Remember the mighty brick-built dinosaurs exhibited in the Masterpiece gallery of the LEGO House? Now, after your next visit to Billund, you can take all three of them with you – or rather their adorable copies designed for 40366 LEGO House Dinosaurs set. The set will contain 864 pieces and will be exclusively available at the LEGO House starting April 17, 2019 for the price of 599 DKK (appr. $90 USD).
Click here to read to full press release…
Earlier this year on March 29th, The Brothers Brick team was invited to take part in a Star Wars Fan Media Day at the LEGO House in the centre of Billund, Denmark. One of the main events was a round table discussion with LEGO Star Wars designers Jens Kronvold and Kurt Kristiansen — designers who have been working on LEGO Star Wars sets since the very first wave of products hit shelves back in 1999. Jens and Kurt had a lot to share with us, so we didn’t miss a chance to ask them some of the most exciting questions.
Kurt Kristiansen (left) and Jens Kronvold (right)
Q: Tell us about the LEGO Star Wars model design team. How many people does it include? How many lead designers are there?
Jens: Right now, the model design team consists of 10 people: me as the Creative Director and Lead Model Designer and nine other model designers. We also have two graphic designers, who create designs for all the stickers, printed pieces, and minifigures. While in the office, we sit it an open office environment together with the marketing team, people who design building instructions and other specialists. So, all together we form one “super-team” which I find particularly nice and convenient. If you need to talk to somebody, they’re just next to you!
Kurt: It’s the same with any other model design team. And if, say I have a question regarding LEGO Technic elements, I just need to walk 10 meters down the aisle and I can talk to anyone of my colleagues who are working with LEGO Technic pieces. So, it’s a very open office environment.
Q: How many sets does LEGO Star Wars model team create each year? How many sets are designed by each member of the team?
While many don’t fancy the Star Wars prequels, I for one am a fan them, especially the Podracers from The Phantom Menace. Thanks to the 20th Anniversary of LEGO Star Wars, we get an Anakin’s Podracer to commemorate some of the iconic themes and sets from two decades ago. 75258 Anakin’s Podracer – 20th Anniversary Edition comes with 279 pieces and retails for US: $29.99 | Canada: 39.99 CAD | UK: £24.99. It is currently available.
Click to read the full hands-on review
Over the past two decades, LEGO Star Wars has released more than 700 sets and 1,000 minifigures. It is no surprise that the theme has racked up a significant amount of interesting milestones along the way. From the first flesh-colored faces to the first new hair piece in 20 years, LEGO has explored a lot of new territory within the Star Wars product line.
Below we have two lists, one of interesting LEGO Star Wars trivia and the other an abbreviated history of the product line. To whet your whistle, which droid has appeared the most throughout the entire LEGO Star Wars history? How many LEGO versions of the Millennium Falcon have been created? How many bricks were in the world’s largest LEGO X-Wing that was built in Times Square? Read on to find out.
Keep reading to see how well you know your LEGO Star Wars trivia and history
Twenty years ago, LEGO introduced the Star Wars product line–a theme that would not only help save the company but spark the imaginations of generations of LEGO fans. Star Wars was the first licensed franchise for LEGO and has since grown to be one of the most storied and successful product lines of all time with more than 700 sets, 1,000 minifigures, five video games, several animated TV series and a tidal wave of other merchandise.
LEGO Star Wars holds a special place in our hearts here at The Brothers Brick–it has helped some of us out of our dark ages, we’ve featured an incredible amount of amazing fan creations based on it, and two of us literally wrote the book on it. To celebrate the 20th anniversary, we’ve prepared an entire day’s worth of LEGO Star Wars content, so buckle up for a nostalgia trip to a galaxy far, far away.
To start off, below we have the official press release from LEGO about the 20th anniversary of LEGO Star Wars as well as an archival photo gallery of sets, advertisements, minifigures, timelines and the new anniversary sets launched this month.
Click to read more about LEGO Star Wars and see the photo gallery
The next LEGO Architecture set has been revealed as 21045 Trafalgar Square. The set features London’s National Gallery, Nelson’s column, several micro-lion statues and fountains, as well as a few double-decker buses. The set will likely be available starting in May, though piece count and price are still unknown at this point. (We will update this article as we find out more.)
LEGO revealed the set by publishing an event on Facebook, where lucky fans can get their hands on the set early and signed by LEGO designer, Rok Zgalin Kobe. The event will happen at the Leicester Square LEGO Store in London on April 27th.Trafalgar Square
In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders all over the world, The Brothers Brick brings you the best of LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the first week of April 2019.
LEGO Education launched a brand new system to help kids learn. Read on to find out about the new system and all the new elements inside it.
TBB NEWS & REVIEWS: The newest minifigure series is here, plus we have a close up look at an upcoming exclusive LEGO product.
