This past month, LEGO fans around the world have leaned in to their hobby to cope, and at times help process troubling news around the world. This includes a huge fundraising effort in support of Ukraine which you will learn more about below.

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga will be released April 5!

Exciting new sets for AFOLs

Only a few new sets debuted on April 1, with several interesting movie-based dioramas that you can preorder for release later this month. I’m honestly more excited about the (long delayed) release of the LEGO Star Wars – Skywalker Saga videogame!

• LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
  This hotly anticipated game covers all 9 core films in the classic Star Wars saga. I hope the 2+ year delay makes this the biggest and most fun LEGO game yet!
  Regular edition: $60, preorder now at Amazon.com
  Deluxe edition: $70, April 5 at LEGO.com
• #10300 Back to the Future Time Machine (Delorean)
  While the classic Delorean has already been produced in a previous LEGO Ideas set, the remake is much more intricately detailed for a new generation of detail-oriented AFOLs.
  1868 pieces, $170, available now at LEGO.com

  Reviews: New Elementary offers the best look at the new parts, and Brothers Brick offers the best coverage of how the model adapts to match the look of the three films.

• #75330 Dagobah Jedi Training Diorama
  I love the wing sticking out of the swamp in this cute diorama. (in fairness, I enjoy a good swamp.)
  1000 pieces, $80, Preorder now for April 26 release at LEGO.com
• #75339 Death Star Trash Compactor Diorama
  The classic scene from the best Star Wars film is captured in this (interactive) diorama.
  802 pieces, $90, Preorder now for April 26 release at LEGO.com
• #75329 Death Star Trench Run Diorama
  The lowest price, and smallest part count diorama offered this month offers a master class in greebling.
  665 pieces, $60, Preorder now for April 26 release at LEGO.com
• #76956 T. rex Breakout Dorama
  Shifting gears, here’s an opportnity to add a nice looking brick-built dinosaur and several classic Jurassic Park minfigures to your collection.
  1212 pieces, $100, Preorder now for April 17 release at LEGO.com

#75330 Dagobah Jedi Training Diorama is my pick for best release this month.

Best articles from around the web

Here are some highlights this month from around the web – Happy reading!

• The Colorful World of LEGO
  While Rebrickable is probably best known for it’s gallery building instructions for fan-made models, they also maintain a top notch database of LEGO Set inventories. That database needs to keep track of the color for each part, and the LEGO Color palette through the decades is notoriously complex. This article breaks down some recent changes to inprove how colors are tracked in their databases, and why.
  —Rebrickable
• LEGO Volodymyr Zelenskyy Raises $16,000 For Ukraine Direct Relief Fund
  Boutique custom minifigure company offers the likeness of the Ukranian president for a high price, but it all goes to charity!
  —Brickfinder
• How LEGO Designed Its Back to the Future DeLorean: A Rare Peek at Process
  The LEGO Group gave Bloomberg a rare behind-the-scenes look at the design process behind a polular new set. Photos of the design process are the highlight of this article.
  —Bloomberg
• Bricks & Pieces joins Pick a Brick: New elements are unavailable
  About a month ago, The LEGO Group announced that they would be retiring the Bricks and Pieces service. It allowed fans to order “replacement parts” for a decent price. After merging some of those parts into the more widely advertised online Pick A Brick experience, we’ve learned that almost all of the new 2022 parts did not survive the transition.
  I’m frustrated too… I’ve been using Bricks and Pieces to explore newly released parts for more than a year — it helps me decide which parts to add to the LEGO Brick Labels collection.
  —New Elementary
• Sets vs Parts: What Kind of AFOL Are You?
  This short article builds on a topic explored in my LEGO Storage Guide – what kind of LEGO Collection do you have? My storage recommendations are aimed at folks who are organizing loose parts, but Lorren is right to point out that there are a lot of LEGO fans who focus on collecting just official LEGO sets. (My collection is probably 40% sets, 60% parts.)
  —BrickNerd
• Recent 2022 LEGO leaks and rumors actually an elaborate hoax
  Jay walks us through an elaborate hoax by a LEGO fan, which convinced several bloggers of fake upcoming LEGO sets and minifigures.
  —Jay’s Brick Blog
• Classic themes: Defining Classic Space
  Richard shares his encyclopedic knowledge and enthusiasim for Classic Space in this short reptrospective. As a child of the 80’s, it took me back to some favorite sets from my own childhood.
  —The Rambling Brick
• Musings on Modulars: Building LEGO Modulars for the First Time
  It’s inevitable—the longer you participate in a community, the more jaded you become. That’s why I love reading about the experiences of builders who are earlier in their AFOL journey, including my friend Justin Speers who shares his story about digging deeper into the LEGO hobby through the Modular Building Series.
  —BrickNerd

We include as much detail as possible and always target the utmost accuracy, hopefully giving people a Creator Expert or 18+ experience, at a much lower price point than those themes.

Chris Stamp

• Interview with Chris Stamp, Speed Champions Design Manager – Part 1 & Part 2
  I’m always eager to learn more about the process of designing new official sets at The LEGO Group. These articles explore how the Speed Champions line has evolved (to a larger scale) and the ways in which they prioritze details over simplicity despite the small size.
  —Brickset
• ‘Don’t get rid of your old Lego!’: Ryan ‘The Brickman’ McNaught’s unlikely rise to fame
  In my book, Ryan is the best judge across the English language editions of LEGO Masters TV show. He is funny, comfortable, and most importantly simultaneously kind and critical of the builders when they could do better. He is a genuinely good dude, who you can learn more about in this short article in mainstream news..
  —The Guardian
• The LEGO Las Vegas Strip: Sin City in Microscale
  We rarely get to see the creative process behind large LEGO models displayed at conventions. Thankfully, this article offers one of those rare behind the scenes looks at how a large scale model of the Las Vegas Strip was prototyped and ultimately built using LEGO.
  —BrickNerd
• LEGO 42141 McLaren Formula 1 race car is relaunched: Are licensing problems the reason? (German)
  While not as serious as the cancelled Osprey Ball Boeing, it looks like this set will be re-released with updated stickers. Best guess is that the sponsors changed recently or didn’t agree to be included in a LEGO set. Either way, we have another very rare set on our hands.
  —Promobricks
• Sariel’s Tools for AFOLs: version 2.0
  This isn’t an article, but a collection of simple online tools to help you build better models. The Gear and Pulley ratio calculators are great for Technic builders, and the Model Scaler or Angle calculator are useful for all builders (including architecture builders like me).
  —sariel.pl

Best podcast episodes:

Here are a couple stories to keep your ears curious…

• Natalie de Blois: To Tell the Truth (48:08)
  This new podcast aims to elevate the stories of female architects — the second episode offers a honest, if not troubling look into the ways that exceptionally talented women were overlooked in the 1960s and 70’s. Many professionals will relate to the challenges in balancing personal and professional responsibilities, too.
  —New Angle: Voice
• Broken Heart Park (41:06)
  How was Dr. Venable, an exceptionally talented black opthamologist driven from the home he built? Using the same eminent domain laws which stripped many communities of color of their homes to build infrastructure such as highways, and in this case, a park that the town didn’t really need…
  —99% Invisible