Author: bluephotographs800

GWP Ray the Castaway (40566) Running Out During Double-VIP Points Period

LEGO gift-with-purchase (GWP) sets are both great appreciation tokens and incentives to spend lots during LEGO purchases. This goes double when a GWP happens to be a complementary addition to a main buyable set. FC Barcelona Celebration (40485) being a gift during the launch period of Camp Nou (10284) comes to mind. Alternatively, a GWP might be cool enough on its own merits. Collectors would then shoot for the minimum LEGO purchase amount for it. And when the GWP period overlaps with other events like double LEGO VIP points, the gifts-with-purchase can disappear really fast.

This is pretty much the deal this week according to Brick Fanatics where Ray the Castaway (40566) is concerned. Apparently this GWP, winner of an Ideas Contest, is running out on the online LEGO Shop, across multiple markets. Its total purchase price threshold of $120 in the US, for instance, comes across as peanuts to collectors nowadays. One might thank the latest LEGO VIP double-points period that kicked off this past Monday, October 10. Ironically Ray’s set only had until next Sunday left for its GWP period. At least there are other LEGO gifts-with-purchase items still available for early October. And more are still due to launch later this month.

Two New LEGO Botanical Collection Sets Coming February Next Year

Plenty of praise must go to LEGO for trying to appeal to as many hobby niches as possible. Tie-in sets of major licensed IPs are simple enough in attracting fans of said big-name franchises. But LEGO has also delved into themes and subjects you usually don’t expect to see plastic building bricks involved. Model trains? Check. Pop artworks? Check too. How about botany or floral design, which normally involves plants? Check three. LEGO Botanical Collection covers this particular topic well with some impressive sets released over the years. And we can rest assured there will be more coming next year.

German LEGO news source Promobricks gives us word of at least two new LEGO Botanical Collection sets in 2023. One looks to be a new take on a previously-released item. The other is a nice change from the free-standing plant displays we’ve gotten from this theme line. By February next year we can expect a new Wild Flower Bouquet (10313) contrasting 2021’s (conventional) Flower Bouquet (10280). The second release that month will be the Dried Flower Decoration (10314). As the name implies, this set could depict pressed blooms in a flat display. It’s reminiscent of many sets from LEGO Art.

LEGO’s Botanical Collection currently falls under the wider LEGO Icons umbrella, and as expected they’re mostly rated Age 18+. Wild Flower Bouquet (10313) could have 939 pieces for the price of €59.99. Dried Flower Decoration (10314) meanwhile could be priced at €49.99 for 812 pieces. In possible US$ conversion the possible prices might be roughly the same. Then again, these LEGO Botanical sets are still far off from launch, so we’ll be waiting for details.

LEGO Teases Possible Ideas Foosball Table (21337), Coming November

Long has LEGO been one of the most recognizable faces of “toys you put together to play with”. Their near-infinite number of sets let collectors and builders create buildings, vehicles and more. But how about LEGO sets that, when put together, allow people to play other established games/sports beyond the bricks themselves? That may well be the selling point of this new upcoming set in the LEGO Ideas line. The build in question was the winner of a sports-themed Ideas contest from last year. While LEGO has yet to officially reveal it, they’ve been teasing the set a lot recently.

As The Brick Fan has it, LEGO is showing sneak peeks of an upcoming Ideas set for next month. Considering that one teaser on Twitter shows two top football players from the Premier League, it must be football/soccer-related. Another post, this time on Facebook, seemingly confirms the subject. But rather than a set depicting an outright football match, apparently the game will be “tabletop” in nature. Thus, the prevailing theory is that LEGO’s teasing an Ideas Foosball Table set. This product is supposedly numbered 21337. It may well be the Grand Winner of 2021’s “We Love Sports!” LEGO Ideas contest, created by Constructions by Donat.

No actual images of the LEGO Ideas Foosball Table (21337) have surfaced yet. But if it’s anything like the original Contest-winning entry, then it’s a fully-functional brick-built Foosball game. Even with its smaller scale (55x30cm in the original), the rod mechanisms should all be workable. As LEGO’s teasers state, this set will launch on November 1. So, we can at least be assured of a full reveal before that time.

