Month: May 2022

Farewell Creator Expert. Welcome LEGO® Icons.

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A couple of years ago, something weird began to happen with the branding of sets previously known as Creator Expert: bright boxes were gone, black was in, the complex arrangement of Erling Bricks and Creator Expert label was gone, and we saw the arrival of the Fairground Collection. The branding of these sets has been somewhat complicated – how do we refer to these sets? LEGO For Adults? Adults Welcome? The theme formerly known as LEGO Creator Expert. In the meantime, they have all had their names prefixed with LEGO®-rest of the set name. At the same time, in the LEGO online store, Creator Expert has remained as a heading, but to make things more complicated, not all sets under that heading are, strictly speaking, Creator Expert Style sets, with some small sets also on this page: They are certainly Creator type sets, but not 3in1, and not Expert. The (small red)Vespa and High-Speed Train spring to mind.

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The New Building Instruction Design: Official Statement and Editorial Rant

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I’m a bit cross. While I am a bit disappointed with the new LEGO instruction manuals, rolling out this next half year, I am quite unhappy with the final reason given for it

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Celebrating 90 Years of LEGO® Play

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This year, the company celebrate 90 Years of Play and has a run of events and celebrations coming up over the next few months. The LEGO Group have released a collection of historical/archival images of the products that the company have released over the years, as well as members of the family. Over the next few days, I will trickle out a series of posts covering these images. In the meantime, we have a newly released timeline of key events in the company’s history.

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It’s Time for a New Technic Supercar: 42143 LEGO® Technic™ Ferrari Daytona SP3 Revealed

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If it’s late May in an even year, it must be time to reveal a new Technic Supercar, and this year the Prancing Horse has its turn as the LEGO Technic team unveils the Ferrari Daytona SP3. The ‘Real Life’ Daytona SP3 is a limited edition vehicle unveiled in 2021: Only 599 will be built, retailing for $2.29 million apiece.

The set will be released on 1st June and has 3778 pieces. It will retail for €/$ 399.99, £349.99, 659.99 AUD, 499.99 CAD

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The Age Of LEGO® Space Factions: 1987-1999

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In the previous article in this series, we looked at Classic Space – and what might define the theme: More than the colours, the sets of this era were united in working together for a common goal: exploring, mining and drinking oversized cups of coffee, while wearing their spacesuits inside. We have ships, bases and rovers, with a variety of colour schemes passing by over the years.

By the time I got to 1987, I had completed school, and was just starting off at university. My brother had recently stopped playing with our bricks, and they were put into storage – to be retrieved as we both gained children of our own. I was well and truly into my Dark Ages. All I know has been derived from fellow AFOLs, catalogs, the brickset database and picking up the occasional set or three along the way.

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Add Life to LEGO City with Creator 3in1: 31131 Downtown Noodle Shop [Rambling Review]

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Earlier in the year, I spent some time looking at LEGO City, and how things were different to the LEGO Town of old. In part, that is because there are fewer buildings that are not garages, police stations, fire stations, or crime scenes, compared to the olden days. Houses, cafes and other businesses: LEGO Friends has had them for years, and we have started to see a shift in the nature of LEGO City in 2022: a new school and a green grocers are amongst this year’s new additions. But, of course, for the better part of a decade or more, additional houses and businesses have been appearing in the Creator 3in1 range, giving us lots of additional buildings to flesh out our town. I was therefore excited when the possibility to review some of this year’s creator 3in1 sets came my way. Recently, we looked at the Viking Ship and Midgard Serpent. Today, I would like to present 31131 Noodle Shop. This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group, but all opinions are my own. These sets will be release in Australia and Europe on June 1st, and August 1st in North America. The set has 569 pieces and will retail for 69.99AUD/44.99 USD/44.99€/£39.99

The noodle shop draws in a number of colours that have been in short supply, except in expensive sets – light nougat and olive green, and demonstrates a variety of building techniques and ornamentation – perfect for developing your MOC skills, while adding any nature of businesses to your town. As well as a noodle shop and apartment, there is a games arcade and also a cafe/apartment/bicycle repair workshop.

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I may not know ART but I know what I like: 21333 LEGO® IDEAS The Starry Night Revealed

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The Latest LEGO® Ideas set – The Starry Night, based on LEGO Truman’s submission to LEGO Ideas has been unveiled, and will be available by the end of the month.The set has 2,316 pieces and measures 38 cm wide x 28cm high x 21 cm deep. It will be priced at £149.99 / €169.99 / $169.99 USD / 259.99 AUD / 219.99 CAD when it goes on sale at LEGO Branded retail channels, as well as the Museum of Modern Art gift shop, on May 25th.

In 1889, while staying at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Saint-Rémy, Southern France, Vincent Van Gogh created the Starry Night. The landscape was based, in part on the view he had from the room where he was staying, although, as is the nature of impressionism, perhaps some things are not exactly as they appeared. But without a doubt, with his swirling use of colours – in the foothills, the foreboding cypress tree and the sky itself, Van Gogh created one of his most enduring pieces of art. The original is now on display in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

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The Vikings Are Back: 31132 Viking Ship and Midgard Serpent [Rambling Review]

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In recent years, Creator 3in1 seems to be used to revive a classic theme where there are no current plans to revive it: We can look to the 31109 Pirate Ship from 2020, or last year’s 31120 Medieval Castle as examples of this. In 2022, we can look forward to 31132 Viking Ship and the Midgard Serpent. I have been fortunate to have received a copy of this set from the LEGO Group to present to you today.

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71775 Nya’s Samurai X Mech: Hands-On Review.

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After taking a semester off to revisit the core of Ninjago: Mechs, Dragons and Vehicles and Temples, we now find ourselves looking at sets related to the 15th season: Crystalized. I am excited to have been received the sets from this wave to review, as there are some great looking sets in this wave. Ninjago, along with the Monkie Kid, hold special appeal to me as being the spiritual successors to both Classic Castle and Classic Space.

Today, I would like to present 71775 Nya’s Samurai X Mech. This set comes with 8 minifigures, a buildable rock monster as well as a 32 cm tall brightly coloured mech, which boasts some of the greatest posability in a LEGO Set of this scale.

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LEGO® Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. Nostalgia Isn’t What It Used To Be… [Guest Review]

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Like many people of a certain age, I grew up watching the Original Trilogy of Star Wars Movies as they rolled out in the cinemas. I then set watched the prequels as they played out, around the same time as my kids were born and in their early years. Finally, their first exposure to Star Wars came: not through the movies in the first instance, but through playing the TT Games – LEGO® Star Wars (covering episodes 1-3), LEGO® Star Wars II – Espisodes IV -VI, and then picking up the omnibus Complete Saga, on an alternative platform. This also served as part of their introduction to video games, and as a parent, I preferred this style of gameplay – mixed puzzles and cartoon gunfire, while tethered to each other, and taking the journey together. To be honest, I would have never completed episode VI if it were not for the cooperative play afforded by my son.

Now, 15 years is a long time in video games, but it might have even been a bit longer. Our kids have pretty well grown up (but are still at home), and the closest thing we now have in our house to cooperative regular game play is a game of Trivial pursuit (either via a Nintendo Switch or going old school, using a board, actual pieces and a 6-sided die.).

So part of me was quite excited about the prospect of sitting down again and replaying LEGO® Star Wars, covering the entire saga and spending some quality couch time with Harry. He has spent a little bit of time contemplating Games And Interactivity at university, while focussing on creative writing. I figured I could get him to write a review.

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