Vestas display

A while ago LEGO produced an exclusive set, the Vestas Wind Turbine. These were not sold to the general public, so they became highly coveted and prices on e-bay or Bricklink are pretty outrageous. Now LEGO has a big display in collaboration with Vestas in the Arlanda Airport in Stockholm, Sweden. There are several different cases showing Vestas turbines under construction and installed at fig scale, and there is also a large house built at miniland scale. I'm assuming that the description on this case is noting all of the benefits of using wind energy. Mike Walsh has some more details on his blog and melonkernal has a number of photos. So, if you happen to be flying into Sweden, be sure to check this out.

Technorati tags: LEGO Miniland

Belated Veterans Day

I'm a couple of days late on this, but in honor of Veterans Day, Legoland California unveiled the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in the Washington DC section of Miniland. Via Model Building Secrets. Photo credit goes to Legoland.

Technorati tags: LEGO Miniland

Cool Cars and Trucks

Sean Kenney has a new book, Cool Cars and Trucks. I was flipping through this the other day in the book store and took a couple of pictures. It's full of beautiful photography of models designed by Sean. There are instructions for several vehicles at minifig scale and suggestions on how to modify those instructions to come up with your own. Relevant to this blog, there are also some pictures of models at miniland scale. My impression of the book is that it is perfect for its intended audience, probably 8-12 year old boys. As an AFOL, there is the coolness factor of having a book by a prominent member of our community, and it's good to support our own, but it doesn't have enough content for me - I'd rather take the same dollars and get BrickJournal, or maybe one of Brendan's Brick Testament books.

Technorati tags: LEGO Miniland

javascript:void(0)

LEGO Book

DK Publishers recently released a boxed set: The LEGO Book, all about the hobby and another about minifigs (celebrating their 30th anniversary). Focusing on Miniland building, there are a lot of pictures of the Legoland parks and information about the Master Builders who make the models you see there. The coolest part of the book, though, is the inclusion of fan models, including these miniland models by Nick Foo and Lino Martins, both previously blogged here.








I apologize for the quality of the photos. I took these with my phone.

Technorati tags: LEGO Miniland

Creations for Charity

Creations for Charity is a great effort headed up by Nannan, of the Brothers Brick. Top builders from around the community have donated MOCs to be sold via a Bricklink store. All of the proceeds will go to Toys for Tots. One submission is the Paleman's nutcracker and toy soldier.

Technorati tags: LEGO Miniland

Ho Tom Bomadil, Tom Bombadillo!

I was looking around for Tolkien creations yesterday and realized I never posted Cyin's Tom Bombadil and Goldberry to this blog.

Technorati tags: LEGO Miniland

Another possible new Legoland

I recently blogged a report of a possible Legoland development deal in Florida. It seems from this report that they are also in negotiations over a possible park in Illinois. There's no hint whether this would be in addition to a potential Legoland park in Florida, or if Merlin Entertainment (owners and operators of the parks) is looking at these as competing alternatives. IMO Florida makes more sense - it's more of a destination for tourists and can operate outdoor amusements year-round; previous rumors of a potential park in Kansas never went anywhere. On the other hand, Legoland is smaller than something like Disneyland and may be more dependent on the local population than it is on destination tourists - this location would be close enough to both Saint Louis and Chicago for day trips. For comparison, I've got a two-year-old and we've visited Sesame Place, a small theme park in Philadelphia based on Sesame Street. I can't imagine that place gets people traveling to Philly to visit it, but probably all parents of young children in the area have been there.



For the record, Sesame Place was certainly fun enough to visit again, probably in the summer since there were several water slides and a raft ride that were closed for the winter. My daughter was a little freaked out when we first came up to the gate and there was a giant Grover walking around, but by the time we'd been in the park a bit she warmed up to the idea of getting her picture taken with the characters. Elmo was, of course, the biggest hit.

Technorati tags: LEGO Miniland