Category: Miscellaneous

Just a quick reminder: Jason and Stephen will be at the Philly Brick Fest towards the weekend, from April 28 to May 1 at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center, 100 Station Ave., Oaks, Pennsylvania. They’ll be having another Brick Show Experience where you can have a chance to meet these YouTube legends in person. For those who were able to plan, we hope that you were able to take advantage of the early registration that the organizers arranged as early as last year by Brick Fest founder Chad Collins.

Don’t worry if you did not make it for the early registration since tickets are still available online. However, for those intending to stretch their luck for a Brick Fest Live VIP Weekend Pass, you might be a little disappointed since this ticket is sold out. Tickets are priced between $19 to $22 per person, while children 2 years old and below are free. Nevertheless, there are still tons of attractions and hands-on activities that will surely make your trip worthwhile. With over a million LEGO bricks on display and ready for play, this is one LEGO fan event that you don’t want to miss. Click here to purchase tickets.

Here’s Brick Fest’s official press release:

Philly Brick Fest 2016

Philly Brick Fest, the 4-day Fan of LEGO Convention returns to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center April 28 – May 1, 2016 in Oaks, PA.

2016 marks the 3rd year for Philly Brick Fest which is expanding to 140,000 square feet of space, making it the largest fan-created LEGO event in North America. LEGO builders from around the globe gather to showcase their fan-built creations, learn building techniques from one another, interact with other fans, participate in building challenges and activities, and most of all have fun.

This 4-day event is open to all LEGO enthusiasts, interested in connecting with other builders and having their creations on display for the public to enjoy during the public hours of Brick Fest Live.

Attractions include:

The Brick Show Experience: Meet popular YouTube LEGO show hosts from The Brick Show and be featured in an upcoming video.

Brick Fest Derby: Build and race your custom-built LEGO derby car down one of our 35-foot long timed tracks!

Collaborative Building Activities: Contribute to large-scale mystery floor mosaic.

Inspiration Stations: Add to existing LEGO cities and make them your own by building custom creations.

Video Game Arena: Have a favorite LEGO video game? Come challenge your family or make new friends in the Brick Fest

Gaming Arena playing your favorite LEGO title head to head.

Mini Golf: A miniature golf course built to inspire! Take your game to the next level on the Brick-Links.

Brick Fest Theater Trivia & Entertainment: Participate in LEGO trivia all while taking a break from what will be an overwhelming amount of awesome!

Mosaics: Using a colorful variety of 1×1 LEGO bricks, build a piece of art to proudly display for other attendees.

Shopping: Find new, vintage, rare, and custom LEGO sets and merchandise from one of the many merchants in attendance.

Brick Fest founder Chad Collins, during a recent interview, has this to say: “Brick Fest Live is the ultimate fan experience for anyone that has a joy or love for LEGO. We’re happy to say that this will be the largest event we’ve ever produced… It’s going to have the most fanfare, it’s going to have the most LEGO under one roof that you’ll ever see. The one great thing that makes these Brick Fest Live events unique is that they’re events that are created by fans of LEGO for fans of LEGO. You’re going to see the largest variety of LEGO under one roof, guaranteed, and you’re going to be able to experience it in ways that are impossible to do on your own.

So if you’re living anywhere near the Oaks area, and you wish to spend a great and memorable weekend, the Philly Brick Fest is one event that we highly recommend ticking off from your bucket list, and be sure to drop by the Brickshow Experience activity area to meet and greet your favorite LEGO YouTube rockstars Jason and Stephen.

We had our first look of this year’s quirky and zany bunch of LEGO Mixels during the New York Toy Fair last February. You can find our video coverage on these sets below. This time around, the team behind the Mixels Wiki page somehow managed to get a copy of high-res photos of the latest tribes in the LEGO Mixel world. Here’s our first look at the official, hi-res images of the LEGO Mixels Series 9 featuring new builds from the Trashoz, Nindjas, and Newzers Tribes. Thanks to Brickset for the heads-up.

