Michael Crider
Last year we begged LEGO to make this Sonic-based set a reality through the Ideas fan submission system. The Green Hill Zone set gathered enough fan votes, and it’s become one of the few that LEGO has committed to bringing to life in a full retail set. That means it should land on shelves within a year or two.
The Ideas system, wherein LEGO builders from around the world can submit their ideas and allow fans to vote on which ones LEGO should adopt, has created some of the ost interesting sets of the last decade. Ideas posts can be for anything, including pop culture licensed properties. So it is with the Sonic Mania Green Hill Zone design from “toastergrl”.
But savvy LEGO fans know that pop culture sets are more likely to be approved if LEGO already has a relationship with the license holder: LEGO has already produced some Sonic the Hedgehog-based extras for the now-defunct LEGO Dimensions video games. It helps that Sonic’s having a bit of a renaissance after his live-action movie and upcoming Netflix series.
The Green Hill Zone set includes a recreation of the first stage of Sonic’s first SEGA Genesis game, with the iconic checkered earthworks and loop-the-loop. It also has Sonic’s villain Dr. Robotnik (you can call him Dr. Eggman, but you’re wrong) in his iconic Death Egg mech suit from Sonic 2. Of course, the process of transforming a LEGO Ideas set into a retail product often brings drastic changes, so any or all of the details in the original design might be altered.
LEGO is on a bit of a tear with video game properties. In addition to a partnership with Nintendo for the Super Mario electronic line, there’s the official NES set, it has licensed sets from Minecraft and Overwatch. Perhaps it won’t be long before you can officially recreate a stage of Super Smash Bros. in brick form.
Source: LEGO via The Brick Fan
