The four new LEGO Speed Racer sets are now available from The LEGO Shop online.
Here’s 8158 Speed Racer & Snake Oiler:
8160 Cruncher Block & Racer X and 8159 Racer X & Taejo Togokhan:
Finally, the big set of the bunch, 8161 Grand Prix Race:
When I registered Brothers-Brick.com back in 2006, I was mildly dismayed that BrothersBrick.com was already taken by a construction supply company in Florida named Brothers Brick Pavers and Sealing, Inc.
I was tired of waiting for the BrothersBrick.com domain to expire so we could purchase it, so I recently approached the owners to see if they were interested in selling the domain to us.
To make a long story short, due to a paperwork error, we find ourselves at the tail end of a complex fiscal and legal process that will bring The Brothers Brick and Brothers Brick Paving into the same umbrella organization (pending SEC and stockholder approval, of course).
Naturally, there will be a few changes to both existing organizations.
I believe TBB and BBP share an important set of core values — a commitment to high-quality bricks, no matter what the form. The synergy between two such strong organizations is undeniable, and will result in tangible improvements for both LEGO fans worldwide and construction supply customers in the greater Tampa area.
However, readers outside Madagascar may experience slower load times due to the 28.8 kbps connection between the new server farm and the rest of the world.
Update (April 2): April Fools!
After several months of arduous negotiation, The Brothers Brick has signed its first movie deal. Early in 2009, TriStar Pictures will begin filming a feature length movie portraying the history of The Brothers Brick.
According to TriStar spokesman F. Elam Noir:
The time has come to document the rise of this ground-breaking institution that has done so much to promote discord and harmony throughout the world!
Casting has not been confirmed, as yet, but there are rumors that Sean Connery, Lindsey Lohan, and Robby the Robot have signed contracts. There has been no word on the director, but Steven Spielberg was seen scouting locations in Madagascar.
Update (April 2): April Fools!
German chemist Wolfgang Blauhardt recently claimed in a a paper that LEGO bricks contain a powerful “cocktail” of addictive substances. The possibility of illegal drugs in the product was first leaked last January by an anonymous copyeditor working for the medical journal in which Dr. Blauhardt’s paper is forthcoming.
The paper alleges that the corporate LEGO labs have compiled a veritable cocktail of controlled substances that is designed to create a lifelong addict out of anyone who touches the plastic toy. The LEGO Company was unavailable for comment at the time of this blog post’s publication.
Well, this explains a lot. No wonder I can’t put the danged things down.
Update (April 2): April Fools!
Eurobricks is reporting that due to overwhelming demand from the online LEGO fan community, LEGO has apparently decided to resume production of the old light grey and dark grey colors.
According to color psychologist, Carl Renbaugh:
It is very detrimental to one’s psyche when one suffers the loss of an important color in one’s life. Adult Fans of LEGO have been living with extreme psychological anguish for a number of years now. Reinstating these colors is a very compassionate move by The LEGO Company.
So, there you are, people. Old grey is alive and well!
Update (April 2): April Fools!
The LEGO Group has announced that the stud is being discontinued. Making the biggest change ever to their iconic “System of Play,” the company said in a private phone call to a select group of fans that the time of the stud is over. They will be releasing a new brick that sticks together with internal magnets.
Bjorn Kjeldsen, head of LEGO’s Magnetic Research Department, listed several reasons for the shift:
First of all, magnets are much more fun. What child hasn’t spent hours attaching and reattaching piles of magnets? They are much easier for small children to use than the current studded brick. Secondly, people equate magnets with fun and style. Not so with studs. Studs are old-fashioned. They are so 20th century. Magnets will take us through the 21st century and beyond! Lastly, there is the engineering issue. What with the recent decision to transfer production from Mexico to Madagascar, we needed a new brick that required less manufacturing precision. These new magnetic bricks fit the bill perfectly.
I guess this gives a whole new meaning to studless creations…
Update (April 2): April Fools!
Here’s the latest (and final) communication from LEGO about 9-volt trains, RC trains, and the future Power Functions trains:
Dear all,
As promised in the second communication from the 6th of December last year, we will give you the latest information and decisions regarding the development of the new train system based on LEGO Power Functions.
We are still working on the final details and doing a lot of testing of the new Power Functions elements; however, we are again able to give you some more details.
First – we will not change the gauge of the rails so there is no need to be afraid that the L gauge will disappear.
On the rechargeable battery box we have been working to get the best compromise between size and power. It has been decided that we will use a powerful Lithium Polymer battery and the size of the box will be 4 studs wide, 8 studs long and 4 studs high – this should fit in most of the trains.
