This year is an exciting one for LEGO, particularly with regards to their accomplishments in the toy industry. Not only do we see the LEGO Group come back for the London Toy Fair, but its LEGO Harry Potter line of sets were named as the Licensed Product of the Year granted by UK Toy Industry Awards.
LEGO is also expected to make waves at next month’s New York Toy Fair, with a total of nine nominations for the 2019 Toy of the Year Awards by the Toy Association Inc. The flagship Hogwarts Castle (71043) was also nominated for Specialty Toy of the Year, the LEGO Harry Potter CMF (71022) for the Collectible of the Year, and the Hogwarts Great Hall (75954)for Construction Toy of the Year.
Congratulations to LEGO for bagging the Licensed Product of the Year award, and cheers for more awesome sets in the future!
This is one of those rare moments where a LEGO product idea gets the attention of fans and is immediately caught up in a storm of likes and 10K thumbs up to become a potential LEGO Ideas set. I guess timing is one key factor for the success of a particular LEGO set proposal, such as the case of our first product idea for 2019 that managed to garner those coveted 10K approvals from the LEGO community in just a short amount of time. To open the 2019 LEGO Ideas Review Stage, we have our first qualifier in the form of the Museu Nacional – Rio de Janeiro by MaxakalisaurusTopai.
This particular LEGO product idea is inspired by the actual Museu Nacional – Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, which sadly caught fire last September 2, 2018, where a large portion of the country’s historical artifacts was also consumed in the blaze. It was a sad day for the people of Brazil and for the rest of the world where over 90% of its collection throughout its 200 years of existence were unfortunately consumed by the flames. The museum’s collection of more than 20 million artifacts is hailed as one of the largest collections of natural history in the world and it’s just staggering to think that almost all of these are now gone forever.
In honor of the Museu Nacional – Rio de Janeiro, LEGO fan MaxakalisaurusTopai decided to render it in LEGO bricks following the typical design of LEGO Architecture sets, and have it submitted as a LEGO product idea. In just less than a month from its submission, the vast majority of the LEGO community responded with eagerness highlighting the important role the Museu Nacional – Rio de Janeiro has played in the preservation of our history. It is simply heart-warming to see the outpouring of support coming from the LEGO community. Here’s what MaxakalisaurusTopai has to say about this product idea.
Museu Nacional – Rio de Janeiro
The National Museum is the largest Brazilian Museum. Actually it was… On September 2nd, 2018, it caught on fire. The greatest historical, artistic, cultural and scientific patrimony in Brazil, was destroyed by an enormous fire. And with the fire, we lost more than objects and collector’s items. We lost a huge part of our history.
We lost the skeleton of the largest dinosaur ever found in South America, and part of the fossil of Luzia, the oldest habitant of all Americas. We lost the mysterious Egyptian mummy Sha Amun En Su, the imposing African throne of the Kingdom of Dahomey and even the indescribable frescoes of Pompeii. Over 90% of the collection was destroyed. Its 200 years of history and 20 million invaluable items. And also, the museum’s building is a symbol of Brazil’s architectural history, and now is turned into ashes. On top of all that, the reconstruction of the National Museum will take 20 long years.
How to continue inspiring the audience of the National Museum (the majority of families and children) during this time? We’ll leave the National Museum alive in our imagination. We’ll rebuild it brick by brick with LEGO, highlighting its historical importance. And the children who help build the National Museum will actually be helping to rebuild the National Museum in real life.
The Museu Nacional – Rio de Janeiro is our first LEGO product idea for the First 2019 Review Stage. The Third 2018 LEGO Ideas Review Stage has come to a close with five candidates vying to become the next official LEGO Ideas set. We also hope to have a reveal of the Second 2018 LEGO Review Results which is slated to be announced anytime this month until early February.
The hit, brick-building, LEGO-inspired reality show that endeared the UK to love the LEGO brick, even more, is now coming to the US. Plans are now being inked on how the hit TV show LEGO Masters can be adopted for US viewers, which was largely successful not just in the UK, but also in Germany and Australia. The LEGO Masters is a reality-based TV show that pushes the limits of one’s creativity in using LEGO bricks, where amateur builders get to compete with each other with the hope being the recognized as the ultimate LEGO Master.
