Blocks Magazine (February 2020)

SPEED CHAMPIONS: YOUR GUIDE TO THE
BEHIND THE SCALE NEW DC MINIFIGURES


LEGO SORTING
MACHINE





















LEGO BATMAN





THE GREATEST BATMOBILE?
I N T E R V I E W N E W S

EXCLUSIVE: ALL YOU
WILL NEED TO
ARNETT KNOW
ON LEGO ABOUT
MASTERS LEGO IN
USA 2020






































FEBRUARY 2020 ISSUE 64 £5.49
ADD AN INTERIOR TO
YOUR STAR DESTROYER

Nr. 101098
Tank IV
• exclusive sets for teenagers and adults
• fascinating, one-of-a-kind designs
• instructions available for free to download
• built from non-Lego 3rd party interlocking bricks
• surprisingly cheap prices







Nr. 101080
Truck










Nr. 100865
Seagrave Tiller Ladder Manhattan













Skyscraper

Coming soon!

Nr. 101470 Nr. 102537 Nr. 101469
London Taxi Road Train Offroad
Truck










Nr. 101310 Nr. 102500 Nr. 101999
Tank Churchill A22 Queen Mary I Old water
mill









www.BlueBrixx.com

WELCOME





ISSUE 64 / FEBRUARY 2020
S YOU READ this, the January blues will
SPEED CHAMPIONS: YOUR GUIDE TO THE
BEHIND THE SCALE NEW DC MINIFIGURES
MEET THE TEAM LEGO SORTING be in full swing, only this time you’ll be in
MACHINE
DEPUTY EDITOR / Aan entirely new decade. But I’m writing it
GRAHAM HANCOCK at the back end of 2019, a couple of days before
Long-term LEGO fan specialising in
LEGO BATMAN Christmas, thinking about the year – and decade –
everything from Pirates to Star Wars, with a
soft spot for exhibitions and LEGOLAND. I N T ER V I E W THE GREATEST BATMOBILE? N E WS we’ve just had in LEGO.
EXCLUSIVE: ALL YOU
WILL NEED TO
ARNETT KNOW
ABOUT
ASSOCIATE EDITOR / ON LEGO LEGO IN Of course, we’ve already celebrated the 2010s
MASTERS
USA 2020
CHRIS WHARFE in the brick, but our rundown of the decade’s best
Experienced journalist with a lifelong love of
LEGO, Star Wars and Super Heroes. Blocks' came before the LEGO Group unveiled 76139
resident northerner. 1989 Batmobile. To make up for missing it off our
BUILD SPECIALIST / list, we’ve dedicated this month’s front cover to
SIMON PICKARD the impressively imposing ride, which totally suits
Our experienced MOC expert who is a FEBRUARY 2020 ISSUE 64 £5.49 ADD AN INTERIOR TO
YOUR STAR DESTROYER
regular on the show circuit. If there’s a way LEGO Batman’s mantra of only building in black
to build it, then he can show you how. Cover Pic: Phil Wrighton (and very, very dark grey). Head further into these
USA EDITOR / pages for our in-depth review of the mammoth DC
DANIEL KONSTANSKI set, alongside a chat with its designer.
Lifelong LEGO obsessive passionate about
collecting. With a thorough knowledge of If superheroes aren’t your thing, don’t fret: we’ve
LEGO over the years, he is Blocks' historian. also taken a deep dive into Speed Champions’
revamped format on page 30, caught up with Will
CONTRIBUTORS
Katy Ward, Alec Hole, Daniel Jamieson, Rob Arnett ahead of LEGO MASTERS USA on page 54,
Damiano, Ed Mack, David Wardle, Will Freeman, and kicked off a huge Mod Squad project to give
Jme Wheeler, Chris Wight, James Ward, Mike
Freeman, Nathaniel Shields, Josh Cirinna, Rob your Imperial Star Destroyer the interior it sorely
Cirinna, Steve Guinness, Steve Paris, Kat Rees- WE’RE needs on page 74.
Jauke, David Cartlidge, Phil Wrighton, Sébastien
CELEBRATING
Daniell, Mike Mitchell, Jeremy Beckett All this is to say that even while we’re celebrating
ART EDITOR THE PAST, AND the past, we’re also looking to the future – in this
Keith Wood, Hype Creative issue and beyond. Here’s to the new roaring ’20s.
LOOKING TO
PHOTOGRAPHY THE FUTURE Chris Wharfe
Phil Wrighton
Associate Editor
PRODUCTION
Chris Wharfe, Graham Hancock
PUBLISHER
Tom Saunders 38
[email protected]
TEL: 07841 412199
THANKS TO Kim Ellekjaer Thomsen, Sara Skahill,
Pieter Hannes Lammens, Brickset, The Brothers
Brick, John Cuppage, Daniel West, Zach Pharr,
Michael Kanemoto, Jim Boehm, DENLUG, Chris
Stamp, Will Arnett, Anthony Dominici, Jamie
Berard, Endemol Shine Group, FOX, Signe Wiese,
John Harvey, BrickinNick, Seb_E, Sylvain Garnier,
Stu Pace, Gaetan Boudard, Peter Furstenberg,
Mitsuru Nikaido, Dale Harris, ZiO Chao, Steve
Marsh
INDEPENDENCE Blocks is published by
Silverback Publishing Ltd for fans and enthusiasts
of LEGO. LEGO, the LEGO logo, the brick and
knob configurations, and the minifigure are
trademarks of the LEGO Group, which does not
sponsor, authorise or endorse Blocks magazine.
DISTRIBUTION
If you have trouble finding Blocks please call 07841
412199 or email [email protected].
While every effort is made in compiling Blocks,
the publishers cannot be held responsible for
THE RETURN OF
LEGO FABULAND 2010s:
errors or omissions. All rights reserved. No part of DECADE GIFT GUIDE 2019
DECADE
YOUR HOLIDAY
IN
IN
REVIEW
REVIEW
AHOY, IT BE 30
this publication may be reproduced or transmitted DROID ALERT STAR IDEAS FIRST LOOK AT DISNEY TRAIN MARCOS OVERWATCH FROM GOING OFF-ROAD SCROOGE MCDUCK
YEARS OF PIRATES!
BUILD YOUR OWN
LEGO CENTRAL PERK
WITH CONTROL+
SCREENS TO STUDS
BESSA CLIMBS ABOARD
WARS GETS A BOOST
TOP TEN
FIRST LOOK: THE
HOW TO BUILD BIG:
in any form or by any means, electronic or SUBSCRIBE NOW! SCALING SKYSCRAPERS LEGO TRAINS RISE OF SKYWALKER
mechanical, including photocopying, recording FROM THE
DE S I GN
BUILDING , COLLE C TING AND CUS T OMISING Y OUR LE GOBUILDING , COLLE C TING AND CUS T OMISING Y OUR LE GO GROUND R E V IE W
or any storage or retrieval system, without the DE S I GN R E V IE W HI S T OR Y UP: THE R E T RO THE ONE
EMPIRE
WHERE
BACK ON
HOW TO A T. REX HOW THE STATE LOOKING FRIENDS
MECH?
TURN YOUR LEGO GROUP 20 YEARS SAVES THE
IT CAN
consent of the publisher. HOME INTO A ONLY BE EUROPE OF ROCK PLANET
CONQUERED
LEGO PALACE
JURASSIC
RAIDERS
WORLD
IN S IDE P LU S
LEGO T. REX YOUR GUIDE
GOES ON A TO THE NEW
RAMPAGE: VIP SYSTEM
OUR REVIEW
E V E NT S BU I L D
HEADING CLASSIC
EAST FOR
VIDEO
‘TIS THE SEASON
JAPAN'S ‘TIS THE SEASON
GAMES
BIGGEST
12 ISSUES FOR THE PRICE OF 11 £5.49 BRICK R E V IE W BAKING A WINTER VILLAGE TREAT
FESTIVAL
ISSUE 59 OCTOBER 2019 ISSUE 60 £5.49
SEE PAGE 62 FOR DETAILS.... SEPTEMBER 2019 FROM DRAGONS TO DEMENTORS, NOVEMBER 2019 ISSUE 61 £5.49 THE LAUNCH WAVE REVIEWED
THE BOY WIZARD ISN'T DONE YET
£5.49
DECEMBER 2019
ISSUE 62
001_Cover_V2CW.indd 1
© 2020 Silverback Publishing
www.blocksmag.com February 2020 Blocks 3

CONTENTS ISSUE 64 / FEBRUARY 2020














SPEED CHAMPIONS: YOUR GUIDE TO THE
BEHIND THE SCALE NEW DC MINIFIGURES
LEGO SORTING
MACHINE

LEGO BATMAN
THE GREATEST BATMOBILE?
I N T ER V I E W N E WS
EXCLUSIVE: ALL YOU
WILL NEED TO
ARNETT KNOW
ON LEGO ABOUT
MASTERS LEGO IN
USA 2020

FEBRUARY 2020 ISSUE 64 £5.49 ADD AN INTERIOR TO
YOUR STAR DESTROYER
REGULARS


6 LEGOTALK
From the new VIP system to the Bookshop,
it’s your thoughts on all things LEGO.
8 BOOKSHOP
The latest Creator Expert set offers two
buildings for the price of one.

10 BUYING OUT BRICKLINK
The LEGO Group has acquired the online
marketplace, but what does it mean for you?
13 COVER LEGO IN 2020
Dozens of new LEGO sets have just launched,
so here’s our key takeaways.

14 COVER DESIGNER DIALOGUE
John Cuppage reveals what went into
creating the 1989 Batmobile.

18 TOP TEN
Our comic book love-in continues with the 10
best DC Super Heroes minifigures.
20 COVER Q&A
If you’ve ever wanted an easy way to sort
LEGO bricks, Daniel West has the solution.

90 IDEAS SHOWCASE
The new modular looks great, but if you don’t
have room for it, this might be the ticket.

96 MONTH IN MOCS
Steve Marsh has shown some love to an
underappreciated Star Wars ship.

110 REBUILD CHALLENGE
Graham takes on the rebuild challenge with a
set that doesn’t make things easy for him.



4 4 Blocks February 2020 Blocks February 2020 www.blocksmag.com

SUBSCRIBE NOW!
12 issues for the price of 11!
f: facebook.com/blocksmag PLUS Blocks delivered straight
t: @blocksmagazine to your door every month!
w: www.blocksmag.com See page 62 for details....




90 74 FEATURES

30 COVER SPEED CHAMPIONS
Want to know why Speed Champions has
switched scales? Just ask Chris Stamp.

54 COVER LEGO MASTERS USA
We chat to the team behind LEGO MASTERS
to find out more about the first US series.
30 64 BUILDING BLOCKS
The 1990s started so well that the LEGO Group
grew complacent. It would be its near-undoing.
98 BLOCKSTALGIA
’Member Vikings? We remember Vikings. Here,
we celebrate and update the storied theme.

REVIEWS
44
38 COVER 1989 BATMOBILE
Stop what you’re doing and go buy this
Batmobile. You won’t regret it.
43 BATMOBILE: PURSUIT OF THE JOKER
If that Batmobile is out of your price range, this
one’s well worth a look-in.

46 COVER DC SUPER HEROES CMFS
Our verdict on, and guide to finding, the 16
new comic book characters.
48 FRIENDSHIP BUS
98 54 The friends are going on tour in one of the
theme’s wackiest sets yet.

53 WOODEN MINIFIGURE
Is this a worthy set to launch the LEGO
Originals line? Only if you have deep pockets.


BUILD
48 74 COVER MOD SQUAD
If you feel your new Star Destroyer is sorely
missing an interior, we’ve got you covered.

TECHNIQUE

82 BEHIND THE PIECES
Simon walks us through his build process,
through the lens of an awesome temple.

88 PIECE PERCEPTION
All in all, this month’s Piece Perception is just
another cowboy hat in the wall.





www.blocksmag.com
www.blocksmag.com February 2020 Blocks 5

LEGOtalk Rounding up the brick

conversation each month.
E-mail [email protected]
to share your views

f: facebook.com/blocksmag t: @blocksmagazine w: www.blocksmag.com


S TA R L E T T E R
Mim isn't fond of the
new VIP scheme.
HI BLOCKS, I was interested to read your
contributor views on the new VIP reward
options.
It was a shame nothing was discussed
about the process. My view is that LEGO
has made it very non-user friendly. Instead
of an easy bar code zap in-store or quick
drop-down box online, we now have to faff
about ’buying’ vouchers online to be loaded
up. Then we wait for a conirmation email to
guarantee vouchers are on the card. There's
a qualifying ’up to’ time for the email to get
to you, and then you only have 60 days to
use the voucher.
This is needlessly complex. If it wanted to
expand VIP offers, the LEGO Group should
just add those options to the VIP webpage
and leave the old, easy, quick system in having Wi-Fi – and neither are reliable where From discussions I have heard Mim, you
place. I shop. are not alone in holding this view. The
The process makes store shopping I wonder how much time and money new VIP scheme certainly adds layers to
problematic. I don’t necessarily know what I the LEGO Group has wasted creating this the process. Hopefully the LEGO Group
want to buy before I go. Or I might be going complex system when it could have kept the will take customer feedback into account
for the Pick-and-Build wall, which may or may simple and quick system without making us and make improvements going forward –
not have pieces I want. To be able to decide go through this. No other store I know of has Graham
to buy in the moment, you’re reliant on made their loyalty card system so complex.
having a mobile signal or a shopping centre Mim Porter



I N S TA G R A M S P O T L I G H T @ C O U C O U 616 _ @ G A M U S I N U _ L E G O




















@ D A N V E E S E N M E Y E R
















6 Blocks February 2020 www.blocksmag.com

LEGOTALK

1 0 2 7 0 B O O K S H O P

READER REACTIONS


How did everyone react to the latest Creator Expert modular? Blocks readers took
to Facebook to let us know




‘Yep – a must have. Bookshop content is really on the small side.’ – ‘Deinitely a must have. The
Brush Banner best looking one in a while.’
– John Caulield









‘Deinitely going in ‘Looks good but not my ‘Well that’s a little bit of
my collection. Very LEGO thing, so not one gorgeousness. I’m having
nice looking indeed.’ for me.’ – Neil Couch that.’ – John Williams
– Dan Stokes



FRONT LOOKS GREAT.

