Lego Ideas (formerly known as Lego Cuusoo and stylized in start case) is a website run by The Lego Group, which allows users to submit ideas for Lego products to be turned into potential sets available commercially, with the original designer receiving 1% of the royalties. It began in 2008 as an offshoot of the Japanese company CUUSOO, named after the Japanese word 空想 kūsō, meaning "daydream" or "fantasy".
Background Under the name LEGO CUUSOO, the original website was labeled a beta test until rebranding as LEGO Ideas.
Process
User submission phase Users express their idea by combining a written description of the idea and a sample Lego model that demonstrates the concept into a project page. Once the page is published it is viewable to other users. The goal of every project is to be supported by 10,000 different users, which would then make the project eligible for review. At first, projects would be kept on the Cuusoo/Ideas website for up to two years and then taken down if the project did not reach the 10,000 required votes of support. Lego Ideas later changed the threshold to include a minimum number of 100 votes in the first 60 days after submission or the project would expire, followed by a year to reach 1,000 votes, another six months to reach 5,000 votes and finally six months to reach the 10,000 supported votes.
Originally, project submissions were allowed to be about anything and had no limits on the size and style of project. After sets began to be rejected with stated reasons, Lego Ideas announced restrictions on content including the use of no new part molds, banning intellectual properties owned by competing toy companies, and adult content. Lego Ideas further restricted project submissions in June 2016 by limiting the size of the project to a maximum of 3,000 pieces (an update on September 30, 2024, raised the element count from 3,000 to 5,000. A minimum element count was also set at 200 elements. This same update also introduced a minifigure-to-element ratio), any project replicating a life-size weapon, and any project based on an intellectual property already produced as a set by Lego Ideas/Cuusoo. Ideas further restricted submissions in 2017 by disallowing any projects based on third-party licenses already being produced by Lego, such as Star Wars and Harry Potter.
All eligible projects are collectively reviewed in the order of whichever projects hit 10,000 supporters within any of the three tri-annual deadlines of May, September, or January.
Review phase Due to the increasing number of project submissions based on ideas that The Lego Group would reject, Lego Ideas has refined its submission standards over the years.
Since its inception, a number of sets that have reached the 10,000 vote threshold have been rejected during the review for various reasons. Some rejected sets have been based on specific intellectual properties were rejected due to the content matter presented. Any theme that relates to alcohol, sex, drugs, religious references, post-World War II warfare or based on a first-person shooter is deemed inappropriate for younger Lego fans. IPs that have been rejected for this reason have been based on Firefly and Shaun of the Dead.
Other projects which have been rejected include ones based on My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic due to the property being owned by rival toy manufacturer Hasbro, certain sets based on The Legend of Zelda due to the need to create too many original molds, although Lego did not completely rule out other projects based on the franchise, and a Sandcrawler set for the Ultimate Collector Series due to The Lego Group's ongoing collaboration with Lucasfilm on Lego Star Wars. My Little Pony and other Hasbro based properties not already under Lego's current lines were eventually allowed under the line once the partnership started between Lego and Hasbro for Transformers in the Lego Icons line. The first Hasbro IP to come out of the Ideas line would be based on Dungeons & Dragons in 2024.
In the first 2015 review, announced in October 2015, no projects were selected for the first time as the many projects were rejected for various reasons. Many of these projects would not have met the revised submission standards issued in June 2016.
A record 26 projects qualified for the first 2020 review followed by another record 35 qualified projects in the second 2020 review. Lego cited the sudden increase in projects surpassing the 10,000 vote threshold was likely due to the global lockdown amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The first 2021 review phase saw yet another record number with 57 qualified projects after one project was disqualified due to an intellectual property conflict.
Production phase If the product is cleared for production, it is further developed by Lego set designers and the final model gets released as an official set under the "Lego Ideas" banner. Users that have their projects produced receive ten copies of the final set, as well as a 1% royalty of the product's net sales and credit and bio in set materials as the Lego Ideas set creator.
