Tuesday 13 December 2011

Lego Christmas Winter Wonderland

Winter Wonderland (1934) by Felix Bernard and Richard B. Smith

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening


In the lane, snow is glistening

A beautiful sight

We're happy tonight

Walking in a Winter Wonderland!

Check out the rest of the song in the extended post!

Monday 5 December 2011

Our Lego Winter Village MOC - 10199 Winter Village Toy Shop, 10216 Winter Village Bakery and 10222 Winter Village Post Office!

What do you get when you put the 10199 Winter Village Toy Shop, 10216 Winter Village Bakery and 10222 Winter Village Post Office together with two grey base plates, plenty of white plates, several spare blocks, an additional minifig and horse? Little Yellow Brick's Lego Winter Village MOC, of course!


Our busy Lego Winter Town!

Eagle's eye view of our town, complete with roads and snow path!

As usual, we have plenty of photos in the extended post; we encourage you to check it out! This post is our expression of how we would like our Lego Winter Village to look like - roads for travel by carriage and van, a pedestrian crossing complete with traffic lights, a snow path, and plenty of snow. For more pictures and comments on the individual and combined Winter Village sets produced by Lego, please check our older posts or refer to the related posts at the end of this extended post. Well, enough talking for now, please enjoy the visual spectacle!

Thursday 1 December 2011

Friday 25 November 2011

Little Yellow Brick Initiative - Support Fellow Lego Blogs!

As Little Yellow Brick approaches 3,000 hits in a span of slightly longer than three months, we have much to be grateful for. We are thankful to our readers for your loyal readership and word-of-mouth/email/WhatsApp/Facebook/forum post; we will continue to work hard to snap, post and comment on our Lego collection.

Another group which we are grateful for - and which we will initiate a label on - are fellow Lego bloggers. As independent, often small, self-inspired online authors, support is always important and much appreciated. Today, Little Yellow Brick is proud to start a new initiative; we will be creating a label of fellow Lego blogs which we support. For all our readers out there, it will be increasingly more convenient to jump to another Lego blog from our website.

Without much further ado, let us kick off this initiative with our first fellow Lego blog - Legoasia. Legoasia is maintained by an AFOL based in Singapore, providing timely Lego updates and news to fellow Lego lovers.

Happy surfing! :)

Tuesday 22 November 2011

Our Lego Winter Village - Three and Counting

An unopened 10196 Grand Carousel. A half-built 10182 Cafe Corner. Both are highly valued, out-of-production sets, crying out to be built, displayed and blogged about. Yet we chose to buy three Winter Village sets and cut the queue. Why? What's all the fuss about three small Lego sets under a thousand pieces each, with their main buildings lacking a back wall? Well, let's take a look.

Lego Winter Village sets

1. Lego Winter Village Toy Shop
  • Model: 10199 Winter Village Toy Shop
  • 815 Pieces
  • Released in 2009
  • Retail price: $59.99 USD

2. Lego Winter Village Bakery
  • Model: 10216 Winter Village Bakery
  • 687 Pieces
  • Released in 2010
  • Retail price: $54.99 USD


3. Winter Village Post Office
  • Model: 10222 Winter Village Post Office
  • 822 Pieces
  • Released in 2011
  • Retail price: $69.99 USD 

Putting all three sets together, we have...

Lego Winter Village - Three and Counting!

Top down view of our Lego Winter Wonderland!

Our customary minifigs shot!

Without a doubt, the combination of Lego's three Winter Village sets is a sight to behold for any home Lego display, aesthetically superior to our impressive Lego Modular Town and magnificent Pirates Series sets. With Christmas around the corner, the Lego Winter Village is definitely the collection of the season. For more details on the composition of the individual sets - 10199 Lego Winter Village Toy Shop, 10216 Winter Village Bakery and 10222 Winter Village Post Office - please check out our project posts by clicking on the words. For now, please enjoy the pictures in the extended post! :)

Wednesday 16 November 2011

Our tenth Lego project - 10222 Winter Village Post Office

  • Model: 10222 Winter Village Post Office
  • 822 Pieces
  • Released in 2011
  • Retail price: $69.99 USD
10222 Winter Village Post Office
822 pieces and 1 instruction manual!

The finished product! Our Winter Village Post Office!

Yet another busy Winter Village set!

Let's line everyone up for the shot!

Bench, pavilion, post office and delivery van!

Finally. The set that completes the trilogy. The final piece in the Lego Winter Village jigsaw. Behold, the third leg of the Seasonal Series - 10222 Winter Post Office!

