With the largest review in the history of the LEGO Ideas platform looming, we've decided to take a look at which qualifiers are most likely to meet approval, based on a few statements the LEGO Group and LEGO Ideas Team have made this past year.
Earlier this year, the LEGO Ideas Review Board stated that they'd be moving away from. approving Licensed Sets under the LEGO Ideas banner in an effort to bring more original ideas to life—which exactly what many have considered to be the purpose of the LEGO Ideas platform in the first place. In recent years, we've seen a large number of licensed sets, specifically American Sitcoms like Friends, Seinfeld, The Big Bang Theory, etc., and a lot of fans have admitted that these sets simply don't appeal to them. These sets are undoubtedly quite niche, and will most likely only appeal to a select demographic, which may be part of the reason LEGO and the LEGO Ideas review board want to move away from licensed sets for a time.
Licensed Sets
Out of the 57 qualifying projects, nearly 50% of those feature some type of intellectual property, or at least the potential for licensing issues, which as the LEGO Ideas team has said in recent months, they're leaning away from. Below are 27 sets that we can determine will most likely not be selected for the LEGO Ideas First Stage 2021 Review:
Holiday-themed Sets and Modular Buildings
On top of the LEGO Ideas Review board moving away from Licensed Sets, we've also never had a Modular Building pass the review, and as a result, it's very unlikely that any set that resembles similarities to the Modular Building design or style will not be selected. After all, LEGO would not want a competing project to potentially dampen sales of whichever Modular Buildings are on sale around the same time as this Ideas Project reaches production. Also, any Holiday-themed sets will most likely be passed over, especially if they resemble the LEGO Winter Village Style. The following projects will also most likely not meet approval:
Medieval & Historical Sets
As much as fans would like to see a return to the Classic Castle theme, LEGO has made it clear in previous statements that the Classic Themes will now find a home in the Creator 3-in-1 line, where we've already seen Classic Pirates, Classic Castle, and Classic Space make a limited return. Also, in 2022, we're going to be receiving a Creator 3-in-1 Viking Longship so it's almost a guarantee the Viking Ship Ideas Project will not meet approval, and most likely no other historical or medieval sets will be approved either. Below are a list of all sets that meet the Medieval or Classic Historical benchmark, and which will most likely not meet approval:
Sets That Are Niche or Generally Unlikely
The LEGO Ideas Review Board will most likely skip the following sets due to them either being too niche, or due to conflicts or simplicity of design and idea. Something like Bike Lanes is something LEGO could eventually design themselves, and same with Succulent Garden, which could be considered a conflict with the Adult Builder's Series Botanical Collection. The following sets will most likely not be approved for the above reasoning:
Most Likely To Meet Approval
Now that we've been able to effectively limit the playing field to a handful of LEGO Ideas Projects, it's time to decide which sets would be most likely to meet approval, based on past review phases and the overall potential for sales that The LEGO Group must take into account when deciding on an Ideas project. With the success of such sets as the LEGO Ideas Fender Stratocaster (21329) and the Grand Piano (21323), it's become quite obvious that there's a market for musical-related sets and instruments. Subsequently, this review phase contains two sets that deal with musical instruments and content.
Also, LEGO has been trying to appeal more to adult fans, and sets such as the LEGO Bookends and Train Bookends also could be selected due to their practical nature and originality—LEGO has also produced quite a few book-related sets in the past, including the LEGO Ideas Pop-Up Book (21315) in 2018 and most recently the Hogwarts™ Moment sub-theme of LEGO Harry Potter.
Our Top Picks
Lastly, we've come to our top picks, meaning these are the sets we'd consider most likely to be selected in the First 2021 Review Phase. Tutenkhamun or the LEGO Astronaut seem most likely to be selected, due to their originality and intricate designs—also, historically speaking LEGO Ideas tends to gravitate to some form of space-related set because there's a huge market for it. Something like Marine Life or the LEGO DNA Double Helix Discovery would be excellent display-pieces and could appeal to a variety of fans alike.
As always these are merely projections and we'll have to wait until tomorrow morning to learn what the LEGO Ideas Review Board has decided, but we're interested to hear your input! Please follow us on Facebook and comment on our post to let us know what you think the results will be!
