The DUKW (ubiquitously known as the “Duck”) was a 2 1/2 cargo truck fitted with a boat shaped hull and a propeller for amphibious use during waterborne operations. DUKWs (designated by their GMC vehicle classification) was developed independently from the standard military procurement system in anticipation of waterborne invasions that would be a part of any American involvement in World War II. The DUKW was only reluctantly adopted by the US Army, who inititally did not see the need for such a craft. In practice, the DUKW proved an invaluable tool for bringing war material from ships to shore as well as saving thousands of lives by bringing back wounded soldiers to operating rooms in hospital ships off shore. Thousands of DUKWs were built during World War II and were used by the US Army, US Marines and Allied forces as well. Post-war advances kept the DUKW and active part of the military long after World War II and are still in use by some special forces troops today. Modified DUKWs filled with tourists are also common sights on roads and waterways in London, Boston, Washington DC, Seattle and of course the Wisconsin Dells.

Additional information about this Brickmania custom Lego® kit:

The DUKW kit has the following features:

• Wheels for land use and prop for waterborne travel
• Open crew compartment with dashboard details
• Fold down “surf board” at the bow and winch at the rear
• Cargo area big enough for many figures or a Brickmania “Durabuilder” JEEP
• Sturdy construction for active play
• 1/35 scale to match other Brickmania models.
• Includes 411 genuine new-condition LEGO bricks.
• Comes with a signed and numbered certificate of authenticity
• Intermediate Skill Level (4-6 years experience with LEGO is recommended)

All Brickmania model kits are made of new-condition LEGO bricks and this one includes compatable weapons by BrickArms. This model comes disassembled and includes completed printed building instructions and comes packaged in a sealed box. This is a limited edition kit and priduction may be discontinued at any time.

The cargo bed of the DUKW is large enough to carry a Brickmania Durabuilder Jeep. Suck loads would be hoisted into the DUKW using a ship’s crane and unloaded on the beach using a crawler crane or another DUKW modified with an A-frame and winch.

BrickArms new full-production Howitzers Shells and 20mm Rounds are perfect for any vehicle MOCs and military themed dioramas. The Howitzer Shells include a separate “brass” colored casing with a warhead in black, gunmetal and silver color. The 20mm Round is molded as a single piece and comes in black, gunmetal and silver.

We’re working hard to restock the shelves after all the summer shows have wiped out our inventory. First up this week is a restock of our “Durabuilder” Humvee in dark gray. Durabuilder means these are tough enough to play with dark gray is the cheapest version we sell.  This month only we’re offering an additional $5 off the regular price.

We’ve spent most of the spring and summer traveling to LEGO and historical destinations with the Brickmania booth. We’ve just cleaned out some of the bins we’ve been transporting and found we have a few items that have previously sold out on the web store. Below is a list of items we have in small quantities that have been previously been marked as sold out. Some of these will be restocked eventually and others are sold out for good once these final copies are gone.

UH-60 Black Hawk Utility Helicopter
M41 Walker Bulldog Light Tank
M42 Duster 40mm AA Battery
World War Brick Edition “Durabuilder” Jeep
Tiger I Ausf G

Previously only available bundled with the WC54 Ambulance Bonus Pack, we are pleased to announce the Brickmania Medical Corps T-shirt is now available for sale to the general public.  The printing on these shirts are pre-stressed, so it will look as though you’ve been through the Battle of the Bulge even when you haven’t!  Available in Youth Extra Small through Adult XXXXXL. We’re offering them now for just $10 for most sizes. ORDER HERE

The new Brickmania T-shirt we debuted at Brickfair Virginia is now available for the general public. A two color print on the front side features Brickmania’s T-34/85 kit along with the Tolstoy homage “War and Pieces.” The back side is an extra large print of the Brickmania logo. These come printed on a dark forest green T-shirts. Sizes range from Youth Extra Small all the way up to XXXXXL. Most sizes are just $10 until the end of the month. Order yours HERE.

Brickmania M3A1 on a Real M3A1!

We scheduled a stop at the Ropkey Armor Museum today during our return trip from Virigina. There we met Museum founder Fred Ropkey and his chief mechanic Skip. Here are a few snapshots of just part of the collection. They were impressed by some of the models we showed them and asked us to leave them a display for the museum. We plan to return to the museum later this month with a nice Brickmania display for their collection.

Allan Cors, the man behind the Americans in Wartime Museum, Awas profiled today in online edition the UK’s Daily Mail . Included among numerous photos of Allan’s armor vehicle collection taken of the recent “Tank Farm” Open house was a shot of Brickmania’s Peleliu Invasion diorama. Check out the whole article HERE.

