Category Archives: News

Stay current on the latest news and information about LEGO, from sales & deals to new set announcements. We also cover LEGO events and conventions all over the world.

New LEGO stores opening soon – celebrate with exclusive model [News]

The LEGO Group is opening 10 new stores in North America this year — including one I’m especially excited about just north of Seattle in Lynnwood, Washington. LEGO will be making a model of a LEGO store — 3300003 LEGO Brand Retail Store — available exclusively during grand opening celebrations

Here’s the complete press release:

3300003 LEGO Brand Retail Store

Ages 7+ 280 pieces

New LEGO Stores are opening soon!

Celebrate the opening of a brand new LEGO Store in your area with the new, exclusive LEGO Brand Retail Store model! Not available for purchase, this set is only given out to a select number of customers with a qualifying purchase during the Grand Opening Celebration. We are proud to announce 10 new locations in North America opening in 2012:

Nashville, TN

Victor, NY

Vancouver, BC; Canada

Wauwatosa, WI

The Woodlands, TX

Peabody, MA

Overland Park, KS

Elizabeth, NJ

Seattle [Lynnwood], WA

Alpharetta, GA

Stay tuned for details on the Grand Opening Celebrations, featuring the new exclusive, limited-edition LEGO Brand Retail Store set and T-Shirts! For more information, please visit stores.LEGO.com.

Offers will be available during the Grand Opening Celebration only, while supplies last.
Phone orders will not be accepted, to qualify purchase must be made at store location.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Sad news: Heather Braaten found

It’s with a heavy heart that I share emerging news that fellow LEGO fan Heather Braaten’s body was discovered yesterday afternoon.

Thank you to everyone who helped get the word out last week that she was missing. For our global readers, we’re going to conclude coverage of this tragedy here on The Brothers Brick at this point. If you’re interested in learning about local arrangements for services, please join the SEALUG mailing list or keep an eye on news here in Seattle.

Our thoughts are with Heather’s family and friends. If you’d like to share something, please feel free to do so in the comments. As we’ve done with other members of our community who’ve died, we’ll pass along your thoughts to Heather’s family.

If you have photos of Heather or her LEGO creations, please feel free to add them to a new group on Flickr.

Missing person: Heather Braaten (aka “LEGO Girl”)

No, this is neither a drill nor a joke. Unfortunately, Heather Braaten, whom many of you may know as “HeatherLEGOGirl” online, has been missing since last Tuesday (March 20, 2012). Heather is an active member of SEALUG here in Seattle, a regular BrickCon attendee, and active on Flickr, MOCPages, and Bricklink (where she was active as recently as the day she was last seen).

If you live in Seattle and would like to put up posters, you can use this (click through for larger version):

Heather, if you’re out there and can read this, we hope you’re safe and sound. Just know that there’s a whole world of people who care about you, and we’re worried. Please, reach out and let one of us know you’re okay.

You can see the official Missing Person Report on the Washington Association of Sheriffs & Police Chiefs website.

If you see Heather or know where she is, please contact the Seattle Police Department or braaten1@yahoo.com.

You can also chime in with a comment here, on Lino’s photo (link on pic above), or send Lino an email: linotopia AT hotmail DOT com. Lino is in touch with Heather’s mom and will be passing along any leads that come through online channels like TBB comments and Flickr.

Brickworld Indy 2012 video

John Brune, producer of the upcoming Brickworld Chicago DVD, presents a professionally shot video of the recent Brickworld Indy convention.

RAILBRICKS 11 Released

The latest edition of RAILBRICKS has just been released and, as usual, it’s chock full of good articles for LEGO train fans and AFOLs in general. You can get a low resolution copy here or follow the picture below for more options.

10225 UCS R2-D2 – new LEGO Star Wars exclusive [News]

LEGO has just officially unveiled the newest addition to their Ultimate Collector Series of LEGO Star Wars models, the opinionated astromech droid we all know and love, 10225 R2-D2. Artoo ships in May 2012 for 180 USD and includes 2,127 parts.

Tons more pictures showing off details and functionality in the photoset on Flickr.

Here’s the full press release:

10225 R2-D2™

Ages 16+. 2,127 pieces.
US $179.99 CA $229.99 UK 149.99 £ DE 179.99 € DK 1499 DKK

Presenting the Ultimate Collector Series R2-D2™ – the best-loved droid in the Star Wars galaxy!

Presenting the iconic R2-D2 as you’ve never seen him before! Everyone’s favorite droid from the Star Wars galaxy is now part of the Ultimate Collector Series and features fantastic detailing, such as retractable third leg, front panels that open to reveal a universal computer interface arm and a circular saw, rotating head and 2 fold-out front spacecraft linkage control arms. With the included fact plaque and R2-D2 minifigure, this diminutive model is the perfect addition to your LEGO® Star Wars™ collection!

