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UK-Euro “LEGO Star Wars” Mag March 2022 Issue Offers Free Clone Trooper Minifig

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Back in 2020, LEGO Star Wars released a set said to be the most fan-requested at the time. It was a set depicting the Clone War-era 501^st Legion Clone Troopers (75280). It featured four Republic Clone Troopers with two of their vehicles, squaring off against two Separatist Battle Droids. The 501^st Legion happens to share its number-name with the global “Star Wars” fan club/organization of Imperial Stormtrooper/variant enactors. That would explain the fan appeal somewhat. Clone Trooper minifigures in 501^st colors are also uncommon enough. But now, those looking for 501^st Clones beyond just buying set 75280 may have an alternative from Europe’s LEGO magazines.

According to Brick Fanatics, Clone Trooper minifig collectors must mark the March 2022 issue of UK-Europe’s “LEGO Star Wars Magazine.” Issue 81 of this official LEGO publication by Immediate Media will include a 501^st Legion Clone Trooper minifigure. It’s the same minifig as included in the Clone Troopers set (75280) two years ago. If the £24.99/€29.99 asking price of the set is too much for UK/European collectors, the magazine’s somewhat cheaper. Three copies of the upcoming March issue (£4.25/€4.50) would run to only £12.75/€13.50. True, you miss out on the set’s vehicles (and one Clone Jet Trooper). but if you only need the minifigures then it’s fair enough come March.

Immediate Media publishes official LEGO magazines monthly in UK and Europe. The latter gets new issues a month ahead of the UK. So the March issue of “LEGO Star Wars Magazine” in the UK actually releases February in European newsstands. The current UK issue has a free Imperial Snowtrooper. Meanwhile the current release in Europe includes a micro-Millennium Falcon build.

UK LEGO Technic Magazine Releases with the LEGO Technic Helicopter (30465) Polybag

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You probably remember from years past when we occasionally covered issue releases of LEGO publications. It’s been a good long while now. The scarcity perhaps lies in the fact that many LEGO magazines are published in the UK. Furthermore, their content tends to be more advertising than feature stories and such. The exposure they did get with us might be due to some extra stuff they were packing inside their foil wraps. Recently, a one-off UK-published LEGO mag has hit shelves, and it comes with the new LEGO Technic Helicopter (30465) polybag. This latest offering may well be the smallest LEGO Technic set ever packaged.

Brickset tells us that British publishing house Immediate Media has put out a LEGO Technic magazine. This issue appears to be just one for the Technic theme, part of their “LEGO Giant Series” mag line. The real attention-grabber is its cover-mounted polybag, hailed to be the first Technic polybag since the last one from 2000. That’s two decades. The Technic Helicopter (30465) hearkens back to the theme’s small releases in the late 1990s. This little guy comes in just 70 pieces. That may well be one of the tiniest official Technic builds in the line.

In terms of magazine content, this LEGO Technic publication features a Technic “major events” timeline. Four LEGO designers for the theme are also profiled on its pages. All those and a Technic polybag should be worth the £4.99 issue price. The mag is available in UK newsstands and shopping centers.

The Newsweek: LEGO—The World’s Favorite Toy Special Edition Available Now

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After the successful release of last year’s Newsweek Special Edition: LEGO-The Toy That Changed Our Lives, Topix Media Lab is back with another Newsweek edition that covers everything that we love about the iconic brick. Now available in newsstands and online, the Newsweek: LEGO—The World’s Favorite Toy Special Edition celebrates the LEGO brick, some of its greatest builds of all time, and the colorful history of the LEGO Group. Through interviews with some of the key persons inside the LEGO Company, this special Newsweek limited edition will also show us the direction of where LEGO is planning to go through the scouting lens of its leadership.

The Newsweek: LEGO—The World’s Favorite Toy Special Edition will retail for $12.99 USD and is now available online. Check out this quick blurb courtesy of Topix Media Lab.

Newsweek: LEGO—The World’s Favorite Toy Special Edition

Opening the box of a new LEGO set is a cultural touchstone in countries all over the world. In that moment, an adventure lies ahead before every child, every parent, as well as every grown-up finding that old inspirations can become new again. In this Official Collector’s Edition, created in concert with The LEGO Group, Newsweek explores the greatest playsets and builds in history, and reveals that perhaps the best is still yet to come.

