{"id":3575,"date":"2014-05-29T00:12:34","date_gmt":"2014-05-28T14:12:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jaysbrickblog.com\/?p=3575"},"modified":"2014-05-30T11:15:15","modified_gmt":"2014-05-30T01:15:15","slug":"mykids-emporium-melbourne-lego-concept-store","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jaysbrickblog.com\/news\/mykids-emporium-melbourne-lego-concept-store\/","title":{"rendered":"MyKids LEGO “Concept Store” at Emporium Melbourne"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was only a week ago when I last set foot in the Emporium Melbourne<\/a>, the hottest new shopping mall nestled between Little Bourke and Lonsdale Street. It’s a pretty sweet shopping complex, with cool outlets such as Australia’s flagship Uniqlo shop, Brooks Brothers and other fancy brands. I remember remarking to my wife that “the only thing missing is a toy store” and was quite disappointed that there was nowhere I could duck into to gawk at LEGO.<\/p>\n

Lo and behold, I saw this little bit of news pop up on my Twitter feed yesterday and my interest was piqued.<\/p>\n

\"9<\/a><\/p>\n

Australia’s largest LEGO concept store<\/strong> sounded like a tantalizing premise and I immediately made plans to check it out today during my lunch break. Turns out, it wasn’t that big of a deal<\/strong>, so if you’re planning on making the effort to trek into the CBD just to check it out, get to the end of this post before making a decision to visit.<\/p>\n

\"Myer<\/a><\/p>\n

Here’s the rundown. MyKids is essentially a giant Myer kids section on Level 4<\/strong> of Emporium Melbourne<\/strong>. It’s a whole floor filled with a massive toy section (which is kinda cool), kids apparel and other kiddy related stuff. The LEGO “Concept Store” (note my inverted commas) is basically just a fancier, slightly larger LEGO section<\/strong>. I was quite disappointed when I got there because here I was thinking we were going to get something really cool, akin to the official LEGO stores in the USA and Europe. Instead, it’s just a bigger Myer LEGO section.<\/p>\n

Now, I have to concede that 9 News might have jumped the gun and called it a “Concept Store”. I work in PR, these things happen all the time but still, you’d think they’d correct it if it was an error.<\/p>\n

Check out some of the pictures I took of the “Concept Store”.<\/p>\n

\"Myer<\/a><\/p>\n

Here’s a zoomed out look at the “Concept Store”. The aesthetics are nice and there’s tons of space between the shelves<\/strong>\u00a0which allow you to browse easily and not risk bumping elbows (or knocking over hyperactive kids) with other shoppers which is quite nice.<\/p>\n

\"Myer<\/a><\/p>\n

They also have a massive wall at the back stocked with LEGO City and Friends sets. Of note is the Town Centre<\/a>, which was previously exclusive to Big W.<\/p>\n

\"Myer<\/a><\/p>\n

Nice to see LEGO Friends getting lots of love.<\/p>\n

\"Myer<\/a><\/p>\n

One of the cooler features of the LEGO section at MyKids is the presence of massive brick-built minifigures<\/strong> like Leonidas<\/a><\/del>\u00a0Laval<\/a>\u00a0[thanks Brad for pointing this out!]\u00a0from the Legends of Chima. These creations were built by Australia’s very own LEGO Certified Professional Ryan McNaught<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Myer<\/a><\/p>\n

The level of detail when you view Leonidas<\/del>\u00a0Laval upclose is absolutely spectacular and one of the highlights of the store.<\/p>\n

\"LEGO<\/a><\/p>\n

Poster child for the recent LEGO renaissance<\/strong>, Emmet and his female counterpart Wyldstyle are also present and accounted for. These should be popular for selfies.<\/p>\n

\"Myer<\/a><\/p>\n

In addition to these mega-sized minifigures (which should really be called megafigures<\/strong>), we’re also treated to several dioramas featuring Melbourne landmarks (such as Flinders Street Station above) and other scenes, all built by Ryan.<\/p>\n

\"Myer<\/a><\/p>\n

For those unfamiliar with Ryan’s work, his dioramas are packed with neat little details and features, such as this lonely guy drinking in a back-alley behind Luna Park.<\/p>\n

\"Myer<\/a><\/p>\n

\"IMG_4405\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0These dioramas are fantastic and by far my favourite thing about the LEGO section at MyKids.<\/p>\n

\"Myer<\/a><\/p>\n

There’s also this massive red 2×4 brick<\/strong> at the edge of the LEGO shelves. It’ll be a pretty cool photo spot for LEGO fans.<\/p>\n

So, other than these LEGO creations, there’s nothing really special about the LEGO “Concept Store” at MyKids. It’s definitely a more conducive shopping environment<\/strong>, but in reality, you can get most (if not all) of these sets in any other Myer or toy retailer. In terms of interesting sets, I only spied the Volkswagen T1 Campervan<\/strong>, Star Wars Super Star Destroyer<\/strong>, 2 Millennium Falcons<\/strong> and the Town Centre<\/strong> but that’s pretty much it.<\/p>\n

I’m having a hard time figuring out what makes this store stand out from the rest and I sincerely hope that since it’s early days, there will be a lot more planned to make this a truly cutting edge LEGO shopping experience. Australia is really overdue for an official LEGO store<\/strong> and I was quite let down that this experience was nothing like the hyperbolic<\/strong> 9 News headline led me to believe. Probably have myself to blame!<\/p>\n

That said, if you’re in the City and you’re looking for a great place to buy LEGO, Emporium Melbourne’s MyKids is definitely worth a visit<\/strong>. It’s well stocked (for now) and you get to check out some cool creations by Ryan McNaught. Should be even better if we get a Myer sale… which should happen any day now.<\/p>\n

UPDATE:\u00a0<\/strong>Received some additional information from Myer about MyKids and the LEGO Concept Store.<\/p>\n