This issue includes interviews with Pete Reid and the admins of the Brick-Busters anti-plagiarism group, as well as features on how to clean LEGO, learning about LDraw, and more.

Click the pic for links to download both the English and Spanish versions of Hispabrick Magazine 006.

L.G.’s brickwork under the porch is excellent, and little details like the round 1×1 plates in the window frames break up the plane of the wall.

It’s been nearly two and a half years since LEGO released Café Corner, inspiring thousands of LEGO builders to try LEGO Town creations — many of us for the first time. Though we all know that LEGO sets aren’t available indefinitely, it’s hard to imagine this inspirational set being gone forever.

See more photos of L.G.’s Brickstone Manor on MOCpages.

Other new items include:

• Golf Club
• Power Blade
• Raider Blade
• Sai
• Hook Sword
• Cleaver
• Saw
• Sickle
• Wizard Sword
• Sovereign Sword
• Phaser

See photos of all the new items in the BrickForge Store.

TLG want to hear from you again about AFOL/TFOL matters.

The LEGO Group Wants to Hear From You!
As Adult or Teenage Fans of LEGO, you bring an important perspective to the LEGO Group. We respect your creativity and passion for the LEGO brand.

Since December 2008, we have done quarterly online surveys to learn more about the needs and wishes of global AFOL (defined as ages 20+) and TFOL (defined as ages 13-19) communities. For your information, we have listed the key findings from the latest survey in July 2009 below. Now we ask you to take the survey again. It include some of the same questions, but also a set of new questions for you.

Please take a few moments to complete this short online survey to let us know your opinion about the LEGO Group.

You might notice that the link refers to the LEGO Kids Inner Circle; this is because Satmetrix, which hosts that site, is also supporting our efforts to track AFOL/TFOL opinions. Rest assured that this survey is for AFOL’s and TFOLs only.

Here are some of the key findings from the July 2009 survey:

• The survey was completed by 4800 AFOLs and TFOLs. 32% of respondents were TFOLs, 68% was AFOLs. When asked about likeliness to recommend LEGO products and services to friends and family, AFOLs are (consistent with the previous surveys) more likely to recommend than TFOLs. When asked what the LEGO Group can do to improve willingness to recommend, most frequent answers center around request for products and benefit/recognition programs targeted specifically to AFOLs and TFOLs.
• In this survey we asked some questions specifically about BrickJournal. The reason for this is that the LEGO Group has been providing start up support for taking BrickJournal to a printed Magazine and together with Joe Meno and his publisher Tomorrows, we are interested in getting feedback from the AFOL/TFOL community. Here’s what we learned:
• High awareness among adults, but there is work to be done with teens! BrickJournal has 70% awareness among AFOL’s, but less than half of TFOL’s have heard of it.
• Of those aware of BrickJournal, however, only 20% have acquired a printed copy.
• On a scale of 1-4, with 4 the high score, readers gave BrickJournal an average score 3.13. Only 14% of fans gave it a score less than 3.
• BrickJournal has some ways to go before being truly international. For those who did not purchase a copy of BrickJournal, almost half cited how difficult it is to get as the top reason for not buying a copy yet.

Thank you,

The LEGO Community Team

It also came as a PDF which made life much more difficult. I’ve converted the PDF pages to images and uploaded them to flickr. It comes in UK, US and German forms.

And from the FAQ:

Frequently Asked Questions

• How can I join the LEGO VIP Program?

  To join the LEGO VIP Program, visit your nearest LEGO Store and see a LEGO Store Associate to pick up a card. To complete your registration, you must go online to VIP.LEGO.com and submit your member profile. You can find a complete list of LEGO Stores at stores.LEGO.com

• How do I collect points with my LEGO VIP Card?

  When you are ready to make a purchase at the LEGO Store, hand your VIP Card to the cashier. Your points will be instantly added to your card as a part of your purchase transaction, and you can view the points you’ve earned at the bottom of your receipt.

• What about my current paper loyalty card?

  If you own a loyalty card with valid stamps on it, just bring it in store and exchange it for a new LEGO VIP Card. We will transfer all of your spend amount across so you won’t lose out, plus we’ll still give you the 25 bonus points for signing up.

• How do I check my points balance?

  There’s a points statement at the bottom of your receipt, which will tell you how many points you have earned on that transaction, and what your current total balance is. You can check your balance by visiting VIP.LEGO.com and selecting the ‘My VIP’ tab.

• How do I add family members to my LEGO VIP Membership?

  If a family member is over 13 years old and resides at the same postal address, you can add them to your LEGO VIP Account. To do this, your family member must first join up in store and collect their own unique LEGO VIP Card. They can then ask a Store associate to create a ‘shared membership’. If you already have both cards, you can also create the
  shared membership by contacting our Consumer Services department. It is important to note that all members within a Shared Membership can earn and redeem points from the same points account. LEGO is not responsible for any points redeemed without shared member approval.

• What happens if I need to return items to the LEGO Store?

  If you return the item with your receipt you can exchange it for another product or refund. We will require your VIP Card to adjust the balance accordingly. For more information on the LEGO Store return policy, please consult your purchase receipt or a Store Associate.

• What if I change my address?

  If you move, please let us know! You can email our Customer Services Department, and include your old address, new address and VIP Card number.

• What if I have lost my LEGO VIP Card?

  If your card is lost or stolen, please contact a LEGO Store Associate for a replacement card. The lost card will be deactivated and your points balance will be transferred across to the new card. LEGO is not responsible for any points redeemed on a lost or stolen card.

• Do my points ever expire?

  Yes, if your card is left inactive for a consecutive period of 24 months, we will reset your points balance. Before this happens, LEGO will notify you via email.

The Carl Sagan certainly doesn’t disappoint.

Describing it as a “near-future deep space exploration ship” inspired by Ralph’s microscale John Archibald Wheeler, the builders stand behind their work and give us a sense of its immense scale:

As much as I appreciate the sleek starfighters and heavily armed starships we feature here so often, it’s refreshing to see builders taking both a more realistic and peaceful direction with a large LEGO spaceship.

Via FBTB.

I’m excited to announce a new online charity event that has just started! The event, called Creations for Charity, sells custom LEGO creations from fan builders to raise money to buy LEGO for underprivileged children. All funds will be used to buy LEGO sets for the charity Toys for Tots. From now until early-December, there will be new creations listed to be auctioned. Come visit the store to see what we have!

If you are interested in contributing a creation, you can read the details here. Happy holidays everyone!

Miniature Set: Bartosza6m with his version of 6081 – King’s Mountain Fortress:

Miniature Castle: Chris Edwards with his Castle on the Lake:

Check out the second place, third place, and runner-up entries here! Congratulations, everyone!