LEGO Chima Cragger Command Ship 70006
Category Archives: News
BrickArms on Evening Magazine [News]
Will Chapman over at BrickArms was featured on yesterday’s episode of Evening Magazine here in Seattle. Thanks to the magic of the Internet, everyone else in the world can now watch the segment, in which Will talks about the origins of his business and his creative process, and shows off some of the equipment he uses in his shop.
Rest in peace, Mike Crowley
Mike Crowley passed away yesterday. He was my friend.
Mike leaves a legacy behind in the LEGO community. So many of us were blessed with his friendship and presence, and his absence due to illness in recent years has been noted. He was such a big personality with such a passionate, caring heart. This world is a little dimmer without him in it.
His activities with NELUG notwithstanding, Mike was a prolific and brilliant builder. His flickr stream is filled with such innovative uses for parts that showed such character for what he was trying achieve with anything he tried.
Beyond his building, beyond his artistic talent, Mike is, was, and always will be a friend first and foremost. In looking back, my memories aren’t always of the incredible things he built. My memories are of laughter until our sides hurt; of feather-boas and tiaras. Of a harrowing van-trip through downtown Portland accompanied by Lonely Island’s “I’m On a Boat.” My memories are of Chinese food, and the EMP. Of “confessions” at T.S. McHughs over nachos. Of late nights at LEGO fan conventions (which many attendees will tell you flat out that the brick is nice, but the friends are better).
My memories are of late night talks, of LEGO and music, movies and TV, of life and relationships. Of finding a way to make everything so bright when it should have been dark.
Mike made such an impact in my life, and the lives of others. All of us here at The Brothers Brick knew and admired him as a person and as a builder. He’ll be sorely missed.
I invite you to share your own stories and memories of Mike in the comments.
You can also read Mike’s obituary, along with details about funeral arrangements and donations, on the funeral home’s website.
Pete Reid’s hardsuit hits 10K on LEGO CUUSOO [News]
Last time we highlighted the awesome hardsuit designed by Peter Reid, his LEGO CUUSOO project had just over 6,500 supporters and we were rooting for it to hit 10,000 for the Fall Review Cycle starting last September 3rd. It’s taken a little while longer, but I’m overjoyed to see this highly original, truly creative project hit 10K!
This just happened today, so no official comment from LEGO yet, and based on what we’ve seen over the last several months, it’ll probably be quite a while before we learn whether we’ll all be able to buy a copy of Pete’s suit (well into the next review cycle), but congratulations to Pete for this important first step!
LEGO Marvel Super Heroes video game announced [News]
Marvel and LEGO have just announced another video game from TT Games, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes. The game will feature an original storyline and is due out this autumn.
Here’s the official post from Marvel.com:
Marvel super heroes are assembling for an action-packed, brick-smashing good time! Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, TT Games, The LEGO Group and Marvel Entertainment announced today that “LEGO Marvel Super Heroes” will be available beginning Fall 2013 for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system, the Wii U system and Windows PC, as well as the Nintendo DS handheld system, Nintendo 3DS handheld system and PlayStation Vita handheld entertainment system. “LEGO Marvel Super Heroes” is the first installment in the highly successful LEGO videogame franchise to feature famous Marvel characters.
“LEGO Marvel Super Heroes,” coming Fall 2013
“LEGO Marvel Super Heroes” complements the LEGO Marvel Super Heroes construction toy collection, which brings the characters, vehicles and action of Marvel’s renowned universe to the world of LEGO build-and-play adventure. There are currently eight iconic scenes from the X-Men, Iron Man and Spider-Man franchises available and more construction sets tied to the new “Iron Man 3” feature film will launch later this spring.
“LEGO Marvel Super Heroes” offers an original storyline in which Nick Fury calls upon Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, Spider-Man, Wolverine and other heroes spanning the Marvel Universe to save Earth from such threats as the vengeance of Loki and the hunger of Galactus, Devourer of the Worlds. LEGO and Marvel fans will enjoy classic LEGO videogame adventure and humor, while playing as their favorite Marvel characters.
“We’re very excited to bring a myriad of classic Marvel characters to life in LEGO form for some fun, family-friendly gameplay in ‘LEGO Marvel Super Heroes,’” said Tom Stone, Managing Director, TT Games Publishing. “Players will brave the ultimate mission to save the world as they explore famous landmarks in LEGO New York and take the adventure beyond Earth to iconic locations in the Marvel Universe.”