Read exclusive interviews with members of The LEGO Group leadership team, including CEO Niels B. Christiansen and VP of Innovation William Thorogood and see where the future of the brand is headed. Plus, this issue features a special section celebrating the 20th anniversary of LEGO Star Wars, a partnership that has transformed playtime.

Everything’s Coming Up “Star Wars” for “Brick Fanatics” Magazine Issue 5, Out Now

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The latest issue of “Brick Fanatics” Magazine has come at last. While Issue 4 already featured the 20^th Anniversary of LEGO Star Wars, here’s where the occasion gets full coverage. And while they can’t report on the soon-to-wind-down 2019 Star Wars Celebration, there’s still more LEGO Star Wars to showcase.

For this segment of the “Brick Fanatics” mag’s LEGO Star Wars treatment, they feature exclusive interviews with some of the people from LEGO and Lucasfilm who were behind the successful licensing of the space opera franchise, making one of the biggest LEGO product lines ever.

Also included is the publication’s own top five showcase of LEGO Star Wars sets over the years, that best define the evolution of the licensed product line in two decades.

But with 80 pages of LEGO news and features, “Brick Fanatics” Magazine surely has space to talk of other things than just LEGO Star Wars. They also have the lowdown on the LEGO Technic RC Stunt Racer sets, with tips on remedying the balancing issues of the canon builds. They also have an interview with Senior Designer Rok Žgalin Kobe about his LEGO Architecture set, San Francisco (21043). Lastly, the “Brick Fanatics” folks have ideas on customizing the newest LEGO City sets’ parachute elements.

“Brick Fanatics” Magazine Issue 5 is now available to order online. Alternatively you can sign up for their subscription packages. Hardcopies of past issues are available in both UK and US. The latest to make it stateside is the 3^rd.

“Brick Fanatics Magazine” Issue 4 Out Now

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It’s right about that time of the month again. Our fellow LEGO news source Brick Fanatics took the big step of going into print just as the year 2018 was ending. Thus far they’ve made good time in sticking to their monthly magazine’s release period. Their fourth issue’s come out.

The mission statement of “Brick Fanatics Magazine” has been to encourage and help readers in using LEGO to build worlds. For their Issue 4, the cover focus is on LEGO car sets, from the complex Technic products to the smaller Speed Champions vehicles like the featured Mini Cooper S (75894).

As for the Technic car feature, it involves a comparison between the real McLaren Senna racer and its LEGO Technic counterpart (75892), with interviews from the designers of both versions. Another interview involves Ideas fan designer Andrew Clark, whose brilliant imagination was the source of LEGO Ideas Flintstones (21316). It even has a boulder-car too.

Other articles and features to be found in “Brick Fanatics Magazine” #4 include a spotlight on LEGO Ninjago Legacy, a six-page special look at LEGO Star Wars on its 20^th Anniversary, a run-through of the “Hidden Side” mobile game app and product line, plus so much more they haven’t revealed.

Readers can find out what else is in store for themselves by ordering their copy of “Brick Fanatics Magazine” issue 4 here. They can also avail of subscription rates for either 12 or 24 issues, or back copies of the previous three they’ve already released. Alternatively, many US and UK LEGO fans can wait for the latest “Brick Fanatics” hardcopy to hit bookstores in April.

“Brick Fanatics Magazine” Issue 3 Now Available

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You know as source of LEGO news online has graduated to a higher level of providing information and entertainment when they go into print magazine format. Brick Fanatics became such when it launched its very own 80-page magazine. They have already successfully released two issues at an average price of €8.25 each, with options for multiple-month subscriptions at lower issue-prices.

Well, Issue 3 of Brick Fanatics Magazine is out available now, and their central subject of interest is the new and extremely popular LEGO Overwatch product line. Readers and subscribers can tell that much from the front image, with LEGO-minifigure D.Va serving as cover model.

Said cover feature on LEGO Overwatch is an interview by Brick Fanatics with two members of the LEGO development team that translated the hit Blizzard Entertainment multiplayer hero FPS into the fun LEGO sets that have enamored collectors since late-2018.

