Category Archives: News

Stay current on the latest news and information about LEGO, from sales & deals to new set announcements. We also cover LEGO events and conventions all over the world.

LEGO to participate in NMRA National Train Show [News]

For all you LEGO train builders attending the NMRA National Train Show this summer, here’s some pretty cool news:

As part of the National Train Show on July 10-12, 2009 in Hartford, CT, Jamie Berard, set designer of the newly released ‘Emerald Night’ and employee of The LEGO Group (TLG), will participate as part of the show. Jamie will be giving a talk on both July 11 and 12 (Sat. and Sun.) about the design process and thinking that led up to the final ‘Emerald Night’ set, and about the Power functions components that support it. Fans are encouraged to participate to offer their views on the new platform. Jamie will also be available during the show for any questions you may have about his other excellent creations – Fast Flyer, Cafe Corner, Cool Convertible and Green Grocer.

Also as part of this year’s show, Steve Witt, LEGO Community Relations Coordinator for North America, has graciously offered to host the traditional ILTCO pizza party at LEGO corporate headquarters in Enfield, CT after the show on Sat. July 11. Along with pizza and hanging out with Steve, Jamie and some of the LEGO Master Builders from Enfield, other events such as tours of the model shop and parts of the campus will occur. All train show participants are invited to attend.

To contribute to the layout please post to the Trains-n-Town NMRA 2009 forums at:
http://www.trains-n-town.com/forum/index.php?forum=34

Information about the National Train Show can be found at:
http://www.nationaltrainshow.org/2009/hartford.html

Photo above, from last year’s NMRA show, by Peter Norman. See more photos of LEGO models at NMRA on Flickr.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

One week left to register for BrickWorld!

BrickWorld, one of the largest fan-run LEGO conventions in the US taking place in Chicago from June 18-21, is approaching in less than a month. There are only 7 days left to register for the event to join thousands of LEGO fans of all ages and see more than 20,000 square feet of LEGO display in the luxurious Westin Hotel.

In addition to meeting LEGO fans and seeing their creations, there’ll be much more including contests, presentations, raffles, exclusive items for sale, large discounts on LEGO, sneak peeks at the upcoming LEGO sets and chances to meet with representatives and designers from LEGO! Most interesting of all, the premier World of Lights display promises a spectacle as LEGO creations are lit up with lights of all sorts on Saturday night.

Once again, I will bring you daily coverage of the convention from the creations to announcements from LEGO. Oh yea, and I won’t forget the people as well :)

For lots more pictures from the previous years of BrickWorld, visit BrickWorld on Flickr.

LEGO store grand opening in Frisco, Texas sets record in sales

This past weekend at the grand opening of LEGO’s newest store in Frisco, Texas, massive crowds of kids and adults visited the first ever LEGO store in North Texas. Sales from Friday until Sunday topped over $130,000, setting a new record for sales at the grand opening of a LEGO store and surpassing the previous record of $110,000 held by the LEGO store in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Greg Anway, the manager of the Frisco store, jokingly commented “from now on we’ll just refer to them as Prussia.”

Indeed, the grand opening of a LEGO store marks a spectacular event. In addition to an extensive seleciton of LEGO sets and Pick-a-Brick wall, the store also gives away a promotional set, t-shirt, and collectable Duplo brick to customers. Shoppers lined up for hours throughout the day just to get into the store (video)! Employees in turn were constantly restocking the shelves.

In addition, the grand opening features a building event where kids can help build an 8-ft. tall R2-D2 model with Master Model Builder Dan. Over the weekend, kids made thousands of giant bricks that were four times the dimensions of an ordinary LEGO brick. The bricks were then put together by Dan using a smaller version of R2 as reference.

More photos

For more upcoming LEGO store openings, click here.

New LEGO Architecture sets to feature Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum and Fallingwater [News]

UPDATE: The LEGO Architecture Guggenheim and Fallingwater are now available from the LEGO Shop online. Click the photos in this post to learn more.

——–

According to a press release from the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, the next LEGO Architecture sets designed by Adam Reed Tucker will be inspired by the buildings of the iconic American architect (1867-1959).

The Guggenheim Museum in New York City will be celebrating its 50th anniversary later this year.

