There’s just been so many different ways that LEGO has been celebrating their years of milestone anniversaries that it can get confusing to keep track of them all. One of their most popular has been the early-2018 release of the Classic LEGO sets available at Walmart. They were so popular that they sold out their limited quantities in no time. One of those rare sets from Walmart was the LEGO Classic 60th Anniversary Truck (4000030), a white-and-red pickup that beautifully recalls the brightly-colored and basic construction of retro LEGO much like its brother sets the House (4000028) and Windmill (4000029).
And the reason we’re talking about this now is that Walmart, for some reason, has just announced that they have the 60th Anniversary Truck (4000030) back in stock, for those who didn’t get one of the limited copies from earlier this year. Whether this is new stock or unsold numbers of the original 5,000 Trucks at Walmart hasn’t been clarified.
Originally priced at $19.99, the return of the LEGO Classic 60th Anniversary Truck (4000030) is a tad cheaper at $19.97. As listed by Walmart, shipping becomes free if the total order is above $35. There’s also no word if the House (4000028) and Windmill (4000029) anniversary sets are coming back either. The last listing is that both remain out of stock.
That’s why I always prefer to go natural and organic, because this next hilarious build from Tyler puts it’s so succinctly. If you’re an 80s kid like me, then titles like “The Attack of the Killer Tomatoes” will probably give you an idea why you should not take your food for granted. Yeah, eating vegetables are good for your body, but I guess this custom LEGO Carrot from the creative mind of Tyler (aka Legohaulic over at Flickr) will disagree otherwise.
With just a handful of pieces, Tyler managed to whimsically capture the poor bunny’s dilemma. This carrot-turned-nemesis is easily recognizable. I love how Tyler managed to give this vengeful custom LEGO Carrot a personality of its own by using several green leaves pieces. The color is also spot on, as well as the many points of articulation that its legs and arms provide. But perhaps the best part of the build are the eyes and eyebrows – it reminds me of the determined and exaggerated eyes of Earthworm Jim. Plus the bunny… oh I surely hate to be in his fur right now.
Be sure to see the rest of Tyler’s original creation on Flickr to see more fun and wacky LEGO builds. He is also one of the bright, talented minds behind Build Better Bricks together with Sean Mayo. B3 is currently running its latest Mushroom Series inspired by characters and elements from Nintendo so do check it out as well.
LEGOLAND Windsor Resort has been quite busy in recent weeks. Last month they opened their first “Total Sensory Space” for the benefit of their guests with special sensory needs. And of course, they’re gearing up for the start of the annual Brick or Treat festival this coming October. That’s all a lot of exhausting work. Perhaps it’s so much work, in fact, that LEGOLAND Windsor, or rather its parent company Merlin Entertainments, is looking to hire any LEGO builder in the UK with good enough skill and confidence in said skill to work as a LEGO Model Maker for the park.
It’s said that all brick-built models in LEGOLAND Windsor, when taken apart, will amount to more than 90 million individual LEGO pieces. That pretty much tells you what mount of work a newly minted LEGO Model Maker can expect when he takes up this job at LEGOLAND.
What’s more, the new modeler’s first major undertaking with LEGOLAND Windsor is the building of “spooky new models” to decorate the Brick or Treat “Haunted House Monster Party” attraction. They can expect to be putting together “creatures crawling in search of blood to terrorize your neighborhood” once they get hired.
And it will be a quick hiring to be sure. Applications sent to Merlin Entertainments for the new LEGO Model Maker at LEGOLAND Windsor will only be until September 28, at 11:59 PM. Whoever gets hired can enjoy a competitive salary, an employee’s 40% discount on LEGO products, 28 days of holiday and 20 free tickets to all Merlin Entertainments park attractions.
There are just so many structures in the world that so deserve to be lovingly created in LEGO; the exhibit structures one might find in the Miniland sections of every LEGOLAND theme park and Discovery Center are testaments to that. And they don’t even have to be towering skyscrapers either. Some fairly impressive LEGO MOCs are builds that sprawl over a large area, like ancient hillforts and sports stadiums. Well now, builder Spencer_R on flickr has likely outdone them all with his replication of the Apple Park campus. That of course means a painstakingly detailed construct of the famous UFO-inspired building.
Conceptualized by the late great Steve Jobs, Apple Park took about three years to build from its 2014 groundbreaking to finally being opened to employees just this 2017. It speaks of the sheer scale and complexity of the buildings in the whole area, that Spencer_R himself needed two years to complete his own LEGO rendition.
Stats-wise, the brick-built Apple Park needed about 85,000 LEGO pieces to assemble. That number includes 1,647 tree elements (whether they’re of the new sustainable plastic material or not hasn’t been clarified). The whole complete set also weighs 77.5 pounds altogether.
Spencer_R describe his Apple Park and similar wide-area LEGO MOCs as “ground-scrapers” to contrast with the soaring skyscrapers. He was inspired to make it after seeing the real Apple Park under construction back in 2014, particularly the spaceship campus building.
More photos of Spencer_R’s Apple Park build can be seen on his flickr page, along with his various other LEGO MOCs that he has constructed for about 15 years straight.
