Contests Archives | The Brick Show

LEGO Ideas Pick a Brick Selected Designs Now Available in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand

The wonderful people behind the LEGO Ideas Pick a Brick Test Lab challenge has released new designs that are now available for purchase in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. The LEGO community has once again shown its endless creativity with nine unique designs, two of which will be made available later in the year. The Christmas Sock by BrickStability and Sugar Skull by yop1172 will be released at a later date, but you can check out the other designs right now.

LEGO Ideas Pick a Brick Availability

All the builds are now live on Pick a Brick in all European countries, Australia, and New Zealand. If you’re in the United States or Canada, don’t worry; the designs will be available in these regions in July. Until then, you can still take a look at the builds and download the instructions.

Bestseller Selection and Customization

LEGO has made sure that all the bricks are in their Bestseller selection for faster shipping. You can also add your own twist to customize the builds even further by adding other elements from the Pick a Brick assortment to your basket. The possibilities are endless with Pick a Brick Builds.

Pick a Brick Builds are new to LEGO.com, and the team is still gathering feedback and working to improve the experience. If you receive a feedback survey, please respond to it, or leave comments below if you make a purchase. LEGO would appreciate your help and support to improve this experience for fans and shoppers.

Now, let’s take a look at some of the new designs available:

Billboard Fun

199 pieces | $26.70

Cyber Explorers

200 pieces | $15.35

4-Season Greenhouse

200 pieces | $30.44

Market Magic

178 pieces | $27.29

Modular Racers

198 pieces | $26.91

Garden Dreams

196 pieces | $25.79

Brick-quarium

185 pieces | $14.46

LEGO Ideas Exploring the World of Middle Earth Building Challenge Now Up

The LEGO Ideas website has just announced the LEGO Ideas Exploring the World of Middle Earth building challenge. This new contest lets you render the world of Middle Earth brick by brick as you creatively imagine it. Starting today until April 11, 2023, you can recreate your favorite Tolkien LOTR location or scene and have a chance to win a LEGO Icons The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell along the way.

Unlike other building challenges that limit you to a certain number of pieces or build dimensions, the LEGO Ideas Explore the World of Middle Earth Challenge doesn’t seem to have any of these restrictions. Furthermore, you are not just limited to the TLOR films themselves, but you can also draw inspiration from the books of the great J.R.R. Tolkien himself. You also have the leeway to use a digital model or one that is made of physical LEGO bricks.

There will be one (1) Grand Prize winner and one (1) Runner-Up winner for each category (Location and Scene). Prizes at stake for this building challenge are a LEGO Icons The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell (10316) set (valued at $500) signed by LEGO Designers Chris Perron and Wes Talbott, and a mystery prize package of TLOR goodies.

For more information about the nitty-gritty details of this building contest, be sure to review the LEGO Ideas building rules for this particular challenge. Just be sure to register and have your original LEGO LOTR creation ready on or before the deadline on April 11, 2023 at 6PM EST. Winners for the LEGO Ideas Exploring the World of Middle Earth building contest will be announced on the platform on May 2, 2023.

Happy building everyone!

LEGO Brick Train Awards 2022 Announced for September

While the COVID pandemic caused the world to mostly shut down in 2020, it didn’t exactly end everything. Numerous public events tried to make a go at hosting online alternatives, like the major Comic Cons and media awards. And then some events actually debuted because of the pandemic, like this themed LEGO building competition. Year 2020 saw the beginning of the Brick Train Awards, an online global competition with LEGO train builds. The competition has been going on straight through to last year. And now, they’ve announced their third edition set to start next month.

