There are LEGO Ideas product ideas that have made it to 10,000 votes and haven’t been rejected – but haven’t been approved either. They’re in the Parking Lot. What are these ‘maybe’ LEGO sets that may or may not be released?
The Parking Lot is where the LEGO Group place fan concepts for models that have received 10,000 votes from fellow enthusiasts, but have not been rejected and have not been approved – they could be released as official models in the future. There have been success stories so far, as The Old Man and the Sea was in the limbo state before being confirmed to be selected for a product.
Here are all of the sets currently in the Parking Lot:
Daft Punk Concert
Lunch Atop a Skyscraper
Hollow Knight – A Journey to Hallownest
Naruto: Ichiraku Ramen Shop
Bob’s Burgers: Grand Re-opening
iMac G3
The Parking Lot is a space where submissions that make it through to the final review round can be placed by the LEGO Group for further internal discussion. This gives the company the opportunity to explore a potential set rather than turning down the submission entirely. There have been submissions in the past which have gone through multiple rounds of rejections on the platform, only to then eventually be approved. Rather than having the potential set go through this long-winded process, it can now be placed in the Parking Lot instead.
So why might a submission not be immediately approved? The two product ideas that have previously been placed in the Parking Lot are illustrative.
Downton Abbey, by fan designer BRO3, is a set based on the highly successful period drama that aired on ITV for six seasons and has inspired several movie spin-offs. But the show was filmed at Highclere Castle. Both the television series and the castle itself are under copyright, so it’s likely that the licensing agreements took time to sort out. Placing it in the Parking Lot may have given the LEGO Group time to have discussions with two separate parties to come to agreements.
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The other potential set was Camping Trip by a LEGO fan who goes under the username terauma. It’s a quaint forest scene with a cosy looking tent and even a 4×4 truck for exploring the wilderness. At first glance it appears no more challenging than a set like LEGO Ideas 21338 A-Frame Cabin, so this could have been down to the designers checking the legality of the techniques used for the base or the fact that the pieces for the tent are no longer in circulation within the current portfolio.
“We’ll keep a limited number of product ideas in the Parking Lot at any time and always make a final decision within a maximum of three review periods in total,” the Ideas team said when introducing the limbo state.
The Parking Lot could provide potential sets when an Ideas review has no successful submissions. Although that is a rare occurrence, it does happen on occasion, so the submissions in the Parking Lot can act as a backup to guarantee future products.
The designers behind 21357 Disney Pixar Luxo Jnr. recently discussed their process, as did the creatives who crafted 21358 Minifigure Vending Machine.
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