About Alexander

Alexander Alekseev is an active member of the Russian LUG since 2007. Linguist by education, he believes that LEGO pieces are the most effective mean of self-expression and communication between people.

Posts by Alexander

See you at Pier 3... if you can make it back to the surface safely

We rarely focus on the piece count when discussing digital builds. Well, it’s not surprising since accumulating a palette of real-life bricks is a lot more challenging than copy-pasting some from a digital library. Nevertheless, designing something mind-blowing always requires a lot of skill and an artistic eye — whether you work digitally or not. I was totally taken aback by a diorama Finn Roberts revealed the other day. Being a result of thorough planning and an enormous amount of designing, this digital masterpiece brings back one of my childhood hobbies — spending hours spying insanely detailed posters from LEGO promo catalogs.

Shift Change at Pier 3

The composition, the focal length, the depth, even the angle — everything seems to be just perfect in this photo. Finn shares that it took him seven months to finish the designs of the facades. And these are just a part of the whole diorama, which weighs in at nearly 12,000 pieces. The crowded alley of the pier fit about 60 minifigure characters; I find a new one each time I look at the image! And if you are not into minifigures, check out these amazing shots of the facades. The longer you look, the more parts you notice that didn’t make into the final shot even though they are still there.

Las fachadas

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LEGO Lab unveils 515153 Mindstorms Porsche set [News]

According to the LEGO Lab news page, a new LEGO Mindstorms set, 515153 Mindstorms Porsche, is in the works. The set is based on 2019’s LEGO Technic 42096 Porsche 911 RSR set. Unlike the original set, which had no motorized functions, the new edition comes with the latest LEGO Mindstorms motors and sensors, which were revealed along with the announcement of the new generation of the system back in June.

Click here to take a closer look

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Star Wars SDCC exclusive 77904 Nebulon-B Frigate revealed along with instructions [News]

Reported by the LEGO Star Wars fan group on Facebook today, the building instructions for Star Wars SDCC exclusive 77904 Nebulon-B Frigate set are available right now from LEGO.com. The 459-pieces model was originally designed as the exclusive set for San Diego Comic-Con 2020. With the cancellation of nearly all in-person events in North America due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this set expected to be available online later this year sharing the same fate as Star Wars Celebration exclusive 75294 Bespin Duel. Although the price and the availability are yet to be announced, we expect the price to be around $50 USD, if not higher.

Just like 75294 Bespin Duel, the new mini-version of the iconic ship features an exclusive plaque commemorating the 40th anniversary of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back release. Other than the plaque, which is a sticker, the set seems to include no unique or limited pieces, so anyone can try and build their copy.

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LEGO Ideas First 2020 Review Results: only one project (out of 26) approved so far [News]

Today, the LEGO Ideas design team finally announced the First 2020 Review Results. This review round included 26 projects that reached 10,000 supporters between January and May 2020. Surprisingly enough, only one project was approved to become an official LEGO Ideas set so far — Earth Globe by Guillaume Roussel (aka Disneybrick55). Designers praise the idea for its possible educational application and display value. Release date, price range, and availability are yet to be announced.

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LEGO Adidas ZX 8000 sneakers will retail for US $130 [News]

According to SneakerBarDetroit.com, the new Adidas ZX 8000 designed in collaboration with LEGO, will go on sale next Friday, September 25. The retail price is expected to be USD 130. The new sneakers will be available at select retailers, but it seems that the easiest way to grab a pair will be via adidas.com. The full set of official product pictures was published today, too, so feel free to jump under spoiler to take a closer look.

Click here to see more pictures

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LEGO 75978 Harry Potter Diagon Alley [Review]

Today, there is no LEGO theme as special as Star Wars. Not only is it one of the fundamental LEGO universes, but it is also presented in almost every category of LEGO products: regular sets, junior sets, action figures, keychains, stationery, video games, and many more including, of course, more expensive exclusive sets. Apart from the Star Wars and Creator Expert / 18+ advanced building sets, there are not that many themes that have earned an exclusive product release. Thankfully, the LEGO Harry Potter joined the club in 2018 with the release of 71043 Hogwarts Castle. And just two years later comes another massive exclusive set, 75978 Diagon Alley. Despite being 500 pieces smaller than the gigantic Hogwarts castle, with its 5,544 pieces, it’s big enough to be the fourth in the list of the biggest LEGO sets released so far. Remarkably, both sets have the same price tag of US $399.99 | CAN $499.99 | UK £369.99, so let’s build the new one and find out whether it has more value for the same money.

