This next LEGO Ideas Contest fell off my radar, and it’s a good thing that we still have two weeks before the contest ends. In case you also missed it, you might be interested to know that the LEGO Ideas team is running another building contest where LEGO fans and builders can get to bag home an awesome array of LEGO Ideas sets. All you need to do is to come up with your most imaginative and bricktastic pop-up story in a similar fashion such as that of LEGO Ideas Pop-Up Book (21315). The deadline for submission of entries is on January 3, 2019 (6AM, EST). Read on for the contest’s overview and what you’ll be getting if yours will be the winning entry. For the complete contest rules, you may visit the LEGO Ideas Create a Bricktastic Pop-Up Story contest page. You may also view other cool entries in this contest right here.
Some of the entries for the ongoing LEGO Ideas Create a Bricktastic Pop-Up Story Contest
Create a Bricktastic Pop-Up Story!
Do you consider yourself an amazing storyteller? Whether you’re into action stories, romance, fairy tales, science fiction, comics or a whole other genre, we now challenge you to build a bricktastic story that will make us all fall off our chairs! To give your story the ultimate twist of creativity, we ask you to build it as a pop-up.
So, get ready, fetch your bricks, and surprise us with some awesome pop-up stories!
The Grand Prize winner will receive:
A custom, special edition Pop-Up Book trophy created by LEGO Designer Wes Talbott and featuring artwork by LEGO Graphic Designer Crystal Fontan
We now have our 4th LEGO Ideas candidate that qualifies for the Third 2018 LEGO Ideas Review Stage. Following the 10K, thumbs up success of the Food Stand Diners a few days ago, we now have a larger set candidate in the form of the Queen Victoria Cruise ship by David Wardle (also known as FlagsNZ over at Brickset). Built using more than 2,000 LEGO pieces, the LEGO Ideas Queen Victoria Cruise Ship is an accurate, 1:565 scaled rendition of the real Queen Victoria Cruise Ship, a Vista-Class passenger ship built in Italy in 2007. What is perhaps equally interesting about this MOC, is the builder behind it. David Wardle has a long, solid career in the maritime business and has been teaching his expertise as a senior lecturer in a maritime school in New Zealand. He even uses LEGO sets such as the LEGO Creator Expert Maersk Line Triple-E (10241) in teaching students how to navigate the seas. So when David talks about ships and builds LEGO MOCs about them, expect only the best rendition from a seasoned skipper and LEGO fan.
Here’s an overview of the LEGO Ideas Queen Victoria Cruise Ship, together with some details and images. This original creation from David Wardle qualifies for the Third 2018 LEGO Ideas Review Stage which will end on January 7, 2019. It’s the 4th qualifying set following the Dinosaurs Fossils Collection – Natural History Collection, Chemical Plant, and Food Stand Diners. With only 14 votes remaining, we can also expect the Playable LEGO Piano to follow soon, and Anatomini not far behind.
LEGO Product Idea Queen Victoria Cruise Ship
This LEGO model of Queen Victoria recreates the real luxury cruise liner in amazing detail. You can see the cabin portholes and balconies of the Britannia Balcony staterooms as well as the detailed open decks with three swimming pools.
You can see the open Promenade decks with the ship’s lifeboats and life rafts. There are rotating gold-coloured propellers attached to two swivelling Azipod motors. The model has a complete set of navigation lights, radar and radio masts, and the three distinctive satellite communication domes.
The model can be displayed on its own stand which includes a fact plaque with detailed information about the ship or the stand can be removed as the model will slide around on smooth boat studs.
This model has been designed to accurately portray this iconic Cunard Line passenger ship. The model is built to the similar scale as the Creator Expert set 10241 Maersk Line Triple E.
Dimensions
The LEGO model Queen Victoria measures 65 studs long (52cm, 20.5in) and 12 studs wide (10cm, 3.8in).
The real ship measures 294m (965ft) long which make this model’s scale 1:565.
It includes 2061 parts.
Cunard
Founded in 1840, Cunard Line celebrated 175 years of operation in 2015. They have always been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic. Cunard Line ships have distinctive red funnels with two black stripes.
