Sunday, November 20, 2016

#LEGOStoreLondon grand opening

LEGO Store London Opening with Lester and Mayor Sadiq Khan
LEGO Store London Opening with Lester and Mayor Sadiq Khan

The new London Leicester Square LEGO Store is now open! And here's brickednexus's viewpoint...

Dubbed as the largest LEGO Brand Retail Store in the world, the new flagships store measures 5,420 square feet in over two floors! With a store that big, it only makes sense to go big as well when it comes to promotions. Here are a few pics:

#LEGOStoreLondon Bus
#LEGOStoreLondon Bus

#LEGOStoreLondon Taxi
#LEGOStoreLondon Taxi

Lester in Leicester Square Station
Lester in Leicester Square Station

Lester, the official mascot of the brand new LEGO Store, is featured heavily in the promotions, and as you will see later, in the store design as well. The quintessential gentleman is a big help from the countdown to the grand opening event itself. Lester was reported to spark an unexpectedly huge interest among brick fans that the initial plan of featuring him only in print and as an actual mascot was refined the last minute to convert him into brick form as well (more on this later).

Lester in the Grand Opening
Lester in the Grand Opening

Besides Lester and The LEGO Group bigwigs, London Mayor Sadiq Khan was also there to open the Leicester Square LEGO Store not only to London but also to the rest of the world.

Lester Shaking Hands with Mayor Sadiq Khan
Lester Shaking Hands with Mayor Sadiq Khan

Press the Button
Press the Button

It was not forgotten that the essence of LEGO is first and foremost for the kids, that is why the honor of pressing the button to unbox the biggest LEGO Store was given to majority of them.

And of course, a LEGO Store in London won't be complete without the famous Big Ben. A huge model was built from more than 200,000 bricks, towering for about 6.53 meters high. It has a working clock face, and it is illuminated at night. This is just in time for the planned renovation of the real Big Ben. At least people will still be able to see a majestic model.

Brick Built Big Ben
Brick Built Big Ben

The store didn't fail to deliver its promise of new, exciting, and exclusive LEGO experience. In one of the show windows, there is a device that scans your hand and reveals who you are in brick form. I think it's really random but that doesn't make the gimmick less fun (especially if you get some funny or out of character minifigures).

Who Are You?
Who Are You?

Prepare for Scanning
Prepare for Scanning

Scanning
Scanning


You're a Penguin an Eskimo!

Another technological feature is the digital catalog that displays all the stocks in-store. If you don't like to browse the shelf, then this is for you. But who does that? Actually, a more practical use for this beauty is to know the available sets that are not in the shelves. My wife wanted Ariel's Undersea Palace [41063] but we can't see a set anywhere. So, we checked the digital catalog and clicked for assistance ('cause that's what it prompted us to do). Fortunately enough, there are still a few available in the stockroom.

Digital Catalog
Digital Catalog

And now, making its debut in the LEGO Store London is the Mosaic Maker.

Mosaic Maker
Mosaic Maker

The Mosaic Maker booth will take your picture in real time and instantly convert it into a brick mosaic made out of small black, grey, white, and yellow bricks! How cool is that? The only setback is that it costs £99 to make one.

Pick-a-Brick (or Model) Wall
Pick-a-Brick (or Model) Wall

The flagship store also has the staple Pick-a-Brick (or Model) Wall. It's just a bit disappointing to learn that it's almost the same as with other LEGO Stores. Then per floor, there is a Build-a-Minifigure station each. Another letdown is that there are no exclusive parts or prints in the selection, yet. I'd like to believe that sooner or later, there'll be exclusive prints to choose from, just like in the US stores.

Exclusive sets for purchase were also minimal. The previously free gift with purchase Creator London Bus [40220] is available for £9.99. The Architecture London Skyline [21034] is released early exclusively in the flagship store and it retails at £44.99.

