LEGO Forma Building Instructions Now Available Online, Plus PDF Downloads of Skin Patterns

In late November, LEGO tested out a new product line through an unconventional avenue, the Indiegogo crowd-funding platform. Their campaign was stupendously successful, with the hybrid brick-and-colored-skin building system appealing massively to AFOLs. Preorders of the LEGO Forma limited sets were off the charts, it’s no wonder they’re uncommon now.

For those who were interested in trying out the LEGO Forma sets but didn’t manage to get in the preordering blitz, here’s good news. LEGO has decided to make available the uniform building instructions for the sets online. The instructions, in PDF form, detail how to make the internal mechanics and base using Technic pieces.

After all, the LEGO Forma build is simply the articulated “skeleton” of an aquatic animal, supported by a base with a manual mechanism that causes the framework to “swim.” Over the LEGO skeleton goes a variation of paper skins colored to look like anything from Japanese koi to a shark.

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Wouldn’t you know it, LEGO has that covered too. Also available for download are PDFs of the aforementioned Forma skin variations. Simply print the patterns on sturdy paper, the go wild on the whiteness with your choice of colors. It’s this sort of creative potential that’s enamored AFOLs with Forma.

LEGO hasn’t made any announcements on when there might be new releases of Forma sets in the future. Until then however, fans can build their own colorful brick-and-skin fishes using the instructions and patterns provided.

The Classic LEGO Pirates May Have a Comeback With This LEGO Ideas The Pirate Bay Product Idea

Before LEGO Ninjago and more esoteric building systems like Technic, before the proliferation of licensed sets, LEGO themes were basic. There were City sets and Knight sets. Then we had the Pirate sets, usually comprised of ic0nic brick-built ship designs that sometimes had cloth sails. In what can only be a beautiful love letter to the old Pirates sets, LEGO Ideas member Pablo Jimenez or Bricky_Brick at LEGO Ideas submitted this incredible build. And while longtime internet explorers might cringe at its name, everyone can agree that LEGO Ideas The Pirate Bay product idea is a sweet assembly. The possibility of having this as an official LEGO set now that it passed that highly desired 10K fan support certainly makes LEGO Pirates feel like it never went away.

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Rather than make another pirate ship for his product idea, Pablo decided to tackle another signature locale of pirate lore. That would be the island hideout. The Pirate Bay sees a band of buccaneers turn a flat island into a fortress using wrecked ships and assorted flotsam. You have to agree the results are impressive. Pablo also did great in working in various setting details to sell that this island post can be somewhat self-sufficient for its pirate garrison. There are trees left on the island, and the proposed LEGO Ideas The Pirate Bay set also keep a combination of pigsty and chicken coop. They also have cannons on hand for that extra fire power.

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Home, in this case, is comprised of a captain’s quarters, kitchen, tavern, and jailhouse. There’s also a sandy dune to bury a stash of treasure in, as well as secret compartments under the captain’s bunk and galley, in case quick escapes are needed.

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There’s also a lot of characters and critters to populate LEGO Ideas The Pirate Bay with. The set provides for a six-person pirate crew (one peg-leg captain, three mates and two wenches); a lone navy sailor castaway; a dog, parrots, monkey (with minifigure limbs), pigs, chickens, and a crab; and finally some hazards like a scorpion and even a great white shark.

With over 9,000 supporters and more than 700 days left, we can probably expect Bricky_Brick’s The Pirate Bay to gain the need 10-K LEGO Ideas support sooner rather than later. If it can make the deadline for the First 2019 Review Stage it’ll join the likes of the Museu Nacional – Rio de Janeiro, Anatomini, and NBC’s “The Office” product ideas.

ADDENDUM: Scratch the request for supporters. “The Pirate Bay” has hit the magic 10-K and is now part of the First 2019 Review Stage batch. Congratulations to Bricky_Brick and best of luck with the review crew.

LEGO Re-Promotes LEGO Ideas Pop-Up Book (21315) in Hilarious Ad Parodying Samsung Galaxy Fold

Last month, the South Korean electronics manufacturer Samsung presented a prospective new mobile device of theirs. They’re keen on seeing it revolutionize the development of smartphones and tablet computers. Why? Because their Samsung Galaxy Fold is a smartphone that can “unfold” into a tablet, thanks to a foldable AMOLED display.

This bit of news seems out of place where LEGO is concerned. At least, that’s how it was until LEGO suddenly made an April Fools’ joke weeks early. On their Twitter page they put a promotional image for the “LEGO Fold,” in a hilarious rip of the Samsung Galaxy Fold.

