Tag Archives: Nick Vás

Nicolaas “Nick” or “Nico” Vás is a designer with the LEGO Group in Billund, Denmark. Nick’s credits include iconic sets like Ninjago City, along with many other sets in themes such as Ninjago, Chinese Festival, Monkie Kid, and Art.

The Legend Reborn: LEGO designers Nick Vás and George Gilliatt share product concepts for the new Bionicle set [Feature]

LEGO brings Bionicle back! Or, sort of. The new 40581 Tahu and Takua GWP (gift with purchase) set is coming to LEGO’s online shop on January 27th, and will be available with any purchase of the US $100, £90, or €100. And even if you are not a fan of the theme, we bet you’ve noticed that the new edition of arguably LEGO’s most iconic characters doesn’t look exactly how we remember them from 20 years ago. To help all the fans understand the new designs better, the set designers Nick Vás and George Gilliatt share on Twitter some pretty cool details and pictures right from their work desk.

Click here to learn about how the set was born…

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Celebrate Bionicle’s 20th anniversary with a map of Mata Nui island made from pieces of the LEGO 31203 World Map [News]

Today LEGO fans come together to celebrate the LEGO Bionicle theme that ended its run in 2010. Since then, August 10th or 8/10 in American date notation format is bestowed by fans to be 810NICLE day. Builders and designers commemorate their much-beloved franchise with builds, art, and varied ways to revive their love for the theme. Joining the celebrations, LEGO designer Nicolas Vás used LEGO elements from the 31203 World Map and transformed it into a map of Mata Nui island, the locale for the early years of Bionicle adventures.

Map of Mata Nui island from Bionicle using pieces from LEGO Art 31203

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LEGO Designer Videos share insights into the new Botanical Collection series [News]

We revealed earlier today the new Botanical Collection series from LEGO with in-depth reviews featuring the LEGO Creator 10280 Flower Bouquet and LEGO Creator 10281 LEGO Bonsai Tree. Behind each of these creations are the unique challenges for organic building, which can be a feat especially working with hard edges inherent from LEGO bricks. We take a look behind the scenes of both the sets from the LEGO designer’s lens with the video showcase.

Anderson Grubb a Senior LEGO Designer and LEGO Apprentice Adstrid Sundorf Christensen share their inspiration and journey in creation for the LEGO Flower Bouquet.

LEGO designer Nicolas Vás and Carl Merriam, Senior LEGO Designer speaks about their insights on the Bonsai Tree and thoughts around how the final evolution of the product came to be.

 

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LEGO 10281 Bonsai Tree from the Botanical Collection [Review]

LEGO has a bit of an unwarranted reputation among the general public as a medium that doesn’t lend itself easily to organic shapes. Hobbyist LEGO builders have been disabusing others of this misperception for many years by sharing LEGO builds inspired by the natural world. LEGO’s in-house designers are certainly capable of creating official LEGO sets full of flora and fauna, as LEGO designer Nicolas Vás proves with the new 10281 Bonsai Tree from the new Botanical Collection. The set includes 878 pieces and will be available on January 1st, 2021 (US $49.99 | CAN $TBD | UK £44.99).

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Read our hands-on review of LEGO 10281 Bonsai Tree

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Four new LEGO Monkie Kid sets revealed including Monkey King BrickHeadz [News]

LEGO has revealed four new additions to the Monkie Kid lineup, including a new BrickHeadz version of the Monkey King himself. The three other new sets depict new vehicles and villains from the LEGO Monkie Kid universe including a roadster and speedboat. The BrickHeadz Monkey King will be available starting August 1st and the other three sets will follow on September 1st.

It was only two months ago that LEGO revealed the initial wave of eight Monkie Kid sets. The sets are inspired by a new animated TV show based on the Monkey King legend from the Chinese novel Journey to the West.

Take a closer look at all four of the new LEGO Monkey King sets.

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LEGO Art revealed as mosaic sets of The Beatles, Marilyn Monroe, Star Wars Sith and Iron Man [News]

LEGO has revealed an entirely new product line of mosaic sets featuring pop culture portraits called LEGO Art. The four initial sets revealed include Iron Man, Marilyn Monroe, The Beatles, and Star Wars Sith. Each of the adult-targeted sets contains an average of 3,250 pieces, a new brick separator, several new elements, an exclusive signature tile, and instructions and extra parts to build 3 or 4 different designs per set. Each set comes with a curated building soundtrack, and as an added bonus, three copies of either the Iron Man or Star Wars sets can be combined to make an “ultimate piece” triple the size of a single portrait.

Each LEGO Art set comes in a box the size of a pizza and will retail for US $119.99 | CAN $149.99 | UK £114.99. The Iron Man portrait will be available globally (including the US) exclusively from LEGO on August 1st. The other three portraits will be available globally from LEGO and various retailers starting August 1st, except in the US which will have to wait a month until September 1st.