THE BACK IS A BIT PLAIN
LOOKING ‘Those details inside
and outside are
exquisite.’ – Jason
De Vries
CHRISTOPHER BRUCE
RUSHTON


B U I L D S P O T L I G H T





































Wizard of Oz by Roger and Flo Schembri


www.blocksmag.com February 2020 Blocks 7

MONTH IN LEGO







The Bookshop is a colourful,
autumnal mash-up.





















































































8 Blocks February 2020 www.blocksmag.com

MONTH IN LEGO







TWO FOR THE



PRICE OF ONE




The latest modular building is actually two
modular buildings, as the Creator Expert
subtheme inally revisits Pet Shop’s format




HE LEGO CALENDAR is full of annual traditions, but few rival the
anticipation for the newest modular building. The Creator Expert
subtheme has been running yearly since 2007, with each and
every new addition eagerly lapped up by LEGO fans – even when
T they’ve proved controversial, like 2018’s switch to ‘50s architecture
with 10260 Downtown Diner. While that trend continued with last year’s 10264
Corner Garage, the latest advanced model is a solid statement from the LEGO
Group that it won’t be sticking to any predictable architectural patterns in
future.
That’s because 10270 Bookshop is a triumphant blend of multiple
architectural inspirations, and while it doesn’t exactly rewrite the script for
modular buildings – who’d want it to? – it does feel just as fresh as every other
instalment in the series. Despite the name on the box, this is technically a
bookshop and residential home, taking its cues from 10218 Pet Shop’s format
of two 16x32 buildings – something we haven’t seen since that set debuted a
whopping nine years ago.
That means more parts given over to the interior walls, but 10270 doesn’t
look to have suffered for it. This is LEGO designer Wes Talbott’s irst Creator
Expert set, and he’s adapted a number of different architectural styles for its

IT FEELS JUST AS FRESH AS EVERY
OTHER INSTALMENT IN THE SERIES


exterior. New York was the inspiration for the lame yellow-leafed birch tree,
for instance, while the buildings combine Dutch styling with San Francisco’s
Painted Ladies. According to the oficial press release, Wes also took
inspiration from dollhouses built by his mum.
Inside the eponymous bookshop, you’ll ind a ground loor store, a landing
with another bookshelf, and two loors of living quarters. The town house
features a half-height basement like that in 10218’s residential building, a
living room, and a bedroom. Curiously, neither building features a bathroom,
which is usually a staple for real-world LEGO sets. What they do both feature,
though, is a balcony, cutting into the footprints of the upper loors.
The 2,504-piece Bookshop includes ive miniigures, and as has been
standard since 2018’s minor reboot, they feature unique face prints – instead of
the classic smileys of the subtheme’s irst 11 sets. As is customary, it launched
on New Year’s Day, this time for the – at face value – reasonable price of
£149.99 (or $179.99, €159.99). That’s a £10 (or $20, €20) drop on the Corner
Garage’s RRP, which just makes this addition to the annual releases all the more
enjoyable.


10270 Bookshop is available now.






www.blocksmag.com February 2020 Blocks 9

MONTH IN LEGO


T H E B I G Q U E S T I O N S
BUYING OUT BRICKLINK


The LEGO Group has snapped up the world’s largest online
secondary marketplace, but what does it mean for you?




used bricks a bit of a mineield?
Potentially, although Goldin says the company
will fully support the sales of used elements.
‘What’s great about LEGO, as you know, is
that it’s a true system of play, and every piece
that we’ve produced since 1958 is compatible
with the bricks that we have today,’ she told
The Brothers Brick. ‘We’re very supportive of
the fact that these bricks are still in circulation
and they’re still in use and they’re being
leveraged.’ What’s less clear is what will
happen if buyers receive faulty or broken
goods from a third-party seller. Will the LEGO
Group’s reputation suffer? Is it prepared for
that?

So there’s no concrete conirmation on what
it’s planning to do with BrickLink?
Not at the moment – everything sounds very
vague, but that’s probably to be expected
given the full details of the acquisition are still
being ironed out. For now, the LEGO Group
has simply stated that everything’s going to
NOBODY CAN ACCUSE the 2010s of saw fans create and sell their own sets), along keep ticking over as normal, and repeated
petering out. The wild inal months of the with digital design tool Stud.io. its message of strengthening its ties with
decade saw Boris Johnson achieve an the AFOL community. But with the Terms of
overwhelming victory in the UK general Is anything going to change? Service already becoming more restrictive,
election, legendary guitarist John Frusciante Perhaps not immediately, although the it’s tricky to say exactly what will happen to
re-join the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and website’s Terms of Service have already been BrickLink.
the LEGO Group acquire the previously updated to relect a couple of conlicts with
The LEGO
independent secondary marketplace, the LEGO Group’s own rules. For instance,
Group’s Chief
BrickLink. Now that the dust has settled on the you can no longer sell custom printed, Marketing
latter, we’ve got all your pressing questions engraved, painted or chromed elements, Oficer, Julia
Goldin, has
covered. and custom sets can’t contain modiied parts tried to
or non-LEGO elements, such as third-party reassure
Why does the LEGO Group need to buy a motors or lighting kits. Meanwhile, sets can’t fans.
secondary marketplace when it already sells be sold prior to their oficial release date, so
individual bricks? you’re out of luck if you ind a set on store
shelves early and want to sell it on.
WE’LL MAINTAIN THE
MARKETPLACE IN A If the LEGO Group is inluencing what we
WAY THAT IS can sell, will it inluence our prices, too?
You’d be justiied in assuming so, particularly
COMPETITIVELY ROBUST because BrickLink stores are arguably a
competitor to the company’s own Bricks &
Pieces store. But in an interview with Brickset,
Goldin was adamant that this aspect of the
According to the company’s Chief Marketing site would remain consistent. ‘We would seek BrickLink was founded in 2000 by
Oficer, Julia Goldin, it’s all about connecting to maintain the marketplace in a way that is Dan Jezek, then acquired in 2013
with adult fans of the brick through ‘new competitively robust and we will continue by NXMH, a holdings company
channels and exciting experiences’. That puts to allow sellers to operate as they are doing owned by Korean entrepreneur
the emphasis less on proit, though you can already,’ she said. ‘The LEGO Group will not Jung-Ju ‘Jay’ Kim. It’s the irst port
bet that the buy-out wasn’t done purely out be interfering with that in any way.’ Of course, of call for many LEGO fans looking
of the goodness of the LEGO Group’s hearts. restricting what can be sold already sounds to buy complete sets, miniigures,
Much of the talk so far has been about how like a bit of a contradiction to that statement. and individual bricks.
valuable BrickLink is as a ‘platform’, with nods
to the recent AFOL Designer program (which Isn’t attaching its name to a site that sells

10 Blocks February 2020 www.blocksmag.com

MONTH IN LEGO

n MINIFIGURE OF THE MONTH // MANDALORIAN WARRIOR n BLOCKS BOOKS // LSW ENCYCLOPAEDIA
Really, we could have photographed any of the four miniigures in A brand new, updated version of the LEGO Star Wars Character Encyclopaedia is
75267 Mandalorian Battle Pack, because they’re all fantastic. This arriving on shelves in March, and with it, a wizened Maul from Solo: A Star Wars
warrior takes the cake, though, for their incredibly intricate helmet Story. Alas, his robes mean TLG can get away with chucking in plain black legs, but
printing. there’s always his Clone Wars variant if you fancy giving him robo-appendages.


FLUID MULTIPLAYER N E W S I N B R I E F

n TRIPLE POWER
Hidden Side’s new range keeps things fresh, introducing a way The third iteration of
for kids to play together the LEGO Group’s
power functions system,
Powered Up 3.0, has
launched worldwide.
Alongside a minor
interface clean-up, the
new update includes
support for Technic
hardware, and the
ability to connect up to
four Powered Up hubs
together.

n BRICK OSCAR
The LEGO Movie 2: The
Second Part has been
given a nod for this
year’s Academy Awards
ceremony, with Catchy
Song featuring on the
shortlist for Best Original
Song. It faces stiff
competition in the race
for a nomination, as it
shares the list with huge
2019 movies including
Aladdin and Rocketman.

n LEGO XMAS
LEGO sets placed second
on the Royal Mail’s annual
list of most-requested
Christmas gifts, collated
through its free ‘letters
PLAYING WITH LEGO isn’t usually an isolated hide from an AI-controlled hunter. In multiplayer to Santa’ service. Having
experience for kids, but the irst batch of Hidden mode, you can either hunt competitively or haunt lost out only to games
Side sets just didn’t bother tapping into the social co-operatively, with the hunter in the ghost mode consoles, expect to see
side of the brick, at least where its augmented controlled by another player. TLG continue pushing
reality hook was concerned. That’s all changing this You can try out both new modes online, albeit into the digital sphere –
with the LEGO Group’s usual safeguarding caveats while hoping kids will at
THE COMPANY IS – there’s no voice chat, or any communication least be playing LEGO
CLEARLY COMMITTING TO features at all beyond a few pre-selected emojis, Star Wars: The Skywalker
ITS FIRST PROPER stickers and phrases – or challenge other players Saga later this year.
in the same room in hunter mode. All the new
ENDEAVOUR INTO Hidden Side sets are compatible out of the box n NUMBER 1
BLENDING DIGITAL AND with the multiplayer modes, while an update will 40385 Trophy is now
PHYSICAL PLAY retroactively add them to the irst wave ‘in early available exclusively at
2020’, according to the LEGO Group. LEGO Stores and LEGO.
Regardless of how well the Hidden Side sets com, meaning you can
year, however, as the newly-released second wave have sold (and they seem to be on permanent brick-build your own prize
has introduced two new multiplayer modes to the discount online, suggesting things may not be for the next kids’ party
‘luid play’ experience. rosy), the company is clearly committing to its you attend. Or, you know,
Both new gameplay types are extensions of the irst proper endeavour into blending digital and just build it for yourself,
two modes available in the irst wave of sets: ‘Play physical play. If it wants the theme to truly succeed, slap on the ‘My HERO’
as a Hunter’, in which you directly interact with though, it needs to keep updating them, and prove sticker, and consider it a
the set to capture ghosts, and ‘Play as a Ghost’, that the digital element to these sets doesn’t put job well done. We won’t
which allows players to haunt the virtual sets and an expiry date on their play potential. judge.



www.blocksmag.com February 2020 Blocks 11

MONTH IN LEGO


H O TO T
T
H T O P I CO P I C
Blocks staf
Blocks staffers debate the big bulletins fers debate the big bulletins

This month: What will the LEGO Group’s buy-out of
BrickLink mean for fans?













Graham Hancock Daniel Konstanski Chris Wharfe


IT'S UNCLEAR HOW IT THE POTENTIAL THESE THINGS RARELY
WILL IMPROVE THE FAN SYNERGIES COULD BE A WORK OUT IN FAVOUR OF
CONNECTION GAMECHANGER THE CONSUMER

The troubling thing about the announcement With almost every product leaking ahead of Ask anyone who isn’t the head of a large
that the LEGO Group is buying BrickLink is its release, the LEGO Group doesn’t surprise corporation, and they’ll tell you that
that the reasoning behind the move is so us very often anymore, but it certainly did monopolies are generally a bad thing – at
vague. According to the press release, it is to with the announcement of its purchase of least when it comes to entire industries.
improve the connection to adult fans, but it’s BrickLink! Like everyone else I was shocked But it’s hard to begrudge the LEGO Group
unclear how controlling a marketplace website by the news, then quickly delighted. Over the wanting a monopoly over its own product,
will do that. There are of course commercial last decade, the LEGO Group has come to even if that means controlling every channel
reasons why the company can’t reveal its see the adult fan community as an asset, and through which bricks are sold. Unfortunately,
plans for BrickLink, but that doesn’t make it taking over BrickLink offers so many possible these things rarely work out in favour of the
any less concerning. The most basic reason synergies to expand its support. Imagine if consumer. The LEGO Group has already
for scepticism is that it will mean the LEGO sellers could purchase bricks directly from amended BrickLink’s terms of service,
Group controls the marketplace for parts and Billund’s factories at close to cost. What if all restricting what can and can’t be sold on the
retired sets. For example, the thought of the fans had access to the kinds of prices currently platform. If that’s a sign of things to come,
company getting a commission every time available only to LEGO Certiied Professionals? then users of the secondary marketplace may
a retired LEGO set is sold on the platform If proit margins are preserved but buy-in not have much to look forward to. On the
is an odd one, as it means the LEGO Group is lowered, the savings to those of us who other hand, not even the LEGO Group would
proits when a set is sold the irst time, then make 50+ purchases a year from the site buy an asset and then immediately alienate
every time thereafter too. It is especially could be tremendous. While this acquisition all its users, removing any value it once had…
strange considering the company discourages could certainly be done poorly, the potential would it? I’m optimistic that some good could
resellers. Hopefully in the coming months synergies could be a gamechanger for the come of this acquisition, but I’m serving it up
more information will be shared to reassure the fan community. Only time will tell, but I am with a hefty dose of caution, especially in an
fanbase. hopeful this is going to be a really good thing. era when the LEGO Group so prizes proit.




























12 Blocks February 2020 www.blocksmag.com

MONTH IN LEGO

n POLY-AMOROUS // CAPTAIN MARVEL n RUMOUR MILL // IRON VENOM
A slew of new polybags have been unveiled for release sometime this year, the most There’s a new Marvel Super Heroes miniigure on the way, and it’s a
popular of which will undoubtedly be 30453 Captain Marvel and Nick Fury. That’s mad mash-up of two familiar characters. Iron Man’s Venomized suit
thanks to the inclusion of Carol Danvers’ Starforce suit, which was previously only is rumoured to be a future gift-with-purchase at LEGO Stores and
available in the San Diego Comic-Con-exclusive 77902 Captain Marvel and the Asis. LEGO.com, but there’s no conirmation at the time of writing.


