Last month, there was a buzz of excitement when LEGOLAND Florida first announced that they were constructing a new themed area in their theme park, one that’s inspired by The LEGO Movie and its upcoming sequel. They expect the expansion area to be open for guests by spring next year.
Among the several new ride attractions that are being planned for the soon-to-be-called LEGO Movie World area of LEGOLAND Florida, is the Masters of Flight flying theater, where guests could go on a ride aboard Emmet’s couch with a full-dome virtual display. During the IAAPA 2018 event, the management demonstrated a scale version of the ride assembled using LEGO bricks.
Merlin Entertainments’ global creative arm Merlin Magic Making touted LEGO Movie World in Florida as the ultimate destination for those wanting a full LEGO Movie universe experience. Merlin Magic Making project director Keith Carr adds, “We are confident this will be an incomparable and unforgettable escape that the whole family will want to experience again and again and every seat will offer an amazing view as wind, mist, and scent fully engage the rider’s senses.”
The virtual journey that riders of Masters of Flight will undertake include white-knuckle tours Cloud Cuckoo Land, Middle Zealand, Pirates Cove and others, with LEGO Movie characters popping up, all voiced by their film portrayers.
Other rides to be expected when LEGO Movie World opens in LEGOLAND Florida in 2019 are Unikitty’s Disco Drop and Battle of Bricksburg, alongside the Emmet’s Super Suite meet-and-greet area. Establishments include The Awesome Shop (themed merch) and the Taco Tuesday Everyday light dining eatery.
We’ve long seen stunt walkers able to walk across fiery coal embers or broken bits of glass barefoot without seemingly suffering injuries. Scott Bell, who set a Guinness World Record for the longest barefoot fire-walk in 2006, and now runs an events company arranging for similar walking events during team-buildings and special occasions, is an old hand at hazardous barefoot-walking. But one surface material remains his certain nemesis: LEGO bricks.
Firewalkers risk burns and glass-walkers risk cuts whenever they do their thing, but they might agree with Scott Bell that doing the same to a bed of LEGO pieces is much worse. Why is that?
In an interview with Smithsonianmag.com, Bell offers his opinion on the greater pain caused by LEGO compared to fire or glass. The latter materials might potentially crunch under the weight of one’s foot, but a LEGO made of sturdy plastic would never give and thus dug into one’s sensitive sole.
Another Guinness holder, Russell Cassevah, has pretty much shut most serious attempts at breaking his April 2018 record of walking through a bed of LEGO bricks some 2,737 feet long. His feet were actually red and bleeding at the end of it. To that, Bell remarks, “Glass will move as you stand on it, whereas Lego, you’ll get one that will sort of stand proud and refuse to go down.”
Amazingly, children stepping on LEGOs on the floor are a lot less inconvenienced than if it were a grownup. That too is scientifically explainable: kids weigh less and exert less pressure on a brick under their foot, compared to the adults. It’s why “I hope you step on a LEGO” is a legitimate putdown for anyone past the childhood years.
Sponsoring these contests is becoming a habit of sorts for Guinness World Records. Following the launch of its LEGO Star Wars Millennium Falcon (75192) and LEGO Ideas Saturn V (21309) contest giveaways, we now have a third Guinness LEGO Trivia Contest that celebrates the world oddities and unique title holders.
As you may have guessed, Guinness World Records once again has opened a trivia question on their record section involving LEGO sets. The prize is, surprisingly, the now retired LEGO Creator Maersk Line Triple-E (10241) container ship released in 2014. You have to wonder if LEGO provided some for Guinness.
This set is unique among the LEGO products featured in the 2019 Book of World Records, in that its basis the Maersk Triple-E is a former record-holder, since out sized by OOCL Hong Kong as the Largest Container Ship by capacity. It’s still impressive, knowing that set 10241 is 600 times smaller than the actual size.
If you’d like to snag one of these supposedly retired LEGO Creator sets from Guinness, then visit the Maersk Container Ship record info page on Guinness here to answer the Guinness LEGO Trivia Contest question to the right. Like the other contests, only website visitors from Canada, Ireland and the UK can participate. This time, the deadline is Friday, November 16, before midnight.
I know this might sound out place here at the Brickshow blog, but such a person whose life’s work has touched so many deserves to be mentioned, much more when he passes away and leaves a legacy of comic book-inspired LEGO sets that we now enjoy. Stanley Martin Lieber, or better known to the world as Stan Lee passes away at the age of 95 earlier today at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
The death of the iconic nonagenarian was confirmed by Atty. Kirk Schenk who represents Lee’s daughter, J.C. Lee. The Marvel comic book icon may perhaps be the single most important person in the history of comics and entertainment, where he is credited for the creation and development of characters that we are all so fond of today. Stan Lee began his career in 1939 as a humble gofer, from Timely Comics a predecessor of what is now known as Marvel Comics. At a time where comic book heroes are sketched as the epitome of success and adulation of the crowd, Stan Lee introduced us to superhero characters struggling with life issues that are relatable and so real to us. We have a queasy, nerdy Peter Parker, trying hard to keep up his superhero alter ego under wraps while dating his sweetheart (the first of many actually); a modern-day (and green all over) Jekyll and Hyde with anger management issues; and a person with disability whose blindness never stopped him from fighting crime in the thick darkness of the night. In a time where superheroes were portrayed as the perfect, well-adjusted protagonists, Lee introduced us to characters who rose up and took the superhero mantle in spite of their pretty messed up shortcomings and flaws.
