Earlier this week, the LEGO Ideas Team has announced the winner of this year’s Your Creations in the World-Famous LEGO House Building Contest. If you recall, a similar contest has been launched last year where LEGO fan builders may have the chance of having their original brick creations be displayed at the LEGO House in Billund.
A Grand Prize winner and several Runner-Ups were eventually chosen across three different categories: Architecture, Minifigure, and Nature. All of these winning entries, plus the rest of the other sixty-six (66) winners of the fan vote will have the opportunity to be also placed on display at the House Brick.
In March, LEGO Ideas has launched another contest that gives the chance to have the winning entry displayed at the LEGO House in Billund. The submission and review phase for the LEGO Ideas Your Creations in the World-Famous LEGO House Building Contest has been concluded. And this time, fans can now vote for their most favorite entry to give it a chance to be featured at the LEGO House for an entire year.
The contest itself has three categories: Nature Builds, Minifigure Builds, and Architecture Builds. And from May 5 to 13, fans can vote for their favorite build to give it a chance to be displayed at the famous House of the Brick. Other than having the bragging rights of having their creation put on display in the famous House of the Brick, the Grand Prize Winners from each of the three categories will get the following sweet prizes:
This list of finalists is quite long, so without further delays, here what they offer for each of the categories. If you wish to show support to any of these particular entries, just click on their respective links. Which of these LEGO Ideas Your Creations entries is your favorite let us know in the comments below.
LEGO has unveiled another LEGO House exclusive earlier today, following the likes of last year’s LEGO House The Wooden Duck (40501). And just like its predecessor, the LEGO House The Brick Moulding Machine (40502) celebrates another piece of LEGO history that highlights the company’s manufacturing process of the iconic brick.
For those of you who have already visited the famed House of the Brick in Billund, Denmark, you have probably noticed that this LEGO House The Brick Moulding Machine (40502) set is the replica of the one that is found on the ground floor of the LEGO House. The set comes in a lime green color scheme similar to its larger real-life counterpart and comes at a sizeable 7.4 x 11.4 inches.
The actual LEGO Brick Moulding machine located on the ground floor of the LEGO House in Billund.
The LEGO House The Brick Moulding Machine (40502) comes in at 1,205 pieces and is expected to retail for 599 DK (around $100) starting March 4 when the doors of the LEGO House opens once again to the public. For more information about The LEGO House, you may visit their website right here.
Here’s LEGO’s official press release.
LEGO® House reveals new LEGO House Exclusive product:
40502 – The Brick Moulding Machine
The newest product in the Limited Edition series of LEGO® House Exclusives is soon to be available at the LEGO House Retail Store in Billund, Denmark.
Ever since the opening of LEGO® House, it has been an important milestone for LEGO House to create exclusive products because we believe they add significantly to the experience of visiting LEGO House – the pinnacle LEGO experience.
The first three exclusive products were the LEGO House Architecture set, the LEGO House Tree of Creativity, and the LEGO House Dinosaurs.
One thing is remaking our iconic models in LEGO House into LEGO sets. But since we also want to tie the LEGO Group and not least the LEGO Group history closely to LEGO House it made a lot of sense for us to introduce this new series that we call: The LEGO House Limited Editions. The Wooden Duck is the first item in the series of LEGO House Limited Editions.
We are now happy to announce the latest product in our Limited Edition series – The Brick Moulding Machine!
The Brick Moulding Machine is representing an era in the history of the LEGO Group going from producing toys in wood into plastic. It is the story about putting all efforts into one focus and leaving your core competencies behind to explore the new possibilities and technologies in producing toys with plastic materials.
The first machine arrived in Billund in 1947 and it took up to four people to manually operate one single machine efficiently.
Today the LEGO Group has around 1,000 moulding machines operating all over the world and one LEGO employee can operate 32 machines. The Billund facility alone produces 1,360 LEGO elements each second from these machines.
In LEGO House guests can experience a real-life moulding machine up close. The green machine is identical to the moulding machines found at the LEGO production sites in Denmark, Hungary, Mexico, and China. The difference, however, is that it has a special custom-made mould designed to only contain six bricks. Standard moulds produce many more bricks.
