Last week, online marketplace Bricklink hinted at a forthcoming collaboration with the LEGO Group, as part of the 60th Anniversary of the LEGO Brick celebrations.
Further details have been released this morning:
The AFOL [Adult Fan of LEGO] Designer Program is an opportunity of AFOLs to submit and original design for a Set, using Bricklink’s digital design software, Stud.io. The software will provide a restricted ‘competition’ palette for entries. Continue reading
Celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year, LEGO® Space is one of the great evergreen themes of the Minifigure era. One of the terrific aspects of the theme was the way that the overall design would periodically evolve, introducing new colour schemes and minifigure designs.
The theme arrived as we saw a resurgence in science fiction and space fantasy entertainment on the screen: led by films such as Star Wars, and on the smaller screen by Doctor Who, Blakes Seven and Battlestar Galactica, our imaginations were primed for journeys beyond the stars. The Space Shuttle Enterprise had been undergoing test flights from the back of a 747 Jet, and a we were excited for a new era of space exploration commencing, with the Space Shuttle Columbia ultimately launching in 1981.
These early series focussed on exploration, mining and the perils of space travel itself. It took 8 years before an enemy faction arrived, providing an outlet for dramatic conflict within the stories that were told.
Join us, as we set about exploring the print advertisements for LEGOLAND Space, and continue through the classic space era. Most of these advertisements are from Europe in a variety of languages. I have endeavoured to provide translations of these.
Let me take you back to Fabuland. First released in 1979, this was one of the first themes for which story telling was central. Fabuland was the first theme to be released in parallel with a series of books and was supported later by an animated television series. Designed to fit into the range somewhere between Duplo and ‘normal’ LEGO Bricks, Fabuland sets continued to be available until 1989.
With around one hundred sets produced over this time, there were over eighty different figures produced. The sets were designed to be able to be assembled by children as young as three, and as such developed larger elements compared standard building bricks during the course of their run.
LEGO have just released the details of the 2018 Creator Expert Winter Village Set. Steering clear of another reissue of a previous set, this year we see the release of the 10263 Winter Village Fire Station. With 1166 elements, this set will be released globally on October 1st 2018, with VIP availability at LEGO Brand Retail and shop.LEGO.com from September 13th. It will cost $149.99AUD, $100USD, £84.99 GBP and €89.99 in Germany.
As with previous Winter Village sets, this one appears to be set somewhere peaceful, in the mid 20th century, possibly in the middle of a Rankin-Bass animated Christmas Special. We have seen a number of common elements of these sets over the last 9 years:
It’s only a week until Medowie Brickfest, A LEGO® Fan Event! After great support last year, this community event is back, supporting all the Medowie Schools.
Medowie Brickfest is organised by Rainbow Bricks, a Recognised LEGO User Group based in the Newcastle/Hunter Valley/Central Coast area. There are over 30 LEGO Exhibitors with 70 tables of LEGO displays for you to enjoy.
There will also be lots of activities for the kids and young at heart to enjoy, including a LEGO build area, Remote Control Tracker Driving Area and Speed Build Competition.
Enjoy a drink and something to eat while you are with us from the Food and Drink Stalls.
There will be LEGO sets, merchandise and parts for sale.
DATE: Saturday 15th September
TIME: 10am – 4pm
VENUE: Medowie Christian School
COST: $5 a person / $15 a family
Facebook Event:
www.facebook.com/events/305206676678332
This is shaping up to be a great weekend for LEGO Fans in New South Wales: On Sunday the 16th, the Ryde Brick Fair is on in Sydney. There are certainly a number of events coming up over the next few weeks! Are you looking to get to any in particular? By the way, recognised LEGO User groups will often post notice of their events on the Ambassador’s network. You don’t need to be a member to access the calendar: so check it out here.
We take a break from nostalgia today as we return to turn to look at the Powered Up system. We now have three motors that we are able to use with the powered up system. The train motor, the ‘m’ motor ( the same motor supplied with the new Batmobile, and the WeDo 2.0 system) and finally the Servo motor which comes with LEGO Boost.
Knock knock.
Who’s there?
LEGO®!
LEGO who?
LEGO to the Ryde Brick Fair!
The LEGO master builders of Sydney (SydLUG) are throwing open their LEGO lairs to show justwhat is possible when you don’t follow the instructions! Get up close and inspired with some of Australia’s greatest Lego masterpieces before diving into the brick pit to create your own – the only limit is your imagination.
Fun for ages 4-99, come for the World’s favourite brick but stay for the jumping castle, LEGO RC car racing, cake stall, BBQ and more. Surprise appearances by your beloved characters throughout theday. Everything WILL be awesome. Everything will be cool (if you are part of the team).
Tickets: $5 per person on the day or book online and save with family ticket for $15.
https://www.trybooking.com/401419
Gates open 10am-4pm on Sunday 16th September 2018
Funds raised go to the Ryde East Public School.
And while we are talking about Fan Shows, a little bird tells me that there might be some discounted tickets for Brickvention (in Melbourne, January 2019) going on sale tomorrow afternoon…
Forty years ago, we saw the change in LEGO® sets: the arrival of the minifigure. Now we had articulated figures to bring our models to life: no need to remove the torso for our figures to sit down. As part of #minfigure40 I received access to a large number of media assets: today, I would like to look at some of the features of the advertisements in the LEGO Town/City series, one of the few themes to have been continuously available in some form or another for forty years! The majority of these advertisements were placed in comics, or magazines featuring comic strip anthologies, and puzzles and kid’s news. They have been published in multiple markets – ands languages. I have attempted to translate them as well as an online translation engine will allow.
The art style is typically similar to that seen in contemporary catalogs: certainly I suspect the early advertisements were shot at a similar time to the catalogs for that year.
Recently, the Rambling Brick held a contest to win The Ant-Man and the Wasp set, Quantum Realm Explorers.
The Brief was to build a MOC that would exploit AntMan’s ability to shrink or grow – so either build a microscale model, where a Minifigure could look like a giant, or one where the minifigure represented a shrunken AntMan. There is a prize of 76109 Quantum Realm Explorers for the winners in each category. Entrants were required to use a minifigure, but it was not necessary to use an actual AntMan Minifigure in entries.
Entries were open for roughly six weeks, and were accepted from around the world. A panel of judges was assembled from my network – a mixture of builders and community supporters. They were asked to nominate their three favourite MOCs in each category. (Three points for 1st; One point for 3rd). The builders of the MOCs were not identified to the judges at the time of judging.
Without further ado – here are the entries. Continue reading
As part of the recent Minifigure40 campaign, LEGO have sent out a collection of old print advertisements for a number of themes, from the 1970’s through to the early 2000’s. These advertisements come from a variety of sources, including comic books and magazines from the period. Not all of these were presented in English.
Today I thought we might check out some of the advertisements from the 1980 to 1997. During this time, we have some 4.5V and 12V trains, and ultimately see the introduction of the enduring (and endearing) 9V train system.
In 1980, we saw the introduction of the new 12 Volt train system: offering electrified central rails, batteries were unnecessary. The system also introduced a system of switches that would allow remote control of points/switches as well as boom gates and trains.
