New Lego Minecraft Sets (2014): First Details

Lego is going all in with the Minecraft theme this year. The upcoming Lego Minecraft Microworld: The End (21107) was revealed earlier this year, and is set to hit the market this summer. Now, some leaked release details have revealed six new Lego Minecraft themed sets for the future. Some, or all of these sets may be the official release of the Minecraft Minifigure scale theme. For the past year Lego has been posting regular updates on their Co-Build project over on Facebook, which has been focusing on the Minifig scale. So far, only the set names, release date (November 7th!), and price points have been revealed…

Lego Minecraft: The Cave (21113) — € 19.95
Lego Minecraft: The Farm (21114) — € 29.95
Lego Minecraft: The First Night (21115) — € 39.95
Lego Minecraft: Creative Box (21116) — € 54.95
Lego Minecraft: The Ender Dragon (21117) — € 69.95
Lego Minecraft: The Mine (21118) — € 99.95

Thanks to brickshop.nl for the early information about these new Lego Minecraft sets! — http://www.brickshop.nl/lego/lego-minecraft.html

Lego Minecraft Co-build Holiday Update!

Lego has been running a Minecraft Co-build project over on Facebook. The goal of the project is to create Lego sets in a Minifigure scale Minecraft theme. The Lego designers for this project are working with the community. Minecraft and Lego fans get to vote on various details, such as the shape and articulation of the Creeper, the possible biome settings, etc. One of the huge announcements based on community feedback is that the final sets will have no stickers. Pictured here are two of the “in progress” biomes. A desert/sand set, and a jungle set. Steve is looking pretty good, and sporting a pixelated sword.

Lego has recently released a video update. Recapping some of the recent design decisions and such. It is worth a look, and reveals just how much thought and time goes into designing an official Lego set.

http://youtu.be/FK5uRIRCeP8

Brickville is a Beautiful Lego SimCity

Brickville is the closest thing to a Lego SimCity. Imagine if EA Games made a Lego themed version of SimCity. It would look like this. This micro scale city in completely modular. Usually these type of projects can look too artificial, sometimes being too constrained to a set of rules. Brickville seems to have found a way past this problem. This little city is currently 67 or so baseplates in size and is expanding. Not only is Brickville extremely photogenic from overhead, but its profile looks almost real. The variety of the high-rises and skyscrapers help lend the project a sense of realism.

Brickville recently made an appearance at a KLUG show. Where it was photographed by Luap31 and Jameson42. You can find more details over on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brickville/10946567563/

The Simpsons Family Lego

Lego is getting ready to release an official Simpsons theme next year. There are rumors that the the Collectible Minifigures Series 13 will be entirely Simpsons Minifigs. If you can’t wait until 2014 for these releases then your own imagination can get a jump start on the Simpsons fandom. For instance, Madoruk created The Simpsons Family in the Lego miniland scale. The whole family is pretty well represented. And, the use of mosaic building techniques is a perfect match to the animated style.

The Simpsons Family is the creation of Madoruk, check it out over at Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/madoruk/10477199203/

Lego United Nations Headquarters (21018) Reviewed @ Toys N Bricks

The newest set in the Lego Architecture theme, the United Nations Headquarters (21018) is now available
(Amazon). With 597 pieces and a $49.99 price tag this is one of the more reasonably priced Architecture sets. Over at Toys N Bricks, Brickbuilder0937 has recently posted a full pictorial review of the set. The Lego United Nations Headquarters seems to be one of the best Architectures sets with an extremely accurate (for Lego) and professional design.

The set depicts not only the U.N. tower, but the other four surrounding buildings too. By the time you complete the base, the layout of the complex is very apparent.

If you have been looking around for “1 x 2 trans light blue” bricks then this is the set to get, with 155 included. They are put to good use, creating some beautiful windows. This set also features some of the “smoothest” brick built slopes. Achieved by combining “headlight bricks” and the “1 x 1 with stud-on-one-side” bricks. These half step slopes can be seen on the smaller surrounding buildings.

The little Lego lever is a perfect representation of a flag pole, one of the best details in this set. Making the building instantly recognizable as the U.N. Headquarters. Just don’t accidentally brush up on those levers.

The whole build is quite a bit larger in person then it looks on the box. Which, is the opposite effect from most of these Architecture sets.

“In the past I was skeptical of buying the Architecture series sets because they seemed small for their price, but after seeing how accurate and profesional this model was, I was impressed.” — Brickbuilder0937

Read the full Lego United Nations review over at Toys N Bricks: http://toysnbricks.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=9403

The Lego United Nations Headquarters (21018) is available from Amazon: here.

Lego Minecraft: The Village & Lego Minecraft: The Nether Available Now

Lego Minecraft is one of those perfect themes. The two come together to create some of the best Lego sets of all time. The Lego Minecraft Micro World set is easily one of the best selling Lego sets of last year. Often selling out of stock once the set had been replenished. Lego has noticed, and has been continually “reprinting” the original Minecraft set. Now Lego has officially released two new sets in the Minecraft theme. Making this the first CUUSOO project to graduate into a full theme. The new Lego Minecraft: The Village and Lego Minecraft: The Nether are now available through Lego and Amazon.

The early reviews are starting to show up, and are generally forming the opinion that these new sets are great. Perfect for anyone who enjoyed the original. Check out the details at Amazon:

Lego Minecraft: Micro World, The Village.

