Master Builder Club

[MetroiD]

I was wondering how come no one has commented on this yet.

As announced at BrickCon 2010, Brickmaster is bound to be replaced by a new magazine called Master Builder Club. Apparently, people were right to expect this outcome with a new publication aimed specifically at AFOLs - hopefully Huw is right with his news that it might be available all across the globe and not just in North America.

Nannan also claims that it would come with exclusive minifigs and themed kits... which are all more than welcome!

So, anyone got more detailed info? What do you guys make of it? Do you expect it to be better than Brickmaster?

[Peppermint_M]

As we who live in Not-the-USA get to join I am :thumbup: to that. (hmm, I seem to have grown an extra arm...)

Sets and minifigs, articles and suchlike will all be welcome.

[prateek]

I saw this info before, but I don't remember where.

Anyways, this is a really cool concept! It'll be interesting to see what these exclusive figs and sets are.

[WhiteFang]

I really wonder by definition, what does "globally" meant. I seriously doubt so, even if its meant global, I supposed its only restrict to shop@home listed countries. Don't think I will have a chance to find out what it is.

[MetroiD]

That's exactly the issue that's concerning me, Fangy. However, I do hope that it would be possible to order the magazine and have it posted over to Bulgaria from the UK, for example. Wouldn't be too disappointed if that's not an option, I guess, since it does look plausible for the magazine to only be available in countries where S@H is also available...

[blueandwhite]

If this is targeted at AFOLs and made available internationally it certainly is a step above Brickmaster. This is certainly true for those of us who aren't Americans. Hopefully it's a true global publication. The bigger question is what will happen to Brickjournal? This magazine could provide some serious competition.

I'm very interested to see just how this will play out.

[Aanchir]

Sounds wonderful. I hope the price is reasonable.

[fred67]

If this is targeted at AFOLs and made available internationally it certainly is a step above Brickmaster. This is certainly true for those of us who aren't Americans. Hopefully it's a true global publication. The bigger question is what will happen to Brickjournal? This magazine could provide some serious competition.

I'm very interested to see just how this will play out.

Huh... as an AFOL, would you not want both? When I did model railroading (before moving to LEGO trains), I got several model railroading magazines.

Moreover, I seriously doubt Master Builder will be too similar to brickjournal, which includes a lot of things that LEGO might not officially like (even if they permit it to be sold in their stores).... like modifying cables to make PF receivers work with old battery boxes and motors. They also often have a section where they talk about OTHER toys, and have ads for places I'm sure LEGO cannot officially endorse.

On the other hand, I'm looking forward to getting both... I only ever had one subscription to brickmaster for one year - the little sets were nice, but the "magazine" made me feel like I was simply paying to be advertised to (for the most part). I'll give master builder a chance, though.

[Aanchir]

Huh... as an AFOL, would you not want both? When I did model railroading (before moving to LEGO trains), I got several model railroading magazines.

Moreover, I seriously doubt Master Builder will be too similar to brickjournal, which includes a lot of things that LEGO might not officially like (even if they permit it to be sold in their stores).... like modifying cables to make PF receivers work with old battery boxes and motors. They also often have a section where they talk about OTHER toys, and have ads for places I'm sure LEGO cannot officially endorse.

On the other hand, I'm looking forward to getting both... I only ever had one subscription to brickmaster for one year - the little sets were nice, but the "magazine" made me feel like I was simply paying to be advertised to (for the most part). I'll give master builder a chance, though.

Hey, some people don't mind paid advertisements. Some of those "advertisements" were in the form of charming comics, stunningly-designed posters, etcetera. All in all, it's only "paid advertisements" in the same way as, for example, the LEGO Star Wars games-- yes, it's product placement above all else, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable.

I agree that this new thing won't be anything like Brickjournal. First of all, LEGO endorses Brickjournal and even recently started selling Brickjournal on LEGOshop.com, so there's no reason they'd start making a competing product. Furthermore, Brickjournal is specialized towards the nerdiest of us, the ones who care about how The LEGO Group and its fandom operate internally. MOCists, Master Builders, and Product Designers are all interviewed to get a closer look at what drives the people who drive the sale of LEGO products.

This magazine, on the other hand, seems to be targeted at a more serious LEGO audience, but in the sense that it's building-intensive rather than pure entertainment. Plus advertising... what would you call that? Entertisement? Advertainment? I'm surprised there isn't a word for that in this day and age. Regardless, my point is that it doesn't seem to be the sort of in-depth interviews and articles that Brickjournal concentrates on.

Either way, I'll probably invest in this for a year or so and decide whether it's worth it. Unlike Brickjournal, for which it's easy to get back issues, this has content, parts, and minifigs I could totally miss out on if I don't take a chance at the very beginning, so once I've had it for a year I'll gauge whether it's a worthwhile investment to continue.

[Brickdoctor]

I've never been a Brickmaster member, but this des look promising. I may consider it if the price is reasonable.