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2017 San Diego Comic-Con LEGO news

by Thita (admin) on July 24, 2017

in Community News

One of the most exciting events of the year that is relevant to LEGO fans is the San Diego Comic-Con held every summer. SDCC is the largest annual comic and pop culture festival in the world, with huge crowds attending each year. Originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fantasy related films, the convention has since included a larger range of pop culture and entertainment elements across virtually all genres, including animation, anime, manga, horror, toys, collectible card games, video-games, webcomics, and fantasy novels. Of course, LEGO doesn’t want to miss out on all this fun, and they participate by showcasing many of their upcoming sets, games, films, hold discussion panels, give away/sell convention exclusives, and more. The 2017 San Diego Comic-Con was held this past weekend, so this is a good time to discuss what happened this year at the event. 🙂

➡ LEGO NINJAGO MOVIE AT SDCC: The weekend activities kicked off on Thursday evening, July 20th, by The LEGO Ninjago Movie panel, where producer Dan Lin and stars Dave Franco, Justin Theroux, Abbi Jacobsen, Olivia Munn, Kumail Nanjiani, Michael Peña and Zach Woods were available for questions about the all-new 3D animated adventure, which will be released on September 22nd. The LEGO Ninjago Movie sets were also showcased publicly for the first time, including the #70606 Spinjitzu Training Dojo ($9.99), #70607 Ninjago City Chase ($19.99), #70608 Master Falls ($29.99), #70609 Manta Ray Bomber ($29.99), #70656 Garmadon, Garmadon, GARMADON! ($79.99) and the intricate #70620 Ninjago City ($299.99). Select building sets based on The LEGO Ninjago Movie were available for purchase at the LEGO booth in advance of their global August 1st availability date, including the #70611 Water Strider ($29.99), #70610 Jelly Sub ($29.99), #70612 Green Ninja Mech Dragon ($49.99), #70614 Lightning Jet ($59.99), #70613 Garma Mecha Man ($59.99), #70615 Fire Mech ($69.99), #70616 Ice Tank ($79.99), #70617 Temple of Ultimate Trials ($99.99), and #70618 Destiny’s Bounty ($159.99). (They are all listed at the Online LEGO Shop already, so just click on the links if you want to check them out.) Throughout the weekend, attendees also had the chance to participate in building giant models of Garmadon and Lloyd alongside LEGO Master Builders. Below, I have included the special SDCC teaser-trailer for the movie, and the full second trailer, which was revealed at the event.

➡ LEGO DC COMICS SUPER HEROES AT SDCC: In celebration of his appearance on the big screen in Warner Bros. Pictures’ much-anticipated action adventure epic Justice League (in theaters beginning November 17th), The Flash made his debut as a life-sized LEGO model in the LEGO booth (see picture below). Built from 20,909 LEGO bricks and standing just over six-feet tall, the model took LEGO Master Builders over 250 hours to create. Building sets from the 2018 LEGO Super Heroes: DC Comics collection including #76096 Superman & Krypto Team-Up ($19.99), #76098 Speed Force Freeze Pursuit ($29.99), and #76097 Lex Luthor Mech Takedown ($39.99), were revealed publicly for the first time at the show.

Also from DC, a specially produced LEGO BrickHeadz building set featuring characters Supergirl and Martian Manhunter were sold on Friday and Sunday for $40. In addition, a LEGO minifigure version of Vixen inspired by Warner Bros. Television’s hit CW TV series DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, was given away to raffle winners. If you would like to get these very exclusive products, they are available on eBay, with the BrickHeadz set selling for around $100, and the Vixen minifig for around $150-$200. See here: 2017 SDCC LEGO EXCLUSIVES ON EBAY

➡ LEGO MARVEL SUPER HEROES AT SDCC: Honoring Chris Hemsworth’s third appearance in LEGO form and the debut of Thor: Ragnarok in November, a life-sized LEGO model of Thor stood proudly at 7 feet tall in the LEGO booth. LEGO Master Builders spent 290 hours and used 33,495 LEGO bricks to create the model that features Thor’s new short haircut as previewed in the film (see picture below). A limited-edition LEGO BrickHeadz building set from the Marvel Universe containing Spider-Man and Venom were available for purchase exclusively at the LEGO booth, on Thursday and Saturday for $40. In addition, winners who entered the LEGO giveaway, got a super awesome Deadpool Duck minifigure. (Fans who did not attend SDCC had a chance to win the exclusive minifigure giveaways and retail sets via Twitter). Again, if you would like to get the SDCC exclusives, eBay is the best place to find them. The BrickHeadz set sells for around $100, and the Deadpool Duck minifig for around $250-$300. He is clearly very popular! See here: 2017 SDCC LEGO EXCLUSIVES ON EBAY

