We wish you a successful year 2017 !

I hope that all your dreams come true in 2017 ! :-)

Set 10252 - LEGO VW Beetle - Fairytale review :)

Did you hear the story of a man who loved his car like anything else ? :)
Once upon a time, in early 70's, there used to live a very successful young man. In his early twenties, he's got everything he could ever want.
A beautiful wife,
a beautiful house,
and, of course, a beautiful car.
Every morning he was proudly driving his car to his job.
Also in the morning of January 11, 1974, when one of the worst market downturns hit all major stock markets in the world, he lost not only his job but also almost all of his savings.
And world went to recession in 1974. They had to sell everything they had ...
Except for one thing that he refused to sell, his lovely car. He loved his car so much that he persuaded his wife to first sell the house and then live in the car.
Of course, it was not a sustainable situation ! After a few days, his wife came up with a clear asking: "Either me or the car ?!?"
There was no way but to sell the car. So he worn black and took his car to the nearest car dealer.
For money he got he bought fly tickets for his wife and him and left to start a new life somewhere else.
Very soon he found a new job, his wife gave him a baby and their life begun returning back to normal. He soon earned money to buy a new house for his family. But he had never bought a new car. He rather rode the bus to his work.
His son loved the story about father's old lovely car.
He and his wife was getting older and older and their son was growing up into a very strong and successful young man, exactly like his father. And because his son used to know how much his father loved his old car he decided to find it for him ! He started searching the internet for the car ! AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT, he found it, he bought it and gave it to his father as a Christmas Gift. :-)
And he was so happy that he could drive his lovely car again !

Lovely car ! Did you build the VW Beetle, too ? :-)

I will be very happy if you let me know in comments bellow.

Surprising and Funny History of LEGO faces

How do you feel today ? Happy, bored, joyful, surprised ? Sometimes it's enough to look at your facial expression and everything is clear. Our face reveals a lot about our state of mind even though by the time we're adults we've learnt to mask our true feelings quite well. Either by pretending interest and smile or behave indifferently even if we're interested. Of course, we're not perfect actors. Fortunately. :-) And that's a good thing !
Even LEGO Minifigures are not perfect actors and they do not hide their true feelings behind polite masks. However, it hasn't been always the case for them in past ! During first 11 years of their existence, every minifigure was supposed to smile all the time. They didn't have a choice. By 1989 we've known only smiling minifigures.

Until 1989, we've known only smiling Minifigures

And because no one believes a person who smiles all the time, in 1989 LEGO came up with first minifigures with different facial expressions. The 1980's were also a golden age for headgear. Even the very first minifigures with blind faces were wearing hats !
As Shakespeare said many and many years ago: "Clothes make a man. Naked people have little or no influence on society. " This doesn't apply to Minifigures. If he had talked about Minifigures in that time, he would have said it differently "Hats make a Minifigure. Minifigures without hat have little or no influence on society." :-)

1980's Hats make a Minifigure

First female Minifigure was introduced just a few months after the male one. That's not surprising, though. :-) Not the first time in history when man takes precedence over a woman. :-) What's interesting is that the first female minifigure wears trousers, not a skirt. The skirt is introduced after 12 years in 1990. In history, it was the complete opposite. Skirts have been worn by women until the early 20th century.

First female skirt introduced in 1990

Let's go back to the faces, that's what interests us today ! In the 1990's it's getting wild ! Minifigures begin to experiment with hair and beards. No wonder ! They're all teenagers ! :-)

1990' Minifigures experiment with hair and beards

If I said that in 1990's it was getting wild, in 2000's it was getting even wilder. :-) With start of license sets, Minifigures slowly change from ordinary people to super heroes with supernatural abilities or aliens and other film based characters. More often we recognise famous face of the celebrity we know from TV, cinema, theatre, ... Sometimes you come across a really weird creature either with two faces or head sculpted into a different shape.

First Minifigures with two-sided face appear in 2001

You cannot stop evolution ! :-)

What is the most unusual LEGO face you have in your collection ?

I will be very happy if you let me know in comments bellow.

10 Christmas Gift Ideas - Find The Best Gift For Every LEGO Fan

It's a Christmas time !!! Everyone wants to find that perfect Christmas gift which put a smile on the face of someone we love. Are you looking for such Christmas gift ideas ? You're on the right place. :-)
These will be surely perfect ones for any LEGO fan ! So, grab your favourite mug and a blanket, nestle comfortably and get the inspiration for gift for anyone on your Christmas list.

1. BLOCKS MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION
Blocks magazine is a celebration of everything LEGO. Aimed at enthusiasts, young and old, it is the perfect way to immerse yourself in the world of plastic bricks when taking a break from your latest build. :-)
You can order printed or digital version. I'm definitely for the printed one. :-) They ship worldwide straight to your door.
Price: 
UK subscribers - 12 months printed version costs £54.88
European subscribers - 12 months printed version costs £83.88
Rest of world subscribers - 12 months printed version costs £98.99

Blocks Magazine subscription

2. LEGOLAND TICKETS OR GIFT CARDS
Admission tickets or LEGOLAND gift cards are certain to make a great gift. You can personalise each gift card and put any amount, usually starting at $50. It can be used to cover admission, go to famous attractions or to merchandise in the many diverse shops found through the LEGOLAND resorts.
Price: Any amount you decide to put as a credit on the card

LEGOLAND tickets or gift cards

3. LEGO THEME T-SHIRTS
Show everyone that you are the biggest fan of LEGO with LEGO theme T-shirts. There are quite few online stores that sell LEGO theme clothes. I quite like the offering of this one - Spreadshirt.com. 
Price: ca. $20 plus shipping

LEGO theme T-shirt

4. MINIFIGS.ME VERY COOL OFFERING
Buy one of Minifigs.me cool customised LEGO minifigures, Collectors Editions or donate the choice to customise someone's own minifigure. They also sell gift cards. 
Price: 
Minifigs.me Customised minifigures start at $11 per piece. 
Collectors Editions of minifigures such as Apollo 13 edition can be bought for $60.

