Amazon.co.jp has revealed details about the upcoming 10199 LEGO Creator Christmas set, due out later this year. The picture isn’t perfect, but good enough for discussion, I think.
Due to ship in Japan on October 25, 2009, the set will apparently retail for 12,600 yen. Comparing the prices of other LEGO sets between yen and USD, my guess is that this will be a $60 set (assuming it’s available, but we LEGO fans can always make that happen).
Thanks to EDGE over at LEGO-KEI for the tip!
BrickForge, the custom minifig accessories shop, has five new colors available including yellow, dark green, purple, transparent green, and dark bluish gray (dark bley). This means that now you can now get your custom items in a total of 20 colors! In addition, several colors have been restocked including the coveted chrome silver.
In addition, BrickForge has announced the release of 12 new products at BrickWorld. If you can’t make it to the convention, we’ll bring you a first look at these new items!
Although LEGO Battles for Nintendo DS was announced back in February, details so far have been sparse.
Kotaku had a five-minute look at the game yesterday and has some pre-release impressions.
Stephen Totilo writes:
In traditional RTS fashion, the player draws a box around their Lego units and clicks on places for them to move to or attack. A pull-down menu enables the player to build to build appropriately-themed Lego structures: towers and factories and the like. There was no drag-and-drop Lego construction, but manual block-building hasn’t been much of a component of any of the recent Lego games.
Our speculation back in February that the images we had then were pre-rendered cutscenes and not real game-play turns out to be true. Oh well, not surprising.
LEGO Battles will be available in June.
For all you LEGO train builders attending the NMRA National Train Show this summer, here’s some pretty cool news:
As part of the National Train Show on July 10-12, 2009 in Hartford, CT, Jamie Berard, set designer of the newly released ‘Emerald Night’ and employee of The LEGO Group (TLG), will participate as part of the show. Jamie will be giving a talk on both July 11 and 12 (Sat. and Sun.) about the design process and thinking that led up to the final ‘Emerald Night’ set, and about the Power functions components that support it. Fans are encouraged to participate to offer their views on the new platform. Jamie will also be available during the show for any questions you may have about his other excellent creations – Fast Flyer, Cafe Corner, Cool Convertible and Green Grocer.
Also as part of this year’s show, Steve Witt, LEGO Community Relations Coordinator for North America, has graciously offered to host the traditional ILTCO pizza party at LEGO corporate headquarters in Enfield, CT after the show on Sat. July 11. Along with pizza and hanging out with Steve, Jamie and some of the LEGO Master Builders from Enfield, other events such as tours of the model shop and parts of the campus will occur. All train show participants are invited to attend.
To contribute to the layout please post to the Trains-n-Town NMRA 2009 forums at:
http://www.trains-n-town.com/forum/index.php?forum=34
Information about the National Train Show can be found at:
http://www.nationaltrainshow.org/2009/hartford.html
Photo above, from last year’s NMRA show, by Peter Norman. See more photos of LEGO models at NMRA on Flickr.
BrickWorld, one of the largest fan-run LEGO conventions in the US taking place in Chicago from June 18-21, is approaching in less than a month. There are only 7 days left to register for the event to join thousands of LEGO fans of all ages and see more than 20,000 square feet of LEGO display in the luxurious Westin Hotel.
In addition to meeting LEGO fans and seeing their creations, there’ll be much more including contests, presentations, raffles, exclusive items for sale, large discounts on LEGO, sneak peeks at the upcoming LEGO sets and chances to meet with representatives and designers from LEGO! Most interesting of all, the premier World of Lights display promises a spectacle as LEGO creations are lit up with lights of all sorts on Saturday night.
Once again, I will bring you daily coverage of the convention from the creations to announcements from LEGO. Oh yea, and I won’t forget the people as well :)
For lots more pictures from the previous years of BrickWorld, visit BrickWorld on Flickr.
This past weekend at the grand opening of LEGO’s newest store in Frisco, Texas, massive crowds of kids and adults visited the first ever LEGO store in North Texas. Sales from Friday until Sunday topped over $130,000, setting a new record for sales at the grand opening of a LEGO store and surpassing the previous record of $110,000 held by the LEGO store in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Greg Anway, the manager of the Frisco store, jokingly commented “from now on we’ll just refer to them as Prussia.”
Indeed, the grand opening of a LEGO store marks a spectacular event. In addition to an extensive seleciton of LEGO sets and Pick-a-Brick wall, the store also gives away a promotional set, t-shirt, and collectable Duplo brick to customers. Shoppers lined up for hours throughout the day just to get into the store (video)! Employees in turn were constantly restocking the shelves.
In addition, the grand opening features a building event where kids can help build an 8-ft. tall R2-D2 model with Master Model Builder Dan. Over the weekend, kids made thousands of giant bricks that were four times the dimensions of an ordinary LEGO brick. The bricks were then put together by Dan using a smaller version of R2 as reference.