Sets As of August 2026, 75 Lego Ideas sets have been produced and 90 sets have been announced, including GWP sets:
Set based on an original idea Set based on an existing intellectual property Sets are listed in order of announcement. Bold line indicates when branding changed from Cuusoo to Ideas. Flags represent the creators country of origin. Cuusoo/Ideas # Set # Released Creator name (username) Project Notes #001 21100Shinkai 6500 Submarine(Shinkai Expedition) February 17, 2011 (Japan) (at_guy) Link Only released in Japan. #002 21101Hayabusa(Asteroid Exploration Spacecraft Hayabusa) March 1, 2012 (Japan)July 11, 2012 (international) Daisuke Okubo (daisuke) Link First internationally released Lego Cuusoo set. #003 21102Minecraft Micro World(Lego Minecraft) June 1, 2012 Mojang Link Based on the video game Minecraft. First set released under the Lego Minecraft theme. #004 21103The DeLorean Time Machine(Back to the Future DeLorean Time Machine) August 1, 2013 Masashi Togami & Sakuretsu Link Based on the Back to the Future DeLorean time machine. #005 21104NASA Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover(Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover) January 1, 2014 Stephen Pakbaz (Perijove) Link Based on the NASA Mars Curiosity Rover. #006 21108Ghostbusters Ecto-1(Ghostbusters 30th Anniversary) June 1, 2014 Brent Waller (BrentWaller) Link Based on the Ecto-1 from the Ghostbusters franchise. First set released under the Lego Ghostbusters theme. #007 21109Exo Suit(Exo Suit) August 1, 2014 Peter Reid (PeterReid) Link Influenced by the Lego Space theme. #008 21110Research Institute(Female Minifigure Set) August 1, 2014 Ellen Kooijman (Alatariel) Link #009 21301Birds(Lego Bird Project) January 1, 2015 Tom Poulsom (DeTomaso) Link Includes models of a blue jay, robin, and hummingbird. #010 21302The Big Bang Theory(The Big Bang Theory) August 1, 2015 Ellen Kooijman (Alatariel) Link Based on the TV series The Big Bang Theory. #011 21304Doctor Who(Doctor Who and Companions) December 1, 2015 Andrew Clark (AndrewClark2) Link Based on the BBC TV series Doctor Who. #012 21303WALL•E(WALL-E) September 1, 2015 Angus MacLane (MacLane) Link Based on the Pixar film WALL-E, a film that MacLane worked on as the directing animator. Re-released twice due to neck stability issues. #013 21305 Maze(Labyrinth Marble Maze) April 1, 2016 Jason Allemann (JKBrickworks) Link A Labyrinth marble game puzzle built from Lego bricks. #014 21307 Caterham Seven 620R(Caterham Super Seven) October 1, 2016 Carl Greatrix (bricktrix_Carl) Link Based on the Caterham 7 sports car. #015 21306 Yellow Submarine(Beatles Yellow Submarine) November 1, 2016 Kevin Szeto (kevinszeto) Link Based on the Beatles' animated film Yellow Submarine. #016 21308 Adventure Time(Brick-built Adventure Time figures) December 26, 2016 Ludovic Piraud (aBetterMonkey) Link Based on the animated series Adventure Time. #017 21309 NASA Apollo Saturn V(Apollo 11 Saturn V) June 1, 2017 Felix Stiessen (saabfan) Valérie Roche (whatsuptoday) Link Based on the rocket used for NASA's Apollo 11 Moon mission, with the number of pieces matching the year the mission took place. Re-released in 2020 as set number 92176. #018 21310 Old Fishing Store(Old Fishing Store) September 1, 2017 Robert Bontenbal (RobenAnne) Link #019 21312 Women of NASA(Women of NASA) November 1, 2017 Maia Weinstock (20tauri) Link Based on accomplished women who have worked