LEGO made waves at last month’s San Diego Comic Con 2016 particularly during the Comic Con’s July 24 series of panels specifically geared towards highlighting LEGO’s most promising and prolific themes such as Dimensions, Ninjago, and Nexo Knights. Thankfully, LEGO’s official YouTube channel has now uploaded the video recording of the panel discussions for two of their biggest ongoing TV properties. So for those of us who were not there at SDCC 2016, these videos offer a lot of insights and behind-the-scenes info from designers, writers and directors of the hit IPs.
First off, is the LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu panel with showrunner Tommy Andreasen. The Brick Fan did an excellent recap of the highlights of the said panel, which LEGO unfortunately left out. It seems that LEGO is still mum on the details of their new episodes, with the first episode entitled “Day of the Departed” to debut on October 29 over at Cartoon Network. A teaser was shown to panel attendees, which was eventually edited out of the uploaded video. Not much has been said also on the show’s next adventure entitled “The Hands Of Time.”
LEGO also uploaded a video recording for the LEGO Nexo Knights: Behind The Scenes panel, with LEGO Marketing Director Brian Browler taking the lead. The panel attendees were also offered presented with a new video clip that featured a Snake Den Nexo Power, exclusive for all SDCC attendees. According to the panelists, the new season of LEGO Nexo Knights will premiere this Saturday on August 13.
The 2016 Rio Olympics are now in full swing, and LEGO fans all over the world is sure in for a treat knowing that the company has sent in 50 of its most talented LEGO builders to come up with the largest, brick-built model ever made in Latin America. Paying tribute to the world’s largest sporting event deserves an equally impressive attraction for everyone’s enjoyment. Indeed, there are many attractions that are currently set up in the heart of Rio de Janeiro, where the Olympics are currently making waves, but none has caught the attention of the masses in the past few days other than this mammoth sized, brick-built model of the city itself.
Specifically built with the Olympic venue in mind, this replica of Rio de Janeiro took a total of 50 LEGO expert builders, 2,500 working hours, and almost a million LEGO bricks and elements to create within a period of more than 12 months. According to Paul Chrzan, one of the LEGO Master Builders in charge of overseeing the project, their team used 10 different scales in order to fit the various monuments, stadiums, venues, and other landmarks into the 5m x 6m space.
According to the LEGO Group, and in partnership with the Danish government, this recreation of the bustling Olympic city is a kind of a legacy gift to the host city and country of Brazil. The brick built model of Rio is currently on exhibit at the Olympic Boulevard and will be displayed until August 21. Once the games are concluded, the set will be handed over to the Museu de Cidade as a keepsake.
In case you missed it, LEGO has uploaded several videos that show an in-depth look on how the entire set was created through a series of gorgeous photographs and time-lapse videos. Look closely and you may even spot Olympic mascots Vinicius and Tom hanging around in the brick-built city.
DC and Warner Bros’ Suicide Squad is currently wreaking havoc in theaters with their supervillain-turned-good-guys act. Though reviews were a little bit off, with some even disappointed with the movie, we can’t even imagine saying the same to this Suicide Squad trailer recreated in LEGO bricks by Forrest Fire Films. Of course, their minifigure renditions are none at all ‘disappointing’. Take a look.
It has been quite a while since we saw an excellent LEGO brick-built film coming out from Forrest Fire’s workshop, but once it does, well, the page views will simply speak for itself. Truth be told, it may even be better than the original teasers. I sincerely doubt if LEGO will ever release a line of minifigs exclusively focused on the Squad, especially considering the potential nightmares that Jared Leto’s deranged Joker minifigure may cause to children. It only proves the point that being ‘bad and scary’ sometimes translates to being ‘good and excellent’.
Be sure to check the rest of Forrest Fire’s recreations over at their YouTube channel, and for latest updates on their next LEGO animation projects such as LEGO Teen Titans, and LEGO Justice League 2.
