Hapori Tohu

BZPower member and artist <a href="http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showuser=12341">GarryTheSkrall</a> has once again posted some of his fantastic art, this time of everyone's favourite Dark Huntress Lariska. Employing a style that he already used in his picture of <a href="http://www.bzpower.com/story.php?ID=6200">Helryx</a> (a style I'm personally very fond of), this new piece of artwork is a treat to look at and would make a fabulous addition to the BIONICLE canon. Do you agree? <a href="http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showtopic=11208">Have a look and let Garry know what you think!</a>View the full article

Time for another set review, once again in video form. Today I take a look at <a href='http://amzn.to/1hZis4M' target='offsite'>70113 CHI Battles</a>, one of the Legends of Chima starter sets. Will you want to zip right to the stores to pick one up, or will it leave you spinning your wheels? <a href='http://youtu.be/Ld1xXlrn1NM' target='offsite'>Click here</a> to watch it on YouTube, or read on to watch it and read my thoughts!View the full article

It appears that the LEGO LotR game is the latest of the series to be released for Apple products, optimized (but not exclusively) for iPhone 5 and requiring iOS 6.0 or later. Released four days ago, the title already has glowing reviews that will entice even the most stoic gamers. Bird Man 23's five star review, titled The ring, states "My precious", either an obscure cultural reference or indicating deep emotional attachment. Adam Lukasiewicz' similar review, Hey hey hey, praises the game with similar sentiments, stating "What up?". If this sounds like your idea of a good time, feel free to drop $4.99 in the iTunes store!View the full article

2014 is coming fast, and with that means the first US convention of the year - BrickFair Alabama - is right around the corner. BZPower will be there, and if you can't make it, we'd love for you to send your MOCs. Head on over to <a href='http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showtopic=11211'>this topic</a> for all the info you need on getting your creations on display in front of thousands of people. Oh, and did we mention you'll get free stuff if you mail us your MOCs? You do - check the topic to see.View the full article

Yet another Cuusoo project has gained 10,000 supporters. The long running Japanese old style architecture project recently reached the mark. It will now be in the Fall 2013 Review, where the LEGO Review Board will decide if they want to make it a Lego set or not. It's exciting to see an older project gain enough supports, and it makes me wonder which project will be the next to get to 10,000. View the full article

Today we take a look at a theme we haven't reviewed before: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I recently picked up 79100 Kraang Lab Escape and decided to share my thoughts - in a video! You can read on to watch it and see my summary or go right here to see it on YouTube. Is it a totally tubular turtle time? Watch and see!View the full article

LEGO and Marvel are teaming up for maximum overload! That's the title for a new series of mini-movies released exclusively on Disney.com and on the Disney YouTube channel, featuring the awesomely evil Loki trying to pester our favourite Super Heroes by giving all kinds of villains a little (or not so little) dose of overloading snowballs. The first five episodes out of ten can already be watched and we certainly had some good laughs, so why not <a href=" down on your throne and watch?</a>View the full article

It's November and that means time for some raffles! Okay, so maybe there's no precedence but I have a box full of polybags that want some new homes. Head over to our Raffles Section to enter between now and November 16th. Up for grabs are Jala, Matoro, Vakama, and Nuju polybags, and they're not the normal ones you might be familiar with. Any BZP member can enter, so if you're not a member, why not join today?View the full article

Last night saw the kickoff of <a href='http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showtopic=11163' target='offsite'>BBC Contest #66: Brains!</a>, the first building contest supported by BioniLUG as well as BZP. The theme, as you might suspect, is to build something brain related, like a zombie, a mind control gun, or maybe even Krang. We've got lots of prizes too, including a brain polybag for the first ten BioniLUG members who enter and all the finalists. You've got until November 21st, so get building! (Also, kudos to anyone who gets the reference in the title.)View the full article

The third time is a charm, right? After the recent announcement that two LEGO Cuusoo projects for a Legends of Zelda set have been turned down, another Zelda project gathers 10,000 supporters. Only time will tell if the Iron Knuckle Encounter can gain LEGO's approval.View the full article

The LEGO Movie website has been updated today, featuring the new trailer and even some fan-made videos. Most important of all, though, a couple of new pictures of sets for the movie have been published, and more are still to come! Four sets (of which only two were known so far) plus the minifigure series are getting finalized CGI pictures, and nine others have only been partially revealed but are going to be revealed in the next weeks, by the looks of it. Even so, the teasers for the unrevealed sets let you get a nice idea of what's inside. I can already spot some exciting new pieces and am even more excited for the sets and the movie now than I was before! (If that was even possible)View the full article

It's no secret that the collaboration between Mojang and LEGO has been incredibly successful - enough to turn a one-time Cuusoo project into an entire line of microscale sets. Now, however, the line is expanding into larger territory with the <a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgNJ6tPi1tk' target='offsite'>LEGO Minecraft Cobuild</a> project. Sets are going to be produced in a much more playable minifig-scale, and they're looking for ideas to improve their designs through feedback on their <a href='https://www.facebook.com/LEGOMinecraft' target='offsite'>Facebook page</a>! If you'd like to influence these designs, now's your chance!View the full article

November has already started (how did that happen?), so LEGO has decided to start publishing some online teasers for their 2014 themes. First of all comes the Ninjago website, which features a small game with great rewards. You need to wait a few seconds (and you need to have Flash Player enabled) and a bunch of nindroids will start pestering you. The more you whack, the more rewards you get, including "blueprints", fantastic concept art and two video teasers for a new game, presumably coming later this year or early 2014. This treat is a must-see for all Ninjago fans!View the full article

