Events Archives | Page 24 of 47

UK’s LEGO Store Milton Keynes Closes for a 1-Month Refurbishment

While LEGO products have long been available for customers at general and toy-oriented retail chains around the world, the idea of a branded LEGO Store is a fairly recent concept. The first one opened in Cologne, Germany back in 2002, followed by the LEGO Store Milton Keynes in the UK in 2008.

Since the opening of UK’s first LEGO Store a decade ago, there have been lots of LEGO Stores in the United Kingdom, some of which like in London’s Leicester Square have risen in prominence over Milton Keynes. But the first and original LEGO Store Milton Keynes still draws a sense of nostalgia over fans, and as such will be slated for a much needed makeover. That explains the month-long closure of the LEGO Store there.

One other reason for the refurbishment of the LEGO Store Milton Keynes was to bring it up to date with the now-consistent style of all branded LEGO Stores across the globe. The store’s Facebook Events page assures customers that they’ll reopen October 4.

Needless to say perhaps, but The LEGO Group will have a grand reopening event for the LEGO Store Milton Keynes that will run from October 4, a Thursday, all the way to the weekend culminating on Sunday, October 7. And they’ve got freebies waiting for returning customers all those four days.

Until October 7, each first 100 customers of every day that spends at least £15 in LEGO will get a free goody bag. In addition, customers spending a minimum £125 will get a free exclusive LEGO Brand Store (40145) set which first appeared as a LEGO Brand Store opening gift-with-purchase (GWP) set back in 2014. To be exact, there was also a similar GWP set that were released earlier in 2012, with the LEGO Brand Retail Store (3300003). However, it is most likely that most the recent model will be given away once the LEGO Store Milton Keynes opens again, since the LEGO Brand Store (40145) reflects the design elements of later LEGO Stores.

Bricklink Teases the Launch of the New AFOL Designer Program

Bricklink has announced earlier today that they will be partnering with LEGO in recognizing some of the unique work and designs by the AFOL community. The LEGO fan community has been a driving force in promoting creativity in using the LEGO brick throughout the years, and it’s but fitting that LEGO recognizes the effort of these talented MOCers and builders. Our resident master builder Tyler Clites, even had the distinct honor of being invited inside the LEGO House in Denmark to showcase some of his best MOCs so far. Thankfully, the LEGO Group is now expanding this recognition program to include other LEGO builders under its new and exciting AFOL Designer Program.

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Take a look at what our master builder, Tyler, is displaying at The LEGO House in Billund, Denmark #lego #legohouse

A post shared by The Brick Show Shop (@thebrickshowshop) on Sep 20, 2017 at 12:00pm PDT

According to Brinklink, it will be the platform of choice in hosting the Adult Fan of LEGO or AFOL Designer Program once it kick-starts on September 12, in line with the continuing celebrations of the LEGO brick’s 60^th anniversary. However, it looks like to be a temporary arrangement and hopefully LEGO themselves will host the said recognition program later on. Here’s the announcement from Bricklink.

Today is such an exciting day at the BrickLink office because we finally get to reveal a very special collaboration with none other than the LEGO Group. We’ve been bursting at the seams because of how long we’ve had to keep this program a secret! Now that we’ve all had a minute to scream and catch our breaths, let’s get into the details.

What is the AFOL Designer Program?

This program celebrates creativity by realizing unique AFOL designs with truly original themes. What better timing than to kick it off in the year of the 60th anniversary of the LEGO brick? For a limited time, BrickLink will be hosting the AFOL Designer Program. We are honored to help highlight your creativity and help make your designs a reality.

Where can I get more information?

An official announcement and more details about the program will be revealed Wednesday, September 12th. Mark your calendars!

-BrickLink Team

It’s still a bit sketchy on how the AFOL Designer Program will be different from the LEGO Ideas platform, or previous LEGO Rebrick contests for example. Stay tuned here on the Brick Show when the big reveal is unveiled on September 12.

LEGO Bricktober 2018 Minifigures Rumored To Be Released in US LEGO Stores

After confirming that the LEGO Harry Potter Bricktober 2018 minifigures will be made available in the US via Barnes & Noble, it seems that LEGO is now teasing on where we can expect the rest of this highly collectible minifigures. We know that these annual releases are usually available in Toys R Us before the toy retail giant closed all its stores in the US, UK, and Australia last June. Many LEGO fans were anxious then on whether the LEGO Bricktober minifigure promotions will still run in spite of TRU’s demise. But thankfully, LEGO still has something in store and the release of the official LEGO Bricktober 2018 images a few weeks ago has confirmed that we will still have our usual LEGO Bricktober minifigs soon.

