About Edwinder

Ed’s interest for LEGO was rekindled not long ago and it seems there’s no way out of the rabbit hole. His love for LEGO goes beyond the bricks and into being curious about every aspect about the company, its strategy, the community and the eco-system that brings the brick to life. His AFOL counterparts describe him as inquisitive, opinionated and vengeful. His response is you should not believe everything you read on the internet.

Posts by Edwinder

LEGO 75259 Snowspeeder – 20th Anniversary Edition [Review]

In the world of Star Wars, there are a few fan-favorite vehicles that have stood the test of time, and the Snowspeeder is definitely one of them. They’re sometimes referenced as airspeeders since they were originally utility vehicles until they were modified by the Rebel Alliance for the snowy landscape and battle as seen in Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back, and LEGO’s newest version is 75259 Snowspeeder – 20th Anniversary Edition.

To date, there have only been 3 other snowspeeders at this scale sold in individual sets in the 20 years of the LEGO Star Wars lifespan (plus one cousin, the Sandspeeder). Of course, then there are the other snowspeeders that appeared as part of larger playsets, which include the 7666 Hoth Rebel Base, 8089 Hoth Wampa Cave, 75014 Battle for Hoth, and finally the 75098 Assault on Hoth. Lastly, most fans will remember the Ultimate Collector Series versions which range over a thousand pieces and are masterpieces on their own, plus several tiny microscale versions. Without further ado, let’s take a look at this special commemorative edition the snowspeeder, which LEGO has released as one of five sets in celebration of two decades of Star Wars LEGO. 75259 Snowspeeder – 20th Anniversary Edition has 309 pieces and is priced at USD 39.99 | GBP 34.99 | CAD 49.99. It is currently available in stores and online.

Click to read the full hands-on review

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Best to stay away from brooding Batman

We first saw Desert Batman from the flashback scenes in Batman vs Superman, and fans can’t get enough of it. This chibi style version (also known as super-deformed) by Choi Dambaek captures him like he’s about to make someone’s day a lot worse. I love how this tiny build has enough articulation at the arms and knee joints to give life to the character poses.

Visit Rome, where ghosts of gladiators roam

While Rome wasn’t built in a day, Kevin J. Walter probably built the Collesseum in a few hours. Made in the style and charm of the LEGO Architecture series. What made particular design possible is the new Arch 1 x 2 Jumper element to construct the arched columns in an accurate manner at this scale.

Click to see more

Exclusive LEGO Star Wars 75227 Darth Vader Bust [Instructions]

Last month, LEGO revealed the exclusive 75227 Darth Vader Bust set for Star Wars Celebration 2019. Convention exclusives are usually very hard to obtain and command a high price on the secondary market from scalpers. Thankfully, LEGO is somewhat addressing that since this set will also be available to Target REDCard members online starting April 11th until supplies run out (which we expect will be very quick).

(EDIT: Target did not make the bust available on the 11th and instead posted it early in the morning on the 12th. It appears to have sold out in less than 15 minutes. We have reached out to Target to see if any other batch will be made available but have not heard back.)

While we celebrate that the set won’t be entirely exclusive to the show in Chicago, it will still likely prove to be a hard-to-get collectors item elsewhere around the world. We know many of our international readers have bemoaned the fact they can’t get the set, so we are happy to report that LEGO has published the instructions and parts list for the Darth Vader Bust online. You can download the instructions from LEGO here (the file is 23 MB).

Our very own News Editor Dave Schefcik has already searched through his collection and built the Darth Vader Bust with only a few pieces needing to be substituted with alternative parts. Behold Lord Vader!

Dave also discovered that the Darth Vader Bust contains two new unique pieces: a pair of 4×6 right/left plates in black that help shape the back of the helmet. These wedge plates are relatively new and are only currently available in white on Bricklink (also available in red on LEGO Bricks and Pieces). Dave substituted them with the more common 3×6 right/left wedge plates and got close to the final look.

Luckily, the two new black pieces are currently available on LEGO Bricks and Pieces if you need your bust to be perfect. Dave actually priced out the entire set since 100% of the inventory is currently available from Bricks and Pieces, and it came to a total of $50.90 USD plus tax and shipping for all of the parts brand new from LEGO. (It may even be cheaper with used brick on Bricklink, though not nearly as convenient.)

That total cost is only $10.91 more than what the set will retail for ($39.99) so it is a pretty good deal if you want to just build the Darth Vader Bust with new sorted brick from LEGO using the digital instructions provided. Yes, you wont have the box or printed instructions–but for many fans who won’t be able to get their hands on the set mint-in-box anyway, we are happy there’s a way for everyone to enjoy building it.

Good luck and May The Force Be With You!

The best pancake toppings? More pancakes!

I could have pancakes smothered in syrup for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and then some in between as well. With such a healthy diet, it may not be long before I need to pay a visit to the dentist though. But having a bite out of this will require immediate attention! If I end up with any broken teeth, the only person I’m going to blame is builder LittleJohn! The use of those minifigure caps for blueberries are wonderful, but that sliced orange with transparent cheese slopes takes the (pan)cake for me! Knowing that not everyone is a fan of pancakes, you may want to know that chef LittleJohn can cook up a few other breakfast dishes. Try some of these other delicious savory foods, including waffles, or eggs and tomato.

