The new fan-designed set from LEGO Factory, 10200 Custom Car Garage, is now available from the LEGO Shop online:
At $69.99, the set comes with three cars, three four minifigs, and a garage with a working forklift. I’m quite happy to see the Naboo pilot torso in this set. Does this mean it’ll be available from online Pick-a-Brick? Hmm…
UPDATE 2: 2009 LEGO Power Miners sets are now available from the LEGO Shop online.
UPDATE 1: For those of you coming in from a search engine, we’ve recently posted pictures of the 2009 Power Miners box art.
The first pictures of the 2009 Power Miners theme are available. Please note that these pictures may be very preliminary and the sets themselves have a high chance of undergoing major revisions, and gosh are they needed.
Enjoy the random City impulse set.
From leggymclego
In August LAML Radio has taken on an ambitious project and interviewed 28 amazing builders. Here is the final round-up post, featuring the following builders:
In the meantime, James, the host of the show, has put together a CD of all of the August interviews. If you have enjoyed LAML radio and would like to show your appreciation for his contributions to our wonderful LEGO community, you can purchase the CD for only $12.
As a bonus, here is a news podcast recorded live this past Sunday where Dan from the LEGO® Model of the Day blog and I join in to discuss the most current LEGO news. Click here to listen to this fun little number.
Official word from LEGO states that new stores are opening soon. I hope you’re one of the lucky residents. If so, read on for opening details and promotional offers (I’m jealous).
King of Prussia Mall, King of Prussia, PA
· Store will officially open for business on Sept 18
· Grand Opening Celebration Weekend will be Oct 3 – 5
· Master Builder will be Dan
· Model being built will be Yoda
· Master Builder Event happens all 3 days in the JC Penney Court Friday 11 – 7, Saturday 10 – 6, Sunday 11 – 6
· AFOL Volunteers are needed, included at least 1 expert builder who can help Dan actually build the model!
Volunteers will get a special reward at the store!
· On Saturday, Oct 4, the first 300 customers in the store to spend $35 will get a FREE exclusive make & take set of the Liberty Bell, complete with crack and moving clapper! This set is not available for sale.
· On Sunday, Oct. 5, the first 300 customers in the store to spend $35 will get a FREE exclusive child’s size LEGO Store t-shirt, featuring the LEGO Minifigure holding the state flag! This shirt is not available for sale.
· Exclusive sets and t-shirts will also be given out as trivia question prizes by Dan throughout the event at the build site!
· Fans can also enter a raffle in the LEGO Store for a chance to win a $100 LEGO Store Gift Card!South Shore Plaza, Braintree, MA
· Store will officially open for business on Sept 12
· Grand Opening Celebration Weekend will be Oct 11 – 13
· Note: This event runs Saturday > Monday due to the Columbus Day holiday.
· Master Builder will be Dan
· Model being built will be Yoda
· Master Builder Event happens all 3 days in the Macy’s Court
Saturday 10 – 6, Sunday 11 – 6, Monday 11 – 7
· AFOL Volunteers are needed, included at least 1 expert builder who can help Dan actually build the model!
Volunteers will get a special reward at the store!
· On Sunday, Oct 12, the first 300 customers in the store to spend $35 will get a FREE exclusive make & take set of a Baseball Player, complete with bat, red hat and socks and home plate! This set is not available for sale.
· On Monday, Oct. 13, the first 300 customers in the store to spend $35 will get a FREE exclusive child’s size LEGO Store t-shirt, featuring the LEGO Minifigure holding the state flag! This shirt is not available for sale.
· Exclusive sets and t-shirts will also be given out as trivia question prizes by Dan throughout the event at the build site!
· Fans can also enter a raffle in the LEGO Store for a chance to win a $100 LEGO Store Gift Card!Arden Fair Mall, Sacramento, CA
· Store will officially open for business on Sept 25
· Grand Opening Celebration Weekend will be Oct 17 – 19
· Master Builder will be Dan
· Model being built will be R2-D2
· Master Builder Event happens all 3 days in the Center Court
Friday 11 – 7, Saturday 10 – 6, Sunday 11 – 6
· AFOL Volunteers are needed, included at least 1 expert builder who can help Dan actually build the model!
Volunteers will get a special reward at the store!
· On Saturday, Oct 18, the first 300 customers in the store to spend $35 will get a FREE exclusive make & take set of Sacramento’s Transcontinental Railroad Engine, the Gov. Stanford Steam Locomotive, complete with moving wheels and realistic details! This set is not available for sale.
· On Sunday, Oct. 19, the first 300 customers in the store to spend $35 will get a FREE exclusive child’s size LEGO Store t-shirt, featuring the LEGO Minifigure holding the state flag! This shirt is not available for sale.
· Exclusive sets and t-shirts will also be given out as trivia question prizes by Dan throughout the event at the build site!
· Fans can also enter a raffle in the LEGO Store for a chance to win a $100 LEGO Store Gift Card!
If you’ve been wondering where all the Lego fans have gone, they’re at Brickfair! Here are a few galleries of pics, to satisfy your Lego craving. If, like me, you didn’t get to go….
