Preview: The Tumbler LEGO Ultimate Collector's Series (76023)

Yes, this is old news. The Tumbler (76023) Ultimate Collector's Series Super Heroes was announced almost a month ago, and was on display at Comic-Con International in San Diego on July 24-27. However the set is now (August 18) available for pre-order by LEGO VIPs, and will go on sale to the general public on September 1.

Christopher Nolan's take on the Batmobile, known as the Tumbler during the Dark Knight trilogy, will be recreated in a 1,869 piece LEGO set. Available for the retail price of $279.99 here in Australia, it will be the second time the Batmobile has appeared as part of LEGO's Ultimate Collector's Series (the previous set - 7784 Batmobile - only has 1,045 parts).

The model measures 40cm long, 24cm wide, and 15cm high. The set features an armoured exterior, adjustable top wings, and a highly-detailed interior. Super-serious LEGO collectors will be excited by the introduction of never-before-seen LEGO front wheels, that have been specially made for The Tumbler and are yet to appear elsewhere. They are based on the custom ones created for the real Tumbler by a company called Hoosier. Many of the parts in the set are rare or only in the model, and the range of colours is somewhat limited (mostly black, and "sometimes in very, very dark gray"). Phew, I'd been meaning to incorporate that line somewhere...

From what I've heard, it'll make for a very varied and enjoyable build, as it uses a wide variety of techniques (Technic, System, Studs-Not-On-Top, ball joints, hinge joints). While I've not got my hands on the set just yet, I'm already a little disappointed with the amount of stickers it supposedly has (we all prefer printed parts, and for the price, you'd kind of expect them).

I've never owned a UCS set before. Perhaps that's why I've found the display-stand with details and minifigure stand so appealing, and it enhances the "displayability" of the set. The set includes two minfigures (albeit the box quite clearly states that the set is not to minifigure scale, so they are just to enhance the exclusivity of the set). The two variants of Batman and The Joker found here, are not available elsewhere. Batman features an exclusive torso print based on the Dark Knight trilogy. The Joker, portrayed by Heath Ledger in the movies) is suitably sinister. Colours are very accurate and the details on the face are just brilliant. Both minifigures have a reversible head, with The Joker featuring a smile on one side and a smirk on the other. Expect to see them on eBay fetching exorbitant prices!

It's not the first time The Tumbler has appeared as a LEGO set (there has been sets released to align with each Dark Knight movie), but it's certainly the coolest and most detailed to date, and I'll definitely be making it my first DC Comics Super Heroes set.

LEGO designer Adam Grabowski talks about the new set on their YouTube channel
Buy the set via the LEGO online store

Yes, chocolate LEGO is a thing!

Earlier this week I stumbled across an interesting article (on news.com.au) about a Japanese designer who has answered every man and woman's dream by combining LEGO... and chocolate. It had me at LEGO, but the chocolate kept me reading.

That's right. Akhiro Mizuuchi has brought together the world's two big loves and designed a modular system for creating edible chocolate bricks. Once cooled they can be made into some really awesome creations - like chocolate LEGO teddy bears (well at least I think they're teddy bears). TAKE MY MONEY!

I've done some more research, and it turns out that Mizuuchi and friends re-create popular Japanese anime characters out of chocolate every Valentine's Day. He designed each character in LEGO bricks on his computer first, which allowed him to calculate which parts he required and in what quantities.

Mizuuchi, an illustrator, designer, and university lecturer told design magazine Dezeen, "On Valentine's Day this year, I decided to make a lot of chocolate LEGO and then assemble the characters".

Forming his moulds around real LEGO pieces, they were used to make dark, milk, white, and strawberry chocolate building blocks.

Four for you Mizuuchi, you go Mizuuchi.

Preview: LEGO Creator Santa's Workshop (10245)

There has been 'leaked' photos floating around on the internet since May this year, but just last week LEGO officially revealed the newest addition to the LEGO Creator Winter Village theme at Bricks by the Bay 2014 - Santa's Workshop (10245). It's got me excited.

I'm a huge fan of the LEGO Creator series. The 'expert' rating often isn't justified (they're not that tricky to build), but the sets are super cool, great fun, and look absolutely brilliant on display. There's a high probability that I'll be one of many LEGO VIP members placing their pre-order on September 17, with the set on sale to the general public on October 1.

Currently I don't own any of the Winter Village series, but once I've got this set, I may just be persuaded to buy more and start my own winter wonderland. There is so much to like about this set. Minifigure collectors will be pleased to see a Mrs. Claus to keep their Santa company, while there is also four elves with pointy ears and hats (each one has its own unique outfit which is a nice touch).

For $149.99 in Australia, we'll get 883 pieces that together makes Santa's workshop, which is connected to his lovely little lounge room by the looks of things. The set also includes a Christmas tree, a beautiful red and gold detailed sleigh, what looks like a toy making/wrapping machine, and a stack of other cool accessories. Did I mention the four reindeers and baby reindeer? Well they're there too. Interestingly I read somewhere that the red-nosed Rudolph is a trademarked character so while the instructions can't picture him with a round red transparent plate for his nose, the designer has cleverly included a spare for when the occasion calls.

I'm not sure if it exists already and I've just never seen it before, but the set also allows family dual-building experience, which is basically separate brick sets with instructions for the adults and instructions for the children. Do they have dual-building experiences for girlfriends too. I'm sure mine will want in on this set!

Senior LEGO Designer, Marcos Bessa introduces the new set on the LEGO YouTube channel
Photos are not my own and were originally posted by The Brick Fan

Started from the bottom, I'm still here...

My last day off from work was sixteen days ago. I've worked 57 hours this week. Much tired, so stress, such sleepy.

Despite this, I've finally convinced myself to start my own blog. Why? Because everyone else is doing it. Because I can. And because I've crumbled under the peer pressure, much to my girlfriends dismay. "Not more social media", she says with a grimace.

As my blog title suggests, my name is Ben and I'm just a boy. I'm addicted to LEGO. Much of my payslip goes towards this. My girlfriend suggests my money would be better spent on an engagement ring, I'm not so sure. My love of LEGO is another motivation to start this blog, it'll be the subject of many of my posts (sorry, not even sorry).

Anyway, I'm here and I'm eager to get started. Look out for my next blog post soon. See you on the internet!