BrickArms is a limited liability company specializing in minifigure accessories, specifically weaponry. It is unaffiliated with LEGO, instead privately owned and operated by designer Will Chapman from his home in Redmond, Washington. [1] The company was briefly the subject of controversy when one of its products was accused of being based on a member of al-Qaeda.
BrickArms began in 2006 when Ian Chapman, Will Chapman's youngest son approached him with the need for World War II weaponry for his LEGO builds. [2] Ian was disappointed with what historical weaponry LEGO offered. Will ultimately choose to begin to design and produce his own, more accurate minifigure accessories, running the company from the Chapmans' garage in Redmond, Washington and packing orders in the family's bonus room. [3] [4]
In 2011 Will and Jennifer Chapman decided to focus solely on the creation and production of the BrickArms product line, rather than the sale and on May 1, they ceased direct sales on the BrickArms website. [5] On the same date, the Chapmans' nephew Keith Nelson and his wife, Julie, launched the new GI Brick website, becoming the third authorized reseller of the BrickArms line in the United States. As of 2017, there were nine resellers worldwide, including GI Brick. [6]
By 2008, BrickArms was producing more than twenty weapons. [7] BrickArms produces a variety of minifigure-compatible accessories including an M4 carbine, M21 Sniper Rifle, M1 Garand, M84 grenades, M1 Helmet, Stahlhelm, Minigun, AK-47, M3 Grease Gun, M16, and a Combat Shotgun, along with many other items related to warfare. The accessories are designed by Chapman using a CAD program and are prototyped using a small mold cut by Chapman using a CNC to test the proportions, aesthetics, and playability of the resulting prototype. [8] Once the design of an accessory is finalized, it is mass-produced via injection molding of Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) plastic into professionally tooled production molds. [9]
In 2013 World War Brick, a lego fan event, Brickarms brought a new series of weapons called Over Molded. These weapons were more detail and colored. Using a special "overmolded" technique, Will Chapman was able to hand-inject these special two-color BrickArms weapons. These are not painted, but two colors of solid ABS plastic molded into one piece. Each one comes in a special "BrickArms Reloaded" blister pack and are rare. Brickarms is also known for its minifigs such as a colonial marine based on the game Aliens: Colonial Marines, Shaun based on the movie Shaun of the Dead, and Private Ryan from Saving Private Ryan. [9]
On December 4, 2008, a BrickArms custom minifig called the "White Bandit" sparked controversy when The Sun (United Kingdom) published an article claiming the figure was based on a follower of Osama bin Laden. Chapman has denied this, saying it is a generic villain and "is merely a bad guy for the good guys to battle." [10] [11]
Lego is a line of plastic construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. Lego consists of variously coloured interlocking plastic bricks made of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) that accompany an array of gears, figurines called minifigures, and various other parts. Its pieces can be assembled and connected in many ways to construct objects, including vehicles, buildings, and working robots. Assembled Lego models can be taken apart, and their pieces can be reused to create new constructions.
A brickfilm is a film or Internet video made by either shooting stop motion animation using construction set bricks like Lego bricks or using computer-generated imagery or traditional animation to imitate the look. They can sometimes also be live action films featuring plastic construction toys. Since the 2000s The Lego Group has released various films and TV series and brickfilms have also become popular on (social-) media websites. The term “brick film” was coined by Jason Rowoldt, founder of the website brickfilms.com.
This article lists notable events and releases in the history of the Lego Group.
Lego began in 1932 in the carpentry workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen, a Danish furniture maker. During the Great Depression he began to make miniature versions of his products, which inspired him to produce toys. The company was named "Lego" in 1934, a contraction from the Danish phrase "leg godt", meaning "play well".
A Lego minifigure, often simply referred to as a Lego figure or a minifig, is a small plastic articulated figurine made of special Lego bricks produced by Danish building toy manufacturer The Lego Group. They were first produced in 1978 and have been a success, with over 4 billion produced worldwide as of 2020. Minifigures are usually found within Lego sets, although they are also sold separately as collectables in blind bags, or can be custom-built in Lego stores and on lego.com. While some are named as specific characters, either licensed from already existing franchises or of Lego's own creation, many are unnamed and are designed simply to fit within a certain theme. They are highly customizable, and parts from different figures can be mixed and matched, resulting in many combinations.
The Lego Castle theme is a segment of the broader Lego product line that encapsulates a medieval world concept, prominently featuring knights and castles. Launched initially in Europe in 1978 and later introduced to North America in 1981, the theme enjoyed continuous support until 1999. It was one of the original three LEGOLAND themes along with Town and Space, with each of the three themes representing the 'Past' (Castle), 'Present' (Town) and 'Future' (Space).
Lego Wild West was a Lego theme based on the Old West period of the United States. It was in production for only two years, from 1996 to 1997.
Lego Spider-Man is a product range of the Lego construction toy, based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. When the theme first launched in 2002, it was inspired by the Spider-Man film released the same year and was part of the Lego Studios line. Additional sets were released two years later, based on the film's sequel, Spider-Man 2. The theme was discontinued before the release of Spider-Man 3, and the rights were sold to rival Mega Brands, who entered a multi-year licensing deal with Marvel Enterprises, giving them the rights to produce playsets, vehicles, and other building-themed products based upon various Marvel characters for their Mega Bloks toys.
