The Earth Green machine

I don't like cars. Stinky, noisy, destructive machines that constantly made me travelsick as a child. They are of course a necessity of modern life, but I've never learnt to drive, choosing instead to reside in the centre of a metropolis with excellent public transport (and thousands of stinky noisy destructive cars). So it's a little odd I have been so very excited about the release of 10242 MINI Cooper, which is now available for VIP members to order ahead of general release on 1 August. But then this fabulous LEGO® version is neither stinky nor noisy and only destructive if you consider the environmental impact of producing the plastic - or throw it at someone's head.

J'aime Berard

A week ago the latest model in the Creator 'Expert' Theme of sets, which cater to us big nerds, was unveiled at BrickCon in Seattle by Design Manager Specialist Jamie Berard. And not just any ol' Expert model either - it was the next 'Modular'; 10243 Parisian Restaurant. Modulars are a series of huge minifig-scale buildings that make up a city street and are arguably the modern-day sets most beloved by AFOLs. They're the kind of thing you dreamed of designing as a kid, but didn't have the bricks nor the talent.

Mr Berard has the talent. Tempting as it is to rave about just how gorgeous it is, there's simply no time for that - as there are at least four completely new parts in this set! Surprising, as Designers working for the Creator Theme are not allowed to request new part moulds; they can request new colours of parts but must stick with the existing parts inventory. So presumably these must have been created for sets in other Themes prior to Jamie utilising them, but it just so happens that Parisian Restaurant has been revealed first. I'm under the impression the reveals of the other sets containing these parts will occur during the next five weeks.