Lego Minecraft: Micro World: The Nether.

Lego Minecraft: Micro World.

Lego Architecture Studio (21050) Review by Jim Butcher @ Eurobricks

The LEGO Architecture Studio (21050) is a very mysterious set. Currently only available in the United States, this set can be hard to find. Because of this, the set is wrapped up in mystery. Jim Butcher got his hands on this massive set and broke it open to document and review what he found. The Architecture Studio contains 1,210 pieces and comes in a very unconventional box. Most official Lego sets are released in a flat(ish) rectangle shaped box, not so for the Architecture Studio. This is a huge package. Taking up the space of 3 or 4 normal Lego sets. Inside is a very unique set, that Lego has never produced before.

Besides the 1,210 Lego pieces the set comes with two clear sorting trays. Fun fact: these sorting trays are official Lego pieces. They work well, and help to manage the massive amount of like sized/shaped pieces. Speaking of which, almost every piece is white. With the exception of a handful of transparent pieces. The whole point of the Lego Architecture Studio is to use the included pieces to begin building technically minded architecture models. The monochrome color scheme helps break the Lego models down to their core concept, while reinforcing the minimalistic goal of the set.

The large Lego piece count and sorting trays are not the main focus of this set. The instruction manual or book is the star. A huge 272 page perfect bound book. Featuring tips, building techniques, styles, history, and general information about Architecture and Lego. The book does not contain standard instructions. No step by step builds of famous architectural models. Instead the book features very general instructions, often showing the building of a model across only 3-4 steps. The Lego Architecture Studio (21050) is an educational and inspirational set, sharing more in common with Lego Mindstorms then Lego Star Wars.

Read the full review by Jim Butcher over at Eurobricks: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=85176&st=0

Lego Architecture Studio (21050) Book Download

UPDATE: It looks like Lego has taken the file offline. ~~Lego has offered a .pdf download of the whole 272 page book from the Lego Architecture Studio (21050). This is huge download, at 413 MB. Check it out here:~~
~~http://cache.lego.com/bigdownloads/buildinginstructions/6062928.pdf~~

Amazon has the set for sale, but like other recently popular sets it comes and goes out of stock often. Check it out on Amazon here: LEGO Architecture Studio (21050)

Two New Lego Minecraft Sets: The Village (21105) & The Nether (21106)

Lego has officially announced two new Lego Minecraft sets. The Village (21105) and the Nether (21106) which will be released in September 2013. These new sets have been mysterious rumors up until today. Lego made this announcement from Comic-Con San Diego. If you are attending the Con, make sure to check out these new sets in the Lego booth (#2829).

Lego Minecraft: The Village (21105) is built in the same scale as the original Lego Minecraft set. Featuring four modular pieces that can be rearranged into many different combinations. This new set features a tiny Minecraft village and a place to grow crops. But, underneath this unsuspecting village is a system of underground mines where your villagers can adventure. This new set comes with three tiny Micromobs, a pig, villager, and zombie. The Minecraft pig is pretty darn cute.

The other new set is the Lego Minecraft: The Nether (21106). It is also built in the same scale as the other Minecraft sets. Meaning that if you have all three of them, you can combine them into a giant playset. The Nether can be accessed through an Obsidian Portal, where your poor adventurer can explore this new biome. The set features, Netherrack, gravel, lava, and bedrock. All essential ingredients for your Minecraft creations. Here you get three Micromob figures, a Zombie Pigman and two Ghasts.

The original Lego Minecraft (21102) set has been a runnaway success for both Lego and Mojang. Originally offered through the Lego CUUSOO program, the set proved so popular that it has been developed into a full theme. Featuring a modular, and micro scale building style these sets have really expanded upon what most people have expected from Lego.

“LEGO Minecraft is a perfect example of how people’s passions can be amplified when digital and physical interests are combined, and there couldn’t be more synergy between the engine that drives the Minecraft gaming experience and the creative fuel of a LEGO building experience,” said Michelle Wilson, senior brand manager for LEGO Systems, Inc. “We are thrilled to continue our collaboration with Mojang to create new Minecraft characters and environments in LEGO form so that fans can get as creative as they’d like in their physical world as in their digital one.”

“There’s no doubt about the connection between LEGO building and Minecraft — not only the design similarities, but the immense creativity that our fan bases share,” said Lydia Winters, Mojang’s director of fun. “Given how well received the first model was last year, we can’t wait to see what fans think of these new designs.” — Lego

Now is a great time to pick up the original Lego Minecraft (21102), available at Amazon. These sets are extremely popular and if they happen to be sold out, check back at a later date. Lego is constantly releasing more. Each time a new shipment is available, the price is set for the MSRP of $34.99.

Update: Available Now!

These two new Minecraft Lego sets are available now. Check out Amazon.com for the details: Lego Minecraft: Micro World, The Village and Lego Minecraft: Micro World: The Nether.

New Lego Architecture set: United Nations Headquarters (21018)

It looks like the next set in the Architecture theme will be the United Nations Headquarters (21018). This set has a lot of creative details. The little Lego joysticks/levers for flagpoles, a technic brick for a fountain, and little Lego grill pieces set together for windows.

This years Architecture sets have all been great. With the Imperial Hotel (21017) and the Leaning Tower of Pisa (21015) being released so far, it will be interesting to see what else Lego will release this winter.

Big thanks to Flickr user motayan for posting the first photo.