Medieval Bakery LEGO Ideas Project Review

 

Overview
This project is a cozy Medieval Bakery full of scrumptious baked goods. According to nunki-psi, who created the Medieval Bakery, this project seeks to expand on the medieval village theme briefly introduced in 2013 with set 10193. For more information, you can visit this project on LEGO Ideas by clicking here.

Appeals of this Project
The Medieval Bakery has a very nice balance of colors with the predominately white building complete with exterior wood (dark brown) framing, red roof, gray stonework and greenery. It is nice to see the outdoor ovens as this will help keep the interior of the bakery cooler, but it might make for some soggy bread during a rain storm!  I like the cobblestone design for the yard and the front pathway, and the use of the claws above the front door looks fantastic, especially as they are combined with the pretzel to create a sort of brick built sign. Some of the other exterior features that appeal to me include the architecture of the windows, the intermixing of earth toned colors in the bakery walls, and the good use of the plate and slope elements to create texture on the roof.

Inside the bake house there is a large selection of mouthwatering baked goods. Everything including pretzels, bread, buns and even a delicious looking pie. In the back of the bakery, we find the work area complete with measuring cups, eggs, a bag of flour, kitchen utensils, and a mound of dough ready to be made into some scrumptious treats. In the attic above the bake house, there is a large store room full of extra ingredients so the master baker has everything necessary to bake enough food for the hungry villagers.

For those townspeople, who are too busy to go shopping themselves, the bakery coachman will bring the baked goods to them in his delivery carriage, bringing that freshly baked smell along with him. Who knows, this load of mouthwatering baked goods might even be for the king and queen. On the other hand, if you are like me, you can stop by the bakery yourself (it looks like we see a couple customers who have done just that) and smell the tantalizing aroma of bread in the oven while you visit with the master baker before making your purchase.

Areas for Improvement
After examining this project long and hard, I have reached the conclusion that there is nothing that I would definitely change. One area that I am undecided on is the grass and flowers in the yard. In some ways, I think it adds a lot of detail and character to the build, while in other ways, I think it is somewhat distracting from the main focus, that is, from the bakery itself. However, I cannot quite decide which way I think it would look better, so I am going to conclude that it is good the way it is for the time being.

Conclusion
The Medieval Bakery is a very nice project that would be a great addition to the Medieval Village Castle sub-theme. I believe this would make a very nice set, both for collectors and for children if it reaches 10,000 supporters and passes the Official LEGO Ideas Review process. To see more pictures and offer your support to help this become as set, you can visit this project on LEGO Ideas here. Not sure how LEGO Ideas works? Click here to find out more.

Photos used and review completed with the permission of nunki-psi.

Foosball and Bowling Game LEGO Ideas Project Review

Overview
In this project, bigred0720 has combined the fun of LEGO with the entertainment of tabletop games. This build allows the user to switch between the games of foosball and bowling for endless hours of play. For more information, you can visit this project on LEGO Ideas by clicking here.

Appeals of this Project
This foosball and bowling design offers great playability and also nice aesthetic appeal as a display piece on a desk or coffee table or desk. Using the black and brown colors, it would go well on just about any surface, and the green playing surface (using a couple different shades of green with nice effect) adds a little bit of color to the model. I appreciate that there is a box included to hold the extra pieces for the alternative game, and I like how it attaches using the collectable minifigure plates, which I am sure many people have in excess.

The foosball setup has everything that you would expect with a normal foosball game. I like how the Technic pieces are used to create the bars for the players, and the use of the 2x2 round bricks for the foosball men adds a little bit of a challenge because their round shape makes positioning even more important. The scoring beads above each goal are nicely designed using wheel hub pieces and look very nice when arranged in this manner. The hinge function of the goals helps improve the playability as it makes it much easier to retrieve the ball whenever a goal is scored. You can see a video of a foosball game in action on the LEGO Ideas project page.

The 2in1 feature, with the option to have the foosball setup or the bowling setup, expands the playability even more. To switch to bowling, simply remove all of the foosball bars except the last one on one end and use the center 2x2 round brick on that bar to hit the ball towards the pins. This also looks like a lot of fun to play and offers a new way of bowling with LEGO compared to some of the other bowling themed LEGO Ideas projects. There are also a couple videos showing how the bowling works on the LEGO Ideas project page.