Selfie with Lester
Selfie with Lester

Speaking of exclusive, the Lester minifigure is now considered as ultra-exclusive! During the opening weekend, you can obtain one via a scratch card after a £55 (or more) purchase. You can get either Lester or a Creator Parrot [30472] polybag. Why the lottery? The official explanation is that, as stated above, the minifigure is a bit of a last minute addition to the promotions. However, the bowler hat piece has long been discontinued making it difficult to produce enough Lesters to make everyone happy. All in all, only 275 Lesters were produced for the opening, making it super rare. As of writing, a Lester minifigure is out in the secondary market for up to £3500! But rumor has it (and I wish that this will prove to be true), more Lester minifigures will be released soon...

Freebies (Except the Bus)
Freebies (Except the Bus)

Other promotions include a free LEGO Brand Retail Store [40145] for any purchase over £125, a free LEGO 24-in-1 Christmas Builds [40222] for any purchase over £60, and a free LEGO Toy Soldier Christmas Ornament [5004420] for any purchase over £25.

There were also a lot of freebies during the grand opening, from random polybags (Olaf's Summertime Fun [30397], C-3PO [5002948], etc.) to 2015's Gingerbread House [40139] set. A lot of postcards and stickers were also given away. But a first in Europe is The LEGO Store Passport. You can travel around the store then take pictures of the iconic brick builts, and have your passport stamped along the way.


Overall, the new LEGO Store London is a great addition to the wonderful points of interest in this great city. It is a must see for brick fans of all ages to have a new, exciting, and exclusive LEGO experience.


Below are more pictures from the opening weekend...



Christmas Tree
Christmas Tree

Christmas Presents
Christmas Presents


Commuter: Robin Hood
Commuter: Robin Hood


Commuter: Queen
Commuter: Queen


Commuter: Football Player
Commuter: Football Player


Brick Built Detective
Brick Built Detective


Leicester Square
Leicester Square


Train Driver
Train Driver

Map
Map

Brick Built Conductor
Brick Built Conductor


Interactive Lester
Interactive Lester


Interactive Detective
Interactive Detective


Brick Built Post Box
Brick Built Post Box


Piccadilly Circus
Piccadilly Circus

Westminster
Westminster

LEGO Logos
LEGO Logos

Green Dragon Tail
Green Dragon Tail

Proper Green Dragon
Proper Green Dragon

Brick Built Telephone Booth
Brick Built Telephone Booth
(Photo by: Poncemel Ardiente)

Mind the Gap
Mind the Gap
(Photo by: Poncemel Ardiente)
Big Ben Details
Big Ben Details
(Photo by: Poncemel Ardiente)



Till
Till

Brick Built Wall Art
Brick Built Wall Art
























Saturday, November 19, 2016

LEGO nexo knights avatar generator

Avatar Generator
Avatar Generator

Fancy being a Nexo Knight? Now you (or at least your profile picture) can be one, for the LEGO Nexo Knights Avatar Generator is now live!

Unleash your inner Nexo Knight and try out Clay's or Macy's armor. Or if you don't like their color schemes, you can customize your suit to your favorite hue. Using your computer or your smartphone, just upload your favorite picture or snap a new one, then fit it to your chosen pre-set frame. The last step is to download and share. That's it! Done in just four easy steps!


Saturday, November 12, 2016

LEGO star wars magazine: issue 17

LEGO Star Wars Magazine Issue 17
LEGO Star Wars Magazine Issue 17

The LEGO Star Wars Magazine Issue 17 has just been released, and this month's free gift is the personal transport of the evil Emperor, it's Palpatine's Shuttle!

The modified Theta-class T-2c Shuttle was the vehicle used by the Emperor to aid his injured apprentice Anakin Skywalker from the fiery planet Mustafar. Of course, all this happened towards the end of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

Palpatine's Shuttle
Palpatine's Shuttle

This month's microbuild is a bit of a saving grace from last month's MTT, but obviously, it still hasn't top the AT-AT. It is a fun quick build, and the resemblance from the source material is easily seen.

By the way, the foil pack packaging has changed in this issue. It's bigger now, and it's no longer resealable. I don't know if this will be the case from now on, or it's just because big parts were included in this month's free gift. But this makes more sense though in terms of security. There'll be no way to open the foil packs in the store shelves without leaving a trace. It is also important to note the presence of a Death Trooper in the packaging. Can we expect Rogue One microbuilds soon?

