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LEGO Ideas Project Steamboat Willie Achieves 10K Votes

After 2 years of gathering fan support and approval, we now have our next candidate to qualify for this year’s LEGO Ideas Review Stage. We followed Steamboat Willie’s development since 2016 and it caught our eye because of the Disney legacy that it alludes to. This LEGO Ideas project by szabomate90 pays tribute to early attempts of Walt Disney to bring cartoon animation to the masses, and now the LEGO Ideas Project Steamboat Willie has garnered the necessary 10K fan support in order to qualify for the 2018 LEGO Ideas Review Stage.

Coming in at 156 LEGO pieces, the set features the iconic Steamboat Willie in its classic monochromatic color scheme, with a similarly colored LEGO Mickey Mouse minifigure. Though I’m glad that this set has made it this far especially after two long years of waiting, I’m quite skeptical if this project will gain the approval of the LEGO Ideas Review Team considering that policy changes in the LEGO fan platform requires that all submitted projects must not be a part of any existing LEGO themes. Since LEGO already has an active of Disney-inspired sets, and even has an existing LEGO Mickey Mouse collectible minifigure, I’m not really sure if Steamboat Willie will make it to final cut.

Here’s szabomate90 with more info on his LEGO Ideas Project Steamboat Willie, followed by a feature video about this entry.

Steamboat Willie is the first fully synchronized sound cartoon directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks.

It was the debute of Mickey Mouse in a cartoon the first to be distributed and the third to be produced.

So as an animator and a Lego fan I’d like to pay my respect to that marvelous production, which since was created then inspired a lot of talented artists.

Because Disney Minifigures arrived, I have the luck to create a Mickey Mouse related set with him as well. In addition I repaint the figure to match the original 1928’s appearance.

The model designed to be tiny, easy to build and playable. You can put Mickey Mouse inside the boat also you can play with the cranes.

The LEGO Ideas Project Steamboat Willie is the fourth LEGO Ideas Project that qualifies for the next LEGO Ideas Review Stage together with the International Space Station, SpaceX – The Ultimate Collection, and SpaceX Falcon Heavy.

Celebrate 4th of July With These Great Discounts at the Brick Show Shop!

Our 4th of July celebrations are still far from over, and if you are looking forward to expressing that creative, brick-building freedom, then be sure to check out our fine collection of mini builds that you can add to your latest gaming and arcade LEGO MOC. All items in The Brick Show Shop come with a 20% discount and there’s no limit to the number of minibuilds that you can purchase.

Celebrate the 4th of July With These Cool Custom LEGO Sets from The Brick Show Shop!

Some of our top sellers on sale include custom LEGO vending machines and arcades all at minifigure scale. These are now available as part of our 4th of July offering, but we can’t guarantee how fast these customs be on available so better act now.

Custom LEGO Arcade Dance Machine

Custom LEGO Making Dew Vending Machine

Custom LEGO STUD-E Figure

Each minibuild comes with the necessary LEGO parts and printed instructions to build them, packaged with the distinct B3 branding. All of these kits are made of new-condition LEGO bricks, with the model disassembled. Some of these builds may come with stickers and others with custom-printed parts.

All you need to do to avail of this 20% discount is to head over to our The Brick Show Shop website and enter the product code 4THOFJULY at checkout. Let’s celebrate our freedom to build – Happy 4^th of July!

LEGO Ideas Introduces New Logo, Website Design, and More

For several years now, the LEGO Ideas online platform has served as the “dream machine” for many a LEGO builder who has wanted their custom creations to become official mass-produced sets. We’ve covered enough entries on the site that have gone to review, and beyond, so we know its styling.

A lot of that has changed lately, thanks to a website design overhaul of LEGO Ideas to coincide with its adoption of a new logo. Remember that logo design contest they held starting late last year and ending last January? That’s the centerpiece of the new LEGO Ideas website layout.

To check the differences between old and new, we opened up some of the Ideas entries we featured in the past. On those project pages, gone now is the old green progress bar at top. Only numerical statistics are shown to one side. But that’s not the only changes here.

Here’s a rundown of the alterations on LEGO Ideas according to their blog post announcing the overhaul. We also add our own opinions as to whether they “work” or not.

