Monday 18 May 2015

New Features Writer for Blocks, Monthly LEGO Magazine

Ahoy me hearties! You'll have to wait another week if you normally buy your copy of Blocks magazine in the shops, but Issue 8 has just landed in the office and is already on its way to subscribers! Feel left out having to wait? You can join them at www.blocksmag.com​.

This Thursday the latest issue of Blocks magazine hits newsstands in the UK, and is available for digital download worldwide. I am excited to say that it’s the first issue for which I will be the Features Writer, so am taking this opportunity to share with All About Bricks readers what Blocks is and what my involvement will be. Yes, this is a bit of self-promotion, but with over 200 posts about LEGO hopefully regular readers will indulge me.



Blocks Magazine launched last year, and on Thursday 21st May issue 8 goes on sale (so be quick if you want to grab issue 7). I have been a regular Blocks reader myself since the launch issue, they are all on my bookcase.

The main reason I opted to buy a magazine is that it’s nice to have something to pick up, leaf through and enjoy high quality articles. There are a plethora of LEGO websites out there, but that also means a lot of clutter (and a lot of reviews in video form for no apparent reason). The benefit of a monthly magazine is that a certain standard has to be aimed for. The best LEGO websites already achieve this, but a magazine has the luxury of going into a topic in more depth and detail.

Blocks has detailed features on different aspects of LEGO – collecting, building, storing, customising… it’s all in there. There are reports on LEGO events, reviews of sets, showcases of amazing MOCs, nostalgic reflections on classic sets, articles about how people enjoy LEGO… it has a really good variety each month that LEGO fans are likely to enjoy. 

Rob Paton is the new editor of Blocks, responsible for putting all of this together. Rob has a great vision for Blocks, my early conversations with him made it clear that he really understands what this monthly magazine has the potential to be, and he is determined to achieve it! When he and the Blocks team suggested I came on-board, I had full confidence that I was joining people who knew their LEGO.


What I am looking forward to in Blocks is sharing in-depth articles about LEGO – features, reviews and interviews. Issue 8 is going to be focused on my all-time favorite LEGO theme, Pirates, and I can’t wait for everyone to get a chance to read it on Thursday. There will be more information later in the week, so stay tuned.  


So what does this mean for All About Bricks? Not a lot. This will still be the home of my opinion pieces and rants, with a spot of breaking news and event coverage now and again. Occasionally I might tackle the event coverage in different ways than I have done previously, in order to avoid duplicating anything I am writing in the magazine. Once a month I will post a press release plugging the latest issue of Blocks.

So my suggestion is if you think Blocks is worth a look then buy an issue, have a read, and if you enjoy it save money by ordering a subscription. At the moment there’s a free t-shirt if you do! 

Thanks again for indulging me in this unorthodox post. In fact, while I’m at it, thanks for reading All About Bricks. It’s appreciated.

Where is Blocks available in print?
UK – Tesco, Sainsburys, Morrisons, WHSmith, local newsagents, www.blocksmag.com
USA – Barnes & Noble, www.blocksmag.com
Worldwide – www.blocksmag.com

Where is Blocks available as a digital download?
Worldwide – www.blocksmag.com

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