Brickset news archive: July 2012
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Image of new City Police Helicopter 4473...
Posted by Matthew, 31 Jul 2012 17:20. Filed under New sets.
An image of the upcoming City set 4473 has surfaced via the Argos.co.uk website, where they have it wrongly uploaded as the photo for 7741. Personally, I think it's about time we had a new City Police Helicopter, 7741 has been on sale for 4 years now! Does anybody have any info on when we will see this released? Thanks to kez in the forum for the news!
(Image now added to Brickset -- Huw)
37 comments, latest one posted 9 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)6298 views
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Winter Village Cottage pictures
Posted by Huw, 30 Jul 2012 15:03. Filed under New sets.
Grogall has sent us and Eurobricks hi-res photos of this year's winter village set that have surfaced on LEGO.com.
I've now added the alternate images to the set details page.
71 comments, latest one posted 9 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)8370 views
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Site changes
Posted by Huw, 30 Jul 2012 06:42. Filed under Brickset.
I've made a few changes today:
- One criticism often received is that the list of themes is growing larger every year and there's no easy way to view similar ones, e.g. all girls themes, or all historical themes. As a step towards remedying that, the all themes list on the Browse page (when not viewing the lists as clouds) is now grouped, logically I hope.
- A number of security vulnerabilities that were pointed out by an AFOL security consultant have been addressed. The changes should not have affected the site from working correctly, but if you do notice anything that's broken, please let me know.
- There is now a 'reads' count shown next to news articles. Counting stared at 9am GMT+1 this morning. This will enable us to see which articles are 'hot' and once I know what number constitutes a 'hot' articles I may well indicate them as such. It doesn't update immediately, as the data is cached for a while, for performance reasons.
- I'm often asked to change people's user name which I can do, but only by delving into the database manually. So, I've added an option on the 'Your profile' page so you can now do it yourself. Changes are tracked for auditing purposes.
49 comments, latest one posted 9 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)2871 views
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Building a History: The LEGO Group
Posted by Huw, 29 Jul 2012 06:18. Filed under Book review.
Building a History: The LEGO Group by Sarah Herman is the latest in a growing number of LEGO-related books vying for space on your bookshelf.
It’s a 300 page hardback that’s published by Pen and Sword who are best known as a publisher of military history books. The author is a British LEGO lover currently living in Vancouver who has written books on a variety of subjects.
As its title suggests, it charts the history of the Christensen family, the LEGO Company and LEGO products, starting with the birth of Ole Kirk Christensen in 1891, and ending in about 2010. Although it is generously illustrated, it is not a picture book, and it takes a good few hours to read it all.
11 comments, latest one posted 9 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)2955 views
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BrickFair Virginia 2012
Posted by yellowcastle, 28 Jul 2012 22:06. Filed under Events (USA).
Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, VA, Aug 4th & Aug 5th, 2012, 11:00am - 4:00pm.
LEGO models, displays and winding trains sprawled out over 100,000 square feet.
BrickFair brings together adult fans of LEGO from across the USA (and Canada, and a few other countries) to show off their projects, great and small, and to share their passion for LEGO - the most awesome toy - ever.
LEGO fan festivals like BrickFair are great fun for the whole family! Join in a game or two - maybe win a LEGO set.
Vendors will be offering all things LEGO, including shirts, hats, minifigures, custom-molded weapons, unique models, keychains and... really... everything you never imagined.
17 comments, latest one posted 9 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)2636 views
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So, the Olympics has started...
Posted by Huw, 28 Jul 2012 09:36. Filed under Miscellaneous.
I hope you enjoyed the opening ceremony -- I'd be interested to hear what those of you outside the UK thought of it!Personally I thought it was pretty good -- if a little quirky -- but why they dug out Paul McCartney to sing some dreary 1960's song at the end is a mystery, it spoiled the whole event, IMO. They should have ended with the lighting of the flame, which was spectacular.
Anyway, to keep this more or less on topic, James Sutton, who has created many instructions for us in the past (CubeDudes etc.), has built an MOC of the Olympic rings and he's made the instructions available exclusively to Brickset readers.
So, if you get bored between the women's beach volleyball events, download them and build some for yourself...
70 comments, latest one posted 9 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)2644 views
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LEGO Friends: demand outstripping supply
Posted by Huw, 28 Jul 2012 05:07. Filed under Miscellaneous.
An article in this month's Toy News trade magazine states that Friends is such a success that LEGO can't keep up with demand. Apparently, it sold 'twice as much as anticipated' when it was launched and is now 'bigger than Sylvanian Families'.
I guess this means we won't see the sets deeply discounted any time soon, and that the summer sets will be in short supply during the run-up to Christmas. So, if you have daughters that you need to buy them for, it'll probably be as well to do so now.
LEGO UK MD Drew Brazer states that they will not be saturating the marketplace in the short term to solve the problem but that "[Friends] will be with us for years and decades to come".