LEGO Ideas submissions are now officially termed as “Product Ideas” (which we’ll try to use from now on)
Navigation menu redesign to make Ideas Contests more prominent (okay)
News feed sidebar with filters to show Product Ideas in terms of newness, top ranking, and amount of support (the last filter seems like a last-minute add-in; it wasn’t there when we first looked)
Ideas Search Engine now has a page of its own, called “Discover” (kind of neat)
Updates on LEGO Ideas Guidelines and TOS for Product Ideas; all PI’s must be submitted by the creator themselves and not on behalf of someone else, while consolation prizes for 10-K supported PI’s that fail review have been listed (reasonable and informative additions)

One more thing. LEGO Rebrick will soon be shutting down in September, with its contests being folded into those for LEGO Ideas by that time.

We’re looking forward to cover more interesting Product Ideas coming from the revamped LEGO Ideas platform in the near future.

The LEGO Ideas Voltron (21311) Set Officially Revealed

Our long wait is finally over! LEGO has pulled the veil from one of its closely guarded secrets, one that I followed very closely since the time that it was submitted as an early LEGO Ideas project. For the first time ever, we now have our first look at the biggest, buildable LEGO mech ever: the LEGO Ideas Voltron (21311) set. Designed by LEGO AFOL extraordinaire, Lendy Tayag from the Philippines, the LEGO Ideas Voltron is inspired by the original 1980s animated Voltron TV series, and the modern DreamWorks Voltron: Legendary Defender series. When completely assembled, this iconic brick-built mech stands a staggering 15 inches tall and 8 inches wide.

As an added treat to AFOLs and fans of the animated series, LEGO has announced that a limited number of sets will be available for purchase during next month’s San Diego Comic Con. The 2,321-piece set will retail for $179.99 and will be available to the general public on August 1, with early VIP access beginning July 23, 2018.

I have so much to say about the LEGO Ideas Voltron (21311) set since I am a fan of Voltron, and of course, of Lendy himself. I had the privilege of meeting him for the first time during the Philippines’ biggest LEGO fan convention sponsored by the Philippine LEGO Users Group (PhLUG), and it was one unforgettable experience. I’ll share more about this convention in my next write-up, but for now let us enjoy these crisp, clear images followed by the set’s official product description. This is one set that I will not miss.

21311 – LEGO® Ideas Voltron

2,321 pieces | Ages 16+

Price: $179.99

Available August 1, 2018.

**Limited quantities will be available for purchase first for attendees at San Diego’s Comic-Con (7/17-22)

Let’s go Voltron force in LEGO® style!

It’s time to defend the universe so get ready to form LEGO® Ideas 21311 Voltron, the biggest buildable LEGO mech ever! This awesome set features buildable and highly posable black, blue, yellow, red, and green lions with specially designed, extra-strong joints to combine them all and create the Voltron super robot, plus a huge sword and shield that attach firmly to Voltron’s hands. Ideal for display or recreating thrilling action from the original 1980s animated Voltron TV series and the modern DreamWorks Voltron: Legendary Defender series.

Features 5 buildable and posable lions that can be transformed and combined to create the giant Voltron super robot.
Play with the lions individually or combine them using extra-strong joints to form Voltron—the black lion forms the head and torso; the red and green lions form the arms; and the yellow and blue lions form the legs.
Pose the head, shoulders, arms and wrists of Voltron (legs are not posable).
Also includes a sword and shield (each with silver-colored elements) that attach firmly to Voltron’s hands.
Includes a booklet with building instructions, plus information about the set’s fan creator and super force of LEGO® designers.
This set includes over 2,321 pieces.
Display or play out exciting stories from the original 1980s animated Voltron TV series and the modern DreamWorks Voltron: Legendary Defender series.
Voltron measures over 15” (40cm) high, 5” (14cm) long and 8” (21cm) wide.
Black lion measures over 6” (17cm) high, 8” (22cm) long and 5” (15cm) wide.
Yellow and blue lions each measure over 3” (8cm) high, 8” (21cm) long and 3” (8cm) wide.
Green and red lions each measure over 3” (8cm) high, 7” (18cm) long and 1” (5cm) wide.
Voltron’s sword measures 11” (29cm) long.
Voltron’s shield measures 6” (16cm) in diameter.

Impressive LEGO MOC of Milwaukee’s Miller Park Stadium Took 9 Years of Building, Featuring in Upcoming Madison LEGO Con

Some LEGO MOCs are just so grand, so elaborate, and so epic in scale that they literally take years in order to be completed. A LEGO Convention happening next weekend in Madison will soon play host to one of the most ambitious building MOCs yet, a famous Wisconsin sports venue.