Queen Victoria is a Vista-Class passenger ship. This class of ship are built in Italy at the Fincantieri Marghera shipyard. Vista-Class ships are built to Panamax guidelines, which means that they will fit into the locks and can transit Panama Canal. As well as Cunard, Vista-Class ships are operated by Holland America Line, P&O Cruises and Costa Crociere.
Azipod is a type of podded marine propulsion unit which sits outside the hull. It consists of a fixed pitch propeller mounted on a steerable pod unit. Queen Victoria has two Azipod thrusters.
LEGO has just announced a new promotional to celebrate the release of the LEGO Overwatch theme a couple of weeks from now. If you’re looking forward to visit your local LEGO Store in January, then you may want to mark the 23rd to have the chance to participate in the LEGO Store Overwatch Play Event. Like any other LEGO Store events, participating in this in-store play event will give you the chance to build and bring home your FREE LEGO Overwatch Ganymede brick-built figure.
This brick-built avian figure is a great companion to the LEGO Overwatch Bastion (75974) set which is also slated to be released on January 1. Here’s the full announcement from LEGO.com.
Some of your favorite Overwatch heroes have been protecting the LEGO® Store and have left their sprays behind. We need your help to search throughout the store to figure out which characters have been here!
Find the sprays and mark each one you find, then show your checklist to a Brick Specialist and build and take home your own FREE LEGO Overwatch Ganymede model!
Event takes place in stores January 23, 2019. To participate, you must sign up in stores beginning January 1, 2019. Builders must be between the ages of 6-14 to participate.
Be sure to drop by any LEGO brand store starting January 1 to register for this LEGO play event. And since this event is running only for a day, expect this free LEGO Overwatch Ganymede figure to run out pretty fast.
We now have our second LEGO Movie 2 polybag hot on the heels of the recently revealed Mini Master-Building MetalBeard (30528). Brickset has recently updated its database, and we now get to see the sequel’s second tie-in polybag in the form of the LEGO Movie 2 Star Stuck Emmet (30620) polybag, If you recall from the official trailer, we get to see Sweet Mayhem causing havoc in the already torn down city of Bricksburg in pursuit of Lucy and Emmet. The battle-ready citizens of Bricksburg run for cover as they flee towards the Bat Cave. The moment that Emmet, Lucy and Unikitty finally made their way to Batman’s fortress, one of Sweet Mayhem’s Star Bombs got stuck in between the massive gates of the Bat Cave.
Unfortunately for our heroes, Emmet can’t resist the adorable, seemingly hurt Star Bomb and eventually gave in and opened the gate. Eventually, LEGO managed to capture those huge gates in microscale form with the LEGO Movie 2 Star Stuck Emmet (30620) polybag. Though Emmet is present in almost all upcoming LEGO Movie 2 sets, making it relatively easy to get one, this new polybag a cost-effective way to grab that new Emmet minifigure.
Small as it may seem, this set also features a moveable gate that opens and closes using a gear and wrench piece. It also replicates the massive gates using several sand green Nexo Knights shield pieces and includes two printed tiles that show two alternate expressions of the Star Bomb.
Unlike the Mini Master-Building MetalBeard (30528) polybag which was reported to have been spotted at several Walmart stores, we don’t have any word yet on where to find the Star Stuck Emmet (30620) polybag. We’ll let you know once more news comes in, or feel free to give us a tip if ever you spot one of this. For now, if you haven’t seen the rest of the awesome LEGO Movie 2 sets offered by LEGO, then be sure to head over LEGO Shop@Home to know more about them.
This next eBay listing finally puts all doubt to rest with regards to a LEGO Movie 2 D2C set. As early as September, we already made mention of a possible a direct-to-consumer (D2C) set that is tied-in with the LEGO Movie 2 sequel. It is somewhat expected considering such a large and promising theme such as this one. Though LEGO has already released a huge stash of new TLM2 sets slated to be available in January, we are yet to see what the theme’s D2C set will be. As it seems, we don’t need to wait that long to have a glimpse at this year’s first direct-to-consumer set. Coming in at 3,178 pieces, we now have our first glimpse at the LEGO Movie 2 Welcome to Apocalypseburg! (70840) set, and a handful of minor spoilers that are revealed through this set. Check out the following images taken from a post uploaded by eBay seller suaresaman.