The trade magazine doesn't usually contain much worth reporting here but this month there are several interesting articles and statistics related to LEGO:
- LEGO minifigures are at the top of the chart for UK retails sales this year, both by volume and value of sales, beating Moshi Monsters, Hot Wheels, Match Attax and other pocket-money toys.
- A survey of 500 children commissioned by the magazine revealed that 92% have played with LEGO compared to just 58% who have played with with M???B???s. They probably didn't need a survey to find that out, did they...
- The UK construction toy market was valued at £280 million in 2011, a growth of 12% over 2010. I think we can conclude LEGO take the lion's share of that based on the previous statistic.
The August edition isn't available online yet but it should be soon. Keep a look out for the digital edition of the magazine if you want to find out more.
49 comments, latest one posted 9 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)3502 views
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Batman Visual Dictionary minifig
Posted by Huw, 27 Jul 2012 14:06. Filed under New sets.
LegoDad42 has posted a scan of a print he obtained at SDCC on flickr that clearly shows the exclusive Batman minifig that will be included with the forthcoming DK book Batman Visual Dictionary.The book is due out at the beginning of September and can be pre-ordered from Amazon.co.uk
or Amazon.com
.
I don't know about you, but I'm thinking of giving up on collecting Super Heroes figs: LEGO has made it virtually impossible for the vast majority of people to be able to obtain a complete collection, what with all those only available to a privileged few at SDCC, and I think that's wrong.
Although there have been a few very rare Star Wars figs (chrome-gold C-3PO for example) nearly every other one has been readily available, either in a set, or as an 'exclusive' that over time has become easy to obtain should you want to.
What do you think? Does the fact you'll never have a complete set of Super Heroes bother you? Will you stop buying sets you might have otherwise done just to get the figs and keep your collection complete?
LegoDad42 has also posted photos of other SDCC items, such as the mini Sith Infiltrator.
75 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)5326 views
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Summer sets now listed at shop.LEGO.com
Posted by Huw, 24 Jul 2012 03:51. Filed under shop.LEGO.com (US/Canada).
Most of the summer sets are now available from shop.LEGO.com in the USA and Canada: Star Wars (including Palpatine's Arrest), Technic, Friends, HERO Factory, Spider-Man, The Zombies and Duplo.
As always, you can use our Quick shopper page to see what's available easier than hunting around LEGO's website.
31 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)2020 views
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Random musings...
Posted by Huw, 23 Jul 2012 13:59. Filed under Miscellaneous.
So I'm back from my travels and, finally, the weather has improved significantly and it looks as if the UK will have a summer after all. For those that don't know, the jet stream has been at a much lower latitude than normal and as a result the UK has had virtually constant rain since April. This week it's sunshine and in the mid-20s and I believe it's going to stay relatively warm for the Olympics next week.
The jet stream's position has affected the weather in many countries including two of the places I visited. Iceland was abnormally warm (20c) and sunny and the Faroes, which are normally very wet, have been suffering a drought for several months, to the extent that their traditional grass roofs have been drying out.
What has this got to do with LEGO I hear you ask? Well, I suspect one positive thing has come out of the rubbish weather: if we can't go outside to do normal summer activities we are more likely to stay in and play with LEGO or read Brickset. The site's Google Analytics figures suggest this is the case: Last May there were 41,000 visits from UK users. This May there were 80,000: nearly a 100% increase, compared to an overall increase in site traffic of around 30%.
My travels were not completely LEGO-less. In Iceland I visited a TRU Express, as mentioned before. It was surprisingly well stocked, with all the new SW sets on the shelves. Prices were not too bad either, Jabba's Palace, for example, was just £10 more than it is in the UK.
In the Faroes, which are a part of Denmark, I found a well stocked toy shop in Klaksvik, the second largest town on the islands, that, in addition to a good range of this year's sets had a large selection of LEGO-branded backpacks and other bags, which I have not seen elsewhere. I even managed to get a 8" Jan-Jun 2012 retail catalogue which is something that's virtually disappeared from UK shops.
According to Google Analytics, the site has received 3000 visits from people in Iceland and 61 from people in the Faroes this year. If that's you, please make yourself known in the comments!
I stumbled upon a toy shop with a lot of LEGO upstairs near Bryggen in Bergen, Norway. There are plenty of Norwegian visitors here so I won't bore you with details: they will know far more than I. However I will just say that I was pleased to pick up a July-December retail catalogue there, which for some reason have been virtually unheard of in the UK over the past few years.
Anyway, that's enough random rambling... if you're in the UK what are you still doing indoors reading this? Get outside and enjoy the weather while it lasts!
22 comments, latest one posted 9 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1413 views
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October Sun newspaper promotion
Posted by atkinsar, 22 Jul 2012 16:02. Filed under Shopping (UK).
