LIVE Coverage of LEGO® CON: Saturday 26 June (unless you are on the other side of the dateline…)

ramblingbrick Lego

It’s Almost here: LEGO CON, where we will get a couple of hours of presentations and previews direct from Billund. While the event will be live streamed from LEGO.com, I will be mashing the refresh button, typing along with the event.

We will start with the AFOL Preshow, including @trickybricks, @fourbrickstall @IV_LEGO and more, before moving onto the main event.

The Event will be hosted by Melvin Odoom and Michelle Khare

We will be seeing new products from Minecraft, Star Wars, Super Mario, Technic and more. We will also see the results of the ‘I love Sports’ contest on LEGO IDEAS announced. Join me at 5pm London time, 12 pm US Eastern; 9am US west coast; and stupid o’clock AEST(0200). Leave your comments below.

What are you hoping to see announced at LEGO-Con?

10 minutes to go, and I have logged on to LEGO .com… it keeps promising me that things will start Very Very soon….

The music has a sort of Accordion-trance fusion quality to it. I’d better make a cup of tea.

And we are off!

A Bright coloured light show and music

Adam Ward introduces the preshow

And its brotherhood studios to start

Kevins advice is to use the resources you have available, rather than going for the top of the line kit. You’ll learn heaps just using your smartphone.

He was 11 years old when he made his first stop motion.

Make your characters relatable: what are they thinking and feeling

Connect the audience to the character

Kevins videos are amazing!

Its IV LEGO Next

Inez is from the Phillipines and makes realistic models of flowers using LEGO bricks, balancing the elements to use, with the look of the flowers: a balance between Science and Art.

I met Inez at Japan Brickfest a couple of years ago: her passion is inspiring

Next its tricky bricks

they are talking about MOCs – My own Creation: your own builds. they encourage building about what you know. They know theatre, talked us through the use of colour in their model.

Following up on this is an explaination of different hinges: plates, ball hinges and click hinges.

Then they spoke about the value of adding movement to your MOC to add life.

The production of these is so tight. Minutes each, and nicely packaged.

Next: Kat Harris talking about connecting with her family to build. She recommends setting up a scrapyard of Ideas for building.

Build what you know

Donny Chen – fan designer of the LEGO Piano spoke about the value of building what you know:

He started with a house, and then moved onto a piano, to demonstrate the mechanism to his students. Donny is based in Melbourne.

Anna Bitanga: Fourbrickstall

She starts off creating an interesting character out of the parts she has.

Experiment with scenery: Moss, Rocks

Dont put your minifigure in food….

And now the show starts

Melvin and Michelle introduce us to the question box and emojis

they promise a big global build.

And its LLAMA!

Space Builds

George gillart talking about the spaceshuttle and other current space builds. I love his shirt.

The CITY Deep space rocket from 2019 is based on the Artemis Rocket to be launched later in the year

“Do you get to work with NASA?”

Absolutely: we collaborate to get all of the details correct.

This way we can ensure the spaceshuttle is mission perfect in its detail.

they are joined by astronaut Mike Massimino who built the lunar lander in zero gravity. He is super excited about building LEGO.

Artemis – named for Apollo’s Twin – heading back to the moon, as part of the path to Mars.

Many of ther LEGO CITY Space sets from 2019 are based on NASA’s plan for the artemis mission: a lunar gateway, based in orbit. Mike credits LEGO and STEM education in seeing the US space program now having equal representation of men and women in the latest training cohort.

Cross to Melvin for a live build from the LEGO House – using LEGO Dots for an installation at the LEGO House.

Make a pattern on a 6×6 plate using DOTS elements

LEGOHOUSE.com/dots – take a photo and submit your designs

Its Brickmaster Amy from LEGO Masters USA:

keep your pattern simple, change some colours and mix it up.

And cross to the AFOLs from the pre show to see them designing their modules using the digital design tool

https://www.lego.com/en-au/kids/dots/design-studio

Harry Potter 20 years: Marcos Messa and Giorgio, building hogwarts as a competitive speed build

What sets are you most proud of:

MB: Diagon Alley.

G: Chamber of secrets

whats your favorite easter eggs in recent sets?

Designers in portraits in the classrooms.

Marcos has fallen behind. and just pipped at the post.

Now he joins us on stage.

Celebrations in store for the 20th Anniversary

Maxifigures and Fawkes on stage.

Introduced Golden figures, as well as new models not done before.

Some of the details and process: small but passionate design team.

The collaborate to bring the moments in the sets and movies together.

the new hogsmeade sets are full of little details – for example different lollies, and the like. also the random wizard cards. 16 in total

And Back to Melvin:

Looking at smashing moments from LEGO Masters around the world

Crossover to the masterpiece Gallery

Talking to Mattias, a play hero at the LEGO House

We have 3 dinosaurs: Technic, Duplo and system ‘They are looking after the AFOL’s Builds on display here.’

Over half a million lego bricks between them all.

The dinos are crying because they are stepping on a lego brick.

Stream buffering.

Hopefully we will be back soon….

I’m loving the pace of the event. the dino’s at the LEGO House are truly amazing creatures to behold, as is the entire masterpiece gallery, where models from AFOLs around the world are on display..

