Nostalgia

40601 Majisto’s Workshop: Hands on review and Back of Box Builds.

ramblingbrick Castle, Lego, Review, Vintage , , , , , , , , ,

This year we celebrate 30 years since the arrival of Majisto and the Dragon Knights. (to say nothing of LEGO Dragons) onto the landscape. The modern update of 6048 Majisto’s workshop as a contemporary gift with purchase has had many builders excited about its arival, and others just as disappointed, either by the omission of certain details (such as plumes in the Knight’s helmet, and decorations on Majisto’s Torso ), or the buy in price (>400AUD/250USD) as a gift with purchase on the LEGO Insiders weekend, or over the Black Friday shopping weekend.

I was really excited to receive this set to look at, from the LEGO Group, as I was keen to see how techniques used might differ from those used in the original model. While I may not have a copy of this 6048 Majisto’s Workshop I can at least take a look at the instructions, and see how this updated set might differ from the 1993 original.

I am also keen to take a look at the original models displayed on the back of the box, and see if they might be able to be put together with this set.

Continue reading →

3660 LEGO Fabuland Fisherman’s Wharf [Retro Review]

ramblingbrick Lego, Retro Review, Review, Vintage , , , , , , ,

If you have been following the Rambling Brick for a while, you might know I have a penchant for nostalgia. If you have seen my Instagram stories looking at market finds, perhaps it becomes more obvious that 80s and 90s LEGO fascinates me now more than it did at the time. Perhaps I am seeking something more than a nostalgia fuelled dopamine kick: also looking for a feeling of relaxed contemplation while living in an increasingly complicated world. During that period of LEGO History, the typical LEGO sets maintained a degree of simplicity while still being able to produce some substantial models with relatively few elements.

Continue reading →

Is Ninjago Dragons Rising Updating Designs From Classic Space?

ramblingbrick feature, Lego, Ninjago, Review, space, Vintage , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I’ve just finished watching the first wave of episodes of Dragons Rising, and something struck my mind: Rapton, Lord Ras, and the Imperium Claw soldiers all fly the same type of small craft- a so called Chariot – which carries one rider and deploys a flotilla of drones to aid the hunters in their hunt for Dragons. That said, in the sets related to the series, the chariots are all a bit different to each other. At the same time they seem just a little bit familiar. And then there are the droids in the Dragon Power Spinzitzu sets…

And it got me thinking. Are these sets revisiting Classic Space, with a contemporary aesthetic?

Continue reading →

10323: PAC-MAN Revealed. June 1 release

ramblingbrick Reveal , , , ,

And the June release announcements continue to roll out! Selecting a highly specific 43rd anniversary to celebrate, this years vintage Video Games Icons set is based on the seminal PAC-MAN. I remember the handheld game being shared around at school, way back in 1982, much to the chagrin of my year 8 maths teacher. By this time, I think it was already established at Arcades and Fish and Chip Shops around Victoria.

The final model measures 12.5 in. (32 cm) high, 10 in. (25 cm) wide and 7 in. (17 cm) deep, and has 2650 pieces. When it is released on June 1 (VIPs), it will cost $269.99 / €269.99 / £229.99/349.99 CAD/399.99 AUD/6299.9 TRY/114990.0 HUF/2299.0 CNY.

Continue reading →

LEGO IDEAS 21340 Tales of the Space Age Revealed: For Release May 5, 2023

ramblingbrick Lego, Reveal , , , ,

One of the most exciting aspects of the LEGO Ideas round unveiled last September at RLFM days was that, after a number of ever larger and more expensive sets released there were a few appearing on the horizon which addressed this relative imbalance.

One of these was the submission ‘Tales of the Space Age’ by LEGO Ideas user JohnCarpenter. Inspired by Sci-fi movie posters and book covers of the 1980s, these postcards rapidly caught the imaginations of people around the world, with their stark, minimalistic designs, while evoking an era in a way that felt nostalgic, even when it was a current style!

The LEGO Tales of the Space Age set is available from 5th May for LEGO VIPs and 8th May for all via LEGO Stores and www.lego.com/Space-Age priced 49.99 EUR/ 79.99 AUD/ 44.99 GBP/ 499.0 CNY/ 1249.9 TRY/ 49.99 USD/ 64.99 CAD

Continue reading →

The Old and the New: 7314 Recon Mech RD vs 71785 Jay’s Titan Mech [Face to Face Review]

ramblingbrick Minifigures, Ninjago, Review, space, Vintage , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This article is the result of a recent unexpected convergence: I’ve had this year’s first drop of Ninjago sets on my desk for a little while. I’ve put a couple together, but I have been trying to work out how to stretch it from ‘Just Another Review’ – something I used to do back in the early days of the blog, but less so in recent times.

