SPOTTED: Microscale LEGO Harry Potter Diagon Alley (40289)

A few moments ago, we shared a piece of news that has been circulating among LEGO fans since the release of the LEGO Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle designer video. Some has been quick to notice that LEGO seems to be teasing on a new LEGO Harry Potter set somewhere in the 7-minute video, and as it turns out, the speculations are now true. A Brickset forum member spotted a new LEGO Harry Potter set somewhere in the aisles of his local LEGO Store in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Based on these box art images, the LEGO Harry Potter Diagon Alley (40289) looks very much the same as the set seen on the background (though blurry) of the designer video. Take a look at these images.

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This micro-scaled version of one of the most famous places in Potterverse consists of five, scaled down models of Gringots Wizarding Bank, Ollivanders, Flourish and Blotts, Quality Quidditch Supplies, and perhaps the most famous in Diagon Alley, the Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. It also comes with a minifigure version of Mr. Ollivander, which is quite frankly look far better than his first iteration as seen in LEGO’s  2011 version of Diagon Alley (10217).

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As Huw from Brickset observes, the size of this micro-scaled version of Diagon Alley perfectly complements the Hogwarts Castle (71043) set to further expand their play features. There’s no word yet about its scheduled release date nor its pricing and availability in other regions such as in the US. It can be expected, however, that it may sell somewhere from $40 to $50. I personally feel that LEGO is trying to expand its current LEGO Harry Potter sets to make it compatible with other similarly scaled sets under its theme. If ever that will be the case, than LEGO may have stumbled upon an idea on how to creatively engage children (and adults as well) to the ever-expanding world of LEGO Harry Potter.

Thanks once again to Brickset for sharing this piece of news.

Is LEGO Giving a Hint About an Upcoming Harry Potter Diagon Alley Set?

By now we would have seen and heard all that needs to be known about the ambitious LEGO Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle (71043) micro-scale set. A great deal of what we have learned was courtesy of the requisite designer video for it, with the heads of the LEGO design team. However, starting from around this week a new wave of questions and speculation has arisen regarding the Hogwarts Castle (71043). It’s not about the set itself but rather, something spotted in the designer video background. The prevailing theory is that the object, which was blurred, might be another Potter set.

From a quick read of the comments for the LEGO designer video on YouTube, it seems that inquisitive viewers are seeing the same thing: at the 4:30 mark, behind the LEGO System set box are what appear to be brick-built buildings. One is shaded blue-purple and orange, familiar colors to Potter-fans.

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The rumor that sprung from this view of the Hogwarts Castle (71043) is that LEGO’s working on possibly a building set for the Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes shop in Diagon Alley. You can see the similarly colored building above. Does it match the blurry figure in the clip? You tell us.

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Some of the ongoing rumors mention that LEGO has pulled this method of advance teasing before. Is it really a tease in this case? Remember that this is a rumor for now, at least until LEGO comes clean about it. But wouldn’t such a set be magical in the future?

LEGO Teases Life-Sized MOC of Technic Bugatti Chiron (42083)

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out how much LEGO really loves their recent Technic set for the awe-inspiring LEGO Technic Bugatti Chiron (42083). Its launch not long ago was quite flashy, and indeed, the set has been getting lots of positive reviews from the experts to casual but mechanically savvy builders. And it seems LEGO isn’t quite done promoting the Technic Bugatti Chiron (42083) just yet. They’ve got something else planned, something bigger than anyone might expect. That was the tone set by LEGO’s recent post on social media, about another reveal they have for the penultimate day of this month.

That post consists of a video loop showing the close-up detail of a car headlight with the tagline “We’ve built the impossible.” Long story short, LEGO has taken their 3,599-piece Technic set 42083 and blown it up into a full-sized MOC. The Technic pieces in the detail are easily discernible. One particular LEGO fan even went the extra mile of superimposing the teaser image on top of the left side headlights of a real Bugatti Chiron, and the resulting image just says it all.

We’re not quite sure yet why LEGO would make a 1:1 scale of their 1:8 scale model set for the Bugatti Chiron (42083). One possibility is a promotion for LEGO Technic itself, if the post tag of #buildforreal and “Anything is possible” are any clue. It’s something to wait for; and a short wait, too until August 31.

New shop.LEGO.com Pages Launched for Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Slovakia and Slovenia

It can be said that a country has become a viable customer market for LEGO is when they have their own regional version of shop.LEGO.com on the official website. That ensures the delivery of your product of choice, plus adds the comfort of a webpage translated in your native language.

Before this week, shop.LEGO.com had dedicated pages for 24 countries, some even with their own translations (for example, shop.LEGO.com Luxembourg had English, French and Dutch versions). Recently however, LEGO has announced the opening of online shopping for five new European countries: two in the Baltic, two more in the Mediterranean, and one in Central Europe.

As of today, there are official shop.LEGO.com pages for Slovakia, Greece, Slovenia, Latvia and Estonia. These being in the preliminary stages, only English versions are available. But to celebrate the fact that the pages for five countries are up and running, LEGO is holding a contest for their new customers.