Areas for Improvement
These are both really minor things, but I would not mind seeing the light and dark bluish gray 2x2 round bricks replaced with blue and red 2x2 round bricks, and then the red goalies replaced by yellow ones. It is possible that this would add too much color to the build, but I would be interested in seeing what it looks like. The second thing is the color of the ball. To me, lime green just does not go well on the green field. I think a white ball would go better. Otherwise, I think this is a very well designed project.

Conclusion
Overall, this is a nice project that offers some great playability while looking good at the same time. I believe that this would make a very fun and engaging set if it reaches 10,000 supporters and passes the Official LEGO Ideas Review process. To see more pictures and offer you support to help this become a set, you can visit this project on LEGO Ideas here. Not sure how LEGO Ideas works? Click here to find out more.


Photos used and review completed with the permission of bigred0720.

Glossary of Common LEGO User Terms and Acronyms

For those of us who build with LEGO bricks, there is a whole language of terms and abbreviations. Have you ever heard one and wondered what it meant? Below are some of the terms that I am familiar with and their meanings.

 

A

• AFOL - Adult Fan Of LEGO. (Pronounced "aw-ful", "ay-fol" or ""A-F-O-L")

 

B

• Billund - Located in Denmark, Billund is where TLG's headquarters are located.
• Blay (or Bley) - Bluish Light Gray (or Grey depending on how you spell it). This is the second shade of light gray produced by LEGO entering production in 2003. The first shade of light gray is just known as "Light Gray" and was produced in sets from 1954 to 2008.
• Brick-built - Something that is made out of LEGO bricks and pieces more specialized pieces or assemblies.
• Brickfilm - A film made using stop motion animation where the characters and film sets are made out of LEGO bricks and pieces.
• Bricklink - Online marketplace where LEGO pieces can be purchased from other LEGO fans (www.bricklink.com)
  
• Bricktober - A month of brick events and specials offered at Toys 'R' Us stores (before they closed) during the month of October.
• BURP - Big Ugly Rock Piece, also known as LEGO piece number 6082

 

C

• Cheese Slope - a LEGO piece that is 1 stud by 1 stud with a 33° slope and 2 plates, or 2/3 of a brick high. Also known as LEGO piece 54200. This piece is called a "Cheese slope" because a yellow or orange piece looks like a wedge of cheese.
• CMF - Collectable Minifigure.
• CMF S## - Collectable Minifigure Series (Number)
• Custom - A creation or individual piece that uses non-LEGO pieces in part or in whole.

 

D

• Dark Ages - A period of time between when a person does not purchase or build much or at all with LEGO. Usually falls sometime between when being a KFOL and an AFOL.

 

F

• FOL - Fan Of LEGO (Pronounced "fol" or "F-O-L")

 

G

• GBC - Great Ball Contraption. Mechanism made out of LEGO Pieces that moves LEGO basketballs, soccer balls, and other LEGO balls from one point to another, or in a loop.
• Greebling - Adding detail to a LEGO build just for the sake of adding detail.

I

• Illegal - Building technique that does not follow the guidelines for LEGO Set designers. Often due to stressing the elements and/or unstable design.

 

K

• KFOL - Kid Fan Of LEGO (Pronounced "kay-fol" or "K-F-O-L")

 

L

• LEAF - LEGO Enthusiast And Fan
• Legal - Building technique that is follows building guidelines for LEGO set designers.
• LEGO Ideas - Website where FOLs can post pictures of their MOCs and if they receive enough support, TLG will consider making them into a set.
• Legos - Oh no, don't say that! Officially, the plural form of LEGO is "LEGO® brand building bricks", but that rather long to say, so most people refer to multiple bricks of LEGO as either LEGO pieces, or LEGO following the grammatical convention of "fish" or "sheep" where the word is both plural and singular.
• LTC - LEGO Train Club
• LUG - LEGO Users Group. This is  group of FOLs, usually in the same geographical region that get together to interact through different activities related to LEGO.
• LURP - Little Ugly Rock Piece, also known as LEGO Piece number 6083
• LSM - LEGO Stop Motion
• LSMF - LEGO Stop Motion Film

 

M

• MF - Minifigure. LEGO person within the LEGO System of play.
• MOC - My Own Creation. A creation made by a FOL that is not a LEGO Set. (Pronounced "mock" or "M-O-C")

 

P

• PAB - Pick-A-Brick. Choose the pieces you want from a given selection and either pay by volume, by mass, or by specified piece prices depending on how and where you purchase them from.
• Purist - Someone who only uses LEGO brand pieces, thus not including custom stickers, custom pieces, or pieces made by anyone other than LEGO.

