Brickset: Latest news (without Amazon Bargain Watch alerts)

New instructions added to LEGO Customer Services [Auto alert]

Sat, 25 May 2013 01:21:30 GMT

A PDF of one new instruction manual has been added to the LEGO Customer Services Building Instructions site today.

See what's new on our new instructions page.

This article was originally published at Brickset.com.

LEGO Display in Hungary, this weekend [Events (Europe)]

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:35:59 GMT

A brand new LUG in Szeged, Hungary, is holding its first public display on Sunday, May 26th.

LUG Szeged is a new LUG with members from southern Hungary. The public display is accompanied by a LEGO building contest and a LEGO children's play area. The event is part of the city's Children's Day event and will be held at Szent-Györgyi Albert Agóra (http://www.agoraszeged.hu) starting at 10:00 am.

For more information on LUG Szeged, please visit the club's Facebook page.

This article was originally published at Brickset.com.

Brand store calendar for June [shop.LEGO.com (UK)]

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:25:01 GMT

Rich at BrickFanatics has just posted details from the June calendar:

Tower of Orhtanc available from 17th June to VIP members, as stated before.
Summer City, Chima, Star Wars and Galaxy Squad will be available from the 1st.
Spend £25 or more and you'll get a free TNMT Splinter key ring, spend £50 or more for the Jor-El polybag. (No idea if they stack or not, but probably not).

And, the Glasgow store grand opening event will be held 7 - 9th June with the usual selection of freebies to the first customers each day.

Also, we're hearing from various sources (including Kockamania) that the Back to the Future Cuusoo set will be available in August!

This article was originally published at Brickset.com.

XS-SP33D Fireball by CSF_Blake [Cuusoo]

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:18:01 GMT

This week, we are returning to the theme of Sci-fi Space with the XS-SP33D Fireball. This is a build by Blake Foster, who has some of the best fictional space themed projects on Cuusoo. His Octan in Space even got a Cuusoo Staff Pick this week.

The thruster-to-ship ratio is perfect for this sci-fi "muscle car" concept. I really like his use of the skies rounding the thrusters and use of "metal detectors" to add more connections with the cockpit. The use of the red flags to visually connect the snotted thruster shroud together is brilliant.

Really greebly LEGO spacecraft, so popular at Cons, just can't seem to make any headway on Cuusoo. The most supported fictional spacecraft without IP, The Manticore, is barely above 500 support.

Meanwhile there are many projects for "castle" and "city" that are well above that. I have a theory that part of this is because people have some collective idea of what modern and fantasy/historical sets should look like, but everyone has their own opinion about what the future holds and they are more swayed by their personal sense of style in these matters. My point on this? Well, don't expect to get very far on Cuusoo with an IP free spaceship unless it is seriously awesome.

Blake Foster has quite the collection of impressive space builds under his belt. He even has a few technical marvels as well, which can all be seen at his personal web site.

Previous Pick

LL1012-12 NCS-Speeder by T.Oechsner

A Week of Cuusoo

This week, I had two picks, the first being the Iron Man Hulkbuster with its inspired use of the "hero-factory" Iron Man chest plate. My other favorite project this week is the Apollo Guard - Imperial Mecha Unit which I find slightly reminiscent of Warhammer 40k armor (though I am sure many will disagree). Either way, very good week for anyone who likes Bulky power armor for their minifigs.

The Liebherr LTM 1070 boom crane is another fine offering. Internally it utilizes a rather ingenious collection of elements and seven motors to drive and operate the crane but the visually shell is fully actualized in more traditional LEGO rather than Technic elements.

My review of these projects, a showcase of all the projects that came out in the last week and a few other ramblings about Cuusoo and crowd sourced / funded projects can be found here.

MAN! That is a lot of Red and Grey pictures!

This article was originally published at Brickset.com.

Full list of raffle winners [Brickset]

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:42:15 GMT

The prize draw is over, the grand total raised was £4800. I believe around a dozen hospitals around the world are going to benefit from everyone's generosity, which is a fantastic achievement. I'll ask kevbags (or sirkevbags as he is now in the forum :-)) to provide a complete list.

The full list of winners, who have all been notified by email, is after the break.

I'd personally like to thank Kev for organising it. Not only will it benefit countless children but it's also helped galvanise the Brickset community and make it a truly great place to be, and in my case 'be in charge' of.

