I just learned about The Brick Train Awards. There are various categories and winners are chosen for each region, and those winners then move forward to the global competition.

We definitely have some skilled MILUG train builders ( @sema4 @MikeS @Ptrotter ) as well as other skilled builders who may want to try making a train so I thought I would share this. The 2020 awards were just announced so there is definitely time if anyone wants to create or refine an existing train they have for the 2021 awards (looks like the submission window is in June).

The BrickLink Designer Program: 2021 Invitational has been launched!

A selection of LEGO Ideas members and their 10K Club submissions were invited to participate in the pilot program. You can see the 31 projects by the 27 members participating in the program on LEGO Ideas here.

Just added MosaiCon photos!

Our website has been updated with a few new blogs and a couple of photo albums have been added to our Facebook page with some of events from earlier this year.

It was announced today that the LEGO Ideas site and LEGO Rebrick site will be merging and Rebrick will be shut down in September to create more of a one stop shop that will serve as "the crowdsourcing and co-creation hub for teen and adult LEGO fans".
There will be some improvements to the functionality of the site as well as a few small changes to the Ideas program and the structure of contests.

Our monthly AFOL (Adult Fans of LEGO) meet-up is the first Wednesday of every month.
We will be meeting Wednesday October 7, 2020 7:00pm - 9:00pm. Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic we will NOT be meeting in person. Instead we will be meeting online.

Come and join us, have a drink (beer, wine, spirits, pop, coffee, tea or whatever is in your kitchen), and chat about LEGO!

This is an open event for anyone 19yrs+ interested in LEGO. Any AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO) is welcome whether you collect sets, build sets or build your own creations. Come share your love of LEGO with us. We love to meet new folks!

For members participating in our MONTHLY BUILD CHALLENGE, please have your build challenge MOC ready to show off (see the post ‘MILUG Build Challenge September: Halloween!‘ in the Events & Activities forum). If you are new to MILUG or want to see what we’re all about then you can sit back and enjoy looking at everyone’s MOCs!

Membership is not required to attend your first meet-up so come out, meet our members (we’re really friendly), have a drink (not required) and find out what LUGs (LEGO User Groups) are all about!

Where: Online meeting via Google Meet. Please contact us in advance by replying to this post, or you can contact us at MidIslandLUG@gmail.com or message us on Facebook (@midislandlug) for the link to join the meeting.

Our monthly AFOL (Adult Fans of LEGO) meet-up is the first Wednesday of every month. We will be meeting Wednesday March 3, 2021 from 7:00pm to 9:00pm. Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic we will be meeting online.

Come and join us, have a drink (beer, wine, spirits, pop, coffee, tea or whatever is in your kitchen), and chat about LEGO!

This is an open event for anyone 19yrs+ interested in LEGO. Any AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO) is welcome whether you collect sets, build sets or build your own creations. Come share your love of LEGO with us. We love to meet new folks!

Membership is not required to attend your first meet-up so come out, meet our members (we’re really friendly), have a drink (not required) and find out what LUGs (LEGO User Groups) are all about!

Where: Online meeting via Google Meet. Please contact us in advance at MidIslandLUG@gmail.com or message us on Facebook (@midislandlug) for the link to join the meeting.

TLG has changed the process for submitting potential MOCs to The LEGO House in Billund. Anyone can now submit a MOC for consideration via the LEGO Ideas platform. Entries must be submitted before April 28, 2021.
For more information please see the LEGO Ideas challenge here.

Masters of Brickjitzu was just onboarded as a new recognized community on the LAN and their Ambassador shared this awesome documentary: Ninjago - 10 Years of Spinjitzu.
It provides some neat background info about how the theme Ninjago was first started, how it was developed into a TV show including interviews with the actors, directors, and the composers. The composers even show all the cool instruments associated with each character. It's a bit long but super interesting and definitely worth watching (maybe split it into 2 sessions). Enjoy!