Eagle-eyed forum member Secretjedi spotted a comment on MoneySavingExpert that may have revealed the line-up and date of the next Sun LEGO promotion.
Apparently it will run between 6th and 13th October and will include the following sets:
- 30211 Uruk Hai
- 30201 Ghost
- 30008 Snowman
- 30151 Mining Dozer
- 30190 Ferrari 150 Italia
- 30009 Christmas Tree
- 30132 Jack Sparrow
- 30100 Beach
Of course, the information may not be 100% accurate given that there's over two months until this promo starts, but what do you think of the line-up?
Update: here's a Bricklist to help you keep track.
34 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)5344 views
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Identifying Collectable LEGO Minifigures by their weight
Posted by Huw, 22 Jul 2012 05:25. Filed under Miscellaneous.
Here's an interesting article by Christoph Bartneck about weighing CMFs to determine their content without opening them.
A lot of scientific analysis has gone into it but it lacks a conclusion so I will draw my own: the differences are so miniscule that unless you have a highly sensitive set of scales and use them in a controlled environment you are unlikely to be able to use the method successfully...
31 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)2829 views
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The Hobbit sets: prices and minifigs
Posted by Huw, 22 Jul 2012 05:13. Filed under New sets.
I believe the only official image of a The Hobbit set that's surfaced is that of 79003 Bag End which LEGO posted on Facebook. However, a German toy shop website has listed the other sets, with prices:
79000 Mystery of the Ring (€13)
Minifigures: Bilbo Baggins, Gollum79001 Fleeing from the Mirkwood Spiders (€30)
Minifigure: Bilbo Baggins79002 Attack of the Wargs (€60)
Minifigures: Gandalf, Wargs (unknown amount)79003 Bag End (€80)
Minifigures: Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, Balin, Boufer, Dwalin79004 Escape in Barrels (€70). This may be a 'reduced availability' set. The site says 'whether we can offer this product is still uncertain'
79010 The Orc King (€100)
Minifigures: Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, Orc KingThanks to Legolover9531 for the information and providing the minifig details. Sorry if this is old news, I've been out of it for a while :-)
37 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)9533 views
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Series 8 hit the stores...
Posted by Huw, 22 Jul 2012 04:48. Filed under Shopping (Europe).
If you're in Poland check out your local Carrefour. I've been sent photographic proof that they are on the shelves now! (thanks Bart)
I'm also told they are available in Spain but I don't have any further details. If you do, please let us know. (thanks Indy4477)
UPDATE - we've also heard that they are available in Sweden & Portugal. Thanks to Indy4477 and Reekatdoo for the info. Anywhere else?
9 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1432 views
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Thor and the Cosmic Cube available in TRU
Posted by Huw, 22 Jul 2012 04:40. Filed under Shopping (USA).
The second Marvel polybag to appear in the wild has turned up in Toys R Us in the USA. You can't order it online, it's only sold in stores, apparently, for $4.99. (thanks billiam1507)
22 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1351 views
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New Argos catalogue out now
Posted by Huw, 22 Jul 2012 04:00. Filed under Shopping (UK).
I don't have mine yet, but 61 new LEGO products popped up in the product feed overnight, including the summer Star Wars, Technic, Friends, Ninjago, LotR and series 8 minifigs, although the latter appear to be out of stock everywhere.
Of particular note are Pre Vizsla's Mandalorian Fighter for £49.99 which may well be an Argos exclusive in the UK, and a new version of Life Of George. I'm not sure what the difference between this and the old one is, do you? It's also listed at TRU in Canada so will presumably be available everywhere soon enough.
Remember, you can use our Argos LEGO list to find what you're looking for quicker than searching on the Argos site.
I'm also told that TRU has re-listed LotR sets and has removed its 20% markup. They should be available on line and in-store now. (thanks Kez)
Update: Pre Vizsla's Mandalorian Fighter IS an Argos exclusive in the UK.
24 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1601 views
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I'm back from my travels...
Posted by Huw, 21 Jul 2012 09:02. Filed under Brickset.
I'm back home now, having been on a 2 week cruise to Iceland, Faroe Islands and Norway. For much of the time I was without an internet connection, although in ports I could connect through my phone. Running a website can be pretty intense and take a lot of time from early in the morning until late at night so it was actually good to get away from it for a while.
It seems as if a number of exciting news stories broke whilst I was away, judging from the news updates here (and the 300+ emails I received :)) and I'd like to thank bluemoose, drdavewatford, yellowcastle, atkinsar, Matthew and new recruit LostInTranslation for keeping the site up to date in my absence.
Over the next few days I'll get back into the LEGO groove, plough through my inbox and report anything that hasn't been reported already here, and post a review of a new book Building A History: The LEGO Group by Sarah Harman that arrived whilst I was away. I might even post some Faroe Islands LEGO shopping news...
17 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1299 views
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Summer Friends sets now available, Sheffield & Manchester opening dates!
