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.

Hidden Side… some details arrive

We have already touched on the announcement of Hidden Side, the new Ghost Hunting theme featuring an Augmented Reality enabled App. Andres Lehmann of Zusammengebaut.com interviewed the head designer for this great new theme, and was talked through the sets. It provides great insight into the mythology behind the theme, as well as a demonstration of the AR app with the sets.

Jack and Parker’s teacher, Professor JB has been developing technology to detect and capture ghosts. The sets all come with a ‘ghost possessed’ minifigure – changing the head on the figure fr a trans yellow/red/blue form. Many of the vehicles and buildings also have form where they are possessed by the ghost realm, allowing a degree of transformation.

I can’t wait to see how these sets look in real life when they are released later in the year (probably around August). The mixture of digital and physical play has had a mixed response over the years with LEGO fans. While I am optimistic, I really want to give the game a bit of a work out.

You can check out the video here:

And courtesy of Jedi News, via Brickset, we have some images of the boxes for these sets (used with permission).

70418 Lab 174 pieces €19.99 $USD19.99

70419 Boat 310 pieces €29.99 $USD29.99

70420 Graveyard 335 pieces €29.99 $USD29.99

70421 Truck 428 pieces €39.99 $USD39.99

70422 Diner 579 pieces €49.99 $USD49.99

70423 Bus 689 pieces €59.99 $USD59.99

70424 Train 698 pieces €79.99 $USD79.99

70425 High School 1474 pieces €119.99 $USD129.99

Let’s bear in mind these are phone pictures, taken within an exhibition hall. In real life, I expect they will have a better look.

This new range had me interested when it was first announced on Thursday Night. Now I am getting excited to see how the Augmented Reality will translate in the hands of consumers.

Toy Story 4

A new Pixar film is on the way to open in June, and just as last year’s Incredibles 2 had sets only released in the ‘Juniors’ Range, so too are the TS4 sets restricted to the rebranded ‘4+’ range.

An interesting change in the regular figures has been the move to a normal minifigure mold for Woody, Jessie and Bo Peep. In previous Toy Story Sets, Minifigures had individually moulded heads, and Woody and Jessie both had longer legs than normal minifigures. Another interesting development is the arrival of the green army men in nano-figure form.

10766 Woody & RC

Woody, RC, Green Army Men $USD9.99

110771 Carnival Thrill Coaster

98 Pieces Buzz Lightyear and Alien $19.99 USD |

10769 Toy Story 4 RV Vacation

178 pieces, Jessie, Rex, Alien and Forky! $34.99 USD

10770 Buzz & Woody’s Carnival Mania

 230 pieces. Woody, Buzz, Bo Peep, Ducky and Bunny $49.99 USD

Star Wars:

We recently heard about the 20th Anniversary Star Wars sets, revisiting previous sets, with anniversary figures included. At the NY Toy Fair, images have been revealed of sets from The Force Awakens, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, as well as the new Disney Series, Resistance.

I am intrigued by the move to the smaller Vignette style of model we have seen this year – previously the Luke and Leia Death Star chasm swing set, and now the Duel on Star Killer Base. A number of these sets are labelled ‘Action Battle’ with large targets, launchable missiles and varying degrees of potential destruction. Perhaps not display items, these might be aimed at children!

75236 Duel on Starkiller Base

191 pieces Figs:Rey, Kylo Ren $USD19.99

75238 Action Battle Endor Assault

193 pieces 2 Figs: Wicket W. Warrick, Imperial Scout Trooper $USD29.99

75239 Action Battle Shield Generator Attack

235 pieces. 2 figures: Rebel Trooper, Imperial Snowtrooper $USD29.99

75241 Action Battle Echo Base Defence

504 pieces 5 figures: Rebel Trooper (3), Imperial Snowtrooper (2), Probe Droid USD$59.99

75242 Black Ace TIE Interceptor

396 pieces, 3 figures: Griff Halloran, Poe Dameron, BB-8 $USD49.99

75240 Major Vonreg’s TIE Fighter

496 pieces, 4 Figures:Major Vonreg, General Leia, Kaz Xiono, Bucket (R1-J5) USD $69.99

And finally…LEGO Systems Receives Four Prestigious Toy of the Year Awards

NEW YORK, Feb. 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL TOY FAIR – LEGO Systems, Inc. was honored with four Toy of the Year (T.OT.Y.) Awards at the Toy Association’s annual gala to celebrate the best and most innovative toys Friday, February 15, 2019. Building sets from LEGO® Harry Potter™ were recognized with top honors in the Construction Toy, Collectible, and Specialty Toy categories, and LEGO CREATOR Expert Roller Coaster was named Playset of the Year. Awards were presented.

“We are honored to receive four T.O.T.Y. awards, and so grateful for the recognition from the industry and consumers,” said Skip Kodak, senior vice president, LEGO Systems, Inc. “We’re excited to continue developing innovative building experiences for children of all ages and interests.”

Construction Toy of the Year: LEGO Harry Potter™ Hogwarts™ Great Hall 
Build the Great Hall for fun and magical adventures! Gather for a feast and the sorting ceremony in the Great Hall, then draw wands for a duel with Draco Malfoy™. Climb the moving stairs to explore the Grand Staircase tower, master the art of potions in the classroom, discover changing reflections in the Mirror of Erised™ and help Harry, Hermione and Ron battle the evil Basilisk and defeat Lord Voldemort™! Includes 10 minifigures.

Collectible of the Year: LEGO Minifigures – Harry Potter™ and Fantastic Beasts™ Edition
Enjoy magic and adventure with the Harry Potter™ and Fantastic Beasts™ collection, featuring exclusive limited edition minifigures and new costumes and accessories, including Harry’s Invisibility Cloak, a Golden Snitch, Voldemort’s snake Nagini and Newt’s Niffler and case! Each minifigure, packed in mystery bags to drive collectability, comes with one or more accessory elements, plus a collector’s leaflet and a unique display baseplate. 

Specialty Toy of the Year: LEGO Harry Potter™ Hogwarts™ Castle 
Welcome to the iconic Hogwarts™ Castle! Build and display this detailed microscale model featuring over 6,000 pieces. Discover intricately designed chambers, towers and classrooms, plus many more hidden features and scenes from the Harry Potter movies. Populate the castle with 27 microfigures, including Harry, Hermione and Ron, along with a spellbinding assortment of iconic accessories and artifacts, then complete the magical build experience with Hagrid´s hut and the Whomping Willow™.

Playset of the Year: LEGO Creator Expert Roller Coaster 
Build a fully functional chain-lift amusement park attraction from the 4,124 pieces, then send 11 LEGO minifigures on a thrilling ride. Features ticket booth, cotton candy cart, and a boarding station complete with opening barriers and a control panel. Coaster can be upgraded with LEGO Power Functions for a motorized chain lift or with LEGO BOOST for an added movement sensor and realistic sound effects.

Whew!

There are probably some interesting things there that weren’t LEGO. Personally I am really excited by Hidden Side, and interested to see the new Toy Story and 20th Anniversary Star Wars Sets. At this stage, we are yet to say any of the Friends or City sets for the second half year… I wonder if we will have some insights into this at the Melbourne Toy Fair in two weeks time?

What are you looking forward to seeing as the year progresses? Leave your comments below, and follow the Rambling Brick for updates, news, nostalgia and storytelling.

Until Next Time,

Play Well.