Shaun of the Dead on CUUSOO!

[Will]

Greg put together an awesome MOC of the Winchester Tavern from Shaun of the Dead.
Head on over to CUUSOO, and lend your support!

[A Minifigure's War]

I don't quite get what you are asking us to do Will.

[The Narkomaani]

If I understand your question;
Follow the link and click the big green support button.
You have to register first.

[Yatkuu]

Hi guys, I'm new to the forum (just posted an intro here: http://brickarmsforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=5057).

The above build is one of my latest creations and just wanted to give everyone a little bit of background info.

2 weeks ago I posted this MOC on my Flickr. I got some great feedbacks from the AFOL community and after a few days things were starting to cool down... nothing unusual until someone decided to blog it/tweet it and it started a snow ball effect (no idea who started it all).
In a matter of a few hours my Flickr got thousands of hits... and last week both Simon Pegg & Edgar Wright tweeted my MOC. Seriously, I'm not making this up.

Given the enthusiasm this thing is creating on the net I have decided to submit the build on CUUSOO. I'm thinking Lego could turn this into a modular house that would fit the existing line of exclusives. Now if this thing works I have no idea if Lego would be willing to go all the way and make a licensed set... I guess future will tell.
I'm currently trying to reach out to Simon & Edgar to let them know about this, if they really dig this build I'm guessing that it would only take them another tweet to reach the necessary amount of supporters (another minecraft?).
For anyone not familiar with CUUSOO, the concept is a Lego sponsored website where fans can post their creations. The community can then vote for their favorite MOCs. If a project reaches 10000 supporters, Lego will consider making it an official set.

Will has been kind enough to grant me his support in the project. It's obviously too soon to know how Lego will consider the possibility to produce an official set featuring custom accessories but the goal is clearly to keep BA involved in the project.

[BrickNova]

Supported it already :)
It's awesome that you're helping it get supporters on CUUSOO, I wish you all the best Yatkuu!
I hope you can encourage more of the BA community to get behind it.

[Yatkuu]

That's it guys, "this stuff just got real" (to quote Nicholas Angel in Hot Fuzz and in order to stay in the theme!)

The Winchester just got blogged by none other than Edgar Wright himself, the Director of Shaun of the Dead.

I have no idea what is going to happen with the CUUSOO project but you can check the page here.

The story got also featured on the following sites (not sure I got them all):
World Strangest
2 posts on Nerds Raging here and here
The Zed Word
The Collider
io9.com
The Daily WH
Awesome Robo

Stay tuned...

[samwise_gamgee]

It was also on The Brothers Brick. Nice job!

-sam

[CaldwellB]

TO THE WIN-CHEST-TA!!!! :D

[sadey124]

funny movie. it had a fairly sad ending though.

[GLaDOS]

WHOA! This is incredible! The building is amazing! Great job!

[InfectedDoom]

Heading over to support now!

[Yatkuu]

Hi guys,

It's been a while since I have not given an update on the project and I have some big news to share!

Today the Winchester project on CUUSOO just passed 1500 supporters.. and we got our first official comment from LEGO!!

Congratulatory message from LEGO for +500 votes

2012/03/05

Congratulations on all of the supporters! Your model is very well done, and you've presented the project in a fun and engaging way all around.

Since Shaun of the Dead is a comedy, and you present your work in a humorous fashion, we believe this is within the realm of the LEGO company brand standards on violence. Note that the zombie theme does put this project at the edge of what we produce, however we recognize that the LEGO Group produces other products where themese of violence and death play a significant role.

Please understand that this initial green light does not have an effect on the LEGO Review that will take place if the project reaches 10,000 supporters. The nature of the work would require some significant internal discussion before we make the decision to produce such a set.

In the mean time, we wish you the best of luck on your journey to 10,000 supporters!
The LEGO CUUSOO Team

That's not the end of it I have other news to share...
My friend Pixel Fox has accepted to help me in this adventure and together we have build a website dedicated to the support of the project: http://www.makethewinchester.com/
On this blog you will be able to find additional information on the project, who we are, an overview of the media coverage… In time we will also add instructions and making of details, exclusive info on the movie and much much more…

For starters, we are very happy to announce a partnership with Z Magazine - the first Magazine for zombies written by zombies!
Support the Winchester on CUUSOO and get a free ecopy of the magazine – check all the details here.

