LAND ROVER have been in the business of producing automobiles for 75 years. Today the LEGO Group have officially revealed the latest ICONs set, the LAND ROVER CLASSIC DEFENDER Ninety.
In the Beginning, there was the Land Rover, first appearing in 1948, it was the go-to vehicle for the British Army, amongst others. Back in those days, there was the Land Rover 90, 110 and later 130, with a 90-inch, 110-inch and… 127-inch long wheel base respectively. The need to create Defender as a brand came after the introduction of the Land Rover Discovery in 1983. The Defender 90/ninety was introduced the following year. The car remained in production until 2016, when it was discontinued after 67 years and over 2.016 million units produced. In fact, the 2 millionth unit was auctioned off to raise funds for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and Born Free Foundation.
Set 10317 LEGO ICONS Land Rover Classic Defender Ninety has 2336 pieces, and will be released on April 1st 2023. It will have a retail price of £209.99 / €239.99 / $239.99 / 369.99 AUD / 329.99 CAD, joining other classic cars in the Creator Expert/ Icons range. The model is around 16cm high and 32 cm long.
The latest in the World Landmarks collectionhas been officially unveilled today. for release on Novemeber 25,2022, 10307 Eiffel Tower continues with the recently established Black Friday Tradition of ‘Biggest set, in some way’ – started with the 10276 Colosseum (9036 pieces) and continued with 10294 Titanic (9090 pieces – longest ever) .
We can argue about the semantics if you wish. With 10001 pieces this might be the set with the second highest part count ever but I think we can argue that it is the biggest model released as a set using a number of metrics: I dont know that I would call the 31203 World Map a model… wall display/art sure, but not a model.
At a almost1.5m tall, there is no doubt that this is an impressive model. This is the third dedicated build (after 10181 – 2007; and 21019 in 2014) for the Eiffel Tower, but it has appeared as part of a magnet, as well as an Architecture Skyline, and Creator Postcard.
I find it hard to believe that it was just over 4 years ago that we first saw the 10261 Roller Coaster. It offered a slow climb to a sudden descent, in the best tradition of the classical roller coasters of my youth. Now as time has progressed, so too has engineering: people now seek ultimate thrills: sudden drops, loops and in some cases, cork screws. Now, my body’s ability to tolerate such behaviour diminished significantly a few years ago. Fortunately, the ongoing development of the LEGO ICONS (The range formerly known as Creator Expert) Fairground Collection has now brought us an ultimate thrill seeker: a track with a vertical drop and two loops. I watched the video twice and felt slightly nauseous…
But seriously, dynamic models with figures and movement are great attention getters – either in the living room, or at a public display, and I suspect people are going to sit and watch this one for hours. Featuring 11 minifigures, 3756 pieces and priced at 399.99 EUR/ 599.99 AUD/ 344.99 GBP/ 399.99 USD/ 499.99 CAD this set goes on sale July 1.
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.
It’s that time of the year. this is the year that we have seen modular building released, and this year they are taking us back to the beginning with a new take on a hotel, full of references to previous modular buildings. the set has 3066 pieces and is due for release on January 1, 2022.
For me, a highlight of every holiday season is the arrival of the LEGO® Winter Village set. Over the years, we have seen a delightful village and its shops, a market, train and gone off site to the North Pole, to visit Santa’s Work Shop, and the Elves Club House. And a gingerbread house.
This year’s set, Santa’s Visit, has been officially announced and returns to the village, where we have a new home being visited by Santa. The set has 1445 pices and will cost €89.99 / $USD99.99 / £79.99 /$AUD159.99 / $CAD139.99. It will be released through LEGO retail channels on October 1st 2021.
Football Stadia represent the tribal Colosseums of the modern world. In their simplest form, they represent places where your tribal heroes don colours and fight it out with the opposition, in front of their supporters. Of course, we live in a far from simple world, and before long, the trappings of big business and high finance enter the fray.
In 2020, we have seen the Old Trafford football stadium as well as the Roman Colosseum released in LEGO form. These structures are similar in form and purpose, although the nature of the contests within may vary. Perhaps it is only appropriate that this year, as the LEGO Group release a 5500 piece version of Camp Nou, the home base for FC Barcelona, it has been designed by Rok Zgalin Kobe, who has been responsible for the majority of sets released with the architecture badge in the last few years, as well as the Colosseum.
Certainly this model features a part count in between that of 10272 Old Trafford and the 10276 Colosseum, and more blocks of colour than were offered in the Colosseum set!
The new LEGO FC Barcelona Camp Nou set is fantastically detailed. Features include the stands, pitch, team tunnel, media boxes and even the team’s coach. The score board also references the club’s momentous 5-0 win over rivals Real Madrid in 2010 and two of the stands proudly feature the “Mes que un Club” motto that is known by fans around the world.
