S3E8 - S03E08: Extra Pieces: LEGO® Australia General Manager, Troy Taylor

Series 6 Episode 2 Episode Notes Welcome Back: We apologise again for a slightly extended break: in this episode, you can hear the full story why. It’s not what you might expect! In this episode: Jay talks us through the long-awaited 21438 Dungeons and Dragons: A Red Dragon’s Tale set that was revealed a few weeks ago. https://jaysbrickblog.com/reviews/review-lego-21348-dungeons-and-dragons-red-dragons-tale/ https://jaysbrickblog.com/reviews/review-lego-45008325-dungeons-and-dragons-mimic-dice-box-gwp/ https://ramblingbrick.com/2024/03/20/are-you-ready-to-roll-lego-ideas-dungeons-and-dragons-red-dragons-tale-officially-revealed/ Richard presents the 40683 Flower Trellis Display, available in early April (and again in late May/June) as a gift with purchase. The threshold of $USD150/GBP135/AUD240 is easily achieved if you are eyeing off some of the larger sets, less so if you if you aren’t. https://ramblingbrick.com/2024/03/28/40683-flower-trellis-display/ There are some other terrific releases coming out in April, including LEGO City 60439 Space Science Lab https://ramblingbrick.com/2024/03/23/60439-space-science-lab-hands-on-early-review/ LEGO Technic 42196 Lamborghini Huracán https://jaysbrickblog.com/reviews/review-lego-42196-lamborghini-huracan-tecnica-orange/ And the LEGO Friends Space Research rover https://jaysbrickblog.com/reviews/review-lego-friends-42602-space-research-rover/ We hope you enjoy the episode. If you do, please leave a 5 star review on your pod-paying platform of choice, as it helps others to find the podcast. We love your questions and feedback, too: leave your comments on our socials @extrapiecespod and or send an email to [email protected]

Welcome Back to Series 6 and a little bit of March Madness - there are so many new sets out this month, we have almost lost track! https://jaysbrickblog.com/news/buying-guide-every-new-lego-set-march-2024/ In this episode, we take a closer look at some new releases, and accidently overlook others. NEW LEGO Animal Crossing: Is it the Spritual successor to Fabuland? https://jaysbrickblog.com/reviews/review-every-lego-animal-crossing-minifigure-march-2024/ https://jaysbrickblog.com/reviews/review-77050-nooks-cranny-and-rosies-house/ https://ramblingbrick.com/2024/02/27/lego-animal-crossing-77046-julians-birthday-party-just-add-minifigures/ https://ramblingbrick.com/2024/02/23/animal-crossing-for-the-uninitiated-part-1-77049-isabelles-house-visit-hands-on-review/ 10332 Medieval market square https://jaysbrickblog.com/news/lego-10332-medieval-town-square-is-a-modern-update-to-medieval-market-village-with-a-new-grey-lego-goat/ https://ramblingbrick.com/2024/02/09/10332-medieval-town-square/ Goat! https://www.instagram.com/p/C3kmlm_pZCc/ Richard and Branko have been looking at some Technic Space Sets: https://ramblingbrick.com/2024/03/02/for-science-42179-planet-earth-and-moon-in-orbit/ https://ramblingbrick.com/2024/02/29/lego-technic-space-42178-surface-space-loader-lt78/ Ninjago https://ramblingbrick.com/2024/02/18/baby-riyu-is-growing-up-71810-young-dragon-riyu-hands-on-review/ https://ramblingbrick.com/2024/03/04/71815-kais-source-dragon-battle-hands-on-review/ We also discussed the insights that Ninjago designer Lee Chi Wing @citysoncreation has been sharing on Instagram. Here are some of his notes on the 71819 Dragon Stone Shrine https://www.instagram.com/p/C3s3tqCrzbq/ We hope you enjoy the show. Please share it with your LEGO Loving friends, and feel free to reach out to us @extrapiecespod or [email protected] with comments, thoughts and suggestions.

Extra Pieces Live! Expect audio anomalies galore as Jay and Richard record an episode in front of a live audience on Convention Day (January 19th) at Brickvention 2024, in Melbourne Australia. Not only is it our first live episode, it's also the first time we have recorded an episode while being in the same room, during daylight hours! We talk about life as LEGO Bloggers, as a hobby or profession; the joy of reviewing LEGO, stickers, no stickers, Space and we share our advice for fledgling Content Creators. We also take a little Q&A from the audience. Thanks to everyone who came to say hi during the event: its always awesome to catch up with listeners and readers in real life. There's a live convention with around 600 attendees happening in the background, so the audio quality is a little different to our regular episodes. We want to thank the organising committee for the opportunity. We'll be back with a regular episode soon. So, don't forget to subscribe through your favourite podcasting app.