LEGO October 2022 GWP Ray the Castaway (40566) Gets Product Listing Too

At last, September 2022 is drawing to a close. We can look forward to yet another blitz of new LEGO set launches next month. This includes other extras like the usual gifts-with-purchase items available at minimum purchase limits. One particular GWP set we’re already aware of is Ray the Castaway (40566). This item won its spot from a LEGO Ideas contest challenge. While we got an advance glimpse of the set last week, this time LEGO’s got an item listing for it. This bit of news is brought to us by The Brick Fan. We’ll let the LEGO Shop page speak further about this GWP.

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Ray the Castaway (40566)

Age 18+ | 239 pieces | 1 minifigure | worth $19.99 but is a gift-with-purchase

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Escape the everyday and join Ray the Castaway on a brick-built desert island with this LEGO® Ideas set (40566). Build palm trees, a shelter and a raft, and bring the scene to life with the Ray minifigure, plus parrot, crab and 2 fish figures. This competition-winning model was created by LEGO fan designers and makes a delightful gift for adults or any LEGO enthusiast.

  • Colorful desert island model (40566) for play and display – Build a life on a brick-built desert island for Ray the Castaway with this LEGO® Ideas competition-winning model, created by fan designers
  • Realistic details – The desert island model features a buildable shelter, raft and palm trees, plus a Ray minifigure and parrot, crab and 2 fish figures

The GWP promo period for Ray the Castaway (40566) runs from the 1st to 16th of October. Collectors need only a minimum total LEGO purchase of $120 to get this mini-set.

LEGO Star Wars UCS Razor Crest (75331) Listed; Coming October 7

A lot of upcoming new LEGO sets have a tendency of being rebuilds of earlier releases. Builders and collectors don’t mind much. At least the revamps might be from sets that came out years or even decades ago. The reissues also boast greater detail and more “fleshed-out” designs for the most part. Perhaps nowhere is the reimagined LEGO set more welcome than in the LEGO Star Wars corner. Plenty of LEGO renditions for the sci-fi franchise’s space vehicles stand a chance of getting an Ultimate Collector Series version. We already know a key starship from “Star Wars” spinoff “The Mandalorian” will re-debut on the UCS line. It’s finally been listed.

Promobricks notes that LEGO Star Wars UCS Razor Crest (75331) entered LEGO Shop online ahead of its release. The ST-70 assault ship initially used by Mandalorian Din Djarin returns in perhaps its most ultimate LEGO-set version. Despite already being lost in-series the Razor Crest lives on in brick form, which collectors can get October 7. Let’s check the product info:

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Ultimate Collectors Series: The Razor Crest (75331)

Age 18+ | 6,187 pieces | 3 minifigures + 1 LEGO figure | $599.99 | Coming October 7

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  • The Mandalorian’s armored transport shuttle – Recall memorable Star Wars: The Mandalorian scenes with this LEGO® Star Wars™ Ultimate Collector Series build-and-display model of The Razor Crest (75331)
  • 5 Star Wars™ characters – The Mandalorian, The Mythrol and Kuiil LEGO® minifigures, a Grogu LEGO figure in a pram, and a buildable Blurrg LEGO figure to fit inside The Razor Crest’s cargo compartment
  • Easy-access, detailed interior – Removable engines and cockpit, 2 side hatches and a cargo compartment with space for the Blurrg, a weapons cabinet and LEGO® minifigure-size carbon-freezing chamber
  • Detachable escape pod – The escape pod has space inside for a minifigure. Display the LEGO® minifigures and figures on the stand next to the plaque, which shows the vital facts about The Razor Crest

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You might recall the leaked image of this UCS Razor Crest set’s sticker sheet. Said sheet includes a sticker with specs for the info-plaque piece. If a Q&A during LEGO’s recent fan event in Billund is right, this set 75331 might among be the last. By that we mean of Star Wars UCS sets having sticker decals for the info plaque. Apparently future products will have the details printed right on the plaque. Still, it’s far off enough to not have to ponder over.