LEGO Mixels Series 9

Trashoz Tribe (41572, 41573, 41574)

Gobbol 41572

Sweepz (41573)

Compax (41574)

Nindjas Tribe(41575, 41576, 41577)

Cobrax (41575)

Spinza (41576)

Mysto (41577)

Newzers Tribe (41578, 41579, 41580)

Screeno (41578)

Camsta (41579)

Myke (41580)

 

The said images were discovered via LEGO’s online cache, according to some forum members, though they didn’t go into details explaining how they were able to do it. LEGO Mixels Series 9 is due for release sometime in October. What can you do about these latest Mixels? Do you have a personal favorite among these?

Blocks Magazine Issue 19 is now out with subscribers and is due for release later this week. Jason gives us a glimpse of what’s inside the current issue, highlighting some of its best sections. You can see his flip-thru video at the end of this article.

What to Expect from Blocks Magazine Issue 19

Blocks Magazine #19 continues where #18 left off with its focus on DC Entertainment’s colossal fight of the century: Batman VS Superman Dawn of Justice. This week, Blocks Magazine centers on yet another conflict that will rock our Marvel superheroes to their very core. It’s now time for Marvel’s Civil War!

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Issue #19 has tons of features dedicated to our Marvel superheroes such as impressive Captain America and Iron Man MOCs, reviews on current Marvel Civil War-themed LEGO sets such as the 76051 Super Hero Airport battle, 76050 Crossbones Hazard Heist, and 76047 Black Panther Pursuit, among others. There’s a Blocks It! Flickr It section that features a very cool 1:1 scale, a 3,400-piece MOC of Captain America’s shield, and a pretty neat article on how the LEGO Quinjet has evolved as well.

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There’s a feature on the LEGO Dimensions Cyberman Fun Pack and an interview with the developers of the LEGO Marvel Avengers video game and other stuff on the console gaming front. This is one Blocks magazine that you don’t want to miss before Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War hits theaters on May 6. You may order your Blocks Issue #19 over at Wild Card Toys where they have plenty of these in stock and a couple of back issues as well.

We saw them first during last February’s New York Toy Fair. Now LEGO has just released the first official images for this summer’s LEGO DC and Marvel Super Heroes. Thanks for the heads up Brick Fan. Take a look.

LEGO DC and Marvel Super Heroes Summer 2016 Sets

Batman: Scarecrow Harvest of Fear (76054)

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Batman: Killer Croc Sewer Smash (76055)

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Spider-Man: Web Warriors Ultimate Bridge Battle (76057)

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Spider-Man: Ghost Rider Team-Up (76058)

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Spider-Man: Doc Ock’s Tentacle Trap (76059)

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Last week, we had our glimpse of the official images for this summer’s LEGO Star Wars sets. Missing in our list is LEGO Star Wars Captain Rex’s AT-TE 75157. Thanks to Promobricks, we now have our official images of this impressive Walker straight from the animated TV series, Star Wars Rebels. Retailing at $119.99, it consists of 927 pieces with five minifigures including the exclusive never-before-seen Imperial Inquisitor Fifth Brother minifig. Take a look.

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Once again, the impressive minifig hunting prowess of Minifigure Price Guide delighted us with this one-in-a-million find. While LEGO may lament over this slip in quality control, for us AFOLs and minifigure collectors, this one is a prize to keep. This rare LEGO Disney Mickey Mouse minifigure misprint looks funny and cool. With the white part of Mickey’s eyes slightly skewed to the left, it gives life to an otherwise stoic expression similar to this one.

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According to stampsweis, this Disney CMF Mickey Mouse was pulled straight out of the bag and has never been played with since then. Here’s his complete description as posted on eBay.

“HIS IS AN AMAZING ONE-IN-A-MILLION MISPRINT FOUND IN THE NEW DISNEY MINIFIGURE COLLECTION PACKETS THAT HAVE JUST BEEN RELEASED. IT HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM THE PACKET AND WILL BE SHIPPED WITHOUT THE ORIGINAL MICKEY SHOWN IN THE PICTURE. YOU WILL RECEIVE ONLY THE MICKEY MINIFIGURE AND STAND THAT WAS PART OF THE ORIGINAL MISPRINT ERROR… The whites of the eyes are the only thing that is in error, but this error is cool looking and an exceptional find from the millions of these printed!”

Here are some close-up pics of this rare find.