F I V E T H I N G S Y O U N E E D T O K N O W A B O U T… N E W S I N B R I E F

LEGO IN 2020 n LASTING LEGO
LEGACY
In 2017, eight-year-old
January marks the irst batch of new LEGO sets for Braxton Long tragically
passed away after a
the new year – here’s what we’ve learned from them battle with brain cancer.
But during his stay at
Nationwide Children’s
Hospital in Ohio, he
convinced his parents
to appeal for LEGO
donations to give other
kids receiving treatment a
chance to play. His legacy
continues, as his family
drop off hundreds of
LEGO sets to the hospital
every single month.

n CYBERLEGO
The LEGO Group’s
social media team
posted a tongue-in-
cheek response to the
unveiling of Tesla’s
Cybertruck in November.
The company’s own
minimalist interpretation
of the electric pick-up
1. MARVEL HAS MECH MADNESS helicopter. Fortunately, CITY has good stuff to offer truck is ‘guaranteed
Someone at the LEGO Group must really love mechs. elsewhere – as it often does – with 60257 Service shatterproof’, a sly
No fewer than four oversized robotic suits have been Station and 60267 Safari Adventure injecting some reference to Tesla’s
released under the Marvel Super Heroes banner, variety into your LEGO town layout. supposedly ‘shatterproof’
with one each for Spider-Man, Iron Man, Thanos and glass, erm, shattering.
Venom. But someone at the LEGO Group must also 4. HIDDEN SIDE’S STORY HAS MOVED ON
love saving time, because what’s most remarkable While there’s no serial narrative to Hidden Side as such, n FAB FEB
about these models is how unremarkable they all are, 70429 El Fuego’s Stunt Plane is all the proof you need LEGO MASTERS USA’s air
especially when taken together, insofar as they all share that the theme is moving on, because its eponymous date has been conirmed
the same structural template. Snooze. daredevil has apparently kicked the bucket since last as February 5. There’s
summer’s inaugural wave. That’s not the only thing the no word yet on how or if
2. IT’S TIME TO PAY THE TROLL TOLL augmented reality theme has brought to the table this international fans will be
No, the LEGO Group hasn’t abandoned all its year, though. Double-headed ghosts, new vehicles able to tune in, but for
principles and picked up the It’s Always Sunny in and new locations have all joined the spooky roster, now, head to page 54
Philadelphia licence (if that’s even a thing). Instead, it’s including a lighthouse, fairground and subway station, to ind out the lowdown
just released the insanely colourful irst batch of sets for as the LEGO Group continues checking off its list of on the irst competitive
this year’s Trolls World Tour animated movie, in which horror movie tropes. building series to debut
the wild-haired dolls go on a whimsical adventure from across the Atlantic.
through your entire family’s Spotify playlists. The tie-in 5. STAR WARS IS STILL STUCK IN A RUT
sets are appropriately garish, but that makes them Another Snowspeeder, Landspeeder and X-wing, oh n COMIC-CON COINS
fantastic parts packs if nothing else. And we do have a boy! The reasoning that these sets are repeated so Heads up, collectors
soft spot for that rock concert stage… often for the new kids discovering the theme sort of of all things shiny and
breaks down when they’re released this frequently. We exclusive: 250 gold coins
3. POLICE WILL NEVER, EVER GO AWAY last saw a Landspeeder in 2017, an X-wing in 2018, and 200 silver coins were
After a couple of years of alternative police subthemes, and a Snowspeeder just last year – albeit not under the available at Singapore
it’s back to basics for this year’s irst batch of CITY 4+ line. Redesigns are part and parcel of the theme Comic Convention in
sets. And we mean basics: the police station looks by now, but can’t we at least revisit sets that aren’t still December, given away
like it’s targeting the 4+ crowd, while the overall focus available to buy? This year suggests not. Would the to fans who pre-ordered
seems to be on gimmicky play features, as NINJAGO’s last person holding out hope for innovation in the Star 10270 Bookshop. Good
spinners have been re-appropriated for a police Wars theme please turn out the lights? luck tracking those down.



www.blocksmag.com February 2020 Blocks 13

MONTH IN LEGO



DESIGNER DIALOGUE
DESIGNER DIALOGUE
DESIGNER DIALOGUE
















BUILDING A BATMOBILE



Senior LEGO Designer John Cuppage reveals what went into
designing 76139 1989 Batmobile


2019 was a year of anniversaries for Batman. particularly dificult to capture at this scale? amazing features of the source vehicle really
Did that make this set an easy choice for the The curves and surfaces, for sure! Even with speak for themselves, and have become so
DC Super Heroes line-up? the bigger scale, this Batmobile has so many iconic over the years. Plus, in the actual car,
Yes, very much so. We felt that creating this compound curves and complex lowing many of these features are all black anyway,
model would be a great way to celebrate 80 surfaces that it was a great challenge to try to and we wanted the model to be as accurate as
years of Batman and also the 30th anniversary possible.
of the 1989 Batman movie. ALL THE AMAZING
FEATURES OF THE How did you decide which miniigures to
When was the idea for this set irst raised? include? Vicki Vale feels like a surprising (but
Has it been on the cards for a long time, SOURCE VEHICLE welcome!) choice.
given those anniversaries? REALLY SPEAK FOR We of course needed to have Batman and The
We came up with the idea for the set in THEMSELVES Joker. All the miniigures had to be somewhat
autumn 2017, knowing that 2019 would be special, and in the case of Batman himself, we
signiicant, and started working on the irst felt that a new, rubber-like cape-cowl element
concept model very soon afterwards. capture these features, while still allowing for would be perfect – just as the 1989 Batmobile
a wonderful building experience and ensuring was so deining, Batman’s 1989 costume
What reference material was available to that the inal model was strong and stable. was also revolutionary for its time. With Vicki
you when designing the Batmobile? Vale, it’s quite simple – she’s one of the main
We referenced technical drawings from oficial When all the visible elements of a model characters in the movie and there are many
material, and then cross-referenced them with are black, is it dificult inding ways to make scenes with either her and Batman, her and
what we could see in the movie itself. certain design points stand out? the Joker or all three together. She’s also the
Sometimes, when you want design features character who is with Batman when we as the
Building bigger comes with its own to stand out, you might want to use different audience are irst introduced to the Batmobile.
freedoms and challenges. Was there colours to help achieve this. With this model,
anything in the Batmobile that proved we did not really need to do this as all the


























www.blocksmag.com
14 Blocks February 2020 www.blocksmag.com

MONTH IN LEGO

➤ BUILD IT // 40433 1989 BATMOBILE n BLOCKS PITCHES // XMAS TIE-INS
If you missed out on the mini 1989 Batmobile that was free with The Star Wars X-wing has given us a taste of a Christmas-themed licensed
purchases of its bigger brother in November, the LEGO Group has set (even if it is unavailable to the masses), and now we want more. A festive
published the instructions online. As long as you’re not bothered about Batmobile; a red and green Knight Bus; Santa riding Roadhog’s chopper – the
the plaque’s sticker, it’s probably cheaper to piece it together yourself. opportunity is ripe for a new holiday spin-off subtheme.


EDUCATION FOR ALL N E W S I N B R I E F

n DISPOSABLE
The LEGO Foundation continues to support initiatives to bring ADVENT
play-based learning to displaced children The BBC has criticised
the LEGO Group’s advent
calendars, pointing out
that the plastic trays
often can’t be recycled
– and thanks to their
glittery façades, neither
can the cardboard
boxes. That does put
the seasonal releases at
odds with the company’s
sustainability drive, so
maybe it’ll have to come
up with a new solution
for 2020.
AS PART OF its efforts to bring play to children around The campaign will focus on training 10,000 teachers
the world, the LEGO Foundation has awarded a $100 and 170,000 primary caregivers to engage with kids n BRICK WEEK
million grant to the International Rescue Committee’s who have been affected by the humanitarian crises LEGOLAND Windsor is
PlayMatters initiative. The programme is committed in the region. According to the IRC, some 62 million opening during February
to promoting play-based learning for pre-primary and youngsters in war-torn countries are currently receiving half term for the irst
primary school-aged kids in Ethiopia and Uganda. no education. time this year, with the
‘We are contributing to fulil the international ‘Children in these humanitarian crises did not choose emphasis irmly on the
promise to children, supported by the United Nations, to be refugees, and it is unacceptable that an entire resort’s indoor activities.
that every child has the right to an education and every generation is deprived of quality childhood education,’ From February 15-23,
refugee should be included in sustainable long-term said LEGO Foundation CEO John Goodwin. ‘We know typically a torrid time for
solutions that help them in their future. We have to that investing in play-based learning interventions is British weather, many of
do our best to ensure it is realised,’ LEGO Foundation key to addressing toxic stress and trauma for young the park’s attractions –
Chairman and fourth-generation owner of the LEGO children in refugee settings, as learning through play including LEGO CITY 4D:
Group, Thomas Kirk Kristiansen, said. helps to develop social and emotional skills, builds Oficer in Pursuit, LEGO
The effects of PlayMatters could be life-changing resilience, and strengthens brain connections essential NINJAGO: The Ride and
for hundreds of thousands of children in East Africa. for future development.’ Laser Raiders – will be
open for ‘Brick Week’.
E Y E O N E X C L U S I V E S
n WETLAND TRAIL
4002019 Christmas X-wing BRICKLIVE’s animal
trail of LEGO models is
Every year, the LEGO Group gifts an exclusive, understated aspects of this lamboyant incarnation of coming to the Martin
often highly sought after set to its employees, from the X-wing, though, is the stand that juts out of the Mere Wetland Centre
its designers in Billund to its factory and retail workers top of Yoda’s snowy abode – which allows the rebel near Burscough, West
all around the world. Previous years have celebrated starighter to be displayed in attack position. The Lancashire. Visitors will
speciic aspects of the company’s history and its Group has released nine miniigure-scale X-wings over be able to check it out
achievements, from 2011’s brick-built recreation of the the years, but none have included a display stand. during May and June,
wooden duck to 2016’s tribute to 50 years of LEGO That hasn’t changed with the newly-launched 75273 with paid hour-long
trains. Last year’s gift continued that trend, while also Poe Dameron’s X-wing Fighter, but here’s hoping any workshops available
incorporating an intellectual property for the irst time. future editions can stretch to include one. to keep the kids
4002019 Christmas X-wing reimagines Luke Of course, you could just build your own, or even entertained.
Skywalker’s iconic mode of transport in festive red, pick up 4002019 and re-appropriate the stand for
gold and white, complete with candy cane laser another of your X-wings. That may just be the least n PLUSH WARS
cannons. In step with the seasonal makeover, Yoda’s cost-effective option out there, though, because this The irst ever LEGO Star
swampy Dagobah hut has been transformed into extremely limited set – which was never, and will never Wars plush toys have
a more appropriate snowy workshop, while the be, available for purchase in regular retail channels turned up at Target in the
diminutive Jedi master himself – is currently commanding US, with Rey, an Imperial
calls back to the original around £300 on the secondary Stormtrooper and
Star Wars advent calendar market. That’s bad news for 20th Chewbacca all available
miniigure with a Santa-inspired anniversary collectors, because in soft, oversized form.
torso. the Christmas X-wing also carries Hopefully we’ll see them
One of the more the theme’s birthday badge. in the UK soon.



www.blocksmag.com February 2020 Blocks 15

MONTH IN LEGO

BACK IN BRUM


Inside the UK’s latest and greatest LEGO Store
Words: David Cartlidge Pics: Phil Wrighton



The large new
store prepares
for opening
day.

































LATE LAST YEAR, two brand new LEGO Even before you enter, a large digital screen
Bulls on parade.
Stores opened in the UK, both just in time for invites you to ind out which character you
the holiday season. We headed along for a are by scanning your hand (Angry Unikitty, if
pre-launch look at the second, as the chance
to pick up LEGO sets straight from the source THE KEY FOR US IS
returned to Birmingham’s Bullring & Grand TO BRING THESE
Central shopping centre. Veteran fans will EXPERIENCES TO
remember that there was a LEGO Store here
once upon a time, but it closed down several FAMILIES
years ago.
Attendees of the pre-launch event at you wondered), and it’s this kind of interactive
the new iteration had the chance to build a experience that’s the template for the store.
souvenir LEGO bull, meet the enthusiastic Inside, a dynamic lighting system works in
staff and check out some of the new features. conjunction with the in-store music to create

















Marius and Stéphane
proudly describe all
the new experiences.





16 Blocks February 2020 www.blocksmag.com

MONTH IN LEGO

➤ POLY-AMOROUS // 30574 CAT ➤ KEY QUOTE // SCOT MORGAN WALKER, CREATIVE PLAY LAB
Creator 3-in-1 polybags usually hit the sweet spot for cute builds, and this newly- ‘We’re trying to react to that world kids are growing up in, but with
revealed kitty doesn’t break the mould. The blurry image we had at the time of going core LEGO values… we do a lot with AR [and] mixed reality. I think
to print suggests the dark orange feline can be rebuilt into a crab, and what we can we’ll see more and more of it coming out in the next few years.’
only presume is an entirely made-up creature. Which is to say, we can’t tell what it is. Expect more augmented reality products in the near future.


