LEGO News Archives | Page 210 of 413

Kids Get Free Entrance at LEGOLAND California Resort in Celeberation of its 20th Anniversary

In the shadow of a certain mega-complex of theme parks in Anaheim, California there’s a smaller but no less popular destination in Carlsbad, for families who are fans of one of the world’s biggest toy brands, operating for almost two decades. Come 2019, LEGOLAND California Resort will be turning 20.

So while the bigger theme park complexes are celebrating the birth of the world’s most famous animated mouse (something LEGO also has a hand in), LEGOLAND California Resort for its part is gearing for a most enjoyable promo next year to celebrate their opening back in 1999. What they have in mind will blow guests’ minds.

In 2019, we turn 20 years young! Find out how we're going to celebrate all year long. #LEGOLANDBirthday pic.twitter.com/MbWGoIi7ry

— LEGOLAND California (@LEGOLAND_CA) November 2, 2018

Considering the topic is “birthdays”, on 2019 LEGOLAND California will allow free admission to children age 3-12 if they visit the theme park on their birthdays. To quote LCR general manager Peter Ronchetti, “2019 is our 20th birthday and we’re proud to announce that all year in 2019, children of 12 and under will come in free on their birthday.”

This promo is effective in LEGOLAND California Resort from January 1 to December 31, 2019. Parents can avail this for their birthday celebrant children by presenting a document to prove birthdate (original birth certificate, passport or government ID). The free admission tickets are for Sea Life aquarium, LEGOLAND + Sea Life Aquarium, and LEGOLAND + Sea Life + Water Park.

Of course, in the event that a child’s birthday falls on a day when LEGOLAND is closed, there are two options available: the celebrant can go to Sea Life Aquarium for free instead, or they can come back on the closest date to the birthday when LEGOLAND California Resort is operating.

These free admission tickets for children under 12 are non-transferable, though the terms and conditions may change without notice throughout the year. As for children age 2 and under, they’ve always been admitted free to LEGOLAND, and that won’t change.

Coming Soon: A New LEGO Speed Champions McLaren Set for 2019

LEGO has already revealed a handful of 2019 LEGO Speed Champion sets to watch out for in January, and it looks like the reveals doesn’t end there. A couple of days ago, the official Facebook page of McLaren Automotive shared a teaser on what’s building at LEGO HQ, particularly with regards to its speedster line of brick-built supercars. McLaren fans were quick to point out that the rear end of this next LEGO Speed Champions set belongs to one of the company’s most recent creation: the McLaren Senna. Just to be sure, this new 2019 LEGO Speed Champions set is not yet confirmed, though it should be noted that LEGO has already announced a LEGO Speed Champions McLaren Senna (75892) as part of its 2019 repertoire scheduled for release in January 1st.

This new set, if ever it turned out to be another Senna, sports a camouflaged finish on top of predominantly white pieces. The only turnoff from this set, like in any other LEGO Speed Champion set, is the vast amount of stickers that you need to apply in order to create that camouflaged effect. I can already feel my stubby, little fingers complaining.

Now just to be clear, these are all speculations at the moment until such time that LEGO and McLaren do a full reveal. Perhaps we’ll hear more about this collaboration soon enough just in time for the 2019 Nuremberg Toy Fairin Germany. For now, let’s just wait and see how things will turn out.

LEGO Seasonal Year of the Pig (40186) Set Revealed

About three weeks from now, the year will change from 2018 to 2019. And just over a month after January 1, 2019 there will be another year change, this one for the Chinese zodiac calendar. From the Year of the Earth Dog, it’ll be the year of the Earth Pig. We’ve been getting signs of the coming Year of the Pig even in LEGO sets, particularly the pig guy minifigure included in the Chinese regional LEGO set Dragon Dance (80102). But even mainstream LEGO is getting on the act with one 2019 seasonal LEGO set to welcome the piggy-ness; and thanks to Brickset, we now have our first look at this lucky piece of a brick-built set, the LEGO Seasonal Year of the Pig (40186) set.