Happy New Year and welcome to the first Extra Pieces episode of 2024! January has flooded us with plenty of new releases, and Jay and Richard discuss some of them in this new episode. We will be at Brickvention 2024 in Melbourne, Australia and are looking forward to saying hi if you're there! Tickets for Brickvention are available online: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/brickvention-2024-australias-premier-lego-fan-event-tickets-693986160287 Here are some of the sets we discussed in the episode: 10328 Bouquet of Roses: https://ramblingbrick.com/2023/12/30/10328-bouquet-of-roses/ https://jaysbrickblog.com/reviews/review-lego-10328-bouquet-of-roses LEGO City Space https://ramblingbrick.com/2024/01/09/60431-space-explorer-rover-and-alien-life/ https://ramblingbrick.com/2023/12/23/taking-off-with-the-new-city-space-60430-interstellar-spacecraft-review-swoosh-testing/ https://ramblingbrick.com/2023/12/28/60429-space-ship-and-asteroid-discovery-telling-the-story-in-a-single-frame/ 42639 Andrea’s Modern Mansion https://jaysbrickblog.com/reviews/review-lego-friends-42639-andreas-modern-mansion/ Sets were provided by the LEGO Group. All opinions are our own. You can even drop us a line at [email protected] if you have any questions or comments! You can also follow us on Twitter or Instagram @extrapiecespod or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/extrapiecespod/ We love getting emails, DMs and messages, and thank you to everyone who have written in! If you've been a fan, why not leave a review or give us 5 stars on your favourite podcasting app!

Extra Pieces: LEGO 2024 Previews Friends, City, Creator, SPACE! Welcome back to another episode of Extra Pieces. As we close out the year, we're turning our eyes towards 2024 and the new year and the past week has seen most of the January 2024 releases revealed, and it would appear that there is space for everyone! In today's episode, we cover some of the newly revealed sets coming in the new year: LEGO City, Friends, Creator and DreamZzz as well as explore what the new Space strip that has appeared in sets across themes mean. We preview one of the most impressive Creator 3in1 ranges to surface in recent years. https://jaysbrickblog.com/news/january-2024-lego-creator-sets-are-all-about-brick-built-things/ LEGO Friends features some old familiar Faces in 2024 https://jaysbrickblog.com/news/lego-friends-2024-sets-revealed-including-the-exclusive-42639-andreas-modern-mansion/ LEGO City: including a new range of Space. But does it take more than a silver embossed panel on the box to make it a glimpse at Classic? https://jaysbrickblog.com/news/lego-city-2024-joins-the-space-race/ https://ramblingbrick.com/2023/12/03/there-is-space-for-everyone-in-2024s-lego-catalogue/ LEGO Dreamzzz returns to round out the initial wave, with some fan favourites making their debut, as well as a few small sets, too. https://jaysbrickblog.com/news/lego-dreamzzz-january-2024-sets-revealed-with-more-budget-friendly-options/ You can even drop us a line at [email protected] if you have any questions or comments! You can also follow us on Twitter or Instagram @extrapiecespod or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/extrapiecespod/ We love getting emails, DMs and messages, and thank you to everyone who have written in! If you've been a fan, why not leave a review or give us 5 stars on your favourite podcasting app!

