LEGO Announces 21317 Steamboat Willie
It feels like just yesterday that LEGO confirmed that Steamboat Willie had passed review, so I got a bit of a shock when I got the press release for this.
Introducing 21317 Steamboat Willie
This black and white set features a fairly faithful recreation of Mickey’s first official appearance in the 1928 cartoon Steamboat Willie.
The set includes iconic elements of the short, including the paddle wheel, whistles, crane, bird and potato bin.
I think the designers have done a brilliant job of adapting the original ideas submission. They even managed to integrate a play feature – rolling the set on a flat surface will make the paddle wheel turn and the steam pipes go up and down.
There are also some great printed elements including a Turkey in the straw tile, 1928 tile and S.S. Willie tile.
The set features 751 pieces and includes two minifigures – Mickey and Minnie. Unfortunately the real captain of the S.S. Willie isn’t included. While you can’t really tell from the pictures both Mickey and Minnie feature chrome detailing.
If you are a Disney collector then you may like the included display plaque for the minifigures.
What may turn a few people away is the Australian RRP of $129.99. The set is officially released April 1st.
Check out the additional pictures and official press release below.
On Sale: 20% Off At David Jones
So it appears that David Jones enjoyed their 20% off sale last week so much that they are doing it again!
The best bit is that there are quite a few items that are listed for less than 20% off. The best bit is this is a nice long running offer – it ends April 14th. Also there are no exclusions.
You can find the David Jones LEGO range here.
As always discounts only show when an item has been added to your cart (except for some stuff, it’s confusing).
Thanks to Niklas and Alyssa for the heads up.
First Look At LEGO Masters Australia
The LEGO Masters Australia Facebook page has given us our first look at the new series.
Reality TV can either be a heap of fun, or absolutely terrible – I’m hoping that this show is going to be great.
What do you think? Will you be tuning in when it starts later this year?
On Sale: 15% Off Selected LEGO At eBay
Generally eBay like to start their sales on a Tuesday, but here we are with a surprise Thursday offer.
From today (March 14th) until March 20th you can get 15% off a selected range of LEGO listings.
The code unfortunately doesn’t apply to everything LEGO, but there is an extensive range of listings.
Be careful of price-jacking with these sort of sales, where the retailer has jacked up the price before the discount so you don’t actually save as much or any.
Thanks to everybody who let me know about this.
Grand Designs Outer Rim – Darth Vader’s Castle [Review]
Darth Vader was a promising Jedi, when a gymnastics accident left him with third degree burns to 90% of his body and several missing limbs. With the support of his good friend Sheev, Darth Vader endured months of rehabilitation and has quickly made a name for himself in the Galactic Empire. Refusing to let his accident define him, Lord Vader has returned to Mustafar and found a fantastic block of high ground to build his dream home.
It’s fair to say this this was a unique construction project. Lord Vader’s initial brief was just a single word – monolith.
“I wanted something that was going to stand out on the landscape, something tall. Height was very important to me”
The architects opted for a unique design that uses large triangular panels around a steel and concrete core. This design allowed for the panels to be fabricated off-world and then shuttled in.
Lord Vader was initially sceptical of the design.
“I’m sure the architects dreaded our meetings in those early stages of the process. There was plenty of force choking going on back then.”
It was actually another construction project Lord Vader was working on that helped him come around to the triangles.
“The construction project I’m dealing with at work is a giant sphere, and with so many curves the project is a real pain. Straight sharp lines became a lot more appealing.”
The construction itself was surprisingly quick and without any major complications. Lord Vader puts that down to personally managing the project.
“I found that the tradespeople responded quite well to threats. Early on somebody arrived an hour late so I cut off their hand. There were no further delays.”
Now that Lord Vader is settled in, he’s going to give us a look at how this castle in the lava turned out.
On Sale: 20% Off At David Jones
It seems that afterpay is having some sort of sale, and while the majority of the deals seem to be fashion related we do have an offer from David Jones.
On offer is 20% off all LEGO. That’s right – no exclusions. Be aware that David Jones discounts don’t appear until you add items to your cart.
The sale runs today and tomorrow so you’ve got until 11:59 PM AEDT tomorrow to get your orders in. This is an online only offer.
You can find the David Jones LEGO range here.
Thanks to Niklas for the heads up.
Sydney LEGO Store To Open March 21st
We now have the official confirmation that the Sydney LEGO store will be opening its doors on March 21st (no exact time was given).
The store will feature Build-Your-Own Minifigure™ stations, a signature Pick a Brick Wall. The store also features exciting new experiences such as a dedicated area designed specifically for children’s parties – The Brick Cave – and custom brick engraving service for personalisation.
The store will showcase a variety of unique features, including those which draw inspiration from Sydney landmarks, including a wall mounted LEGO® Opera House and Harbour Bridge mosaic.
As a LEGO store it will also be home to all the latest exclusives such as the Ford Mustang. I’m waiting to hear back about any potential opening giveaways.
The store is located in Westfield Bondi Junction (Level 3, Oxford Street entrance).
Who’s going along to check it out?
You can read the full press release below.
On Sale: 20% Off At Myer
Myer are back with another weekend sale offer.
The deal is pretty much what you’d call the usual – 20% off most LEGO.
This offer runs from today (March 8th) until Monday March 11th and should be active in-store as well as online.
There are of course some exclusions: Creator Expert, Ideas, Harry Potter, Wizarding World, and Lego Movie 2.
You can check out the sale items here.
Creator Expert, Ideas, Harry Potter, Wizarding World, and Lego Movie 2
Official Avengers: Endgame Set Images
Avengers: Endgame is undoubtedly going to be a billion dollar movie – so it should come as absolutely no surprise that there will be related LEGO sets.
It’s hard to know if these sets contain any spoilers but if that is something that you are concerned about then you may want to skip this post. There’s pics here that might give away something that you don’t want to see.
Of course, not every movie tie-in set is 100% accurate…
Here are the official Endgame set details
LEGO Announces 2018 Financial Results
LEGO has announced the results of the 2018 financial year and the headline is that 2018 was a year of stabilisation and modest growth.
Revenue for the full year increased 4% to DKK 36.4 billion compared with DKK 35.0 billion in 2017. Excluding the impact of foreign currency exchange, revenues for the full year increased 7% compared with 2017.
China continues to be a big growth area for the LEGO Group. Established markets delivered single-digit revenue growth in 2018, while China achieved double-digit revenue growth. This growth in China helps explain why LEGO decided to create an exclusive for that market.
The growth in China was due to the company expanding its presence through traditional retail channels, branded stores, e-commerce and digital platforms.
The LEGO Group’s operating profit amounted to DKK 10.8 billion in 2018 an increase of 4% against DKK 10.4 billion in 2017. The operating margin was 29.6% in 2018, unchanged from 2017.
Overall these are good figures and they show that the company isn’t likely to disappear any time soon.
The top selling themes in 2018 were City, Technic™, Star Wars™, Friends and NINJAGO. Harry Potter, Jurassic World and Creator also performed strongly.
You can find more information including full financial statements here.
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