Did you know?
• The first moulding machine is bought in 1946 after Ole Kirk Kristiansen attended a demonstration of a plastic injection moulding machine at a fair in Copenhagen.
• In 1949 the LEGO® Group’s plastics department manufactures various kinds of toys. Among these are the company’s first plastic bricks, which are marketed under the name “Automatic Binding Bricks”.
• On 28 January 1958 at 1:58 pm, the modern LEGO brick is born when a patent for the unique clutch power is secured.
• In 1960 the second-generation owner, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen decided to put all eggs in one basket and purely focus on the LEGO brick.
• A real-life moulding machine can be found in LEGO House where guests can see it up close. It is identical to the ones in other LEGO production sites but is custom-made to only produce six bricks at a time and run at a slower pace.
• In the 60s and 70s, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen initiated decommissioned moulds to be cast into the concrete foundations of new factories in Billund to prevent them from falling into wrong hands.
• In the History Collection in LEGO House, you can also find decommissioned moulds hiding in the floor for visitors to see.
Facts about 40502 Brick Moulding Machine
• The Brick Moulding Machine represents an era in the LEGO Group going from producing wooden toys into plastic toys.
• The 1205-piece model measurements are the following: 7.4” (19 cm) tall, 5.9” (15 cm) deep, and 11.4” (29 cm) wide.
• Base comprises printed tiles with the words ‘LEGO® House’ and ‘The Brick Moulding Machine’.
• Ideal for fans of LEGO® building and collectors of toy memorabilia. Suitable for ages 10 and up.
Back in April when most of us have just entered a long period of being cooped up in our homes, LEGO Ideas launched another building contest to somehow make our lockdown blues more manageable. The LEGO Ideas Your Build in the World-Famous LEGO House building contest gives LEGO fans the chance to have their builds displayed in the famed House of the Brick. As of to date, the LEGO House in Billund is still closed to the public, with a scheduled reopening date on June 22.
There are two contest themes: one that focuses on a nature-inspired alternate build, and a fun, LEGO minifigure, or mini-doll scene with that distinct LEGO humor. The nice thing about this LEGO Ideas building contest is that there’s a total of 25 winners that were selected across the two categories, all of them will be receiving a signed LEGO Architecture LEGO House (21037).
And out of this pool of winners, a Grand Prize winner and 2 Runner-Ups were eventually selected coming from each of the two categories. Check out the winners below.
The winning entries in the Nature Category really stand out. I love the details on the Lava Dolphin, particularly how the lava seems to flow and crack across the surface using a combination of black 1×1 tiles and cheese slopes on top of the trans-red pieces and plates. As a fan of minifigure vignettes, I love the message behind the Adventures at Home minifigure entry that captures our imaginative pursuits at home, especially now that we are forced to stay indoors.
The Grand Prize Winners from each of the categories will be receiving an impressive prize package that includes the following LEGO House exclusives, plus a LEGO Ideas set.
The Runner-Ups will also be receiving a LEGO Architecture LEGO House, and the LEGO House Dinosaurs, and the hard-to-find LEGO Ideas Central Perk (21319).
Congratulations to all the winners and keep on building!
While most of us may not have the luxury of visiting the LEGO House in Billund, Denmark, LEGO has now taken the extra mile of allowing virtually anyone with an internet connection to have a look at the inner workings and activities inside the famous Home of the Brick. The LEGO House is still closed as of to date no thanks to the raging pandemic(it’s slated to reopen on June 22 ). But this setback did not hinder its team to provide something unique and innovative to all LEGO fans who would love to pay a virtual visit – all at the comfort and safety of their homes.
Starting June 11 until September 1, the LEGO House will offer five virtual tours, focusing on the history and legacy of the LEGO Group since its humble beginnings in 1932 until the present.
Participation in these virtual tours is FREE, which will only require you to sign-up via their online registration form. You also get to choose your preferred time based on the virtual tour’s two predefined time slots. Bear in mind though that these 60-minute tours are in CEST so you will need to plan ahead accordingly.