N E W S I N B R I E F

Hard work is n KENOBI AT 20
happy work.
The presumably inal
release for LEGO Star
Wars’ 20th anniversary is
still available as you read
this, if stock levels have
held up. 30624 Obi-Wan
Kenobi – Collectible
Miniigure is free with
purchases of £40/$40 at
LEGO Stores or LEGO.
com, and completes the
anniversary miniigure
line-up.

n FRESH FISH
If you missed out on
the limited edition
crowdfunded LEGO
FORMA sets last year,
you can now grab 81000
Koi Model at LEGO.com
for £42.99. The LEGO
Group must have found
some spares down the
back of the sofa.
n BAD BAGS
different moods (think how an AFOL evening needs a The LEGO Group is
Doing our bit
for charity by different feel to it than a meet-and-greet with a LEGO phasing out its oficial
building LEGO. character), and the exclusive new ‘digital ribbon’ of stores’ single-use plastic
screens that run the length of the store are not only bags. By the end of 2020,
new for the UK, but for any LEGO Store. each and every one of
These screens feature everything from animated its global retail outlets
miniigures promoting particular sets to personalised will have replaced the
birthday greetings (if you let the staff know in advance). bags with alternatives
We were even told that these digital miniigures go to made from sustainably-
sleep when the store closes, although we didn’t wait sourced, fully recyclable
around long enough to conirm that one. paper. It’s part of a wider
move towards 100%
THEY GET TO BUILD sustainable packaging by
THINGS HERE, THEY CAN 2025.
TALK TO EXPERTS AND n ‘DAM LEGO
GET ADVICE The Bullring LEGO Store
isn’t the only recent new
It’s all part of making a visit to a LEGO Store a opening. Amsterdam’s
special, interactive experience, according to Retail lagship LEGO Store
Marketing Director Stéphane Knapp. opened its doors at
‘The key for us is to bring these experiences to the end of November,
families, to come and spend their time with us,’ he celebrating Dutch culture
said. ‘Why would they do this? Because they get to with enormous brick-
build things here, they can talk to experts and get built models of iconic
advice and we hope that these new experiences make structures and artwork.
it even more memorable.’ There’s even a store-
If he’s right, all LEGO Stores could soon look like speciic ‘Build a Boat’
Birmingham’s revitalised example. corner, where you can
create a model vessel to
sail the LEGO canals.



www.blocksmag.com February 2020 Blocks 17

MONTH IN LEGO

TOP TEN





DC SUPER HEROES MINIFIGURES


As the classic comic book characters get their own batch of Collectible
Miniigures, we count down the best of Bats and the gang

Words: Chris Wharfe Pics: Chris Wharfe, The LEGO Group




BATWOMAN
The only miniigure on this list
not to have the dual-moulded 10
legs they desperately need,
Batwoman still makes the cut
for her superb moulded cowl/
hairpiece combo. It doesn’t
hurt that black and red is such
a killer colour scheme either,
and even though Kate Kane’s
character is fairly recent in DC
history – she was introduced in LOBO
2006 – we were still pleased to
see her debut in 2018’s 76111 9 Did you ever really think we’d
Batman: Brother Eye Takedown. see Lobo in miniigure form? The
Any expansion to the Bat-family wise-cracking mercenary biker
is cool by us, especially when it debuted as a serious – and seriously
looks this brilliant. violent – villain in the 1980s, but
was reimagined a decade later as
a parody of the gritty superhero
stories that were all the rage in the
‘90s. Nobody seemed to get that,
though, and instead fans earnestly
lapped up this new take on the
villain-turned-anti-hero. Since then,
Lobo’s taken on a life of his own
across the DC universe – but he’s
WONDER WOMAN just as vicious as ever, which makes
Since the DC Super Heroes line him a peculiar choice in LEGO.
irst launched in 2012, Princess 8 Thankfully, he’s also a fantastic
Diana of Themyscira has had miniigure, with intricate face
eight miniigures, two mini-dolls printing and a hairpiece that almost
and one DUPLO igure. And seems tailor-made, exemplifying
for the most part, they’ve all the versatility of the LEGO Group’s
been fantastic – but it’s her element designs.
most recent incarnation, from
the newly-released Collectible
Miniigures series, that takes the
cake. She’s absolutely packed
with detail, from her printed
wrists and dual-moulded legs to
her moulded skirt and side leg
printing. It all adds up to the THE FLASH
quintessential Wonder Woman, When the speedster irst raced
and you don’t even need to on to the LEGO scene in 2014,
splash out on an expensive set there was only one question on
to get her. the lips of DC Super Heroes fans
everywhere: why no dual-moulded
legs? Yellow is arguably almost as
prominent in The Flash’s costume
as red, so the original incarnation
of this miniigure really did him a
disservice. Fortunately, the LEGO
Group rectiied that error in last
year’s 76117 Batman Mech vs.
Poison Ivy Mech – and therefore
sold a double helping of DC sets in
the process. Don’t ever pretend the
company doesn’t know exactly what
it’s doing.
7










18 Blocks February 2020 www.blocksmag.com

MONTH IN LEGO



HARLEY QUINN
Like so many characters on
this list, Harley Quinn has
had a multitude of miniigure DEATHSTROKE
releases – but that’s hardly Thankfully, the LEGO Group’s
surprising for one of DC’s most practice of stifing us on the
popular modern icons. As far perfect version of a character
as we’re concerned, though, irst time round didn’t extend to
Harley is a textbook example Deathstroke. He may not have
of the original still being the arm or leg printing, but so much
best. Her cartoonish torso and of his costume is communicated
leg printing its the character’s purely through the contrasting
Batman: The Animated Series colours of his various limbs
design to a tee, and her face 5 and appendages – supported
printing still holds up eight by blessed dual-moulded legs
years later. While alternate – that he doesn’t really need
designs come and go, Harley’s it. Several of the company’s
very irst DC Super Heroes licensed lines can often struggle
incarnation is a miniigure for with maintaining the balance
the ages. between action igure and LEGO
6 that line perfectly.
toy, but Deathstroke straddles







TWO-FACE
JOKER (THE DARK KNIGHT)
There’s something about
Much as Heath Ledger vibrantly-coloured characters
will forever remain one that just elevates them to the
of the greatest on-screen 4 next level as miniigures, as
representations of Joker, so a quick skim across this list
too does the corresponding apparently proves. And that
miniigure trump all others. The rule deinitely holds true for
hairpiece originally designed for 3 Two-Face, especially for his 2012
Anakin Skywalker isn’t a perfect iteration. The miniigure’s suit
match, but feels perfectly eschewed the animated series’
LEGO-like in green. Where this monochrome design, instead
miniigure really excels, though, opting for a variant based
is in its printing, as it refuses on the character’s irst comic
to shy away from the darker book appearance in Detective
elements of the character’s Dark Comics #66. Orange and purple
Knight trilogy design. Want to make for brilliantly contrasting
know how he got those scars? colours, speaking to Two-Face’s
The LEGO Group drew them on. dual personality through a more
(Reality is rarely as exciting as dramatic lens than the (both
iction.) literal and igurative) black-and-
white approach of the original
LEGO Batman line.



BATMAN (1989)
We couldn’t assemble a list 2
of the best DC Super Heroes
miniigures without a nod to the
entire reason the theme exists.
But prior to November 2019, SUPERMAN (DCEU)
it would have been ridiculously
dificult to narrow down the For one of the most famous
many variants of the Caped characters in iction, Superman
Crusader to just a single plastic hasn’t really had the LEGO
vigilante (and we’ve already treatment the character has
checked out the Top Ten Batsuits deserved over the years. Yes,
in a previous issue). Fortunately, we’re talking again about those
76139 1989 Batmobile came dual-moulded legs, but as soon
along and made the choice as the LEGO Group introduced
much easier, because this is a means for faithfully recreating
clearly the coolest Bat-miniigure boots, it felt cheap to limit
the LEGO Group has gifted us their usage. Fortunately, the
with to date. budget was seemingly there for
Batman v Superman: Dawn of
Justice’s tie-in sets, and we inally
received the Kal-El miniigure we
deserved.

1





www.blocksmag.com February 2020 Blocks 19

Q&A











THE SORTING




SOLUTION







Using LEGO bricks, a camera and advanced AI, Daniel West has come
up with every builder’s dream: a means to automatically sort elements
Words: Chris Wharfe Pics: Daniel West



The man behind Daniel: Ever since I saw Akiyuky’s machine way components, each serving different purposes.
the machine. back in 2011, I’d had the idea of building a First of all, we need to take our huge bucket
sorting machine in the back of my mind. About of parts and get exactly one part at a time to
three and a half years ago, I was in university show the camera for recognition. This is the
for computer science, and started playing responsibility of the part separation system.
around with ‘computer vision’, which is the The input bucket has a belt that slowly pushes
subset of the ield that involves interpreting all the parts on to a secondary belt, which
what a camera can see. This wasn’t enough feeds parts on to the vibration feeder.
for me to build a satisfying sorter though, The vibration feeder uses the LEGO Group’s
and after a few false starts I put the project to most insanely fast motor and an offset weight
rest. But about a year later, I started reading to shake the parts around, so they don’t sit on
some articles on AI, and realized that AI was top of each other. Using three stages like this
perfectly suited for the task!   gives a pretty consistent low of parts into the
next section: the scanner.
The scanner is where the camera takes
A KEY BENEFIT OF streaming video footage of the parts. The
LEGO IS THAT video is processed by the Raspberry Pi
REDESIGNING OR computer and sent wirelessly to a more
powerful computer that is able to run the
CHANGING THE SHAPE neural network that can classify the parts. The
OF SOMETHING IS SO neural network is an AI technology that uses
NON-DESTRUCTIVE millions of 3D-rendered images of LEGO parts
to learn how to accurately recognise almost
VERY LEGO FAN has, at one 3,000 different types of parts. Once the neural
time or another, been faced by How did you irst approach the project? network has decided what part the scanner
the ultimate quandary: what’s the How long did it take you to complete? has just seen, the result of this classiication
quickest way to sort thousands The design process was very much trial and gets sent back to the machine. Now that the
E of bricks? And each and every error. For a machine this big, the only way to machine knows what the part is, it has to sort
time, the answer has always been the same: manage construction was to split it up into it into an output bucket. This is where the
by hand, manually, because nobody has distinct modules and design each separately. distributor comes in.
built a better way. Until now, that is. Builders Thankfully, the sorter lent itself quite well The distributor uses a series of gates
have experimented with rudimentary sorting to this type of design, as there are three powered by servo motors to direct parts to
machines for years, but Daniel West is the irst key components that solve very different the appropriate bucket. There are 18 output
one to integrate artiicial intelligence into his problems: the part separation system, the buckets in total, and the machine can be
design. scanner, and the bucket distribution system. conigured on the ly to put any combination
The ‘Universal LEGO Sorter’ uses a camera I didn’t create any drawings or plans – I think of part classes into any particular bucket. This
to photograph and identify around 3,000 one of the key beneits of working with LEGO would be useful in order to cater for different
different elements – practically the entire is that redesigning or changing the shape of types of LEGO collections, for example. The
part catalogue – using 3D models from something is so non-destructive, it allows you design of the machine is modular, so the only
Rebrickable. We caught up with Daniel to ind to be really lexible and agile when it comes to real limitation on the number of buckets is the
out how he built what could be an invaluable design. In total, the machine took two and a cost of making the machine bigger.
tool for builders everywhere, and what he half years to complete.
plans to do with it next. What categories do you use to classify parts
The all-important question: how does it when coniguring the output?
Blocks: What inspired you to create a work? The Rebrickable part database contains about
universal LEGO sorting machine? The machine is built from three major 50 or so ‘categories’ – bricks, plates, and so

20 Blocks February 2020 www.blocksmag.com

Unsorted parts,
ready for the
machine to
work its
magic.

































on. I merged similar categories until I got I wanted to build a LEGO sorting machine, practicality reasons I stuck with the non-LEGO
down to 18. and LEGO just happens to be a great tool for approach here.
building things!
Is the machine able to sort by colour? The only other non-LEGO components are What are your future plans for the machine?
The machine is not currently capable of sorting the electronic system, the servo motors, and The machine is a prototype, and because it’s
by colour, but that functionality could deinitely the buckets. It would certainly be possible built from LEGO, it’s not suitable for long-
be added in the future. term use. I hope to eventually open-source
THE MACHINE CAN the software and dataset so that others can
How much of the machine is itself made of BE CONFIGURED ON expand on the project.
LEGO?
I knew that the purist approach would be THE FLY TO PUT ANY Do you see any other potential applications
impossible due to the fact that the machine COMBINATION OF PART for the AI?
needed to use a camera to recognise the CLASSES INTO ANY The real innovation of this project is to
parts. The camera doesn’t exist in LEGO form, demonstrate an AI that is successfully
and neither does the belt (which needs to be PARTICULAR BUCKET trained on synthetic, or ‘fake’, data – that is,
a colour that doesn’t exist in LEGO so that all 3D-rendered images of LEGO bricks instead
the parts can stand out!), or the powerful light to design buckets made of LEGO instead of of real bricks. The potential use of this kind of
that was needed to ensure uniform lighting cardboard, and to use LEGO servo motors AI has limitless applications, from self-driving
conditions under the camera. But my goal was controlled by Mindstorms instead of the cars, to industrial systems, to household
not to build a sorting machine out of LEGO; Raspberry Pi computer. However, for cost and robots. n

The baseplates Daniel's original
shake parts plans for the
apart. machine.







The elements
are dropped
into buckets.










www.blocksmag.com February 2020 Blocks 21

MONTH IN LEGO







DENLUG




Zach Pharr introduces
us to a Denver-based
LEGO User Group

Words: Chris Wharfe
Pics: Zach Pharr, Michael Kanemoto,
Jim Boehm, DENLUG



Where is DENLUG based?
Most of our members hail from the Denver
metropolitan area, and also in and around
Colorado Springs.

How many members are in the LUG?
We currently have 62 oficial members.

Who is the ambassador?
Zach Pharr from Colorado Springs. W H AT I S A L E G O U S E R artisans, manufacturers, and world-class
G R O U P ( L U G ) ? collectors and performers. This ancient
How and when was it formed? toy dates back at least 5,500 years, but
The LUG was organised by Reed Yaeger and ■ A group of AFOLs, recognised by the remains the most popular toy in many
Shawn Kelly starting in 2012, but did not LEGO Group countries outside the US. Jeremy is the only
oficially become a registered LUG until a few ■ Non-proit, driven by volunteers maker of LEGO tops on the forum. Though
years later. ■ A supportive environment of like- unconventional as tops go, his LEGO tops now
minded individuals appear in two world-class collections – one in
How often do you meet? ■ Welcomes all ability levels France, and one in Texas. In February 2019, he
We have monthly meetings. ■ Hosts regular meetings to discuss was invited to travel to and exhibit about 200
ideas, news and builds selected tops at the 9th Annual International
What do your meetings involve? ■ Organises and participates in public Spinning Top Festival in Marines, France (near
Typical activities include introductions and events and conventions Paris). Many of his tops can be seen in action
greeting new faces, sharing LEGO news, ■ Works with the LEGO Group through on his YouTube channel at https://tinyurl.com/
sharing MOCs, members offering reviews of their appointed Ambassador rsaw4c5. Michael Kanemoto – a top-notch
sets they love, and planning for upcoming space builder in the LUG – was also recently
shows and events. Sometimes we have parts blogged by The Brothers Brick.
drafts. We also hold a monthly building
challenge to see who can create the best EVERYONE FINDS What are the beneits of joining a LUG like
MOC around a certain theme, alongside other VALUE IN BEING ABLE yours? Are there any costs involved for
types of building challenges, like speed builds TO DISCUSS BUILD members?
of sets. At our last meeting we pulled out There are many different reasons, including:
some of the LEGO Heroica games and played IDEAS AND it’s a great way to meet people with similar
around. There is usually time at the end for COLLABORATE interests; seeing other people’s creations can
members to swap parts and sets if they want help inspire you, and also give you a way to
to. learn new techniques and skills; and it gives
able to discuss build ideas and collaborate. you opportunities to collaborate and build
Are you involved with any local shows? The AFOL community attracts a wonderful creations that might be dificult for a single
Oh yes! We do shows all over Colorado. Two cross-section of people from many diverse individual to do alone.
of our recent shows included the Colorado backgrounds – as many types as there are
Springs Mini Maker Faire and Brickfest Live! LEGO elements! Are you a member of any other LUGs? If so,
Denver. We average one show a month. which ones and why?
Has the LUG reached any milestones or I’m only a member of DENLUG, but I was
What’s your favourite thing about being part done anything you’re particularly proud of? previously a founding member of ARKLUG in
of the LUG? One of our members, Jeremy McCreary, Arkansas.
Deinitely the community and getting to know belongs to an international forum of spinning
other AFOLs. Everyone inds value in being top enthusiasts whose members include




22 Blocks February 2020 www.blocksmag.com

MONTH IN LEGO
DENLUG's city and train display at
TECO Train Show in Colorado
DENLUG is involved with Springs, October 2019.
shows all over Colorado.





