The ever helpful Willy Tschager has just released an excellent tutorial on getting started with MLCAD and LDraw. If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to use virtual LEGO to create your own virtual masterpieces from nothing but your imagination and a computer this is an excellent way to cross the first hurdle.
Eurobricks member Superkalle posted the first detailed pictures of the upcoming collectible minifigs series 2, which is beginning to hit stores in Europe. I found it useful to see the actual colors of some of the accessories.
Please ignore the half dozen white Boba Fetts in this picture. There’s always those who have better opportunities.
We don’t normally point out reviews of new Lego sets, but this review of 8128 Cad Bane’s Speeder by Eurobricks member Inconspicuous is very well done with great photos. The set should be available on LEGO Shop at Home this August.
We don’t feature enough videos from the talented community of brickfilmers, so I was happy to be introduced to a brickfilm project by David Pickett (fallentomato) at Brickworld called The Nightly News at Nine (NNN). NNN captures “the zany adventures of a TV News team who live in a fantastical world made of plastic bricks.” The first chapter was recently released on DVD, and David was kind enough to give me a copy to take a look.
Fortunately, all contents of the DVD except for the commentary can be viewed for free. Below is the 24 minute video of the first episode of NNN. If you enjoyed our post of David’s Anti-Green Commercial, you’ll appreciate the same quality of animation, humor, and voice acting that went into this video. My only complaint is the lack of facial animations on the minifigs, but the variety of their motions and gestures does well to compensate.
NNN – Chapter One – New Beginnings from David Pickett on Vimeo.
You can learn more about the production of the video or watch the other features of the DVD. If you want to purchase the DVD for $8 and show your support for the series, you can do so here. Meanwhile, here’s a trailer for the next episode, and I look forward to seeing it!
As a LEGO fan, I am delighted to read the first book that describes the LEGO subculture. Jonathan Bender came out of his Dark Ages in 2008 when he received a LEGO set on his 30th birthday. Whether you doubt someone with two years of experience in the LEGO community can write a book about the hobby, you may be impressed by the author’s research and experiences in this short time.
The book chronologically depicts Bender’s experiences in LEGO. He has traveled to conventions, seen the collections of AFOLs and Bricklink sellers, visited LEGOLAND, and toured LEGO’s headquarters in Denmark and North America. Each experience is told subjectively and accompanied by the author’s own feelings and thoughts. The tone of Bender’s writing is very lighthearted and honest, and humor is present in each chapter. Although I have never heard of Jonathan Bender, I feel like I know him well after reading his book.
Depending on your LEGO background, the book has different things to offer. For those unfamiliar with LEGO beyond their childhood experiences playing with the toy, you may be inspired by the diversity of the hobby for adults and consider buying a LEGO set or two. For experienced LEGO fans, you’ll recognize many names mentioned in the book. At the same time, there’s still quite a few gems for you to discover and new things to learn.
The book is not without deficiencies. First, only a few ordinary photos are presented in the book. A black-and-white picture heads each chapter while twelve color photos are included in the middle of the book. Since LEGO is a visual medium, the lack of pictures may frustrate those who are unfamiliar with certain sets, elements, people, or places described. Second, while Bender captures many diverse aspects of the hobby, it is impossible to comprehensively cover every realm of the hobby. For instance, two major areas including the online communities and non-US fan communities are not mentioned in great detail. Lastly, certain individuals are given extensive coverage in the book, which highlights their opinions and personalities regardless of whether they represent those of the majority.
Overall, I recommend LEGO: A Love Story to all fans of the hobby and those who are new to it. It is the first book to give an answer on what it means to be an AFOL. At the same time, the narrative does not seek to impose a set of views. Rather, it presents the hobby without glorifying or criticizing it and lets you form your own conclusions.
There are additional reviews of the book by LEGO fans Mariann Asanuma and Bruce Heitbrink. You can download Chapter 16, “A Guest in LEGO’s House” as a sample. The book is available on Amazon.com.
While Andrew got the 7684 Pig Farm & Tractor, I bought the new magnets to see if LEGO has improved their minifigure quality in these products, and the answer is: yes, they did!
The minifigs from the new magnet packs (shown below) are indistinguishable from the minifigs you’d find in regular sets.
