This year's Toys R Us Bricktober sets revealed
Posted by Huw,
Despite the Toys R Us going down the pan in the USA and Europe, the once ubiquitous retailer is once again running a Bricktober campaign this year.
Four sets will be available, one per week commencing next Tuesday, in Hong Kong and probably also in other countries in the region in which the store still operates.
They depict typical Asian scenes in a 10x10 footprint and are designed to be connected together. They are highly attractive and desirable and unfortunately for us Westerners they are likely to be difficult to acquire.
Despite LEGO's pledge to offer regional exclusives in all markets it's likely that these will be excluded from that given they are exclusive to a store, not a region. We can but hope...
You can view pictures of the miniature masterpieces after the break.
News via Zusammengebaut and BrickFinder.
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40 comments on this article
...yes, but if TRU is not in a particular area of the world, how does it hurt TRU to allow geographically restricted sales to areas they do not serve? TRU is not making, consequently owning the sets. The leverage lies with TLG. Let’s see if/how they use it.
Just when I thought I'd never see another TRU exclusive. This was a welcome surprise. May not be able to get them but given my horrible luck with past Bricktober deals I wouldn't be able to get them even if they were being sold here. Still it's comforting to know my favorite toy store is still alive and annoying me with sets that are near impossible to acquire.
Ugh, saw these earlier and was very sad, because I'm sure they're going to cost a decent chunk to get >.<
My local old Toys R Us store today has been announced to be reopened as a Lidl and Smyths Toys Superstores, so at least its getting toys in that building again.
I really hope Smyths get these, but just rebranded cause they look pretty fun and like nice display pieces.
Geez, I was just looking for info on Bricktober...now I'm a lil' sad:[
I was hoping for minifigs, pref.: DC, City, Space/Classic...these 'micro build' don't do anything for me...
If Canada gets them I will, look like good trade fodder.
I really love the seasonal element to the four sets. That's very sweet.
We need more Bricktober packs!
Those look neat, but I’m extremely thankful it isn’t highly sought after minifigure again. That was rough last year. These I can do without.
Boy that is one tall ship to be that huge compared with that skyscraper...
Anybody know what each scene is specifically? My best guesses:
1) Japanese Shinto gateway with cherry blossom trees.
2) Looks like a Cambodian coastal scene?
3) Buildings look like the Hong Kong Harbor area with traditional Junk, but the transition to brown ground suggests it's a riverside, plus the cylinders are trees. Could be an abstraction.
4) Xi'an Bell Tower, China. My first thought was a Japanese castle, but logically they wouldn't represent Japan twice, and they *would* put China last (i.e., most prominent, the destination).
Awesome.
I live in Japan and was afraid that there wouldn't be any Blocktober (that's how it's called here for some reason), that's some pretty good news here.
No offense to the designers but these look like they would be simple to copy. If you like them and can't get them, build your own
Garbage
Smart move by LEGO as all we are missing is the LEGO printed tile that might be a sticker. These are simple and easy to make on your own.
Charming set of vignettes--I hope the instructions will be available at Lego.com, even if the sets never make it. It's good that TRU is grimly hanging on to this asset/tradition; I'd like to see them survive *somewhere,* even though they're lost to the USA.
These look lovely! Too bad it’ll be so difficult to get them....
@theJANG - I would agree with you - I too thought of the Xi’an bell tower when I saw the last one. The beach scene could be set just as easily in Vietnam as Cambodia; specifically around the Danang/Hoi An area.
Yet to confirm here in Japan, but we’ve had our share of salt when it comes to accessibility. The only good thing we had to ourselves in recent years was probably CUUSOO alone.
I thought the autumn one was an apocalyptic scene.
Those are majestic.
there are about 4 locations in the usa that will be getting either a toys r us store or experience before Christmas so it might be possible they will be getting these as well
Nice but pffft ??
Interesting use of the common printed tiles for skyscraper windows.
And for those worried about availability, these are made almost entirely of simple generic parts. You can piece them together.
I can't wait to spend a small fortune on this on the secondary market!
They look nice. No ToysRUs here anymore (rebranded as Smyths nowadays), but given that the instructions are released on day they look like the parts might be easy to source.
Ok, cool, but what is with the white person, statute in each scene. Please educate me on this. Not sure how to view it in context.
Do we know what the availability of these will be. Will Canadian Toy R Us be featuring these on the advertised weeks?
@theJANG, @MeganL, I believe (4) is Sungnyemun (Architecture set 21016 https://brickset.com/sets/21016-1/Sungnyemun), in South Korea. It's got the shape and the color scheme. And, it'll be almost winter there.
Not sure TRU in Canada will be having Bricktober as usually they would mention something in the Events section of their site (https://www.toysrus.ca/en/folder?cid=about-events). If there is a Bricktober I can't see theses as a big draws to get people to buy.
Release Geoffrey brickheadz instead. Pleeease!
Neat architecture sets, but-since these may or may not be in the US at some point, just glad they are not more minifigure sets.
The last micro figure should have been colored differently so as to show it, I am.sad and angry I may never get these.
If I manage to acquire these, I'll display them together while playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons in the background.
Whoot whoot! What a coincidence, I'm on my way to Hong Kong for a few days. Lucky me :D
Interesting use of calculators and keyboards in that cityscape. These all look like they’d be pretty easy to assemble on BrickLink for anyone who had a mind to and lives in the wrong region.
I can't wait for the parts list and instructions to see how easy it will be to replicate these.
@buildalot I agree. The shape doesnt really match the belltower.
We have some TRU stores here in Europe so there's a chance. But they're a bit crap really aren't they? The most interesting thing is the tile with the Lego logo, and that's almost certainly going to be a sticker.
is this an out of season April fools joke?
OK, the details are seemingly in. This promotion is indeed limited to Asia, the summer build represents Singapore, and TRU Japan gets about 4,000 of each to hand out.