Wright designed Fallingwater in 1934 as the private home of Edgar J. Kaufmann, and the house remains one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s best-loved structures to this day.

Neither set is available from the LEGO Shop yet, but were apparently released on May 15 at the opening of an exhibit at the Guggenheim.

Via PrairieMod.

LEGO publishes The Brick magazine

I recently received a new publication from LEGO called The Brick, which is a magazine for adult readers that shares stories, news, and reports from the company.

I’ve learned much from this 90-page magazine that I would’ve never known even from years of building with LEGO bricks. Do you know what the net profit of the company was in the past three years? Does it surprise you that Bionicle is the most popular selling product line in Russia while roughly half of all castle sales went to the Japanese consumer? Learn more including info on the upcoming LEGO board games, working in the LEGO factory, and even coverage of the FIRST LEGO League. I’m happy to inform that the magazine is available to the public both in hard copy and electronic download. Enjoy!

If you’re requesting a copy of the magazine, we’d appreciate a mention that you’re are a reader of our blog. Thanks!

LEGO announces 10196 Grand Carousel: 250 USD, due out July 1 [News]

LEGO announces an impressive carousel scheduled for release in July 2009. This 3,263 piece kit includes Power Function elements that add motion and music to the model. Check out the full description below:

#10196 Grand Carousel

Ages 16+. 3,263 pieces
Available July 1st 2009

It’s a wonderful day for a ride on the merry-go-round! This elegant and beautifully detailed LEGO model isn’t just for show – it really spins and plays music while the horses and swing boats move up and down! Built with intricate, lifelike ornaments and features, the Grand Carousel is a spectacular addition to any LEGO display or carousel collection. Includes 9 minifigures and LEGO Power Functions motor and sound brick. Measures over 12” (30 cm) x 12” (30 cm) x over 12” (30 cm).

Features and Benefits

Experience the romance of this merry-go-round decorated with brightly colored elements!

Features 9 minifigures including ride operator!

The platform rotates clockwise/counter clockwise and the music plays!

The swing boats and galloping jumper horses move up and down!

Lots of realistic details including reflective decals on the center pole, ornate ornamentation, fleur de lys, bejeweled horses and profiles of jesters!

The tent-like top is made of canvas!

The Grand Carousel measures over 12” (30 cm) x 12” (30 cm) x over 12” (30 cm).

Pricing
United States $ 249.99
United Kingdom £ 166.35
Central Europe € 229.99
Canada $ 349.99

Upcoming DK LEGO Pirates and Castle Brickmaster sets [News]

Pirate and Castle fans and collectors alike will delight in knowing that a new line called “Brickmaster” (not to be confused with BrickMaster) will release two new sets in these respective themes. These sets include 140 pieces and an idea book. Click on the pictures below for more information.

DK LEGO Castle Brickmaster:

DK LEGO Pirates Brickmaster:

Three new LEGO Stores opening soon in Texas, Maryland, North Carolina [News]

I’m super excited to announce the upcoming opening of three new LEGO retail stores in Frisco, TX, Annapolis, MD, and Raleigh, NC.

There are special events taking place at all three new stores during their “Grand Opening Weekend.”

Frisco, TX

Dates:
May 15 – 17, 2009
Times:
Friday, May 15: 11am – 7pm
Saturday, May 16: 10am – 6pm
Sunday, May 17: 11am – 6pm
Location:
Stonebriar Centre
2601 Preston Road
Frisco, TX 75034

Lower Level near Dillard’s
Exclusive: LEGO Bucking Bronco

For those in the Frisco, Texas area, I will be attending the grand opening in less than a week since it’s only five minutes from my house. I hope to see some of our readers there!

Annapolis, MD

Dates:
June 5 – 7, 2009
Times:
Friday, June 5: 11:00 a.m.
– 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, June 6: 10:00 a.m.
– 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, June 7: 11:00 a.m.
– 6:00 p.m.
Location:
Westfield Annapolis
Annapolis, MD

West Atrium near Stoney River
Steaks
Exclusive: LEGO Chessie Sea Monster

Raleigh, NC

Dates:
May 29 – 31, 2009
Times:
Friday, May 29: 11am
– 7pm
Saturday, May 30: 10am
– 6pm
Sunday, May 31: 11am
– 6pm
Location:
Crabtree Valley Mall
4325 Glenwood Ave
Raleigh, NC 27612

Promo Court
Exclusive: LEGO Lighthouse

LEGO has this to say about the events taking place at each grand opening:

Help a real LEGO Master Builder construct an 8-foot tall LEGO R2-D2™ during our 3-day Grand Opening Celebration weekend!

