Bricks Helping Japan

Seeing the devastation in Japan many of us want to help in our own unique LEGO way. Brothers Brick is helping us just that by creating an auction we can all get involved in — either by donating a model, by purchasing a model for sale, or by donation money to the cause.

You can go to Creations for Charity to read all the details on submitting a MOC.

Japan is near and dear to my heart as my father is Japanese and from the Osaka area. It tears at my heart to see what is happening and my prayers go out to those who have been affected.

Abydos

New builder Yatkuu (well at least new to me) has faithfully recreated a scene from Stargate the movie, not to be confused with the multiple shows and made for DVD movies that have followed since.

I look forward to more creations from this builder.

Something went wrong…

Igor Makarov makes good use of the new Minifig Collectible Series 4 HazMat Suit guy and lots of trans neon yellow elements. This just made me smile.

I’ve heard rumors that Series 4 is popping up both here and in Europe. I’ve yet to have seen any in person yet, but I’m looking forward to them.

The Building and Tear Down of Yoda

So I know its Thursday, and that I haven’t posted since Friday night. Well, that is partially because Yoda took a lot out of me and partially because I’m still prepping for Bricks by the Bay.

Between Saturday and Sunday Yoda grew and grew and grew:

Until at 5 pm on Sunday when Tiffeny and I placed the very top on Yoda’s head

But of course that isn’t the whole story. Yoda was needed for a building event this weekend up in Northern California. So, two hours after we built it up, we started to tear it down.

It really gives you perspective when you start taking apart Yoda’s head

About 3 hours later all the bricks were sorted and Yoda was no more.

I was one of the fortunate few to get the special Grand Opening set of Minifigs:
Picture Via FBTB

It was also really fun hanging out with Master Model Builder Dan Steininger who I hadn’t seen for 7 years.

The weekend was exhausting and fun with lots of kids and lots and lots of bricks. I look forward to the next time.

Costa Mesa LEGO Store Grand Opening

Well, the LEGO Store in Costa Mesa, California officially opened today at 10 am. Along with the excitement of the store finally being opened there was the 8 foot tall Yoda Building Event.

Here’s a look at the new store:

And here’s where we set up to do the giant Yoda build:

This was of course before all the crowds and people got there.

Another special model that was on hand for the opening, a newly designed Boba Fett model:

Once the building got started at 11 am, every one was excited and ready to start building. You can see Master Model Builder Dan Steininger talking to the kids

We couldn’t let Dan have all the fun so we got into the spirit of building. Here is Hao with his 2×4 tan brick version of a AT-AT

Also Ace of FBTB.com built a whole fleet of Star Wars ships in brown:
(You can see him in the background looking a little tired )

As we started to get giant bricks (4x the size of normal 2×4 bricks) from the kids Dan started to build the giant Yoda. The 2 foot tall version is used as a guide to create the 8 foot tall one.

By the end of the day we had made a good bit of progress.

One of the other cool things was that Dan gave several LEGO sets away during the day, and naturally when there is free LEGO involved the crowds gather

Tomorrow and Sunday will be even more crazy but I look forward to being there even if I am super tired (I was there for about 11 hours today helping out). I will be sure to take more pictures to document this weekend. Now I’ve got to go to bed as it will be another very long day tomorrow. Night all!

Bricks by the Bay Preparations

Goodness gracious this month seems to have a lot in it! I’m busily making lots of my LEGO keychains and jewelry for my vendor table at Bricks by the Bay. This year I thought I’d display my keychains and pins differently by having display racks. Now of course they can’t be regular display racks, they have to be LEGO display racks!

The frame mainly consists of black brick, technic bricks, and minifig jousting sticks.

Today I built lots of American flags, trains, penguins, Pac Man ghosts, hearts, skulls, and cats as keychains. It seems like a mixed bunch of models, but of course people have lots of different tastes.

If you are interested in purchasing any of my LEGO models and can’t make it to Bricks by the Bay you can check them out at my Folded Fancy Creations Etsy shop.

I still have lots more to do before I’m fully ready for this upcoming LEGO Convention and at the same time I’ll be going up to Costa Mesa this coming weekend for the Grand Opening of the new LEGO Store at South Coast Plaza. I look forward to helping out with the 8 foot tall Yoda build and hanging out with my fellow LEGO friends. And naturally I will do my best for all of you who can’t make it out to the Yoda build so that you can share in the fun.

Star Wars Miniland Almost Here!

I stopped by LEGOLAND California yesterday and guess what I saw in the Model Shop window? Miniland Star Wars models!

Now of course this is just a mere taste of what is to come, but I’m already getting very excited.

The area where the Star Wars cluster will be is still dirt, but by the Star Wars grand opening, I know it will look fantastic!

You can see the full set of images on my Flickr photostream.

Custom Minifig Stickers

Want a new way to show your love for LEGO minifigs? Check out these new vinyl decal stickers that just happen to be created by my brother Mike Asanuma.

They are all about 3 inches tall and prices range between $3-6 plus shipping.   The stickers are perfect for your laptop, car window, or just about any where else you feel like sticking them.

If you are interested in getting some click on any of the pictures or go to his Shallow Swamp Studios Etsy shop. He will also have these for sale at Bricks by the Bay at the end of the month.

The Mona Lisa

She may not have her enigmatic signature smile, but this MOC (My Own Creation) created by Joshua Christenson really got my attention. Its a combination mosaic and Miniland build. It doesn’t look like it at first, but then if you look at a different angle, you’ll see what I mean.

It really is quite clever, especially considering that he’s a TFOL (Teen Fan of LEGO).

Building Display Sets

I mentioned earlier about the Brand Ribbon Models for the LEGO Store that my LUG (LEGO User Group) was asked to build for the new Costa Mesa LEGO Store. Well imagine my surprise when I got three huge boxes last week that was filled with LEGO sets!

Man, when I got all these models it was like Christmas! 66 sets were sent to my house and at first I didn’t know why they had sent them to me, but then a quick conversation with the new LEGO store manager I found out that they were all the sets on display. And it wasn’t just small sets — Ultimate Collector Imperial Shuttle, Harry Potter Diagon Alley, and the Tower Bridge were also included.

So there was nothing to do but gather some of my fellow LUG members and have another building party!

Some models took only minutes to build (Hero Factory) while others took hours. We all had a fun time and the chance to build a whole bunch of LEGO sets was just plain cool.

We’ll be setting all of these models up at the store this Sunday and then next weekend is the Grand Opening!

LEGO Store Grand Opening Event:
South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa, CA
March 11 – 13
Help a real LEGO Master Builder construct an 8-foot tall LEGO Yoda during our 3-day Grand Opening Celebration weekend! You’ll get a free LEGO Star Wars Certificate of Achievement for helping, while supplies last! Plus, visit the LEGO Store during the event to enter for a chance to win a $50 LEGO Store Gift Card! No purhcase necessary to enter.

I’ll be there all weekend and I plan on covering the weekend here for all of you who can’t make it. But for those of you who can, I look forward to seeing you there!