Brickset gives us word that the 2022 Brick Train Awards are soon to kick off, by next month in fact. Like its two predecessors, the competition involves LEGO builders showcasing their best brick-built locomotives and settings. Entries will be open to all interested participants classified into three regions (Americas, Asia/Australasia and Europe). Specialty retailer Trixbrix.eu is sponsoring the event, which will pick winners from 15 categories at regional level. From there, the Brick Train Awards panel will choose the global winners. They’ve also earmarked three categories for TFOLs (teenaged fans of LEGO), so everybody gets a shot at LEGO-train greatness. Here are the official categories:

Best steam locomotive
Best diesel locomotive
Best electric locomotive
Best other locomotive
Best consist / full train
Best passenger wagon
Best freight wagon
Best special wagon
Best digital locomotive
Best digital wagon
Best TFOL (Teenage Fan of LEGO) locomotive
Best TFOL wagon
Best TFOL display
Public vote
Best display

Applicants to the Brick Train Awards will have the rest of this month to perfect their ideas. That’s because the official entry period will be throughout all of September 2022. The awards in 2021 fielded more than 750 locomotive builds. Let’s see if this year’s contest can go better than that.

LEGO Ideas “Go STEM!” GWP Contest Not Yet Announcing Winners

For the most part, contests on LEGO Ideas run quite smoothly. A contest page is set up, followed by a waiting period for entries. The usual procedure afterwards would consist of the expert review, a fan vote, and finally announcing the winners. Sometimes there might be multiple reviews and votes, if the contests have prelim/semi phases. For the most part, the contest is over when the LEGO Ideas team reveals the winners. Of course, sometimes something comes up. Like now, an Ideas contest that would conclude Thursday…didn’t announce its champions.

Indeed, the LEGO Ideas “Ready, Set, Go STEAM!” Contest should’ve concluded June 9. That was when the winner announcement would be done. But a visit to the contest page reveals an announcement at top. A LEGO Ideas team spokesperson notes that the STEAM contest will delay its reveal of the winners. Apparently one runner-up contestant hasn’t been responding to official communication from the Ideas platform. For consideration, the Ideas team decided to put things off until all winners are aware and responded. They did say the reveal will be ASAP, but nobody knows how long the wait could be. For the moment, we’ll keep watching the Ideas STEM Contest page.

We covered “Ready, Get Set, Go STEAM!” here in The Brick Show last month. You can check out the 15 finalists vying for grand champion and five runners-up over there. The cool LEGO sets they’d get would be topped by the grand champion’s submission becoming an official GWP in future.

LEGO Ideas Contest “Ready, Set, Go STEM!” Crowd Vote Begins for GWP Shot

It’s a given that custom creations on LEGO Ideas have a long way to go towards official set-dom. Gaining supporters is one thing while impressing pro LEGO Ideas reviewers is quite another. On average, less than a handful of product ideas will emerge approved per Review Stage. Fortunately, Ideas provides alternative venues for its members to see their builds become LEGO products. Sometimes they open Contests for submissions to get fast-tracked towards approval. Just last month for instance, LEGO Ideas launched a Contest for STEM-themed submissions. Following a review period in the middle of this month, the vote’s finally ready.

Brick Fanatics tells us that LEGO Ideas Contest “Ready, Set, Go STEM!” opened its Crowd Vote on Thursday, May 26. No less than 15 entries are in the running to become an official LEGO gift-with-purchase set. And of course, the Grand Winner and runners-up will receive some cool and recent LEGO sets from various themes. Check out STEM-themed submissions, some with animated images too:

Steam Engine by Mr_Kleinstein

Tribute to Leonardo Da Vinci by LegoMalkie

Tensegrity Racers by OverRaptor

Invaders from Mars by Diving Faces

Mini Orrery of the Inner Solar System by ROSch

Up, Up and Away by ILLUMIN@TED

Yesterday’s Technology by Rossidisera

Renew the Future by Bric.olé

Tribute to Galileo Galilei by Firecracker

Metamorphosis of a Butterfly by Claire_Building

Rotating Classic Space Logo by DelQuinn

Satellite Spinner by aido_k

Factory Robot Arm by Rizsa1

Endless Possibilities by aido_k

The Steam Train by Lego_Is_Art

The Prizes

Five runners-up will get two Technic Sets (Rescue Hovercraft 42120 and BMW M 1000 RR 42130) and two post-promo GWPs (Vintage Car 40448 and Sailboat Adventure 40487). The Grand Winner will receive all these plus the Technic All-Terrain Vehicle (42139) and Ideas Globe (21332). Crowd voting for this contest ends June 2, with the winners being announced June 9.

