LEGO Collectible Minifigures Series 7 – Aztec Warrior
The Aztec Warrior is highly detailed and is one that many collectors look for to build their army of Aztec civilization. He has a green painted face and wears a large helmet that is shaped like an eagle. There is a printed necklace on the torso that has feathers as well as a shrunken head. He also has red pants with some detailing. His accessories include a gold spear as well as a printed shield. To find the Aztec Warrior, try to feel for the eagle helmet in conjunction with the spear and shield. Don’t confuse the helmet with the Galaxy Patrol’s armor.
Lord of the Rings Sets Now Available at LEGO
If you have been waiting for the new LEGO Lord of the Rings sets, they are now available for sale from LEGO Shop@Home. Remember that from May 16-31, you can get a FREE exclusive Hulk minifigure with any order of $50 or more. As an added bonus, purchase any Lord of the Rings set through May 31st and get a FREE limited edition Frodo poster shown below. It features Frodo holding The One Ring with the famous tagline “One Ring To Rule Them All.” I’m looking forward to getting my hand on these sets and reviewing them in the near future.
Gandalf Arrives (9469)
Join Gandalf the Grey as he travels to the Shire to celebrate the 111th birthday of his old friend Bilbo Baggins and relive the opening scene of The Fellowship of the Ring! As Gandalf makes his way through the Shire on his horse and cart, he meets an excited young hobbit, Frodo Baggins. This is where the legendary adventure of The Lord of the Rings begins!
Shelob Attacks (9470)
Plotting to reclaim The One Ring, Gollum lures Frodo into the lair of the ancient giant spider, Shelob. Will Shelob cast her web and capture poor Frodo or can Frodo’s brave hobbit friend Samwise Gamgee use the Elven sword Sting and rescue him in time? You decide!
Uruk-hai Army (9471)
Under attack by the evil Uruk-hai Army, the ancient fortress at Helm’s Deep is the last refuge for the people of Rohan! As the Uruk-hai draw near, they fire hooks from the armored hook shooter and try to scale the fortress walls. Can Éomer and the Rohan soldier hold back the Uruk-hai and save the day?
The Orc Forge (9476)
The Uruk-hai army is growing! Grown in the smoldering depths of Isengard, the Uruk-hai and their general, Lurtz, pull one new Uruk-hai after the other from the ground. Use the winch and slide the metal into the smelting pot to make weapons for the growing army. Dig out the Uruk-hai from the ground. There’s no rest when there’s a dark army to build!
Attack on Weathertop (9472)
Resting in the ancient fortress ruins of Weathertop, Aragorn, Frodo and Merry are suddenly attacked by the Ringwraiths, the evil servants of Sauron! Will the Ringwraiths take The One Ring from Frodo or can Aragorn stop the evil Ringwraiths in time?
The Mines of Moria (9473)
On their epic journey across the lands of Middle-earth, the heroic Fellowship of the Ring travels through the abandoned Mines of Moria. Pursued by the evil Moria orcs and a giant Cave Troll, Pippin, Boromir, Gimli and Legolas make a stand in Balin’s Tomb. Can the heroes hold back the evil horde and make it out of the mine unhurt?
The Battle of Helm’s Deep (9474)
The walled fortress at Helm’s Deep is under attack by the mighty Uruk-hai army. The forces of men, elves, and a dwarf must do everything they can to stop them from breaching the fortress walls. Can they prevent the Berserker Uruk-hai planting the bomb and blowing up the wall? Will they stop the enemy climbing up the siege ladders?
LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series R2-D2 (10225) Review
During May the 4th, I managed to pick up the brand new LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series R2-D2 (10225) from Shop@Home. LEGO also had a promotion where if you purchased $75 worth of Star Wars set you also get a TC-14 minifigure and also a Limited Edition R2-D2 poster. The R2-D2 set contains 2127 pieces and retails for $179.99, which is $0.08/piece. The box itself is pretty large and has some many nice pictures of him on all sides. Inside the box, it has 15 numbered bags, 3 instruction booklets, and 1 sticker for the plaque.
