Brickset news archive: October 2011
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2012 sets available at TRU already?!
Posted by Huw, 31 Oct 2011 15:45. Filed under Shopping (USA).
Several people have emailed to say that Toys R Us is listing many 2012 sets already, most of which are in stock for shipping. I would have expected them to appear around Thanksgiving, but not in October!
Meanwhile, images of several 2012 Creator sets have surfaced at Smashing Bricks, including this blue car (how many Creator cars do we need, exactly?) which is apparently one of the sets available at TRU.
39 comments, latest one posted 18 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)892 views
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Free Brickley at Bluewater
Posted by Huw, 29 Oct 2011 13:00. Filed under Shopping (UK).
You may have read this in the forum already, but it's worth repeating here: buy anything in the newly-relocated LEGO brand store at Bluewater and get this large Brickley model free! You can read more on the store's page at LEGO.com.
5 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1075 views
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Site updates
Posted by Huw, 27 Oct 2011 15:04. Filed under Brickset.
I've just rolled out a few changes to the site:
- The New at shop.LEGO.com section above has been replaced by an eBay panel. It's there as an experiment and probably won't be there permanently. You'll only see it if you're in a country in which eBay operate. The New at shop.lego.com didn't really justify the real estate there given it wasn't relevant to everyone, it was always 2 days out of date and when sets were added they were usually added en masse thus swamping the caroursel anyway. You can still get to the list from the Buy tab, if you're in the Canada, USA or UK.
- On the set details pages, there's a new Buy tab, which shows the prices of sets at shop.LEGO.com for all countries they ship to, and Amazon. You can also get the shop.LEGO.com prices, if we have them, from the results listings, look for the link in the third column.
- Amazon alerts: Amazon.es alerts are now live and the alerts themselves have been simplified so anyone can understand them even if you don't speak French or whatever. Also, if you are not logged in you will only be shown alerts for the Amazon in your country, e.g., if you're in the US you'll see Amazon.com updates only. If you're in for example, New Zealand, you won't see any of them. If you're logged in you can of course turn them on and off as before where ever you are in the world.
- I've made a few tweaks in other places, see if you can spot them...
Update: couple more tweaks:
- RSS feed now only shows your 'home' Amazon alerts.
- Mobile site news now works the same as the news on the main site
- RRP reinstated on results listings for visitors from all countries
If you come across anything that doesn't work or look right, let me know.
106 comments, latest one posted 18 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1095 views
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New Ninjago polybags
Posted by Huw, 27 Oct 2011 07:40. Filed under New sets.
Ninjago news is coming in thick and fast this week: Brickbuilder uncovered instructions for three new Ninjago polybag promotional sets at the LEGO Customer services site today. I guess they'll be for 2012 release, given they are the new style figs, so why they've appeared there so soon is a mystery.
18 comments, latest one posted 18 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1724 views
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Ninjago Fire Temple in top 12 Christmas toy list
Posted by Huw, 26 Oct 2011 17:38. Filed under Brickset.
The UK's Toy Retailers' Association publishes a list of what it thinks will be the top toys of the season and, as usual, there's a LEGO set on it. This year it's the Ninjago temple. If you're thinking of buying it, you'd better do so now before it sells out. As luck would have it, it's currently reduced at the European Amazon sites:
- 15% off at Amazon.co.uk
- 27% off at Amazon.fr
- 21% off at Amazon.es
- 33% off at Amazon.de
In the US, the best Amazon.com can do is 3% off, I'm afraid.
24 comments, latest one posted 18 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1286 views
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Confirmed: half price toy sale at Sainsbury's starts tomorrow
Posted by Huw, 26 Oct 2011 17:23. Filed under Shopping (UK).
I heard rumours of this earlier in the week but now LostInTranslation and others have confirmed that there will indeed be a half price sale, starting tomorrow. They have held them at this time of the year for the last couple of years and if comments on articles about the previous occasions are anything to go by, you can expect complete and utter pandemonium in the toy aisle. Best get there early then, before the mums-with-prams brigade are out and about...
Update: The mums-with-prams and hoardes of scalpers were out in force, but earlier than I anticipated. Some were even queueing at the crack of dawn before the shops opened, by all accounts. Tell us your experience in the comments.
64 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1482 views
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First pictures of 2012 Ninjago minifigs
Posted by Huw, 26 Oct 2011 07:54. Filed under New sets.