Welcome back to podcast. By the time you have listened to this Black Friday will be but a distant memory. In this episode we discuss the virtues of the reimaginined 40601 Majisto's Magical Workshop - celebrating 30 years since the debut of the Dragon Knights and the first appearance of Majisto the Wizard. You can read Richard's review of this set, and checkout his attempts to replicate the back of the box builds based on the original. https://ramblingbrick.com/2023/11/17/40601-majistos-workshop-review/ In his quest to modify the set to recapture some of Dragon Knights era magic, but for the modern day, Richard also looked at modern options available to upgrade the minifigures of Majisto's Workshop. https://ramblingbrick.com/2023/11/21/40601-majistos-workshop-finessing-figures/ We also take a look at the Avengers Tower. Released last weekend, you can read Jay's coverage here: https://jaysbrickblog.com/news/the-5201-piece-lego-avengers-tower-76269-is-the-ultimate-mcu-set-and-even-comes-with-a-kevin-feige/ https://jaysbrickblog.com/reviews/just-how-tall-is-the-lego-avengers-tower/ https://jaysbrickblog.com/reviews/a-closer-look-at-all-the-minifigures-from-76269-avengers-tower/ https://jaysbrickblog.com/reviews/review-lego-marvel-taxi-gwp-free-with-purchase-of-avengers-tower/ Finally... we have a chat about the newly unveiled Orient Express: check out Jay's Review (achieved in part with a loan of Richard's Emerald Night for comparison. https://jaysbrickblog.com/reviews/review-lego-ideas-21344-the-orient-express-train/ We hope you enjoyed this episode! Is there any set or theme in particular that you'd like us to cover in a future episode? You can even drop us a line at [email protected] if you have any questions or comments! You can also follow us on Twitter or Instagram @extrapiecespod or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/extrapiecespod/ We love getting emails, DMs and messages, and thank you to everyone who have wrote in! If you've been a fan, why not leave a review or give us 5 stars on your favourite podcasting app!

Extra Pieces: Modular, Botanicals, Chinese New Year and More Welcome back: In this episode we consider some of the Big Philosophical Questions: There’s a new Modular and Botanical to be released in December - not January as we have become accustomed. Is it my imagination, or are Christmas and New Year starting sooner than usual? The silly season (for LEGO news) is now underway, with new reveals and deals coming along on a daily basis... Reveals and Reviews: LEGO Botanicals 10639 Tiny Plants - to be released in December, this is a return to the "I can't believe that it's LEGO" that we have seen in the range previously. Richards Review https://ramblingbrick.com/2023/10/30/10329-tiny-plants-hands-on-review/ Jay’s Review https://jaysbrickblog.com/reviews/review-lego-10329-tiny-plants/ Super Mario 71426 Piranha Plant Richard’s Review https://ramblingbrick.com/2023/11/03/71426-piranha-plant-hands-on-review/ The Modular building: 10326 Natural History Museum: Reveal: https://jaysbrickblog.com/news/legos-new-modular-natural-history-museum-10326-will-be-available-in-december-instead-of-january-2024/ https://ramblingbrick.com/2023/10/31/10326-modular-natural-history-museum-revealed-december-1-release/ Jay’s review https://jaysbrickblog.com/reviews/review-lego-10326-modular-natural-history-museum/ We have also seen the Chinese International Import Expo take place with some significant sets revealed: Chinese New Year/Spring Festival :80112 Auspicious Dragon / 80113 Family Reunion Celebration Monkie Kid: 80054 Megapolis City Friends: 42604 Heartlake City Mall https://ramblingbrick.com/2023/11/07/ciie-2023/ https://jaysbrickblog.com/news/2024-lego-lunar-new-year-sets-celebrate-the-year-of-the-dragon-and-reunion-dinner/ https://jaysbrickblog.com/news/first-look-at-lego-80054-megapolis-city-celebrating-5-years-of-monkie-kid/ After the dust settled, Richard sat down and took a closer look at some of the images of Megapolis. Then he started to get really excited... https://ramblingbrick.com/2023/11/07/monkie-kid-80054-megapolis-city-10-reasons-that-this-middle-aged-afol-is-excited/ We hope you enjoyed this episode! Is there any set or theme in particular that you'd like us to cover in a future episode? You can even drop us a line at [email protected] if you have any questions or comments! You can also follow us on Twitter or Instagram @extrapiecespod or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/extrapiecespod/ We love getting emails, DMs and messages, and thank you to everyone who have wrote in! If you've been a fan, why not leave a review or give us 5 stars on your favourite podcasting app!

