First look at Back to the Future set

The latest Lego Stores' calendar-leaflet has been released, which includes the first image released of the forthcoming Lego Cuusoo Back to the Future Delorean set:

BrickNews have also released a document which has more images of the set, including a glimpse at the box, and the minifigures included. The document also reveals that, like the original Cuusoo project proposal, the set with include parts and instructions to build three versions of the Delorean, representing it's look from each of the films in the Back to the Future trilogy:

Here are the three originally proposed versions of the set. As you can see, while it's pretty close to the submitted designs, there have been some tweaks. Notably the mechanism for turning the wheels has been changed, and looks much neater as the result. The bonnet design is also different, and while it doesn't look as smooth, it probably does allow a more stable build when adding the module on the front of the third version.

The Delorean will be available from Lego stores and online in July.

Next Cuusoo set announced, and more sets in the running

The latest Cuusoo review results have been announced, of the three sets that made it to the review stage in Autumn last year (after getting ten-thousands supporters on the Cuusoo website), one will be going into production, with second still being considered. The set that is definitely going ahead is the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover, based on the current NASA robotic rover mission on Mars, and designed by one of the engineers from the actual rover. This set builds on something of a science/exploration sub-theme within the successful Cuusoo projects to date, following on from the Shinkai 6500 Submarine, and the Hayabusa spacecraft. The set is likely to be quite similar to the design submitted, as it has been deemed well built and at about the right scale for the size set Lego expect to produce. Here are their comments on the project:

After analyzing the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover project, we learned that this product has niche appeal and strong demand from the space and education communities. The product aligns well with the LEGO Group’s mission to “inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow,” including those who will build our future in outer space.

Like the Back to the Future Time Machine, which was approved in the Summer Review, the model presented in this project is built very closely to the LEGO Group’s design standards and so the final product will be very close to Perijove’s original design. It has a high play value, it fits well with voters’ price expectations, and we’ve secured the rights from NASA to release this project as the next LEGO CUUSOO set.

For these reasons, the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover project has passed the LEGO Review, and has been selected for production as the next LEGO CUUSOO set. Pricing and availability are still being determined.

There is already a chance to win this set! Lego's reBrick website and NASA are inviting Lego builders to to make models based on future NASA missions to win the Curiosity set, once it's out, and some other NASA goodies.

Two other sets were up for review alongside the Curiosity:

• Thinking with Portals, a series of Lego game proposals based on the video game Portal 2. Despite announcing the review results, they've not quite finished looked at the possibilities of doing something with this yet, so a set might still be forthcoming.
• USC Sandcrawler from Star Wars. Lego have ruled out the Sandcrawler, citing issues with their Star Wars license. It also seems to me that this would have been a ludicrously large set. There has previously been a Sandcrawler set, which while not accurate minifigure scale was still pretty significant.

Cuusoo also released a video explaining these latest review results, check it out:



In other Cuusoo related news, a Brickset reader noted that the Minecraft set (the third Cuusoo set to be produced) has been renamed in Lego's database, from "Micro World", to "Micro World - The Forest". This appears to be setting the stage for additional Minecraft sets; a Hungarian website, Kockamania, has reported a rumour of two new sets being planned.

Meanwhile, several other projects have gotten through to the review stage recently. Continue after the jump to check them out:

The Lego Movie

Warner Brother have released the trailer and teaser poster for The Lego Movie, which is due out next February. The film comes from writers and directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who previously brought us the charming, hilarious, and beautiful, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (one of my very favourite films).

As the trailer demonstrates, the movie pulls in Lego characters and designs from the entire range of licenses and original themes, new and old - It's just as if the world of The Lego Movie takes place in your own eclectic Lego collection. There are some nice new character, location, and vehicle designs too, which surely will be translated into real world sets as well.

