Month: October 2021

The LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Robot Inventor Activity Book – [Book Review]

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The LEGO® MINDSTORMS® 51515 Robot Inventor set was released a little over a year ago, and represents a conceptual shift in programming the LEGO Robotics platform. Offering both Scratch and Python-based programming, the core set comes with 5 models for construction and programming. I have looking to obtain a copy of this set for exploring the current MINDSTORMS paradigm. But I have my reservations about the LEGO group’s ability to provide comprehensive documentation for their automation platforms such as Powered Up and MINDSTORMS. These reservations were eased when, just as I was setting out to place my order for a copy of the set, I was offered a pdf copy of Daniele Benedettelli’s ‘The LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Robot Inventor Activity Book for review by the publishers, No Starch Press.

Daniele Benedettelli has been involved with LEGO MINDSTORMS in some shape or form for the better part of 2 decades, both within the wider community, as well as helping The LEGO Group test and develop software for the LEGO MINDSTORMS Product line. He has published books about LEGO BOOST as well as EV3, and now works as a freelance model builder and high-school robotics teacher.

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New LEGO® NINJAGO® Comic Previewed at Skybound Xpo: Arriving in April 2022!

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No sooner did I go to bed this morning and it was time to get up! At the Skybound Xpo Panel, attended by Tommy Andreasson, Creator and producer of Ninjago, as well as Writer/Artist Tri Vuong and Skybound’s Editor in Chief Sean Mackiewicz, we got our first glimpse of the new title due for release in 5 parts, starting April 2022.

Read on to hear more about what was discussed on the panel:

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Skybound Xpo Is Almost here. LEGO® Project To Be Revealed

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A few months ago, Skybound Publishing announced that they were launching a LEGO® related title in 2022. We are now less than 24 hours out from their annual ’reveal event’, the second Halloween Xpo.

Part of the event, which kicks off at 10am Pacific Time on Friday 29th October is a ’ Top Secret Skybound and LEGO Panel’

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Builders’ Journeys: Lisa Hits The Road With 6590 Car And Caravan.

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Welcome Back to Builders’ Journeys, where we listen to stories from other AFOLs about a set that inspired them at some time in their life.

Before we start, today, I would like to thank everyone who submitted an entry in our prize draw for the Jumper Plate Minifigures. I really appreciate the stories that people shared, and we will have some great stories to share over the next few months. The winner was drawn randomly from a bowlful of entry numbers, and I would like to congratulate Lisa D from Ireland on winning the prize draw. The minifigures are on their way, and hopefully, the reduced international travel between Australia and the rest of the world does not slow down the delivery too much.

Today Lisa is going to take us back to 1988 when she first opened up 6590 Car and Caravan.

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Just Go With The Floe: 40498 Christmas Penguin [Hands On Review]

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I’m not going to lie: when I first saw this set, I was a little baffled. Most of the imagery associated with Christmas holidays refers to the northern hemisphere winter: conifers, reindeer, references to the North Pole. The penguin does not appear very high on this list at all. Harking from the opposite side of the earth, you might understand why. Instead, I embraced this as the Southern Hemispheric attempt to embrace the Southern summer: if you were looking for snow at this time of year, it would have to be on the Antarctic or, at least, a nearby sub-Antarctic island.

I was very fortunate a few years ago to have the chance to travel to the Antarctic Peninsula, via Patagonia. It was January, and the sun dipped beneath the horizon around one am, only reappear around two hours later. Penguins were abundant, of several species, and I found myself wondering if I saw anything resembling the one depicted in this model. More of that later.

But I digress. The 40498 Christmas Penguin is the 4th ‘iconic’ seasonal set released this year, after the Valentines Day Bear, the Easter Rabbit and the Halloween Owl.

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Home Alone Arrives in Time for the Holidays…

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The holidays are coming: borders are opening up, family gatherings back on the agenda and it’s time to start rolling out the holiday season movies. While it is unlikely that Die Hard II will ever be immortalised in LEGO form, another holiday film from 1990 has been, thanks to the LEGO Ideas submission Home Alone. Not based on the slightly pretty reasonable Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), and not the lack lustre Home Alone 3(1997). Especially not the direct to video Home Alone 4 (2002) or Home Alone: Holiday Heist(2012). For Goodness sake, it is not even based on the new version – Home Sweet Home Alone, coming to Disney+ in November 2021.