Roving Brickset reporter (as he likes to call himself :-) ) Warren is at LEGO World in Zwolle this week and brings us this picture (plus two more in my flickr stream) and this report:
"From the AFOLCON / LEGO Show team, who are over in the Netherlands at the moment at LEGOWorld, come these high res pictures. The new range of 2012 Ninjago figs is on public display at the LEGO Designer booth. As well as the new snake tails, there are new staff pieces, protective headgear, 1x1 tiles and two new snake heads too. All are printed as far as we can tell.
"These should be available in sets from the start of January and the designer, Mark Stafford, will be talking about both the first and second wave of Ninjago sets in 2012 at AFOLCON next May."
40 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)2952 views
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October Community Survey
Posted by bluemoose, 23 Oct 2011 06:01. Filed under Miscellaneous.
It's time for another LEGO Community Engagement & Communication Team community survey... follow the link and let LEGO know what you think: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/AFOLOct2011
29 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)911 views
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Bargain watch for Amazon.es now live
Posted by Huw, 22 Oct 2011 16:56. Filed under Brickset.
DrDave and I have put the finishing touches on the Spanish Amazon Watch page and it's now available for your perusal.Having just taken a look it appears that there's some great bargains and deep discounts to be had, so if you're in Spain, I hope you find it useful.
29 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1631 views
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Ninjago takes a new direction in 2012
Posted by Huw, 21 Oct 2011 15:04. Filed under New sets.
I know, I'm a few days late adding images of next year's Ninjago sets from the German toy shop site, so my apologies for that.
When I first saw the blurry retailers' catalogue scans I didn't know what to make of them, but now we have clearer pictures, well to be honest, I'm still not sure what to make of them... What is clear is that the foes are no longer undead skeletons, but what exactly are they now? Some sort of human/snake hybrid from ancient Egypt? It seems that this time round that it's the Ninjas in the vehicles: they've ditched their dragons in favour of some mean looking machines, and this helicopter looks particularly neat.
What do you think? Are you a Ninjago fan? Do you like the direction the theme is going in?
144 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)3711 views
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New feature: select your timezone
Posted by Huw, 20 Oct 2011 06:25. Filed under Brickset.
Just to prove that I am listening to your requests and adding enhancements to the site that don't revolve around maximising Amazon income ( :-) ), I've added a feature today that will let you specify your timezone and see timestamps on news articles and comments in your local time. If you're not logged in, or don't specify it, they'll remain showing in the server timezone which is EST (GMT-5).
Click on the Your profile link at the top of the page, and then Edit your profile at the bottom. While you're there, why not update the rest of it?
(You can thank Andhe in the forum for the suggestion)
43 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1052 views
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4 days only: 3-for-2 at Argos
Posted by Huw, 20 Oct 2011 06:11. Filed under Shopping (UK).
From now until Sunday, it's 3-for-2 on all toys at Argos, in-store only. You can reserve online and pick up at store of course, and if you're hoping to buy three of the same set to maximise savings, it will be best to do so before the weekend for your best chance to find the stock.
Mysteriously, the Black Pearl has disappeared from their system. I can think of three reasons why this might be:
- They don't want it available whilst this offer is on;
- They weren't supposed to be selling it yet. The latest shop.LEGO.com catalogue states that it'll be available from the 1st November, so someone in LEGO probably read of its availability here and asked them to stop selling it;
- It's sailed into the Bermuda Triangle never to be seen again...
Actually I think the second one is most likely. You could try your luck and ask for it I guess. The stock number is 901/3823.
23 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1039 views
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Here's the other half...
Posted by Huw, 18 Oct 2011 14:03. Filed under New sets.
Grogall has uncovered an image of the second of the two sets that are being given away at shop.LEGO.com between now and Christmas. This one will be available at the end of November.
The two sets, when side-by-side, will make a neat little Christmas vignette.
30 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1103 views
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Free polybags in Gamma stores in Holland
Posted by Huw, 17 Oct 2011 17:26. Filed under Shopping (Europe).
If you're in Holland and have been frustrated about not being able to get the polybags that we in the UK have had in newspaper promotions, you can now get a good selection of them from Gamma stores. Unfortunately you'll need to spend a fair amount on DIY items to get them, though. Read all about it on the Gamma website in Dutch and English.
I suspect this will frustrate some polybag collectors I can think of in other countries because a few of these are pretty rare and haven't been readily available elsewhere before (e.g. the panda, fish and plane).
(Thanks to Roel for the news)
22 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1396 views
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Did you get your Rod 'Torque' Redline at TRU at the weekend?
