While my summer break from serious LEGO projects continues, there’s been a lot of LEGO news this month… Let’s take a closer look!

#21054 The White House is finally available in North America.

Good news! A bunch of sets that were planned for an August 1 release in North America are finally here! Of particular interest to adult fans, this includes #21054 The White House, Harry Potter sets like #75969 Hogwarts Astronomy Tower, and new sets in the City, Creator, Ninjago, and Friends themes. (See what’s new at LEGO or Amazon.)

The Secret Life of LEGO Bricks, by Daniel Konstanski.

A book by fans, for fans about the history of iconic LEGO elements. I’m excited to read this book by LEGO Fan and Author Daniel Konstanski. You can preorder this premium hardbound book starting at $75 at unbound.com. (It’s a crowdfunding project with a planned release in 2022.)

A serious look at User Experience design for LEGO minifigures. (Photo: designedbycave.co.uk)

If you love Brick Architect, you will probably love this… The UX of LEGO Interface Panels is an intensely nerdy analysis of User Experience designs through the eyes of a LEGO Minifigure. (This was a real treat for me, since I’m a UX Engineer at Microsoft when I’m not building LEGO.)

#71374 Nintendo Entertainment System (Photo: The LEGO Group)

Strong demand for Adult-oriented sets continues… Both #71374 – Nintendo Entertainment System (2646 pieces, $229.99 / 229.99€ / £209.99) and #21323 – LEGO Ideas Grand Piano (3662 pieces, $349.99 / 349.99€ / £319.99) sold out within days of their release, and aren’t even available on backorder. LEGO definitely underestimated demand for these massive new sets!

In a confusing move by The LEGO Group, they announced LEGO World Builder. It’s kind of like LEGO Ideas, but for a whole new LEGO product theme. Multiple people can contribute to each world, adding a backstory, example sets, minifigures and more.

While they don’t make it obvious on the website, contributors will be compensated if their ideas are adapted into LEGO products. (The compensation rates seem low, with a maximum of $30,000 for someone invents a whole new LEGO Theme from scratch, down to $500 split between all contributors if LEGO produces a single element from your project.)

A few more links to check out:

• A metitative 3-minute video showing How are LEGO Minifigures Made? (@LEGO on YouTube.)
• Brick Fanatics shared a short interview with the set designers for the upcoming Mandalorian Razor’s Crest.
• Here’s a practical article about building within the LEGO Color Palette that you might enjoy. (The Brick Blogger)
• A concerned mom asks LEGO why her son’s duplo figures are all white. (gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
  After doing some of my own research, I was pleased to see that the most recent Duplo sets include a wider range of skintones.

While it’s been a quiet month here at Brick Architect, there’s been a ton of interesting LEGO News that I’m excited to share with you. We’ll be back with new reviews and articles soon!

IKEA + LEGO = BYGGLEK (Photo: stonewars.de)

Last year, The LEGO Group and IKEA announced a partnership to “explore and develop solutions to stimulate play all around the home.” The result is BYGGLEK, a series of three different LEGO-compatible storage products which you will be able to purchase at IKEA stores. They are not available yet, but stonewars.net was able to purchase and review them early. (While I hope to offer a detailed review in the future, I’m not impressed with what I’ve seen so far.)

BrickCon 2020 goes virtual.

Following on the heels of major LEGO conventions around the world, The BrickCon convention in October is going virtual. Unlike many of the other conventions that have gone virtual (such as Bricks by the Bay and Brickworld Virtual), BrickCon 2020 is trying to re-create as much of the convention experience as possible for AFOL’s, with a full range of “awards, classes, workshops, prizes, vendors and more.”

The BrickCon Private Convention for AFOL’s starts at $25 (Tickets available August 1), or you can attend the Public Expo for a lower price (Tickets available September 1). P.S. No promises, but I will probably give a talk at the Private Convention.

I’m also excited to highlight two sets coming soon that will be of particular interest to Adult Fans of LEGO:

#71374 Nintendo Entertainment System (Photo: The LEGO Group)

#71374 – Nintendo Entertainment System will contain 2646 pieces for $229.99 (229.99€ / £209.99). Learn more on YouTube.

#21323 LEGO Ideas Grand Piano (Photo: The LEGO Group)

#21323 – LEGO Ideas Grand Piano will contain 3662 pieces for $349.99 (349.99€ / £319.99). Learn more at LEGO.com.

Both of these sets will be released on August 1. (You may be able to pre-order them at LEGO.com soon.)

The last big news is that LEGO has cancelled yet another new LEGO Set before widespread release. #42113 Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey Helicopter was based on a Tiltrotor Vertical Takeoff aircraft designed in partnership between Bell Helicopters and Boeing.

#42113 Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey Helicopter (Photo: The LEGO Group)

The set depicts the Helicopter in a domestic Search and Rescue context, despite the fact that it has only been deployed in military contexts so far. Protests by the German Peace Society contributed to the decision to cancel the product release, which was scheduled for August 1. (As with #21038 Las Vegas Skyline, it looks like a few copies of the set were sold before this decision was made.)