Browncoats Drive New Firefly Lego Set Toward Production - UPDATED

Mike Kayatta

Minister of Secrets
Aug 2, 2011
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Browncoats Drive New Firefly Lego Set Toward Production - UPDATED



Aim to misbehave in a constructible, miniaturized Serenity of your own.

Cuusoo is, in spirit, the Kickstarter of Lego sets. It's a place where members of the world's brick-building community can stand together for whatever specific slice of geekery they fancy to insist that it be officially transformed into an amalgamation of colorful plastic blocks that can be easily assembled by anyone with ten fingers and a spare twenty minutes. That being said, it should come as no surprise to anyone that Firefly, known throughout the 'verse as being home to some of the most ardent fans this side of Bellerophon, recently passed the "Product Stage" of development on the site by earning over 10,000 pledges of support. Yes, Browncoats are now one major step closer to seeing the Serenity crew as tiny, noseless yellow people of strikingly similar height and stature.

Like all Cuusoo endeavors, the Firefly Serenity playset began as a concept designed by a user. In this case, tbone_tbl, who started the project by assembling a custom-made Serenity model with a movable loading ramp, light-up drive, rotating engines, and "playable dining area and cargo hold." Eventually, as the page grew in popularity, he went on to add a series of conceptual minifigs (Lego people) fashioned after the crew, allowing supporters to see Book, Mal, Jayne and the rest in all of their 1.5 inch, hypothetical glory.

[gallery=714]

Now that the project has met Lego's requirement of 10,000 votes, the play set has moved into the review phase, in which the Lego team, well, reviews the idea and determines its logistical, legal, and market feasibility. If Lego says "no," then this idea will have been designed and produced on a small scale, slowly attracted a large group of fans and supporters, and then gotten cancelled just as things were getting exciting. Hmm, why does that sound familiar? Let's all just hope that doesn't happen.

Update: Lego has chosen to decline the Serenity playset with the following explanation:

First and foremost, huge congratulations to tbone_tbl for reaching 10,000 supporters on LEGO CUUSOO, and toward everyone for all of the support of the Firefly Serenity Playset project!

LEGO CUUSOO gives the opportunity for adult LEGO fans to submit product ideas. You submit some incredible things, and we're huge fans of all of your work. This is a beautiful model and a skilled rendition of the beloved Serenity built with LEGO bricks.

When reviewing projects for production, the LEGO Jury first looks at how the concept fits the LEGO brand. We learned the IP was questionable regarding a brand fit, and since we anticipated this project reaching 10,000 the team got a head start and reviewed the project on these criteria.

LEGO produces toys for children. Therefore all LEGO products, regardless of age target, must be content-appropriate for this core audience. With this in mind we have decided that as cool as the Serenity model is, the Firefly TV show and Serenity film contain content that is not appropriate for our core target audience of children ages 6-11. While we know this news will disappoint those who supported the project, we will not be producing this as a LEGO product.

Opening ourselves to new product suggestions invites popular ideas that don't always fit our brand. We are grateful for the spirit behind projects like the Firefly Serenity and for the opportunity to be challenged. It keeps us sharp and looking toward the future of the LEGO brick.



Source: Cuusoo [http://lego.cuusoo.com/]

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Zhukov

The Laughing Arsehole
Dec 29, 2009
13,769
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How do these people have energy to cling on for... what's it been, ten years now?
 

fix-the-spade

New member
Feb 25, 2008
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I want Wash in Lego, that is the best Lego man I've seen, better than Lego Brendan Fairclough!

Zhukov said:
How do these people have energy to cling on for... what's it been, ten years now?
Good stories get re-told, how else?
 

Blunderboy

New member
Apr 26, 2011
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Well shit, looks like I'll be getting some Lego soon for the first time in about twelve years.
 

Tireseas_v1legacy

Plop plop plop
Sep 28, 2009
2,419
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Mike Kayatta said:
Now that the project has met Lego's requirement of 10,000 votes, the play set has moved into the review phase, in which the Lego team, well, reviews the idea and determines its logistical, legal, and market feasibility.
Here's where it will fail. Firefly/Serenity is definitely trademarked and copyrighted (by Fox?) and anything that even potentially infringes on that IP is going to require negotiations with the holder. LEGO will probably not be able to get a deal that would justify placing the product on the market. They may even just stop once they realize it's an existing IP to save on the legal costs.

So, yeah, I wouldn't hold my breath for this...

EDIT: Oh, yeah, forgot that a central concepts in the Firefly/Serenity Universe is a cannibalistic race of savages and a despotic central government. Probably not family friendly...
 

ritchards

Non-gamer in a gaming world
Nov 20, 2009
641
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I think the only time it hit the number on Cuusoo, but didn't get made, was the recent Shaun of the Dead, which was declined for not being young kid friendly... any Reavers in this set?
 

sinboy666

New member
Oct 21, 2008
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I'm I the only one who is getting sick and tired of IP based Lego sets? Seriously, Star Wars was kind of cool when it first came out, but I thought the WHOLE POINT of Lego was it allowed you to make these things on your own. What the hell happened to those days?
 

Dastardly

Imaginary Friend
Apr 19, 2010
2,420
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Sadly, River does not translate well into a figurine. Her defining characteristics were her diminutive height and her bare feet... the figure features neither.

Jayne and Book, however -- Nailed it.
 

Goofguy

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Nov 25, 2010
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Zhukov said:
How do these people have energy to cling on for... what's it been, ten years now?
Tell me about it. I'm still a big fan of the series but I gave up on hoping for more about 5 years ago (and even that was 2 years after the movie came out). I am perfectly content to live in the past with the few episodes we got.

That being said, the ship in Lego does look pretty damn cool.
 

Swyftstar

New member
May 19, 2011
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sinboy666 said:
I'm I the only one who is getting sick and tired of IP based Lego sets? Seriously, Star Wars was kind of cool when it first came out, but I thought the WHOLE POINT of Lego was it allowed you to make these things on your own. What the hell happened to those days?
I agree a little but it isn't always the whole point. Lego has always had themes. My first set was a fire station and I enjoyed following the instructions and building what was there (good practice for IKEA). It's after that where the true value of Legos come in because once you get bored with the model, you can break it apart and use your imagination to make all sorts of funky stuff.
 

penguindude42

New member
Nov 14, 2010
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Zhukov said:
How do these people have energy to cling on for... what's it been, ten years now?
Exactly. A more appropiate IP to translate into plastic brick would be, oh, I don't know,
James Bond? You know, since Skyfall is on its way?
 

Jedoro

New member
Jun 28, 2009
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Can't even remember the last time I bought Legos, but I'm definitely picking this up if it gets made.
 

Hollyday

New member
Mar 5, 2012
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How can Captain Tightpants get any cooler? Make him available in Lego form, that's how! I want this - not going to hold my breath, but I want this.