Voice talents include Chirs Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Liam Neeson, and Morgan Freeman. Here's the official synopsis:

The 3D computer animated adventure tells the story of Emmet, an ordinary, rules-following, perfectly average LEGO minifigure who is mistakenly identified as the most extraordinary person and the key to saving the world. He is drafted into a fellowship of strangers on an epic quest to stop an evil tyrant, a journey for which Emmet is hopelessly and hilariously underprepared.

UPDATE: An international version of the trailer has also been released, it's a bit shorted but has a few extra scenes (have added more screencaps from this below as well):

Here are some screencaps from the trailer (after the jump), which hopefully gives us some clues to a few future Collectible Minifigures (there is definitely a panda costume character among the crowds, and several new historical characters), or sets based on the film - The new characters for the film have some especially nice character designs, plus there seems to be a Western sequence:

Brickverse returns!

So, I possibly didn't pick the best time to start my new Lego blog, just a couple of months before the release of Star Trek Into Darkness - As that meant I was snowed under with the amount of Star Trek stuff I had to talk about on my Star Trek site, The Trek Collective. More normal levels of Star Trek have now returned though, so after neglecting this place for a little while, I'm back. Lots to catch up on!

Mini Shop Series in the Cuusoo review

The latest Cuusoo project to pass the 10,000 supporters mark and get into the review waiting listing is the Mini Shop Series. This project cunningly drew upon multiple fan groups by featuring small versions of several well know shops.

Should the idea get through the review stage I guess the question is, which shop will be chosen to be made into an actual set? I'm sure the comments left by the 10,000 supporters will help Lego here; if 50% of them went for one particular brand, then obviously that drove support for the project overall. There will also undoubtedly be consideration for which shops best fit the Lego brand. And of course they would have to see which brands actually want to work with Lego.

The obvious easy one for Lego to arrange, and one that undoubtedly fits with the Lego brand, is their own Lego shop. They have already done this, at micro-scale, as a promo set for when a few new shops have opened. I'm sure a minifigure scale version would be very popular though, as would making it more widely available!

The next most likely option to me would seem to be McDonald's. Lego have previously done promotions with McDonald's, so their may be an ongoing relationship they can draw upon. In fact they have already done a McDonald's branch, as another promo set, back in 1999.

Of the remaining four I think Apple or Starbucks have good chances, as they are global brands. Although both seem a little adult to me. The last two, Dunkin Donuts and 7 Eleven both strike me as more specifically American, which would mean limiting the potential market of the set.

One other thing to consider is the purpose of Cuusoo in the first place. The aim is to expand Lego's markets, to tap into new groups of customers. So with that in mind would the obvious and easier routes like Lego and McDonald's be the ones Lego wishes to pursue? I guess we'll find out a few months down the line when we get the review results for this project.

Theme Guide: The Lord of the Rings (2013)

With a little interlude in the realm of The Hobbit, Lego's Middle-Earth adventures return to The Lord of the Rings this summer (and I'm sure will flip back to The Hobbit in time for the next film at the end of the year). There appear to be just four regular sets in this summer wave, plus a new Lego Game. With the potential for this theme to only continue as long as the new Hobbit films are coming out, it makes one wonder which bits of Middle-Earth might never get Lego releases. Let's have a look at the elements that are getting the brick treatment this year.

Official images have so far only been released of two of the sets, posted on Eurobricks by GRogall. I've used images from Toy Fair displays, from FBTB's coverage, for the rest for now. I'll update this article with better images as they become available.

79008 Pirate Ship Ambush

• The largest set of this wave, is a bit of an obscure surprise, one of the ghost army pirate ships which are in the films ever so briefly from my recollections. It's a welcome addition though, because that's one nice Lego ship! We've had a junk-style boat quite recently, in the form of the Ninjago set 9446 Destiny's Bounty; it's a really nice set, but it will be good (ironically considering the theme) to have this less fantastical version, and much larger version too. That said, there are certainly many fantasy elements with this boat, including three members of the army of the dead - Hopefully these will have some glow-in-the-dark parts, I'd guess from the photos that maybe their heads and arms are.