There seems to be no deadline on until when you can register, but I suggest that you still register promptly if you would like to participate. Here’s a brief description of what to expect from each of these LEGO House virtual tours. If you already registered, and then be sure to check your inbox for the access link to join.
The Beginning of the LEGO Group, 1932 – 1946
June 11, 2020 at 10AM CEST | June 11, 2020 at 2PM CEST
Please join us for a guided tour in the LEGO House History Collection covering the beginning of the LEGO Group. The tour will touch upon the background of LEGO® founder Ole Kirk Kristiansen and how he started the company as well as cover the ups and downs he had to endure in the company´s first years of existence.
The LEGO Group – Consolidating Plastic, 1947 – 1961
June 25, 2020 at 10AM CEST | June 25, 2020 at 2PM CEST
Through a guided tour in the LEGO House History Collection, you can learn about a crucial period in the history of the LEGO Group. The gamechanger happened in 1958 when the LEGO brick was introduced, but many other activities in the late 1940s and up through the 1950s contributed to creating the foundation of the company we know today and we are here to tell you all about it.
The LEGO Group – Expanding the LEGO System in Play, 1962 – 1978
July 9, 2020 at 10AM CEST | July 9, 2020 at 2PM CEST
Go on a guided tour in the LEGO House History Collection and learn more about how the LEGO System in Play was expanded up through the 1960s and 1970s. We will cover the introduction of movement and role play, talk about the background for creating the first LEGOLAND Park, and much more. We will even touch upon who the first CEO/Managing Director to come from outside the owner family was…
The LEGO Group – Introducing New Ideas, 1979 – 2001
August 13, 2020 at 10AM CEST | August 13, 2020 at 2PM CEST
Third-generation owner Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, and the new ideas he introduces, plays a huge role in this guided tour in the LEGO House History Collection covering the first 22 years of Kjeld at the helm. We will look into the introduction of storytelling, how we change the appearance of the minifigure, the introduction of our first brick-built IP products, and more… Come join us!
The LEGO Group – Crisis and turnaround, 2002 – 2019
September 1, 2020 at 9:30AM CEST | September 1, 2020 at 2:30PM CEST
In this guided tour in the LEGO House History Collection, the theme is very much ups and downs, as we will look into our crisis and turnaround and some of the contributing factors. We will also touch briefly on more contemporary topics such as collaborating with our AFOL community or setting up our sustainable materials center.
For those who are already planning their visit to the LEGO House this month, you may want to take advantage of this next LEGO House exclusive. The LEGO House is set to re-open on June 22 after being closed to the public for several weeks, and with it comes the announcement of the limited-edition, LEGO House The Wooden Duck (40501).
The news was shared by Brickset following the LEGO House’s announcement that another Home of the Brick exclusive which is the LEGO House Tree of Creativity (4000026) is about to be retired. It now seems that the baton is passed to the LEGO House Wooden Duck as a fitting memento of your visit to the famed Home of the Brick in Billund. It is also a great homage to the iconic wooden toy that kick-started the company’s successful run in the toy business. Before the days of ABS plastics, LEGO had a pretty successful line of wooden toys that were released during the 1930s.
Coming in at 621 pieces, the LEGO House The Wooden Duck (40501) is a brick-built, polished version of the original wooden toy that first came out in 1935. This exclusive LEGO House offering is also the first replica of the original wooden duck to be reproduced and offered to the general public. Back in 2011, LEGO also came out with a brick replica of the iconic wooden toy as a form of Christmas gift to LEGO staff and employees. This is basically smaller though, coming in only at 91 pieces.
In case visiting the LEGO House in Billund, Denmark is still far down below your bucket list, then fret not. You can still have the chance of building your very own LEGO House The Wooden Duck since its building instructions were released by LEGO Customer Service as well. In case you’re having some difficulty in downloading its instructions, then you can try to download it here as well. There seem to be no unique parts included in this set except of course for the two exclusively printed 1×8 tiles with the words “LEGO House” and “The Wooden Duck” printed on them. Take a look at the Wooden Duck’s parts list and see if you can build one.
