New Elementary's building competition is underway and our first entry has been posted! There are still three weeks left for you to build a small model of your interpretation of what a museum for The LEGO® Group could look like - if you were the architect! Sorry - this is open to 18+ only. You can read how to enter and terms and conditions here but today I'm proud to be announcing the lineup of good folk who will be judging the competition.

The largest set in Friends' winter 2014 range with over 700 pieces, 41039 Sunshine Ranch has some exciting basic new parts, plus some useful new elements (by which I mean existing parts in new colours). I settled down this Easter to build it and play with the new parts.

Exciting news today; the LEGO® CUUSOO team have given New Elementary readers this exclusive first look at the official logo to be used on their forthcoming set, the Exo Suit! The set will be released in August 2014. Knowing how special the Exo Suit is to the fan community, the CUUSOO team took the unusual step of deciding to work hand-in-hand with AFOLs to decide how the set should be packaged and marketed. So the designer of the original Exo Suit, British AFOL Peter Reid, assembled a team and I was fortunate enough to be included.

I’m excited to announce New Elementary’s first ever competition! The fantastic team at LEGO®’s Community and Events Engagement Team have provided these wonderful prizes:

First prize: LEGO House
This exclusive set is only for sale in LEGO’s home town of Billund, Denmark. It’s a model of the new tourist destination currently being built there; an interactive museum showcasing The LEGO Group’s history, products and ethos.

Second prize: UN Headquarters
This recent Architecture set is an excellent build, and contains 155 Trans-Light Blue 1X2 plates! Sweet. You can read my review of it here.

New-fangled parts are very exciting, but perhaps more important are the simple parts at the core of the LEGO® System that arrive in new colours. Today I highlight basic bricks and plates that have been released in new colours in 2014.