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Custom LEGO Advent Calendar ideas

by on December 7, 2018
in Featured LEGO Creations

Now that we are in December, it is time to count down the days to Christmas with a LEGO Advent Calendar! As it has become tradition, LEGO released three LEGO Advent Calendars for this holiday season; the #60201 LEGO City Advent Calendar, the #75213 LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar, and the #41353 Friends Advent Calendar. We have talked about the 2018 LEGO Advent Calendars previously (see: 2018 LEGO Christmas Advent Calendars), and if you have gotten any of them or even all three, you should have great fun opening one of the little windows and building a small set every day until Christmas. 🙂

If you don’t have any of the official LEGO Advent Calendars, there is no need to be disheartened as you can always build your own! here, I will show you some great LEGO Advent Calendar designs built by LEGO fans. The custom LEGO Advent Calendar below was made by LEGO fan ribbongibbon and her two children. It includes lots of random little doors, windows and arches, and a nativity scene at the very top.

A similar design was built by Sarah Dees, a LEGO fan and mom of four boys. You can see this LEGO Advent Calendar in action in the video below, and you can also get building instructions and other tips at Sarah’s website, FrugalFun4Boys.com.

Sarah also shares another interesting LEGO Advent Calendar idea that doesn’t involve candy or toys in cubbies, but helping kids visualize at a glance how many days are left until Christmas. You can find more details on this build at Sarah’s website linked above.

Yet another possible idea is to get an official LEGO set, divide the building steps into 24 groups, hide them in a LEGO-built Advent Calendar (or use some other system of drawers, containers, boxes, etc. for each day) include printed building instructions just for that day (you can get building instructions from LEGO’s website), and let your child build a section of the set each day. Guessing what set they are building is part of the fun! This project is also suitable for teen and adult LEGO fans, although you may want to use a more advanced set for them to build. A slight variation of this idea is shared by Kim Chance – another LEGO fan and mom – on her blog, SavorTheDays.com (see picture below).

The following massive LEGO Advent Calendar was designed by LEGO fan brick_a_brad as a full size window display. It features Santa’s workshop, a major operation run by an army of elves. Each of the rooms represents a day of the calendar counting down to Christmas. You can see close-up pictures of all the fun details in brick_a_brad’s flickr album.

As you can see, there are many different creative ways to count down to Christmas whether you have the official LEGO Advent Calendar sets, or you come up with something on your own. Hope some of these ideas sparks your interest and creativity to start your own family tradition.

What do you think? Do you have any of the official LEGO Advent Calendars? Or do you prefer to build your own? What other Christmas family traditions do you follow that involves LEGO? 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 Star Wars Darth Vader Castle review

by on December 6, 2018
in LEGO Star Wars

One of the most interesting recently released sets is the #75251 LEGO Star Wars Darth Vader’s Castle. Full buildings in the LEGO Star Wars theme are rare, but they can really make a LEGO Star Wars diorama impressive. Darth Vader’s castle is presented as in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, with some additional details from the Star Wars: Darth Vader comic book series written by Kieron Gillen with art by Salvador Larroca and published by Marvel Comics. So, let’s take a closer look. 🙂

The #75251 LEGO Star Wars Darth Vader’s Castle features a fully built up castle with four distinct levels. It is basically a dollhouse for Star Wars fans! Due to the pyramid style shaping, each of the floors is wider than the one above it. The topmost level is a defense tower with just enough room to fit a stud-shooter canon and a minifigure. Even though the space is small, it also serves as a meeting platform with a nicely designed sticker. Below is Darth Vader’s meditation room with a bit more space around it to fit a holographic communication unit and lightsaber storage. Below this is another room with a bacta tank for Darth Vader to chill out and treat his extensive injuries. This room is large for two additional minifigures (guards), and there is also an entry door to the castle itself. Below ground level is Darth Vader’s garage where he can park his TIE Advanced Fighter. On the outside of the castle there is some rockwork, a small lava flow, a Sith shrine with holocron, and a couple of secret compartments.

The five included minifigures are two versions of Darth Vader, two Royal Guards, and an Imperial Transport Pilot. They are all nicely detailed with elaborate printing. I especially like the pilot with its intricately detailed helmet. In the video-review below, JANGBRiCKS will show you the different levels and play-features of the set.

And, here is the official description of the set: Set the scene for action on planet Mustafar with #75251 LEGO Star Wars 75251 Darth Vader’s Castle! This building set of Vader’s menacing-looking home features lots of great details, including a brick-built lava flow, an underground hangar with mouse droid and docking station, ancient Sith shrine with holocron, racks for extra ammunition, and secret compartments hiding more Sith relics. The hangar also houses a buildable TIE Advanced Fighter model with stud-shooters and space to sit the Darth Vader minifigure. There’s also a bacta tank, Darth Vader’s meditation chamber with holographic communication unit, and a meeting platform at the top with a defensive stud-shooter cannon. As well as classic Darth Vader, the set also includes a bacta tank version of the Dark Lord, plus two Royal Guards and an Imperial Transport Pilot. Darth Vader’s Castle Star Wars building set measures over 16” (41cm) high, 11” (28cm) wide and 9” (23cm) deep. TIE Advanced Fighter measures over 2” (6cm) high, 4” (11cm) wide and 3” (9cm) long. 1,060 pieces. Price: $129.99 – BUY HERE

Starships and other vehicles are usually the most popular and most common in the LEGO Star Wars collection, so getting the occasional nicely designed building is always welcome. They are especially useful for large dioramas, or as centerpieces for a Star Wars display. The #75251 LEGO Star Wars Darth Vader’s Castle is reasonably faithful to the source material and thus instantly recognizable. It looks elegant and menacing on display, and if you choose to, you can even make it larger by adding additional floors. If you are interested to take a closer look or to purchase the set, it is a limited-release exclusive, only available through AMAZON and the LEGO Star Wars section of the Online LEGO Shop.

What do you think? How do you like the LEGO Star Wars Darth Vader’s Castle? Is this a set you plan to add to your collection? Or do you have it already? Feel free to share your thoughts and own reviews in the comment section below! 😉

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

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