LEGO Sculpture Trail at the WWT Washington Wetlands Centre

I recently made a short video of the amazing LEGO sculptures by Bright Bricks of the birds and animals found in the WWT Washington Wetlands Centre.  Bright Bricks are an amazing company and the chances are if you see a LEGO sculpture here in the UK it has probably been made by Bright Bricks.

And if you want to see how they were made, here's Bright Bricks' video:

Cleaning Old Lego

As an AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO) the quickest way to start building your collection of bricks is to buy used LEGO in bulk.  Often this LEGO is old, dirty and sometimes yellowed from being displayed in front of a sunny window.  So how do we clean and restore old LEGO?  

There are many suggestions out there, so as a new AFOL, I decided to try them out for myself and I thought share my results here.  In this video I try:

• 0.08 - LEGO in a pillowcase in the washing machine
• 1.03 - LEGO in the dishwasher
• 1.30 - Handwashing LEGO in dish washing liquid
• 1.54 - Handwashing LEGO in Vanish / Oxy Powder
• 2.32 - Handwashing LEGO in Steradent (false teeth whitener)
• 3.20 - Bleaching LEGO in Hydrogen Peroxide solution

My verdict since trying all of these out is that cleaning LEGO in the dishwasher probably gives the best results, but I don’t really like doing it as I only feel confident of putting my bricks in the cutlery tray, and that doesn’t hold very many pieces.  My preferred method is a pillowcase, half filled with LEGO, in the washing machine.  If the LEGO is really dirty, hand washing is a must.  I love the results from bleaching with peroxide but can only do it on sunny days.  (Warning, please wear gloves and glasses to protect your skin and eyes, don’t leave it unattended and don’t let children do it unsupervised, if at all)

Do not forget to watch Jangbricks’ video on restoring old LEGO , he gives the definitive instructions on how to bleach LEGO with peroxide and you may also want to read Blocks Magazine’s article on cleaning LEGO in issue 6. 

Please share any thoughts or comments with me below, did I miss any good cleaning techniques out?

LEGO Free Build - Parrot - Set 40131 - July 2015

Every month the LEGO store holds a free build where your children (ages 6 to 14) can go in and build a small set and get to take it home!  We missed last month's build and this month I wasn't allowed to film in the store so here is a video turntable of July's free build; 40131, Parrot which ties in nicely with LEGO's Pirates theme. 

LEGO Free Build - Star Wars TIE Advanced Prototype - Set 30275 - May 2015

Every month LEGO holds a free build where your children (ages 6 to 14) can go in and build a small set and get to take it home!  It is so kind of LEGO to do this but it works in their favour because you can't go into a LEGO store without buying anything, can you?  In our local store, the free builds usually begin at 4pm and end at 6pm or until supplies last.  A new model is available every month and is often themed to that month, like May's Star Wars TIE Advanced Prototype (set 30275).  Here's a video of the event and a turntable of the finished product, but oops, can you spot the build error, leave if me a comment of where it is thanks!

Yorkshire Brickshow 2015 Report

Last week LEGOBrien attended the 2015 Yorkshire Brickshow at the National Coal Mining Museum for England in Wakefield, Yorkshire.  Having previously only attended one Brickshow before (at Tanfield Railway in April) it is still a new experience for this AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO).  

The format of the show was timed slots to view the LEGO displays and freedom to take part in the LEGO activities, buy at the marketplace and see the museum.  Day tickets cost a bargain of £6.50 with under 3s free and were only available on pre-order.  

We parked easily in an overflow car park that was a short walk to the venue.  External signage was a bit lacking, we tried to get in at the entrance to the show but were redirected to another entrance to pick up the tickets, not all of our tickets were in our envelope but this was quickly resolved.  On entrance, we were greeted by the friendly Bricks and Bricks Culture guys who have just launched two thoughtful, beautiful magazines that they’d brought with them. LEGObrien had already subscribed to them on their launch!  Bricks also provided a treasure-hunt activity to spot some minifigs in the display with poly bag prizes.

The display room was well-laid out to direct the flow of viewing and it felt busy but not overcrowded.  We were able to see everything and it was very entertaining with a mix of official LEGO new and old sets, modular buildings, MOCs (Make your Own Creation) and dioramas built by the Yorkshire LUG and Northern Brickworks.  There were activities such as a creating a giant mosaic for the charity, Fairy Bricks, Bricks 4 Kids paid building sessions and free play bricks.  The marketplace was well-stocked by Cora’s Creations, My Precious and Minifigs & Bricks among others and priced to the current market, so there were not many bargains to be had but there were some discontinued sets there if you were after them for your collection. 

I’d definitely recommend this show to LEGO fans and families and hope to attend next year. Here’s my video of the Saturday:

Further Viewing:

A report by Luc Byard for Brick Fanatics