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.

Couple gets engaged in Miniland Las Vegas at LEGOLAND [News]

Troy Cobb worked with the model builders at LEGOLAND California to arrange a special sign on the Eiffel Tower (part of the Miniland Las Vegas display), asking his girlfriend Lacey Williams if she’d marry him.

Troy and Lacey are both LEGO fans who took a special trip to LEGOLAND California to celebrate Valentine’s Day and Lacey’s birthday. Naturally, Lacey said yes, and they plan to have LEGO cake-toppers at their wedding.

Read the full story on coloradoan.com. Thanks to everyone who sent us the link!

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.

LEGO Announces Special Edition BLACK MINDSTORMS NXT [News]

We’ve just received some exciting news from LEGO. It seems that they will be selling a limited edition black Mindstorms NXT kit. Here’s the press release:

Black NXT

LEGO MINDSTORMS 10 Year Anniversary Exclusive: The Black NXT Limited Edition.

Now you can be the proud owner of one of the Limited Edition Black NXT micro-controllers that we have produced to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of LEGO MINDSTORMS.

The first LEGO MINDSTORMS products came out in the year 1998 and have since then continued to bring fun and active building and programming experiences to millions of robotic builders across the world!

Only 1998 exclusive units will only be available through our online shop www.legoshop.com (or) www.amazon.com

Why a Black NXT? Because it is cool! And looking around in the MINDSTORMS community we noticed that a Black NXT was high on the wish list among users. Also, talking to the MINDSTORMS Community Partners, the closed web forum of adult fans collaborating with the LEGO MINDSTORMS development team, it was very well received and suggested as a must-have!

Once you have bought and received your new Black NXT you will get access to additional materials like a special-made program for the Black NXT, a personal certificate of ownership, wallpapers, building instructions for special models.

Please note that this is an exclusive item in a limited edition: only ~~1000~~ 1998 produced! – so, if you want to secure yours go online at www.amazon.com (or) www.legoshop.com now!

The LEGO MINDSTORMS Team

Mindstorms Anniversary

I must say, I find this to be pretty cool news. I think that the LEGO Mindstorms Black NXT Brick is quite sharp looking. Maybe our own Nannan will even find a way to work on into one of his black fantasy creations.

~~I’m not sure why their press release says there will be 1998 made in one spot, and 1000 in another, but I’ll try to get an answer on that.~~

EDIT (AB): I’ve confirmed with LEGO that it’s 1998.

LEGO Universe MMOG delayed until at least 2010 [News]

The LEGO Universe massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) first announced back in 2007 as being due in 2008 has now been pushed out to at least 2010:

The LEGO Universe team has decided to delay the game’s launch so that it gets the full attention of our company and fans when it makes it’s public debut. We have a ton of cool new products planned for release in 2009, and want to continue developing the game to make sure that LEGO Universe becomes a truly great game and LEGO experience.

Read the full story (and see a few new images like the one above) on the LEGO Universe website.

As LEGO said to Kotaku last week, the reason is apparently not because the software development is behind schedule. Rather, LEGO’s traditional products — you know, those little plastic bricks — are doing so well that the company doesn’t want the game to distract from that success.

Works for me.

LEGO Trains 10194 Emerald Night to be available April 15 [News]

In surprising post-Toy Fair news, 10194 Emerald Night just showed up on the LEGO Shop website.

The set appears to include several new parts, including large wheels (drivers? Tim?) unavailable to LEGO Train fans for many years except in the form of custom elements from Big Ben Bricks.

It’s unclear (to my untrained eyes, at least) whether this set represents the promised evolution in LEGO Trains after the demise of both 9-volt and RC trains.

UPDATE: And here’s the official word from LEGO (missed it earlier):

February 18, 2009 – In acknowledgement of the many fan blogs and posts in the last week we are writing to confirm that The LEGO Company will be launching the #10194 Emerald Night Train in late March / early April via LEGO Shop at Home and LEGO Brand Retail.

The #10194 will first be unveiled simultaneously at Brickfest PDX in Portland, Oregon and Wunderwelt Modellbau in St. Pölten, Austria on March 27 & 28, 2009.

Attached are approved marketing assets from The LEGO Company that help depict the details for this great new product. Also listed below is some brief product information with pricing for the #10194.

And to think there’s more………but we’re saving that for the fan events on March 27 & 28 as mentioned above.

Look for more information on the #10194 Emerald Night Train in the March 30th issue of the LEGO Shop at Home Catalog and online at www.LEGOshop.com.

#10194 – Emerald Night
Ages 14+
1,085 pieces
Pricing:
US $ 99.99
CA $ 129.99
AU $ 149.99
UK £ 68.50
DE € 89.99

UPDATE 2: And here are some pictures:
Pic 1, pic 2, pic 3, pic 4, pic 5, pic 6, pic 7, pic 8 and more details.

With piston-powered wheels, this train is an all-new LEGO® classic!

Here comes the Emerald Night! Build this incredible classic-styled train with loads of amazing details, from the steam locomotive with furnace to the opening tender and dining car with removable roof, opening doors and detailed interior. Measures 68 cm (27.2 in) long! Includes three minifigures, elements in rare colors and all-new large train wheels with piston motion!

This classically-styled train features a steam locomotive with furnace, opening tender, dining car with removable roof, opening doors and detailed interior!

Train measures 27.2 inches (68cm) long!

