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November 2016 – new LEGO sets & promotions

by Thita (admin) on November 1, 2016

November is traditionally the beginning of the holiday shopping season, so as far as sales and deals, there is a lot happening this month both directly from LEGO and from other retailers. The details of the after Thanksgiving Black Friday deals are not yet known, however we can talk about the month in general until we get more information. 🙂

➡ FREE LEGO HOLIDAY NUTCRACKER ORNAMENT: From November 1st to the 15th you can get a free LEGO Holiday Nutcracker Ornament with purchases of $50 or more. This is not a particularly exciting offer, but a nice little extra that you can use as a stocking stuffer or Christmas tree decoration. If you are not exactly sure yet what you want to get this holiday season, a good place to start is at the LEGO Holiday Gift Shop section of the Online LEGO Shop.

➡ EARLY ACCESS & DOUBLE VIP POINTS FOR VIP MEMBERS: The real deals will start to appear as we get closer to Thanksgiving. On November 19th and 20th LEGO VIP members will get early access to the LEGO Brick Friday offers, and also earn Double VIP Points on their purchases. If you are not a LEGO VIP member yet, sign up now to make sure you get access. Membership is free, and there is absolutely no downside to it.

➡ BRICK FRIDAY DEALS: If you are not a LEGO VIP member, Brick Friday deals will begin on November 25th, the day after Thanksgiving. We don’t yet know which sets will be on sale, but based on previous years, we can expect 20% off on some sets, including some of the larger ones. I will keep you updated as soon as I know. I would say though, that if you really want some specific sets, I don’t recommend that you wait this long. LEGO VIP members will likely wipe out the most desirable sets during the early access period, and holiday shopping is always a bit scetchy with LEGO as they tend to run out of stock. However if you are just bargain-hunting, and don’t really care what you get, this will be a good time to visit both physical LEGO stores and the Online LEGO Shop.

➡ FREE LEGO HOLIDAY SNOWGLOBE & STORE CALENDAR: During the LEGO Brick Friday period (November 25-28) you will get the #30223 LEGO Holiday Snowglobe with purchases of $99 or more. This is a very nice set that you can see in the lower left corner of the LEGO Store Calendar. From November 28th to December 11th you will get a free 2017 LEGO Wall Calendar with purchases of $75 or more. My understanding is that the calendar no longer includes coupons.

➡ LEGO IDEAS YELLOW SUBMARINE: The #21306 LEGO Ideas Yellow Submarine is now available. This is the latest in the LEGO Ideas collection. We talked about the set just a few days ago, but here is the official description for your reference: Build this LEGO version of the iconic Yellow Submarine from the famous 1968 film, and journey back to Pepperland with the Fab Four! The submarine features a removable top for easy play, a cockpit that accommodates the included John, Paul, George and Ringo minifigures, two rotating propellers, four periscopes, an adjustable rudder, plus assorted accessory elements that The Beatles have collected on their journey. The set also includes a Jeremy figure. An ideal gift for fans of LEGO and The Beatles, it’s great for role-play or to create a colorful retro display. Accessory elements include John’s telescope, Paul’s 1×2 ‘Love’ tile, Ringo’s round 2×2 ‘half a hole’ tile, George’s submarine motor and Jeremy’s apple. Yellow submarine measures over 5” (13cm) high, 9” (25cm) long and 2” (6cm) wide. 553 pieces. Price: $59.99. Available under the LEGO Ideas section of the Online LEGO Shop.

As I mentioned earlier, if you are looking for specific sets, I hope you already got them, or you are planning to get them very soon. I don’t recommend waiting until the end of the month, as they will likely be gone by then. This is especially true for the holiday sets like the #10245 LEGO Creator Santa’s Workshop (already backordered), the #10249 LEGO Creator Winter Toy Shop, and the #10254 LEGO Creator Holiday Train.

If you want some of the largest sets of this year, like the #75827 LEGO Ghostbusters Firehouse Headquarters, the #10253 LEGO Creator Big Ben, the #10252 LEGO Creator Volkswagen Beetle, the #75159 LEGO Star Wars Death Star, the #42056 LEGO Technic Porsche 911 GT3 RS, and the #43055 LEGO Technic Bucket Wheel Excavator I urge you to get them as soon as possible. They are available under their respective categories of the Online LEGO Shop(just click on the links to take you there). And if you have been looking for the #71040 LEGO Disney Castle, you will need some good luck, as it has been out of stock from almost the time it was first released. Also, don’t forget about the large sets retiring soon we talked about just a few days ago. Those are also great candidates for holiday shopping, and they will likely be gone before the end of the year.