We know the spiel by now: Toy ‘R’ Us may be dead in the US, UK and Australia, but in several other countries life sort of goes on. In Canada for instance, under its current owners Fairfax Financial, its 82 stores north of the border continue to operate as normal. That means of course that the signature seasonal event traditions of the Toys ‘R’ Us brand remain alive and well. Seeing as September is coming to an end that would mean only one thing: Bricktober 2018 is still up and running in the country. From exclusive LEGO gifts to “Make and Takes”, it’s all good.
Now, we already know what Bricktober LEGO minifigure collections are up for grabs in the remaining Toys ‘R’ Us stores the world over, but there’s still the matter of schedule. Canada has its own dates of availability for the sets, thus:
October 5 – 11: LEGO Ninjago (5005257)
October 12 – 18: LEGO Jurassic World (5005255)
October 19 – 25: LEGO Marvel Super Heroes (5005256)
October 26 – November 1: LEGO Harry Potter (5005254)
Remember, each Bricktober minifigure collection can be had free with every minimum $75 LEGO set purchase at TRU Canada, once every week for repeat regular LEGO shoppers.
As for the Make and Take events, Toys ‘R’ Us Canada has two lined up. First is the LEGO Jurassic World theme with a Triceratops build scheduled on October 13. Next is the LEGO Harry Potter event with the famous Mini Flying Ford Anglia model slated on October 27.
These events run from 11AM to 1PM, with a max number of 150 sets allotted per every TRU Canada store. US shoppers need not fret, though. LEGO has already confirmed that Barnes & Noble is carrying the LEGO Harry Potter Bricktober set. There are also rumors floating around that the rest of the Bricktober 2018 series will be offered at LEGO brand stores around November or December. We’ll keep a close eye on that and keep you posted.
Ok, here’s the thing: we now know for sure that the rumored video game deal between LEGO and Nintendo is now completely debunked, and no further talks about this kind of deal is seen on the horizon. With the most recent Nintendo Direct episode showcasing the latest upcoming Nintendo Switch titles, there was no iota of evidence that will hint on a possible Nintendo-LEGO collaboration anytime soon. Okay, that’s pretty disappointing but it’s also a good thing because I can always go back to the LEGO brick that I always loved. Thanks to the outstanding efforts of the LEGO fan community we can somehow fill this LEGO-Nintendo gap with our own creations. With this in mind, we now have once again our Build Better Bricks Master Builders with their own Nintendo-inspired, Mushroom Series.
These minibuilds are excellent for that Nintendo Super Mario MOC that you’re working on, and the best part is, B3 saves you from the hassle of going to Bricklink and provides you already with new and authentic LEGO bricks and pieces to work on right out of the bag. Each of these minibuilds already has their respective instructions and parts included so you can build them right away. Check out what’s in store with B3’s Mushroom Series by clicking on their links below.
In case you missed it, Build Better Bricks is also running a 20% off sale on its Arcade Series which will run only until today. This is a great deal considering the discounts – just enter the promo code ARCADEFUN upon checkout. So if you’re still working on that LEGO City Arcade MOC, be sure to check this out as well and watch out for more exciting creations coming from Build Better Bricks. Happy building!
After catching a glimpse on all of the DC characters that will be included in LEGO DC Super-Villains video game, TT Games Developers Phil and Matt shares some of the new things to expect from the upcoming video game. Playing through the Gorilla City level, Phil and Matt demonstrates how things work in the world of LEGO DC Super-Villains.
If you recall, we already featured a 19-minute extended gameplay of LDCSV when it was shown in Gamescom 2018 at Germany last August. The said gameplay gave us an idea on how the overarching story evolved, and the different various customization of the player’s avatar aptly named as Rookie.
In this latest Gorilla City gameplay video, Phil and Matt highlights certain details about the new minifigure character designs such as those from the DC Rebirth re-launch. The Gorilla City gameplay video also showed the usual LEGO video game staples such as puzzle solving, the use of specific abilities to do specialized tasks (I love how the Reverse Flash’s speed can come in handy allowing access to the Speed Force and Luthor’s X-ray ability revealing mechanical parts behind walls), building certain in-game structures, kicking some minifigure baddies and a dash of healthy LEGO humor. Yeah, give it LEGO and TT Games in coming up with a LEGO banana and use it as battering ram.
We also get to see certain mechanics of Boss Fights, in this case with Gorilla Grodd going against Solovar. Phil also revealed additional boss fight levels where you are pitted against some of DC’s notable superheroes, such as Beast Boy and Raven in their own unique arenas, and many more. It is quite exciting to see how these things will turn out actually. It’s not every day that you get to stumble on a video game that allows you to play as the villains in order to thwart the good guys. Given the complexity of the different motives and agendas that each villain has – in this case Luthor going out of his way to recruit Gorilla Grodd, while the latter only wishes to gain control of Gorilla City and snatch it from Solovar – it is interesting to see how the plot thickens throughout the game.
The LEGO DC Super-Villains video game is scheduled to be released on October 16, and comes with a physical Deluxe Version retailing for $74.99. Pre-ordering the Deluxe Version allows you early access to the game’s Season Pass and an exclusive Lex Luthor minifigure. While you’re at it, check out our initial collection of LEGO DC Super-Villains printable coloring pages.
