While reading Bricks Down Under tonight, I came across a new web-based tool that looked very exciting (and a title too good not to copy). Rebrickable, made by Nathan Thom, is a brilliant website which offers a tool where you to enter sets you own, and find sets (and MOCs) you can build. So if there’s been an old set that you’ve always wanted to own, maybe you’ll find you already do.
The website went live early due to a leak so its range of sets is currently limited but it is increasing.
If you’re planning on attending BrickCon this year and haven’t registered yet, now would be a good time. In order to guarantee that you get your custom brick badge and bag o’ swag, you have to register by September 15th.
Photo by Adam Hally
There is a lot to look forward to this year. BrickCon has become known for its variety of collaborative layouts, which will include The Brothers Brick’s own layout, Numereji 2421, the Castle layout, Town, Space, Pirate, Pythonscape, Steampunk, Operation Bricklord, the Dragon Fly-In and many more. There is nothing like contributing to a collaborative effort, working with fellow LEGO fans and creating a giant creation that is so much more than the sum of its parts.
There will also be a number of competitions that are tons of fun for those involved and for the spectators. This year will include the 3rd Annual Fig Fling, Wacky Races, the Speed Build, AT-AT races, the Blind Build and more.
On top of all that, there will many different sessions and panels to attend, Lego Gaming, LEGO to purchase or trade, old friends to connect with, new friends to meet and lots and lots of LEGO to look at. Check out the BrickCon website, under the “Event” menu, for a full list of themes, collaborations, events, sessions and activites. The page will continue to be updated as the event draws nearer.
It seems that I somehow failed to announce this contest here on TBB when it started a month ago. As things stand right now, we’ve reached the deadline with fewer entries than we have prizes! I just received the prizes from LEGO a few days ago, and they’re all great. It looks like we’ll be giving away one each of almost all of the new Alien Conquest sets, not the small ones, though. Our smallest prize seems to be a twenty dollar set!
Just like last year, this contest is all about trying to build something that you think would make a cool set. Mark Stafford is serving as our celebrity judge, and he’ll try to give each entrant some insight into how a real set designer would have their design critiqued. Of course, this is an unofficial contest, and in no way constitutes a job offer from LEGO, or solicitation by LEGO of ideas for actual sets to be produced. It’s all in fun!
The LEGO Shop online is offering free shipping from now through September 18 on all orders over $75, plus 50 VIP points.
Naturally, 10221 Super Star Destroyer qualifies, since it’s somewhere northward of $75…
The latest LEGO Architecture sets 21010 Robie House and 21011 Brandenburg Gate
have just been released on LEGO.com.
The original (non-LEGO) Robie House was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1910, 25 years before Fallingwater. Designer Adam Reed Tucker’s LEGO version is built from 2276 bricks and costs $199.99.
The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin was built in Berlin between 1788 and 1791. The LEGO version has 363 pieces, including quite a nice batch of sand-green cheese slopes, and goes for $34.99.
There is also free shipping on orders over $75!
LEGO announced a contest for fans in the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States. The purpose of the contest is to design a stamp that will be included with the holiday catalog. Fifty finalists will win the latest addition to the Winter Village series, 10222 Winter Village Post Office.
Press Release:
LEGO is asking consumers ages 6 + to design a LEGO themed postage stamp to be featured in the Late Holiday Catalogue .
For each country there will be 50 finalists selected to receive a copy of 10222. 25 will be for ages 6-14 and 25 will be from ages 15 & up. From the 50 finalists, 1 grand prize winner will be selected per country. In addition to a copy of 10222 – Winter Village Post Office, grand prize winners will have their stamp design featured on the late holiday catalog for their country along with a professionally designed and framed LEGO mosaic of their design.
Where: The US/UK/Germany. These are the only countries that mail a late holiday catalogue
When: We will be accepting entries for the contest September 1-30 and selecting the finalists & winners for each country the first week of October.
How: Consumers must simply visit shop.LEGO.com/Design-Challenge (Germany: shop.LEGO.com/Designwettbewerb) to download the official entry form. They or their parent/guardian must complete the form and email it along with their stamp design to the email address designated for their country. No purchase is required and there will be no physical entries collected.
