Month: November 2019

The LEGO Group Buys Out BrickLink.

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No, it is not April the 1st!

When I attended my first LEGO®️ Fan show as an adult, a little over 10 years ago, I discovered two things: One was that it was OK to be both an adult, and a fan of LEGO. The other was that I could find almost any set or element from the past or present at a online marketplace called Bricklink.

Bricklink has been one of the resources that has enabled hundreds of thousands of LEGO fans to realise their creative vision, through providing access to the widest palette of parts. And for some, it has also allowed people to recoup some of the costs incurred with purchasing sets for specific elements, by selling on leftover elements. And then there are the ongoing ways that Bricklink has set out to value add for AFOLS: MOC Shop, Stud.io and the AFOL Designer Program. Bricklink has managed to fill many of the gaps left behind by LEGO, through vintage sets, obsolete parts and por ongoing support for LDD software.

In recent years, LEGO have also become more engaged with Bricklink, with the AFOL Designer Program recently delivering some amazing sets, designed by members of the AFOL community.

And then today, we hear the most incredible news coming out of Billund…

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LEGO® Announce 42109: App-Controlled Top Gear Rally Car

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A new LEGO® Technic set, based on a Top Gear Branded Rally Car was unveiled today at the Los Angeles Motor Show.

With 463 elements, including the Technic Smart Hub, as well as both L and XL Technic motors, this set is currently the cheapest way to obtain these elements from LEGO. It is priced at $USD129.99/£124.99 compared with the 4×4 X-treme Off Roader 42099 at $USD249.99/£199.99, although 42099 comes with an additional XL motor. While we don’t have other pricing currently available, I expect that an Australian price might be in the region of $AUD200-250.

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Piratepalooza Continues: Meet the Islanders

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This year, we saw the 30th anniversary of the arrival of LEGO Pirates on the scene. Featuring ships, factions and named characters, Pirates also introduced some interesting elements to the mixture. After five years, perhaps in an attempt to move away from the obligatory Pirates versus Governor conflict, a new group of characters was introduced: Islanders.

With printed grass skits, and wearing horns in their hair, I probably feel a bit uneasy about saying anything about how these characters might reflect any culture living at the times during which the Pirates theme was set. Suffice to say, they provided variation in characterisation. I imagine that Pirates might be seeking to hide out on an island in the South Seas, and seek a degree of cooperations from the indigenous population. I am glad there were no ‘soldier faction’ figures included with the Islanders subtheme.

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Announcing 76139: Bringing Back Burton’s Big Black Batmobile!

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Thirty Years Ago, Comics had undergone a Dark and Gritty Rebirth. Inspired in part by stories such as Frank Miller’s ‘The Dark Knight Returns’, and Alan Moore’s ‘Watchmen’ in the mid 80’s, super hero comics went from bright and fun and dark and gritty, almost overnight. It was on the crest of this wave that design cues were drawn, and Tim Burton’s BATMAN was born. Up until now, most people who didn’t read comics only remembered Batman in the form of Adam West’s performances in the late 1960’s. Bright, colourful and camp. In the eyes of the movie going public, Burton’s film changed the public perception of the Dark Knight, from one of Camp Crusader to a Dark and Brooding Knight, taking on the crime and corruption of Gotham.

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Community Corner: BrisBricks Toowoomba Expo 2019

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Coming up this weekend from the team at BrisBricks…

The team at BrisBricks are busy building towards their first LEGO® Fan Expo in Toowoomba on November 9-10th.

BrisBricks LEGO Fan Expos have welcomed tens of thousands of patrons over the years to be amazed and inspired by the visually stunning exhibits and we’re excited to bring this to Toowoomba for the first time. Our energetic team of clever builders and friendly volunteers freely donate their time, displaying their own creations and personal collections that will take children and adults on a magical journey through the ages of LEGO.

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New Spring Festival Sets for 2020 Announced: APAC Release: December 26 – Rest of the World: January 10!

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After last year’salmost unanticipated success of the 80102 Dragon Dance, and the 80101 Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner, the LEGO Group have just announced the two sets to be released for next year’s celebrations, as we welcome in the Year of the Rat: 80104 Lion dance and the 80105 Chinese New Year Traditional Temple Fair.

These sets build on the foundation set by last year’s sets, and carry the story telling to the next level. For MOC builders, the sets offer an array of new decorated elements, as well as some neat parts usage demonstrated throughout both sets…

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Build to Give 2019 Campaign Launched:

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Over the last few years, the LEGO Group, through their charity partners, have delivered hundreds of thousands of LEGO sets to children in hospital, as well as vulnerable children in need around the world. This year…they have set their target at 1000000 sets to be delivered to children in need around the world.

Through the Build to Give campaign, the LEGO Group donated more than 500.000 LEGO® sets last year to children around the world. This holiday season, the company seeks to double the donation and is asking builders’ help to reach a donation of 1 million LEGO sets to bring a smile to the faces of children in need of play. 

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Igniting nostalgia and celebrating brand heritage – new LEGO® Originals™

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You may have heard about a Pop-Up Store and Gallery appearing in London this weekend, launching the new LEGO® Originals Series. The first in this series is a 5:1 upscaled mini figure, produced in conjunction with the Danish design house, Room Copenhagen. Returning to the LEGO Group’s wooden toy roots, this minifigure, crafted from oak, appears 60 years after the last plastic and wooden toy was released: a Bedford Fire truck, in 1959. Of course the company started off making wooden toys in 1932.

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Listening in with LEGO® Audio Instructions [Emma’s Art Studio 41365]

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A couple of months ago, the LEGO Foundation Launched a pilot program to test audio instructions – a tool to enable visually impaired children to build LEGO® sets. In the current pilot program, Audio Instructions are available for LEGO Classic: 11001 Bricks and Ideas, LEGO Friends: 41365 Emma’s Art Studio, The LEGO Movie 2: 70821, Emmet and Benny’s ‘Build and Fix’ Workshop and the LEGO City 60207 Sky Police Drone Chase. I had a copy of 41365: Emma’s Art Studio, provided by the LEGO Group at my request earlier in the year, close at hand, so I thought I test the system out.

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