The fourth wave of waterslide decal packs from  Roaglaan’s Customs are now hitting the shelves and will beging shipping august 23rd. Included are ten new squad packs (containing enough decal sets for 3-12 figures) and three new complete figure sets. Waterslide decals are an inexpensive way to create your own minifigure army, but some skill, patience and a few supplies are required. As always we recommend Jared Burk’s invaluable Minifigure Customization book for anyone new to customizing figures. Also keep in mind that these decal packs do NOT contain any actual mini figures – you will need to take these from your own collection, find them in stores on on the web. We are also still honoring the special offer of supplying a free four-pack of micro-grit sandpaper (useful for removing old printing from figures) with the purchase of four Squad Packs.

World War II Canadian Infantry Squad Pack RCSP025 $5
World War II Italian Infantry Squad Pack RCSP026 $5
World War II Italian Bersaglieri Squad Pack RCSP027 $5
World War II American Tank Crew Squad Pack RCSP028 $5
World War II American Seaman Squad Pack RCSP029 $5
World War II Japanese Pilot Squad Pack RCSP030 $5
World War II Stalingrad Russian Squad Pack RCSP031 $5
Vietnam War Vietcong Soldier Squad Pack RCSP032 $5
Vietnam War North Vietnamese Army Squad Pack RCSP023 $5
World War II German High Command Squad Pack RCSP034 $5
World War II Panzer Commander Figure Pack RCFP009 $3
World War II Panzer Crewman Figure Pack RCFP010 $3
Vietnam War M60 Gunner Figure Pack RCFP013 $3

A fully restored T-34/85 was one of many vehicles on display at the tank farm.

Last weekend the Brickmania set up a display at the Americans in Wartime Museum‘s fundraising Open House at “Tank Farm” in Nokesville, VA. We were invited to display by Paul Kopsick, the official historian for National Dusters Quads and Searchlights Association and a volunteer at the Tank Farm. We set up our display in a large garage that is usually full of armored vehicles the rest of the year, but this weekend it was filled with displays by militaria collectors, model makes, and Brickmania’s LEGO® tanks.

This paratrooper was one of hundreds dressed in period uniforms that participated throughout the weekend.

The Open House consisted of several large fields dotted with about 75 historical armored vehicles from various 20th century conflicts and time periods. Among the armored vehicles were encampments of various living history actors wearing period costumes. Those represented included the Wehrmacht, British Long Range Desert Group, US Airborne, French Foreign Legion, and others.  There were also various tents and pavilions set by different organizations, many of which included displays of historic artifacts.

Brickmania set up our Peleliu Invasion diorama along with a 22 foot display of armored vehicles. New additions to the Peleliu Invasion include a pair of the our new DUKW kits, ferrying supplies to (and wounded soldiers from) the beach.

Dan with Allan Cors and Paul Kopsick

While at the “Tank Farm” we met Allan Cors, whose vision brought this amazing armored vehicle collection into being, and is the driving force behind the Americans in Wartime Museum project. (Allan was featured in the UK Daily Mail where you can see Brickmania’s van and display in the pictures).

US Marines demonstrating a World War II flamethrower

The second day of the show was less attended due to the constant drizzle and unseasonably cold temperatures (all of the historical actors stuck around except the Germans). By afternoon the weather cleared up enough for live action to continue, including an impressive  World War II flamethrower demonstration by the US Marines.

The M41 Turret lets you know when you found the entrance to the Ropkey Armor Museum

We scheduled an appointment to tour the Ropkey Armor Museum on our return trip. This museum is the based around the private collection of US Marine / Korean War veteran Fred Ropkey who has been collecting military artifacts since his youth. Ropkey has an outstanding collection of fully restored armed vehicles, most remarkably US tanks from the M1917 through the M48, but militaria of all sorts from the renaissance through the present day.

Brickmania tanks at the Ropkey Armor Museum

Of course our colorful vehicle raised a lot of questions about what we do, so we brought out some of our own collection to show off. The other visitors and Fred himself seemed quite impressed by our LEGO armor we produced from the van. They asked us to leave some of our models and we plan to deliver a display for their museum next week on our way back through.

Dan with Fred Ropkey at the Ropkey Armor Museum

We usually try to visit a museum or historical monument whenever possible on our travels. On this excursion we were able to display in the midst of one Museum’s event, while visiting another museum on the way home. We’ve been meeting a lot of other folks who have interest in historical preservation and so far the LEGO displays have received a warm welcome (rather than the hysterical laughter we expected). Next week we’re heading out to display aboard the LST 325 and look forward five days of total immersion in history.

