With the COVID-19 virus spreading throughout the world, there are many people, especially children and families, who are impacted in various ways, whether it be financially or through lack of educational options. Check out this press release to see how The LEGO Group and the LEGO Foundation are supporting children and families impacted by COVID-19. The two organizations are teaming up with Education Cannot Wait and other groups to donate $50 million to children and families in need during this trying time. In addition, they've gathered a selection of designers, STEM gurus, creatives and play experts to launch the #letsbuildtogether campaign to encourage kids to play, imagine, and create while stuck at home. Both are definitely great initiatives and it's good to see them trying to make a difference.

There have been a couple updates over on LEGO Ideas this week - even quarantines can't stop votes! First up, joining the 10k Club is The Castle in the Forest by poVoq. The model immediately reminds me of the classic LEGO Castle Forestmen sets and features some awesome techniques to achieve angled walls and access to the interior of the structure. Ideas team member Jacob has also posted the latest 10K Club Interview: Meet Simon Dudley and his NASA Spacecraft, where you can learn about the builder and the build. Go check them both out and join us in wishing them good luck in their respective review phases!

Among the many, if not all, plans being canceled or delayed across the world as we live through a global pandemic, LEGOLAND New York has officially postponed their Grand Opening celebrations to 2021. Read the press release here, but no further information is given aside from honoring tickets and passes bought for this year upon opening. Hopefully the opening date works well with all our schedules, and we can hang out after getting through these tough times.

We have a whole passel-full of LEGO Architecture skyline sets and we're going to see how many we can build in three or four hours tomorrow. Head over to the BZPower Twitch channel tomorrow, April 4th, at 1 PM Eastern as we start things up. We have 21028 New York City, 21032 Sydney, 21033 Chicago, 21034 London, 21047 Las Vegas, and 21051 Tokyo, so we'll get to travel around the world and see buildings and architecture styles from all over. Of course there will be some giveaways as well, so make sure you tune in and watch!

Today we have a LEGO Masters interview that I've both been looking forward to and dreading. BZPower, The Brothers Brick, Brickset, and True North Bricks spoke with the team eliminated on last week's episode. We've already met and talked to one of the team members a few times, but there's still a lot to learn about their LEGO history, their experiences on the show, and the lasting impact that LEGO Masters has had on them. We had a great time talking to them, and hopefully you have a great time reading!  

I hope everyone is enjoying 'don't trust anything you read on the Internet day,' aka April Fools Day. My days of pranking are over, so you can trust us when we link you to BZPower's 2020 Member Raffle #4, our giveaway for the month of April. Up for grabs is 71305 Lewa - Uniter of Jungle, one of the last Toa sets released back in 2016. As per usual, all BZPower members can enter, no strings attached. Maybe you'll be lucky like MartinCollects, who won last month's raffle!

It's Tuesday. We're all stuck at home. So there's no reason to not play some videogames tonight on the BZPower Twitch channel! Join us at 7:30 PM Eastern as we dive back into LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes to battle some baddies with the Caped Crusader and friends! It should be lots of fun, or at least more fun than staring out your window wishing you weren't trapped indoors. See you all there!

Just yesterday a new text-based role-playing game kicked off in the Bionicle RPG forum. Six Kingdoms: Rebirth is the followup to the recently-concluded Six Kingdoms: Escapement, but there's plenty of room in Unreliable Narrator's new adventure. The head of the Great Spirit Robot has landed on Zakaz and our characters are entering a world where Skakdi-Xa pilot Advanced Combat Rigs through the wastes. Whether you're a seasoned veteran of the forum or have just always been interested in checking out a game, now's your chance! Here are the important topics you need to check out to get playing:

• Character Profiles And Rules
• Out Of Character Topic
• Gameplay

Today LEGO and Universal are announcing the first product in one of their latest partnerships, Technic set 42111 Dom's Dodge Charger from the Fast and the Furious movie franchise. The 1077-piece set is available for preorder today before its global launch on April 27th for $99.99 in the US. For pictures, the press release, and more details on this model, read on!  

Recently two new projects on LEGO Ideas have achieved the coveted ten thousand votes of support. Because 80s nostalgia never seems to get old, Knight Rider - KITT by Jimmi-DK will be considered to be turned into an actual set. It definitely captures the look of the car from the show with some sleek lines and and curves. Additionally, one of the first Technic models I can think of received it's ten-thousandth vote: Snow-groomer PRINOTH LEITWOLF by redera00. I love the inclusion of RC funtions in the model and think it would be an awesome build. Best of luck to both projects when they make it to their review phase!

