After much anticipation by LEGO Ideas fan designers and fans alike, LEGO has announced the results of the first LEGO Ideas review of the year! However, it is more interesting to note that this time, four of the 39 different Ideas and projects submitted have been given the green light and are about to enter the production stage. This is twice the number of LEGO Ideas sets currently in production and is the highest number of sets revealed in a single round. 

Aside from the four LEGO Ideas sets, there were other creative blends of licensed submissions such as Chip‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers, The Polar Express, modular buildings, vehicles, and builds with medieval themes. We also saw original ideas like The Legend of the Sea Serpent and the Steampunk Airship.

The approved sets also seem to have the same touch of diversity, as they range from realistic items to standard brick animals. Let's look at the four approved LEGO Ideas from the first 2022 review. 

LEGO Insects

This utterly inspiring set created by LEGO YouTuber José María (hachiroku24) comes with matching natural energy as the 21301 Birds set. The Ideas team was instantly drawn to the five brick-built insects in this set as they stated that: “[María] has captured the colors, shapes and overall details so well that it’s hard to tell they are brick built! We think they will be a great way to bring a piece of nature into your home without bugging you.”

The Orient Express, a Legendary Train

LEGO Ideas team is very excited about the prospects of having their first train set ready for their fans in a few years, especially one modeled after the iconic Orient Express. The team expressed this excitement about the set designed by Thomas Lajon (LEt.sGO on LEGO Ideas) when they said: 

“We’re so excited to finally give our fans a train set! Thomas has poured a lot of love into capturing the details, from the locomotive and coal car to the restaurant car, to ensure this is the perfect tribute to such a legendary train.”

Tales of the Space Age

It surely has been a while since we got such a small classic LEGO Ideas set. This can only mean that the set will be quite affordable when released in a few years. Polish fan designer, Jan Woznica, presents these unique crowdsourcing-themed vignettes inspired by our vast space. Here’s what the LEGO Ideas team had to say about the captivating set: 

“Jan’s three-piece product idea intrigued our review board, and we’re certain it also caught the community's fascination overall.”

Polaroid OneStep SX-70

Last on the list of LEGO Ideas sets approved in the year's first review is the innovative brick-built retro Polaroid camera, which we can also guess won’t cost a limb when released. The LEGO Ideas team said:
“Using his mechanical engineering background, Marc [Minibrick Productions] not only made this creation look flawless, but also added hidden functionality that mimics the development of film as it slides out of the camera. We can’t wait to see the memories created with this Polaroid camera.”

No official statement has been made on when these LEGO Ideas sets will hit the stores, but we should expect to see them towards the end of 2023 into early/mid-2024.

We should expect the results of the second 2022 LEGO Ideas review early next year. There are 51 contending LEGO Ideas projects, so we might get another record number of selections. Based on the rate at which the theme has constantly been releasing sets recently, it should not come as a shocker.

Just this year, we witnessed the release of 8 sets from Billund (including the 21336 The Office and 21337 Table Football sets), a record number for the LEGO Ideas team.