MORE TBB NEWS: We had a little fun for April Fools, and there are a bunch of new sets available now. Plus have you ever thought about joining the Brothers Brick team? Now you can!
OTHER NEWS: There were quite a few other interesting LEGO news articles from around the web this week. Here are the best of the rest:
Click to read even more LEGO news
The LEGO fan community is mourning the loss of kindhearted and prolific builder, Arthur Gugick of Ohio. On March 30th Arthur and his significant other, Barbara Becker, were tragically killed in a car accident. If you ever attended North American fan events like BrickWorld Chicago or BrickFair VA, you may have run into Arthur before. At these events, you could catch a glimpse of his elaborate architectural builds and mosaics. Arthur was featured in the Winter 2008 issue of BrickJournal magazine, and he was even contracted to recreate his model of the Taj Mahal for the Australian independent film, Taj (2011).
In addition to being an avid LEGO enthusiast, Arthur taught math at Beachwood High School. He was passionate about his job and had a knack for harnessing his creativity to make math fun for his students. In an interview with ABC News 5 Cleveland, Ed Bernetich (who had been responsible for hiring Arthur) commented:
I was very sad because he is one of a kind. He’s a total unique individual. There are many great math minds, but sometimes they don’t relate to other people very well. And here we had a guy with a mathematician’s brain who also was extremely skilled at reaching kids.
Arthur’s death has been a difficult time for Beachwood School District staff and students, whose lives he has touched over the years.
Ever the mathematician, Arthur approached his LEGO models from a mathematical angle. Some of his structures utilized calculus, and he even wrote his own software for building domes like the one on his Taj Mahal. According to Arthur, “I look at my buildings as more an exercise in mathematics than necessarily an art form, which might be a little different of a take than other people do, or maybe it’s the same… For me it’s a puzzle” (BrickJournal – Winter 2008).
Continue reading about Arthur’s legacy
If there’s one fandom whose members rival LEGO fans for excitement and in-depth knowledge, it’s Disney fans. The monumental rush of pure nostalgia and child-like glee when the two are combined can hardly be overstated. Of course, LEGO has long produced a few sets here and there licensing the core Disney products (as opposed to Disney-owned franchises like Marvel or Star Wars, which rule the LEGO lineup each year). Traditionally, these Disney sets have generally targeted some of the youngest sectors of LEGO’s audience. However, in 2016 LEGO produced a special wave of the Collectible Minifigures theme focusing on beloved Disney characters. Now three years later, LEGO is returning for another go, with 71024 Collectible Minifigures Disney Series 2 with a target release date of May 1. As usual, we expect the sets to begin filtering into retail stores a bit early, so start keeping an eye out soon. LEGO hasn’t confirmed the price yet, but we expect it will match the $3.99 USD price of the first series.
Like the first wave, Disney Series 2 includes 18 unique minifigures, and as with all Collectible Minifigures (CMFs), they’re packaged individually in blind packs. Click to read the full, hands-on review
Last year around the holidays, LEGO launched an incredibly popular Star Wars surprise box promotion available only in the US and Canada. Now a similar box is being offered to LEGO fans in the UK starting on April 11 with Star Wars purchases greater than £85 (an offer that coincides with the launch of the 20th Anniversary sets). This time around, the box promises five unnamed Star Wars items and a chance to win an unspecified limited edition Star Wars minifigure.
The UK LEGO Shop is also currently offering a gift-with-purchase of a cute Chicken Skater Pod just in time for Easter, available with orders greater than £35. (The chick should be available as a gift-with-purchase later this month in the US and Canada.)
Though we do not know what will be included in the UK boxes, the Star Wars boxes in the US and Canada contained five rare minifigures including Colonel Wullf Yularen from the conference room scene on the first Death Star, DJ from The Last Jedi, a stormtrooper sergeant, Han Solo in Hoth gear, and a Scarif shore trooper squad leader from Rogue One.
Spring has arrived and along with it a new wave of seventeen highly anticipated new LEGO sets. Star Wars gets the prime treatment with all the 20th Anniversary sets and new Action Battle series now available. Avengers Endgame sets (two with double VIP point offers) and LEGO Ideas Steamboat Willie are also now available.
This wave is certainly smaller than the 112 new sets from this January, but we have your guide right here to each and every new set.
See all of the April 2019 wave of LEGO sets available now
In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders all over the world, The Brothers Brick brings you the best of LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the last week of March 2019.
How many bricks did it take to create this full-scale LEGO McLaren Senna? Read on to find out.
TBB NEWS & REVIEWS: We have a few exciting set reviews for you plus a bunch of LEGO news. Also, have you ever wanted to write for TBB? Now you can!
OTHER NEWS: There were quite a few other interesting LEGO news articles from around the web this week. Here are the best of the rest:
Click to read even more LEGO news