You’ll get a free LEGO® Star Wars™ Certificate of Achievement for helping, while supplies last! Visit the LEGO Store during the event to enter for a chance to win a $50 LEGO Store Gift Card! No purchase necessary to enter.

Plus:
On Saturday, be one of the first 300 customers to spend $35 in the LEGO Store and you’ll receive an exclusive, limited-edition LEGO set!

On Sunday, the first 300 customers to spend $35 in the LEGO Store will receive an exclusive, limited-edition LEGO Minifigure T-Shirt! Shirts are available in child’s sizes only.

Visit stores.LEGO.com for more details.

In addition, here’s a full list of upcoming stores:

Stonebriar Centre, Frisco, TX
Crabtree Valley Mall, Raleigh, NC
Westfield Annapolis, Annapolis, MD
Kenwood Towne Center, Cincinnati, OH
NorthPark Centre, Dallas, TX
Penn Square Mall, Oklahoma City, OK
Easton Town Center, Columbus, OH
MyZeil, Frankfurt, Germany

LEGO Castle Adventure exhibit headed to Arizona Science Center [News]

The Indianapolis Children’s Museum, working with Lego, has put together an incredible traveling exhibit, designed to educate children (and adults!) on the intricacies of Medieval Castle building and medieval life. Among the many activities are “jousting”, building castle walls, dressing up in medieval costumes, and firing a catapult.

It has already been booked for the next five years! The exhibit has left Indianapolis, but is on its way to the Arizona Science Center.

You can check out the schedule and see if its coming to a city near you!

Check out these pics by Blackbear88 in order to see the actual exhibit.

Welcome to The Brothers Brick 2.0! [News]

After a couple weekends of PHP and CSS coding, I’m pleased to announce the launch of the new look and feel for The Brothers Brick!

This new design has a brighter header graphic and more room for cool widgets to either side of our posts — like a scannable list of the most recent comments — along with smaller tweaks like better-organized categories and collapsible archives.

For those of you on the RSS feed, be sure to click through to see what you’re missing.

Troubleshooting

We’ve tested our changes on Safari, Firefox, and Internet Explorer on both PC and Mac, but let us know if you have any issues.

One of the most common issues appears when you load the new version of Brothers-Brick.com for the first time. You’ll know it when you see it (right).

Just clear your browser’s cache and it should appear normally.

One day left to get free LEGO Star Wars poster and win a free UCS Falcon [News]

This is time-sensitive enough that I figured it was worth a reminder. The free LEGO Star Wars minifig poster promotion ends at midnight Eastern tomorrow, along with your chance to win a free Falcon.

It’s not clear how long the $125 discount on 10179 Ultimate Collector’s Millennium Falcon™ will last either.

Again, this is unfortunately limited to the US and Canada~~, but those of you elsewhere can download the high-res LEGO Star Wars minifig poster from Flickr~~.

V&A Steamworks’ stovepipe hats make steampunk minifigs awesome [Review]

Guy Himber (V&A Steamworks) recently began applying his special effects artistry to his LEGO hobby by producing custom stovepipe hats.

The hats are like hilariously exaggerated versions of the official LEGO top hats, and are absolutely perfect for steampunk and Victorian fantasy minifigs.

Guy was kind enough to send along a couple of the hats for us to review, and they’re made extremely well. I put one on a minifig and couldn’t stop laughing for five minutes.

The hats are beautifully machined from Delrin plastic and have that perfect “LEGO fit” — they slide onto the minifig’s head without effort, hold well, and come off easily with that satisfying “pop!” you expect from official LEGO headgear.

The V&A Steamworks Stovepipe Hat is currently available in brown, black, and white. Click the lineup photo above for pricing info and how to order.

(The Brothers Brick has a small backlog of custom accessories to review, including all the new BrickArms items, HAZEL’s accessories from CustomMinifig.co.uk, minifig stands from Minifig World, new accessories from Arealight, and more. Please bear with us as we get caught up.)