The Brick Show | Page 94 of 489 | LEGO News & Happenings

LEGO Rumor: Creator Expert Set of Real Madrid’s Stadium for 2022?

Are we going to get a new major-league football/soccer stadium LEGO set released year by year now? At the start of 2020 LEGO brought us a Creator Expert build of Manchester United’s home stadium, the Old Trafford (10272). This year they did it again. Surely you can still recall the sweet Creator Expert rendition of FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou (10284). Once might be a stroke of fortune and twice, a coincidence. But LEGO pulling a hat trick would totally be deliberate. At least that’s how it looks considering a new “stadium set” rumor brought to us by Promobricks.de in Germany.

Here’s the buzz: another LEGO Creator Expert set of a football stadium. The surprise part: it’s the home of another heavyweight Spanish team. After FC Barcelona we’re apparently getting the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu of Real Madrid. Check out these details:

Set #: 10299
Age: 18+
Release: 2022
RRP: €329.99/$383.14 (direct conversion)

No number of parts given yet. Actually this does bring up a question. The Estadio Santiago Bernabeu is under renovation (since 2019, with operations unhindered due to modernized Roman building techniques). Will LEGO depict the stadium as it did before the start of changes? Or will they flash forward to the finished product, due next year (possibly earlier due to COVID closure)? Promobricks also included rumors of a GWP (40541?), just like with Camp Nou (10284).

You know the disclaimer. The above info is just rumor at present. Maintain your salt diet until LEGO gives word.

LEGO November 2021 Store Calendar Released

With barely a week’s worth of days left in this month, you know what that means LEGO-wise. The next Store Calendar’s going to drop. Here’s a big shout-out to The Brick Fan, for noting the November 2021 LEGO Store Calendar on LEGO’s servers. Several days back, we were expecting some GWPs that “disappeared” from the October calendar to reappear here. They don’t need to anymore, but as a result the November activities/specials appear minimal. Black Friday deals should be marked down, but we’ve been informed LEGO’s saving them for November 15. Anyway, have a look at the calendar down below.

Special Activity: LEGO Rebuild the World

#BuildToGive – Build a Christmas Star using LEGO pieces and share on social media with LEGO via #BuildToGive; LEGO will donate a LEGO set to a child in need for every Christmas Star thus shared, with a target of 1.5 million children (total value $150 million). Participating children under 13 need parental consent.

Gift with Purchase

LEGO Creator Coffee Cart (40488) – with purchases $65 and up; November 8-14 or while supplies last

November 1 Product Releases

LEGO Ideas

Home Alone (21330)

Others (Sampler)

Titanic (10294) – preorders start November 1; actual availability November 8
Technic App-Controlled CAT D11 Bulldozer (42131)
Super Mario 64 Question-Mark Block (71395)
DC The Batman Batmobile – The Penguin Chase (76181)

Real FMX Stunt Team Copies LEGO City Stuntz (Custom-Built) Jumps

Ever since the LEGO City Stuntz bike sets debuted in the middle of 2021, they apparently fired players’ imaginations. After all, this City sub-theme encouraged custom builds of stunt courses that the brick-built vehicles, especially bikes, can traverse. Thanks to their fly-wheel assembly enabling them to maintain hand-pushed acceleration, those stunt-bikes can theoretically clear those brick-built jumps. To further promote the sets, LEGO engaged the services of a freestyle motocross (FMX) team. The Bold Dogs FMX thus stars in this new promotional video from LEGO, interpreting the City Stuntz…well, stunts.

As shown in the vid (shared courtesy of Brick Fanatics), the Bold Dogs take on some custom-build submissions using the LEGO City Stuntz sets. Jumping an ice-cream truck while shooting a ball at the standing hoop on top? It took a few tries, but they did it. Clearing both the ring of fire from Stunt Competition (60299) and a City Fire Truck? The Bold Dogs send two of their riders to replicate it IRL.

Their third stunt copy: a multi-vehicle jump including a truck like in Stunt Show Truck (60294). Again the riders gamely duplicate the brick-built stunt, including a forklift carrying a (prop) shark. The last stunt duplication is a four-bike jump over a helicopter and light plane; easy.