LEGO’s ad is an obvious parody of the Korean folding phone-tablet. Playing the role of the Galaxy Fold was last year’s LEGO Ideas set, the Pop-Up Story Book (21315). The toy brand’s Twitter caption boasted the set’s “5-inch cover unfolding into an 11-inch pop-up storybook.”

For tech-heads, that pronouncement was a send-up to the specs of the Samsung Galaxy Fold, which had a 4.6-in phone display and the 7.3-inch folding tablet-screen. Also gaining chuckles was LEGO’s assertion that its own Fold never runs out of battery charge. Lastly, the Ideas Pop-Up Book (21315) is more affordable at $69.99 than the Galaxy Fold’s alleged $2,000 price.

We’re not quite sure what inspired LEGO to do a parody of Samsung. It is a funny tweet for all intents and purposes. And perhaps they’re advertising that the LEGO Ideas Pop-Up Book (21315) is still available for purchase in retailers and online at Shop@Home.

Official Images Released for All “Avengers: Endgame” Tie-In Sets Named Thus Far

We did say it was only a matter of time. Finally, after initial reveals and unconfirmed product descriptions all cards are on the table, so to speak. LEGO has released the official images for all its tie-sets to Marvel’s “Avengers: Endgame.” That includes the product boxes with all the details.

As German LEGO news source Promo Bricks discovered, the official images were first added to the relevant LEGO Marvel product listings on Amazon Germany. As can be seen below, the Reddit descriptions for 76125 and 76131 were spot on. In fact, let’s stop talking about it for now and get right on to the photos.

  • Captain America: Outriders Attack (76123) – 167 pieces; Avengers Battle-Motorcycle model with disc-launchers, includes Captain America and Outrider (x3) minifigures

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  • War Machine Buster (76124) – 362 pieces; War Machine Buster mech-armor with articulated limbs and stud-launchers everywhere; includes War Machine, Ant-Man and Outrider (x2) minifigures

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  • Iron Man Hall of Armor (76125) – 524 pieces; Tony Stark’s armor gallery with Mk.1, Mk.5, Mk.41 and Mk.50 variants (all minifigures with optional Stark head and hair); features computer workstation and armor-assembly platform; also includes Outrider (x2) minifigures plus buildable figures of Dum-E robot arm and “Igor” piloted armor

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  • Avengers Ultimate Quinjet (76126) – 832 pieces; customized Avengers-use Quinjet model with combat tricycle model stored in rear hangar bay; both equipped with stud-launchers (Quinjet has stud Vulcan cannon); includes minifigures of Thor, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Rocket and Chitauri (x2)

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  • Avengers Compound Battle (76131) – 699 pieces; Avengers compound building with combat jeep and helicopter models; stud-launchers on both vehicles and Avengers HQ, the latter also features bolt-launchers; includes minifigures of Iron Man, Captain Marvel, Nebula and Outrider, plus Ant-Man microfigure and big-figs of Hulk and Thanos

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Now, according to the Amazon Germany listings, these LEGO Avengers tie-in sets will become available there on April 1. That likely applies to other outlets and Shop@Home too, barring a bad case of April Fools’.

Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Endgame” arrives in cinemas April 26, so the April 1 release makes sense. But first, we have “Captain Marvel” premiering Friday, and it’s got a tie-in also.

Reddit Rumor: Product Descriptions for “Avengers: Endgame” LEGO Tie-In Sets – Iron Man Armor Room (76125) and Avengers Compound Battle (76131)

It’s March, and Marvel Studios’ “Captain Marvel” is premiering this week. That movie’s LEGO tie-in has already come out, with more possibly on the way. But all these might be small potatoes compared to what’s releasing next month. “Avengers: Endgame” is going to be a big end for the saga, and its own LEGO tie-ins aren’t going to be slouches.

Already we have two of the “Endgame” sets announced last year get their first official images last week. The photos of the assembled sets and minifigures does a great deal to hype LEGO fans of what they’ll get from the sets, but also what they can expect from the movie.

So far, none of the other reported LEGO tie-ins for “Avengers: Endgame” have gotten their own first looks. However, Reddit has recently posted up what are apparently set descriptions for Iron Man Armor Room (76125) and Avengers Compound Battle (76131).

