This Weekend – Train Room on Saturday & Pancakes on Sunday!
Second Saturday means the train room will be open for the Brickmania Toyworks Open House. Come and see the displays by the GMLTC and TCLTC in the Train Room! We’re open 10am to 4pm on Saturday and so is the train room! Rob from Brickstuff will also have a booth set up for those interested in learning about lighting up their LEGO models with some of the coolest after-market hardware yet made for the LEGO system.
With the expanded play area we have more space to place than ever before! Smaller even have their own DUPLO area. We also have several tables full of the regular ol’ LEGO bricks for making houses, race cars and more. If you ask nicely we might even bring out the stash of Bionicle! We also have the a find Waldo scavenger hunt set up throughout the space – if you play you will be eligible for a raffle prize!
Black Hawk Down diorama – photo by Bill Toenjes
Displays set up this weekend at the Toyworks includes the followings:
- NE Minneapolis Train Loop
- Battle of Peleliu diorama with 10 foot long Landing Ship Tank model (and hundreds of US Marines squaring off against the Imperial Japanese defenders)
- The epic new Black Hawk Down diorama
- Dozens of Brickmania’s kit prototypes (in a shiny new display case!)
- Tons more…
Remember the open house is a FREE event!
All You Can Eat Pancake Breakfast!
Brickmania opens at noon on Sunday, but you can join us down the hall Diamonds Cafe for their all-you-can-eat Pancake Breakfast happening 9am to noon.
“Pancake Breakfast on Sunday, July 13th!
“$8 buys all you can eat. Pancakes, bacon, sausage, eggs, juice, and of course, Diamonds’ unbelievable, rich, yummy coffee!
“We’re hoping for good weather…and the M2M crowd will be here as well, so come and swap stories and stoke up on cakes!!
“Remember, you need to come in from the north (18th Ave side) because of the construction. The street is closed, but the median is now gone, so you can turn around right in the street and even drive the wrong way on Central – take advantage of that!
“Come have fun and EAT!
“go go go”
Congratulations to our first EV3 Robotics Boot Camp Graduates!
We graduated our first class of Boot Campers today and are happy to report that all of our graduates completed their project objectives with flying colors!
Each student spent time in class learning the fundamentals of robotics and programing and then translated that into hands-on building projects.
The students learned the fundamentals of robotics by building and programing their first robots. They used this experience to build an autonomous robot of their own design, which was used to complete a set of objectives. The students demonstrated their projects to an audience of family members prior to graduation.
The LEGO® MINDSTORMS® EV3 Robotics Boot Camp is the first project of the new Brickmania Education program, designed to teach STEM (Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) curriculum in a fun and hands-on environment at the Brickmania Toyworks. We currently have space available in all five remaining weeks of camp, but they are starting to fill up as additional students sign on every day. We plan to develop additional after school, weekend and evening programs and classes and of course are looking forward to advanced level Robotics camps next summer. Click HERE to see the currently available camps.
Brickmania is going to be at Brîckfete, Toronto on July 19-20th
Brickmania will make our fourth appearance at Toronto’s Brîckfete next weekend (public days are July 19th and 20th… starts earlier for exhibitors). Brîckfete is Canada’s first and largest LEGO® fan event and this year promises to be the biggest one ever! We’ll have a booth featuring Brickmania’s custom kits, custom minifies, and of course a large selection of packs and loose BrickArms. Here are some of the Brickmania kits I sent in advance. We have a few left over items from last year being stored for us – all of which is now sold out in our web store.
This selection of custom minifigs was sent up for our booth earlier this week. These are all the minifigs we have for the entire event, so get there early for the best selection! We do have a vast array of packs and loose BrickArms for those who’d like to make their own. Keep in mind that Brîckfete is moving to a bigger location this year – and now with free parking!
New Edition WW2 Jeep with US Rifleman and Limited Bonus Pack Offer
The 1/4 ton 4×4 General Purpose Utility Car (aka “Jeep”) is an American legend born during World War Two. Hundreds of thousands of were produced in World War Two and remained one of the US military’s main general purpose vehicles until the late 1980’s. Celebrating the release of the newest generation WW2 Jeep kit with US Inftray Soldier, we’re offering this limited edition bundle pack.
In addition to the standard WW2 Jeep kit, the bonus bundle includes the following extras:
- M1A1 75mm Howitzer (can be towed on the Jeep’s hitch)
- Extra WW2 Us Infantry minfig with BrickArms M1A1 Submachine Gun
- BrickArms Artillery Shell with hand-injected olive green “proto” Warhead
You can also purchase the basic WW2 Jeep with US Infantry Minfig with the following features:
- Custom-pad printed US Infantry minifig
- Includes BrickArms M1919 machine gun on pintle mount
- Hood tile has custom pad-printed US star
- Windscreen can be used int he raised or lowered position
- Has a hitch to tow a trailer or artillery piece
- 1/35 scale matches other Brickmania models
- The over-all color scheme of this model is dark gray
- Includes 80 LEGO and BrickArms elements.
