LEGO today unveils a new reference in the LEGO IDEAS range: the 21371 Wallace & Gromit set with its inventory of 1038 pieces and its retail price set at €99,99.
This product is inspired by Pidellium's creation, which emerged as the winner in June 2025 of the 90s Throwback – The Next Chapter! challenge organized on the LEGO IDEAS platform.
The official version of the proposal has been slightly revised and the result seems to me quite acceptable while remaining faithful to the original creation.
For those who might be wondering, this box is based on the third animated short film in the Wallace & Gromit franchise, an episode titled A Close Shave released in 1995 after the first two installments Wallace and Gromit : A Grand Day Out released in 1989 and The Wrong Trousers released in 1993.
A feature film titled Wallace & Gromit : The Curse of the Were-Rabbit was also released in 2005, followed by the medium-length film Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death , released in 2008. This saga features two claymation characters filmed using stop motion.
This box will be available from October 1st, 2026, and is already available for pre-order on the official online store:
99,99 €
This is a topic that comes up regularly in discussions among fans and deserves to be addressed in detail to clarify the figures and get a more precise idea of the lucrative nature of participation in the LEGO Bricklink Designer Program as well as the LEGO IDEAS initiative: how much do fan designers whose ideas or creations are commercialized actually earn?
The answer is provided by LEGO and it varies depending on the platform concerned, as the rules currently in force are different for the two initiatives.
On one hand, there's the LEGO Bricklink Designer Program, with its generous compensation set at 5% of the product's pre-tax retail price, but with a fixed print run known in advance. Each set is produced in 30.000 units, with a slight upward variation possible in recent waves if the overall production quota allows, making the creator's earnings easy to determine.
| Compensation for Bricklink Designer Program Winning Designs: Designers of Submitted Designs that are selected for commercial production will be compensated at the rate of 5% of the Sale Price for all sets sold and shipped. “Sale Price” means the price paid for the item sold, exclusive of VAT, sales taxes, and shipping charges. |
For example, for a set sold for €269,00 including VAT in France, the price excluding VAT is obtained by subtracting the VAT, which is 20% of the retail price. This product is therefore invoiced at €224,17 excluding VAT per unit. We can then calculate the revenue generated by the sale of this set, assuming it reaches 30.000 units: 30.000 x €224,17 excluding VAT, or €6,725,100 excluding VAT.
We take 5% of this amount, we obtain compensation of €336,255 paid to the creator in the form of royalties.
Another example that corresponds to a consistent price for a product from this program: for a set sold at €349,99 including tax, or €291,66 excluding tax, the commission will therefore be €437,490.
Regarding the LEGO IDEAS platform, LEGO is less generous on paper, only contributing 1% of the product's pre-tax retail price as compensation. However, unlike the Bricklink Designer Program, where LEGO markets the creation as is without dedicating months to its design staff and without significantly investing in marketing or utilizing all its sales channels, the LEGO IDEAS platform only allows users to select ideas submitted by fans.
| when your LEGO IDEAS set goes on sale, you will be credited in the set itself and in promotional materials. You will receive 1% of the total net sales of the product* and 10 complimentary copies of your set. |
However, the production run of these products is not limited, and the marketing period for some of these sets can easily extend over several years. LEGO never discloses the production volumes, so some extrapolation is necessary to get an idea of the potential payment to the creator of the selected idea.
Let's imagine that the set in question is a huge success and is sold for several years before being permanently withdrawn from shelves. Let's imagine that, for example, a total of 300.000 copies are sold, which isn't inconceivable for a very popular product that, over time, would accumulate ten times the volume of a Bricklink Designer Program set that sells out in a few hours upon its release.
Let's take the example of the set sold for €269,00 including VAT in France. We obtain the price excluding VAT by deducting the VAT, which is 20% of the retail price. This product is therefore billed at €224,17 excluding VAT per unit. We can calculate the revenue generated by the sale of this set: 300.000 x €224,17 excluding VAT, or €67,251,000 excluding VAT.
We take 1% of this amount, we obtain compensation of €672,510 paid to the creator, all of which is paid over several years via a quarterly accounting of sales.
If you think I'm being a bit too optimistic about the sales volume, the same calculation based on 100.000 sets sold at the public price indicated above gives a compensation of €224,170 paid to the creator.
The result: a winner on the LEGO IDEAS platform will have to hope that their product sells enough to reach the compensation level of a fan designer whose construction was selected as part of the Bricklink Designer Program with a more modest but pre-determined fixed print run.
In any case, these figures largely explain the current enthusiasm for both platforms, beyond the satisfaction of seeing one's idea or creation commercialized. A simple, well-presented good idea or a successful design on Stud.io that has garnered votes or pre-orders can ultimately translate into very significant sums of money.
Please note, and I repeat, LEGO never discloses its sales figures, and we can only estimate the numbers for LEGO IDEAS sets. No one has accurate figures except LEGO and the fan designers themselves, who obviously know how many units are sold during the product's lifecycle.
Remember that these revenues are obviously taxable, with tax rules varying according to the beneficiary's status.
The winning creation of the LEGO IDEAS Hidden Secrets challenge has been chosen following a public vote that included 10 designs selected by LEGO, and it is the entry entitled " A Cloud Full of Hope ." The 248-piece build will soon be available as a gift with purchase from the official online store.
LEGO will probably rework the staging a little, which features a cute little cloud that hides some secrets (that was the theme of the challenge in question), but the spirit of the initial proposal will be found in the official product.
The winner will be credited in the instructions for the promotional product based on their proposal, but they will not receive the royalties usually paid to creators whose idea has gathered 10.000 supporters on the LEGO IDEAS platform and has subsequently been definitively validated by LEGO.
We obviously don't know at the moment what the minimum amount will have to be spent on the official store or when this product will be available.
As you know, LEGO is multiplying thematic competitions on its LEGO IDEAS platform with the promise for the winners of seeing their proposal one day become an official set or a future product offered under the condition of purchase on the official online store and today it is the turn of the Hidden Secrets Challenge to enter the voting phase.
Five creations selected by the LEGO IDEAS team from the initial 484 proposals are now in the running during the voting phase, which allows fans to choose the one that will end up on their shelves.
The winner will see their creation become a product offered under the condition of purchase on the official online store; they will not receive royalties but will be credited in the product instructions.
You have until August 19, 2026 to vote at this address , so that you have at least chosen the creation that you like the most and have no regrets when the winner of this challenge is announced.
Below is a group overview of the creations you will have to choose between:
Let's get started with a large handful of new LEGO sets that are available from today, many of which were already available for pre-order on the official online store.
There is something to satisfy many fans with numerous ranges represented: Star Wars, Marvel, Jurassic World, ONE PIECE, Pokémon, ICONS, IDEAS, ART, Architecture, Editions, Super Mario, KPop Demon Hunters, Speed Champions or even BOYTANICALS, Minecraft, Technic, Sonic the Hedgehog and Animal Crossing.
As usual, it is now up to you to decide whether to snap up these sets immediately and pay full price, or whether to be patient and wait for the inevitable discounts that will be offered in the coming weeks and months at Amazon , FNAC.com , Cdiscount , Auchan , and a few other retailers.
NEWS FOR AUGUST 2026 ON THE LEGO SHOP >>
199,99 €
129,99 €
139,99 €
129,99 €
299,99 €
169,99 €
169,99 €
59,99 €
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