Other components of the magazine include two pieces for their “Review+” with articles on LEGO Overwatch Bastion (75974) and LEGO Harry Potter Quidditch Match (75956). The “How To” segment offers tips and advice on multiple LEGO building/collecting topics, even including cross-news source collaboration with a contribution from Brickset, for example.

“On Topic” meanwhile features interviews with some of the participants of the LEGO AFOL Designer program announced last year, also including some sobering discussion on how BREXIT might affect the UK LEGO market and community, both Brick Fanatics‘ primary readerships. Finally, “Retro” offers a new custom build for the oldie LEGO space theme that gave rise to Lenny and friends in “LEGO Movie” and “LM2.”

Brick Fanatics Magazine issue 3 can be ordered from Brick Fanatics as either a single issue, or the first of a subscription plan in two variants, 12-month and 24-month. For now, stocks also remain of this magazine’s predecessor issues, both also available for back orders.

The LEGO Movie 2 Magazine To Be Released Next Week – Comes With An Exclusive Emmet Minifigure

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Media Lab Books is set to release a promotional magazine tied up to The LEGO Movie 2. If you recall earlier last year, Media Lab Books was also the distributor of the Newsweek Special Edition, LEGO – The Toy That Changed Our Lives which was a hit among older LEGO fans since the limited-edition Newsweek magazine also celebrates the 60^th anniversary of the LEGO brick. This time around, the publishing company celebrates the brick once more with its special issue of the LEGO Movie 2 Magazine which is due to be out on January 22.

Media Lab Book’s first LEGO Movie 2 Magazine comes with two new posters and an exclusive LEGO Movie 2 Emmet minifigure with a special set of minifigure accessories. I know that some of you might already feel that all of these LEGO Movie 2 promotions have been suffering from an oversaturation of sorts from all the free Emmet minifigures out there. But since its free, I have no real complaints about it. At least this freebie from Media Lab Books allows us to have additional LEGO pieces in the form of minifigure accessories. In case you want to grab a copy, the LEGO Movie 2 Magazine is now available for pre-order online, retailing for $10.99.

Description

The adventure continues! In The LEGO 2 Movie (releasing on February 8th, 2019 and featuring Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Charlie Day and Will Arnett), the young readers meet the famous heroes of the first LEGO Movie–such as Emmet, Batman and Lucy. In each issue, three funny comics, two cool posters and exciting puzzles await the fans of the old and new characters. Each edition comes with an original limited edition LEGO Movie 2 Minifigure with accessories.

I suspect that this is not the only LEGO Movie 2 Magazine that we can expect from Media Lab Books. It is rumored that another issue is set to be released next month featuring Rex Dangervest as the minifigure freebie. If that is the case, then this might prove to be more popular since we don’t get too much of Rex as a free minifigure. As of to date, we only have one polybag dedicated to him, and a Vest Friends LEGO Movie 2 Activity Book from Ameet Studio that comes with an exclusive Rex minifigure and a blaster accessory.

Publisher of “LEGO Star Wars” Magazine Runs into Trouble with UK Newsagents Regarding Sales Pilot

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The Brick Show tries to cover news of LEGO in all of its possible components – the toys, the TV shows and movies, and even printed media. Several times before, we’ve covered releases of official LEGO magazines from various publishers, like Egmont which rolls out the official LEGO Star Wars mag.

Lately however, a pilot by Egmont to increase the circulation of LEGO Star Wars Magazine is drawing the ire of newsagents in the UK, particularly Federation of Independent Retailers. This is in response to Egmont starting to stock its mag not just with the newsagent outlets but on chain supermarkets.

The sticking point to the Egmont circulation move according to the NFRN is that not only will the supermarkets receive the latest issues of LEGO Star Wars Magazine ahead of the newsagents (four weeks ahead even), but the issues then given to the NFRN retailers will only be return issues unsold from the market chains.

NFRN national president Mike Mitchelson remarked that Egmont is treating their member newsagents as second-class retailers with the preferential treatment to chain supermarkets for magazine stock. A reply from Egmont in turn explains that their pilot project is committed to “testing a sustainable distribution model in the UK independents channel.”

