BrickArms' German Soldiers at Brickworld

Brickworld Chicago officially kicks off tomorrow, but BrickArms isn't wasting any time.

Brickmania has posted these printed German Heer Soldiers which will be on sale at the convention for $15.00 (USD). No promises that these will go on sale at the BrickArms store or future conventions. The packages don't include any weapons.

If you're in Chicago this weekend it would be a great opportunity to pick up BrickArms second printed minifigure without that pesky shipping and handling.

It would also appear that BrickArms has also brought new Zombie Defense packs to the show!

(Via Brickmania's Flickr stream)

"Containment" Has Been Released

A few days ago we had an article about the vignette collaboration between Legohaulic and Nannan. At the time we wondered if things would come to a conclusion at Brickworld Chicago. Well, see for yourself...

(Via Nannan Z's Flickr stream)

Boldly Go...To Brickworld Chicago

BrickForge just posted this image on Flickr with the following caption:

Registered attendees of Brickworld 2010 Chicago will receive a random custom minifig avatar with some top secret instructions.

If you've been following, the theme of Brickworld is Bricks In Space. Clearly this ties in with the larger theme. I'm intrigued to see what the 'top secret' instructions happen to be...

(Via BrickForge Flickr stream)

Store and Site Updates: 6/10/10

Greeting and salutations citizens of Minifig Nation! I have a few updates regarding the BrickLink store and here at the site.

I've recently parted out three copies of set 852922, LEGO Kingdoms Dragon Battle Pack. A great opportunity to score one of the new great helms and minifig breast plates without breaking the bank.

I've also recently come into a few Star Wars minifigures, Darth Vader and Imperial Troops from the Hoth Battle Packs. All figures come with accessories.

You can check out both sets of items on my BrickLink store.

Starting Friday, I will be traveling on a diplomatic mission outside of the Minifig Nation (aka I'll be taking a holiday with the family). I'm leaving Cygnetron 3000 in charge. Cygnetron has a few items in the queue for this weekend, so check in periodically. If I don't respond to inquiries immediately, you'll know why.

One last question...are any of our readers going to Brickworld 2010: Bricks In Space in Chicago this year? The AFOL event starts June 17th and runs through the 20th. If so, would someone like to be an unofficial correspondent for "The Duck"? I would be looking for someone who's planning on going as a registered attendee and not just on the public exposition day. There would be no large commitment on your part, I would just be looking for pictures and stories from the event related to minifigures. If you fit this description and are interested, just contact me at 'uglyduck.bricklink@gmail.com' . We can workout the details then. There might even be some 'swag' in it for you!

Have a great weekend!

Cygnet
Minister of Information, Minifig Nation

Repost: BrickMagic LEGO Festival in Raleigh, NC

NOTE: This is a re-post of an article from back in March of this year...

Last week we talked about the upcoming BrickFlix brickfilm festival that will be held in Durham, NC on May 5th, but didn't mention BrickMagic.

BrickMagic will be a LEGO festival open to all fans in Raleigh, NC over mother's day weekend (May 8th and 9th). The festival is being put on by BrickJournal Magazine and their publisher TwoMorrows Inc. Lots to see and do including:

• Workshops on mosaics, building techniques, and creating custom minifigures!
  
• A First LEGO League robotics competition
• A LEGO RC car race and cool car competition

Also Nathan Sawaya will be on hand for a collaborative build.

More details can be found on the festival website or in the BrickMagic flier.

Fine Clonier Ready for Inspection

Fine Clonier has updated their Flickr stream with this image, asking for you to supply the caption. Although not expressed as a contest (people still do things just for fun, don't ya know), you can't help but come up with a few witticisms...

"The Emperor managed to find a way around the Imperial army's 'don't ask, don't tell' policy"

"Here we have Cindy modeling this Spring's clone army line..."

"When Commander Cindy entered the room, the soldiers weren't the only ones standing at attention"

You know, real mature stuff like that.

The clone army you see here is getting ready for BrickMagic in Raleigh, North Carolina. They will be for sale and feature Arealight and MMCB products.

Bonus points for someone who can tell me where the female stormtrooper has appeared before. I feel like I've seen her, maybe as someone's sig fig, but I just can remember. Help!