➡ LEGO STAR WARS AT SDCC: LEGO Star Wars fans could feast their eyes on an incredible LEGO model of Luke Skywalker, inspired by the iconic character as seen in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The life-sized LEGO model that stands over six feet tall, took LEGO Master Builders 277 hours to design and build, and contains 36,743 LEGO bricks.

➡ LEGO MARVEL SUPER HEROES 2 VIDEO-GAME AT SDCC: During this discussion panel, the team behind the LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 video-game, including Arthur Parsons (head of design, TT Games), Bill Rosemann (executive creative director, Marvel Games), Justin Ramsden (designer, LEGO), Kurt Busiek (comics writer, Avengers Forever), and Dan Veesenmeyer (comic content artist, LEGO Marvel’s Avengers), offered an inside look at this all-new original adventure, the sequel to the smash hit LEGO Marvel Super Heroes. Moderated by Marvel’s Ryan Penagos (vice president and executive editor, Marvel Digital), this celebration of the Marvel Universe provided fans with a first look at a new game trailer, new character and artwork reveals, and exclusive audience giveaways. Bringing together iconic Marvel Super Heroes and Super Villains from different eras and realities, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 pits players against the time-traveling Kang the Conqueror in an epic cosmic battle across the expansive Open Hub World of Chronopolis. The game will be released on November 14.

➡ LEGO SCOOBY-DOO! BLOWOUT BEACH BASH: This was another panel about the upcoming 2017 direct-to-DVD computer-animated comedy horror mystery film titled LEGO Scoby-Doo! Blowout Beach Bash. It is the twenty-ninth entry in the direct-to-video series of Scooby-Doo films, as well as the second in the series to be based on the Scooby-Doo brand of LEGO. Here is the synopsis: Mystery, Inc. heads to Blowout Beach for a real swinging beach party, but when the Ghost Pirates threaten to crush the good vibes, it’s up to Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne, and Velma to get the party back on track and save the day! Be among the first to see this all-new LEGO/Scooby-Doo movie, then stay for a fun-filled panel featuring actors Matthew Lillard (Twin Peaks, The Bridge) and Grey Griffin (The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy), the voices of Shaggy and Daphne respectively, alongside producer Rick Morales and director Ethan Spaulding. TV Guide Magazine senior writer Damian Holbrook will moderated the hijinks. LEGO Scooby-Doo! Blowout Beach Bash will be available tomorrow on DVD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. You can get it on Amazon: LEGO SCOOBY-DOO! BLOWOUT BEACH BASH ON AMAZON

➡ UNIKITTY! NEW EPISODE PREMIERE AT SDCC: One of the SDCC discussion panels was about to the upcoming Unikitty! animated TV series on Cartoon Network. Attendees joined producers Edward Skudder, Lynn Wang and members of the voice cast, including Eric Bauza, as they give a sneak peek of this new series and explained how Unikitty and her friends will make sure that every day is the happiest and most creative ever! Here is the synopsis: Your favorite character from The LEGO Movie now has her own show! Journey to a joyous kingdom full of sparkle matter, happy thoughts and the occasional rage-out in Unikitty!, an all-new animated series. As ruler of the kingdom, Unikitty has busy days full of royal responsibilities. Unikitty is most interested in making sure everyone is happy and ridding the kingdom of negativity, but don’t misunderstand her optimism — she is one kitty not to be crossed. While she may be full of boundless energy and creativity, Unikitty is a force to be reckoned with if anyone gets in the way of spreading her positive vibes, especially if anyone makes her little brother and best friend, Puppycorn, sad. Also living in the castle are Dr. Fox, the resident scientist, and Unikitty’s trusty bodyguard, Hawkodile.

