Albert Balanza, Author at The Brick Show

LEGO Ninjago Summer 2018 Set Images Released

Coming from Amazon FR’s earlier reveal of the latest LEGO Creator sets due to be out in the second half of the year, Amazon’s French counterpart has also listed several images of the newest LEGO Ninjago sets based on the animated show’s upcoming Season 9. We already had a glimpse on what’s in-store with these sets when the Stormbringer (70652) was put on showcase during the New York Toy Fair last February, and even earlier when we first reported about these sets last December. We’re still keeping our radars open for a listing of the War Rig/Dieselnaut Combat Vehicle (70654),and the still elusive, LEGO Ninjago Docks of Ninjago City (70657).

These latest LEGO Ninjago sets are focused on the central theme of dragons, including a new line of Spinjitzu sets that adds the element of flight to your typical spinning toys. Similar to the LEGO Creator sets, these latest LEGO Ninjago sets are expected to be offered sometime this Summer.

Golden Dragon Masters (70644)

92 pieces; 23.22 Euros

Cole – Dragon Masters (70645)

92 pieces; 23.22 Euros

Jay – Dragon Masters (70646)

92 pieces; 23.22 Euros

Kai – Dragon Masters (70647)

92 pieces; 23.22 Euros

Destiny’s Wing (70650)

181 pieces; 30.80 Euros

Stormbringer (70652)

493 pieces; 51.82 Euros

Firstbourne (70653)

882 pieces; 78.19 Euros

The Dragon’s Den (70655)

1660 pieces; 139.99 Euros

New Space-Themed LEGO Education Sets Announced in Time for Start of 2018-19 FIRST LEGO League Science Challenge

We all know that at the heart of it, all of LEGO’s brick sets and related products today have an educational bent that’s fitting of the brand’s earliest roots. But their LEGO Education product line is pretty blatant about its theme, wearing the distinction of its educational aims with pride.

LEGO has just announced two new sets coming for the LEGO Education line, both of which are themed for space. These LEGO Education sets, named “Mission Moon” (45807) and “Into Orbit”, are to be promoted as the sets used by global participants to the 2018-19 FIRST LEGO League scientific challenge.

This annual worldwide gathering of young scientific innovators from elementary and high-school levels is a collaborative effort between LEGO Education, headed by Esben Stærk Jørgensen, and the international science-tech youth organization FIRST of Dean Kamen. It aims to have the participants compete in basic research to solve a particular worldwide problem, and propose a solution test-built in LEGO.

For the latest upcoming contest period of 2018-2019, FIRST LEGO League will have its entrants work on the principles of Hydro Dynamics, in conjunction with space travel technology. The two contest age groups with each use one of the new LEGO Education sets for their own research and testing challenges.

LEGO Education and FIRST are projecting about 350,000 children from all over the world will be participating in the FIRST LEGO League, with registration scheduled to start on May. They will be divided into two contest age groups, one from 6-10 years old and the other from 9-16 years old.

The two sets for LEGO Education being used in the challenges are compatible with the line’s mechanical app-based WeDo 2.0 Core Set, as well as other LEGO tech products like Mindstorms, which also features in the FIRST LEGO League. Meanwhile, the finals for the 2017-18 challenges are finishing this week.

First Look at the Summer 2018 LEGO Creator Sets

It seems that Amazon France is giving us a head start in showing what LEGO sets to expect for the second half of this year. We already heard some of them, but it’s nice to see them for what they actually are. So while waiting for better, high resolution images, let’s take a look at these new LEGO Creator sets expected to be out in the latter part of the year. I’m personally excited for the Pirate Roller Coaster which I reported since last December. I’m looking forward to how this set managed to make better use of LEGO’s newest track pieces, and the potential that it has for motorized play.

These sets are still listed as temporarily out of stock so I’m not quite sure if Amazon FR posted these too early. But I guess we’ll only find out if they are taken down sooner or later. For now, let’s take a look.

Modular Sweet Surprises (31077)

396 pieces; 43.41 Euros

Cruising Adventures (31083)

597 pieces; 59.81 Euros

Pirate Roller Coaster (31084)

923 pieces; 114.43 Euros

Mobile Stunt Show (31085)

580 pieces; 61.20 Euros

LEGO Makes Funny Awesome Crossover Video of Disney-Pixar’s “Cars” and BBC’s “Top Gear” in LEGO Junior Form

In 2002, BBC Two premiered a motoring magazine TV series that would grow to eventually take the automobile and driving worlds by storm: Top Gear. Four years later in 2006, Disney and Pixar released an animated feature film that would become the first chapter of a new recognizable franchise: Cars.

