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Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Remainder of the Summer sets at Shop.LEGO.com

LEGO Shop At Home has been updated to finally show the last of the highly anticipated Summer 2013 sets in more countries that didn't already get them over a month ago.  I've already long since reviewed a lot of these sets and have another large batch in hand from today's trip to a real LEGO store.

One nice surprise I noticed was the official unveiling of the Fall Scene, polybag set #40057.  Check that one out.

LEGO is having a couple of extra promotions this month as well:

FREE LEGO Galaxy Squad Mini Mech with any purchase of $50 or more. Valid 8.1.13 - 8.16.13

FREE LEGO Friends Ice Cream set with any LEGO Friends purchase Valid 8.1.13 - 8.31.13 or while supplies last.

Free stuff is good, right?

Update:  Early "technical difficulties" the site reported at first have now been resolved and it looks like everything is working!

Off to the LEGO store!

For the first time in ~8 years, I'm taking a long drive to a brick-and-mortar LEGO Store today!

Any guesses as to what I'll bring back?

Update:  I'm back (insert evil grin here).  Anybody up for some new Speedorz & Star Wars set reviews?

LEGO Friends Dolphin Cruiser 41015 set Review!


My second LEGO Friends series review, and this one is big and brand new!

LEGO Ninjago Kai's Fire Mech 70500 set Review!


My first LEGO Ninjago set review, with more to follow! This one impressed me with its features for the price.

Monday, July 29, 2013

LEGO Friends Olivia's Beach Buggy 41010 Review!


My very first LEGO Friends set review! Needless to say, folks who have no interest in LEGO Friends sets should not watch this LEGO Friends set video ;)

Sunday, July 28, 2013

LEGO Chima Speedorz Boulder Bowling 70103 set review!


My third LEGO Legends of Chima Speedorz set review, with more to come soon, including the Summer releases!

July exclusive Hero Factory black Brain Attack parasite

Just a reminder, I reviewed the exclusive July promotional Hero Factory Accessory Pack #40084 on July 20th! Tap the link to go back & check it out if you missed it the first time!

LEGO City 60008 Museum Break-In set Review!


I'm quickly approaching the end of the string of videos I uploaded over a week ago, but there are still a handful more to go!  This is not a new set, but it's one my girlfriend and I have considered repeatedly when we've seen it in stores, and finally we went ahead & got the thing & built it!

Videos:

Saturday, July 27, 2013

LEGO custom Fire Boat MOC


This is a rarity in that it's a LEGO MOC of mine that I'm actually very happy with and don't already feel a need to change & improve!  Compare this to the official LEGO Fire Boat 60005 that I based it on!  My harbor feels like a safer place already...

Oops! Comments now enabled!

Sorry folks, when I switched the name to JANGBRiCKS and cloned the blog over, I forgot to set up commenting!

Well, that's fixed now!  Comment away!

LEGO Star Wars X-Wing 9493 set Review & speed build!


Sweet, my second LEGO Star Wars set review, and it's a recent (2012) take on a truly timeless & iconic classic!

Videos:

Thursday, July 25, 2013

More videos in the queue...

I just can't stop working!  I continue to slowly flip the "public" switch on the huge stream of videos I uploaded to YouTube last week, but I haven't stopped adding in more good stuff!  At the current rate I may soon have to shift to publicizing two videos per day for a little while just to let all of you get a little caught up with me.  Things you'll be seeing over the next couple of weeks include:
  • Ninjago
  • LEGO Friends (including some new Summer sets)
  • More Legends of Chima (including new Summer sets)
  • Kre-O (including Transformers)
  • More Mega Bloks Halo items
  • Fire- and train-related MOCs
  • And more of course ;)
Fun times!

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Stillllll going!

Since my last update on the matter, there was another big building party over here and even though I've publicized more videos, my collection of unpublished videos is up to 15, plus I have 7 more review products built (LEGO, Mega Bloks, and Kre-O) and 4 yet unopened, and MOCs in the works!  It's a bona fide bricksplosion!

