We can reintroduce you to two new designs that have collected 10,000 votes on the LEGO Ideas platform.My Neigbor Totoro and the chess rook managed to inspire the Ideas community in the last week from February 19 to 25, 2024. The two models qualify as the 21st and 22nd model entries for the first phase of review in 2024. While fan designers now have to wait for the reviews from the LEGO Ideas Designer Team, we're bridging the gap and taking a closer look at the two designs!
My Neigbor Totoro
Facts about the design
- Title: My Neighbor Totoro
- Fan Designer: Daniel Bradley
- Days: 120
- Minifigures: 2
- Number of parts: unknown
Inspired by the enchanting world of Studio Ghibli's masterpiece My Neighbor Totoro, this design depicts probably the most famous scene from the film. Namely how Mei and Satsuki are waiting for their father at the bus stop in the rain and suddenly Totoro is next to them with an umbrella. The LEGO design not only serves as a beautiful showpiece, but its features also make it an attractive playset for builders of all ages.
The magical world of Totoro and his friends can also be recreated at home, as all characters, including the bus cat, can be easily removed from the base. The bus cat's blanket can be removed so that the Satsuki and Mei minifigures can be placed inside. In addition to the two figures, there are also the stone replicas of Totoro, Chu Totoro and Chibi Totoro. The scene is complete with the bus sign in the middle of the forest background.
Another Studio Ghibli concept made it to the current review stage alongside Spirited Away. It is not the first time that these types of designs have been assessed. Unfortunately, they have all been rejected so far, such as My LEGO Totoro, LEGO Ghibli Studios or Howl's Moving Castle. Naturally, the Studio Ghibli license would be an absolute success for LEGO. Almost all anime fans also love LEGO. I'm curious to see if LEGO will finally step up and, aside from Ninjago and Monkie Kid, finally bring anime classics like Totoro on board. Ghibli fans are eagerly awaiting possible LEGO anime sets.
Chess rook
Facts about the design
- Title: Rook Chess
- Fan Designer: Ferbrick1
- Days: 524
- Minifigures: 0
- Number of parts: unknown
The design represents a tower-shaped chess game, where the chessboard contains its structure, so that the board represents the walls of the tower and at the same time functions as a board. The rook itself has platforms that serve as supports for easy storage of the chess pieces. The building is crowned with battlements. There is also a handle at the top to make it easy to move the chess game. The chess pieces are built from LEGO bricks, with care taken in designing the pieces to maintain the greatest possible realism.
Will there be a new LEGO chess game soon? I think the idea of the rook with the folding chessboard is certainly very successful. I think there might be fans who love this model as much as I do. Unfortunately, there are no longer chess boards for sale in the current range. The 76392 Hogwarts Magic Chess and 40174 Iconic Chess Set 2017 were popular sets, although they were quite simple. I think a new, detailed chess set could definitely be a win for the LEGO Ideas series, but let's wait and see!