BrickArms has released new custom minifig weapons spanning from historical to sci-fi genres, including the Heavy Scifi Rifle, Plasma Blade, Needle Gun, Energy Pistol, Photon Pistol, Mk2 Frag Grenade, Gunblade, Chainblade, Scalpel, Syringe, Bayonet, Claymore Sword, Glaive, and Cricket Bat.
In addition to the large-scale, theme-specific collaborate displays that BrickCon has become known for throughout the LEGO fan community — from sweeping Castle landscapes to Great Ball Contraptions that would make Rube Goldberg envious — BrickCon 2010 will also feature several new and returning favorites.
If you’re still thinking about attending, you only have a few days left to register and guarantee custom-engraved bricks in your registration packet. If you have registered, don’t forget to also register your LEGO creations by filling out MOC cards. MOC cards help theme organizers plan for the necessary space, and more importantly make your creations eligible to win convention prizes.
Each of BrickCon’s group builds is designed to be accessible to every registered attendee (sorry, no contributions during Public Hours), regardless of how big or small your LEGO collection is, and whether or not you’ve even started building yet!
Zombies are so last year (and the year before)… The Brothers Brick’s official collaborative display this year takes its inspiration from the history, mythology, and pop culture of Japan. In keeping with the organic way we’ve put together layouts in years past, we’re not asking you to follow any particular standard, timeline, or even scale. We’ll have life-size ninja weapons, a minifig-scale rendition of the village from Seven Samurai, Ochre Jelly’s wonderfully unique homage to Hayao Miyazaki, the return of Mecha Godzilla, and whatever else inspires you to build something that’s … Big in Japan.
If you’re trying to think of an easy way to contribute something, consider building small for Big in Japan.
A Micropolis module isn’t parts or time intensive, and it’ll bring me one step closer to my dream of a microscale LEGO map of the entire Japanese archipelago. (I’ve built seven more modules after posting Micro Tokyo there on the right.)
Please sound off in the comments with what you’re planning to bring for Big in Japan, just so we don’t end up with three Mount Fujis.
Debuted at Bricks by the Bay earlier this year, Bricks of Character is “a Lego building theme featuring brick-built models of well known characters from film, television, literature, history, politics, or even just your imagination. Anything so long as it has personality, and isn’t just posed mini-figs” (*ahem* not that there’s anything wrong with posing minifigs).
Read more about Bricks of Character in the official announcement post on The Living Brick.
BrickCon 2010 is sure to be a lot of fun, but it’s also going to be bittersweet for many of us.
Following fly-ins at BrickWorld and BrickFair, the Vic Viper Fly-in at BrickCon will be the last fly-in to memorialize the influence and legacy of Nate Nielson, who died in a car accident earlier this year.
Though Nate lived here in the Pacific Northwest, nobody in the LEGO fan community had ever met him in person (or even knew his real name), but we all said that this was the year we were going to convince him to attend BrickCon. That can’t happen now, but members of Nate’s family will be in attendance, taking in our tribute to this legendary builder.
I’ll be coordinating the fly-in, but Keith Goldman — who was so instrumental in organizing the earlier tributes to Nate — will also be attending BrickCon, and I’m sure I’ll be leaning heavily on his experience.
I’ve personally invested a great deal of my own building energies lately in preparing an invasion force for Operation Bricklord: Europe at War.
“The setting is a battle-torn town with a canal running through it – much like the fictional town of Ramelle at the end of Saving Private Ryan, for those of you who are familiar with that film – in mid-late 1944, almost immediately post D-Day. Therefore, little details like planes with invasion stripes and such would be extra accurate!”
The large-scale LEGO Star Wars set 10212 Imperial Shuttle unveiled at BrickWorld in June is now available from the LEGO Shop.
The set includes 5 minifigs and 2503 pieces, and costs 260 USD.
The Harry Potter book series may have come to a conclusion, but the movies continue, with the first half of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows due out later this year. LEGO still has the Harry Potter license, and will be releasing a full line of sets on October 1st (the night of the LEGO Store event at BrickCon, by the way). For those of you not joining us in person, you can pre-order the LEGO Harry Potter sets today.
The fourth LEGO incarnation of Hogwarts Castle (4842) includes 10 minifigs and appears to be modular like the previous versions.
I’m personally most excited by the six new minifigs in 4840 The Burrow:
Again, the full line of six sets is available for pre-order now, and will ship on October 1. (The video games and board game are all available now.)