Whereas before, figures from magnet packs were of notably decreased quality plastic and had loose joints and even printing discrepancies in color. It’s safe to say that LEGO has fixed these problems, but $14.99 for a pack of three figures is still on the price-heavy side.
Perhaps a bit buried among the news about the release of 10211 Grand Emporium and LEGO Board Games
is that the new LEGO City set 7684 Pig Farm & Tractor
is also out now.
I’m certainly excited by these other new releases, but it says something that I’m choosing to build the pig farm first. Seriously, pigs! Four of them! Mmmmm, bacon…
UPDATE: I just finished building the set, and it didn’t disappoint. Aside from the pigs, the set also includes a number of other parts I hadn’t gotten before, starting with the short-brimmed baseball cap and a new exhaust pipe piece that appears to be new in 2010.
The tractor includes a lot of nice lime green to complement your Power Miners acquisitions, as well as my favorite wheels and tires. For play value, it has several connection points compatible with attachments from 7637 Farm and 7634 Tractor.
And finally, the elephant (or pig) in the room — the inevitable comparison to BrickForge pigs.
As you can see from the set pictures, the LEGO pigs are similar in style to the new LEGO cows from the farm and 10193 Medieval Market Village. They’re more rounded, and to a certain extent more realistic than traditional LEGO animals like the dog and horse (with printed eyes and rounded bellies).
BrickForge pigs, cows, and sheep share their design aesthetic with the older LEGO animals. Depending on whether you prefer your animals more consistent with your older LEGO animals or more adorably pot-bellied, there’s still a place for both BrickForge animals and their official LEGO counterparts. I like both.
As a former Bostonian from a family of New Englanders, I was bred to loathe and ridicule all things New York, but I can’t help but love I LEGO N.Y.
The book pulls together the simple but immediately recognizable icons Christoph built from his son’s basic bricks last year, and featured on his New York Times blog Abstract City Blog (along with several new pieces).
When the publishers sent The Brothers Brick an early copy to review, I was honestly expecting the kind of throw-away, impulse-purchase novelty books you find while waiting in line at Walgreens and Barnes & Noble, with poor copy editing and grainy pictures.
Instead, the only words in the book are the hand-written labels explaining each tiny creation.
The text and photos appear to have been cleaned up from the versions posted on Christoph’s blog, and the book itself is presented in the form of a durable board book like Eric Carle’s classic The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Here at The Brothers Brick, we feature a lot of amazing creations, from motorized cities of the steampunk future to lenticular mosaics, but it’s books like this and vintage LEGO ads that take us back to our earliest days playing with LEGO — long before SNOT, fan conventions, and Internet drama.
When you put one brick on top of another, you mostly just get two stacked bricks. Sometimes, though, you get New York City.
I LEGO N.Y. ($14.95) is due out from Abrams Books next month, and is available from Amazon.com
Iain Grant has posted a video build of the upcoming 10211 Grand Emporium scheduled for February 20 release. From the box to the completed model, Iain has captured the great details that make this set a must have for many Lego fans.
8091 Republic Swamp Speeder is among the first wave of Star Wars sets released in 2010. It’s a Toys R Us exclusive and is also available at LEGO stores and on LEGO Shop at Home. This limited edition set costs $29.99 for 176 pieces and 5 minifigures, including the unique Barriss Offee, about whom I only know that the name rhymes with coffee.
Overview:
The 0.1 price per piece ratio now seems like an ideal rather than the standard. At $30, you’re paying more than $0.17 per average piece from the set. But we’re still lucky in the US where it costs others €39.99 and £29.99 for the same product. If you’re buying it, you’re probably citing the unique Barriss fig as one of your top reasons. In case you want more reasons to buy or not buy the set, read on.
Building experience and play:
The Swamp Speeder is a simple and fun set to build. The only technique to note are the use of 1X2 dark red plates on the bottom to complement the curved contour of the front. The play value of this set is much better compared to its original version in 2005. The new version features a steering mechanism for the guns, which also pilots the wheels so both kids and AFOLs can push and navigate the speeder across their tabletops while making hovering noises and pew pews.
Parts and display
Without the four 1X3 dark bluish gray tiles, this set could have been released in the last decade as it employs no other 2010 mold. Yet even without new elements, the speeder is a great display item based on its efficient design and stickers that greatly enhance the model. It’s a worthy addition to your Star Wars display that may or may not be collecting dust on a neglected shelf.