Jeremy McCreary with his
00000129
LEGO tops in Marines, France.
Oktoberfest carnival by
DENLUG member Eric Lind. LUG





S P O T L I G H T


Blacktron attack on Redstone Five, by
space builder Michael Kanemoto.












What plans do you have for future events?
We’ve just exhibited at the First LEGO League
state championship in December, and our next
large show will be the Rocky Mountain Train
Show in Denver in mid-March.
What’s the best show you’ve ever been to?
I haven’t had an opportunity to attend in the
last few years, but Brickworld Chicago is my
favourite LEGO event. The organisers always
do a fantastic job with diverse programming Michael Kanemoto
for all ages, and it attracts the most creative Every LUG needs a and his 2m-tall
builders from all over the world. Plus Chicago brick-built logo. Technic
spaceship.
is a fabulous town!
What’s your personal favourite LEGO
theme/set?
My personal favourite theme has always been
Pirates. Although it is no longer a consistent
theme in the LEGO Group’s line-up, I’m
hoping it returns. The Imperial Flagship
from 2010 is still one of the most beautiful
things I have ever laid eyes on.
Michael Kanemoto's MOC on
display at Colorado's Wings
over the Rockies Museum.












Tops concentrate a lot of speed in a small
space. These LEGO versions create optical
illusions or drive onboard moving parts.




www.blocksmag.com February 2020 Blocks 23

THIS LEGO LIFE

Daniel Konstanski


THE COSTS OF


LICENSED LEGO




Daniel offers an alternative explanation for the proliferation of large LEGO sets

Pics: Daniel Konstanski, The LEGO Group


Large sets often
WRITER BIO target nostalgia.
Lifelong LEGO obsessive
passionate about
collecting. With a thorough
knowledge of LEGO over
the years, he is Blocks'
historian.

HY DOES THE LEGO
Group make so many
more large sets than it
used to? It is common
W knowledge that this
trend has been going on for about a decade
now. LEGO fan website Brickset recently
chronicled the number of sets containing
over 1,000 pieces per year since the turn of
the millennium. Prior to 2005 it was never
more than 10, but since 2015 the number has
consistently been north of 20, and reached as
high as the mid-30s in recent years. Between
2000 and 2010, there were only 73 sets
passing the 1,000 element mark. Now, that
number has ballooned to 217.
Cool stats aside – and thanks to the guys
over at Brickset for crunching all that data
– I think there is a potential explanation, or
at least a partial one, for this phenomenon the wish fulilment of AFOLs. normally between 10% and 20% depending
that I have not seen anyone else mention. Licensing fees are an ugly reality for toy on the property. With such hot commodities
The vast majority of these large models, be companies looking to sell products from the as Marvel and Lucasilm, you can bet the
they System or Technic, have been licensed. hottest pop culture domains. With properties LEGO Group is paying in the upper margins
like Star Wars, Harry Potter and Marvel in their of that range.
COOL STATS ASIDE portfolio, the LEGO Group is lying at the So why would this lead to large products?
– AND THANKS TO THE highest of highs within the licensing world. I don’t have the space here to get into all the
However, that comes at a cost – or two costs,
details of product pricing, but for now all you
GUYS OVER AT to be exact. Standard licensing deals involve need to know is that there are two important
BRICKSET FOR a pair of payments to the license holder. The prices: the wholesale price and the retail
CRUNCHING ALL THAT irst is known as a minimum guarantee, which price. The wholesale price is the amount that
the LEGO Group sells a set to the retailer
is a base payment made regardless of how
DATA – I THINK THERE IS many toys ultimately sell; it is not tied in any for, and the retail price is what you pay at
A POTENTIAL way to sales. These numbers can be huge, the store (incidentally, this is why there has
EXPLANATION with something like Star Wars easily in the been a proliferation of LEGO stores in recent
several hundreds of millions of dollars for a years – selling directly to consumers at the
certain timeframe, or access to a given movie retail price means much greater proits). The
Star Wars, Simpsons, Harry Potter, Bugatti, or TV show. license holder gets their percentage based on
Land Rover, Jurassic Park, and many, many Based on the fact that the LEGO Group’s the wholesale price. The larger a set, the less
more have graced shelves. While there have deals are announced in terms of time, the expensive it is to produce per piece.
certainly been non-licensed behemoths – base payment is likely for the right to sell Take the recent 75252 Imperial Star
Creator Expert sets such as the modular toys over a given window of years. However, Destroyer. That model can command a huge
buildings or fairground models come to mind once net sales exceed that base payment price point due to its size, subject matter, and
– most of them are tied to an external IP. Why amount, these deals are usually written so status as the remake of a much-loved past
is that important? Because the LEGO Group that another payment kicks in: royalties, which product; there is a lot of pent-up demand.
likely has an incentive beyond just satisfying are a percentage of each unit sold. This is However, it is made almost entirely of basic

24 Blocks February 2020 www.blocksmag.com

THIS LEGO LIFE


Creator has been a
consistent source of bricks and plates in standard colours. In
large, non-IP sets. comparison to other models, it will cost much
less per piece to produce. Here, then, is
where I believe the incentive comes in.
Retailers usually sell a product for around
30% more than the wholesale price. In the
case of the Star Destroyer, which retails for
£650/$700, the wholesale price is likely
around £450/$490. So, if we assume the
licensing fee is 18%, then Disney’s cut is
£81/$88 respectively. The remaining balance
of the wholesale price must then cover
design, proit, advertising, overhead, and of
course, production.
While production costs are likely around
50% on normal-sized sets, that proportion
is lower on these larger ones, which means
a greater share can go to proits. Plus,
since these large licensed models prime
the market, the LEGO Group can get away
with enormous non-licensed models like
Technic has gotten Apocalypesburg or NINJAGO City, which add
more into licensing
in recent years. even more to the coffers. As a result, I would
expect to see the pace of these larger sets
increase, or at least hold steady. n



























Star Wars has high
licensing costs.





















Large sets from
internal IPs are
likely the most
lucrative.


www.blocksmag.com February 2020 Blocks 25

THIS LEGO LIFE

Graham Hancock

WHERE IS THE





MANDALORIAN?



Graham wonders why the LEGO Star Wars theme is still
playing the greatest hits

Pics: Phil Wrighton, Lucasilm

WRITER BIO The LEGO
Long term LEGO fan miniigure is
specialising in everything based on this
from Pirates to Star armour.
Wars, with a soft spot
for exhibitions and
LEGOLAND.


AVING INTERVIEWED
MEMBERS of the LEGO Star
Wars team a few times and
having heard them speak at
H various events, I know that they
don’t have an easy job when it comes to the
secrecy that surrounds Star Wars. They can be
designing sets from very early designs or not
knowing to what extent a vehicle or location
will appear in an upcoming ilm. are still focused on the classic era. months, it is safe to read on. Baby Yoda – or
When it comes to The Mandalorian though, Of course Episodes I-VI should still be the Child, as the show calls the character –
the lack of sets is really noticeable. The series included in the line-up, as to many collectors seems to be much of the reason that there are
will debut in the UK soon, and has been they are ‘pure’ Star Wars, but is right after a so few products for The Mandalorian. After all,
available in the US on Disney+ since last new ilm release and the irst live-action series it isn’t just the LEGO Group that has been light
November. Yet fans still don’t have the Razor’s the time to be revisiting those designs? on releases – other licensees have only trickled
Crest, the titular character’s main ship that Three new sets – four, for those counting out a little merchandise too.
appears in every episode. It’s the equivalent Microighters – have been released based on It would have been remiss of the LEGO Star
of not including the Millennium Falcon in the The Rise of Skywalker, which is good news for Wars team to release a Razor’s Crest without
Solo: A Star Wars Story launch wave. those who want a Sith Trooper army. 75273 the little fellow to accompany Mando, and if
Initially, the lack of Mando merch could Poe Dameron’s X-wing Fighter has a cool that is why the set’s release has been delayed
be attributed to The Rise of Skywalker. With colour scheme, even if it is not as original as then it was out of the brick experts’ hands. But
the big inale on the horizon, it made perfect 75272 Sith TIE Fighter. Yet only one set has there is a risk that by the time sets based on
sense that the LEGO Group and Lucasilm the series are released, the buzz will have died
would want to focus efforts on the ilm – even THERE WOULD HAVE down and fans may no longer be clamouring
if some of the sets based on the movie were for the products.
rather familiar starighters. BEEN LEGO FANS The future of Star Wars ilms is currently in
While 75254 AT-ST Raider was released in RIOTING HAD MANDO lux, but it would be great if going forward
that wave, it is a very familiar vehicle, even with NOT ARRIVED AS A Lucasilm shared more with the LEGO Group
a few colour tweaks. Thankfully, it included MINIFIGURE and other companies ahead of releases. There
the all-important miniigure of Pedro Pascal’s is something very special about having the
helmeted gunslinger and the almost-as- latest new vehicles and characters in hand
appealing Cara Dune. There would have been been released for The Mandalorian. as they appear on screen, especially when it
LEGO fans rioting had Mando not arrived as a While 75267 Mandalorian Battle Pack is comes to signature ships like the Razor’s Crest.
miniigure. undeniably an appealing set by the basket This column had to be iled before The
But the January wave has not focused on full, it doesn’t scratch the building itch that the Rise of Skywalker appeared in cinemas, so
the new streaming series and the new movie series is leaving fans with. In every episode, add to the wish-list all the new designs that
– classic vehicles and scenes from Revenge of there are new worlds, vehicles and characters are certain to pop up in the ilm. But The
the Sith, A New Hope and The Empire Strikes – and is something even really authentic Star Mandalorian has provided plenty already, and
Back have been revisited instead. They all look Wars until it is reproduced as a toy? with the Cassian Andor and Obi-Wan Kenobi
like ine sets (at the time of writing they have Those who live in a cave and do not know shows on the horizon, there’s tonnes of new
not been available to build), but given there is about the adorable new character in The material coming – so there are no excuses for
more new Star Wars content than ever before Mandalorian should look away now, but for retreading the greatest LEGO Star Wars hits
to delve into, it is incredible that these slots anyone who has seen a meme in the last few quite so frequently… n

26 Blocks February 2020 www.blocksmag.com

THIS LEGO LIFE







75254 AT-ST
Raider was
the irst set
released for
the series.


















































































www.blocksmag.com February 2020 Blocks 27

THIS LEGO LIFE

Chris Wharfe


LEGO ON TOUR




Chris takes a trip to New York City, but the LEGO won’t let him go





WRITER BIO Squint, and tilt your
Experienced journalist head, and just trust
that this really is the
with a lifelong addiction to
LEGO loat.
LEGO, Star Wars and Super
Heroes. Blocks' resident
northerner.

