Building a Loving SG using LEGO bricks & minifigs

Was registering for tickets to the Singapore National Day Parade (NDP) 2012 when I saw this. Will share more details when available.  Doesn’t sound like it’ll be an exclusive fig, but it’ll be for charity so why not right? 🙂

Via: http://ndp.org.sg/participation/building-a-loving-sg/

Building a Loving SG

As part of Singapore’s 47th National Day Celebrations, Singaporeans from all walks of life can contribute to the building blocks of National Day Parade (NDP) at the Floating Platform! Spearheaded by a group of young adults from various youth organisations, we want to re-create the rousing celebrations at Marina Bay Floating Platform with over 100,000 LEGO® bricks and LEGO® minifigures.

This project also wants to reach out to Singaporeans from all walks of life, getting them to openly express their love for our country by participating in this record-breaking initiative. Members of the public can be represented by a LEGO minifigure at the ‘celebrations’ by making a $5 donation where they will receive a pair of customised LEGO minifigures – one of the LEGO minifigures will be placed on the seating gallery of the platform, while the other is for their keepsake as a reminder of their participation.

All proceeds received from the project will go to The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund whose mission is to reach out to every child in need and provide them with the resources to do well in school – and beyond.

LEGO and the LEGO logo are trademarks of the LEGO Group. ©2012 The LEGO Group. All rights reserved.

PBS documentary on LEGO artists

In their latest episode the PBS series, Off Book features LEGO art and 3 very different brick artists who are using LEGO bricks as a medium to express their art.  Their names should be familiar to you: Sean Kenney, Alex Kobbs, and Nathan Sawaya. Enjoy the short clip. 🙂

LEGO blocks are one of the most beloved toys in the world, playing a role in many a person’s childhood. But for some creators, LEGO has evolved from toy to art form. In this episode, we talk to three LEGO artists who have made beautiful mosaics, amazing stop-motion videos, thoughtful sculptures, and have turned these tiny building blocks into a true artistic medium.

Featuring:
Sean Kenney
Alex Kobbs
Nathan Sawaya

Music by:
Pixelord – http://soundcloud.com/pixelord
Project Divinity – http://www.jamendo.com/en/artist/2741/project-divinity
Da Robotz – http://soundcloud.com/da-robotz
Yusuke Tsutsumi – http://soundcloud.com/yusuke-tsutsumi
Tryad – http://www.jamendo.com/en/artist/104/tryad

Produced by Kornhaber Brown: http://www.kornhaberbrown.com

LEGOLAND Malaysia Opening on 15 Sep 2012, Hotel in 2014

Stumbled upon the roadshow at Vivocity (a shopping centre in Singapore) and found out that LEGOLAND Malaysia is having its’ grand opening on 15 September 2012. And, there’ll be a LEGOLAND Hotel too. You’ll have to wait longer to stay in the hotel tho, cos work has only just started and the hotel is slated for opening in 2014.

Roadshow Information

LEGOLAND Malaysia has just announced the official park single-day tickets which are priced at a special introductory offer of RM96 (S$40) for adults and RM70(S$29) for kids.  These single-day tickets are available from the LEGOLAND Malaysia Road Show (25th – 29th April 2012) which starts today at Vivocity in Singapore.

You can also pop by to have a look at what I presume to be the model of the LEGOLAND Hotel. 🙂

If you can’t make it for this roadshow, don’t worry there are a few others planned.  You can check the schedule here: http://www.legoland.com.my/Plan/Roadshows/ 

News of the theme park

According to news reports, LEGOLAND Malaysia General Manager Siegfried Boerst said the RM700 million theme park on a 76-acre land in Iskandar Malaysia, Johor, was 75 per cent complete. He said that last month, the contractors began work on theming the park, and next month they would begin installing the 50 million Lego bricks and models.

Boerst said over 35,000 annual passes had been sold and 60 per cent of the buyers were Malaysians, and about 30% from Singapore. The annual passes, priced at RM195 per adult and RM150 per child, are valid until end of 2013. “The official park single-day tickets will go on sale online later this month and these tickets will be priced at a special introductory offer of RM96 for adults and RM70 for kids,” he said.

It is the second after Legoland Billund park, Denmark, to house the Observation Tower, where visitors are lifted up 41 metres for an excellent view of the Legoland theme park as the tower revolves to make a complete circle in 50 seconds. It’ll also have LEGOLAND Water Park suitable for kids from 2 to 12.

News of the hotel

Merlin Entertainments Groups has signed a management agreement with LL Themed Hotel Sdn Bhd to develop and build the LEGOLAND Hotel in Nusajaya, Johor, the first in Southeast Asia and the fourth in the world.  LL Themed is a 51-49 joint venture company between Destination Resorts and Hotels Sdn Bhd (DRH) with Iskandar Harta Holdings Sdn Bhd.

DRH Managing Director Nadziruddin Basri said: “We at DRH are focused in bringing new, innovative attractions to Malaysia’s leisure and tourism offerings and to make Malaysia a destination of choice for both local and international travellers.”