More pictures from the Tank Farm are HERE and HERE.

More pictures from Ropkey Armor Museum are HERE.

The UH-1H Iroquois was the troop transport version of the famous “Huey,” the ubiquitous workhorse helicopter of US Armed forces in the Vietnam War. Brickmania devloped the UH-1H “Durabuilder” kit as a relatively low-priced base model, with tons of playability right out of the box, but also lots of room for customization and further detailing. We were forced to discontinue the kit due to parts shortages. Thanks to a recent find of hidden inventory, we have been able to  bring this popular kit back for a limited time. Click image for ordering information.

The Panzer III has been among our most popular World War II kits, selling hundreds each year. The latest Ausf H version combines the detail level of our larger tank kits, with the playability of our “Durabuilder” line, and a price everyone can live with. Click the image for more information.

For five days over the Labor Day Weekend, we set up our Battle of  Peleliu diorama aboard the LST 325, which was visiting Charleston, WV. More than 15,000 people visited the ship (and presumably saw the diorama) last weekend. We received lots of compliments and many people visited our little shop while we were there. Thanks to the people of the Charleston, WV area and special thanks to the crew and staff of the LST 325 memorial for having us aboard!

The display took a prominent space in the tank deck on LST 325.

We are working with some of the best custom accessory makers from around the world to develop new premium quality custom minifigures and troop packs. The first of which include the US Infantry World War II Troop Pack shown above. The troop pack includes four complete LEGO figures with custom cloth jackets from MMCB Capes and accessories from BrickArms.

We also have a Wehrmacht World War II Troop Pack, with four complete German soldiers and equipment.

There is also a US Soldiers: Vietnam War version with custom M67 Flak Jackets and camouflage helmets custom printed by Citizen Brick, plus an awesome array of firepower provided by BrickArms. The Vietnam soldiers can also be purchased separately (although the weapons and ethnicity of your soldier are completely random).

We also have a premium British World War II Soldier available as a single premium custom figure. He also has a custom cloth jacket made by MMCB capes and accessories by BrickArms.

Russian and German Soldiers with printed torso from Citizen Brick have also been restocked

World War Brick is a gathering of hobbyists and fans dedicated to modeling historical and military-related scenes, vehicles, and weaponry using LEGO® brand bricks.

WWB 2014 is scheduled for the weekend of June 20-22 and will take place at the Brickmania Toyworks in Minneapolis, Minnesota. There will be more than 15,000 square feet made available for activities, displays, collaborations and of course the products of Brickmania, BrickArms, GI Brick and others who seek to expand and enrich the building experience.

We are now ready to start accepting requests for Weekend Passes for World War Brick 2014. The Weekend Pass will give you access to all World War Brick activities from June 20-22nd.

A weekend pass gets you the following:

• Access to all official World War Brick activities happening 9am-9pm Friday and Saturday, and 9am to 7pm Sunday evening.
• Space to display your MOCs (MOC=My Own Creation) and participate in collaborative displays.
• First crack at all all the stuff for sale, including new releases and event exclusives.
• Dinner served Friday and Saturday evenings + unlimited ramen buffet throughout the event.
• 10% off items at the World War Brick store during the non-public times.
• Goodie bag including an exclusive event kit, T-shirt, freebies and more.

Weekend pass purchasers must be 15 years of age or accompanied by an parent or guardian with their own weekend pass. 

EARLY BIRD DISCOUNTS:

• Price before January 1, 2014 = $40
• Price January 1 – March 31, 2014 = $50
• Price after March 31 = $60

Hotel Room Information:

We have again chosen the Ramada Plaza Minneapolis as the official Hotel of World War Brick Located just north of Downtown Minneapolis on Interstate 35W and a few minutes from the Brickmania Toyworks.

Ramada Plaza Minneapolis
1330 Industrial Blvd NE
Minneapolis, MN 55413
612-331-1900

Discount Room Rate

We have procured a discount nightly rate of $95 per double occupancy room for stays between June 19 and June 24th. To get the discount rate, make your reservations with the hotel directly at 612-331-1900 or through the Ramada’s toll free number: 877-774-4315. Let them know you are a part of the World War Brick group. Cutoff date for the discount room rate is June 5, 2014 at 5pm or whenever the hotel is completely booked.

For those not who do not wish to commit the Weekend Pass, we are also offering advance tickets for the Public Exhibit.