LEGO Rumor: Eiffel Tower Getting Icons Set (10307) for Black Friday 2022

Leave it to LEGO to realize one’s monumental building ideas, Builders can create towering edifices of their own design with what LEGO bricks and pieces they have. Or they can buy a LEGO set depicting a wide variety of complete structures both original and IRL. Plenty of famous buildings around the world have already been graced with LEGO-set depictions across the brand’s numerous theme lines. Take for instance one of the iconic symbols of Paris, France: the Eiffel Tower. It already came out as a 1:300 scale set (number 10181) and as a LEGO Architecture entry (21019). And rumors of a new rendition have been around since this past February.

As Brick Fanatics tells us, there’s some new updates on the rumors of a new LEGO take for the Eiffel Tower. The word from earlier this year alleges it was for the LEGO Creator Expert line, numbered 10307 and coming sometime in November. A recent Instagram Stories entry from LEGO news source brick_clicker states new info. Eiffel Tower (10307), now for LEGO Icons, will release this coming Black Friday. Furthermore, the possible set price has jumped from $629.99 to $679.99; given recent across-the-board LEGO price increases, this was a given.

Some LEGO records stand ready to be broken by the rumored Icons Eiffel Tower set. With 10,001 reported pieces, we’re looking at a possible 150-cm tall build. We’re talking new “tallest LEGO set yet”. Further rumors state that some pieces will be of a Technic nature, the better to hold the structure together. Black Friday 2022 is November 25, so we have just around two months to determine if this rumor pans out. We might not need salt for this rumor; but better safe, etc.

Sneak Peek of Next LEGO GWP Ray the Castaway (40566)

Not all LEGO Ideas submissions go on to become full-blown purchasable sets. Some product ideas may become official sets, but only as gift-with-purchase freebies for minimum LEGO purchases. Usually, these builds were winners of contests hosted by LEGO Ideas. Winning these contests would still count as exposure for many aspiring builder-contributors on the Ideas platform. Speaking of which, a new Ideas submission will debut as a GWP set quite soon. This contribution won a LEGO Ideas contest from last year. Now we get our first glimpse of it, ahead of the official LEGO promo reveal.

German LEGO news source Promobricks gives us this initial image of the Ray the Castaway (40566) GWP set. Ideas 10K Club Member DadiTwins created this set for the “Do You Want to Go to the Seaside?” Contest Challenge in 2021. The set features the titular castaway Ray on his own tropical island, with makeshift hut and palm trees. With only a parrot for company, Ray survives by fishing from shore or on his trusty raft. Check out the original submission:

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This 239-piece set is said to launch its gift-with-purchase period starting October 1. In the US, LEGO buyers need a minimum purchase of $120 to get it. Thankfully, with the new-set launches at month’s start, that would be easy enough.

LEGO House Skaerbaek 2022 Gives Away 3D-Printed Mini-Wooden Duck Piece

Before developing the plastic building bricks synonymous with its name today, the LEGO company had an earlier iconic “face” toy. Founder Ole Kirk Christiansen was a carpenter; thus, LEGO’s original products were traditional wooden toys. One item in particular stood out in historical memory: a wooden duck on wheels. Pull it along and the wheel mechanism makes the duck’s beak open and close ala “quacking”. LEGO certainly remembers this early toy fondly enough to give it an official LEGO-brick set. True, it’s only exclusive to LEGO House Billund, but it’s there. And this year it even got a limited-edition miniature.

Brick Fanatics reports to us that LEGO “released” another LEGO House exclusive based on their classic wooden duck. Actually, the item was a giveaway at the recent AFOL event Skaerbaek Fan Weekend at LEGO House Billund. On Friday, September 23, event-goers who bought exclusive AFOL Day 2022 minifigures received a minifig-sized plastic duck accessory. This unique LEGO piece came to be thanks to 3D-printing, a LEGO first for plastic pieces. Amazingly, even for its size the plastic duck replicates its larger original’s quacking function when rolled along flat surfaces. It even features a front handle fitting a minifigure’s hands for posing.

This LEGO minifig-scale duck toy is bound to become a new rare find after this one-off event. Will it come back in future occasions? We can always believe in possibilities. A Minifigure Factory created the Skaerbaek AFOL 2022 limited minifigures. Maybe other LEGO locations with the Minifigure Factory could offer the duck as an accessory. Only time will tell.