There is a pretty cool prize for this LEGO Ideas contest:

"We invite you to show us your LEGO moment in space! Use your imagination to create the ultimate space model – make it as sci-fi or realistic as you wish, just stay within a base of 16 x 16 studs. One lucky winner has the chance to have their entry transformed into a new Gift with Purchase set, and will win a collection of past exclusive Gift with Purchase sets!"

A reminder to have your birthday build ready for tonight! If you can't make it please post a photo here or email it to midislandlug@gmail.com

After the meetup please send a photo of your birthday build to midislandlug@gmail.com as I will be using them for a blog post on MILUG's website AND a blog post on the LAN to share our 5 year milestone.

Check out the new LEGO Stories podcast featuring interviews with LEGO employees and AFOLs!

Our monthly AFOL (Adult Fans of LEGO) meet-up is the first Wednesday of every month. We will be meeting Wednesday May 5, 2021 from 7:00pm to 9:00pm. We will be meeting online via Google Meet.

This meetup also marks MILUG’S 5th Birthday!

Members and visitors are encouraged to build a birthday cake/cupcake MOC (my own creation), set, or MOD (modification) of a set and have it with you for a birthday photo op at our May meetup. If you are strapped for time you could also build a giant “5” (go sleek or add decoration, it’s up to you!). Below are a couple of birthday cake sets to help you out (you can find their instructions on https://lego.brickinstructions.com).

• Birthday Cake (40048)
• Birthday Table Decoration (40153)
• Birthday Set (40382)
• Birthday Buddy (40226)

Come and join us, have a drink (beer, wine, spirits, pop, coffee, tea or whatever is in your kitchen), and chat about LEGO! We will also be doing some fun activities and you are welcome to sit back and watch or jump in and participate!

This is an open event for anyone 19yrs+ interested in LEGO. Any AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO) is welcome whether you collect sets, build sets or build your own creations, and whether you love City, Technic, Friends, Duplo, Star Wars, Ninjago, or any other theme, or just building with loose bricks! Come share your love of LEGO with us. We love to meet new folks!

Membership is not required to attend your first meet-up so come out, meet our members (we’re really friendly), have a drink (not required) and find out what LUGs (LEGO User Groups) are all about!

Where: Online meeting via Google Meet. Please contact us in advance at MidIslandLUG@gmail.com or message us on Facebook (@midislandlug) for the link to join the meeting.

Last year The LEGO Group (TLG) held a series of virtual tours of the history collection. They were very popular so TLG is bringing them back but they have been revised to be even better.

From TLG:
~
The virtual tour will again be hosted by LEGO Corporate Historian Kristian Reimer who will take you on a detailed journey of the history of the LEGO Group and who will showcase highlights from the archive in the basement of LEGO House that have not been touched upon in last year’s live tours and of course we also include a live Q&A to answer your relevant questions.

The tours will be distributed through a period from May to November and cover everything from the early beginnings in 1932 up till 2020.

To provide an in-depth live tour we offer 5 individual tours based on 5 important chapters of the LEGO Group’s history.

We are offering two sessions per day, with the same content, to facilitate different time zones.

Please be aware that we operate in Billund time (CEST). We kindly ask you to convert the timing to your time zone.

The price for each 60 minutes long virtual tour is 50 DKK (approx. $10 CAD).

You can participate in any of the live tours by buying a ticket via the link at the end of this page.

Please note that participation does not require any special software  – we will send you a link for the session, which you need to click on - and you just join via a web browser.

Dates and topics

Tour 1: May 6, 2021. Duration: 60 min. Price: 50 DKK

The beginning of the LEGO Group, 1932 – 1946

Wonder how it all started?

Please join us for a guided tour in the LEGO House History Collection covering the beginning of the LEGO Group. The tour will touch upon the background of LEGO founder Ole Kirk Kristiansen and how he started the company as well as cover the ups and downs he had to endure in the company´s first years of existence.

