Ummmm, didn’t I just hit publish on this article? Ah right, that was episode 6. I only got one day’s break between eps this week, so ya know, Frank’s keeping busy! HOT on the heels of the previous (and awesome) episode is episode 7, Camp Click-A-Brick. In this week’s challenge, our remaining builders must create their best version of a Fantasy Camp. And look people, we’re talking faaaaantasssyy. They need to think zany, and then go zanier. And they’ll also need to add power functions to the mix. So we’ve got a story challenge with a technical component. Nothing blows up this week. Well, unless you count Ethan & Dom’s strategy 😏😝, but more on that later. Let’s go to camp.
Previous Episodes:
- Episode 0: Sneak Peek🫣
- Episode 1: Ready to Launch 🚀
- Episode 2: Jurass-Brick World 🦖
- Episode 3: Brick Bull Ride Rodeo 🐂
- Episode 4: Out on a Limb 🌳
- Episode 5: Brickminster Dog Show 🐕
- Episode 6: Pirate Ships Ahoy! 🏴☠️
Power it up
Camp Click-A-Brick brings back the technical elements this week. Because you can’t have things toooo easy right? In this case, the teams must use power functions, or more simply, motorized movement. Every team has varying levels of experience with this particular area of LEGO®️. I think power functions are the least common building skill among AFOLs. I myself have never used any. It’s not something you find in too many sets either.
This week didn’t have any major hiccups which was nice to see. Aside from Emily & Liam’s brief difficulty – which they mostly overcame – no one else had a close call. Btw seeing their dragons go backwards was pretty funny, and kinda memorable. Kudos to the Stephens too as they had no luck with their first foray into movement in Episode 2, but nailed it this week. They had a ton of great vignettes all around their build. The questionable name and NSFW acronym aside, it looked awesome. All-in-all everyone used some clever motion to make their camps come alive.
Time for a twist!
It’s been a hot minute since we’ve had a decent twist on the show. Will’s care packages arrive (cute) and after rummaging through his underpants he finds that all-powerful golden brick! It’s finally back. In the first box though is the promise of 90,000 bricks to the winner of the challenge. It’s a nice bonus to celebrate the LEGO®️ Group’s 90th Anniversary. Turns out the winner of the challenge gets both prizes. And to complicate things, they’ll get to blindly pick one and need to give the second to another team. It’s a great twist and man does it ever make for a wild outcome.
Zanier. ZANIER!
Camp Click-A-Brick was all about taking a simple environment and really going wild with fantastical elements. I love the idea and everyone brought much of that cleverness to their builds. My favourite camp was Austin & Justin’s ‘Camp Go With the Flow’. We Lava U? Come on, that’s gold. Hot, molten gold. That volcano build was amazing and it really stood out from the rest. The surfers on the lava flow was done so well. And those colours? That eruption? *Chef’s kiss*. They had so many great elements and it really nailed the brief in the best ways. I’m not surprised they were in the Top 2 this week.
Emily & Liam’s ‘Dragon Camp’ was another stand out to me. They too had a big central mountain, and those two flying dragons and coiled snack/tail were awesome. And what a unique construction on that mountain, really a stand out. But the cutest were the kids roasting marshmallows with dragon fire breath. Brilliant. I already mentioned their motor functions nearly didn’t work, and when they did, they went backwards. Hey, still counts right? They were really close to Top 2 I think, just a few tweaks here or there and it would have happened.
Camp Click-A-Brick’s silliest build was easily Dave & Emily’s ‘Camp Ooze’. I gotta say that was some clever conceptualization. Kids love ooze. Don’t lie and say you didn’t. To make it the whole theme was really funny. And it really spoke to knowing what kids love by taking a simple activity and making it the central focus. I wanted to mention them because they really came up with fun ways to show ooze on minifigures. The judges were wondering too. Enter all those trans green chains for maximum effect. Overall a really fun build from the Canadian siblings.