Get a close up look at each new LEGO Art portrait and see the ultimate versions from combining sets

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Behind the scenes of LEGO Monkie Kid [News]

Earlier today, LEGO revealed Monkie Kid, a brand new theme based on the Chinese Monkey King fable. The new theme includes eight sets and an animated television series. Along with all the information about the new sets, LEGO also sent us a gallery of photos showing a behind-the-scenes look at the development process of the new product line.

Familiar faces include LEGO designers Justin Ramsden (Hogwarts Castle, The Upside Down), Nick Vas (Ninjago City), Chris Perron (1989 Batmobile), Simon Lucas (Ninjago Movie), and more.

Click to see how LEGO Monkie Kid came to be

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LEGO 80104 Chinese New Year Lion Dance [Review]

Throughout Asia, the lion dance is a traditional event in which trained acrobatic performers impersonate the movements of a mythical Chinese lion. Of all the festivities in which the lion dance appears, the most significant is during Chinese New Year celebrations in which they are supposed to invite fortune and luck to businesses, events and festivals. This set was released alongside the 80105 Chinese New Year Temple Fair, both of which can be combined to create a larger atmosphere of a celebration. 80104 Lion Dance comes with 882 pieces, a new rat costume minifigure, and retails for US $79.99 | CAN $109.99 | UK £64.99. Let’s take a closer look at this set to see how it captures the spirit of such a unique event.


Read our entire review of this Chinese New Year set.

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The Lego Movie 2’s biggest set: 70840 Welcome To Apocalypseburg [Review]

The LEGO Movie 2’s range of sets has got us excited, not least because of Classic LEGO Space astronauts in multiple colours. But what really set hearts aflutter and pulses racing here at Brothers Brick was the reveal of the massive 70840 Welcome To Apocalypseburg — a shanty town built around a fallen Statue of Liberty, apparently Emmet & Co.’s new home town in the forthcoming film.

70840 Apocalypseburg finished build and packaging

70840 Welcome To Apocalypseburg includes 3,178 pieces and 12 minifigures. The set is available now for LEGO VIPs, and is on general release February 1st, 2019 from the LEGO Shop (US $299.99 | CA $399.99 | UK £279.99).

Read our hands-on review of 70840 Welcome To Apocalypseburg

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LEGO to release Exclusive sets inspired by traditional new year festivals for the China and Asia Pacific markets [News]

LEGO announces region specific sets for the China and Asia Pacific Markets that’s slated to be released from January 1st, 2019 onwards. At the moment, two sets showing events from the festivities related during the Lunar New Year’s celebration are featured. The two sets are scenes celebrating the family dinner on the Eve of Chinese New Year, and the famous Dragon Dance. According to Niels B. Christiansen, Chief Executive Officer of the LEGO Group, this is the first time LEGO has made sets for a specific country or region.

80101 Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner

Click here to learn more about the new sets!

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The LEGO Ninjago Movie’s largest set: 70620 Ninjago City [Review]

The list of largest LEGO sets ever produced is dominated by Star Wars and Architecture sets, with the likes of the Ultimate Collector’s Series Millennium Falcon and the Taj Mahal topping the charts. Now, though, LEGO’s home-brewed Ninjago theme is proving to be a serious contender. Having already brought us two sets over the 2,000 piece mark (the Temple of Airjitzu and Destiny’s Bounty), Ninjago’s latest entry has an incredible 4,867 pieces, skyrocketing 70620 Ninjago City to the third-largest LEGO set ever created.

From left, Senior Editor Chris Malloy and Founder and Editor-in-Chief Andrew Becraft with 70620 Ninjago City

The primary locale in The LEGO Ninjago Movie, which opens September 22, Ninjago City is an Eastern-inspired cyberpunk city, brimming with action and loaded with hidden details. 70620 Ninjago City will be available to VIP members in the LEGO Shop Online and in LEGO stores Aug. 16 for $299.99 USD, and will be available to everyone Sept. 1.

DSC_5870

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The LEGO Ninjago Movie’s 70618 Destiny’s Bounty [Review]

Initially designed with the help of a focus group of adult LEGO builders, Ninjago has been one of LEGO’s most popular themes since its inception in 2011. Rumors of its impending cancellation circulated a few years ago, but the theme has stayed strong and become one of the longest-lived homebrew licenses for LEGO. Now having spawned a feature film due for release September 22, the line is as robust as ever with more than a dozen sets and a minifigure series from the film in the latest wave. This year’s lineup contains the several of the largest Ninjago sets ever, such as 70617 Temple of the Ultimate Ultimate Weapon, which we reviewed yesterday. Today’s focus is 70618 Destiny’s Bounty, which at 2,295 pieces edges out 2015’s Temple of Airjitzu (2,028 pieces) and loses only to the as-yet-unreleased Ninjago City (a whopping 4,867 pieces) to come in as the second largest Ninjago set ever. 70618 Destiny’s Bounty retails for $159.99 and is available now from the LEGO Shop Online.

70618 Destiny's Bounty

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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.