Let me start by saying that I’m not really an uber fan of the Porgs – those little, wide-eyed birds that Chewie love to snack on at the planet Ahch-To from The Last Jedi. Well, I don’t hate them, but I don’t really go crazy over them either. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why I really don’t admire LEGO’s latest brick rendition of this Star Wars creature. But a recent video posted by io9somehow gives me a different perspective and appreciation on how Star Wars creature creators came up with the idea of adding the Porg in the Star Wars franchise. io9 video producer Tom Caswell gives us a bit of a back story on the creation of the Porg, while adding a nice LEGO twist: he does this while doing a LEGO Star Wars Porg (75230) speed build. Watch his video below.
Truth be told, there are already a handful of speed build and review videos of the LEGO Star Wars Porg out there, but I have to say that this video from io9 is the most entertaining to watch. This speed build video also underscores the creative process and the considerations that The Last Jedi’s set designers took in crafting the Porg. I may not be a fan of this extraterrestrial avian species, but I surely admire and respect the people behind its creation. Furthermore, though this particular LEGO Star Wars Porg (75230) speed build video may be less than 3 minutes, it actually took Tom a total of 3 hours to build this brick-built bird. With 811 pieces to boot, the LEGO Star Wars Porg is a “life-sized”, 7-inch replica of the TLJ Porg as we saw in the film. The set itself has 6 bags right out of the box, with Bag #6 containing the final pieces to build the Porg’s head. It also comes with a UCS-style plaque.
A simple lever mechanism at the back of the build, at the tail to be exact, allows for certain play functions such as making the LEGO Porg flaps its wings and open its mouth. The back of the LEGO Porg is pretty impressive as well – I like the attention to detail and how this is achieved by using a variety of jagged LEGO pieces and cheese slopes to recreate a feather-like effect. However, I wish LEGO designers added an option of keeping the mouth and wings extended to add variety in terms of posing the set. In any case, this is one LEGO Star Wars set that you might want to have as a nice desktop or table top accessory. It may even be a breath of fresh air among all those LEGO Star Wars star ships that you have amassed over the years.
The LEGO Star Wars Porg (75230) will be released on October 1, and is now listed at shop.LEGO.com with a retail price of $69.99.
Early this month, we covered a single LEGO MOC display in Fort William, Scotland at the UK. It was a brick-built historical recreation of an ancient Scottish hillfort. That was just one display. But this month two other Scottish historical sites will soon be hosting their own multi-display LEGO exhibits. These are the Brick History and Brick Wonders displays, both composed of LEGO fan creations by LEGO artist Warren Elsmore and his team. Brick Wonders is set to debut in Stirling Castle this coming Saturday, September 29, at the former Scottish Royal Residence and tourist attraction Stirling Castle.
Brick Wonders will feature brick recreations of “amazing sights from around the world”, with equal emphasis on historical locations and modern-day complexes. As seen in the photo, they can range from old-style housing to aircraft, space shuttles and other vehicles.
In the meantime, Warren Elsmore’s other LEGO MOC exhibit, Brick History, is straightforward in its subject matter. It’s described as a journey through some of world history’s pivotal moments, from Pompeii to London Bridge to Mozart to Martin Luther King. The display kicked off just this weekend, September 22, this time at Fort George, Highland.
Both Brick History and Brick Wonders are included in the usual admission price for visitors at their respective venues of Stirling Castle and Fort George. Brick Wonders will remain at Stirling until January 23 of next year, while Brick History will finish off at Fort George earlier, on January 6.
Yes, September’s almost over and then, WB Interactive and Traveller’s Tales can finally unleash their upcoming videogame title LEGO DC Super-Villains. This adventure on the other side of the DC character alignment promises a veritable load of playable characters both villain and hero. How many? Apparently, somebody just found out how to take a peek at all LEGO DC Super-Villains characters slated to appear in the video game.
YouTube gamer TheHiddenBlade01 has just uploaded a video that might have spoiled the who’s who of characters available in the upcoming LEGO DC Super-Villains. Footage includes a screenshot of the rumored complete character roster in what seems to be the select screen; the photo for Reverse Flash is enlarged as if the cursor was on him.
TheHiddenBlade01 also zooms in on the image several times to pick out details on the villain (and hero) characters that the LDCSV player will have access to. Villains like Catwoman, Clayface and Gorilla Grodd are obvious since they were featured in previous trailers, but why are the heroes included too?
Possible theories for having the DC superheroes on-board among the villains include being a bonus for completing the story campaign, or acquired from there being a secret scenario with them involved. “Enemy mine” team-up and (shock!) brainwashing are also offered as possibilities.
It seems authentic, but for now we’ll consider this screenshot a rumor and we’ll wait until LEGO DC Super-Villains is out before we pass judgment. Anyway, the game is available for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, and will be released October 16.
Edit: The character screen image was taken from a livestream of EGX 2018 in the UK, so it’s all but official and authentic. The Brick Fanhas compiled a list of all LEGO DC Super-Villains characters shown in this footage as you can see below.