The LEGO Masters show in the US will be produced by Endemol Shine North America, UK production company Tuesday’s Child, and Plan B Entertainment, headed by award-winning actor Brad Pitt. As with its initial run in the US, the LEGO Group will be hands-on with the show’s more important details so you can expect the same ‘wonder, emotion, drama and loads of smashing bricks’. Read on for the LEGO Masters US official press release.
Endemol Shine North America and Tuesday’s Child Bringing U.K Smash Hit “LEGO® MASTERS” to U.S with Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment
January 9, 2019—Endemol Shine North America and U.K.-based independent production company Tuesday’s Child are teaming with Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment to jointly produce a U.S. version of the hit British series “LEGO® MASTERS.”
The production companies are set to start conversations with potential American-based platforms later this month.
Originally created by Tuesday’s Child, “LEGO MASTERS” first launched on Channel 4 in the U.K. in 2017, quickly becoming the network’s highest-rated new series, nearly doubling its primetime average with young adults. Since then, “LEGO MASTERS” was renewed by Channel 4 and local versions of the successful format have begun launching around the world.
Along with Plan B Entertainment, Sharon Levy, DJ Nurre and Michael Heyerman will serve as executive producers for Endemol Shine North America, Karen Smith and Steph Harris will serve as executive producers for Tuesday’s Child and Jill Wilfert and Robert May for The LEGO Group.
“This is a project that I am truly passionate about, as LEGO bricks have played an instrumental role in my family’s life,” stated Sharon Levy, President, Unscripted & Scripted Television, Endemol Shine North America. “We are thrilled to be bringing ‘LEGO MASTERS’ to the U.S. market with the original producers at Tuesday’s Child and the team at Plan B Entertainment.”
Tuesday’s Child Managing Director Karen Smith stated, “It’s awesome to team up with Plan B and Endemol Shine North America to bring ‘LEGO MASTERS’ to the States. It’s a format filled with wonder, emotion, drama and loads of smashing bricks. The competitors excel in story-telling, engineering artistry, ingenuity and genuinely thinking outside the box. It’s a new talent show, but no-one sings or dances, unless they’re barefoot and stand on a brick…’
Jill Wilfert, Vice President, Licensing & Entertainment, the LEGO Group says; “We are pleased viewers in the UK and Germany have enjoyed LEGO MASTERS, and believe it will delight people of all ages around the world. The series celebrates creativity and the endless possibilities of the LEGO brick, not to mention the fun families and friends have when they build together.”
“We are so thrilled to be a part of the team bringing ‘LEGO MASTERS’ and this exciting new format to the States,” said the production team at Plan B Entertainment.
“LEGO MASTERS” pits enthusiasts in a competition that starts with a single LEGO brick and infinite possibilities and concludes with mind-blowing builds that will surely both inspire legions of loyal LEGO followers and capture the imagination of new fans.
Endemol Shine Group is the exclusive distributor of the format across all platforms outside of the U.K. and has the rights to produce local versions of the show around the world. Endemol Shine International is the exclusive distributor of all finished tape of all versions produced, including the original British version.
Last year, Endemol Shine announced “LEGO MASTERS” landed its first international deals, as Endemol Shine Australia is producing a local version of the format for Nine and Endemol Shine Germany successfully produced the series for RTL. Channel 4’s second season in the U.K. launched in November to strong ratings.
About Endemol Shine North America
Endemol Shine North America delivers world-class content and compelling storytelling to multiple platforms in the U.S. and across the globe. Endemol Shine North America is part of Endemol Shine Group, the global content creator, producer and distributor with a diverse portfolio of companies that are behind some of the most prominent hit television formats and series in the world.
Its Endemol Shine Latino division oversees all Spanish and Portuguese-language operations across Latin America, including newly launched studio Endemol Shine Boomdog, which produces original content for both the U.S. Hispanic and Mexican markets. Subsidiary production companies include Authentic Entertainment, Truly Original, and 51 Minds Entertainment.
About Tuesday’s Child
Tuesday’s Child Television is a UK-based independent production company specialising in entertainment and popular factual. It was launched in September 2012 by Karen Smith who was former Shine TV joint MD (The Magicians, Gladiators, Got to Dance, The Biggest Loser, Strictly Come Dancing).