“Fans of both LEGO and Marvel have wanted this game for years, and we’re addressing that demand with more Marvel Universe characters than ever in a console game,” said TQ Jefferson, Vice President, Games Production, Marvel Entertainment. “If you’re a fan of Spider-Man, the Avengers, Fantastic Four, X-Men, Guardians of the Galaxy or scores of other Marvel characters, this is the game for you.”
In “LEGO Marvel Super Heroes,” players will unlock more than 100 characters from across the Marvel Universe, including fan favorites like Spider-Man, Iron Man, Wolverine, Captain America, the Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Deadpool, Loki and Galactus! The game will pack in a plethora of super-cool character abilities, combat-like action sequences, epic battle scenes, puzzle-solving and a unique story told with playful LEGO humor.
“LEGO Marvel Super Heroes” is being developed by TT Games and will be published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. For more information, please visit http://videogames.lego.com/en-us/lego-marvel-super-heroes.
LEGO Mindstorms EV3 unveiled [News]
The next generation of LEGO Mindstorms was just revealed and is scheduled for release this summer. You can read about the new features on TechnicBRICKs or in the official press release on Engadget. The retail value is $349.99(USD), €349.99(EUR) and $399.99(CAD).
Brickvention 2013 – 19th-20th Jan – Public Tickets available
I’ve been rather less active in promoting Brickvention (Australia’s premier LEGO convention) this year, entirely because I’m rather sad to not be going this time around. But I would be terribly remiss if I didn’t remind all our Melbourne readers that it’s coming soon (19th and 20th January 2013 to be precise) and you need to book your tickets ASAP. In my experience each year gets bigger and better and since the last one was super fun I’ve absolutely no doubt this one will be even more excellent.
Sadly exhibitor and convention tickets are sold out so if you’re not already booked in you must go as a visitor. And I cannot stress enough that you need to book your tickets in advance and that the event has entirely sold out each recent year.
Brickvention is Australia’s premier LEGO® fan convention
Brickvention is an Australian based convention for LEGO® fans. It is a two-day event that brings together LEGO fans of all ages from all over Australia to view original and unusual creations built by Australian modelers and collectors. So if you love LEGO, come along and view the amazing creations and models made out of LEGO.
The event features a huge collection of LEGO models including trains, castles, pirate ships, Star Wars™, space ships, planes, buildings, sculptures and many more. There will also be competitions, face painting and LEGO sets and merchandise for sale.
The next Brickvention will be held over the weekend of 19th and 20th January 2013 at The Royal Exhibition Building, Nicholson Street, Carlton, Victoria, where anyone can come along and view the amazing creations made out of LEGO.
LEGO fans of all ages are welcome on the Saturday and Sunday from 9:30am – 5:30pm.
TICO Mini Bricks. The New Tiny Kid on the Block.
During my recent trip to Taiwan, I came across a new line of micro brick construction toys called TICO. It appears to be a Taiwan made clone brand of the Japanese brand Nanoblock at only half the price. I bought a set, #3010 Battle Robot (RxB) for NT$180, which comes out to a little more than $6 US for around 80 pieces.
The elements are very tiny and are rather difficult to handle, requiring a great deal of fine motor control. The instructions are straight forward, however, they use a technique of hi-lighting the pieces used in the current step by showing the pieces a shade lighter. This is a problem when the set includes 2 shades of grey, creating confusion as to which shade of grey is needed at which step. Secondly, the elements have no way of locking the studs of a connecting element on the long axis of an element, allowing the element on the underside to slide around. This creates a lot of play in the construction, making it somewhat difficult to line pieces up correctly.
The final model is very loose and fragile as it has many one stud connections. The overall construction is less the sturdy, lacking in overlapping elements to lock things in place. If micro bricks are your thing, TICO Mini Bricks are an affordable alternative to the pricier Nanoblock. According to their website, TICO appears to have licensed sets for Totoro, Angry Birds and One Piece, which are all very popular in Taiwan.
Registration for Brickworld Chicago now open [News]
You can now register for Brickworld 2013 in Chicago from June 12-16. This year marks an exciting change for one of the premier Lego conventions in the US because Brickworld will be moving to a new venue at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center that offers up to 148,624 sq. ft of space for the event. If you thought the previous Brickworld display area was big, the new place more than triples the size of the previous convention hall (see for yourself). I hope to see many of you there!
10232 Palace Cinema more pictures
More pictures of the upcoming modular building 10232 Palace Cinema have surfaced on Flickr. You can see them in this Flickr gallery.
WB Interactive announces 3 LEGO Legends of Chima games [News]
Speaking of Legends of Chima, today WB Interactive officially announced a set of three new games based on the theme.
