Rob Hull
Rob HullYesterday, LEGO held a special Summer Preview Event in NYC, where the took the wraps off more than 100 new sets, all slated to release in August. The sets included new offerings in all of LEGO’s major themes. In addition, LEGO announced their new “Powered-Up Platform.”
Personal highlights for me include the return of the LEGO Harry Potter line, with greatly updated buildings and minifigures, the first ever app-controlled LEGO Batmobile, the first LEGO DC Superheroes sets based on the Scott Snyder/Greg Capullo run on Batman and the James Tynion IV run on Detective Comics, and the beautiful LEGO Architecture Statue of Liberty.
Here are the photos I took at the event. Note: Quality is better on some than others. This is due to the confines of the space and the way displays were set up and lit.
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And, here are some official photos taken by LEGO.
Now that you’ve seen the pictures, here are the words
Here is the official press release on their Summer offerings.
NEW YORK (May 17, 2018) – Building upon announcements made earlier this year at American International Toy Fair, LEGO Systems, Inc. today unveils more than 100 additional new LEGO® building sets that will top the holiday wish lists of children of all ages. In a related announcement, the company also released further details regarding its portfolio of connected toys that merge digital and physical play.
“We continue our year-long celebration of the 60th anniversary of the LEGO brick with a portfolio that reflects the timeless versatility of LEGO play. From classic, instruction-free building sets to life-like recreations of real-world vehicles, we aim to inspire more children to become builders while surprising and delighting the millions who already are building,” said Michael McNally, senior director of brand relations, LEGO Systems, Inc. “As we gear up for the 2018 holiday season, we’ve added more opportunities for creative building and we are excited to reveal new sets based on beloved characters from both the small and large screens.”
Younger Builders
New LEGO DUPLO® Mickey’s Boat and Minnie’s Birthday Party sets, with bricks twice the size of standard LEGO bricks, introduces children as young as two to building with beloved friends.
LEGO Juniors, which introduces young builders to classic LEGO building with larger modular pieces, will inspire builders ages 4+ with sets based on the immersive worlds of LEGO City, LEGO Friends, and Disney•Pixar’s Incredibles 2.
Nostalgic and Themed Building
Instructions-free creative building evolves with LEGO Classic Bricks Bricks Bricks. Five new 3-in-1 models from LEGO Creator offer hours of building and rebuilding fun, including Modular Sweet Surprises and Mobile Stunt Show. Advanced builders interested in creating authentic, functional models will enjoy the challenge of four new LEGO Technic sets, including 2-in-1 models in Heavy Duty Forklift and Volvo Concept Wheel Loader ZEUX.
LEGO City explores everyday, real-life heroes and towns with sets such as LEGO City Hospital and People Pack – Outdoor Adventures, and a new sub-theme, Arctic Expedition, introduces seven new sets for cool build-and-role-play fun.
LEGO Friends revs creative engines with five new LEGO Friends Racing themed sets, including Drifting Diner and The Big Race Day. Additional sets based on the lives and adventures of five girls in Heartlake City will be available in August. The Friendship Box set offers an “IRL” build-and-play experience where builders create brick-based, life-sized gadgets to play with, such as a microphone and camera.
LEGO NINJAGO® brings The LEGO NINJAGO MovieTM to the playroom with the massive 3,553-piece NINJAGO City Docks set, as well as seven additional sets based on the latest season of NINJAGO: Masters of Spinjitzu airing on Cartoon Network. New NINJAGO Dragon Master action toys launch the ninja to new heights.
Builders can explore the mythological world of LEGO Elves with two new sets as Emily Jones continues her quest to rescue new mythical guardian creatures from the evil Noctura and her bats.
Collectibles
LEGO Minifigures allow fans to collect never-before-seen minifigures from a mystery bagged series, each including one figure. In celebration of the 40th Birthday of the LEGO Minifigure, Series 18 – Party Series includes 17 costumed characters, such as Dragon Suit Guy and Cat Costume Girl, as well as a replica of one of the original minifigures – the 1978 LEGO Police Officer. Later this year, Series 19 will launch, but details have not yet been announced.
Collectible LEGO BrickHeadz offer LEGO versions of iconic characters with additional new sets, some sold individually and some in duo packs. Based on popular properties and films, upcoming BrickHeadz construction sets include characters from Avengers: Infinity War, SOLO: A Star Wars Story, Disney•Pixar’s Incredibles 2, Universal’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Harry PotterTM, Universal’s Back to the Future and DC. There will be a rolling launch of even more BrickHeadz through the end of the year.
LEGO Architecture returns with new sets to celebrate the world’s most iconic buildings and landmarks including the Great Wall of China and the Statue of Liberty–a 17″-tall brick-built tribute packed with detail.
Licensed Building
LEGO The Powerpuff GirlsTM debuts with two building sets based on Cartoon Network’s animated series, featuring the action-packed adventures of Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup in LEGO form.