One can’t help but think the timing of this LEGO City Stuntz sets promo is somewhat deliberate. For the Americas, LEGO pulled at least four sets from store shelves and Shop@Home due to “product quality issues.” Then again, the Bold Dogs FMX is a UK-based team and that market along with Europe suffered no pullout. Who can tell? Hopefully LEGO manages to fix the Americas-only problem soon, since these stunt sets really are quite awesome.

LEGO Ideas: James Webb Space Telescope Gets 10-K Support

The LEGO Ideas Third 2021 Review Stage is filling out quite nicely with its product ideas. These submissions run the gamut from fantasy to reality, “natural” to artificial and now retro-mechanical to modern cutting-edge. If a fictional military robot given sentience isn’t your cup of high-tech tea, perhaps you’d like real science? Ideas member tonysmyuncle only has one contribution at present. Its technological nature seems to imply which “tony” he’s referring to in his username. This product idea depicts a real scientific instrument going to space less than two months from now. Say hello to the James Webb Space Telescope.

Designed as a potential replacement to the aging Hubble Space Telescope, the JWST suffered developmental setbacks of its own. But if nothing new will hamper it, we can expect NASA to launch this space telescope on December 18. And as if to coincide with that event, tonysmyuncle’s build of the JWST just hit 10,000 supporters on LEGO Ideas. Looking like a flat mini-“Star Wars” ship topped with a mirror array, the JWST features 18 movable segments. It can fold down into a stored form for “loading” in a rocket. The brick-built satellite matches the scale with its included astronaut minifigure.

The JWST becomes entry number 11 in the ongoing Third 2021 Review Stage. We at The Brick Show continue to be amazed at the fast 10-K entry of product ideas in these. Who knows; maybe they’ll even match the milestone 50+ submissions to the First 2021 Review Stage. Anything’s possible.

LEGO Harry Potter GWPs Launch Despite Store Calendar “Removal” (Thank Goodness)

Ever had those days when you get worked up over an event you’re anticipating being cancelled, except not really? That must have been some LEGO collectors/”Harry Potter” fans this month following the official LEGO Store calendar’s…alterations. In mid-October LEGO released another version of their October 2021 store calendar without its LEGO Harry Potter GWPs. They were supposed to go live later this month and carry on over to November. The Hogwarts Gryffindor Dorms (40452) was “new” enough (actually a reimagining of an early LHP mini-set) to warrant attention. Just when we thought we’ll have to wait until next month…they launch.

Brickset.com confirms with us that come October 25, the apparently-removed LEGO Harry Potter GWPs kicked off as originally scheduled. You can see them now in Shop@Home’s promos & discounts page. Hogwarts Gryffindor Dorms can be yours for any LEGO Harry Potter purchase of $100 and above. If you’re buying from a LEGO Store you can also get Hermione’s Study Desk (30392) for $40 and up. Both offers, as the saying goes, remain available while supplies last. But if these gifts-with-purchase sets were going to be around anyway, then why the second, LHP-less store calendar? LEGO hasn’t explained. And while we can be relieved, we understand if some are still annoyed at the fake-out(?).

As for other territories, the minimum spend for Hogwarts Gryffindor Dorms (40452) are as follows: The UK and Europe are both 100 (£ and €, respectively), while Australia has AU$200.

LEGO Disney Rumor: Three “Encanto” Tie-In Sets in December

Back in 2017, Disney and Pixar showed their deft hand at handling Latin-American culture in their stories with “Coco.” Now, Disney is flying solo with another Latino-inspired story in “Encanto.” From the Mexican setting of “Coco,” we shift to Colombia. And instead of an afterlife journey themed on Dia de Muertos, here we get the adventures of a super-powered family. Well, super-powered except for one “normal human” member, Mirabel. “Encanto” is set to premiere next month on November 24. Disney of course has plenty of merchandise lined up. And if this new rumor is true, that merch includes LEGO sets.