2022 LEGO Winter Village – Icons Holiday Main Street (10308) Now Listed

Thanks to its core concept of building and assembling, LEGO has long been crossing into numerous and different niche hobbies. Model railroads? LEGO’s got many sets for that over the years. Their vehicle lines, particularly Technic, could go toe-to-toe with conventional plastic model kits. Even LEGO Botanical with its brick-built blossoms more than hold their own aesthetics-wise against artificial flowers. But the best work LEGO does is undoubtedly with model buildings, obviously. And with the approach of the 2022 Holiday season, their latest addition to the Winter Village set line is ready. In fact, LEGO Shop online has listed it.

Brickset tells us that the 2022 LEGO Icons (formerly Creator Expert) Winter Village set has finally been revealed. If you feel the previous Winter Village sets have been leaning too “residential” then take heart. The Icons Holiday Main Street (10308) is anything but. Build a busy commercial hub for your LEGO Winter Village with two storefronts and some public transportation. Nothing says “traditional” Christmas shopping like a trip to the toy store or music shop. Shoppers with grocery bags can then wait for the Main Street cable car on a roadside stop. And their wait won’t be boring with nearby mailbox, clock post and Christmas tree to liven things up.

Expect the Icons Winter Village Holiday Main Street (10308) to launch next month, October 7. Further product details down below:

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Holiday Main Street (10308)

Age 18+ | 1,514 pieces | 6 minifigures | $99.99 | Coming October 7

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Packed with yuletide cheer, the LEGO® Holiday Main Street (10308) set is the latest addition to the popular LEGO Winter Village Collection. Build a sweet Christmas village display complete with a toy store, music store and shoppers, plus the store owners and their cozy apartments. Then build the streetcar, ready to take the shoppers home after a fun outing.

  • A festive tradition – Enjoy quality time crafting all the details of this Holiday Main Street (10308) buildable model with a toy store, music store, shoppers, store owners and their cozy apartments
  • Hop on the streetcar – Assemble all the details of the streetcar, ready to transport the minifigures. It’s decorated for Christmas and includes 4 seats for passengers
  • Let’s go shopping – Head to the Santa’s Toys and Games toy store and H. Jollie’s music store to find toys and musical instruments, all waiting to make someone’s Christmas dreams come true
  • Time to relax – When the working day is over, the store owners can relax in their apartments. Discover cozy details with a tree, presents and bed in the toy store, and a dining area in the music store
  • 6 minifigures – Bring the LEGO® Christmas village display to life with the set’s ensemble of minifigures. There are 2 shoppers, a child mailing a letter to Santa, 2 store owners and a streetcar driver
  • Powered Up compatible – Motorize the model by adding LEGO® Powered Up and the option to add your own track and lights (all sold separately)

LEGO Sweeps Five Category Nominations for Second 2022 TOTY Awards

Many awards ceremonies follow the standard of holding themselves on an annual basis. This is reasonable considering that trends change year after year, and companies on average roll out different new products annually. But sometimes, there can be so many products worthy of nominations in a year for certain awards. In that case, why not hold more than one ceremony annually? That’s precisely what the Toy of the Year (TOTY) Awards has done this 2022. There was one earlier this year, and a second awards program this month. As expected, LEGO has its own nominations, and won in multiple categories.

According to The Brick Fan, the second 2022 Toy of the Year Awards was held Tuesday, September 20. In this edition, LEGO secured nominations to five toy categories and won every single time. True, this is less than the nominations for the earlier 2022 Awards (that had eight). But who can say anything bad about a nomination sweep? Congratulations to LEGO for their triumph. We can probably count on the winning products to get a sales bump going into the Holiday season. Let’s review them:

Collectible of the Year

The Muppets CMF (71033)

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Construction Toy of the Year

LEGO Marvel I Am Groot (76217)

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Grown-Up Toy of the Year

Ideas The Office (21336)

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Playset Toy of the Year

Super Mario Adventures with Peach Starter Course (71403)

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Vehicle Toy of the Year

Technic McLaren Formula 1 Race Car (42141)

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In the earlier TOTY Awards 2022, LEGO won these same categories plus Preschool Toy, Specialty Toy and STEAM Toy. We can’t help but wonder if Toy of the Year will make this twice-a-year awarding schedule their new norm. If so, LEGO has twice the opportunities annually to impress the global toy community.