The epitome of scrooge in LEGO parts

You could almost say that this is the perfect example of being a Scrooge, well, sort of anyway. In the world of LEGO custom building, there’s a term defined as Nice Parts Usage (NPU) where a LEGO element is used in a very different way from its original purpose. Well, if Scrooge McDuck knew this, he’d repurpose every single LEGO brick in his possession to avoid buying new bricks that he doesn’t really need in the first place. This build by Logan W. is simply filled with NPUs that shine through, from the Bionicle parts to pneumatic hoses, helmets and even a unique-colored piece from Boba Fett’s buildable figure for Scrooge’s beak.

LEGO 75243 Slave I – 20th Anniversary Edition [Review]

Star Wars is one of the flagship themes that has kept LEGO fans on their toes every single year since its first appearance in 1999, and there seems to be no end to it. 2019 marks the 20th Anniversary of the Star Wars joining the LEGO lineup. In celebration, the latest wave of sets feature nostalgic packaging and some unique exclusives to commemorate the early years of LEGO’s best-selling license. Today we’re taking a hands-on look at the largest set, 75243 Slave I – 20th Anniversary Edition, which comes in at 1,007 pieces and is available starting April 1 for $119.99 US | 159.99 CAD | 109.99 UK.

Click to read the full review

Great shot kid. That was one in a million!

There’s one thing I never get tired of in the world of Star Wars, and that’s seeing yet another custom LEGO X-Wing model. Each builder brings their own flavor to the table, including neat techniques. What seems easy usually isn’t. For example, builder Koen Zwanenburg experimented with four different iterations and modifications before ending up with the X-Wing seen here. For those unfamiliar with Koen’s work, he’s quite a versatile builder with everything from the cuteness overload of his classic rubber duck to the elegant grandeur of his Minas Tirith from the Lord of the Rings!

Classic Space takes flight in a Macross crossover

Benny is a man and minifig of many talents and versatility, having captured the hearts of many around the world. With the help of LEGO fans, he has been to the Star Wars galaxy, and now he’s taken a leap into the Macross Saga with this unique three-in-one transformable model built by Wallace Chow. I’m impressed by the level of thought and effort it took to represent multiple forms in a single LEGO model, all while maintaining thematic consistency. Each form stands on its own as instantly recognizable.

Click to see the alternate Mech and Walker mode

Scout mech that packs a mean look

Tim Goddard’s EERV, or Extreme Environment Reconnaissance Vehicle, brings to mind the Destroyer from the Thor movie, menacing and a lot of damage to be done. My favorite parts of the build are the batch of elements used for textures, which look like very functional armor, especially around the abdominal area. Don’t let that red threatening cyclops eye scare you however, as this guy seems to be a lot friendlier once you see who’s piloting it.

Click to see more of this towering mech

The LEGO Movie 2: Its box office performance and what we thought of it [Feature]

It’s been a number weeks now since The Lego Movie 2 hit the big screens, and while we’ve already published our review, we also wanted to share our final thoughts on the movie. We all know the opening weekend didn’t perform as well as compared to the first movie, so with that in mind we wanted to take a longer-term view. Now that it’s in its 7th week of screening, the good news for LEGO and Warner Bros. is that it has now crossed the 100M (USD) mark for the domestic market alone, and is doing much better than The LEGO Ninjago Movie did in 2017.

While there have been few explicitly negative reviews out there, most of the feedback we’ve seen online seems to indicate that audiences felt while it entertained and surprised, the ‘freshness’ of seeing a new LEGO Movie has somewhat diminished. We asked a few of our own writers to compile their views on The Lego Movie 2. And if it isn’t obvious enough, yes, spoilers ahead. Continue reading →

LEGO’s first crowdfunding experiment: FORMA 81000 Koi Model Super Box [Review]

LEGO FORMA is the company’s first foray into crowdfunding. It is described as an “experience designed for adults looking for a fun and engaging way to reconnect with their creative side”. The LEGO FORMA crowdfunding exercise began in late September 2018, and finally shipped in January to UK supporters, with shipments to US supporters following up in mid-February after a brief delay from shipping issues.

During the campaign, the base setup cost $85 USD in the US Market and $88 USD in the UK Market, and included the box set 81000 with the default Koi Skin Pack, and 3 additional separately packaged skins. Fans could also take the less costly option of just getting the base pack (single Koi Skin Model) for $45 USD (US) $46 USD (UK) and additional skins at $15 USD (US) / $16 USD (UK) each. Now that the crowdfunding is completed, if you’re looking to pick one up, the only way currently is to turn to the secondary market such as Bricklink or eBay where they’re already commanding a premium. Let’s do a quick dive into the details of this unique experience from LEGO.

Click to see the full review of the FORMA experience