LEGO Collectible Minifigures Series 7 – Grandma Visitor
The Grandma Visitor minifigure is obviously Little Red Riding Hood. LEGO probably couldn’t call her that maybe because of licensing. Other than the name, everything else about her screams Little Red Riding Hood. She has a red color scheme throughout the figure. The hood is solid red which is probably the first time we’ve seen it in red. Her cape is also solid red but this one is a little smaller than the ones I’ve seen before. Since, she is a little girl, she gets the solid red legs. For Grandma Visitor’s accessory, she get a basket which is a bendy rubber piece to bring over to Grandma. You can also store a piece of food (not included) assuming that it’s small enough to fit. To search for this minifig, the short legs are a dead giveaway as she is the only one to have those legs in Series 7.
LEGO Collectible Minifigures Series 7 – Evil Knight
Another minifigure in Series 7 that I really like is the Evil Knight. This is another minifig where you would want an army of. When you first see him, you’ll notice he is mostly in black armor which comes off. The torso does not have any printing but the legs do. The knight can’t be a knight without his sword, which is a dark gray color. Another thing you’ll notice is his shield which has a boar emblem. The eyes on the knight are red which gives him a possessed kind of look. The Evil Knight fits in with the Kingdom sets very well and is one that you should definitely pick up. To feel for this minifig in the packets, the shield is a very easy indicator along with the sword.
LEGO CUUSOO Modular Western Town Achieves 10000 Supporters
The newest set to achieve 10000 supporters is the Modular Western Town by mb_bricks. The set first appeared on LEGO CUUSOO on 10/14/11 and seven months later, it now has the opportunity to become an official LEGO set. After the revisions to the standards and guidelines of what is acceptable to be an official set, it seems to be looking good for the Modular Western Town. There are no controversial content or licensing issues, and plus, LEGO already had a Western them from many years ago so initially it looks good to go. Now we wait for the LEGO Jury to review the set. Congratulations to mb_bricks for this achievement! Below is the official LEGO comment on the set.
Congrats on 10,000 Supporters, mb_bricks!
2012.05.11
Wow! We tip our hats to you for the beautiful and incredibly detailed Western Town model, and also to the persistence and teamwork of the various online LEGO fan communities that have come together to support this project.
Congratulations on achieving 10,000 supporters. We now officially advance this project to the Review phase.
What happens now?
This project moves from the Idea stage to the Review stage. A “LEGO Jury” composed of designers, product managers, and other key team members will examine the idea. We’ll build concept models and determine if the concept meets our high standards for what it takes to be a LEGO product, including playability, safety, and fit with the LEGO brand. Every LEGO product goes through a process like this and must meet the same standards.
Timing of the LEGO Review
From here forward, the LEGO Review will take place quarterly. The next review will be held starting in June and will include all projects that reach 10,000 between now and then. We’ll update the LEGO CUUSOO blog with additional details next week.
The review is a thorough process and from its start, and can take several months. When finished, we make a “go/no go” decision to develop and sell a product based on the Modular Western Town concept. As we are consolidating the review of all pending projects into a quarterly process, the concept model that began development will be refined and revealed should the project pass review.
We will inform you of our decision, and if green-lighted, this project goes into the longest phase of the project; the Development phase. During this time, LEGO model designers refine the product and develop it for release, we create the product materials (box, instructions, marketing), and get everything ready for a production run. This also takes several months.
We will post follow-up information and our decision here.
The LEGO CUUSOO Team
LEGOLAND California Star Wars Days Videos
These are some videos that I took at LEGOLAND California during Star Wars Days held from March 31 – April 1. It is to mark the new expansion of the Star Wars Miniland. I’ve also provided what the plaques say for each model build.
Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace – Naboo
The epic Battle of Naboo pits Gungan forces against the Trade Federation’s battle droids for control of the planet and its capital city, Theed, The Royal Palace, home to Queen Amidala, is constructed of more than 15,000 LEGO bricks. In the Theed hanger bay, young Anakin Skywalker saves the day by flying his Naboo starfighter to victory while Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn battle the Sith apprentice, Darth Maul.
LEGO CUUSOO Standard Revisions
With the rejection of the Winchester from Shaun of the Dead and the Firefly Serenity sets, LEGO has revised what is acceptable as an official LEGO set on LEGO CUUSOO. Although LEGO has made sets for for teens and adults, their core audience are still mainly children. Since March 29, sets are moderated before even being posted to get supporters. This way, inappropriate sets are quickly removed but some might still sneak through. Below is a list of standards of what LEGO deems as not suitable for a LEGO set. What determines of how a project adheres to the standards are up to LEGO’s discretion.
- Politics and political symbols
- Religious references including symbols, buildings, or people
- Sex, drugs, or smoking
- Alcohol in any present day situation
- Swearing
- Death, killing, blood, terrorism, or torture
- First-person shooter video games
- Warfare or war vehicles in any situation post-WWII to present
- Racism, bullying, or cruelty to real life animals
LEGO Minecraft (21102) Ideas
LEGO Minecraft on Facebook has released pictures of what the LEGO Concept Lab team came up with using 6 Micro World sets. I’m looking forward to receiving my set this summer.
Here’s the contents of six sets. Each box also comes with a new-style orange Brick Separator that has a wedge to help you get all of the little 1×1 tiles apart.
Check out those extra pieces! It’s tricky to use them all in one Minecraft model. We can’t wait to see what you make with your sets once they ship this summer.
Here’s a shout-out to a few guest builders: LEGO Concept Lab designer John Henry Harris built the mountain topper where the waterfall begins, designer Mark Cowley made the floating island, and the gray well at the left is by LEGO fan Michael Thomas, one of the fans who submitted LEGO Minecraft to the LEGO CUUSOO site — where this all began!
We used the stock LEGO Minecraft Micro World set as a centerpiece, and built the rest of the model using the 6×6 modular system that you’ll get with your set! It’s easy to make your own world using this technique, and combine with your friends’ worlds to make it bigger.
LEGO CUUSOO Firefly Serenity Rejected
The LEGO Jury has made a quick decision on the Firefly Serenity Playset by tbone_tbl. They have decided not to move forward with the production because it did not fit with the target consumer of LEGO products which are children. Although it was cool looking, I figured that it might not pass the review stage. Even so, congratulations to tbone_tbl for making it this far. Below is the official statement from LEGO:
Congratulations on 10,000 supporters! Here is our decision on the IP’s fit with the LEGO brand.
2012.05.08
First and foremost, huge congratulations to tbone_tbl for reaching 10,000 supporters on LEGO CUUSOO, and toward everyone for all of the support of the Firefly Serenity Playset project!
LEGO CUUSOO gives the opportunity for adult LEGO fans to submit product ideas. You submit some incredible things, and we’re huge fans of all of your work. This is a beautiful model and a skilled rendition of the beloved Serenity built with LEGO bricks.
When reviewing projects for production, the LEGO Jury first looks at how the concept fits the LEGO brand. We learned the IP was questionable regarding a brand fit, and since we anticipated this project reaching 10,000 the team got a head start and reviewed the project on these criteria.
LEGO produces toys for children. Therefore all LEGO products, regardless of age target, must be content-appropriate for this core audience. With this in mind we have decided that as cool as the Serenity model is, the Firefly TV show and Serenity film contain content that is not appropriate for our core target audience of children ages 6-11. While we know this news will disappoint those who supported the project, we will not be producing this as a LEGO product.
Opening ourselves to new product suggestions invites popular ideas that don’t always fit our brand. We are grateful for the spirit behind projects like the Firefly Serenity and for the opportunity to be challenged. It keeps us sharp and looking toward the future of the LEGO brick.
The LEGO CUUSOO Team
