Lord Dane adds to his legion of mechanized minifigs with this construction hardsuit that has faun-like hooves.
In contrast to the playful Roman creatures that might have inspired this suit, I suspect this little guy is ready to get some work done.
Posts by Andrew Becraft (TBB Editor-in-Chief)
LEGO Universe video game available for pre-order May 14 [News]
The upcoming massively multiplayer online game LEGO Universe will be available for pre-order from the LEGO Shop on May 14 (which is probably now).
Pre-ordering the game will apparently get you a unique minifig, along with a code to unlock that minifig in the game.
DeGobbi’s traction city Salthook rolls off the pages of Mortal Engines
Many people assumed that Crawler Town by Dave DeGobbi was inspired by the book Mortal Engines.
Salthook apparently wasn’t populated by pirates in the book, but they certainly lend a sense of whimsy to the thunderous roar of doom. Dave’s version is also fully motorized, so we can hope for a video at some point soon.
Infomaniac gets muddy
The landscaping in this military diorama by Infomaniac is superb — especially the rock formation under the sentry tower.
Don’t miss the muddy soldiers sneaking up on the tower, though I suspect their camouflage will wash off in the crystal-clear waters of the stream.
LEGO Designer Simon Kent talks about 10213 Shuttle Adventure [Interview]
The announcement yesterday of 10213 Shuttle Adventure is followed today by an interview with Simon Kent, the Creative Lead who worked with Designer Steen Sig Andersen to create the set. Watch the video right here on The Brothers Brick:
Simon talks about some of the constraints that Steen worked under, as well as features of the set.
10213 Shuttle Adventure blasts off in June [News]
The only thing that makes me sad about the announcement of the new 10213 Shuttle Adventure set is that the Space Shuttle program itself is ending this year. I’ll take some small consolation from swooshing this new set around my house.
The set includes 1,200 pieces, costs 100 USD, and ships in June. I’ve uploaded a full set of pictures to Flickr:
Here’s the official announcement from LEGO:
10213 Shuttle Adventure
Ages 16+
1,204 pieces
US $99.99 CA $129.99 UK £ 79.99 DE 89.99 €Blast off on an outer space mission!
Standing 17.5″ (44cm) tall and 10″ (25.5cm) from wing tip to wing tip, this detailed and realistic space shuttle is ready to count down and blast off on its next exciting mission into space! You can take off from the launch pad, separate the detachable fuel tank and booster rockets, and deploy the satellite with unfolding antenna and solar cell panels. Shuttle model features realistic engines, retractable landing gear, an opening cockpit with seats for 2 astronauts, opening cargo compartment with a crane that can hold the satellite and a ground maintenance vehicle. Includes 3 minifigures: 1 male and 1 female astronaut, as well as 1 service crew member.
- Includes 3 minifigures: 1 male and 1 female astronaut as well as 1 service crew member!
- Features realistic engines, retractable landing gear, opening cockpit with seats for 2 astronauts and even a ground maintenance vehicle!
- Take off from the launch pad!
- Separate the detachable fuel tank and booster rockets!
- Deploy the satellite with unfolding antenna and solar cell panels!
- Open the cargo compartment to reveal the crane that can hold the satellite!
- Shuttle Adventure stands 17.5″ (44cm) tall and measures 10″ (25.5cm) from wing tip to wing tip!
SF40 on Orange
The angles on this fighter by Phall Master are stunning, complemented by an unusual orange background. The wheel well around the front of the cockpit is a nice detail.
Great tip, Leigh!
Stilty brings the beefy splat
Online-only LEGO Star Wars special deals May 3 & 4 [News]
The LEGO Shop online is having a two-day promotion (May 3 and 4), with deals on several sets, free shipping on orders over 75 USD (50 GBP and 55 euro), an exclusive sticker sheet, and a chance to win one of two Boba Fett minifigs. Yes, this offer is available globally.
7754 Home One Mon Calamari Star Cruiser is on sale for 30% off, while the UCS Millennium Falcon
is 25% off.
Also 25% off is 10195 Republic Dropship with AT-OT Walker:
Here’s a look at that unique bronze Boba Fett minifigure:
The sale and special promotions end in 48 hours.
Why buying LEGO through the LEGO fan sites you visit is so important [Editorial]
Josh, Caylin, and I attended our local LEGO Users Group meeting yesterday, and someone asked us why Brothers-Brick.com was so slow, and if there was anything he — as a programmer — could do to help. My answer was, “Buy more LEGO. No, seriously!” Readers ask us this question frequently enough that I thought it was important to share our answer with all of you out there on the Web. Read on to learn why.
Over 150,000 of you visit The Brothers Brick every month, loading pages on the site over one million times. Running a website that generates this much traffic costs several thousand dollars a year.
The Brothers Brick relies on you, our readers, to help cover these expenses by clicking through to one of our advertisers when you buy your LEGO. The site then gets a very small percentage back (3%-6%), which in turn we use to pay for servers, bandwidth, software, and other technical expenses. We’re aware that The Brothers Brick isn’t the fastest site on the web, but we just don’t have that extra level of revenue to enable us to upgrade our servers and reliably pay for the increased performance.
Nevertheless, after basic hosting expenses have been covered, we turn everything else back to the community, whether through prizes and giveaways for contests, helping to cover travel and accommodation for LEGO fans attending conventions, or the occasional gift of a Flickr Pro account to talented builders whose work might otherwise disappear when they hit their upload limit.
Realistically, we know that many of us will continue buying LEGO from brick-and-mortar stores — our local independent toy store, Toys R Us, the LEGO Store in the mall, or wherever. But it’s also important that everyone understand how much high-traffic LEGO fans sites like The Brothers Brick, FBTB, and Brickset rely on our readers to pay the bills. Helping to secure some level of financial stability is one way to make sure these community resources don’t go away.
So, if you want a faster TBB experience, if you want to make sure Brickset is always available as a reference, or if you want to ensure FBTB continues to have awesome contests, please consider buying at least some of your LEGO online by clicking through from the LEGO fan sites you visit.
Classic Space base on a very small moon
Though we love Shannon’s great big Classic Space base, we’d be remiss if we passed up this teeny tiny Classic Space base by Tim Goddard.
It’s actually a rather substantial LEGO creation, so not all the details fit in just the one photo above. Be sure to check out Tim’s Flickr photostream for more.
Via MicroBricks.
LEGO Toy Story 3 sets available on LEGO.com now [News]
Pixar’s Toy Story 3 will be out in movie theaters in a few weeks, but the LEGO Toy Story 3 are available now from the LEGO Shop online.
7597 Western Train Chase includes Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Jessie, Bullseye the horse, Rex the T-Rex, and Hamm the piggy bank.
Some of the Toy Story sets look like pretty good LEGO City sets, including a pizza truck and a garbage truck:
All five LEGO Toy Story 3 sets are available on LEGO.com.