Tuesday’s Child are the format creators of LEGO MASTERS and currently in production with a new peak BBC One music quiz, The Hit List and Channel 4 rig format, The Drugs Cafe both due to air in peak in early 2019. They have also created and produced the primetime BBC One Entertainment series, Pitch Battle with Kelis and the music director of the Pitch Perfect franchise , the award winning You’re Back in the Room for ITV1 ( the format has also been made in numerous other international territories) For What It’s Worth, hosted by Fern Britton for BBC One, Britain’s Biggest Superyachts: Chasing Perfection for BBC Two and RTS-nominated Superstar Dogs, hosted by John Barrowman for Channel 4
About Plan B Entertainment
Founded in 2002 and headed by Brad Pitt and co-presidents Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, Plan B Entertainment is a film and television production company that has been established with many acclaimed titles. What sets them apart is their commitment to protecting narrative and giving filmmakers the freedom to take creative risks. The result has been a memorable run of characters and stories that are emotionally and socially compelling. Their titles include: THE TREE OF LIFE, WORLD WAR Z, 12 YEARS A SLAVE, THE NORMAL HEART, SELMA, THE BIG SHORT, and MOONLIGHT. Most recently, the company released the Golden Globe-nominated BEAUTIFUL BOY, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK, and VICE.
Looking ahead, Plan B will continue working with auteurs such as Andrew Dominik, James Gray, David Michôd, Barry Jenkins, and Ryan Murphy, and they plan to deliver characteristically unique and uplifting work not only through theatrical screens, but also through collaborations with outlets such as Netflix, Amazon, STARZ, FX, and HBO.
About The LEGO Group
The LEGO Group is a privately held, family-owned company with headquarters in Billund, Denmark, and main offices in Enfield, USA, London, UK. Shanghai, China, and Singapore. Founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen, and based on the iconic LEGO brick, it is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of play materials. Guided by the company spirit: “Only the best is good enough”, the company is committed to the development of children and aims to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow through creative play and learning. LEGO products are sold worldwide and can be virtually explored at http://www.LEGO.com.
The LEGO Ideas Review Team has officially announced the five product ideas that qualify for the Third 2018 LEGO Ideas Review Stage which began from September 2018 until early January 2019. It may not be as many as of those from early review stages, but these selections represent a pretty diverse collection of product ideas that appeal to almost all LEGO fans. These are LEGO product ideas that garnered the support of more than 10,000 LEGO fans in the idea-sharing platform during the aforementioned dates.
I have to say that this is a rather tough decision to make, considering that almost all of these product ideas are my personal favorites. But if I really have to choose which among these do I really like to see happen as an official LEGO set, then I have to say my vote goes to FrostBrick’s Food Stand Diners. Here once again are the five product ideas that qualified for the LEGO Ideas Third 2018 Review Stage.
The LEGO Ideas Review Board is still currently working to give us their verdict and results of the LEGO Ideas Second 2018 Review Stage, with 10 awesome product ideas vying to get that seal of approval to be the next official LEGO Ideas set. In case you missed it, here are the qualifiers currently reviewed from this period.
Congratulations to all the qualifiers! Keep on building!
This next LEGO Ideas Contest fell off my radar, and it’s a good thing that we still have two weeks before the contest ends. In case you also missed it, you might be interested to know that the LEGO Ideas team is running another building contest where LEGO fans and builders can get to bag home an awesome array of LEGO Ideas sets. All you need to do is to come up with your most imaginative and bricktastic pop-up story in a similar fashion such as that of LEGO Ideas Pop-Up Book (21315). The deadline for submission of entries is on January 3, 2019 (6AM, EST). Read on for the contest’s overview and what you’ll be getting if yours will be the winning entry. For the complete contest rules, you may visit the LEGO Ideas Create a Bricktastic Pop-Up Story contest page. You may also view other cool entries in this contest right here.
Some of the entries for the ongoing LEGO Ideas Create a Bricktastic Pop-Up Story Contest
Create a Bricktastic Pop-Up Story!
Do you consider yourself an amazing storyteller? Whether you’re into action stories, romance, fairy tales, science fiction, comics or a whole other genre, we now challenge you to build a bricktastic story that will make us all fall off our chairs! To give your story the ultimate twist of creativity, we ask you to build it as a pop-up.
So, get ready, fetch your bricks, and surprise us with some awesome pop-up stories!