At 822 pieces, the 10222 Winter Village Post Office is currently the largest Winter Village set that has been produced by Lego; it is also the latest set, having been officially released by Lego in the US about a month ago. This set follows the 687-piece 10199 Winter Village Toy Shop (released in 2009) and the 815-piece 10216 Winter Village Bakery (2010).

As with the previous two Winter Village sets, building the 10222 Winter Village Post Office was a relatively short and straightforward affair compared to our Modular Buildings or Pirates Series, but one that was no less enjoyable. The Winter Village Post Office is a feast for the eyes - it comes with a post office, pavilion, bench and delivery van, all of which are very colourful and festive-looking. Additionally, the minifigs - an ecletic group of musicians, post office staff, residents and pet owner - add to the jolly atmosphere. Together with the other two Lego Winter Village sets, we believe the Winter Village Post Office will embellish an already dreamy Lego winter wonderland.

In terms of building detail, Lego's design team has, once again, shown us the true meaning of the saying "there are many ways to skin a cat". The roofs of the Post Office may look similar in structure, but the one on the left was put together by two pairs of clips latching onto the horizontal bar, while the one on the right was created by threading a horizontal bar through a base which has a common opening (please see the pictures in the extended post). Pure genius at work! Of course, we haven't really found a perfect building design - the Winter Village Post Office, like the Winter Village Bakery, somehow lacks a staircase or a ladder for access to the second floor, something which continues to puzzle us.

Display-wise, the 10222 Winter Village Post Office, like its predecessors, is probably cute and pretty enough to stand on its own in the living room, but it would be nice if all three sets were combined into a Lego Winter Village in time for Christmas, wouldn't it? More on the Lego Winter Village in our next post, but for now, do enjoy all the pictures and comments in the extended entry!

Sunday 13 November 2011

Little Yellow Brick Pick #5 - 10222 Winter Village Post Office

Here it is!!!

10222 Winter Village Post Office
Yet another happy Christmas Lego set!

7 minifigs and a dog!


We bought this set barely two hours ago! The third instalment in Lego's Seasonal Series, the 10222 Winter Village Post Office was released by Lego a month or two ago in the US, and is yet to be officially available in Singapore. We already have the previous two sets in the series - 10199 Winter Village Toy Shop and 10216 Winter Village Bakery. We will start building it up really soon; time to remove this set from our wishlist! Do visit our page over the next few days for an update on our tenth Lego project - 10222 Winter Village Post Office.. and of course, our Lego Winter Village comprising of the Winter Village Toy Shop, Winter Village Bakery and Winter Village Post Office!!! :)

Related posts:
Our tenth Lego project - 10222 Winter Village Post Office
Our Lego Winter Village - Two and Counting
Our Lego Winter Village - Three and Counting
Our Lego Winter Village MOC - 10199 Winter Village Toy Shop, 10216 Winter Village Bakery and 10222 Winter Village Post Office
Lego Christmas Winter Wonderland 
Our 19th Lego project - 10245 Santa's Workshop

Friday 11 November 2011

Our Lego Winter Village - Two and Counting

Well, you must have guessed it! After building the 10199 Winter Village Toy Shop and 10216 Winter Village Bakery, we were always going to publish a combined entry on both sets. So here it is, our Lego Winter Village!

Lego Winter Village
Welcome to our humble village! 


Preparing for Christmas! 

Shops, benches, trees and more!

View from behind the shops!

Our Lego Winter Village is currently made up of Lego's first two Seasonal Series sets 10199 Winter Village Toy Shop (released in 2009) and 10216 Winter Village Bakery (released in 2010). We are currently lacking the third set, the 10222 Winter Village Post Office, which we will try to get our hands on soon!

10199 Winter Village Toy Shop

10216 Winter Village Bakery

It has been a truly wondering experience building and displaying the sets. The combined Winter Village, we dare say, is visually more appealing than our Modular Town, which is currently at five buildings (we have yet to complete our 10182 Cafe Corner). The Winter Village Toy Shop and Bakery sets come with three shops, one skating rink, one bench with street lamps, a Christmas tree, a horse carriage, and plenty of minifigs - for more details, please read the extended post! Our final two cents on the village? With Christmas about six weeks away, we would urge Lego fans to buy the sets for that white Christmas feel at home!

Tuesday 8 November 2011

Our ninth Lego project - 10216 Winter Village Bakery

  • Model: 10216 Winter Village Bakery
  • 687 Pieces
  • Released in 2010
  • Retail price: $54.99 USD
Here it is - the second post in our Seasonal Series! Bought over the long weekend, we have wasted no time in building the set!