The already existing standard LEGO transformer will be used to recharge and as the power supply.The existing Power Functions RC Receiver already has integrated speed control. To enable the use of this we will make a newly designed RC handset with speed control capability.
All the above new Train related Power Functions items as well as the current battery train motor (with cross axles and wheels) will be available separately through LEGO Shop@Home before the Summer of 2009.
As you know we arranged a train workshop in November 2007 where ten AFOLs from around the world: Denmark, USA, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and United Kingdom participated, built with the prototype elements and also looked into ideas and possibilities for new train designs using the Power Function elements. Based on the outcome of this workshop and all the other fantastic input we got from the AFOL community over the last 6 months, our designers worked on the first train set using the new Power Functions system. This set will be truly aimed at the AFOL community to acknowledge the importance of the adult LEGO hobbyists in the LEGO train world.
This communication will be the last one regarding the transition from the 9V train system into the new Power Functions train system. Due to all the very valuable AFOL feedback we are far down the road with the development of the new elements and also the new train set. We appreciate all your efforts through this transition which we expect to be fully executed in 2009.
Stay tuned for the new LEGO train system coming in 2009.
Tormod Askildsen, Head of LEGO Community Development
Our favorite LEGO blog from Poland is now on its own domain at e-Klocki.com. We say “favorite LEGO blog from Poland,” but really, Klocki is one of our favorite LEGO blogs period.
Among lots of other cool new features, Klocki is now fully bilingual, from post titles and text to the RSS feed. Read all about it in their first post on e-Klocki.com.
Congratulations on a new beginning!
Brickshelf user nash1126 has pictures of the box art of the upcoming space sets that we have previously discussed in the interview with the designers. At last, we see what the complete package will probably look like. It looks like each kit has quite an assortment of vehicles and play features.
Klocki reports that the LEGO Store will soon be available in several new countries, starting with Poland.
Here’s the full text of the announcement from LEGO’s Jan Beyer:
Hi all, I have seen all the rumors and work with LEGO S@H and received finally the confirmation from LEGO Shop@Home that they will start new on the following markets: Norway, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic. I think that is fantastic and please feel free to share the following statement (I know it is very short but I will get you more when I get more – also keep your eyes open) with your groups. I hope that makes you happy.
LEGO Shop at home will be opening in Poland very soon! We will communicate the launch date to you when it is confirmed.Other countries that will follow after Poland are: Hungary, the Czech Republic and Norway.
I can hear rejoicing…
Somewhat at random, here’s a lovely Polish truck from our favorite Polish builder, Mr. Zumbi:
Almost exactly two years ago, we highlighted the Piece of Peace exhibit in Japan, featuring UNESCO World Heritage sites built from LEGO by Japanese Master Builder Kazuyoshi Naoe (photo by SkylineGTR).
Now, a second exhibit (complete with an official blog) has been opened at the Parco shopping complex in Shibuya (an area of Tokyo), and photos of the amazing models have been turning up everywhere since the exhibit first opened in Shibuya on February 1st (the exhibit is now in Nagoya, until March 24).
Check out some of the World Heritage sites featured in the exhibit.
St. Basil’s Cathedral (photo by SkylineGTR) and Horyu-ji Pagoda (photo by Hirotaka Hatayama):
Shirakawa Village (photo by Yuki Koga)
The Acropolis (photo by Koji Hachisu):
Mont St. Michelle (photo by Hirotaka Hatayama):
And what a difference two years makes! I had to dig all over the ‘net to find the handful of pictures I used in my post, but here are just a few of the places where this event has been covered so far:
(Photo of Sagrada Familia by Hirotaka Hatayama.)
For more information on UNESCO World Heritage sites, you can peruse the complete list on UNESCO.org.
Finally, I leave you with the tag-line: “Pieces of piece — the more the better.” Indeed.
Japanese LEGO store clickbrick holds an annual contest, in which creations are limited to 16 cm x 16 cm x 30 cm. We covered last year’s contest here, and winners have just been announced for this year’s contest.
Like last year, Sachiko Akinaga of Let’s LEGO has complete coverage of the contest in Tokyo in her Brickshelf gallery. Here are the winners:
First place: “Catbus on the Roof” by Pisatake:
Second place: “Mally’s Cafe” by sidewinder9r:
Third place: “Jumbo Parfait” by Sachiko Akinaga:
Fourth place: “That Trembling Feeling” by Azumu (previously on TBB):
Fifth place: “The LEGO Trains museum is under construction” by TN Factory (more pictures):
Be sure to check out all the pictures of the entries in Sachiko’s gallery