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Posted in Public, . Tagged with 2008, barbara bratzel, brian davis, chris rogers, claude baumann, david levy, david martinez, eugene tsai, francis massen, jean mootz, jurgen leitner, nxt.
Science experiment leverages best-selling LEGO product to study outer atmosphere, proving play and learning go hand-in-hand
 Brian Davis presenting one of his robots at Brickworld, a LEGO fan event, earlier this year. | RENO, Nev. (July 29, 2008) – College professors, middle school students and robotics hobbyists unite today to launch seven robots into the Earth’s stratosphere to collect data, explore conditional effects and to set a world record as part of the High Altitude LEGO® Extravaganza. Joining The LEGO Group to support the science experiment are Nevada Space Grant, the University of Nevada-Reno, Energizer and National Instruments in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the LEGO MINDSTORMS® robotics platform. The MINDSTORMS robots will be launched from a desert location 30 miles east of Reno, Nevada into near space on an atmospheric weather balloon that will reach an altitude of more than 100,000 feet (30km). Once it reaches |
For more information on the HALE Project:
The HALE Project Report on The NXTStep blog
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LEGO® Collector`s Guide Publishing date: 26.06.08 / LEGO Collector – Premium Edition beginning of August 2008
We are happy to announce that the LEGO Collector’s Guide is about to be launched by Fantasia Verlag GmbH. The confirmed launch date will be the 26.06.08.
This bilingual (English/German) catalogue is for the fan and collector alike. It is a high quality product full of details. It comprises around 800 pages presenting nearly all sets produced by the LEGO Group since 1958.
Further, there will be a LEGO Collector - Premium Edition which will be very limited to 3.333 continuously numbered copies. The Premium Edition will be published at the beginning of August 2008 for a price of 39,90€. This high quality catalogue has a hardcover and is presented in a very decorative packaging with exclusive LEGO gimmicks.
The news release is attached.
Interview with LEGO Designer
by Joe Meno. 
Posted in Public, . Tagged with 2008, grievous, interviews, jens kronvold fredericksen, report, star wars.
Designing General Grievous
By Joe Meno
  Jens with his other big set, the Millennium Falcon | The designer of the General Grievous set is Jens Kronvold Fredericksen.
To those who are Star Wars LEGO set collectors, he’s a familiar name —
he’s created more than a few sets, most recently the Ultimate
Collector’s Series Millennium Falcon. Since then, he became Design
Manager to the LEGO Star Wars theme so he oversees the design of the
new and upcoming sets. Conversing with him on the phone, we discussed this set. The inspiration of the set, according to Jens, is a coincidence – some human character models were considered, but did not work well, as organic curves are very hard to do with LEGO elements. However, mechanical characters worked very well, and were done in previous sets. General Grievous is a combination of organic and mechanical, and with the available colors in the LEGO palette, it was very easy to decide on making a set. Besides, as Jens notes, “I was inspired by the scene in Revenge of the Sith where General Grievous duels Obi –Wan Kenobi. That was very cool.” The inspiration can be seen in the pose of the model, as Grievous arms are set in an attack pose. The legs however, are in a parallel standing pose. Jens explains, “I wanted to do an attack pose with one foot in front of the other, but the waist twisted too much and made the model unstable.” In fact, the biggest challenge was overall stability. “The set was designed to look like a LEGO system (brick) set, but it used Technic parts to create the frame,“ notes Jens. As a result, the Technic elements are for the most part hidden, although some parts in the shoulders and legs are used to enhance the mechanical look of Grievous. System bricks and plates were used in the creation of Grievous’ head, and Jens recalls the challenges he had with it: “I worked a long time and did a lot of versions of the head. And it seems like…if you just move one single brick the feeling of the head changed dramatically and then suddenly, the head just looked right! I have to call it coincidence, I guess, as it was so hard just to imagine the head shape to build. I’m quite happy with the result. ” |
There were some other parts used too. Jens used some Bionicle parts for
Grievous’ internal organs, as well as an unconventional part for the
heart. Jens comments, “ I looked through all the LEGO elements to find
some organic parts, and I used the newer Bionicle tentacle elements and
for the heart, I used a minifigure hood element.” The contrast in
organic versus straight, mechanical parts is a very unique touch on
this set.