Animal Crossing: New Horizon sets revealed. Welcome back: Podcast episodes can be like buses. You see none for ages, and then several arrive all at once. This week, Jay and Richard unpack the reveal of the Animal Crossing New Horizons sets, the first official reveal of new sets for 2024. We look at the history of the game and the contents of the upcoming sets and discuss whether or not they bear a passing resemblance to Fabuland... For some strange reason, we completely overlook Sylvanian Families which originated in Japan in the mid 80s Jay Predicted that this theme should come to pass back in 2020. You can read that initial prediction here. https://jaysbrickblog.com/editorial/lego-animal-crossing-could-be-fabulands-spiritual-successor-we-all-need/ You can check out the new sets here: https://jaysbrickblog.com/news/first-look-at-the-lego-animal-crossing-sets-coming-1-march-2024/ And see Richard's comparisons with some classic Fabuland sets from the 70s/80s here: https://ramblingbrick.com/2023/10/15/lego-animal-crossing-sets-revealed-for-march-2024-release/ Are you now Fabu-curious? Here are some of Richard's Previous Reviews of these vintage icons. 3660 Fisherman's Wharf https://ramblingbrick.com/2023/08/05/3660-fishermans-wharf/ An exploration of the figures https://ramblingbrick.com/2019/03/29/ricky-raccoon-reduced-to-his-elements-feeling-fragmented-in-fabuland/ 341 Catherine Cat's House and Morty Mouse https://ramblingbrick.com/2019/02/25/feeling-forty-and-fabulous-in-fabuland-review-341-132-catherine-cats-house-and-morty-mouse/ We'd like to welcome Frederick French-Pounce to the team, looking after the audio. Fredierick will take some of the load off Richard and Jay, allowing content to be delivered in a more timely fashion! Notes go here

Welcome back to another episode of Extra Pieces! Sorry about the unexpected break: Richard's been sorting some stuff out and then Jay went on a whirlwind trip to Denmark! There were a few audio issues with this episode, with Richard occasionally sounding like he was trapped in the bottom of a deep, dark hole. Hopefully we will be in a more acoustically friendly environment next time... In today's episode, Jay talks a bit about his recent trip to Denmark where he was able to visit Skaerbaek Fan Weekend for the 2nd time. Photos will come soon, but check out https://www.instagram.com/jayong28/ for some videos of the MOCs! He also attended RLFM Days (Recognised LEGO Fan Media Days), an exclusive event organised by the LEGO Ambassador Network for select Fan Media. More reveals to come soon! There are also some tales of people Jay met, from designers to builders honoured in the LEGO House Masterpiece Gallery and even Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen which was a tremendous honour. That time that Friends came to Fan Media Days 2017 https://ramblingbrick.com/2017/07/13/making-new-friends-interview/ Here are other things we discussed: LEGO Piranha Plant (coming 6 November 2023) https://ramblingbrick.com/2023/09/22/71462-piranha-plant-reveal/ The future of LEGO Super Mario October 2023 launches We hope you enjoyed this episode! Let us know if there's anything that you'd like us to cover in a future episode! You can even drop us a line at [email protected] if you have any questions or comments! We love getting emails, DMs and messages, and thank you to everyone who have wrote in! If you've been a fan, why not leave a review or give us 5 stars on your favourite podcasting app!

Episode Notes Welcome back to another episode of Extra Pieces. We're shrinking down and exploring tiny things, and big changes in today's episode. Jay and Richard have a robust discussion on LEGO Insiders, the rebranded VIP program and what it means for fans. We also talk about some recent sets we've built like the LEGO Ideas Insect Collection, Passenger Airplane and also the recent blind box change to LEGO Minifigures. No more feeling up CMF! LEGO Insiders https://ramblingbrick.com/2023/08/15/vale-lego-vip-vip-program-set-to-be-rebranded-as-lego-insiders-from-august-21-2023/ https://jaysbrickblog.com/news/legos-vip-program-is-being-rebranded-to-lego-insiders/ LEGO Insiders Treasure Hunt https://ramblingbrick.com/2023/08/21/lego-insiders-treasure-hunt/ LEGO IDEAS Insect Collection https://ramblingbrick.com/2023/08/15/21342-lego-ideas-insect-collection-unveilled/ https://jaysbrickblog.com/reviews/review-lego-ideas-21342-the-insect-collection/ LEGO City Passenger Airplane https://ramblingbrick.com/2023/08/28/new-ways-to-play-with-the-lego-city-60367-passenger-airplane/ Boxed Marvel Series 2 Minifigures https://jaysbrickblog.com/reviews/lego-collectible-minifigures-marvel-series-2/ https://jaysbrickblog.com/news/lego-marvel-minifigures-series-2-weight-guide-and-correcting-other-identification-myths/ We hope you enjoyed this episode! Is there any set or theme in particular that you'd like us to cover in a future episode? You can even drop us a line at [email protected] if you have any questions or comments! We love getting emails, DMs and messages, and thank you to everyone who have wrote in! If you've been a fan, why not leave a review or give us 5 stars on your favourite podcasting app!