One of the cornerstones of the LEGO® Star Wars 25th Anniversary celebration is the release of the art book ‘The Force of Creativity.’ Written by editor of Blocks Magazine, Graham E. Hancock, the book promises to be “The ultimate treat for yourself or a Star Wars gift for a fellow fan,” but priced at $AUD239.99/USD149.99/£129.99, a lot of people have expressed reservations at making the investment, particularly for a book that is essentially unseen at the time it goes for sale on LEGO.com.
I got to know Graham when attending the LEGO Fan Media Days in Billund a few years ago, so I thought I’d give him a call in order to find out a bit more about what might find inside…
As we have previously discussed, 2023 has been the most wonderful year for LEGO® Space fans – from City and Friends sets that are out of this world, Technic sets adding a bit of realism and a set of Collectable Minifigures just around the corner (if you are in the rest of the world – May 1) or a little further away if you are in Australia (1 June). While some might be anxiously awaiting some classic spaceships reimagined with parts and techniques of the 2020s (at this point, I only have hopes and dreams and not even a reliable rumour to hang my hat on). But, once the dust settles on Star Wars, we will be seeing two new sets with an adult focus launch on the scene: one for fans of Space Travel and one for fans of art and astronomy: 10341 LEGO ICONS NASA Artemis Launch System [3601 Pieces; AUD449.9/ €259.99 / £219.99/USD259.99] and 31212 LEGO® Art The Milky Way Galaxy [3091 Pieces; AUD299.99/ €199.99/ £169.99/ USD199.99]
It’s the middle of April and this means that its time to get the Heads Up for what might be coming for May the Fourth, the commercial Celebration of all things Star Wars This year.
The marquee set this year is the UCS TIE Interceptor. The first UCS set released, back in July 2000 was a 703 piece piece version of this sleek fighter from Return Of the Jedi.
7181 from 2000. The First Ultimate Collector Series set.75382: Yjr new
You can read More about all of the new releases, including the GWPs below
LEGO sets have, increasingly in recent years, becomes a way for fans of third party IP – particulately Star Wars; Harry Potter; super heroes and more. We love to fill our shelves and living rooms with display pieces, that become talking points with out friends. In my house, Rivendell and smaller Star Wars sets occupy the main shelves in the living room, but the building experience for each of these was relatively short lived: a few days at most.
Today, the LEGO Group have announced a new range of supersized LEGO sets for super fans. These sets represent their biggest builds yet! These commanding display pieces will take weeks to complete and take up more space than might be considered practical. There is no doubt, however, that people will be talking about them: Certainly while they are being built and once they are on display. Perhaps less so while they occupying a storage unit in preparation for their disposal once your enthusiasm for the fandom dies away…. But perhaps I am getting ahead of things.
This year, the Role Playing Game Dungeons and Dragons turns fifty. I was about 5 years old at the time when Gary Gygax rolled out the first version of his tabletop role playing game. I took some interest in the 1980s:I was intrigued by the notion of creating your own world, and the variety characters you could create, and the monsters that could be encountered, but the game didn’t take off with my circle of friends at the time. It probably coincided with entering my LEGO Dark Ages as well. I was therefore surprised when I went to see the movie Dungeons and Dragons: Honour among Thieves last year and I found myself seeing so many character types and monsters that I had read about in a nostalgic haze.
Flash forward to 2022, and LEGO Ideas announced a challenge for fans to design a set to showcase their favourite aspects of the Game. The winner of this challenge was Dutch fan Lucas Bolt. His submission “Dragons Keep: Journey’s End” brought a tavern, a ruined castle with caves and crypts, to say nothing of a couple of brick-built beasties. Today, the final product is revealed: with over 3700 pieces, this set takes Bolt’s original submission and bumps up the level of original detail.
