STAR WARS Miniland Opening at LEGOLAND CA

This picture was just posted on LEGOLAND California’s Facebook page. It says that Star Wars Miniland will be opening this March. There’s no other info yet, but if you look at the picture, several of those models look like they will be the ones in the display and from the looks of the models they will be spanning both the original and prequel movie trilogies

Update:I found this from the LATimes:

Eight model makers and two animators based at Legoland Germany have been working for a year with Lucasfilm to create 1:20 scale versions of iconic “Star Wars” characters, spacecraft and landscapes using 1.5 million Lego bricks.

In addition to posing for photos with life-size Lego models of Chewbacca, R2-D2 and Darth Vader, visitors will be able to wander through seven Lego-fied “Star Wars” scenes, including:

Episode I: Naboo
Battle scenes at the royal palace and a flight hangar feature a duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Maul.

Episode II: Geonosis
Obi-Wan, Padme Amidala and Anakin Skywalker battle creatures in the Geonosis arena while nearby a battle unfolds between a droid army and Republic fighters.

Episode III: Kashyyyk and Mustafar
A battle rages on the Wookie planet of Kashyyyk while Obi-Wan and Anakin engage in a fateful duel on the volcanic planet of Mustafar.

Episode IV: Tatooine
Obi-Wan, C-3PO and R2-D2 appear at Luke Skywalker’s childhood home in addition to scenes featuring the Mos Eisley Cantina band and Han Solo’s Millennium Falcon.

Episode V: Hoth
Imperial AT-ATs as well as Rebel snow speeders and X-wing fighters can be found on the icy planet of Hoth along with Luke, Han, Darth Vader and Princess Leia.

Episode VI: Endor
The Rebel Alliance defeats the evil Empire on the Ewok’s forest moon of Endor.

Clone Wars: Christophis
In a scene that chronologically takes place between Episodes II and III, Jedi Knights Anakin and Obi-Wan appear amid an 8-foot-tall Crystal City building.

This will be the first time Miniland will step out of the “real world” of actual cities and step into a fantasy in a full cluster. When Miniland was created, it was supposed to be real cities and we were limited here in the US because the higher-ups at the time wouldn’t let us build anything but American cities, so all the interesting cities of the world were off-limits.

But at the same time, what’s really interesting was that we were talking about a possible Star Wars Miniland over four years ago when I still worked in the Model Shop. There’s an empty space where Miniland Florida used to be, that might be where they put this, but who knows. 😉

As soon as I know more, you’ll know more, so stay tuned!

Creations for Charity 2010

Well, Nannan of Brothers Brick has started it again. His second annual Creations for Charity is already underway.

From now until early December, you can buy a custom Lego creation made by Lego fans from around the world. All proceeds will be used to give Lego sets to underprivileged children during the holidays. This is an annual opportunity where Lego enthusiasts use their creative hobby to support a great cause. As buyers, you can own the original creations from a diverse array of builders and customizers, several of whom are among the best at what they do.

We accept creations for the fundraiser until December 1st. We also accept monetary donations at the store. For either form of donation over $50, you will receive an engraved Creations for Charity 2010 keychain assembled and glued by LEGO Certified Professional Sean Kenney and topped with a real gold-plated Lego brick from ChromeBricks. I sincerely hope you’ll take part in this event and help us set a new record. You make a lot of kids happy. Merry Christmas!

So go on over and check out all the wonderful creations made by your fellow AFOLs (Adult Fans of LEGO). I was going to mention the two creations I donated, but they have already been sold. 🙂

Kevin Chen as R2-D2

LEGO Purists, especially Star Wars Fans, might cringe at the brick modification on this model, but I found Morgan190’s entry in the Eurobricks’ “Let’s Go Cosplay” Contest adorable. 🙂

Kevin’s costume was constructed by first hollowing out R2’s head and body pieces with various tools including an xacto knife and electric drill– I would’ve used a dremel if I had one. I cut the studs off the top of the droid torso and drilled a hole for the minifig’s head to fit into. Because the holes in the side of the body are too large for a minifig’s arm pegs, I trimmed a toothpick down to the right size and attached both arms to it, allowing them to remain attached to the body while maintaining their full range of movement.

Kevin Chen, rookie cosplayer and avid R2 fan, is on his way to his very first Star Wars convention!

This is the overall vignette shot showing Kevin Chen in his R2 costume, waiting on the subway platform.

