Being a fan of highly detailed facades, especially most from the Oriental part of the world, I must say that the more you look at this one the more you will find. Builder Hoang Dang—known in the LEGO community as Know Your Pieces—has practically created a “Where’s Waldo” of spectacular nice-part-usage (NPU) out of 10,000 pieces.
Read MoreThis tribute to the venerable John Cleese by Swedish builder Rikard Stensby (aka stensbylego on Instagram) tickles my funny bone, something I really need these days.
Read MoreIn my last article, I discussed the issue of displaying LEGO sets at a fan convention and the plans I made to create a local MOC-building community to help change the situation. The grand plan was to create a MOC TALK series of small “show-and-tell” sessions, requiring attendees to bring something with them that they have designed and built themselves to talk about and show off. But would it work?
Read MoreMany times, change is born out of irritation. One day, you finally decide to take matters into your own hands and take action to change something for the better. Sometimes that momentum leads to reinvigorating a community-focused AFOL blog when other LEGO community-oriented content seemed to have fallen by the wayside. In my case, I became frustrated seeing the growing number of built LEGO sets being displayed at LEGO conventions. This is my story of how to cultivate a community of LEGO builders that go beyond sets.
Read MoreTo celebrate LEGO’s 90th anniversary, the company is letting fans vote for a classic theme that will be the inspiration for a new singular set released in 2022. But which of the 30 themes on the ballot should you vote for? Our BrickNerd team weighed in and came to the conclusion that the single perfect LEGO theme to make a comeback is…
Read MoreIt's not easy to write about pain… But I feel it is important to explore an aspect of the LEGO passion that many don't think about. In a series of articles, I will try to tell you about my personal journey expressed through LEGO and explore several topics related to my experiences as an AFOL. … For me, deep down, LEGO is the one thing that feels safe and uncomplicated in a complicated life.
Read MoreI stumbled upon this gem of a dronuary build yesterday and was immediately taken by the aggressive near future military design aesthetic of the humanoid and walker style drones. Squad Sierra is a must-see. Builder ReD M is a master of high-quality sci-fi digital creations, including many that you might have seen during the height of the Hibernia Flickr community craze a few months ago. So it comes as no surprise that the latest build is another gem.
Read MoreOkay, I know this is a fearsome Tiki Shaman who clearly eats every part of a minifigure but the torso, but oh, those toes! Jake aka Mountain Hobbit brings us a cute, well-crafted figure - just the person to threaten your minifigures with when they misbehave.
Read MoreHi! I’m Are. That’s me on the right in the picture above (albeit in a slightly younger version). About ten years ago, after I had rediscovered LEGO, I dove head-first into the world of AFOLs—which I never knew existed up until then. Since then I have traveled to LEGO conventions all over the place (well, not all over, but I’m getting there!) and been so lucky to meet all kinds of fantastic people. And what happens when you go places and meet people? You collect stories.
Read MoreWhen an AFOL thinks about a“con,” they may think of “friends” or “MOCs” or “games.” With this year’s Bricks LA virtually in the books, I wanted to focus on the nerdly little details that the Very Important Builders (VIBs) in attendance may have overlooked. This is the third year that registered BricksLA participants received custom con kits designed by Tim Heiderich. The development of these kits involves some head-of-the-class Nerd Skillz. Not just run-of-the-mill nerdity like NPU (nice parts usage). We’re talking archival research and city planning and font detail. Super-duper-uber-BrickNerd fodder! Put on your highest prescription reading glasses to learn more.
Read MoreIt’s no secret that I am a huge fan of building LEGO speeder bikes (LSB; a.k.a. flying motorcycles). Sometimes I even host building contests for them on Flickr in the LSB - LEGO Speeder Bikes group. The LSB contest is currently on hiatus, but that hasn’t kept people from building some really awesome speeder bikes in the meantime… and even hosting building challenges of their own! I first noticed Dan Ko (Instagram / Flickr) while adding his recent speeder bike line-up into the photo pool of the Flickr group. Here are two of his builds that really caught my attention:
Read MoreThe LEGO community encompasses many people from designers in Billund to builders far and wide and thousands of enthusiasts in between. At LEGO fan conventions, you get a good cross-section of where all these people come together with builders, photographers, resellers, printers, and engravers sharing their passion projects. One of the frequent faces at these events is Guy Himber of Crazy Bricks who I got nerdy with chatting about his recent project of prehistoric proportions, Dino Dudes.