For next month's issue, get ready for the very green Flash Speeder! The LEGO Star Wars Magazine Issue 18 comes out on 14 December.

Flash Speeder
Flash Speeder

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

#LEGOStoreLondon twitter competition via evening standard

Lester Crossing the Tower Bridge
Lester Crossing the Tower Bridge
(Photo grabbed from: https://www.facebook.com/pg/LEGO/photos
)

Great news UK brick fans! There's another way to join Lester and get an exclusive look of the world’s largest LEGO flagship store on 16 November, before it’s open to the public! Evening Standard has four family tickets to give away to five lucky readers!

To be entered into the prize draw, simply follow @ESLifeandStyle on Twitter. Then, RT (ReTweet) clearly designated competition tweets on Twitter, like this and this.

Promotion closes at 10:00 on Monday, 14 November 2016. Winners will be selected at random after the closing date and will be contacted by Direct Message on Twitter later that day.

For more details, including the official Terms and Conditions, click here.

Good luck!

Friday, November 4, 2016

#LEGOStoreLondon online competition

Lester in the City
Lester in the City
(Photo grabbed from: https://www.facebook.com/pg/LEGO/photos)

The official LEGO Facebook page has just announced an online competition giving UK brick fans an opportunity to join Lester and get an exclusive look of the world’s largest LEGO flagship store on 16 November, before it’s open to the public!

To get a chance to win four tickets to Leicester Square, London special guest event on 16 November from 18:00 to 20:00, all you have to do is upload pictures of your LEGO Minifigures within a fun and entertaining London theme or setting to the LEGO social media channels at www.instagram.com/LEGO or www.facebook.com/LEGO, or Twitter using the hashtag #LEGOStoreLondon. There is no limitation of the amount of images you can enter. The criteria used for judging will be 50% for overall coolness and originality, and 50% for understanding of the competition theme (the need to do something London-like). Deadline for the submission of entries is on 8 November (24:00 GMT+2). A total of five winners will be announced on 9 November on the official LEGO Facebook page.

For the official competition terms and conditions, click here.

Good luck!

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

meet lester

Lester
Lester
(Photo grabbed from: https://www.facebook.com/pg/LEGO/photos
)

The official LEGO Facebook page has finally revealed Lester, in all his brick glory.

Meet Lester, the official mascot of the brand new London Leicester Square LEGO Store, which opens on 17 November. The press release stated that the quintessential gentleman minifigure will be helping in the countdown of the eagerly awaited monumental event.

Dubbed as the largest LEGO Brand Retail Store in the world, the new flagships store measures 5,420 square feet in over two floors! And of course, it won't be complete without the famous Big Ben. A huge model made from more than 200,000 bricks, and towering for about 6.53 meters high, is currently being built. The clock face is said to be working and is illuminated at night. The store also promises exciting new and exclusive LEGO experience.

For more details, head on to the official LEGO Facebook page or to LEGO.com.

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

ahsoka tano LEGO dress

Ahsoka Tano LEGO Dress
(Photo grabbed from: https://twitter.com/pablohidalgo/status/790728456703086593
)

Just in case you missed it in the San Diego Comic-Con International, the epic Ahsoka Tano LEGO dress has made another public (sort of) appearance in the Lucasfilm Headquarters.

Last week, Lucasfilm Creative Executive Pablo Hidalgo tweeted that the magnificent Ahsoka Tano LEGO dress is on display at their workplace. It was originally worn by Ahsoka Tano herself, Ashley Eckstein in her brand Her Universe fashion show at the above mentioned comic convention. The dress was made in collaboration with LEGO artist Nathan Sawaya and fashion designer Andrew Maclaine. Precisely 10,000 bricks forming Ahsoka's appearance were ingeniously sewn onto a regular dress. It was reported to weigh about 25 pounds.

The day after the tweet, the couture gown was briefly featured on the weekly syndicated The Star Wars Show. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out below:



october mini model build: robot

October Mini Model Build [40248] The Monthly Mini Model Build for October is an awesome robot! Veering away from the cutesy animals, the LEG...