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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.
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.
It has been almost a year since the canceled LEGO Dimensions theme was upon us. This sad end for a beloved theme was officially announced by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.
Many forces were at play during this time which left the once booming toys-to-life genre eventually helpless against the tide of low consumer demand. The final wave of LEGO Dimensions sets, dubbed as Year 2 or Wave 9 titles, consists mainly of characters coming from Teen Titans GO!, the Powerpuff Girls, and the 80s comedy-horror icon, Beetlejuice. With the unfortunate cancellation and end of development for LEGO Dimensions, it now seems that any future sets that were rumored to be part of a Year 3 series are now eventually canned.
Is the Canceled LEGO Dimensions Theme Bound to Happen?
It was common knowledge among game developers and those who were closely working on developing future LEGO Dimensions packs, that the LEGO Group had already planned things, with projects that were actually in the middle of development before the unpopular decision from the LEGO Group came out.
Without the intention of showing disrespect to game developers or insensitivity towards the LEGO Dimensions community in general, toys-to-life authority, Bricks to Life, came up with a report that summarizes every intel that it gathered on what this canceled LEGO Dimensions Year 3 titles could have been. It is noteworthy to mention that the LEGO Group is not to be entirely blamed for the demise of this beloved theme. In general, it seems that the trend for the toys-to-life genre has now become a fad, suffering from a very steep downward spiral of interest from video gamers and collectors.
Again, we don’t intend to show any disrespect whatsoever, but as Bricks to Life puts it, “…thisis now nothing more than preserving history”. This rumor is speculative at its best, but as the report goes, is a result of a thorough collection of lists of franchises and properties coming from a whole assortment of sources: “bits of leftover code, secured LEGO licensing rights, plus bread crumb clues from people who worked on the game.”
True that LEGO is suspiciously quiet on this one, but with a bit of brick detective work, Bricks to Life managed to gather as much info on what could be a highly likely wave of what-could-have-been collection of canceled LEGO Dimensions sets.
The canceled LEGO Dimension theme has plenty of potential. And it is even more disheartening to consider that we will never get to see a ton of new characters that is suppose to receive the same treatment.
We will roughly categorize this into four types, based on the target audience that these rumored sets could have intended. Remember: please take this list of supposedly canceled LEGO Dimensions Year 3 titles as plainly as it is, a rumor. Unless the LEGO Group confirms this, then please take this with a grain of salt.
Canceled LEGO Dimensions Themes – Modern Cartoons Targeting A Younger Audience
Despicable Me
Captain Underpants
How To Train Your Dragon
Shrek
The Croods
The Smurfs
Canceled LEGO Dimensions Themes – Big Blockbuster Releases
Avatar
Pirates of the Caribbean
King Kong
Godzilla
Canceled LEGO Dimensions Themes – Video Game Mashups
Minecraft
Angry Birds
Megaman
Canceled LEGO Dimensions Themes – Classic Characters Appealing to Adult Fans of LEGO
So what are your thoughts about this rumored list of cancelled LEGO Dimensions Year 3 titles? Do you think there could be some truth in them? We would like to hear your take on this, especially if you’re a LEGO Dimension fan. Just hit the comment button below and join in the conversation.
Sometimes you can’t help but wonder if LEGO purposely reveals details of a set to one of its national markets alone, leaving other countries to pick up on it themselves before they make an official announcement later. How many times already did we learn about new sets because of a store flyer or product sighting anywhere from Europe to Korea? As August came to an end, we were treated to teaser details for this year’s LEGO Creator Expert Winter Village. The red telephone close-up hints at an emergency response office. Good guess! A LEGO store flyer from Italy now confirms that this year’s winter village D2C set is the LEGO Creator Expert Winter Village Fire Station (10263)
According to the flyer, 2018 will see us getting the LEGO Creator Expert Winter Village Fire Station (10263). Well, just because a village is covered in snow doesn’t mean fires won’t break out. This upcoming set is a realistic addition for an ever-expanding brick-built village.
To those who have an eye on the business side of LEGO, they would be aware that, in spite the veritable non-stop flood of new sets and whatnot, the company has been a bit worried about their financial standing last year. It didn’t help either that one of the brand’s biggest retail partners, Toys R Us, has since closed its doors. But if we know anything about how LEGO runs as a business, it’s that they’re quick to realize where they have problems. By pegging their enterprise as having “grown complicated”, and taking steps to simplify things again, LEGO’s profits began turning around for the better in 2018.
Notwithstanding the loss of Toys R Us, LEGO has been able to report a rise in consumer sales for the earlier half of this year amidst flat rates in the company’s revenues. In spite of last year’s market uncertainties, LEGO’s profit gained some considerable traction and improvement even if the desired growth targets were still far from the vaunted growth of 25% in 2015.
LEGO prides itself on always bringing something new; the fact that 60% percent of their total product output in a year being new sets and minifigures. At present, sets from their Ninjago, Creator and Technic lines like the recent Bugatti Chiron (42083) are the hottest contributors to the rise in customer sales that the company has reported for 2018.
Western Europe and China have been noted as being the source of the increase in LEGO’s profits. CEO Niels B. Christiansen remarks his satisfaction at the stabilized growth of the old but constantly evolving brand, adding about China, “The Chinese appreciate and emphasize that children learn something when they play … There is a really nice fit between China and Lego.”
Just as August was drawing to a close we finally had visual confirmation on one thing: LEGO does have an upcoming brick-built figure set for the newest breakout alien creature from the Star Wars saga, the Porg from The Last Jedi. Ever since LEGO advertised the film by putting LEGO Porg statues in London last year, it was well-known. Leaks about the LEGO Star Wars Porg (75230) set have been popping up in Europe since June, but it was only days ago when we saw the box design and learned the October release date. Now we have a full product description.
