LEGO Shredder Statue at San Diego Comic Con 2014
LEGO has revealed another statue that you can expect to see at San Diego Comic Con 2014 this week, Shredder from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He stands at a whopping 7 feet high and is 36 inches wide. It took builders 35,322 LEGO pieces to create and it weighs in at 174 lbs. With something so massive, it took 269 hours or 11 days to build from start to finish. Shredder will be display at the LEGO Booth (#2829) and you can take a picture with it along with many other statues there.
**Via IGN**
LEGO Ninjago: The Visual Dictionary Minifigure Revealed
A few months ago, we reported that there will be some new books from Dorling Kindersley and one of these books is the LEGO Ninjago: The Visual Dictionary
set.
With DK, we usually see minifigures that we haven’t seen before like Emperor Palpatine in LEGO Star Wars: The Dark Side
The LEGO Ninjago: The Visual Dictionary is set to be released on September 15th but you can pre-order the book now on Amazon
**Via Brickset**
Introducing Monster’s Marvel Mixel Masterpieces – The Sentinel Series
With San Diego Comic Con 2014 around the corner, many people are building things to commemorate the event like Jason Daubert who built a number of pop cultural characters as CubeDudes. Another member of SandLUG, Matt Armstrong, aka MonsterBrick, has created some comic book characters with LEGO as part of his “Monster’s Marvel Mixel Masterpieces – The Sentinel Series.”
These characters are created by using the new LEGO Mixels joints and well as some building features of the Sentinel from the LEGO Marvel X-Men vs. The Sentinel (76022). Click through to see larger images of these cool creations. Don’t worry Matt, I’ll try to make it to the LUG meetings one of these days.
Custom LEGO Transformers Brick Label Metalhide MB-01 Review
A few weeks ago, I was sent something very cool to review. As a fan of LEGO as well as Transformers, this was definitely right up my alley. JK and Alanyuppie from Malaysia has created Brick Label, transforming robots that uses 100% genuine LEGO parts. The first set in their Masterbrick series is Metalhide MB-01 which is pretty much G1 Ironhide of the Autobots from the Transformers series. The Masterbrick Series is a play on the TakaraTomy/Hasbro Transformers Masterpiece Series.
Alan has created a number of LEGO Transformers as you can see from his blog. Like with the regular Transformers toys, Metalhide can change from vehicle mode to robot mode. However unlike LEGO Creator sets where you have to take apart pieces to build another build, you do not have to do that with this guy. You just do some twisting and folding of the joints and you’ll have the alternate mode.
As we all know, creating anything with LEGO takes a certain skill set with all the designing that you have to put into it but creating a transforming LEGO build takes even more planning since you have to figure out how to transform the car without affecting the integrity of the set.
When you build Metalhide for the first time, you’ll notice there are some very neat building techniques used to build the robot mode. Alan has done a great job in making the robot mode a playable model. There are a number of different types of joints used to articulate Metalhide. Some of the movable parts include the head, shoulders, elbow, wrists hands, legs, knees, and feet. The shin area of the legs also swivel to give Metalhide more articulation and more posablilty. There are also a couple of cannons on each arm that you can flip out if needed for battle.
Now that we’ve seen the robot mode, it’s time for the transformation to vehicle mode. Although it is really cool that Metalhide can transform, it is also somewhat finicky. It actually took me a while to get it fully transformed, a little longer than I expected. A few of the pieces like the upper torso and especially the arms kept coming off when I was transforming other areas of the set. That is because there are no true locking techniques implemented in those areas and they tend to just fall off. The leg areas were pretty easy to transform though. I am far from a pro at Transformers so my vehicle mode looks a little off compared to Alan’s version.
JK and Alan of are preparing to sell this model to the public and here’s some of my feedback of the set. Metalhide MB-01 is a very nice figure once he is fully transformed, whether it be in robot mode or vehicle mode. Undoubtedly, Metalhide does resemble the look of G1 Ironhide which is very cool considering that everything is build out of LEGO bricks. The PDF building instructions are fairly easy to follow although there were a couple of steps that were mixed up a little. For us who have been building a lot, it’s pretty easy to see how to correct the issues. One recommendation is to generate a LEGO Digital Designer (LDD) file with each step for an even more enjoyable building experience.