A LEGO customer service email shared via social media seems to suggest that we will not need to look far and wide to find our share of these minifigs. According to an Instagram post that is now making its rounds across the LEGO community, LEGO’s costumer service has confirmed that the LEGO Bricktober 2018 minifigures will available in US LEGO stores this November and December. To quote,

“The Bricktober promotions will be available through the LEGO stores throughout November and December. This is the only information we have to share at this time. Please keep an eye out for more information.”

Well, I guess we should better start calling this Brickvember and Brickcember for that matter.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BnU3m21gAAu/

We should bear in mind that even if LEGO’s customer service email seems to have confirmed the availability of the LEGO Bricktober 2018 minifigures in local LEGO stores, it will still be wise to consider this as a rumor. In the past, LEGO’s customer service and their social media managers were a bit off the mark when it comes to accurately telling when and how new LEGO sets will be released.

We’re also not sure as of the moment if this will be a future store promotional of some kind. And since the LEGO Store October Calendar has already been released, and there was no mention of any Bricktober promos, then we have to probably wait for the November Store Calendar to be released next month. The LEGO Shop@Home portal is also mum about these LEGO Bricktober 2018 minifigs as of this writing. My best guess is that it may be a part of a Black Friday/Cyber Monday deal in November. Whatever the case, we will soon find out.

Big LEGO Brick Hospital Charity Event Launched with £2,000 Raised on First Day

It would seem that in the UK, charity events wherein units of donations are translated into LEGO bricks to be put together to make a scale model have become a trend. We reported on one of this fun, charitable activity last month, with Suffolk’s St. Edmundsbury Cathedral hosting a particular brick-building event to make a scale replica of its own historical cathedral. Now the Clatterbridge Cancer Charity (CCC) is making its own splash during the Great Brick Adventure event in Liverpool. This week they have launched a new £-a-brick charity drive in the Big LEGO Brick Hospital, building a scale model of what would be a real thing.

CCC is looking for more funding towards building a new cancer research and treatment hospital for the UK, and they mean to get it from this Big LEGO Brick Hospital event. It begins with a LEGO-built construction site, where interested donors pay £1 a LEGO brick that will be assembled to make the planned cancer hospital, rendered in LEGO.

Building instructions for the model were made for CCC courtesy of Bright Bricks, the same brilliant minds behind the St. Edmundsbury Cathedral £-a-brick model design. When finished, the whole model will measure 1.6 meters by 2.8 meters in floor area, and 1.6 meters in height.

On the day the Big LEGO Brick Hospital opened for donations, two thousand bricks equal to £2,000 of charity was raised by well-meaning donors patronizing the event. CCC boss Katrina Bury approves of the successful launch. “We were thrilled to be part of The Great Brick Adventure and show LEGO brick enthusiasts to see the model so far,” she said.

The real cancer hospital this event is helping to build is estimated to be completed by 2020. Surely its LEGO version won’t take that long. For more information visit the Clatterbridge Cancer Charity official website.

LEGO SHOWS in Bahrain Draws Tens of Thousands of Guests

Last month, the little Middle Eastern nation of Bahrain did a great turn for all children and their families in their country and neighbors, by bringing together some of the most powerful child-friendly brands in the world, Cartoon Network and LEGO. From the third week to the end of August, LEGO SHOWS was in town.

LEGO SHOWS was a collaborative effort between The LEGO Group and the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA). This was the first time it was ever held in the country; but in spite, or maybe because, of that reason the event was a massive success.

According to The Daily Tribune – News of Bahrain, visitor counts by the BTEA have recorded more than 26,000 people that came to see LEGO SHOWS during its duration from August 22 to 31. Then again, what children from which country would be able to resist any reason to play with LEGO, from the classics to the specific lines like Duplo, Ninjago, Friends and Star Wars?

“The Lego Shows event received great attendance over a period of 10 days,” noted CEO Shaikh Khaled bin Humood Al Khalifa of BTEA, “Attracting more than 26,000 visitors from the Kingdom and neighbouring GCC countries.”