Lots of authentic touches including elements in rare colors and all-new large train wheels with piston motion!

Includes 3 minifigures!

LEGO Star Wars 10195 Republic Dropship with AT-OT Walker now available for pre-order [News]

Following quickly on the announcement at Toy Fair 2009, 10195 Republic Dropship with AT-OT Walker is now available for pre-order from the LEGO Shop online.

$250 for about 1700 pieces, with two clone pilots and six clone troopers.

(Hat tip to Sjaak. Thanks!)

UPDATE: Another recent addition, Vintage Minifigure Collection Vol. 2:

LEGO Star Wars 10195 Republic Dropship, Home One, LEGO + Pixar, and more revealed at Toy Fair 2009 [News]

The Brothers Brick got an invite to the LEGO Preview at Toy Fair 2009, but we just couldn’t make it. :-( The good news is that our pals from FBTB and BrickJournal are covering this important event.

Although we’ve seen quite a few of the late 2009 LEGO sets from the earlier Canadian toy fair, there are still some surprises in store for LEGO fans.

The big news — particularly among LEGO Star Wars fans — seems to be the announcement of 10195 Republic Dropship with AT-OT Walker, here being shown off by Erik Varzegi:

Other major LEGO Star Wars news includes a playset of Admiral Ackbar’s Home One (the result of fan voting back in May 2008), with these minifigs:

Personally, I’m most excited about the new Space Police sets, including 5971 Gold Heist:

In other news, LEGO and Disney have announced a deal to release LEGO sets based on three Disney movies: Toy Story, Cars, and Prince of Persia. (What, no LEGO Wall-E?)

Check out more photos from Ace Kim, Mike Crowley, and Joe Meno.

There are a lot of photos to go through, so let us know if you see something particularly cool we should highlight.

UCS Millenium Falcon $125 off at Amazon.com [News]

I’m tempted. Aren’t you? In addition to the Ultimate Collector’s Millennium Falcon, the Sandcrawler is also 20% off.

Given that the Sand Crawler isn’t even available from LEGO anymore, this could be your last opportunity to get Jawas. Just sayin’. Thanks for the tip, Wes!

LEGO Star Wars magnets make collecting rare minifigs cheaper [News]

LEGO magnets and keychains are notorious for having glued and otherwise mostly useless minifigs. In news sure to excite those of us who love LEGO Star Wars minifigs but can’t afford to buy every single set, the latest batch of magnet sets ~~apparently~~ include “real” minifigs!

From the Clone Wars animated series, Yoda, Mace Windu, and Count Dooku:

From the classic trilogy, Boba Fett, Princess Leia, and Imperial Guard:

From the prequel trilogy, Anakin Skywalker, Naboo Pilot, and Darth Maul:

UPDATE: Here are pics showing how the minifigs do come apart. Hurray!

Before:

After:

The new FBTB: Fewer zombies, more Indiana Jones [News]

From Bricks to Bothans re-launched today with a new look, more news, and a new attitude. The biggest change for regular visitors of FBTB.net will be that LEGO news will cover all licensed themes, not just Star Wars.

In particular, I’m looking forward to FBTB’s upcoming coverage of Toy Fair New York! (Graphic by Mike.)

On a personal note, FBTB was the place where I first “de-lurked” and joined the online LEGO fan community, so the site will always hold a special place in my brick-built heart. It’s great to see the current admins taking the site in a fresh direction, and I look forward to spending more time on FBTB in the future.

All the good times on the old forums have been archived, so you can still go back and revisit the final zombie apocalypse, but head over now and register on the new FBTB Forums.

Job Muller Roundup

The Job Muller Contest, on Classic Castle, has certainly been generating a lot of great entries! Here are some of my favorites.

‘Shroom Whisperer by Foamrider:

Ye Olde Toliet Salesman by Life Unscripted:

Sanitizers by Shmails:

LEGO Architecture Space Needle and Empire State Building [News]

UPDATE: The newest LEGO Architecture sets are Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater and Guggenheim Museum.

————

The two newest LEGO Architecture sets are now available from the LEGO Shop.

I’m particularly pleased to find the Seattle Space Needle available, since I see it everyday here in, well, Seattle!

The Empire State Building is another iconic landmark now available as a set:

Update: As the locals in the comments indicate, $20 for our beloved needle seems a bit steep, so Ochre Jelly suggests this one for 30 cents instead! :-D

GFLUG at MegaCon 2009 Feb 27 – Mar 1 in Orlando, FL [News]

GFLUG will be displaying various LEGO creations in Orlando, Florida from February 27 to March 1.

Here’s the full announcement from Michael Huffman:

GFLUG will be doing MegaCon 2009, Feb. 27 – March 1, 2009 in Orlando, FL. GFLUG have a 50’x50’ display area, half of the area will be a LEGO MOC display and the other half of it will be an adult “play area”. The theme for MegaCon 2009 is “WestWorld”. There will be a city filled with rampaging monsters, super-heroes
fighting super-villains, & hungry zombies; a large scale east vs. west castle MOC battle scene; a futuristic space port; and robots shooting it out at the 64K corral; with other homages to the club’s favorite sci-fi/anime/geek shows! There will also be table-top games recreated in LEGO — KK Quah will have a LEGO-ize version of Command and Colors (by Richard Borg and GMT Games). This will be GFLUG’s first time displaying at MegaCon.

MegaCon is a spring-time event, so it’d make a nice spring break get-away!