Hapori Tohu

It's not too late to enter several of BZPower's contests! First off, our LEGO Movie tie-in contest, <a href='http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showtopic=11630'>Caveat Scriptor: A Comedies Contest</a> ends tonight! You've got less than twelve hours to write a comedy! Next, ending in three days is the <a href='http://www.flickr.com/groups/bzpower/discuss/72157639497629416/'>BZPower Flickr Contest - January 2014</a> - go build something! Finally, the entry period for the <a href='http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showtopic=11661'>RPG Forum Contest 30</a> ends on Wednesday, January 22nd. Lots of things to enter and win, so have at it! View the full article

<b>UPDATE:</b> BZPower is back online.<br />Shortly, we will be taking the forums offline to perform some database maintenance. Additionally, we will try to resolve the issues with formatting that have been seen in may posts and topics. If you are interested in seeing how things are going, you can check out the Twitter hashtag <a href='https://twitter.com/search?q=%23BZPUpdate&f=realtime' target='offsite'>#BZPUpdate</a>. Thanks for your patience and understanding! View the full article

From now until the end of the month (January 31st), LEGO VIPs have exclusive purchasing rights to The Simpsons House, set number 71006. VIP status is based on the Lego Shop customer loyalty program - if you're not yet a member, you'll have to sign up and make a purchase before being able to purchase this set. More info on the offer is available on <a href='http://shop.lego.com/en-US/VIP-Early-Access-71006?CMP=EMC-VIP2014EA_R_Simpsons_US&HQS=Hero_CTA_NA&RRID=22496125&RMID=VIP_2014_01_EarlyAccess_PR_US' target='offsite'>the Shop at Home site</a>. View the full article

Looks like the fans aren't the only ones excited about The LEGO Movie. Barnes & Noble bookstores will soon be kicking off three months of activities to help build hype and awareness for the upcoming film, <a href='http://www.marketwatch.com/story/barnes-noble-announces-fun-free-event-series-for-lego-fans-to-build-excitement-for-the-lego-movie-2014-01-16?reflink=MW_news_stmp' target='offsite'>MarketWatch reports</a>. The first event will be a Hands-On Learning experience called "Count Down to the Movie" and will occur on Saturday, January 25. This sounds like a great way to help get word out about the movie and I look forward to seeing what else they do! View the full article

Ninjago fans, rejoice! Cartoon Network has announced that the Ninjago TV series <a href='http://www.awn.com/news/cn-announces-new-ninjago-specials-2014'>will continue</a> with four one-hour specials, which should correspond to twelve 20-minute episodes, on January 29 7/6c. The new episodes will be preceded by a game called "Rise of the Nindroids" on the CN website on January 20. Read on to watch the announce trailer. Anyone else feeling all tingly inside? View the full article

Surely you remember the LEGO Movie Trailer Maker <a href='http://bzpower.com/story.php?ID=6346'>we reported on two weeks ago</a>. (What is that? You don't? Then what are you waiting for to check it out?) If so, there is more The LEGO Movie fun for you now: a <a href='http://legogamebuilder-live.elasticbeanstalk.com/'>game builder</a> where you can assemble your own game from pre-defined elements - just like LEGO! The possibilities are obviously limited compared to what LEGO has to offer, but you've still got a decent amount of choices available. Obviously, you can play levels designed by other people as well. Check it out and share your own levels in the talkback! View the full article

BrickFair Alabama may have finished up today, but the next LEGO Convention is right around the corner. Bricks Cascade will return to Portland, Oregon on March 6th for the register attendees, and open to the public on March 8th and 9th. There will be a lot of MOCs to show off, a lot of prizes to be won, and a lot of fun to be had. If you're interested in attending the full thing, register today, because the price will go up in mid-February. But if you register before January 19th, you can get in on a raffle to win Set 4440, Forest Police Station. You can read more about this on the <a href='http://brickscascade.com/' target='offsite'>Bricks Cascade Website</a>. Hope to see you there! View the full article

If you were still in doubt about LEGO being far more than just a toy, then this should dispel them. The LEGO Blind Art Project is a project to introduce blind and visually impaired children to the world of Fine Arts. Read on to see the original video (German with English subtitles that I've added myself) to see what this is all about and to read a translation of the official description by LEGO. View the full article