When Disney bought Marvel Entertainment in 2009, Stan Lee’s comic book characters were given a boost and media exposure in ways that Lee could have never imagined. The rebranding of his Marvel characters for the big screen eventually resulted in the birth of the MCU or Marvel Cinematic Universe and will later find their way in LEGO sets, rendered as minifigures.
The LEGO Marvel Superheroes Captain America’s Avenging Cycle (6865) is one of the very first LEGO sets inspired by the Marvel Cinematic Universe released in 2012.Wolverine’s Chopper Showdown (6866) underscores LEGO’s early attempts to incorporate Marvel comic book characters brought to life by Stan Lee.
From Spider-Man to the X-Men, and Avengers and Incredible Hulk, the list of Marvel superheroes seems to be endless and we owe all of them to Stan Lee. Indeed, the LEGO and comic book landscape will not be the same without the brilliant, creative mind behind these comic book pages.
LEGO finally pays tribute to the master story teller with his own minifigure version (albeit digital) in the video game LEGO Marvel Superheroes. LEGO is yet to release an official, physical minifigure version of Stan Lee which I really it will do in the future.
Like his superhero personas, Lee also had his own share of ups and downs like anyone else and his life may not always be as rosy and lovely as compared to some of us. But he led a life fulfilling what he really wants to do, inspiring us to do the same. Like what he said to Peter Parker (played by Tobey Maguire) in 2007’s Spider-Man 3, “You know, I guess one person can make a difference … ’nuff said.” And Stan Lee really made his mark and made a difference in this world.
In government, cabinet secretaries are usually perceived to take the effort to have some inside knowhow of the field his department or ministry oversees. So when Jeremy Wright, UK State Secretary for Culture, Media and Sport, mentioned in recent interviews that he relied solely on aids summarizing reports on culture and media rather than subscribing to publications, he was put through the wringer by British media for seeming pop-cultural ignorance.
A week after this initial blowup, another interview with Wright, 46, on AOL UK the publicly beleaguered State Sec somehow managed to rehabilitate his rep – with the British LEGO-building fandom at least – by revealing both his LEGO collection and AFOL-ness.
In his own words, Jeremy Wright reveals that building with LEGO bricks was his own personal way of de-stressing from the pressures of government work. Where many people have different ways to “switch off”, Wright declares that his is LEGO.
Despite his wife commenting that his LEGO collection was getting “too large”, the State Sec of Culture, in his words, just can’t stop collecting and building. “In my view it’s a great way of putting your brain into neutral, which sometimes we all need to do.” Then again, he’s saying that when one of his completed sets is the LEGO Star Wars Death Star (75159).
It can be a lot to think about, when you feel yourself therapeutically relaxing from your job at the UK Cabinet by assembling a planet-destroying battle station. But hey, he may have proven himself as being savvy in culture and media after that earlier mishap.
As we know, there are several possible ways by which somebody might dress up in a LEGO themed costume for say, Halloween almost two weeks ago. They can either be humanoid LEGO bricks or minifigures. Some costume manufacturers have these LEGO costumes available, but sometimes nothing beats a homemade creation.
Really, anybody who’s seen photos from Halloween of pop star Justin Timberlake on social media has to give him props for his LEGO minifig costume design. He, wife Jessica Biel and their son Silas just blew everyone away at what Halloween party they attended in October 31, dressed as LEGO Batman, Robin and Harley Quinn.
Said Halloween photo of the Timberlakes as LEGO DC minifigures was a hit on social media. It was quite viral to the LEGO fandom, in fact, that The LEGO Group itself would repost the photo on their official Instagram account. Their very impressed caption read as follows, “You’ve nailed it!”
By now, well after Halloween has passed, LEGO’s repost of the image has been given over 83,000 likes and more than 300 comments from LEGO fans everywhere. Even Disguise, the costumer maker that created the Halloween costumes we mentioned earlier, might learn a few things.
Awesome costumes for Halloween are something of an old hat for Justin Timberlake and family; last year they were dressed up as Toy Story characters.
Anyone with a wide enough scientific education would know what a sundial is: a device that tells time via available sunlight, which casts shadows on a dial of hour-lines, said shadow being cast by a raised gnomon. There are so many variations on the sundial structure, including “ring dials”, where sunlight passes into a hole and falls on marked hour-lines. Recently, Chinese-based LEGO educational group Playable Designs attempted a new LEGO-themed, Guinness Record to make the world’s largest sundial built using LEGO- to be exact – Duplo pieces. The group used a ridiculous number of large Duplo bricks in order to make a sturdy structure.