As expected, LEGO has in readiness one new Chinese zodiac figure (40186) of the coming year’s Animal, a wide-eyed and plump pink piglet carrying the now-familiar yellow LEGO hóngbāo. The big guy’s even standing on a circular platform with growing veggies fit to go into a New Years’ pork feast.

Since this set’s immediate predecessor, the LEGO 2018 seasonal Year of the Dog (40235) was the first made available worldwide (after being an exclusive to the Chinese market), we can expect the Year of the Pig (40186) to follow in terms of availability, likely in LEGO Shop@Home. With this, six out of the twelve Zodiac animals have already been interpreted in LEGO, and with more to probably come in the following years.

SPOTTED: New LEGO Movie 2 Mini Master-Building MetalBeard (30528) Polybag

It’s getting more and more awesome as we approach the end of this year because it means that a whole new wave of The LEGO Movie 2 sets will be out there for the taking come January 1^st. LEGO didn’t hold back on the reveals as it unveiled 19 TLM2 sets just in time before the film debuts in theaters on February 8, 2019. This time around, LEGO is expanding the roster of its TLM2 theme with the introduction of its first polybag. Reportedly spotted at Walmart stores by eagle-eyed LEGO fans, the LEGO Movie 2 Mini Master-Building MetalBeard (30528) polybag has now find its way in eBay,which, thankfully, gives us a better view on what to expect from this polybag.

Based on the following images, this wacky, scaled down version of the sea-faring,battle-hardened pirate MetalBeard looks very much the same as that in the Battle-Ready Batman and MetalBeard (70836).Though smaller in scale, it is interesting to note that even in just 42 pieces,this smaller version of MetalBeard allows you to build him in three distinct modes: a crab-like walker, a trike, and a micro pirate ship. Obviously, these are interchangeable builds and you’ll need three of these polybags to build each of MetalBeard’s modes separately.

30528 01 — There is no doubt that MetalBeard is perhaps the most versatile character in The LEGO Movie 2 universe. 🙂

Since this has been spotted on Walmart store shelves, it is most likely that this particular polybag is a retailer-specific set. However,it is fair to assume that LEGO still has a couple of TLM2 polybags waiting to be revealed, very much the same as how they did it with the first LEGO Movie.If you recall back in 2014 LEGO released several polybags that are promotional tie-ins directly related to the first TLM film: The Piece of Resistance (30280), Micro Manager Battle (30281), and Super Secret Police Enforcer (30282).

We’ll find out soon enough, so stay tuned for more updates. Thanks to Justin for the heads-up!

WATCH: LEGO Creator Expert Corner Garage (10264) Designer Video

January 1st seems to be taking forever, especially if you’re looking forward to have your try on LEGO’s next modular expert set – the LEGO Creator Expert Corner Garage (10264).

LEGO’s next modular masterpiece comes in 2,569 pieces and introduces for the first time a gas station and a veterinarian’s clinic in the LEGO modular world. It also comes with an array of new elements and LEGO pieces that builders will surely find useful. If you’re looking forward to have this set next to your LEGO Creator Expert Downtown Diner(10260), then we have to wait a couple of weeks more before the Corner Garage (10264) is released. While waiting, let’s hear from LEGO Designer Lars Joe as he gives us a walk-through with all the key features of this set.

LEGO Creator Expert Corner Garage (10264)

2,569 pieces; $199.99 USD

Discover surprises on all levels at the Corner Garage!

Drop by the LEGO® Creator Expert 10264 Corner Garage, where you’ll discover a world of fun and surprises! This amazing model comes with removable building sections for easy access to the highly detailed interior and comprises 3 stories. On the ground level there’s a 1950s-style gas station with fuel pump, kiosk and a vehicle workshop complete with a roll-up door, vehicle lift and tire mounter. At the mid-level animal clinic you’ll find an examination table, fish tank, and a waiting area with sofa, while on the upper level you’ll discover a well-equipped apartment with kitchen, TV, sofa, bed and a staircase that leads to a rooftop terrace with sun lounger, parasol and flower garden. The exterior of the building features a classic 1950s facade with signage, detailed windows and a decorative roofline, plus a sidewalk area with a tree and an ornate streetlamp. This charming addition to the Modular Buildings series has been designed to provide a challenging and rewarding building experience, full of nostalgia. Also includes a scooter, tow truck and 6 minifigures, plus parrot, bunny, dog, frog and fish figures.

