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Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Four new videos for New Years' Eve!


Happy New Years everyone!  To prepare the celebrations, I did a bunch of work :D  With this batch I close up the first waves of LEGO City and LEGO Movie sets at last, plus I throw in a pretty obvious remix of a set that was just begging for it from the start!


Monday, December 30, 2013

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Zoo progress sneak peak 12/29/2013, plus bonus


With so many review videos going up you might think I'd forgotten all about my zoo, but you'd be wrong :D  The aquarium section is what I've been most looking forward to from the beginning, and finally it's getting some attention.  There's still a lot more to be done on it than meets the eye, but progress is progress.

Here's an unrelated bonus for today:

Saturday, December 28, 2013

LEGO Movie MOC: Metalbeard's Ship!


This just had to be done.  Metalbeard is such a cool dude/mech, he needed to have a 2-in-1 style alternate whether LEGO planned it or not.  My quick version here is quite lacking in elegance, but at least you can see what it's supposed to be, and I had fun doing it while my wife was building the Castle Cavalry set :)

LEGO Movie set review: Castle Cavalry!


Just a few more of these to go to complete my sweep of the first wave of the theme!

So it seems people like the LEGO Movie sets...


Between the evenings of the 26th & 27th I published twelve LEGO Movie set- and figure-related videos.  For the full day of the 27th, YouTube reports that my account received 3x the norm (and 2x the previous records) in comments, likes, and favorites added.  Y'all really like the Movie sets!!  I guess it's a good thing that I do too!

This theme does a phenomenal job of combining some of the most fun things that can be captured within the world of LEGO.  It has humor, drama, action & fighting, cutesiness (not a real word, I know), interesting vehicles & settings, and characters we can connect with. Most importantly in my opinion, the theme encourages creativity in the most blunt ways possible.  Most LEGO sets reward you for building exactly what's shown on the box and the instructions, and then they leave you with a whisper-like hint of, "Maybe you could do other things with these parts... maybe... just saying..."  In the movie theme, you are told right to your face, "Take apart the LEGO sets you have, and make something cooler! Do it do it!"

I hope LEGO learns from this massive win and engages in more of this overt creative encouragement in the future.  Hero Factory moved in this direction with their 2.0 series, but they didn't go far enough, and actually took creative tools away from us in 3.0 & beyond by reverting to one-piece heads that instantly turned any custom creation into just another version of Rocka or Stormer or Furno.  Technic and Creator both encourage part reuse by offering multiple official builds.  However, the City and other System-based, minifig-supporting themes that have always been the core of the LEGO business and fan community alike, tell young builders to follow the instructions and then stop and play.

I hope that in early 2015 (since everything through the end of 2014 is already designed) we will begin to see a page of photos of alternate build possibilities included in the instruction sheets for some City sets like we used to a couple decades ago.  Eventually, the 2- or 3-in-1 concept could be worked into a percentage of sets in every single System sub-theme.  It would go a long way towards fulfilling LEGO's mission of actively inspiring creativity in kids, and as the Movie theme is already showing before its official release, it can be a profitable undertaking for the company as well.

Friday, December 27, 2013

LEGO Movie Emmet & Wyldstyle minifig variants compared


That's right, it's a single LEGO movie, and the figures were made for the movie, but already we have three different variations of each.  These brief side by side videos show all of the commonalities and differences.


LEGO Movie Collectible Minifigs -- ALL 16 of 'em!


I got each of the new minifigs out and gave each a twirl in a combo video that lets you see all of the details of these LEGO Movie themed little guys & gals.  I threw in a bonus, too, for good measure ;)

Three more LEGO Movie set reviews!


I'm keeping them rolling out!  Just a handful more remain!


Classic 1994 LEGO Trail Ranger 6514 reviewed!


Happy Flashback Friday everyone!

Five more LEGO Movie set reviews!


My wife & I have been busy with LEGO this evening!  Five set reviews published and more to come soon as further videos are in the editing room.  Enjoy!


Wednesday, December 25, 2013

JANGBRiCKS LEGO parts tour Part 9


The tour continues!  The good news is that we're getting close to the end, at last!

Mega Bloks Halo 97262 UNSC Infinity Armor Bay in-hand review!


Here's another 2014 Halo set review, the largest one released so far.  I'll try to find the new armory and Cyclops sets soon, but right now I'm technically on holiday ;)  I also threw in a little bonus video!


LEGO Movie set review - Lord Business' Evil Lair!


It begins!  The LEGO Movie sets have begun to hit stores early and I will be reviewing every last one of 'em!

Mega Bloks Halo Series 8 Minifigs reviewed -- ALL of them!


Surprise! I did things backwards :)  Instead of teasing out mystery pack opening videos until I got all of the figures in a series, I went straight to the end result to give you all a look at the full wave!

Mega Bloks Halo 2014 set reviews kick off!


Here's my first review of a 2014 MB Halo set.  It's a small one and nothing outstanding, but the subject matter is well-known and well-loved and they've made some meaningful improvements over the previous versions.
Next up is a single video covering actually 4 different sets (97417, 97418 97419, 97420)!  A must see for ODST fans and minifig collectors in general.

Monday, December 23, 2013

Sunday, December 22, 2013

LEGO Movie sets on the way!


The LEGO shop reports that LEGO Movie related sets will be released on December 29th, but some shops have already started letting them out ahead of schedule.  Rest assured I will be reviewing all of the sets in this line!  Roughly one week to go!

Three more videos to cap off the weekend


It may be the weekend, but I'm still hard at work producing content for your entertainment!  Today's uploads cover three very different products from three different manufacturers.


