When you just look for it, you can find LEGO everywhere around you; not just in homes, playgrounds, schools and even public exhibits, but everywhere. That includes charitable organizations like Fairy Bricks, a UK-based charity that specializes in donating new LEGO sets to children’s hospitals and clinics for child patients. Of course, having so many recipient hospitals to donate LEGO sets to, means that Fairy Bricks need to generate funding for them. They have several avenue events to do so, such as the annual Bricktastic LEGO show in Manchester. And then, there is the Bikes to Billund charitable cycling event.
This has got to be one of the biggest and most physically challenging events to be done in the name of LEGO charity. Participants from Fairy Bricks will brave a grueling 8-day bike trip, from England, a ferry ride across the North Sea, and a final cross-country journey through the Netherlands, Germany and up north into Denmark to reach Billund.
The starting point is at the Leicester Square flagship LEGO Store in London on September 20. The ferry departs from Harwich, England and docks at Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Finally, the terminal point for the “Bikes to Billund” journey is The Home of the Brick aka LEGO House. Optimally, the group hopes to make it there by September 27 to join in on the Skaerbaek event.
Interested parties in the UK might try to head to the Leicester Square LEGO Store on September 20 to see the Fairy Bricks cycling team off. Then they can show support for Fairy Bricks by donating to their fundraising page for the “Bikes to Billund” challenge here. Alternatively, they can also channel their donations to Fairy Bricks’ Paypal page here. Finally, we wish the Fairy Bricks cycling team good luck for their odyssey next month.
It has almost been a week since the latest wave of LEGO summer sets have been released, with a handful of them now being temporarily out of stock or in backorder from shop.LEGO.com due to their high demand and popularity among fans. This latest wave of new LEGO sets is pretty much impressive and sought after on their own, with a good number of sets coming from the LEGO Harry Potter Wizarding World, LEGO Ninjago and LEGO Ideas just to name a few. And if you haven’t made up your mind until now on which of these uber cool sets you want to bring home with you, then you’ll be glad to know that most of them are still available either via shop.LEGO.com or Amazon. Let’s look back and revisit some of them these latest LEGO summer sets and see if we still have the chance to bag them. For convenience, just click on the links to know more. Whenever applicable, and if the set is on backorder at LEGO Shop@Home, I’ve also included an its corresponding link on Amazon for you to check as well. Since these are affiliate links, any purchase that you made through these will be a big help in keeping our blogsite up.
Just a last reminder: for any purchases worth $35 and above from August 1 to 14 entitles you to a free Plants from Plants (40320) set, and a free LEGO Unikitty Castle Room (5005239) from August 1 to 12 for any LEGO Unikitty set purchase worth $25 and above.
We already know there’s a lot of LEGO sets that came out on the first of August. Among them are the latest train sets under the hugely popular LEGO City line. One of these recent locomotive models, the Passenger Train (60197), is suddenly getting attention from LEGO train enthusiasts due to its specific locomotive components making it possible to affordably extend its length up to double.
Some of the other LEGO passenger train sets, especially of the modern City designs, usually comprise two engines and a train carriage. The engines go on either side of the train (as with actual contemporary locomotives, to easily go back and forth on its set rail line and minimize the need for a train turntable).
The thing is, LEGO rail fans who would like to extend their model trains find that buying extra copies of train sets with two engines leave them with too many engines and too few carriages. The City Passenger Train version 60197 eliminates that wastage by providing only one buildable engine to two carriages in set.
Now while that normally means the 60197 loco will more feasibly work only on a circular track going one way (without a model turntable), getting a second 60197 would have the two sets being joined back to back, with the engines on opposite sides. That results in a long, realistic train design with at least four passenger carriages in between.
With the LEGO City Power Functions included in the Passenger Train (60197), builders can now make it go forward and back on its track, as there are engine motors on either side to make it go the desired direction. In fact, if the Power Function motors on both engines are activated simultaneously (forward for the leading engine and reverse for the rear one), they could combine their individual speeds to make the whole loco faster.
We always try to keep an eye out for news items that highlight just how fun and effective LEGO can be as an educational tool. On Wednesday, August 1, the Science Center of Iowa in Des Moines made a LEGO-related announcement that we’re now going to shine a spotlight on. The SCI usually serves as a home for a wide variety of science-related exhibits and displays that come and go with the seasons and important events. But now they’re planning a new addition to their uncommon permanent exhibits, build entirely of LEGO bricks and aptly named as Brick by Brick.
“Brick by Brick” is described by SCI President and CEO Curt Simmons as an exhibit to inspire children to “think and build”. That’s because the exhibit will be composed of an eclectic collection of architectural masterpieces, from the Roman Colosseum of ancient times to modern-day edifices like the St. Louis Gateway and Golden Gate Bridge.