The official info for the LEGO Star Wars Porg (75230) set was spotted by Star Wars news source Rebelscum, from a product listing on Wal-Mart. The blurb goes:
Own an unmistakable character from Star Wars: The Last Jedi with this LEGO Star Wars 75230 Porg! This faithfully detailed Star Wars toy includes intricate feather detailing, authentic colors and an opening mouth and flapping wings when you press the tail. The set also comes with a display stand with decorative fact plaque and extra porg mini build, to form the perfect centerpiece for your LEGO collection.
Features authentic detailing, an opening mouth and flapping wings.
Also includes a display stand with decorative fact plaque and an extra porg mini build.
Porg without stand stands over 7 (19cm) high.
Display stand measures approx. 2 (6cm) high and 1 (3cm) deep, and over 4 (11cm) wide.
Relive fun porg adventures from Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
That’s right: the set includes a full-sized Porg, plus a data plaque for the creature on a stand, decorated with a mini-built Porg. Fans of the big-mouthed critter need only wait until October 8 to get their hands on this fountain of memes, at only $69.99 too.
Hot on the heels of the LEGO Seasonal Christmas Carousel (40293) reveal, we now have our first official images of the this year’s series of LEGO Seasonal Christmas Ornaments as shared once again by the LEGO Certified Store Network in Russia. This collection of Christmas Tree ornaments follow the tradition of previously released buildable holiday decors consisting of microbuilds inside a clear, transparent sphere. As of this posting, there are three 2018 Christmas Ornaments that are currently known: A Christmas Ornament Penguin (853796), Christmas Ornament Presents (853815), and Christmas Ornament Train (853810). As you can see, these are now listed for sale in Russian LEGO certified stores, and we can expect these to be available in US LEGO Stores starting October 1, retailing for $7.99 like those from previous years.
For LEGO fans that focus their collecting efforts on minifigures, they might be wondering how best to showcase their fave minifig characters on display. LEGO has answered that in the form of the minifigure display frame, a framed sturdy LEGO mat with brick-built perches for minifigures to stand on, for hanging on walls, or a portrait stand, or on flat surfaces. The LEGO Group has already offered a similar minifigure display frame for both the LEGO Marvel Super Heroesand LEGO Batman Movie themes. If these are too “branded” for your taste, however, then this new promotional item on shop.LEGO.com this October is for you.
From the 15th to 31st of next month, LEGO will be offering a free minifigure display frame for shoppers with a minimum LEGO purchase of $75. This promotional gift features a gray display mat with a black border frame, white minifigure perches and 2×2 LEGO tile-logo in the corner.
This LEGO Minifigure Display Frame also seem to come with a summery minifigure with shades, white tank top, shorts and duck-head life-preserver. There are 16 minifigure perches in the set and the mat pegs can also support LEGO brick builds. Supply is also limited, so get ready to pounce this coming October.
One of the principles and guiding words for The LEGO Group’s future direction with regards to its business is “sustainability”. From the energy used to run their infrastructure, to the very material they use in their LEGO bricks and other related products, the company’s working to make using sustainable sources their watchword. With regards to sustainable materials, LEGO has made a significant inroad with their special set Plants from Plants (40320), using plant-derived plastics rather than petroleum-based. The LEGO Group has deemed it successful enough to announce steps towards a full implementation of eco-friendly, sustainable plastic materials, across their products by the year 2030.
The LEGO Group is well aware that their factories around the world have an annual carbon dioxide emission of a million ton, coming from raw materials used in production like petroleum plastics. Seeing how sustainable plastic materials worked for a single set, the company has begun hiring more people to do further research on plastic-alternatives, with investments worth 1 billion kroner (over $100 million).
“We need to learn again how to do this,” remarked LEGO production supervisor Henrik Ostergaard Nielson, from the company’s main product factory in Billund, Denmark. As long as the new sustainable materials result in LEGO pieces that connect snugly yet separate easily, it’s all good.
Already, the LEGO Group has been pleased at meeting some of its sustainability targets, such as the pledge to utilize renewable energy in their factories, reached last year while the goal was for 2020. Let’s see how they go about a wider use of sustainable plastic materials in the future.
It looks Warner Bros Interactive and TT Games are expanding the LEGO DC gaming universe with their latest offering, LEGO DC Super-Villains just in time with the release of Warner Bros’ next superhero films slated for December (Aquaman) and April next year (Shazam!). We know that like previously released LEGO video games, this latest video game offering will also come with a Season Pass which promises a ton of superhero material that DC and LEGO fans will look forward to. Thankfully, WB and TT Games will not keep us guessing on what will be included in the LEGO DC Super-Villains Season Pass since they have fully revealed what to expect from this downloadable content.
The LEGO DC Super-Villains Season Pass will include a good number of 6 Level Packs and 4 Character Packs, offering a vast array of minifigure superhero and villain characters that can be unlocked and played in the game. They also come with their own levels and story-building missions. The Character Packs for example, will feature playable minifigure characters based on DC’s TV series such as Legends of Tomorrow, Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl and Black Lightning. This is one super powered character pack that is hard to resist.
Level Packs
Aquaman Movie Pack 1
Aquaman Movie Pack 2
Shazam! Movie Pack 1
Shazam! Movie Pack 2
Batman: The Animated Series
Young Justice
Character Packs
DC Super-Villains: TV Series
DC Super Heroes: TV Series
Justice League Dark
DC Films
The LEGO DC Super-Villains Season Pass is immediately available for those who will opt to pre-order the game’s Deluxe Edition (available across major gaming platforms) before its scheduled release date on October 16. The Deluxe Edition also comes with an exclusive, Lex Luthor physical minifigure for those extra bragging rights.