(Picture from Fine Clonier's Flickr stream)

LEGO Fun at Lyndhurst Castle

I'm such a sucker for weekend LEGO fun! Check out this press release from Wired magazine's Geek Dad blog (original here):

The Fifth Annual LEGO Fun at Lyndhurst Castle will be held on April 24th and 25th from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. This annual celebration of bricks and builders will feature the work of Arthur Gugick and his internationally famous LEGO models, that’s his Lyndhurst Castle at the top of the post. “Team Brickton” the award winning LEGO Robotic Team will also be on hand as well as the “New York Brick Artists” featuring Lee Magpili and his magical moving creatures.

There will also be an exhibit, in the mansion, of models built by junior builders and of course lots of LEGO building challenges, fun prizes from the Palisades LEGO store and even some stop action videos by Mike Schepis. Bring a small bag of LEGOs and help create a giant sculpture. At $7.00 for adults and $5.00 for kids this is a bargain for any LEGO enthusiast. Hope to see you there !

What:
The 5th Annual LEGO Fun at Lyndhurst

Where:
Lynduhurst
635 South Broadway
Tarrytown, N.Y. 10591

When:
April 24th and 25th 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

How Much:
$7.00 for Adults and $5.00 for kids 4-14 at the gate.

Bricks by the Bay - April 9th thru 11th 2010

In a couple of weeks Bricks by the Bay, a AFOL convention and event, will descend on Fremont, CA.

The AFOL events require advanced registration and take place on April 9th and 10th. Sunday is open to the public for viewing with a small admission fee.

Mads Nipper,The Executive Vice President of Marketing & Products, and Steve Witt, LEGO Community Relations Coordinator and AFOL liaison, will be in attendance during the convention. This may mean new news from LEGO at the event!

What's in it for the minifig collector? It looks like BrickArms will be in attendance as a vendor, meaning an opportunity to get the goods without that pesky shipping and handling. Also, there will be a scratch and dent night at one of the local LEGO stores with opportunities for savings up to 50%. These will only be available to those who attend the AFOL convention on Friday and Saturday.

For more details, visit the Bricks by the Bay site or see this post by Ochre Jelly on his blog The Living Brick.

White Boba Fett Minifigure Update

The team at FBTB.net has uncovered some additional information regarding the white Boba Fett minifigure that was handed out at the 2010 US Toy Fair. It looks like some big spenders at LEGO Shop@Home (100 to be exact) will be lucky enough to get one. This seems to invalidate our earlier speculation that the figure was based on Ralph McQuarrie's orginal concept drawings of the 'bounty hunter'.

Head on over to FBTB.net to catch up on the details. They also report on how some people might be able to get the 2010 LEGO product book and recently discovered chrome stormtrooper polybag.

(Picture from FBTB.net)

BrickFlix in Durham, North Carolina

Author/Blogger Jonathan Bender scores the scoop on BrickFlix, a brick film festival taking place May 5th in Durham, North Carolina.

The event description as it appears on its Facebook event page reads:

See animated brick films and other LEGO-themed shorts during the First Annual BrickFlix Film Festival, at the Carolina Theatre on Wednesday, May 5! Special guest David Pagano, an animator whose resumé includes work for the LEGO Group (including Space Police and the LEGO Club Show) will be on hand to demonstrate how his films are made, and take questions after each screening!

Tickets are $4.75 each and on sale at The Carolina Theater box office now. Tickets will be available the night of the event, but they are recommending buying in advance.

Brickworld Indy: March 2010

Brickworld Indy is coming to the Indianapolis convention center March 13 & 14. Although it specifies in the footnotes that it is not an AFOL-exclusive convention, it looks to be partially supported by IndyLUG and the folks who put on Brickworld Chicago.

There will be several interactive events and 10,000 square feet of displays and vendors, but no classes or contests. It looks like the folks from BrickForge will be one of the vendors along with several others. It might be an opportunity to get some custom goodness without having to pay shipping and handling.

Adults are $8, kids 3 to 10 are $5, and kids under 3 are free.

In my experience these types of events are hard to come by. If you are in the area, I would recommend checking it out.