Those who have already gone to their local cinemas in order to watch Star Wars: The Last Jedi would’ve already gotten a good look at that weird-looking creature that we saw in trailers next to Chewbacca in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon. Merchandising information has already informed us that those big-eyed, big-mouthed alien beasties are called Porgs.
If you’re one of the viewers who thought the Porgs cute in spite of – or maybe because of – their screeching voices, and happen to live in London, then you’re sort in luck. LEGO, being a merchandising partner of the Star Wars saga for so long, has decided to pitch in with promoting the film by putting up LEGO-brick Porgs in certain locations across the city.
About ten Porg statues made out of LEGO were positioned outside some of London’s easily-recognizable landmarks. These include classic structures like St. Paul’s Cathedral to the more contemporary sights like the London Eye.
These promotional set pieces were assembled by LEGO with help from the certified professional (LCP) outfit Bright Bricks. Each individual LEGO Porg is composed of 8,000 bricks and took 20 hours to build, thus 200 hours total to complete the set of 10. A completed statue is 60cm tall and weighs 16.5 kilos.
Porgs were conceptualized by The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson, as bird-like creatures living in the ancient Jedi sanctuary world of Acht-To. The Porgs seen on screen were real-life puffins overlaid with CGI to look alien. A scene has Chewbacca roasting a Porg on Ahch-To, only to relent from eating it when other live Porgs nearby made him self-conscious. He took some of them aboard the Millennium Falcon later.
London’s flock of LEGO Porgs will be around from December 21 to January 15 next year. LEGO and Star Wars fans in the city shouldn’t miss taking a photo or two of them while they’re around.
It had been quite the exciting prospect last month to win a one-time bed-and-breakfast stay at the LEGO House in Billund, Denmark courtesy of Airbnb. Only one winner and three companions would win that special accommodation, but there are other places where one can stay surrounded by near-infinite LEGO bricks.
LEGOLAND California, which opened in 1999, is quite obviously a big hit with guests. One very popular feature there is the Castle Hotel, opened in 2013. It’s not particularly huge, so bookings tend to be full up most of the time. But LEGOLAND California has some great news for guests.
As of this posting, LEGOLAND California’s Castle Hotel is accepting room reservations for the Spring 2018. Stateside families who are big LEGO fans will want to reserve accommodations for their stay if they’re going to the park at Carlsbad, California early next year. Visit herefor your reservations.
Next spring is a prime time to head over to LEGOLAND California, as the Castle Hotel will also be exhibiting over 2,000 LEGO models within its premises, constructed by certified Master Builders over a grueling period of 1,243 hours. There’s no better way to enjoy your stay on spring 2018.
Castle Hotel has 250 rooms in three classifications: Knight and Dragon, Royal Princess and Magic Wizard. The structure, which has a very distinctive faux-fantasy medieval castle aesthetic, has also been interpreted in LEGO set form recently, one that will be exclusive only to LEGO Stores in LEGOLAND theme parks worldwide.
LEGO has been partnering with real-life brands for so many decades that it has become old hat. Speaking of old hats, Renault Sport has been in the racing scene for four decades now, ever since Groupe Renault established it back in 1976 by combining their sports-car and competition departments at Gordini and Alpine.
Renault Sport has overseen their parent company’s official motor racing participation, especially in Formula One, for 40 years. In commemoration of this milestone, just one decade short of a golden anniversary, Renault has contracted the services of a LEGO Certified Professional who is a trusted partner of The LEGO Group.
The result is three sets of Renault Sport race car models made entirely of LEGO bricks. Note however that, outside of being designed by a LEGO-Certified Pro, these are not official LEGO sets with appropriate numbering. Still, they’re made out of bricks that are as LEGO as they can be.
Renault Sport Formula One Team RS17
828 pieces; only 100 sets made available.
Renault Sport Formula One Team RS17
110 pieces; only 1000 sets made available.