Now, BCC and Disney-Pixar have decided to do some epic cross-promotion for their respective franchises with the help of a surprise collaborator: LEGO. The result is a zany 3D short film that crosses Cars and Top Gear in one epic race around the familiar UK racetrack, with a familiar white-suited-racer-turned-car.

The short, lengthily titled “Mater, Cruz Ramirez, Lightning McQueen and The Stig Race Europe in New LEGO Juniors Top Gear video!” has LEGO Junior-version Lightning, his trainer Cruz Ramirez and mechanic buddy Mater visiting the Top Gear track. McQueen has personal reasons to drop in: wanting to race The Stig.

Rendered as a white car with dark windshield and spoilers, nobody knows what model the mysterious Top Gear presenter has been rendered in the Cars world. All we know is he’s still called The Stig. And from what we see him do, LEGO Stig must be a Master Builder too.

After an initial rebuff, the Stig is convinced to race Lightning and Cruz on the track, after he uses his Master Building skills to turn some nearby LEGO bricks into scale models of famous European landmarks to make a real European race. All goes well until Mater decides to fix the LEGO Leaning Tower for being “structurally unsound”. Hilarity ensues.

It’s certainly quite the adventure, and makes for great promotion of the Top Gear and Cars franchises, and the LEGO Junior line. You can see other short videos, of Disney-Pixar’s Cars and the other LEGO product lines, at their official YouTube Channel.

WATCH: LEGO The Incredibles Gameplay Trailer

WB Games has now released its first gameplay trailer for the new LEGO Incredibles 2. The video highlights several visually stunning gameplay derived from both Disney Pixar films: 2004’s The Incredibles and its upcoming sequel, The Incredibles 2. We already had a hint on what particular gameplay experience to expect once the game is released alongside the movie on June 15. Let’s watch this.

LEGO Incredibles 2 promises a ton of content based right off the bat beginning with the Parr family’s encounter with the scheming Syndrome, the Underminer’s foiled attempt in besieging the city of Metroville, to the latest threat which is ScreenSlaver. Needless to say, it’s a great mash-up of two movies rolled into one; not to mention the cool co-op among the super powered members of the Parr family: Elastigirl’s flexible transformations, Mr. Incredible’s unequalled super strength, Violet’s powerful force-fields, Dash’s lightning speed and Jack-Jack’s crazy unpredictable abilities. Together, they must manage to hurdle obstacles, solve puzzles, and battle other supers using each family member’s unique abilities.

The LEGO Incredibles 2 is now available for pre-order, thru Amazon. It also comes with an Edna minifigure exclusively available from GameStop if you opt to purchase from them. The game will launch on June 15 and will be available across major gaming platforms including the Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

LEGO Joins Marvel Studios 10th Anniversary with “Infinity War” Promotional Poster…in LEGO Minifigures

Cross-promotion is the way of the market these days. We already know that LEGO has released an impressive wave of tie-in merchandise for Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War premiering next week, but now, they’ve also decided to lend a hand in promoting the film studios first decade, in poster form.

Collaboration between Marvel Entertainment and LEGO has resulted in what’s probably the coolest promotional poster for the Infinity War movie; plus it joins the rest of the other quirky special events already done to celebrate “The First Ten Years” for Marvel Studios, architects of the box office-breaking MCU franchise phenomenon.

Two months ago, Marvel released a golden Infinity War/10 Years poster, depicting characters from the Avengers, Asgardians, SHIELD, Guardians of the Galaxy, and other corners of the MCU in a group shot, with Iron Man high above them. LEGO has replicated that poster using their minifigures from their tie-in sets.

It’s got Vision; it’s got Loki; there is Hawkeye, Star-Lord, (a miniaturized) Ant-Man, Falcon, blonde Black Widow, Nomad Captain America, Nick Fury, and even Black Panther and Okoye. Finally, minifigure Tony in his Iron Man armor is zooming away with clear repulsor add-on elements on his hands and feet slots.

As expected, no X-Men (still with Fox) but strangely, no Spider-Man either. One can collect all these minifigures featured in the posted by getting all the Infinity War tie-in sets that are available now. They’ve got BrickHeadz figures too. And Avengers: Infinity War arrives on April 27 in US theaters.

It’s kind of like the custom cover thing for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, come to think of it; except this is for a Marvel milestone.

Studio Nine Introduces Stüda: “LEGO-Compatible” Buildable Furniture

Give anybody a pile of LEGO bricks, and eventually they would’ve made something out of that, whether it’s a toy to play with or something to display on a table or shelf. But what if you can do more with a LEGO build than just make it a desktop ornament?

That’s quite the idea, being able to integrate your LEGO builds with the very furniture you plan to display them on. But that’s exactly what Italian designer Paolo Bellisario had in mind when conceptualizing a new line of furniture by Studio Nine, which he co-founded. How about some “LEGO-compatible” furniture?

