Some locations in the world are so iconic that they feature prominently and often in popular culture. Landmark structures serve as obvious identifiers of locales like London’s Big Ben, or Paris’ Eifel Tower. Sometimes however, a location doesn’t need to be iconic in that sense to get tourists flocking to it. They may be something as simple as a street or neighborhood like Broadway in New York City. You can go further down and have it be a cozy neighborhood that still grabs attention. That would explain perhaps this new 10-K addition to LEGO Ideas First 2022 Review Stage.
The Notting Hill Market is the brainchild of Ideas 10K Club Member Lepralego. Yep, it’s his second submission to hit 10-K support and join the First 2022 Review after the Magical Village. Lepralego replicates a portion of London’s Notting Hill district, particularly the outdoor market at Portobello Road. This section of Notting Hill encapsulates the area’s artistic, fashionable and multicultural character. It’s no small surprise that pop culture has set some stories there. There’s “Bedknobs and Broomsticks,” “Paddington Bear” and 1999’s “Notting Hill” itself starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant.
As you can see here, Notting Hill Market is a busy street-scene set. Rows of shops face market stalls just off the roadside curb. And if you think the outdoors are all there’s at, the shop building interiors are pretty sweet too. If Lepralego should see this set approved in review, then Notting Hill Market could be a potential hit.
No LEGO City build of London would feel completely well-rounded without it. It’s a good dream, and we wish Lepralego luck with this product idea. Hopefully it and Magical Village over the Bridge won’t cannibalize each other’s support to the LEGO Ideas reviewers.
The month of March is now on its way to winding down. LEGO videogame fans couldn’t be any more impatient with the passing of time. And we can hardly blame them. WB Games and Traveller’s Tales are bringing their biggest LEGO Star Wars title to multiple platforms in early April. “The Skywalker Saga” will LEGO-fy the events of all nine “Star Wars” films, plus spinoff movies and series as DLC. We’re talking a sprawling space opera franchise with loads and loads of characters. Players can expect a massive playable cast with this LEGO Star Wars game. But how large is the cast we’ll be getting?
It’s plenty massive, according to Brick Fanatics. Their source is YouTube gaming channel Lunar Squadron. They’ve gotten early access to “LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.” Earlier estimates of LEGO and gaming news sources confidently number the characters as well over 300. Lunar Squadron notes the game has 380 playable characters available after full unlocking. Was that humongous for you? WB Games and TT are just getting started. Recall the DLC we featured earlier this month. They numbered 38. And that’s not all. One character is digital-exclusive. Three others can be gained from access codes in some certain LEGO Star Wars sets. That’s 422 characters.
Picked up your jaw from the floor already? At this we can only say bravo to Traveller’s Tales and WB Games for their years-spanning work. “Skywalker Saga” really is the ultimate LEGO Star Wars videogame. Look forward to its release this April 5 on Sony PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X/S, Microsoft Windows and the Nintendo Switch.
After a lull in submissions, the LEGO Ideas First 2022 Review Stage is filling up with new product ideas again. One of the latest additions is the third train build for this batch of aspiring LEGO sets. We’ve already gotten a magical train to the North Pole and the world’s oldest electric hanging-car elevated railway. What has this new product idea got to make itself stand out? Ideas 10K Club Member LEt.sGO decides to go with historical weight. And what’s more, this LEGO model train will be a hit with fans of old-style detective stories. Have you read Agatha Christie’s?
If that last bit wasn’t any obvious, LEt.sGO has built a cool depiction of the Orient Express. This long-distance train service was begun by a Belgian company in 1883 to bridge Western and Eastern Europe. At its maximum extent, the express ran between London, UK or Paris, France, and Istanbul in Turkey. It actually operated until 2009 (connecting only Paris and Vienna at the end).
The build by LEt.sGO replicates the Orient Express rolling stock circa 1930s, with engine, tender and dining car. The car might be memorable to fans of Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express” and its film adaptations. The details in all the components are exquisite.
LEGO Ideas First 2022 Review has now passed the 30-submission mark, with no indication of being closed anytime soon. We’ll have to wait and see which of the Polar Express, Wuppertaler or Orient Express trains make it. That is of course not considering the other product ideas in the group.
Usually, upcoming LEGO set reveals are done by the company itself. It tends to go down in their online shop too, for obvious reasons because the product listings go there. But sometimes new LEGO stuff could be unveiled somewhere else, by another hand not necessarily of LEGO’s. This might happen with a LEGO-carrying major retail brand like Walmart. Beyond mere set discounts, Walmart also boasted some exclusive multi-set value packs in the past. But their upcoming event for collectors of toys and more will serve as a stage for an unveiling. Apparently LEGO has a new set to introduce there.
