Category: Lego Ideas (CUUSOO)

A Lego Gee Bee Z Super Sportster Airplane

buggyirk's Lego Gee Bee Airplane

Over on Lego Ideas a Lego Gee Bee Z Super Sportster airplane has landed. This iconic plane features a yellow and black paint job that is instantly recognizable. The sleek fuselage and clean lines proved to be a challenge for the designer, buggyirk, to replicate in Lego. The Lego Gee Bee Z achieved its final shape with only 521 Lego pieces, and a wingspan of 34 studs. You might recognize the Gee Bee from the film “The Rocketeer” but it has a much more interesting history.

buggyirk's Lego Gee Bee Airplane Wingspan

“This iconic plane was originally designed in the golden age of air racing, 1931 by Granville Brothers Aircraft of Springfield, Massachusetts USA. The name “Gee Bee” is short for the (G)ranville (B)rothers name. Designed in the middle of the Great Depression with money from investors, it was dubbed the “City of Springfield”. The Gee Bee Z won every race it had entered including the prestigious Thompson Trophy race. Shortly after the Thompson Trophy win, one of the pilots of the Gee Bee Z, Lowell Bayles, would beat the world speed record of 278.48 mph(448.17 km/h). He beat the record with 4 passes by going an average of 281.75 mph(453.43km/h). Unfortunately, in order to officially beat the record, the airplane had to go 4.97 mph(8 km/h) faster than the previous record. Bayles made his final attempt to beat the record on December 5, 1931. This final attempt would end in disaster. The plane crashed, ending Bayles’s life. On January 14, 1932, Lowell Bayles was posthumously awarded the world speed record of 281.75 mph(453.43 km/h) from his previous attempt.” — buggyirk

Go vote for the Lego Gee Bee Z Super Sportster airplane over on Lego Ideas: https://ideas.lego.com/projects/84133

Lego Ideas First 2014 Review Results: Birds, Big Bang

http://youtu.be/DiX7Q5_TTjo

Lego has finally posted the results of the first 2014 Lego Ideas review. For all the projects that didn’t pass (Lego Apple Store, Back to the Future Train), Lego said nothing. The good news is that one of the best Lego Ideas (Cuusoo) projects has been approved. The Lego Birds will be an official Lego set. These little guys are super cute, and are a great way to introduce the spherical building techniques. to new Lego builders. It is interesting to see Lego go back and forth with licensed sets and original ideas.

Lego Ideas, Lego Birds

Lego also announced another winner for this review. In a surprising announcement Lego revealed that the Big Bang Theory will be an official set. This opens up a whole new theme in Lego Ideas. Current television properties.  This could be the beginning of a tidal wave of projects based on popular culture. The proposed Big Bang Theory project has a whole lot of references to science fiction, and comic books. Lets hope that these details make into the final product.

Lego Ideas, Big Bang Theory

Not only did Lego announce two winners in the first 2014 review, but they also teased us with two projects that are still pending. The Doctor Who projects are still being considered. Since Lego announced that the license is available, it seems that these have a good chance at approval. The biggest problem is probably figuring out what direction to take the project and who to credit for the idea.

Lego Ideas, Doctor Who Lego Ideas, Doctor Who Characters

Hold on to your butts. There is a Lego Jurassic Park project.

senteosan's Lego Jurassic Park
There is a Jurassic Park themed project over on Lego Ideas. The good news is that there is a good chance that this will happen. Lego had a ban on Jurassic Park themed submissions due to licensing conflicts. The key word is “had.” As of October 2014, Lego has officially lifted that ban. They would not go out of their way to let us know this information for no reason. The project with the best prospects is titled “Jurassic Park” and is the creation of senteosan. This is an incredibly sleek project that hits all the most famous icons from the film. The massive gates, the jeep, a T. rex, and 3 of the main characters. The only thing missing is a Lego John Hammond, which if included would be an instant buy.

senteosan's Lego Jurassic Park Overhead

“The Jurassic Park Gate is a famous trademark of the Jurassic Park Series. It first appeared in the first movie 1993 when the tour cars entered the Park and it is definitely one of the most iconic scenes in motion picture history. Now recreated in Lego form too – ohh, with some extra spice…

I got this idea right before 3D version of first film hit theaters on April 2013. I used a tremendous amount of time drafting models again and again, making sure that all propositions are right and each component looking as realistic as possible. I have always thought this as a display piece, like UCS -style eye catcher but there certainly is a lot play value here too.