LEGO Super Heroes Superman Battle of Smallville review! set 76003


By viewer request, here's my very first LEGO brick-built Super Heroes series set review!  With all of the action in both the Marvel and DC worlds in recent years with blockbuster movies & such, there were a lot of sets to choose from.  I'm very happy that I started with something good!

Saturday, July 20, 2013

LEGO Hero Factory black brain bug & 40084 accessory pack in hand


This is the exclusive Hero Factory promotional pack given to buyers of any Hero Factory item at any brick-and-mortar LEGO store or at LEGO Shop At Home online July 15-31, 2013.  It features the exclusive black evil brain plus a few pieces to make a sword weapon.

Friday, July 19, 2013

LEGO The Hobbit Unexpected Gathering set Review! 79003


This LEGO Hobbit series set has been calling my name for a long time, and finally I pulled the metaphorical trigger on it!  I couldn't be happier that I did.

LEGO Friends Hedgehog Hideaway review, set #41020


Young boys may wig out over this, but I don't care :)  There are some Friends sets that I want to review, and this little polybag here is the first!

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Getting ahead of myself - a DOZEN videos ready!

Whew!  I've been working hard and fast on LEGO reviews this week and now have twelve videos done that have not been published yet on YouTube.  For some bizarre reason YouTube viewers throw huge tantrums and unsubscribe if I put out more than one or two videos in a day, so I'm using that to my advantage.  I'll slowly tease out all of these already-finished videos over the next week or two, giving me tons of time to focus in on just building MOCs for my city!  Videos you'll be seeing include:
  • Chima Speedorz
  • Mega Bloks Halo items
  • A great Bricklink haul
  • Minifig blind bag opening
  • And tons more!
Plus, I've picked up another FIFTEEN more products to review, and builds on that stuff will start tonight!  Craziness!!

LEGO Adventures 7414 Orient Caravan vintage set review!


Not too long ago I did a Bricklink haul that included a 10-year-old LEGO Adventures series set that I bought for cheap.  Well here it is!

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Mega Bloks HALO Cauldron Clash set review!


Here it is, the most controversial moment in the history of my involvement in construction sets!  This is not the first Mega Bloks set I've ever had, but it's the first non-LEGO building set I've reviewed!  Brand hyper-loyalists will gawk, but folks with an open mind will see some really interesting things in this one!

LEGO HDS Space Bomber MOC

What we have here is a little squarish ugly blob of dark gray rendered in LEGO plates, tiles, and bricks.  Yet, it is so much more.  I spent almost a week worth of evenings building & re-building this thing, developing a backstory in the process and co-developing some potential future war tactics along with the little ship itself.  I feel like the end here doesn't justify the means, but I'm happy with it regardless, because I can very clearly imagine scenes of these things being used in a number of different sci-fi battle scenarios!

LEGO Star Wars Sith Fury Class Interceptor #9500 build & review!

This is a monumental occasion for me!  It's my very first LEGO Star Wars set review!  Star Wars has been pretty much the mainstay for the popular aspects of the LEGO world for the past decade, and now that I think about it, that's the main reason I've stayed away.  I don't like to do things just because "everybody else" does.  However, in my recent "Control my Dough" survey, a lot of you current viewers made it clear to me that you would like to see me review Star Wars and other licensed themes, so here I am, giving it a shot, for you!  So far, I'm enjoying it, myself, too, so it's a win-win!

Videos:

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

LEGO Fire pumper truck MOC


I have a burning desire, no, need to build up a lot of MOCs for my city, but with all of the set reviewing going on (not to mention everything else in my life) I've had trouble getting the inertia going.  To help kickstart things, I've gone ahead and taken on the task of building my fire department.  I wanted to avoid this for awhile because fire fighting is such a common LEGO theme, but I have to do it some time, and this will entail building a number of vehicles plus at least one building, so it should help keep the MOC stream flowing
As a bonus, I also got in a new Bricklink haul if you'd like to check that out.

LEGO 2013 Winter Village Market 10235 unveiled


New at the LEGO Shop is set #10235, the Creator Winter Village Market featuring a small hand-cranked carousel (with a Technic gearbox) and four mini-shops.  Looking at the photos of the product makes me feel very girly as the words that come to mind are along the likes of "incredibly cute" and "so adorable."  Grr.  October 1. You will be mine, evil village.