I
DON’T KNOW about you, but I
sometimes ind it impossible to get away
from LEGO. I mean, I’ve never tried very
hard, but no matter where I go, the brick
seems to follow.
Back in November, I ventured on a long-
planned trip to New York City, taking in the
sights and sounds of the big apple. Oh, and
the bricks. Can’t forget the bricks. Okay, so I
actively hunted out the Flatiron LEGO Store,
but like buying a pair of drumsticks at Hard
Rock Café, that’s become a tradition for every
city I visit. What surprised me more was how companies we’re talking about. Why wouldn’t it and all the proof I have is a hastily-snapped pic
much LEGO I encountered without even trying. advertise in Times Square? In fact, it was pretty (printed above, in case you enjoy squinting).
The latest Architecture rendition of the satisfying spotting an ad in the wild that I’d I didn’t stick around for much of the parade
Empire State Building launched just months seen a preview of months earlier in Billund, with beyond that, because it was (as expected)
ago, for instance, but it already has pride of the Rebuild the World campaign’s distinctive busier than the LEGO Store on January 1.
place on the 80th loor of the real building. deiance of gender stereotypes (‘blue’ built in But that somehow wasn’t the end of my brick
There’s a tease as you make your way through pink bricks, ‘pink’ built in blue) emblazoned on spotting for the six days I spent stateside. One
the short exhibit recounting the historic a billboard at the far end of the plaza. of the more sobering parts of the trip was a
skyscraper’s construction, with the box art You might have caught my mention of Black visit to the 9/11 Memorial Museum – which
sandwiched between a series of movie posters Friday – yes, I was in the US over Thanksgiving seemed oddly more of an ode to the building
on the lower levels. But you’ll need to take the week. And that meant I couldn’t not try to catch than the event, but that’s a column for a
elevator up some 70-plus loors to glimpse the different magazine – and among the exhibits
physical model, which sits removed from any was a ibreglass model of Lady Liberty, which
other exhibits on its own dedicated plinth. THE BRICK GODS had been left outside a Manhattan irehouse in
And, of course, you can buy it in the gift WERE LOOKING DOWN the months following those horriic attacks.
shop. Surprisingly, it matches the LEGO Store’s ON ME ONCE AGAIN Nobody knew where it came from, but it
oficial retail price of $129.99, which made soon found a new purpose, as members of the
it even more tempting. Buying the Empire public decorated the statue with messages and
State Building in the Empire State Building tributes to the ireighters who lost their lives
would have been a cool LEGO story, but alas, a glimpse of Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, even in the rescue effort. And there, nestled among
American Airlines’ luggage policy isn’t that if I wasn’t prepared to camp out on the freezing lags, badges, medals and candy wrappers,
generous (and I’d already done my fair share of New York streets from sunrise. As luck would was a brick reconstruction of the Stars and
Black Friday shopping). have it, though, the brick gods were looking Stripes. In a trip constantly permeated by
This was my irst visit to NYC, so I spent down on me once again. As I emerged from the presence of LEGO primarily through
most of the journey ticking off the usual tourist Times Square 42nd Street station, on to a road advertising, it was nice to see it used in such
hotspots: Brooklyn Bridge; the Staten Island adjacent to the parade route, I careened over a deliberate, thoughtful manner, away from
Ferry; Fifth Avenue; Chinatown; Central Park; the heads of the throng of people watching the the glitz and glamour of Times Square and
and Times Square. Walking into the latter felt Ronald McDonald balloon being delated to enormous parade loats.
a little like a fever dream – less because of my left, and spotted those familiar studs. Back in the LEGO world that most of us live
its brash insistence on cramming capitalism Depending on how closely you read Month in, I nipped to the Flatiron store one last time
down your throat, and more because it was in LEGO’s News in Brief section, you’ll probably before heading for JFK, and I was happy to
like stepping foot into dozens of movies and know that the LEGO Group had a new Macy’s ind 40367 Lady Liberty reduced to $7.99. I had
TV shows – but even there, the LEGO Group parade loat for 2019. So did I, which meant to have one NYC-themed LEGO memento,
permeated. I instantly recognised the part-turkey, part- after all. And given how my stateside LEGO
I’ll forgive you for not being surprised, dragon that was currently sailing down 6th Ave. tour had wrapped up, there couldn’t have been
because this is one of the world’s largest I honestly couldn’t have timed it better if I tried, a more itting set. n

28 Blocks February 2020 www.blocksmag.com

THIS LEGO LIFE



Rebuilding the
World, one Times
Square at a time.




































The most poignant
use of bricks I
spotted in NYC.











The Flatiron LEGO
Store features a
brick-built retelling
of NYC’s history.

So meta.






















I didn’t go up the real
Statue of Liberty, so this
was the next best thing.



www.blocksmag.com February 2020 Blocks 29

SPEED CHAMPIONS


SPEEDING



UP THE




SCALE




Design Manager Specialist Chris Stamp
reveals why Speed Champions has
jumped to eight studs wide – and how that
seemingly small change has had enormous
consequences for the racing theme

Words: Chris Wharfe Pics: Chris Wharfe, The LEGO Group







HANGE IS THE law of life. And those who look only to the
past or present are certain to miss the future.’
So said the 35th President of the United States of
America, John F. Kennedy, on June 25, 1963. And some 57
'C years later, the LEGO Group has clearly taken his words
– or any other inspirational ‘change’ quote you care to pick out of a hat, as we
just did for this intro – to heart. Since 2015, Speed Champions has pumped out
a regular annual assortment of real-world vehicles to a set scale of six studs
wide. And this year, it’s made the comprehensive jump to eight studs wide. But
according to Design Manager Specialist Chris Stamp, this sweeping change to the
theme’s standard is an evolution, not a revolution.
‘If you look at the original Star Wars sets, and then at the 20th anniversary
sets last year, it’s massively different,’ he explains. ‘That’s kind of the stage we’re
at now. If you take the McLaren Senna and you compare it against the 720S or
the P1, you can see it’s evolved quite massively. We’ve got to a point now where
IWE’RE DOING A GOOD JOB WITH
THE CARS – BUT WHAT IS THAT NEXT
STEP?

we’re doing a good job with the cars – but what is that next step? How can we
make what we do now even better?’
The answer came in the form of an extra two studs. And while that may seem
like a minor change at face value, it paved the way for a complete overhaul of the
design team’s approach to the theme. Crucially, says Chris, it was all down to us:
the LEGO fans buying the sets and sharing our opinions online.
‘I look at YouTube reviews, magazine reviews, and LEGO.com reviews. I try to
be a sponge to all that feedback, so I really have as much contact and interaction
with the fans who are receiving these sets as possible. The main feedback we’ve
received over the years is with the proportions – someone always makes a
comment that the cars are all too narrow and long – and secondly that we have
one or two stickers.’
That might be underselling it. More than any other theme, Speed Champions
is notorious for packing in sticker sheets that rival instruction books for size,
covering every available surface of the car in logos and emblems. Going forward,
Chris hopes that the switch to eight studs wide will kill two birds with one stone.
‘We’ve evolved to get the proportions right, which means we’ve now got more
space to build in details,’ he elaborates. ‘In theory, that means we can reduce
the number of stickers we use, because we don’t need to use as many stickers

30 Blocks February 2020 www.blocksmag.com

SPEED CHAMPIONS





LEGO Design Manager
Specialist Chris Stamp.























































































www.blocksmag.com February 2020 Blocks 31

SPEED CHAMPIONS



for detailing as we normally would. Of course, with things like race cars, there
will still be a lot of stickers because that’s the nature of the beast, but with
generic things like supercars it should reduce that. And we should deinitely see a
decrease as the years of this project evolve and continue.’
The team may have landed on eight studs wide eventually, but that wasn’t
the irst format they tried out. ‘We explored a lot of sizes,’ Chris conirms. ‘We
explored seven-wide, for example, which was just confusing. When most of your
elements are an even number, that was really crazy. We even explored going
as big as 10. But we really thought, ‘Okay, what scale is perfect for the right
proportions?’ And eight looked right. At eight, it’s still perfect to it in a kid’s
hand. And it still acts as a toy.
‘That’s the thing – we don’t want to go too collectable, into a die-cast display
model, because then you cut out the kids and the play. And at the end of the day,
Speed Champions is a toy. It’s meant to be played with.’

CH-CH-CH-CHANGES
Fortunately, a two-stud jump was all that was needed to open up new doors for
the theme. Speed Champions was never really in danger of going stale only ive
years in – last year’s stellar line-up, including the ive-wide 1967 Mini Cooper S
Rally, was proof enough of its continued ability to excite – but this minor change
looks to have paved the way for a major shake-up nonetheless.
‘Now you get two miniigures in the car, so that’s a left or right driver





Prototype models of
this year's eight-
wide cars.





















































32 Blocks February 2020 www.blocksmag.com

SPEED CHAMPIONS


Building at eight-
wide gives more depending on which part of the world you’re from,’ Chris offers by way of
space for details. example. ‘You can now do asymmetrical vehicles, which previously we couldn’t
do because of the central driving position.’ That’s not the only new type of
vehicle facilitated by eight studs, though. This year, Speed Champions has
partnered with Formula E.
‘We tried to do some Formula Es with the six-wide cars, and it didn’t really
work,’ the design manager recalls. ‘It looked kind of like a strange version of
Formula One. It didn’t do justice to the IP [intellectual property], to be honest.
Going to the eight-wide, you actually have space to build in air. That was one of
the big tests between six and eight studs wide. Formula E approached us a couple
of years ago, and we’ve been in dialogue trying to ind the right time.’
Along with Nissan and Lamborghini, Formula E is just one of the new
partners for Speed Champions this year. But it’s probably the most important
one, because it marks not only the progression of the theme’s scale, but the irst
time the LEGO Group has worked directly with a motorsport championship
series, rather than just the car manufacturers.
‘We’ve done Formula One, but we’ve worked with Ferrari or Mercedes – we
haven’t worked directly with Formula One,’ Chris explains. As you’ll tell from its
convoluted moniker, though, 76898 Formula E Panasonic Jaguar Racing GEN2
Car & Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY is the culmination of working with not just
one, but two partners.
‘We said Formula E is great, but it’s still quite a newish brand, so we’re





Nissan is a new
partner for 2020.






















































www.blocksmag.com February 2020 Blocks 33

SPEED CHAMPIONS


Two of the new
eight-wide
cars.




































An extra two studs
translates to a lot
more LEGO in
the box.











probably going to need a second partner on this, whether that be BMW or Audi The focus is truly
on the car now.
or Jaguar. It needs to be a global brand that kids recognise because Formula E’s
so new. So then we ask, which are the right partners we can brand on this from
your side? Who’s currently winning all the races, who’s most popular? So then
it goes from them approaching us or us approaching them to a very mutual
dialogue.’
Introducing more partners is part and parcel of Speed Champions’ repertoire
– Dodge and Mini were brand new additions in 2019 – but that mutual dialogue
comes into play when selecting which licences are most appropriate. And, of
course, fan feedback plays a vital role.
‘Obviously online you’ll see people name pretty much every brand out there,’
Chris laughs. ‘If we could just put unlimited products out there, we would do one
of everything. But we have to really be selective – is this the right time to launch
this? Does this partner have something new for that year that they can share with
us? Do they have something new that’s not very similar to something else in our
assortment? These are the kinds of conversations we have when we’re mapping
this out.’

THE CAR IS KING
That focus on the car during those early stages has always been relected in the
sets, but from 2020 the team has tried to commit even further to the ethos that
the car is – as Chris puts it – ‘king’.
‘We’ve lost the story starters,’ he explains. ‘We’ve got rid of the wind tunnels,
the fuel cans and stuff. We’ve done a lot of testing internally with kids, and also
with adults, and we found that the kids always lose the story starters. They
end up in the LEGO box at home, and they don’t know where they are. Those

34 Blocks February 2020 www.blocksmag.com

SPEED CHAMPIONS







B R I C K S F O R A L L
‘We’ve created a lot of new elements that have allowed
us to achieve this scale,’ Chris says. ‘But I think even if
you’re not a car fan, and you’re just a LEGO fan, you’ll
like these new pieces, or you’ll say, ‘I don’t like cars but
if I use that element I can build this new spaceship or jet
or bridge or sunlower.’ And that’s the whole beauty of
LEGO and what we’re trying to push.’























The LEGO Group
has partnered with
Lamborghini for the
irst time this year.











bricks go towards other creative builds. But the car is the hero and that’s what
they focus on. This is our Luke Skywalker or Spider-Man – so that’s what we’re
putting all our attention on.’
The price point for the single cars has jumped by 25% (at least in the US, from
$14.99 to $19.99 – the maths doesn’t work out quite so well in the UK, with a
bump from £12.99 to £17.99), which Chris reasons makes sense when ‘you’re
getting 25% more of the car’. But losing those story starters has allowed the team
to keep the prices of double packs consistent with previous years.
‘These will still come with a start line, but we won’t be doing garages anymore,
or we won’t be doing big wind tunnels, because what we found is that nobody’s
buying a Speed Champions set for that lovely wind turbine or that garage. Those
are nice, but you could get things like that in CITY or Creator Expert or Creator
3-in-1, or you could build your own. There’s other opportunities for that. This is
the only place where you can get a Jaguar car or a Nissan.
‘It’s not to say that we’ll never ever do a garage again, it’s to say that the
direction we’re on right now, it’s not a priority. The main priority is the cars, and
if we can get something extra with it, it’s got to make sense and it’s got to be
beneicial.’
That approach feeds into how the design team has watched kids interact with
their products, both in testing and the real world. ‘What we’re realising is that
the kids kind of make the world themselves,’ Chris relects. ‘So they get this car
and then they race it against a Star Wars X-wing, or a Friends Hot Dog Van, or
something like that – there are no rules.’
Even if kids have no rules to abide by, the same isn’t true for the Speed
Champions design team. For years, the cars have had to it into a very speciic
framework – now, the same rules apply, only within a bigger framework. And

www.blocksmag.com February 2020 Blocks 35

SPEED CHAMPIONS F I R S T E I G H T

The complete irst wave of eight-wide
Speed Champions sets
with that change in size comes new ways to approach the design process.
‘It’s deinitely a different building challenge,’ Chris conirms. ‘Now we’re using
bricks instead of plates, so which bricks are available? That was kind of the 76895 Ferrari F8 Tributo
challenge, but we’ve done enough Speed Champions to know what challenges
we’ll experience. It’s more that now we have more space to do stuff with, which
is beneicial to us, but we’ve also taken it as a learning experience.’