Two New Endgame LEGO Set Descriptions – Unconfirmed – But I’ll Def Buy if Real! from MarvelStudiosSpoilers

As you can read from the reddit above, the tie-ins mentioned apparently are going to be elaborate set-pieces with plenty of either tech or action, fitting for their brick counts. The 524-piece Iron Man Armor Room (76125) showcases Tony Stark’s (rebuilt?) armory. It has callbacks to his various armors from past films, plus additional support infrastructure and mechanical armoring mechanism.

Meanwhile, Avengers Compound Battle (76131) sees what’s left of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and their allies taking on Thanos right on their doorstep. Already we have a possible spoiler of Bruce Banner finally regaining the ability to Hulk out again, as he’s the only big-fig in the set aside from Thanos.

Standard disclaimers apply at this point. As Reddit itself has marked them unconfirmed, we’ll take these set descriptions for 76125 and 76131 to be rumors. We’ll now wait until LEGO confirms or denies them, probably by official images pretty soon.

Easter LEGO Seasonal Minifigure Switches from “Hut” Box to Pod with Seasonal Easter Chicken Pod (853958)

Leave it to LEGO to try something different every now and then with their seasonal set releases. We tend to already know what to expect at specific times of the year. We usually get releases of seasonal BrickHeadz, occasionally accompanied by seasonal minifigures in boxes that double as their “homes/workplaces.”

Well, for the 2019 Easter season, LEGO has decided that the “hut” package for their seasonal LEGO minifigures may have run its course. Therefore, they’re changing the container of choice from house-shaped boxes to pods. This was discovered by a Slovenian LEGO fan on Instagram, who found the upcoming set in a LEGO Certified Store.

So, complementing the LEGO BrickHeadz Seasonal Easter Chick set (40350) this year is the new LEGO Seasonal Easter Chicken Pod (853958). As expected of seasonal minifigure names, what we have is a guy in a chicken suit. And because his container is a pod, he comes with quite the variety of extra stuff in it.

Chicken suit guy comes with two accessories: a golden trophy cup and a pair of red roller skate elements for his feet. His character pod contains a quaint little Easter garden setup…and a skating ramp, for the use of a white Easter Bunny piece with its own roller skate element.

We don’t have details yet on the Easter Chicken Pod (853958), such as its price and its release date. We’re also not sure if this is a one-off variation on LEGO’s part or if they’re ending the seasonal “minifigure hut” line, replacing them with pods.

But whether this is only temporary or the new state of things for seasonal minifigures, it looks pretty good from what we’ve seen. It also comes across as a big improvement in any case. Whether it’s a fluke, a replacement for the huts, or a new complementary seasonal line, we certainly won’t mind seeing more in the vein of LEGO Seasonal Easter Chicken Pod (853958).

Now Available: LEGO Minifigure Ceramic Cup (853910), Great for Drinking at Table or While Building

When a toy brand becomes such a multinational behemoth like LEGO, they can extensively diversify their product offerings. They can range from printed, TV and cinematic media; clothing and costumes; to more material stuff like themed accessories such as backpacks and wristwatches. And then we have this new household item.

The LEGO Minifigure Ceramic Mug (853910) is but another development of the manufacture of assorted LEGO goods that carry the distinctive design of the brand’s toys. In this case, the mug is colored and shaped into a standard minifigure head, but drinking-sized. The minifig face is custom painted into a knowing smirk, evoking “Emoji” imagery.

As taken from its name, this is no throwaway plastic mug. The minifigure shape is made out of ceramic, therefore good for hot beverages like milk, coffee and coco. And at 300 ml capacity, you can fill it with a good amount of drink too.

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LEGO collectors can get this Minifigure Ceramic Mug (853910) for $14.99. From its 6+ age rating it’s a great gift for children and might give just a little motivational push with its great design to get them to drink their milk. AFOLs in turn might enjoy the theming and smiley-face, topping it up with their drink of choice while they’re busy set-assembling or MOC-building.

Seeing as the product blurb’s quite short, we’ll include it:

Enjoy your favorite beverages from this LEGO® Iconic 853910 Ceramic Mug. Shaped like an iconic minifigure head and printed with a fun smiley face, this 300ml yellow mug is perfect for when you need to take a break from building your LEGO creations.

  • Yellow ceramic 300ml mug in the form of an iconic minifigure head, printed with a fun facial expression.
  • Measures over 3” (9cm) high.

Designer Video for LEGO Creator Ford Mustang (10265) and Other Extras to be had with Purchase

It was a time for LEGO and retro automobile fans to rejoice last Friday as the LEGO Creator Ford Mustang (10265) was finally released. Not only was the set itself made available, it also came with the sweet collectible keychain (5005822) that works great to show off their owners’ “new” LEGO car.

