Bionicle Meetup - July 2020

The theme of last month’s meet-up was all things Bionicle. We are graced with at least three Bionicle experts in our group and each one gave short presentations on different aspects of this much-loved theme.

Daniele Combatti told us about the myriad of interesting parts that made Bionicle so interesting and peculiar: (presentation)
Tom Loftus helped us understand how to connect Bionicle parts to System parts. (presentation)
Mansur (Waffles) Soeleman gave us the story behind Bionicle, how it came about and some interesting theme trivia. (presentation coming soon)

We spent the rest of the meet-up socialising, building with the Bionicle people were mailed out the week prior and finishing with a show-and-tell of our weird and whacky builds.

August 4, 2020

The Enduring Appeal of Adventurers

This is a special report by one of our Lego historians, Ben Dodds, on one of his favourite themes and why its appeal still endures after all these years.

Photo of Adventurers launch minifigs

With the recent release of 10273 Haunted House and its plentiful references to the Adventurers theme, I thought it was a good moment to take a look at the theme and its enduring appeal amongst Lego fans and Lego designers.

The Adventurers theme has, in recent months, seen something of a resurgence. In CMF 19, we saw an updated Johnny Thunder and Mummy and this month 10273 Haunted House, home to the series’ main antagonist Baron von Barron, went on sale. More on these later but let's have a look at why fans remember this theme so fondly.

July 19, 2020

What makes a great Lego meetup

Earlier in the year, one of our members with a very active and interesting YouTube presence, Matt Elder aka Family Bricks, interviewed the founder and leader of London AFOLs, Richard Selby.

Here Matt interviews Richard and asks, among other questions, what makes a great Lego meetup.

Matt's video was originally published on his blog.

June 25, 2020

Habitat Meetup - June 2020

The theme of this month’s meet-up was minifig habitats. Minifig habitats are 8x8x8 vignettes built around a particular minifig or set of minifigs and built in a way that allows them to be interlocked and stacked together.

Our local leader of the habitat movement, Caz Mockett, kicked things off by showing her extensive collection of habitats. We spent the rest of the meet-up socialising, building our own habitats and finishing with a show-and-tell.

An example of the fantastic creativity this format allows is evident in these three habitats built by Ryan Harkin: Photo of three minifig habitats by Ryan Harkin

June 24, 2020

A Set Back in Time - 1970-79

This is part three of a series by one of our resident Lego history buffs, Marton Ferenci, who is keeping sane during lockdown by featuring great sets from Lego's past. Don't miss his pick of sets from the 50s and 60s.

The 1970s was the decade following the Moon landing - an achievement commemorated in plastic on many occasions, even to this day. My visit to the Vault (where the company has an original copy of almost every set released) allowed me to hold some of the early sets connected with the Moon landing and it also heavily influenced my personal picks. Every time I look at these they transport me back to that day.

A photo of set 367 - Space Module - preserved in the Vault

May 31, 2020

Member Spotlight: Caz Mockett - Micropolis and Lego House

In 2019 one of our most active members, Caz Mockett, (also known as Madam Mayor of Micropolis) was chosen as one of a select group of AFOLs to exhibit her work in the Lego House's Masterpiece Gallery.

Here Stuart Harris, Master Builder of the Lego House, interviews Caz.

May 28, 2020

A Set Back in Time - 1960-69

This is part two of a series by one of our resident Lego history buffs, Marton Ferenci, who is keeping sane during lockdown by featuring great sets from Lego's past.

1960-69 Starter Train Set with Motor Image of set 116 - Starter Train Set with Motor

May 20, 2020

A Set Back in Time - 1950-59s

This is first in a series of posts by one of our resident Lego history buffs, Marton Ferenci, who is keeping sane during lockdown by featuring great sets from Lego's past.

1950-59 Gift Package Image of set 700_0 - Gift Package

My inspiration for this series obviously came from the joy that is brought to us by Brickset's Random set of the day and Featured set of the day. To keep myself sane and taking it to another level I decided to revisit the history of the Lego Group and highlight one set from a given time period.

May 19, 2020

Welcome to our blog!

Welcome the London AFOLs Blog and our very first blog post.

May 18, 2020