ENLIGHTEN #624 - DELUXE PASSENGER CAR

Another one from the Elighten Train Series

PIECES:  292
                               VALUE:   ZAR 98.00 (ZAR 0.336 per brick)
ACCURACY OF PACKAGING:  9/10
               FUN/PLAYABILITY:  7/10
                             QUALITY:  8/10
                  INSTRUCTIONS:  7/10
             MINI CHARACTERS:  7/10
                           OVERALL:  7/10

AUSINI #27114 - MAGIC SCOPE

Found this by chance in a local pharmacy. Interesting build and on a fairly large scale with some unusual building techniques. There are some areas that lacked detail and could have been finished off better. Some of the building techniques used could be improved with a few additional pieces.

Is it our imagination; the castle tends to have a Eastern feel to it and yet all twenty of the minifigs have a European theme to them???

PIECES:  2149

                               VALUE:   ZAR 498.00 (ZAR 0.232 per brick)
ACCURACY OF PACKAGING:  8/10
               FUN/PLAYABILITY:  8/10
                             QUALITY:  7/10
                  INSTRUCTIONS:  7/10
             MINI CHARACTERS:  6/10
                           OVERALL:  7/10

The castle can be configured in two different ways adding to the overall playability.

LEGO® TOP GEAR

The opening sequence of Top Gear done completely in Lego® goes viral!

As huge fans of Top Gear, it was great to find the video and this got us wondering: is there a Top Gear  set in the future. Here's hoping..

LEGO HOUSE IN BILLUND

Construction of the Lego® House in Billund is underway, with the opening set for 2017. The venue will offer an active, fun, educational & inspiring experience based on everything that Lego® play has to offer.

Thanks to Brickset, where we found the link to this "hidden" website which we found rather fascinating.

https://wwwsecure.lego.com/en-us/legohouse

Home of Lego® Group head office, Billund is a small town in Denmark and is also know for its theme park, Legoland and having the second largest airport in Denmark

COGO #13007-6: MILITARY HELICOPTER

First time encounter with Cogo bricks. The box reflects 3in1, there are however only instructions for the Helicopter. You can supposedly combine all the models in the range which the way we understand ends in 8in1 models - Cogo website is limited and does not provide much info. Fair quality bricks that are compatible with leading brands, the minifigs could however be improved.

PIECES:  95

                               VALUE:   ZAR 29.00 (ZAR 0.305 per brick)
ACCURACY OF PACKAGING:  8/10
               FUN/PLAYABILITY:  7/10
                             QUALITY:  7/10
                  INSTRUCTIONS:  7/10
             MINI CHARACTERS:  5/10
                           OVERALL:  7/10

ENLIGHTEN #1213 (SERIES PIGBOAT) - TREASURE HUNT SUBMARINE

We were ecstatic to find this model at a market in Johannesburg recently, as we had seen it on the web and were eager to add it to the collection. Once again enlighten did not disappoint with their offering.

 PIECES:  122

                               VALUE:   ZAR 40.00 (ZAR 0.328 per brick)
ACCURACY OF PACKAGING:  9/10
               FUN/PLAYABILITY:  8/10
                             QUALITY:  8/10
                  INSTRUCTIONS:  7/10
             MINI CHARACTERS:  7/10
                           OVERALL:  8/10

LUBOVILLE UPDATE FEB 2015

Bits and pieces in progress at this stage, the most notable is the elevated road we managed to use most of the Banbao bricks from the Eiffel Tower. (Due to the slight size difference we were concerned there would be no further use for them.)

Offices for the local courier company 24 Express are underway includes a small banking alcove with two ATMs.

KID CONNECTION

Kid Connection, Wal-Mart's take on creative bricks: don't even consider buying these. The plastic is flimsy, the colours do not match (different shades of the same colour), clutching problems, alignment issues and so we could go on. Oh yes we have to mention all the burs and waste plastic still attached to the pieces. If this had not been a Christmas gift, I doubt we would have even completed the build. 

The mini-figs are really bad and never mind playing with the model - bits fall off simply by bumping the table it is standing on... Looking at it these bricks or also relatively expensive in comparison to other compatible bricks (approx. ZAR 0.76 per brick).

Instructions are included to build an ammunition trolley, they did however overlook the need to include the wheels for it!

LSP WORKSHOP

Finally attended the Lego® Serious Play™ Workshop in Johannesburg last month. Thanks to Pete and Teamgel for two intensive and enlightening days. Time well spent! 

Building something and then discussing it (telling the story) is exceptionally insightful and leads to honest and powerful findings. The methodologies also foster a strong sense of ownership. We are excited to be developing some training interventions that integrate the methodologies of Lego® Serious Play™ and know we will be able to offer clients a dynamic experience - wow, we get to play with Lego® at work!

KAZI #8015 - DEFORMATION SUPER ROBOT: SPEED KING

We did not expect much from this set, however as with all other Kazi sets we were not disappointed. Provided a great build model well put together and offers lots of playability with the transformation from helicopter to robot. We will defiantly be looking out for the rest of these sets.

 PIECES:  128

                               VALUE:   ZAR 25 (ZAR 0.195 per brick)
ACCURACY OF PACKAGING:  9/10
               FUN/PLAYABILITY:  7/10
                             QUALITY:  7/10
                  INSTRUCTIONS:  6/10
             MINI CHARACTERS:  -
                           OVERALL:  7/10

THE ART OF THE BRICK EXHIBITION

On our recent trip to Cape Town we were fortunate enough to catch Nathan Sawaya's Art of the Brick exhibition at the V&A Waterfront. A little overpriced in our opinion and the sheer volume of people moving through the exhibit made it difficult at times to really appreciate the works.

That said it was great to experience his works first hand and realize the scale and some of the intricacy involved. The interpretation of some major artworks in Lego® was inspiring as was the various sculptures and expression of thoughts and emotions.

If you enjoy art, this is certainly worth visiting and if you have a love for the "little block", it makes the outing so much more special. Bear in mind that smaller children may be a bit bored and not fully appreciate the exhibition.

Apologies due to the lighting, getting any decent photos on the mobile phone proved impossible.

BACK AGAIN!

Busy, busy, busy and keeping up the blog has proved to be an impossible challenge over the last two months. Luckily travel between the Cape, Gauteng & Natal and demands of business, we did still find some time for play and creative bricks:

• The Art of the Brick Exhibition
• Highs & lows of many new sets
• Lego® Serious Play™ Workshop

A belated new year to everyone and all the best for 2015