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LEGO Ideas Sonic the Hedgehog (21331) Gets Designer Video

We’re over halfway through the month when LEGO Ideas Sonic the Hedgehog (21331) was released. The highly sought-after set already enjoys a 4½ average customer review rating, attesting to its playability enjoyment. It helps the build allows for multiple set copies to be connected. This potentially extends the brick-built game world. Indeed, customization plays a significant part. The original LEGO Ideas creator, Viv Grannell/toastergrl, even proposed alternative methods/pieces to assemble the buildable Eggman figure. In terms of promotion, LEGO leaned on nostalgia for their Sonic 21331 teaser video. What else are we missing, a major-set release designer video? Not anymore.

As told by The Brick Fan, we now have the designer video for LEGO Ideas Sonic the Hedgehog (21331). Two members of the design team talk us through the development process for this hot item. Sam Johnson (design manager) and Lauren King (graphic designer) point out some neat references in the set. Apparently the sticker on the back of the build with the scoreboard contains a shout-out to toastergrl. Want more trivia? The Dr. Eggman figure had its detailing printed using new machinery to rotate the printing element 45 degrees. And hey, life-preserver LEGO pieces, repurposed into the power rings? Now that’s clever recycling.

There are more interesting details the designers share regarding LEGO Ideas Sonic the Hedgehog (21331). We won’t go over all of them here. Instead we invite you to check the vid yourself and be amazed.

Rumor: Creator Expert 007 Aston Martin, Technic Fast & Furious Dodge Charger Become Speed Champions Sets in 2022

Over the past few days, LEGO news sources have been speculating over some multiple set listings on retailer electriBricks.com. From there we got reports of an expected LEGO Technic supercar set delayed to next year. Major rumor has it that it may be a model of the similarly-delayed Tesla Cybertruck. Several numbered products titled “Coconut” also gained significant attention. The name seems to hint that they could be a new wave of LEGO Indiana Jones sets. Note that the theme last saw releases in 2009. On the vein of licensed-IP LEGO sets, we have more rumors for 2022 Speed Champions.

From Promobricks.de we get this juicy speculation on more electricBrick retail listings, for LEGO Speed Champions this year. We’ve two of eight sets supposedly releasing for the theme this year, numbered 76911 and 76912. Promobricks tells us that these sets are based on two action-movie franchises with notable automotive focus. Furthermore, the source franchises already have prior LEGO set depictions. What do you say to new Speed Champions “James Bond” and “Fast & Furious” car sets? The former made waves in 2019 via the Creator Expert Aston Martin DB5 (10262). The latter got repped by Dom’s Dodge Charger (42111) last year on LEGO Technic.

One factor for excitement at these rumored Speed Champions sets are the accompanying character minifigures. Think about it: James Bond 007 and Dom Toretto minifigs! Both would be the first character depictions from the two IPs for LEGO. Vin Diesel’s Dom is a no-brainer, though there are multiple options for the likeness of minifigure!Bond. Several other 2022 Speed Champions items were rumored as early as October last year. We’ll compile them here anew for reference:

LEGO Champions 2022 Releases

March 1

Ferrari 512 M (76906) – 291 pieces | €19.99/$23.22
Lotus Evija (76907) – 291 pieces | €19.99/$23.22
Lamborghini Countach (76908) – 262 pieces | €19.99/$23.22
Set 76909 – €29.99/$34.17
Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR PRO & Aston Martin Vantage GT 3 (76910) – 592 pieces | €39.99/$46.46

August 1

James Bond Aston Martin DB5 (76911)
Fast & Furious 1970 Dodge Charger (76912)
Set 76913

US$ pricing are direct conversions. Also, take the above as rumors until LEGO confirms/debunks them.

“Wild West Mine” Gets 10-K Support on LEGO Ideas First 2022 Stage

Even as we wait for the previous two Review Stages to pronounce their official-set judgments, LEGO Ideas keeps creating. For most of this week we’ll probably be featuring many additions to the Ideas First 2022 Review Stage. While Third 2021, which ended last week, was dominated by buildings, the first few submissions here offer greater variety. Then again, our first 10-K-supported product idea feature this week is…a structural build. Then again, this one also boasts impressive terrain features. It also shares thematic similarities to one of the final Third 2021 Review entries. For LEGO Ideas consideration: the “Wild West Mine.”