Though not exactly scaled as that from the movie (which will be rather difficult and huge if it will be rendered to an actual LEGO set), the designers were able to accurately copy the head of the Statue of Liberty and add some impressive details on it. Welcome to Apocalypseburg! (70840) also sports several play features that are put together in a modular style building. There are also some interesting building techniques that are highlighted in this set, such as how the arm of the Statue of Liberty is also used as a ladder, and building the head of the statue in such a tilting manner.
But what could be the most interesting aspect of the set is its large selection of minifigures: we get to see Scribble Cop, Larry the Barista, Fuse Fulminant, “Where Are My Pants?” Guy, Roxxi, Chainsaw Dave, Mo-Hawk, Harley Quinn, Green Lantern, Wasteland Batman, Lucy and Emmet.
As mentioned in the trailer, everyone (perhaps with the exception of Emmet) in the once peaceful and thriving town of Bricksburg was definitely affected by the events of Taco Tuesday. The attack of the Duplons really left an impression in the lives of Bricksburg’s minifigure residents. We even get to see a battle-ready Scribble Cop, which frankly, came in as a surprise because as far as the cast is concerned, it is still yet to be revealed whether or not Liam Neeson’s minifigure character will return for the sequel. From the looks of it, we’ll be seeing the split-personality cop once more though it is quite uncertain if he will have a larger role to play in the film.
It’s also a welcome surprise to see “Where Are My Pants” Guy in a new mean-looking garb. He still has his floral shirt on, but now with several leather straps, and of course, minus the pants. By far, it also looks like that this is the first, and perhaps the only set, where we can have Mad Max versions of Larry the Barista and Surfer Dave (now dubbed as Chainsaw Dave). We also get another Wasteland Batman, which first made its appearance in the Battle-Ready Batman and MetalBeard (70836). Overall, it a nice selection of minifigures that complements the wacky tone of the Welcome to Apocalypseburg! (70840) set. I was just hoping that LEGO could have added the Sewer Babies just for good measure.
The eBay listing is still up as of this posting. But at $450 in the secondary market, I guess we’re better off waiting for the official release of this next D2C set. Thanks to Scott for the tip.
We’ve waited several months on end to learn what the subtitle would be for MCU’s Avengers 4, the conclusion to the finger-spanning-ly tragic Avengers: Infinity War last April. Now, we know it’ll be called Avengers: Endgame, bringing Phase 4 of the MCU franchise to an end nearly a year to the day after the last one, on April 2019. Seeing as the MCU, and Marvel in general, are quite popular subjects in licensed LEGO sets, it was inevitable that not only the company itself but its solid fandom would start paying tribute to this long-awaited monumental superhero film. And they’re doing it through these fan-made LEGO Avengers: Endgame trailers.
Two particular versions of these painstakingly produced fan-made LEGO Avengers: Endgame trailers using real LEGO bricks and minifigures have now garnered attention over on YouTube. They’re both the work of stop-motion LEGO animators with longtime channels on the video-sharing platform.
First off, we have this all-natural no-frills interpretation courtesy of Bricky Studios:
And then we have this enhanced brick-rendered trailer from Huxley Berg Studios, which blends the plastic actors and sets with some rudimentary but appropriate special effects to blow minds:
That’d give Brickfilm Day’s Bohemian Rhapsody trailer a good run for its money in effects-blending. Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame is set to premiere on April 26 next year. For comparison’s sake, we’re linking the official movie trailer here for you.
With just over a week left before Christmas, holiday shopping is at fever pitch by now, and some retailers are throwing sales and discounts out to the public in order to attract crowds of bargain hunters. Of course, that includes LEGO sets being given juicy sale prices by major retailers, particularly LEGO Marvel Superheroes discounts over at retail store giant Walmart.