LEGO x Target Opens Fan Vote for New Ideas Set from Three Review Non-Passers

Ideally, the LEGO Ideas platform is a LEGO builder/set designer’s dream come true. When it comes to practice however, the whole thing has a once-in-a-blue-moon feel. Getting a product idea to 10-K support, then passing the review, sees plenty of submissions whittled down to a handful. And those handfuls of made-official LEGO Ideas sets can take months to years before being launched. In the meantime, many other product ideas languish unless their creators re-submit them (with edits). This news courtesy of The Brick Fan can offer hope to some selected failed Ideas submissions. LEGO’s offering this surprise comeback chance thanks to a major retailer’s partnership.

There’s a new entry to the LEGO Ideas Activity page. LEGO’s teaming up with Target to give one of three Ideas submissions which failed in review another chance. And to make sure, registered LEGO Ideas members will vote for their favored submission. The winner of the vote will become an official Ideas set. It’ll be exclusively available in North America at Target stores and online in LEGO.com US. LEGO Shops and Branded Stores will carry this item everywhere else globally.

For your consideration, check out the three chosen product ideas:

Working Mini Golf Course – Fully Playable by LEGOParadise

Viking Village by BrickHammer

Marine Life by Brick Dangerous

All chosen builders are 10K Club Members, and therefore somewhat regulars at LEGO Ideas Review Stages. Voting on the Activity Page (accessible only by registered Ideas members) lasts until May 31. The winning product idea gets announced in August. As for when the set actually hits Target and LEGO Stores, it’s all a matter of waiting for it.

Indy, Lilo & Stitch Kick Off Submissions to LEGO Ideas Second 2022 Review Stage

Late last month, we mentioned the lengthy period of LEGO Ideas First 2022 Review Stage during a 10-K feature. We never expected that Seb_E’s Jules Verne’s Nautilus would actually close out Ideas First 2022. And as of last week, LEGO Ideas Second 2022 Review Stage now features two product ideas with 10,000 supporters each. With only a couple of submissions to this latest batch, it’s too early to note trends. Still, we can see these product ideas from ItsABricksLife626 and Tvrulesmylife being structured and based on licensed IPs. Let’s take a closer look at them both:

Lilo & Stitch: Beach House

LEGO Ideas 10K Club Member ItsABricksLife626 gives us an early-2000s Disney throwback with this submission. As the name states, it depicts the Hawaiian beachside home of Lilo Pelekai and her pet alien Stitch. This location is central to the 2002 Disney film and its sequels and animated series spinoff. ItsABricksLife626 recreates the familiar red-roofed, white-walled domicile, with easy interior access thanks to detachable roofs. Lilo and Stitch minifigs are accompanied by their big Ohana unit. There’s Lilo’s sis Nani, her boyfriend David, alien housemates Jumba and Pleakley plus social worker Cobra. The house also features several cars, flying or otherwise.

Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark 40^th Anniversary

The first “Indiana Jones” movie, “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” premiered way back in 1981. It’ll be 41 years now this 2022, but 10K Clubber Tvrulesmylife finally got his product idea supported for review. The build comprises three sections, depicting the Peruvian jungle ruin from the film’s beginning. LEGO Indy must claim an idol from a pressure-sensitive base, climb a vine, and outrun that giant boulder again. For those who remember the short-lived LEGO Indiana Jones line and were disappointed about “coconuts,” this submission could redeem things. But first, it needs to impress the Ideas reviewers.

Celebrate May the 4th and Get a Chance to Win Two LEGO Star Wars Republic Gunships on Whatnot!

In case you haven’t noticed by now, Stephen, Jason, and the rest of the TBS gang have joined the Whatnot platform. For those unfamiliar, Whatnot is a community-driven marketplace that provides members with a safe place to buy and sell collectibles online. Its relatively new when it started in 2019 and just recently, The Brick Show Shop has joined in the live auction fray as well to make your May the 4th celebrations more fun.

