When young Youtube woodworker, Are Baloni decided to build an awesome transforming bookshelf, LEGO builder Deborah Higdon chose to take it a step further. Is it possible to make it with LEGO? That answer is yes, and the outcome is excellent! From the first picture, it looks normal, but wait until you see how it works!
They say there is nothing you can’t build with LEGO bricks. Most of the time, that is very true provided you have enough plastic bricks. But let’s get real; there are certain categories of real-world things that do not translate into LEGO-world particularly well, carrying form but not function. One example would be musical instruments. It looks like building a playable LEGO musical instrument is nearly impossible. It also looks like you have to have the skills of a magician to land a job as a LEGO Ideas designer. The work the LEGO design team did to turn fan Donny Chen’s idea into the official 3,662-piece 21323 Grand Piano set seems truly amazing. However, you never judge a set until you have built it, so let’s assemble, tune and play this majestic instrument, which can be purchased today for US $349.99 | CA $449.99 | UK £319.99.
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There’s something familiar about the shape of this latest spaceship from Dave Kaleta and son. Those curves look too recognizable, suggesting a meaning beyond the utility of the shape itself. I’m sure it’ll come to me. In the meantime, I can enjoy the unusual colors. I think this is the first time I’ve seen a purple and lavender hull, and the extensive use of transparent neon-green lightsaber blades and radar dishes really makes things come alive. This beauty also has cool action features like an opening cockpit, adjustable engines, and firing missiles. (You can see them in action in Dave’s Instagram post.) It really adds up to more than the sum of its parts.
I’m still at a loss as to what this shape means, though. Maybe I’ll go looking at the other ships in Dave’s growing fleet for a clue.
In a cottage in the woods, there lived a… dinosaur trainer? Sure, why not. This pastoral scene by Isaac Snyder is a perfect blend of simplicity and technique from the textured foundation to the interesting use of spiky vines tree branches. I really like the mostly smooth tile roof, with just a few studs for visual interest. And take a closer look at that door, with those “espresso handles” for hinges… nice parts usage!
Harry Potter fans have a lot of LEGO sets to choose from this year, but if they want to add Hagrid and Buckbeak to their BrickHeadz collection, they’ll have to act fast. This buddy pack of our favorite care of magical creatures professor, and his Hippogryph Buckbeak are available from September 1 – September 15 as a gift with purchase of any Herry Potter LEGO set priced at $99 or more (€100 / £100 Harry Potter purchases only), while supplies last.
In the most chaotic battles of the Clone Wars, soldiers for the Republic knew victory was imminent when they could hear the overhead rumbling of gunships flying through the sky. Just looking at this fantastic LEGO model built by Spencer Hubert makes me, too, cheer for the Republic.
First seen in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, this gunship was a staple of the Grand Army of the Republic. Hubert’s model here continues the traditional red and white paint scheme of most of the gunships seen in that movie, as well as the wing-mounted bubble turrets and front ball turrets.
What’s new about this version are the fully closing doors instead of a side turret. These doors allowed pilots to fly their gunships through the void of space so carrier ships wouldn’t have to get too close to the battlefield.
I always find it useful to reuse printed bricks from sets that I don’t have built anymore. Hubert has done that by utilizing the large printed sloped bricks from the original Obi-wan Kenobi Jedi Starfighter set as detail on the back of the gunship wings. Very clever!
LEGO has produced a lot of castle sets, but in my honest opinion there always has been a lack of travel carts! Markus Rollbühler is here to fill that gap for us. One of the best things about this creation is that the walls of the cart are positioned at an angle. The only straight wall, where the door is located, uses 2×1 cheese slopes to fill up the gap created by the slight angle of the other walls. But that’s not the only thing. This creation is filled with original details! One of the best used pieces has to be the blaster trigger. The blaster adds great playability to the set for kids, but as an adult fan of LEGO, I do not tend to use them. Markus used the trigger piece as table and chair legs and it looks stunning. Have you noticed the candle holder using the scuba breathing regulator. And don’t even get me started on that cute brick-built snail!
Things are getting a little ridiculous here. The level of Grant Davis‘ genius LEGO skills lately is making me want to be better at life. Making a popcorn machine is neat, but what’s really cool is that it functions. Yup, the “popcorn” pieces come out of it just like the real thing, using a motorized piston at the top. It’s an excellent idea that I wish I would have thought of myself. But on top of that, we have to address the font. Can you imagine a better way to replicate that old school cartoony movie theater style?
If you look closely, you can see the piston moving up and down. It “pop” out just the right amount at the right timing to mimic the real thing.
You can see all of Grant’s LEGO builds (including many with a common parts theme) in our archives.
Today, a new, unexpected partnership got teased on the LEGO’s Twitter feed, and it looks like your next pair of jeans from Levi’s might be compatible with your collections of plastic bricks.
Judging by the hashtag #dotyourworld, which accompanied the marketing campaign for the LEGO DOTS products, companies might reveal new apparel collection with customizable elements. No other information is available at the moment.
Coming soon: Two iconic names, one colorful collaboration… ???? #DotYourWorld pic.twitter.com/MoykMZMmDd
— LEGO (@LEGO_Group) September 1, 2020
In their attempt to attract new customers, especially the adult audience who might not be interested in toys, but recognize and like the brand, the LEGO Group has been very active venturing into new collaborations. Over the last two year, the Danish toymaker announced themed mobile games with Augmented Reality supported by Apple devices, started a partnership with Universal Music Group to create a new lineup of music-based sets, and most recently revealed a series of new storage products developed together with IKEA.
Is it too early to be thinking about Halloween? Not at all! And LEGO is here to help us get into the (ahem) spirit of things with a new BrickHeadz set. But is this a seasonal offering or a hint of something more substantial to come? Say hello to 40422 BrickHeadz: Frankenstein, number 111 in the BrickHeadz collection. This 108-piece set has yet to get an official price or release date, but will likely match the $9.99 US pricing from the rest of the line. What secrets does this set have in store? Read on and see!
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For the promotion of the new Harry Potter 75978 Diagon Alley set, LEGO invited two very special guests to take us on a walk by the magic stores of the most famous shopping venue of the whole city of London. James and Oliver Phelps, the actors who play the Weasley twins in the Harry Potter films, share their impressions of the new set as well as a couple of funny stories from the filming location.
The new 5,544-piece exclusive Harry Potter 75978 Diagon Alley set is available today for US $399.99 | CAN $499.99 | UK £369.99.
September is here and LEGO has released a number of sets that you may have been eyeing. The Harry Potter 75978 Diagon Alley is one that we predict will be a favourite for the month and also includes the highly anticipated 75292 The Razor Crest that was first revealed back in February. The Advent Calendar sets for Star Wars, City and Friends are available. This is a good time to grab them, if you want to prepare early for Christmas, especially since the Advent Calendars tend to sell out early.