With the sites online, LEGO fans from those regions that make a purchase on their shop.LEGO.com, or at least send an email to WinaFlag@LEGO.com, from August 23 to September 30, will earn a chance to win a special-edition buildable flag of the new countries in the LEGO family. They’re rare alright, not even for sale.

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Slovakians, Estonians, Slovenians, Latvians and Greeks who mean to join this promo via email, need only to include their name, postal address, phone number to contact, and email address. The LEGO buildable flags measure 72cm x 48cm, and are textured.

Scholastic Celebrates 15 Years of Publishing LEGO with Picture Storybook “I’m Fun, Too!”

There are loads of publishing powerhouses who pride themselves to be licensees to LEGO, churning out material from comics, reference books in and out of LEGO subjects, and even storybooks. The most prominent publishers to do this much for LEGO are Dorling-Kindersley (DK) in the UK and Scholastic for Stateside.

Speaking of Scholastic, they’re celebrating their 15th anniversary of being an official LEGO licensee for books and print media. To that end they’re releasing a picture storybook that also commemorates the double milestone of LEGO60 and Minifigure40, all told in a delightful children’s story that’s also great for all ages.

This is “I’m Fun, Too!” described as a Classic LEGO Picture Book. It’s written and illustrated by Barnacle Is Bored and Plankton Is Pushy author Jonathan Fenske, as his first LEGO-related work. That doesn’t quite mean he hasn’t spent lots of time with the toys and minifigures; his LEGO-playing days actually figure into the narrative.

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In his youth, as Fenske relates, he has had the opportunity of playing with LEGO minifigures in their original configuration: no facial expressions, no moving parts, and no details beyond color. “I’m Fun, Too!” follows such a minifigure, who encounters the minifigs of today, with their varied hair, printed body details and various props aplenty.

This wonderful LEGO picture storybook from Scholastic comes out on August 28, and will be available in hardcover print and Kindle form. It’ll be fun to read how oldie minifigure resolves his feeling about his future counterparts as expressed in his inner thoughts like so:

“Let’s face it. If we were all ice cream, those guys would be the super-duper chunky happy birthday blast. And I would be the vanilla.”

WATCH: LEGO DC Super Villains Extended Gameplay Video

Gamescom 2018 is now in full swing in Germany, where LEGO and Warner Bros Interactive took the stage to share an extended gameplay video (worth 19 minutes) in showcasing some of the things to be expected in their latest video game offering, LEGO DC Super Villains. We already know that the  game will feature a good deal of character customizations where players will get to take the role of Rookie – the player’s avatar that eventually evolves and upgrades as you go through the game’s overarching story. The video, which you can see below, is courtesy of IGN who is currently covering the events of Gamescom 2018 as they happen. Watch this.

The game starts with Commissioner Gordon paying the mastermind criminal extraordinaire Lex Luthor (who is now serving time in prison) in asking for help in defeating the current threat that Gotham City is facing. The player’s character simply called as Rookie, enters the game and the player is given five preset characters to choose from. Each preset character is further customizable in terms of its looks, costume, abilities, and weapons.

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You can even determine the color of Rookie’s weapons using the game’s highly varied color palette. Once the player finalizes his/her selection, the game gives us a glimpse of the myriad of DC super villain characters that can be unlocked throughout the course of the game.  How many characters do you think are there?

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As the story progresses, Lex Luthor does a daring escape from prison with the help of her loyal assistant and secretary Mercy Graves, bringing Rookie along with him. From there on, it’s a prison break mission and Rookie must find a way to the outside world while learning and absorbing new super powers at the same time. Furthermore, it looks like the first villains to be available at the player’s disposal (other than Luthor) will be Cheetarah and Solomon Grundy as Rookie help these baddies to escape. Typical of other LEGO video games, the LEGO DC Super Villains also features tons of breaking and re-creating LEGO sets and builds to progress in the game. Players can also change to up to 3 characters in-game depending on the challenge or task at hand.

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The LEGO DC Super Villains video game is now available for pre-order, with the Deluxe Edition retailing for $75. It is slated to be released on October 16, 2018 and will be available across major gaming platforms (Playstation, Xbox, Switch, and PC).

Blocks Magazine Issue 47 Shines Spotlight on LEGO Technic Chiron Bugatti (42083) and Other Goodies

It seemed like only yesterday when we were talking about what was in store for readers of LEGO fandom publication Blocks magazine, within its 46th issue. That time, it was LEGO Star Wars that was center stage, particularly the UCS Millennium Falcon’s (75192) shinier counterpart, the Kessel Run version (75212).

For their next issue, Blocks will be shifting focus to something more realistic in LEGO, with features on the most recent automobile models they’ve put out. In the front cover we have the beautiful and complex Bugatti Chiron (42083) set from the LEGO Technic line, ready to be thoroughly discussed.

