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.

10197 Fire Brigade & 10198 Tantive IV out now, Green Grocer on sale [News]

The much-anticipated 10197 Fire Brigade and 10198 Tantive IV are now both available from the LEGO Store online, with free shipping through October 12, 2009 on orders over $75. 10185 Green Grocer is also on sale for $120.

10197 Fire Brigade includes 4 minifigs and 2231 pieces, and costs $150.

10198 Tantive IV comes with 5 minifigs, 1408 pieces, and also costs $150.

Finally, LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary will be available soon, with an exclusive Ceremonial Luke minifig, and is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com.

I’m off to order the Fire Brigade, an absolute must-have for any LEGO modular street fan!

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Announcing the 23rd LUGNuts challenge: Zombie Apocalypse Killfest ’09 [News]

With exactly one month until BrickCon, we’re teaming up with LUGNuts for their 23rd build challenge, Zombie Apocalypse Killfest ’09.

Naturally, we’re hoping that those of you who build something for this challenge will also bring it for the Zombie Apocafest 2009 collaborative display at BrickCon.

As with other LUGNuts challenges, this is sure to generate some truly creative builds. And creativity is key! We won’t be awarding prizes at BrickCon for Biggest Guns, Most Chains, or Best Use of Brown and Gray.

This challenge is about apocafied civilian vehicles, like my S&S Wildland Ultra XT brushfire engine. Note the bright red color and complete lack of chains, though I must admit that the crazy Bionicle spike strip proved irresistible…

So, head on over to the Zombie Apocalypse Killfest ’09 thread on Flickr, read Lino‘s hilarious challenge, and build something awesome!

The Meeting produces results

This month, several Neo Classic Space fans got together at Peter Reid’s house in the UK and called it The Meeting. They individually and collectively produced some great stuff, my personal favorite is the LL0505 Comet, a collaborative effort by Thomas Oechsner, Peter Reid and Stuart Crawshaw.

Worth checking out the other photos of The Meeting for more detailed pictures of this creation as well as several others.

How to clean yellowed LEGO bricks to make Classic Space sets look new [News]

This is very old news for some of you, but I just realized that we never blogged the breakthrough discovery of a way to restore the original color of yellowed LEGO bricks.

LEGO fans have discussed this problem for years, even concluding (correctly) that ultraviolet light can contribute to faster yellowing of colors like white, blue, and old light gray (some of the key colors of Classic Space sets). Fans like sugegasa have experimented with the effects of sunlight on the new grays, but nobody could quite figure out how to reverse the effect on older, yellowed bricks.

That is, until now. The same problem apparently happens with other ABS products, such as the casing on older computers and video game consoles. A group of gamers over at Retr0Bright have proved conclusively that the original color of yellowed ABS can be restored by using hydrogen peroxide.

Tim Goddard gave it a try on his yellowed LEGO bricks.

Success! In brief, the problem isn’t dirt so much as a chemical reaction in the visible surface layer of the ABS plastic itself, caused by UV rays in sunlight. Immersing the LEGO bricks in a hydrogen peroxide solution permeates the surface and reverses that chemical change.

Learn how to get those Classic Space sets looking like new again at Retr0Bright.

Important: Standard disclaimers apply. Your mileage may vary.

The Astounding Pizza-Man cures modern children of boredom

The Astounding Pizza Man is coming to print! Learn more at TabletownOnline.com.

BrickCon 2009 is coming in just a few weeks! [News]

The deadline for online BrickCon ’09 registration is Sept 15th! After that you can only register at the venue. Also, if you register before the deadline, you are guaranteed your personalized brick badges and all sort of cool BrickCon swag.

Oh yes, hotels are filling up too, so get on the ball!

While you are at it, check out this cool promo video for BrickCon. You might spot someone or something you recognize….I did.

By the way, Andrew, Caylin, Thanel, and I will be attending. Other contributors may be as well. If you see any of us, make sure you introduce yourself!

3LUG Presents: Faded Giant in the Shadow of the Torii Gate, a MOC Harvest

A big creation deserves a big name – that’s how 3LUG rolls. Of course, when I say 3LUG, I mean Nick Kappatos and myself. Nick and I started discussing a joint display at the end of BrickFair 2008. We spent most of the last year nailing down our layout and avoiding each other, then began construction in July. We started BrickFair 2009 sleep-deprived, nearly resulting in a fight club, but everybody kept their shirts on (for the most part) and ‘The Faded Giant’ was ready for action.

We were lucky enough to get help from our families while building this behemoth; our wives laid down copious amounts of brick. We also got lots of help from friends during setup – thanks to Adrian Drake, Carter Baldwin, Nick’s brother, Stunt Drivin’ Steve Witt, and others.