R

• Rainbow Warrior - A LEGO creation that is full of multiple colors that do not make sense in the context of the model, but are just used because the pieces were available.

 

S

• SigFig - Signature Minifigure, the minifigure and/or picture of a minifigure that Fans Of  LEGO use online as an avatar.
• SNOT - Stud Not On Top. This is a building technique where the studs, normally on the top of a LEGO model are oriented in another direction, usually on their sides or upside down to achieve the desired shape.
• S@H - Shop at Home. LEGO online store

 

T

• TFOL - Teen Fan Of LEGO (Pronounced "tee-fol" or "T-F-O-L")
• TLG - The LEGO Group. A family owned company that produces the LEGO bricks and pieces that make up the LEGO System of Play.

 

W

• WIP - Work In Progress

How Does LEGO Ideas Work?

Maybe you have heard of LEGO Ideas, but aren't quite sure how it works, or maybe you have never heard of LEGO Ideas and are wondering what it is. Well, here is a brief explanation of what LEGO Ideas is followed by a step-by-step process of how to use the site support a project.

LEGO Ideas is a website created and operated by The LEGO Group where people can upload pictures and descriptions of their creations, often called "projects". Other people can look at the "projects" posted on LEGO Ideas and offer their support. If any one project reaches 10,000 supporters, it will go to the Official LEGO Review Process where The Lego Group will examine the design of the LEGO build on a variety of topics and determine if that project is something they would like to market as an official LEGO set. If the project passes the Official LEGO Review Process, it gets passed on to their set designers and then it becomes available to the public for purchase.

Below is a video created by the staff at LEGO Ideas describing more about the LEGO Ideas process.

 



Here are a couple things you will need do to either support a project, or create your own project for others to support.

• First you will need a LEGO ID. This is a free account that you can use across all of The LEGO Group's websites including www.lego.com, www.shop.lego.com, www.rebrick.lego.com, and www.ideas.lego.com.
• From the LEGO Ideas home page, click on the "Login" button in either of the locations highlighted below.


• If you have a LEGO ID that you use on any of the above sites, you can use that to login. If not, all you have to do is complete a few simple steps to create your LEGO ID. 

• Second, you go to the project that you want to support and click on the "Support" button.

 

• Finally you answer a few questions about the project and click "Confirm My Support".

 

 

That is all there is to it! All you have to do is follow this simple process to support projects on LEGO Ideas. There is no obligation to purchase the product if it becomes a set, although, you are most likely supporting a project because you would like to be able to purchase it. Requiring that you login with a LEGO ID is just The LEGO Group's way of making sure that people are not supporting the same project multiple times in order for it to reach 10,000 supporters. You can find out more on the How It Works page of LEGO Ideas

 

Here are some projects that I recommend supporting.

 

Are there any questions you may have that were not answered? If so, leave a comment below, and I will do my best to provide you with an answer.

2015 Ford F-150 LEGO Ideas Project Review

Overview
This project by CaptainAwsomeMan is the 2015 Aluminum Ford F-150 in LEGO form. For those of you who are not familiar, the F-150 has been one of the best selling trucks both in the 20th and the 21st centuries. In their 2015 F-150 model, Ford switched from a steel body design to an aluminum body design, reducing weight while increasing the strength, and revolutionizing the way pick-up trucks are made. For more information you can visit the project page on LEGO Ideas by clicking here.

Appeals of this Project
This LEGO F-150 has many appeals to me. First of all, I am a Ford person. I drive a Ford F-150, and was very excited when news about the 2015 F-150 with the aluminum body was released (although I do not own an aluminum F-150 yet). As a fan of Ford and the F-150, I like this model because it looks realistic. Everything from the grill to the geometry of the front end, the proportions of the cab and the bed, the colors (including the chrome detailing on the tailgate indicating this is a platinum edition truck), all look like they would on a real F-150. Even minor details such as the headlights and the taillights are appropriately shaped.

Speaking of details, there are so many details in this project I really like that I cannot talk about them all, but I will mention some of them, and highly recommend that you go to LEGO Ideas and see the additional pictures on the project page for the rest of the details. Now, here are some of the details that stick out to me and make this such a wonderful model: Functioning hood, doors and tailgate; movable seats, including storage under the rear bench seat; functioning steering; detailed cab interior with functioning center console, review mirror, fully detailed dash, A/C vents, and movable gear shift; storage pockets and exterior handles on the doors; and the center break light and bead lights have even been included at the back of the cab.

