Which LEGO Ideas ’90s opening act project needs a set?

The finalists in the first LEGO Ideas ’90s challenge have been confirmed and only one can become a set – but which will win remains up for debate.

As part of a double-feature of LEGO Ideas news earlier today, the platform’s team confirmed the five finalists that have been selected for the fan vote of the biggest ’90s challenge, which allowed builds of between 1,000 and 5,000 elements. You can cast your single vote on any one of the five finalists right now, but the crowd vote closes on February 21.

Out of the five finalists, we’ve looked through the builds, franchises and the varied history of LEGO Ideas to determine how successful each one will be, and which might stand the chance of winning and becoming a future set. This is only speculation with predictions based on outlined evidence. The winning project will be confirmed no later than June 2, 2025.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Library

Buffy The Vampire Slayer undoubtedly has a major fanbase but its history of success on LEGO Ideas is much more limited than the likes of any other franchise covered by the other four finalists.

Visually, the proposed build isn’t quite as interesting as a futuristic cityscape and board game too, though the project is impressive in a different way. These factors seem likely to combine in an unfortunate outcome for vjw1978 as we predict that this finalist won’t be the most popular of the selection and is unlikely to get a future LEGO Ideas via this challenge.

Our prediction: A less interesting build than other finalists may not draw as much support from the community, despite an undoubtedly dedicated fanbase.

“THE FIFTH ELEMENT” Book Nook and Playset

The Fifth Element may not be as traditionally popular as other franchises in this challenge’s selection, but the model designed by CUBETARRO is unlike anything currently on shelves and you might be surprised to see that the LEGO Ideas team see the franchise and build as a fit for a future set. While it hasn’t won the challenge yet and its franchise has traditionally not been as popular as others, the proposed minifigures offer exciting potential that will likely greatly interest the community.

A LEGO Book Nook collection is currently rumoured to start later this year with The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, possibly convincing LEGO Ideas users to throw their support behind what would be a perfect fit for the reported range. It would be covering an entirely different genre of fiction than what is rumoured – science fiction as opposed to fantasy.

Our prediction: An enticing build with exciting potential that would tie into a rumoured range, promising much for the community to become one of the most popular projects.

The X-Files: The Truth Is Out There

BrentWaller’s The X-Files build not only has the strength of the franchise behind it but also a favourite fan designer of the community who has had success on LEGO Ideas with 21108 Ghostbusters and 21328 Seinfeld. BrentWaller’s name certainly adds some weight to this submission alongside the recognition of the The X-Files franchise.

Rather than just depicting the team’s office, they’ve expanded their original build to include much more variety than other LEGO Ideas show-based sets have with a UFO and forest scene on top. Altogether, it makes for an impressively layered build that will draw a significant crowd, but The X-Files hasn’t been quite as popular on the platform as other franchises in the challenge’s selection. It has some stiff competition ahead of it.

Our prediction: A multi-layered model that will draw a crowd, but is up against some stiff competition.

Jumanji (1995)

In the last couple of years, Jumanji has consistently been pitched for a LEGO Ideas set via various review rounds. There’s one currently in review and while there’s evidence of Jumanji not being approved for a slot in LEGO Ideas previously, the team are presenting it as a potential model now, provided that it’s popular with the community once again.

This means that they’ve deemed the franchise a good fit for a LEGO Ideas set – even beyond the competition. The community seems likely to rally once more for a Jumanji build but either way, this franchise has a good chance of getting a future LEGO Ideas set.

Our prediction: A popular submission with the community, but one based on a franchise that has a decent chance beyond the challenge now.

Edward Scissorhands

Edward Scissorhands‘ gothic castle seems sure to be a hit with the massive LEGO Castle crowd, who have made their presence known repeatedly via the BrickLink Designer Program. It’s an even closer match to the record-breaking Adventure in Transylvania going into crowdfunding later this year.

These BrickLink-centric instances lead us to believe that the Edward Scissorhands build will be one of, if not the most popular build in this LEGO Ideas challenge and accordingly become a future set.

Our prediction: One of the most popular submissions and a hit with LEGO Castle fans.

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