LEGO has announced the first round of crowdfunding for the BrickLink Designer Program. These projects were previously rejected on LEGO Ideas but have been resurrected so fans who wanted them can now pre-order them. The first five projects to reach 3,000 pre-orders will be produced and you can start pre-ordering on July 1. There will be a limit of 5,000 of each produced from the top five so get your orders in if you see something you like. If a project fails to get 3,000 pre-orders, all the pre-orders will be cancelled and you won’t get charged for it. There will be two more rounds of crowdfunding for this fall which will have up to 15 out of the 26 projects that are part of the program. Announcing the first round of crowdfunding for the BrickLink Designer Program featuring LEGO® IDEAS 10k Club Projects! Fans can pre-order their favorites; the first...

Here in the US, there are a number of summer 2021 LEGO sets that are now available for purchase on the LEGO Shop. Although it’s not all of the summer 2021 sets like with the rest of the world, there are a still quite a few of them from various themes. Also on the list is the Everyone is Awesome (40516) set which was the single most popular post ever on our social channels. As far as promotions are concerned, there is the LEGO FRIENDS Mug (5006068) with a purchase of the LEGO Ideas Central Perk (21319). This promo will run from June 1-13. The LEGO Ninjago 10th Anniversary BrickHeadz (40490) is available in stores for $10 when you make a $85 LEGO Ninjago purchase. If you’re not a LEGO VIP member yet, you can sign up and get a free blue LEGO minifigure keychain (854090). Exclusives LEGO The Friends Apartments...

LEGO has announced the winner of the LEGO Ideas Seaside contest in which the winning build will become the next gift-with-purchase set and the title of Fan Designer. The winner with 969 votes is Ray the Castaway by DadiTwins (shown above) and it was a runaway choice from fans as it had over 400 votes over the next runner up build. There’s no word on when it will be released as a GWP but it’ll be probably at least a year if you compare it to previous GWP building contests. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran

It wasn’t always dysentery that did you in on the Oregon trail. Dmitry has created a microscale wonder in “The Road To The West”,  a build full of great details and part usage. A few that caught my eye right away were the use of hubcaps for the spoked wagon wheels and the really clever combination of small parts in the horses. I also adore the slight gaps between the sections of the coach’s cover. Those allow for a wind-swept look that enhances the scene’s already great sense of motion. This scene feels like a small part of a larger story. What happens next? Maybe Dmitry will share another build in the future that fills us in. Otherwise we’ll just have to look at some other great Western-inspired creations and make up our own legends. The post Hold up! We want to talk to you about your wagon’s extended warranty! appeared...

While classic greys have their place, I’m a sucker for a vibrant color scheme on my spaceships. The Blue Barrel by David Roberts certainly doesn’t disappoint in that arena, with a checkerboard pattern of red and orange that really offsets the blue bodywork to make this vessel stand out. I love the smooth lines and the Technic gears in the nose. The real treat, though, is when this baby comes in for a landing. Dave’s focus on this build was the development of hinged hatches and extendable landing gear. Fingertip pressure is all it takes to pop open the landing struts, but apparently, you’ll “need some fingernails to get at the legs and pull them out!”  Truly, one of more obvious-but-still-clever uses of Technic rods I’ve seen in a while. Also be sure to spend a moment or two examining that innovative ladder. It doesn’t use standard stud attachments to hook...