This comes to us courtesy of The Brick Fan. Thursday next week, March 24, will see Walmart hold the Collector Con. This convention will see some new toy releases and launches, including from LEGO. Fancy a new LEGO Star Wars set based in the original movie trilogy? LEGO looks to be dipping far back into the original 1977 “Star Wars” film with The Trash Compactor (75329). Franchise fans will recall Luke, Han, Leia and Chewbacca being momentarily trapped in the Death Star’s waste disposal. We can expect minifigs of the OG “Star Wars” heroes (with Luke and Han in Stormtrooper gear). Possible other features include the compacting walls and maybe a buildable Dianoga trash monster.
Walmart Collector Con will run March 24 to 25. Collectors will be given time windows to order their fave products three times per day. Going by Pacific Standard Time, these will be at 7AM, 12NN and 5PM. Walmart also plans more Collector Con events later on, coinciding with SDCC in July and NYCC in October.
Ever since LEGO Cuusoo (now LEGO Ideas) released the “Back to the Future” DeLorean Time Machine (21103), fans knew. They somehow knew, nearly a decade after that set’s release, that the time machine car would be revisited LEGO-wise. Sure, there have been false alarms, like last year’s alleged new DeLorean being a Creator Expert Pickup Truck (10290) instead. But fans of LEGO Back to the Future (repped by long-retired one-off sets) never lost hope. The latest rumors insisted that the DeLorean will return in the LEGO Creator Expert line this year. And so it did.
We’re happy to share thanks to news from Brickset that the iconic DeLorean is back in official brick-built form. Say hi to the Creator Expert Back to the Future Time Machine (10300). Doc Brown’s DeLorean comes with enough accessories to depict its various configurations across the “Back to the Future” trilogy. The Doc and Marty are also available in minifig form, even if their ride isn’t to scale with them. The April 1 release date checks out, and thankfully it won’t be a joke. At last, collectors that have waited some time can soon get their hands on this set. Here’s some official listing snippets:
Age 18+ | 1,872 pieces | 2 minifigures | $169.99 | Coming April 1
Build an icon – Spend quality time crafting all the details of this LEGO® Back to the Future Time Machine (10300) with 3 different model versions of the car to choose from
Build 1 of 3 options – Version 1 includes a lightning rod and plutonium chamber, version 2 features Mr. Fusion and hover conversion, and version 3 has whitewall tires and a circuit board
Opening gull doors – Just like in the movies, this model version of the Back to the Future car includes the famous opening gull doors
Flight mode – The car’s tires fold down for flight mode. Other details include the light-up flux capacitor, printed dashboard dates and opening hood
Includes 2 minifigures, plus accessories – Spot details from the movies, like Marty’s hoverboard and the OUTATIME license plate. Comes with Doc and Marty McFly minifigures to add to your display
It’s both awe-inspiring and daunting to consider how many names and brands have been depicted in LEGO. Beyond the established licensed-IP franchises that might make multi-set themes, LEGO’s also courted famous celebrities for representation. We got sweet deals from that like the five-person BrickHeadz Spice Girls Tribute (40548). Sometimes, LEGO makes tribute sets to famous persons long passed away. In that vein we also got a nice LEGO Art set featuring The King, Elvis Presley (31204). What next for LEGO’s musical-artist products? There’s a new rumor out for the next LEGO Art after Elvis and Batman (31205): The Rolling Stones.
We know of this rumor courtesy of The Brick Fan, with the next LEGO Art set sometime in mid-2022. As already stated, we could be getting LEGO Art: The Rolling Stones (31206), along with details hinting at set changes. Where Elvis Presley (31204) and Batman (31205) don’t go below 3,000 pieces, set 31206 only has 1,998 alleged pieces. Not only does that not fill up the standard LEGO Art 48×48-knob frame, it’s also priced higher. Its predecessor sets are both worth $119.99, yet somehow this supposed Rolling Stones LEGO Art has a $149.99 price tag? That’s a curious price hike.
Anyway, that being said this talk of a LEGO Art: The Rolling Stones (31206) must be considered rumor for now. If we’re going to get it by around June, that leaves LEGO over two months to say something. That’s right; it’s set rumor confirmation wait time for Rolling Stones now.
It was no surprise whatsoever that, upon March 10 aka Mar10 Day hitting LEGO.com Thursday, we got our set reveals. The new LEGO Super Mario sets were spoiled by a teasing social media post on LEGO’s Instagram. That may have been removed shortly after, but now collectors could see it coming. And as confirmed by The Brick Fan, this new wave of LEGO Super Mario sets will introduce a new character. Mario and Luigi may have been saving Princess Peach of Mushroom Kingdom numerous times now. But Peach can take care of herself too, as her interactive brick-built figure demonstrates.
