Buying

[From the questions: Is there anything to do LEGO fan wise in London? Where are the LEGO stores in London? Where is the place with the LEGO statues?]

Updated 10th September 2015

Considering the size of the population, London is not very well serviced in terms of things to see and do for the visiting LEGO Fan. If you only have limited time in London, there is bound to be something you are able to see and do.

Official LEGO Brand stores

If you have never been to an official LEGO Brand Retail store, then you really need to go to at least one of these, as they are both reasonably easy to access. There’s not a lot of difference between the two and you could happily visit one without visiting the other. They are both located in large, busy shopping complexes so be prepared for potential crowds if visiting on the weekend. If you are able to visit early in the month you’ll be able to build the Mini Monthly Model Build. This is often very popular so it may be a busy time. Check the store calendar for exact dates. You can expect the store to have a large range of sets from various currently available themes. They may have some items that are not normally available from retailers in your country – like polybags, key chains, magnets and other LEGO themed products. There will also be a “Pick a Brick” wall where you can purchase LEGO pieces in bulk.

Details of the two stores:

London Westfield

Location: Ariel Way, Shepherds Bush, UNIT 1081, W12 7GF, London

Nearest Tube stations: Shepherds Bush; Wood Lane

Opening hours: Mon-Sat: 10:00 – 22:00, Sun:12:00 – 18:00

London Stratford

Location: Westfield Stratford Shopping Ctr, E20 1EH, Westfield Stratford City

Nearest train station: Stratford (Overground and DLR); Stratford International (DLR)

Opening hours: Mon-Fri: 10:00 – 21:00, Sat:9:00 – 21:00, Sun:12:00 – 18:00

Hamleys

Hamleys Toy Store is infamous for being the first place LEGO was sold in the UK. It should be high on the list of places to visit for any LEGO fan passing through London. Not only do they have a great range but the staff are also very friendly and helpful. Highlight of the visit is the display of LEGO sculptures featuring the Royal Family and a classic red telephone box.

Location: 188-196 Regent Street, London, W1B 5BT

Nearest tube stations are: Bond Street; Oxford Circus; Piccadilly Circus,

Opening hours: Mon-Fri: 10:00 – 21:00, Sat: 09:30 – 21:00, Sunday 12:00 – 18:00

LEGOLAND Windsor

LEGOLAND Windsor is located outside of London but is worth a visit if you have a day or two spare. Check the website for opening hours as it varies according to the time of the year and the day of the week. The park is usually closed over winter. Advance ticket purchase via the website may save you some time and money.

The park primarily caters for children so this will be reflected in the attractions. Having said that, each ride contains LEGO sculptures and artwork that may not otherwise be visible making it worthwhile visiting them all no matter your age! The Miniland section of the park is full of fantastic models and it is very easy to spend hours looking at all of the details. The Star Wars Miniland display is the best of the three European LEGOLANDs and is worth including as part of your visit to the park. We recommend clearing the memory of your camera and taking extra batteries, as there is a lot to photograph!

Pricing for LEGO products is comparative to other retail outlets in Europe but you may find a bargain in the Last Chance Marketplace.

Location: Winkfield Road, Windsor, Berkshire, SL4 4AY

Nearest train station: (from London Paddington) Windsor & Eton Central via Slough on the First Great Western; (from London Waterloo) Windsor & Eton Riverside on South West Trains. There is a shuttle bus service to the park near to the two train stations. There is an additional fee to catch the bus.

Harrods Toy Department

Hidden away in the toy department of the iconic London Department store, Harrods, is a magnificent scale model of the store built out of LEGO bricks by the team from Bright Bricks.

Location: 87-135 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 7XL

Nearest train station: Knightsbridge on the Piccadilly line. Use the Brompton Road exit. The store is also only a short walk from South Kensington station on the Piccadilly, District and Circle lines, and Sloane Square, on the District and Circle lines.

Opening hours: Mon-Sat: 10am – 9pm, Sun: 11.30am – 6pm (browsing only until 12pm)

London AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO) meetups

The Adult Fans of LEGO in London have regular meetups on the second Monday of the month at the Princess Louise pub in Holborn from 6pm. Activities may include building with LEGO bricks, swapping minifigs or generally chatting about LEGO products. You must be over 18 to attend these meetings.

Further details can be found at the group’s Meetup page.

Magazines

Though not strictly a LEGO themed activity, you might like to visit a newsagent (or larger supermarket) to look through the English magazines. There are currently four titles aimed at children (Friends, Chima, Ninjago and Star Wars) that may come with a free gift. Additionally, you may be able to pick up the latest edition of Blocks magazine.

[From the questions: Where can I get hold of replacement instructions? Where can I get ideas to build other stuff? Where can I get copies of the instructions I had as a child?]

There may be times when you need to locate a copy of a set of LEGO instructions. Reasons vary – your existing ones may be damaged or lost; you want to recreate a set from your childhood; or you wish to build a set from parts.

Finding Original LEGO Instructions

From where you source these instructions is dependent on whether you are happy to read a PDF or prefer to read the instructions in the original paper format.

If you prefer to use the original paper instructions, your best bet is to purchase a copy via an online marketplace like Bricklink or Brick Owl. You can find both recent and vintage instructions for most themes. There is also a chance someone in your local LUG or Buy/Sell/Swap/Trade group on Facebook may have a copy they can sell or give to you. Not everyone keeps the instructions and many people are happy to see them go to a good home rather than the recycling bin.

PDF copies of instructions may be acquired from a number of different sites. It’s worthwhile bookmarking a couple of the different sites because they don’t always have everything and, sometimes, the files may not work on one page but do on another.

Popular sites include:

LEGO Website – perfect for any set produced after 2002. Search for the set number on their Customer Service page. PDF downloads are available
Brickinstructions.com – has a reasonable selection of sets going back to the mid-1960s but is not comprehensive. More recent sets have a downloadable PDF available but older sets are represented by scans of the instructions.
letsbuilditagain.com – mostly concentrates on instructions from popular themes of the last 20 years but does have some older instructions. Well presented and includes a gallery to original creations made by kids.
The Brickfactory – an older site that also includes catalogs, posters and stickers amongst their scans. It has a more comprehensive range of older sets but the site can be a little slow to load.
swooshable.com – still in its BETA stage but it will search all of the popular sites for the availability of instructions. Will save you the effort of visiting each of the above sites individually.

Original creations

It can be hard to decide what to build next when you have run out of ideas. Many years ago, LEGO used to provide alternative builds on the back of the instructions or the LEGO set box. Themes like the Creator series can provide alternate builds but, for the most part, you need to rely on your own imagination.

Websites

Luckily, there is a fantastic site called Rebrickable where you can enter the details of the sets you already have and it will provide you with instructions for other sets and original creations you can build with the same LEGO bricks. It will also give you a compatibility measure so you know how many extra bricks you need to obtain before you can build the item.

If you are looking for a different source of inspiration, you might like to consider purchasing original instructions from a number of different sites. Some recommended sites include:

Books

In the past, LEGO produced a series of “Ideas” books. These are long out of print but may be purchased via reseller sites like Bricklink or BrickOwl. There are also a large number of books that provide instructions and ideas for building. Some of the title available include:

The LEGO Ideas Book by Daniel Lipkowitz
The LEGO Neighborhood Book by Brian and Jason Lyles – fantastic for Modular building ideas and techniques
Totally Cool Creations by Sean Kenney
The LEGO Adventure Books by Megan H. Rothrock
The Brick series by Warren Elsmore