10216 Winter Village Bakery
Before...

After! Our busy little Winter Village Bakery!

Top down view of the Winter Village Bakery!

Lining them up for our customary minifigs shot!

Christmas tree stand, ice skating rink, Winter Village Bakery and horse carriage!

Following our post on the 10199 Winter Village Toy Shop, we were inspired to get our hands on the other two Lego sets in the Seasonal Series - the 10216 Winter Village Bakery and the 10222 Winter Village Post Office. For now, we have only managed to buy the Winter Village Bakery, which was released by Lego in 2010; the Winter Village Post Office has not been officially released in Singapore (Toy Station, though, has available sets). Nevertheless, we will look to buy, build and post the Winter Village Post Office before Christmas!

At 687 pieces, the Winter Village Bakery is the smallest Lego project we have worked on, never mind the Seasonal Series. However, it is just as aesthetically pleasing as the Winter Village Toy Shop. Taking about four hours to complete, the building experience was short but enjoyable. The Winter Village Bakery officially comes with 7 minifigs, but we would argue that it comes with 8 as there is an additional minifig stuck in the snow (only his feet are showing)! The set also comes with a horse drawn carriage, which adds to the village / non-urban feel.

Design-wise, the Winter Village Bakery, like the Winter Village Toy Shop, is only half-built - the facade is complete from the front but the back is exposed. There seems to be a design flaw in the shop, which does not have a ladder or a staircase for access to the second floor.

Overall, from a play and display perspective, the Winter Village Bakery can stand on its own, but we would propose adding it to the Winter Village Toy Shop to make the village a true hub of activity. Like the Winter Village Toy Shop, it also comes with lighting - we encourage you to check out the rest of our 40-odd pictures of this set. Our verdict on this set? Buy - especially before Christmas!

Monday 7 November 2011

Little Yellow Brick Pick #4 - 10216 Winter Village Bakery

Look what we bought over the long weekend!!! :)

10216 Winter Village Bakery

Another pretty winter themed Lego set!

Comes with 8 minifigs!

The 10216 Winter Village Bakery, released by Lego in 2010, is the second set in the Seasonal Series after the 10199 Winter Village Toy Shop. At 687 pieces, it is much smaller than the Toy Shop, which has 815 pieces, but appeals just as much to our visual senses. We are excited about the purchase, and will start work on building it soon! Stay tuned for our post on building the 10216 Winter Village Bakery! :)

Related posts:
Our Lego Winter Village - Two and Counting 
Our Lego Winter Village - Three and Counting
Our Lego Winter Village MOC - 10199 Winter Village Toy Shop, 10216 Winter Village Bakery and 10222 Winter Village Post Office
Lego Christmas Winter Wonderland  
Our Lego Winter Village MOC - 10199 Winter Village Toy Shop, 10216 Winter Village Bakery, 10222 Winter Village Post Office and 10229 Winter Village Cottage 
Our 17th Lego project - 10235 Winter Village Market
Our Lego Winter Village MOC - 10199 Winter Village Toy Shop, 10216 Winter Village Bakery, 10222 Winter Village Post Office, 10229 Winter Village Cottage and 10235 Winter Village Market 
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Our 19th Lego project - 10245 Santa's Workshop
Our Lego Winter Village Town MOC - 10199 Winter Village Toy Shop, 10216 Winter Village Bakery, 10222 Winter Village Post Office, 10229 Winter Village Cottage, 10235 Winter Village Market and 10245 Santa's Workshop   

Friday 4 November 2011

Our eighth Lego project - 10199 Winter Village Toy Shop

  • Model: 10199 Winter Village Toy Shop
  • 815 Pieces
  • Released in 2009
  • Retail price: $59.99 USD
With Christmas over a month away, how about a Lego blog entry to kickstart the festive season? :)

Bob the builder time - Winter Village Toy Shop pieces

10199 Winter Village Toy Shop - buzzing with activity!

 Let's line everyone up for a picture!

7 minifigs, 1 snowman, 1 robot, 1 jack in the box and 1 cat!

 The Winter Village Toy Shop comes with lighting!

At 815 pieces, the 10199 Winter Village Toy Shop is much smaller than any of our Modular Buildings. However, this set makes up for its lack of size with vibrant use of colours, numerous minifigs, and real lighting within the shop.

Visually speaking, the Winter Village Toy Shop is the prettiest Lego set we have built. It makes for an excellent display on its own; it has sufficient minifigs and structures (a shop, a bench and a Christmas tree) to stand alone. Its lack of a base plate to hold all the structures together could be turned into an advantage: the various pieces can be arranged in any order to vary the view. Do click on the full post to see the rest of the pictures for a visual feast!

