Yearly Archives: 2017

LEGO Shop Black Friday 2017 giveaway 40254 Nutcracker [Review]

Our friends at LEGO HQ are kind enough to send us each month’s freebies, but it’s not every month that we’re impressed enough with the giveaway set that we review it. This month’s giveaway is 40254 Nutcracker, which you can get for free with orders over $99. It’s available early to LEGO VIP Program members through today, and available more widely with purchases on Black Friday. We think it’s cool enough to take a closer look.

The set includes 230 pieces and LEGO says it has a $20 value, but again it’s free with a purchase over $99.

See more of this rather interesting freebie after the jump

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From old Hotel Mirabeau down to Portier

According to any fan of motor racing series, there are exactly 18 sights in a tiny city-state of Monaco. Of course, these are 18 iconic turns of the Monaco Gran Prix circuit, each is unique and has its own character. Building the whole track with LEGO bricks would be quite an ambitious task, but Simon Pickard absolutely nails, probably, the most beautiful of them — the famous Grand Hotel Hairpin.

Actually, the Grand Hotel Hairpin is the slowest turn in the whole Formula 1 calendar, which is taken by modern cars at approximately 40 mph/65 kph. The way Simon recreated the road surface with hundreds and hundreds of tiles keeping the road markings and the curbs is especially noteworthy, not to mention a pretty couple of racing cars from different motor sport epochs.

Naval strategy and tactics for beginners

Most people will recall a rainy childhood afternoon or two spent hunting down enemy naval forces, so this fun LEGO creation should trigger a rush of nostalgia for MB’s classic Battleship. jtheels‘ model is a wonderful brick-built rendition of the titular craft from the board game — the 4-peg battleship itself. The ship is immediately recognisable, and the addition of the red and white “hit or miss” pegs is a nice touch.

Pictures of the first wave of LEGO Technic 2018 sets are finally available including stunning 42078 Mack Truck [News]

The second half of November is usually the most exciting time of the year for all LEGO fans around the world as pictures of the new sets are finally being published. Today, Technic fans may start making their shopping lists as the official retail pictures of the first wave of 2018 sets are finally here. Although, the line-up traditionally includes sets of different size and complexity, it’s hard not to wish for a giant 42078 Mack Anthem in your collection!

Click here to see more LEGO Technic 2018 sets!

Case Closed: The investigation on Mulder and Scully and their LEGO minifigures [Feature]

This iconic photo of two top-billing Hollywood stars holding their minifigs has been making the rounds in the LEGO-sphere, re-shared and re-surfacing regularly over the past couple of years. Our curiosity got the better of us… Was it a conspiracy from the LEGO Group? Was it a tease of an upcoming X-Files theme? So much mystery from this single photo. So many questions. We know the TRUTH IS OUT THERE, so we decided to do some digging.

Mad for it

We’ve featured Martin Redfern‘s Alice In Wonderland LEGO creations previously, but this latest scene — the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party — is a cracker. The table features a brilliant array of teapot designs (some including fireman’s helmets as lids!), and I like the variety of chair styles on display. The surrounding scenery is great, and gives the model a real sense of place — an impression helped by the tight crop of the photo.

As ever, Martin’s work on the characters is excellent. Here’s a closer look at the Tea Party Trio…

Whenever there is fun, there’s always LEGO

Coca-Cola first went on sale at Jacob’s Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia 1886. The world’s favourite soft drink was invented by Dr John Pemberton, but it was Dr Pemberton’s bookkeeper, Frank Mason Robinson, who came up with the now world-famous red-and-white logo. Pixel Junkie’s latest LEGO creation is a vintage delivery truck bringing cases of Coca-Cola to the local hardware store to be sold for a nickel each.

The background has some nice retro details. I love the gumball machine with advertising, the Coca-Cola vending machine, and the little crate sitting on the hand cart ready to go in the fridge. All-in-all, a great nostalgic scene built in LEGO.

Colonizing the wilderness

Wochenender presents the first part of a planned series of builds illustrating the colonization of a remote wilderness on a fictional island called Sølvheim. This display showcases the expertly crafted landscape which features melting snow elements — something I haven’t seen explored much by builders, making this an interesting fresh concept. The wooden port and watchtower are the only structures at the moment, but I look forward to their evolution in the upcoming dioramas.

DC Justice League LEGO BrickHeadz announced, including Wonder Woman & The Flash [News]

To celebrate the Justice League movie opening in theaters today, LEGO has announced that four characters from the Justice League are joining Star Wars as the newest franchise in the popular BrickHeadz line of buildable figures. As with past BrickHeadz, each character will retail for $9.99 USD when they’re available beginning in January.

See each of the Justice League characters below

Miniature army marches merrily onward, old chap!

There is something about this cute collection of LEGO bricks by P. B. that makes me grin. “King and His Guards” is a simple troop of miniature, chess-like cannon fodder with overseeing gentry and cool bipedal heavy-artillery. It could be the chihuahua looking like a great dane next to our heavily mustachioed king, or his men all assembled with a small number of bricks, yet they all appearing to have their own personalities. Or it could simply be I love the walking tank — whatever the reason, I hope it makes you grin too.

High in the clouds, the forgotten temples await

I have no idea wether the tiny ship in this microscale scene by Andreas Lenander sails for these imposing cliffs out of religious, archaeological, or other reasons, but it sure looks like an adventure I would love to be a part of. The question is not only how the ship’s crew will reach the temples, but how exactly they were built! Realism and practicality aside, this scene is simply gorgeous, and very atmospheric too.

I love the minimalist temples made out of lightsabre handle pieces and the clouds surrounding the rocky island, as well as the well-placed fire at the top of a spike, which stands out in the best of ways. The water is done with a common technique of loose translucent pieces, of which the jewel pieces used by Andreas work the best, in my opinion – as far as the border goes, I am not sure wether I like it or not, but it does look unique and interesting, plus I will never say no to sand blue – and neither should you!

LEGO Star Wars BrickHeadz 41489 Rey & Kylo Ren Limited Edition Collector’s Pack available early + exclusive Mini Millennium Falcon [News]

The next wave of LEGO Star Wars BrickHeadz just revealed earlier this week are available early from Target for REDcard members, ahead of their availability from the LEGO Shop and in LEGO retail stores on December 1st. As expected, 41489 Rey & Kylo Ren Limited Edition Collector’s Pack retails for $19.99. We’ll remind everyone when the two-pack is more broadly available, but some of you can can pick it up now if you don’t want to wait.

If you’re shopping at Target, you might also want to pick up the Mini Millennium Falcon for $4.99.