A member with the on-the-nose username of Disney Recreation presents to us this western-themed play-set. Like the name implies, the action takes place in a desolate mountainside goldmine. It’s dotted with rickety shacks and connected by a roundabout railway winding through mining tunnels and canyons.

Two rugged prospectors brave the solitude and harsh surroundings (note: cow skeleton, vultures, coyote) to strike the mother-lode.

They transport their hard earnings by train, risking danger from a duo of bandits staking out their mine.

Will they manage to secure their gold, or are the desperadoes going to make an easy killing in wealth?

This is a well-designed set will an organic blending of manmade structures to desert nature. The outside shacks pull off being both furnished and dilapidated. We also like the mobile train with the closed-circuit track around the whole thing. It kind of feels like a theme park ride too, what with the name of its creator. It’s too early to tell, but Wild West Mine may well be a favored product idea for the newly-open Ideas First 2022 Review Stage.

Delayed LEGO Technic “Supercar” (42143) Rumored as “Possibly” Tesla Cybertruck

Collectors of LEGO Technic know this best. Since 2016 the line has seen the advent of one pricey, high-spec real-car model released every two years. In order, we got the Porsche 911 GT3 RS (42056), Bugatti Chiron (42083), and Lamborghini Sián FKP 37 (42115). Based on that pattern, we should be getting the next Technic supercar set this 2022. Indeed, some online retailers listed an unspecified Technic set fitting the expectation, supposedly releasing this August. However the launch was quickly delayed for 2023 instead. No reason was given for the sudden change. But what if the reason is that the car the LEGO set’s based on was delayed as well?

Such is the speculation being offered by Brick Fanatics regarding the delay of LEGO Technic set 42143. Going into this past weekend, Tesla announced that their battery-electric pickup truck the Cybertruck would be delayed to 2023. Earlier than that, they scrubbed all mention of a 2022 release for the repeatedly-delayed e-pickup from their website. Is the similarity between this and the delay of the biennial LEGO Technic supercar set coincidental? Or could it be that we’re waiting for a synched release between Tesla’s Cybertruck and its Technic counterpart next year?

Some past-news detective work points at supporting evidence to this rumor. When Tesla revealed the (“blocky”) Cybertruck in 2019, LEGO posted a brick on wheels online as a joke. On LEGO Ideas, a member’s Cybetruck build using LEGO System made the First 2020 Stage, but washed out. One complication that also sheds doubt to the initial rumor is a competing product. LEGO Rival Mega Bloks has a Construx Cybertruck set. So what now? It looks like we’ll have to wait on LEGO for clarification. And with Technic 42143 pushed to 2023, who knows how long?

Nuremberg Toy Fair 2022 Also Cancelled; Going Digital

Nothing stings quite like a broken promise, whether it’s between few people, or between manufacturers and their retailers/customers. Sometimes however, circumstances leave little option. Organizers of pandemic-cancelled events in 2020/21 may have hoped that the following year/s would be better. But COVID-19 keeps reinventing itself with new variant mutations triggering resurgent mass infection concerns. Liberties that were revived late last year are slowing being dialed back all over again on account of the Omicron strain. Already, the 2022 New York Toy Fair announced its bowing to the inevitable last week. Next on the global toy-expo schedule: the Nuremberg Toy Fair.

And again courtesy of The Brick Fan, we learn that Nuremberg Toy Fair 2022 is cancelling its early-February dates. Organizer Spielwarenmesse eG announced it last week, January 13. Much like in New York, COVID-Omicron concerns led to many company exhibitors jumping ship. SeG executive board spokesman Christian Ulrich noted that they “fought hard” to keep Nuremberg 2022 a live event. Unfortunately, pandemic control continues to deteriorate worldwide, making the support of the remaining committed manufacturers moot. As an alternative, the official Spielwarenmesse Digital website will be geared to host an online event. It will run during the original live-fair dates.