The response we got from you is just so encouraging! We’re glad to hear that our Spinifig Wheel and custom LEGO Star Wars minifigs were a hit. And to make this LEGO May the 4th celebrations and tonight’s auction more exciting, Stephen will be hosting another live auction where you’ll get the chance to win not one, but two iconic LEGO Star Wars Republic Gunships!

The mechanics are simple. If you’re new to the Whatnot platform, we’re sending invites for first-time users with an awesome $10 credit giveaway that you can use to spend in any of our auctions. Just click on this link to avail of this freebie.

Then jump into the auction to have the chance to bag any of our custom LEGO Star Wars minifigures that we will be showcasing. And if you happen to be an auction winner, your name will be automatically added to the raffle where you’ll get the chance to get this LSW classic: the LEGO Star Wars Republic Attack Gunship (7676) from 2008.

For those of you who are into collecting LEGO Star Wars sets, you may know very well that this comes with uber collectible minifigs not found in other sets, or had a limited run. You’ll get the unique minifig versions of Asajj Ventress, Commander Cody, Plo Koon, and a Clone Wars Clone Trooper.

But the fun doesn’t end there. Just by viewing or joining us during the live auction, you also get the chance of winning (drum roll please) the LEGO Star Wars UCS Republic Gunship (75309) from last year. What a great way to spice up our May the 4th celebration!

Valued at $350, you can have the chance of bringing home this 3,292-piece set and being a proud owner of an Ultimate Collector Series set.

And of course, our Spinifig Wheel has something in store as well. Because other than the usual minifigs we feature during our live auctions, we will also throw in one of Build Better Brick’s bestsellers, the Custom LEGO Millenium Blaster valued at $150. Even Han Solo couldn’t resist this offer.

And to top it all off, you’ll get an exclusive first look at our very first Whatnot custom LEGO arcade game. Stephen will give us the details later, and here are some of its images to whet our brick appetites.

WhatsApp Image 2022 05 04 at 12.32.43 AM e1651713297475

WhatsApp Image 2022 05 04 at 12.32.39 AM e1651713315114

Remember that you can only watch and have access to these prizes and reveals only at our live auction which will start tonight at 9 PM EST. So be sure to join before then. See you and May the 4th be with you and may you bring home these awesome LEGO sets!

New LEGO Ideas Contest: Get Your Build Displayed at LEGO House for LEGO 90th Anniversary!

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 90^th 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 Architecture

LEGO House (21037)

LEGO House Exclusives

The Brick Moulding Machine (40502)
Dagny Holm – Master Builder (40503)

LEGO 90^th 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!

Monthly In-Store LEGO Build Activities Become Online Challenges in LEGO.com Creativity Page

Many (many) years ago, when LEGO still released monthly Store Calendars, they might have contained dates for in-store build activities. New LEGO sets and possible GWP promos could be alternatively claimed online. But going to one’s local LEGO Store to make that month’s mini-build was a unique sort of fun. Sadly, the pandemic forced LEGO to scupper in-store activities. Eventually they even discontinued the monthly store calendars as well. It felt like the end of an era. It doesn’t have to be that way, however. LEGO found a way to revive the monthly build activities by making it available online.

That’s how Brick Fanatics tells it. LEGO.com has launched a new page, the Creativity Hub. Here, the in-store building activities of pre-pandemic yesteryear have returned. They’ve even increased in potential frequency, from monthly to weekly. Every week, LEGO plans to provide an online building challenge for site visitors. Several new micro-build will be introduced, their building instructions placed in downloadable PDF form. Interested participants can then build the challenges using their LEGO pieces on hand. If they photograph their creation and take it to their local LEGO Store, they’ll get something exclusive for their efforts.

For their pictures of their completed Creativity build challenge, home LEGO builders will receive one DOTS Craft Felt Sticker pack. Each contains four sheets of felt stickers that can be cut into desired shapes. And this giveaway may not be permanent if LEGO.com warns us “while supplies last.” But for as long as they do, builders could re-experience somewhat the enjoyment of building little LEGO things. Instead of every month, they could come every year. And now they can be accessed with a quick visit to the LEGO Shop online.