Posted by
Dan
at
1:00 AM
| Photos by: PeterPanFan and Disney Dan from Character Central |
| Found at: http://www.charactercentral.net/B3666_LEGOLANDTripReportBillundTheTownthatLEGOBuilt.aspx and on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/peterpanfan1953/tags/LEGOLAND%20Billund%20Resort/ and https://www.flickr.com/photos/theverynk/sets/72157646618885782 |
Details:  Recently, PeterPanFan and Disney Dan from Character Central made the trip out to Billund to take in the original LEGOLAND park and surrounding area. Being seasoned Disney theme park reporters (seriously, their site has more information about the various Disney attractions than I could ever make myself read), they had a bit of an advantage in knowing how to take decent photos of the displays - usually I end up highlighting features from Miniland when I blog about park photos, but these guys knew to get photos of the sign at the LEGOLAND Hotel, ceilings, detailed mice on rides, a Pick-A-Brick wall, themed characters, corporate-sponsored buildings, shopping and displays at the airport, the promo area for the LEGO house, the viking dragon, the dragon in the hotel lobby (every hotel needs one), the hotel bathroom, the Friends minidoll-scaled display, the train as it drives behind miniland, the wildlife, an arctic helicopter sculpture, DUPLO sculptures, external signage, and of course, Miniland. This isn't quite a full guided tour, but it's probably the closest thing we've seen to it. Now if only they could take more close-ups of Miniland...
Oh, they did get a few of those too. Here's a wampa from Hoth in Miniland Star Wars, some rock climbers, a Coke truck, the Acropolis (Wikipedia), an interesting angle of Kennedy Space Center's rocket garden (Wikipedia), Neuschwanstein Castle (Wikipedia), Osaka Castle (Wikipedia), Nyhavn (Wikipedia), Amalienborg (Wikipedia), and even a LEGO Truck Show from the late 90's.
I could probably comb through these photos even more thoroughly and find even more highlights, but I'm a bit short on time to keep researching this. These may be the most complete current look at the Billund park we've seen yet.
Disney Dan has 529 photos on Flickr. PeterPanFan looks to have a few hundred photos on Flickr, but I don't have an exact count since they're organized by tag instead of by album/set.
The photo featured above is this one by Disney Dan.
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Posted by
Dan
at
4:18 PM
| Name of Model: Mini LEGO Con |
| Created by various people, see below |
| Found at (semi-official Flickr group): https://www.flickr.com/groups/2318936@N22/ |
Details:  As I hinted at earlier, there's a big project I've been involved with for a while now that I am really excited to share with everyone. That project is Mini LEGO Con - in short, a miniland scale model of a LEGO convention. This is a massive group layout that you can expect to see at many LEGO conventions (and other conventions, too!) in the years to come.
Mini LEGO Con was first displayed at BrickCon 2012 by Steve Oakes (BrickCon Microscale coordinator) and Mariann Asanuma (former LEGOLAND Master Model Builder). Mariann brought Mini Con to other events throughout 2013 (BricksCascade, Emerald City Comic Con, BrickWorld, BrickFair VA, Bricks by the Bay, BrickCon). After BrickFair VA, BrickFair coordinator Todd Webb decided to make Mini Con a part of BrickFair going forward, and purchased the parts required to assemble the layout at future conventions. Most notably, Todd decided to change the layout from being a caricature of a convention to being an exact match - at BrickFair, the baseplates and tables are set up in the same layout as the convention itself.
Back at BrickFair Alabama 2014, I (Dan) assembled the miniland-scale (roughly 1:20) tables, chairs, and stanchions for use at BrickFair events, the next of which will be in Manchester, New Hampshire, this upcoming weekend (public hours are May 10th & May 11th, 2014, 11:00am - 4:00pm, we'd love to see you there!). If you've registered to participate, you should make sure to bring a miniland-scale version of yourself and microscale versions of the models you're bringing (BrickFair provides the bare bones of the layout, so you shouldn't need to pack your own mini tables and mini stanchions). If you're attending as public, you're in for a real treat, as this enormous layout will completely match the map of the convention (and should be filled in even more than the layout in Alabama earlier this year).
Can't make it to New Hampshire next weekend? BrickFair will also be in Virginia (July 30th-August 3rd) and New Jersey (October 30th-November 2nd), and similar, smaller layouts (without BrickFair's backing) should be appearing at BrickWorld Chicago (June 11th-15th) and BrickCon (October 2nd-5th). We're hoping this catches on more generally as a theme and a building standard for group layouts at LEGO events (like moonbase or the Cafe Corner standard).
I've started a Flickr group to make it easier to find ideas, inspiration, and displays related to this theme. For blogging purposes here, we're mostly talking about LEGO conventions, but these displays are also a hit at Comic and Sci-Fi conventions (think: minilanders in costume as their favorite characters) and I intend to expand to Maker Faires this year as well. The Flickr group discussions include an attempt at a list of all Mini Con events.