There was a time when LEGO released books of ideas, when trains were a flagship property, when a LEGO license was something you used to drive at LEGOland. That time was the 80s and that time produced 7777. But it was not a perfect time. We now have new parts, new colours, new techniques, and 7777 looks dated. But the idea (pardon the pun) was good. Let’s make it better.
EDIT:NB. Please do not ask questions about the contest here, ask them in the flickr thread. I will not be answering questions here.
In LEGO Train MOCs we run semi-regular contests and challenges. This time we’re inviting all AFOLs to play. The challenge is to create a new version of 7777 ideas book with prizes for those deemed best and most 7777-like. As a twist we won’t be allowing locomotive engines.
This contest differs a little from regular LEGO contests: rather than giving prizes to the best entry we will be assessing entries on how well they would fit in a new version of 7777. This means models should be kept relatively simple, bonus points will be awarded for instructions and scenes, and we won’t be looking for exact replicas of obscure trains.
So if you love trains, if you love town, or if you just love LEGO and a new challenge we’d love to see what you can do. You don’t even need a single train wheel or track to play. Just bricks and a creative mind.
Closing date: All entries must be in by midnight 31st30th November on the east side of the date line. If your clock says Nov 30th you’ll be fine.
Prizes: Three prizes will be given for the three entries judged ‘best’ (no person will win more than one prize). Prizes are: 10219 Maersk train, 7937 Train Station, 7936 Level Crossing
Rules: There are no hard and fast rules (other than the closing date) however there are judging criteria so if you want a chance of winning you should meet as many of them as possible. We also expect no more than three entries (one is fine) per person. Further entries may be allowed with prior arrangement.
Entering: To enter the contest you must join the 7777 Redux group on flickr and post your entry in the entries thread. If you do not wish to join flickr contact me (Tim G) privately and we may come to an arrangement.
Judging criteria:
Judges: Judging will be by me (Tim Gould), Tim David, Peter Norman and special non-trainhead judge Mark Stafford
As the recent discussion on our post about the new Series 5 Collectible Minifigures proves, it’s pretty hard to identify the minifigs using any but the “touch and feel” method. Thankfully, SEALUG / TexLUG member Jason Junker has put together this handy guide to find the minifigs you want by touch.
Small Clown: His bowler hat feels similar to the Detective’s hat. He also has a pie, which feels smaller than I thought it would. (that’s what she said) [Tee hee! -ed] Each time I confirmed by feeling for the short legs.
Boxer: The surprise here is that his boxing gloves are attached to his hands. He’s one of the hardest to feel if you don’t know this little fact. Also feel for the gap in his face guard. (Thanks for the “attached gloves tip” W. Heron)
Royal Guard: 2 words, HUGE hat. And feel for the rifle to confirm.
Lumberjack: The only “baseball cap” in this series. The axe is easily recognizable. But be sure that you feel the attached axe head on the end, or it could be the Evil Dwarf’s axe handle.
Zookeeper: I expected the monkey to be easy to feel, but the banana is the dead give away here. No other pieces feel anything like it.
Graduate: He’s the only fig with a 2×2 tile (certificate, like “Disco Guy’s” record from S2), and his graduation cap is what I used to confirm. It’s square, with 1 different feeling corner for the tassel and a little raised bump in the middle of the top.
Cave Woman: The only fig with a squishy element this time. Her hair. Feel for the bone separately, and the club is the same as the S1 Cave Man’s. (Thanks for the “squishy hair tip” W. Heron)
Snowboarder Guy: Just like the last 2 snowboarders, the snowboard is a dead giveaway.
Detective: His hat is double billed, so feel for both sides, or it could be the Small Clown. I felt for the magnifying glass to confirm.
Egyptian Queen: Huge wedge dress, and snake are easy to feel.
Ice Fisherman: The fish, and fishing pole are the giveaway here, just like the last 2 series fisherman/gnome.
Evil Dwarf: The winged helmet is bulky, but so are the pieces for the Royal Guard & Gladiator, so I felt around for 1 of the 2 detached axe blades, or the handle. The difference in the shield between the Gladiator’s is that the front of the Evil Dwarf’s is smooth.
