It is done.
And that's good news.
LEGO has officially announced the license Lord of the Rings et The Hobbit for 2012.
This multi-year agreement with Warner Bros. gives LEGO access to all the characters, locations or scenes in Peter Jackson's films on the universe of Lord of the Rings, but also the two films scheduled for late 2012 and late 2013, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey et The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

The first sets will be available in June 2012 and based exclusively on the universe of Lord of the Rings. In December 2012, sets on the theme of the film The Hobbit will also see the light of day.

Le official press release LEGO.

Full article to read on Variety.com.

Le new dedicated space on the LEGO site announcing the license for 2012.

Pellaeon offers two Batmobiles from two very different worlds: the first is from the series Batman: The Animated Series (DVDs available for sale). By the way, this animated series is very well made, I enjoy reviewing certain episodes from time to time in the company of my son who also finds it very successful.

This impressive length Batmobile is well reproduced here. She retains her oversized and overdone side seen in the cartoon.

Pellaeon's second MOC is a Tumbler, directly inspired by Christopher Nolan's film: The Dark Knight (Blu-ray available for sale). It mixes in a balanced way the SNOT and the visible studs for a very correct result. A minifig can be placed in the cockpit without any problem.

To see more, visit the Pellaeon flickr gallery: here for the Batmobile BTAS et here for the Tumbler.

Omar Ovalle offers us today a MOC directly inspired by a machine from the Clone Wars universe: The Trident-class Assault Starship also known as Trident Drill. This is a droid used for submarine attacks, especially during the Battle of Kamino.

It is equipped with eight laser cannons, four mechanical arms and a drill head which can be replaced by a powerful motor for the longest space movements. A scaled-down version of this contraption is used by Asajj Ventress in the animated series.

This MOC surprises with its flashy orange color. The construction is clean, simple and efficient. The cockpit is very well designed and the machine displays a beautiful homogeneous line well in the spirit of the range System.

More information and other Omar Ovalle MOCs are available in his flickr gallery.

You probably remember a LEGO survey asking you to indicate which communities or which sites you visit regularly.

LEGO seems to have gone through this survey and the conclusion is as follows: LEGO is launching Rebrick, a social network aimed at AFOLs which will allow them, I quote: to share and discuss their creations.

No content can be uploaded to this site, it must be imported in the form of a bookmarked link from its original platform such as flickr, Youtube, MOCpages, etc ...

LEGO specifies that it designed this site, but also adds that it is not an integral part of the LEGO.com network. The manufacturer undertakes not to broadcast any advertising for its products on Rebrick.

This project, according to the manufacturer, is the result of collaboration between LEGO and the community. No commercial use of this space will be made, even if LEGO retains ownership of the concept.

This is in summary what we are dealing with.

Two possibilities:

1. LEGO has heard the appeal of the AFOLs who have regularly requested to benefit from an exchange space of this type, bringing together all the creations posted by their creators on various sites. (I'm not saying it, it's written in a post on Rebrick's blog). I quote :

... The Community Team at The LEGO group has on several occasions (at events) been told by AFOLs, that it would be great to have a website with all the great LEGO content out there. This website is now a reality! ...

The intention is laudable, the project ambitious. At first glance, there is no reason to doubt LEGO's good faith, but this space will undoubtedly be quickly diverted into a means for MOCeurs, blogs, forums or community sites to improve their visibility. This is already the case.

2. LEGO hopes to bring together in one place the entire community active on the Internet to better control its communication, have a pool of ideas, a permanent return on the products marketed and control overflows or leaks etc. ... All centralized in one place.

While the concept may seem interesting to some, there is little chance that LEGO will be able to stably and sustainably bring the entire community together in this space. Each forum, site, blog, will fight to retain its readers and other members. Eurobricks, FBTB, Toys N Bricks or Brickset for example, have huge and very loyal communities which also bring in large sums of money through the various affiliation contracts to those who manage these spaces.

Concerning the photos of MOCs, Brickshelf, flickr and MOCpages are the most used today. If Brickshelf is a space without the possibility of exchange, flickr and MOCpages are run by real communities grouped together around very specific themes.

Each MOCeur who has many comments about their creations on these platforms will not change their point of contact. He would then lose all the benefit in terms of notoriety and visibility acquired over the years. Indeed, not all MOCeurs are as well known as a Marshal Banana or an ACPin. A little narcissistic but very real.

LEGO perhaps wants more simply to bypass current and future attempts to set up such a social network by third parties. An experience is already in place with BrickLi.me started by the guys from The Brick Show. This social network is frequented mainly by teenagers fans of LEGO and does not unleash passions. No doubt because of the not very ergonomic interface and the low number of members.
Not to mention the countless existing Facebook and Google+ pages on the LEGO theme, which also brings together a large and very active community.

While waiting to know a little more, you can try to register on Rebrick via this page, and immediately start browsing through the proposed sections. Many users are already registered and the content is substantial. After validation of your account, you will be able to post photos of MOCs, comment on those of others, manage your favorites, etc ...

The box of the day reveals a microphone Republic Attack Gunship also known as LAAT (for Low-Altitude Assault Transport) of 13 pieces which is pretty decent. Stylish, really small, but okay. Articulated around the room 4595 (Brick, Modified 1 x 2 x 2/3 with Studs on Sides), it is believable and the resemblance to the original is still obvious. Note that the first model of this Advent Calendar (Republic cruiser) also uses this part 4595 as a central point.

In another context, I am regularly amazed when other AFOLs mention sets 7163 Republic Gunship (2002) or 7676 Republic Attack Gunship (2008) as their favorite set.
These two reproductions of the troop transport used by the I say and clone troopers and seen in action in theEpisode II Attack of the Clones and Episode III Revenge of the Sith really appeal to collectors. And I admit that I also have a soft spot for the 7676 set.

Speaking of Republic Attack Gunship, if you want a real beautiful mini of this ship, do yourself a favor and treat yourself to the set 20010 Brick Master Republic Gunship yet for sale on Bricklink for 15 €. It is particularly successful and I find it perfect on this scale.