Haven’t seen this one make its way around the Fan Media pages yet so I figured I’d share this one. Looks like Will Arnett did some more voice work for the LEGO Company. It’s a pretty clever sketch and the messaging is good. I didn’t catch that the virus was brick built at first… Do you think that will become an official set?
Germany's Wiblingen Monastery - In Brick Form
I recently was able to stop at the Wiblingen Monastery in Ulm-Wiblingen, Germany. It’s about halfway between the cities of Stuttgart and Munich. According to Google, it’s a “Baroque Benedictine monastery, founded in 1093 & expanded in 1714, featuring a rococo library.” We stopped in and saw the cool library and toured the museum. Unexpectedly, we ventured into one of the rooms and saw some LEGO bricks. WOOHOO!!! And here’s what we saw…
Here’s a picture of the actual building. One of the first things you notice is the two towers in the brick version that aren’t in the actual building. The brick builders decided to add on the towers that were never completed in their version. Other than that, it looks like they were pretty accurate in building their version.
Source: https://www.kloster-wiblingen.de/en/home#impression-images-22
So the details (based on a fact sheet placed near the build in English and a few other languages)…
-Built by Burkhard Siemoneit and Stephan Schumann
-It took ~2 years to build (mostly weekend time)
-It contains over 800,00 bricks
-It weighs around 350 kg or over 770 lbs
-It is 3.5 m (11.48 ft) long by 2.6 m (8.53 ft) wide
-The towers are 1.8 m (5.91 ft) high
-It was estimated to cost over 40,000€ or ~$43,600
-The build was finished on 20 July 2017
Here is a scaled down version of the build.
I’ve included a number of pictures for a few reasons. First, you can get some closer views of the details of the build. Second, you can see some of the fun Easter Eggs they threw into the build.
A wedding being held outside
A minifigure walking on the roof, Superman and Superwoman.
Batman climbing up (or down) the side of the tower
A few minifigure “statues”
Some storks on the roof and if you look closely, some burglars in the background on the roof.
Bart Simpson on the roof of the tower.
Nearby to the monastery was a giant festival scene. It was chuck full of details with food trucks, a band, bakers making a cake, and a bunch of vendors. I included just a few pictures for your viewing pleasure.
As an American, I think we need to have more giant displays at random locations like I have seen in Europe. I’m a huge fan of seeing these displays and I can’t wait to see more. If you know of any I should check out, let me know. In the meantime, happy building!
Set Review - Clash of the Heroes - #76044
Okay, so I'll admit it... I don't follow Super Heroes much. DC Comics and Marvel are not at the top of my list. I'll be the first to admit that I don't know why Batman and Superman are fighting. Shouldn't they be on the same side? I should probably look that up.
In the meantime, I do follow LEGO and the sets LEGO releases. Released on 2 January 2016, the Clash of the Heroes contains 92 pieces and 2 minifigures. It has an armored Batman and then Superman. Batman's head glows in the dark and has 2 different facial expressions. Superman has the same to include one with a normal looking face and one with red eyes. The set cost $12.99 brand new and I have yet to see it advertised for sale anywhere. That works out to be $0.14 per piece which is rather high, but the norm for some of the smaller sets like this one.
Here is what the box looks like:
Nothing special about the box. It shows the set on the front and the back shows some of its features to include the "super jumper" (a plastic piece that lets a figure "jump") and a Technic piece add on that allows Batman to "jump" towards Superman.
Here are the contents. A sticker sheet with one sticker... I can't complain I guess. There's an instruction booklet, 2 parts bags, and a larger part outside the bag.
There's an armored Batman. He comes with armor and some weapons.
This is the first instance of this Superman figure. I only picture the figure this way, but you can rotate the head to see another face. The same goes for Batman.
The build is fairly simple and straight forward. The pieces are not bad, but I wouldn't buy the set just for the pieces. Having the Bat Signal is pretty neat, but it doesn't justify the higher price either. Here is what the final set looks like.
You'll notice behind where Batman is in the picture, there is a Technic pin. If you put Batman in front of it and move the pin, he can "jump" forward. The clear piece in the front of the picture is the "super jumper" so Superman can "leap" at Batman. I noticed this feature last year, but maybe it has been around for a while. Either way, it doesn't do much for me. Maybe for the younger audience it has an appeal. I tried it and Superman doesn't jump really well. I recommend using your imagination and picking up Superman with your hand to pretend he is flying at Batman. That way you can make a fun swooping noise with your mouth too. Back to the intro of this post... why are they fighting anyways? The joy of LEGO... I can always turn this set into a cafe where Superman and Batman meet up for some coffee and donuts.
So my final opinion on this set. Get this if you want the minifigures. The build itself is rather simple and it is geared towards kids as opposed to an old kid like me. The parts can be found elsewhere and if you want the Bat Signal, I'm sure you can find it online. The minifigures are pretty good though Batman and Superman have come in various forms and these are pretty impressive. Also, watch for chances to catch the set on sale.
The 2 heroes from this set are below if you are interested in them as well as some other versions for sale in the store on BrickLink.