The LEGO House The Wooden Duck (40501) joins the LEGO Architecture The LEGO House (21037), the LEGO House Dinosaurs (40366), and the LEGO House Tree of Creativity (4000026) as one of the limited-edition sets that are exclusively sold within the confines of the LEGO House. Earlier in April, there was a bit of hype when LEGO announced that some of its LEGO House exclusives will now be offered at LEGO Shop@Home. However, the offer was somewhat retracted leaving us with third-party scalpers offering these sets at outrageous prices.
So what do you think of this latest LEGO House exclusive? Will you build a version of your own? Let me know in the comments below.
While the COVID-19 pandemic is raging on across the globe, and most public establishments are closed indefinitely, LEGO is now offering previous LEGO House exclusives to be available to the general public starting May.
Since the temporary closure of the Home of the Brick in Billund, Denmark certain exclusive sets such as the LEGO Architecture LEGO House (21037) surprisingly appeared at LEGO Shop@Home last Friday. Its appearance was relatively brief, with LEGO removing its listing right away after stocks ran out. From the looks of it, it may seem to be a dry-run for what the LEGO Group (TLG) intends to do come next month.
According to TLG’s press release, previous LEGO House exclusives such as the previously mentioned LEGO Architecture LEGO House (21037), LEGO House Dinosaurs (40366), and the LEGO House Tree of Creativity (4000026) will be available for sale at LEGO’s home shopping portal for a limited time only. However, its a bit of damper to know that the LEGO House Dinosaurs and Tree of Creativity will only be offered to fans in the UK, Denmark, and Ireland. It looks like the LEGO House is the only set in this group that will have a global offering. Perhaps LEGO is understandably limiting the sales of this set to retain its exclusivity, and because they made it clear that these LEGO House exclusives will only be available until such time that the LEGO House in Billund re-opens once again. Pricing may somehow be adjusted as well due to prevailing currency exchange so I’ll try to give updates on this as well. So if you’re eyeing for the LEGO House Tree of Creativity (such as myself) and you’re not living within these territories then the options that you may have, unfortunately, are either through third-party sellers, or eBay.
Here’s what LEGO has to say about these exclusive offerings:
The Covid-19 situation is closing down many great activities, and LEGO® House has had to extend its closing period until further notice. To continue to offer a little bit of the LEGO House atmosphere to all our fans, we have therefore decided to make the three existing LEGO House exclusive sets available via http://www.LEGO.com
The three products are:
LEGO House Set. 21037. (Launched September 2017) Tree of Creativity. 4000026. (Launched March 2018) LEGO House Dinosaurs. 40366 (Launched April 2019)
The items will be sold at the same, or locally equivalent, RRP that we sell the sets for in the LEGO House.
We are planning to have the sets available on http://www.LEGO.com from early May 2020. The LEGO House Tree of Creativity and LEGO House Dinosaurs are on limited distribution to UK, DK, and IE only and we expect to have a purchase limit for each customer. Please notice that this is a limited time offer until LEGO House re-opens and the sets are only available while supplies last. As the LEGO House Tree of Creativity is a discontinued set, we have made certain to hold back sets for the (hopefully physical) AFOL Day in LEGO House in September.
It’s not really easy writing this one, especially when your mind is occupied with so many things going on around the world, specifically in connection with COVID-19. Because as it turns out, all of us are vulnerable from this menacing, silent disease and The LEGO Group (TLG) understands that very well. In its recent announcement via its LEGO House website, TLG advises those who have plans to visit the LEGO House anytime soon to defer their plans for the time being now that Denmark is virtually on lockdown because of this pandemic. Here’s the official press release:
LEGO House is closed due to COVID-19
Based on the Danish authorities’ announcement of the closure of Denmark, LEGO House is unfortunately closed up till and including Sunday 29 March 2020. We are concerned about the situation and very sad to have to disappoint all of you who were looking forward to enjoying the world’s best play date.
