About LEGO Monthly Mini Model Build
The Monthly Mini Model Build was a free building event at LEGO Stores. Each month the store set out the parts for a small model, children built it there with the staff, and took it home in a bag. It began at the end of 2008 with a snowman, in stores in the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany, and spread to LEGO Stores elsewhere. The early models had MMMB numbers, and from 2012 they got ordinary set numbers in the 40000 range. The models followed the calendar, with turkeys in November, pumpkins and monsters in October and snowmen or gifts in December, and the 2020 models each marked a day of the year, such as Kindness Day and Human Rights Day. From 2016 a place had to be booked ahead. The program was retired in 2020 while LEGO Stores were closed, and the instructions for every model are still on LEGO's website.
2011 LEGO Sets
2011 introduced Ninjago, which quickly became one of LEGO’s most successful original themes and the foundation of a long-running multimedia franchise. Other launches included Pirates of the Caribbean, coinciding with Disney’s On Stranger Tides, the sci-fi Alien Conquest, and Master Builder Academy, a design-focused building program. LEGO also experimented with digital-physical integration through Life of George, an early augmented reality experience. Collectible Minifigures Series 3–5 strengthened LEGO’s growing collector market, while internal employee-exclusive sets like Moulding Machines became prized rarities. Several themes concluded this year, including Harry Potter, Ben 10, Power Miners, Toy Story, Prince of Persia, Space Police III, and BrickMaster.