Like with the Mario Bros, Princess Peach gets introduced to LEGO via her own Starter Course set (71403). From there this LEGO Super Mario product batch boasts several new expansion courses. And with Peach around, that includes her previously-mentioned Palace (71408). In fact, it would be easier to just enumerate:
Start your Adventures with Peach – Give Super Mario fans another way to enter the LEGO Super Mario universe with this Starter Course (71403) featuring LEGO Peach
Interactive LEGO Peach figure – Features a color sensor, an LCD screen to display various instant reactions to movement, and a speaker that plays iconic sounds and music from the video games
Digital coin-collecting play – This toy playset features a Start Pipe, Goal Pole, swing set, a Lava Bubble-launching challenge, a Flying “?” Block and Lemmy and Yellow Toad figures
Fruity fun – The red fruit triggers happy reactions from LEGO Peach and can be gifted to the Yellow Yoshi or another interactive figure (not included). ‘Eat’ the fruit and earn digital coins
Enemy-stomping play – Level up with the LEGO Super Mario Goomba’s Shoe Expansion Set (71404), featuring a brick-built shoe for hopping, stomping, flipping fun
LEGO toy figure of a Super Mario character Goomba – Place the Goomba inside the brick-built shoe, just like in the Super Mario video games, and add to the LEGO® Super Mario™ levels children create
Stomp and flip – Help LEGO Mario, LEGO Luigi or LEGO Peach (figures not included) swipe the shoe to jump around and perform flips to win digital coins
Recreate a Super Mario sky course challenge – Kids can raise their LEGO Super Mario level sky-high with this 71405 Fuzzy Flippers Expansion Set
2 Fuzzy LEGO figures – Help LEGO Mario, LEGO Luigi or LEGO Peach (Note: these 3 interactive figures are not included) stomp on each end of the 2 flippers to flip the Fuzzies and defeat them
Brick-built sky, orange Mushroom Trampoline and Time Block – The Mushroom Trampoline has a bouncy effect, so an interactive figure can jump on it
Solo or 2-player play – Friends who each own an interactive LEGO Super Mario character figure can take on this double flipper challenge together
Welcome to Yoshi’s Gift House (71406) – Children can add a treat-packed level, featuring iconic Super Mario character Yoshi, to their LEGO Super Mario Starter Course with this Expansion Set
2 LEGO Super Mario toy figures – Yoshi and Monty Mole for LEGO Mario, LEGO Luigi or LEGO Peach (note: these 3 figures are not included) to interact with
Fun play features – A doorway, bed, mailbox with a letter element, fireplace, tree with a fruit-knockdown feature, red fruit, green fruit and a gift box for gifting fruits
Treat Carousel – Spin LEGO Mario, LEGO Luigi or LEGO Peach on the carousel until the fruits turn gold and collect extra digital coins when they ‘eat’ the fruit
Ice-breaking adventures – Excite kids’ imaginations with the Cat Peach Suit and Frozen Tower Expansion Set (71407), featuring a brick-built tower and lots of coin-collecting challenges
3 LEGO Super Mario characters – LEGO toy figures of Cat Goomba, Kamek and Toad for LEGO Peach (figure not included) to interact with
Cat Suit – The suit triggers unique reactions in LEGO Peach and she can wear it to climb the tower and win digital coins
Fun challenges – Release the Coin Block from ‘ice’, grab the yellow fruit, knock ‘ice’ off the tower, activate the POW Block then topple Kamek from the tower and break Toad out of the ice enclosure
Highly detailed Peach’s Castle (71408) – Children can add an iconic location to their LEGO Super Mario world with this challenge-packed Expansion Set
5 LEGO Super Mario toy figures – Bowser, Ludwig, Toadette, a Goomba and a Bob-omb
Authentic features – A Special Pipe: Peach’s Castle, Time Block, Peach stained-glass window, Bob-omb painting with a hidden Action Tag, cake with a Goomba hiding inside, a purple fruit and more
Throne room – Help LEGO Mario, LEGO Luigi or LEGO Peach (figures not included) activate the slider platform to spin the wall and reveal Bowser, then jump on the triggers to flip him over
Introducing a new sky level – Let children take on Big Spike’s Cloudtop Challenge (71409) with this colorful LEGO Super Mario Expansion Set featuring Super Mario enemy characters and challenges
3 LEGO Super Mario figures – A Big Spike, a Boomerang Bro and a Piranha Plant
Fun challenges – Dodge the spiked roller thrown by the Big Spike, gain Super Star Block power and jump on the seesaw to defeat the Piranha Plant and win digital coins
Orange Mushroom Trampolines – Jump on the trampolines with LEGO Mario, LEGO Luigi or LEGO Peach (figures not included) to get to the Boomerang Bro
Well, they didn’t make it on Mar10 Day. But August isn’t really that far away. Enjoy the promotions and bundles now as we wait for the new sets to launch later on.