Posted by Huw, 17 Oct 2011 08:28. Filed under Shopping (USA).
By all accounts it seems that there was pandemonium in most TRUs, with queues of parents and kids and 'fights' over bricks, trying to build this model. Ace has posted an account of his experience and nice pictures of it at FBTB.Polybag collectors need not worry: it's not an official packaged set, the only unique part of it is the sticker sheet.
19 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)931 views
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Free LEGO!
Posted by Huw, 17 Oct 2011 08:23. Filed under shop.LEGO.com (General).
This 'limited edition Christmas set' is free with purchases over £50 / $99 between now and the end of October from shop.LEGO.com. It's actually a pretty nice set, isn't it! This is set one of two. The second one will be available in November.
Click on the LEGO banner in the menu and get shopping: there's free delivery and double VIP points at the moment as well.
37 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1145 views
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Collectable minifigs series 6 and 7 hi-res images
Posted by Huw, 17 Oct 2011 03:40. Filed under New sets.
Grogall, the source of so many of the images that have been added to this and other LEGO sites this week, has once again come up trumps, this time with hi-res pictures of the series 6 and 7 minifigs. I've scaled them down to fit on the page here at Brickset (8827, series 6 and 8831, series 7), but you can see the full resolution versions in his Brickshelf gallery. Thanks Grogall!
43 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1152 views
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German site back up, more 2012 images added
Posted by Huw, 16 Oct 2011 04:53. Filed under New sets.
The German site is back up, with all 2012 images still there, so I'm slowly adding them here:
Cars | Dino | City | Star Wars| Technic | Friends | Games | Racers
I have to say, some of the normal City sets (as opposed to Fire and Police) look excellent, particularly this tipper truck. I believe AFOL Pierre Normandin works on the City sets, which would help explain why they are so good.
UPDATE: All pictures and listings for the 2012 sets have now been removed from the German site.
92 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1358 views
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Amazon Bargain Watch pages now live for France and Germany
Posted by Huw, 15 Oct 2011 15:48. Filed under Brickset.
Following the success of the Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk Bargain Watch pages, DrDave and I are pleased to announce that the Amazon.de and Amazon.fr Bargain Watch pages are now live!If you're in one of those countries you'll see a link in the top corner of the page, which link to http://www.brickset.com/buy/de/amazon/ and http://www.brickset.com/buy/fr/amazon/.
The alerting system for these countries is almost ready to go live but we're working on translating the text before doing so. So, expect to see them in action soon. We'll also try and get the actual Bargain Watch pages translated, too.
Do let us know if these will be useful to you. Spain and Italy are next...
53 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)2038 views
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2012 Technic sets at Technicbricks
Posted by Huw, 15 Oct 2011 08:39. Filed under Brickset.
The team over at the excellent Technicbricks blog bring us images of the first wave of 2012 Technic sets, which I've added to the database here. They came from the same German site as those below, via setechnic.com.
This mini-Unimog looks rather cute, doesn't it :-)
21 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1495 views
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German toy shop site reveals 2012 sets then disappears
Posted by Huw, 15 Oct 2011 06:16. Filed under Brickset.
Last night, German website http://www.spielwaren-hegmann.de/ published unwatermarked hi-res pictures of around fifty 2012 sets but now the site is down, maybe due to high load or maybe LEGO asked them to remove them.
Whatever, thankfully, Toys N Bricks and FBTB grabbed most of them while they could and you can see the pictures for the licenced themes and Collectable Minifigures series 7 in FBTB's flickr stream.
I'll get them added to the database here later today.
26 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1094 views
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2 Day Sale at Toys R Us
Posted by yellowcastle, 14 Oct 2011 18:23. Filed under Shopping (USA).
Valid Friday 10/14 thru Saturday 10/15, Toys R Us is selling both Hogwarts (4867) and Hogwarts Castle (4842) at 25% Off the normal TRU price. With current Rewards Bucks expiring on Saturday, this may be your best chance to stack them atop a set already on sale. Additionally, for those of us who received the $10 October Gift Card, stacking it with a $5 Reward Bucks will reduce Hogwarts to 55% Off MSRP while also still qualifying for the Week 2 Forestman Minifigure Magnet. I think this will be enough to get my attention on an otherwise lackluster week 2 in Bricktober. As far as Hogwarts Castle, this discount mostly just wipes out the TRU markup so I'd probably wait for a better deal. And as is the case these days, Amazon has already matched the price on Hogwarts and reduced the price on Hogwarts Castle, though not as low as TRU.