Renault RS2027 Vision
Concept vehicle model for Renault’s 50thanniversary, 375 pieces, only FORTY sets made available to retail for €375 each.
All these rare sets will only be available for collectors at the Altelier Renault event in Paris on Saturday, December 9. The said event will also showcase a life-sized RS17 model made out of 300,000 (official) LEGO bricks.
In addition, there will be a LEGO workshop where attendees can assemble their own custom micro-scale version of said RS17 model. You can find out more from this preview video (in French).
This piece of news may have been floating around lately, especially considering that a leaked image of its checklist has surfaced as early as the first week of November. Nevertheless, nothing beats the crisp, clear images that LEGO has shared over social media regarding its highly anticipated LEGO Batman Movie Collectible Minifigure Series 2.
In case you missed it, check out these official images and the names of each of these characters. It is also interesting to note that like other CMFs or collectible minifigures, most of these sets also include a variety of new pieces, unique and sometimes odd looking dual-sided face printings, and a well-balanced number of Justice League heroes and Rogues from Gotham.
I am personally excited to have my try with the Swimming Pool Batman and Tropical Joker minifigs; and if you’re excited for these TLBM collectibles as much as we do, then better start practicing how to feel them inside their challenging blind bags once January 1 comes in. For the meantime check out these images courtesy of LEGO’s official Facebook account.
It’s never too early to make that 2018 LEGO wishlist, especially that the LEGO January 2018 Store Calendar is now available online via LEGO’s servers. With the promise of more than 120 new sets to be available by January 1st, LEGO sets the stage for this new line of offerings by highlighting 2018’s LEGO Creator modular set – the 1950s-styled Downtown Diner (10260).
Same as before, you may also download the January 2018 LEGO Store Calendar in high resolution PDF format, or you may check out its neat details below.
January 1: Get the Exclusive LEGO Creator Expert Downtown Diner (10260).
LEGO opted to reveal early on its next modular expert set coming in at 2,480 pieces and retails for $169.99. The Downtown Diner (10260) is a welcome addition to the growing number of modular sets that LEGO has been offering since the introduction of the Café Corner (10182) in 2007. The best part of this recent offering is that it doesn’t come with the usual VIP early access, so it is available for all once the set becomes available in-stores and online on January 1.
January 1-14: Free LEGO City Dragster (30358) Polybag With a Purchase of $35 or More of Any LEGO Product.
Earlier last November, we reported that LEGO will be releasing a great deal of polybags in 2018 which also includes the LEGO City Dragster (30358). Like any other City polybags, this mini brick-built Dragster will certainly look great in any Race Track MOC. This particular polybag comes with a racer minifigure and a cool red on black color scheme.
January 8-18: LEGO City Great Vehicles Building Event.
Stop by the LEGO Store to help LEGO City. LEGO City Mountain needs great vehicles that will get the job done. Build your great vehicle and race it down a mountainous brick-built terrain. This activity is intended for ages 6 to 14 only.
January 9-10: VIP Monthly Mini Model Build is a Walrus.
To reserve your spot, simply register for the December MMB by visiting shop.LEGO.com/Minibuild-Registration starting December 15. The LEGO MMB is meant for children ages 6 to 14, and must be completely built in store.
January 19-February 13: LEGO City Mining Building Event.
Come back to the LEGO Store and help the LEGO City Mining Team against the crooks that are stealing the gold from LEGO City Mountain. Build your own mining vehicle and collect the gold before the crooks get it. Activity is intended for ages 6-14 only.
January 28-February 14: Free 60 Years of the LEGO Brick set with a purchase of $125 or more, while supplies last.
