Hapori Tohu

The forums are back, and that means the Hero Factory Recon Building Contest has kicked back off. Head over to the <a href="http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showforum=63">voting forum</a> to select your favorites. The preliminary voting ends at midnight Eastern on the 16th, so there's still plenty of time to vote. There's a bunch of prizes to be won, so help pick the winners! View the full article

The LEGO Community Team has put together a new survey for the community to partake in. You can check it out <a href="http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/AFOLOct2011" target="offsite">right here</a> and let LEGO know how you participate in the LEGO community. BZPower is even on there, so all the more reason to check it out and give LEGO some feedback! View the full article

Shortly after posting this, I'm going to be turning the new BZPower Forums back online. You'll be able to access them <a href="http://www.bzpower.com/board">right here</a>; the links on the rest of the homepage will not be updated right away. Before you go crazy posting all over the place, please read <a href="http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showtopic=237">this Q&A topic</a> that will hopefully answer a bunch of your questions. Finally, as our way of thanking you for your patience and understanding, we'll be giving all members Premier Perks for an as-yet-undecided period of time, but it will be at least a month. I hope you all like what you see! View the full article

BZP Member Avohkah Tamer was scanning the shores of Amazon.Com from the masthead when he saw a strange sight. The Lego Pirates of the Carribean Black Pearl, is now available on Amazon for three cents shy of a hundred dollars, the odd thing is that this is three weeks before Lego's official release date for the set. Perhaps the intrepid Jack Sparrow couldn't bear to be kept in dry dock any longer. View the full article

There has been a major update to the <a href='http://shop.lego.com/' target='offsite'>LEGO Shop website.</a> It has a new, modern design, making it easier than ever to find the latest sets available. Go ahead and check out new features. View the full article

Lego fans are no strangers to unusual applications of the bricks to solve engineering problems in everyday life. Engineers at CalTech used Lego to help attach a smartphone to a cell culture dish, enabling real-time imaging of growing cells that can be sent directly to scientists' laptops. <a href='http://gizmodo.com/5848762/lego-blocks-plus-smartphone-equals-super-smart-petri-dish' target='offsite'>Click to see how it all works</a>. View the full article

While The LEGO Group has published quite a few fine coffee-table books in the past few years and past couple decades, there have been some fan-produced books that are a level above the rest. Joe Meno, editor-in-chief of AFOL magazine BrickJournal, has co-authored with John Baichtal <i>The Cult of LEGO</i>, a book that will introduce you to "LEGO fans from all walks of life, like professional artist Nathan Sawaya, brick filmmaker David Pagano, the enigmatic Ego Leonard, and the many devoted AFOLs (adult fans of LEGO) who spend countless hours building their masterpieces," says <a href='http://www.amazon.com/Cult-LEGO-John-Baichtal/dp/1593273916' target='offsite'>its Amazon page</a>. The book is now on pre-order at $25 (37% off) and comes out next month. View the full article

It brings me great pleasure to announce that we've hit a major milestone in bringing the forums back online. The <a href="http://www.bzpower.com/forum/index.php">BZPower Forum Archive</a> is now online. Look familiar? That's because it's the old forum you all know and love. Blogs have been removed and disabled, as has the ability to post, make topics, edit, and other features. This is an archive and it is intended to be read-only. Currently, the links on the main page still point to the archive, but when or soon after the new forums go live those links will be changed. Thank you all for your patience and support! View the full article

Toys 'R' Us continues its Bricktober festivities this week. A purchase of $20 or more will nab you a Forest Man Bricktober magnet, but if you spend $50 or more you'll get a free <a href="http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11998789" target="offsite">Ninjago Battle Arena</a>! Additionally, TRU has been having a Columbus Day sale that started last Friday and continues until tomorrow. All LEGO board games are 25% off as well as the Star Wars <a href="http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11904614" target="offsite">Advent Calendar</a>, <a href="http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=10930404" target="offsite">Battle for Geonosis</a>, and <a href="http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3504374" target="offsite">Battle of Endor</a>. Not too shabby all told, so go check them out! View the full article