[Yatkuu]

Hello guys, time for another update on the project!

I would like to introduce to you the Winchester 2.0!


The Winchester 2.0 by Yatkuu, on Flickr

Not much has changed on the outside… but it’s in the inside that we have some very cool new cool features.
The first version of the build only had a detailed ground floor… actually it did not even have a wall on the side in order to simplify the photography.


Winchester 2.0 - Floors breakdown by Yatkuu, on Flickr

This new version is now a fully modular house with a detailed interior on every floor. As with any other LEGO modular, the floors can each be removed to allow an easy access and playability.

The third floor features a bedroom and a complete bathroom; on the second floor we have a kitchen and a dining room and on the ground floor we have the tavern that has been slightly modified to accommodate the staircase to the upper floors. The build now also has a backdoor. I'm sure the fans of the movie will appreciate some funny details like the fuse box in the staircase.

You can check some close-ups of every floor on the website "Makethewinchester".



To the Winchester!

[Tac]

It's been on Reddit for just over an hour and is already number 15 on the homepage. Hopefully you'll get bucket-loads of supporters from that. :D

[Yatkuu]

It's been on Reddit for just over an hour and is already number 15 on the homepage. Hopefully you'll get bucket-loads of supporters from that. :D

That would be awesome.... But I see that the CUUSOO servers are having a hard time to keep up!

[Yatkuu]

Hi guys!

For those of you who are not aware of this Simon was invited in the Conan O'Brien show last Tuesday, you may catch the video here.
So yeah, Ladies and Gentleman... this is Simon Pegg, on Conan, talking about my Winchester in LEGO! Can someone please slap me in the face to wake me up?

Needless to say that the project has been caught in a tweet / blog storm since then!
The CUUSOO project page was viewed over 100k times in the past 48 hours and the supporter count is exploding!
We are currently ranked #1 on the website with a total of 7466 supporters as I am typing this!
We need 10k and LEGO will consider making it a real official set! We are almost there, please spread the word to your friends, every vote count, it's free, it will only take you a minute!
Go vote here!

For all the Shaun of the Dead fans I also have an exclusive piece of info... on makethewinchester.com we publish today an interview of a Zombie who was in the movie, check it out, it's pure gold!

Yatkuu

[ToyWizBebs]

Congratulations so much!! That's really exciting =D

[Liam4242]

Hey Yaktuu! This was on Conan! I hope that gets you more sponsers!

[enigma badger]

it's pure fried gold!

Corrected for accuracy ;)

Awesome news all around!

[Spec Ops Commando]

It is currently at 9,520 people! Get your supports in while it matters most!

[Yatkuu]

This is unbelievable, Simon Pegg is doing a countdown on his Twitter!

[Spec Ops Commando]

WE GOT IT! CONGRATS YATKUU! GOOD JOB GUYS!

[Tac]

Looking forward to owning your awesome MOC, you definately deserve this. :-)

[Yatkuu]

Hello guys!

Sorry I could not post earlier but this w-e has been completely insane... because WE DID IT, 10K supporters!


The WINCHESTER! by Yatkuu, on Flickr

So, the Winchester - will it happen?
Right now we don't know yet, LEGO has posted this official feedback on the project page:

Congrats on 10,000 Supporters, yatkuu!

2012/03/31

Wow! Congratulations on a great run to 10,000 supporters this week, fueled by actor Simon Pegg's mentions on Conan and Twitter! We admire your passion and enthusiasm for the film Shaun of the Dead, and your desire to see a LEGO set of the Winchester.

In our previous message, we noted that due to the themes behind Shaun of the Dead, there would need to be some significant internal discussion for us to agree to produce this as a product. Please understand that this discussion has yet to take place, and while we appreciate your work and celebrate this big success with you, we are not guaranteeing production.

But for now, we celebrate. So without further adieu, we congratulate you on achieving 10,000 supporters and officially advance this project to the Review phase.

How's that for a slice of fried gold?

What happens now?

This project moves from the Idea stage to the Review stage. A "LEGO Jury" composed of designers, product managers, and other key team members will examine the idea. We'll build concept models and determine if the concept meets our high standards for what it takes to be a LEGO product, including playability, safety, and fit with the LEGO brand.

Every LEGO product goes through a process like this and must meet the same standards.