Minifigs.me Customised LEGO Minifigures store

5. GIVE RETIRED LEGO SET
Surprise by giving some old already retired LEGO set that is not anymore available in LEGO store. Try to find best deals on eBay or similar market places. If you know that the person you want to make happy with your gift is for example a Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings or Star Wars fan, it can make your decision making easier. :-) 
Price: Largely depends on the set or LEGO theme you choose. It can cost you a fortune ($3,500 and more) if you decide to hunt Taj Mahal set or similar extraordinary ones. :-) Good luck ! 

Try to find best deal for Retired LEGO sets

6. LEGO BOOKS
There are many beautiful books dedicated to LEGO. Just choose the one you like the most and you can be sure that it will make someone on the other side very happy ! :-)  
Price: Depends on the type of book you choose, number of pages, availability, ... 

LEGO theme books

7. ADD LIGHTING EFFECTS TO YOUR LEGO CREATIONS 
If you want to give something special I recommend a small lighting that can brighten every LEGO set or every LEGO build and make it look even more cool and unique. There are several businesses that specialise on lighting systems for LEGO sets, the one I like the most is a family business based in Minnesota Brickstuff.com. 
Price: Brickstuff has a wide offering of products. They also sell Gift Card starting at $25 and up to $200.

Brickstuff lighting effects

8. LEGO SUBSCRIPTION BOXES
Subscription boxes are relatively new and fast growing business segment. I personally like the subscription boxes a lot. :-) I like the waiting, the wondering what's gonna be inside, whether I will find something extra or unexpected... At the end of the day, there are only two options. Either you will be pleasantly surprised by what you got or disappointed. But I like this game a lot ! I think that in overall it's a very nice product for every LEGO fan. There are a few LEGO subscription boxes, I reviewed MinifigBox subscription recently and I liked it a lot. Here's the link to my review, if you're interested. :-)
Price: MinifigBox subscription costs from $19.17 to $24.99 per 1 box per month - the longer the timeframe of your subscription, the lower the price per box.

MinifigBox subscription

9. OFFICIAL LEGO GIFT CARD
If you don't want to experiment a lot with your gift, this is a win-win option. :-) Buying the card takes just a minute and provides unlimited excitement. You can use the money on the card for anything which is available in LEGO store. It has no expiry date or shipping charges. Absolutely easy !
Price: Depends on how much credit you want to put on the card. Starts at $10 and you can put up to $500.

LEGO Gift Card

10. CREATE SOMETHING BY YOURSELF 
You can for example create for someone your own LEGO display with his or her favourite Minifigure. Remember that creativity has no boundaries. :-) You can start by inspiring by my post How to create an original LEGO display ? :-)
Price: You need to calculate only with the price of material you need, if any. I guess that this is the cheapest option in this list ! ;-) And definitely the one which will be loved the most for very long time.

Create something by yourself

What would YOU love to find under the Christmas tree ? :-) Something out of this list or something completely different ?

I will be very happy if you share with me YOUR Ideas for Christmas Gift that would make happy every LEGO Fan ! :-)

TOP 10 LEGO sets released in 2012

How well do you remember what happened back in 2012 ? :-) Curiosity Rover successfully lands on Mars, Marvel's movie The Avengers is released and becomes a hit, London hosts the Olympic Games, the Mayan Calendar reaches the end of the cycle, the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II is celebrated ... But the coolest part is that LEGO releases another portion of great sets worth highlighting in 2012 ! :-)
This year, the first wave of The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit or The Monster Fighters has been introduced. Many amazing LEGO sets for Star Wars fans has been released including the favourite droid R2-D2. And many more ...
Here is my list of 10 coolest 2012 sets.

10. Dino Defense HQ - Set 5887 (793 pieces)
Original retail price: $99.99 or €99.99

Dino Defense HQ

9. Logging Truck - Set 9397 (1,308 pieces)
Original retail price: $139.99 or €119.99

Logging Truck

8. An Unexpected Gathering - Set 79003 (652 pieces)
Original retail price: $69.99 or €79.99

An Unexpected Gathering

7. Villa Savoye - Set 21014 (660 pieces)
Original retail price: $69.99 or €69.99

Villa Savoye

6. Shelob Attacks - Set 9470 (227 pieces)
Original retail price: $19.99 or €26.99

Shelob Attacks

5. Haunted House - Set 10228 (2,064 pieces)
Original retail price: $179.99 or €179.99

Haunted House

4. R2-D2 - Set 10225-1 (2,127 pieces)
Original retail price: $179.99 or €179.99

R2-D2

3. Town Hall - Set 10224 (2,766 pieces)
Original retail price: $199.99 or €179.99

Town Hall

2. Kingdoms Joust - Set 10223 (1,575 pieces)
Original retail price: $119.99 or €119.99

Kingdoms Joust

1. Ole Kirk's House - Set 4000007 (910 pieces)
Original retail price: Christmas gift

Ole Kirk's House

There are many amazing LEGO sets released in 2012 that any LEGO collector and enthusiast will definitely enjoy having !

Do you have any of those sets in your collection ?

I will be very happy if you let me know in comments bellow.