Monthly Archives: September 2011

Announcing 10230 Mini Modulars – Cafe Corner returns in microscale! [News]

LEGO has just announced an intriguing new set that brings together nearly all of the modular building series, going all the way back to the classic 10182 Cafe Corner — 10230 Mini Modulars. The set is due out in January 2012, and will only be available to LEGO VIP Program members.

10230 Mini Modulars (1)

The set comes with 1,356 pieces and will retail for $80 in the States. It includes Cafe Corner (of course), Market Street, Green Grocer, Fire Brigade, and Grand Emporium. I guess we’ll have to wait for the recently released Pet Shop until later (or build your own!).

We’ve seen LEGO fans create mini/microscale versions of these sets for years (including Matthew Raehl’s mini modular street, mumu’s pre-release micro 10182, and many more), but it’s great to see an official LEGO take on this concept.

See lots more photos in the photoset on Flickr.

Here’s the complete press release from LEGO:

10230 Mini Modulars

Ages 12+. 1,356 pieces.
US $79.99 CA $99.99 DE 69.99 € UK 59.99 £ DK 649.00 DKK AU $119.99

Available only to our LEGO® VIP Program Members, this exclusive mini modulars set is an authentic miniature representation of the first 5 buildings in the Modular Building series: Café Corner, Market Street, Green Grocer, Fire Brigade and Grand Emporium. Featuring highly detailed design, each building can be displayed as a stand alone piece or connected to the others buildings in the set. The mini Café Corner includes details like a fan above the doorway and printed hotel signage, while the mini Market Street includes transparent bricks and a unique brick construction. The quaint mini Green Grocer also features transparent bricks and a fire escape at the rear, while the mini Fire Brigade includes a brick bell and white arch wall elements. Finally, the mini Grand Emporium has a rooftop sign, skylight and window washing platform. With fantastic detailing and a huge variety of elements in a range of rich colors, this exclusive mini modulars set is the perfect addition to every VIP Member’s collection.

  • Exclusively available to LEGO® VIP Members!
  • Authentic miniature representation of first 5 Modular Buildings: Café Corner, Market Street, Green Grocer, Fire Brigade and Grand Emporium!
  • Each building can be displayed individually or connected to the other buildings in the set!
  • All buildings feature fantastic detailing and a wide variety of elements and colors!
  • Completed model measures over 5″ (14.5 cm) tall, 12″ (32 cm) long and 2.5″ (6.5 cm) wide!
  • Each individual building measures 2.5″ (6.5 cm) long and 2.5″ (6.5 cm) wide!

Watch this space for a video message from the LEGO designer who created this set.

Sometimes it’s what’s on the inside that matters...

PhiMa has been applying his prodigious vehicle-building skills to emergency vehicles rather than World War II armor lately, with some really nice results. On of his latest fire engines is this utilitarian beauty.

Rescue 5

What’s most impressive, though, is just how much stuff he’s been able to fit inside the truck. Yes, everything in the photo below fits inside the fire engine.

Rescue 5

Classic LEGO set 212 in Miniland scale, with bonus dachshund

aurore&aube‘s favorite set of all time is the small 1976 set 212 Scooter. He celebrates this classic set by recreating it in Miniland scale. My favorite detail, though, is the extra black-and-tan dachshund that aurore&aube included. Making small-scale LEGO animals is especially challenging, though aurore&aube is no stranger to excellent LEGO creatures. The dachshund stands in an expressive pose, as though he’s about to start barking at the passing scooter.

scooter 005

10220 Volkswagen T1 Camper Van out early, free shipping extended [News]

Though it was due out on October 1st, LEGO has just released 10220 Volkswagen T1 Camper Vanicon early. It’s available on LEGO.com now, and free shipping over $75 has been extended through the end of the month. Huzzah!

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Am I strange for seriously considering ordering 4 of these beauties and customizing each to look like the ones I see around town?

BrickCon 2011 is just one week away!

Anybody Excited?Time flies when you’re building furiously. BrickCon 2011 starts next Thursday, September 29! Here’s what you need to know before you arrive.

Past attendees will observe that this is *ahem* almost exactly the same as the 2008 and 2009 posts. It’s good info, though, especially if this is your first BrickCon.

Fill out your MOC cards!

MOC cards identify your LEGO creations (“MOCs“) for fellow attendees and the general public. They also help organizers plan for how much space is needed. Only LEGO models that have MOC cards will be eligible for awards.