The review is a thorough process that will take several weeks. When finished, we make a "go/no go" decision to develop and sell the Winchester. We will inform you of our decision, and if green-lighted, this project goes into the longest phase of the project; the Development phase. During this time, LEGO model designers refine the product and develop it for release, we create the product materials (box, instructions, marketing), and get everything ready for a production run. This takes several months.

We will post followup information here and announce our final decision in the LEGO.com press room.
The LEGO CUUSOO Team

I love that they made this message personal, with the quote from the movie!

Let's keep our fingers crossed!
And THANK YOU to everyone who supported the project.. and a special thanks to Will!

[cybersniper50.c]

I loved the movie and same thing with the moc.

[bushninja]

I see TLC ordering cricket bats by the ton...metric, of course. Good luck!

[TheBricks]

Here is the official press statement explaining why LEGO cannot produce this product. I'm not entirely suprised, but it was really interesting watching how far it got. Congratulations on what you did achieve, and who knows? Your next project may get enough votes too :)

[enigma badger]

Disappointing, but not entirely unexpected.

Regardless, I commend Yatkuu not only on his exceptionally building skill but his hard work (and the work of others) in bringing so much attention to this project. As much as I would have loved to walked into a LEGO and purchased a Winchester set, I'm just as eager to see whatever projects Yatkuu has in mind in the future, even if it means just being able to appreciate them via images online!

[Yatkuu]

Thank you guys for the nice words!

So, yeah, this is disapointing but indeed not really a suprise.. But what a ride!
My goal was to promote the AFOL hobby with this project and as far as that aspect goes I still consider it a success... Of course, the CUUSOO approval would have been the icing on the cake!
This will probably restart the discussions around what LEGO is exactly trying to do with this platform but it's a debate I won't take a part in... truth is I'd rather forget about all this right now.

Anyway, for a few weeks a BrickArms custom was on the frontpage of an official LEGO site... That's also a pretty cool achievement.
Thank you to everyone who supported the project in this adventure!

[bushninja]

Good job! I'm sorry about the non-production, but I must admit that I'm not too surprised.

[Daken the Bladesmith]

Sorry it didn't hit production but for what it's worth I think it would've made an awesome Lego set!

[Spec Ops Commando]

LEGO will receive an unhappy letter.

[military nyan cat]

I have a Great idea! Just let lego do the building! leave out the figures and make it attachable to the other exclusive lego buildings!

[Vault-Boy]

Nooo!!!!! stupid ''age appropriateness'' ang all that other crap....

[ALEGOFanGuy506]

I absolutely LOVE this! Although it was not unexpected about LEGO's decision on this, I was hoping and supporting this! Congratulations still, yatkuu, this got TONS of publicity!

[mtnbiker1998]

I'm dissapointed about this. I mean, we all expected this to happen, and yet they still brought us up just so they could throw us back down. But what can we do? Oh well, It was fun at least.
-mtn98

[Yatkuu]

Build a Win! by Yatkuu, on Flickr

The wait is over, today my friend Pixel Fox and myself are very happy to share with you the building instructions of the Winchester!
I want to say a huge thanks to Sylvain from 1001 Bricks and Marc a.k.a. Roamingstudio for their help in making this possible.

Here are the different download links:

Link 1 – PDF instructions
(3 files in a Zip archive – 1 pdf per floor – total size 16MB)

These are the step by step building instructions, similar to what LEGO produces for its official sets.

Link 2 – Source Files
(LDRAW/.ldr files + LDD/.lxf file + .bsx parts inventory + .bsx Minifigures parts inventory 6 files in a Zip archive – total size 134KB)

- the .ldr files – these are the different floors of the Winchester rebuilt in 3D with LDRAW (MLCad) (http://beta.ldraw.org/) These are the files we have used to create the instructions.

- the .lxf file – this is the complete Winchester rebuilt in 3D with LEGO Digital Designer (http://ldd.lego.com/).

If you ever decide to build your own Win either based on our design or your own, please send us a picture or post it in this dedicated Flickr group!

Enjoy the build!
Yatkuu & Pixel Fox

Edit:

I have been told that some people experienced problems with the download ... so here are some alternate links:

PDF Instructions: http://www.makethewinchester.com/wp-con ... ctions.zip
Source Files: http://www.makethewinchester.com/wp-con ... -Files.zip

Enjoy!