COLLECTION DISRUPTION
One of the more pressing challenges for the design team, and the LEGO Group
as a whole, is how to sell this sudden change in format to veteran collectors. If
you’ve spent years building up a stable of six-wide cars, the shift to eight studs
wide could be problematic. When we irst spoke to Chris last May, he was only
too aware of that potential pitfall.
‘I think because people hear about products before they see them, I think some
people will be like, ‘They’re changing it to eight? What about my past collection?’
And then when they see them, they’ll say, ‘Actually, this is what I’ve been asking 76896 Nissan GT-R Nismo
for online, so I do want it,’ and, ‘I wish they’d do the F40 or the Charger, but at
this scale.’ I don’t know if they’re going to say that, but that’s what I’m excited to
hear, because I think this new scale does more justice to the cars.’
If that is what you’re saying at the moment, with the new batch of eight-
wide vehicles having just hit shelves, then the LEGO Group wants to hear it. ‘If
someone says, ‘I wish the Porsche 911 was at this size,’ that’s something that we
want to know,’ Chris says, emphasising that the Speed Champions theme will still
be driven by fan feedback in future. ‘If they say, ‘I’m glad they’ve done the eight-


II TRY TO BE A SPONGE TO ALL THAT
FEEDBACK, SO I REALLY HAVE CONTACT
AND INTERACTION WITH THE FANS 76897 1985 Audi Sport Quattro S1


wide but I don’t need them to redo older ones,’ tell us, and then we can just focus
on doing new vehicles we haven’t previously done.’
There’s only one direction Chris immediately rules out for the theme, though,
and that’s in reverse. ‘We won’t go back to the six-wide. This is an evolution
forward – as long as we’re not going backwards, we’re happy. And as long as this
is what the consumer wants, and this is what a kid wants to play with, then we’re
happy.’
Fortunately for the team, it seems like the kids (and adults) really do want the
new eight-wide scale – or at least, that was the impression they got from testing,
even if it was a little trickier to prise it out of the younger members of the focus
76898 Formula E Panasonic Jaguar Racing
groups. ‘When you do comparison tests with the kids, sometimes you have to
GEN2 Car & Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY
kind of read between the lines because their initial reaction is, ‘It’s bigger, so it’s
automatically better.’ We need more than that – we can’t just go in there and say
‘job done’,’ Chris laughs.
‘But if you leave the toys with them longer, they start observing the details on
the cars. So it becomes more of a real test rather than just a play test; it becomes
more about how the kid is going to react when they’ve got this at home for a
longer period of time. The fact that you can get two miniigures in the car is
great, because now you can have the miniigure’s friend come along for a drive,
or there’s a good guy and a bad guy, or maybe it’s two robbers and one’s the
getaway driver. Those kinds of stories have now been opened up that we’ve seen
in testing.’
Testing is one thing, but real-world reactions are another ball game altogether.
And Chris doesn’t shy away from that fact – but more than anything, he’s eager 76899 Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO & Urus ST-X
to see how the LEGO community will respond. ‘I’m kind of nervous, but I’m also
very excited about what the consumer thinks,’ he says. We’ve listened to what
they’ve said, and we’ve tried to deliver that.’
‘We can test a lot internally – we always do – but the true test will come
after January 1, when these sets are released and you start getting the irst few
YouTube videos, and you start getting the magazine reviews in. And then there’s
forums, there’s LEGO.com, all that kind of stuff. That’s what I’m most excited
about.’
Nine months on from our chat with Chris, the irst batch of eight-wide Speed
Champions sets has inally arrived on shelves. Change is the law of life, and at
least where its racing theme is concerned, the LEGO Group is certainly looking
towards the future. n

36 Blocks February 2020 www.blocksmag.com

SPEED CHAMPIONS



Six-wide cars opened the
door for Formula E.
























































Double packs will
still contain extras,
but they've been
pared back.




























www.blocksmag.com February 2020 Blocks 37

REVIEWSVIEWS
RE

i Price: £219.99, $249.99, €249.99 / Miniigures: 3 / Pieces: 3,306

76139 1989 BATMOBILE


The iconic Batmobile that fans have always wanted inally arrives in LEGO form

Words: David Cartlidge Pics: Phil Wrighton






EVER SINCE THE LEGO Group started producing Batman sets, fans have had
the ‘Keaton Batmobile’ on their wish list. There are dozens of MOCs and LEGO
Ideas submissions out there trying to ill that void, but none of them prepare you
for the incredible result that is 76139 1989 Batmobile.
Let’s jump ahead. Simply put, it’s stunning – you can see that for yourself, of
course, but the quality of the build and the attention to detail is so incredible
that it elevates the model to another level. In terms of scale, this is similar to
76023 The Tumbler, yet even bigger and more impressive (yes, it’s both bigger
and better than The Tumbler). This is an insanely large LEGO system vehicle,






























































www.blocksmag.com
www.blocksmag.com
38 www.blocksmag.com
38 Blocks February 2020 Blocks February 2020

RE
REVIEWSVIEWS


Bruce didn’t spring for
the luxury pack, so there
were no USB ports.





Fun trivia: Hollywood
actress Jessica Biel
named her son Batmo.


















































The pop-up guns are
both unnecessary and
completely awesome.












YOU CAN SEE THAT THE DESIGNERS HAVE
THE SAME PASSION FOR THIS AS YOU DO









February 2020 Blocks 39 Blocks 39
www.blocksmag.com
www.blocksmag.com
www.blocksmag.com February 2020

REVIEWS


Squint and
it’s almost like
watching the
movie.













































IT’S AN AUTHENTIC AND WELL-
DESIGNED MECHANIC









Attention to
detail from
every angle.


























www.blocksmag.com
40 Blocks February 2020
40 Blocks February 2020 www.blocksmag.com
www.blocksmag.com

REVIEWS



but every one of its 3,000-plus pieces is put V E R D I C T up from each front wing, pinging a small
to great use. section of bodywork off as they do so. It’s an
The build process is deeply rewarding. An incredible way to celebrate Batman’s authentic and well-designed mechanic that
After the irst few bags are completed and twin anniversaries in 2019, this is the skilfully avoids being a gimmick.
the torrent of Technic pins and beams have greatest LEGO Batmobile – a virtually The inal vehicle is an awesome sight and,
been locked in place, the structure comes faultless set. in a inal stroke of genius, comes complete
together pretty quickly. The engine bay with its own rotating Batcave-like turntable
and wheel arches take shape, then the 99/100 – simply everything about this encapsulates
sweeping front wings start to form, and every the 1989 Batman movie. As if all this wasn’t
subsequent section of bodywork is a familiar enough, the miniigures are wonderful
and perfectly realised detail from your movie here so perfectly captures the look and feel too. The Dark Knight himself looks utterly
memory. The cockpit is one such highlight of the ‘real’ vehicle that any fan of the movie fantastic with his rubberised cowl-and-cape
and is a complete triumph, capturing the will adore it. And it’s those kind of moments, combo, and is a real departure from the
source material with incredible accuracy, where you can see that the designers have regular Batman miniigure. Vicki Vale is a
even down to the pedals, with just a few well- the same passion for this as you do, that keep welcome inclusion, making her LEGO debut
chosen stickers to add inesse. The steering coming back as you add more details. in dramatic fashion. Almost stealing the
wheel is a little dificult to access with The rear of the Batmobile, with its lared show, much like the movie, is the Joker. An
AFOL ingers, but looks the part and does vents and ridged wings, is very satisfying to incredibly accurate and worthy addition to
genuinely turn the front wheels. build and evokes the feel of the movie version the cast, this miniigure captures every aspect
The canopy, mostly formed from a new brilliantly. Cleverly inverted sections provide of the Jack Nicholson incarnation superbly.
windshield piece, makes this section of scalloped edges to the wings and frame This is a set for serious builders and serious
the vehicle even better. It may seem like a the central jet exhaust, which itself plays an Batman fans that manages to satisfy them
minor point in a set this large, but the way integral role in the set’s one true play feature. both. It’s everything Bat-fans have been
the opening mechanism has been recreated Rotating the exhaust pops twin machine guns wishing for. n





Y O U M I G H T ESSENTIALS
A L S O W A N T…

B R I C K S P O T L I G H T T E C H N I Q U E S P O T L I G H T












76023 THE TUMBLER A brand new 10-stud-wide curved The car’s bat wings have this great
Chris Nolan’s vision is the ideal big windshield helps make the canopy shape scalloped edge shape, made using a
brother (or little brother?) to the 1989 come to life. It will be interesting to see if standard curve with a simple bar and clip
Batmobile, and they look amazing side-by- it gets used in any other sets. to reverse the stud direction.
side. If you didn’t grab it before it retired,
now might be the time to track it down.

H O W Y O U ’ L L S P E N D Y O U R T I M E W I T H 7613 9

M I N I F I G U R E S P O T L I G H T
10%
inding
somewhere to
15% display it
checking the Bat-
logos on the wheels
35%
are all upright
spinning
20% the inished
resisting the Batmobile
temptation to open around on its
Batman’s cape and cowl are made from the last bag irst turntable
to get the Joker
one rubberised piece in this set, meaning miniigure 20%
the miniigure head can’t turn – just as
quoting the movie
Michael Keaton struggled to do in the in your best Batman
voice
movie.

www.blocksmag.com February 2020 Blocks 41

REVIEWS


i Price: £19.99, $19.99, €24.99 / Miniigures: 3 / Pieces: 200

76118 MR. FREEZE A great looking cycle
V E R D I C T
and nice miniigures,
BATCYCLE BATTLE but let down by a lack
of inesse.

What every 80-year-old wants for their birthday, a new motorbike 70/100

Words: David Cartlidge Pics: Phil Wrighton


TRADITIONALLY, MR. FREEZE has been combination, Batman and Robin have equal Technic pins used to join them together.
paired up with some variant of a Batboat, but billing on the new Batcycle, which comprises Freeze has a neat little snow scooter that
for the Dark Knight’s 80th anniversary, the two almost identical bikes that join together complements his new miniigure perfectly,
LEGO Group has switched things up and given to form a larger vehicle. in both style and colour scheme, and this
us a Batcycle with a twist. This joined coniguration is by far the most incarnation of Robin is one of the best yet –
The new vehicle is a unique addition to attractive of the two options, and features an although the new mid-length articulated legs
the Bat-garage, with an aesthetic that evokes extensive array of new armaments along the would have been nice. Thankfully, the overall
both the raw power of the Tumbler and the exterior. Sadly, the individual Batcycles don’t set is greater than the sum of its parts, but
extravagance of the late ‘90s movies. Unlike look so great, unless you only view them a little more polish on the the joining of the
their more traditional motorcycle and sidecar from an angle that hides the exposed, garish cycles would have made it even greater.


Northbound trafic is queueing from junction 16 due
to broken down snowmobile.

























EVOKES THE RAW POWER
OF THE TUMBLER Mr Freeze
shows that the
dynamic duo
are brought
together by
nothing more
than two
Technic pins.




















42 Blocks February 2020 www.blocksmag.com

REVIEWS


i Price: £24.99, $29.99, €29.99 / Miniigures: 2 / Pieces: 342

76119 BATMOBILE: PURSUIT

OF THE JOKER



A birthday Batmobile might turn out to be the best gift you could wish for

Words: David Cartlidge Pics: Phil Wrighton
Stop running
away, give me
back my car
keys!


If you see
this in your
rearview ALL THAT IS
mirror, move GREAT ABOUT
over.
LEGO
BATMOBILES





























Batman
should have
expected
Joker to call
shotgun.


ONE OF THE lowest points in the movie From the slab-like front angle, the laming, rotating exhaust and
history of the Dark Knight is arguably the scene the Batmobile is imposing, with V E R D I C T emphasising the sleek shape.
where Val Kilmer utters the immortal line, ‘It’s contrasting yellow lights against This is a Bat-fan’s ideal build,
the car, right? Chicks love the car.’ Well, the the black and gunmetal grey bat encompassing all that is great
A superb incarnation
LEGO Group certainly loves the car, but does emblem. The impractically long of the Batmobile that’s about LEGO Batmobiles in one set.
the seemingly endless supply of Batmobiles (but totally appropriate) stud-less instantly familiar, but Batman is joined in the set by
need to slow down for a while? hood gives the impression of a entirely new – not an his BFF, Joker. Sporting a bright
easy trick to pull off.
For the 80th celebration of all things Bat, it heavily armoured and powerful green shirt and purple waistcoat,
feels like we’ve been transported back to 2006 battering ram on wheels. he most resembles the most recent
and given a miniigure-scale version of 7784 The cockpit is spacious enough 93/100 videogame incarnation, and his
The Batmobile: Ultimate Collectors’ Edition. for one miniigure, and neatly double-printed head shows his
That’s no bad thing, though, as this new set hinges open to reveal a control panel and usual maniacal smile, complemented by a
is a wonderfully sleek yet brutish vehicle with dark red interior. Bat logos adorn the wheel frustrated grimace on the reverse.
an oversized engine, huge wheel arches, hubs in that strangely naff-but-nice way that Whether you already own 7784 or not, this
side-mounted guns, wings and even a laming only Batmobiles can manage. Huge sweeping is a superb addition to any Batman collection
exhaust. wings sprout from behind the cockpit, framing and one of the stand-out LEGO Batmobiles.



www.blocksmag.com February 2020 Blocks 43

REVIEWS


i Price: £49.99, $49.99, €49.99 / Miniigures: 4 / Pieces: 489

76120 BATMAN BATWING V E R D I C T
The choice of
AND THE RIDDLER HEIST eras may be a little
characters and
confusing, but the
builds and miniigures
Riddle me this: who wouldn’t you expect to see in a Batman look great.
and Riddler set? 80/100

Words: David Cartlidge Pics: Phil Wrighton

AS A GREEN-HAIRED maniac once asked, view it from anything other than above. These PD car nearly steals the show here: it’s a solid,
‘Where does he get those wonderful toys?’ niggles aside, the build is decent but never low-proile, chunky ride with a front bullbar
Well, mostly through some questionable spectacular, and the overall result is a nice that embodies the powerful patrol vehicle, and
accounting practices, but for the rest of us addition to the Bat-arsenal. also has the greatest licence plate of any cop
there’s LEGO.com. We’ve not been short of a Leaving the 1989-inspired theme to one car ever.
Batwing or two through the years, so what can side, the accompanying villain is Riddler, The Gordon miniigure is terriic, with
an 80th anniversary edition bring to the party? who is kitted out with a simple one-man printed legs that the slightly bland Riddler
The inspiration for this latest Batwing is bubble helicopter, which seems completely would have beneited from. The surprise in
clearly taken from the iconic 1989 movie outclassed compared to Batman’s choice of the bundle is Shazam, an unexpected but
version. The unmistakable Bat-logo silhouette transport. This is a build that we’ve seen many welcome appearance from the most recent
is represented well, if a little chunkily, in LEGO times previously – in fact, the build is virtually member of the DCEU movie series, making
form, and a mix of the standard stud shooters identical to the one in 76052 Batman Classic the selection of timelines in one set even more
as well as the new disc launchers gives the TV Series - Batcave – but the addition of a confusing. But the miniigure looks great,
craft some added playability. brick-built safe with working lock mechanism and this is now the most cost-effective way to
One of the key features of any lying adds an extra element to what could have obtain him, so we can’t complain.
LEGO vehicle is its swooshability, and while been a disappointment. A set doesn’t have to make chronological
this does have a good level of swoosh, the Further mixing up the eras is the inclusion sense to be fun, of course, and the
choice to use light and dark grey panels on of a Commissioner Gordon who looks straight combination of great miniigures and some
the underside does disappoint when you out of Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. His Gotham excellent vehicles deinitely helps.

The new patrol car is so secure, The pilot seating position During his long custodial sentence,
there are no opening doors or isn’t ideal. Riddler learned to ly a helicopter.
windows.
