Ultimate Collector Series R2-D2™!
Features retractable third leg!
Front panels open to reveal a universal computer interface arm and circular saw!
Features realistic rotating head!
R2-D2 features 2 fold-out front spacecraft linkage control arms!
Includes fact plaque and R2-D2 minifigure!
Measures over 12” (31 cm) high and 7” (18 cm) wide!

Available for sale beginning May 2012

only at shop.LEGO.com, LEGO® Stores or via phone.

Here’s the designer interview video:

10224 Town Hall out now + free shipping & double VIP points [News]

I realize that the release of 10224 Town Hall isn’t news to many of you (I’ve been on vacation), but the LEGO Shop online is also having a double VIP points promotion through March 15, and today through the end of the month you’ll get free shipping on all orders over $75.

If you buy the Town Hall between now and the 15th, you’ll get 399 VIP points.

2nd Japanese LEGO CUUSOO project launches with Hayabusa space probe

The second fan-created LEGO CUUSOO project has just been released in Japan, and will be available from the LEGO Shop online later in 2012. The set depicts the Hayabusa probe, which brought bits of an asteroid back to earth.

21101_back

Here’s the full press release:

BILLUND, Denmark – The Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa, the second LEGO® CUUSOO release, has gone on sale in Japan, while a limited number of Hayabusa sets will also be available exclusively online via shop.LEGO.com later in the year. No release date has been set yet.

The original Hayabusa model on LEGO CUUSOO was built by Daisuke Okubo and achieved 1,000 supporters on the Japanese-only version of LEGO CUUSOO in the spring of 2011. LEGO model designer Melody Louise Caddick designed the final model, refining earlier concept models based on Daisuke’s original project.

The model is priced at ￥ 4,118 in Japan, USD49, EUR49

LEGO CUUSOO is a website where LEGO fans can submit their ideas for new LEGO products and collect votes to make their ideas become a reality. They can also vote for other users’ ideas. It can be found at http://lego.cuusoo.com

LEGO CUUSOO began in 2008 with a Japanese site that attracted hundreds of ideas and saw thousands of votes cast by a 35,000-strong community. It was launched globally in October.

The first Japanese product, the Shinkai 6500 submersible, went on sale in Japan in February 2011. A project backed by Minecraft developer Mojang became the first user-sponsored project to be approved on the global version of LEGO CUUSOO.

Ideas supported by 10,000 votes are examined by a LEGO jury to check the models meet LEGO standards of safety and playability and support the LEGO brand. Consumers who have their ideas chosen for production will earn 1% of the total net sales of the product.’

Hayabusa (“falcon” in English) is an unmanned spacecraft built by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), designed to travel to a small near-Earth asteroid named Itokawa and return sample material to Earth. Hayabusa’s mission began in 2003 and ended successfully in 2010.

LEGO Space Shuttle ascends to 115,000 feet [Video]

The Space Shuttle program may have ended, but in late December 2011, Romanian teenager Raul Oaida launched its LEGO doppelganger 35,000 meters (115,000 feet) into the upper atmosphere. Raul achieved this singular feat by stringing the LEGO shuttle beneath a weather balloon — with the permission of German air traffic control.

Read more about the launch on Raul’s blog. Thanks to the dozens of readers who made sure we posted this. ;-)

LEGO invests 500 million on wind farm – energy-neutral by 2020

The LEGO Group’s parent company just announced that it is investing over half a billion dollars (3 billion Danish krone or 400 million euros) on an offshore wind farm off the coast of Germany.

The wind farm will have nearly 80 turbines, and will provide more power than LEGO’s production facilities will be projected to require in 2020, thereby enabling the company to become effectively energy self-sufficient within the next eight years.

This news follows LEGO’s announcement last summer that they are reducing LEGO packaging box sizes and obtaining their wood products from sustainable sources.

LEGO ISS built aboard International Space Station inside zero-G build bubble

Sending LEGO into space isn’t actually all that new, but an astronaut building a LEGO model of the spacecraft he’s in certainly is. Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa recently built a LEGO version of the International Space Station while aboard the ISS itself.

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The full story and more photos are over on collectSPACE, and you can watch a NASA video on YouTube as well.

Gotta love that special build bubble to keep the LEGO elements from floating away to who knows where inside the ISS.

Forbidden Cove’s Jolly Roger Contest [News]

Forbidden Cove has announced their third annual Jolly Roger Contest. Head on over to check out the fabulous Prizes and Categories, as well as the Contest Rules. Make sure you read the rules carefully, as some of the categories have different requirements.

Entries must be submitted by April 30. In order to enter, you must be a member of Forbidden Cove, and you do need to be at least 16.

Best of luck!