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71462 LEGO Super Mario Piranha Plant Revealed

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Every year, around this time, we see an adult focussed set drawing inspiration from LEGO Super Mario: be it the Retro TV, the Mario 64 Question Mark Cube or the Mighty Bowser. These sets have drawn heavily on nostalgic aspects of the Super Mario games, to present an artefact that has certainly been a talking point in many households around the wolrd. Each of these sets has had a suitably impressive price tag attached, too (priced from 300-400AUD This year, perhaps as a sign of the times, with cost of living being what it has become in 2023, the scale has been somewhat reduced. This year’s adult focussed LEGO Super Mario set is a shelf sized model of the Pirhana Plant. With 540 pieces, the set will be released on November 6th and priced at $AUD94.99/$USD59.99 / €64.99 / £57.99.

Over recent years, the LEGO Group have been responsive to the cries of adult fans – Give us more, give us bigger – and now it has become apparent that the major problems that these large LEGO sets have give AFOLS are related to two major factors:

  • one is cost with the previous adult focussed Super Mario sets, we have seen prices starting at $USD199.99
  • another is display space. I love the look of the new Concorde, but at over 1m in length, there is no doubt that I have nowhere to reasonably build it or display it without causing major disruption to the family living spaces.
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Classic Pirates or Disney not your thing? Seek Peace with 10315 Tranquil Gardens

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As the deep fandom from around the world migrates towards Brickworld Chicago, the LEGO Group is making sure that there will be something for everyone to be talking about once they arrive – Old school fans can talk about the Eldorado Fortress, while Disneyfans can talk all about the Ideas Hocus Pocus Sanderson Sisters’ Cottage revealed on Monday. Today: fans of contemplative, mindful builds get a look at the another Icons set: 10315 Tranquil Gardens.

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LEGO Atari 2600 Unveiled.

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Atari 2600 Ad
Print Add c. 1978

Growing up in the 80’s, I could not help but be a little envious of some of my friends who had an Atari. You didn’t need to call it anything more than that (until the 400 and 800 computers were released around 1983) To be honest, I don’t remember the ‘2600’ designator even being a thing to concern ourseves aboutin the australian market, until the product was almost at end of its production run. It did take me a little while to come to realise that the 2600 I read about in American Computer Magazines of the era were referring to the same Atari VCS that we had in Australia.

And so we looked forward to weekends, or long, lazy summer holidays, staying with friends, and playing games on the Atari until a little later at night than we should. The Walnut finish on the plastic case would have matched perfectly with the cabinet of our late 70’s colour TV. If only we had one.

2022 marks the 50th Anniversary of the Atari brand, started in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell, and the release of the coin operated game Pong, or as we thought of it ‘TV-Tennis’. It was the Atari Video Computer System (as it was called on its release, rebranded as the 2600 in 1983).

Today, The LEGO Group announce the near imminent arrival of 10306 Atari 2600. Going alonside the Nintendo Entertainment system, released in 2020, this set is full of nostaligc hits for kids of the 80s.

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