These particular LEGO Marvel Superheroes discounts offered by Walmart, one from this year and the other from 2017, are the Beware the Vulture (76083) and Quantum Realm Explorers (76109). Both of these being set tie-ins to MCU films Spider-Man: Homecoming and Ant-Man and the Wasp respectively.
In comparison, LEGO Marvel Superheroes Beware the Vulture (76083) sees its $39.99 retail price cut by 42% to $22.99 while the Quantum Realm Explorers set (76109) goes from $19.87 to $13.99 (30%). The latter is touted to be the lowest discount rate that has been offered for this MCU Ant-Man tie-in.
By the way, the Beware the Vulture set (76083) available at Walmart comes with a free, 2-day shipping attached to it as well, seeing perhaps how long it’s been on shelves by now.
After Toys R Us Singapore listed for pre-order two of the exclusive 2019 LEGO Asia-Pacific sets a few days ago, the same website for some reason, eventually took down the promotional, with the link supposedly pointing to the pre-order page no longer working as of this posting. Thankfully, LEGO has recently uploaded via its servers the official images of the 2019 LEGO Asia-Pacific sets, namely those of the Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner (80101) and Dragon Dance (80102). Prior to TRU Singapore’s removal of their said posting, Candid Bricks managed to take a snapshot of these sets’ respective product descriptions.
It is also interesting to note that news has been going through the LEGO Ambassadors Network (LAN) that mentions which countries these sets will be available, all of which are from the Asia Pacific region. These are: Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Taiwan. Since official images of these sets are already uploaded via LEGO’s servers then it could only mean that they will be appearing soon in certain regional portals of LEGO Shop@Home.
For LEGO fans that are not located in these abovementioned countries, then the best option for them to get these exclusive 2019 LEGO Asia-Pacific sets are from third-party resellers. Unfortunately, prices from these resellers tend to be quite steep and inflated as compared from official LEGO stores.
These sets are expected to be released on January 1, 2019 with another region-specific set – the Dragon Boat Race (80103) – to be announced later on. Check out the following images below and official product descriptions.
Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner (80101)
Host a traditional Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner!
Join mum, dad, grandma, grandpa and the children for a magical Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner! Decorate the dining room with the Year of the Pig picture and the front door with the Fu sign to bring good luck. Enjoy a traditional feast at the dining table with all the family. Hand out the red gift envelopes and read the good wishes on the spring scrolls. Happy new year, everyone!
Role-play an annual Chinese celebration with this beautifully detailed LEGO® 80101 Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner set, featuring a house with a Fu symbol sticker on the front door, a dining room and a front garden. The dining room has a rotating dining table topped with a feast of traditional food elements, rotating minifigure chairs, family photo stickers, Year of the Pig sticker and buildable bookcase and TV. Create your own festive family reunion stories with the 6 minifigures, traditional red gift envelope and spring scroll elements.
Includes 6 new-for-January-2019 minifigures: mum, dad, grandma, grandpa, girl and boy.
Features a house with a dining room and open front for easy play, plus a front garden.
House features an opening front door with Fu symbol sticker, rotating dining table with 6 rotating minifigure chairs, minifigure armchair, bookcase with book elements, family photo stickers, buildable TV with screen sticker, and main window with red curtain elements.
Dining table comes with assorted printed traditional Chinese food and utensil elements including fish, chicken, shrimp, crab, meatballs, soup, vegetables, jiaozi, tangyuan, spring rolls, rice, rice cake and chopsticks & spoon, plus a bowl and 6 plate elements.
Other accessory elements in the dining room include 2 red gift envelopes, 3 spring scrolls, 2 vases with flowers.
The front garden features a path with paving stone elements and a green ‘grass’ base with flower elements.
Add even more LEGO® fun to your Chinese New Year celebrations with the 80102 Dragon Dance playset.
Measures over 3” (9cm) high, 11” (30cm) wide and 5” (13cm) deep.”
Dragon Dance (80102)
Recreate the Dragon Dance in LEGO® style for play and display!