Overall design and production of the set took around two or three
months — with all the projects Jens is working on, it is hard to
determine a real amount of time. The idea for the set was sent to
Lucasfilm for initial concept approval, then the design went through
the usual approval steps and, if needed, changes from Lucasfilm.
So what’s coming next for the Star Wars LEGO theme? When asked, Jens
only answers, “I can’t tell you – you’ll have to wait like everyone
else!”
Sometimes it’s tough to be a LEGO fan.
You can read a review on the set here!
From the LEGO Group:
  | Hi all, Due to a safety accident with another toy producers product, the LEGO Group is expecting a ban of small parts that contain magnets in the USA and the EU in 2009. As a consequence, the LEGO Group has decided to stop selling products which contain magnets in small parts to already follow thenew rules and not compromise product safety. This affects mainly 2 products – the LEGO refrigerator magnets and the LEGO train magnet couplings. The train magnets will be re-designed as you can see on the pictures and we expect the new magnets in the boxes from August. LEGO Train sets packaged before August will still contain the existing magnets. The new LEGO train magnet element will be visually different from the existing train magnet element but due to that the magnet can rotate in the plastic cover and the clutch power will be as strong as at the old element. The function will be identical and fully compatible with the existing train magnet elements. The LEGO refridgerator magnets will also be re-designed and the new version is expected to be available for sale end of 2008. Jan Beyer, LEGO Community Development |
From Julie Stern, LEGO Brand Relations
The LEGO Group and Toysrus.com want you to help pick one of the new Star Wars products for 2009. Go to www.Toysrus.com/LegoStarWarsVote from May 10 at 12:01 am to May 18 at 11:59 pm to vote for one of three classic Star Wars scenes that you'd like to see transformed into a LEGO set.
Results will be released in February 2009, and the product will be available only at Toys"R"Us stores nationwide and online at www.Toysrus.com in September 2009!
The LEGO Group Now Accepting Nominations for 08/09 LEGO Ambassadors
by Joe Meno.
Posted in Public, . Tagged with 2008, ambassador.
From the LEGO Group:
Hello LEGO Enthusiasts,
You
may have noticed already that the selection process for the LEGO Ambassador
Program will be slightly different this year. In the past we’ve selected LEGO Ambassadors based on
individual applications, which meant that the program was built on a very
individual basis. Now we would
like to make the process more broad reaching and transparent for all members of
the AFOL community. Therefore the
selection of LEGO Ambassadors will be based on nominations from your
clubs. In this way we give more
people an opportunity to have a say in who’s name gets put in the pot for the
selection process.
Who’s allowed to nominate?
- Any AFOL Community Group (online or on the map) will have the opportunity to submit nominations from their group (up to 3 people if they so choose). Not everyone can be selected for the program as we’ll still only have around 30 people when all is said and done. Each club can only have one person selected from that club.
- If you choose to submit a nomination it does not mean that your candidate will be chosen, but it does mean that your group will have just as much an opportunity to get involved in having a direct representative in the LEGO Ambassador Program. We will try to get a diverse group of people who are able to represent the whole AFOL community as good as possible.
- Groups can certainly nominate someone
already in the Ambassador Program, but from now on the program will have a two
term limit in order to have more room for people to be involved.
After a term out of the program, a previous Ambassador can be re-nominated.
- A group that submits a nomination for
the LEGO Ambassador program should be established and known within the LEGO
Community.
What should a nomination have in it?
- Name and age of the nominee.
- Where is the nominee from?
- Which Group does this nominee
represent?
- Does this person consent to being nominated (Please do not submit a nomination on behalf of someone you have not discussed with beforehand).
- Explanation of who the nominees are, what their activities are, and why they would be a good representative of their community (at least 3 testimonials from members of nominating group are required)
- Key interests of the nominee (themes, building styles, and some examples of their building)
When are Nominations Due?
May
24, 2008 by midnight GMT. If a nomination is
received after this time it will be automatically rejected.
Who should the Nominations be sent to?
