Thanks to a Russian LEGO catalog, we now have a look at which characters comprise Series 8 of Mixels, even before Series 7 has even been released. While we don’t know each Mixel’s name yet, Series 8’s three tribes are a firefighting tribe, a medic tribe, and — out of sync with the other two — a pirate tribe. See all of the characters after the break.
When it comes to customizing LEGO minifigures, Minh Pham is one of my favorites. I enjoy the contrast of his highly detailed armor pieces with a clean minifigure face. His latest is the Raider Power Armor set new to the Fallout series in Fallout 4, and he sculpted and painted the haphazard Raider look rather well at this scale.
Only 5 days until Christmas, which means we’re 20 days into TBB’s virtual LEGO Advent Calendar, with only a few more LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Friends mini-kits and minifigs left to unveil.
We’ll be unveiling the mini-kits or minifigs from each Advent Calendar around this time every day, and we won’t ruin the surprise — you’ll need to click through to reveal the LEGO behind the tiny doors.
Click to see the Day 20 mini-kits!
James Cherry has posted images of his beautiful F-4J Phantom II which I highlighted as my “Best In Show” in the roundup of BRICK2015 in London.
The model is 1.2m long, contains around 6,000 pieces, and took James nearly 5 months to design and build. But beyond the impressive scale and the lovely custom stickering, it’s the smooth curves and the shaping of the various sections which make this creation stand out for me. I also really like the handful of studs left exposed, creating a feel of riveted panels around the intakes.
James managed to squeeze no less than 5 Power Functions motors inside the model, allowing the rudder and various flaps to be operated using a remote control. It was very cool to see these features “in the brick” in London last weekend, and I wasn’t alone in thinking it was a highlight of the show. Carl Greatrix – one of the best LEGO plane modelers around – spent ages examining this creation and pronounced it “Bloody good”. High praise indeed.
I’d heartily recommend a visit to James’ Flickr photostream to check out all the details of this amazing model in the close-up images, as well as photos of his beautiful custom-chrome P-51 Mustang model.
Here’s our first look at the LEGO Angry Birds theme since LEGO released this teaser image in the fall. I’m a bit shocked to say that — contrary to my expectations — they don’t look too bad. Have a look at the set images below the jump. (Sadly it’s not the highest resolution, but we’re sure better images will follow soon.)
Every year Markus Rollbühler creates some new LEGO Christmas decorations for the tree, and he shared this year’s collection of Disney Princesses in microscale.
From left to right:
The details are fantastic at this scale, making the characters easily recognisable. I love Flounder and Sebastian, created using simple 1×1 tiles or plates with clips and 1×1 plates. Another favourite is R2-D2 who is simply a 1×1 Technic brick resting on a silver 1×1 round plate, two white minifig hands and a blue-based lever – inspired use of parts!
Thanks to Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012, Princess Leia can be officially described as a Disney Princess too…
Unikitty is one of my favorite characters from The LEGO Movie, but I don’t know that I love all the line-ups of Unikitty variations I’m constantly running across. But this one is different. tankm has built nineteen different Unikitties as characters from the entire Star Wars saga.
Here are my three favorites, conveniently in a single picture — Unikitty Chewie, Unikitty Han Solo, and Unikitty Han Solo in carbonite.
I also like Luke & Leia’s parents — the expression on Unikitty Queen Amidala’s face is priceless.
I was so focused on the new Star Wars movie yesterday (have you heard? there’s a new Star Wars movie out!) that I totally forgot to post yesterday’s installment of our virtual LEGO Advent Calendar series, so here’s Day 18 & 19 together.
We’ll be unveiling the mini-kits or minifigs from each Advent Calendar around this time every day, and we won’t ruin the surprise — you’ll need to click through to reveal the LEGO behind the tiny doors.
Click to see the Day 18 & 19 mini-kits!
I had the opportunity to review 70312 Lance’s Mecha Horse and 70325 Infernox Captures the Queen from the upcoming NEXO Knights series, revealed in October. 70312 Lance’s Mecha Horse set has 237 pieces and will retail for $24.99. 70325 Infernox Captures the Queen has 253 pieces and will also retail for $24.99. Both will be available in January 2016.
If you’ve never tried building with someone else’s LEGO collection, I highly recommend it. Everyone organizes their collection a little differently. As a result, you’ll often see strange parts being stored together and inspiration will strike. Or, more likely, you’ll be unable to locate some of your go-to “comfort” pieces and be forced to try something new. Also, it’s just plain fun to build alongside your friends!
I’m not sure if Nooroyd learned any new tricks when he built this scene with his friend Andreas’ LEGO collection, but the result is stunning! The ramshackle building feels very organic and the cluttered composition draws the eye in several directions at once without being completely overwhelming. I particularly love the use of fabric, string, and tubing.
Lightsaber handles are a popular subject in LEGO, but it’s very rare to see a fully brick-built blade. This LEGO lightsaber by Cole Edmonson has all the details a LEGO lightsaber needs, but he goes one step farther by making the brick-built blade strong enough to swing around.
Watch the lightsaber in action in this video Cole made. Interestingly, he built the red lightsaber with a white core, which works beautifully when in motion.
I’ve traveled to New York City five times in the last two years for work, and it has quickly become one of my favorite cities in the world. I’ve spent most of my time indoors in museums, but I’ve also admired the city’s wonderful architecture — the pinnacle of human art and engineering. LEGO recently sent us a copy of the forthcoming LEGO Architecture set 21028 New York City.
SPOILER! There are a variety of very tall buildings in New York City. Oh, sorry, I’ve gotten so used to writing LEGO set reviews about The Force Awakens that it’s hard to break the habit.
Click through to read the full review!