A quick look at sample furnishing by Studio Nine, an elevated square cabinet with a modular – and therefore customizable – build, would evoke images of LEGO. If it doesn’t, then the fact that its outside surfaces are dotted with familiar-looking studs would. Said studs are compatible with LEGO’s interlocking brick design.

Studio Nine is even calling their latest furniture collaboration with Corian Design with a catchy name: Stüda. Bellisario is banking on this eccentric concept resonating with LEGO fans of all ages, spurring them to stick their official sets, MOCs or simple accessory bricks on their storage containers and other furnishings.

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“We believe that every age will have a different way of personalizing it,” Bellisario noted. “Stüda is not only for kids and we are sure that letting children and adults interact together around it could bring some stunning results.” It should be noted that he’s also a childhood LEGO fanatic.

No further details have been shared about the Stüda design furniture collection from Studio Nine, but mass-production of their sets are expected to begin any time soon, following the positive reception that their concept have received thus far.

Official Images of the LEGO BrickHeadz Tactical Batman and Superman (41610) Released Online

Last week, the May LEGO Store Calendar revealed the arrival of another LEGO BrickHeadz set which completes the entire roster of DCEU’s Justice League characters rendered in bricks. We were informed that a LEGO BrickHeadz Justice League Tactical Batman and Superman (41610) will be arriving in May, and this time around, a Russian LEGO certified store gives us a complete look at what we can expect from this newest LEGO BrickHeadz duo. This new dual-pack LEGO BrickHeadz set is expected to retail in the US for $19.99. Check out these crisp, official images.

Thanks to Brickset for the heads up.

List of All 10-K LEGO Ideas Submissions (Thus Far) for the First 2018 Review Phase

The fact that LEGO Ideas has made official sets of just over 20 submissions to its platform since it started in the early part of this decade, sort of covers the reality that a lot of designs by aspiring builders have been put on there in all of that time.

Ideas’ process of having a submission earn 10,000 votes of support to then be considered for review is a lot tougher than it looks. There was even one Review Phase back in 2015 where none of the 10K support entries were passed by the board, an ignominious fate for sure.

Now, while the Last 2017 Review Phase is ongoing with eight sets vying for approval, the First 2018 Review Phase is still on, waiting for more entries to hit 10K support before the phase deadline runs out. We’ve covered some of these First-Phase entries and will enumerate them again now.

SR-71a: The Final Flight by JustOneMoreBrick
Disney’s Stitch by Legohaulic/Tyler
A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft (Smoke Squadron) by Alex Paschoaletto
Tree-house by KevinTreehouse
Modular Arcade by Astronaut Avila
I am Amelia Earhart by Alatariel/Ellen Koojiman
Star Wars prequel trilogy Acclamator-class Assault Ship by Lucero

The LEGO Ideas First 2018 Review will cut-off 10K entries by next month, May 7.

Icelander Boy Diagnosed With Autism Creates Huge Scale-Model of the “Titanic” in LEGO

There have been so many stories of people in the so-called “autism spectrum” who have become news celebrities for even the briefest of moments, because they did something awe-inspiring and remarkable with their unique talents. Usually these feats happen by means of their extraordinary attention to details, and resolute patience.

It would explain the achievement of Brynjar Karl Bigisson, a 15-year-old from Reykjavik, Iceland diagnosed with Autism. He just gave other big-scale model LEGO builders a run for their money by designing and constructing a LEGO model of RMS Titanic, the famed ocean liner that sunk in 1912 after hitting an iceberg.

Brynjar’s dream project came about due to two factors in his childhood: being introduced to LEGO when he was 5, and an ocean fishing trip with his grandfather Ludvik Ogmundsson which fired up his fascination for ships. Eventually his special attributes spurred him to study the Titanic to minute detail.

Using 56,000 bricks and building elements, Brynjar created what is believed to be the largest scale replica of the Titanic in LEGO yet. Measuring 26 feet in length and 5 feet in height, there’s just no contest, even for the 5-meter Millennium Falcon once displayed at Melbourne’s LEGOLAND Discovery Centre.

The dimensions for the LEGO Titanic built by Brynjar were so that it would be scale-accurate to the size of regular LEGO minifigures that could be positioned on it. Calculating the level of scaling to achieve the right proportions was no problem for this Icelandic wunderkind. Labor took him beyond 700 hours total, though he had help from grandpa Ludvik and his proud mother Bjarney Ludviksdottir. Family members donated to help him buy all the LEGO bricks required to finish.

Following its first public reveal, Brynjar’s LEGO Titanic model was shipped to America (in three pieces to reassemble later) and has been put in display at the Titanic Museum Attraction of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. It will remain on exhibit there all through December of 2019.