LEGO MinecraftTM returns with three new sets bringing the virtual creative building experience to life in physical form through LEGO play. Each set features favorite characters and biomes.
LEGO Brand x Warner Bros. Consumer Products
LEGO Unikitty!TM, the beloved unicorn cat princess from the Warner Bros. film, The LEGO® Movie, now has her own animated series, Unikitty!TM, produced by Warner Bros. Annimation and currently airing on Cartoon Network, featuring Princess Unikitty and her little brother and best friend PuppycornTM and a colorful cast of brand-new friends. Five new building sets and a series of mystery bag collectibles launch in August, enabling children to recreate favorite stories and build Unikitty and Puppycorn in all of their expressive forms.
The Wizarding WorldTM comes to life in LEGO brick form in two themes. Five LEGO Harry PotterTM sets, including Hogwarts Express, Whomping Willow and Quidditch Match recreate moments from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Two LEGO Fantastic BeastsTM sets will feature characters and scenes from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and the upcoming film, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, such as the previously announced Grindelwald’s Escape. Two more sets will be revealed later this year, but details have not yet been announced.
Three new DC ComicsTM Super Heroes sets explore the adventures of BatmanTM, including BatmanTM: Brother EyeTM Takedown.
LEGO Brand and Disney Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products
Two new LEGO DisneyTM sets explore the scenes and stories of Rapunzel from Disney Tangled: The Series.
LEGO Star WarsTM building sets explore the characters, vehicles and scenes from across the Star Wars galaxy, including the latest films SOLO: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, as well as various other episodes of the Star Wars film series. Fans can also create two new buildable figures of Han SoloTM and a Range TrooperTM.
And here, is all the info on their new “Powered Up Platform.”
ENFIELD, Conn. (May 17, 2018) – Today, the LEGO Group announced the Powered Up Platform, a suite of new elements and apps, which introduce new ways to bring to LEGO® sets to life seamlessly across its System of Play. Revealed today as part of the Powered Up platform, the LEGO BatmanTM App- Controlled Batmobile, inspired by DC’s Caped Crusader, is a buildable LEGO Batmobile that is fully controllable by smart device. It will also incorporate light coding and programming later in 2018.
Leveraging the power elements and coding language developed for last year’s award-winning build and code toolkit, LEGO BOOST, and other LEGO connected toys, Powered Up enabled sets give kids the ability to modify and personalize their experiences by adding dynamic motion control and in some instances simple coding. Powered Up LEGO sets will range from simply powered to remote controlled to smart device connected, creating endless customized play possibilities. Some building sets will ship with Powered Up capabilities included in the box, while others will be Powered Up-enabled, giving kids the option to add power features to their creations if they are interested.
“For 20 years, we have been creating new ways for children to combine technology and LEGO building, starting with the introduction of LEGO MINDSTORMS®, a robotics toolkit that pioneered the idea of a ‘smart toy,” said Michael McNally, senior director brand relations for the LEGO Group. “With Powered Up, we’ve established a flexible connected platform to enable innovative new play experiences that merge digital and physical play in natural ways that will delight and inspire the builders of today and tomorrow – while still focusing on the core physical play proposition of our System of Play – the LEGO brick.”
The LEGO Batman App-Controlled Batmobile, created for children 8 years of age and older, combines LEGO building and remote-control car play. It is the first codeable and programmable LEGO Batmobile that is fully controllable via smart device. Users can steer the Batmobile using one of two preset remote-control interfaces or personalize their experience through a customizable interface. With the interface unlocked, users move sliders, buttons and other elements to customize the remote control to their liking. Through a coding canvas that will be introduced later this year, users can code and re-code speed, direction, sound and duration to program various movements and stunts and create their own unique driving experiences.
Additional Powered Up sets launching in 2018 include the LEGO City Passenger Train and LEGO City Cargo Train, which add simple remote-control functionality to classic LEGO building. The LEGO DUPLO® Steam Train and LEGO DUPLO Cargo Train introduce kids as young as 2 years old to cause and effect play, a pre-cursor to coding, with low-tech brick accessories that utilize sensors and color-coded train track elements.
The Powered Up offerings join a growing portfolio of LEGO connected toys that bridge physical and digital play. The LEGO NINJAGO® Stormbringer dragon and LEGO City Arctic Scout Truck allow children to leverage elements from the LEGO BOOST build and code toolkit to add behavior and movement. Builders can also add LEGO BOOST elements to the new LEGO Creator Expert Roller Coaster to motorize the chain lift and set a roller coaster in motion with realistic sound effects.
The Powered Up Platform launches July 1. The LEGO Batman App-Controlled Batmobile will launch August 1 with the suggested retail price of $99.99 and includes 321 pieces, two motors and a battery hub. The Powered Up App works on phones and tablets running iOS 8.0 and up or Android 5.0 and up.
Special Thanks to Ashley Edwards, Amanda Santoro and Chris Arboleda from LEGO and Flashpoint PR for their assistance.
If you have not seen it yet, head to our Facebook page to see the Live walkthrough from the event.
