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Another Round of COVID-19 Updates from LEGO

by Thita (admin) on May 22, 2020

in Community News

There are several updates from LEGO in regards to responding to the COVID-19 situation, so I thought to combine them into one post. For previous updates, please see the links at the end of this post.

LEGO PRODUCT SHORTAGES

More products will be on backorder for longer than usual in the US, Canada, and Latin America. This is because the LEGO factory in Mexico – where the Americas get most of the products from – has been closed. Fortunately, LEGO factories in Europe and Asia continue to operate, and LEGO has been using their full global supply chain to ship products to all markets and fulfill orders as best as possible. For current product availability and possible backorder status, check the Online LEGO Shop.

LEGO SHIPPING & DELIVERIES

LEGO is still shipping orders placed via the Online LEGO Shop, but deliveries are taking longer (in the U.S., orders typically take 3-8 business days to arrive, while currently it takes 10-15 days). Couriers are taking many steps to follow the latest safety guidance by providing masks, gloves, and sanitizers for their delivery drivers. They’re also offering contact-free deliveries, giving customers the option to have packages delivered to a safe place. As LEGO works with many different couriers around the world, couriers also have to follow local guidelines for their region.

LEGO STORES REOPENING

While some official LEGO stores and LEGO Certified stores have reopened, other stores remain temporarily closed. In the United States, three official LEGO store locations have been reopened: 783 North Point in Georgia, 743 Stonebriar in Texas, and 778 Woodlands in Texas. These stores are complying with local regulations and providing guidelines to keep their visitors and team members safe. In addition, many of the other official LEGO stores now have curbside pick-up available. Please note that these stores do not have in stock any of the recently released new sets, and the Pick-A-Brick Walls and Build-A-Minifig Stations are not available at this time. As you can imagine, things are changing by the minute, so call the store before you visit about their current business hours, pick-up times, and other policies.

LEGO BRICKS & PIECES REOPENING

LEGO Pick-A-Brick for purchasing individual parts in bulk remains available in all countries where the service is offered. LEGO Bricks & Pieces (for replacement parts and a wider selection of bulk parts) was closed temporarily, but it is now available again in the U.S. and Germany.

LEGO HOUSE STILL CLOSED

The LEGO House in Billund, Denmark is still closed and it is uncertain when it can reopen again. To bring some of the LEGO House atmosphere to fans, the LEGO House team has been creating LEGO House @ Home content via the LEGO House social media channels with tips and building tricks for family co-building at home. Recently, they also started adding content specifically for adult LEGO fans. The LEGO House Masterpiece Gallery is dedicated to exhibit LEGO masterpieces built by adult fans from around the world. The LEGO House team is now conducting virtual interviews with these master builders, so they can discuss their models. You can follow these interviews at the LEGO House YouTube channel.

DOWNLOAD VIRTUAL LEGO BACKGROUNDS

Most of us now use video-conferencing for work, school, entertainment, and for staying in touch with friends and family. To add a bit of fun to this, LEGO released a bunch of virtual backgrounds that you can use in your video calls. You can download them from LEGO’s website. In addition, you can also download fan-created virtual backgrounds from LEGO Ideas.

And that pretty much sums up the current status of things. If you have other questions, read the previous update (linked below), or ask in the comment section, and I will try to get an answer for you. Stay safe and play well!

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

➡ LEGO SHOP IN USA: Online LEGO Shop USA

➡ LEGO SHOP IN CANADA: Online LEGO Shop Canada

➡ LEGO SHOP IN UK: Online LEGO Shop UK

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A Note from the LEGO Train Wheels Team

by Thita (admin) on May 21, 2020

in Community News

You might remember that at the end of last year, the LEGO trains design team released a video, explaining the changes to the LEGO train wheel system and responding to some of the concerns raised by the LEGO fan community. You can watch the video and read the details about the changes here: Changes to LEGO Train Wheels Discussion. Too briefly recap, starting with the #71044 LEGO Disney Train & Station set, we no longer get metal axles with LEGO trains, instead, they have a redesigned all plastic assembly. LEGO train fans.

Since the video was released, the LEGO train design team got further feedback from the LEGO fan community, and released another statement about LEGO train wheels. You can read it below.

First of all, we want to thank you for sharing the video in your communities. We’ve seen it on your online channels, and it’s been exciting to follow, as well as receiving community reactions and questions.

We are happy to read that the video helped shed some light to some of the questions we received before making the video. With the video, we answered the question about the reason why we changed the wheel. We’re grateful to read that you appreciate some of the new features, as well as the support from you around the new element material coming from sustainable sources. We also see that the video motivated some new questions, and a chance for us to further elaborate.

First of all, we want to highlight that we’ve changed the material to a material from sustainable sources, but this doesn’t mean that the material we have used in the past puts children at risk. It is the first important step out of many on the journey towards the LEGO Group using sustainable materials by 2030.

In the video, we explain parts of our testing procedure that we hope gave some interesting insights. Unfortunately, we cannot share detailed information about the scientific tests because it’s company confidential information, but we can assure you that we take tests of trains and train wheels seriously. The intention of the wheel test in the video was purely to have visual content, and we underestimated the signal it might have sent to community members that this is how tests are conveyed. Now we understand that you’re very interested in scientific test results.

Though we cannot share all details, we do want to open up test lab door and can share the following: We’ve been through 3-4 different design prototypes of the wheels, and several different combinations of materials, to find the wheel that was the best in efficiency and the best in overall performance. Further, we can share that multiple tests have been conducted for each iteration, and that the duration of each of these tests was a full week.

Some of you asked about future elements and functionality. Unfortunately, we cannot reveal any specific details about future product and/or element designs, but just like train wheels, we are moving…

Thank you for taking an interest in our work.

So far, the new train wheel assembly is only available in two sets; the #71044 LEGO Disney Train & Station, and the #70424 LEGO Hidden Side Ghost Train Express. If you don’t have them already, you can check them out at the Online LEGO Shop.

What do you think? Have you had a chance to try out the new LEGO train wheel system and compare it to the previous one? Do you have a preference? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below! And if you have any questions for the LEGO train design team, feel free to post them as well, and I will make sure to forward them on your behalf.