1 comment, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)960 views
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HUGE picture of the new batcave on Eurobricks
Posted by Huw, 14 Oct 2011 17:01. Filed under New sets.
A Eurobricks member has posted a huge image of the new Batcave set in the Eurobricks Forums. I'm not sure about the set itself, which seems to be heavily reliant on stickers for its look, but the figs look great.(Thanks to adello25 for the news.)
19 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1176 views
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Black Pearl available in Argos
Posted by Huw, 14 Oct 2011 14:08. Filed under Shopping (UK).
Argos is now listing the Black Pearl on its website and it appears to be available in most branches. Reserve one now (I have), and collect tomorrow! It's priced at just £84.99!
(Thanks to Bricknation in the forum for the news).
10 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1263 views
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Free delivery and limited edition Christmas set
Posted by Huw, 14 Oct 2011 13:58. Filed under shop.LEGO.com (UK).
So says the email I received from the LEGO UK affiliate team:
"In addition to continued Double VIP points, LEGO Shop will now be offering Free Delivery and a Limited Edition Christmas set with all purchases of £50 or more. This offer is valid 17th-31st October. The Limited Edition Christmas set is part 1 of a 2 part set. The second set will be available 25-28th November."
I wonder what it is? There's no word (that I can see) on LEGO.com yet, so I guess we'll have to wait until Monday to find out.
Update: the offer is also good in the USA and Canada, for purchases over $99.
15 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1169 views
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LEGO Cars event at TRU this weekend
Posted by Huw, 13 Oct 2011 17:09. Filed under Shopping (USA).
I don't have all the details, but it would appear that there's an event at TRU that includes the opportunity to buy an exclusive polybag set of Rod Torque Redline which is one we don't have in the database here yet.
So, pop along to your local branch at the weekend and let us know what's going on, and if you can, grab a polybag for me :-)
Thanks to Okay for the news.
22 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1075 views
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Super Heroes in Variety magazine
Posted by Huw, 13 Oct 2011 17:05. Filed under New sets.
Variety magazine isn't a place you'd normally look for LEGO news, but Mr Hobbes found this interesting article about LEGO Super Heroes, including pictures of the Superman minifig they'll be giving away at the New York Comic Con that started today.Oh, and they also have this picture of the new batcave :-)
29 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1118 views
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Costco Christmas LEGO Is Out
Posted by fuelbreak, 13 Oct 2011 14:53. Filed under Shopping (Canada).
It appears that Costco has started stocking its Christmas toys. HEROICA Waldurk Forest is selling for $14.97 CAN compared to the $26.99 CAN price listed at shop.lego.com. Not a bad discount for the Canadian LEGO market!
If you like playing the games and want to stock up on the new medieval weapons, it's not a bad set to get. I am sure more sets will pop up as Christmas approaches.
7 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1803 views
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Aussie toy shop reveals more 2012 sets
Posted by Huw, 13 Oct 2011 12:44. Filed under New sets.
Toys n Bricks, FBTB and loads of other sites are reporting the appearance of 2012 sets in the Hobbyco site's LEGO listing, including Cars, Super Heroes and various others. I'll get them added to the database here soon.
Update: Doh! Looks like they are already in the database, thanks Grahame!
Meanwhile, pictures of 2012 Star Wars boxes have surfaced on Eurobricks. They aren't watermarked but I suspect they were obtained illicitly. I believe they may have originated on this Japanese site.
13 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)870 views
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25% off LEGO City at Argos
Posted by Huw, 13 Oct 2011 06:47. Filed under Shopping (UK).
It looks as if most City sets are 25% off at Argos at the moment. Some are showing in our product feed, but not all of them, so head on over to Argos.co.uk to see them all.
(Thanks CHall for the news)
2 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1104 views
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shop.LEGO.com gets makeover
Posted by Huw, 12 Oct 2011 12:09. Filed under shop.LEGO.com (General).
It's been a long time coming, but now at last it looks as if the new web shop platform we've discussed here before has been deployed.
Check it out and let us know what you think. It certainly looks much nicer, but being Flash-based it's a lot slower than before.
Unfortunately, several utilities I have for extracting data and images from the site have now been rendered useless and it may take me a while to fix them :(
49 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1170 views
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New employee-only set?
Posted by Huw, 08 Oct 2011 11:12. Filed under New sets.