BrickCon just wrapped up in Seattle last weekend, just in time to remind me I hadn't posted my BrickFair pictures yet! As always the event was a lot of fun and I highly recommend it to and LEGO fan who can make it. Beyond that though, I'll let me over six hundred pictures do the talking. Sorry for the delay, but I hope you enjoy anyway! View the full article

Lego's whimsical take on popular franchises continues with Harry Potter: Years 5-7. The first trailer has been released, featuring some of the humorous cutscenes. Available cross-platform on November 15, the game features content from the final three books in the <em>Harry Potter</em> series. Read the press release <a href='http://www.digitalspy.com/gaming/news/a344447/lego-harry-potter-years-5-7-first-trailer-released.html' target='offsite'>here</a>. View the full article

Devotees of past Hero Factory Missions, <i>Von Nebula</i> and <i>Ordeal of Fire</i> will be excited to hear that the third HF game is out, <a href="http://herofactory.lego.com/en-us/games/savageplanet/Default.aspx"><i>Savage Planet</i></a>. The game consists of accepting missions and upgrading your character, whom you can make using the HF Recon Team system. At a cursory glance there doesn't seem to be much difference between this and the earlier two games, except that it is of course taking place on the Savage Planet, always an interesting locale. View the full article

LEGO KidsFest is taking place this weekend in Raleigh, North Carolina, and LEGO Universe is going to be there to show off the cool game. There will be a booth that will allow up to 24 kids to play the massively multiplayer online game on site. If you're in the area, you should check it out. You can read more about LEGO KidFest <a href='http://www.legokidsfest.com/' target='offsite'>here</a> and more about the LEGO Universe booth <a href='http://universe.lego.com/en-us/community/newsnetwork/story.aspx?id=354949' target='offsite'>here.</a> View the full article

Originally launched in Japan in 2008 as a small test project, LEGO CUUSOO has now entered public beta. While the pronunciation may be difficult, the idea behind it isn't - submit your idea, and if it gets ten thousand votes, LEGO might turn it into an actual product! This is a really interesting and unprecedented move for a toy company, and I hope it works out. For more details and the full press release, read on! View the full article

LEGO enjoys their exclusive sets, and they shared with us the Volkswagen T1 Camper Van <a href='http://bzpower.com/story.php?ID=5248' target='offsite'>back in August</a>. They may have just announced the <a href='http://bzpower.com/story.php?ID=5296' target='offsite'>Mini Modulars</a> and <a href='http://bzpower.com/story.php?ID=5302' target='offsite'>Kingsdoms Joust</a>, but the Camper Van is now available to actually build and play with. Check it out on <a href='http://shop.lego.com/en-US/Volkswagen-T1-Camper-Van-10220?c=Exclusives-ByTheme' target='offsite'>Shop at Home</a> or look for it at a store. This is just another set that LEGO has put a lot of detail in and will sit nicely on any shelf. View the full article

Lego is really going into new territory this time, with their latest iGambit, the <a href="http://george.lego.com/en-us/">Life of George</a>, a Lego game for the iPhone with a digital-to-physical playing experience. Lego released a press <a href="http://aboutus.lego.com/en-US/PressRoom/CorporateNews/article/354621.aspx"release</a> about the game, with a video and description that explain the game punctiliously. With the <a href="http://shop.lego.com/en-US/Life-of-George-21200?p=21200">Life of George set</a> bearing a price tag of $30 USD, it makes me wish I had an iPhone... View the full article

The tenth month of the year is here, and that means Bricktober is returning to Toys'R'Us. LEGO and TRU are teaming up for some great sales and giveaways, including four collectible minifig magnets. Read on for the full press release and ad. View the full article