RESTOCK Schwimmwagen with WW2 German Soldier
The Schwimmwagen (literally “swimming car”) was an amphibious 4×4 utility car used extensively by the German army and SS during World War II. It was based on the basic Volkswagen chassis, but had a watertight hull and retractable prop for waterborne propulsion. With over 14,000 made during the war, the Schwimmwagen was the most produced amphibious vehicle made and was commonly used in place of the non-amphibious Kubelwagen. Brickmania’s Schwimmwagen has lots of cool features like retractable prop, a custom printed German army mini fig, and BrickArms C96 pistol.
Robotics Boot Camp Started Today at Brickmania Toyworks!
Brickmania is pleased to announce that our first robotics camp was launched today at the Brickmania Toy Works. The week-long day camp is designed to teach kids the basics of building and programing robots using the latest version of the LEGO® MINDSTORMS® system. We currently have openings available in five remaining camps to be held this summer, but space is limited. We recommend this camp for students entering 4-8th grades in the fall. This will be a great step-up for those considering joining their local First LEGO League in the Fall. Click here to see the available camp dates.
World War Brick 2015: Anaheim, CA and Minneapolis, MN
World War Brick is a gathering of hobbyists and fans dedicated to modeling historical and military-related scenes, vehicles, and weaponry using LEGO® brand bricks.*† At WWB we provide ample space for activities, displays, collaborations and of course products for sale from Brickmania, BrickArms, GI Brick and other top-tier custom vendors who seek to expand and enrich the building experience.
World War Brick Anaheim, CA – February 13-15:
We will be hosting our first-ever West Coast event at the Embassy Suites Anaheim South. It will follow the same format as our other World War Brick events: Activities for Weekend Pass holders will happen all day Friday through Sunday, with a six-hour public window on Saturday and Sunday only.Weekend Passes will cost $75 and single-day Public Tickets are $10. Of course we will offer a discount spread for people who buy their passes early. For your convenience, we are encouraging guests to stay at the Embassy Suites a have secured a discounted room rate if you book HERE.
Brickmania on Tour:
As part of our preparations for World War Brick Anaheim, the Brickmania team will be driving from Minnesota to California with several of our large displays. We will make stops in four cities on each direction of our trip and set up one-day-only displays to help offset our travel costs. The nominal entrance fee collected at the door will be split 50/50 between travel expenses and the Wounded Warrior Project. Here is the tentative schedule of stops we’re planning to make (venues and times TBA):
- Kansas City – Sunday, February 8, 2015
- Oklahoma City, OK – Monday, February 9
- Albuquerque, NM – Tuesday, February 10
- Flagstaff, AZ – Wednesday, February 11
- Las Vegas, NV – Tuesday, February 17
- Provo, UT – Wednesday, February 18
- Denver, CO – Thursday, February 19
- Omaha, NE – Friday, February 20
World War Brick – Minneapolis, MN: June 19-21:
At Brickmania Toyworks, which is a gallery space located in a former WW2-era armaments factory in Northaest Minneapolis and is currently the world headquarters of Brickmania Custom Kits. Weekend Passes will cost $75 and single-day Public Tickets are $10. Of course we will offer a discount spread for people who buy their passes early.
World War Brick 2014 Wrap Up
We posted a small wrap-up report on WWB 2014 on the blog about a week ago. CLICK HERE If you have not seen it yet!
Brickmania is Sponsoring Constest by Inspiration LEGO Group on Flickr
The Inspiration LEGO group on Flickr is hosting a building contest starting now through August 9th.
Brickmania has donated the following prizes:
- Task Force Ranger MWV
- Ranger with BA Proto M16
- M1857 with Union Soldier
- BrickArms Bug Out Crate
Will Chapman of BrickArms is also donating prizes too!
Details of the contest are found here:
www.flickr.com/groups/inspirationallego/discuss/721576454…
Hand-Crafted BrickArms M1 Steel Pot Helmet with Fabric Netting
We’ve seen a lot of customizations done to BrickArms’ helmets but this one is the absolute best. The real fabric mesh is glued to the surface of the helmet giving it the look of an authentic camouflaged net on the real deal. These are pretty durable and won’t come off unless you’re really trying to destroy it. Each one is hand made by a local BrickArms fan and no two are exactly alike.
NEW RELEASE: Tac Team – Law Enforcement Specialists
In the age of heightened homeland security, local law enforcement is investing time and money into specialist equipment and training in preparation for whatever contigency comes down the pipeline. Brickmania is doing our part to help your local LEGO® law enforcement team stomp… er… stop the bad guys in their tracks with the new Tac Team – Law Enforcement Specialists kit.
Tac Team – Law Enforcement Specialists kit has the following features:
- Three custom LEGO® minifigures with tactical vests and helmets from BrickArms
- Brick-built EOD tactical vehicle made with LEGO and BrickArms parts and Brickmania Track Links
- Brick-built door breacher ram
- BrickArms ARC M4 Carbine
- Rare black/white POLICE printed riot shield from Brickforge™
- Includes 71 genuine new-condition LEGO, Brickmania, BrickArms and Brickforge elements
- Sophomore Skill Level (2-4 years experience with LEGO is recommended)
All Brickmania model kits are made of new-condition LEGO bricks and this one includes compatible accessories by BrickArms. This model comes disassembled,includes complete full color printed building instructions and comes packaged in a sealed box.
Latest Brickmania® Release