So if you’re a Jurassic Park fan please add your support to this project. Thanks!” — senteosan

http://youtu.be/qmUKLUEnR9c

Make sure to go vote for this Lego Jurassic Park project over on Lego Ideas: https://ideas.lego.com/projects/83161

Lego Civilization: Beyond Earth, Worker Mech Unit

Lego Civilization Beyond Earth Worker Mech

Lego Ideas (CUUSOO) has been a huge success for Lego. Most of the proposed projects involve established properties that need to be licensed in order to release them. The program has been so popular that a few of the projects have even been supported by companies who would like to see their properties licensed through Lego. For instance, Lego Minecraft. It is super rare that a company actually supports and even submits their own projects into Lego Ideas. Here is an example of such a project.

Firaxis Games has submitted a Lego Ideas project based on their Civilization series of video games. The set would include a Worker Mech based on the Civilization: Beyond Earth unit. The mech would be accompanied by a worker, a minifigure with options to be either male or female. The designer, AndrewClark2, built 180 of these sets as a studio gift on the release of the game. Since this has been produced (although not officially) a set of instructions have been drafted. The whole build only uses 187 Lego pieces. Even if this never makes it through the Lego Ideas process, it is an extremely nice gesture from AndrewClark2 and Firaxis Games to share.

Lego Civilization Beyond Earth Instructions

“When human beings settle alien planets, they’re going to need to build farms, quarries, paddocks for alien wildlife, habitation domes, and generators. Who gets to do all that hard work? The Worker unit! Designed by concept artist Mike Bazzell, the worker unit in Civilization: Beyond Earth will change equipment depending on its current job. This model is based on the front end loader, used to build quarries and mines. This Worker is ready to tackle any world, from harsh arid planets to miasma-laden fungal planets.”

Go vote for the Lego Civilization: Beyond Earth Worker Mech over on Lego Ideas: https://ideas.lego.com/projects/83016

This Lego Hulkbuster Armor Is Ready To Fight The Hulk

KaLor's Lego Hulkbuster, Iron Man

Most Lego Hulkbuster Armor builds focus on size. Most of them end up towering over the official Hulk figure. Although there is a certain charm to seeing a such a massive Iron Man, having a more proper scale version is awesome. Over on Lego Ideas, Ka.Lor has proposed their version of the Hulkbuster. By not having to design a full pilot cage for an Iron Man Minifigure, Ka.Lor is able to focus on mobility and structure. The end result is a Hulkbuster that is amazingly tiny, yet still incredibly imposing. Some of the details here are great, such at the Lego binoculars being used for fingers, Minifig hands being used for various clips, and even tiny Lego pistols being used to define the chest shape.

KaLor's Lego Hulkbuster, Iron Man Back

Check out, and vote for this Lego Hulkbuster over on Lego Ideas: https://ideas.lego.com/projects/58065

There is also the Lego Iron Man: Hulkbuster Project over here: http://everydaybricks.com/the-iron-man-hulkbuster-project/

A Very Impressive Lego Batman Batcave – Dark Knight Rises

Brent Waller Lego Batman Dark Knight Rises Batcave

The recent Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises, is one of the most memorable. The dark themes and design make this one of the most gritty versions of Batman. Completely skipping the overt campiness (and imagination) of the Tim Burton films. The Batcave is one of the most popular themes for a MOC. It is really difficult to stand out from the crowd, but Brent Waller has created something special with his Lego Dark Knight Rises Batcave.

Brent Waller Lego Dark Knight Rises Batcave Batman

In order to make a more awesome display, some liberties were taken with the layout. The waterfall and a few platforms have been moved in order to make the display more viewable. Most of the most popular Rogues Gallery villains have been hidden around the Batcave. Bane, Catwoman, Joker, Ras Al Ghul, Scarecrow, Talia Al Ghul, and Two-Face have all found their way in. Maybe Batman should install a security system.

Brent Waller Lego Batman Dark Knight Rises Batcave Tumbler

Check out more of the “Dark Knight Rises Batcave” by Brent Waller over on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wetwired/15513521055/

The Tumbler is designed by buggyirk and can be viewed on Lego Ideas: https://ideas.lego.com/projects/38399

The Bat is designed by jpvelociraptor and can be viewed on Lego Ideas: https://ideas.lego.com/projects/18529