Some activities are just so much fun that you’d like to do it again. The same might be said for a certain contest hosted on LEGO Ideas too. Only last year, LEGO Ideas launched a building contest for its membership. The winners wouldn’t see their creations being reviewed for possible mass-production. Rather, they would have the honor of having their work be displayed at LEGO House in Billund. This March 2022, like last year, contest is being run one more time. The circumstances are rather more meaningful, though. The entries will get to celebrate with LEGO’s on its 90th anniversary.
So here you have it: the new LEGO Ideas contest “Celebrating 90 Years of Play in LEGO House.” The rules are the same as last time. Participants need to submit images of their builds to the Ideas Contest page. There are three subject categories: Musical, Futuristic and the plainly obvious Celebrate. LEGO Ideas will select 25 entries in each category to be sent off for a one-year display exhibit at LEGO House. In addition, one build from each of those categories will be declared grand winners and win the following:
LEGO 90th Anniversary Set (vote winner, will be revealed in later date)
While participants may submit digital-build images, if their entry is chosen they must be able to physically construct it. It’s their actual handmade work to be displayed at LEGO House after all. LEGO will even cover the shipping costs of chosen submissions. The deadline for Idea Intake is April 7. What a way to celebrate nine decades of LEGO, even older than the LEGO brick!
In terms of licensed IPs within LEGO, time-travel sci-fi franchise “Back to the Future” is quite a minor label. One might describe it as a special one-off. “BTTF” set representation lies only in LEGO Ideas (during its Cuusoo days), the defunct “LEGO Dimensions,” and one BrickHeadz twofer. Still, there are LEGO-collecting fans of “Back to the Future” who would like more tie-ins. It’s no wonder that rumors of a new LEGO set featuring the DeLorean time machine are frequently followed. We covered an iteration of this speculation in November last year. Now, the buzz is back again in full force.
Stone Wars tells us that the long-alleged LEGO DeLorean (10300) from “Back to the Future” is coming closer. Sure, the possible April 1 launch date makes the whole thing “sus,” as “Among Us” players might say. But there is the fact that the set name apparently carries the “DMC-12” designation of the actual car. That is, even if this turns out not to be the “BTTF” DeLorean time machine, it could also be a model of the DMC DeLorean car instead. The other details remain the same: Creator Expert, Age 18+. As for pricing, it’s now €179.99 or $199.99 (estimate).
Being a Creator Expert set, the rumored DeLorean (10300) won’t be of a scale for minifigures. That hasn’t stopped LEGO from adding minifigs to stand on an info plaque display or something. They’ve done so with other pop-culture vehicles before. Remember Batman Batmobile Tumbler (76240)? Anyway, “Back to the Future” time machine or car, this set is supposed to arrive next month. We have the rest of March to wait for details. Until they come up, we’ll continue to chalk this up as a rumor.
In case you need reminding, this year 2022 marks the 90th anniversary of LEGO. True, the LEGO brick only came to be in 1949. But we’re reckoning from the very start of the toy company founded by Ole Kirk Christiansen in Billund, Denmark. As part of celebration preparations from last year, LEGO gave adult fans a vote on what classic theme to revive. New sets from the top-voted theme/s would launch this year as part of LEGO for Adults. And as German LEGO news source Promobricks tells it, it seems that we can look forward to a revived LEGO Lion Knights’ Castle set.
From the 1980s to the early 1990s, LEGO released various castle-themed sets across multiple LEGO Knights lines. According to rumors, a LEGO Lion Knights’ Castle set will be numbered 10305, due to launch in August. It’s apparently based on the LEGO Lion Knights line from 1984, notably The King’s Castle of the Lion Knights (6080). The only other product detail this rumor has is the price: a whopping €349.99, or around $386.53 in exact conversion. It hints at two things. First, the castle build must be pretty huge. And second, it would seem only adult LEGO collectors could have that kind of cash on hand.
In closing, we’d like to remind readers that the above speculation from Promobricks should be considered a rumor and should be taken with a pinch of salt. We’ll have to wait until LEGO says something officially. Given that the rumored launch for this LEGO Lion Knights’ Castle set is slated for August, we might need to wait for a while.