LEGO’s minifigure renditions of Batman are known to be the most diverse line of minifigures for any single character ever created by LEGO. With more than 30 LEGO variations of the Caped Crusader, it is definitely a daunting task to determine which is the cream of the crop among them, or simply the best of the best. If ever Batman is faced with the perennial OOTD (Outfit Of The Day) question, then we definitely understand his dilemma. To help the Dark Knight, Stephen shares his thoughts on the top 5 LEGO Batman minifigures of all time, including his reasons for choosing them. Watch this.
First off, we have several Honorable Mentions, LEGO Batman minifigs that are good in themselves, but failed to make it to the final cut. These are:
With that being said, le’ts now take a closer look at Stephen’s top 5 Batman minifigs and on what LEGO sets we can find them. Some of these might be retired sets already so if you’re missing out on any one of them, or you can’t find them anymore at shop.LEGO.com, doing a quick search over at eBay will probably do the trick.
Similar to his gray and blue winged counterpart, this airborne Batman is also rendered with a pair of black wings suited as he rounds up the five of the most notorious villains in Gotham. This black winged Batman is exclusively found in LEGO DC Universe Super Heroes – Batman: Arkham Asylum Breakout (10937).
#2 – 2014 Dark Knight Batman and 2016 Armored Batman
On the 2nd top spot comes a two-way tie as Stephen noticeably finds it hard not to consider these two candidates. First, we have the 2014 version of Batman straight from the Dark Knight Trilogy, LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes – The Tumbler (76023). This minifig version highlights an all-black color scheme for Batman, equipped with a copper-colored utility belt, with excellent details on the torso piece.
On the same spot comes the 2016 Armored Batman as seen in the movie, Batman VS Superman: Dawn of Justice. This epic showdown between the Son of Krypton and the Bat of Gotham is captured in the LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes Clash of the Heroes (76044), where Batman comes in an exclusive armored suit.
And the number one spot goes to…
#1 – The 2016 Classic TV Series Batman
The iconic Batman from the Classic TV Series during the 1960s makes a comeback as LEGO releases the mammoth sized LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes – Batman Classic TV Series: Batcave (76052). Coming in at 2,526 this set features an exclusive set of minifigures only found in this build. The Batman Classic TV Series minifigure highlights the old school, but definitely cool looks of the Caped Crusader more than 50 years ago, which includes a bluish gray color scheme that sports the classic, yellow Batman logo. I guess nothing beats the classic.
So there we have it – our Top 5 LEGO Batman Minifigure, handpicked and reviewed by Stephen. How about you, what is your fave Batman minifig? Share us your thoughts in the comments section below.
LEGO’s shop@home website has been updated to highlight its double VIP points promotional happening in the US and Canada during the weekend (which will last only until this Sunday, August 7). Here’s a snippet of what to expect.
This is definitely one of those great opportunities to place your order. Check out these offers by heading to this link, and remember that the LEGO double VIP points promotional are only available until this Sunday, both via shop.LEGO.com and at all LEGO Certified Stores.
Hot off the trail from last Spring’s Philly Brick Fest, the dynamic LEGO duo of Jason and Stephen, and the rest of the Brick Show Team are now currently making their mark at another Brick Fest Live event this time, at the American Sports Centers at Anaheim Blvd., Anaheim, California. If you’re staying near the area, and you’re looking for a great way to spend the weekend with the rest of the family, then we highly recommend that you check out this event.
Similar to Philly Brick Fest, here are some of the great things that you can expect from Brick Fest Live @ Anaheim.
LEGO lovers rejoice! The Brick Fest Live LEGO Fan Experience is filled with hands-on attractions and activities built to inspire, educate, and entertain.
Enjoy an amazing LEGO world where you can marvel at giant creations and even build some of your own.
The Brick Fest Live LEGO Fan Experience provides a venue for LEGO lovers of all sizes to celebrate, build new creations, and see some truly mind-blowing LEGO sculptures to help set the imagination free.
Attraction Include:
The Brick Show Experience: Meet popular YouTube LEGO show hosts from The Brick Show and be featured on in an upcoming video.
Brick Fest Derby: Build and race your custom built LEGO derby car down one of our 35-foot long timed tracks!
