LEGO Christmas Build Up

Product Information

In the designer-video for the #10260 LEGO Creator Downtown Diner, LEGO Senior Designer Mike Psiaki advises those who want like to join the LEGO design team, to practice building models they normally wouldn’t want to work on ( watch the video here). This is an extremely insightful statement that points out the profound difference between those who’s job is to design LEGO sets, and LEGO fans who can build whatever they really love and have an interest in. As LEGO fans, we never have to separate the building toy we love from the subject matter we would like to build. If we want to build Star Wars, we can build the most amazing Star Wars creations, including every single authentic detail from the films that may have taken us years to learn and absorb. Or, we can build the most realistic and detailed marine life creation if we are into studying fish, corals and whatever magic the great oceans and seas hold. You must be the original creator of all creative work you submit (the model, images, photographs, description text, etc.) and you must have the exclusive right to submit your model to this LEGO Ideas Contest. You may not submit a model made by, or on behalf of, someone else. If you are a novice builder, for instance, you can benefit from the techniques I mentioned here; exploring the use of a focused color-palette to achieve realistic results, or doing extensive research on the subject matter you would like to build. More advanced builders can focus on studying their own creations with a more critical eye. After analyzing a creation, you can ask yourself things like, “What was my goal in building this like that?” and “Did my creation fully achieve the goal I had in mind?” You can even ask yourself in smaller ways like, “What do I really want this element to do?” or “Is there another way to make this?” By asking these questions, you can not only learn about techniques you prefer, but also find ways to incorporate techniques you may have learned and had trouble using in the past. Because there may be no wrong way to build, there is always a way to do better!

Voting Phase– Rally your friends to vote for your entry before February 19th, 2018 at 6:00 a.m. EST. The top 25 entries will be advanced to the Judging phase.Take up to five photos of your creation and submit them to the contest. Make sure to show off all angles and any features or functions of your creation. LEGO fans also like to use colors, but they usually stay within a single color group to create models that are more realistic and lifelike. These sophisticated creations often don’t even look like LEGO. In the #21310 LEGO Ideas Old Fishing Store, we see an abundance of grays, browns, tans, and the more earthy greens. All these colors give a weathered look that looks very realistic, but could also be considered a bit dull. Entries must only contain basic LEGO elements, such as elements from LEGO City, LEGO Collectable Minifigures, and LEGO Creator. Common parts from sets such as LEGO Star Wars, the LEGO Movie, or LEGO NINJAGO may be used, but any parts specific to sets outside of LEGO Classic, LEGO Collectable Minifigures, LEGO Creator (such as printed parts or Minifigure Accessories) are not allowed in this contest. What do you think? How do you like the #21310 LEGO Ideas Old Fishing Store? Is this a set you already have and built? What were your own impressions of it? Are there any other differences you noticed between official LEGO sets and custom models? Feel free to share your thought and own review in the comment section below! 😉

A fairly obvious difference between fan-created models compared to official LEGO sets is their density. LEGO fans want to make their models as perfect and realistic as possible without skimping on pieces or cutting cost. This makes fan models look and feel quite dense. You may submit multiple entries to the contest, but only one entry per person will be considered when winners are selected. This means you cannot win as a semi-finalist and as the grand prize winner with two different entries.

Details

The LEGO Ideas platform is a unique and innovative initiative where LEGO fans can work together with the company to release fan-suggested models under the LEGO brand. LEGO’s own designers go over the accepted models to make sure they are in line with their quality standards. This may result in a number of alterations, but in general, LEGO designers try to remain as faithful to the original submission as possible. Thus, the LEGO Ideas line doesn’t just provide unique sets, but also gives us an opportunity to get an in-depth sample of how other LEGO fans think. 🙂 If you win and your entry can be adapted into a set, a LEGO designer will consult with you regarding your model. Your model may be altered to fit LEGO design standards and any Minifigures in your entry might be changed or removed depending on current piece availability.