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If readers still want the fantastical in their LEGO, then also covered on Blocks issue 47 is the gadget-laden LEGO Creator Expert Aston Martin DB5 (10262) of James Bond fame. It includes a LEGO Group design team interview and highlights from its Leicester Square launch, graced by Naomie “Moneypenny” Harris.

Other topics of interest in the latest Blocks are the recent LEGO Speed Champions sets, a feature on 3D-printing giant LEGO bricks from Star Wars FX master Matt Denton, a spotlight on the LEGO Incredibles video game, and one final update on the completion of The LEGO Ninjago Movie Bridge MOC.

While dated for September 2018, Blocks magazine issue 47 has been available for online subscription since Thursday, August 23. For more information on getting your own copy, printed on digital, check out their official website.

Metroidvania-Style Action Game “Guacamelee! 2” Has LEGO “Unikitty!” Background Cameo

True, LEGO is quite well represented when it comes to videogames. WB Interactive and Traveller’s Tales have seen to it that LEGO gamers are never left wanting for more digital adventures similar to LEGO Incredibles and LEGO DC Super-Villains. Sometimes, even non-LEGO-themed game developers can’t help but sneak things in.

DrinkBox Studios has quite recently released Guacamelee! 2, a sequel to their 2013 action platform videogame (similar in structure to some Castlevania games by Konami). A mere day or two later, eagle-eyed gamers saw something pretty awesome in the game environment and posted it to electronic gaming news source Gamespew.

Guacamelee! chronicles the adventures of resurrected and super-powered masked luchador Juan and spirit mentor Tostada in a wacky quest through the Land of the Dead (before Disney’s Coco even). The sequel features more adventuring, and in one of the travel locations Juan stumbles into there’s a nifty LEGO Easter Egg.

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While exploring the Palace of Pedro Piñata, Juan enters a room full of piñatas to smash up, plus more stuck in the background as decoration. One of these piñata is a colorful unicorn with a kitty head; yep, it’s Princess Unikitty herself! What’s she doing there anyway? Bravo, DrinkBox Studios.

It was probably just a case of LEGO fandom from some of the graphics designers, but LEGO fans may love them a little for that stunt. Fans who’re interested can check out DrinkBox Studio’s Guacamelee! 2. It’s available on Steam right now, and on preorder for the Sony PlayStation 4. The LEGO Unikitty! animated series airs on Cartoon Network.

Sainsbury’s in the UK to Reoffer LEGO Collectible Trading Cards

It seemed like it was only last month – which it was – when we covered a special release of LEGO Star Wars collectible trading cards, courtesy of the publisher of the official LEGO Star Wars Magazine in Europe. They started becoming available this August, some of them being “limited-edition” extras to issues of various LEGO Magazines.

So speaking of LEGO trading cards, there will be more of them coming out soon on that side of the Atlantic. While the LEGO Star Wars cards started arriving in Germany, this one’s going to be in the UK, courtesy of major supermarket chain Sainsbury’s.

This is a repeat of a similar exclusive LEGO tie-in with Sainsbury’s last year, the Create the World special set which featured trading cards that could be bought or earned with minimum purchase at their various superstores and convenience stores. The retailer broke the news of its return on Twitter.

As can be read from Sainsbury’s tweet, while we know their tie-in LEGO collectible trading cards are coming back, the date for that return hasn’t been spoiled yet. It’s probably going to be soon, so like with other LEGO news, UK LEGO fans will have to wait for more details.

LEGO Star Wars Betrayal at Cloud City (75222): First Set in “Master Builder” Series?

By now the LEGO fan community has gotten their first good look at the high-quality images for the LEGO Star Wars Betrayal at Cloud City (75222) set; we don’t have to paint a picture on how awesome it looked. Now that the initial hype’s died down we can focus on smaller details, like some specific text in the product blurb.

Said blurb text notes that Betrayal in Cloud City (75222) will be the first in what’s being termed as the “LEGO Star Wars Master Builder” series. We’re already aware of the Ultimate Collectors’ Series (UCS) which include some of the most complicated LEGO Star Wars sets ever developed, but where does the Master Builder Series fit?

Apparently, the Master Builder Series might be used to designate LEGO Star Wars sets that are designed so that they could be used for play, as compared to most of the sets under UCS which are complex builds that – once assembled – are only fit for exhibition, primarily geared for AFOLs.

It should be recalled that the LEGO Star Wars UCS thing started in 2000 with complex display-only sets, though in following years they added “playable” products like the Assault on Hoth (75098) battleground play-set or the LEGO Star Wars UCS Naboo Starfighter (10026) from 2002.

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With the advent of a new labeling scheme, LEGO can now perhaps make a distinction between their Star Wars tie-in sets, with the all-ages playable sets under Master Builder and older-ages display models under UCS. For now, we can be content to wait for further clarification from LEGO, with Betrayal at Cloud City (75222), the first of its kind, coming very soon on October 1.