Fifty-nine years ago today on January 28, 1958, at 1:58pm, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen submitted a patent application for a tiny toy building block, which was approved six month later. Little did Godtfred know that his “highly sophisticated inter-locking brick system” would take the world by storm, and lead to LEGO becoming the largest toy company on the globe, selling products in more than 140 countries.
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Category Archives: LEGO
Lego Brand Group’s Jørgen Vig Knudstorp joins Starbucks’ board of directors [News]
Coffee giant Starbucks announced this week that it is adding Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, executive chairman of the LEGO Brand Group, to its board of directors. Knudstorp is generally credited with turning around LEGO during a difficult time for the global company over a decade ago.
Some people run from problems, others run to them
Engine Company 10 and Ladder Company 10 of the New York Fire Department were among the first units to respond to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack. Located across the street from the World Trade Center, its firefighters rushed to rescue survivors during those first few terrible and confusing moments. By the end of the day, several of the station’s firefighters were dead and many others wounded. Builder sponki25 memorializes these brave men and women in LEGO form with this recreation of a truck from Engine Company 10:
There’s a lot to appreciate in this model besides its significance to one of the United State’s darkest days. The accurately detailed pump panel and the shaping of the canopy are particular highlights here. The stickers do a nice job of bringing the model to life, though the side yellow and white stripping could have been done just as well with LEGO plates. That aside, this is a wonderful model and does well to remember those who gave their lives saving others.
TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for January 28, 2017 [News]
The Brothers Brick publishes so many stories that we’re giving you the best of LEGO news and reviews. This is our Weekly Brick Report for the last week of January 2017.
TBB NEWS: New LEGO! Fake LEGO! Cheap LEGO! What a week to be alive.
- Brick Headz new LEGO line revealed! – Check out the first official images of LEGO’s new Marvel & DC Superheroes Brick Headz. People might think they are too square, but we think they are right on every angle.
- First look at the new LEGO Architecture Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum – Here’s your first look at Manhattan’s striking Guggenheim art museum designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
- Can you tell which LEGO minifig is real and which is fake? – In BBC interview, a LEGO manager in Asia has a hard time telling the difference. What do you think of fake LEGO?
- Amazon has some great LEGO sales going on, including Star Wars – TBB always has your back when finding LEGO sales, and this week Amazon had a few worth mentioning.
TBB INSTRUCTIONS & INTERVIWS: We have some cool things to build and techniques to learn from two incredible builders.
- How to build Peppermint Butler from Adventure Time – TBB’s own Iain Heath shows off his character design to go with the new LEGO Ideas Adventure Time set.
- Build your own working LEGO Nerf gun – Following up on their previous LEGO Nerf gun, YouTuber AstonishingStudios shows how to construct a simple working LEGO Nerf blaster.
- Martin Redfern tells us how Wacky Races and LEGO collided – Read our interview with British builder Martin Redfern about his Wacky Races creations.
- The Retro-future is bright: a chat with French builder Vincent Gachod – We pick the brains of this father of two and master of the brick.
OTHER NEWS: There was a massive amount of LEGO news from other places around the web this week. Here are a few items we noticed and thought you might enjoy.
Miniature space Superbike — top speed 227 mph
Building anything tiny out of LEGO is always a joy — especially when you’re able to use parts creatively as something other than what they were designed for. Cole Blaq‘s hoverbike, which is modified heavily from a bike frame, has a few things that stand out. One is that jetpack that seems to be mounted at the back of the rider, but what really tickles my fancy are the telescopic fork tubes that utilise paint roller handles. Bring your own helmet if you’re up for a fast ride… no license needed where there are no roads built for it.
A Fire Rooster to usher in the Chinese New Year
2017 is the year of the Rooster in the Chinese Lunar Calendar. The Rooster is one of 12 animals represented in the Chinese Zodiac calendar, but what is less known is that besides the Zodiac’s 12 rotation cycle, there is also an elemental cycle of Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood — and this year is Fire.
Creator ZiO Chao brings us an exquisite LEGO version of the Fire Rooster. What’s unique about this brick-built rooster is the terrific shaping that gives volume to the bird, not only in its breast and wings, but also its feathered tail.
The last cycle of the Fire Rooster was 1957 and the next won’t be until 2077. The five elements, also known as Wu Xing, are used in many other practices such as geomancy (Feng Shui), astrology, and even traditional medicinal practices to describe synergy and affinity between the other phenomena.
A LEGO boudoir fit for a queen
With magnificent ornate furniture, and perhaps the lushest LEGO carpet you’ve ever seen, this boudoir by simply bricking it is ready for royalty. Amazing parts-usages abound, from the minifigure stretchers used for the folding screen to the basketball net as the lampshade. How many more clever bits can you spot in this creation?
There are no rodents at the Osterode town hall
The original name of this creation is “Osterode Rathaus”, which means town hall, not “building containing rodents” as some might assume at first. Multilingual puns aside, this is some quality architectural work. There are many buildings like this one in town centres in my country, so I can confirm from first-hand experience that this creation is very accurate. The builder, Przemysław Czarnik, has filled this build with great textures and details, and I’m especially impressed by the simple yet effective roof.
The future of law enforcement, LEGO style
At first glance, this mech resembles the baddie Enforcement Droid from Robocop. Take another look, though, because this mech transforms into a cruiser-shaped vehicle mode. Robocop isn’t going to stand a chance if you ask me. Builder Havoc shapes both alternate modes with bulk and strength giving it a weighty armoured feel, especially considering almost the entire model except the canopy is a single color.
Amazon sale on select Star Wars LEGO sets [News]
We already brought you some great Amazon LEGO deals this week from a variety of themes, but who doesn’t love a good deal on Star Wars? Amazon has discounted the following Star Wars LEGO sets:
Star Wars Resistance X-Wing Fighter is 22% off, on sale for $62.99.
He might be little but he is no chicken...well actually...
Chicken Little is everyone’s favourite neurotic chicken who runs around telling everyone that the sky is falling and is mocked for his efforts. Well, just as Chinese New Year approaches, Alan Boar has created this adorable LEGO version of Chicken Little as he appears in the animated movie. His cute chicken features, stripey T-shirt and geeky specs are perfect, even though Alan had to compromise on colour and use grey instead of green frames.
Thankfully Alan decided to build Chicken Little with his beak closed. In the movie, Chicken Little has teeth, presumably in case he gets a bit peckish, but it just seems wrong to me.
Not all ninjas travel by dragon
Being unfamiliar with LEGO Ninjago universe, I had no idea that besides some majestic dragons the main characters also use traditional sailboats to travel around. Teen builder Robert4168 decided to recreate one from the Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu television show, and in my opinion it looks even more impressive than the dragons featured in the official sets.
Unlike most of the builds by designers from Billund, this ship looks truly solid, huge enough to fit a whole squadron of ninjas, and features some cool authentic sails. But the best part is the perfect use of long golden blades along its boards marking off the blue and brown areas. Topped off with an excellent red dragon head, this boat fits in with both the modern Ninjago adventures and the good old Ninja sets of late 90’s.