for NASA. #020 21313 Ship in a Bottle(Ship In A Bottle, The Flagship Leviathan) February 1, 2018 Jacob Sadovich (JakeSadovich77) Link A Ship in a bottle built from Lego bricks. Re-released in 2020 as set number 92177. #021 21314 TRON: Legacy(Tron Legacy Light Cycle) March 31, 2018 Tom & Drew (BrickBros UK) Link Based on the vehicle that appears in the film Tron: Legacy. #022 21311 Voltron(Voltron – Defender of the Universe) August 1, 2018 Leandro Tayag (len_d69) Link Based on the animated series Voltron. #023 21315 Pop-Up Book(Pop-Up Book) November 1, 2018 Jason Allemann (JKBrickworks) Grant Davis (Grant_Davis_) Link Based on the classic fairy tales, Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk. #024 21316 The Flintstones(The Flintstones) March 1, 2019 Andrew Clark (AndrewClark2) Link Based on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon The Flintstones. #025 21317 Steamboat Willie(Steamboat Willie) April 1, 2019 Máté Szabó (szabomate90) Link Based on the Walt Disney Studios short film Steamboat Willie. #026 21318 Tree House(Treehouse) August 1, 2019 Kevin Feeser (KevinTreeHouse) Link #027 21319 Central Perk(The Central Perk Coffee of Friends) September 1, 2019 Aymeric Fievet (Mric76) Link Based on the TV series Friends. A second Friends set was released under the LEGO Icons series in 2021. #028 21320 Dinosaur Fossils(Dinosaurs Fossils Skeletons - Natural History Collection) November 1, 2019 Jonathan Brunn (Mukkinn) Link Fossil skeleton models of a Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops, and Pteranodon. #029 21321 International Space Station(International Space Station) February 1, 2020 Christoph Ruge (XCLD) Link Based on the International Space Station. #030 21322 Pirates of Barracuda Bay(The Pirate Bay) April 1, 2020 Pablo Sánchez Jiménez (Bricky–Brick) Link Influenced by the Lego Pirates theme. #031 21323Grand Piano(Playable Lego Piano) August 1, 2020 Donny Chen (SleepyCow) Link Initially qualified for the third review of 2018, but was not approved until the first review of 2019. A 25-key keyboard compatible with the Lego Powered Up mobile app. An original sheet music composition was performed in a video made for the concept's submission. #03221324 123 Sesame Street(123 Sesame Street) November 1, 2020 Ivan Guerrero (bulldoozer21) Link Based on the Sesame Street children's television program. #03321325 Medieval Blacksmith(Medieval Blacksmith)February 1, 2021 Clemens Fiedler (Namirob) Link #034 21326 Winnie the Pooh(Winnie the Pooh) April 1, 2021 Ben Alder (benlouisa) Link Based on the Winnie the Pooh franchise. #035 21327 Typewriter(LEGO Typewriter) July 1, 2021 Steve Guinness (Steve Guinness) Link #036 21328 Seinfeld(Seinfeld 30th Anniversary) August 1, 2021 Brent Waller (BrentWaller) Link Based on the TV series Seinfeld. #037 21329 LEGO Ideas Fender Stratocaster(Legendary Stratocaster) October 1, 2021 Tomáš Letenay (TOMOELL) LinkWinner of the Music to our Ears contest product idea review. #038 21330 LEGO Ideas Home Alone(Home Alone. McCallister's House.) November 1, 2021 Alex Storozhuk (adwind) Link Based on the Home Alone franchise. #039 21331 Sonic the Hedgehog - Green Hill Zone(Sonic Mania – Green Hill Zone) January 1, 2022 Viv Grannell (toastergrl) Link Based on the first level in Sonic the Hedgehog. #040 21332 The Globe(Earth Globe) February 1, 2022 Guillaume Roussel (Disneybrick55) Link #041 21333 Vincent van Gogh - The Starry Night