This morning's trawl of the instructions at LEGO.com revealed this set, 4000002 'LOM 2011 Moulding'. Given it's in the same number range as the 4000001 Moulding Machines Inside Tour exclusive, this is also presumably some sort of 'insider' exclusive.
The instructions, which you can download from the set details page, reveal that LOM = LEGO Operations Mexico and that this is a model of the second moulding plant in Mexico which has just been completed.
So, I'm guessing that this is a model presented to those involved in the project, and therefore will be pretty hard for collectors to get hold of.
(Thanks to brickbuilder Bert who emailed me about it)
18 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1214 views
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Reminder: Sun promotion stars tomorrow
Posted by Huw, 07 Oct 2011 17:55. Filed under Shopping (UK).
I'm sure you haven't forgotten -- how could you --but just in case, nip into WHS tomorrow and pick up this mini Venator class star destroyer with a copy of The Sun.
LostInTranslation received a mailshot about the promotion that says that some of the bags will have 'golden bricks' inside them and if you find one you could win £10,000 in real gold bars! So, you'd better be sure to open all you get!
It's a bit like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, isn't it!
44 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1202 views
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LEGO Star Wars Character Encylopedia
Posted by Huw, 07 Oct 2011 09:49. Filed under Book review.
This book, along with the LEGO Ideas Book I reviewed earlier this week, has just been published by Dorling Kindersley.It’s a hardback book that’s smaller than DK’s other LEGO books, at 23x18cm, but is still over an inch thick thanks in part to the thick front cover housing the exclusive Han Solo in ceremonial robes minifigure.
The book’s 200 pages are laid out showing one minifigure per page. Along with a large image of the figure, there are boxes containing background information about the character, data about when the fig was released and in which set, and also, if needed, a ‘Star Variants’ box showing other versions of the minifig. This accounts for the discrepancy between the ‘Featuring more than 300 minifigures’ claim on the cover and the 200 pages: many older variants of figures only appear in these boxes. The book does not claim to contain every SW minifigure ever made, and there are some notable exceptions, such as the white Boba Fett. It does, however, feature all those that are in the latest 2011 sets.
The book is organised by movie, so the figures that feature in episode 1 are at the front of the book and those from 6, then Clone Wars and expanded universe are at the back. Within each section the order appears random and to be honest it can be a problem finding specific figures without resorting to the index which thankfully is comprehensive. Perhaps organising alphabetically would have made more sense, with Aayla Secura at the front and Zev Senesca at the back: at least then you could flick through the pages to find the character of interest and all of, say, the Luke variants would be in the book together.
The quality and accuracy of the information in the book should be spot-on because Ace Kim from FBTB and myself proof-read it. As I have mentioned here before I was also asked to provide around 100 photos for it. Strange as it seems, they asked me because LEGO could not provide DK with the minifigs to enable them to photograph them themselves. Luckily I had most of the ones needed and those I didn’t I sourced from BrickLink.
I haven’t yet identified all those that were used; the majority are the in the Star Variants boxes, or detail pictures of backs of heads or torsos. However the main images on pages 26 (Naboo Security officer), 78 (Greedo), 106, in the image above, and 138 (both Luke) are mine and I guess it’s satisfying that they are pretty much indistinguishable from the others taken by the pros, and in some cases better, which is one reason I haven’t yet found them all!
I haven’t said much about the exclusive Han Solo minifigure yet. I guess if you’re a SW minifig completest it will be reason enough to buy the book but actually it’s the most disappointing thing about it. Unfortunately, it’s an inferior Chinese plastic figure which is a shame because otherwise it’s very nice. The exclusive figures on the covers of previous DK books have been normal quality so it was a let-down to see that it wasn’t the case here. I know most of you don’t notice or care about this, but to me, just like the collectable minifigs, it looks and feels cheap and nasty compared to the real thing. However, if you keep it sealed in the cover you'll never notice the poor quality.
So, to summarise, this is yet another essential book purchase for anyone remotely interested in Star Wars LEGO or minifigs, particularly with the deep discounts available at Amazon at the moment. Highly recommended, despite the minifig quality.
24 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1389 views
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The Black Pearl sets sail
Posted by Huw, 07 Oct 2011 08:11. Filed under Brickset.
(Probably) the last of the PotC sets has made its way into shops across the globe, with several people finding it in Target in the USA, and in Poland.
Nori has posted an excellent pictorial review in the LugPol forums, and sidersdd has posted superb photographs of the minifigs in the Brickset forum.