If you have purchased a ticket for LEGO House from now until Sunday, March 29, 2020, we will refund your ticket automatically. If your ticket is valid after March 29, 2020, we would like to move to another date, but the ticket is non-refundable for the time being.
Our team is working hard on the reimbursement process and within 2-3 business days, you’ll receive the refunds in your account.
Since we are in contact with many guests, we ask you to have patience if you experience delay in our replies.
We will continue to monitor the situation closely and will update as soon as new information is available.
Updated Thursday, March 12 at 2.30 pm
This is a welcomed move from The LEGO Group in support of the Danish government to help curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus. As of press time, Denmark is essentially on lockdown, with a total number of 514 confirmed cases of COVID-19 patients and 1,303 in quarantine. Let’s all hope and pray that this will all be over soon. Keep safe everyone!
I’m a huge fan of LEGO minifigure vignettes and it goes to show that the people behind the LEGO House in Billund also has a soft spot for this form of LEGO art. In celebration of the 2nd year anniversary of the LEGO House this 2019, LEGO Ideas launched a contest that encourages builders to create fun builds that will wow visitors in the famous House of the Brick. This building contest ran for a month from May 6 to June 6, with the winners announced a couple of months ago. The contest had quite a following with more than 40 winning entries that were chosen. Out of this group of winners, there are 21 winning minifigure vignettes that were specifically chosen to have the bragging rights of being displayed for a year inside the LEGO House until 2020.
These 21 winning minifigure vignettes depict our little actors either in the business of doing their daily chores or living out the adventure of their lifetime. What makes these winning entries stand out is the particular brand of LEGO humor that they convey which is quickly recognizable to any LEGO fan.
Not only do the creators of these minifig depictions got the bragging rights of displaying their work inside the House of the Brick, but they also received the exclusive LEGO House Dinosaurs (40366) set that can never be found anywhere else. As a badge of their outstanding accomplishment, each of the winners was also awarded a uniquely printed personalized LEGO brick, with the name and country of the builder to accompany the model.
I’ve compiled these 21 winning minifigure vignettes for our viewing enjoyment and easy reference. You may also click on the following links below for more info on these entries.
Which among these winning minifigure entries is your favorite? Let’s talk about it in the comments below.
A man was getting his cup of coffee one day from the Coffee Cup Cafe. Along comes a Gingerbread Man carrying a red cup, like this is nothing odd. Presumably, he also wants a coffee. That or he wants to ask for spare change or donations for something. The man and the barista have never seen anything like this before and just stare open-mouthed at him in surprise.
The Royal Guard is just doing his duty. Some annoying tourists come along and decide to see if they can distract him. One of the tourists is taking a photo while the other two try to get a reaction by brandishing an ice cream and a hot dog in his face. The Royal Guard is getting ticked off and is doing all he can to not lose his temper. A bobby policeman has just entered the scene – will he tell the tourists off?
Take to the waves with this creation of a surfing wave. A shark minifig deftly maneuvers the surfboard through the wave. Unlike the surfer who has just wiped out and the wave has sent him “over the falls!”
What a bright sunny day it is on the seaside fishing pier! The old fisherman is out enjoying his weekend fishing trip, waiting for a bite on his line and making sure those pesky seagulls don’t get into his lunchbox. However, the clever great white shark has his own weekend surprise… A weekend snack to be precise!
I have this recurring dream (nightmare, maybe) that I’m giving an important presentation at work and for some reason, I’ve forgotten to wear pants. Everyone is laughing and I’m just standing there mortified. Well, this seemed pretty hilarious to me so here we are!
From giant crystals to strange alien creatures, The Space Miners’ Cavern is full of surprises! A heavy-duty trapdoor protects the valuable energy crystals below and doubles up as a way to keep the local inhabitants from making unexpected visits to the surface (at least theoretically).
As the swimming race is about to start, the contestants take their places on the starter blocks. One swimmer looks over at his fellow swimmers and is surprised to see a person in a shark costume and another person in a penguin costume. Sharks and penguins may be good swimming animals, but does wearing a costume means a better or faster swimmer? We will just have to see who wins the race!