With some 45,000 LEGO Duplo pieces in several colors, the Playable Designs team went to work on the world’s largest sundial, out of these many Duplo bricks at the Beijing art district. Upon completion, the largest ring sundial in LEGO Duplo measured 2.81 meters in diameter and 08 meters in thickness, and proven to indeed tell time from the sun like any ring sundial would. Watch this featured video from Guinness World Records.
Playable Design group founder Mrs. Hou remarked that the project was primarily a teaching tool to encourage and inspire children to learn about science, astronomy, math and history, all subjects that pertain to sundials. Still, she adds, they’re very happy all the same that their work was recognized by Guinness as the new title holder for the world’s largest sundial made entirely of plastic bricks.
Playable Designs specializes in developing LEGO-related educational programs in Chinese schools. Their largest LEGO Duplo ring sundial project took three months to design before the actual building process, and involved Astronomy professionals and mechanical engineers.
The LEGO Technic line doesn’t just simply go for near-authentic mechanical functions for their sets; they can also include the odd gimmick now and then. This is illustrated in the new LEGO Stunt School ad video on YouTube, which showcases the long-released Technic sets WHACK! (42072) and BASH! (42073), plus a special guest.
Said guest is celebrated British racer Ben Collins, who also appeared on BBC’s Top Gear both as himself (presenter) and as one of the stunt performance drivers under the collective identity of “The Stig”. The video presents him as “driving” both the WHACK! (42072) and BASH! (42073) sets as open-faced and tinted-helm versions of himself.
The LEGO Stunt School video depicts a boy playing with the LEGO Technic WHACK! (42072) and BASH! (42073) sets, with clever camera editing that makes it look like both Technic sets have Collins on the wheel. Footage of the sets in motion are real, with the models running via their pull-back motor action as they wend their way around several other Technic sets, culminating in a neat sequence demonstrating the central sets’ primary Technic stunts.
The LEGO Technic WHACK! (42072)The LEGO Technic BASH! (42073)
At one point the BASH! (42073) car collides with a wall, causing its engine to pop out – the other primary feature of it and its brother LEGO Technic set aside from its pull-back running function.
In interview, Ben “Stig” Collins remarked on the video, “This film was created not just for the awesome stunts but also to inspire children to think outside of the box when it comes to creative play. By showcasing my skills as LEGO’s official stunt driver, I hope to open children’s minds to the endless potential LEGO Technic offers when building.”
Collins says his children are big LEGO fans and the toy brand’s a major part of their family life. “It’s been a real pleasure to be able to combine my love of stunt driving with my love of LEGO in The Chase. I hope it inspires kids everywhere to create their very own epic stunts!”
Check out the entire LEGO Technic range at Shop@Home. None of the sets are retired yet; just out of stock if not listed as available.
One of our previous articles had a list of said LEGO sets that are related to Guinness’ many World Records. It also contained a small contest on the official Guinness website for any visitor who answered one trivia question correctly to win a LEGO Star Wars UCS Millennium Falcon (75192). That giveaway was last month. Now, Guinness World Records is back with another c has a new trivia question up on one of its LEGO World Record info pages. The winner this time around will win a LEGO Ideas NASA Apollo Saturn V (21309), the 17th official LEGO Ideas set. Question: what year was the Saturn V first launched?
Do you think you have what it takes to prepare this record-breaking rocket for flight? Well now’s your chance to find out.
The Saturn V is one of them and you now have the chance to win this kit.
To be in with a chance visit the dedicated Saturn V page and answer the question on the form.
Entrants from the UK, Ireland and Canada are valid and all entries must be received by 11:59:59 p.m. BST on Friday 9 November.
Interested parties can tick off the right answer among the provided choices, then enter their personal information and email address below. The entry form to win the LEGO Ideas NASA Apollo Saturn V (21309) raffle is to the right of the Saturn V Guinness page. Entrants from Canada, the UK and Ireland have until November 9 to join.
We’ve covered some particularly awesome LEGO-inspired animation before, running from actual minifigure-brick stop-motion action to 3D-animated short pieces (such as the one made by official LEGO videogame developer Traveller’s Tales). Here we have something new and incredible to share, an epic reworking of a trailer for a now-blockbuster music biopic.
Bohemian Rhapsody from 20th Century Fox starring Rami Malek is a biographical film on the history of legendary rock band Queen, particularly its late front-man Freddy Mercury. It’s also the latest major example of cinematic critical dissonance, as viewers defied middling reviews to crowd theaters and watch it, leading to great box office gains worldwide.
Brickfilm Day is a YouTube channel that puts up some very impressive LEGO stop-motion fan animation work. And their latest production is a near-accurate rendition of the trailer for Bohemian Rhapsody. Recreations of sets, props, and minifigure character design are awesome, with SFX moving mouths syncing with the spoken dialogue.
We’re willing to bet that this LEGO stop-motion is good enough to convince anyone who hasn’t seen Bohemian Rhapsody, already in cinemas since November 3, to go ahead and see it in all its glory. In closing, we’ll include this side-by-side video comparison of the Brickfilm Day animation with the original 20th Century Fox trailer.