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The price is a little over the top, going for $2,495. But given the rarity of this minifigure, some people might consider it a small price to pay. What do you think about this rare LEGO Disney CMF Mickey Mouse oddity? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

 

LEGO Rebrick just recently announced a LEGO Friends-themed contest entitled Celebrate the Best of Friends, in partnership with several North American LEGO Fan Conventions spread across the US and in Canada. Similar to previous Rebrick contests based on themes such as LEGO Castle and LEGO Batman, the Celebrate the Best of Friends contest encourages young LEGO enthusiasts to show off their best MOCs that highlight the best of LEGO Friends.

Ways to Join the LEGO Rebricks Celebrate the Best of Friends

According to Rebrick, there are two ways to join. First, by submitting your LEGO Friends entry to any of the 15 fan conventions across the US and Canada. These are:

• BrickFair Alabama | Birmingham, AL; USA
• BrickCan | Vancouver, BC; Canada
• BrickUniverse Raleigh | Raleigh, NC; USA
• Philly Brick Fest | Oaks, PA; USA
• BrickFair New England | Marlborough, MA; USA
• BrickSlopes | Sandy, UT; USA
• Brickworld Chicago | Schaumburg, IL; USA
• Brick Fiesta | Houston, TX; USA
• Brickfête Toronto | Toronto, ON; Canada
• BrickFair Virginia | Chantilly, VA; USA
• Bricks by the Bay | Santa Clara, CA; USA
• BrickCon | Seattle, WA; USA
• BrickFair New Jersey | Somerset, NJ; USA
• BrickUniverse Dallas | Plano, TX; USA
• Denver Brick Fest | Denver, CO; USA

Second, don’t worry if in case you can’t make it to these conventions. You may also submit your entry over at Rebrick’s page and just follow the instructions. Be sure that you have a valid LEGO ID before proceeding. Each fan convention will have a winner, while one will be selected among the entries over at Rebrick. Be sure to submit your best LEGO Friends creation on or before November 21, 2016.

How Entries Will Be Chosen

Among the 16 semi-finalists, one grand prize winner will be selected. Throughout the contest, all entries will be judged based on the following criteria:

• Best overall creativity: 25%
• Most inspired details on the model: 25%
• Attention to contest theme: 25%
• Best use of LEGO® elements: 25%

In case of a tie, the entry with the higher Creativity score will prevail.

A panel of judges consisting of a member of the LEGO Brand Team, a Master Model Builder from the LEGO Model Shop, and a member from the LEGO Community Team will select the winners (both from the semi-finals and finals).

The Sweet Prize

It’s kind of interesting how Rebrick bundled these prizes. For each of those who will make it to the semi-finals, LEGO will be giving away these cool LEGO Friends sets, some of it was never shown in previous toy fairs as pointed out by Brickset.

These sets are:

• 41118 Heartlake Super Market
• 41129 Adventure Park Hot Dog Van
• 41122 Adventure Camp Tree
• 41134 Heartlake Performance School

We do not have a close-up image of LEGO 41134 Heartlake Performance School, and LEGO Rebrick was kind enough to include it in this image (though it’s a bit small) together with the rest of the abovementioned sets. It is expected that 41134 will be an exclusive retailer set so we’ll keep an eye on this one.

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The grand prize winner, on the other hand, will receive a specially crafted LEGO Friends fox exclusively developed by the LEGO Model Shop. LEGO didn’t share much detail about this fox, but we’re pretty sure it’s a very good one considering the length and scope of the contest itself.

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You may also read the rest of the contest rules right here for more information. We hope to see your LEGO Friends creation over at Rebrick anytime soon and be sure to be on the lookout for details and schedules of these conventions listed above especially if you’re living near any of these convention venues.

While you’re at it, you may also want to take a look at another LEGO Rebrick contest, and this time this one encourages you to ‘break the rules’ with your LEGO Dimensions Portal. Check out the cool Build Your Gateway contest, which will end on May 16, 2016.

Happy building!

