Yearly Archives: 2018

LEGO Architecture 21041 Great Wall of China [Review]

The Great Wall is often cited as one of the wonders of the medieval world, at its peak stretching more than 5,500 miles across China. In LEGO form, 21041 Great Wall of China represents the oldest structure in the Architecture line and the first to include significant landscaping. It is also the first LEGO Architecture set designed to be modular, creatively constructed to connect multiple copies. The Great Wall includes 552 pieces and retails from LEGO for $49.99 USD. (EDIT: The set is currently on sale at Amazon.com for $39.99, making it easier to buy multiple copies.)

The Great Wall is a departure from the Architecture sets of modern buildings and significant landmarks we have come to know and love, though it feels at home with its dark green and tan styling as well as its black tiled base. While similar in size to the 21006 White House, the Great Wall is hefty and designed to be viewed from all directions. The set was released earlier this year, but with the holidays coming up, we wanted to take a closer look.

Click to take a closer look at the Great Wall LEGO Architecture set

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LEGO to release Exclusive sets inspired by traditional new year festivals for the China and Asia Pacific markets [News]

LEGO announces region specific sets for the China and Asia Pacific Markets that’s slated to be released from January 1st, 2019 onwards. At the moment, two sets showing events from the festivities related during the Lunar New Year’s celebration are featured. The two sets are scenes celebrating the family dinner on the Eve of Chinese New Year, and the famous Dragon Dance. According to Niels B. Christiansen, Chief Executive Officer of the LEGO Group, this is the first time LEGO has made sets for a specific country or region.

80101 Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner

Click here to learn more about the new sets!

Transparency in business

Builders tackle the LEGO Castle so often, I sometimes wonder if it has been completely exhausted. At times like that, builders such as Jonas Wide prove me wrong. When people move away from the military aspect of castle, they can find an endless well of inspiration beyond just castles and battles.

This glass-blowing workshop scene is as much artful photography as it is a LEGO build. The lighting through the windows and from the kiln is quite immersive, and the build itself is not bad at all. The textures on the walls are just enough and the tiles on the floor use related colours that actually look like variable clay bricks. What I really love is the attention to detail with the minifigs – a little drop of sweat on a minifig’s face is enough to show just how hot the workshop must be.

LEGO Creator Vestas Wind Turbine now available for Black Friday [News]

The LEGO Vault has opened and the previously exclusive 10268 Vestas Wind Turbine is now on sale for Black Friday and beyond. You can read our in depth review of the Wind Turbine set here. The set includes 826 pieces, 3 minifigs, and a dog. The set is on sale from the LEGO Shop for $199.99 USD, $249.99 CAN, and £159.99 UK).

The LEGO Shop’s Black Friday sales and deals are also starting right now (UK sales are already underway) along with the seasonal exclusive 40292 Christmas Gift Box with orders more than $99 USD.

Citizen Brick Black Friday 2018 deals and special offers [News]

Our friends over at Citizen Brick have cooked up another batch of cool stuff for this year’s Black Friday, along with a new holiday promotion tin.

The Negligent Parents “Abandoned Child / Home Invasion Holiday Fun” set of three minifigs lets you reenact all your favorite scenes from Home Alone.

See all of this year’s Citizen Brick special deals

M:Tron – delivering to a galaxy near you soon

The M:Tron range of LEGO Space sets released back in 1990 never made any bones about the utilitarian nature of its magnet-laden fleet. It was all about finding innovative ways of lifting and moving its precious equipment cases around the galaxy. Tim Goddard, whose space work has become a regular feature here on TBB, has really run with this idea of transportation. He asks, how do you deploy your beautifully built M:Tron mech to the planet surface? With the M:Tron Pod of course.

Having had a close-up look at this build at Bricktastic earlier this year, I was mightily impressed by the lengths Tim had gone to, to make his Pod hexagonal. Of course it also has a fully functional hatch mechanism. Like so much of his work, it’s a splendidly detailed homage to one the LEGO Group’s most-loved themes.

A castle shot through with a bolt of blue

What makes a LEGO model special often comes down to an inspired design choice. In the case of En Zoo’s Laelariel Hall it’s all about the use of colour. The build is a solid medieval construction utilising many tried and tested stone wall and roof techniques. What lifts it above the average are the exquisite splashes of blue bricks throughout. The main walls are veined with light blue and 1×1 round tiled studs. Layered in sequence, they imbue the building with a sense of magic. Accents of dark blue in the roof echo the marbling elsewhere. It’s a clever choice that transports the scene into its own fantastical realm.

Brickmania 2183 B-17G “Flying Fortress” WWII Heavy Bomber [Review]

We recently reviewed the new Brickmania F-4C Phantom II fighter kit, but the Brickmania team has also just restocked the massive B-17G WWII Heavy Bomber custom kit, their largest LEGO aircraft kit produced to date. This custom kit of the legendary “Flying Fortress” is built from 3,074 LEGO pieces and includes 10 custom-printed minifigures.

Read our hands-on review of the Brickmania Flying Fortress

LEGO Star Wars lineup for the first half of 2019 revealed [News]

Pictures are finally available online for the LEGO Star Wars lineup of sets that are set to be released in the first half of 2019. These include themes from not only the classic trilogy but including the prequels and sequels. Check out the playsets below for now. You can be sure we’ll be reviewing most of these come 2019 to give you our independent view once they hit the shelves in January.

75225 Elite Praetorian Guard Battle Back, 109 Pieces

Click to see the rest of the Star Wars sets

Angelic titan stands between you and the hereafter

Microscale LEGO building is not just about building things on a small scale as the term suggests. Context can help a creation take on epic proportions with the use of a part or parts to provide a size comparison. Take this celestial automaton by Brian Kescenovitz made from a relatively small collection of elements. The micro-figure in the foreground, as well as the minimalist background, give this golden mechanical angel an impressive stature.

The multi-jointed legs have an insect-like feel, and the lack of a recognizable head or face lends even more otherworldliness to this guardian of the afterlife.

LEGO Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2018 deals from the LEGO Shop [News]

The LEGO Shop’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales and deals are happening this week, with UK sales already underway and US & Canadian sales starting at midnight Eastern Time on Friday, November 23rd (that’s Thanksgiving night at 9 PM for our readers on the west coast). Various LEGO sets are 20-30% off or more, and the holiday promotion this year is a Buildable Holiday Present set with purchases over $99/£85. At the same time, the new 10268 Vestas Wind Turbine is now available.

LEGO sent us an early copy of the promotional set, and it’s a lovely little set with 301 pieces that opens up, reminding us of both 75952 Newt’s Case and 21315 Pop-up Book.

We’ll update this article with specific deals we find, but in the meantime, you can click through to the US sales and deals page from the images above.

Learn more about Black Friday & Cyber Monday deals from the LEGO Shop

Mbriks custom magnet bricks – Kickstarter ends Nov 23 [Review]

There’s a new product in the increasingly crowded third-party custom brick world. Mbriks are a way to bring new life to your LEGO (and compatible brands) building bricks by adding additional dimension and display options. These custom magnetic bricks have shown a lot of promise in the professionally produced videos and other promotional material during the month-long Kickstarter campaign ending this week, but we wanted to weigh in ourselves.

Read our hands-on review of custom Mbriks magnetic bricks