Hopefully there’s enough stock for that extra goody in stores and on Shop@Home to last until March 10. Apparently over the weekend the keychain (5005822) failed to show up on customers’ purchase carts at Shop@Home despite picking up the Creator Mustang (10265). It has happened a few times with extras before, and should be back to normal now.

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Moving on, there’s also another related event that always comes in the heels of major LEGO set releases. There’s no prize for guessing right; the designer video for the LEGO Creator Ford Mustang (10265) online. The video is hosted by the Creator Mustang’s chief designers, Carl Merriam & Mani Zamani.

But there’s more, essentially proving that Creator 10265 is easily one of the biggest products brought out by LEGO this year. If customers bought the set from a store, their purchase will come with yet another freebie: a bumper sticker.

This extra gift, like the keychain (5005822), is totally geared for AFOLs in general and car owners in particular. You’ve got to love the sassiness of a statement like “My other car is a Mustang,” as shared by fellow LEGO news source Avenue of Bricks.

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LEGO has even launched an informal promo campaign to have Creator Mustang (10265) buyers that got the sticker to post a photo of it on their cars and share it on social media (LEGO’s pages on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter). Add the LEGO Ideas contest and it’s a promotional extravaganza.

So there you have it. Nothing more needs to be said about how the LEGO Creator Ford Mustang (10265) is one priority purchase for LEGO fans, car enthusiast or otherwise.

New 10-K Support Passer for Possible LEGO Ideas First 2019 Review Stage: NBC’s “The Office”

As we proceed further along the year 2019, it’s only a matter of time before a new batch of product ideas begin racking up 10,000 supporters to join the next LEGO Ideas review stage. Among the first submissions to be pending review this year are the Rio de Janeiro Museu Nacional and the very quirky Anatomini set. They are now followed by a new addition.

Similar to one of the chosen submission from the Second 2018 Review Stage, this product idea by the suitably-codenamed theoffice_lego, is inspired by the NBC sitcom “The Office.” It’s a building interior model replicating the primary setting of the show.

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To fully capture every notable detail in the office building of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Co. branch in Scranton, Pennsylvania, theoffice_lego had to make the set big, with a total area of 17”x19”. Despite the size, he used just under 2,500 pieces to complete it (total count not yet finalized).

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One other neat feature of this set for “The Office” is its easy separation into three sections to better facilitate play and vignette-posing at specific places of the whole thing. It also helps viewers to get a better viewing angle of every decoration, accessory and fluff pieces put in there.

“The Office” set comes with 14 minifigures representing the show’s pretty large cast: five from Sales, three from Accounting and six more, including main character Michael Scott. All of them have their own workspace and personal accessories for setting scenes.

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This is an ambitious project that could blow similar interior sets out of the water with its intricacy and provisions for ease of play. We definitely want to wish the best for theoffice_lego when this set joins its fellows on the Ideas First 2019 Review Stage to come before review.

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Warner Bros. Boss Gives Two Cents on Under-Performance of “LEGO Movie 2”

It’s going to be close to a month now since “The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part” arrived in cinemas. And for all intents and purposes it couldn’t capture lightning in a jar like the original 2014 film did. At February’s end its global earnings amount only to $137.5 million.

Why did a numbered sequel to “The LEGO Movie,” which caused a LEGO products shortage in its release year, fail to recapture the original’s magic? Kevin Tsujihara, CEO of Warner Bros. Entertainment, talked briefly about “LEGO Movie 2” with the Los Angeles Times, revealing their animation group and WB Pictures, which co-produced and distributed the film, was just as surprised.

“It didn’t do as well as tracking would’ve suggested, which was a little puzzling,” said Tsujihara, also remarking how audiences and critics found the first movie fresh and different. Ultimately, he thinks that Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Animation Group need to “rethink the experience.”

From Tsujihara’s quote, an optimistic reading is that this stumbling box office performance by “LEGO Movie 2” will not turn off Warner from making more. What they do need to work on is the “rethinking” of the viewing experience, which may have a good point.

Proposed reasons for “LEGO Movie 2” not clicking with the fandom created by “The LEGO Movie” include franchise fatigue. After all, there were “LEGO Batman” and “LEGO Ninjago” movies before the actual storyline sequel was announced. The studios’ choice of rehashing the original’s marketing campaign may have also significantly contributed.