Mr Gold - meyerc13
Chrome Darth Vader - kartula
Chrome Storm Trooper - wiggy
Silver Cedric - pug_hobbit
Hoth Han - grendel753
Jor El - madaboutlego
Shirtless Darth Maul - bobjack_jackbob
TC-14 - cambridge07
New York Taxi - Mrs S Buckley (Non Brickset)
BR Minifigure - dare_wreck
Monster Fighter Zombie Cars -try001
Stig Key Chain - cale200
Sopwith Camel - n8er
Chrome Gold Minifigure Key Chain - neomonkey
Mini Hulk - Mr D MacKenzie (Non Brickset)
Chase McCain - dbmaffe
Z-95 Headhunter - salavat
Mandalorian Fighter - brickbrats
Statue Of Liberty - mattgoshe
Mini Hogwarts Express - nevermore158
Mini Sopwith - docdancan
Mirkwood Elf - gorelaxx
Ganrash - civicbossman
ADU Walker - bassbison
Lex Luthor - perijove
Elrond - Mr N Vettraino (Non Brickset I think)
Brickmaster polys - sidersdd
New York Taxi - Miss C Bates (Non Brickset)
Series 2 CMF Complete Set - branko
2011 Holiday Set - sidersdd
Target Practice Poly - blueoyster
2012 Holiday Set - j1a3l5
Ferrari Polys Complete Set - samiam391
Monster Fighter Zombies - jadedanc
Shirtless Darth Maul - princedraven
Monster Fighter Stickers - tikirobot
Mini Modulars - drdavewatford
Leeds Minifigures - waynus
Sopwith Camel - sirrich69

Congratulations everyone! Sorry to see my name isn't on the list, though. What went wrong, Kev? :-)

This article was originally published at Brickset.com.

Batman The Movie With Exclusive Clark Kent: Canada [Shopping (Canada)]

Wed, 22 May 2013 22:18:55 GMT

I'm sorry if this news comes late to fellow Canadians, but I only now had a chance to visit the city.

I found this exclusive DVD and Blue Ray Version in Walmart, the DVD I believe was priced at 14.99 + tax.

I purchased my DVD copy however at Superstore for 15.97 + tax. Walmart is the better deal.

A wonderful Clark Kent figure made out of the most desired... lower grade ABS.

This article was originally published at Brickset.com.

The BrickGun book [Book review]

Wed, 22 May 2013 09:29:13 GMT

I received a review copy of this new book published by No Starch Press today. The BrickGun Book "shows how to make the world's least dangerous guns". It's a 222-page paperback authored by Jeff Boen who, by all accounts, is a celebrity in brick gun circles, and who runs Brickgun.com.

After a short introduction that provides building tips and explains the development of Jeff's designs, the bulk of the book is filled with detailed instructions for five of his most popular ones: BG22, 92FS, Desert Eagle, 1911 and MAC-11 (the names of which mean little to me).

The instructions themselves, which are accompanied by tabular and graphical parts lists, have been created with the LDraw toolset. They are very high quality and look to be easy to follow, despite the fact that most of the parts are black. I'd go so far as saying that they are better printed than some of the LEGO official instruction books in that regard. There are example spreads of the instructions on the No Starch website.

The completed models look very realistic and in fact the back of the book states to 'exercise caution when handling these replicas and be extremely careful when displaying these models in public'. It might be better to build them in red then, rather than black :-)

The subject matter will not be to everyone's taste but there seems to be a demand for it as this is No Starch's fourth book on LEGO guns, after Forbidden LEGO, LEGO Heavy Weapons and Badass LEGO guns. They obviously wouldn't have published it if there wasn't.

If LEGO guns interest you, you won't be disappointed with this book. It's very well produced.

It (and some of the the other books I mention above) is available from Amazon.co.uk (£20.49), Amazon.com ($20.25), Amazon.de (€18.50) and Amazon.ca ($16.35).

This article was originally published at Brickset.com.

Want to test-drive the new Brickset design? [Brickset]

Wed, 22 May 2013 06:56:11 GMT

If you've been wondering why the news and site updates have been a little slow over the last couple of weeks, it's because I've started work on redeveloping the site. It's very early days, and it's going to be a good few months before I've finished, but there's enough done now to show you and solicit feedback.

Update: my call for feedback has been met with an overwhelming response, which is excellent. However to stop the bombardment of emails I'll close the offer for now!

This article was originally published at Brickset.com.

And the winner is... [Brickset]

Wed, 22 May 2013 05:40:16 GMT

The draw for the raffle is in full swing in the forum, and the other small competition to win 79100 Kraang Lab Escape, donated by Argos[1], is now over.

The question was "What was the TV series called when it was shown in the UK in the 1980s?", and the correct answer was B, Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles because of "the controversy surrounding ninjas and related weapons such as nunchuks at the time. The intro sequence was heavily edited because of this, replacing the word ninja with hero or fighting, using a digitally faded logo instead of the animated blob, and removing any scenes in which Michaelangelo wields his nunchuks, replacing them with random clips from the show", according to Wikipedia. I didn't watch it at the time but presumably that totally ruined it!