Collaborative Building Activities: Contribute to large-scale mystery floor mosaic.
Inspiration Stations: Add to existing LEGO cities and make them your own by building custom creations.
Video Game Arena: Have a favorite LEGO video game? Come challenge your family or make new friends in the Brick Fest Gaming Arena playing your favorite LEGO title head to head.
Mini Golf: A miniature golf course built to inspire! Take your game to the next level on the Brick-Links.
Brick Fest Theater Trivia & Entertainment: Participate in LEGO trivia all while taking a break from what will be an overwhelming amount of awesome!
Mosaics: Using a colorful variety of 1×1 LEGO bricks, build a piece of art to proudly display for other attendees.
Shopping: Find new, vintage, rare, and custom LEGO sets and merchandise from one of the many merchants in attendance.
Tickets are still available for the Brick Fest Live’s Sunday events. You may order and purchase your tickets online by clicking on this link. Be sure to keep tabs with our Facebook page for updates on the cool things that are happening at The Brick Show Booth.
Ahead of its release next month, LEGO Minecrafthas recently uploaded a designer video of its latest modular set, The Fortress (21127). Max from the LEGO Minecraft team took time to show the various features of the set which includes minifigures of Steve wearing golden pants (which compliments his golden armor), 3 skeletons, a horse with its new head element and a sheep. Out of the box, you’ll also get to build its separate modules which you can build and connect in any way that you want. Watch this.
Similar to the LEGO Minecraft – The Village (21128), The Fortress is noticeably modular which allows you to come up with so many ways on how to recreate the set. Using the modules and its unique connectors, you can either build a wall or come up with a watch tower depending on how far you’ll allow your imagination to fly. Take a look at these images to have a better idea.
The LEGO Minecraft – The Fortress (21127) will come in at 984 pieces and will retail at $109.99. Though it was mentioned already in LEGO’s September Store Calendar, it’s still yet to appear at shop.LEGO.com. We’ll keep you posted once new info comes in about this awesome set, so stay tuned here at the Brick Show!
The gaming Force is going strong with the LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens now on its 5th week, especially when the recent release of its first wave of add-ons or character packs. This time, the second batch of downloadable content (DLC) is now made available for purchase across mainstream gaming platforms which were initially bundled as a pre-order exclusive for all Season Pass holders.
The Jabba’s Palace and The Empire Strikes Back Character Packs are now available as announced via the game’s official Facebook page.
The dregs of the galaxy’s criminal underworld come to LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens with Jabba’s Palace Character Pack. This character pack includes the mighty Jabba the Hutt and his loyal retainers Bib Fortuna, Malakili and Gamorrean Guards, plus the bounty hunter Boushh, dancer Oola, and Princess Leia in her Jabba’s prisoner costume.
The Empire Strikes Back Character Pack
Bring your favorite Bounty Hunters and Hoth-equipped Rebels to LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens with The Empire Strikes Back Character Pack! This epic character pack includes Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia in cold weather gear, the cybernetic Lobot and the Ugnaughts of Cloud City, as well as the deadly bounty hunters Bossk, Dengar, and Boba Fett in his original concept art white armor.
The LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens Season Pass is still available for $9.99 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and Steam (Windows PC). Players can also purchase each DLC Pack individually as mentioned, which includes two more Character Packs to be released (the Star Wars Rebels and Clone Wars Character Packs), and three Level Packs (Poe’s Quest for Survival, First Order Siege of Takodana, and Escape from Starkiller Base). For the timing and release of all other DLC content, keep an eye on the LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube channels, and official website for details.
One of the great things about the LEGO Ideasplatform is that you can see particular projects launched into stardom with lightning speeds. Ok, I might be exaggerating a little bit, but considering how this next LEGO Ideas project garnered the coveted 10k thumbs up from other LEGO enthusiasts in just less than two weeks, then ‘lightning speed’ maybe a little bit of an understatement.
