Limited-Edition LEGO Model of Istana Presidential Palace in Singapore to be Revealed by President on May 1 Open-House

Limited-edition (and unnumbered) LEGO sets seem to be becoming a thing with Singapore. Recall that last month their LEGO Store in Changi Airport had an exclusive micro-build set of the Airport Tower. Next, LEGO Singapore offers 22 LCP-designed “Avengers: Endgame” Hero (minifigure) Display Station at a local Toys R Us.

But the piece de resistance will be coming this May 1, on International Labor Day. Singapore is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Istana, former residence of the British colonial governor that is now the Singaporean Presidential Palace and Prime Minister’s Office. On an open-house event during that day, Singapore President Halimah Yacob will be launching a special-edition LEGO set.

If you haven’t figured it out, it’ll be a scale model of the Istana in LEGO. While no images of this set have been shared, it has been stated that the LEGO model was commissioned by the Singaporean President’s Office as a commemorative item for the actual presidential palace’s anniversary.

Descriptions of the LEGO Istana limited-edition notes that it also renders the surrounding grounds and verandas aside from the main palace structure itself. Attention is pointed at the neo-Palladian architecture from its completion in 1869.

Sets of the model will be offered at the Istana open-house celebration Wednesday next week, when the presidential palace will be open to visitors from 8:30 AM to 6 PM Singapore time. Singaporeans and permanent residents can enter for free while others have a $2 entrance fee.

The LEGO Istana comes at $70 (Singaporean) each. All proceeds will go to charity via the President’s Challenge. This is another unnumbered Singaporean LEGO exclusive set that will be a collector’s rare prize.

Be Sure To Grab This Free LEGO Star Wars Mini Tantive IV Make and Take Set This May

Just over the past weekend, we were treated to some great LEGO Star Wars-related news with the announcement of the rehashed LEGO Star Wars Tantive IV (75244). This New Hope inspired set is slated to land in LEGO Stores and online in time for May the 4th promotions – the unofficial but popular Star Wars Day fan commemorative celebration. And to make this day even more festive for fans, LEGO has announced that it will be giving away a free Mini Tantive IV set for the LEGO Star Wars faithful.tantive image e1555403880170

Tantive Make and Take Event

May 3-6: Come in to your local LEGO Store to build your very own Tantive model then take it home, for free! Registration is on a first come, first served basis and quantities are limited. Registration begins April 15 in stores only. The building event is intended for ages 6+ at store discretion.

LEGO Stores in the US will soon be joining in the May the 4th festivities by hosting its popular Make & Take Event. Beginning this Monday, April 15, registration has begun for builders aged 6 and up at all participating LEGO Stores. The registrants will then come back on their scheduled dates from May 3 to 6 to try their hands on this build. Similar to other LEGO Make and Take in-store promotional, participation in this event does not require any purchases.

Registered participating builders will be given the LEGO pieces needed to assemble the Mini Tantive IV set. And though it may be a far cry from the new, 2-feet long LEGO Star Wars Tantive IV (75244) set, this mini model is definitely cool to have around on your desk or just a testament to our all out, galactic geekiness. Like other Make and Take sets, expect that the building instructions for this mini model might be out soon, so thanks in advance to those who will be kind enough to share them online for all of to build.

The larger and grander LEGO Star Wars Tantive IV (75244) set is scheduled to be released on May 4 just in time for the global celebration of everything Star Wars. This set comes in 1,768 pieces, and will retail for $199.99 USD.

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New 4D Movie: “LEGO City 4D: Officer in Pursuit” Premieres in LEGOLAND California

Casual viewers of LEGO media might wait perhaps for a new LEGO movie in cinemas. Or maybe they’ll try to catch some of the animated films they release on home media instead. To fans that regularly go to a LEGOLAND Resort, there are exclusive “4D” adventures to be seen there

Every now and then LEGOLAND will add a new 4D film to their viewing libraries in their respective parks. The “premieres” of these movies can often match those of the recent cinematic-release LEGO films. Just this Friday, LEGOLAND California Resort premiered a new exclusive 4D movie for guests to enjoy.

“LEGO City 4D – Officer in Pursuit” was given a special premiere event on the afternoon of April 12 at LEGOLAND California. VIP guests on the red carpet were treated to meet-and-greets with the 4D film’s “lead stars” LEGO Hot Dog and LEGO Police Officer. Snacks were also served before the audience filed into LEGOLAND California’s Showcase Theatre for the premiere.

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The new “LEGO City 4D – Officer in Pursuit” has viewers following the brave LEGO cops of a LEGO City community as they follow a daring robber in a high-speed chase through the streets. The pursuit is enhanced by brilliant 4D special effects that would throw audiences for some funny loops.

