What was the first LEGO Ideas set released to the public?

The first LEGO Ideas set released to the public was the Shinkai 6500 submarine, officially released in 2011.

LEGO Ideas began as a Japanese fan-submission programme called LEGO CUUSOO. Projects could be proposed by fans, and successful concepts were reviewed by LEGO before becoming official products. The Shinkai 6500 submarine was the first project from that programme to complete the process and reach the market.

The set recreates Japan’s Shinkai 6500 deep-sea research submersible, which can carry scientists to great ocean depths. Its release established the fan-designed route that later produced many well-known Ideas sets.

Hayabusa is a frequent confusion because it was the first LEGO CUUSOO set based on a Japanese spacecraft and became an early officially marketed product. However, the Shinkai 6500 submarine was released first as the programme’s inaugural set.