Posted by LostInTranslation, 19 Jul 2012 14:40. Filed under shop.LEGO.com (UK).
As you may have seen in the "New at shop.lego.com" banner, the summer Friends sets are now available for purchase from shop.Lego.com. I hope I'm not the only one excited about these sets - there are some great sets in the range, my favourites being Adventure Camper, Mia's Bedroom and Summer Riding Camp - but maybe that's just because I got to help build those for display at The Lego Show! What do you think of the new Friends sets, with their primary focus on the theme of horse-riding?In other news, the Stores page at shop.Lego.com has also revealed the 'soft' opening dates for the new stores Up North. Sheffield will be opening on Friday 27th July (http://stores.lego.com/en-us/Sheffield/LandingPage.aspx) but Manchester is apparently opening on Friday 20th July - yes, tomorrow! (http://stores.lego.com/en-us/Manchester/LandingPage.aspx).
The Grand Opening events (with the promotional items, which are yet to be announced) will be at a later date (24-26th August for Manchester, 31st August-2 September for Sheffield) but if you're local to the Manchester store, why not pop down tomorrow and let us know what you think of it!
(Thanks to bluemoose for making me a news editor; sorry I messed it up a little at first :( )
20 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1140 views
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The Zombies Are Here
Posted by yellowcastle, 17 Jul 2012 14:53. Filed under Shopping (USA).
Target is now showing The Zombies (9465) as being available in stores. I imagine this is going to be one of the more popular sets in the theme as zombies are (pardon the pun) all the rage right now. Though you can't yet order it online, it likely won't be too long before the undead unships. ;o) The actual release date is listed as August 1st on shop.LEGO.com.
Thanks to Brickset member gambit2365 for the heads up!
38 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1940 views
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[USA] Summer Star Wars sets showing up in store
Posted by Matthew, 16 Jul 2012 17:15. Filed under Shopping (USA).
We're receiving reports that some of the Summer Star Wars sets are arriving in store throughout the USA. starwarscollector98 says: "...9526 Palpatine's Arrest has shown up in my local tru in California for $89.99 along with all of the other summer star wars sets as well as 9525 Pre Visla's Mandolorian Starfighter in walmart..." Have they arrived in your area yet? Let us know in the comments.
Thanks for the tip!
64 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)2786 views
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Is this the northernmost Toys R Us?
Posted by Huw, 16 Jul 2012 12:39. Filed under Miscellaneous.
I'm currently on vacation, which you may have noticed from the lack of news posts from me recently. However, thanks to the rest of the team, you've been kept up to date on the big stories that have emerged this week.
I'm currently in Gerainger, Norway. Three days ago I visited what might be the northernmost branch of Toys R Us, in Akureyri in Iceland. Here's a picture https://foursquare.com/view_photo?id=4ffed55de4b07827a7857bfa. It's situated just below the Arctic Circle. As with everything in Iceland, LEGO was not cheap although it wasn't overly expensive compared to say, Denmark.
It got me thinking, are there any shops that sell LEGO north of the Arctic Circle? In Canada or Alaska maybe?
22 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1088 views
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Thinking With Portals Hits 10,000 Votes
Posted by atkinsar, 13 Jul 2012 16:10. Filed under Cuusoo.
The next Cuusoo project to hit 10,000 votes and enter the review stage is Thinking With Portals! by Brickthing. Based on the videogame Portal 2, it's taken just a little over two weeks to hit the magic number which is pretty impressive given that there hasn't been much noticeable hype about it on the internet that I've been aware of.The project was no doubt helped along by a very high level of presentation and seems to be well thought out. Whether it passes all of the Cuusoo team's criteria remains to be seen and we won't find out for quite some time given that the next review is not scheduled until October (I think).
Let us know what you think, do you think Portal would make a good LEGO product, does it fit with their brand values, would they want to consider yet another licenced set?
70 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1391 views
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2013 Super Heroes Minifigs Unveiled at San Diego Comic Con
Posted by atkinsar, 13 Jul 2012 14:58. Filed under New sets.
As reported on FBTB, LEGO have unveiled yet another exclusive at San Diego Comic Con 2012, a line-up of the Super Heroes minifigs for sets to be released in 2013:
From DC we have:
- Mister Freeze
- Aquaman
- Batman in White Suit
- Bane
- Commissioner Gordon with a SWAT Flack Jacket
- Hooded Robin
- Scarecrow
- Joker in Orange Jumpsuit
- Penguin
- Harley Quinn in Nurse Outfit
From Marvel we have:
- Spider-man
- Nick Fury
- Venom
- Nova
- J. Jonah Jameson
- Victor Von Doom
- Beetle
Ace has even secured official pics of all the minifigs. You can check them out here.
This certainly hints at a new Arkham Asylum in 2013 which I'm sure would be a popular choice. I'm not sure how much more excitement we can handle from SDCC this year, it's certainly been one of the best for LEGO exclusives in recent memory.