LEGOLAND Malaysia General Manager Siegfried Boerst said the hotel was the first to be designed from a child’s eye view and was scheduled to open for operations in the first half of 2014.
Read more: Legoland Hotel to be built in Nusajaya http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20120424132955/Article/index_html#ixzz1t3lHTPoB

Read more: Legoland Malaysia to open on Sept 15 http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20120425155004/Article/index_html#ixzz1t3kdU800

Barrel Organ Made of 20,000 Lego Bricks Plays Star Wars Theme

Ok, I’ll admit that I didn’t even know what a barrel organ is until I watched the video below.

Via wired.com

In one of the better promotional stunts in recent memory, a German company has built a barrel organ out of 20,000 Lego bricks that plays theStar Warstheme song.

The surface of the giant, spinning musical contraption is divided into several sections depicting scenes from the sci-fi saga, including the Death Star,Tatooine, the snowy surface ofHothand anEndor forest.

The hand-cranked organ, created by Serviceplan with the help of Lego professional Rene Hoffmeister, works by having Lego figures on the barrel’s surface hit levers as the device spins around. The levers press keys on an attached keyboard, playing John Williams’ classic composition.

UCS 10225 R2-D2 Designer Video

Altho TLG tried to pull it back, they should realize by now that it’s not easy to ‘unrelease’ stuff on the internet.  This video is a bit different from the usual ones. Watch to understand…

“Come with us as we take an exclusive look at the never before seen 10225 R2-D2™, the latest exclusive LEGO® Star Wars™ set! We’ll talk with Mike and Kurt, the talented LEGO® designers who brought this awesome model to life in LEGO® bricks. The R2-D2 set will be available directly through LEGO® beginning in May 2012 via shop.LEGO.com and at LEGO® Stores. Visit shop.LEGO.com for more details on this amazing model!

Presenting the Ultimate Collector Series R2-D2™ — the best-loved droid in the Star Wars galaxy!

Presenting the iconic R2-D2 as you’ve never seen him before! Everyone’s favorite droid from the Star Wars galaxy is now part of the Ultimate Collector Series and features fantastic detailing, such as retractable third leg, front panels that open to reveal a universal computer interface arm and a circular saw, rotating head and 2 fold-out front spacecraft linkage control arms. With the included fact plaque and R2-D2 minifigure, this diminutive model is the perfect addition to your LEGO® Star Wars™ collection!

• Ultimate Collector Series R2-D2™!
• Features retractable third leg!
• Front panels open to reveal a universal computer interface arm and circular saw!
• Features realistic rotating head!
• R2-D2 features 2 fold-out front spacecraft linkage control arms!
• Includes fact plaque and R2-D2 minifigure!
• Measures over 12″ (31 cm) high and 7″ (18 cm) wide!”

Alrighty, now awaiting the haunted house that was leaked earlier.

Dwell and Pacific Standard Time LEGO Modern Home Design Competition

Dwell and Pacific Standard Time challenges you to construct a model of an original home inspired by iconic California mid-century modern architecture using LEGO bricks. Enter through March 29th via the Dwell website (up to 4 photos). Starting March 31st entries will be posted for voting and the 5 finalists will be on display at this year’s Dwell on Design from June 22-24. A panel of judges will choose the grand prize winner live from the show floor.

Prize: The grand prize winner selected by Judges will receive a cash prize of $250.00, one (1) “Ice Cube” poster, and a selection of LEGO Architecture building sets including: LEGO Architecture Solomon R. Guggenheim® Museum, LEGO Architecture Fallingwater®, LEGO Architecture White House, LEGO Architecture Rockefeller Center, LEGO Architecture Farnsworth House, and LEGO Architecture Robie House. The five (5) Finalists will each receive a VIP ticket to Dwell on Design and two (2) LEGO Architecture building sets: LEGO Architecture Empire State Building and LEGO Architecture Burj Khalifa.

So the price money isn’t great, but you get the bragging rights.  From what I read of the rules, no mention of the scale of building so micro or true to proportions models are acceptable:

Design Competition Challenge: Create an original design of a home in the California mid-century modern style and construct a model of it using LEGO bricks and elements. Models using anything other than LEGO bricks and elements for the main structure will be disqualified. Any non-LEGO brand material must only be used for the sake of structural integrity (if necessary) such as glue, adhesive, steel, etc.

Good luck if you are participating!

 

Win a Star Wars: Episode I 3D mural

I am soooo jealous of U.S. fans… why? Cos they have the chance to win one of these brick-made murals of course.

Go to Starwarsblog to read more/for updates.

Southern California fans (Update: see below) have a chance to win one of the stunning Star Wars: Episode I 3D murals comprised completely of LEGO bricks spotted at select theaters across the country. ArcLight Hollywood has just posted a contest to their Facebook page asking fans who see The Phantom Menace 3D at the Hollywood venue to snap a photo of themselves in front of the mural with a caption explaining what makes them the biggest Star Wars fan!

The entry that receives the most votes by Wednesday, February 22 will take the LEGO mural home! Click here to enter.

There’s a good chance that more of these murals will become available in similar contests across the country, so stay tuned as we’ll update this entry with any new contests that are announced!

Go to the official ArcLight site for more info.

UPDATE: It appears that Harkins Theatres of Scottsdale, Arizona has launched their own mural giveaway contest, requiring only that you “Like” them on Facebook to enter! Check it out here!