➡ LEGO DC SUPER HERO GIRLS: BRAIN DRAIN: LEGO DC Super Hero Girls: Brain Drain is an upcoming 2017 American animated direct-to-video film based on the DC Super Hero Girls franchise, produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It is the third film in the DC Super Hero Girls franchise, as well as the first in the series to be based on the DC Super Hero Girls brand of LEGO. The discussion panel featured the voices of Wonder Woman, Supergirl, and Harley Quinn/Poison Ivy—Grey Griffin (Scooby-Doo and KISS: Rock and Roll Mystery), Tara Strong (The Fairly Oddparents, My Little Pony), and Anais Fairweather (DC Super Hero Girls: Intergalactic Games), respectively, alongside producer Rick Morales (Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders), director Todd Grimes (Back at the Barnyard), and screenwriter Jeremy Adams (Monsuno). DC All Access host Tiffany Smith moderated the event. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, DC Entertainment, and the LEGO Group, LEGO DC Super Hero Girls: Brain Drain will be distributed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on July 25th on digital HD, and August 8th on DVD. If you like, you can already pre-order it on Amazon: LEGO DC SUPER HERO GIRLS: BRAIN DRAIN ON AMAZON

There were also some really nice posters given away at SDCC. The LEGO Ninjago Movie poster features Lloyd and Garmadon along with their mechs, plus the other main characters. The Unikitty! poster, of course, features Unikitty. The LEGO Marvel Super Heroes poster features characters from the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok film, and the LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes poster features the Justice League characters. The Super Heroes posters are by artist Tom Whalen, and he was at SDCC to sign the prints. The posters available on eBay for about $20: 2017 SDCC LEGO EXCLUSIVES ON EBAY

And that’s about wraps up the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con events related to LEGO fans. As you can see, there was a lot happening to keep attendees busy and excited. If you ever have the chance to go, take advantage!

What do you think? What are you most excited about from San Diego Comic-Con? Are you looking forward to any of the new sets, games, and films? And what about the exclusives? Are you planning to add them to your collection? Feel free to share in the comment section below! 😉

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LEGO Creator London Bus history & review

by Thita (admin) on July 22, 2017

in LEGO Exclusives

As we discussed a few days ago, the #10258 LEGO Creator London Bus is now available for LEGO VIP members (regular release will be at the beginning of August). While I don’t have the set, JANGBRiCKS published an excellent video-review (and time-lapse build) of the bus, which clears up some of the questions about the bus when it was first announced. 🙂

While it was fairly clear from pictures that the LEGO Creator London Bus was smaller than previous LEGO Creator Expert vehicles, (the #10220 LEGO Creator Volkswagen T1 Camper, the #10242 LEGO Creator MINI Cooper, the #10248 LEGO Creator Ferrari F40, and the #10252 LEGO Creator Volkswagen Beetle, the official description states that “the model is scaled for shelf display alongside other models in the LEGO Creator Expert vehicle series”. This created some confusion about the actual size and scale of the vehicle. However as you will see in the video-review below, the LEGO Creator London Bus is not even close to the scale of the #10248 LEGO Creator Ferrari F40. So while the previous LEGO Creator Expert vehicles were fairly well sized to each other, the LEGO Creator London Bus is on a scale of its own.

Examining the set pictures some more, it also appeared that the LEGO Creator London Bus might be appropriate for minifigs, especially when looking at the seats. Very similar seat designs can be found in a number of minifig-scale sets, so perhaps the bus might work as a somewhat oversized bus for minifigures. So the second question is, does the LEGO Creator London Bus scaled for minifigures? As you will see in the video-review below, the seats are indeed well sized for minifigs, however placed next to the bus, the minifigures look ridiculously tiny. So it seems like the LEGO Creator London Bus is sort of like Doctor Who’s Tardis with different scales on the inside and outside. I guess that’s pretty appropriate as both the double-decker bus and Doctor Who are British icons. 😀

The third question had to do with which style of the real life bus does the LEGO Creator London Bus represent? When we think of London buses, we usually envision the Routemaster. Introduced in 1956, it was the first London bus with power steering, fully automatic gearboxes and shock absorbers. But the color, style and shape of the bus was established long before the Routemaster ever came to the scene.