If the questions we were asked at BrickFair are any indication, you readers are no doubt wondering what the story is behind this dio. While we have a basic story in mind, 3LUG policy is to leave much of the story up to the imagination of the viewer. An alien ship has crash-landed in a park in Neo-Tokyo. Military and Police units are starting to respond, as members of the public react in various ways. Is the military more interested in the craft, or in the civilians who saw it? Why did the alien ship crash? Was it a pilot error? Shot down? No wings or landing gear? You decide.

Check out both my photos and Nick’s photos. I have more overall shots, and Nick has some nice angles and details.

Tail stolen from Berlin LEGO Giraffe [News]

Reuters reported last night that someone has stolen the tail from the LEGO Giraffe outside the Berlin Discovery Center.

(photo by Peter Mayr)

Caroline Copley of Reuters writes:

Visitors to a tourist attraction in Berlin have been making off with an unusual memento — the 30 cm long tail of a Lego giraffe.

The Lego tail belongs to a six meter tall model that has stood outside the entrance to the Legoland Discovery Center on Potsdamer Platz since 2007.

“It’s a popular souvenir,” a spokeswoman for the center said Tuesday. “It’s been stolen four times now …”

The tail is made out of 15,000 Lego bricks. It takes model workers about one week to restore it at a cost of 3,000 euros ($4,300), the spokeswoman said.

What I want to know is which one of you has the tail. Fess up now!

LEGO Universe moves forward [News]

The first screenshots of LEGO Universe have just been released and Jim Foulds has asked us to share them with the world. In his words

The first screenshots for LEGO Universe make their world premiere this week. These images show off the diversity the players will encounter in the game. It’s scheduled to launch in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, UK, and North America in 2010.

Safety is a huge priority for LEGO Universe. Many solutions are being explored through technology, processes, and people to provide the most creative and safe environment possible.

Of course since it is a LEGO product, one can expect a creative and building focus to give players the opportunity to do a variety of activities that allow for them to interact with the LEGO elements in a virtual reality. Building with LEGO elements in LEGO Universe will take many forms, ultimately allowing players to bring their real-life creations to life inside the game.

LEGO Universe will feature a subscription model. Lot’s of research and evaluation of various models went into this decision and we feel it provides the best method to provide a trusted online experience for the player.

We’re sure you wondering about beta and the “VIP launch”. We still plan on doing both, but we are not ready to announce dates or how to sign-up just yet.

Please keep an eye out on future updates and if you absolutely have to have the latest information make sure to visit www.legouniverse.com.

BrickFair 2009 Wrapped Up [News]

I returned home from BrickFair last night at about midnight. It was a crazy fun blast. Photos from the event are starting to pop up on BrickShelf and Flickr.

As you can see above, there was a pretty huge turnout from the public as well. I gather that the total number between the two days was between eight and nine thousand people. That’s a lot to be crammed into a hotel ballroom. Fortunately, next year, BrickFair is moving to a real expo center. I’m psyched about all of the space (Space!).

I tried to take photos of the “impaired” speed build competition, but the lights were turned down in order to make things more difficult. If you ever have the opportunity to watch a bunch of drunk LEGO fans (all of legal drinking age, of course) trying to assemble a gear train in the dark, on a multi-colored tablecloth, I highly recommend it.

There were also some pretty epic creations on display at the show. I’m pretty sure that some may have even debuted there. There were definitely a few that I hadn’t seen on the internet. I enjoyed Chris Edward’s “ArchipeLEGO“, which he has posted as separate islands here. Another highlight was Brickistan, a middle-eastern castle diorama that was chock full of detail, and hard to find photos of. A friend and I also had a pretty big creation up our sleeves for the convention, but we haven’t gotten the photos ready to post yet.

BrickArms cries “FREEDOM!” [News]

BrickArms, makers of custom minifigure accessories, announced several new products at BrickFair today. Check out our exclusive pictures and give your feedback in the comments!

Just a note, these are pre-production prototypes and are not available at this time. They will change slightly and there is no guarantee that each of these items will make the cut. Also, some of these have been announced before, so fans of BrickArms will recognize a few of the items in these pictures.

Ben Ellermann launches “Ask a Lego Fan” [News]

Ben Ellermann has recently announced the launch of his new blog, Ask a LEGO Fan. His purpose behind this new site is to field questions from adult fans, young fans, parents of fans, and anyone interested in anything to do with Lego. Ben is one of the most knowledgable fans I’ve had the privilege of knowing. He has also been selected as a Lego Ambassador in the current cycle. This puts him in a unique position to get answers to your questions. Check it out and drop him a line with any questions you might have. I think his site will be an asset to the community and to all of those connected to it.