The Friday premiere of LEGOLAND California Resort’s new 4D movie showcase was screened twice that afternoon for the benefit of guests. Regular viewings of “LEGO City 4D – Officer in Pursuit” can be caught at LEGO Showplace Theater starting this Saturday, April 13. You can see it for yourself if you come visit LEGOLAND California soon.

LEGO Minifigure Display at Star Wars Celebration Chicago Earns Guinness World Record

As the 2019 LEGO Star Wars Celebration carries on in Chicago this week, LEGO is doing its part to establish itself as being an integral part of the overall franchise. It’s promoting its anniversary-edition LEGO sets, its spinoff animated series and so on. Now, they’ve achieved a notable triumph by having their LEGO Star Wars display win a Guinness World Record.

One exhibit, done by LEGO for Star Wars Celebration, is a tabletop display of Imperial Stormtrooper minifigures. They’re artfully arranged in formation to form a Stortrooper helmet silhouette when viewed from afar. Work was done by a model-building team overseen by Michael McNally (LEGO Group senior director of brand relations) and Jens Kronvold Frederiksen (LEGO Star Wars Design Director).

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Look at that array. The Stormtrooper helmet silhouette you see was made out of 36,440 LEGO Star Wars Stormtrooper minifigures. That number has beaten a previous Guinness World Record for “Largest Minifigure Display,” back in 2008 at the UK, using Clone Trooper minifigs instead (35,210).

With the number confirmed by a Guinness representative on hand, a new World Record was awarded to LEGO during the course of Star Wars Celebration. It’s a worthy reward for the 12-man LEGO team that worked 16 hours to put the display together in Chicago.

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The LEGO Star Wars Stormtrooper Guinness Record-holders will remain on display for the rest of Star Wars Celebration. Panels for LEGO Star Wars animated productions are also expected this week.

New LEGO Star Wars Tantive IV (75244) Slated for May the 4th

While Star Wars fans are gearing up for the grandest fan event in the galaxy with Star Wars Celebration 2019, LEGO as it seems will not miss this opportunity to launch its newest LEGO Star Wars set. Similar to the release of 2017’s mammoth sized LEGO Star Wars UCS Millennium Falcon (75192), LEGO is slated to release a special set that takes its cue from one of the first rebel ships that appeared in the film franchise. A redesigned set from 2009, the LEGO Star Wars Tantive IV (75244) has now been revealed, with the first image of its box art now making its round over the internet and said to be released just in time for the May the 4th fan fare.

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There is no official announcement from LEGO as of this posting, but from what we can surmise, the LEGO Star Wars Tantive IV (75244) will come in 1,768 pieces and comes with new minifigures of Leia and Bail Organa, Captain Antilles, a Rebel Trooper, C-3PO and R2-D2. It is expected to retail for $199.99 USD. Though it is not expected to be a sort of UCS or a Master Builder set as shared by Promobricks, but is a good catch otherwise considering that the last time this iconic ship was given the LEGO treatment was 10 years ago.

Considering that Star Wars Celebration 2019 is now in full swing, we can probably expect more news about its release anytime soon. So what do you think about this new LEGO Star Wars Tantive IV set? Is it a good choice of a set for May the 4th? Let me know what you think in the comments below.

 

Next LEGO Architecture Set “Trafalgar Square” (21045) Up for Signing Event at Leicester Square LEGO Store this April

The last significant things we heard regarding LEGO’s Architecture line was from last year. Two sets comprising what was supposed to be the first releases for 2019 came out November 2018 instead. We got nice skylines of San Francisco (21043) and Paris (21044) out of that. Now, word of a new set’s been (accidentally) revealed.

At least that’s how it seemed with an announcement by LEGO of a set signing event on their official Facebook page. The set in question is the latest Architecture set, numbered 21045. Rather than another skyline collection of a city’s famous structures, this one focuses on a certain London location.

Judging from the box image, LEGO Architecture Trafalgar Square (21045) is a beaut of a recreation. The set’s dominated by the National Gallery due north and Lord Nelson’s Column in the square. Fountains, statues, trees and (abstract) London vehicles on the roadways complete the picture.

LEGO designer Rok Zgalin Kobe will sign set boxes of his work on Architecture Trafalgar Square (21045) this coming April 27. He will be at the Leicester Square LEGO Store in London (naturally) from 11 AM to 2 PM local time. Each autograph seeker can only have two 21045 sets (and signatures) max per turn.

Can’t Get Special LEGO Star Wars Vader Bust (75227) Set? LEGO Releases Official Parts List and Building Instructions

The arguable summit of fandom celebration for the “Star Wars” franchise within a year will take off in full force next week, as Chicago plays host to the annual Star Wars Celebration. There will be plenty of media panels for all existing and upcoming “Star Wars” media, not to mention exclusive merchandise for avid collectors.

As we already know, LEGO has its own stake in the exclusive merch. This is the special LEGO Star Wars Darth Vader Bust (75227). Only a select number of these will be acquirable by lottery during Star Wars Celebration, while the rest of the limited numbers will be made available only to Target REDCard members.