These structures will be replicated in scale by using LEGO, the Golden Gate Bridge mentioned will be a 60-feet long brick-build, and that won’t be the only one. Simmons says “Brick by Brick” marks a shift in the exhibit strategy for the Science Center of Iowa, “an investment in the experience that our visitors can expect on a daily basis.”
The inspiration for “Brick by Brick” at the SCI comes from Iowa’s implementation of new standards in teaching science at school, calling for added lessons in engineering principles. Indeed, rather than just gawk at the LEGO architecture visiting schoolchildren will also be given a space and a pile of LEGO pieces to practice their structural design ideas with accompanying lessons.
Brick by Brick is set to debut at the Science Center of Iowa on Labor Day, September 5, as a permanent part of the museum.
What do movie stars do in between film projects? Star in a flashy airline safety guidelines video, of course! Well, at least that’s what the stars of The LEGO Movie2 did. Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks and several of their costars in The LEGO Movie and sequel reprise their characters for a quirky and fun aircraft safety video for Turkish Airlines that was recently uploaded online.
It’s also one cool way to hype up the still-in production The LEGO Movie 2 The Second Part over in the Middle East, and in one of its major countries to boot. For the benefit of Turkish Airlines’ international passengers, the safety video is in English (how else to hear the voice talent?), though the video could probably be subtitled when it is issued later on for their aircraft’s use.
In true LEGO Movie fashion, there are some cool visuals all around during the nearly four-minute safety video. It starts with a LEGO Turkish Airlines plane being assembled in the background while Emmet and Wyldstyle are introducing the whole video.
Of course, actual guidelines like luggage storage and seat-belts get interspersed with fun gags like “include shameless cameos in safety video”. Cue LEGO Batman (who discusses the “No Smoking” regulation). Then comes the “flight mode/switch-off” rule for all electronic devices. We also have Lloyd and Garmadon “demonstrating” the oxygen masks.
Finally, the latter part of the safety video consists of Unikitty singing the expected “airline safety video song that gets stuck in passengers’ heads”, with the likes of Alfred and Harley Quinn as backup dancers. After that, the LEGO DC Super Heroes pitch in for the emergency landing procedure portion.
And with the mandated “earnest closing remarks”, the LEGO Movie crew, plus others, gets to sit back and enjoy the flight. After all, it’s a party in the sky with Turkish Airlines, in cooperation with Warner Animation Group for The LEGO Movie 2, coming 2019.
The King of Atlantis made a huge splash during last month’s San Diego Comic Con with the exclusive theatrical premiere of the LEGO Aquaman Rage of Atlantis film. To top it off, SDCC attendees who were fortunate enough to witness the screening went home with an exclusive minifigure version of Green Lantern Corp member Jessica Cruz. For those who were not able to attend the SDCC, this is our chance to bring home a Blu-ray or DVD copy of the film together with its exclusive minifigure freebie via Amazon.
The LEGO Aquaman Rage of Atlantis features the king of the seven seas pitted against the forces of the Red Lanterns while dealing with the loss of his throne of Atlantis. Aquaman must now muster the courage, with the help of all his loyal sea creatures, to face the threat of the menacing Red Lanterns, rescue the Justice League, and save the planet along the way.
In LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: Aquaman – Rage of Atlantis, the King of Atlantis must make some difficult decisions to ensure the future of his ocean realm. Under attack from Atrocitus and the Red Lanterns, Aquaman realizes he must relinquish his sovereignty and go on a journey to regain his confidence before returning to his rightful throne. Along the way, Aquaman reunites with the Justice League – including Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and newest member Jessica Cruz/Green Lantern – to conquer Atlantis’ latest enemy and reemerge as the ruler of the Seven Seas.
LEGO Aquaman Rage of Atlantis is WB Home Entertainment’s latest offering and is now available through Amazon. Be sure to grab the opportunity to get a copy along with the FREE Jessica Cruz Green Lantern minifigure.
The LEGO Store September 2018 Calendar is now available online, and it comes with a handful of LEGO Harry Potter and Friends promotionals, plus a plethora of new LEGO sets to watch out for. I am particularly interested on what exclusive VIP sets will be offered from September 13-30, which, as rumor has it, will be the LEGO Star Wars Cloud City UCS (75222). Fans of the LEGO Star Wars theme have always felt that this is one long overdue set so it is kind of exciting to see what LEGO has in the works on this one. The other exclusive LEGO VIP set is a complete mystery, and as always LEGO will be most likely keeping us guessing until the end of this month.
For the time being, let’s break down the details of the LEGO Store September 2018 Calendar and see what we can find.
Stop by the LEGO Store to build a magical car with special powers and race through the Forbidden Forest. Beware of spiders and get to Hogwarts as fast as you can.