The Grand Prize winner will receive:
A custom, special edition Pop-Up Book trophy created by LEGO Designer Wes Talbott and featuring artwork by LEGO Graphic Designer Crystal Fontan
We now have our 4th LEGO Ideas candidate that qualifies for the Third 2018 LEGO Ideas Review Stage. Following the 10K, thumbs up success of the Food Stand Diners a few days ago, we now have a larger set candidate in the form of the Queen Victoria Cruise ship by David Wardle (also known as FlagsNZ over at Brickset). Built using more than 2,000 LEGO pieces, the LEGO Ideas Queen Victoria Cruise Ship is an accurate, 1:565 scaled rendition of the real Queen Victoria Cruise Ship, a Vista-Class passenger ship built in Italy in 2007. What is perhaps equally interesting about this MOC, is the builder behind it. David Wardle has a long, solid career in the maritime business and has been teaching his expertise as a senior lecturer in a maritime school in New Zealand. He even uses LEGO sets such as the LEGO Creator Expert Maersk Line Triple-E (10241) in teaching students how to navigate the seas. So when David talks about ships and builds LEGO MOCs about them, expect only the best rendition from a seasoned skipper and LEGO fan.
Here’s an overview of the LEGO Ideas Queen Victoria Cruise Ship, together with some details and images. This original creation from David Wardle qualifies for the Third 2018 LEGO Ideas Review Stage which will end on January 7, 2019. It’s the 4th qualifying set following the Dinosaurs Fossils Collection – Natural History Collection, Chemical Plant, and Food Stand Diners. With only 14 votes remaining, we can also expect the Playable LEGO Piano to follow soon, and Anatomini not far behind.
LEGO Product Idea Queen Victoria Cruise Ship
This LEGO model of Queen Victoria recreates the real luxury cruise liner in amazing detail. You can see the cabin portholes and balconies of the Britannia Balcony staterooms as well as the detailed open decks with three swimming pools.
You can see the open Promenade decks with the ship’s lifeboats and life rafts. There are rotating gold-coloured propellers attached to two swivelling Azipod motors. The model has a complete set of navigation lights, radar and radio masts, and the three distinctive satellite communication domes.
The model can be displayed on its own stand which includes a fact plaque with detailed information about the ship or the stand can be removed as the model will slide around on smooth boat studs.
This model has been designed to accurately portray this iconic Cunard Line passenger ship. The model is built to the similar scale as the Creator Expert set 10241 Maersk Line Triple E.
Dimensions
The LEGO model Queen Victoria measures 65 studs long (52cm, 20.5in) and 12 studs wide (10cm, 3.8in).
The real ship measures 294m (965ft) long which make this model’s scale 1:565.
It includes 2061 parts.
Cunard
Founded in 1840, Cunard Line celebrated 175 years of operation in 2015. They have always been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic. Cunard Line ships have distinctive red funnels with two black stripes.
Queen Victoria is a Vista-Class passenger ship. This class of ship are built in Italy at the Fincantieri Marghera shipyard. Vista-Class ships are built to Panamax guidelines, which means that they will fit into the locks and can transit Panama Canal. As well as Cunard, Vista-Class ships are operated by Holland America Line, P&O Cruises and Costa Crociere.
Azipod is a type of podded marine propulsion unit which sits outside the hull. It consists of a fixed pitch propeller mounted on a steerable pod unit. Queen Victoria has two Azipod thrusters.
When Guinness Book of World Records featured LEGO sets in its 2019 edition, nobody might have expected them to offer a giveaway of one of those sets to those who answered a trivia question on their website. Then, it just ballooned as one by one the eight prominent “record-holding” LEGO sets from the 2019 book were promoted in the contest. Now, the Guinness World Records official website is holding one more trivia contest. On the line is the seventh – and probably the penultimate – LEGO set to be given away, not a record-holder itself but based on one iconic recorded event: the LEGO Creator Expert Wright Flyer (10124).
The rather uncommon LEGO Creator Expert Wright Flyer (10124) set is a model build of the historic Guinness record-holder of the first successful flight of a heavier-than-air powered aircraft. As anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of history knows, the Wright Flyer was built by the Wright Brothers Orville and Wilbur, who flew the pioneering airplane near Kitty Hawk on December 17, 1903.