Another issue is that some of the parts kept falling off. Younger kids who may be building the set could experience some frustration with that. I just left those pieces off until it was time to use them again. I’ll send over my findings to JK and Alan and see if they can fix that issue in later production models. In the meantime, I’ll try to do some modifications to them to see if that helps keep the parts on.
Overall, I really enjoyed building Metalhide even with some of the issues listed above and I would like to thank JK and Alan for sending me a copy to review. If you want to get your hands on your own copy of Metalhide MB-01, head on over to Brick Label to purchase the set. If I counted correctly, there are 527 pieces in the set. It is available in limited quantities and is sold for $119.90. Also, check out more images of Metalhide on Alan’s website. Also check out their Facebook Page some of their latest creations. Their second Masterbrick Series product is in the works and is called Windstorm which is their version of one of the Seekers. I’m looking forward to see what they come up with next.
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LEGO DC Comics UCS Tumbler (76023) Revealed
As we reported back in June, there was rumors of a new LEGO UCS set and it was highly speculated that it would be the Tumbler. USA Today has revealed one of the sets that was supposed to be unveiled at San Diego Comic Con 2014, the LEGO DC Comics UCS Tumbler (76023). The exclusive set will be on sold at LEGO Stores and on Shop@Home in September and it will consist of 1,869 pieces and will retail for $199.
The Tumbler is based on Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy vehicle and the set will also include 2 minifigures, one based on Christian Bale’s Batman suit and Heath Ledger’s Joker. This is the first time that Heath Legder’s version has been offered. The UCS Tumbler measures 15 inches tall and 9 inches wide. Another thing that LEGO has included with the set is the plaque and stand we usually see with UCS sets.
The August 2014 Store Calendar shows that LEGO VIP members get early access to a new exclusive set and I’m going to assume that it will be the UCS Tumbler (76023).
POP! The Art of the Geek Exhibit at San Diego Comic Con 2014
In a matter days, San Diego Comic Con 2014 will be upon us. Fortunately, not all of the cool stuff will be inside the convention center. Pop! The Art of the Geek is an art show that showcases various “contemporary artists aiming to explore the narrative of identity within the pop-culture spectrum while decoding the origins of comic book influence.” The exhibit will be held from Wednesday, July 23rd to Sunday, July 27th at Michael J. Wolf Fine Arts (363 Fifth Ave. at J Street). For those unfamiliar with downtown San Diego, the gallery is right in the middle of the Gaslamp Quarter, just a couple of blocks away from the convention center.
Some of the artists that will be featured are a couple of renowned LEGO artists that you may have heard before, Nathan Sawaya and Brandon Griffith. Nathan will have a number of his creations on display including his Han Solo in Carbonite sculpture and Stormtrooper helmet.
Brandon will be featuring his mosaic of The Comedian’s badge from the Watchman comics called It’s All A Joke.
The show is curated by Nathan and all the artwork displayed will be for sale with the proceeds benefiting the Art Revolution Foundation. If you’re going to SDCC 2014 and need to take a break, why not head over to the exhibit to take a look at these awesome pieces of work in person. Check out more details of the show as well as some of the artwork on display on the Pop! The Art of the Geek website.
Treasure Bricks May Be Your Next LEGO Storage Solution
If you’ve been looking for a solution to organizing your LEGO collection, then Treasure Bricks may be your solution. Treasure Bricks is an interlocking and stackable storage box that you can customize in different colors. Currently, there are four colors to choose from, Berry Blue, Rocket Red, Pure White, and Jet Black. Each Treasure Bricks system consists of three components:
- Interlocking and stackable storage boxes.
- Drawer component for easy access to your bricks. The drawer is easy to open and close, and the drawer is removable if you wish to empty your LEGO onto the carpet and start playing. You can take your LEGO collection anywhere to play!
- Flexible organization – choose as many as you need and you can always get more as your collection grows!
For more information about Treasure Bricks, head over to their Kickstarter page.
