LEGO ninjago movie annual 2018 review

The LEGO Ninjago Movie Official Annual 2018

2017 is almost over. And what's best to remind the people in the United Kingdom of that than next year's annuals! Starting of with The LEGO Ninjago Movie Official Annual 2018...

But first, a brief reminder of what annuals are. They are books published shortly before the end of each year, with the Christmas market as their target. Generally, annuals are large hardcover books centered on everything: sports, toys, celebrities, films, TV series... Everything! They feature various contents like text articles, comics, puzzles, etc. And some of them have freebies, like the LEGO ones. For 2018, four LEGO Annuals were released, namely, LEGO, LEGO Batman Movie, LEGO Ninjago Movie, and LEGO Star Wars. Interestingly, the LEGO one is published by Ladybird, and the other three are by Egmont. All of them have a recommended retail price of £7.99. But you can buy one at more or less half the price! Different book and toy stores have various promotions on these popular annuals. And if you can wait until later this year or early next year, these annuals will be reduced to just £1! There's just the risk of running out of stock though. Well, that's not at all brief, haha.

Moving on, The LEGO Ninjago Movie Official Annual 2018 is really made for the kids, with a recommended age of seven years old and above. There are numerous comics, puzzles, and activities about the latest LEGO film that can keep the little ninjas busy for hours. The art is strikingly colorful and beautiful. I really love the design, especially the graffiti style in some of the pages. It's just such a shame the artists were not credited for their amazing artwork. It would have been nice to associate the wonderfully drawn minifigures and brick pieces to the people who have created them.

For the freebie, The LEGO Ninjago Movie Official Annual 2018 comes with a Jay Walker minifigure. It's not really exclusive because you can also get one from the Movie Maker [5004394] polybag (which is not yet widely released as of writing). Individually, the parts are not exclusive as well. The hair piece is the same as in the Temple of the Ultimate Ultimate Weapon [70617] and the Collectible Minifigures [71019]. I'm surprised movie Jay has only two head pieces made, the selfie smiley one from the Collectible Minifigures [71019], and his default one just like below. It has two expression printed on each side, a half-smile, and a serious frown.

Jay Walker

Jay dons a white kimono for Spinjitzu training. Again, this is not exclusive. It's the same outfit that Nya wore in the Collectible Minifigures [71019], and the others (with the exception of Zane. For some reason, he doesn't have one) in various promotional sets. It's a great uniform though. It's really nice to see our ninjas wearing the same clothes before the multicolored Power Rangers-esque costumes.

For his accessory, Jay comes with his signature weapon, the flail. It's made of a chained blade connected to a stick.

Spinjitzu Training

All in all, The LEGO Ninjago Movie Official Annual 2018 is a good book with loads of fun activities and eye-catching visuals. The free Jay Walker minifigure is a sweet addition to any Ninjago collection. Actually, I think it would be nice to collect the whole gang in Spinjitzu training attires. Hmmm...

The LEGO Ninjago Movie widely comes out in the UK 13 October! And if you check your local cinemas, some are offering special advance screenings on 7 to 8 October! Go!

LEGO batman movie chaos in gotham city review

LEGO Batman Movie Chaos in Gotham City

With the release of The LEGO Batman Movie comes an array of promotional materials and merchandise. The town (or city, wherever you may be) is literally painted with bats! (Can I take home the cute bus stop ad?). Because of the vast advertising coverage, it's quite impossible to get all LEGO Batman Movie-related stuff. The solution? Get the essentials! And one of them is the LEGO Batman Movie Chaos in Gotham City activity book.

Just like any other LEGO activity books, Chaos in Gotham City is filled with fun trivia, puzzles, and comics. I find this book more colorful (and not to mention cuter) compared to its contemporaries, maybe because the content is free-spirited in itself. But what makes this activity book a must-have? It's the exclusive Tartan Batman minifigure!

Tartan Batman

I have a confession to make. I have to Google what tartan means to know what it is exactly. I know that this Batman minifigure wears plaid patterns that is associated with the Scottish. And to think I have been to Scotland once! Now I know that the pattern of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colors is called tartan!

If you have seen the trailer for the movie, you know that the LEGO Batman owns a huge variety of costumes. And now, here is a confirmation that he also owns a kilt. To quote the Dark Knight himself, he said he owns this specific outfit just in case [he feels] like playing the bagpipes.

Where's the bagpipe?