The Volkswagen Kombi is an icon of 20th century automobile design. The LEGO® Version of the T1 Microbus was on the shelves at LEGO.com from 2011 to December 2020, one of the longest running sets on the market in recent years. Of course, the T1 was not the only van produced by Volkswagen. The T2 was introduced in 1967, and featured a single (non split) windshield. And today, The LEGO Group announce the arrival of this version on the shelves in August 2021.
With striking medium azure body work, as well as a slideing side door, this icon of 60s counterculture also features a popup roof as well as a built in kitchenette and a collection fo stickers designed to turn it into a classic Hippy transport vehicle!
10279:LEGO® VOLKSWAGEN T2 CAMPER VAN has 2202 pieces and measures 15cm high, 14 cm wide and 35 centimeters long. It will be priced at 159.99 EUR / 179.99 USD / 149.99 GBP / 269.99 AUD / 249.99 CAD, and available from August 1 2021.
Here’s the press release:
The LEGO® Group has added yet another cult vehicle to its portfolio of cars, with the reveal of the latest version of the ubiquitous LEGO Volkswagen T2 Camper Van, complete with pop-top roof with tent and ready for summer road trip adventures.
The new LEGO Volkswagen T2 Camper Van is based on its namesake of the late 1960s and 1970s and succeeds the much-loved previous LEGO Creator Expert Volkswagen T1 Camper Van, adding many new features in the process. The new set is larger than before and distinguished by a new paint colour, a sliding door, as well as the trademark T2 wraparound Baywindow front windscreen and a new yet instantly recognisable ‘face.’
Under the hood, the set also features working steering. The LEGO Volkswagen T2 Camper Van’s detailed camping interior is also fully equipped for the open road, with opening cabinets, fridge, sink and a gas stove with a teapot. Days at the beach are suitably catered for, as the set comes with a set of folding chairs and of course a surfboard, while a folding rear bench seat provides a comfortable place to stay under starry skies.
Volkswagen Campers are of course synonymous with customisation, and the LEGO Volkswagen T2 Camper Van set is fully prepared for personalisation, with a sticker set including retro decals and a choice of German or US number plates.
LEGO Designer Sven Franic commented: “The Volkswagen Camper is a rare breed of vehicle that commands affection like few others, and we know the LEGO version will bring a lot of fun to people who’ve been lucky enough to have or go camping in one, or always wanted one.
“Though the Volkswagen Camper is no stranger to our LEGO cars collection, this latest iteration brings even more delights for LEGO builders. The meticulously kitted out interior is sure to charm seasoned campers and adventurers alike, while the eye-catching exterior with pop-up roof is a feat of engineering just like the original.”
The T1 10220 was a long lived part of LEGO Catalog, despite the immediate challenges of trying to achieve the form of the microbus within the confines of the LEGO Brick. With lots of curves, both horizontally and vertically, the form can be difficulat to achieve, and the challenge persists with this new version.
Aspects of the model appear a little too square to me, while others, such as the inward sloping around the middle of the body feels too curved. That said, sometimes, the first appearance doesn’t matter and its the reconition of the idea that results in sets being moved off the shelves by happy shoppers.
The set,10279, goes on sale August 1 2021, and will cost 159.99 EUR / 179.99 USD / 149.99 GBP / 269.99 AUD / 249.99 CAD.
what do you think of this new version of a classic Volkswagen Camper?
why not leave your thoughts below and until next time,
This year, we have seen the launch of the LEGO® Botanical Collection – a range of sets aimed at adults, who may or may not have previously considered building a LEGO set as a way to spend their money or time. The Floral Bouquet and the Bonsai Tree have been perpetually out of stock on LEGO.com since early January, although these early issues seem to be improving, with stock starting to appear on the shelves of Bricks and Mortar stores.
I really enjoyed putting the previous sets together: the techniques, and unique parts usage made both sets exciting to build, and provided a building experience quite unlike any other that I had previously gone through. I was delighted to be able to have the opportunity to look at the next set to be released in this series.
We have a Bird Of Paradise currently flowering in our back yard in suburban Melbourne – hardly a tropical environment – and I was excited to see how this LEGO version would stack up next to it.
The set itself again features that distinguish the distinctive black a cardboard box of sets aimed at an adult market with a picture of the finished model on the front. On the reverse we see an indication of the actual model size, as well as several details of the finished model.
Early in January, we launched our ‘Create a Vase for the LEGO Bouquet’ competition. I am pleased to say that we had an unprecendented response, with 88 entries! I would like to thank everyone who took time out to design and build an entry in the contest. The quality of the entries was outstanding, and certainly challenged the judging panel.
From a Logistical point of view, I certainly found using the entry panel on Airtable to be an easier way to collate entries, rather than wrangling entries from multiple social media platforms: I hope it was satisfactory for entrants. I would love some feedback on your experience. Would you have liked access to view the entries as they were submitted? Were you happier not knowing? I have learned a few new things about it for next time.
The Rambling Brick 
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