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Posted by
Dan
at
8:58 PM
| Photos by: marcorbito |
| Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcorbito/tags/legoland/ |
Details:  If you liked last week's look at LEGOLAND California at Halloween, I have a real treat for you - another large photo gallery of highlights from LEGOLAND California in October in 2010. There are plenty more exciting scenes here, including many that weren't in the photoset featured last week. There are (of course) more trick or treaters (note the clever use of the large spider's web in the window), as well as a haunted house (seen above), an homage to Michael Jackson's Thriller, and a giant pumpkin sculpture. I had mentioned the funeral procession last week, but the view shown this week gives us an interesting look at hearse, people and musical instruments. I'm thrilled any time we get a good look at useful techniques at the LEGOLAND parks, but it only gets better when we see the extra seasonal goodies added in. Have a Happy Halloween, everybody! |
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Posted by
Dan
at
8:39 AM
| Name of photoset: LEGO Land California |
| Photos by: KaylynStar |
| Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaylynstar/sets/72157625308418736/ |
Details:  The LEGOLAND parks frequently enhance their displays with seasonal displays and in-jokes, adding an extra reason to come back. Around Halloween in 2010, the California park got in on the fun. Check out the trick-or-treaters seen in this photoset. Just in the one photo shown here, we've got some great dragon costumes, some great ghosts, a wizard, a pair of ballerinas, a knight, and several interesting figures without costumes. Elsewhere in the park, we can spot a coven of witches, a haunted cemetery, a pumpkin patch and hayride, a giant spider attack, and a funeral procession driving up to a zombie-infested graveyard.
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Posted by
Dan
at
9:51 PM
| Name of Book: Caught in a Moment |
| Created by: Craig Williams |
| Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/12678461@N08/tags/caughtinamoment/ |
Details:  If you've been following this blog for a while, you know we love Miniland. The LEGOLAND parks feature not just excellent models at miniland scale, but capture scenes, characters, and locations in ways that are often difficult to do at other scales. The faceless figures are very expressive, and all sorts of great techniques and in-jokes become clear with a close inspection of the models. In the photo shown here, for example, you can see partial minifigs used as puppets for a puppet show. There aren't that many photos in the part of this set we can see, but they're all excellent. The photographer has assembled them into a book and is looking for a publisher - anyone know someone that could make this book happen? |
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Posted by
Dan
at
10:06 PM
| Name of Model: Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides |
| Created by: GeekyTom(Tommy Williamson) |
| Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/geekytom/sets/72157626206769522/with/5501606781/ |
Details:  It feels a little strange to throw that "(Unofficial)" up there in this post's title. After all, it's already been announced that LEGO is doing an official line of Pirates of the Caribbean series, and LEGOLAND parks have featured characters (both officially licensed and otherwise) in miniland for years. It's surely only a matter of time before these Disney pirates wiggle their way in to the official LEGO miniland displays. The master model builders who create those for the company will have a hard time competing with the rendition of Captain Jack Sparrow and Captain Barbossa pictured here. I suspect that they won't be allowed to use a Technic rubber band to properly define the edges of a hat. The angle work on the torsos is stunning and a bit unexpected - usually you see a few slopes used when that is tried, but here we see tiles and plates attached at odd angles. On Jack Sparrow, the space created by the angle leaves room for minifig hands to clip onto a plate-with-railing in front of them. We see similar clips used in a few other places - the Jack's hair and hands use variations on the same technique. The legs on both figures look great, but use the same sort of non-production parts that are occasionally special-made for the LEGOLAND Model shops (existing parts, but in colors you can't find in a set). On second thought, are we sure that this guy DOESN'T work for the company? |
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Posted by
Dan
at
12:40 AM
| Name of Model: STAR WARS™ Miniland Opening |
| Created by LEGOLAND California Master Builders |
| Found at: http://california.legoland.com/plan/shows_and_events/STAR-WARS-Miniland/ |
Details: 
The real news is in the headline. A variety of scenes, characters, and vehicles from the Star Wars universe will soon be coming to a special new space in Miniland at LEGOLAND California. Although we've seen LEGO release official sculptures, minifig-scale sets, microscale accessories and even "midi scale" ships, this is the first time they've officially done anything in miniland scale (keen observers can probably tell you about the "unofficial" use of Star Wars characters in the park so far - LEGOLAND Master Builders have a surprising sense of humor when it comes to including fictional characters in real cities in a surreal manner). The new area is scheduled to open March 31st, 2011. Since this has been covered in many places already, we're going to go into round-up mode:
Official announcement
Press Release (includes a few photos)
FBTB coverage (FBTB is a LEGO Star Wars fansite that was given a press pass to an announcement event. They have photos of that event and some exclusive behind-the-scenes photos)
LA Times article (they mention that several scenes will be animated, although the official press release only cited the Cantina band as animated)
Modelbuildingsecrets's Weblog post (blurb at the end explains that this idea was toyed with back when Mariann Asanuma still worked at the Model Shop - but that they haven't allowed cities outside of America in LEGOLAND California's miniland until now)
In related news, the LEGOLAND California Star Wars Days 2011 event has been scheduled and will be on June 18-19.