Priced at $AUD499.99/€359.99/£ 314.99/$USD359.99/$CAD469.99, the set will be available on the first of April 2024 (and that’s no joke.) The set is also associated with a free D&D Adventure booklet available as a digital download, or as a paperback book with 2400 LEGO Insiders points
Dungeons and Dragons publishers, Wizards of the Coast, are owned by Hasbro, and this represents the 3rd collaboration with the toy giant/entertainment company, following on from Transformers Optimus Prime released in 2022, as well as Peppa Pig DUPLO sets, also due for release in April.
Batman- The Animated Series first aired in 1992 on Fox Kids in the US and was sent out worldwide over the next few years. After first experiencing the Comic version around that time, I was rapidly hooked on the Art Deco design, a new broody Batman, and a virtual absence of any form of wisecrack which had defined the Batman of my childhood- syndicated reruns of the 1966 Batman series. That series may have had the most iconic Batmobile at the time. Still, the city was otherwise soulless, save for the occasional guest star that Batman and Robin would encounter as they climbed walls on the BatRope.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was Walt Disney’s first Animated feature, in a world where cartoons were 7 minutes long. At 93 minutes, it exceeded expectations, and remains a favourite around the world. As a kid, I found myself consistently frustrated by my ability to only remember 6 dwarfs at any one time. With the benefit of Google, I can tell you that they were Doc, Gumpy, Bashful, Happy, Sleepy ,Sneezy and Dopey. Six out of those seven dwarfs are not happy.
Today, the LEGO Group announce the upcoming release of the Dwarfs cottage from the feature film, complete with all of the dwarfs, Snow white, Prince Charming and the Evil, poisoned-apple-bearing Hag! The set has 2228 pieces and will retail for €219.99 / £189.99 / $USD219.99/$AUD399.99/1899 CNY/89990 HUF/$CAD289.99/5399 MXN. It goes on sale to Insiders members on March 1st, and every one else on June 1…3 months later! (awaiting confirmation that I actually read this correctly!)
As one of the original minifigure themes, the LEGO Castle theme has a history with many Adult Fans: initially as an item of childhood joy, and subsequently as a nostalgic call back to simpler times. While the regular Castle playsets dwindled into nothingness almost a decade ago, their legacy has been revisited through 2022’s 10305 Lion Knight’s Castle, as well as a number of Gifts with Purchase: 40567 Forest hideout along with 40601 Majisto’s Magical Workshop.
10193: Medieval Market: The Largest Castle Set
But before the great Castle Renaissance of recent years, the largest castle set (by number of pieces) was 10193 Medieval Market. With 1601 pieces, this set from 2009 was the largest castle set released prior to the 10305 (with 4514 pieces). If we include surrogate castle themes such as the inital Hobbit and Lord of the Ringssets, and (if you dare) Nexo Knights, it outsized only by the Tower of Orthanc. Harry Potter might be considered another surrogate castle theme, but only the larger Diagon Alley sets, along with the microscale builds of Hogwarts have more pieces than 10129 Medieval Market.
7189 Mill Village Raid
Suffice to say, for many years, this has been one of the largest Castle sets, embodying the civilian aspects of medieval life. Prior to this, we had the occasional blacksmith, and tavern, and subsequently the not infamous 7189 Mill Village Raid – part of 2011’s Kingdoms line up , this civilian farm had the opportunity to be overrun by the Dragon Knights (who seem a little different to those depicted in the early 1990s.
This is of course the one and only set that previously brought us the LEGO Goat. Just why we never saw another goat for years remains the subject of speculation – the official line is that the mould was ruined- although the relative scarcity did allow for profiteering and investment, with the iconic animal rarely fading into obscurity, of only because of outlandish behaviours on the secondary market. Tes – thats right, over $100 for a Goat.
The Role of Collectable Minifigures in keeping our Castles Populated
Now, while the 10305 Lion Knight’s Castle brought us a ‘proper’ castle set, fans have never really be left alone, with Collectable minifigures revisting some aspect of medieval life with almost every one of the numbered sets over the year.
Ultimately, series 25 brought forth great cries of excitement from The People with the arrival of the Goat herd, as well as the reimagined Bat-Lord. The Goatherd brought us a new remoulded goat – this time with unprinted sided.