Just a quick reminder for those who are interested. As we shared with you last month, the LEGO May 2016 Store Calendar is already up and with it are a handful of in-store activities that you and the rest of your family will enjoy. In case you missed the announcement, one of the highlights of the May 2016 Store Calendar is the monthly Mini-Build which is exclusive and given for free for all participating LEGO VIP members. The build for this month is a cute, brown Hedgehog (40212). As with all monthly Mini-Builds, participation is via online registration, which is open for all VIP members. If you’re not a LEGO VIP member yet, click here and follow the quick and easy steps mentioned on the website.

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All VIP LEGO members can participate in this in-store activity which will be on May 3-4. Participants will learn how to build the little brown puff ball which is kind of nice since it will teach you some building techniques on how to make round builds. As mentioned on the LEGO Store post, registration will begin tomorrow Friday, April 15 9AM EST. There is a link to follow but as of this writing, the Monthly Mini-Build Registration Page is not functional yet, so it is better if you set your alarms and be quick with the Registration once it’s up live.

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Moving on, if you haven’t received LEGO’s most recent promotional tomorrow is your last chance to avail of the monthly promotional exclusive polybag which is the LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes Mr. Freeze (30603) minifigure straight from the Classic Batman TV series. With a minimum purchase of any LEGO products worth $75 or more via any LEGO Store or at shop.LEGO.com, you can bring home this highly prized collectible. Though the LEGO Store site still mentions that the Mr. Freeze minifigure is still offered until April 15, it will be wise to check with your local LEGO store if it is still available due to its limited quantities.

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For those of you who are caught by the ‘Maze Craze’, the LEGO Ideas Maze competition is up which began this Monday and will conclude also on Friday, April 15. Anyone interested in this original Jason Allemann creation may now have a chance to try it out or to have fun competing with other kids and challenging an in-store Brick Specialist. The objective is simple: whoever finishes the maze first wins. But of course, in some instances, it is easier said than done, given the many ways in which you can tinker with the maze baseplate.

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There’s another promotional giveaway that may interest you. It’s kind of hovering below the radar so we thought of posting this again. For every purchase worth $35 or more of any LEGO Friends, Elves, or Disney Princess via any LEGO Store or through shop.LEGO.com, customers will receive a free LEGO Elves: Sira’s Adventurous Glider (30375). The promo will start on April 25 until May 8, or until supplies last. LEGO Elves seem to be gaining more and more attention after its first two waves, and a third one featuring the dragons of Elvendale. Sira’s Adventurous Glider is a great addition to your growing LEGO Elves collection, especially since the Sira Copperbranch mini-doll only appears in this polybag promotional and LEGO Elves The Starlight Inn (41174).

Lastly, depending if you’re excited about this set or not, you may want to mark April 30 on your calendars since this will be the official release date of this year’s Ultimate Collector’s Series – the LEGO Star Wars: Assault on Hoth 75098. Since its official unveiling last February, the said UCS has garnered plenty of criticism and mixed reactions from the LEGO and Star Wars fan community.  But if you don’t want to miss out on this year’s LEGO UCS, then for $249.99, you can bring home this 2,144-piece re-enactment of the iconic ice planet scenes in Star Wars Episode V.

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So there we have it – be sure to visit the LEGO Store’s website right here, and check with your local LEGO Store on the latest in-store activities that are happening right now. Happy building!

 

Minifigure Price Guide did exhaustive research on one of the rarest minifigure to be created by LEGO on the face of the planet – the ultra-rare LEGO Solid Gold 14K C-3PO minifigure. For those who are not familiar with this minifig, this was created by LEGO back in 2007 as part of a contest first advertised in their March-April 2007 LEGO Magazine. The contest was organized as a commemoration of the 30^th anniversary of the Star Wars franchise where five lucky winners were chosen to receive a solid gold 14K C-3PO minifigure. Here are the copies of LEGO’s ads related to the contest. Credits go to the Minifigure Price Guide for the pics.

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Eventually, five names were chosen and awarded with this holy grail of LEGO Star Wars minifigs:

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Little has been known about the status of these ultra-rare minifigures after it was shipped to their respective owners. However, in July 2011, a certain JimH said that he had one of these solid gold minifigs saying that his son, Andrew Hoffman, was one of the proud winners in the contest. He snapped and shared this picture over at the Eurobricks forum.