Gladiator: He has a huge bulky helmet, but he’s also the only fig with a knife/sword. It’s shorter than I expected. (That’s what… never mind) The difference in the shield between the Evil Dwarf’s is that the front of the Gladiator’s has a stud.
Gangster: This fig has the smallest accessory, his pistol. I also felt his hat, it’s he same as the Cowboy’s from S1 or Indiana Jones’. I never once knowingly felt his case.
Fitness Instructor: Big long hair, and the “boom box” feels like a brick with a handle (just like the Rapper’s from S3)
Lizard Guy: Last but not least, the one I was most excited about, and will be the first one I open… His tail was what I ended up feeling for. It’s a very large piece that fits under his head like a backpack, so you can feel for that tab with the hole in it as well.
Jason rightly says that it’s helpful to have a good picture in front of you, so here it is:
For the three of you out there who didn’t order the new LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar from Amazon.com, it’s also now available from the LEGO Shop online.
It’s the same price as from Amazon ($40), and you get VIP points.
The LEGO Shop online has just posted their ordering page for LEGO Minifigures Series 5.
As usual, you’re limited to 16 minifigs, and you don’t get to stand in the store aisle and feel them through the bags, but it’s a guaranteed way to get your hands on these right away.
UPDATE: Jason Junker has posted a handy guide to identifying Series 5 minifigs by touch.
For the past 3 years, MOCpages has hosted a building tournament called the MocOlympics. This is a competition where 64 qualifying builders play head to head in single entry elimination rounds until a winner is crowned. It’s a lot of fun to play or watch as each set of builders only have 10 days to build an entry after the announcement of a theme. The winner will have built 7 MOCs over the course of more than 3 months and will be rewarded with 10214 Tower Bridge. There are other prizes as well, so head over to the contest group if you’re interested, or you can also check out last year’s competition.
Here’s a trailer that gives you an idea of the quantity and variety of entries from last year.
UPDATE: 10220 Volkswagen T1 Camper Van is out now!
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LEGO hippies everywhere are going to rejoice at the new LEGO Shop exclusive set revealed officially today, 10220 Volkswagen T1 Camper Van. At over 1,300 pieces and $100 $120, it’s a substantial set with an amazing amount of detail and what appears to be lots of interesting parts and construction techniques. (Can you tell I’m excited myself?)
I’m certain that most of our readers have already seen the lower-resolution images of the set from the second Collector’s Guide. The folks at LEGO have finally made their official announcement, though, and we’ve got high resolution photos and a video to show off.
The van has an engine in its engine compartment and a complete interior:
I must admit, when I saw the first images of this set online, I wasn’t impressed. I thought that it looked very boxy, and undetailed. Obviously, the subject matter is somewhat boxy, but seeing the high resolution photos, I see more than I expected. The real appeal of this set turns out to be the interior, though. It opens up in a variety of ways, and looks fun to explore.
Check out all the interior and exterior photos in the photoset on Flickr.
Here’s the official press release from LEGO:
10220 Volkswagen T1 Camper Van
Ages 16+. 1,322 pieces.
US$99.99$119.99 CA $129.99 DE 99.99 € UK 79.99 £ DK 799 DKKThis authentic camper van is a replica of the classic Volkswagen Camper Van from 1962. Every iconic feature is here! On the outside, the terrific detailing includes ‘V’ shape three-way color split at the front, rounded roof and window frames, opening ‘splittie’ safari windshield, opening doors, iconic pop-up roof with textile curtain surround, roof rack, rear side air intake vents and lots more! The detailing is equally impressive on the inside, from the authentic VW air-cooled flat four cylinder boxer engine, front cabin bench seat, gear stick, angled dashboard and iconic spherical speedometer, to custom LEGO® features like folding rear bench seat, folding dinette table, closet with mirror and even a painting!
- Features 11 windows, authentic plaid-print textile curtains and wing mirror!
- Rear door opens to reveal detailed engine!
- Interior also features rear bench seat that transforms into a bed, ‘Make LEGO Models, Not War’ T-shirt and rear shelf with plant!
- Measures 11.8″ (30cm) long and 5.5″ (14cm) high!