Top 2
Joining Austin & Justin in the Top 2 of the Camp Click-A-Brick challenge were Ethan & Dom and their ‘Monster Camp’. I’ve already mentioned how great the doctors did this week. In the end however, they were denied the win by the Tiktokers. They had a rough start though, taking a while to finally agree on even a concept. Eventually they found their groove and it paid off, earning them their first win of the season. But I gotta say I’m really surprised they took it. A great build for sure, but I really thought Austin & Justin had it. Either way, congrats to the guys on their win.
With that win, the friends got to pick a box to see what prize they’ve won and which they’re gifting away. And what happened next was legit wild. In some of the only shady strategy ever seen on this show, the brothers pick Brandon & Greg to get the second box. They figured the brothers would be in the bottom 2 and possibly go home. So if they get the golden brick it would be put back into play when they got eliminated. I mean…..savage. Well thought out mind you….but savage. And that gamble paid off. . . until it didn’t.
Bottom 2
This was a tough pair of teams to see in the bottom 2. As the Tiktokers predicted, Brandon & Greg found themselves in danger with their ‘Wild Willy’s Airborne Camp’ for baby whales. It’s so cute….but also so far zany that they almost jumped the shark….er, whale. The builds were expertly done and they nailed the motorized functions. Brandon the Engineer really showed his skills with this one. Incorporating a bunch of movement in that main tower alone. But the judges were right in saying the camp turned out more amusement park than summer camp. They even ditched their giant roller coaster build at one point. Most of it anyway. But in the end, it wasn’t enough.
I was soooo bummed when Nick & Stacey landed in the bottom 2. This was their first real misfire all season. Their build was ‘Cloud Camp’, a fun spin on the brief, albeit a risky one. They took their build into the sky in their trademark colourful and whimsical style. As much as I love this team, I do agree with the judge’s critiques. The camp elements just weren’t strong enough to fit the theme. Still great bits of design and fun as always, but not enough to stay safe.
Yet ANOTHER Twist
So we’ve got Nick & Stacey in the bottom 2 with Brandon & Greg. Ethan & Dom have opened their box already to win 90,000 bricks! So that means Brandon & Greg have that coveted golden brick. The Tiktokers were on the money with their prediction and it was looking like their gamble would pay off. BUT NOOOOPE! Turns out Camp Click-A-Brick is a NON-ELIMINATION safe place and NO ONE GOES HOME! Wow. I’m super happy to see neither of these teams go home. I don’t think Ethan & Dom were all that happy though. The LOOK on Dom’s face was, ya know, pretty damn priceless haha. Congrats to Brandon & Greg on getting that golden brick as well.
Final Thoughts
So that was sure something different! I think on an entertainment level this was my favourite episode so far. The builds were also great, but being genuinely surprised is always a treat. I’m also thrilled that neither team went home. All the Canadians are still representing too!
- Yo this week’s episode was Shhaaaaddyy:
- Will telling Liam that Emily is second best after his mom
- Will giving flack to the Stephens for him being the mascot of S.I.T Camp. Unless the ‘Hero’ in ‘Superhero’ is a separate word. Then it’s “S#&% Camp”. I don’t think we’ve ever had curse words, bleeped or otherwise, on the show. Man this was funny.
- The Stephens having a (mostly friendly) rivalry with Austin & Justin
- Will saying “It’s about time I kept the Doctors waiting”
- Will leading that “Flies” song to get everyone goading one another
- The teams referring to Ethan & Dom as The Tiktokers (loooove that)
- And of course the ultimate burn of said Tiktokers trying to sabotage Brandon & Greg
- Seriously though how did Austin & Justin not win?
- Will smashing that ukulele was awesome.
- The animated intros to each build are so great
- I kept imagining that Ethan & Dom would only get 90,000 of the same small, useless brick piece and I just laughed and laughed.
OVERALL SCORE: 9.5 / 10
And that’s all the shenanigans from Camp Click-A-Brick. It was weird to get episodes back-to-back, but they were both great. What did you think though? What’s your favourite build? Did you enjoy the twists? Would you have wanted 90,000 bricks, or one golden one? Drop some comments and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading and until next time, keep on brickin’. 🧱
-Frank
LEGO® Masters USA airs Wednesdays at 9:00 PM ET/PT on FOX in the US, and on CTV, CTV.CA and the CTV app in Canada. Follow our full coverage here.
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