It does look like an great set but it appears that, unfortunately, Davy Jones is of far-eastern origin and therefore inferior 'collectable minifigure' quality which is a real shame. Nevertheless I look forward to buying it when it's available in the UK.
34 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1347 views
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The LEGO Ideas Book
Posted by Huw, 05 Oct 2011 15:06. Filed under Book review.
We really are being spoilt for LEGO books this year. We've already had several excellent Dorling Kindersley books and now two more have been published. This one, however, is slightly different to the others in that it's been created with the help of AFOLs rather than the LEGO group, although of course it is licensed from them. (I'll be reviewing the other new DK book, the Star Wars Character Encylopedia, in due course.)
As its title suggests, this is an ideas book that provides inspiration for your own models. It's A4-ish in size and about 200 pages long. Its presentation is as stunning as we've come to expect from DK: superb photos on clean white backgrounds surrounded with snippets of text. It makes a superb coffee-table book.
It's divided into six chapters which set the theme for the models within: Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Town and Country, Out of this world, In Days of Old, A World of Adventure and Make and Keep. Most pages features a main model and variations of it. The book doesn't contain instructions for any models, but usually shows enough pictures of them to be able to reverse-engineer them should you want to. However, that's not the idea really, the models are intended for inspiration for your own creations.
I had to chuckle at the statement in the introduction about this "We don't show building steps or lists because it's unlikely you will have all the bricks for each model...' Actually, I think it highly likely that I do, and I suspect many of you do too!
Perhaps the best thing about the book is that most of the models have been created by AFOLs, the majority of whom are Brickish Association members: Barney Main, Tim Goddard, Duncan Titmarsh, Andrew Walker from the BA, and Debrah Higdon and Sebastiaan Arts. They have done a fantastic job, and it's interesting to see that they've sometimes used building techniques that LEGO set designers probably wouldn't, although I'm told all models had to be approved by LEGO.
Should you buy this book? If you build with LEGO bricks then yes, this is for you. If you're someone who just buys sets and keeps them MISB, then it probably won't be of interest. But nobody here does that, do they? :-)
It's available from Amazon for about half the publisher's price so there really isn't a reason not to add it to your bookcase.
27 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)4791 views
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30% sale at Amazon continues
Posted by Huw, 05 Oct 2011 10:48. Filed under Shopping (USA).
The rate of change in their sale has resulted in the best bargains dropping off the home page, so it's worth reiterating that the following sets are still 30% off:
- 7189 Mill Village Raid - an excellent set with unique farm animals
- 2507 Ninjago Fire Temple - superb structure and fiery dragon
- 7066 Alien Conquest Earth Defence HQ - the best retail set of the year. A Mark Stafford classic!
The Millennium Falcon, while not quite so deeply discounted, is still worth picking up at 25% off, weighing in at just $105.
As always, you can check out the full list on our Bargain watch page, which is automatically updated 4 times a day, making Brickset the first to report the discounts.
16 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)841 views
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Pudsey Bear now shipping
Posted by Huw, 04 Oct 2011 16:00. Filed under Brickset.
If you're in the UK, you can now order Pudsey Bear from shop.LEGO.com. All profits -- at least £1 per set -- go to the BBC Children In Need charity, so for once you need not feel guilty about buying multiples.
Order him here. If you're not in the UK, why not ask in the forum to get someone to send you some!
12 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1182 views
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Star Wars, Harry Potter, Cars and more!
Posted by Huw, 04 Oct 2011 15:23. Filed under Shopping (UK).
That's the line-up in The Sun newspaper LEGO promotion starting this Saturday in the UK! Forum moderator Matthew found the details at The Sun's website this evening and atkinsar has created a BrickList which identifies the sets involved.Too bad I paid over the odds for a 30053 at GWLS on Saturday :-)
39 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1467 views
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And the winner is...
Posted by Huw, 04 Oct 2011 13:53. Filed under Brickset.
The waiting is over -- we had just over 1400 entries for this competition of which over 1350 were correct.The winner, picked by my daughter Alice who chose a number between 1 and 1357 after the entries were randonly sorted, is...
Shawn Soo
Conratulations Shawn, I'll be in touch to get your mailing address.
Commiserations to everyone else, but don't forget you're still in with a chance of winning the Super Heroes building competition, so get on and enter if you haven't already.
22 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)991 views
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LEGO Cuusoo launched worldwide
Posted by Huw, 04 Oct 2011 13:44. Filed under Brickset.