You know what The LEGO Movie needs? A Creative Ambush. Oh wait, it already has that in 70812: Creative Ambush, where the Flying Kebab Stand and the Saloon Biplane fight off a Micro Manager. Is this a set to go out West to get, or should you toss it like a bad kebab? Read BZP Report Xccj's review, or watch his video, to find out! View the full article

Remember the <a href='http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showtopic=11630'>Caveat Scriptor: A Comedies Contest</a> <a href='http://bzpower.com/story.php?ID=6342'>we announced almost two weeks ago</a>? Well, BZPower Q&A chief and contest host -Windrider- informs us that there is barely a week left for you to enter! The theme consists in writing a script for a scene that could fit in The LEGO Movie in 200 words or more. A $30 theater gift card for the movie and a six-month Premier Membership on BZPower wave at the glorious winner! What are you waiting for? Get on to your pencil/pen/keyboard and let your imagination go wild! View the full article

The Hero Factory website has been updated with a new beautiful design, the new game, new bios, weapon, mech and beast descriptions and more, new dowloads (including the comics from the building instructions in high res) and the new episode, which can be watched from the game and is quite different from the previous ones. All in all, the update is totally worth checking out. As the US are getting the sets in March, only the design has been updated there, so if you want to see all the new content, I advise you to go to the British version. Go see for yourself! View the full article

You might have seen the leaked photos earlier this week, but LEGO has decided to officially take the wraps off of 71006 The Simpson House, a set that will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the TV show. It's an impressive milestone that deserves an impressive set, and I think LEGO has certainly delivered here. Packed with details, this set is a must-buy for any Simpsons fan. The set will be on display at the Grand Opening of the LEGO Store in Disneyland Paris on January 14th, but you can see the pictures, watch the designer video, and read the full press release right now if you read on! View the full article

The <a href='http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showtopic=9732' target='offsite'>BZPRPG</a> has long been a place for members to have fun creating characters and telling stories through the written word. Vezok's Friend has been making elaborate visual artworks of characters, locations, and items in the game for years, and his most recent work in this field blows the rest away. Nuju Metru explains, "The game recently saw the introduction of a new playable species known as the Dasaka, whose culture and society are quite different from those of the island of Mata Nui (see <a href='http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showtopic=11183&p=599563' target='offsite'>here</a> for more details), and Vezok's Friend was asked by the game staff to conceptualize them. The resulting works, including portraits of signature Dasaka characters and representative pictures of different societal castes, are stunning." <a href='http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showtopic=11232' target='offsite'>Check them out!</a> View the full article

You built and we deliberated, and now we have our winners to the <a href='http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showtopic=11399'>Save the Alien Hunters! Space themed contest</a>. There were a lot of great entries, and the judges had a hard time deciding, but they did! So congratulations to Paleo's Chivalry is not dead, .:Yio:.'s Mini Tank, and The 10th Rider's The Albino Turtle, our first, second, and third place winners. You can read on or head to the topic <a href='http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showtopic=11399&page=2#entry621983'>here</a> for the full details. View the full article

Did you know that BZPower has a <a href='http://www.flickr.com/groups/bzpower' target='offsite'>Flickr group</a>? Well we do! To start things off, we're running <a href='http://www.flickr.com/groups/bzpower/discuss/72157639497629416/' target='offsite'>a contest</a> to find an image for our header, offering up a copy of 8923 Hydraxon to make it worthwhile. There's no theme - it just has to be a creation you haven't posted on BZPower. Pretty simple if you ask me. You've got until January 21st to enter, so head on over there to check out the rules and enter! View the full article

Takanuva, bold and gold (see what I did there) stands in a heroic and dynamic pose <a href='http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showtopic=11508'>in a picture</a> by BZPower Member Silverglass. At least to me, he looks like he could be a Jedi Knight taken straight from the Star Wars: Clone Wars series from 2003. It's certainly a fantastic piece of art with a style that I don't recall having seen on BZPower before. It's great to see how even now, BIONICLE still serves as a source of inspiration and all I can tell you is that this makes me wish there had ever been an animated BIONICLE video like that. Check it out! View the full article

