Is Lego Brickmaster Subscription worth the money?

Question

My 9 year old son is a lego fanatic. His birthday is Aug. 12 & I thought I'd get him a subscription to the Lego Brickmaster. Can anyone who has gotten this subscription tell me

#1 - Is it worth the $?

#2 - What kind of sets do you get every 2 months? Will a 10 year old like them?

#3 - How long does it take to get the first set? If I order today - will I get near Aug. 12?

#4 - Whatever else you can tell me about the subscription. Thanks!

Answer 1

1) The magazine itself isn't all that wonderful.  It's pretty much the same as the normal club magazine, with some extra things in it.  If you aren't already a member of the club magazine, check it out-- you may be able to get it for free (often large Lego sets come with coupons for a year's subscription).  Anyway, the club magazine with give you a good idea of what to expect in BrickMaster.  They're very similar, with a bit more content in BrickMaster.

If you live near a Lego retail store, they often have free copies of the club magazine to take home.

2) The sets are pretty varied.  Some of them will doubtlessly be right up his alley, and some won't be.  However, I believe that none of the sets they offer are available anywhere else, so it's sort of neat to see what they are.

3) That I don't recall.  I believe they get published every 2 months, so January, March, May, July, September, November.  I would assume that if you order now you'd get the July/August issue, and get it pretty quickly.  But that's just a guess-- I'm not sure how they handle new subscriptions.

If he's above-and-beyond a Lego fanatic, there's also BrickJournal magazine (quarterly subscription).  It's adult-level content, but is MUCH fuller than either the club magazine or BrickMaster.  Designed for adult Lego hobbyists, so depending on your son's interest, how much you want to feed it, and how his reading level is, it may be worth checking out.

DaveE