Brickmaster Magazine Changing in 2011

[Walter Kovacs]

I received this e-mail from LEGO last night, letting me know that the Brickmaster program is changing.

Dear LEGO® BrickMaster® Subscriber:

Thank you once again for signing up a LEGO BrickMaster member. We hope your family is enjoying their LEGO BrickMaster subscription. Our records indicate the membership began with the July or August 2010 issue, and the last issue in the one year subscription will be the May - June 2011 issue. The remaining September 2010, November 2010, January 2011, March 2011 and May 2011 BrickMaster mailings will be coming to you as planned. However, to ensure that you are informed well in-advance, we must tell you that the LEGO BrickMaster subscription program will no longer be available for renewal or new member purchase. Instead, we will be getting ready to offer a brand new and exciting experience in 2011. Current and past LEGO BrickMaster members will receive a special letter when the new offer becomes available so you can be among the first to sign up.

We also wanted to share two other service messages to you, in order to avoid any confusion:

Starting in September 2010, all active LEGO BrickMaster subscribers will receive Free LEGO Club Magazine in addition to the LEGO BrickMaster Magazine and LEGO BrickMaster set. The Free LEGO Club Magazine may arrive before the LEGO BrickMaster mailing, especially if you have recently joined BrickMaster in July or August 2010. We will continue to send the Free LEGO Club Magazine to your family so you can enjoy the comics, building ideas and activities. If you wish to stop receiving the LEGO Club Magazine, please contact us.

In September 2010, LEGO BrickMaster subscribers may have received a Free LEGO Club Jr. Magazine. If your child is over age 7, then this was sent to you in error. We will be sending a Free LEGO Club Magazine for LEGO fans ages 7+ to you for arrival by September 30. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience or confusion.

Sincerely,

The LEGO Group

It's very vague on the details. I have a bad feeling that it means that the new subscription rates will be higher, with less of a return.

Hopefully this change means that our European LEGO fans can also subscribe. Finally. But with no details, that is purely speculation.

[Aanchir]

Well, until we know more we can't say whether to be happy or sad about this development. I myself liked the Brickmaster magazine, but really there's no reason that the same content won't be put in the regular magazine or whatever this new dealie-o is. And as for the sets, I loved them-- the pieces were much easier to build with than your typical impulse set, and I designed my own alternate models for many of them. It'll be a pity to see them go, but I did alright without them before I got my first Brickmaster subscription, and to be honest it's not like I'm missing out on anything.

I'm a bit curious what the new offer might entail. If LEGO intends to profit from it, then it will (presumably) have actual LEGO parts in it the way Brickmaster packages did. I doubt the Brickmaster magazine's target audience will pay the same amount of money for nothing more than a little bonus content in the regular magazine.

It'll be nice to see how this turns out. Hopefully, it will either be a worthwhile investment in the way Brickmaster was, or it will escape my interest entirely so I don't stay up nights wondering if I should get a subscription of my own.

[Flare]

Maybe this is a question to ask in the ambassador area? (or maybe not)

[Cardinal Brick]

Sound intreating, I do hope this new thing whatever it turns out to be will be over this side of th Atlantic aswell, I shall watch this with intrest.

[Superkalle]

Thanks for posting. Looks like 2011 is going to be an interesting year on many levels!

[LegoDad42]

It sucks 'cause I really enjoyed getting the models and coupons.

For $40.00 dollars it really was a bargain if you break it down. It was more than $150.00 worth of stuff per subscription.

Hopefully IF they continue they'll still offer the mini-models for a decent price.

It was fun. The mini-models alone this year were totally worth it and the coupons were put to good use too.

My son and I loved it. We'd read the comics together...he'd have fun with the puzzles at home and even when we traveled...and of course he had a lot of fun putting the models together. I also like the alternate builds they had for different sets that we already had.

Just got my last issue today. We got a Prince of Persia set with a small fun trap and a couple of interesting pieces...and a Dastan mini-fig.

This last issue for me is one of the best one's yet!

Has a good article on the LEGO master builders and NELUG members who worked on the Ribbon Models for the Rockefeller store (check out my flickr link to see all them I took at the Grand Opening).

Also has many alternate builds...1 for this months mini-model itself, An 8095 General Grevious ship alternate(a stealth recon ship), 5892 Sonic Boom alternate (a space scout craft), and build a Lucas Valor from Hero Factory models 7164, 7167, and 7165.

Plus some basic instructions for an Ocean Liner, an Elephant, and the Liberty Bell.

Sorry to see it go...I can only hope the new incarnation has more LEGO culture articles, less large ad's disguised as activities, keep the alternate builds, keep the comics/puzzles/etc., new idea build inspirations...and of course they gotta' keep the mini-models all for a decent price. Some of those mini-models go for like $10- $20 on the secondary market a pop. But I fear perhaps, it'll be more expensive with less models.

Edited September 10, 2010 by LegoDad42

[Inconspicuous]

I have a question, I hope it's not stupid. I renewed my subscription in July/August and got the mini Imp. Sh. with my welcome package. Do you think my subscription will carry over to the new one in 2011? Because otherwise, I'm only getting half of the Lego I paid for.

[Shadows]

I actually renewed yesterday and learned that the program will continue for at least 6 more issues, so anyone renewing is safe. I was actually told that they aren't taking new subscriptions right now, so for the rest, you'll have to wait until the 2011 program is completely announced. I was told it was likely to start in the summer, but that didn't seem definite. Details are particularly unclear, so let's just wait and see before we decide if it's an improvement or not.