LEGO has produced a short animation to mark the 25th anniversary of LEGO Star Wars, which features several new minifigures, likely teasing their appearance in sets later this year!
Covering multiple eras of Star Wars, the video includes plenty of existing minifigures, beside some as-yet-unreleased characters, such as Cal Kestis, Nien Nunb, Ezra Bridger from Ahsoka and a young version of Leia Organa, inspired by the Obi-Wan Kenobi series.
It is possible these characters have been created as minifigures purely for the animation, but I highly doubt that, as the video also focuses on minifigures already released to celebrate the anniversary.
Watch the three-minute video and view screenshots below...
The smallest set in the Friends first half this year is 42608 Tiny Accessories Store. Typically these smaller Friends sets have shown to be quite a good value with plenty of play opportunities, so I'm expecting the same in this case.
Wicked Brick has produced some impressive display stands and cases since 2017, including one for 75192 Millennium Falcon, which I have used since the stand was introduced.
The smaller 75375 Millennium Falcon arrived in March and the company has developed various display cases and wall-mounted stands for this model too. Unfortunately, this particular design actually sold out before we received the display case, but it is still worth examining.
Here's the press release for the latest issue of Blocks magazine:
Blocks magazine Issue 115 celebrates 25 years of LEGO Star Wars
The Force has been with LEGO Star Wars for 25 years and Blocks magazine has a packed edition to celebrate the occasion. In Issue 115, Design Master Henrik Andersen discusses designing the UCS Tie Interceptor, Matt Denton reveals how he upscaled the Stormtrooper mech and the story of LEGO Star Wars is told through 25 sets.
Issue 115 is available worldwide as part of a subscription or a single issue at blocksmag.com now and will be in UK stores from May 2.
Today's random set is 1251 Go-Cart, released during 1999. It's one of 63 Town sets produced that year. It contains 26 pieces and 1 minifig, and its retail price was US$1.7.
It's owned by 902 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you should find it for sale at BrickLink, where new ones sell for around $15.10, or eBay.
Today's random minifigure is twn348Ludo Blue - Female, Bright Light Blue Hoodie, Blue Legs, Dark Brown Braided Ponytail, a LEGO Brand figure that came in one set, 40198 LEGO Ludo Game, released during 2018.
Our members collectively own a total of 4,248 of them. If you'd like to buy one you should find it for sale at BrickLink, where new ones sell for around $2.00.
LEGO has today announced two new Space sets, 10341 Artemis Space Launch System and 31212 The Milky Way Galaxy! The press release follows:
The art of engineering: Lift off into space and explore the Milky Way with two new LEGO sets
Today the LEGO Group unveils two new sets that allow space enthusiasts to go out of this world, by exploring the art of engineering excellence behind human space missions to get a glimpse of what’s out there.
Minions are renowned for their love of bananas and unusual technology, so 75580 Minions and Banana Car should be an effective combination. The titular car definitely looks fun and four new Minions are included, with plenty of accessories for them all.
The price of £19.99, $24.99 or €24.99 accordingly seems enticing, so I am hoping this serves as an enjoyable introductory set for the broader Despicable Me 4 range.
The new DREAMZzz sets have now been added to LEGO.com, revealing prices for the range and two previously unseen sets, of which 71486 Castle Nocturnia is a definite standout!
These sets will be released on the 1st of August and there are now eight expected in total.
According to JB Spielwaren, the sets will be released on the 1st of August, but I wonder whether they will be available earlier in some regions, given their early announcement.
Befitting his ostentatious villainy, Gru resides in a spectacular mansion, inexplicably constructed among normal suburban homes. 75583 Minions and Gru's Family Mansion conveys the towering architecture of this location, albeit with dubious external detail.
On the other hand, the interior features various memorable details from throughout the Despicable Me series, while the minifigure selection is outstanding. Nearly the entire family is included, plus three exclusive Minions, so this is an extremely appealing prospect for fans of Despicable Me.
Jay's Brick Blog, the news and reviews site run by my good friend Jay Ong in Melbourne, has just received a design refresh and a brand-new logo.
Perhaps more importantly, Jay has introduced a minifig identification feature which will help you identify series 25 and later minifigs by scanning the dot matrix code on the boxes without the need for an app, which is sure to be useful once the Space series 26 drops next month.
So, be sure to add the blog to your daily reading list and bookmark the minifig scanner ready for the 1st May.
Many LEGO set designers use our BrickLists feature to maintain a list of the sets they've worked on and often provide interesting insights about their involvement.
Once a week we publish an entry from one of their lists on the home page to increase awareness of this information and to encourage more designers to create them.
Without a doubt, my favorite set I have worked on so far. Inspired by tokusatsu and anime alike, this set was something I wanted to do for Ninjago for a very long time.
I like to think of this set as a playtheme in a box. It has 1 mech, 3 vehicles and 1 villain mech. I took a lot of the learnings I got from designing Voltron and expanded on them in this set. By limiting the amount of technic and making as many of the connections system connections, I kept the wiggling and bending to a minimum while also making it relatively easy and fun to build.
For this set, I was finally given the element frame to create the piece I have been wanting since I worked on Zane's Titan Mech in 2019. https://brickset.com/parts/6365679/flex-joint-female-w-dia-4-85-snap The new hip and shoulder joint that marries the AT-AT ratchet with 2 Galidor ratchets to create a 2 axis joint capable of carrying larger models. This piece was originally pitched by Janko Grujic (https://brickset.com/sets/designer-Janko-Grujic), and I had asked for it ever since he did.
It also uses all the new pieces we made for SCCBS. It does this both in conventional ways (cockpit and limbs) and novel ways (shell in the thighs of the Kai mech). Fully showcasing the overall versatility of the new suite of elements.
I'm so happy that it is doing well and many kids have managed to get their hands on this toy. It is my pride and joy.