In this matter, LEGO is taking the side of their publishing partner, as the ompany’s senior director of licensing and publishing Andrea Ryder tells NFRN, “We have been assured the practice in handling the distribution of LEGO Star Wars Magazine will be changed to allow all retailers to have the ability to order and also to receive the magazine without a differentiation in delivery timing.”

LEGO Jurassic Park/World and Other Features Inside “Blocks” Magazine Issue 49

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Only one more issue and Blocks, the fan community LEGO magazine for building, collecting and customizing your LEGO will be celebrating its golden issue. But that one actually isn’t until next month. This October however will see the release of Blocks’ penultimate issue 49, the main focus of which is an extensive review of LEGO Jurassic Park/World sets as the year of the franchise’s 25^th anniversary comes to a close.

Aside from that review and retrospective on the most popular dinosaur-themed media property around (which includes an interview with one of the set designers in Billund), here are other features and articles one might find in Blocks Magazine Issue 49:

LEGO Masters series 2 on UK’s Channel 4 – features interview with new contestants and contest judge Fran Scott
Spotlight on LEGO Star Wars Betrayal at Cloud City (75222) – includes designer interview
LEGO Creator Expert Aston Martin DB5 (10262) – tips on assembling brick-built James Bond figure (similar to people figures in LEGOLAND Miniland areas) to drive inside the vehicle
Month in MOCs – interpreting tabletop RPG classic Dungeons & Dragons in LEGO

Blocks Magazine is available in print or digital format via online subscription. You can check out their official website to see about getting their 49^th issue (newly released) or any other back issues that you might be interested in reading.

Brick Fanatics Magazine Issue #1 Debuts

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Brick Fanatics has been a leading source of LEGO news tidbits and info on this side of the web for several years already, and this year marks another milestone on the life of the LEGO news outlet with the launch of their first ever Brick Fanatics Magazine.

Brick Fanatics Magazine Issue #1 covers the latest LEGO Star Wars set particularly the much talked about Betrayal at Cloud City (75222) tagged as LEGO’s first offering in its Master Builder Series. It also includes an exclusive walk-through of the massive Hogwarts Castle (71043) by none other than its LEGO designer, Justin Ramsden, and a dedicated column for LEGO’s former Community Coordinator for North America just to name a few.

Read on for Brick Fanatic’s full press release. Brick Fanatics Magazine Issue #1 is now available for purchase, with Issue #2 to be available early 2019.

Brick Fanatics Magazine Issue 1 cover revealed

Brick Fanatics Magazine Issue 1’s cover takes inspiration from 75222 Betrayal at Cloud City and The Empire Strikes Back, and teases a unique LEGO Star Wars build project

This latest large scale LEGO Star Wars release hasn’t been to everyone’s liking, but that’s exactly what makes it such an enticing assignment for the creative team at Brick Fanatics Magazine to take on. Issue 1 leads with a sizeable modification of 75222, in the hopes of elevating it in the eyes of many LEGO fans disappointed in the £300 original. Our cover teases a fantastic project that is presented inside through beautiful layout and photography. It’s LEGO building, literally on another level.

75222 Betrayal at Cloud City’s source material also provided the inspiration for the cover build Brick Fanatics Magazine commissioned. Focusing on the climactic moment in The Empire Strikes Back, we took elements based on it from the official LEGO set, and added our own bricks and creativity for this brick built cinematic recreation.

Issue 1’s cover also hints at a number of other exciting features inside, including LEGO Designer Justin Ramsden’s exclusive walkthrough of 71043 Hogwarts Castle and LEGO Group insider Kevin Hinkle’s debut column. There’s plenty inside the magazine, including a look at the LEGO Group’s foray into crowdsourcing, a photographic review of 21311 Voltron, an interview with the father and son team behind an innovative brick-based charity, and a considered look at the new Batwoman minifigure.

Brick Fanatics Magazine is a new 80-page A5 print publication and is available for purchase now, as a single issue with postage and packaging, and as part of 12-issue and 24-issue subscription packages that offer multi-issue savings and free postage and packaging.

Take advantage of these offers at brickfanatics.com/magazine and guarantee every copy of Brick Fanatics Magazine by subscribing today. Issue 2 is due in early 2019, from when the magazine will be published on a monthly basis.

Stay up to date with all things Brick Fanatics Magazine here, including an introduction to the brand new feature concept Review+.