2018 marks the 60th anniversary of the patenting of the iconic LEGO brick, and to commemorate the occasion, LEGO has announced a special collectible set that every true-blue LEGO fan would love to have. We saw a glimpse of this set – though a rather grainy one – a few days ago, but this time, we can now appreciate it in all of its microscaled details. The 60 Years of the LEGO Brick (40290) set can be yours for free, for every minimum single receipt purchase of $125 or more. Valued at $25 and coming in at 421 pieces, this commemorative set features four microscaled versions of the most popular classic LEGO sets: Airport Shuttle (6399), Castle (375), Black Seas Barracuda (6285), and Space Cruiser and Moonbase (928). The box art of this set even features one of the earlier logos adapted by LEGO during its early years. Though the set’s availability is still almost two months away, I am already excited to see how this set will actually turn out once it is built.
Finally, other than the 125 new sets that LEGO promises to release online and in-store once January kicks-in, most LEGO fans will also look forward in feeling their way on each blind bag once the LEGO Batman Movie Series 2 of collectible minifigures arrives in stores. You may have noticed it by now that the 2nd page of the LEGO Store’s January 2018 calendar features are very first ‘official’ image of the said CMF series, after an image of its flyer/checklist insert has made rounds over the Internet. If TLBM still has a hold on you, then successfully collecting all 20 TLBM Series 2 minifigs is not much of a question.
The excitement for now is with Black Friday, but quickly following in its heels is the last big celebration period of every year: the Yuletide Season. A great many global brands and companies have something planned for the occasion wherever they may be in the world, but The LEGO Group is one of those that are definitely on a whole other level when it comes to celebrating Christmas.
As per usual, the center of these Holiday events for LEGO is back in its home country of Denmark, at their company town of Billund. They also have a new festive venue wherein they could really hype up the local residents for the last month of the year: The Home of the Brick or LEGO House.
It also doesn’t take much of a genius to figure out that these events will involve LEGO brick building, and lots of it. All these will take place in the free-admission Square area of the LEGO House, where guests of all ages will be encouraged to put their builder skills to use in assembling whatever Holiday decors they desire. They’ll even have “Play Agents” on hand to help out with the building if necessary.
Here is the list of special events to be held at the Home of the Brick, courtesy of the LEGO website. Note that it starts on the very day after the special Airbnb hospitality event is held. Residents of Billund and tourists travelling there from late November to December will certainly have lots of LEGO fun there.
25-26 Nov: We build lots of small trees and plant them all over LEGO Square.
1-4 Dec: We build the big tree (up to 6 meters) and host a charity event with great giveaways.
8-11 Dec: We create decorations for the tree.
15-18 Dec: We make presents for the tree.
22-23 Dec: We add the last details and countdown to Christmas Eve.
LEGO bricks have long been a simple, quickly acquirable and popular medium of custom model construction. A lot of monumental ideals – both figuratively and literally – have been realized through the use of sometimes thousands upon thousands of LEGO pieces to erect surprising accurate scale models of buildings over the years.
One recent example of this art is the LEGO reproduction of the Duomo cathedral in Florence, Italy. The LEGO Group itself is an old hand at these large-scale constructions. In fact, one of their builds which currently holds a Guinness World record, will soon be put up for display in Brighton, UK.
This is the all-LEGO wind turbine, one built by LEGO back in May as both an attempt at the Guinness Book of World Records, and a celebration of the company’s early achievement of their target use of 100% renewable energy. LEGO had invested in wind farms in Germany and the UK, as well as solar panels in China, to power their factories and offices in those respective countries.
Originally not slated to be completed until 2020, the early completion of their renewable energy use target spurred The LEGO Group to have a wind turbine built with LEGO bricks at Liverpool.
Said wind turbine, constructed by LEGO Certified Pros Duncan Titmarsh, Georg Schmitt and Balázs Dóczy, used up 146,000 LEGO blocks (the Duomo model only had 20,000), and is now recognized by Guinness as the largest wind turbine made out of LEGOs.
After some time on display at Liverpool (close to the wind farm invested on by LEGO), the turbine will be moved from its original site (depicted in our pictures) to the seaside resort of Brighton in East Sussex County. For those in the area, and tourists too, they will be able to see the LEGO wind turbine at its new location in Park Square, ate Brighton Marina.