Includes 6 minifigures: gas station owner, mechanic, vet, woman, man and a girl, plus bunny, parrot, dog, frog and fish figures.
The 3-level Corner Garage advanced building set comes with an array of brick-built details, including a detailed 1950s-style facade with gas station signage, windows, bay windows, arched doorway, roll-up vehicle workshop door, decorative roofline and a rooftop terrace, plus a detailed sidewalk area with tree and ornate streetlamp. This set also includes a tow truck and a scooter.
Ground level features a gas station with a bucket and a fuel pump with a flexible hose, plus a kiosk and a vehicle workshop for car service and repairs, featuring a cash register, tool rack and trolley, oil drum, tire mounter and working vehicle lift.
Mid-level animal clinic features an examination table, parrot perch, fish tank and a waiting area with sofa, armchair, table and flowerpot, plus the animal doctor’s desk lamp, microscope, mug, newspaper, envelope, scissors and syringe.
Upper-level apartment features a well-equipped kitchen with cookies baking in the oven, sink, pan, mug, salt and pepper, spoon and spatula, plus a sofa, bed, an old-fashioned TV, and a bathroom with toilet.
Rooftop terrace features a sun lounger, parasol and flower garden.
Tow truck features a working hoist.
Accessory elements include a window squeegee and a crash helmet.
Help the gas station assistant fill up the 1950s-style scooter.
Roll up the door to access Jo’s vehicle workshop, complete with tire mounter and working vehicle lift.
Remove the modular building sections to access the detailed interior.
New-for-January-2019 decorated elements include an animal clinic window, service station sign and a printed octane gas pump.
Special elements include new-for-January-2019 black ice skates, 2x6x2 window in sand blue, 1×1 medium gray roof tiles, 1×1 angle plate in dark blue and rare dark-orange elements in various shapes and sizes.
Collect and build an entire town with the LEGO® Creator Expert Modular Building 10243 Parisian Restaurant, 10255 Assembly Square and 10260 Downtown Diner.
This set includes over 2,560 pieces.
Measures over 12” (32cm) high, 10” (26cm) wide and 9” (25cm) deep.
Tow truck measures over 2” (6cm) high, 5” (14cm) long and 1” (5cm) wide.

LEGO Launches the ARKit2-Powered LEGO Playgrounds App – Now Available at the App Store

LEGO may have the dominant position in terms of customizable building toys worldwide, but it’s also bringing that experience into the virtual world, as it were. We at The Brick Show have featured quite the number of mobile apps co-developed with LEGO that featured computer-generated brick builds that could be imposed on a real background with physical LEGO sets through the “magic” of augmented reality. In fact, we covered the development of such an app between LEGO and Apple, to be rendered on their Augmented Reality Kit 2 or ARKit2 system in June. This month, the result of their work has now been released on the App Store for iOS dubbed as LEGO Playgrounds.

LEGO Playgrounds can be considered the successor of the company’s previous AR-based building app LEGO AR Studio. This one brings the latest advances in augmented-reality interaction, to the familiar system of mixing real and CGI LEGO sets.

Again, like LEGO AR Studio before, this app will be gradually loaded with CG renditions of actual LEGO sets. The first products to be converted thus in LEGO Playgrounds are two sets from LEGO Ninjago: the Dieselnaut (70654) and Dragon Pit (70655), with the promise of more to come in time. LEGO Playgrounds runs on iOS 12, and is now available for download on the App Store. Here’s the official press release from The LEGO Group.

LEGO® PLAYGROUNDS – FIRST EVER PORTAL TO DISCOVER AND PLAY WITH THE LATEST LEGO MIXED REALITY EXPERIMENTS

December 6, 2018: LEGO® Playgrounds, an app-based channel delivering a variety of experimental LEGO play experiences and scenarios is now available in the App Store.

The portal is one of the latest LEGO digital innovations aiming to enhance the LEGO play experience and provide fans with a fluid and experimental interaction, which unifies the digital and physical LEGO worlds.