THE SURPRISE IN THE BATWING HAS
THE BUNDLE IS A GOOD LEVEL OF
SHAZAM SWOOSH


As usual, the
competition for the
last parking space was
ierce.













44 Blocks February 2020 www.blocksmag.com

REVIEWS


i Price: £94.99, $99.99, €99.99 / Miniigures: 6 / Pieces: 1,038

76122 BATCAVE CLAYFACE

INVASION



The annual Batcave invasion becomes an 80th birthday party for the Dark Knight

Words: David Cartlidge Pics: Phil Wrighton

After so many
invasions, Batman
decided to make
every third
Wednesday open
Batcave day.


























THERE’S PLENTY
OF POTENTIAL FOR
EXPANSION ball-jointed together with ugly pincer hands largely as a landing pad for the Batwing from
76120. The main part of the cave is a superb
that dangle to the loor. A weirdly angular
chest and toothy chin are topped by a strange Batcomputer and workstation area, complete
THERE SEEM TO be very few villains who printed head element, which looks out of place with microscope and swivel chair. Flanking the
haven’t invaded a LEGO Batcave at one time no matter what position it’s in. Clayface is a computer are a cute workout area and a weird
or another. Quite how the Caped Crusader strange mess of disproportionate angles and jetpack on a stand, called a ‘hi-tech zone’.
has survived for 80 years given this total lack curves, which sounds ideal for this character, Underneath these are two more sections – a
of security is a mystery, but given the excellent but unfortunately doesn’t work here. tool bench of sorts, and a trophy room illed
track record of LEGO Batcaves we’re happy for Thankfully, there are plenty of redeeming with three iconic items of Bat history.
it to continue. features in the rest of the set. Joining the Rounding off the set is a Bat-tank. It’s an
Invading the Batcave in this latest instalment Batman, Robin and Batwoman miniigures, all unusual choice of name given the exposed
are Two-Face, Catwoman and Clayface, all of which have featured before, is Bruce Wayne cockpit, but the chunky wheels and angular
of whom disappoint for different reasons. dressed in a sport coat and tie. Given that shape certainly lend it tank-like characteristics.
The miniigures aren’t bad, but are nowhere both Batman and Bruce are provided in the A huge rotating rocket launcher sits at the rear
near their best. Catwoman is suitably kitted same set, it’s unsurprising to ind that part of of the tank, presumably loaded with non-lethal
out in all black, but lacks any detail except the Batcave build is a ‘transformation tower’. rockets and grenades (this is Batman, after
the printed torso and feels like a missed This structure, like all of this Batcave, feels all). It’s a nice little build, and great to see
opportunity. Two-Face has purple face detail industrial and functional, like it’s been carved something other than a boat or bike featured
that doesn’t extend underneath the purple out of unyielding rock. This simple, in a Batcave set.
section of his hair, which gives him the but very effective, magic trick is V E R D I C T The overall Batcave looks great
unfortunate appearance of wearing make-up. a lift shaft that sees Bruce Wayne and has plenty of potential for fans
The torso and legs are also printed in one start at the top and Batman appear to expand on it and create new
One of the best
colour, which seems contrary to his usual dual at the bottom. sections in the same style. The
Batcaves in LEGO
persona garb. On the opposite side of the tone and visual appeal of the cave
history, but some less-
Then there is Clayface, a brick-built igure Batcave is the traditional jail cell than-stellar villains let really work well together, and only
(as he was for 70904 Clayface Splat Attack) with breakable wall (not that it down. the lacklustre villains detract from
that resembles a half-chewed toffee as much Batman tends to bring villains the appeal.
78/100
as anything else. Clumsy arms and legs are home with him), which serves
www.blocksmag.com February 2020 Blocks 45

REVIEWS


i Price: £3.49, $4.99, €3.99 / Miniigures: 1 / Pieces: Various

V E R D I C T
71026 DC SUPER HEROES There’s something
MINIFIGURES SERIES 1 here for every fan, and
the vast size of the
multiverse hopefully
means this is the irst
If only DC fans had X-ray vision to help them ind these obscure of many series.
heroes and villains…
90/100
Words and Pics: Katarzyna Rees-Jauke
Name: Wonder Woman
Verdict: This skirted appearance of Wonder Woman
hails from the 1940s comics, and she’s covered in
fantastic, appropriately retro printing.
Name: Classic Cheetah Best element: Her eagle-emblazoned torso
Verdict: Cheetah may not be as What to look for: Lasso, skirt piece
scary as her 2018 counterpart,
but this original version really
captures the villain’s aristocratic
demeanour in that self-satisied
expression. Name: Mister Miracle
Best element: The swag bag for Verdict: With dual-moulded
framing Wonder Woman limbs, plus printing all over,
What to look for: Flexible tail, this miniigure has miraculous
sack, round-eared mask
detailing – and the inclusion of
handcuffs brilliantly hints at his
escapology skills.
Best element: His jolly smiling
head piece
What to look for: Handcuffs,
short chain






Name: The Joker
Verdict: He may look like Name: Teen Titans Bumblebee
he’s off to a villainous Verdict: Patterned wings, a stripy turtleneck and yellow goggles –
wedding in that white Bumblebee’s buzzing in this look, but her stinger weapons would
tux, but who else have looked better as new pieces.
could pull off Best element: The cute double-bun hairpiece
Grand Moff What to look for: Butterly wings, two
Tarkin’s lightning elements
hairpiece in
green? Only
this brilliant
The Dark Knight
Returns incarnation
of the Clown Prince of
Crime.
Best element: Joker’s Name: Aquaman
iconic playing card in lilac Verdict: The very cool pearl
and lime gold harpoon prosthetic of this
What to look for: Beehive, miniigure depicts the 1990s
1x2 tile, lag pole storyline of how Aquaman’s real
hand was lost to some hungry
piranhas.
Best element: That golden
harpoon hand
What to look for: Very long
hairpiece, ish
Name: Stargirl
Verdict: She’s got enough
printed stars to rival a galaxy,
and Stargirl’s just in time for her
own live-action television series
too.
Best element: Her grin,
complete with braces
What to look for: Curved
cosmic element, lag pole



46 Blocks February 2020 www.blocksmag.com

REVIEWS


Name: Huntress Name: Rebirth Superman
Verdict: Even though Verdict: Family man Superman
she’s equipped with her is one of the simpler miniigures
iconic crossbow, it’s a from this range, but he’s cool
shame the designers enough to read articles about
didn’t use a cat-eared himself in the newspapers.
hairpiece in homage Best element: Red heat-vision
to Huntress’s mother, eyes of his alternate expression
Catwoman. What to look for: 2x2
Best element: newspaper tile
Her identity-
hiding purple-
masked head
piece
What to look Name: Bat-Mite
for: Crossbow, Verdict: This mischievous
lexible utility belt fanboy epitomises how he
idolises Batman, from an
adorable hand-stitched costume
to the tile depicting the Caped
Crusader’s Detective Comics
#27 debut.
Best element: His cheeky
buck-toothed expression
What to look for: Short-
Name: Batman First
eared cowl, 2x3 tile,
Appearance
only character with
Verdict: The LEGO Group
short legs
has commemorated
Batman’s 80th birthday in
many ways, but his 1939
Detective Comics debut
in miniigure form may be
the best.
Best element: That cowl
with oversized bat ears Name: Teen Titans Cyborg
What to look for: Two Verdict: While not as hi-tech
batarangs, long rope, as previous versions, Cyborg’s
pointy-eared cowl sand blue and pearl grey printed
cybernetics are excellent and his
smile is so wonderfully full of heart.
Best element: His helmet that’s
split into half-machine, half-man
What to look for: Split round
helmet, short chain




Name: Simon Baz Green
Lantern
Verdict: Baz’s miniigure adds
some great diversity to this
Name: Jay Garrick Flash line-up, and the attention to
Verdict: This original Flash detail even extends to his green
needs to race into your eyes, which represent rare
collection, with his wonderful Emerald Sight.
Mercury wings and amazing Best element: The
new electrical bolt elements to newly-moulded
imitate his super speed. lantern
Best element: Garrick’s What to look for:
winged helmet Same as Classic
What to look for: Round Sinestro, but no
helmet, two lexible hairpiece
electrical bolts
Name: Classic Sinestro
Verdict: Okay, so he may
not be the most fashionably
co-ordinated villain, but that
evil smile and those arched
eyebrows are wonderfully,
creepily printed.
Best element: His amazingly
detailed yellow power ring Name: Metamorpho
What to look for: Lantern, two Verdict: Combining so many different printed textures and colours,
1x1 circular tiles Metamorpho packs a punch of details into one miniigure, but it’s
disappointing he’s got no other metamorphosing accessories.
Best element: His über-cool gigantic ist
What to look for: Fist, only four pieces


www.blocksmag.com February 2020 Blocks 47

RE
REVIEWSVIEWS
V E R D I C T
i Price: £64.99, $69.99, €69.99 / Mini-dolls: 3 / Pieces: 778
This is how much fun
41395 FRIENDSHIP BUS be, even if buses don’t
every playset should
usually have slides
attached.
The Friends are sightseeing in style in one of their wackiest sets yet
82/100
Words and Pics: Graham Hancock



IT CAN SOMETIMES be very confusing as miniaturised like many of the houses and repainted it themselves. Postcards are stuck
to who the Friends gang represents and what vehicles often released in Friends and CITY, it to the door showing the various locations they
their ages are. 41395 Friendship Bus gives is closer to scale with a Creator Expert modular have been to.
the group what is allegedly a tour bus, but is building. It’s a great joy to put together, But while on tour, they want their guests – or
very much a party bus rather than a traditional especially as how the functions are achieved just themselves – to have fun, hence the huge
sightseeing vehicle. Either Stephanie, Mia or becomes apparent. slide, tennis gear, telescope and kitchenette.
Olivia has passed their driving test, and surely The concept seems to be that the friends All these aspects make this great fun for a
gone on to take an additional qualiication to have decided to start up a touring bus child, but it is subject matter that a discerning
drive this beast. company that is oodles of fun. A workbench is LEGO fan will easily choose to overlook.
And a beast it is, with 41395 Friendship Bus included, with a sticker depicting plans for the Those who do pass this by too quickly
built at a really decent scale. Rather than being vehicle and purple paint suggesting they have though will miss out on one of the inest




The top deck
features a small
garden and
beds.

41395
Friendship
Bus features
multiple levels.








A stocked
kitchen is on
board.














The cute critter
is going for a
ride.

















48 Blocks February 2020 www.blocksmag.com

REVIEWSVIEWS
RE
















playsets the LEGO Group has ever devised. securely, and the top windows lip up so the gear. Olivia wears a dress and jacket combo,
It is hard to overstate how much this model Friends can be placed in the bus-top beds. but Stephanie wins with her tropical-themed
packs in. Firstly, it is a fully rolling bus, with This level of ingenuity really is something t-shirt.
every single removable aspect able to be to marvel at. While the practicality of having Friendship Bus is an absolutely bonkers set,
slotted back in and securely clipped, so it can a tree on top of a bus is questionable, as is but at the same time is absolutely brilliant. It
be driven along with nothing falling out. having gardening tools attached to the outside is entirely understandable that adult fans may
Then, the side doors swing open to reveal of a bus, managing to it all these different not be interested in this subject matter, but
the interior. A section pulls out of the loor to elements into one set and leave plenty of anyone who remembers the great playsets of
provide the jacuzzi, and the top loor slides space for play is impressive. their childhood should at least give this set
back for better access to the interior. Columns A total of three mini-dolls are included, with consideration.
pull down to ensure the top level is held Stephanie, Mia and Olivia all sporting holiday



They are an
entrepreneurial
FRIENDSHIP BUS bunch.
IS AN ABSOLUTELY
BONKERS SET, BUT AT
THE SAME TIME IS
ABSOLUTELY
BRILLIANT





Columns
support the
roof when
extended.

















Please do not
use the slide
while the
vehicle is in
motion.













www.blocksmag.com February 2020 Blocks 49

REVIEWS


i Price: £54.99, $49.99, €59.99 / Mini-dolls: 3 / Pieces: 379
V E R D I C T
41394 HEARTLAKE CITY It’s hard to
recommend this set,
HOSPITAL released so recently.
given that a better
hospital has been

Is the latest LEGO hospital a healthy addition to the Friends theme? 55/100

Words and Pics: Graham Hancock


WHILE NOT AS novel as some of the other hospital, while remaining irmly in the Friends It looks oddly stylised, and the back doesn’t
sets in the January 2020 wave of LEGO world. With its transparent windows featuring open in a very realistic way.
Friends, hospitals are a staple of LEGO life, blinds, it is a little reminiscent of the 1987 Ethan’s bandage accessories are great,
so 41394 Heartlake City Hospital provides Town set, 6380 Emergency Treatment Center. adding authenticity to the hospital concept.
the latest version. With two loors and a small The heart and plaster iconography works well Including a banana really gives a sense
ambulance, it offers some of what you might throughout, as it did in 41318. of storytelling, illustrating why he’s in the
expect from a hospital set. Inside the set, the patient’s room features hospital to begin with. Dr Maria’s medical
The irst thing to note is that this set is a bed and pot plant, while another room accessories are also fun additions, especially
signiicantly less detailed than 2017’s 41318 features a microscope for the doctor to use. the stethoscope.
Heartlake Hospital and will not serve as a The x-ray machine is on the top loor. It really Given that this is so much less detailed than
substitute for that set. 41318 is packed with is a sparse hospital, and while the price is 41318 Heartlake Hospital, that is deinitely
detail to an extent that this set isn’t, and lower than some of its predecessors, it is the Friends hospital to go for. This is a set for
featured a more authentic ambulance. 41394 not necessarily low enough to justify so few someone who does not want to splash out
is signiicantly cheaper though, so cannot be details. on the larger edition, or would like a second
expected to pack as much in. The ambulance does the job, as a stretcher medical facility for their tabletop town.
The colour palette of 41394 works well for a its in the back and a driver can it in the front.



The doctor
checks the
chart.






Watch out for
the banana.
Doing science.

BANDAGE
ACCESSORIES ARE GREAT,
ADDING AUTHENTICITY
Welcome to
Heartlake City TO THE HOSPITAL
Hospital.
CONCEPT
























50 Blocks February 2020 www.blocksmag.com