Tour 2: June 22, 2021. Duration: 60 min. Price: 50 DKK

The LEGO Group - Consolidating plastic, 1947 – 1961

Want to know more about the big gamechanger for the LEGO Group?

Through this guided tour in the LEGO House History Collection, you’ll learn about a crucial period in the history of the LEGO Group. The gamechanger happened in 1958 when the LEGO brick was introduced, but many other activities in the late 1940s and up through the 1950s contributed to creating the foundation of the company we know today, and we are here to tell you all about it.

Tour 3: August 30, 2021. Duration: 60 min. Price: 50 DKK

The LEGO Group - Expanding the LEGO System in Play, 1962 – 1978

Wonder how LEGO System in Play secured great expansion?

Go on a virtual guided tour in the LEGO House History Collection and learn more about how the LEGO System in Play was expanded up through the 1960s and 1970s. We will cover the introduction of movement and role play, talk about the background for creating the first LEGOLAND Park and much more. We will even touch upon who the first CEO/Managing Director to come from outside the owner family was.

Tour 4: October 11, 2021. Duration: 60 min. Price: 50 DKK

The LEGO Group - Introducing new ideas, 1979 – 2001

Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen and his many great ideas.

Third generation owner Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, and the new ideas he introduces, play a huge role in this virtual tour in the LEGO House History Collection covering the first 22 years of Kjeld at the helm. We will look into the introduction of storytelling, how the appearance of the minifigure was changed, the introduction of our first brick built IP products and more.

Tour 5: November 8, 2021. Duration: 60 min. Price: 50 DKK

The LEGO Group - Crisis and turnaround, 2002 – 2020

How do you make a turnaround in a giant crisis?

In this virtual tour in the LEGO House History Collection the theme is very much ups and downs, as we will look into the crisis and turnaround and some of the contributing factors.

We will also touch briefly on more contemporary topics such as collaborating with the AFOL community or setting up our sustainable materials center.

We are looking very much forward to seeing you online. Please buy your ticket to any of the tours here :

LEGO House - Live tours of History Collection

Masters of Brickjitzu was just onboarded as a new recognized community on the LAN and their Ambassador shared this awesome documentary: Ninjago - 10 Years of Spinjitzu.
It provides some neat background info about how the theme Ninjago was first started, how it was developed into a TV show including interviews with the actors, directors, and the composers. The composers even show all the cool instruments associated with each character. It's a bit long but super interesting and definitely worth watching (maybe split it into 2 sessions). Enjoy!

TLG has changed the process for submitting potential MOCs to The LEGO House in Billund. Anyone can now submit a MOC for consideration via the LEGO Ideas platform. Entries must be submitted before April 28, 2021.
For more information please see the LEGO Ideas challenge here.

@vdog Ya I had no idea about loot boxes (I'm not a gamer) until I read the article from the LAN. Very interesting that at least one country has made them illegal. It will be interesting to see if TLG makes a statement about this or factors it into their decision when designing the packaging for future cmf series'.

Some very interesting discussions are happening on the LAN about blind bags/boxes and introducing children to gambling. One of the members shared this article about the parallels between blind bags/boxes and gambling, so I thought I would share it here as well.

The BrickLink Designer Program: 2021 Invitational has been launched!

A selection of LEGO Ideas members and their 10K Club submissions were invited to participate in the pilot program. You can see the 31 projects by the 27 members participating in the program on LEGO Ideas here.

@sema4 I think Vidiyo will real appeal to a lot of kids. TLG is definitely looking at innovative ways of combinig LEGO and technology. I imagine it will be a short run similar to Hidden Side.
I agree with @Ian that some of the figures are pretty cool. And there are soooo many printed tiles!
Sadly I do expect the CMFs to eventually be in boxes to meet TLG's sustainable packaging goal over the next few years. Perhaps this is a way for them to test the reaction of the market as I know they have been looking at various options.