bluephotographs800, Author at The Brick Show

Rumor: LEGO Disney Tie-In Sets for “Frozen II” Might Arrive on Same Day as “Star Wars” Triple Force Friday Event

It feels like quite some time since we last discussed a LEGO-related rumor at length. But this piece of speculation we found on the internet might warrant a closer look. It concerns the possible releases of new LEGO sets later this year, based on two major licensed franchises under Disney.

The first part of this rumor concerns what’s been called “Triple Force Friday” according to Brick Fanatics. Apparently the expected tie-in sets for the yet-to-be-subtitled “Star Wars Episode IX” are to be released by LEGO on October 4, a Friday. That’s reasonable, considering the film’s December release. But that’s not the only LEGO line involved.

We know from an awesome teaser that was released the day before Valentine’s that the long-awaited sequel to 2013’s ear-worm animated blockbuster “Frozen” will be arriving in fall, November 22. In line with that, it’s speculated that LEGO Disney tie-in sets for “Frozen II” will come before the premiere, on October 4: the same day as the rumored LEGO Star Wars Episode IX product release.

Now we’d give our Brick Show spiel about LEGO rumors and all, but at least these rounds of speculation is sort of backed by analyses from market research company NPD Group. Their VP Juli Lennett says the toy industry will undoubtedly capitalize on the close releases of two movies from Disney, the studio itself and its Lucasfilm subsidiary. ““If history is any indication of future success,” she remarks. “Both Frozen and Star Wars will be among the top-selling properties of 2019, just as they were in 2014 and 2015/2016, respectively.”

But still: rumors and speculation, grain of salt, wait until we get an official LEGO confirmation or debunking. Until then, we have fun with it.

“Brick Fanatics Magazine” Issue 3 Now Available

You know as source of LEGO news online has graduated to a higher level of providing information and entertainment when they go into print magazine format. Brick Fanatics became such when it launched its very own 80-page magazine. They have already successfully released two issues at an average price of €8.25 each, with options for multiple-month subscriptions at lower issue-prices.

Well, Issue 3 of Brick Fanatics Magazine is out available now, and their central subject of interest is the new and extremely popular LEGO Overwatch product line. Readers and subscribers can tell that much from the front image, with LEGO-minifigure D.Va serving as cover model.

Said cover feature on LEGO Overwatch is an interview by Brick Fanatics with two members of the LEGO development team that translated the hit Blizzard Entertainment multiplayer hero FPS into the fun LEGO sets that have enamored collectors since late-2018.

Other components of the magazine include two pieces for their “Review+” with articles on LEGO Overwatch Bastion (75974) and LEGO Harry Potter Quidditch Match (75956). The “How To” segment offers tips and advice on multiple LEGO building/collecting topics, even including cross-news source collaboration with a contribution from Brickset, for example.

“On Topic” meanwhile features interviews with some of the participants of the LEGO AFOL Designer program announced last year, also including some sobering discussion on how BREXIT might affect the UK LEGO market and community, both Brick Fanatics‘ primary readerships. Finally, “Retro” offers a new custom build for the oldie LEGO space theme that gave rise to Lenny and friends in “LEGO Movie” and “LM2.”

Brick Fanatics Magazine issue 3 can be ordered from Brick Fanatics as either a single issue, or the first of a subscription plan in two variants, 12-month and 24-month. For now, stocks also remain of this magazine’s predecessor issues, both also available for back orders.

LEGO VIP Members Can Now Get the Ideas Flintstones Set (21316)

It was submitted to LEGO Ideas no later than last year. It earned 10,000 supporters by April 2018. It joined the Ideas First 2018 Review Stage the following month, and was one of two chosen by reviewers for production, come October. The official set was teased last week, and it was even showcased in the recent New York Toy Fair.

We’re of course talking about LEGO Ideas Flintstones, based on an original submission by Andrew Clark. Set 21316, now listed online at Shop@Home, is scheduled to be released on the first of March. But for LEGO VIP members, say “YABBA-DABBA-DOO!”

That’s right: LEGO Ideas Flintstones (21316) can now be had early by LEGO fans on the VIP program. Considering the timetable, it puts them at just over a week ahead of regular buyers who will need to wait until next month; it’s not much of an advantage, but who can say no to early availability?

At 748 pieces for US$59.99 the LEGO Ideas Flintstones set (21316) is a good deal for both Ideas collectors and fans of good old TV animation and Hanna-Barbera. Four other major regions of Shop@Home – Canada (Eng/Fr), UK, Metropolitan France and Germany – also have it ready for interested LEGO VIP members.

Exclusive Minifigure for “LEGO Star Wars Visual Dictionary New Edition” Revealed: Bacta Tank Suit Finn

Print media, as we have talked about before, is one of the integral components of a “complete” LEGO experience. This is most particular when the LEGO material in question is reference books. Thanks to their publishing partnership with UK label Dorling-Kindersley (DK), there’s always been a number of “visual dictionaries” coming out every year, detailing current LEGO product lines from sets to the collectible minifigures.