Finally, LEGO has free shipping on $75 or more from now through September 19th.
Photograph by Adam Hally
BrickCon is a scant thirty-five days away–but who’s counting? Not me, I assure you. As time for BrickCon (and the close of registration!) draws near, I wanted to point out one of the latest additions to the BrickCon line-up:
We are pleased to announce the return of the BrickCon Film Festival.
Awards and prizes will be given for the best films submitted, and the claim to fame till next year.
Films will be shown to attendees and voted on to determine the best.
They will also be shown during public hours exhibition if possible.
Submission guidelines:
1. BrickCon Film Festival reserves the right accept or not accept film submissions at its sole descretion.
2. Films must be your own original work.
3. You must be registered as an attendee to submit an entry.
4. 1-4 minutes is a good length, longer films may be rejected unless they are incredibly awesome.
5. Recommended file types are *.mov or *.mp4
6. The last day we can receive your submission is September 23,20082010.
7. Contact Dave Ingraham (pull down) on our Contact Us page for information on how to submit your film.
8. You must be present to win prize (else prize will go to film with the next most votes).Filmmakers agree that their film and/or clips from it and all other material related to their project may be used and/or published in the event program, the BrickCon Film Festival screening, the BrickCon website, rescreened at BrickCon and for any promotional purposes which the BrickCon Film Festival deems appropriate.
Submission of your film confirms that you have read, understand, and agree to the BrickCon Film Festival Submission Guidelines as stated above.
Good luck and happy filming!
I know there are some great filmmakers out there, and I’m pretty sure at least some of you are attending BrickCon. So show us your stuff!
Photograph by Adam Hally
We are getting excited about BrickCon 2010 here and, while we were busy getting our bricks in a row, we received the following press release from the BrickCon staff.
Now is the time to register for BrickCon 2010, September 30th through October 3rd. This year’s Theme is “Tales of the Brick!” Build your Tale and tell (and show) it to the world!
We return to the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall and have added the Rainier Room (Northwest Rooms) to our venue space. We’ll be using the Rainier Room (6,000 sq ft) for all of our Convention Activities including the Thursday Meet and Greet and our General Assemblies, seminars and contests.
Registering now will guarantee you’ll receive a customized engraved name badge you can wear proudly to the entire three day (four if you count Thursday – and we do!) event. Included with your registration will be a great Goody Bag, a Free Luncheon on Friday. And, if you’re old enough, you can attend our Thursday Meet and Greet get together where mixed drinks, beer and wine will be available ($4 per drink – cash only) along with free Mexican fare (snacks).
If you procrastinate too long, September 15th is the “deadline”, we cannot guarantee the terrific Goody Bag and custom badge. Registration will close September 28th. Then registration will only be at the door at the Exhibition Hall.
Visit www.brickcon.org now for details and Register Now!
Prices:
Adult Registration (21+) $65
Young Adult Registration (18-21) $60
Under 18 (Teen) Registration (must include an Adult (21+) as a package) $60
T-Shirts $15 – $17.50
Convention Model $20Wayne Hussey
BrickCon
So get your rear in gear and be there! By the way, if you are attending, and you see some of us, make sure you say ‘hi’. See you there!
Star Wars Celebration V took place last weekend. The video below has an incredible time-lapse footage of the public assembling a 15-foot wide Lego mural along with a good coverage of LEGO’s presence at the event.
Via FBTB
Following last year’s Winter Toy Shop, LEGO will release 10216 Winter Village Bakery for this holiday season. If the release schedule follows last year’s, then the set should be available on October 1st. For $55, you get 7 ½ minifigs and almost 700 pieces.
Here’s the official announcement from LEGO:
10216 – Winter Village Bakery
Ages 12+
687 pieces
US $ 54.99 UK £ 49.99 DE 54.99 € CA $74.99Return to yesteryear with this festive holiday scene!
It’s a winter wonderland in this snow-covered little town! A special-delivery evergreen, all ready for decorating, arrives at the tree-seller’s stand by horse-drawn cart, while ice skaters frolic on the frozen pond with colorful lights and a curious owl perched overhead. Just look out for the freshly-shoveled snow piles – one skater has already tumbled in head-first! At the bakery nearby, the friendly baker prepares delicious holiday treats in his oven and rings up sales at the cash register. Push the glowing LEGO Power Functions brick to fill the building with warm interior light! Includes 7 ½ minifigures, snow owl, horse and lots of winter accessories.