BZPower Member Dr. Giggles is fab lets me know that he is hosting the Noobicorn Inc. Fan Comic Contest in his Noobicorn Inc. topic. Starting January 4th and ending on the 20th, you are encouraged to enter your fan comic (hand-drawn comics are allowed, too!) to be one of the three winners selected by judging on January 25th. Winners can earn guest star spots in the Noobicorn Inc. comic and get to co-author comics, depending on their place. It's been quite a while since BZPower has last had a comics contest, so to see members hosting them is definitely welcome. Check it out! View the full article

Yes, the LEGO Movie is coming out soon and the front page is absolutely swamped with updates and set reviews, but let's all take a moment to appreciate the <a href='http://www.philstar.com/news-feature/2014/01/07/1276005/lego-type-houses-eyed-soldiers' target='offsite'>construction techniques</a> being used to provide army troops with affordable and practical housing in the Phillippines: using prefabricated materials assembled in small "blocks" made from styrofoam, fiberglass, steel bars and cement, a house can be built with minimal supervision and effort in under 30 days and costs anywhere from P5,000 to P200,000 less than standard low-cost housing in the area. The technique is already being used to provide housing for the poor in urban areas in Malaysia. View the full article

It seems you can't get enough The LEGO Movie news these days. The Minifigures website has been updated with the LEGO Movie series. Of greatest interest should be the <a href='http://minifigures.lego.com/en-us/bios/71004%20LEGO%20Minifigures.aspx'>character bios</a>, which give you quite some insight of the story without spoiling anything that isn't basic. For example, did you know that Abraham Lincoln would probably be President of Bricksburg if President Business' Octan Corporation didn't produce all the voting machines? (I'm sensing some brilliant satire there). I guess I shouldn't have read all the bios, because all it has done is make the wait more unbearable! Still, I regret nothing and you certainly won't either, so why are you still reading this? View the full article

The LEGO Movie set reviews continue to pour in! This time, Forum Assistant Nuju Metru takes a look at <a href='http://amzn.to/1dnh1I7' target='offsite'>70804 Ice Cream Machine</a>, the final 2-in-1 set in the first wave. Read and watch on to see if you should listen for the ice cream van and rush out to pick it up! View the full article

Speeding onto the scene, sirens blaring, along with his police alligators, the Bad Cop is in pursuit of our hero Emmet! Another set review from <i>The LEGO Movie</i>, the Bad Cop's Pursuit features some key players from the second trailer. Will the Bad Cop feed Emmet to the gators, or will the soft Good Cop take over and let him go free? You decide! Read, and watch, on for the review. View the full article

It's 2014, and among many other things, this means: LEGO website updates! This year the first to launch is the <a href='http://chima.lego.com/'>Legends of Chima</a> website, which goes green. This doesn't mean it's implementing some sort of new power saving technology, but it's sporting a new design with lots of green to fit the new story line. New story information, new bios, new products and more should be plenty to delight a Chima fan's heart. Check it out! View the full article

Ever heard of <a href='http://tongal.com/how'>Tongal</a>? Know what Sweding a video is? Then the <a href='http://tongal.com/project/LEGOTrailer'>DIY The LEGO Movie Trailer Project</a> on Tongal may be of interest to you. LEGO wants you to swede their new trailer, which means that they want you to remake the video with what you have available. As Tongal puts it, "what you lack in resources, you make up for in imagination". It could be a Blender animation, a real stop-motion video, a cosplay, anything you can imagine. There are awards with a total value of $20,000! Unfortunately, there are only three days left, but if you are looking for something to do this weekend this may be worth your time. View the full article

Ahoy, LEGO fans! It be time for another set review from the high seas! The LEGO Group has provided some LEGO Movie sets, and today scallywag reporter ChocolateFrogs reviews MetalBeard's Duel. This sea-faring captain is now a landlubber in a robot body fighting for justice against Lord Business (I can only assume), and he looks menacing doing it. Is this set all it seems to be, or is it another blank fired from a loose canon? Read, and watch, on to find out. View the full article

The Polish LEGO channel on YouTube has uploaded new videos for the upcoming Hero Factory: Invasion from Below episode! There is a video for every set and there is quite a lot to discover for Hero Factory fans. To me, the most exciting is seeing how Ghost DK pulled off animating the Heroes (they look almost human now, which is mostly due to the pupils). If you can't wait for the full episode, I suggest you check out the videos by clicking the 'more' button! View the full article