The week of San Diego Comic-Con is full of news, and we’re hardly getting started! The next item LEGO has revealed is an upcoming new LEGO Batman set, Riddler Chase. Most notably, this set includes the Flash as a minifigure for the first time.
The set will cost $29.99, includes 304 pieces, and is due out in January 2014.
If you are one of the lucky ones who managed to get into San Diego Comic-Con and can go, here is a quick list of panels that may pique your LEGO interest!!!
Brick-built SDCC logo by Mariann Asanuma.
Nathan will be signing books at TwoMorrows booth #1301 after the panel until the hall closes. Brandon will be there handing out a limited amount of STUDS packs.
There is a LEGO Zoids contest on at the moment, and Garry (Garry_rocks) has virtually build himself a doozy of an entry in Ultraterius. Not sure if this can be built for real in blue, but I’d happily accept it in a grey or yellow.
In news that should surprise nobody, LEGO has announced that they’ll be releasing a line of sets based on the upcoming LEGO movie conveniently titled The LEGO Movie. The first item unveiled today is a set called “Wyldstyle Chase”.
Here’s the official announcement:
LEGO Group Builds Creative Merchandising Program for “THE LEGO® MOVIE”
-First of 17 Building Sets, Playable Video Game Demo to be Displayed at Comic-Con-
COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL, SAN DIEGO (July 14, 2013) – The LEGO Group today announced that it will produce a collection of movie-inspired building sets celebrating the brand’s premiere as a theatrical film. The company has recruited an impressive roster of global partners to a broad, multi-category licensing program to support the much anticipated animated adventure film from Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures. Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and produced by Dan Lin and Roy Lee, “THE LEGO® MOVIE” is rapidly building buzz following its first released trailer and assembles on the big screen starting in February 2014.
“The LEGO brand has been a vehicle for creative storytelling around the world for decades, so it’s no surprise that there is such growing enthusiasm for the first LEGO theatrical film,” said Jill Wilfert, vice president licensing and entertainment for The LEGO Group. “We are thrilled to collaborate with our valued partners to build a varied and compelling portfolio of products through which fans of all ages can celebrate this LEGO brand milestone.”
Building Sets
Inspired by pivotal scenes in the film and starring key LEGO minifigure characters, a collection of 17 LEGO building sets will deliver all of the “THE LEGO MOVIE” action to the playroom. Fans will delight in highly detailed and functional vehicles and structures that reflect the creative versatility of the movie’s many LEGO themed backdrops, such as City, Wild West, and Space. Comic-Con International attendees in San Diego, California will see the first “THE LEGO MOVIE” building set unveiled at the LEGO booth (#2829) on Saturday, July 20.
Additionally, the company’s line of collectible LEGO Minifigures will receive its first Hollywood makeover with a series inspired by “THE LEGO MOVIE” cast of 16 new and “new-again” LEGO characters.
Videogame
In related news, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today announced that the chart-topping and award-winning LEGO videogames franchise from TT Games will include an epic gaming experience based on the film across all major console and handheld gaming systems. With more than 90 playable characters inspired by the film and 15 exciting levels, kids will be able to build an adventure like never before.
Movie-Inspired Merchandise
A roster of global licensees covering several categories will immerse filmgoers in the world of “THE LEGO MOVIE.” Perennial publishing partners Scholastic, Penguin, Ameet and DK Publishing will offer a range of readers, sticker books, activity books and movie guides. Apparel partners include T-shirts from Mad Engine, Isaac Morris, Kabooki, TV Mania and Casco Blu, hoodies from TV Mania, pajamas from SGI Apparel, TV Mania and Kabooki and undergarments from Handcraft Mfg. and Kabooki. Carry Gear and Grown Up will offer bags, including backpacks and cinch bags. Clic Time is producing clocks and buildable watches. MZB Imagination and Funtastic are creating an array of stationery items including notebooks, journals, folders, pens, pencils and pencil cases, erasers, rulers and luggage/bag tags. Functional key lights featuring movie characters are being produced by IQ HK. Storage partner ROOM Copenhagen is producing a lunchbox, lunch set, drinking bottle and storage and sorting boxes.
The Feature Film
“THE LEGO MOVIE” opens in some global markets the first week of February, 2014. The 3D computer animated adventure tells the story of Emmet, an ordinary, rules-following, perfectly average LEGO minifigure who is mistakenly identified as the most extraordinary person and the key to saving the world. He is drafted into a fellowship of strangers on an epic quest to stop an evil tyrant, a journey for which Emmet is hopelessly and hilariously underprepared.
“THE LEGO MOVIE” stars Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Nick Offerman, Alison Brie and Charlie Day, with Liam Neeson and Morgan Freeman, as the voices of the animated characters. The film is directed by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller (“21 Jump Street,” “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”) from their original screenplay, story by Dan Hageman, Kevin Hageman, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, based on LEGO construction toys. It will incorporate some of the LEGO world’s most popular figures while introducing several new characters, inviting fans who have enjoyed the brand’s innovative toys and hugely popular video games for generations to experience their visually unique LEGO world as never seen before. The film is produced by Dan Lin (“Sherlock Holmes,” “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows”) and Roy Lee (“The Departed,” “How to Train Your Dragon”). “THE LEGO MOVIE” will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures.