Well, way back in July of the year before, LEGO and DK announced that the latter’s “LEGO Star Wars Visual Dictionary” was going to get a new edition. The book originally came out in 2009 and again in 2014 as the “Updated and Expanded” version.

In the same vein as so many LEGO hardbound volumes, the upcoming “LEGO Star Wars Visual Dictionary New Edition” will come with an exclusive character minifigure. Readers have had their time speculating who it might be all the rest of year 2018; now, Amazon has revealed who that character is.

The global online retail giant has added new information and images to their item listing for the new visual dictionary. For a brief period, their shot of the front cover showed the included minifigure to be First Order trooper-turned-Resistance fighter Finn, suited in the bacta tank as seen in his first appearance in “The Last Jedi,” healing from his injuries sustained during “The Force Awakens.”

Amazon must have realized that the cover photo was a spoiler, and has since replaced it with a blacked-out minifigure version. Thankfully other LEGO news sources have caught it before the change; this image down below is courtesy of Brickset.

Quite obviously, the additional content added to the “LEGO Star Wars Visual Dictionary New Edition” covers the new Disney-Lucasfilm media: “The Force Awakens,” “The Last Jedi,” and even “Solo.” The volume will be released this coming April, but an Amazon preorder now will shave 33% off the $14.71 price listed.

Amazon Discounts LEGO Overwatch Sets, Plus Hilarious Official Tribute Video

Ask fans who keep up to speed with LEGO news which new licensed property that they make sets for now stands out the most, and maybe they’ say it’s “Overwatch,” the awesome multiplayer first-person “hero” shooter from Blizzard Entertainment. The new sets they announced last year, now all available for purchase at the usual channels, have been remarkably popular sellers.

In fact, they’re so sought-after that certain retailers carrying them have thrown discount sales for their LEGO Overwatch sets. Amazon in particular has decided that it’ll join in on the fun, with the recent release of a new patch that adds Paris as a multiplayer assault map on the game.

You can check out Amazon’s LEGO Overwatch price cuts right here, but we’ll help out by enumerating the current discount rates for the available sets right now. Some of the products might have already had reduced prices before, but have been trimmed even further now:

Tracer vs. Widowmaker (75970) – 129-piece set for US$12, down from $14.99
Hanzo vs. Genji (75971) – 197-piece set for US$15.51, down from $15.99
Dorado Showdown (75972) – 419-piece set for US$23.99
D.Va and Reidhardt (75973) – 455-piece set for US$30, down from $39.99
Bastion (75974) – 602-piece set for US$39.99, down from $55.95
Watchpoint: Gibraltar (75975) – 730-piece set for $72.00, down from $99.50
Omnic Bastion (75987) – 182-piece set for $35, all the way down from $51

With that down, we’ll leave you guys with this quirky LEGO Overwatch video from the company itself on their official YouTube channel. If you need further confirmation that the “Overwatch” game is big, and the LEGO Overwatch line of sets is hot, then watch this video and believe.

Kind of makes you want a “LEGO Overwatch Movie/Series,” huh?

Munich Trade Show Features Massive 1:1 LEGO Volkswagen T2 Van Made by Certified Professional

Full-scale LEGO reproductions are a dime a dozen these days, particularly when it comes to automobiles. We’ve seen brick-built Formula One racing cars and camper trailers, and for the umpteenth time we’ll mention the storied 1:1 scale LEGO Bugatti Chiron that drives like a real car, powered by LEGO-set generators.

Now, a trade show in Munich, Germany will serve as a venue for the showcase of another life-sized LEGO vehicle construct. The project was built by LEGO Certified Professional Rene Hoffmeister with help from Pascal Lenhard, and their replicated vehicle, as befits the German setting, is the Volkswagen T2 camper.

Originating from a digital schematic of a real Type 2 van that was converted into a LEGO brick diagram, Hoffmeister and Lenhard led a building team to realize the plan, constructing some 400,000 different LEGO pieces over and around a supporting metal framework for strength.

One hiccup in the project occurred when the delivery of 20,000 transparent LEGO blocks to be formed into the Volkswagen’s windshield and windows was delayed. By having his team do overtime and weekend shifts, Hoffmeister managed to keep their construction timetable to within the six weeks allotted before the f.re.e. outdoor trade show officially opened this Wednesday on February 20.

For trivia purposes, the physical stats of this LEGO 1:1 Volkswagen Type 2 van are: 700 kilos (1,543 lbs.) 400,000 blocks (20,000 transparent), 5 meters (16.4 ft.) long, 3 meters (9.8 ft.) tall, with functional sliding door and Westfalia roof.

This incredible LEGO Volkswagen T2 will be a star attraction at the f.re.e. trade show in Munich, which runs for four days from February 20 to 24. It’ll be located in hall C5, booth 103, along with the actual T2 that it was modeled from.

Custom Build Wizard Chris McVeigh Becomes an Official Part of LEGO’s Design Teams

It’s always great and inspiring to hear stories of “ascended” fans, people who have been ardent followers of a company or brand and have done extensive work using their products. Eventually they get called up by these same companies and offered their dream jobs, officially becoming part of their organization.