But what about those who can’t make it to Chicago bon April 11-16 or don’t have a Target REDCard? LEGO can help with that. The 327 pieces that are assembled to form the Vader Bust (75227) are mostly common LEGO. So what if you only need to know which pieces are needed, and steps on how to put them together?

As of now, the official parts list and instructions sheet has been made available by LEGO. That’s event ahead of the LEGO Star Wars Vader Bust (75227) set coming out on the Star Wars Celebration Chicago event and Target RedCARD.

The official instructions are rendered in PDF form and hosted on LEGO’s website, we know of this courtesy of our fellow LEGO news source The Brick Fan. We salute them.

LEGO Store Build Event on April 18: Create Thor’s “Stormbreaker” from the MCU

Now that the month of April has started, LEGO has about finalized what sort of events and promotions it’ll have both online and with their branded LEGO Stores. Two weeks from now, these LEGO Stores will have a build event to commemorate the impending release of Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Endgame.”

If you’ve got children ages 6 to 14 years of age, you’re in luck! Starting this Friday, April 5, you can register for the build event itself on the 18th. The subject of construction is the current weapon of the Asgardian Avenger Thor: the Stormbreaker.

For those who’re following the MCU storyline so far, you’d remember that Thor’s mighty hammer Mjolnir was destroyed in 2017’s “Thor: Ragnarok.” In last year’s “Avengers: Endgame” he gained a replacement weapon, an ax called Stormbreaker. The head is made of the same material as Mjolnir, with its wooden handle being grown from Groot’s arm.

As can be seen above, the LEGO build version for Stormbreaker is pretty neat and reasonably easy to copy. If your little Avenger wants this mighty thunder-tool, then make sure to check your local LEGO Store if they’re running the event for April 18, and what time they’ll be held.

LEGO and Boston Red Sox Announce Second LEGO Day Event in June, During Game vs White Sox

Back in 2016, LEGO and the Boston Red Sox realized their long overdue partnership through the first LEGO Day event. Held at Fenway Park, the occasion catered to both Red Sox and LEGO fans, with a free LEGO-themed build per ticket and more exhibits at the venue. It took three years before a repeat, but here it is at last.

Come July 26, the second LEGO Day at Fenway Park will kick off for the Boston Red Sox and LEGO. This will coincide with their MLB game against the Chicago White Sox. As with the first LEGO Day, ticket-buyers to the game will receive a limited-edition Red Sox-themed LEGO set.

That’s not all. The LEGO Day ticket for Boston vs. Chicago will also provide access to the Kids’ Concourse. There the accompanying LEGO Build Experience is set up. It’s open before the big game in June 26, 11AM to 1:05PM.

While this is certainly going to be a prime destination for Boston LEGO fans, not everybody can make it in. LEGO Day tickets only number 1,500 in total, and they’re only available via this ticket purchase option on the official MLB website. If you’re a brick-head who wants to see the special Red Sox LEGO Master Builder creation at the Brick Experience zone, you better buy your tickets right now.

Epic Exclusive for Star Wars Celebration Chicago and Target RedCard – LEGO Star Wars Darth Vader Bust (75227)

When Lucasfilm held an event to celebrate the release of the first Star Wars prequel film in 1999, that one-off occasion became a regular fixture of Star Wars fandom. This year, the Star Wars Celebration will be happening in Chicago, and LEGO’s going to be there, with panels for media and merchandise in store. Speaking of merchandise, we’ve got a nice LEGO press release regarding a particular set appearing in the Star Wars Celebration. It’s a representation of the space opera franchise’s most iconic Sith Lord. The LEGO Star Wars Darth Vader Bust (75227) consists of 327 pieces, very much similar to the designs from our good ol’ folks in Build Better Bricks.

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Here’s the official LEGO set blurb:

LEGO®Star Wars™

75227– Darth Vader™ Bust

327 pieces | Ages 14+$39.99 (USD)

Available April 11, 2019 through Star Wars Celebration and Target REDcard

Turn to the Dark Side with the LEGO® Star Wars™ 75227 Darth Vader™ Bust! This exclusive Star Wars Celebration building set features incredible dome and faceplate details, including a brick-built respirator encased in iconic black armor. Vader’s helmet is adorned with raised ridges and studs, which adds to the dramatic effect, and the instantly recognizable Dark Lord of the Sith will always strike fear in his enemies.Darth Vader Bust Star Wars building set measures 262mm long, 282mm wide, and 59mm high.

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Regarding the availability of this LEGO Star Wars Darth Vader Bust (75227), limited quantities are going to be raffled off via lottery during the Star Wars Celebration Chicago, which runs next month, from April 11 to 16. The rest of them will be available only through Target’s RedCard program starting on the same date, and will last while supplies do. Needless to say, expect this to be a prize collector’s item among LEGO Star Wars fans.

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