The first game, LEGO® Legends of Chima ™: Speedorz ™ (whose name is trademarked in various ways, in case you missed it) launches today on LEGO.com and iOS (iPhone and iPad), while LEGO® Legends of Chima ™: Laval’s Journey will be released on handheld game platforms from Nintendo and Sony this summer.
Later in the year, LEGO® Legends of Chima ™ Online launches as a free-to-play “online world.” (And no, this isn’t the MMO based on Collectible Minifigures announced earlier this summer.)
Here’s the complete press release:
London, UK – 2nd January, 2013 – Enter and explore the Kingdom of Chima™ in three gameplay experiences, offering something for all types of LEGO® gamers! Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and The LEGO Group today announced the LEGO ® Legends of Chima ™ videogames, scheduled to roar into 2013 for various platforms. The three videogames will each provide an entirely unique and exciting adventure that builds to the next experience and complement the just announced LEGO Legends of Chima™ universe of products, which includes construction sets, vehicles, TV content and more. LEGO Legends of Chima™ is a fantasy adventure set in land inhabited by different magical animal tribes and tells the classic story of good and evil, friendship and family.
“We are doing something innovative with LEGO Legends of Chima™ by making three distinct videogame experiences on a variety of platforms,” said Samantha Ryan, Senior Vice President, Production and Development, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “By creating multiple LEGO videogame experiences for one brand, we are catering to today’s diverse gaming community, as well as establish a rewards system for players of all three games.”
LEGO® Legends of Chima ™: Speedorz ™, a racing mini-game produced by TT Games and 4T2, revs its way on to LEGO.com today and iOS tomorrow, 3rd January. Players will race against famous Chima™ characters, battle through iconic Chima™ locations, and unleash the power of CHI to boost their Speedorz, all while collecting studs and rewards to unlock more Speedorz and customize characters. The player’s goal is to become the ultimate champion and win Golden CHI, which transforms the world map and opens a new race level.
LEGO® Legends of Chima ™: Laval’s Journey, developed by TT Games, is scheduled to be available for the Nintendo 3DS™ hand-held system and for the PS®Vita system in summer 2013 and for the Nintendo DS™ hand-held system in autumn 2013. Players will embark on an amazing adventure into the world of Chima™ where the brave warrior Laval and his allies are called upon to fight for justice.
In autumn 2013, LEGO® Legends of Chima ™ Online , a free-to-play, online world developed by WB Games Montréal, will provide kids with a safe and incredibly immersive connected game experience. Players will be able to build and customize their kingdom in the world of Chima™, explore massive environments like the Falling Leaves Forest, take on missions to help Laval and his friends, uncover hidden secrets and treasures, earn rewards, and use LEGO bricks to build weapons, gadgets, and more!
The Chima™ Vault, which houses an exclusive reward system, will be accessible to players on LEGO.com/chima. While playing LEGO Legends of Chima™: Speedorz ™ and LEGO Legends of Chima™: Laval’s Journey , players will be able to earn points. These points can be redeemed through the Vault for a variety of unique content that players can use to enhance their experience in LEGO® Legends of Chima ™ Online.
What do you think? Discuss away in the comments!
All Jan 2013 LEGO sets now available – Arkham, Chima, TMNT, Friends... [News]
Continuing our post-holiday LEGO news catchup, this is just a quick reminder that all the January 2013 LEGO sets are now available from the LEGO Shop online.
Highlights include the new LEGO Batman set 10937 Arkham Asylum Breakout.
The rest of the 2013 LEGO Super Heroes sets are also online now, including new Spider-Man and other Batman sets.
The new LEGO Train set 10233 Horizon Express is out.
The full range of LEGO Legends of Chima sets are also available, and you can get a free Ewar’s Acro-Fighter with any $75 purchase.
The complete list of Legends of Chima sets:
- $11.99: 70000 Razcal’s Glider
- $14.99: 70001 Crawley’s Claw Ripper
- $24.99: 70002 Lennox’ Lion Attack
- $34.99: 70003 Eris’ Eagle Interceptor
- $29.99: 70004 Wakz’ Pack Tracker
- $39.99: 70005 Laval’s Royal Fighter
- $79.99: 70006 Cragger’s Command Ship
(For behind-the-scenes technical reasons, that list took me forever, so we’ll just give you banner links from here on out.)
The LEGO Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sets were released a little early elsewhere, but they’re now on LEGO.com as well.
Finally (for today), LEGO Friends gets a complete refresh for 2013 with (count ’em) eleven new sets.