Bahrain looks to be in the right track with its objective of presenting itself as a place where children of all ages regardless of country of origin can have loads of fun, with the help of a globally trusted name like LEGO. One wonders when the next event will be.

Custom Mexico City Architecture Set Joins the LEGO Ideas Second 2018 Review Stage

A new product idea on the LEGO Ideas platform has received the coveted 10,000 supporters needed to be eligible for Review, and with its addition to the Second LEGO Ideas 2018 Review Stage, that batch of 10K-ers has become well and truly varied distinction. Much like the Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 submission by AbFab1974, intended to join the established Speed Champions line, this product idea by Francisco Escobar (aka LegoFan_506) was designed in the convention of another LEGO product lineup. This custom Mexico City Architecture set now joins the rank of other projects that are eligible for the LEGO Ideas Second 2018 Review Stage.

LegoFan_506 replicated four (technically five) important landmarks in his custom Mexico City Architecture. These includes: the Angel of Independence statue on pillar, National Palace plus Constitution Plaza, Fine Arts Palace, and Latin-American Tower. Here’s what Francisco has to say about his product submission.

Each building I chose not only represents the most iconic structures at Mexico City but also different periods of time, culture and historic moments. They involve from the pre Conquest Period to modern times:

Constitution Plaza or “Zócalo” (since the time of the Aztecs). The People and Tradition. The heart and symbol of Mexico and its people. It´s Main Square is where countless persons join to celebrate events or festivities around Mexico flag.

National Palace (1522-1526). Union, Leadership. Headquarters of the federal executive in Mexico. It represents importance of the meeting of cultures, the blending of Spanish and Aztec.

Angel of Independence (1900-1910). Independence and love for their country. An iconic monument that represents the heroic struggle of Mexican people to decide and make their own path in the world.

Latin-American Tower (1948 – 1956). Leadership, hard work, and innovation. The once tallest building in Iberoamerica, it points out the achievements of Mexico hard work and role in the world.Palacio de Bellas Artes or “Fine Arts Palace” (1904-1934). The best expression of culture and arts in Mexico. It is a symbol of the incredibly rich Mexican culture and its arts contribution.

Francisco Escobar’s custom Mexico City Architecture set product idea is the last 10K passer to get into the LEGO Ideas Second 2018 Review Stage. It’s in strong competition from other 10K entries that include various space sets, to car models, and more.

2018 LEGO Advent Calendars Now Available

September is finally here, and we can now have our Christmas shopping wish list ready just in time for the holidays. It may only be September, but LEGO understands very well the virtue of offering their latest Christmas-themed sets as early as this month. We already had a glimpse of this year’s collection of LEGO City, Friends, and Star Wars Advent Calendars when first images of these sets came out as early as spring. This time, LEGO has finally listed these 2018 LEGO Advent Calendars at shop.LEGO.com and are now slated to be available in your local LEGO store.

Designed to be opened each day starting December 1st until Christmas Eve, these Advent Calendars comes with plenty of minibuilds and minifigures that you can add up to your collection. I’m very impressed on how this year’s LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar (75213) turned out. The minibuilds are spot on when compared to their larger counterparts, and its relatively new selection of minifigures will not disappoint. The LEGO City Advent Calendar (60201) also features tons of minibuilds that will make a great addition to any Winter Village you’re building this season. A LEGO Santa minifigure is always welcomed treat. However, I feel that the LEGO Friends Advent Calendar (41353) set still has room for improvement, and it will be nice if LEGO included a minidoll or two other than just having a collection of minibuilds. Nevertheless, this selection of 2018 LEGO Advent Calendars surprises are still great and will surely add some brick-building cheers this Christmas.

If you wish to know more about the 2018 LEGO Advent Calendars, just click on the following links and check them out at shop.LEGO.com and what they have to offer.

LEGO City Advent Calendar (60201)

LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar (75213)

LEGO Friends Advent Calendar (41353)

LEGO Store October 2018 Calendar Now Up

The US LEGO Store October 2018 calendar is now available online, and it gives us a glimpse of the some of the promotional items that we can receive during this month. It also highlights the recently revealed LEGO Star Wars Betrayal at Cloud City (75222), dubbed as the first set under the Master Builder Series. Read on for the rest of cool things to look forward to at your local LEGO store.