While official details remain somewhat sketchy, high-res box art is now everywhere online for the forthcoming LEGO CUUSOO set #4. Behold 21103 LEGO Back to the Future DeLorean Time Machine.
The DeLorean, Marty McFly, and Doc Emmet Brown are sitting here next to me as I type this, so look for a full review of this new set in the next day or so, once the official info is due to be released.
Also, remember that this week is San Diego Comic-Con, so check back here on TBB for full coverage of official announcements as well as on-the-scene reporting by TBB contributors attending in person.
Brian Williams (BMW_Indy) is back making awesome dioramas. This time he’s cooked up this excellent cube of goodness from Hogan’s Heroes, one of my all time favorite TV shows. There’s everything from Carter’s underground chemistry lab to the hidden antenna in the flagpole. You’ll have to inspect the barracks more thoroughly than Schultz, but you might just recognize some great nods to specific episodes. Plus Brian has outfitted the whole thing with lights, so it looks great in photographs. Note the cool textures on the walls using the antistuds on the backs of plates, and the edges of wedge plates for the rough-hewn walls of the tunnel network.
If you don’t want to click through the photos individually, check out this slideshow Brian made:
Chris McVeigh (powerpig) is no stranger to The Brothers Brick, having been featured multiple times for his lovely models and photography.
He’s started a new series of brick-based sketches, inspired by markers as an art medium. I love the stylistic design and presentation. This particular one features a comic-book staple, the iconic Batman:
Other sketches include Boba Fett and Wolverine. I’m excited to see whoever is next!
Thanks to having run out of LEGO track (I can’t wait for Brickmania Track Links), I’ve been forced to build something with wheels. Between June 1941 and September 1945, the United States delivered 400,000 Jeeps and trucks, 12,000 armored vehicles, 11,400 aircraft, and 1.75 million tons of food to the Soviet Union as part of the Lend-Lease Program. The US often reserved the latest arms and armor for its own armed forces, and older or obsolete designs ended up on ships to the USSR to fight the Third Reich on the Eastern Front.
One such vehicle was the M3 Scout Car, an armored car created by the White Motor Company in the late 1930s. You can clearly see the M3 Scout Car’s heritage in the later M3 Halftrack, which I’ve included here with the Scout Car — both in Soviet livery.
Recent posts about my LEGO World War II models didn’t really discuss materials or building techniques. While I wholeheartedly agree with LEGO’s stance not to produce LEGO sets based on recent real-world military conflicts, it does leave a gap for the minifig-scale LEGO military modeler. Several custom accessory vendors fill that gap. Here’s a quick run-down of the custom items I’ve used in my recent models.
The Soviet decals — “CCCP” and so on — are stickers salvaged from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull LEGO sets (a theme rife with exceptions to LEGO’s policy, but full of elements useful to the military builder).
I’ve written before about how much I enjoy research while building LEGO models based on historical people, events, places, and vehicles. Though I haven’t posted anything in a few weeks, I’ve continued improving many of my existing WW2 models based on feedback from other builders and better photos I’ve come across.
Once I’m reasonably happy with a military model, I like to reproduce it so I can make further variations without destroying each one in turn. Here’s my much-improved (I think…) M5 Stuart Light Tank alongside a new M4 Sherman Medium Tank.
I rebuilt the front of the Stuart to reduce how much it projected in front of the treads, lowered the turret by a plate, and gave the turret a proper commander’s hatch. The Sherman has a brand new turret, using 1×3 arches that I first saw built into the turret on the Brickmania Sherman I reviewed earlier this year — another example of how LEGO builders are indebted to each other to improve their designs.
I’m still not sure what I’m going to do with all my World War II armor (LEGO Italy circa 1943 seems overdue for liberation), but I’m certainly enjoying the vehicle builds along the way.
Aliens meets Bionicle in the latest cool creation by Kyle Peckham called Cervatus and his Power Loader. Built for the annual Bio Cup competition on MOCpages, the exosuit is designed to accommodate a 10 inch tall Bionicle figure while being fully poseable and removable from the character itself. The competition is bringing out the best of the Bionicle tribe, so check out the other entries if you have the time an inclination.
The evolution of the floating rock can be traced by the construction of the rock, which becomes more realistic with time. Tommy M. (Eklund!) cites the inspiration of his creation from works by SlyOwl and Legohaulic. You can see how elements from the previous builders have made their way into this new creation.
LegoJalex built a scene from a classic American comic and TV series, Dennis The Menace. I read some of the comics as a kid, so it was recognizable to me. Regardless, one should note the slingshot that Dennis is holding; it’s a very eye-catching accessory made out of official Lego elements and a custom sling.
It is time to put on your digital bib, constant reader, and feast upon the latest LDD build from Brickviller. Like most virtual models, I can’t get past my long standing prejudice of immediately wondering how it would look in “real” bricks, but hopefully the builder won’t hold that against me. The design is remarkable and to my admittedly untrained eyes, very Russian.