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Now fast forward to 2015, JimH said that he would leave the decision to his son Andrew, if or when he wanted his much-coveted prize to be sold or auctioned. According to JimH, “My son is now over 18 and if anyone wants to seriously try to negotiate for it, just send me your email addy and I will pass it along to him. Please note at this time he isn’t looking to sell it unless someone makes him an offer he just can’t pass up.”

Since then, this is the only piece of info that we ever had about the fate of the solid gold C-3PO minifigures that were raffled away in 2007. Our best guess is that the four winners would rather not disclose their treasures, knowing how much they can be of worth. There are no exact numbers, but for all its value and worth, it is kind of easy to grasp if ever its price will shoot up on a five-figure scale if one of these five minifigs lands on the second-hand market.

Then just when we thought that there is only one good soul who is kind enough to share with the world his prize, another one came out sharing a picture of his (or her) prize.

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Minifigure Price Guide wasn’t keen on the details of who sent this photo to him. Saying that he received it via Facebook, the photo shows the solid gold C-3PO including the Certificate of Authenticity as described by JimH. The certificate indicates that the minifigure in the foreground was 4 out of 5. Though JimH did not mention anything about the series number of his minifig back in 2011 for fear someone might copy it and end up ripping off people, a comparison of these images will suggest that we might be looking at different minifigures.

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JimH’s solid gold C-3PO has an intentional long neck since as he says, that is how far the headpiece will go without him worrying that he might damage or scratch the minifig. On the other hand, the more recent photo shows a headpiece that is fully pushed down the neck as any minifigure should be. That being the case, then most probably we’re looking at two different minifigures here. Furthermore, this may also suggest that we have two owners who have decided to come out and share their strictly guarded treasures.

Admittedly, these are just conjectures so we hope to see more information from the persons who shared this photo. We also understand the need to be ‘secretive’ on these things since the last thing that you want to worry about is a persistent stalker who will relentlessly convince you to sell your most prized possession.

So what do you think about this ultra-rare solid-gold 14K C-3PO minifigure? How much will you haggle for it if given the opportunity? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Earlier today, the official debut of the LEGO Minecraft The Village was all over the Internet. Retailing at $200, this 1,600-piece set received a lot of mixed reactions from LEGO and Minecraft fans, particularly for being quite steep in its pricing. As Allen Tran from The Brick Fan pointed out, there are some new and useful elements that are included this set, but the cost may be a turn-off to some.

Action Figure Insider also uploaded a LEGO designer video that goes along with LEGO’s latest Minecraft set. It’s kind of odd why the video is posted here and not on LEGO’s mainstream channel. In LEGO’s usual fashion, LEGO Minecraft product designers Carl and Robert show the many features of The Village 21128, including the new pieces and minifigures that go with it such as the villagers.

LEGO Minecraft The Village Designer Video

 

Here’s a closer look at the minifigures included in this set as revealed by Carl and Robert.

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21128 The Village
Ages 8+. 1,600 pieces.
US $199.99 – CA $249.99 – DE 199.99€ – UK £169.99 – DK 1899.00 DKK
*Euro pricing varies by country. Please visit shop.LEGO.com for regional pricing.

Build and protect The Village!

Join forces with Alex at the busy Minecraft™ village, including a variety of biomes plus a watchtower, library, blacksmith, butcher and marketplace. Enjoy hands-on Minecraft adventures featuring your favorite characters and objects with this LEGO® Minecraft set—designed for young fans of the highly successful sandbox video game.

• Includes 4 minifigures: Steve, Alex, zombie and a zombie villager, plus a Creeper™, enderman, pig, baby pig, iron golem and 2 villagers (a farmer and a librarian).
• The Village features rainforest, snow and desert biomes, and includes a watchtower, library, blacksmith, butcher and a marketplace.
• Fold out the library and butcher’s buildings and lift the marketplace roof to access the interiors.
• Grab your iron sword and prepare for battle!
• Build the iron golem to help protect the village.
• Accessory elements include a crafting table, water bucket, emerald-ore-style elements, 2 pumpkin heads and a chest with emerald-style elements.
• Weapons include a sword and a pickaxe.
• Set your imagination free—rebuild the set for more LEGO® Minecraft™ creations!
• Measures over 5” (15cm) high, 19” (49cm) wide and 17” (44cm) deep.