Author: Christoph Bartneck

Free Update of App available (2.3.1)

We are happy to announce that version 2.3.1 has just been released. It was a tough update since Apple suddenly complaint about the app claiming that it would violate copyright. They were even concerned about the icon. So we had to change some of the screenshots and make a strong case for the app. It worked. The update also brings you some free content updates, including the Simpsons Collectibles Season 2. We also fixed an issue with the back button. Enjoy.

The 2014 LEGO Minifigure Catalog is now available

cover-2014-01-single-200-300-borderIt is my pleasure to announce that the 2014 LEGO Minifigure Catalog is now available. It contains more than 650 Minifigures with detailed photographs and meta data. The book is a whopping 192 pages. I have limited the distribution options to Amazon and hence was able to reduce the price to only $32 USD. This is the biggest year book so far and I dare to say my best one so far.

The book is available for purchase at CreateSpace and at Amazon.com and as an eBook from Lulu. The App will be updated in due time.

Review of the Brick Rack

Gary Doss has developed the Brick Rack and was kind enough to send me a sample to review since I do have one or two Minifigures to store. The first thing I noticed is the careful packaging. Gary does a great job in making sure that your Brick Rack arrives in mint condition, even in New Zealand.

The quality of the rack itself is excellent. The rack is of closed-cell, expanded high density plastic and the whole product appears solid and well engineered. I then started to put some bricks into the grooves and this is the key feature of this product. You can slide in many different bricks to not only hold Minifigures, but also to present other MOCs.

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The next step was to fill the rack with Minifigures. I decided to put my Batman, Toy Story and Alien Conquest collection on it. This might have been a devious choice, since Zurg and Woody are exceptionally tall figures and the distance between the grooves is not big enough for them. But the figure above does not necessarily need to be just on top. You can slide it easily a bit to the right and the left to make.

I ran out of 2×4 white bricks, otherwise I would have also added my SpongeBob Squarepants collection to the rack. You can really place a lot of Minifigures onto it. The only downside is that the rack does not protect the figures from dust. It is also not possible to stand up the rack on a table. You need to hang it onto a wall. Gary is also offering rack stands made from LEGO that solve this problem, but you might want to build on yourself. Gary is also offering 2×3 and 2×4 white bricks and you might want to order them as well.

Overall I am very happy with the Brick Rack and I recommend getting one. The price does seem fair for this high quality product.  I could potentially create one myself, but I would have a hard time to justify the time, effort and material that it would consume.

Minifigure App Free Until October 3rd

My birthday is coming up, so what better way to celebrate this event than by giving all of you a little present. The Unofficial LEGO Minifigure App will be for free until October 3rd. This is your best chance to get the app, so tell your friends about it! Notice that the app comes with the original data that was also published in the book, meaning 1975-2010. The recent years are available as in-app purchases.