The LEGO Ideas Women of NASA is the 7th LEGO community-supported project to enter the LEGO Ideas Review sometime next month. Created by Maia Weinstock (which she goes by the name 20tauri over at LEGO Ideas) of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the LEGO Women of NASA is a celebration of the history of women in the STEM field. The project features minifigure replicas of some of the notable women behind NASA, including: Margaret Hamilton, Katherine Johnson, Sally Ride, Nancy Grace Roman, and Mae Jemison. The cool play feature about these minifigs is that they are all faithfully set in their respective fields. In case you’re not that familiar with these rockin’ ladies of NASA, here’s a look at their minifig renditions together with their actual photos.
Margaret Hamilton
As a computer scientist at MIT under contract with NASA in the 1960s, Hamilton developed the on-board flight software for the Apollo missions to the moon. She is known for popularizing the modern concept of software.
Katherine Johnson
A mathematician, space scientist, and a longtime NASA researcher, Johnson is best known for calculating and verifying trajectories for the Mercury and Apollo programs — including the Apollo 11 mission that first landed humans on the moon.
Nancy Grace Roman
As an astronomer and one of the first female executives at NASA, Roman is known to many as the “Mother of Hubble” for her role in planning the Hubble Space Telescope. She also developed NASA’s astronomy research program.
Sally Ride and Mae Jemison.
A physicist by training, Ride became the first American woman in space in 1983. After retiring as a NASA astronaut, she founded an educational company focusing on encouraging children — especially girls — to pursue the sciences. Trained as a medical doctor, Jemison became the first African-American woman in space in 1992. After retiring from NASA, Jemison established a company that develops new technologies and encourages students in the sciences.
The proposed LEGO Ideas Women of NASA was immediately noticed by the LEGO fan community and has been warmly received by most science based and general interest sites such as CNET, Popular Science, Huffington Post and The New York Times just to name a few. It even caught the attention of NASA and the UN Women – wow that’s really something!
Weinstock’s project is also the second LEGO Ideas project that features women empowerment in the field of science, following the much welcomed LEGO Ideas Research Institute 21110 which was launched in 2014. However, like any other LEGO Ideas project, the Research Institute was only available on a limited run which makes it a retired product already. The discontinuation of this caused quite a stir within the LEGO community, with the LEGO Group at the receiving end of criticisms, saying that the company was not sincerely promoting women empowerment and gender equality with regard to its selection of minifigures.
Several fans now worry that the proposed Women of NASA set might end up with the same fate like that of the Research Institute. As influential as LEGO is for being one of the largest toy manufacturers in the world, let’s hope that the LEGO Group will figure out ways on how it can actively promote the role of women in the field of science and other occupations. Perhaps LEGO can come up with an exclusive line of sets dedicated to women in various professional fields, or those depicting on high flying adventures.
When you think about the on-going partnership between LEGO and Disney and how it all started, it might be reasonable to consider that it all began with the House of Mouse Ambassador himself, Mickey Mouse. However, a quick search about the history of the LEGO Group reveals otherwise. Starting as a humble, toy workshop situated in idyllic Billund, Denmark, Ole Kirk Christiansen put his exceptional carpentry skills into use when his toyshop began offering wooden toys to children in 1932.
During the 1940s, LEGO entered into a partnership with the Walt Disney Company to create its very first licensed wooden, pull-along replica of Pluto. It was an instant hit among children at that time. Check out the vintage promotional poster that goes along with it.
In honor of Disney’s most famous bloodhound that started a wonderful partnership between the two powerhouses, and in celebration of Disney and LEGO’s timeless partnership, Brick Journal Editor-in-Chief and Master Builder Joe Menocame up with his own version of this very rare toy collectible using the things that he is very much happy to work with: the LEGO brick.
Using LEGO graph paper for his initial draft and sketches, Meno’s brick-built recreation of this antique toy is absolutely brilliant. From Pluto’s collar and even to the LEGO label printed on his side, Meno’s LEGO Pluto MOC is truly spot on. The best thing about it is that it’s a pull-along toy as well! Watch the video below to see more of its play features. Wish LEGO can come up with this one for our younger generation to enjoy.