Tim Kaebisch attended college at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. While there, he spent his free time conceptualizing and beginning work on a LEGO build of nearby Miller Park, home stadium of the Milwaukee Brewers MLB baseball team. The venue is famous for its roof, the only convertible fan-retractable roof in North America, using mechanisms to open or close its roof for a choice of indoor or outdoor baseball games.

While the scale of Kaebisch’s Miller Park stadium is understandably pared down, the structure was able to replicate the real thing’s fan-shaped roof system that folds and unfolds as accurately as can be, exposing a baseball diamond with bleacher seats and enough room for a LEGO minifigure crowd of spectators.

This was a labor of love to capture the shape, color and inner workings of Miller Park. Kaebisch used about 30,000 LEGO bricks for his project, and worked on it for nine years. It was finally completed just in time for him to join many other LEGO builders from all over the world, coming to exhibit their expertise at the BrickUniverse LEGO Convention next weekend.

LEGO enthusiasts in Madison, Wisconsin and nearby areas can go and catch the BrickUniverse LEGO Convention at the Monona Terrace Convention Center. The event runs from June 30 to July, so go ahead and see the Miller Park among various other LEGO creations over there.

Ed Sheeran Donates Two LEGO MOCs to Charity Shop to Raise Funding for Hometown Hospice

What would be a quick description of Ed Sheeran? He’s an English singer-songwriter. His “Shape of You” is so darn great listening that it’s the most-streamed song on Spotify. He was a singing Lannister soldier cameo in the penultimate season of Game of Thrones. He’s also a celebrity LEGO builder.

One other thing we know about Ed Sheeran is that he’s greatly invested in charity works for the place where he grew up, at Framlingham, Suffolk. In particular he has made donations to the St. Elizabeth Hospice there, donations in the form of some of his personal belongings…and LEGO MOCs.

Included with his latest batch of contributions to a charity shop for St. Elizabeth, among articles like clothes, appliances and guitar stands are two works in LEGO: a brick-built self-portrait bust and a customized LEGO BrickHeadz of himself. Both were made during Sheeran’s spare time while on a concert tour.

The charity shop Sheeran gave these items to means to have them sold on eBay, with the resulting proceeds being given over to St. Elizabeth Hospice in Framlingham. Shop manager Rachail Pollard noted in interview that the British international music star hasn’t forgotten his roots, and his donations are welcome.

Framlingham’s St. Elizabeth Hospice has benefited much from Ed Sheeran’s charity drives. Back in 2016 they received £2,500 collected from charity shop sales of the singer’s clothes. These contributions help the institution in their mission of looking after their patients, many of them with progressive illnesses or in terminal care.

LEGO Artist Makes Sweet LEGO Architecture Mockup of Seattle Skyline, with Some Social Commentary

Between the reissue of their exclusive Billund Airport set (40199) and the impending release of the delayed Vegas skyline set (21047), LEGO’s Architecture line is bursting with new things. But there are ideas out there that, while not official, feel like they should be. One example is this convincing LEGO Architecture set mockup by Seattle-based British LEGO artist Iain Heath.

Iain Heath has already become something of a media sensation due to his abstract artworks interpreted in LEGO. One of his pieces, a brick rendition of Ellen DeGeneres’ Oscar “groufie”, was actually featured by the host herself in her show.

For his most recent effort, Heath decided to create a LEGO Architecture idea of the skyline of Seattle, the city that he, 51 years old and Britain-born, had lived in for 21 years with the family he started. While LEGO Architecture has a (retired) Space Needle set (21003), this one has its smaller rendition be accompanied by Pike Place Market, Smith Tower and Columbia Tower.

This one looks like a shoo-in for LEGO Ideas. However Iain Heath also uses his artwork for social commentary, and here he scattered bricks at the feet of the Seattle skyline representing tents of the city’s bulging homeless population; hence his name for the mockup piece: “Homeless in Seattle” (98101).

On his Flickr page, Heath described “Homeless in Seattle” as his observation of his residence over recent years: how giant companies like Amazon caused the city economy to boom, enticing people to move in for work, spurring housing prices to rise, and ultimately leaving many people living in tents like his LEGO Architecture set shows.