Fill out your MOC cards on BrickCon.org before the con to ensure that they’re printed on the nice card stock that will help them stand up next to your amazing LEGO creations.

By the way, unless you want to spend the public hours explaining what “SNOT” and “MOC” are to kids and their parents, avoid “AFOL-speak” in your descriptions. Seriously.

Bring stuff for the draft and Dirty Brickster

Drafting a LEGO set allows you to get parts in large quantities that you might otherwise have to buy individually. Read more about how the draft works on SEALUG.org. If you want to participate, the draft sets for BrickCon 2011 are 7326 Rise of the Sphinx and 4182 Cannibal Escape.

Dirty Brickster is a LEGO “white elephant” gift exchange. Bring something that would be worth $10-20 to the recipient, wrapped.

Pack your LEGO creations for travel or shipping

Before you stuff your LEGO into your carry-on luggage, consider reading the LUGNET post by Duane Hess and the Classic-Castle.com article by Lenny Hoffman about packing and shipping LEGO.

Wouldn’t you rather spend your time socializing and integrating your pristine creations into the display instead of rebuilding them?

Get to BrickCon

If you’re flying in, we recommend using public transportation to get to Seattle Center. Handy instructions in Mark Sandlin‘s graphic:

Brickcon Infothingy™ 2010

Unload your LEGO at the venue

The convention hall will be opening at 7:00 AM on Thursday. But if you show up before 10:00 AM, plan on helping to set up tables, haul chairs, and otherwise make yourself useful. Please wait until 10:00 to put your models on the tables, since we’ll need to put drop-cloths on them first.

Build!

With a week left, you still have time to build something and bring it (especially if you’re driving) for one of the many collaborative displays.

See you next week!

CGI Train

Ben Beneke is one of the greats of LEGO train building, with even his old steamers still standing out as some of the best. I’d been wondering what had happened to Ben recently (he usually posts at least one new train a year) but apparently he’s been spending time making excellent animations using LDraw and POVray. An animation like this is really hard to do in POVray. I know, I’ve tried.

An oasis for the weary

What brings a traveler this far, you might ask? What a fabulous question. Wealth? Power? Prestige? In the long run it doesn’t matter, but a respite is always appreciated.

Though, knowing Sebastiaan Arts, I’m fairly sure there’s something hidden. A portal to another dimension, perhaps?

Lego Flying Dutchman for the Lego Pirates of the Caribbean video game

Carl Greatrix is a designer for the official Lego games, and his design of the Flying Dutchman for the Lego Pirates of the Caribbean video game shows why he’s the man for the job. Even though this is a render, just about all the parts used are official Lego elements.

Flying Dutchman for POTC game

Rest for the Wicked

Even bandits need to take a break now and again. David Leest bursts back on the scene with this lush little gem. The waterfall, foliage and general landscaping are very nice, but the posing of the figs put the topper on this for me.

Wolfpack On A Break

Roskilde Domkirke

Lasse Vestergård built this in the style of LEGO’s architechture sets and it came out quite nice. I’m really liking the austere look of this build.

LEGO fan recreates Erik Varszegi’s Venator star destroyer

In 2005, LEGO Master Builder Erik Varszegi built a massive Venator-class Star Destroyer for Star Wars Celebration III. At 8 feet long, it was the largest LEGO model most of us had seen at the time, and set the bar very high for the likes of Mark Kelso. However, in order to build the Venator strong enough to ship from Enfield, Connecticut to Indianapolis, Indiana, Erik and his fellow model builders had to glue the model and incorporate a steel frame (FBTB has a great interview with Erik). Now, six years later, Sylvain Ballivet has built his own version of Erik’s Venator, except that it’s built from 100% LEGO elements with no glue.

VENATOR CLASS STAR DESTROYER by iomedes

Sylvain’s Venator by the numbers:

  • 82 kg (181 lbs)
  • 2.44 m (8 ft) long, 1.2 m (4 ft) wide, and 64 cm (25 in) tall
  • 43,280 LEGO elements (!)

Check out lots more photos on Flickr, and this awesome video that really gives you a sense of the scale of this beast:

Evacuate!

Bart De Dobbelaer amazes me with the intricacies of his scenes and the action that he packs into them. The scary aliens/bugs in this scene are pretty wild and the backdrop highlights the action perfectly.

Evacuation