For more upcoming LEGO store openings, click here.
UPDATE: The LEGO Architecture Guggenheim and Fallingwater are now available from the LEGO Shop online. Click the photos in this post to learn more.
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According to a press release from the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, the next LEGO Architecture sets designed by Adam Reed Tucker will be inspired by the buildings of the iconic American architect (1867-1959).
The Guggenheim Museum in New York City will be celebrating its 50th anniversary later this year.
Wright designed Fallingwater in 1934 as the private home of Edgar J. Kaufmann, and the house remains one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s best-loved structures to this day.
Neither set is available from the LEGO Shop yet, but were apparently released on May 15 at the opening of an exhibit at the Guggenheim.
Via PrairieMod.
I recently received a new publication from LEGO called The Brick, which is a magazine for adult readers that shares stories, news, and reports from the company.
I’ve learned much from this 90-page magazine that I would’ve never known even from years of building with LEGO bricks. Do you know what the net profit of the company was in the past three years? Does it surprise you that Bionicle is the most popular selling product line in Russia while roughly half of all castle sales went to the Japanese consumer? Learn more including info on the upcoming LEGO board games, working in the LEGO factory, and even coverage of the FIRST LEGO League. I’m happy to inform that the magazine is available to the public both in hard copy and electronic download. Enjoy!
If you’re requesting a copy of the magazine, we’d appreciate a mention that you’re are a reader of our blog. Thanks!
LEGO announces an impressive carousel scheduled for release in July 2009. This 3,263 piece kit includes Power Function elements that add motion and music to the model. Check out the full description below:
#10196 Grand Carousel
Ages 16+. 3,263 pieces
Available July 1st 2009It’s a wonderful day for a ride on the merry-go-round! This elegant and beautifully detailed LEGO model isn’t just for show – it really spins and plays music while the horses and swing boats move up and down! Built with intricate, lifelike ornaments and features, the Grand Carousel is a spectacular addition to any LEGO display or carousel collection. Includes 9 minifigures and LEGO Power Functions motor and sound brick. Measures over 12” (30 cm) x 12” (30 cm) x over 12” (30 cm).
Features and Benefits
- Experience the romance of this merry-go-round decorated with brightly colored elements!
- Features 9 minifigures including ride operator!
- The platform rotates clockwise/counter clockwise and the music plays!
- The swing boats and galloping jumper horses move up and down!
- Lots of realistic details including reflective decals on the center pole, ornate ornamentation, fleur de lys, bejeweled horses and profiles of jesters!
- The tent-like top is made of canvas!
- The Grand Carousel measures over 12” (30 cm) x 12” (30 cm) x over 12” (30 cm).
Pricing
United States $ 249.99
United Kingdom £ 166.35
Central Europe € 229.99
Canada $ 349.99
Pirate and Castle fans and collectors alike will delight in knowing that a new line called “Brickmaster” (not to be confused with BrickMaster) will release two new sets in these respective themes. These sets include 140 pieces and an idea book. Click on the pictures below for more information.
DK LEGO Castle Brickmaster:
DK LEGO Pirates Brickmaster:
I’m super excited to announce the upcoming opening of three new LEGO retail stores in Frisco, TX, Annapolis, MD, and Raleigh, NC.
There are special events taking place at all three new stores during their “Grand Opening Weekend.”
Lower Level near Dillard’s
For those in the Frisco, Texas area, I will be attending the grand opening in less than a week since it’s only five minutes from my house. I hope to see some of our readers there!
Annapolis, MD
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Raleigh, NC
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LEGO has this to say about the events taking place at each grand opening:
Help a real LEGO Master Builder construct an 8-foot tall LEGO R2-D2™ during our 3-day Grand Opening Celebration weekend!
You’ll get a free LEGO® Star Wars™ Certificate of Achievement for helping, while supplies last! Visit the LEGO Store during the event to enter for a chance to win a $50 LEGO Store Gift Card! No purchase necessary to enter.
Plus:
On Saturday, be one of the first 300 customers to spend $35 in the LEGO Store and you’ll receive an exclusive, limited-edition LEGO set!On Sunday, the first 300 customers to spend $35 in the LEGO Store will receive an exclusive, limited-edition LEGO Minifigure T-Shirt! Shirts are available in child’s sizes only.
Visit stores.LEGO.com for more details.
In addition, here’s a full list of upcoming stores:
The Indianapolis Children’s Museum, working with Lego, has put together an incredible traveling exhibit, designed to educate children (and adults!) on the intricacies of Medieval Castle building and medieval life. Among the many activities are “jousting”, building castle walls, dressing up in medieval costumes, and firing a catapult.
It has already been booked for the next five years! The exhibit has left Indianapolis, but is on its way to the Arizona Science Center.
You can check out the schedule and see if its coming to a city near you!
Check out these pics by Blackbear88 in order to see the actual exhibit.