Once again, the contest is valid only for Guinness website visitors from Canada, Ireland, and the UK. They just need to answer the trivia question on the LEGO Wright Flyer info page and add their contact information. The submission deadline will be on Friday, December 14 at around midnight GMT.
The Food Stand Diners features a nice collection of brick-built food stalls at minifigure scale. FrostBricks’ excellent choice of colors surely stands out and makes you want to have a quick bite of your favorite burger and fries. It’s a great addition to any LEGO theme park sets such as the LEGO Creator Expert Roller Coaster (10261) and Fairground Mixer (10244). I like the play features of this project, with lots of potentials for further modifications and inclusion of other food stalls such as a bakery, popcorn stand, hot dog stand and many more. Here’s what FrostBricks has to say about his LEGO Ideas Product Idea.
Food Stand Diners
The fabulous Fernando Brothers are known for their fine cuisine; and their fun food shacks are the perfect place for a family party.
Model info
Each food stand is modeled to resemble a life-size food counterpart, whilst also being a minifig-scale food stand. Perfect for either play or display, with fully detailed interiors so the brothers can prepare their specialty burgers, milkshakes and fries.
It’s also proposed there’d be a range of food accessories included, burgers, drinks and more (a birthday cake perhaps?) Along with a table and additional minifigures included, so that you could create your own family enjoying a lovely day in the park.
Which Figures? What food?
Currently, the three proposed food stands included would be a Burger stand, a Fries stand, and a Milkshake stand. But perhaps you’d like to see another of your favorite foods made into a food stand and included? Well, let us know in the comments.
Likewise the minifigures currently shown here are placeholders, and ideally, the set would include enough minifig parts to mix and match your own family having a fun day out.
FrostBricks was even kind enough to upload an instructional video on how to build the actual Burger and Fries Stands. We’re still waiting for the video on how to build the Milk Shake Stand so we’ll keep a close eye on that as well.
I somehow feel that the Third 2018 LEGO Ideas Review Stage will be kind of tough for our LEGO Ideas Design Review Team since there seems to be a lot of potential sets in this batch. I personally vouch for the Food Stand Diners and I hope to see this released as a LEGO Ideas set in the future.
Two names: LEGO and Guinness. As has been reported repeatedly over the past few months or so, the Guinness Book of World Records had a special section for its 2019 edition book about world records – current or former – that have been immortalized in LEGO, as well as record-breaking LEGO sets. Four times before, the Guinness official website has launched a little giveaway of LEGO sets that have been featured in their site and the book. Some have been plenty famous like the UCS Millennium Falcon (75192) which is the Biggest Commercially Available LEGO Set Overall, and the 1:300 Eiffel Tower (10181) which depicts the Tallest Iron Structure in the world. In the fifth giveaway contest, Guinness is now offering the LEGO Technic Bucket Wheel Excavator (42055), which is a record-holder itself as the Largest Technic Set, and also based on the same vehicle which Guinness records as the Largest Land Vehicle and Heaviest Land Vehicle.
Guinness website guests from Canada, the UK, and Ireland are eligible to join this giveaway event. Again, interested participants only have to visit the Bucket Wheel Excavator (42055) page on Guinness and answer the trivia question to the right, with their name, country of origin and email address. Eligible entries must be sent by Friday, December 7 at 11:59 PM GMT.
At this rate, Guinness World Records will end up offering one copy of each LEGO set featured on their 2019 Edition Book of Records. Now we have Guinness trivia contest number 4 and the prize LEGO set’s a bit more monumental in scale this time.
By that we mean GWR is giving away a LEGO set of the Eiffel Tower, which originally carried the record for tallest man-made structure (beaten by the Chrysler Building in 1930) and to this day, the record holder for tallest iron structure (300 meters, excluding a 1950s-era 24-meter TV antenna).
Judging from the LEGO build photo in the Eiffel Tower’s Guinness 2019 entry, this is probably the 1:300 LEGO set (10181) and not the more abstract-looking LEGO Architecture version (21019). To win it, any Guinness website visitors from Canada, Ireland and the UK can go to the Eiffel Tower info page and answer the trivia question to the right, plus their name, address and email.
Eligible entries must be sent before the deadline of Friday, November 23, 11:59 PM GMT.