• Includes 7 ½ minifigures as well as a snow owl and horse!
• Features LEGO Power Functions light-up brick which lights the interior of the bakery when you push it!
• Includes lots of fun winter accessories like a dark blue minifigure hood with new fur print!
• Prepare holiday treats and ring up sales at the cash register!
• Skate on the frozen pond made of 8×8 transparent blue plates!
• Interesting elements include a camera, tan baguettes, croissants, green apple, 8×8 transparent blue plates, medium blue tiles and even a new ‘caramel’ color for several brick and arch elements outside the bakery!
• Features an evergreen tree for decorating, tree seller’s stand and even a horse-drawn cart!
• Bakery measures 7″ (18 cm) wide!
• Completed model (depending on space allocated between the individual parts) measures 16″ (40 cm) wide, 12″ (30 cm) deep and 7″ (18 cm) high!
BrickFair 2010 took place last weekend, and I’ve now finally had a little bit of time to recover. Like any LEGO convention, it was a blast! There were a lot of fun times to be had hanging out with other LEGO builders. There were also some great sessions, including a presentation by LEGO designer Jamie Berard (which culminated with the unveiling of the Tower Bridge set).
People have also had some time to put their photos online. This works out well, as my wife had both of our cameras in the Galapagos, while I was at BrickFair. You’ll all have to wait for more photos of the latest award-winning display from my compatriot Nick and I of 3LUG. In the meantime, I’d like to highlight some of my favorites from the con.
The above is part of a diorama depicting the battle of Fort McHenry, the inspiration for the Star Spangled Banner. This diorama incorporated some great detail techniques, including smoke from the cannons, and wall-shrapnel. The builder chose to depict the ship in cross-section, which was a fascinating bit of extra detail. The most amazing thing about this creation, though, was that, according to the MOC card, it was built by a thirteen year old!
I also quite enjoyed the display above, by Jordan Schwartz. There’s some lovely detail work in the railing, and the columns are nice as well.
HKLUG has posted a ton of excellent pictures from the 2010 Anime Festival on their Facebook page.
You should definitely take the time to check them out. The pictures posted here really caught me eye, but there are many, many more.
If any of our readers have information on the actual builders, please let us know so that we can give credit where credit is due. Thanks!
We just got permission from LEGO to publish this a little early. Tonight, at BrickFair, LEGO will officially unveil their latest exclusive set, 10214 Tower Bridge!
The official press release:
10214 – Tower Bridge
Ages 16+. 4,287 pieces.
Price: US=239.99, UK=204.99, DE=219.99, CA=314.99Build London’s famous Tower Bridge!
Stretching over the River Thames since 1894, the famous Tower Bridge of London, England is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world. Now you can add this timeless classic to your LEGO world buildings collection! Designed with advanced building techniques and rare colors and elements, the Tower Bridge is complete with its iconic paired towers and a drawbridge that really opens. Fun to build and display, it locks together solidly but can be taken apart in sections for easy transport. Includes 4 miniature vehicles; a black London taxi, a traditional red double-decker bus, a yellow truck and a green automobile. Completed model measures 40″ (102 cm) long, 17″ (45 cm) high and 10″ (26 cm) wide.
- Includes 4 miniature vehicles: a black London taxi, a yellow truck, green automobile and even a traditional red double-decker bus!
- Features the iconic paired towers and a drawbridge that really opens and closes!
- Includes unique printed shield!
- Features hundreds of 1×1 slopes in tan!
- Many useful arches, angular bricks in tan!
- Includes 4 blue base plates and over 80 windows!
- Tower Bridge is ideal for building and display – it can be taken apart in sections for easy transport!
- Add this amazing landmark to your LEGO world buildings collection!
- Completed model measures an impressive 40″ (102 cm) long, 17″ (45 cm) high and 10″ (26 cm) wide.
Also check out this video for behind-the-scenes goodies:
Just a quick reminder that Canberra Brick Expo is on this upcoming Sunday (8th Aug). They have a promo video too.
See original post here.
Fan of Angus MacLane‘s CubeDudes will be delighted to know that a second set featuring bounty hunters will be available at Star Wars Celebration V. Click on the image below for more info and an interview with Angus on StarWars.com.
Via FBTB