Showcasing The Ultimate LEGO Creator Expert Roller Coaster (10261) Ride

One particular spot for my checklist of LEGO must-haves for this year definitely goes to the LEGO Creator Expert Roller Coaster (10261). Since the introduction of LEGO’s new track elements included from last year’s LEGO Batman Movie Joker Manor (70922), clamor for a true LEGO roller coaster set has been stronger than ever. With the arrival of the Roller Coaster (10261), and with LEGO even throwing in a newer, optional power function to go along with it, everything seems to be all too perfect.

However, for Dutch LEGO enthusiast 2T Toys, the search for the ultimate LEGO roller coaster isn’t over yet. Raising the bar even higher, they decided not just to build a single LEGO Creator Expert Roller Coaster (10261) set, but combining all three – yes, three separate sets – into one monster brick-built ride. The result was simply mesmerizing. Watch this.

A quick Google Translate tells us that this ultimate LEGO Roller Coaster ride fares at 100 cm. in length, 55 cm. wide, and 1.5 m. tall. And in minifigure scale, it’s just one cool, extreme ride. Other than the awesome loop which is the central attraction of this MOC, the sheer amount of power available from the new power function motor is also impressive in itself. It goes to show that it is capable of bringing the coasters even up to the height of 1.5 meters. If only 2T Toys can bring the camera to capture the entire moment from when the coaster leaves the platform, gradually goes for the drop, towards the loop, and then back to the station. Needless to say, it is still a sight to behold.

The LEGO Creator Expert Roller Coaster (10261) is now available in-store and online at shop.LEGO.com.

LEGO Pays Tribute to Female Racing Legend Danica Patrick

When LEGO promotes an upcoming set for one of their numerous themed lines, they have the potential to go all out. This latest instance is proof of their promotional muscle. Among the upcoming new sets for the LEGO Friends line is a subset featuring the characters as go-kart racers.

The LEGO Group decided to do a two-for-one by having a celebratory gesture for pioneering female motorsports star Danica Patrick, and a promotional plug for the LEGO Friends Racing sets which will be out later this year. Last Tuesday, May 22, LEGO master builders put up a life-sized statue of Patrick built in LEGO at Times Square, New York City.

Before making a splash in racing history for IndyCar open-wheel racing and NASCAR, Danica Patrick started her competitive racing career on go-karts, the central vehicle of the new LEGO Friends Racing sets: Service & Care Truck (41348), Drifting Diner (41349), Creative Tuning Shop (41351), and The Big Race Day (41352).

LEGO Senior Director of Brand Relations Michael McNally puts it best saying, “Ms. Patrick is a true builder. From her earliest days as a young go-kart racer, she built her idea to be a challenger in kart racing…She is a phenomenal role model for all builders, particularly girls.”

As the LEGO brick has been an inspirational building tool for children, adds McNally, they felt it appropriate to make a LEGO brick-model tribute for Patrick this week before she embarks on her final appearance on the Indianapolis 500 this coming Sunday. The fact that doing so also advertises the LEGO Friends racing set was fortuitous opportunity.

The Summer LEGO set release, which also includes the aforementioned LEGO Friends in their racing gear and support infrastructure, will roll-out starting June 1st.

June 1 Reveal of LEGO Technic Bugatti Chiron (42083) Will Be LEGO House Event on Billund, with FB Live-Stream

Man, oh man, does LEGO sure know how to generate suspense, build up hype and just all around tease! There’re a lot of upcoming LEGO product previews we’ve been keeping tabs on; one’s a special LEGO Technic set that’s apart from the others already revealed, a beautiful TRON-like sports car.

We’re talking about the long-promised LEGO Technic Bugatti Chiron (42083) that’s set to make its big introductory splash on the first day of June. They’ve even got a countdown clock going for it on the Chiron’s dedicated page at LEGO.com; but LEGO’s decided to give us one last product tease.

Said tease comes in the form of a new image of the completed LEGO Technic Chiron (42083) with a dark cloth draped over it, like any car hidden under tarp. This is a poster for the grand unveiling of the set in June 1, with lots of very important guests.

From the official LEGO Facebook page, the reveal of the LEGO Technic set 42083 will be done at the LEGO House in Billund, with the respective presidents of The LEGO Group and Bugatti Automobiles SAS in attendance. They’ll even host a live-stream of the event on FB, starting 9AM (CET).

That’s a lot of special treatment for this truly special addition to the LEGO Technic line, and we’re looking forward to seeing the thing next month. The June 1 event, to be live-streamed by LEGO would translate across time zones to be about 3AM East Coast, or 12MN out West.