Happy Brick Giving Season, BrickNerds! This time of year we choose to look to help others where we can. We think of friends, family, local charities, national charities and international charities and donating our time, skills or assistance to help others. Our LEGO community is no exception; our love of the brick, our passion for building, and our passion for giving can go much further. So today I wanted to compile a brief round up of the LEGO-related charities you can consider supporting. I'm sure I’ve missed some, so please add any others in the comments so we can have all the good causes included. Internationally, the LEGO Foundation works hard to improve the lives of children through education and play, partnering with many groups as a way to encourage building and play. The LEGO Foundation and UNICEF have partnered since 2015, focusing on child wellbeing and empowering children to become creative, lifelong learners through...

Best of BrickNerd - Article originally published December 2, 2022. BrickNerd is happy to present the second article in a short series on LEGO investing where we will analyze if holding onto LEGO sets for the long-term is a sound strategy to generate a profit. Safe build by Tom Gion and boxes by RAWF8, VIA ENVATO ELEMENTS Previously On BrickNerd… In Part 1 of this investment series, I conducted a review of the returns made from LEGO Investing by looking at the price increases of all sets retiring between 2005 and 2021 with 500 pieces or more. The annual return on investment from a sample of 826 sets was a healthy 11.7%, in line with an 11% return published in an academic study by Victoria Dobrynskaya. Image by rthanuthattaphong, via Envato Elements However, despite this impressive return, the sample took into account sets that had been sold and didn’t pay attention...

Best of BrickNerd - Article originally published December 1, 2022. Sometimes Nerdvember just isn’t long enough for all the incredible deep dives we have planned for you here at BrickNerd, so today and tomorrow we are happy to present a short series on LEGO investing where we will try to quantitatively answer the perennial question, “Is LEGO a better investment than gold?” 1. Introduction Stocks, Bonds, Gold, Art… & LEGO? In December 2021, the Guardian Newspaper in the UK published an article with the headline ‘Investing in LEGO may be ‘more lucrative than gold’. It reported on the work of Victoria Dobrynskaya, an associate professor at the Faculty of Economic Sciences at HSE. The research concluded that the annual return from investing in LEGO was 11% per year (8% in real terms) based on a sample of 2,322 LEGO sets over the period of 1987 to 2015. Image by 9_fingers_, via...

That old saying, “work smarter, not harder,” isn’t in my vocabulary thanks to the influence of my hard-working parents. I tend to work hard, but I also like to think I work smart too. For example, this year, I started a LEGO Club at my elementary school. Now I know what you’re thinking, “How is that working smart?” I encourage you to come on a journey with me and I’ll tell you how. Life Is Like A Box Of LEGO I started considering hosting a LEGO Club at my school in the summer of 2021. I remember telling my school admin about my idea at the annual staff picnic. They lit up at the idea! But, you know, life… As an Education Assistant, my job is extremely demanding. It is emotionally draining a lot of the time, thus the high burnout rate in the profession. Instead of quitting, I took a...

The LEGO Insiders Double Points Event is now live on the LEGO Shop. From now until December 12, you can earn double points on all your purchases. This may be the last time this year that you are able to get double points. Keep in mind that pre-orders also work on getting extra points so The event will coincide with the current promotions going on including the Wintertime Carriage Ride (40603) with purchases of $150 and the Christmas Decor Set (40604) with purchases of $70. As a Rakuten/Linkshare Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. The post LEGO Insiders Double Points Event Live – December 2023 appeared first on The Brick Fan. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran

LEGO Fornite is now live and you can experience the new content that the game has to offer. LEGO Fortnite is part of The LEGO Group’s long-term collaboration with Epic Games. Although there’s already a lot of content available today, there will be even more coming in 2024. Remember to link your LEGO Insiders account to your Epic Games account to get some free stuff in-game. The Adventure Is Building: LEGO® Fortnite is Live! LEGO® Fortnite is live now – an all new survival crafting game in Fortnite. This is the first play experience to come from the long term partnership between Epic Games and the LEGO Group to develop fun and safe digital spaces for children and families. Within LEGO Fortnite, players can explore vast, open worlds where the magic of LEGO building and Fortnite collide. You can: • Play as some of your favorite Fortnite characters, like Brite Bomber,...

Today’s article comes from guest contributor BrickinNick who attended the New York launch of LEGO Fortnite. LEGO Fortnite Hello BrickNerd readers! I’m BrickinNick, a content creator, LEGO Master and avid gamer. BrickNerd was kind enough to invite me to be a guest contributor for a special event held in New York City: an early look at LEGO Fortnite for press and fan media, featuring a hands-on game demo and roundtable Q&A. This was an extremely exciting invitation to receive, as my favorite types of custom builds to create are ones based on video games. I’ve even tackled a wide variety of Fortnite-based builds over the years, so I couldn’t wait to get a glimpse of what LEGO and Fortnite were building together! View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize Going Digital… Again But before talk about what is new, let’s take a step back at what has come before. Going...

Tomorrow is the launch of LEGO Fortnite but before that, the cinematic trailer for it was dropped earlier today. LEGO Fortnite will be part of the main game and you’ll be able to use over 1,200 Outfits that will be in LEGO form. Connect your LEGO Insiders account to your Epic Games account to get the Explorer Emilie Outfit. The post LEGO Fortnite Cinematic Trailer appeared first on The Brick Fan. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran

LEGO has revealed a new 2024 mini Disney set with Ariel’s Castle (40708). Releasing on January 1, the set has 557 pieces and retails for $39.97. It joins the Mini Disney Castle (40478), Mini Disney Palace of Agrabah (40613), and the Mini Disney The Haunted House (40521) as the sets in the “Mini Disney” subtheme. The only main difference here is that the set contains a minidoll of Ariel and not a regular minifigure. Fans of Disney Princess buildable toys and The Little Mermaid movie aged 12 and up will enjoy endless imaginative role play with this mini model of Ariel’s enchanting palace. Mini Disney Ariel’s Castle (40708) is covered in golden details, incorporates various underwater features and includes an Ariel mini-doll figure. This portable buildable playset is part of the Mini Disney range of companion construction toys, sold separately. The post LEGO Mini Disney Ariel’s Castle (40708) Revealed appeared first...

LEGO has revealed some new 2024 LEGO Shop/Store exclusive sets which will be available starting in January. Joining the postcard lineup this year is Japan and will be the sixth one that LEGO has released. Another Japan related product is the Cherry Blossoms set which could be part of the Botanical Collection but isn’t labels as such. Spring Animal Playground (40709) – 172 pieces/$12.99 Hedgehog Picnic Date (40711) – 166 pieces/$12.99 Japan Postcard (40713) – 262 pieces/$14.99 Cherry Blossoms (40725) – 438 pieces/$14.99 The post LEGO Shop/Store 2024 Exclusives Revealed appeared first on The Brick Fan. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran