LEGO Ideas wants an ’80s set, and it can be based on IP

A new LEGO Ideas challenge has started to design an upcoming ’80s-inspired set, and in a rarity for the platform, select properties are welcome.

Moments and intellectual properties from the 1980s have been popular picks for LEGO sets from all manner of theme but LEGO Ideas has been an especially prominent place for them. The theme is now recognising this trend and leaning into it with the latest challenge.

The new ’80s challenge invites users to design and submit a set inspired by an IP from the 1980s. Five of these submissions will move forward to a fan vote on April 16. You’ve got until April 9 to put together your entry. The team has noted that projects based on IPs currently being used in various LEGO sets including Indiana Jones, Tron, Back to the Future and Seinfeld, will not be accepted.

You can check exactly which IPs are eligible for the contest by using the license checker tool on LEGO Ideas. You can access it by submitting a new project and clarifying which property you have in mind. You’ll then see a list of pre-approved projects. Once you’ve decided on a property, you can close the page, unless you want to submit a new project anyway.

A maximum of five selected designs for the fan vote seem likely to be picked after discussions with potential partners have been had, to ensure that every project has an equal chance.

Whichever project wins the fan vote will become a new LEGO Ideas set based on that IP. The winner will receive 1% of the total net sales of the product, 10 complimentary copies of your LEGO Ideas set and credit and bio in set materials as the LEGO Ideas Fan Designer.

As well as this, everyone who makes it to the fan vote is going home with 10300 Back to the Future Time Machine, the retired 21328 Seinfeld and the retired 21314 TRON: Legacy from 2018. It’s surprising to see the TRON set mentioned again despite its connection to the ’80s, considering that it’s now six years old.

You can read the LEGO Ideas challenge page for more details and guidelines but aside from the IP connection, there’s nothing too different from previous challenges. Other recent challenges on the platform include the STEM challenge that has also led to a new set now in development. There’s also the crowd vote now open for the space challenge that will lead to two more models.

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