Let us know what you think in the comments or join in the discussion in the forum.
Thanks to forum member sidersdd for the news.
69 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)6432 views
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Collectable Minifigure Series 8 Revealed
Posted by yellowcastle, 13 Jul 2012 09:14. Filed under New sets.
Brickipedia has posted what I believe to be the first pics of the Series 8 Collectable Minifigures. Having only reviewed the batch briefly, I have to say that I'm a bit frustrated with the number of "retreads." It appears that they just melded the S1 Robot and S3 Cyborg. While the Manbat, Cheerleader and Alien would seem to just be color changes of existing figures, I do like the Bell Diver, Conquistador, Bavarian, Fairy, DJ and Cowgirl.What does everyone else think? Seeing as how LEGO doesn't seem to want to waste any minifgure moulds, can anyone extrapolate potential new sets / themes from these figures?
Thanks to Forum member Bilko for the headsup!
Update: They've added more pics. Thanks to Forum member andhe for the heads up!
121 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)4478 views
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New Star Wars & Hobbit sets revealed
Posted by bluemoose, 12 Jul 2012 17:17. Filed under New sets.
The new set news is coming thick and fast today ...
LEGO have posted pics of the new Star Wars 'Rancor Pit' set on Ow.ly
And 'The One Ring' have posted pics of the Hobbit 'Bag End' set.
Thanks to 'jawapez' on the forums.
Update : More photos of Bag End, from Ace Kim over at FBTB, can be found here.
Update 2 : More photos of the Rancor Pit courtesy of FBTB, check them out.
106 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)6242 views
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Brickfête 2012 - this coming weekend (14th & 15th July) in Toronto, Canada
Posted by Matthew, 12 Jul 2012 11:19. Filed under Events (Canada).
Canada's Annual LEGO Fan Convention for the adult hobbyist, Brickfête is coming to Toronto, this weekend!Brickfête's Public Days
Brickfête is open:
July 14th, 2012 - 10am until 3pm
July 15th, 2012 - 10am until 3pm
At the Airport Road Hilton - Tickets $10 at the door.So what will I see?
- LEGO Robots and Mindstorms creations
- City layouts with powered Trains
- Space, Star Wars & Scifi creations
- Art, Architecture & Design
- Planes, Trains & Automobiles
- Historical Buildings & Castles
- Pirates, Steampunk & Vikings
- Mosaics & Sculptures and so much more...
All made with thousands and thousands of LEGO bricks ... by hobbyists from across Canada and the USA.
There will also be a variety of vendors on site, offering for sale unique LEGO and LEGO related items, including sets new and old and custom items!
From the Brickfête website.
10 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)715 views
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San Diego Comic Con - first images of the Superhero give-aways
Posted by bluemoose, 12 Jul 2012 02:22. Filed under New sets.
Someone has snagged pics of two of the SDCC superhero give-aways and posted them on Brickipedia, specifically DC's Bizzaro and Marvel's Phoenix. Click the links to see the figs in all their 'mint-on-card' glory.
It won't be long now until the other two minifigure give-aways, Shazam & Venom, are revealed too ...
Thanks to 'legoyt' and 'LukeSkywalker' for the heads-up.
Update: CNN has posted pics of the final 2 figures. Thanks to Legolover9531 for the heads up.
66 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)2616 views
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News from the San Diego Comic Con 2012: Exclusives, Sets, Cartoons and...
Posted by yellowcastle, 11 Jul 2012 12:13. Filed under Events (USA).
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the sand.....here comes The Rancor!Along with news on upcoming sets and shows, ign.com has revealed the LEGO Booth calendar for this year's San Diego Comic-Con as well as the Exclusive LEGO Giveaways. LEGO is giving away 4 promotional figures this year: Marvel Venom, Marvel Phoenix, DC Shazam and DC Bizarro. There will be 1,000 of each figure available and winners will also qualify for a chance to win other special prizes such as LEGO Batcaves autographed by (my favorite comic book artist ever) Jim Lee!
Here are some other great tidbits that jumped out at me:
- A whole line of Hobbit sets will be released in December
- Visitors to SDCC12 will get a sneak peek at one of these new Hobbit sets
- Visitors to SDCC12 will be able to build their own Bilbo Baggins minifigure via a scavenger hunt
- Cartoon Network will be airing LEGO Lord of the Rings short videos
- Visitors to SDCC12 will get a preview of the 2013 DC and MARVEL Superheroes minifigures
- Visitors to SDCC12 will get a sneak peek of a new 2013 Star Wars set....THE RANCOR PIT!
- There will be 20 new Star Wars sets for 2013
- Ninjago is noted as being, "one of the most successful LEGO play themes ever"
Am I the only one kicking myself for not attending this year? I just don't think my wallet can handle any more great LEGO news. :o)
Update: Our friends over at FBTB have the entire LEGO Press Release posted for the San Diego 2012 Comic Con. Additionally, FBTB will be attending the show and posting pictures so keep checking back!