I have found myself developing an increasingly soft spot for Ninjago and Monkie Kid: It has become apparent to me that they serve as the natural creative extensions of both Classic Space and Castle Themes: Fantasy, and Science Fiction, with their emphasis shifting in either direction from season to season.

In the past, I have predominantly observed the builds in Ninjago from a distance without feeling the need to understand them in the show’s context. As time passed, it became apparent that I was unlikely to fully catch up and appreciate the lore any time soon. As such, I was actually immensely grateful last year when we saw our first round of Ninjago CORE sets: These sets provide us with the opportunity to engage with the traditional subjects of Ninjago sets: Mechs, Dragons, Vehicles and Temples, without needing to be concerned with the 10 or more years of established Lore and Back Catalogue: just get in there and play, with models aimed at a variety of ages.

Continue reading →

Extra Pieces Go To Denmark:

ramblingbrick Lego , , , ,

I have recently returned home from Denmark where, along with my Extra Pieces podcast collaborator, Jay from Jay’s Brick Blog, I attended the Skaerbaek Fan Weekend followed by Recognised LEGO Fan Media Days in Billund. This was an amazing experience, running at an amazing pace where we got to meet AFOLs from all over the world, LEGO Designers, and representatives of many other LEGO Fan Media. We talk about some of these experiences in our latest episode of Extra Pieces, available of most major podcasting platforms.

Continue reading →

10497: Galaxy Explorer – Redefining an Icon. Rambling Review

ramblingbrick Lego, Review , , , , ,

When I first saw images of the new 10497: Galaxy Explorer, while preparing for LEGO Con, I found myself both a little excited and apprehensive. Excited because, like many LEGO Space Fans of a certain age, this set told us that the LEGO Group recognises the importance of Classic Space to its older fans, and there had been so much clamouring for proper Space Sets: sets not tied in with different third party licences like Super Heroes or NASA, and not linked into the increasingly complicated lore behind Monkie Kid and Ninjago. We have seen sets buying into the idea of Classic Space – exploration, team work, free of conflict – in LEGO City over the years, BUT while there might be ‘equivalent’ sets, they strive to be too realistic- insisting on putting visors on every helmet, windows and air lock doors on the moon base and insisting on astronauts only being able to drink a cup of coffee when in their standard overalls. So, to see the look of Classic Space preserved and revisited is more than welcome.

Continue reading →

Greebling is Good. 75329 LEGO Star Wars Death Star Trench Run Diorama: Hands-On Review

ramblingbrick Lego, Review , , , , , , , , , , ,

This year seems to be the Official Year of the Diorama, with 3 LEGO® Star Wars dioramas announced last week, as well as one in Jurassic Park. Last week we took a look at the new LEGO Star Wars Diorama Dabobah Jedi Training Ground. With a clearly defined border, an exclusive R2-D2 minifigure, along with Luke and Yoda, this set gave us a glorious rendition of an organic swamp landscape, with different earth tones, greens, a swamp of varying depths and plant life. Today, I would like to go the the other extreme in design for these Star Wars models: occupying the same footprint as Dagoboh, the 75329 LEGO Star Wars Death Star Trench Run diorama features 3 visible colours in the scenery, a more induction, inorganic design than Dagobah as well as no minifigures, 2 TIE Fighter’s; Darth Vader’s Advanced TIE and an X-wing fighter – All in microscale.

So, how does it fare? Is it a reasonable build, with interesting details? Or is it a big slab of grey, missing all of the things that made the Dagobah set such a highlight in the release calendar for the year? Read on, and perhaps you might decide that this is the set you have long been waiting for. Or not…

Continue reading →

Retro-Review:928/497 Galaxy Explorer. A Set That Defined A Generation

ramblingbrick Lego, Review, Vintage , , , , , , ,

There are a lot of classic LEGO® sets. There are a good number of LEGO Space sets that might be declared to be classic. But there is probably only one set that is almost universally recognised as being emblematic of not only Classic Space, but perhaps the entire early Minifigure era. Bringing together a ship, a buggy and a base, along with 4 astronauts, 928 Space Cruiser and Moon Base, also known as 497 Galaxy Explorer was not the first playset of the era: you might consider the 374 Fire Station or the 375 Castle as being the other sets with this position – and they were released a year earlier, in 1978. And they contained more elements. Galaxy Explorer was not even the first of the space playsets – we had the 483 Alpha-1 Rocket Launching base come first. But still, there is something about the set which just says ‘This is Classic Space’.

I would dare to say it might even be iconic!

Continue reading →