Skillet Cooking For Sale

First Order Stormtrooper [30602] After making a few phone calls about Force Friday, the UK LEGO Stores employees told me that for 2016... It's no longer called Force Friday. The galactic event is now dubbed as Rogue Friday to commemorate the release of the new  Rogue One: A Star Wars Story  sets. As of writing, no official announcement has been released yet. I was told to expect an email about it anytime soon. But the employees that I talked to were kind enough to confirm that the promotion for Force Rogue Friday is that for any LEGO Star Wars purchase, one can get triple VIP points and  a free First Order Stormtrooper [30602] polybag. It's the same minifigure from this year's May the 4th event but without the required minimum purchase, and with triple VIP points to boot. The promotion runs from 30 September to 2 October, so it's more of a Force Rogue Weekend! The promotion is also available in the online LEGO Shop as well. Free  First Order Stormtrooper ____...

From Malaysia with Love Courtesy of Brickfinder and LEGOLAND Malaysia , I won an exclusive Eid Mubarak Duplo Brick. Super thank you! Last July, Brickfinder teamed-up with LEGOLAND Malaysia for a contest to win an exclusive Hari Raya Duplo Brick to celebrate the religious holiday Eid al-Fitr. The mechanics were to simply like their respective Facebook pages, then like and share the contest post, and t ag two friends in the comments section. I did all that and luckily won the raffle. Good thing it's open to everyone in the world. Once again, thank you! LEGOLAND Malaysia Eid Mubarak Duplo Brick LEGOLAND Malaysia generously gives away limited specially printed Duplo bricks for their seasonal promotions, like Lunar New Year, Star Wars Days, and so on. There are various ways to get these exclusive bricks, and the most common method is by completing activity trails.  For the Eid Mubarak Duplo Brick, it was  obtainable by availing annual pass promotions, or participating in...

White Monochrome Minifigure One of the purposes of the monochrome in art is to r educe it to its simplest form so that the focus of the piece would be on its pure physical elements. Applying that concept to LEGO, peeling away all the paint, leaving only the base color, one can achieve a minimal art in brick form... That's one way to see it. Another is to simply say that I have always been a fan of monochrome minifigures, which are so cool and calming to look at. For the longest time, I thought this would be a difficult project but I have read somewhere that it's so easy if you start with the basics. That's why for my first monochrome minifigure, I decided to begin with the color white. White Monochrome Minifigure: Sailor White pieces are very easy to obtain. I got all the white minifigure pieces from my local LEGO Shop's Build-a-Mini. Unfortunately, there was no plain torso available so I just chose the one with the least printing. The doctor's torso with a pocket a...

AT-ATs The AT-AT microbuilds from the LEGO Star Wars Magazine Issue 15 are the cutest combat walkers ever! On my last  post , where I featured the aforementioned issue, I was very vocal about my fondness of the All Terrain Armored Transport free gift that I highly considered getting another one. Obviously, I wasn't able to restrain myself, so I bought another copy. I have found that it is cheaper (and a lot easier) to buy another magazine than to order the individual bricks. I wasn't able to find a single shop (in LEGO's  Pick-a-Brick  or  BrickLink ) that carries all the required pieces, making the postage fees not worth it. Battle of Hoth I don't usually make posts about duplicates, but I had a lot of fun playing with these microbuilds that it felt wrong not to share it.  With two microscale Imperial Walkers, it's only natural to recreate scenes from  The Empire Strikes Back . The AT-ATs were very significant in the Battle of Hot...

LEGO Star Wars Magazine Issue 15 LEGO Star Wars Magazine Issue 15 has just been released , and this month's free gift is the iconic AT-AT! The All Terrain Armored Transport, or AT-AT for short, is a four-legged combat walker used by the Empire's  ground forces . It first appeared   in The Empire Strikes Back , then prominently featured in Star Wars Rebels , and, more recently, also seen in The Force Awakens (as background wreckage). Older versions seems to be in the  Rogue One: A Star Wars Story , but they may (or may not) be under a different name ( UPDATE: They are apparently called All Terrain Armored Cargo Transport or AT-ACT ).  Being one of the most famous symbols of the Empire's military might, it's no surprise that the AT-AT is the microbuild of Issue 15 . AT-AT So far, the AT-AT is my favorite magazine microbuild (next to the  Naboo Starfighter). I simply love its minimalist look. With only 48 brick pieces, it's a wonder that it accuratel...