Update 2: LEGO has released a picture of The Rancor Pit! Thanks to Forum user jawapez for the link.
92 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)2150 views
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News from the San Diego Comic Con 2012: The Hobbit!
Posted by yellowcastle, 09 Jul 2012 14:50. Filed under Events (USA).
As reported by the Hollywood Reporter, here is the first glimpse of some of the new Hobbit minifigures. From left: Gandalf, Dwalin, Bombur, Bofur, Bilbo and Balin. Per the article, the Hobbit set(s) will release in mid December here in the U.S. Though I haven't read the Hobbit yet, I think these figures really look splendid and are a great followup to those in the first LotR wave of sets. What do you think?
Thanks to Forum user Graysmith for the heads up!
40 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1087 views
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Availability of Team GB Minifigs in Ireland?
Posted by bluemoose, 09 Jul 2012 05:16. Filed under Shopping (Europe).
We've been getting sporadic reports that the Team GB Collectable Minifigs have been popping up in some retailers in Ireland ...
- duq reports spotting them in an Art and Hobby store in Dublin
- LukeSkywalker spotted them on the Argos.ie website, but they aren't available to buy yet
- rumors that they will soon be available from Toymaster stores in the republic ...
Have you spotted them in Ireland at any of the usual retailers (Smyths, Tesco) or elsewhere? Let us know if you have, by posting here. Thanks
9 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1398 views
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Zombie set of the week - #10215 UCS Obi-Wan's Starfighter
Posted by bluemoose, 07 Jul 2012 17:28. Filed under shop.LEGO.com (General).
I have to admit I thought this set had gone earlier this year, but #10215, UCS Obi-Wan's Starfighter is currently available from LEGO Shop online in Europe, Australia & New Zealand at around 50% off, which seems like a pretty good deal.
This set never generated a lot of excitement, unusual for a Star Wars UCS set, and it always seemed rather expensive, but I have to admit I enjoyed the build a lot more than I was expecting and the finished model looks a lot better than I thought it would. It also makes a for a good 'parts pack' for the MOCers out there. At this price I'm quite tempted to get another one ...
At £46.49 in the UK, I'm not expecting it to be around for long ... click through to LEGO Shop on-line to take a look.
Also, a reminder that the free Mini Sopwith Camel set with a £50/€55 spend offer is still running ..
Thanks to those on the forums that posted about this and those that emailed us with the news.
22 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1194 views
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Netherlands offers
Posted by Huw, 07 Jul 2012 05:04. Filed under Shopping (Europe).
There are a couple of newsworthy offers on in Holland at the moment:
From m4x1994: Until the 28th of July 2012, Dutch people can buy all LEGO games offered by the V&D stores (www.vd.nl) using airmiles only. So basically free LEGO games if you have loads of airmiles, all you have to pay is the shipping cost (€3,95) if you buy them online. If you visit the stores you don't need to pay anything, other than the airmiles.
Right now, they still have 10 different games in stock:- 3837, Monster 4 - 900 Airmiles
- 3843, Ramses Pyramid - 1900 Airmiles
- 3835, Robo Champ - 995 Airmiles
- 3836, Magikus - 995 Airmiles
- 3838, Lava Dragon - 1295 Airmiles
- 3841, Minotaurus - 2495 Airmiles
- 3862, Harry Potter Hogwards - 3495 Airmiles
- 3860, Heroica Castke Fortaan - 2999 Airmiles
- 3861, Lego Champion - 3499 Airmiles
- 3864, Mini-taurus - 1499 Airmiles
From rherberg: Bart Smit in the Netherlands is having a sale of the Pharaoh's quest series and you can get the pyramid for only €39 !
16 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1257 views
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UCS B-Wing revealed today at Brick Fiesta in Houston, TX
Posted by Huw, 06 Jul 2012 18:00. Filed under New sets.
This evening the newest LEGO exclusive, 10227 B-wing Starfighter, was unveiled at Brick Fiesta in Houston, TX.
Here's the official press release:
10227 B-wing Starfighter, 1,486 pieces.
US $199.99, CA $249.99, DE €199.99, UK £169.99, DK 1699 DKK. Available from October.Take on the Empire in the Ultimate Collector Series B-wing Starfighter!
Now you can experience the ultimate B-wing Starfighter from the Star Wars galaxy like never before. This fantastic model features everything you would expect from our premium collector range, including rotating, self-levelling cockpit and realistic wing configurations for landing and flight. And when you're finished battling in the skies above Endor or helping to restore freedom in the galaxy, place this highly detailed B-wing Starfighter on its own dedicated display stand and fact plaque. Measures 26” (66 cm) wide and 15” (38 cm) high in flight configuration, and 17” (43 cm) high on display stand.
