10253 Big Ben review!

Hey BrickaGrammers

We are here with our first of many full reviews of the New Lego Creator expert set

Big Ben
Set number :10253
Pieces : 4163
Height : 60cm
Width : 44cm
Depth : 20 cm
Price UK : 169.99
Price U.S : 249.99
Build time : 8 - 10 hours

Cons - lots of small pieces
           can get repetitive at times
           no as big as should have been

Pros -  looks awesome with tower bridge
            complex build
            new pieces
            great use of micro figures
        
      

Rating in comparison to other sets in this range
7.5 - 10

I am a huge fan of the bigger creator sets - for e.g  The Taj Mahal and the awesome Tower Bridge- so when i heard the news that big ben was hitting the shelves, it was a had to purchase ...
It is cheaper than previous creator sets buy some 40 UK, that being the cheaper end of the larger creator spectrum the London Tower Bridge ...

 When we first open the box we are greeted with bags numbered 1 to 7 (a blessing in disguise some older sets have no numbers)  a white box with bag numbers 2 in ?
though the bags look pretty small, and nothing in comparison to the might Taj Mahal or Tower Bridge  There is a large amount of small pieces. But do not be fooled this set is not for the faint hearted ..  it is definatley more of a test of endurance as with all creator sets..
One large manual as apposed to three or four in earlier sets !! as you go through the instruction manual you will see sections on the fantastic history of the Big ben structure in london u.k..

I have to say after opening the first set of  bag numbers and the amount of small pieces that dropped out,  was immediatlety daunting ....  i was like wow am gunna be here for a while ...
But given the much cheaper set price over previous price tickets its understandable that there wasn't going to be as many larger pieces .. so i carried on and ignored the amount of small pieces......

The structure lays on four green base plates of which sizes are ( 4611777) and (4610353) and a blue base plate (4610354) to emulate the look of the river Thames ... again i was deceived in thinking this set was not going to be that big . i wasn't seeing the 60 cm height :(
I guess after all i was only on bag one and wanted to see the end result immediately :)

After the first set of bag numbers i was starting to get an idea of how awesome  this set looks and the amazing detail that was involved ... but still after looking at the set of six bag numbers that were left and looking at the base structure --- i was still not feeling the true enormity of its magnitude ....

 Now i was determined and set in for the night and had all the pieces sorted into the right piles on bag numbers 2 - there were also a huge amount of  micro figures (4585486) that started to appear in the bag numbers --- windows were starting to go in 380 in total infact over the whole build (6102359)

 

After the bags 2 (floor 2) section was completed you can start to see the internal structure that supports the tower..


Bag three opened (below) and i was building the third floor putting more windows in, placing more micro figures and fighting with very small (4161734) and (4159553) pieces... 

Truth is after my initial hurt i was starting to realize this is what larger and even some smaller creator sets are all about ... just look at the taj mahal or the tower bridge --- the eiffel tower ..... the opera house ..
It was growing on me -

(Below you can see the internal mechanism for the clock (bag numbers 3)  

 

Bag numbers 3 over and we are almost half way there --- 4 hours build time and i was getting tired to decided it was time to call it for then night

First thing the next day i was determined to finish this set it looked so good pictured on the medium sized box ;)

 On opening bag sets 4 more mini pieces spilled out onto the table --- but i didn't care i wanted to see it finished, and seeing the end result in picture as before you start building really gave me the incentive..
It was starting to really take shape after bags four were finished -  and i was getting a and idea of the height. The internal supports were placed - as it all starts to come together in a solid structure 

back of Big Ben after 4th bag

front is really starting to show itself

Seeing some new pieces i haven't seen before to support the beams that steady the structure in a pretty cool building style... (

After Bag numbers 4 where over i was completely in awe of this majestic looking building all i could think was how to light it up .... I had forgotten my small pieces woe
 It looked awesome , all that hard work that must have gone into designing this set - all the man hours was now becoming visible, i couldn't wait for bag numbers 5 ;)
I knew after here it was going to be the tower the clock , roof  and most of all the amazing fine details that you expect in the creator sets .....

 Bags 5 and 6 complete
only one thing left -- and i couldn't wait for the awesomeness of the iconic Big Ben ;) 

                         


                         

By this time i was happy i could see what this set was going to be - it  had scythed its way into being another classic set  to go in with the long line of classic creator sets lego have produced ...

