LEGO® City Missions: Building Creative Confidence [RoundTable and Review]

Back in the early days of LEGO® minifigures, the majority of sets that we had to play had a modest part count, and could be pulled apart and rebuilt in less than an hour: there was plenty of source material for alternative builds, either from the suggestions on the back of the box, or using an ideas book, such as #6000 – which documented the adventures of Mary and Bill, initially in a Town-based adventure, but takes a detour through the worlds of Classic Space and Castle…

Sets were built, played with and rebuilt. Hardly anything was kept together for a significant amount of time.

Flash forward 40 years, and the way some kids play seems to have changed: sets become display pieces in some households, gathering dust until the owner enters their dark ages, before moving on to sell them on the secondary market.

In part, I can understand this: sets have become a bit more sophisticated over the years: more pieces, more complicated building techniques, and we have already invested a couple of hours in building the core model. I encountered some examples of this recently as I worked on the new Creator 3in1 sets – Viking Ship and Midgard Serpent, as well as the DownTown Noodle Shop: pulling these sets apart and building the alternative models took up to 2 hours, depending on the models.

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21327 LEGO Ideas Typewriter Announced. Q&A with the Ideas Design Team.

After a tease earlier in the week, the LEGO Group today announce the forthcoming release of the LEGO Ideas typewriter. Set 21327 has 2079 Pieces, and measures 27cmx26cmx12cm. It is based on the design by Steve Guinness, who has been involved in the process with the Ideas Design Team.

The set will cost $AUD329 USD199.99 €199.99 $CAD 269.99. It will be available from June 16 to via VIP early access from July 1 through LEGO branded retail channels.

A stalwart of many offices in Days Gone By, this model is based on machines of a certain vintage, and is sure to have appeal for a wide audience, but especially those to whom a vintage aesthetic appeals.

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Recognised LEGO® Fan Media Round Table with Designer of 10280 Flower Bouquet: Anderson Grubb

Just before new year, we revealed the new Botanical Series sets, aimed at adult builders. The 10280 Flower Bouquet is quite unlike any LEGO® Set we have previously seen. Recently, I had the opportunity to take part in a roundtable discussion with the designer of the set – Anderson Grubb. A number of Recognised LEGO® Fan Media and Online Communities also participated, including Blocks Magazine, Brick Fanatics, Brickfinder, Brick Journal, The Bricks King Podcast, Bionicle fan community BZ Power and the Women’s Brick Initiative. We had the chance to talk with Anderson for about an hour. What follows is an edited transcript of the conversation we shared. We discussed the elements of subtlety and surprise; modelling organic shapes and why that colour was chosen for the rose…

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