Collectibility:
The “limited edition” marking on the box only means that the set is an exclusive to LEGO retail and another brand-name store (in this case Toys R Us). You probably don’t have the worry about the set going out of stock soon judging by the last time we reviewed a limited edition set (7752 Count Dooku’s Solar Sailer) and it’s still sitting comfortably on shelves a year later. On the contrary, there are inconspicuously marked exclusives such as 8092 Luke’s Landspeeder that could disappear completely within a few months. It’s one reason that the landspeeder is currently the hottest-selling set on US LEGO Shop at Home.
Resale value:
If you’re selling the figures on Bricklink, you’ll get between $15-20 for Barriss, but even so selling the rest of the figs will barely fetch the price you payed for the set as long as stores still carry it. While the clone trooper has a new and slightly different design and is currently exclusive to the Swamp Speeder, it may not remain that way for long as it is a common character. If you’re planning on hanging onto a copy of the set, it’s not a bad idea. While you may have to wait a while, the rewards of possessing an out of stock limited edition Star Wars set are significant. As for me, I’ll be buying a second copy at a later time to keep MISB.
Concluding remarks:
This is a set that appeals to fans of Barriss Offee, the swamp speeder, and collectors. Kids will have fun with the play features of this model while some AFOLs can find it as a good display item. As builders, you can get more parts from Bricklink than from this set, and even resellers may be tempted the same. If you’re sitting on the fence with 30 bucks, go buy Luke’s Landspeeder if you don’t already have it. It even comes with the droids you’re looking for.
For more pictures, see the full gallery on Brickshelf.
Even though I’ve lived in San Diego for 8 years and LEGOLAND California is only about 30 miles north (in Carlsbad), I must confess that I didn’t visit LEGOLAND until very recently. It just seemed too kid-oriented and expensive. I was wrong, and I’ve really enjoyed my three subsequent visits to LEGOLAND California (LLCA) in the last 6 months.
So, I decided to use my proximity to LLCA to give our readers a sort of combined review and visitor’s guide, mainly for adult LEGO fans. Hopefully there will be enough stuff here for new fans, lone adults, parents and even skeptics like me.
Parking & Admission
Cost is still the one area where I still have some reservations about recommending LLCA. Alas, parking is not free. Basic adult admission is $67 (the LLCA website has a full breakdown of admission prices). You can buy tickets either at the gate or online.
Getting in and Around
If you or your kids also like sea critters, the SeaLIfe Aquarium is immediately to the left of the entrance. SeaLife does have cool LEGO models inside some of the tanks. Customer service is at the right of the entrance, if you’re interested in a shopper pass (more on that later) or need special assistance. There’s also a customer service window inside and on the right next to the Big Shop. The park itself has a few areas with steps, but is generally level and steeper slopes have alternate easy paths for those with strollers or wheelchairs.
The park itself is roughly circular, though there is more to the right of the entrance (north). Miniland USA and a pond are in the center of the park. Miniland truly is the heart of the park, both physically and as the place where most of the creative energy (and maintenance) inevitably goes. It’s well worth skipping sections to go to Miniland, and then coming back again later. There’s a lot to see and you’re likely to notice something new each time you take a look. So even though I put it last in my preferred way of navigating around the park, it may not be something you want to leave to the very last. They’re also frequently adding new elements to Miniland, in fact when I last visited in mid-November, they had just added the Vietnam Memorial (below) to Washington, D.C. — just in time for Veteran’s Day.
For simplicity of navigating, I’d go around the park clockwise. From the entrance, go left to Dino Island (sample pic below), Explore Village, and then Fun Town. As you go around to the left, there is only one way around, but after the Brick Brothers store (really!) in Fun Town, you have more options. I would go around the exterior, far left path through Pirate Shores to Castle Hill, then onto the Land of Adventure and Imagination Zone. Finally circle back through Miniland, and then back toward the entrance.
The LLCA website Park Map page (link by clicking on the map below) gives several options for detailed maps including a basic color map, a printable map and also an interactive map, which are all useful in their own ways.