When a company has such a rich and vibrant history behind it, they can certainly put that to good use by inviting their loyal fans and followers to tour that history with them.
That’s pretty much the main deal with The LEGO Company and their LEGO Inside Tour, a wondrous excursion that the company describes as a once-in-a-lifetime experience. They’ve got several tour schedules set up for next year, and registration is open.
Yes, there’s already a LEGO Live event happening in New York in February next year, but for longtime and dedicated LEGO fans with some money saved up, the LEGO InsideTour 2018 could stand to be another pinnacle of their total lifetime experience with LEGO and their products.
Throughout the following year, The LEGO Group will be guiding five groups of about 80 or so attendees at a time through some of the most memorable locations in the company’s long history as one of the world’s major toy brands.
It all takes place in LEGO’s home, the town of Billund in Denmark, and will include tours of the house of LEGO founder Ole Kirk Kristiansen, exhibits of original 1930s LEGO sets and models, and an excursion through a modern factory with chances to meet personally meet LEGO personnel and set designers. Each tour session lasts 3 days, so groups will be staying at Billund’s Hotel LEGOLAND in between company visits.
At the end of the tour, participants will receive an exclusively numbered set produced specifically as a gift for the LEGO Inside Tour, and in close collaboration with Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen. This year, tour participants received the LEGO House Tree of Creativity (4000024), a shout-out to the grandiosity of the actual 15-meter, brick-built Tree of Creativity nestled right in the middle of LEGO Square.
2017’s LEGO Inside Tour Exclusive Gift Set – The Tree Of Creativity (4000024)
Here are the five LEGO Inside Tour schedules throughout next year, for your reference:
May 23-25
May 30-June 1
June 13-15
September 12-14
September 19-21
Note however, that the registration period to join one of these tour groups is really short. It starts November 6 2017 at 10 am until Friday November 10 2017 at 10 am. All dates and times are at Continental Europe Time.
Do note that participants will need to arrange their own travel to Billund, as the LEGO Inside Tour only kicks off from the starting point at Hotel LEGOLAND, not far from the town’s international airport. Visit LEGO.com for more information, and then sign up for registration here.
This is somewhat of a revival from LEGO, but with a different twist. Reminiscent of the LEGO Truck Show marketing tour of the late 90s, LEGO will offer once again a unique, family-oriented event that will literally feature millions of LEGO bricks, tons of hands-on building events, life-size builds, workshops from renowned LEGO Master Builders and much more. The LEGO Live inaugural event will run from February 16-18, where the show promises a fully immersive, one-of-a-kind experience that will appeal to LEGO fans of all ages. Some of the highlights of the LEGO Live event include a range of interactive play zones, a Master Lab Help Desk, a huge selection of LEGO sets for sale, and a selection of ‘show only’ souvenirs.
If you wish to book as early as now, tickets are already available for purchase online. Check out the full press release below. Will give you updates as soon as more information comes in.
SPECTACULAR AND BRICK-TACULAR LEGO® LIVE IS COMING TO NEW YORK CITY FEBRUARY 16-18
Inaugural show will feature 65,000 square feet of immersive experiences, hands-on building activities, live performances and demonstrations for families and visitors of all ages at Pier 36 in Manhattan.
NEW YORK (November 6, 2017) – LEGO® LIVE will debut a unique blend of imagination, creativity and play for the first time in the United States with a major family event February 16-18, 2018 in New York City. This new official LEGO event will transform Pier 36 in Manhattan into a brick-built family adventure filled with playful activities, performances and more for both kids and kids at heart. Tickets are now on sale at legolive.frontgatetickets.com.