- A highly detailed Ultimate Collector Series B-wing Starfighter model
- Features rotating, self-levelling cockpit
- Features realistic wing configurations for landing and flight
- Includes display stand and fact plaque
- Model can be detached from display stand
- Measures 26” (66cm) wide and 15” (38cm) high in flight configuration, and 17” (43cm) high when mounted on display stand.
As usual LEGO has provided loads of additional images which I've added to the set details page, and a designer video is available on YouTube.
58 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)2411 views
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Summer 2012 Star Wars at Amazon.com and TRU !
Posted by DrDaveWatford, 06 Jul 2012 14:57. Filed under Shopping (USA).
News has reached us that the Summer 2012 Star Wars sets are now available online from Amazon.com and at Toys R Us in the U.S., so your wait is over !
Many thanks to shizzuh for the heads-up, and click the links below to head over to Amazon.com...
37 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1219 views
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Gandalf Arrives, in Spain and elsewhere....
Posted by Huw, 04 Jul 2012 13:49. Filed under Shopping (Europe).
He's certainly getting round a bit, isn't he...
Txeluis reports that El Corte Ingles stores in Spain are now selling LotR sets, but at high prices:
9469 - 18 €, 9470 - 31,50 €, 9471 - 45 €, 9472 - 69 €, 9473 - 99 €, 9474 - 164 €
He adds "At these prices I imagine that people would wait..."
Kruu reports they are now available in Croatia, too, and it looks as if the prices are comparable:
9476 - The Orc Forge - 399,99 kn (about 53 €), 9470 - Shelob Attacks - 219,99 kn (about 29 €), 9471 - Uruk-Hai Army - 319,99 kn (about 43 €), 9469 - Gandalf Arrives - 129,99 kn (about 17 €), 9473 - The Mines of Moria - 639,99 kn (about 85 €), 9474 - The Battle Of Helm's Deep - 1.199,99 (about 160 €).
30 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1353 views
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LEGO Survey analysis
Posted by Huw, 04 Jul 2012 04:49. Filed under Miscellaneous.
The LEGO community team has published an analysis of the survey we were asked to complete in May. Here it is verbatim:We hereby share top line, aggregated results of the LEGO Fan Survey which was conducted in May 2012.
Over 6.000 LEGO fans over the age of 13 participated in the survey. A majority of you who participated in the survey were above 18 of age with seven out of ten being between 18-44 years old. 14% of the respondents were women. When we compare this figure with previous studies, it indicates that more adult women are entering the LEGO hobby. The main occupation among you who took the survey were “computer/engineer/technical”, then “arts/design/media”, followed by “business/financial operations” and “education/training/library”. Close to half of you have a bachelor degree or more.
19 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1907 views
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Gandalf Departs...
Posted by Huw, 03 Jul 2012 03:53. Filed under Shopping (UK).
After only just one day, Argos has stopped selling the LotR sets. They are still listed at the site but they won't be available now until 21st July.
I suspect the 'Brickset effect' has occurred again. The sequence of events was probably as follows:
- Argos list them on Sunday, and make them available immediately, in error.
- Someone from LEGO UK reads Brickset on Monday morning, checks Argos for themselves then calls their head office and asks for them to be removed.
- Argos remove the sets from sale on Monday afternoon.LEGO fan sites are effective 'eyes and ears' for the LEGO marketing team: we (as a community) do the hard work sniffing out when online retailers list products, when they publish photos and when they start selling new sets. All LEGO has to do is read Brickset - and other sites like it - and pounce on the offending retailer when they read about something they don't like.
I wonder if I can block certain content from visitors with IP addresses registered to LEGO... :-)
If there's a lesson for AFOLs to learn from this, and the removal of the summer Star Wars sets from shop.LEGO.com after a couple of days at the beginning of June, it's read Brickset regularly, and act immediately!
(Thanks to LostInTranslation for the news).
44 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1344 views
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Better images of 6873 Spider-Man’s Doc Ock Ambush
Posted by Huw, 02 Jul 2012 11:04. Filed under New sets.
Grogall has uncovered better pictures of the Spider-Man set that's due out in August. You can see them all at the French site Brick Heroes.
34 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)2135 views
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9497 Republic Striker-class Starfighter review
Posted by Huw, 02 Jul 2012 09:28. Filed under Set review.
9497 Republic Striker-class Starfighter is the second model based on The Old Republic to be released this year.CapnRex101 is on vacation now so you'll have to make do with just me reviewing it, I'm afraid.
Being unfamiliar withThe Old Republic, I thought I'd try and find out about the ship before reviewing it, but I've failed to find any mention of it anywhere. A Google image search just returns pictures of the LEGO model!
The closest match at Wookiepedia that I found is the Talon-class Republic Starfighter which shares some design similarities with this model, and the page does state that 'The title of this article is conjectural.' so maybe they are one in the same.