The earliest buses on London’s streets were horse-drawn omnibuses introduced in the early 1800s. The first motor-driven buses appeared in the late 1800s, and by 1910, they were mass-produced, and gradually replaced the horse-drawn omnibuses. It appears that London was always fond of red buses, because even in these early days most of them were red. In 1933, the bus service became more organized when the newly-formed organization London Transport took over the running of all London’s buses. Many new vehicles were added to the fleet, and this is also when the enclosed driver’s cap and covered upper deck were introduced, and became iconic features of the London bus.

A number of manufacturers were making classic style buses for London’s streets through the years, but the Routemaster outlasted them all. They were built by the Associated Equipment Company (AEC) and Park Royal Vehicles for London Transport. While the classic Routemasters were finally withdrawn from regular service at the end of 2005, and replaced by modern vehicles, the heritage route in central London still employs the old style buses. The most well-known version of the Routemaster is the one with a half-cab, front-mounted engine and open rear platform (which is what the LEGO Creator London Bus is base on), but other variations were also made; like the coach version with rear platform doors, forward entrance vehicles with platform doors, and a unique front-entrance prototype with the engine mounted transversely at the rear. If you are interested to learn more about these iconic vehicles, check the Routemaster Wikipedia page, and there are a couple of great books you might want to check out (see below).

The Bus We Loved: London’s Affair with the Routemaster by Travis Elboroug – In terms of postcards, books, films, and cheap souvenirs, and in the eyes of the world, the Routemaster represents the city just as much as Big Ben. It was the last bus to be have conductors as well as drivers, the last bus to ring familiar shouts that are at least a century old—Fares please, Full up inside but room on top, Next stop the British Museum! It was the last bus, in other words, to be a proper bus. In this fond history, Travis Elborough tells the story of the routemaster’s invention, rise and decline, of the people who worked on it, and of the enthusiasts who were mad about it. – SEE BOOK ON AMAZON

The London Bus Story by John Christopher – The archetypal Routemaster is arguably the most recognized vehicle in the world, as witnessed at the recent Beijing Olympic handover ceremony. Buses have been operating on London’s streets since 1829, originally with horse-drawn omnibuses, and the London Omnibus Company was founded in 1855 to regulate the various services. The first motorized buses made an appearance in 1902 with the LGOC beginning to manufacture the buses itself two years later. For six decades London went its own way with specially designed buses. More recent innovations such as the ‘bendy’ bus have not been popular, but today practicality of pushchair and wheelchair access has consigned the Routemaster to a nostalgic, but much-loved, position. With full-color photographs, this book comprehensively tells the story behind London’s famous red buses. – SEE BOOK ON AMAZON

As you can see there is a lot of history behind the LEGO Creator London Bus, and lots of nostalgia people have towards these iconic vehicles. LEGO designers did an excellent job recreating the classic shape and details, even though the scale is a bit odd compared to other LEGO Classic Expert vehicles. Also, while I normally don’t like stickers, the decorations on this bus are really gorgeous, and could be useful for making an English style café, or a biscuit shop maybe?

Here is the official description of the set: Take a nostalgic journey with this LEGO Creator Expert replica of the world-famous double-decker London Bus. Grab the hand pole and step onto the open rear boarding deck, complete with a used ticket bin and fire extinguisher. Then take the half-spiral staircase to the sightseeing deck where you’ll find a cozy seating area and a number of other items, including a forgotten umbrella, newspaper, empty beverage can and even discarded chewing gum stuck under a slightly-worn seat. Slide the door to access the driver’s cab with panoramic windscreen, lift the hood to reveal the engine, remove the roof and upper deck to access the interior, and choose your favorite decade with the reversible transit-advertising posters, featuring a 1950s or present-day London promotion. From the distinctive lines and curves of its bright-red bodywork, to its specially made standard-tread tires and destination sign, this beautifully crafted model oozes authenticity and intricate details that capture the character and charm of a celebrated London icon! Measures over 7” (18cm) high, 13” (34cm) long and 5” (13cm) wide. 1,686 pieces. Price: $139.99 – BUY HERE

What do you think? How do you like the LEGO Creator London Bus? Are you planning to get it? Do you have any of the other LEGO Creator Expert vehicles? Which one is your favorite so far? 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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