Okay, so it is modified, but at the same time it looks great! And who hasn’t seen some one dress like that for Halloween? 😀

LEGO Jambalaya

Have you ever heard of LEGO Jambalaya? LEGO Jambalaya has nothing to do with the edible version. In fact its more of a Round Robin, but LEGO Jambalaya sounds more interesting. 😉

So, what is LEGO Jambalaya? Basically it is when someone makes up a bag or box of LEGO elements that they are willing to trade. The bag or box can be whatever shape, but a good size is a gallon-sized bag or a medium US priority mail box. So, the first person, who also acts as a moderator, gathers a small group of friends, no more than 10 (or it will take too long), and they all agree to join the Jambalaya. Person number 1 then hands off or mails, depending on distance, the box to person number 2.

Upon receiving said box, the second person can then take out whatever parts they want from the box. Once they have made their selection that person then puts in an equal or if they choose greater amount into the box and sends it off to the third person and so on.

I am currently participating in one so I will show you both what I took:

And what I put in:

Once it has gone through all the people on the list the first person gets the box back from the last person (#10) and he has a whole new box of parts to play with.

Now of course doing something like this requires a lot of trust. Usually you have to know at least some if not all the people you are trading with so that you can trust them with that much LEGO. It also helps if the group is on some sort of online forum or group (local or otherwise) so that they can know that it will get around to all the people participating.

But, if you are willing to try it, it can be a fun way of getting a whole bunch of fun new parts and also giving away some parts you are willing to trade. 🙂

BrickCon has begun!

Photo credit: Joe Meno

Although the opening ceremony doesn’t start until today, set up of BrickCon started yesterday. We also picked up our goody bags and as you can see, its pretty cool. The cup cooler, although you can’t see it, has the BrickCon logo on it. We also got a really nice figure and prototype pack from BrickArms and we all got a collectible minifig (I got a series 1, Joe got a series 2).

Unfortunately I haven’t snapped any pictures of my own, which is why I am borrowing some from Joe Meno. The main reason I didn’t do any picture taking was that my Golden Gate Bridge did not make the trip too well. I think they must have tossed my rather heavy, LEGO filled bag around like crazy to get it so beat up. What should have taken half an hour took at least four if not five hours to put together.

I did meet in person finally some very nice people that I’ve only known online. That is always the benefit of a LEGO Con. The models I’ve seen so far are pretty cool! I will be posting pics of my own hopefully tonight, although that might not happen as we are going to the Scratch and Dent sale at the LEGO store.

Photo credit: Joe Meno

Well, BrickCon officially is about to start, so I’ll get back to you with details and pics. 🙂

BrickCon 2010

Photo by Adam Hally

There is only about a month before BrickCon 2010 starts and just about two weeks left to register online as an attendee.

Now is the time to register for BrickCon 2010. This year’s Theme is “Tales of the Brick!” Build your Tale and tell (and show) it to the world!

We return to the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall and have added the Rainier Room (Northwest Rooms) to our venue space. We’ll be using the Rainier Room (6,000 sq ft) for all of our Convention Activities including the Thursday Meet and Greet and our General Assemblies, seminars and contests.

Registering now will guarantee you’ll receive a customized engraved name badge you can wear proudly to the entire three day (four if you count Thursday – and we do!) event. Included with your registration will be a great Goody Bag, a Free Luncheon on Friday. And, if you’re old enough, you can attend our Thursday Meet and Greet get together where mixed drinks, beer and wine will be available ($4 per drink – cash only) along with free Mexican fare (snacks).

BrickCon 2010 now has three definitions of Attendee:

Adult (21+)($65) – For our Thursday Night Meet-and-Greet, where alcohol will be available and under 21’s will not be allowed.
Adult (18-21)($60) – All other AFOLs
Teen (13-18)($60) – TFOLs – TFOL Registrations cannot be purchased separately and require a second registration of a Parent/Guardian, (Adult 21+ $65)
We recommend that children under 14 attend BrickCon as guests at our Public Exhibition. Although there are some activities younger persons may enjoy, most of our Convention events are meant for more mature persons, primarily adults.

If you procrastinate too long, September 15th is the “deadline”, we cannot guarantee the terrific Goody Bag and custom badge. Registration will close September 28th. Then registration will only be at the door at the Exhibition Hall

I am still not sure if I’ll be attending this year, although I’m really hoping to. When I attended in 2008 I had a wonderful time and made lots of new friends.