LEGO Nexo Knights Magazine Issue 08 The LEGO Nexo Knights Magazine Issue 08 is hot off the press and it's overloaded with lots of free gifts, including a Kid Clay minifigure and Ninjago trading cards! In last issue's preview, it was promised that Issue 08 will include a limited edition Kid Clay minifigure, a training bot, and an exclusive Nexo Power. All these were neatly placed in the small foil pack. But wait, there's more. An exclusive Ninjago Trading Card and a booster pack were given away as well. Ninjago Trading Cards I believe that it's a brilliant strategy to introduce the Ninjago Trading Card Game in the LEGO Magazines. I also think that it's a genius move to put rare cards in the mix to tickle the market's (especially kids') need to collect them.  Included in every Issue 08 is a Limited Edition NRG Cole golden foil card. There's also a special card guaranteed in every booster pack, and I got an Action Master Chen silver foil card in mine. So, b...

Lester ( Photo grabbed from  http://stores.lego.com/en-gb/stores/uk/london-leicester-square ) Mark your calendars! The new London Leicester Square LEGO Store will open on 17 November! Dubbed in their official press release as the largest (5,420 square feet in over two floors) LEGO Brand Retail Store in the world, the new Leicester Square Store is scheduled to open on 17 November. A tea-loving mascot, unique to the store, is also set to debut, and he is aptly named Lester (exclusive minifigure?!). If the quintessential gentleman looks a bit familiar, you might have seen him on the announcement teasers on the store's construction barriers. Big Ben (Photo grabbed from http://stores.lego.com/en-gb/stores/uk/london-leicester-square ) For the iconic model, the new store won't be complete without the famous Big Ben. A huge model (largest ever at 6.53 meters high!) is currently being built, and it's made from more than 200,000 bricks. Not only that, it works as well! And the clock...

LEGO Star Wars Annual 2017 LEGO Star Wars Annual 2017 has just been released, and it looks way, way better than last year's. When I first came here in the United Kingdom, I bought a copy of the  LEGO Star Wars Annual 2016 in Poundland for  £1. It's a kiddie activity book with some free bricks. To be specific, it came with three 1x8 and three 1x4 white plates to represent lightsaber blades. That doesn't really make any sense. But I'm not really complaining, I got the book for only 1/8 of the retail price (paying the full price is not worth it). Apparently, annuals are a thing here. But what exactly are annuals? In my previous post I mentioned that annuals are books published shortly before the end of each year, and are aimed at the Christmas market. They are generally large hardcover books centered on sports, toys, celebrities, films, TV series, and so on, featuring various contents like text articles, comics, puzzles, etc. And since LEGO is quite popular here, it'...

LEGO Minifigure Year by Year A Visual History Putting together LEGO and books is a perfect combination. But when you add  bargain  to the equation,  SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!!! I mentioned i n one of my earlier posts  that, for me, the United Kingdom is a LEGO paradise. But it's not only the AFOL in me who's in bliss, but also the bibliophile. It's such a wonder to be in a place full of people who loves books. Anywhere you go, there's almost always someone who's immersed in a good book. At the bus stop. In the train. On the park bench. Since there's a huge demand, there's also a huge supply. But sometimes, the economic scale would tip to the surplus side. And we all know what that means, bargains! But it's only a good deal if you can find it in time. I found the LEGO Minifigure Year by Year A Visual History in T.K. Maxx (T.J. Maxx in the US ) for only  £9.99 (RRP  £25 )! But the cheapest price that I found is a teeny  £5 in The Book People!...

Wedding Favor Set [40165] Box I do... I do believe that the Wedding Favor Set [40165] is the perfect wedding present for a LEGO couple. But for my wife and I, it came about a year late. So we just built this set as one of the many ways to commemorate our first wedding anniversary. I am a firm believer that a happy wife means a happy life, so I let her build this one. In a lot of ways, the Wedding Favor Set [40165] is a great improvement on its predecessor [853340]. The most obvious change is the absence of cardboard pieces. The lovely arch is now made entirely out of plastic bricks, decorated beautifully with gems and flowers. The new set also comes with a bigger baseplate to facilitate the elevation of the stage (and to add some more flowers). Wedding Stage Customization of the minifigures is more varied in the new set with the inclusion of lots of hairpieces. Unfortunately, not all natural colors are represented. Bride Options My wife super loves the Bride minifigu...

Death Star That's no moon... That's what Obi-Wan Kenobi said upon approaching the Death Star. But when I saw the reproduction in LEGO Star Wars Miniland Model Display at LEGOLAND Windsor, I was lost for words! Together with my tita 's (aunt's) family,  I visited the resort  last June, and their latest addition is the  recreation of Darth Vader’s ultimate super weapon. It's o ne of the most impressive and biggest models ever created for the resort, using about 500,000 bricks. Measuring  2.4 meters wide and 3 meters high, and weighing 860 kilograms, the Death Star is the centerpiece for an amazing scene depicting the famous Battle of Yavin in A New Hope . The interactive display also features  sound and light effects. By pressing the appropriate buttons, A lliance ships will come swooping to destroy the mobile space station. Upon entering the LEGO Star Wars Miniland Model Display, Darth Vader in all his brickly glory extends his lightsaber to welcome the...