No – this set is based on the original, 1990, Macauley Culkin stranded at home, written by John Hughes and directed by Chris Colombus.

The way it should be.

Based on the LEGO Ideas Submission from 28-year-old Alex Storozhuk, this 3955 piece set is the largest LEGO Ideas set to date. With 3955 pieces, and priced at €249.99 / $USD249.99 / £249.99/ $AUD399.99/$CAD349.99, the set will be released on November 1st, 2021.

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Builders’ Journeys: Okay Y. Looks To 9731 Vision Command

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Welcome back to another of our Builders’ Journeys, where we look at sets that were inspirational in setting AFOLs along the path that they have taken. This week, we hear from Okay Y, from the USA. Okay submitted his contribution as part of our Vintage Minifigure Collection Giveaway. (This giveaway is open until October 24 – so you still have a couple of days to get your entries in.)

Okay was heavily influenced by the release of 9731 Vision Command: once of the LEGO® Mindstorms kits released in 2000. With 139 parts, this set came with a USB Digital Camera, along with software that allowed you to integrate simple visual recognition software with your LEGO Projects, including the ability to integrate it with the LEGO Mindstorms Robotics Invention System. You can see the introductory video here. But why don’t I let Okay tell his story:

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Jumper Plate Minifigures: Classic Town Collection [Hands On Review]

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When Jay from Jumper Plate software reached out to offer me a set of his Nostalgic Monochromatic Minifigures to give away, I bought another set for my own use. Proceeds from the sale of these figures go to help Jumper Plate to further develop their software which is designed to support the administrative needs for people running LEGO User Groups.

But, there is a market for monochromatic minifigures, and when these figures come with a nicely printed nostalgic torso, harking back to the 90s, I suspect that market might be expanded. I don’t run a LUG, but I know plenty of people who do, and I am happy to help support anything that might make their job a little easier. So, I put my order in (this was pre release) and after a few local postal delays – international air travel is still a bit slow for packages – they arrived yesterday. So did my set to give away. you can read more about that here.

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Whatever Happened to Classic Town? Part 2: 1992-2000

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Welcome back to our occasional series examining ‘Whatever Happened to Classic LEGO Themes?’ Previously, we took a look at the Classic town sets from 1978-1990.

We examined the way that the theme was defined by certain colours, shapes, and how a gradually expanding parts palette resulted in an evolution in the design of sets during this period. In 1978, when the LEGOLAND branded sets were first released, along with LEGO Minifigure, this was the theme set in the present, the real world, containing subject matter that kids could relate to: LEGO Town was set in the contemporary world, bringing kids experiences they could understand.

In this article, we shall trace the development of these ’Real World’ LEGO sets during the ‘System Era.’ The ‘System’ label, with the red 2×4 in place of the arm on the letter ‘T,’ was used to distinguish the other brick systems used in LEGO construction toys at this time: DUPLO and TECHNIC. The mark appeared in the upper left corner of the front of LEGO Boxes, to the right of the LEGO logo. This label appeared on LEGO Sets released from 1992 to 1999.

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The Faces of LEGO 2021: Setting A Baseline For Gender Representation In Marketing ‘Hero Shots’

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Earlier this week, the LEGO Group celebrated the UN’s International day of the Girl by releasing new research revealing that girls are ready to break free from traditional gender stereotypes, while the rest of society perpetuates these stereotypes. I shall post the press release at the end of this article.

Essentially, girls are ready to take on most of the activities in society, but there are societal stereotypes that result in both parents and their male peers potentially holding them back. This can potentially influence the career paths that they may embark on as they grow up.

Following up from this information, The LEGO Group have committed to making LEGO Play more inclusive, and ensuring that children’s creative ambitions are not limited by gender stereotypes:

“We know there is work to do which is why from 2021 we will work closely with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and UNICEF to ensure LEGO products and marketing are accessible to all and free of gender bias and harmful stereotypes.”

“We acknowledge our responsibility in having contributed to gender stereotypes over the years, which is why we’re actively addressing the challenges that gender biases create and we’re committed more than ever to do our bit to put it right. “

In this article, I will aim to look at the current gender biases present in the Hero Shots as depicted on LEGO.com in October 2021.

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