Our coverage of Toy Fair continues as we look at the latest from the king of all building toys: LEGO

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TOY FAIR 2010: LEGO

From the danish words “leg godt”, meaning “play well”, LEGO is the undisputed world leader in construction toys, and one of very few iconic, universally identifiable toys. Every year, LEGO surpasses itself in quality and innovation, and this year is no different. This is one of my favorite briefings every year, as I still love to see what they come up with. So, here is what they cam up with this year.We’ll start the report with LEGO’s newest licenses and themes.

Prince of Persia: It came as a pleasant surprise to see that LEGO has obtained a license to make sets based on the upcoming Disney film “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time”, due out this Summer. There are five sets planned, though only four were shown. It should be noted these sets feature the brand new Camel and Ostrich mini-figures. The sets shown were: 7569: Desert Attack (57 pieces, $10.99), 7570: The Ostrich Race (169 pieces, $19.99), 7571: Fight for the Dagger (258 pieces, $29.99) and 7573: Battle of Alamut (821 pieces, $79.99). The missing set is 7572: Quest Against Time (506 pieces, $49.99). It was not shown because it deals with a major plot point in the film. However, I will say that it has a LEGO Light Brick in it. These sets will be available in April.

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Atlantis: This is LEGO’s latest non-licensed theme, built around the story of the legendary lost underwater city. The first “adventure” involves collecting the five keys necessary to unlock the portal of Atlantis. 7 sets were released in january. 3 more sets are coming in August. The sets available now are: 8056: Monster Crab Clash (68 pieces, $6.99 (Orange Atlantis Key)), 8057: Wreck Raider (64 pieces, $9.99 (Blue Atlantis Key)), 8058: Guardian of the Deep (144 pieces, $14.99 (Red Atlantis Key)), 8059: Seabed Scavenger (119 pieces, $14.99 (Green Atlantis Key)), 8060: Typhoon Turbo Sub (198 pieces, $24.99 (Yellow Atlantis Key)), 8061: Gateway of the Squid (354 pieces, $39.99 (Blue Atlantis Key)) and 8075: Neptune Carrier (476 pieces, $59.99 (Green Atlantis Key)). The sets coming in August are: 8076: Deep Sea Striker (260 pieces, $19.99 (Green Atlantis Key)), 8077: Atlantis Exploration HQ (473 pieces, $49.99 (Yellow Atlantis Key)) and 8078: Portal of Atlantis (1,007 pieces, $99.99 (All Five Atlantis Keys)).

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Hero Factory: LEGO is planning the next evolution of the “constraction” segment that began with Bionicle. It is called Hero Factory and will debut in August. The line revolves around the premise that heroes are built in the factory based on the needs of a given mission. There will be six hero figures and six villain figures in the first wave. Three of the “good guys” will be heroes and three will be rookies. Missions for the heroes to undertake will be available on LEGO.com. There will also be two figure and vehicle sets released. The six hero sets are: 7164: Preston Stormer, 7165: Natalie Breez, 7167: William Blaze, 7168: Duncan Bulk, 7169: Mark Surge and 7170: Jimi Stringer. The six villain sets are: 7147: Xplode, 7148: Meltdown, 7156: Corroder, 7157: Thunder, 7145: Von Nebula and 7162: Rotor. The two vehicle sets are: 7158: Blaze Bike (w/William Blaze) and 7160: Drop Ship (w/ Factory Pilot). basic single heroes will retail for $7.99. Basic villains will retail for $12.99. Von Nebula and Rotor will retail for $19.99. The Blaze Bike will retail for $29.99. The Drop Ship will retail for $49.99.

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In other constraction news, six sets based on the Cartoon Network series Ben 10 were released in January. Also in January, the final sets in the best-selling Bionicle line were released. The sets were re-releases of some of the most popular characters.

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Now, we’ll move onto to new sets in existing original themes.

First up, we’ll look at Power Miners. This was a fairly popular theme that debuted last year. This year, there are four new sets scheduled for release. The sets are themes around using water to combat lava monsters. Two sets are already available: 8188: Fire Baster (67 pieces, $9.99) and 8189: Magma Mech (183 pieces, $19.99). Two more sets, 8190: Claw Catcher (259 pieces, $34.99) and 8191: Lavatraz (381 pieces, $49.99), are scheduled for release in  August.

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Five new sets are coming to Space Police, another new theme introduced last year. Two have already been released and three more will be released in August.  Sets 5981: Raid VPR (69 pieces, $9.99) and 5982: Smash ‘n’ Grab (188 pieces, $19.99) are available now. Sets 5983: SP Undercover Cruiser (317 pieces, $29.99), 5984: Lunar Limo (391 pieces, $39.99) and 5985: Space Police Central (631 pieces, $79.99) will be available in August.

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Next, we’ll cover new set in existing licensed themes.

It seems only fitting that we should start with LEGO’s first license: Star Wars. Celebrating it’s 10th Anniversary last year, the partnership between LEGO and Star Wars has gained momentum every year, and shows no signs of stopping now. Most of this year’s sets are centered around the celebration of the 30th Anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back. Four of the twelve sets scheduled for release this year will be related to The Empire Strikes Back. Of those four sets, two of them, 8083: Rebel Trooper Battle Pack (79 pieces, $10.99) and 8084: Snowtrooper Battle Pack (74 pieces, $10.99) are available now. The other two sets, 8089: Hoth Wampa Set (297 pieces, $39.99) and 809: Slave I, yes THAT Slave I, complete with HAN SOLO IN CARBONITE MINI-FIGURE!, (573 pieces, $79.99), will be available in August. Of the other eight sets, four of them: 8085: Freeco Speeder (177 pieces, $24.99), 8086: Droid Tri-Fighter (268 pieces, $24.99), 8087: TIE Defender (304 pieces, $49.99) and 8088: ARC-170 Starfighter (396 pieces, $59.99) are available now. The other four sets: 8093: Plo Koon’s Starfighter (175 pieces, $24.99), 8095: General Grievous’ Starfighter (454 pieces, $49.99), 8096: Emperor Palpatine’s Shuttle (592 pieces, $59.99) and 8098: Clone Turbo Tank (1,141 pieces, $119.99) will be available in September.

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Finally, I am thrilled to be able to announce the return of Harry Potter LEGO sets. To celebrate the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 this November, LEGO is releasing six sets that represent the entire series. Some of the sets are brand new, some are new updates to previous sets. The sets, 4736: Freeing Dobby (73 pieces, $10.99), 4737: Quidditch Match (153 pieces, $19.99), 4738: Hagrid’s Hut (442 pieces, $39.99), 4840: The Burrow (568 pieces, $59.99), 4841 Hogwarts Express (646 pieces, $79.99) and 4842: Hogwarts Castle (1,290 pieces, $129.99). These sets will be available in October.

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For the younger set, LEGO will also have a series of sets based on Toy Story, and are entering the board games arena for the first time.

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That does it for LEGO. My thanks as always to Julie Stern for her assistance.

Our Toy Fair Coverage continues with the house that Spawn and Sportspicks built: McFarlane Toys