LEGO is sharing a look behind the scenes at the upcoming Ideas set 21322 Pirates of Barracuda Bay with a designer video on their YouTube channel. You can meet Sam 'Shipwreck' Johnson and Austin 'Flint Fish' Carlson as they talk about the process that went into adapting the original idea from Pablo and how it turned into an homage to the classic Pirates theme and especially the Black Seas Barracuda. It's a great look at how the process works and the love and care that went into making this set a reality. It's definitely worth a watch!

There's only a couple more days left in March, and that means only a couple more days to enter March's raffle. So head on over to the 2020 Member Raffle #3 for a chance to win 75119 Sergeant Jyn Erso. The only thing you have to do to enter is be a member of BZPower, so if you aren't already, what are you waiting for? Good luck to everyone, and don't forget to check back next month for the next chance to win!

This weekend we'll be back to being stuck inside like most people, so why not stream some LEGO builds? Come on over to the BZPower Twitch channel on Saturday, March 28th as we crack open the LEGO Creator Expert set 10258 London Bus. We'll be building the double-decker beauty, chatting with everyone, and of course giving out some prizes! We look forward to seeing you all there and hope everyone is doing well out in the world!

I've lost track of how many versions of The Weekend Whip that The Fold has released. I think most seasons of the Ninjago TV show have gotten at least a remix that ties them in to the show's theme. Recently they shared The Arcadian Whip on their YouTube channel to help promote the Prime Empire storyline. Go give it a listen and let us know what you think!

Once again BZPower, The Brothers Brick, Brickset, and True North Bricks have talked with the most-recently-eliminated team from LEGO Masters. We go through the usual questions, delve a little bit into their personal relationship and how it was presented on the show, and learned all sorts of fun and interesting things about LEGO Masters. Go give it a read while you're stuck at home!  

I don't know if one word in a LEGO set name has ever increased my excitement for that set as much as it has today. LEGO is lifting the lid on the Ideas set inspired by the Pirate Bay submission. 21322 Pirates of Barracuda Bay is the ultimate nostalgia trip for those of us who remember the original Pirates sets from the late 80s and early 90s. Although I never owned 6285 Black Seas Barracuda, I spent hours ogling at it in the little booklets and posters that came with sets back in the day. Starting April 1st, you'll be able to buy this tribute to the classic set with a modern design and a fun twist. To check it out from every angle and learn more, read on!  

Here's something I haven't seen in the Fan Created Media forum for a while, a Bionicle Music Video. BZPower member KDNX-Wyatt took Mirrorful by Jawbox and combined it with clips from the Bionicle films to create the finished product. I quite liked how some of the clips synced up with the music and enjoyed the overall feel. Go watch for yourself and see what you think!

LEGO Masters is more than halfway through its first season of American reality TV, and BZPower's Nuju Metru (Aaron) continues to impress us in his ups and downs with build partner Christian each episode. Aaron, as the “Clark Kent” on Team Clark Kent and Superman, brings his impressive knack for creature building, structural design, and storytelling to every challenge. BZPower chatted with him before the show began, and now we dive into the juicy bits as we ask about his highs and lows, his spectacular builds, and what happens off-camera. Read on for more on LEGO Masters and who we're rooting for.  

We've been a little back-and-forth this week, with everything going on in the world, but we're still planning on playing some LEGO videogames tonight! Come by the BZPower Twitch channel tonight at 7:30 PM Eastern as we dive into LEGO Batman 2 and take the reins of the Dark Knight. We've played all of the other DC LEGO games so far, but somehow we missed that one, so we're rectifying that situation. I'm looking forward to a new story and a new experience, and hope you all can join us there too!

In addition to the usual product copy for the LEGO Ideas 21322 Pirates of Barracuda Bay, they also sent us a press release and some fancy images of it in the 'wild.' So I'm going to talk a little bit more about how awesome the set is. While it's certainly expensive at $200 in the US, the over 2500 pieces can build both an awesome shipwreck island and a full-fledged pirate ship that is clearly an homage to the classic Black Seas Barracuda. I can't get over how awesome that is and how that design choice took this from a set I was interested in to a must-buy. So let's go check out some more pictures of it and read the facts LEGO wants us to know about it.  

While I've been focusing on getting our Toy Fair coverage posted, the rest of the LEGO world hasn't slowed down. LEGO Ideas has been quite busy, so here's a quick summary:

• The Great Fishing Boat by EdouardClo has joined the 10k Club! I love the color scheme and the shaping of the hull and wish it good luck.
• Jacob shared the 10K Club Interview: Breaking Free with Han Sbricksteen!
• Music to Our Ears! is a new contest challenging you to build a music-themed creation. Enter by April 20th to be in the running for awesome prizes and the chance for your design to become a LEGO set!