LEGO Star Wars: Chrome Stormtrooper Minifigure

FBTB.net reports about the appearance of a Chrome Stormtrooper minifigure polybag at ToysRUs in Spain.

Prior to this you had to buy a $10 magnet set on LEGO Shop at Home.

Check out the full article on FBTB.net.

(Picture from FBTB.net)

US Toy Fair - White Boba Fett

A few weeks ago we shared on Facebook that select attendees received a white Boba Fett minifigure in with their take-home loot. It instantly became a much sought after item among collectors. Right now, there is one lot up on BrickLink.com for $750!

The question then came up, as to if this was just a novelty LEGO put together for Toy Fair, or if this somehow fit in the Star Wars cannon. It was soon discovered that in Ralph McQuarrie's original concept sketch for "Bounty Hunter", Boba was all white. Does this mean we might see a "concept" line of LEGO sets and minifigures in the future? Will "White Boba" appear in LEGO Stores at some point? Only time will tell...

(Pictures from StarWars.com)

LEGO Minifigure Pigs in Farm Set 7684

LEGO has recently released set 7684 (Pig Farm & Tractor), and although we focus primarily on minifigures of the two-legged variety, we won't discriminate against their four-legged friends. As the name implies, this set is significant in that it introduces minifigure-scale pigs. More and more animals have started to show up in LEGO sets, like the cows in set 10193 (Medieval Market Village). Not to mention the LEGO camels and ostriches that will soon appear in the April LEGO Prince of Persia sets.

Prior to this, AFOL's had to rely on the secondary market and retailers like BrickForge

Andrew from The Brothers Brick provides a mini-review of the set which compares the LEGO pigs with BrickForge.

What other animals would you like to see LEGO release next?

(Picture from LEGO.com)

LEGO Universe : The Great Minifig Mission

I just saw this today on my news feed. In preparation for the launch of the LEGO Universe MMORPG, LEGO has introduced eight new missions to bring one-million minifigures into the Universe. At the time of writing, approximately 21 million have found their way through the "rip". The count-down clock on the site shows 29 days until the rip closes. Check it out while you can!

LEGO Universe : The Great Minifig Mission

Prince of Persia: April 2010

Just as I'm thinking, "Self? You seem to focus too much on Star Wars." I get my LEGO Club magazine in the mail reminding me that the LEGO Prince of Persia sets will be out in April.

Minifigure highlights that I've seen include a double-bladed back scabbard for the Prince, minifig camels and ostriches, and 'wolverine-style' hand claws used by the Hassansin baddies.

Personally I'm of two minds about these sets. Yes, Prince of Persia is a successful series of video games; however, these sets are based off of a film that remains untested.

It seems as if TLG is starting to pursue a strategy Pez started several years ago. It used to be that Pez would only produce a new dispenser if the characters they were based on had withstood the test of time. As the years progressed, they became more and more open to characters from, say, the recent animated kids film which flopped at the box office.

Toy Story makes sense, Cars makes sense, but Prince of Persia? At the end of the day, many of the sets are a remix of Indiana Jones and medieval themes. If you can rehash old sets into a new licensed theme, then perhaps it could be profitable for TLG, regardless if the movie does well. I guess only time will tell...

(Picture from FBTB Flickr stream)

Brick House Comic

LEGO minifigures have been used in a variety of ways to tell stories and express imagination. I wanted to highlight a great, daily web-comic that I've come to read nearly everyday.

"Brick House" by Christopher Doyle came to my attention over the holidays when he was playing out the "Advent Calendars of Two Worlds" storyline. These simple four panel comics always deliver a laugh with its tongue-in-cheek style. Christopher hosts these nearly 900+ episodes at his website (www.reasonablyclever.com).

You can find other examples of comics and stop-motion movies featuring 'figs on the net as well (remember the Steven Spielberg studio's line?). When we find compelling examples of this style we will work to highlight them in the future.

(Picture from ReasonablyClever.com)

Vintage Minifigure Collection On Sale Now

Lego Shop at Home has updated scads of items for sale, including the Vintage Minifigure Collection Volume 5!

We discussed this item last week on Facebook, but this 'girl power' themed collection gives you a great opportunity to own reproductions of rare, female minifigures from the past. The set retails at $17.99, plus shipping and handling. It's also likely that these will be on sale at a Lego Store near you.

In related news, there are several Star Wars magnet sets on sale at Shop at Home too. The bases the 'figs stand on have the magnet, and while characters themselves can be removed. These give you an opportunity to have popular Lego minifigures without buying expensive sets that you may or may not want.

The Ugly Duckling store will likely not partake in these items, so head on over to Lego.com or your local Lego Store today!

(Pictures from Lego.com)