September 11 – 12: The Monthly Mini Model Build for the September is a Glider (40284).
To avail this freebie, LEGO VIP members need to register at shop.LEGO.com/Minibuild-registration beginning August 15.
September 13 – 30: LEGO VIPs get Early Access to two NEW exclusive LEGO sets.
September 19: Build a Magical Wand!
Come to the LEGO Store and build your very own magical wizarding wand! You can then take home your wand model, for free! Registration is on a first come, first served basis and quantities are limited. Sign up in store or by phone starting September 1st.
Just to remind all LEGO fans out there, this year marks the 60th Anniversary of the LEGO Brick; and though the major celebrations for it might have already passed, there’s still enough places in the world where LEGO can be found announcing their milestone in a very memorable way. In Hong Kong for example, The LEGO Group has partnered with the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system to launch a special express train decked out in LEGO décor and fanfare. Particular Hong Kong MTR trains will sport its special LEGO 60th Anniversary theme from Friday, July 27, to August 15 next month.
From the walls, to the seats, to the sliding doors, Hong Kong MTR commuters to this express on the Tsuen Wan line will be greeted by some LEGO CMF Series 18 characters, as well as the ubiquitous 2×4 LEGO brick. Warm wishes for LEGO’s 60th anniversary are also plastered everywhere.
The temporary decking out of this LEGO-inspired Hong Kong MTR train was arranged by Troy Taylor, LEGO general manager for Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. The cheery, generally yellow motif of the express’ interior was carefully chosen to, in Taylor’s words, “make sure it is fun and engaging.”
Another collaborative work by LEGO, this time with Facebook, has led to the development and launch of an AR filter featuring the minifigure characters and designs from the tricked-out LEGO Hong Kong MTR express. So far, the filter seems only available for Chinese users. Watch how it works in the video clip below.
Being a well-established toy brand with a wide reach across the globe, LEGO makes sure that its brand and image remains easily remembered and recognizable the world over, not just for its wide variety of products but also for its distinctive spirit of play. That’s why they spare no expense when it comes to developing new advertising campaigns that are sure to grab everybody’s attention. And this new campaign, courtesy of the Ogilvy & Mather agency in Bangkok, looks beautiful, artistic and full of LEGO meaning. They were conceptualized by O&M Senior Art Director Asawin Tejasakulsin, and are divided into two slogans: Imagine and Build the Future.
The Imagine LEGO ad posters feature some magnificent brick builds that are integrated into an ordinary room’s furniture, creating something more magical than mundane. See that LEGO King Kong brick-build turning a speaker tower into the Empire State? How about a dragon providing fire for that stock pot? With LEGO, imagination simply becomes reality.
Meanwhile, Build the Future gives an inspiring message for the little kids who love LEGO and whose time spent playing with them might inspire their careers tomorrow. The message can’t be any clearer with the children making brick-build “shells” of what they might want to be when they grow up.
While we’re looking forward to the day when LEGO will release these posters on a new ad campaign for their brand, you might as well want to check the rest of Asawin Tejasakulsin’s Imagine and Build the Future ads.
If you’re a fan of LEGO by any stretch of the imagination, then there’s nothing like the feeling of marveling at a large brick build that’s been put on public display. But it could be even better if the LEGO construct was exhibited in a free-roam public place, like the brick-built Porg statues put in London’s walkways last year to promote Star Wars: The Last Jedi. One particularly notable display of publicly-accessible LEGO artwork is one called as Park People, the brainchild of artist-lawyer and LEGO Certified Professional Nathan Sawaya. He has already made this exhibit in public parks of several cities like Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas and Washington, DC. Now the next stop of Park People is the south, in Houston, Texas.
At the park benches in 1200 Smith St. outside the Allen Center, visitors may find a series of near life-sized LEGO brick-built people, each one using a single color scheme and posed sitting and relaxing on the benches. Park-goers are not only free to take pictures but also to directly interact with the Park People as if they were real.
Carol Watson, Events Manager of Brookfield Properties Arts which sponsored Sawaya’s Houston leg of Park People, notes the interactive and reflective nature of the LEGO figures on display. “I mean, you have the orange LEGO human who’s in lotus position,” she points out. “So, if you sit down, you can get in to a meditative state or you can sit down and have a conversation with somebody, but it’s also a way to engage with other people.”
Park People remains on display in Houston up until August 10, where it will take a short break before being re-exhibited at the Houston Center, 909 Fannin St., from August 13 to 24. Visitors to the LEGO figure displays may take photos and selfies, and play-interact with the Park People, but for safety considerations the organizers won’t allow eating and drinking, smoking, or climbing on the brick guys. There’s no price for admission.