What
might a LEGO Ambassador be committing to?
- In-depth discussion with other like-minded LEGO Fans.
- An opportunity to speak with LEGO Group representatives on what is important to the AFOL community.
- Occasional opportunities to give feedback on upcoming ideas for different parts of the LEGO Group (require NDA).
- A chance to submit their own ideas and ideas from the communities they represent on what they would like to see from the LEGO Group.
- Participation in projects which support the community like helping rebuild LEGOfan.org and many other community related projects.
From the 2008/09 cycle, LEGO Ambassadors will not be required to sign an NDA to join the program, but in the interest of the community, LEGO Ambassadors will be invited to give feedback on development projects which will require signing of an NDA. Discussions related to development projects will happen in a separate “top secret forum” for those who decide to sign an NDA. All discussions in the general LEGO Ambassador forum can and should be shared with the community. The decision on whether or not to take part in secret projects is up to the individual Ambassadors.
Another new aspect in the process will be that starting with this next cycle Ambassadors will only be able to serve for two consecutive terms. Current Ambassadors will not have their previous terms counted against them, and if chosen by their communities to apply for the program can serve for two more terms.
Thank
you all. Your nominations are very valuable for helping the LEGO Community Team
choose the next round of LEGO Ambassadors.
Tormod,
Jan, Steve
The second print issue of BrickJournal will be out June 3, and will have the following articles: LEGO Fan Projects Event Reports from Frechen (Germany), HispaBrick (Spain), and FIRST LEGO League in Hawaii Adult Female Fans of LEGO Building Transforming Models Building Utopolis And to coincide with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, we have a look at LEGO Indiana Jones: The Video Game, s look at some set designs, and instructions on how to make a mini flying wing! There's much more, including a couple of surprises, so look for BrickJournal at Barnes and Noble or at your LEGO store June 3! |  |
From the LEGO Group:
Dear all,
As promised in the second communiation from the 6th of December last year, we will give you the latest information and decisions regarding the development of the new train system based on LEGO Power Functions.
We are still working on the final details and doing a lot of testing of the new Power Funntions elements; however, we are again able to give you some more details.
First - we will not change the gauge of the rails so there is no need to be afraid that the L gauge will disappear.
On the rechargeable battery box we have been working to get the best compromise between size and power. It has been decided that we will use a powerful Lithium Polymer battery and the size of the box will be 4 studs by 8 studs long by 4 studs high - this should fit in most trains. The already existing standard LEGO transformer will be used to recharge and be the power supply.
The existing Power Functions RC receiver already has integrated speed control. To enable the use of this we will make a newly designed RC handset with speed control capability.
All the above new train related Power Functions items as well as the current battery train motor (with cross axles and wheels) will be available separately through LEGO Shop@Home before the summer of 2009.
As you know we arranged a train workshop in November 2007 where ten AFOLs from around the world: Denmark, USA, France, Belgium, the Netherlands Germany, and Untied Kingdom participated, built with the prototype elements and also looked into ideas and possibilities for new train designs using the Power Functions elements . Based on the outcome of this workshop and all the other fantastic input we got from the AFOL community over the last six months, our designers worked on the first train set using the new Power Functions system. This set will be truly aimed at the AFOL community to acknowledge the importance of the adult LEGO hobbyists in the LEGO train world.
This communication will be the last one regarding the transition from the 9V train system into the new Power Functions train system, Due to all the very valuable AFOL feedback we are far down the road with the development of the new elements and also the new train set. We appreciate all your efforts through this transition which we expect to be fully executed in 2009.
Stay tuned for the new LEGO train system coming in 2009.
Tormod Askildsen,
Head of LEGO Community Development
 | The LEGO Company together with the Fantasia Verlag from Germany will be making a unique LEGO Collectors catalog. Over 750 pages of information on over 7500 sets will be in this book, with each chapter documenting one year of LEGO sets. You can read a press release on this in either German or English at the sidebar. |
From Jan Beyer at the LEGO Group - a video about our favorite toy:
From all of us at BrickJournal - Happy Anniversary!
This video can only be used for non-commercial purposes.
Melody Krützfeldt said