That makes it two major international toy expos where manufacturers like LEGO could exhibit their latest stuff for the year. Next on the 2022 timetable-slash-chopping block is London Toy Fair. Their organizers declared, also last week, that the event will push through. Regardless, since London Toy Fair is traditionally closed-doors unlike NY and Nuremberg, getting info there will be troublesome.

Possible New LEGO Indiana Jones Sets Rumored for October

LEGO has been making licensed sets based on many different IP franchises for so long now. Their licensed-IP library actually goes far beyond the lines and themes actively getting new sets nowadays. It may be that some licensed LEGO sets may have had a run of several products then stopped. Such would be the case for LEGO Indiana Jones. This particular theme rolled out 19 sets and two videogames from 2008 to just 2009. That’s probably long enough to forget for some LEGO collectors. But LEGO probably hasn’t, if this rumor happens to be true.

German LEGO news source Stone Wars has it that LEGO Indiana Jones may return this year. They note that Spanish online retailer electricBricks.com listed LEGO sets numbered 75571 to 75574, under the product description “Coconut.” LEGO rarely uses codenames for unpublicized upcoming sets. However “coconut” can be traced to the 2008-09 “LEGO Indiana Jones” videogames. The second game in particular required Indy to collect some coconuts in a certain level. It may sound like coincidence, but then again an “Indiana Jones 5” film’s been in the works for years. It’ll premiere in 2023 after being delayed multiple times, including from this year, by the pandemic.

Beyond these LEGO sets 75571-75574 being blanket-designated Coconuts, all we know is that they’re releasing in October. But until LEGO gives us official word, we’re better off considering this as rumor until confirmation arrives later.

Rumored Biennial LEGO Technic Supercar Delayed to 2023; Bugatti Chiron (42083) Retirement Postponed

LEGO Technic tends to be the showcase line for mechanically-functional LEGO sets. The theme’s sets can range from simple vehicles with prominent mechanical gimmicks, to big brick-built replicas of famous supercars. You may probably remember a notable example of the latter: the Technic Bugatti Chiron (42083). That set from a few years ago was so topical that LEGO went and built a promotional 1:1 scale Chiron. It even made news for a time because the plastic Bugatti could actually go using Power Function engines. Unfortunately the Technic Chiron set’s due to retire. Fortunately, something happened that delayed that planned retirement.

We have the story from Brick Fanatics. Apparently LEGO was planning to release a new Technic set this year. Said set (42143) was (momentarily) advance-listed at the Spanish online retailer electricBricks.com. Its product description goes: “Technic Ultimate Car 2022.” It follows the pattern of LEGO releasing a Technic supercar set every two years. It started in 2016 with the Porsche 911 GT3 RS (42056). It was followed 2018 by the Bugatti Chiron (42083) and 2020 by Lamborghini Sián FKP 37 (42115). Technic 42143’s alleged release date of August 2022 has been scrapped however. Apparently LEGO’s delaying it until 2023. And this development had a seeming effect on the aging 42083.

Nope, the LEGO Technic Bugatti Chiron was supposed to have retired when 2021 ended. It was even announced towards the end of last year. But check the LEGO.com listing for 42083. The $349.99 Technic set may be Sold Out there, but it hasn’t been marked as Retired just yet. That’s good, I suppose. As for the Ultimate Car 2022-23 (42143), it looks like we’re waiting until next year. But for now, its existence can be considered rumor for now, to take with grains of salt.

LEGO Ideas “Galaxy of Celebration” Contest Ends Entry Input; Fan Vote 1 Starts Jan. 27

When was the last time we covered a Contest on LEGO Ideas? Apparently it was way back in November. An average LEGO Ideas Contest duration tends to be just over two months. Roughly one month of that time would be spent allowing Ideas members to submit entries. The most recent Contest on the other hand ran twice as long in terms of Idea Intake. We could pretty much understand, given the medium being requested by the Contest. Taking LEGO Star Wars sets/characters and doing brickfilm of them celebrating Earth Holidays “Star Wars” style? It’s a lengthy production process true; but this week it finally ended.