A must-attend event for any LEGO fan, LEGO LIVE NYC will include a range of interactive themed play zones, each offering a distinct experience – from classic building challenges to using coding and robotic technology to program a multifunctional model. Fans will also be able to meet LEGO Master Builders at the Master Lab Help Desk, where builders can get one-on-one advice and show off their creations. Show guests can explore the latest LEGO building sets, compete in exciting building challenges, and take photos with LEGO models based on beloved characters from iconic films and LEGO properties such as Star Wars™ and NINJAGO®. Among the many experiences, families will find:
LEGO® Life: Maximize your show experience via the LEGO Life app, a safe, social network for kids who love to build. The app will offer details on show activities and insider tips, and the LEGO Life team will host exclusive opportunities to build, capture and share unique LEGO creations made at the show with the broader community of LEGO fans in the app.
Meet the Masters on the Main Stage: Meet a LEGO Master Builder and learn building tips and tricks in live demonstrations, competitions and Q&A sessions.
LEGO Architecture: Build together to create the iconic skyscrapers that make up the Manhattan skyline in this community building area.
LEGO Minecraft™: Journey with Steve to build your way through the iconic and ever-popular Minecraft universe with the thousands of specialty LEGO pieces found in this creative building zone.
Coding Corner: Build, code and play with the new LEGO BOOST and heritage LEGO MINDSTORMS® toolkits to test your skill in creating your own LEGO robot.
LEGO Shop: Browse a huge selection of LEGO sets for builders of all ages, or select from an assortment of “show only” souvenirs.
“New York City is home to many of the world’s most dedicated, creative and passionate LEGO fans, so we are thrilled to debut this one-of-a-kind experience with families in the tri-state area,” said Michael McNally, senior director, brand relations at LEGO Systems, Inc. “We can’t wait to see how that inherent creativity comes to life as we engage New Yorkers and visitors alike in memorable hands-on, minds-on LEGO play experiences for the entire family.”
Tickets are now available and can be purchased at legolive.frontgatetickets.com. $30 General Admission, $45 VIG (Very Important Guest) and $75 VIK (Very Important Kid) ticketing options are available.
Be sure to follow @LEGO on Facebook and Instagram and @Lego_Group on Twitter to stay up-to-date with the latest information on LEGO LIVE. Follow along and join the conversation using #LEGOLIVENYC.
For more information on LEGO LIVE, and to plan your visit, please visit liveevent.lego.com.
LEGO LIVE NYC is organized by Parallel Live in partnership with LEGO Systems, Inc.
In this day and age, one of the best media expressions of architecture has come in the form of scale versions of structures built using the very ubiquitous LEGO blocks. There have been countless stories about famous buildings and monuments being given the replica treatment.
The most recent build of note is in Italy, where a high school student and avid LEGO builder decided to realize his vision of the Duomo, also known as the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. The result is an astoundingly accurate rendition that, for a time, will be a local tourist attraction.
Giancinto Consiglio, a 17-year-old student from Italy’s Puglia region, was inspired to do a LEGO scale model of the Duomo cathedral following a tour of Florence, the capital of Tuscany region.
Impressed by the majesty of the 11th-Century cathedral building and the adjoining baptistery, Consiglio would use a CAD program on his home computer to generate a 3D model of the structures, and concluded that, to translate the CGI into a real model, he would need a total of 20,000 LEGO bricks, in 400 various shapes and ten different colors.
Once preparations were complete, Consiglio would return to Florence to construct the LEGO model of the Duomo, working inside the nearby Grand Museum. His attempt was promoted by museum staff as a special event, the work made open for viewing by visitors.
The budding Master Builder was helped by members from various AFOL groups such as Toscana Bricks, the Italian LEGO Users Group (ITLUG), and many interested builders from the area.
Ultimately the scale LEGO Duomo, standing 150 cm x 60 cm x 65 cm, was finished in one day. It will stay in the Grand Museum as a special free-view exhibit until November 9, when it will be moved to the Bricks in Florence Festival the following November 11 to 12.
For more details on this amazing project, visit Florence’s La Repubblica news site. Image credits to La Repubblica.