Now onto the finale the famous clock  

printed clock face ---- and dials that turn 

                             

And even a bell too 

 

Even at the end of this set you will be fighting with smaller pieces but it all goes towards its amazing intricacies and its pretty tall structure - its beautiful use of windows and micro figures, spires and even a bell - its huge amount of small pieces make this a worthy entry into the creator line - and a pretty beefy looking big ben .. i loved it


Now i need to get my hands on the mini architecture big ben :) 

                                          

Would you want to buy this set - what are you opinions on this set ? comment below

Peace love Respect

the_Brickagramer


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It's been a while but worry not...

Hi BrickaGramers, 

                            It's been a while! But worry not the BrickaGram Blog is back up and running, starting now, it will be updated once weekly and will keep you updated all on things brick! :DFirstly I would like to start of talking about the AWESOME new Lego Disney Castle 71040 which has just recently been announced, for the 60th Anniversary of the Disney Theme Parks. Set to be released September 1st this year. 

The set has 4080 pieces and it's 75cm tall, so it's a HUGE set, you're going to need a nice big space to display this amazing set! It also includes 5 minifigure : Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Tinkerbell, Donald Duck and Daisy Duck. 

The detail in this set in unbelievable, in the back of the castle, there are different floors all with different references to Disney characters, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, Rapunzel etc. Amazing details make this set even more beautiful! 

The set comes in at £289.99 uk and $349.99 USA, so it's not a light purchase however the detail in the set makes it stand out and well worth it, I personally can't wait to get my hands on it here in the BrickaGram HQ!

Keep posted got a GREAT review coming up tomorrow on our latest build - Don't miss it! Also important competition announcements!

                             Peace, Love & Respect 

                            - The BrickaGram Team

BrickaGrams special blog on Lego Worlds the infinate building game ... enjoy

Hello everyone! First and foremost I'd like to congratulate all of the winners in Last Sundays prize draw! It was an awesome one to say the least, and the next is looking to be even better. I mean....c'mon. Tower Bridge? Who isn't excited for that? I'll for sure be getting a few tickets for myself, and of course uploading lots of pictures to the BrickaGram app! I'm sure there will be lots of chances to win other prizes between now and then, so be sure to check in daily! Don't forget, Lego Jurassic World is coming up! I can't wait!

Not a whole lot to report on on the Lego news front today....but that's okay. We got more than enough to wet our palette last week, for sure. Today I would like to talk a little bit more about Lego: Worlds. I've had a chance to spend 12 or so hours with it, and have some first impressions I'd like to share with you.

Okay, the first thing you do when you start up a game is select a randomly generated world. You CAN see the map from the start so it gives you an idea of what to expect when you jump in. These worlds are displayed via a 'micro build' (if you've ever built any of the first Minecraft sets, you'll know what I mean). You'll see mountains, plains, snow and pink areas. While playing the game you CAN go past what that map shows, and as I've played I have yet to run into a wall that stops me. There may be one though, I'm not sure.

So, you pick your world and hop in. And what a hop! You start out in the sky falling towards the earth (don't worry, there's no fall damage. You are made of plastic after all). You can actually hit your left mouse button a few times to open an umbrella to slow your decent to better control where you land, if you so choose.

You have many menu controls at your disposal, you can customize your character, quick build sets and other small mini builds, or do it the old fashioned way and lay it brick by brick. Now...they don't have every piece ever, but they plan on adding more peices down the road. I, myself, was relieved to hear this, as the peices they give you are very basic. You can build a house, but little else.

Speaking of builds...you can actually import your .lxf files from the Lego Digital Designer program and use them in the game, but they will only really work if you build within the constraints of the pieces that are avaliable in the game.

One of the first things you'll notice is when you walk to up to a mini build that is flashing an icon will pop up. That means you have unlocked this build for purchase, and no, not with real money. I've been reassured by the developers that Lego: Worlds will NOT have any micro transactions. So you won't have to pay for any horse armor here! You get studs, like you would in any of the other Lego games, and you use those to buy builds, vehicles and characters.

You'll meet many characters as well, and all of them are real Lego minifigures that you may have seen in stores. And you're not forced to use all of any of them. Choose a head from a pirate, the torso of a robber, the legs of a police officer, and the cape from a wizard. It's all there. And some characters even come with special moves. The wizard, for example, can shoot fireballs, and Dracula can turn into a bat.