January 13 marked the end of taking entries for the LEGO Ideas “A Galaxy of Celebrations” Contest. While there were little to no Idea Input in the first few days, ultimately over 120 brickfilms were submitted. These videos depict the Star Wars cast celebrating various holidays, from Yuletide to Father’s Day to (naturally) May the 4^th. From the final batch of brickfilms, a LEGO Ideas review will select 20 submissions for a fan vote. The fan vote will choose four especially great brickfilms for further review. These will move onto a second fan vote where a grand winner will emerge.

The first fan vote winners (4) will receive a LEGO Ideas tote bag, UCS Republic Gunship (75309) and AT-AT (75288). Of course, all entrants will want to be chosen as the grand winner in the second fan vote. For their efforts the final victor gets the hot UCS AT-AT (75313). That would explain why the brickfilms just exploded well into December 2021. Let’s look forward to this Contest’s first fan vote starting January 27 until February 3. We’ll have an idea on what to expect for our four winners then.

LEGO Digital Designer Software Retiring; BrickLink Studio to Replace

Building with LEGO bricks may be as old-school as play activities can get. Still, even with the timeless appeal of the toy brand, LEGO does keep pace with the advance of technology. One example lies in digital brick-building software. LEGO launched its official digital brick-building utility, LEGO Digital Designer, in 2004. LDD used 3D digital rendering of actual LEGO bricks in real-time. The software would even be used in videogame and film development. Meanwhile, Bricklink launched its own Studio software in 2014, and quickly rose to wide usage itself. The popularity of BrickLink Studio with digital LEGO builders has led to this rather surprising announcement.

The Brick Fan reports that they’re shifting official 3D building software status from LEGO Digital Designer to BrickLink Studio. In a statement last Wednesday, January 12, LEGO declared the end of support for LDD. On the software’s official page at LEGO.com, they warn that LDD 4.3.10 will stop being available on January 31. Presently, the software will also have errors when launched except when working in offline mode. LEGO advises LDD users to download BrickLink Studio instead and import their LDD files. Bricklink will also replace the LDD page at the end of the month.

It’s the end of an era for LEGO Digital Designer, the development of which began as early as 2002. The software’s first-gen producer Tommy Scheer envisioned LDD as a simple digital-LEGO building tool for children with computers. He was impressed by the user community evolving the experience into something greater. This in turn led to Bricklink similarly developing BrickLink Studio. The torch has been passed, and LDD’s retirement on January 31 will make things official.

LEGO Overwatch 2 Titan Set (76980) February Release on Hold

Way back in September last year, a LEGO set number began floating about online: 76980. It coincided with a change in logo for LEGO Games. The buzz was that the set will be a new addition to the LEGO Overwatch line. Such would be confirmed in the following December, sort of. LEGO announced the coming of LEGO Overwatch 2 Titan (76980). This impressive mech-model set was set to debut this 2022, on February. The source franchise, Activision Blizzard’s multiplayer FPS “Overwatch 2,” has apparently been already delayed to 2023. Now, the tie-in set’s following suit.

Brickset tells us that the planned February 1 launch of LEGO Overwatch 2 Titan set (76980) will be put on hold. LEGO released a statement this past Tuesday saying so, with an explanation that feels rather concerning for the set’s future. Apparently, LEGO is in discussion with Activision Blizzard regarding their licensing partnership. Sadly, this stems from a rash of controversies with the game developer. Until something can be worked out between the two companies however, Titan (76980) won’t be coming out anytime soon. The issues with Activision Blizzard have been going since last year. In fact, collectors were already concerned about whether 76980 will even release upon its reveal.

It would be a shame if the LEGO Overwatch 2 Titan (76980) never saw the light of day. The build is rather impressive. And who can say no to another Tracer minifig (and Mei too)? LEGO Overwatch collectors can hope that at least this set will be available sometime soon.