The DOTS designer Gallery is the place to design your own little patch for the LEGO House, and upload the image to legohouse.com/dots/

And music is back

And are Michelle and Melvin: top 5 things at lego House:

  • Tree of Creativity
  • Brick waterfall
  • minichef restaurants – with robots!
  • LEGO Archive
  • World Explorer

Its the lifesize LAmboghini Sian from the Kladno Model shop in the Czech replublic.

And a cross back over to the dots builds

And now its a look at LEGO IDeas.

Its the typewriter from Steve Guinness

He shows us his micro typewriter

LEGO IDEAS ANNOUNCEMENT

We love sports Winner

the LEGO Foosball Table from Constructions by Donat – a 16 yearold TFOL from Hungary

Cross to melvin crosses to the recently announced recycled PET plastic brick prototypes

Cross to Tim Brooks – VP for sustainability

Talking about steps being used for sustainability: renewable energy, transitioning towards paper bags from plastic bags,

He shows off the Plants from plants.

Now Bricks from Bottles…

they get lots of letters every years from kids asking for better environmental impacts.

Nelllee Van Der Paul- VP Materials, talking about the new protoype bricks.

Why does it take so long?

Bricks are super strong and durable. Need new bricks to be able to look great and click together. over 300 formulation tested over the last 5 years.

Also Q&A with Lydia and design manager Fred, talking about some of the new sets.

New aspects of the game are being introduced into the LEGO sets, such as the Ruined Portal

Fred talks about the Treehouse set. – Based on two big trees – with modular rooms – over 60 final forms.

There is an design guide used by the LEGO team to determine how to but different components of the build together.

Lydia “How can the sets combine the best of LEGO with the best of Minecraft”

What are some of the challenges with the design process?

using transparent elements to give the illusion fo floating models.

What is your favorite feature in one of the new sets?

Lydia: the new characters (Panda) in the modern treehouse, as well as the phantoms.

Fred: the portal in the ruined portal

Choose a new skin to make it into a new set next year:

One more thing….

Caves and Cliffs part 2 – game update just came out.

thank you Lydia and Fred

Poll result: 40% of audience want to contribute to LEOG Ideas

Back to the DOTS wall:

Denmark, Australia, India. 3100 contributions during the show

What is it like to be a designer?

Spenta day with Ellen from Friends team.

She shows us her decorations and the first set she designed.

Then carpooling to work

Lots of secret projects going on years in advance.

Fenella joins us to talk about the new amusement park: the magic amusement park. to get real friends to join in with the magic tricks

Q&A with Ellen and Fenella in the studio

What are some good subects to study in school?

Study design – or be an awesome fan. –

Other design jobs other than Sets? Graphic design, element design, package design.

Builders Block is a problem: see what the other designer s are up to.

Many turn to LEGO Building to de-stress… what do you guys do?

Ellens connects with Nature, Fenella builds duplo with her kids, and knocks the,e doen.

Ninjago

10 years. Seabound is coming to LEGO Brawls.

Super Mario

We have just seen the new Ad for LEGO Mario

The sets were announced last week.

A new poll on the home page…

Next LEGO Star Wars…

Time for a set reveal

It looks like the light cruiser

That was fun: a pile of bricks on the ground outside the LEGO House returned to the roof and reassembled by the power of the force… Doesn’t look like a gunship though….

Looking at the new light cruiser from the season finale of season 2 of the Mandalorian.

Mando, Moff gideon, Fennic Shan, Cara Dune, and teeny tiny tie fighters.

I’ll have a review of this coming up soon

More Mando sets:

Armoured Maurauder: based on the kenner troop transport.

and Boba fetts Starship – no longer lanelled Slave 1: Boba fett and the Mandalorian. built in display stand.

whats the process? we build a sketch, then look at scale and functionality, complexity and cost.

New Boba fetts star ship is much smaller than the new one: trying to cature detail in a smaller scale.

Cross to LEGO Builders Journey.

Life is journey: finding out , and accepting who we are.

I love Builders journey: the music is terrific, as is the light treatment of the renders.

Melvin and michelle have moved to the Green Creative Zone in the LEGO House.

Now to Technic: FLL Team in Nigeria challenging the Technic and Volvo designers. to a driving challenge.

Its a challenging looking course across sand and a pool

Its a close race

full of peril

And back to the DOT wall

5433 submissions…

The final Dots will be revealed in september.

And time for farewells.

thanks to the designers, AFOLS, behind the scenes, and passional fans around the world.

Content will continue to be available on lego.com and also LEGO Life

LLAMA will be performing at LEGOLAND parks around the world.

And michelle has brought out the VIDYO boombox: Shake it like that starts playing.

The app is given the appearance of working.

The cast and creww start grooving into the afternoon.

Well, that was fun. Especially for casual fans of LEGO who don’t look out for every rumor and set announcement. I really enjoyed learning about the Artemis mission, which was a bit unknown to me.

Some people will be disappointed that there was no reveal for the next star wars UCS, but I dont think it could be given justice in the 3 minutes available to the franchise. The light cruiser has a great range of figures, and the other Mando sets are also exciting.

Official images of the new Mandalorian sets will be available shortly. – and I will be posting reviews of them over the next few weeks.

Did you enjoy LEGO Con? What did you enjoy most?The video will continue to be available to watch through the LEGO website for some time, as well as LEGO Life. Leave your comments below, and until next time…

Play Well

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