This is my last day with 9to5Toys. I’ll be off onto new adventures after today, which means that the LEGO coverage many of you have enjoyed for years will be coming to a close – at least in its current form. The future is uncertain, but at least for now, I’ll be taking my passion for all things LEGO with me. If you’d like to follow along, our TidBricks social media accounts should start getting more activity in the coming months.
I am incredibly humbled that all of you continued to read my work over the years. 9to5Toys was never the biggest LEGO site, but we certainly made an impact on leaks, news, and deals. The idea that I could pay the bills by writing about LEGO was never something that I thought would happen, but because of all of you, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to make a living off something so near and dear to my heart.
But at the end of the day, it was still a passion. I’ve enjoyed getting to share my love for LEGO with all of you.
There are too many highlights from my career so far in the LEGO space to look back on in just a single retrospective. I’ve had such deep pride for the work I’ve done over the years. 9to5Toys was once in the LEGO Ambassador Network (LAN), but the company said we could either stop sharing leaks or leave the program. And so we left. It’s been an uphill battle since, but one that I fought with the utmost sincerity and enthusiasm. What’s more fun than being the underdog!
And I really can’t even begin to tell you just how much fun I’ve had sharing the news on so many sets. I have so many fond memories of writing up leaks at all odd hours of the night. Beating the other LEGO news sites to coverage has always been my mission, and it’s something that I have achieved quite a few times!
One of my absolute favorite memories has to be the time surrounding the UCS Razor Crest leak. I had just moved to New York City back in 2022 and was out at a bar with friends. But LEGO news stops for no one. I remember getting sent the first leaked image of the set and frantically typing out coverage on my iPhone while hunched over a stool. The neon glow of club lighting splashed across my face and a cool breeze in the air. I can remember it so vividly.
That kind of dedication was the norm for me. There are so many times where I dropped everything to start writing about some LEGO news. Nights where I leaped out of bed to grab my laptop and start typing away or weekends where I’d rush home to start penning my thoughts on some new leak. And in hindsight, I wouldn’t change a single moment.
It’s rare that you find an interest that has the power to capture your attention in the way that LEGO has for me. Many of us in the hobby are just trying to find some of the light and glory from our childhoods, but it’s also about the greater sense of community that keeps it interesting. That’s something I have enjoyed most of all.
Over the years, so many people sent me LEGO Ideas projects of theirs to get covered on the site. I’ve had the pleasure and privilege of seeing those models go from concepts and dreams to some of the most popular kits to ever hit store shelves. I’ve gotten to share incredibly early reports about sets like the Avengers Tower months in advance, only to be invited to see the set unveiled for the first time in person. I’ve had readers reach out to tell me that they actually printed out my reviews to show to younger relatives who weren’t yet ready to be online. I think that touched me most of all.
I’ve had LEGO Store employees recognize me on first of the month launch days, gone viral on TikTok for army building Snowtroopers to go with the UCS AT-AT, and even got in on the fanfare of trying to get my hands-on the UCS Millenium Falcon – running around what felt like every corner of Pennsylvania trying to find one in stock. But through it all, I just got to be a girl sharing in this absolutely incredible and unique thing that is LEGO.
I’m so proud of it all. And at the end of the day, I am just so happy that my work resonated with so many of you, too.
Hopefully, my next chapter only means that I have a new way to share my passion for LEGO. But until then, thank you from the very bottom of my heart for everything – for reading my musings, for supporting my work, and for geeking out over interlocking plastic bricks with me.
Signing off for one last time – Rikka Altland
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