There is also a Flickr Brickfair pool, if you need more…
Toy News Online has published information on upcoming product lines for 2009. The big news is Power Miners, but there is news on Bionicle, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Tiny Turbos and more!
Launching in January, Power Miners will have year-round marketing support including a full PR campaign focused on the childrens’ press, online marketing, Lego Club campaign and in-store promotions.
Power Miners features a team of miners that dig into the Earth’s crust and encounter half-rock/half-crystal monsters. The range features collectible vehicles and mini-figures and monsters.
Sound familiar?
Read the entire article here
BrickCon is just around the corner. In fact, if you don’t register before September 8th, the price goes up to $60 and you won’t be guaranteed personalized stuff like engraved brick badges.
My contribution to the LEGO Zombie Apocafest display we’re organizing is an auto repair shop and a fire station in a diorama that I’m currently calling “The Outbreak”:
Zombies converge on the residents of my modular buildings as they attempt to fight back. The architecture may have been the focus of my building energies for once, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t neglected some good, old-fashioned minifig action:
Please see my Outbreak photoset on Flickr for a ton of pictures.
The BrickFair convention is happening in D.C. this weekend, and so far there has been a few picture galleries on Flickr. Check out the ones from punkwalrus, Bosta, and william.ward. Meanwhile, if any attendees would like to fill us in on news, please get in contact with me or the blog and I’ll put up the good stuff for all to read.
The LEGO minifigure turns 30 today. The very first minifig I got was in 1978, when I was 3 years old. Mr. Policeman had a stickered torso (right).
Today, minifigs are of course my favorite aspect of playing with LEGO, mainly because minifigs represent infinite possibilities.
Former LEGOLAND Master Model Designer Mariann Asanuma puts it best: “Minifigs, in all their countless varieties, are one of the best things that LEGO ever invented.” Indeed.
Naturally, the Internet is abuzz with congratulatory messages for our little plastic friends.
Here at The Brothers Brick, we’re hosting the GO MINIMAN GO Photo Contest, and Gizmodo is hosting a GO MINIMAN GO Video Competition.
If you’re interested in reading all about how the minifig was invented, you can read Minifig History on Minifig.co.uk.
It may just be another day at the office for Justin Vaughn:
But Michael Jasper, the Leonardo da Vinci of minifig builders, conveniently updates his “Things” folder with a pair of tricycles:
There’s a surprising turn of events in this birthday scene by J.R. Schwartz:
So, a very happy birthday to the LEGO minifig! I hope I’m still playing with minifigs when I’m 63, and then again when I’m 93.
August 25th is the 30th birthday of the LEGO minifigure. Here at The Brothers Brick, the minifig holds a very special place in our hearts — after all, we started out as a tiny little blog highlighting our favorite minifig finds.
To wish the minifig a happy 30th birthday, I’m pleased to announce that The Brothers Brick is hosting the GO MINIMAN GO Photo Contest. With awesome prizes like 10185 Green Grocer and four copies of 10190 Market Street, there’s some serious brick to be won. You can build a vignette or diorama and submit it in one of four categories that represent the decades in which minifigs have graced LEGO sets — from the 1970s through today.
The contest is open to everyone in the world who’s 18 years old as of August 1, 2008. You have until October 31, 2008 to submit your entries using our Contact Us page and the GO MINIMAN GO Photo Contest group pool on Flickr.
Here’s an example of the sort of scene you could build:
Entries will be judged by a Master Model Builder and Creative Director from LEGO, along with the Editor-in-Chief of The Brothers Brick (that would be me).
There are important rules for where and how to enter your LEGO creations in this contest, so please read the GO MINIMAN GO Photo Contest Rules carefully.
To see what else is going on to celebrate the 30th birthday of the LEGO minifig, check out GOMINIMANGO.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why is this only open to people over the age of 18?
A: Although we welcome and encourage online participation on The Brothers Brick by anybody over the age of 13, we can’t ask for real names and addresses from people who are not yet adults. This is a legal requirement, and is not intended to discriminate against the talented teenage builders we frequently feature on the blog.
Q: What kind of creations are acceptable in each category?
A: How you interpret the four categories is entirely up to you. Let your imagination run wild! The only requirements are that your entry is a vignette or diorama and that it features a LEGO minifig.
lokosuperfluoLEGOman has updated the folder with more pictures of 2009 LEGO sets, including Star Wars: Clone Wars and Indiana Jones. Please keep in mind that these are all preliminary pictures and are almost certainly subject to change, therefore the use of old pieces in new figures (such as Patrick the starfish’s torso used for the brute in the Flying Wing set and the Imperial Guard torso used for Willie) will probably change. Also note that the Flying Wing preliminary set art includes a Swastika, something The LEGO Company will certainly not use in the final box art. Note that the pictures seen here are from corran11’s photostream on Flickr, because some images are cropped and rotated for easier viewing.
UPDATE: Full coverage of 2009 LEGO sets
Enough with the speculation; Brickshelf user lokosuperfluoLEGOman has images of some of the 2009 sets scanned from a Spanish LEGO catalog. Indeed, Pirates are making a comeback and City does go to farm (and even cows are included)!
EDIT: pictures refound in Majhost user M-longer’s gallery.