October 1-14: FREE Han Solo Mudtrooper (40300) with LEGO Star Wars purchases $35 and more.

October 2-3: VIP Monthly Mini Build is a Scarecrow (40285).

To avail this freebie, LEGO VIP members need to register at shop.LEGO.com/Minibuild-registration beginning September 15.

October 15-31: FREE Minifigure Collector Frame (5005359) with purchases over $75.

October 20, 27: Join a LEGO Life Meeting

For LEGO fans who want to get together to test their building skills, these are the last LEGO Life meetings for 2018, so be sure not to miss them out.

October 1 to November 4: Enter the All-Star Zone!

Come into the LEGO Store and build your very own Star Wars battle fighter! Load your ship into the launcher, aim for the target, and let it fly into the galaxy! This activity intended for children ages 6-14.

The LEGO Store October 2018 calendar also highlights some of the latest LEGO sets to watch out for like the LEGO BrickHeadz Halloween Witch (40272), the LEGO Star Wars Porg (75230), and 2018 Advent Calendars. Lastly, watch out for this month’s sets with Double VIP points for more awesome savings. For this month’s copy of the LEGO Store September 2018 calendar be sure to check out a copy right here.

Nebraska-Lincoln to Attempt World Record in Building Giant LEGO Mosaic of Huskers Team Flag

Some LEGO works don’t even need to be three-dimensional constructs of wonder. They can be perfectly 2D and beautiful, in the form of LEGO mosaics that use small one-layer thick elements and pieces of varying colors on a LEGO mat canvas to create glorious art; or break a world record. That at least is the plan for John Lang, age 18, from Omaha. He and a group of volunteers are working with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to build a giant LEGO mosaic flag, featuring the logo of the Nebraska Cornhuskers college football team, to be laid down on the university campus.

Lang seeks to have the giant LEGO mosaic building event raise money for medical charity and be used as a celebratory tribute to Huskers head coach Scott Frost. But primarily, their objective will be to snag the Guinness World Record for the largest LEGO mosaic, measuring 60×30 feet, or totaling 17,000 square feet.

The record attempt is to be made this Friday, August 31, with the mosaic building area being the open space in front of the Nebraska-Lincoln Student Union. Lang is looking to raise a dollar for every seat in Memorial Stadium for audiences watching the event. The proceeds are to go to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

The year before, Lang and his volunteer team created a LEGO-brick US flag occupying over 1,800 square feet; interlocking bricks were used rather than the mosaic method for the Huskers flag this year. Building the flag starts 9 AM of Friday, and the event will end upon the mosaic’s completion.

Soon-to-Open LEGOLAND Discovery Center Columbus Gives Hard-Hat Preview Tour

For those LEGO fan families who can’t find time or have the funds to travel to any of the LEGOLAND theme parks around the world, they’re lucky if they happen to live close enough to a smaller-scale alternative, the LEGOLAND Discovery Center. There’re more of them than the theme parks. At present, there are around 19 individual LEGOLAND Discovery Centers operating in major LEGO markets around the world. The lion’s share of these attractions, usually found in malls and shopping centers, is in the US. And they’ll be joined by another one soon, with the new LEGO Discovery Center Columbus, Ohio due to open September.

There’s still some finishing work to be done at the Easton Town Center where the new LEGOLAND Discovery Center Columbus will open. But officials in charge of the attraction have deemed the site ready enough to conduct a hard-hat tour for the public’s benefit.

If somebody’s been to another LEGOLAND Discovery Center then they know what’s in store with this one: a 4-D cinema for LEGO animated movies, cafeteria and retail store for LEGO products, a Miniland containing Ohio landmarks (built by resident Master Builder Maxx Davidson), LEGO and Duplo play areas, party rooms and LEGO building classes too.

The main draws for the LEGOLAND Discovery Center Columbus are two rides: Kingdom Quest which is a 2-3 minute ride to rescue a LEGO princess; and then there’s Merlin’s Apprentice which takes the concept of bicycles for an unexpected spin.

LDC Ohio will open for the public in a grand ceremony on September 28 at 10 in the morning. However, annual pass holders can drop in over there as early as September 21, seven days earlier. For more info on those passes, and the Discovery Center as a whole, you can visit their official website.