The Tartan Batman minifigure comes with a brown mask and a brown cape to match his straps and boots. His red and green tartan outfit is accented with a golden bat insignia (to remind everyone who he is). He also comes with a long sword accessory (though I wish he has a bagpipe as well). The minifig head is printed on both sides, with one flashing a smirk, and the other showing gritted teeth.

The LEGO Batman Movie Chaos in Gotham City retails for UK £6.99 / US $8.99. But I got mine for only £3.49 in my local Sainsbury's. I have reports that you can also buy a copy for that price via Amazon. What a great bargain!

Overall, The LEGO Batman Movie Chaos in Gotham City is a good buy (especially with a discounted price). The Tartan Batman minifigure is one of the most interesting costume variants for this LEGO theme. Definitely a must-have (especially for completists)!

bargain LEGO books

LEGO Minifigure Year by Year A Visual History

Putting together LEGO and books is a perfect combination. But when you add bargain to the equation, SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!!!

I mentioned in one of my earlier posts that, for me, the United Kingdom is a LEGO paradise. But it's not only the AFOL in me who's in bliss, but also the bibliophile. It's such a wonder to be in a place full of people who loves books. Anywhere you go, there's almost always someone who's immersed in a good book. At the bus stop. In the train. On the park bench. Since there's a huge demand, there's also a huge supply. But sometimes, the economic scale would tip to the surplus side. And we all know what that means, bargains! But it's only a good deal if you can find it in time.

I found the LEGO Minifigure Year by Year A Visual History in T.K. Maxx (T.J. Maxx in the US) for only £9.99 (RRP £25)! But the cheapest price that I found is a teeny £5 in The Book People! Unfortunately, the book is currently sold out in both stores. (Check out their other products in www.tkmaxx.com and www.thebookpeople.co.uk).

LEGO Minifigures Character Encyclopedia

Still at T.K. Maxx, I discovered the LEGO Minifigures Character Encyclopedia for only £3.99 (RRP £14.99)! It's not in the website though. I'm not quite sure but I think T.K. Maxx has more products in-store than online. Other LEGO books available when I visited my local branch are LEGO Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles for £6.99 (RRP £14.99), and LEGO Star Wars Brickmaster Battle for the Stolen Crystals for £9.99 (RRP £19.99). I just don't know if they will still be there on my next visit. There's a huge ominous sign in the store that reads here today, gone tomorrow!

LEGO I Love That Minifigure

Another store that has great book deals is The Works (www.theworks.co.uk). There, I was able to score LEGO I Love That Minifigure for £5 (RRP £14.99). There are a lot more LEGO books (about LEGO Ideas, Chima, etc.) in my local shop but I wasn't able to note their prices.

Nexo Power Rules

WHSmith (www.whsmith.co.uk) has lovely book deals as well. I bought my copy of Nexo Power Rules online for £3.49 (RRP £6.99) and collected it in-store for free! As of writing, WHSmith has a promotion on the new LEGO Annuals (RRP £7.99) with buy one get the other one for £1. I want the Star Wars one with the Ezra and C1-10P (Chopper) minifigures.

But if you're going to compute it, the 2017 LEGO Annuals are actually cheaper in Argos (www.argos.co.uk) for only £3.99 each!

LEGO Star Wars Annual 2016

Or maybe I could wait until next year and buy an annual in Poundland for just, well, £1! But I don't think with those sweet minifigures (in contrast with the free white bricks above), the 2017 LEGO Annuals will still be available next year, and for that low low price.

But what exactly are annuals? In the United Kingdom, annuals are published shortly before the end of each year, and are aimed at the Christmas market. They are generally large hardcover books centered on sports, toys, celebrities, films, TV series, and so on, featuring various contents like text articles, comics, puzzles, etc. (See? Book heaven!).

Supermarket chains like Sainsbury's (www.sainsburys.co.uk) also offers some great book deals. I don't really get it but some of the books there, even the recently released, are sold for only half the price! I got my LEGO Star Wars: Space Adventures there for only £3.49 (RRP £6.99).

LEGO Star Wars: Space Adventures

And don't get me started on Amazon and eBay. Their domains are too vast to discuss...

There's always a good book deal somewhere. You just need to know where to find one. A big help in doing so is HotUKDeals (www.hotukdeals.com), a community for deal seekers, finding and sharing the best deals, promotional codes, and vouchers from on and off the web (I lifted that from their About section, hehe).

The prices mentioned above definitely are subject to change. Deals change every time. Some deals are even only good for a few minutes. And some deals are just wild goose chases. I just wanted to share my hauls and how I got them for only the fraction of their original prices. LEGO is an expensive hobby so it's often better to cut cost and shop smartly. Happy hunting!