Fredericksburg.com <a href='http://news.fredericksburg.com/newsdesk/2013/10/22/legoland-considers-building-theme-park-in-stafford-county/' target='off site'>reports</a> that Stafford county is being considered as a site for a future LEGOLand amusement park. While nothing is official yet, the county is putting together an incentive package to sway Merlin in their direction. Is it too early to start planning a post-BrickFair field trip?View the full article

The guys over at From Bricks to Bothans recently <a href='http://www.fbtb.net/2013/11/01/the-lego-movie-cmf-series-12-cloud-cuckoo-palace-set-revealed/' target='offsite'>uncovered some images</a> of the next Collectible Minifig wave. It's going to be based on the upcoming LEGO movie, featuring major and minor characters. While I'm disappointed at the lack of Morgan Freeman, there's a lot of awesome stuff there. Additionally, there's an image of one of the sets that will accompany the movie, featuring Alison Brie's Uni-Kitty character. This movie keeps getting better and better!View the full article

Today Warner Brothers has released a new trailer for the upcoming LEGO Movie! You can check out the nearly two-and-a-half minute teaser in all its glory on YouTube, but be prepared for lots of laughter. I really think this is coming together well and am looking forward to the final release next February 7th! View the full article

The forums are now back online. We apologize again for the downtime and data loss. Some things to note:<ul><li>Topics will not appear in most forums because it's been more than sixty days since their last post.<li>Feel free to post in older topics and repost topics from the past two months.<li>If you bought or renewed a Premier Membership or BioniLUG membership, please PM me.<li>If anything seems wrong or out of place, please PM me or post in this Talkback topic.</ul>View the full article

It has taken us longer than we would have liked, but we're almost ready to bring the forums back online - you should be able to access them this evening. Unfortunately, due to a security vulnerability, a malicious individual gained access to and deleted BZPower's database. We have had to restore everything from our last backup, which is from August 23rd. That means everything, all topics, posts, blog entries, news stories, and members since that date are gone. If there's something in particular that you need, I suggest seeing if you can retrieve it from Google's cache. Also, if you bought a Premier Membership or joined BioniLUG during the past two months, please PM me so we can make sure it is reflected. The Administration apologizes for this inconvenience and will continue to work to avoid such things in the future.View the full article

With the release of LEGO Marvel Superheroes approaching, LEGO has added a demo of their game to their site. The download only works on Windows Vista, XP, 7 and 8, so I'm unable to try it out myself. The screenshot provided depicts a battle with (I believe) the Sandman, who you must defeat with a giant water-hose-turret-thing alongside the Incredible Hulk. The download is only 600 MB, so head on over to <a href='http://videogames.lego.com/en-us/lego-marvel-super-heroes/demo-download' target='offsite'>the LEGO Marvel Superheroes website</a> and give it a try.View the full article

Due to a security vulnerability, we have taken the forums offline. The Administration is working on resolving the issue and will bring the forums back as soon as we can.View the full article

Where are you going to be on Sunday, August 25th at 4:30PM? If the answer is in front of your TV watching Nicktoons, that's great! You'll be in the prime position to see the Hero Factory Brain Attack episode, which will finally be airing in the US. Thanks to Lenny7092 for the tip!View the full article

LEGO is cashing in on Minecraft's popularity, not just with the game itself but with their first Cuusoo LEGO kit, and is releasing more sets. <a href='http://shop.lego.com/en-US/Micro-World-The-Nether-21106' target='offsite'>Micro World -- The Nether</a> is now available for preorder and is due out on September 1. Exploring the multiple environs of Minecraft, this set includes lava, Ghasts, and a Zombie Pigman to add to your resources and LEGO Minecraft experience.View the full article

The newest LEGO Cuusoo ideas have hit 10,000 votes within a day of each other just this past week: From the creators of Poptropica is their own personal project: <a href='http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/34185' target='offsite'>Dr. Hare's Lair</a>, and from (unfortunately not Bill Murray, but) Brent Waller comes <a href='http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/36088' target='offsite'>Ghostbusters: 30th Anniversary</a>. Both projects are inspiring in their own unique way, and I look forward to seeing one wins out. My money is on Ghostbusters, personally. That's right, who ya gonna call?View the full article

If you're part of the LEGO VIP program, then you're probably excited for two of the larger sets this year: <a href='http://shop.lego.com/en-US/VIP-Early-Access-10236?icmp=SHHomeMain1_10236' target='offsite'>10236 Ewok Village</a> and <a href='http://shop.lego.com/en-US/VIP-Early-Access-10234?icmp=SHHomeMain2_10234' target='offsite'>10234 Sydney Opera House</a>. For regular customers, these sets won't be available for purchase until September 1st. However, VIP members have the chance to buy these sets before everybody else from August 16th through August 31st. If you just can't wait to get your hands on these sets, then now's your chance!View the full article

Have you ever wanted to to go rent a few LEGO sets and return them later, just like Netflix? Me neither. But if you're weird and do, you should check out <a href='http://www.pleygo.com' target='offsite'>Pleygo</a> , a new rental service for everyone's favorite building sets. There's a few different plans for different sizes of sets to fit everyone's budget. Don't ask me how they deal with dirty or missing pieces, because I'd like to know that too. It's interesting to say the least.View the full article