Tente is a line of construction toys created in 1972 by EXIN-LINES BROS S.A., a plastics and toy company based in Barcelona, Spain which ceased operation in 1993. The toys consist of multi-colored interlocking plastic bricks in multiple scales and an accompanying array of wheels, minifigures, and various accessories.
Lego Universe is a massively multiplayer online game that was available from October 2010 to January 2012. The game was developed by NetDevil and released on October 26, 2010, with an early opening for Lego "Founders", users who had pre-ordered the game. It was globally distributed by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Its release was delayed from original estimates of 2009, Teasers were released by Lego in 2007 and late November 2008 to promote the game, and also in 2009 for one last promotion. The game was available in English and German. The servers were shut down permanently on January 31, 2012, due to 'unsatisfactory revenue' from within the game's target audience.
Lego Indiana Jones is a Lego theme based on the Indiana Jones film franchise created by George Lucas, licensed from Lucasfilm. The exclusive franchise was first announced in June 2007, and followed the successful Lego Star Wars franchise, also with Lucasfilm. The first set of products were launched in 2008, based upon two of the three earlier films. Sets featuring scenes from the fourth film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, were released alongside the film, later in 2008. The Temple of Doom film was not featured until 2009, in a large set which re-created the mine-cart chase using new narrow-gauge Lego train track.
Lego Minifigures are a 2010 Lego theme based on a set of collectible Lego minifigures. Each figure is an original character with new clothing and facial designs, and many contain previously unseen accessories. Each series usually contains 16 different minifigures; however, some series contain as few as 9 minifigures, while others contain up to 22. Since 2021, the number of different minifigures for a series is set to 12. In 2023, the Disney 100-anniversary series came out, bringing the total number of figures to 18, although it was once again reduced to 12 with the second Marvel series. This series also introduced paper boxes, instead of the plastic bags, making it no longer possible to feel up the pieces for each figure.
Since the introduction of the first Lego weapon in 1978, Lego has been criticised for the presence of weaponry and, consequently, the levels of violence presented within its product range. The relationship between Lego and violence has been a source of controversy, despite the fact that The Lego Group has maintained an ethos of not producing products that promote violence. The presence of toy weapons in Lego construction toys has increased over the years, with the introduction of many types of weapons across a variety of Lego themes.
BrickFair is a Lego convention and exhibition held annually in the Eastern United States. It was first held in 2008 at Tysons Corner, Virginia by Todd Webb, and in subsequent years, the flagship Virginia convention has been held in Chantilly, typically during the first weekend of August. BrickFair is a four-day event, operating generally Thursday through Sunday. The convention displays Lego models, displays and trains, most often covering more than 100,000 square feet of convention space. BrickFair conventions are also held in New England and the Southeastern United States, with the advent of BrickFair Alabama in 2012 and BrickFair New England in 2013. BrickFair operates in every season and in four East Coast states. BrickFair is believed to be the largest Lego convention in the United States and one of the largest in the world. The Virginia convention has had up to 22,500 attendees in its public hours.
Lego Ultra Agents was a Lego theme that was first introduced in June 2014 after the discontinued Lego Agents theme. The theme was inspired by James Bond as well as various spy movies. The theme was considered to be a development or upgrade from the 2008 Lego Agents theme. The theme's 14 toy sets were released in three waves and were accompanied by a free app. Lego Ultra Agents was discontinued by the end of 2015.
Lego Agents was a Lego theme that was first introduced in June 2008 after the discontinued Lego Alpha Team theme. The theme was inspired by James Bond as well as various spy movies. The 13 toy sets in the theme's release were split into three waves. In 2009, the theme was re-branded as Lego Agents 2.0. It was discontinued by the end of 2009 and replaced with the Lego Ultra Agents theme in 2014.
Lego The Lone Ranger was a Lego theme based on the film of the same name. It is licensed from Walt Disney Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, and DreamWorks Classics. The theme was first introduced in April 2013 and was discontinued by the end of 2014 in conjunction with the theatrical release of the film.
Lego Vidiyo was a Lego theme that allows children to create their own music videos and dance clips using a range of Lego toy sets and an associated app. It is licensed from Universal Music Group. The theme was first introduced in March 2021, before being discontinued by the end of January 2022 after being deemed a commercial disaster.
Lego Minions: The Rise of Gru was a Lego theme based on the film of the same name. It is licensed from Universal Pictures and Illumination. The theme was first introduced in March 14, 2020. It was eventually discontinued by December 31, 2022. A theme based on the next film in the Despicable Me franchise, Despicable Me 4, later launched on May 1, 2024.
Building blocks are modular construction parts, usually made of plastic, which can be assembled in a form-fit manner. The basic components are usually cuboid-shaped, cylindrically studded at the top in a grid pattern, hollow-bodied at the bottom and smooth at the sides. The structured upper surface interacts by friction and positive locking with the correspondingly negative lower surface of other clamping components, so that complex designs can be assembled. The design allows the parts to be connected with compressive force and the blocks to be clamped with plastic pins.