79007 Battle at the Black Gate

• Next up we have, a big chunk of wall. As chunks of wall go this isn't a bad one; it has big swing-open doors, and lots of spiky detailing. What this set is all about for me though, is the eagle! I love Lego animals, and will often buy sets just to get them, which would certainly be the case here. The wings on their own could be very useful parts too, considering they're attached with regular clips. The only thing that disappoints be a little about the eagle are its joined up massive feet. I want talons for picking up minifigures in distress!

79005 The Wizard Battle

• The smallest set in the range gives us Gandalf battling Saruman. A little dull, but for the size I suppose it does the job. What I really want is for this to be one tiny part of a huge Orthanc tower set! One nice little element in this set that is rather tempting; there's a printed Sauron eye in that glass ball!

79006 The Council Of Elrond

• A little chunk of Rivendell in this set. Can't really go wrong with that lovely elven architecture with hints of gold, and autumnal trees all around. Plus that Arwen minifigures looks superb.

50011 The Battle of Helm's Deep

• This second Middle-Earth Lego Game looks rather more exciting than the previous Hobbit game; thanks mainly to the more varied design of the whole thing. I'm normally most drawn to Lego Games that have unusual parts in which, which isn't really the case here. The micro-figure versions of the characters should be fun though.

What a kraken MOC

One of my favourite things to do with a new Lego set is to modify it; tweak and/or improve the design, swap out colours or parts for things I think look better, expand it, or build an environment around it. Iain Heath has gone to town with that sort of idea, taking the big grey wedge that is 10221 Super Star Destroyer, and adding a big red cephalopod to devour it!

Here's the nice in-universe story explaining this alien attack:

A rare species of Space Kraken, known to exist only in the vast Dreighton Nebula, were sought out using the the Jedi's most powerful clairvoyants, and brought under the Alliance's control by flying super-computers directly into their brains. Many brave Ewok pilots were unwillingly sacrificed to accomplish this difficult task. Far from being cruel to the Kraken, this arrangement was completely symbiotic, as the creatures had evolved to prey on starships, their diet being composed entirely of metals such as quadanium steel.

I love the details in this; the hull plating being bent back, the little big of engine tumbling away, and the noble Star Destroyer making a last ditch effort to save the day by ramming into the mega-octopus. This beautiful creation now lives at Heath's place of work, for all his lucky colleges to enjoy. Here it is on display:

You can see a few more photos in Heath's Flickr gallery.

The Brickverse now on Facebook

I have created a Facebook page for The Brickverse, so to keep up to date with all the latest Lego news and creations, make sure you "like" me.

You can also follow me general twitter and tumblr feeds for news from all my blogs.

This huge glassy chandelier, is made from Lego!

Believe it not, this giant chandelier, large enough for a person to stand in the center, is made almost entirely from Lego bricks, standing on just a few rings of metal:

It was designed and, rather delicately, built, by Tobias Toestesen, for Milan Design Week. The idea, taking the same basic transparent shape to create a larger construct, is to manipulate the light, using the Lego pieces to create shifting patterns and distortions.

Some eight thousand of the large half-cyclinder pieces are used in it's construction. Here is Toestesen at work building it:

You can see more images on Design Boom.

The Lone Ranger alternative images

Amazon in the UK has added listings for the The Lone Ranger sets, including new alternative images showing play features in each set. These look so fun! The silver mine and train set look especially good play-wise. Have a look below. To see the main images and box art, plus my thoughts and analysis on each, check out my The Lone Ranger theme guide.

79110 Silver Mine Shootout: Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.it.

79108 Stagecoach Escape: Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.es, Amazon.it.

79111 Constitution Train Chase: Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.it.

79107 Comanche Camp: Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.es, Amazon.it.

79109 Colby City Showdown: Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.it.

79106 Cavalry Builder Set: Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.it.