Tom Donaldson, Vice President of Creative Play Lab at the LEGO Group said: “Children today are mastering the art of finding new moments and forms of play and LEGO Playgrounds will provide a ‘live’ opportunity to test and learn directly with them. It’s truly a unique way to engage with them in a fun and experimental way and bring them close to our innovation process. Having this direct-link to users creates a win for everybody – sharing the latest play experiences is great fun for children and highly useful for our LEGO design and development teams who can take their feedback and use it to make launch experiences even better and more engaging.”

LEGO Playgrounds will bring selected LEGO sets and experiences to life in mixed reality experiments and other playful scenarios directly in the app store.

LEGO® NINJAGO® AR – the first to feature as a LEGO Playgrounds experiment
Using the popular LEGO NINJAGO theme, this first playground uses AR technology to detect selected physical LEGO NINJAGO Dragon Hunters sets and bring them to life with exciting effects, animations and interactions.

The game uses the multi-user support in Apple’s ARKit technology, allowing two players to connect and play together in the same shared play space.

Users can connect and team up with a friend to battle against the Dragon Hunters, share power-ups and 3D assets, create strategies to withstand the endless waves of Dragon Hunters and even compare high-scores with friends.

LEGO Playgrounds is intended for all ages. However, the first LEGO NINJAGO AR playground is recommended for ages 9+ due to the game-play and storyline complexity.

The LEGO NINJAGO AR Playground uses two sets from the LEGO NINJAGO Dragon Hunters theme: the LEGO® NINJAGO® Dieselnaut (70654) and the LEGO® NINJAGO® Dragon’s Pit (70655).

LEGO NINJAGO AR Playground key play features:

Bring Physical LEGO Sets to Life with exciting AR effects, animations and games
Play with Friends in the same shared AR space around your set
Explore Physical LEGO sets and discover new interactions.
Place & Share Objects in AR to create unique game areas with friends.
Unlock Power-Ups and level-up your character.
Test Your Ninja Skills & Strategies to keep the enemies away and survive as long as you can. What is your high-score?

For the current LEGO Ninjago AR experience available in LEGO Playgrounds, there is an option to play 5 levels without a physical LEGO set. The app will simply look for a flat surface and allow you to play in AR only. Naturally we do encourage players to go beyond and unlock the fun around their existing physical LEGO sets.

The LEGO Playgrounds app will be free to play. There will be no in-app purchases or any ads or marketing messages.

The AR technology utilized in the app will require an iPhone 6s and above, with the latest iOS updates.

The LEGO World of Warcraft Theme May Actually Happen

It seems that the future of a LEGO and Blizzard Entertainment partnership is now getting better and better. After the reveal of the LEGO Overwatch theme a couple of months ago, and with Blizzard’s smash hit first-person shooter game now getting the official LEGO treatment, Blizzard fans have another exciting collaboration to look forward to. Now, while most of us are still swooning on the first batch of LEGO Overwatch sets, making their pre-orders and basically waiting for their rel eas e on January 2019, we’ve now gotten wind of rumors that a LEGO and Blizzard collaboration may be on the horizon. Another Blizzard game might be officially rendered in LEGO bricks, and all signs are now pointing at a possible LEGO World of Warcraft theme sometime in the future.

This comes out the mouth of Matt Beecher, Blizzard Vice President of Consumer Products, in an interview with Forbes. To him, seeing more Blizzard properties being interpreted as LEGO sets are within the realm of possibility. The next, most likely game from the company for that privilege is World of Warcraft. When asked about the likelihood of another Blizzard game turned into an official LEGO theme, Beecher answered,

“It needs to be the right time and place for both parties. I mean, we would definitely be interested in discussing that. With World of Warcraft,there’s a hundred million-plus people that have touched that experience at some point in their life, so there’s a very broad and diverse audience around the world that supports World Of Warcraft. But it obviously would be a mutual decision. We need make sure there’s enough indicators pointing to that it would be a great idea.”

Originating as a real-time strategy game series, Warcraft became a juggernaut franchise with the release of its MMORPG spinoff World of Warcraft last decade. Beecher intimated that Blizzard is interested in discussing the prospects of a LEGO Warcraft line of sets. According to Forbes, however, Blizzard’s enthusiastic pronouncement was not answered by any comments from LEGO.