LEGO's 'crowdsourcing' platform that originated in Japan is now in a worldwide public beta phase. The idea is that people submit models for consideration for production. If over a certain number of others vote for it then it gets made. Two models have originated from the Japanese trial, including this submarine.
Here's the press release that was issued yesterday:
Turn your model wishes into reality with LEGO® CUUSOO
LEGO consumers can now give their great ideas directly to the LEGO Group using the LEGO CUUSOO website. Ideas that collect 10,000 supporters could be selected to become part of the toy manufacturers’ product line
BILLUND, Denmark – The LEGO Group announced today that LEGO® CUUSOO, its new international web-based open innovation and crowd sourcing platform, is now available in open beta.LEGO CUUSOO is an idea collection system that asks the Danish toy manufacturers’ consumers to submit and vote for their favourite ideas for new LEGO products. It can be found at http://lego.cuusoo.com
Ideas that are supported by 10,000 votes have a chance of being selected to become part of the LEGO Group’s product portfolio and sold in LEGO Brand retail stores and the LEGO online shop. Consumers who have their ideas chosen will earn 1% of the total net sales of the product CUUSOO, which means 'imagination' or sometimes ‘wish’ in Japanese, has been developed with CUUSOO SYSTEM, a subsidiary of Japan-based Elephant Design that has worked with open innovation and crowd sourcing for more than 10 years.
The LEGO Group has worked with CUUSOO since 2008 on a Japanese site that has attracted hundreds of ideas and seen thousands of votes cast by a 20,000-strong community. Now the time has come to test the concept internationally.
The first Japanese product, the Shinkai 6500 submersible, went on sale in Japan in February 2011. The next Japanese LEGO CUUSOO model will be the Hayabusa unmanned spacecraft launched in the first quarter of next year.
“Our fans and consumers have proved time after time that they have great ideas that can lead to products,” said Paal Smith-Meyer, head of the LEGO New Business Group.“We have worked with our consumers in the past and continue to do so, for example in the LEGO Architecture series, which we developed with an architect and LEGO fan. LEGO CUUSOO is an attempt to gather more great ideas while streamlining the way we innovate and become inspired.”
“We see this as an investment in the future rather than for immediate sales gain. We are moving from a local Japanese pilot to see if the model is sustainable. We were pleased with the initial results, but we need to see how it will perform on a global platform with global distribution,” he added.
15 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1217 views
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Massive Amazon sale now on.
Posted by Huw, 03 Oct 2011 03:10. Filed under Shopping (USA).
The number of sets being added to Amazon's sale -- which some say is to match that at TRU -- is growing daily. They'll be announced here as they are added but if you miss any of the announcements, keep an eye out on the Bargain Watch page where you'll find them all listed.
The top bargain is 30% off the Alien Conquest Earth Defence HQ, which is now just $63. This really is a top set -- maybe even the best of the year, so if you don't already have it, don't miss out...
5 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)907 views
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And the winner is...
Posted by Huw, 02 Oct 2011 17:17. Filed under Brickset.
... going to be announced on Tuesday!
The competition is still open, and will be until tomorrow night, midnight EST.
Here's the original announcement:
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We've teamed up with the Community, Engagement and Communication team at LEGO to give you the chance to win these two ComicCon exclusive preview edition Super Heroes minifigs!
These Green Lantern and Batman figures won't be available anywhere else until 2012, so this is your chance to get hold of them before then!
The competition's aim is to raise awareness of the LEGO Super Heroes Challenge building contest, which offers a grand prize of a trip for 4 to Warner Bros. Studios, WB Animation, and LEGOLAND California Resort and the complete 2012 LEGO Super Heroes: DC Universe collection.
All you have to do is answer the question on the competition page. You can find the answer on the contest's website at LEGOSuperHeroes.com. Once you've done so, get building and enter the Challenge!
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At the GWLS evening event yesterday an identical pair of these minifigs fetched over £60 (that's probably about $100) in the auction, so the winner is going to be very lucky indeed. If you haven't already entered, do so now!
26 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1061 views
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Bricktober is Here
Posted by yellowcastle, 01 Oct 2011 20:41. Filed under Shopping (USA).
It's that time again at Toys R Us! Valid Sunday 10/2 thru Saturday 10/8, TRU is putting 14 LEGO construction sets along with 4 LEGO board games on sale for 30% Off the normal TRU price. The sets are as follows: Space Shuttle, Space Center, Powerboat Transporter, Fishing Boat, City of Atlantis, Deep Sea Raider, Earth Defense HQ, AC Mothership, Mill Village Raid, King's Carriage Ambush, Millennium Falcon, Podracers, Skull Truck, and Fire Temple.