This just in from Germany’s Promobricks.de: three LEGO sets based on “Encanto” coming in December. We fully expect them to be grouped under the LEGO Disney line. What we didn’t expect is the sets being with the Disney Princess sub-theme. Of course, that’s just according to the rumor dug up by Promobricks. The sets are:

Antonio’s Magic Door (43200) – age 5+ | 99 pieces | 2 figures | €19.99/$23.28
Isabela’s Magic Door (43201) – age 5+ | 114 pieces | 3 figures | €19.99/$23.28
Madrigal House (43202) – age 6+ | 587 pieces | 3 figures | €49.99/$58.22

Those are direct conversions.

All rumored LEGO Disney “Encanto” sets appear to be early-age level. Making them Disney Princess sets also means larger character figures. We’re supposed to expect these tie-ins to release on December 1. But keep in mind that they remain rumors until LEGO confirms or denies.

LEGO Ideas: Motorized Johnny 5 from “Short Circuit” Gains 10-K Support

From a newly-revealed official LEGO Ideas set releasing soon, we move to a product idea still craving review. Sure, it did gain necessary support recently, but it still needs to get past the Third 2021 Review Stage. And of the nine 10-K product ideas that came before it, only one other shares its motorized characteristic. But first, some background on this submission. Its source material is a sci-fi comedy film duology (1986-88) from Tri-Star Pictures. This product idea depicts the protagonist: a prototype military-use robot that gains full sentience via lightning strike. Say hello to Johnny 5 from “Short Circuit.”

This spectacular build is the brainchild of Ideas member RJ Brickbuilds. He got the idea from 1988’s “Short Circuit 2.” There, one of Johnny 5’s creators began selling handmade miniature versions of J5 as toys. At the time of the movie’s release, J5 was still memorable enough that audiences would have been interested in merchandise. Granted, getting a LEGO Ideas set based on a now-obscure 1980s franchise will be a steep sell. But perhaps the articulation and mobility of this brick-built Johnny 5 robot, courtesy of Powered Up motors/app, can change minds. Seriously, check out this video, available on the Johnny 5 product idea page.

RJ Brickbuild’s J5 robot from “Short Circuit” could give ChrisOrchard’s Model Solar System a run for its money. Heck, every other submission to the LEGO Ideas Third 2021 Review Stage better put their best foot forward. It’ll take something grander with future submissions to steal Johnny 5’s hype sometime soon.

LEGO Ideas Home Alone (21330) Finally Revealed

Regarding LEGO Ideas news, most that we cover concern new product ideas that gain 10,000 supporters on the website. Rarer, but on mostly-regular occasions, we announce the submissions that pass the Review Stages to become official LEGO sets. And rarer still, we introduce the finished LEGO Ideas sets as revealed by LEGO, before their release. At times we feel like those moments come once in a blue moon. But here we are, with the 38^th Ideas set to get a release date. Remember the 1990 comedy film that became a Holiday standard? Yes, LEGO “Home Alone” is coming.

The LEGO Ideas Home Alone set (21330) recreates the McCallister Family home from the hit 20^th Century Fox movie. Specifically, it depicts the house as the hilarious, borderline-deadly nest of traps engineered by Kevin McCallister. Left home alone, knowing two burglars targeting his house, really brings out Kevin’s “inventive tormentor” side. The brick-built house and its modular design enable a quick look inside to find Kevin’s traps against the Wet Bandits. Trying to find all the Easter eggs from the film just adds to the fun! The November 1 release date can’t come soon enough for the fans.

LEGO® Ideas Home Alone (21330)

Top Christmas holiday gift

The set includes 5 LEGO minifigures of Kevin McCallister, mom Kate McCallister, crooks Harry and Marv and neighbor ‘Old Man’ Marley, plus Harry and Marv’s van with crowbar and police hat elements inside. With 3,957 pieces, this is the biggest LEGO Ideas set so far and the bricks are divided into bags following the movie’s plotline, so you can relive the story as you build during the holidays.

Celebrate a family-favorite Christmas comedy movie with this LEGO® Ideas Home Alone set (21330), featuring buildable models of the McCallisters’ house, tree house and crooks’ van for play and display.