Anyway, on to the review...
Continue reading 9497 Republic Striker-class Starfighter review
28 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)3391 views
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Minor tweaks to the site
Posted by Huw, 02 Jul 2012 06:23. Filed under Brickset.
Over the last few weeks I've had several people request that links to other sites are set to open in a new window. Generally it's regarded as bad practice which is why I didn't do it much before. However several people came up with good reasons for doing it, such as when viewing the site on a tablet or phone where right-clicking to select 'open in new window' is not an option.
So, I've implemented some JavaScript to automatically convert links to external sites to open in a new window. I don't think there are any side-effects, but if you notice any do let me know. If some people object to this, I could possibly make a profile option to disable it.
Another thing I've done is to differentiate between 'proper' sets and others in the set listings. For a while 'Gear' has been shaded with a light grey background to make it easier to see (and ignore if you want to), and I've just done the same for sets without a numeric set number (which generally means that the number has been made-up by the community and therefore there's something irregular about the set, and is not part of LEGO's 'core' product line) and also product collections (which many people are not interested in).
As always, I welcome your feedback on these changes, and indeed anything about the site.
22 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1093 views
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And the winner is...
Posted by Huw, 02 Jul 2012 04:04. Filed under Brickset.
Sorry for the delay in posting news of the ToyAddict.co.uk competition to win a signed 5884 Raptor Chase that ended last Friday.
A condition of entry was registering at ToyAddict, and then getting the answer right. The first name I picked at random hadn't registered, so Tim from ToyAddict picked another from those who had, but he hadn't entered the competition! So Tim picked another, who had managed to do everything right, so congratulations, Wesley Keen, you are our winner! Please get in touch and I'll arrange to get the set sent to you.
10 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1152 views
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Box art of 'hard to find' Star Wars sets
Posted by Huw, 02 Jul 2012 03:58. Filed under New sets.
Mikky has kindly sent me pictures of the boxes of 9525, Pre Vizsla's Mandalorian Fighter and 9526, Palpatine's Arrest.
Can't wait to get my hands on 'em... :-)
9 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1793 views
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LDC Manchester selling sets early (again)
Posted by Huw, 01 Jul 2012 15:43. Filed under Shopping (UK).
Earlier today, forum member tom4086 posted in the forum that he bought a Haunted House at LDC Manchester, for the original price of £120. Given it's not supposed to be on sale until September, this is presumably another faux pas by the Discovery Centre. Before you all go rushing there tomorrow, it sounds as if there were not many available: he bought one of the two delivered.
Furthermore, Mikky emailed to say that he bought 9525, Pre Vizsla's Mandalorian Fighter and 9526, Palpatine's Arrest there today as well. He writes "Not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet but I picked up Palpatine's Arrest and Pre Vizla sets today at LDC Manchester. With 20% off today it was £48 for Chancellor and £40 for Pre Viz. Both lovely and nowhere else that I have heard of in the UK yet."
I think he's right but hopefully it won't be long before they are available elsewhere.
11 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1393 views
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9498 Saesee Tiin's Jedi Starfighter review
Posted by Huw, 01 Jul 2012 13:45. Filed under Set review.
It's about time we finished off our reviews of the summer Star Wars sets...Today, CapnRex101 and I turn our attention to 9498 Saesee Tiin's Jedi Starfighter.
It's not the best of the summer sets but it does have its good points. Read on to find out more...
21 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)2880 views
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Happy Canada Day!
Posted by fuelbreak, 01 Jul 2012 12:55. Filed under shop.LEGO.com (US/Canada).
Happy Canada Day LEGO Fans!
The only notable deals I could find to celebrate were from shop.lego.com, I am sure many of you have spotted more, feel free to use the comments to share any Canada Day sales you have found.
This will probably be the last chance for these Pirates of the Caribbean sets from LEGO.com
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7065 Alien Mothership
Price74.99 CADSale Price 63.74 CAD -
4193 The London Escape
Price64.99 CADSale Price 48.74 CAD -
4183 The Mill
Price49.99 CADSale Price 37.49 CAD
7 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)872 views
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7065 Alien Mothership
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Finally... Gandalf Arrives in the UK
Posted by Huw, 01 Jul 2012 05:06. Filed under Shopping (UK).
Gandalf Arrives, and the rest of the LotR sets are now listed at Argos. There doesn't seem to be a lot of stock around though -- at least not in my area -- but this set and Shelob Attacks, are in my local store and I'll be on my way down there in a minute to collect them.
Toys R Us also has them listed, but for an August 1st release. Their prices are however, astronomical: at least 20% more than at Argos. E.g. Shelob Attacks: Argos - £19.99, TRU - £24.99, Battle of Helms Deep: Argos - £99.00, TRU - £119.99!
(Thanks Kez for the news).
31 comments, latest one posted 10 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1274 views
