Another day where Too Many Things arrive in the inbox in Rapid Succession. These include a Star Wars Fan Event at the LEGO House, a Survey about LEGO stores and two new Ideas Contests (replacing what was once known as Rebrick). These have all arrived via the Ambassadors Network, an online community where recognised Fan Media, and Recognised LEGO User Groups Gather… read on for further details.
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Let me tell you a story.
This year, amongst other things, we celebrate forty years since the release of the first wave of Fabuland sets. Directed towards children making the transition from DUPLO® to regular system bricks, Fabuland represented the company’s first foray into story telling, and multimedia marketing.
Fabuland started simply in the form of sets: a town, with anthropomorphic animal headed figures, living their lives together. We had the essential services represented: police, fire and hospital, and ice cream. In time it expanded to include school, cafe, local government, transportation and paparazzi.
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LEGO today announce the arrival of the Ford Mustang Fastback: Entering the Creator Expert range of vehicles from March 1st, 2019. With 1471 pieces, the set has a higher part count, as well as more customisation options than recent Creator Expert cars that we have seen, including the VW Combi, Beetle, Mini, Ferrari, London Bus or the Aston Martin DB5.
With this vehicle, builders can add their preferred custom options, including super charger, front and rear spoilers, chunky exhaust pipes and a nitrous oxide tank!
Read on for further images, as well as the official press release.
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It’s Sunday evening and I am exhausted. The weekend has been full of unfolding news from the New York Toy Fair: new themes, new sets, new Ideas, new films and new styles of Battle Pack. It’s been an exciting thrill ride. We have touched on a few of these topics over the last few days. However, I think the easiest way to cover the rest of the news is to just wrap it up here. Read on for further details.
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In which I ponder the nature of the television sitcom and its broader narrative development, new spinoffs resulting in decades of related programming, changes between fan designer and production art and finally consider whether or not this one’s for me. By the way, 21316 the Flintstones will be available for VIPs 20th February, and probably having its ‘regular’ release on March 1st 2019.
One of my fondest childhood memories is coming home from school, and sitting down in front of the (Black and White) television for a couple of hours. It was the 1977 in Australia, and the typical afternoon television lineup consisted of a collection of 1960’s programs, both live action and animated: Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, Get Smart, Scooby Doo and The Flintstones.
With their canned laughter and awkward situations, often caused by miscommunication or zany get rich quick schemes, virtuallyany character development that occurred was reset at the end of the episode. Apart from a different actor playing Darren in Bewitched, as if nothing ever happened, most of these stories followed a simple plot line, with new scenery and characters telling a similar story the next week.
The Flintstones was unique amongst these programs, as it was probably the first show that would be considered to an animated sitcom: certainly a novel concept in 1960, when it was first broadcast. Fred and Barney – with their challenges at work, misunderstandings with their wives, the ritual Bowling tournaments, to say nothing of the Order of the Water Buffaloes.
Continue readingWe continue the week of New York Toy Fair, where too much news of new LEGO Sets is barely enough… we have another press release, and announcement of a new theme and media property.
LEGO Jurassic World: Legend of Isla Nublar is set a few years before the events of Jurassic World, and features a new series of 13 episodes.
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In the run up to this weekend’s New York Toy Fair, a surprise announcement: the release of a new theme: LEGO Hidden Side
On display for the first time at the NY Toy Fair, this new theme takes the physical play of a brick built set, and combines it with an augmented reality game, while our heroes Parker and Jack explore their hometown of Newbury, solving puzzles with the aid of their mobile phones. There will be eight new sets, due for release around August, which can be used in conjunction with the phone app to enhance the play experience.
Kids, LEGO bricks and puzzles to solve: what’s not to love?
Details of the sets, as well as the press release follows the break.
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Yesterday, pictures started to surface of a vinyl wrapped store featuring lots of LEGO livery, at the Westfield Centre in Bondi Junction.
Today, we can confirm that we will see a LEGO® Certified Store open on that site in late March – probably in time to coincide with the (delayed, compared to the rest of the world) Australian opening of The LEGO Movie 2.
While the Sydney’s first LEGO Centre at Birkenhead Point has long closed, the new shop – a Certified Store rather than LEGO Brand Retail – will operate over two floors, with a total floor space of 302sqm.
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Ahead of this weekend’s New York Show, the LEGO Group have announced three more sets based on the LEGO® Movie 2, which opened in the rest of the world last weekend. The three new sets announced will be released in May. Some might consider some of the following content to be spoilers… as much as any set can be in the absence of context. Others won’t. Details of the sets, as well as the press release come after the break. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
While I’m here: In Australia, while there were some preview screenings of The LEGO Movie 2 during the world wide opening weekend, we have to wait until March 21st to see the film’s general release here. How can we pass the time? How about some live building of some TLM2 sets. I’ll post details on the Rambling Brick Facebook and Instagram pages when I have a schedule worked out. Stay tuned for further details.
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This year, we are celebrating the 50th Anniversary of LEGO DUPLO. Basic brick sets first appeared in 1969, but figures were not introduced until 1977. They provided a way to introduce role play into the way that children interacted with DUPLO bricks. These first figures appeared ahead of minifigures, and there were then several ways in which DUPLO figures have led the way with regard to character design compared with minifigures. In this article, I will cover the changes in shape of the basic shape of figures seen in DUPLO sets since they were first introduced. I will not cover the introduction of each colour or hair/helmet mold, but I will cover the important changes that occurred in body design, as well as touch on some of the licensed figures that have appeared over the years…but only some!
While DUPLO debuted in 1969, the first Duplo figures did not appear until 1977, a year ahead of minifigures. These figures were simple, finger puppet style figures, which would fit comfortably over 2×2 DUPLO Studs. With no moving ares or legs, they were similar in some respects to the ‘stage extra’ figures in use in the regular system sets at the time.