This brick-built movie memorabilia set makes a cool holiday gift for millennial Home Alone fans. It includes 5 LEGO® minifigures: Kevin McCallister, Kate McCallister, Harry, Marv and ‘Old Man’ Marley.

The house’s walls and roof open up for easy access and it has many fun functions including swinging paint cans, a basement furnace that lights up and a lever to push Kevin down the stairs on his sled.

Discover details that spark memories of hilarious movie moments in every room in the house and inside the van (not forgetting the zip line for Kevin to escape to the tree house!).

The bricks in this set are split into 24 bags and the building order follows the movie’s plotline. An LR41 battery is included for the LEGO® light brick that illuminates the furnace.

This 3,957-piece set includes an illustrated booklet about Home Alone, the set’s fan creator and LEGO® designers, plus step-by-step instructions to guide your immersive, rewarding building experience.

LEGO Announces VIP Weekend Ahead of Black Friday

For LEGO VIP members, the most recent event for them – a week of double-points – came and went last weekend. Promo periods like these prove time and time again that joining LEGO’s VIP program is a great idea. Points for additional purchases, early access to hot new products and exclusives never run out when you’re a VIP. Already, LEGO is charting out a new special period next month for VIP members to take advantage of. Black Friday falls on November, remember? Expect those VIP events to come one after the other.

As The Brick Fan tells us, LEGO Shop@Home replaced the already-concluded Double-VIP Points event for a VIP Weekend announcement. The event runs one weekend from November 20 to 21. LEGO made no announcements on what to expect in those two days, leaving that reveal for November 15. Of course, we can probably count on a renewed 2x VIP Points period at minimum. Furthermore, considering LEGO’s Black Friday event scheduled November 26-29, VIP weekend could also surprise with an early set reveal. LEGO loves to spring Black Friday exclusive sets on VIP members. The November 15 reveal date might also confirm/debunk the long-rumored LEGO Star Wars Hoth AT-AT (75313). Many possibilities await LEGO collectors next month, doubly so if they’re VIPs.

Returnee LEGO Ideas 10-K Passer: “Naruto” Ichiraku Ramen (20th Anniversary Edition)

While LEGO boasts product theme lines that take inspiration from East Asian cultures, they have few East-Asian licensed IPs. Yes there’s LEGO Super Mario from Japanese gaming giant Nintendo. But look at the rest: Disney, Harry Potter, Marvel, DC, Minecraft…all western IPs. About the only place to push for an East-Asian licensed-IP sets would be in LEGO Ideas. Members David and Diego Escaluna aka DadiTwins used this avenue to propose a set based on the “Naruto” manga/anime. Their initial effort failed to pass a Review Stage, but they only persevered. Now they’re offering their revamped build again, confident that LEGO Ideas might bite this time.

Nobody in this day and age who has read Japanese manga and watches anime would not know about “Naruto.” The story of a lad in a world of ninjas who dreamt of becoming Hokage has inspired generations worldwide. DadiTwins are presenting their “Naruto” set, based on key manga/anime location the Ichiraku Ramen, in time for a milestone. You see, “Naruto” is celebrating its 20^th anniversary (start of anime) next year in 2022. Based on recent set releases, LEGO loves cashing in on IP anniversaries. Last August the Ideas Seinfeld set (21328) celebrated the sitcom’s 30^th anniversary (2019, two years late). This made 10-K support just a year before Naruto’s 20^th.

Ninjas’ favorite Ramen hangout

Compared to their original pitch, DadiTwins’ Ichiraku Ramen set got a size increase as well as added detail. The bigger build means an interior area for more play options. The set even comes with a standalone kiosk to one side. And the minifigures represent both major and minor members of the “Naruto” cast. The golden ninja trio of Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura get to eat some delicious Ichiraku Ramen with their friend Hinata and senseis Kakashi and Iruka. Leave it to shop proprietors Teuchi and Ayame Ichiraku to keep the ramen going, bowl after bowl.

This sweet anime IP build joins an ever-increasing number of product ideas for the Third 2021 Review Stage. LEGO Ideas won’t tell us the results until next year, when more submissions have been added here.