A spaceman has returned from his latest adventure with a batch of flowers, how thoughtful! Unfortunately for him, the foreign floral he brought back is the favorite snack of the space monster that has followed him back to base.
This detailed model depicts a Japanese lady looking into the water during a walk in her garden. It contains a koi pond, pagoda bridge, bamboo, and many different kinds of trees in its 37 studs long x 27 studs wide x 22 studs high area and is the perfect display model. This model is designed to test the limits of what Lego can do and how Lego can look with its elegant arches, gentle slopes, and picturesque stepping stones.
Ever had a dream with that nagging feeling that you forgot something before you rushed off to school or work? This poor biker is dreaming he forgot to put on pants before he went to the garage to meet his buddy.
The day has passed and the secret is out. Then again, LEGO didn’t seem to be trying too hard. Yesterday they dropped a visual hint on their new upcoming exclusive set for LEGO House in Billund. Lots of visitors placed the set as a smaller recreation of an exhibit at the Home of the Brick. And indeed it was. The official website for the LEGO House in Billund, Denmark has revealed its new LEGO House Dinosaurs (40366) exclusive set. Coming in at 864 pieces, they’re pretty fun small versions of the three brick-built T-Rexes that stand at the entrance to the Experience Zones inside the Home of the Brick.
If you’ve visited LEGO House before, do you like the “realistic” brown LEGO dinosaur display? Do you prefer the fantastical dragon-like green variant? Or does the mechanical T-Rex strike your fancy more. With LEGO House Dinosaurs (40366), why choose when you can build all three? In the history of the Home of the Brick, there have been two prior exclusive sets, the LEGO Architecture LEGO House (21037) from 2017, and the Tree of Creativity (4000026) from last year. The dinosaur exhibits that the new LEGO House exclusive set depicts have been in display there for just around a year.
LEGO House visitors starting April 17 can purchase the exclusive LEGO House Dinosaurs (40366) at their in-house shop. Only three boxes maximum are allowed purchase for each person, and it’s priced at 599 DKK ($90.47).
Here’s the press release for your reference.
Three giant LEGO® dinosaurs greet visitors when they climb the stairs to the Experience Zones of the LEGO House. Available from April 17th as a retail set.
Positioned in The Masterpiece Gallery the three iconic dinosaurs are the stunning centrepieces of the room. Each model has a metal skeleton inside to support the LEGO bricks, the height of each models is 2,92 m (without podium) and the total piece count of the three models is more than 600.000 LEGO bricks. Now LEGO House has taken on the challenge to convert the three giant dinosaurs into a retail product.
The retail product, LEGO® House dinosaurs, will be launched at the LEGO Store in LEGO House this summer. And if everything goes as planned the first boxes will already be for sale from 17th April.
The LEGO model is a great reproduction of the giant dinosaurs capturing all the most iconic features in a rescaled version.
Designer Nina Koopman says: ”One of the biggest challenges with the new model has been to capture all the details from the big models. Especially since the models in Masterpiece Gallery were all built of the three different building systems LEGO DUPLO, LEGO Technic and LEGO System. You see it especially with the yellow dino where we eg. have used gear wheels, and ventilator elements to get the “Technic feel” into the product.”
The three dinosaurs have been on their way for roughly a year and is the third exclusive product that LEGO House launches. The others being Tree of Creativity (4000026) and the LEGO House Architecture set (21037).
In the new product it has been important to underline that it is both a toy for playing and a display model. Nina Koopman explains: “The aim was to make a stunning product and at the same time, we have worked with integrating moveable parts in the heads, arms and legs to enhance the play experience. Also the construction of the three models has deliberately been made different from each other in order to create three different building experiences, and you can remove the dinos from their podium.”
Each of the three models within the new product has a podium that resembles the real podium in Masterpiece Gallery. This pays reference to the fact that Masterpiece Gallery in itself is a giant LEGO brick – just 862 times an ordinary LEGO 2×4 brick – and the three podiums are the tubes of that LEGO brick.
The model is exclusively available at LEGO House in Billund and the retail price is 599 DKK. (Maximum 3 boxes pr. person).