Read MoreToday we get the chance to meet Ray Jacobs. Ray is an AFOL of the ’80s—which can be clearly seen in his work. From the infamous Mad Max car to the Ford Falcon Pursuit Special to his Fozzie Bear’s 1951 Studebaker, Ray is no stranger to classic cars. Combine that with his love for ambulances, busses and fire trucks, and you have the perfect setup for his newest build, a gorgeous 1920’s antique fire truck.
Read MoreA little over a year ago, in a galaxy far, far away, we were introduced to a little green—yet 50-year-old—foster child with an insatiable appetite for just about anything it could cram down its throat. By now, you know who I am talking about. It’s “The Child” from the Disney Plus streaming Star Wars show The Mandalorian. Even after two seasons, mysteries still cloud this little creature who we now know is named Grogu. (Really? Grogu?) No matter what you want to call it, Grogu, Baby Yoda or The Child, it clearly stole the spotlight. Sorry, Mando.
Read MoreBrickvention is Australia's premier LEGO fan event and is typically held each January. As a founding and former member of the organizing team behind the event, it holds a special place in my heart. It started in 2006 after the Australian AFOL community on LUGNET requested a regular event in their own country—quite the task at the time. With humble beginnings of fewer than 50 AFOLs in attendance, Brickvention has since become a popular event for Australian AFOLs and regularly attracts local and international visitors.
Read MoreAre you ready to get building and maybe win a prize? Find some inspiration and motivation in these LEGO contests from all around the AFOL community! There’s nothing quite like a theme or a seed part to take you out of your comfort zone and give you inspiration to something new to try. Plus, contests are the perfect place to interact with other contestants and judges and get to know your fellow builders. And if you’re like me, a deadline is all I need to make sure I actually finish that WIP!
Read MoreA long time ago, in a suburban cul-de-sac far, far away, from me at least, the idea of a new LEGO blog was created. Tommy-Wan, I mean, Williamson, started BrickNerd and built its iconic Nerdly brick. Complete with taped glasses, the Nerdly has been customized from its humble 2x2 red brick origins to just about every character and theme you can imagine. And I can imagine quite a bit!
Now that the BrickNerd saga is back, there’s a New Hope that a contest of building skill and creativity will Awaken a Force of enthusiasm for the site among its readers and contributors.
Read MoreThere was an idea to bring together a group of remarkable LEGO people to see if they could become something more. Nine countries and at least ten languages later, we have gathered a team of incredible builders, writers, historians and artists to make connections across continents and showcase the best the global LEGO fan community has to offer. BrickNerds, assemble!
Read MoreHello fellow BrickNerds! As Tommy announced yesterday, a new era has begun for this corner of the internet covering all things LEGO. Tommy started BrickNerd as a place to share the creativity of fellow LEGO builders, to tell the stories behind the bricks, and to share news from the hobby and community.
Read MoreHappy New Year!
Hello dear readers, it’s been a while. While I announced on Facebook that I was taking a bit of a break from BrickNerd many months ago, I never really made an official post. But it only took a few visits over those months to figure that out I suppose. The main reason why is simple, burn out. And it’s not just the blog, I’ve barely touched my bricks at the studio, or visited Flickr, or anything else really. Between getting friend-zoned by TLG, COPPA crippling the YouTube channel, negativity in the Ambassador program and general apathy in the builder community, I needed a break. Then COVID happened, and a whole new level of distraction was heaped on. I’ve been totally absent, for that I apologize. I did get a 2020 advent calendar and thoroughly enjoyed a little playtime every day of December, so there’s hope for me.
But there’s good news to announce, while there hasn’t been much activity here at BrickNerd.com, behind the scenes some crazy cool stuff has been happening. The amazing Dave Schefcik is going to be taking over as Nerd-in-Chief! Not only that, he’s assembled an elite squad of contributors you’ll get to know in the coming weeks and months. And don’t worry, I’ll still be around (you’re not getting rid of me that easy). Hopefully soon I’ll shed this brick-funk and start building and blogging again. I’m staying on as a contributor, and changing my title to Founding Nerd. In the meantime there are spiffy things brewing, so stay tuned!
You all mean a whole lot to me, and since the creation of BrickNerd in 2013 it’s the readers and viewers that have made it worth it. You all rock, I’d give you a hug, but we can’t do that right now, maybe soon.
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