More from Lego isn’t just for kids: the latest news for nostalgic adults and adult budgets
Lego leaked a new Lord of the Rings kit called The Shire in a since-removed event posting on its site spotted by Jay’s Brick Blog. The kit focuses on Bag End, the home of Frodo and Bilbo Baggins in the fantasy series.
The even was for an April 5th signing by the model’s designer at Lego’s flagship London store, according to the article.
If so, you’ll be able to add a Lego Shell-Walker and Sawtooth to your collection next March thanks to a new Horizon-themed Lego set that you can preorder now. Varl is getting a minifig, too.
And if you want more Lego and Horizon while you wait, the new Lego Horizon Adventures game is out now.
Adding to its growing collection of doomed ocean-going vessels, Lego’s The Endurance recreates Ernest Shackleton’s ship that sunk in 1915 after being trapped in Antarctic ice for 10 months. Lego’s $269.99 version doesn’t float, but features a working steering wheel, four detachable life boats, sails, and removable panels revealing interior cabins and a replica of the ship’s steam engine.
The 3,093 piece X-Mansion is Lego’s largest X-Men set to date and will be available starting on November 4th for $329.99. It comes with 10 minifigures including our first Lego versions of Gambit, Professor X, Iceman, and Bishop, plus a buildable Sentinel robot. The set’s modular design gives easy access to interior features like a Danger Room and Cerebro.
The Star Wars slimelord’s Sail Barge is 3,942 pieces and comes with 11 figs, including R2-D2 with drink tray, Leia in her infamous bikini, and a gigantic (by minifig scale) Jabba himself. It takes artistic liberties inside the ship, including a food-filled galley.
No Sarlacc pit or skiff to renact the Boba Fett / Han Solo / Luke battle, I’m afraid — that’s sold separately.
We knew Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy, a four-part animated miniseries airing September 13th, would play amusingly fast and loose with canon.
But an entire Dark Falcon with Darth Jar Jar and Darth Rey and a Beach Luke?! Amazing. That’s the leak from Clay Bricks, who says it’ll cost $179.99. “X-Fighters” and “Tie-Wings” are reportedly coming too.
A dark tower fit to stand against Lego’s $500 Rivendell.
Nicolas Fremau, the hybrid architecture expert at Renault, used Lego to help build the prototype for the French car company’s E-Tech hybrid powertrain, as reported by Car and Driver:
In 2010, to the dismay of his family, Renault hybrid expert Nicolas Fremau spent his holiday break assembling a small-scale transmission out of Lego Technic parts... just 18 months after Fremau finished his Lego concept, Renault started testing the first functioning full-size LocoDiscoBox prototype.
They got the 10,000 votes to join these amazing Lego Ideas candidates. Outer Wilds and Interstellar builds come from fan designers I profiled here!
Many will enter, few will win: on Thursday, Lego greenlit a steamboat and a prize gumball machine but disqualified dozens, including the working mini bicycle I coveted and five Taylor Swift sets.
looks like a beaut. JB Spielwaren is listing it at a suggested retail price of €220, and Lego’s likely to charge the same in US dollars. (via Jay’s Brick Blog). There’s also a handful of new Lego Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog and Marvel sets coming, including a fantastic Milano ship from Guardians of the Galaxy with room for every Guardian in the cockpit.
The epic Saturn V and Space Shuttle Discovery didn’t come with a gantry, but Lego’s making up for it with the 3,091-piece NASA Artemis Space Launch System, coming May 28th for $259.99.
How much better is it? Here it is alongside all the other official Lego launchpad examples I could think of:
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The Tie is definitely the star, but I admit nostalgia for the rolling destroyer droid too. There’s also this kid-friendly version of Maul’s Sith Infiltrator with a slightly less-than-kid-friendly $70 pricetag, and an $80 Mos Espa Podrace diorama. I heard “Now THIS is podracing!” the instant I saw it, which I guess is a compliment!
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I’m still pretty proud of my big story on how Lego builds a new Lego set — but why not hear about the Lego Polaroid directly from its Lego designer? James May, who also recently worked on the BTS Dynamite and Hocus Pocus witches’ cottage sets, has now left the company to start a YouTube channel, design toys for UK schools, and also write for Brickset.
The highly anticipated Dungeons and Dragons set — inspired by this “Dragon’s Keep: Journey’s End” fan design — will be revealed at 1PM EST / 10AM PT next Tuesday. The actual release date hasn’t been announced yet.
The new minifig teaser below Lego’s countdown timer looks like a balanced adventuring party, and will probably work well as actual D&D character miniatures.
Lego has revealed its $299 Batman: The Animated Series Gotham City set (#76271), which features 4,210 pieces making up landmarks like the Gotham City Court and Arkham Asylum.
It also includes four minifigures of Batman, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, and the Joker. The set comes out on April 4th, and you can check out even more pictures of it from Lego’s website.