Is there anything we missed? E-mail us at legomodeloftheday@gmail.com
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Posted by
Dan
at
10:58 PM
| Event Info Found At: http://www.nasuhai.co.jp/event/lego.html |
| Photos by: kelvin255 (Kelvin Lok) |
| Photos found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kelvin255/sets/72157625566538544/ |
Details:  It's Christmastime in Japan's Nasu Highland Park. The LEGO pavilion there has a few seasonal displays up now, but apparently the Tokyo miniland layout (which features a bunch of landmarks, although some have been made a bit generic) is a semi-permanent exhibit. Another highlight is a large Clone Wars set-up, and there are also several large sculptures. This appears to be like a small LEGOLAND park - apparently there are LEGO-themed rides here for most of the year as well (although these photos focus on the models on display). |
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Posted by
Dan
at
4:00 AM
| Name of Photo Set: Legoland Windsor |
| Photos by: Karen Roe |
| Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28752865@N08/sets/72157624655228713/ |
Details:  Yes, it's time for another great trip to LEGOLAND. Just look at the detail in the picture I've highlighted here - it's close-up enough that you could actually try to build your own working from the photo. There are 428 photos in this flickr set in all, and most of them are fantastic detail shots of the sculptures in the park. Miniland's included too. |
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Posted by
Dan
at
9:56 PM
| Name of photoset: UK Trip '99 |
| Photos by: mhuffman |
| Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mwhuffman/sets/72157600191373026/ |
Details:  I've featured fairly recent photos of LEGOLAND parks before, and usually, you can spot a few new easter eggs in each round of photos. This time, we have a new photoset that shows what the park looked like 11 years ago. Most of the buildings look completely different - I'm not sure if there are any true repeats between this photoset and the last set of LEGOLAND Windsor photos I featured. Between the way things have been improved with newer elements and colors, and the newer landmarks that have been added to the park, things have really changed! |
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Posted by
Dan
at
4:00 AM
| Name of Model: Bride and Groom, 2010.06.05 |
| Created by: au_riverhorse |
| Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/au_riverhorse/sets/72157624223755896/ |
Details:  These excellent miniland-scale characters have partially jointed arms (check out the other two pictures in this photo set to see some surprising expressions) and several evocative techniques. The groom's tie makes excellent use of a metallic gold colored 1x2 tile - a fantastic way to use a piece in a rare color that you might otherwise not be able to build with. The formal attire is recreated perfectly thanks to various studs-not-on-top elements. You really get a sense of a separate suit jacket hanging on the groom's figure, and the combination of curved slopes and wedges on the bride's dress creates a unique form that could be a real wedding dress. The back even includes tails on the suit and a train on the dress. The use of black studs-not-on-top brackets for hairpieces works much better than I would have expected - it really adds dimension to these figures. These figures actually outdo some professional LEGO wedding cake toppers! |
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Posted by
Dan
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4:00 AM
| Highlights from Miniland at LEGOLAND California |
| Created by various LEGO Master Builders, photographed by Bill D700 |
| Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/billd700/sets/72157623906072989/ |
Details:  We interrupt your regular model-specific blogging for this delicious serving of miniland goodness. Miniland is the name for the special scale and style used for the miniature scenes at LEGOLAND parks. The larger, more consistent scale makes it possible to build people as carefully posed characters with a wide variety of motions instead of just the ones that minifigures can achieve. Buildings become more parts-intensive (a non-issue for the LEGO employees who build these models), but can be far more detailed than buildings recreated at minifig scale. These 45 photos from LEGOLAND California are mostly detail shots (which we apparently cannot zoom in on) of some of the interesting scenes in miniland. |
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Posted by
Dan
at
9:38 PM
| Name of Model: LEGOLAND Windsor (official site) |
| Created by LEGO master builders |
| Found at: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=legoland+windsor&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF8&hl=en&hq=legoland+windsor&hnear=&ll=51.464002,-0.651981&spn=0,0.002401&z=19&layer=c&cbll=51.463973,-0.651837&panoid=XRJqwFcq_2nztA5zCm0jWA&cbp=12,18.2,,0,0.04 |
Details:
View Larger Map
Remember last year when Google made LEGOLAND California available on Google Street View? As of this week, they've now done the same for LEGOLAND Windsor. I'm not sure what's different, but I seem to be having an easier time getting around this park and finding interesting things - perhaps they've worked out some kinks since they first started trying to do park tours on their street view trike. As usual for these Google maps based jaunts, various photos from other sources of the park can be seen alongside the photos taken by Google.
Those of you not running flash are seeing a standard map embedded here - you'll want to open the link above in a web browser with flash to take this tour of LEGOLAND Windsor.
Spotted through Google Sightseeing, who also mentioned additional non-LEGO easter eggs found at the park.
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characters. There are also photos of a ball sculpture and parts of a miniland-scale model of the ticket booths at the 