Given that Christmas is round the corner, the 10199 Winter Village Toy Shop is definitely handy addition to any Lego collection. We had a great time building it - stay tuned for our posts on the 10216 Winter Village Bakery and 10222 Winter Village Post Office, once we manage to get our hands on them! :)

Tuesday 1 November 2011

It's November!


Related posts:
It's March!
It's April!
It's May!
It's June!
July 2012!!!
August 2012!
September 2012!
October 2012!

Our Growing Lego Modular Town - Five and Counting

With the completion of our 10190 Market Street set, the next post had to be on our expanding Lego Modular Town, no? :) Well, without much further ado, we present to you our Growing Lego Modular Town - Five and Counting!


Our Modular Town, anchored at a right angle by our Grand Emporium

This post features our latest addition to our Modular Building family - the 1248-piece Market Street, which we completed last week. Our Modular Town is now stocked with shops selling foodstuffs, groceries, pets and toys, while the fire station provides timely firefighting support should the need arise.

The Modular Town is a beautiful kaleidoscope of colours, a generous splash of red, green, yellow and blue. Next up in our series - the 10182 Cafe Corner (the first Modular Building produced by Lego), which we have already bought. More on that post after we complete the set; for now, do click on "Read more" to see more shots of our growing town!

Related posts:

Friday 28 October 2011

Our seventh Lego project - 10190 Market Street

  • Model: 10190 Market Street
  • 1248 Pieces
  • Released in 2007
  • Retail price: $89.99 USD

Front view of the Market Street - comes in two parts: the Market Place (left) and the Building (right)

Back view of the Market Street - the simplest Lego Modular building produced

Side views of the Market Street

Previously mentioned in our What's in the Post entry, we purchased this previously opened set secondhand from an online seller. The second set produced by Lego after the 10182 Cafe Corner, the 10190 Market Street was created by a Lego fan. Similar to the 10218 Pet Shop, the Market Street comes in two independent parts - the Market Place and the Building.

Given that this Lego set was designed by a fan, its design is significantly simpler than its predecessor and the sets after it in the Modular Building series: 10185 Green Grocer, 10197 Fire Brigade, 10211 Grand Emporium and 10218 Pet Shop. At 1248 pieces, the Market Street is about half as large as the other Modular Buildings, as evidenced by the relatively bare Market Place.

The Market Street comes with 3 minifigs - way too few to play on its own. The interior of the Building is as bare as the Market Place (do check out the pictures by clicking "Read more" below). In terms of design, the building is aesthetically ordinary while the building experience was short and easy; the reason why we took so long to post this entry after receiving the set in the post was because we had to buy replacement parts for several missing pieces.

Overall, we feel that the Market Street is a sincere effort by a fan to design a Modular Building, but it would be fair to say that we have definitely seen more elaborate and jaw-dropping MOCs. The Market Street definitely cannot be played as a standalone Modular Building, so we recommend that collectors display it with the other buildings in the series - may we suggest the more colourful ones like the 10197 Fire Brigade and 10218 Pet Shop to add more vibrancy to the Modular Town. Not one of the more exciting builds, but one that is no less important to a Modular Building series collection.

Well, we'll stop here for the summary of this set. For more commentary and pictures on the individual parts - Market Place and the Building - do read the full post. Otherwise, do stay tuned while we post prepare our next entry - adding the 10190 Market Street to our growing Modular Town! :)

Related posts:
Our Growing Lego Modular Town - Seven and Counting

Friday 21 October 2011

What's In the Post #4: 10182 Cafe Corner

At long last!!!

What could it be? :)

Second layer: bubble wrap!

Third layer: cardboard... How much longer must we wait?!

Presenting... The 10182 Cafe Corner!!!!

Front view - secondhand opened set purchase, so wear and tear is to be expected!

Back view of the Cafe Corner!
We bought this set secondhand from Ebay at a reasonable price; being the first Modular building (released in 2007), the Cafe Corner's value has gone up with time. With this purchase, we now have a complete set of Modular Buildings (in chronological order of production):


Well, that's all from us for now. As always, stay tuned for our posts on the 10190 Market Street (we are waiting for our replacement parts), the 10182 Cafe Corner, and the growing Lego Modular Town!

Related posts:
Our Growing Lego Modular Town - Seven and Counting

10224 Town Hall posts:
Little Yellow Brick News #1 - 10224 Town Hall