But to World of Warcraft players whom most are LEGO fans as well, that sounds like a perfect idea. Imagining minifigures of personages from the games like Arthas, Jaina, Sylvanas, Thrall, Tyrande, Malfurion and so many more, plus set recreations of famous locales and battles, is enough to sate the imagination until such time the proposal is confirmed by LEGO and Blizzard. We’ll just have to wait and see if this will click as much as LEGO Overwatch.

So what do you think brick fans? Are you looking forward to see a LEGO World of Warcraft theme? Let us know in the comments below.

New LEGO xtra Polybag Sea Accessories (40341) Arriving in 2019

Back in June we reported on a unique LEGO polybag series that contained plastic elements to serve as extra props and accessories for existing LEGO sets; that’s the reason perhaps for the line name: LEGO xtra. From roadside fittings to food items to even printed play-mats, the xtra polybags served to enhance the brick-building experience. Now, some months after the last LEGO xtra items were released, we get one new polybag of that line coming soon: the LEGO xtra Sea Accessories (40341). And that polybag, in 24 pieces, captures the essence of the sea, from nature’s living creatures to period historical trinkets to modern gear.

This LEGO xtra set contains a pirate’s parrot, a shark and clam figures (the clam can open and shut). There’s also a chest with doodads that could pass for a buccaneer’s booty. And then there’s the swimmer/diver’s equipment of flippers, harpoon, surfboard, paddle, and more. Here’s the official product description for our reference.

LEGO xtra Sea Accessories (40341)

24 pieces; $3.99

Bring seaside fun to your LEGO universe!

Add an ocean theme to your LEGO® creations with this LEGO xtra 40341 Sea Accessories set, featuring shark, parrot and fish figures and a selection of accessories including an oar, harpoon, surfboard and flippers. Also includes an opening seashell, empty barrel and a chest for storing the smaller accessories included with this set.

LEGO® xtra Sea Accessories set includes a surfboard, opening shell, barrel, oar, harpoon, opening chest, treasure map and binoculars, plus shark, parrot and fish figures and a selection of LEGO elements.
Bring new ocean-themed adventures to existing LEGO® sets.
LEGO® xtra accessory sets are delivered in a sealed plastic bag.

The LEGO xtra Sea Accessories polybag (40341) is now listed at LEGO Shop@Home and will be available by New Year’s Day in 2019. A quick check on the sites state that this xtra set is priced at $3.99 stateside and $4.99 in Canada, these being the only versions thus far which have 40341 listed.

LEGO Technic Bucket Wheel Excavator (42055) Next on Guinness Website Giveaway

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.

The LEGO Batman Movie 2 Is Now In the Works

You’ve got to love breakout characters in popular media sometimes. They show up in a film or TV show in a supporting role, they become famous in their own right, and the producers create a movie or series just for them. Take for instance Batman in his LEGO minifigure form, voiced by Will Arnett and brought to life in The LEGO Movie back in 2014. He was so awesome that LEGO and WB Animation gave him the lead in The LEGO Batman Movie to great success in 2017. And from the looks of things, he’ll be back for a LEGO Batman Movie 2 as well.

None other than The LEGO Batman director Chris McKay confirmed the existence of a sequel on his Twitter page, when he replied to a late watcher of the original film asking if a Part 2 was on the way. He also reminded her of Batman’s presence in The LEGO Movie 2 in February 2019.

We are working on that rn actually! In the meantime LEGO Batman is all over LEGO 2 coming in February.

— Chris McKay (@buddboetticher) December 5, 2018

Though The LEGO Batman movie may have a different storyline as compared to that of the main LEGO Movies, it does not ignore the fact that this minfigure of the Dark Knight is still one of the greatest Master Builder that graced the big screen. In any case, it’ll be interesting to see where McKay and the production team take things from how the original ended back in 2017.

Meanwhile, we can definitely enjoy seeing a slightly different version of Batman, still voiced by Will Arnett of course, once the The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part lands in theaters on February 8, 2019.