May 2023 LEGO® Haul & Passport Update

I recently went for a drive to our nation’s capital. The goal of the trip was to acquire a new stamp in my LEGO® passport. However, I did a little shopping too and ended up with a small May 2023 LEGO® haul. Despite double points on running on all Star Wars sets for May the fourth, I did not venture into a galaxy far, far away. I have a massive pile of shame right now, and have decided to be a little more selective of what I buy in the near future. Consequently, I only pick up one little set and some Minifigures. Interestingly, it was a set I initially had no intention to acquire. But all that changed through the amazing generosity of a friend…

Firstly, let’s chat about the LEGO® passport. If you follow True North Bricks on TikTok or Instagram, you probably know I have been collecting stamps since the fall of 2022. The LEGO® passport system has been around much longer than that, but I was not aware of it. In case you are in the dark, the LEGO® passport is free. You can ask for it at any official LEGO® Store in the world, and any official LEGO® Store will give you a free stamp in it if you ask. LEGO® certified stores do not have this system so check your country’s stores before you go to figure out what category they fall under.

I’ve been collecting stamps in my LEGO® passport since last fall.

In any case, I decided to take a drive out to Ottawa. It’s a couple of hours away, and I have been to the Rideau Center LEGO® Store several times before. However, I have not gone since I acquired my LEGO® passport last fall. I’ve now got stamps from my two local stores (Pointe-Claire and Laval), Ottawa, Yorkdale in Toronto, the Flatiron and Fifth Avenue stores in New York, the Portland (Tigard) store in Oregon, and the New Orleans (Metairie) store in Louisiana. Stay tuned, because I’ve got another more exotic LEGO® Store coming in July 😉

So what did I buy in Ottawa? Firstly, I got some new Minifigures. There are a decent number of new Minifigure parts in the build-a-mini (BAM) station. I am not crazy about the rehashed unicorn head from Vidiyo… but I did want more Lion Knights parts. The Ottawa store had conveniently packaged knights in sets of three so you don’t have to search for the appropriate parts in a BAM tower swarming with kids. I have such armies of orcs and Black Falcons now that the Lion Knights don’t stand a chance of defending the Lion Knights’ Castle should an invasion arrive on their doorstep. They need reinforcements.

I did not originally intend to buy the Exotic Parrot, but that all changed recently.

I also decided to pick up a little set, the Creator 3-in-1 Exotic Parrot. Truthfully, I had no intention to buy this set when it was first announced. However, I recently got my hands on an amazing set exclusive to the LEGO® House in Denmark. A friend over on TikTok visited Billund and offered to pick up this year’s Minifigure Tribute set featuring Captain Redbeard. I have been dying to get this set ever since it was announced. Incidentally, I just love the Pirates theme. I am hoping this parrot will be appropriately scaled to go well with my new scaled-up Redbeard set.

In the end, my May 2023 LEGO® haul was not a huge one. However, the primary goal of my trip to Ottawa was the passport stamp from a store I frequent. I’ve also got a new sidepiece to display with my awesome Redbeard set. I’ve actually already built Redbeard as I write this. After my trip to Ottawa, I spent the evening building it. So, stay tuned for a review of the set later this week. Have you bought anything exciting recently? Let me know in the comments below or reach out on social media.

Until next time,

-Tom

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