...or is it board? In any event, the latest version of the BZPowercast is now available for download. If you haven't subscribed using one of the links on the right, you can get it <a href="http://www.bzpower.com/Imaging/powercast/BZPowercastSeries2Episode27.m4a">right here</a>. As always, here's the blurb:<blockquote>Thanks for downloading this month's BZPowercast. Since the forums are still offline, we start things off with another status update. Then I talk to Gatanui and Takuma Nuva about the Hero Factory Savage Planet movie. Next, Nuju Metru and Takuma Nuva come by to discuss LEGO Board Games. Finally, McSmeag share one of his latest musical pieces. Hope you enjoy the show!</blockquote> View the full article

BrickCon is going on this weekend in rainy Seattle, Washington. No one cares about the weather though, especially when there's a brand new LEGO set to check out. It pleases me to be able to announce 10223 Kingdoms Joust, the latest D2C set from LEGO and an excellent addition to the Kingdoms line. For the full press release and a bevy of beautiful photos, read on! View the full article

The 3.0 Heroes are still fighting the tainted animals on the Quaza planet, and today we'll look at the most fearsome beast on the prowl, Scorpio. With eight legs and a deadly tail, this monster is out to cause trouble for the Heroes, but is Scorpio worth adding to your own collection? Read the following review by xccj and find out. View the full article

We've been reporting on lots of new LEGO Store openings, but it would be nice to have them all listed on a single page. Well, LEGO has provided that list for us <a href='http://stores.lego.com/en-us/StoreEvents.aspx' target='offsite'>here</a>. Over the next five weekends, there will be LEGO Store Grand Openings in different cities ranging from California to Ontario. If one is in your area, make sure to stop by and join in on the festivities. View the full article

The not-yet-open Legoland Florida has partnered with Ford to construct a life-size replica of the Explorer from 380,000 Lego bricks. The model, currently on display in Chicago, is the culmination of 22 people working for at least 2,500 hours. Eventually, the model will make its way to Orlando, Florida, where it will decorate the Driving School attraction. <a href='http://www.examiner.com/us-headlines-in-national/legoland-florida-getting-ford-explorer-made-of-lego-bricks-now-chicago' target='offsite'>Read more about it here</a>. View the full article

The season of LEGO conventions is not over yet! As the Magic of Worlds and Fairs turns around and heads towards the Pacific, AFOLs prepare to gather in Seattle, WA, for BrickCon, where hundreds upon hundreds of adult fans of LEGO will show off their creations from a multitude of themes to thousands upon thousands of visitors. This weekend you can be part of the action too! If you are attending, be sure to drop by the Bionicle table and hang out, and if you are visiting on Saturday or Sunday during public hours, be sure to say "hi" to everyone and sign the BZPower Guestbook. Attendance info can be found on <a href='http://brickcon.org/' target='offsite'>BrickCon's website</a>. Everyone is all-smiles and ready to have a blast this weekend. View the full article

Sunday means it's time for a new Toys 'R' Us sale. From now through October 1st they've reduced their prices on select TRU exclusive sets by $10. Sets include the <a href="http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4057245" target="offsite">AT-AT Walker</a>, <a href="http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4057240" target="offsite">Toys 'R' Us Truck</a>, <a href="http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11449048" target="offsite">DUPLO World Grand Prix</a>, <a href="http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11481218" target="offsite">Tokyo International Circuit</a>, <a href="http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11798863" target="offsite">Lightning Dragon Battle</a>, and <a href="http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11798872" target="offsite">Hoth Echo Base</a>. Not a bad deal if any of those interest you. View the full article

Today we get to announce LEGO's newest Direct To Consumer set, 10230 Mini Modulars. If you like the 'Cafe Corner' line of sets, this is right up your alley, as long as you're a microfig. The set is comprised of miniature versions of Cafe Corner, Market Street, Green Grocer, Fire Brigade, and the Grand Emporium. There's a rub though - you have to be a VIP member to get it. To read the full release and see the first images of this set, read on! View the full article