Additionally, you receive the exclusive Week 1 Bricktober minifigure magnet (White Ninja) with a qualifying $20 purchase. Lastly, this Week's flyer has a coupon that gets you a $10 "Special" Giftcard if you spend $75 or more. This "Special" Giftcard activates 6 hours later and then expires on 10/29/11.
Note: It is probably worth noting that, unlike last year, the Minifigures will be glued on each of the 4 magnets this Bricktober.
Note 2: Keep an eye on Amazon as they will likely match most if not all of these prices as has been their way recently.
Note 3: It appears that all other sets are 10% Off the normal TRU price this week.
Note 4: There appears to be yet another Brickober promotion, this one running throughout the month. For Rewards R Us members, you'll earn $5 in "LEGO Dollars" with your total LEGO purchase of $100+ or $10 in "LEGO Dollars" with your total LEGO purchase of $150+. These ceritificates will be mailed by TRU and via USPS sometime between 8 and 12 weeks after purchase. It's unclear to me, however, if these are in anyway different than normal "Rewards Bucks" (which are just as slow to arrive) or if the promotion is cumulative or per purchase. Additionally, the limit is one $5 or $10 certificate per member.
16 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1186 views
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Another Sun newspaper promotion coming up
Posted by Huw, 01 Oct 2011 10:40. Filed under Shopping (UK).
It's hot and very busy at GWLS but I've just found the time to let you know that starting next weekend we'll all be traipsing down to WHS every day for a week or so to grab the Sun for another set of free polybags. No word yet about how many or which sets: the small piece in today's paper just says it'll be starting next Saturday.
Thanks to everyone who emailed me about this and even showed me copies of today's paper at the show!
27 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1166 views
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10223 Kingdoms Joust unveiled
Posted by rocao, 01 Oct 2011 00:48. Filed under New sets.
In keeping with the tradition of announcing an AFOL-worthy set at BrickCon and the Great Western LEGO Train Shows this weekend, LEGO has just taken the wraps off the set 10223 Kingdoms Joust. The announcement was accompanied by a full set of media photos posted to the LEGO Shop Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.266426973389859.69505.207089142656976
The set consists of 1575 pieces, which will set consumers back US $119.99 (CA $149.99, DE 119.99 €, UK 99.99 £, DK 1099.00 DKK, AU 199.99 AUD). The set will be available exclusively from LEGO in January 2012.
It is certainly the largest and most detailed treatment LEGO has done to date of the storied jousting scene. But in my opinion, where the set really shines is when it's combined with a second copy -- as it was designed to do -- to form a substantial grandstand and encompassing building scene. Just be aware that in the official images, you may be looking at this double configuration!
Here is the official press release:
"10223 Kingdoms Joust
Ages 12+. 1,575 pieces.
US $119.99, CA $149.99, DE 119.99 €, UK 99.99 £, DK 1099.00 DKK, AU 199.99 AUDWatch the Knights battle it out at the Royal Joust!
It’s the most exciting event on the LEGO Kingdoms calendar! Join the King and Queen at the Royal Joust as the knights on horseback battle it out for the hand of the beautiful Princess. This detailed set recreates all the majesty of a medieval pageant, from the large, 6-roomed castle with linked wall extensions, 2 knights’ weapons tents, royal viewing box, jousting fence and of course 2 magnificent jousting horses. Combine 2 Kingdoms Joust sets for a scene that is truly fit for a King! • Includes 9 minifigures: king, queen, princess, lion knight, falcon knight, young squire, nobleman and 2 soldiers!• Knight minifigures include armor decoration, helmet, jousting pole, shield and 2 extra weapons!
• Features a castle with 6 detailed rooms with lots of accessories and 2 knight’s tents with weapon holders!
• Open back for easy access to linked wall extensions!
• Also features royal viewing box with flags and coat of arms!
• Includes 2 knight’s horses with detailed decoration, weapon holder and armored headgear!
• Explore the castle rooms!
• Battle it out for the hand of the princess!
• Combine 2 Kingdoms Joust sets for a scene fit for King!
• Castle measures 20″ (51 cm) wide and 12″ (30 cm) tall!Available for sale directly through LEGO® beginning
January 2012 via shop.LEGO.com, LEGO® Stores or via phone "
63 comments, latest one posted 19 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)1988 views