Food
If you’re going to eat the trapped tourist food inside any park, this is the place to do it. The food is expensive, like in any park, but much better quality than any other park I’ve been to, including the other big nearby ones. The Marketplace just to the left of the entrance has coffee and good picnic supplies (deli cheese!), which are good for keeping you going. There’s a pretty good variety of food throughout LLCA though very little Asian or Mexican food. There are especially good Italian, cafeteria style, barbecue, burger and pizza places. The Fun Town Market is cafeteria style and has the added bonus of a mini museum of LEGO and cool creations by LLCA designers in the display cabinets. Each place has good vegetarian options and is of course very family friendly. Garden Restaurant is the most health-conscious of the food joints. If there are picky eaters or those with specific dietary restrictions, it’s worth checking out LLCA’s own dining options description.
Shopping
Most of the stores in LLCA have particular specialties. The Studio Store carries mostly licensed themes. The Pick-a-Brick (PAB) is in the LEGO Club House. The store in the Castle Hill area carries an extensive Belville selection, so if that’s how you roll, that’s where to go. The Imagination Zone is where most Bionicle is tucked away. The Big Shop right next to the entrance has almost everything, though they do struggle to keep the most in-demand items in stock, which is a bit of a shame. The LLCA website has a handy breakdown of the shops and their main specialties, especially good for someone mainly headed there to target specific themes to buy.
You should know that the PAB at the LEGO Club House works differently from most other PAB. At LLCA it’s based on weight, rather than skillful packing of a cup, so in some ways you can score better elements at a more or less flat rate if you know where to look. In other ways, though, it eliminates the adult skilled-packer advantage, viciously allowing little children to buy at the same rate as adults. The Club House always has a separate minifig (with hat & accessory) PAB of 3 ‘figs for $15, usually populated by City ‘figs and accessories.
If you want to go to LLCA just to go to some of the shops (LLCA has the only LEGO Stores in San Diego), you can go to the customer service window to the right of the entrance gate and get a “shopper pass.” You just turn over your credit card info and they give you a pass to let you in the park to shop for an hour. If you return in that hour, all your credit card info will be returned to you. If you use your free shopper pass to visit the park for a few hours, you’ll be charged for admission, so watch your clock. If you spend more than $20, take your receipt with you to check out at customer service and you can also get your parking reimbursed, so if you do everything right, you can park without any of the costs associated with a regular park visit.
Rides and Attractions
Rides are indeed kid-oriented, so don’t expect a Six Flags type thrill, but the good thing is that models are littered throughout the park, including in lines and in/around the rides themselves. It’s worth remembering that though the park is designed for kids, it was designed by adults who had to keep themselves entertained during the design and building process, and like any good children’s attraction, they knew to pack in some details that the accompanying adults are more likely to understand and appreciate.
Safari Trek has life-size animal models that you might especially enjoy just before or after a trip to the San Diego Zoo or Wild Animal Park. Fairy Tale Brook and Coast Cruise are gentle little boat rides, but are the only way to see some pretty impressive models close up. I also enjoyed the random 2-year-old turning to me on the Coast Cruise and triumphantly saying, “I’m on a boat ride!” I felt the same way, kid. I felt the same say.
The Adventurer’s Club just off Fun Town Square has very cool murals with some subtle and not so subtle touches that younger visitors might not get. There’s also an entire wolf family that’s quite impressive and dramatically lit. The Pirate Shores area is chock full of silly irreverent things. The mini golf course also has an impressive array of life size animals. Slightly higher than ground level, the shiny, partially transparent scarab beetles at the Beetle Bounce in Land of Adventure are really neat.
The day I went to visit LLCA, I was also lucky enough to have an official behind-the-scenes wander and interview with Gary McIntire, one of the LLCA Master Model Designers (an upcoming feature). Some of his favorite things that he thinks people should keep an eye out for are the giant versions of real LEGO elements, like the flowers (right) and life-size original DUPLO farm playset in Fun Town, as well as the truck coming out of the Club House. Mention of Gary reminds me: One of the other highlights is the Model Shop, which is just next to Miniland. You can watch the Master Model Designers at their work, doing scandalous things to LEGO to make those phenomenal installations.
I hope y’all have a chance to visit, and that you have a great time. As I write this in early January, it’s 70 degrees here in San Diego. What the hell are you doing in the frigid North? I posted a few pictures in a photoset on flickr, feel free to peruse. Most of the installations I mentioned throughout the article are in there.
Brickshelf user Lumix has posted a comprehensive gallery of photos of the upcoming TIE Defender in 2010. The retail price of the set is $49.99 I believe.