Underneath the truck, there is even a spare tire and a hitch receiver for attaching a trailer hitch, not to mention the exhaust pipe and detailed vehicle suspension. If you look closely in the picture to the right, you will see that the rear bumper is even shaped accurately and has a place where a license plate (probably a sticker or print) could be included. This picture also shows that the tread on the tires is even correct for a truck, although it looks like new tires were purchased recently without replacing the spare!

Areas for Improvement
This is a fantastic project all around that provides a realistic representation of an actual Ford F-150. The only thing that I would change (and this might already be the case and it is hard to tell from the pictures) is I would add something to represent the leaf spring suspension for the rear wheels. Even without these details, this is a superb model.

Conclusion
The 2015 Ford F-150 that CaptainAwsomeMan has made does a fantastic job of resembling the actual 2015 F-150 and I am convinced that this would make a wonderful set if it reaches 10,000 supporters and passes the Official LEGO Ideas Review process. To see more pictures and offer your support to help this become a set, you can visit this project on LEGO Ideas by clicking here. Not sure how LEGO Ideas works? Click here to find out.


Photos used and review completed with the permission of CaptainAwsomeMan

Lazuli Castle LEGO Ideas Project Review

Overview
Hear ye, hear ye, this project is a castle created by BartDaiz and called "Lazuli Castle" because of the blue Lazuli (lapus lazuli) rock used throughout the castle on the roofs. It is refreshing to see a well built traditional castle project like this on LEGO Ideas with the Nexo Knights castle theme that LEGO is currently producing. Although that theme does offer some nice pieces, the traditional castle theme has much more appeal to me. For more information you can visit this project page  on LEGO Ideas here.

Appeals of this Project
This is a beautiful castle with the nice blue roofs, stonework details (both stickers and brick built), well balanced mixture of grays and browns, and the inclusion of some greenery around the exterior of the castle. Aesthetically, I really like how the green baseplate and greenery around the castle create some closure with the blue lazuli roofs. From my perspective, this livens up the build, making it look like a welcoming place to visit. Another detail that I like is the use of some light tan bricks along with the light bluish gray used for most of this fortress. To me, this gives the appearance of a old fortress that has stood the test of time. I also appreciate how there is some reddish brown mixed in here and there, as this complements the light bluish gray well.

Not only is this a fantastic project aesthetically, but it also contains several entertaining play features. As seen in the cover image above, when the enemy knights come to attack the castle, they can explode one of the towers and access the interior of this mighty fortress. Another nice play feature is the hidden dungeon, which makes good use of the piece the BURP piece 6082 (not sure what this is? search "BURP LEGO piece" to find out). Other play features include the garden with a small stream, and the hiding place under the castle wall with some gold ore.

Inside the castle is packed with many additional details. There are living quarters in the tallest tower, a small kitchen along one wall where the king and queen's dinner is prepared, as well as a great hall, complete with throne, for feasting an hosting medieval parties. On the bottom level, there is a well so the castle inhabitants have water during the enemy siege (pictured on LEGO Ideas in update), while under one of the roofs, there is an armed skeleton. Perhaps it was an unfortunate enemy? Or maybe a valiant soldier who stood watch from there during a great battle at the castle in times past?

Areas for Improvement
Overall this is an amazing project from top to bottom, and a great tribute to the traditional castle theme. The inclusion of one light flesh toned minifigure (the queen) does bother me though. In my opinion, all of the minifigures should utilize the flesh toned head and hands (does not necessarily have to be light flesh, but they all need to have flesh tones), or none of them should use the flesh toned pieces and should all have the traditional yellow head and hands. There is nothing wrong with the dress or hair of the queen, but I would exchange the flesh head and hands for a yellow head and hands.

Conclusion
This is a beautiful castle and a very fine project. If all the minifigures have the same head/hands color, I believe this would make a fantastic set if this project reaches 10,000 supporters and passes the Official LEGO Ideas Review process. To see more pictures and offer your support to help this become a set, you can head over to LEGO Ideas by clicking here. Not sure how LEGO Ideas works? Click here to find out more.


Photos used and review completed with the permission of BartDaiz.