Friday, December 20, 2013

Happy Flashback Friday, Dec. 20, 2013!


It's that time :)  This go around I chose an extraordinarily funky rescue/EMT set from the early 1990s to review.

In addition, here are a couple more very different videos to keep some viewers satisfied for a few minutes!

And yes, the zoo continues to be worked on, and it will be done when it is done, no sooner, no later!

Three more LEGO girls' videos


I finally received and reviewed the big headlining sets for the first wave of 2014 Friends and Disney Princesses.  As a bonus, I've put up a quick comparo between the interestingly different versions of LEGO Cinderella!

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Zoo progress Dec. 18, 2013


The insect "wing" was completed a day ago and now the aquarium foundation is in!  Finally things get interesting.

Mega Bloks Halo Arctic & Desert Cyclops dual review! (sets 97107 & 97007)


Sometimes I get sets just for me, for my own collection & display, but even then, I like to share them with viewers who will enjoy seeing them.  That's exactly what this video is about, more casual than the norm, but still covering most of the important info and showing all of the angles.

Mega Bloks Call of Duty ZOMBiEs - 20 different versions!


Pop & swap for the win!  Between the Zombie Horde & Tranzit Farm sets you get 10 different CoD zombie minifigs.  Get two of each set, keep half intact and mix & match the rest for double the mayhem!

LEGO 2014 set reviews continue with full force!


At this point I'm almost putting out videos faster than I can keep up with them!  This latest batch from just two evenings runs the gamut from princesses to super heroes, with still more to come!

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Mega Bloks Halo Elephant set review, with bonus!


Another BIG MB Halo set here, this one from 2011, the unofficial original "signature series" set, if you will.  In addition to reviewing the set, in response to viewer requests, I've done a separate video showing how it compares side by side with the 2013 Mammoth.

New 2014 LEGO Friends & Disney Princesses set reviews!


The LEGO Friends line launched to huge worldwide success in 2013, and already it looks like the 2014 line is going to be even more successful.  I've been to my local Toys R Us several times in the past week to try to get new sets when they're released, and I've seen cases of new Friends sets brought in, yet to this very day their entire Friends shelving unit remains almost empty because the sets have been selling so well!  Only the polybags have managed to stay in stock for more than a day or so!
The 2014 sets have the added distinction of introducing a number of exciting brand new parts to the LEGO world, parts that are useful not only within the Friends theme, but with all traditional minifig-scale themes as well!  Even guys should check out the parts in these sets!


Saturday, December 14, 2013

Zoo progress continues...


Yep just a grainy nighttime cel phone snap this time, no video, but three more exhibits (one not really visible here) have been "completed" for now!  Next I get to move on to the new entymology wing!

Friday, December 13, 2013

Two more 2014 LEGO City police set reviews!


I'm on a roll!  So many 2-in-1 & 3-in-1 posts this week, it's like I've lost my mind!  Here are two more new City sets for your weekend perusal:

Enjoy!  Time for me to take a much-needed little break :)


Happy Flashback Friday! LEGO classic space & the 1st MB Halo set?!


Happy 2-in-1 Flashback Friday everyone!  This time I decided to mix things up even more than before!


I also got Google to stop darkening my all of my uploaded photos like they've been doing for the past few months.  Grr.

LEGO City 60047 Police Station & 60046 Helicopter Surveillance set reviews!


More 2014 City sets, this time from the ever-popular (or over-played, depending upon your choice of point of view) police sub-theme.


Thursday, December 12, 2013

LEGO Hobbit 79013 Lake Town Chase set review!


I believe this will be my last Tolkien themed set for awhile!

The LEGO zoo project steams on, full speed ahead


In the last two Bricklink haul videos I stressed that progress with my zoo would accelerate rapidly.  Well, it's happening!

I'm not yet on the home stretch, but for the first time, I can envisage such a thing in the foreseeable future.

LEGO Creator 5766 Log Cabin 3-in-1 set Review!


My last post had a 2-in-1 set, so what better time is there for a 3-in-1 review?  This is by no means a new set, but it's still in stores and interesting to me, so I decided to check it out.

Tenkai Knights Dimensional Dropship & Portal 2-in-1 set Review


I keep giving the Tenkai Knights toys more opportunities to prove themselves to me.  I find them interesting, and I feel there's a lot of potential in the concept.  I've enjoyed the TV series far more than I expected and find the storytelling to be 10x better than what was first unveiled on the TK website.  Unfortunately, the actual toys continue to disappoint me in various very objective ways.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

A Bricklink haul twofer


Finally, the last of the parts I need to finish my zoo have arrived.  This is huge for me, as that zoo build has been going on for too long and I'm ready to move on to many other things.  Expect to see big zoo updates over the next week!

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Two LEGO Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug set reviews!


I wasn't planning on getting any of the DoS sets, but given the unexpected new product slump we're in right now, waiting for the Hero Factory sets and remainder of the ever-popular City line, I figured, why not?  When I was at my local Toys R Us to check for a handful of new products, the Smaug sets smiled at me charmingly from the shelves, so I picked up every last one of 'em :)  Here are my reviews of the first two, with the remainder to follow within the week:

Friday, December 6, 2013

Classic 1991 LEGO System Mud Runner set 6510 reviewed!


Happy Flashback Friday everyone!  This little off-road racer was born 12 years ago; long before many of my viewers! Ha!  Not the most impressive little number, but I think it was kind of cool in its day, and certainly quite cheap.