there were accusing Lego of being cheap, or lazy, or short-sighted, because they rejected their favorite video game... But there are many more difficult factors in the mix!

Edited November 1, 2013 by The Real Indiana Jones

[Faefrost]

Yes, I just was exaggerating a bit. I know that they will have to wait. Plus I'm sure they will want to save the good news to balance out two or three more rejections.

I am pretty sure that in the case of "A List" properties like Star Wars and TMNT, etc, the contracts are specifically written right from the start to deal with several different toy companies, and to clearly define who has the rights to produce what, before everyone signs on the dotted line. Most critically, they must clarify the legal grey-area of what exactly defines a "construction toy with minifigure playset" versus what is an "action figure playset" versus what is a "collector's shelf figurine", etc. I am guessing that all the companies involved just put their concept art images right there in the contract pages, and then all the competing toy companies all sign off on each other's designs right from the start, so no arguments pop up later. I'm sure that's also one of the many reasons they plan themes so far in advance.

On the other hand, if a competing toy company like JazWares already has the exclusive right to make toys out of the characters, then they hold all the cards, and so they can demand a crazy amount of money, or just say flatly no.

One force that might break the deadlock is if the IP creators really want the other toy company to cooperate with Lego, and so they can threaten to not renew the other company's contract after it's expiration date if they do not cooperate.

I made the point a few times over on BrickSet, because a lot of people there were accusing Lego of being cheap, or lazy, or short-sighted, because they rejected their favorite video game... But there are many more difficult factors in the mix!

Toy licences are typically split up into several pieces. things like figures, construction or building, games, video games, etc. remember the purpose of the IP is to bring the best benefits to the license holder. So a typically smart license holder will segregate the pieces and put each with a licensee that has a history of maximizing the piece of it. if Jazzwares has a history of figures, but no history of putting construction sets on the shelf in major stores, than chances are they just have a figure and playset license.

Should this perhaps be modified a wee bit further? I'm thinking the important thing is whether another company has a construction toy license specifically. We all know of other licensed sets and themes for which LEGO holds a "construction toy" license, while other companies hold licenses for action figures and/or playsets (Star Wars being the most obvious example, but I believe this is also true or has also been true of Indiana Jones, Marvel and DC, Harry Potter, and several others).

This is important with regard to this:

(bolding added by yours truly)

Ooh, that's a factor I hadn't considered / known about. But does it necessarily kill the project? It could be that JazWares' license is broad enough to just cover all toys in general, but if not, I'd hope LEGO has a shot...

yes, absolutely. Generally when talking about CuuSoo or Lego we are talking exclusively about the "construction toy license" and whether or not that is in active use elsewhere.

[danth]

I'm excited about this set! I just hope they keep the Neo-Classic Space vibe. I love the white space man. If they Include him I'm buying this set for sure.

[KingPixels]

Sorry for bumping the thread, but does anyone know when the next review's sets are scheduled to be announced? I can't find the answer anywhere.

[Faefrost]

Sorry for bumping the thread, but does anyone know when the next review's sets are scheduled to be announced? I can't find the answer anywhere.

They said within the next few weeks. So I would speculat probably any time between now and the end of February.

[KingPixels]

They said within the next few weeks. So I would speculat probably any time between now and the end of February.

Great, thanks.

[LegoFjotten]

Sorry to bump, but does anyone know anything about when we can expect to see the Exo Suit as a finished product?

I will fill a bucket with salty bitter tears if they don't include a classic spaceman.

[Faefrost]

Sorry to bump, but does anyone know anything about when we can expect to see the Exo Suit as a finished product?

I will fill a bucket with salty bitter tears if they don't include a classic spaceman.

I'm thinking a minimum of 8 months between announcement and release.

[weavil]

I read about it being up to 14 months, I think. If they don't have to tweek the model than it might be 8-9 months. Because like Sheepo's Defender, they said about 14 months after a final decision of the LEGO High Council.

[Herky]

They updated the latest winter items on Jan 16 I think it was...the items were:

•Sherlock – This project has everything you need to act out your favorite scenes from 221B Baker Street, including a consulting criminal and a gaggle of characters for Sherlock to coyly insult.

•Macross VF-1 Valkyrie +Fast pack / Armored parts – A model of the iconic mecha that you can build and transform.

•Legend of Zelda: Iron Knuckle Encounter – The third project to reach 10,000 supporters based on the Legend of Zelda; this proposal features the Iron Knuckle in an interactive playset.

•Japanese Old Style Architecture – A proposal for classic Japanese buildings in LEGO Bricks.

•The Adventure Time Project – Mathematical! 10,000 Candy People have voted for the Tree Fort from the Land of Ooo to potentially become a LEGO set.

•BTTF – UCS DeLorean Time Machine – A beautifully detailed large-scale Back to the Future DeLorean, designed for use with Power Functions.

This last one is a remote controlled DeLorean.

[Sarah]

I'm sad the birds won't be in it :(

[jonwil]

The one thing or person that can hold the Ghostbusters set back is Bill Murray. He is known for wanting a lot of money to use his likeness. He may be asking for more than Lego is willing to pay.

I would rather a Ghostbusters set without Murray than no GB set at all.

[DPrime]

^ Mattel got it, so you never know...

Also, regarding toy IPs... Anything is possible. I know GI Joe might not be the best example, since Hasbro recently started doing Kreo sets, but consider this: Sideshow Collectibles has had an agreement with Hasbro to make high end, collectible 12" GI Joe action figures - something Hasbro has been doing for decades - since about 2008.

And aren't there Barbie Megablocks now, too?

[MightyMegs]

YAY! GHOSTBUSTERS!

Edited January 30, 2014 by MightyMegs

[kr-lik]

Ghostbusters!

[Paul Boratko]

Too bad only one person will get the credit for it...

Still very happy though...

Edited January 30, 2014 by Paul Boratko

[TheLazyChicken]

NOOOOOO

I wanted Poptropica to win, oh well. I do like ghostbusters though.

[Cult_Of_Skaro]

SNIP

Ghostbusters!

[kinggregus]

This is such great news!

[just2good]

Heck yes! So happy.... Did both win? I can't watch the video on my phone. ;-;