Dance for good fortune in the Year of the Pig! Open the mouth and pose the tail of the colorful dragon. Dress up as a pig and carry the dragon ball in front of the dragon and the dragon dancers. Then turn the handle to make the dragon and dragon dancers dance and the dragon ball spin!
Celebrate the Year of the Pig with this beautifully detailed LEGO® 80102 Dragon Dance model, featuring a buildable dragon with an opening mouth, posable tail and dragon ball on a stick. Turn the handle to make the dragon and dragon dancers dance and the dragon ball spin. This colorful construction toy for play and display includes 5 dragon dancer minifigures, including the lead dancer in pig costume holding the dragon ball.
Includes 5 minifigures: a dancer in pig costume and 4 dragon dancers.
Features a colorful buildable dragon with an opening mouth, posable tail and dancing function, plus a rotating dragon ball on a stick.
Turn the handle to make the dragon and dragon dancers dance and the dragon ball rotate. • The dragon dancer minifigures are new for January 2019.
Add even more LEGO® fun to your Chinese New Year celebrations with the LEGO® 80101 Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner playset.
Measures over 6” (17cm) high, 12” (33cm) wide and 2” (6cm) deep.”
UPDATE (01/08/2019): Apparently, several news sources have been reporting that both LEGO Lord of the Rings and LEGO The Hobbit video games were now removed as well from popular PC gaming platform Steam. There’s no official word from LEGO or WB Interactive regarding this removal, but we can only speculate that this may have something to do with unresolved copyright issues.
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There have been so many franchises that have been licensed with LEGO to become toy sets and other media like video games, that it’s sometimes hard to keep track of them all. Some even fade into relative obscurity years after release. For instance, WB Interactive and Traveller’s Tales’ LEGO The Hobbit that came out in 2014.
For those LEGO gamers who are also fans of Tolkien’s fantasy universe – and their cinematic adaptations by Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema – there’s a unique limited-time opportunity being given by digital videogame store Humble Bundle, where they’re offering LEGO The Hobbit on Steam…absolutely free!
This free copy of LEGO The Hobbit on Humble Bundle is only available until Saturday, December 15, ending at 10 AM PST. Interested parties availing of this offer on Humble Bundle will receive a code by email, which can be redeemed on Steam until December 20, by 10 AM PST.
LEGO The Hobbit, much like other licensed LEGO games from WB Interactive and Traveller’s Tales, is a video game adaptation of the events from the first two Hobbit films, An Unexpected Journey and The Desolation of Smaug. It’s also notable for having a planned – but canceled – DLC expansion based on the then-unreleased third Hobbit movie, The Battle of the Five Armies.
A subsidiary of IGN, Humble Bundle offers some great prices for games in digital format, a portion of which is given to a number of charities partnered with the store. LOTR and Hobbit fans should take advantage of this offer.
After Yahoo News released our first batch of official images of the LEGO Marvel Superheroes Captain Marvel and the Skrull Attack (76127), additional images of this upcoming set are now uploaded via LEGO’s servers. We can now see in close detail the features of this MCU tie-in set. The most noticeable build in this set features an older version of the Quinjet in the early days of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Captain Marvel and the Skrull Attack (76127)
Coming in at 307 pieces, the Captain Marvel and the Skrull Attack (76127) set also comes with various play features such as a pair of flick-missile shooters which can shoot 4 projectiles at once, and an opening hatch at the back of the Quinjet. It is also our first LEGO Marvel Superheroes set that features the minifigure versions of Captain Marvel, including Skrull baddie, Talos, a younger version of Nick Fury, and Captain Marvel’s (aka Carol Danvers) pet cat Goose.
LEGO has not announced an exact release date yet, but seeing that these images are now uploaded via LEGO’s servers then it might be just a matter of days before we see them listed at LEGO Shop@Home. I know some fans are not really that happy on how this set turned out- with some citing the design of the Quinjet as somewhat bland and uninspiring. However, having Captain Marvel in her first minifigure form is good enough reason to purchase this set.