Now....vehicles...I'm torn on this. They haven't said if you can or cannot build your OWN vehicles, which I'm hoping in the final build of the game that you can. I mean....wasn't that one of the first things you wanted to do as a kid with Lego? Build a spaceship, or a car.... Well, we'll see what happens down the road. But there ARE vehicles. Cars, planes, helicopters, steamrollers....bulldozers. And many of the construction vehicles can alter the landscape. I can see this being a huge aspect of the game as time goes on. One car I stumbled upon in the desert by a sphinx had a gun facing backwards next to the passenger seat, so when multiplayer is implemented (either later this year or early next year) that could play a role with that.

I have much more to say, but I think I've said enough for today. I will try to pry some more information from the developers in the next week or so as we await the first TRUE update to the game. Recently it's been mostly bug fixes and game stabilization. But they will be adding things based on OUR feedback, so if you can, I suggest you purchase it on Steam for $14.99 US. Even though the game is still in its alpha phase, if you buy it now, when the final release happens, you will NOT have to buy it again, and it will be more expensive if you wait! So get it now and be a part of the shaping of what could possibly be the greatest and most ambitious Lego game to date!

pictured below screen shots of lego world;) 

another amazing blog - thank you jesse ;)

WOW! What an awesome week to be a Lego fan! More than that, what an awesome week to be a part of this amazing group! We've had lots of goings on in the community in just the last few days, so let me get started: 

The drawing for last months raffle is in just 3 days, so be sure to enter as many ways as you can; you can find all of the rules on the facebook group page, and each entry gives you a greater chance of winning one of the many awesome prizes and end up in the hall of winners!

Speaking of winners...someone who tunes into the Brickagram stream tonight will have a chance to have their very own Brickagram minifigure, which are selling out extremely fast, so this may be your only chance to get your hands on one. Be sure to subscribe to Brickagram on Twitch so as not to miss it; we have tons of fun every time so you can bet you won't be bored.  The more the merrier, so stop in and say hi!

And while you're doing that, why not head on over to Youtube and subscribe to the Brickagram channel and watch a few videos? You'll see some very impressive sets there, I guarantee it. The latest review is for the UCS Batman Tumbler, which I'd never seen sitting next to someone, I had no idea it was so huge!

And there will be an awesome stream tonight too, Phil will be playing the brand new Lego Worlds game that was released for early access on Monday, and I must say: it is absolutely beautiful, and even in this unfinished beta stage it shows major potential to not only blow all of the other Lego games out of the water, but even Minecraft, the game everyone is comparing it to. If you're still on the fence about getting it, seeing it being played will change your mind!

More in Lego news: we FINALLY got to see images for the Big Bang Theory set that won the last Lego Ideas competition, and it looks rather neat in my opinion. A little cramped, but what they took away in space they made up for in detail. 

Also, in the Marvel and DC Super Heros front, there will be 2 exclusive minifigures that come with certain products from Lego. For DC, we will be getting a minifigure of Trickster with the new Justice League movie due out in August. And for Marvel we'll be getting a special Iron Man figure with the Lego Avengers that has yet to be givin a release date. It is the Silver Centurion suit, Iron Man mk 33, which happens to be one of my favorite suits.

Well, I think that just about does it for me! Keep building everyone, and I'll see you next time!

 For free Prize draws and competitions please check our facebook group / and app (links below)

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our first proper blog !! amazing thank you carole ;)

This is my first blog for BrickaGram and it's by the BrickaGrammers for the BrickaGramees

May was a fantastic month for BrickaGram achieving over 5000 members.  

Don't forget the June draw coming up on the 7th - fantastic prizes all details on the site.  The Hall of Fame for winners has been started. Any new winners can add a picture to the site. Congratulations to all the winners.

Streaming has been very busy with lots of views and support.  More BrickaGrammers should tune in as its good fun.  With over 5000 members it would be nice to get the viewers on Twitch to at least 100!!The Twitch link can easily be accessed via the site.

One of the recent highlights was the Tower Bridge Build - The fabulous Lego Creator Expert Tower Bridge 10214. 4295 bricks so in the top 10 largest models. A brilliant build portraying an historic London landscape in brilliant detail. The designers have the detail perfect even including a London bus and taxi. The build could have been made easier with numbered bags, however sorting is part of the fun. The completed model is 40" long and 17" high. A definate model for landmark lovers - space required!! Phil worked very hard at this and produced a video which again can be viewed via the link on the site.

I hope everyone has seen the BrickaGrammer Minifigure - so cute and available to buy. They are only £7 each and available at :- https://www.facebook.com/groups/462333587253873/

As this is the first blog I don't want to make it too long.  I will be doing another one next Monday so any comments additions can be sent to me via the site.

Keep building, supporting and viewing!!

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a clipo of my new hd stop motion movie !! sounds blotted out