There were 511 entries, of which 298 were correct, which I reckon is pretty low given you could've Googled it!

Anyway, picking an entry at random from the list, number 132, is...Charlie Davies! Congratulations Charlie, I'll be in touch to get your address.

[1] Argos is a top UK retailer stocking a large selection of toys with an impressive LEGO section

This article was originally published at Brickset.com.

The biggest LEGO fan display in Western Australia! [Events (Australia)]

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:43:45 GMT

The WA Brick Society is having its annual display and invites people to see what amazing things they have made from LEGO on their 40 metre long layout! The display will include an even longer bridge than last year (39 metres), a working race car track, drag strip and a model of Allendale Square, a Perth landmark.

Last year was their best attended event, with over 21,000 people that came down to the show!

This year it's being held at Claremont Showgrounds, Claremont, Western Australia, on June 1st and 2nd, from 10am - 5pm, and June 3rd: 10am to 4pm. Entry prices are: Kids $5, Adults $10, Family $25.

You can find out more about the WA Brick Society or download the display poster by visiting: www.wabricksociety.org.au and our Facebook page

This article was originally published at Brickset.com.

Last chance to enter the Brickset raffle [Brickset]

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:44:16 GMT

Today's your last chance to enter the raffle! There's a huge prize pool, including Mr. Gold, and all proceeds are going to be used for buying LEGO for childrens' hospital wards in the UK, USA, Australia, and now also Spain and Sweden, thanks to local Bricksetters.

kevbags has just let me know that we're well on the way to raising £3000, which is a fantastic achievement!

He'll be accepting entries up until 11pm (GMT+1) this evening. Tickets cost just £1 (multiple tickets allowed), payment via PayPal to kg323@hotmail.com. Please include your Brickset name (main site or forum) in the comments and use 'I'm sending money to family or friends' or the 'gift' option so we are not throwing money away on fees, or if that option is not available in your country, please add a little more to cover them. Please do not mention 'raffle' in the payment text.

Update: entry is now closed. Over £4500, US$6800 was raised! Stay tuned for more information!

This article was originally published at Brickset.com.

Tower of Orthanc will initially be a VIP exclusive [shop.LEGO.com (General)]

Sun, 19 May 2013 05:50:56 GMT

We're hearing from grogall that 10237 Tower of Orthanc will be available from 17th June exclusively to VIP customers from shop.LEGO.com and in the brand stores. This is a couple of weeks before its general release in July.

This article was originally published at Brickset.com.

May offer at Chowren Toys [Shopping (USA)]

Sun, 19 May 2013 05:45:34 GMT

The special offers the team at Chowren Toys provide for Brickset readers are very popular, and I'm sure this one will be no different.

Toy Story 7599 Garbage Truck Getaway for just US$35

"Our May promotion for Brickset readers from Chowren Toys will be $35 for Toy Story 7599 Garbage Truck Getaway. Please enter promo code: 7599PROMO at the checkout to get this price. This is limited to 5 per customer while supplies last. The more you buy the cheaper the shipping per item will be and any over-charge caused by error in the shipping calculator will be refunded. This promotion will only last until 11:59 pm (US West Coast time) Sunday May 26, 2013. Just like previous promotions, please log into your account or register an account with our store in order to use this code. Click here to place your order.

This article was originally published at Brickset.com.

Yoda Chronicles promotional set [New sets]

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:44:33 GMT

This set has been sent out to journalists and webmasters to promote the Yoda Chronicles premiere next week. You can read more and see more pictures at Game Informer and Idle Hands.

If you weren't lucky enough to get one yourself (I certainly wasn't!) you can bid a princely sum for one on eBay.

(Thanks Paul at Idle Hands for the picture and LostInTranslation for the news).

Update: The Brick Show team has published a video review of the set on YouTube.

This article was originally published at Brickset.com.

Cuusoo of the Week: Food Truck by SpaceySmoke [Cuusoo]

Fri, 17 May 2013 04:30:05 GMT

Can it really be that LEGO has not done a Food Truck? They seem to be cropping up everywhere in the States. It has been a while since I have been overseas, but if Wikipedia is to be believed, they are showing up everywhere else too.

Well, even independent of their actual commonality or lack thereof, food trucks can add a lot of activity and flair to any city scene. SpaceySmoke's Food Truck is a great rendition of the mainstream food truck.

This food truck comes with a great assortment of elements:

- Detailed serving counter.
- Detailed kitchen with oven, sink, grill, and storage space.
- Characteristic food truck details, such as the skylights and vents.
- Skylights removes for access to the interior!
- Seats one driver.