The LEGACY/ICONS castle range has included Lion Knights, Black Falcons, Forestmen, and Dragon Knights. In collectable minifigures, we can add Fright Knights( Fright Knight in Series 19, along with the Vampire Knight in 2024) , along with a Wolf pack Rogue, wayback in 2016.
The Big Reveal: 10332 Medieval Town Square
And so it is into this Millieu that the latest LEGO ICONS set is announced: the 10332 ICONS Medieval Town Square. With 3304 pieces, 8 minifigures and a newly minted Grey Goat this set will be released on the 1st of March 2024.
The model features two large structures that open to reveal detailed interiors, including a tavern, cheese factory, shield-painting workshop, guard tower, woodworking shop, and weaving workshop. There is also a tree and vendor stall in the town. There are also functional features including a crane and a small water mill.
The Minifigures
We see the weaver, wood worker, the cheese maker, the shield artistthe barmaid/landlady as well as the local noble… tax collector and a lion knight. But wait… who is that sneaking around the edges? could it possibly the return of the wolf pack? Oh yes.. there is a Dark Stone Grey Goat!
Return of the Wolf Pack
The Wolf Pack – a gang of ruffians have not been seen in full since the Rogue in Series 16 Minifigures, and they have seen a significant upgrade since their original appearance back in the 1990s.
Evolution of the Wolf Pack!
Tribute to the Yellow Castle Era
Looking further into life in the village, I love the tapestry and the tribute it pays to the original yellow Castle sets from 1978-79:Including the iconic cypress trees.
From the outset, castle sets, and castle builders have been at the forefront of developing new techniques for architectural detail as well as landscaping, and you can see how the design of these thatched roofs has evolved since the days of the Medieval Market, where simple, long 45º slopes would do the job.
Medieval Roofing: 2009Medieval Roofing: 2024. What a difference 15 years makes!
The increased parts usage can be seen, in part, in the level of detail in the roof, as well as the overall structure and surrounding landscape – something which is developed significantly in theis new set compared with the 10193 Medieval Market.
Here is a closer look at the tavern in the older set, compared with the new version. As I rebuilt the bed, every reddish brown 1×1 tile I touched split in half… so glad we are past this era of brittleness…
10193 Medieval Market – the Tavern
It is an interesting exercise in looking at the evolution of building techniques employed in this type of set, as well as the evolution of the LEGO colour palette over the past 15 years.
I am excited to see this set in real life, and I expect it will be the launchpad for a number of medival MOCs that will spring up over the next few years. The presence of the LIONs Knight in this set suggests that this vilage might be under the watchful eye of the the castle released in 2022, and I suspect that, side by side, they will form a formidable display.
I love the way this set captures the look and feel of a contemporary Castle Construction, using increasingly specialised techniques to capture the details in ways that would not have been considered 15 years ago. This detail, in combination with new figures (and of course the goat) all contribute to making this set one to look out for in MArch – particularly if Castle is your thing
What do you think of this set? Is it a fitting sequel to 10129? How about as a companion piece to 10305? Why don’t you leave your comments below!
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Just as we are seeing Space spread across major themes this year, we are also seeing a range of new racing vehicles being represented across Technic, Icons and Speed Champion ranges. this brings similar vehicles across different scales and parts families…just right for different members of the family to share the joy of racing cars together.
We see the arrival of four different Formula 1 cars, including a tribute to Ayrton Senna in the LEGO Icons range.
The first LEGO® Star Wars sets hit the market back in 1999. It seems like yesterday that we were celebrating the 20th anniversary of the special relationship between Lucasfilm and the LEGO Group. This year we have a new series of Midi-scale ships, as well as a new R2-D2 buildable model, and a model of the scene that introduced us to the first characters to appear Star Wars, back in 1977, – the arrival of Darth Vader on the Tantive IV. (I acknowledge that I didn’t see the film until 1978,for some reason that escapes both my memory and that of my family. That said, it made for an awesome 9th birthday party).
Along the way, we see our first minifigure appearances of a couple of previously unrepresented characters in minifigure form.