A lot of LEGO fans have enjoyed becoming ascended themselves, whether it’s as small as having their submissions to LEGO Ideas becoming official sets, or actually getting hired by The LEGO Group themselves. The latter has recently happened to Chris “PowerPig” McVeigh, one of the biggest online LEGO builders today.

His building guide website has plenty of nice tech-related brick construction projects, and he also sells some impressive MOCs in his own store. PowerPigs work is plenty spiffy enough to stand next to any official LEGO sets, which might explain why The LEGO Group has extended an invite to him.

McVeigh announced the good news on his official Facebook page this Tuesday, February 19. He will soon be moving to Denmark as a new addition to the design and development teams for the LEGO Creator Expert and Architecture product lines. It was accompanied by the cool minifigure vignette pictured above.

Of course, such a major change will have certain repercussions to PowerPig’s online activities. The most significant is that his online LEGO MOC store, PowerPig’s Builds, will be shutting down effective February 25, so interested customers better make their online purchases before this week’s out. We’re not sure what will happen to his building guides; perhaps they’ll remain on site.

But, Chris McVeigh is now part of the bigger picture with his ascension to the LEGO Creator Expert and Architecture teams. Who knows which future sets from these lines will be made with his input? It’ll be fun to guess.

Last 2018 Bricktober LEGO Minifigure Set (5005256) to Finally Hit US LEGO Stores and Shop@Home Next Month

Sometimes, even we who report on the latest LEGO-related news might be too hasty to make definitive statements on any development. Last year we ran several articles on the convoluted release of the 2018 LEGO Bricktober collectible minifigure sets in the US, as they were Toys R Us exclusives and needed to be carried by other retailers in that country.

One by one three of the 4-minifigure Bricktober sets – 5005254, 5005255 and 5005257 – had their chance to appear in either LEGO Stores or retail partners. The fourth, LEGO Marvel (5005256) was never announced for anything and was only ever available on TRU Canada, apparently as an exclusive. By December we had written off 5005256 ever being found normally in America.

That only shows what we know; when it comes to LEGO we should never count them out. According to our fellow LEGO news source and online set guide Brickset, the last piece of the 2018 Bricktober collectible minifigure puzzle is finally hitting the US, soon.

Apparently we have the MCU (obviously) to thank for LEGO Marvel Bricktober (5005256) getting its time in the stateside spotlight. Did you forget? “Captain Marvel” is premiering March 8, and “Avengers: Endgame” follows shortly on April 26. There’s still one, more but it’s these, particularly the second that matters here. There’s nothing like some nice synergy to bring the “prodigal” minifig set home at last.

Long story short, LEGO Stores and Shop@Home US will carry the 2018 Bricktober Marvel minifigure set (5005256) from March 1 to 7. It’ll be added free on any minimum LEGO purchase of $75; even better, it doesn’t have to be all LEGO Marvel products. Now borderline-impatient collectors can get their hands on War Machine, Wong, Tony Stark and Winter Soldier (three Thanos survivors and one victim) to complete the set.

Make & Take the Systar Spaceship from “LEGO Movie 2” in UK LEGO Stores this Wednesday

“The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part” has just had its second weekend and is soon to clock at two weeks in cinemas. While its box office has been strong, if not as intense as its original back in 2014, its tie-in LEGO sets have been among the most anticipated products of the brand this early part of the year.

Not all “LEGO Movie 2” builds are official boxed sets and polybags. Some of them can be acquired at “Make & Take” events that LEGO holds with some of its big-name retail partners, like Barnes & Noble earlier this month.

Well, this coming Wednesday, February 19, there will be another Make & Take event for “LEGO Movie 2” happening, and this one will be in UK LEGO Stores. The subject this time is the eyeball-like alien starship of General Sweet Mayhem from the Systar System, interpreted as tie-in set 70830.

The Make & Take version of the Systar spaceship gets all the major details right, and needs only about as much pieces as might fit in an average-sized LEGO polybag. I wouldn’t say this is the best alternative if one can’t afford the full LEGO Movie Systar Ship (70830), but it’s a great collectible build.

If you need a refresher on LEGO Make & Take events, they’re only for kids within a certain age range (6-14 years old here). The event is for a limited period of time in participating UK LEGO Stores, from 4 in the afternoon to 6.

The “LEGO Movie 2” film is now ranked number 2 in the US box office (behind “Alita: Battle Angel) with a second-weekend $21 million domestic earning. As for the Sweet Mayhem’s Systar Spaceship (70830) set that the Make & Take is based on, it’s already available in stores and Shop@Home.

Official Images of 2019 LEGO Star Wars Sets (Aside from the 20th Anniversary Collection)

As January came to an end, the LEGO News community got wind of the official names for some of the newest LEGO Star Wars sets for 2019. To be clear, these sets are of a different batch from the commemorative sets celebrating 20 years of the LEGO Star Wars line.

We already showcased images of one of these LEGO Star Wars sets, the Duel on Starkiller Base (75236) which was inadvertently “leaked” early by Amazon Italy last week. Come the New York Toy Fair, we finally have the official unveiling of these 2019 sets with images. Let’s take a look:

LEGO Star Wars Microfighter (small-scale starfighter models)