Public hours are 10am to 4pm June 21 and 22. Ticket is valid for admission to one day only. There will be a special express entrance set up for advanced ticket holders.  You will not receive a physical ticket in the mail. If you bring your receipt it will help speed up the entrance time.

Advance ticket holders will be allowed inside the event up to 30 minutes prior to the official opening time.

WWB 2013 T-Shirts

Missed getting one in person? There are a limited number of WWB 2013 T-shirts still available for just $7 each.

We have another batch of this small but deadly automatic cannon used by German forces against air and land targets. We also have a few copies of this popular  minikit in dark gray.

An exclusive Brickmania premium troop pack containing one US Army medic and stretcher. This figure wears a OD green uniform (standard from 1944 onwards) and can be used with any US Army troops from WW2 through the Vietnam War.

• 1 x LEGO minifigure with flesh tones skin color
• 1 x Cloth field jackets custom made by MMCB Capes
• 1 x BrickArms M1 Steel Pot with custom print by Citizen Brick
• 1 x BrickArms M1911 pistol
• 1 x LEGO medic bag
• 1 x LEGO stretcher (fits inside WC 54 Ambulance Kit)

This is a kit and some assembly is required.

Now that event season is winding down, we have a massive backlog of new kit ideas to work our way through. Some of the new kits are already going into production and will start hitting the store near the end of the month. These pictures are a preview of some of the new stuff to come.

The DShK is the Russian equivalent to the Browning M2 .50 caliber heavy machine gun. It is shown with the tripod folded for use against ground targets. It has wheels and shield attached and the tripod has a “seat” for the gunner (this configuration would remain in the Soviet inventory long after World War II, although the shield would be discarded).

DShK seen with the tripod set up for anti-aircraft mode. The tan roof truck is a Gaz MM, a more powerful version of the Gaz AA truck. The “canvas” roof was a war-expedient effort to simplify production. The Gaz MM will be replacing the Gaz AA in production this month.

The Gaz AAA was the 6×6 truck used by the Soviet Union in a similar fashion as the CCKW was for the Americans, with variants used to haul troops, cargo, weapon systems, communication centers and just about everything imaginable. This will also be released as a kit in September / October.

The G527 “Ben Hur” Water Trailer has been cleared for release after adding some minor details to the earlier prototype versions previewed on the LST display. This would make a great addition to a CCKW, M3 Halftrack or any Allied vehicle with a trailer hitch.

The Japanese Type 95 “Ha Go” tank was originally released last fall in a fully dark gray scheme as part of a limited edition battle pack. A new camouflaged versions will be available for sale as a stand-along kit sometime within the next few weeks. In spite of the dazzling camouflage, this will probably be the lowest price tank Brickmania has released to date.

Brickmania’s $20 “Beginning Builder” Jeep kit will stand up to play and won’t blow the bank!

Nebewerfer released 10/9

Protect the Fatherland with this powerful rocket-propelled mortar known as the “Screaming Mimi” by its foes! The classic dark gray Nebelwerfer 41 is back in stock just in the nick of time!

Introduced at the end of World War II to replace the worn out and under-gunned M3/M5 Stuart tanks, the M24 Chaffee first saw action against the German Ardennes offensive known the Battle of the Bulge. Lightly armored and fast, the M24 was a nimble scout vehicle that packed the same punch as the M4 Sherman tank. The M24 Chaffee was retired from US service after the Korean War (being replaced by the Walker Bulldog) but has soldiered on in other countries armed serives to modern times. during the Vietnam way, the AVRN (South Vietnamese Army) used Chaffee tanks that were left behind when the French Colonial Army withdrew in the late 1950s.

Additional information about this Brickmania custom Lego® kit:

This model is built to 1/35 scale for use with LEGO minifigs and other Brickmania WWII kits. It features a BrickArms M1919 .30 caliber machine gun, articulated tracks, opening commander’s hatch (fig not included) and traversable turret with elevating main gun. Includes 372 new-condition LEGO and BrickArms elements plus printed building instructions (it is shipped unassmbled).

Updated Version:

The original M24 Chaffee kit was built in such a manner that it would not be compatible with the upcoming custom Brickmania Track Links™. Since the Chaffee was out most popular kit we decided to upgrade the design to make it compatible with the new links. While it was being redesigned, minor updates were made to the kit to make the hull shape more accurate, etc.  Until the Brickmania Track Links™ reach production stages, the M24 Chaffee will be shipped with stock LEGO chain links for the tracks.

Figure for demonstration purposes. It is not included with the kit.