With the exception of perhaps Camper Van Forever and a few modulars, this is the most supported project that I would categorize as "City" themed.

The only problem with most food trucks is that the interesting side tends to face the side walk... funny how that works. So, "logistically" it works great parked up against a modular, but then it is hard to see the great little vignette you have created. In this configuration you need to park the truck on a corner or some such but you are still blocking a lot of the action.

This is the arrangement you find in the really crowded downtown areas but there is another, much more, visible setup option. In roomier locations, food trucks sometimes set up shop in parking lots, even with a few tables for their customers to use. This setup could work great on a baseplate between modulars with a couple of benches thrown in.

Previous Pick

It turns out my last "City" pick was also by SpaceySmoke, an awesome ambulance build. I hemmed and hawed a bit about showcasing the same person in the same subject twice in a row, but kept coming back to how awesome and unique (from an existing LEGO set perspective) I find the food truck to be.

A Week of Cuusoo

This week, my favorite new project is Daft Punk.

Musicians show up quite a bit in Cuusoo. Most go unnoticed, some get ridiculed, but it seems most get deleted for one reason or another as their support catches on (Spice Girls, Green Day, Megadeth).

I am not familiar with all of Daft Punks music but what I know of, and read about is non-offensive. On on top of all that though, these guys are known for wearing robotic costumes... These guys come pre-developed for LEGO headgear!

What impresses most about this musician themed project, and sadly makes it rather rare, is that it comes with awesome, quality mocs

The Robot from Castle in the Sky, the Wolven Fighter, and a firing crossbow (what? really? Didn't expect to see that on Cuusoo) were some of the other interesting projects to come out in the last week. My review of these projects, a showcase of all the projects that came out in the last week and a few other ramblings about Cuusoo and crowd sourced / funded projects can be found here.

This article was originally published at Brickset.com.

LEGO train display in the UK next weekend [Events (UK)]

Fri, 17 May 2013 04:05:03 GMT

The Southern LEGO Train Club is putting on a display at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre, near Aylesbury, on the bank holiday weekend, Sunday 26 - Monday 27th May.

There'll be LEGO train layouts and model displays, a shop selling LEGO sets, parts, minifigs and collectables, brick engraving and a build area. The display will be located in the Rewley Road station building.

It is part of the Centre's bank holiday weekend events which also includes real full-size steam engines running, Paddington Bear (Sunday only), a bus rally (Monday only) and the miniature railway, plus the museum.

This article was originally published at Brickset.com.

LEGO City - Police Helicopter Pursuit 3658 On Sale Toys R Us Canada/eBay [Shopping (Canada)]

Fri, 17 May 2013 02:50:38 GMT

Toys R Us Canada's store on eBay.ca has a great sale on 3658 Police Helicopter Pursuit.

Priced at $11.17 Canadian with free shipping. Limited quantities.

Thank you Brickset user Madriz for the news.

UPDATE: Sale is no longer valid, they have changed the page. Must have been a mistake on their part?

This article was originally published at Brickset.com.

Auckland LEGO display, June 1-3 [Events (Elsewhere)]

Thu, 16 May 2013 08:04:48 GMT

The Auckland LEGO Train Group is putting on a display in a couple of weeks' time in Auckland, New Zealand, on Queen's Birthday Weekend, 1 - 3rd June.

It's being held at the Corban Estate Arts Center, 426 Great North Rd, Henderson and it'll be open 10 am - 6 pm Saturday and Sunday, 10 - 4pm Monday. Entry is just $2 per person.

Last year's show was a huge success, with over 12,000 visitors, so if you're in the area head on down there -- early!

There's more information on the group's Facebook page.

Interestingly, we in the UK, don't bother celebrating the Queen's birthday or naming the weekend ...

This article was originally published at Brickset.com.

Free Iron Man poly at shop.LEGO.com (UK) [shop.LEGO.com (UK)]

Thu, 16 May 2013 03:20:42 GMT

A new offer at shop.LEGO.com has started today: receive a free 30167 Iron Man vs Fighting Drone polybag when you spend over £25, until the end of May. Click on the banner to take advantage of this offer.

This article was originally published at Brickset.com.

Free Iron Man poly at shop.LEGO.com (US/Canada) [shop.LEGO.com (US/Canada)]

Thu, 16 May 2013 03:12:13 GMT

A new offer at shop.LEGO.com has started today: receive a free 30167 Iron Man vs Fighting Drone polybag when you spend over US$50, until the end of May. If you're in the USA, please click on the banner. If you're in Canada, please use this link.

This article was originally published at Brickset.com.