LEGO Hero Factory MOC: Vaptix A-45A "Diviner"

Who here remembers the name Vaptix?  How about with the help of a 3-year-old reminder?

Monday, July 15, 2013

LEGO Lord of the Rings Tower of ORTHANC 10237 build & review!


You asked for it, now here it is!  Set #10237 is the largest official LEGO Lord of the Rings release to date, and even so, it's absolutely crammed with details and interior features.  Watch the 96x build and see my full overview and opinions!

Videos:

Friday, July 12, 2013

Introducing: JANGBRiCKS!


Folks, I hate to do this to y'all again (if you've been around long enough to have witnessed the last move, but I'm making one final move to allow me to take my LEGO building, reviewing, and MOC making experience to the next level and beyond.  Everything is explained in this video:
The summary is as follows:
  1. My YouTube channel has not substantively changed -- same location, content, everything -- I just have a new alias when I post.  You do not need to re-subscribe.  You do not need to update anything.  It's all taken care of so there is NO inconvenience to anyone!
  2. Legojang.com now forwards you to Jangbricks.com instead of legojang.blogspot.com. Look at the address bar on your browser!  You're already here!  All of the posts have been copied over.  All of the content is here.  Everything will continue as if nothing had happened.
  3. I will be buying & reviewing far more different types of sets than ever before, in response to your feedback, including licensed theme sets (see the video) and even some non-LEGO products. 
  4. This is entirely, fully, completely, a positive change that is nothing but good news for everyone and I will not reverse the change!  This is it!

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

LEGO mystic gem store MOC & city mini-update


My LEGO city has a new small store! Once again I've gone for something a little out of the ordinary, and the result is small, bright, and cheery. Right after covering it on video, I did a little bit of modification to make it look a bit better, and that, in turn, is shown in my quick city overview update.

Videos:

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Control My Dough for July 2013!


This here is the big deal I mentioned a few days back.  This is an opportunity for you, the viewers, to decide exactly what sets I will buy this month with a rather large chunk of cold, hard cash.  It is absolutely critical that everyone watch the video before commenting, and then exercise utmost maturity and sensibility once commenting begins.  Also note that only comments on the YouTube video will be viewed here.  It is critical that all information be centralized in one single place.  Blog & Facebook comments related to this big deal will not be accepted.
Please, help this be a huge success.  I'm counting on all of you.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

What happened to BLANKO?


Yesterday's Hero of Tomorrow hasn't been seen in ages.  What happened to him?  Has he received any updates for Breakout or Brain Attack?  What villains has he vanquished?  Where is he now?!?!

All of this and more is answered...

LEGO Hero Factory MOC: Specimen 2


Another of the mad scientist's earliest creations has been discovered!  This was the last one before he began experimenting with artificial genetic hybridization.

LEGO Creator 40078 Hot Dog Stand polybag review!


For the month of July 2013, LEGO is giving away this currently exclusive polybag set to any VIP program member who makes a purchase of $75 US or more.
In the video I forgot to show the second face on the guy's head, so here it is:


(Note that this is not an exclusive piece.)

Bricklink Haul July 1, 2013

More new LEGO parts!  Two packages in one vid this time...

Video: Bricklink Haul July 1, 2013

LEGO 4-stud train MOC rev. 1.1 update & 6-stud size comparison


Here's an really brief update from just after the initial unveiling video showing a comparison to a full-sized train (which I forgot the first time) and some aesthetic tweaks I made right after starting the upload of the last vid!
Follow the trains topic to see the progression of this design over time!

Monday, July 1, 2013

LEGO 4-stud PF narrow gauge train update: It Runs!


It has been a few months since my last update on this project, but oh, how far things have come since then!  I finally have a fully working 4-stud-wide, infrared RC, modern Power Functions powered train! 

After trying out a third locomotive design, I went back to the March 25th chassis and got the PF layout and wiring all tidied up.  I'm by no means 100% happy with the aesthetic of the whole train just yet, but I'm really happy with the progress and feel like it's a small accomplishment just to get a 4-wide PF train running at all!  Check it out in action:
Follow the trains topic to see the progression of this design over time!