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Facing the music: LEGO Ideas 21323 Grand Piano [Review]

They say there is nothing you can’t build with LEGO bricks. Most of the time, that is very true provided you have enough plastic bricks. But let’s get real; there are certain categories of real-world things that do not translate into LEGO-world particularly well, carrying form but not function. One example would be musical instruments. It looks like building a playable LEGO musical instrument is nearly impossible. It also looks like you have to have the skills of a magician to land a job as a LEGO Ideas designer. The work the LEGO design team did to turn fan Donny Chen’s idea into the official 3,662-piece 21323 Grand Piano set seems truly amazing. However, you never judge a set until you have built it, so let’s assemble, tune and play this majestic instrument, which can be purchased today for US $349.99 | CA $449.99 | UK £319.99.

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LEGO teases a colourful collaboration with Levi’s [News]

Today, a new, unexpected partnership got teased on the LEGO’s Twitter feed, and it looks like your next pair of jeans from Levi’s might be compatible with your collections of plastic bricks.

Judging by the hashtag #dotyourworld, which accompanied the marketing campaign for the LEGO DOTS products, companies might reveal new apparel collection with customizable elements. No other information is available at the moment.

In their attempt to attract new customers, especially the adult audience who might not be interested in toys, but recognize and like the brand, the LEGO Group has been very active venturing into new collaborations. Over the last two year, the Danish toymaker announced themed mobile games with Augmented Reality supported by Apple devices, started a partnership with Universal Music Group to create a new lineup of music-based sets, and most recently revealed a series of new storage products developed together with IKEA.

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Watch James and Oliver Phelps (aka Weasley twins) taking the first look at the new LEGO Harry Potter exclusive Diagon Alley set [News]

For the promotion of the new Harry Potter 75978 Diagon Alley set, LEGO invited two very special guests to take us on a walk by the magic stores of the most famous shopping venue of the whole city of London. James and Oliver Phelps, the actors who play the Weasley twins in the Harry Potter films, share their impressions of the new set as well as a couple of funny stories from the filming location.

The new 5,544-piece exclusive Harry Potter 75978 Diagon Alley set is available today for US $399.99 | CAN $499.99 | UK £369.99.

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Get all your wizard supplies in the stores of the new LEGO Harry Potter 75978 Diagon Alley set [News]

Today, LEGO reveals the next Harry Potter exclusive set, 75978 Diagon Alley. The new version of the iconic shopping venue consists of four buildings and includes 5,544 pieces, which makes it the 5th biggest LEGO set released so far. The models are accompanied by 14 minifigures, including two characters that have never appeared in any other LEGO Harry Potter set. The set will retail for US $399.99 | 399.99EUR | UK £369.99 beginning September 1st.

Take a closer look at the new LEGO Harry Potter Diagon Alley set

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First look at the new LEGO Star Wars 75294 Bespin Duel set [News]

As reported by our friends at Brickset, the building instructions for the upcoming LEGO Star Wars 75294 Bespin Duel set is available right now from LEGO.com. The design of the building guide reflects its 18+ positioning, with the adult Star Wars fans as the target audience of the toy. The set was meant to be a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive, but due to the event being canceled, the future of the product isn’t clear. We presume the set might be available elsewhere, but for now, you can study the instructions and probably try to build your own version of the iconic scene.

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LEGO Technic 42113 Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey [Review]

Last week, LEGO has officially announced that one of its upcoming Technic sets, the 42113 Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey is canceled due to its association with militaries. Since the set was slated to go on sale August 1, a number of the V-22 Osprey sets have already been distributed to retail stores in several countries. Some smaller retailers have even listed the set on their webpages, making them available for purchase, allowing a small number of them into the wild. The set consists of 1,673 pieces and contains two Powered Up electric components for motorization. The retail price of the set is $119.99 / 139.99€.

Click here to read the review

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