The smaller and wider release sets should be available at most LEGO retailers and the Online LEGO Shop. Also, remember that LEGO lowered the minimum threshold for free shipping from $75 to $35. So if you just want to make a smaller purchase now it is easier to qualify for free shipping. And as I always mention, it is a good idea to also take a look at the Sales & Deals section of the Online LEGO Shop before you check out. You can often find some great deals there on soon to be retired sets.

So what do you think? Are you interested in any of the news sets and promotions this month? What are you planning to get? Feel free to share and discuss in the comment section below! 😉

And you might also like to check out the following related posts:

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LEGO Creator Assembly Square customization

by Thita (admin) on October 31, 2016

in Building Techniques

As we discussed earlier this month (see press-release here: LEGO Creator Assembly Square Press-Release), the next set in the LEGO Modular Buildings line is going to be the #10255 LEGO Creator Assembly Square. This is a particularly special set in the collection, because it commemorates the 10th anniversary of the LEGO Modular Buildings, and because it is larger than any of the previous sets. Instead of having a 32×32 stud footprint, this set adds a 16×32 baseplate for a wider layout. 🙂

10255-lego-creator-assembly-square-street-view

While it is perfectly fine to display the LEGO Modular Buildings as they are, if you are adventurous, you can modify them by making them bigger, changing the colors, and adding extra details both inside and outside. We have talked about modifications of the LEGO Modular Buildings previously, and I have included some links for you at the end of this post. Today we will focus on different layouts for the #10255 LEGO Creator Assembly Square with the help of one of my favorite town builders, Sjaak Lego. This set is especially interesting for modification because it includes three separate buildings, so there are more options for different configurations.

10255-lego-creator-assembly-square-details

Sjaak Lego likes to expand the LEGO Modular Buildings by making them larger, and he initially uses Photoshop to work out different possibilities for his own LEGO town layout. The images really help to see what can be achieved with the LEGO Modular Buildings, and they might help with creating a plan for your own LEGO city. On the picture below you can see that the dark-orange and sand-green buildings were mirrored and put next to each other for a wider street view. This makes the bakery in the middle larger, or you could put two different shops in the space. And you can also replace the second flower shop with something else. I think the dark-orange building with the two towers looks really good this way.

In the above configuration the sand-blue building was left as is, however you can certainly increase the size of it as well. Below, the building was doubled and mirrored to create larger apartments on the second and third floors, and the coffee shop now has two entries.

In the next picture, the entire set is mirrored and put next to each other, so now the sand-green building is in the middle. This makes the flower shop and the photo studio above it wider. The little plaza at the front is larger as well, so there is more room for a bigger fountain, outdoor seating, and for street vendors to set up their carts.

Now that a nice layout has been worked out, how about making the buildings taller? By adding an additional story to each of the buildings, the whole street looks more substantial with a more downtown-like vibe.

And what about making the buildings really-really tall for a high-rise condominium? You still have small shops at the bottom, and plenty of apartments for your minifigs to live in. Each of the living spaces could be furnished differently for a customized look. Very impressive, isn’t it?

It is interesting to note that because the most recent LEGO Modular Buildings (#10251LEGO Creator Brick Bank, #10246 LEGO Creator Detective’s Office, #10255 LEGO Creator Assembly Square) are made up of smaller buildings, expanding them really creates a complete street feel. There is no need to get every single set in the collection to achieve that look, because you get several buildings in just a single set. It is also easier to customize each building because of the smaller size. So, while not everyone likes the smaller Modulars, overall I think they are more user-friendly and appeal to a wider audience. The LEGO Creator Assembly Square will be available in January next year, but you can check out the current selection under the LEGO Creator section of the Online LEGO Shop.

What do you think? How do you like the expanded version of the LEGO Creator Assembly Square? Are you planning to customize yours as well, or will just stay with the original layout? What other changes you think would look good with this set? Feel free to share your thoughts and discuss in the comment section below! 😉

And you might also like to check out the following related posts:

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November 2016 – new LEGO sets & promotions

LEGO Creator Assembly Square customization

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