If you are on the fence about going, my recommendation — go! Seattle is lovely, the AFOL’s are great, and there are all kinds of fun events to join in. 🙂

Star Wars Celebration V LEGO Mosaic Build

Photo Credit: Ricky Brigante

As I can’t be at Celebration V, I have to live vicariously through the pictures of others. One of the LEGO building events is a 15 foot wide mosaic.

To commemorate the 30th anniversary of Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, LEGO Systems, Inc. and Lucasfilm Ltd. are summoning the force of LEGO® and STAR WARS fans and families to participate in a three-day collaborative build of an eight-foot tall, 15-foot wide LEGO mystery mural to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The mural will be constructed by attendees of Star Wars Celebration V and a LEGO Master Builder at Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center from August 13-15.

Fans who help the LEGO Master Builder to construct the mural will receive one of 10,000 limited edition white Boba Fett LEGO minifigures. Additionally, for every LEGO plate a fan builds and adds to the mural, LEGO Systems and Lucasfilm’s “The Empire Gives Back” program will donate 330 LEGO System and LEGO DUPLO® bricks to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to encourage imagination and creative play and support the patients of St. Jude. In total, more than 1.5 million LEGO bricks will be donated..

“The STAR WARS franchise has creatively inspired so many people since its debut, and has motivated LEGO enthusiasts to build models, create their own stories and, in some cases, produce their own films,” said Michael McNally, brand relations director, LEGO Systems, Inc. “We’re particularly proud to partner with Lucasfilm’s ‘The Empire Gives Back’ charitable giving program to both commemorate an important milestone for The Empire Strikes Back, but also to help carry forward its creative spirit with yet another generation of children through St. Jude.”

STAR WARS enthusiasts will also be able to see new LEGO products on display, have their picture taken with life-sized LEGO STAR WARS models and check out fan created LEGO models. A second LEGO Master Builder will be doing a live build of a 6-foot tall Boba Fett model.

The LEGO Store will have products available for purchase and will feature an exclusive Celebration V STAR WARS CubeDude set, designed by fan and Pixar animator, Angus MacLane, who will be on-site to sign boxes. To purchase the set, a raffle ticket must be drawn. Tickets will be pulled at the LEGO booth each day at 11 a.m.

One of the coolest things about the LEGO mosaic is who helped build it — none other than George Lucas himself!

Photo credit: Michel McNally.

Yep that’s right folks, apparently the father of Star Wars plays with LEGO too, at least a little bit. And from the looks of the photo, Master Model Builder Mark Roe is so excited he can’t even stay still for a photo. 😀

Another random photo I found on Flickr is of a rather cool LEGO R2-D2
Photo Credit: legoriki

Celebration V is in full swing and will continue today and tomorrow. For those of my friends who are down there, have fun! 🙂

LEGOLAND Star Wars Days 2010

This weekend is fun and full for me. I was at LEGOLAND yesterday and will be back again today to help out with the SANDlug/LUGOLA display at Star Wars Days.

I added my own contribution of the Dagobah Swamp with a little help from my friend Tiffeny Thompson who brought her X-wing and Yoda hut set along to finish the scene.

One of my favorites was the CubeDudes Jabba’s Palace made by Master Model Builder Joel Baker and friends.

And here’s what Matt Armstrong’s Micro Star Wars scenes looks like all together

There are many more pictures at my Flickr photostream and I’ll be taking more today. But for now I’ve got to go and get to LEGOLAND for the final day of Star Wars Days. 🙂

Monster’s Micro Star Wars

Matt “Monsterbrick” Armstrong is known for his unconventional building styles and his new micro Star Wars scenes are simply adorable! Even though its micro, you can clearly tell what scenes he’s made.

The only thing that might be a tad “taboo” is Yoda’s head. Its a cut down flower stem. But as it is a fairly common part and it works so well, I don’t really see a problem with it though.

Matt will have these models and several others on display at this weekend’s LEGOLAND Star Wars Days.

BrickFair 2010

BrickFair is starting tomorrow at the Dulles Expo Center in Northern Virginia. The attendee event runs from Aug. 5th-8th while the public hours are Aug. 7th and 8th 11am-4pm. As I will not be attending this year, I can only view the event from pictures. 😦

But don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll be having fun at the LEGOLAND Star Wars Days. 🙂 And maybe I can make it next year.

For all those who are going, have fun and hopefully I’ll see you at the next LEGO Convention.