We love theme months here at BrickNerd (you can check out our round-up of themes and building standards here). And if you’ve been poking around the community this August, you might have noticed a certain green envy among some builders as they dive into the cutest creature of them all... It’s FROGust, a month dedicated to this author’s favorite animal! If you wanted to know more about frogs, please check out my previous article (which yes, needs some colour updates!). He’s not a prince, he just found the crown and feels handsome in it! But how did this theme month start? Why did it start? When did it start? What did it start? Let’s get froggie. Croaked Into Existence FROGust started last year when Maxx Davidson posted the build above on August 31st, 2024 (Billund time) and I quote: “I’m willing #Frogust into existence! Small and late start this year, but...

When we build with LEGO, we often find ourselves indoors away from the sunshine and the beautiful outdoors for many hours or days. What happens when we manage to get outside and explore a bit? We go back inside and try to capture that beauty with our favorite plastic interlocking brick system! Here’s how RebelLUG, an online LEGO User Group, put that beauty into bricks. National Parks at BrickWorld Chicago 2025 The Great Outdoors Is Calling As with most collaborations, this one started with a simple idea. What if we made a series of MOCs showcasing the many National Parks found in the United States (and Canada)? I chatted with Drew, the idea originator, about his inspiration for this project, and Paul, who helped flesh out the idea to its final form. Chris: Thanks for taking the time to chat about this collab! Where did the idea for a National Parks...

It is August once again, and for the 5th time (already!), I am happy to talk about the awesome Bauspielbahn-Treffen 2025 (BSBT)—a LEGO fan event dedicated exclusively to trains. BSBT takes place in the charming town of Schkeuditz, just 12 km (about 7.5 miles) northwest of Leipzig, Germany. My previous BrickNerd articles discussing BSBT are linked here for 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. As always, the sublime quality of layouts and trains exhibited is truly special. BSBT attracts a fellowship of like-minded and passionate LEGO train builders. I cannot think of an event that sparks a similar level of inspiration and excitement from the perspective of a LEGO train fan. Also, I cannot forget to mention the amazing team which organizes and hosts BSBT: LEN-Eisenbahner, a subgroup of LEGO train fans within LBrick.de. It is an enormous amount of work to coordinate an event like this, and BSBT’s success is due to the hard work of...

While many of us around the world are sweltering in the summer heat, I thought it would be a perfect time to dive back into the deep end of the LEGO Flickr group photo pool to cool off. Swimming around, I was startled by seeing an “old school” AFOL builder breaching the surface once again with some of his killer builds. That builder is Ken Ito / 暁工房, based in Tokyo, Japan. I say “old school” as I was looking back through his photostream and I saw some of his builds that I had faved waaaaay back in 2010. Namely this cute little black-and-tan dachshund. He also built some killer dinosaur builds that still stand the test of time. The “killer builds” we are here to enjoy today, however, are killer whales (orcas), along with bottlenose dolphins and penguins. Ecologically speaking, plastic and aquatic animals are not a good combination. However,...

League of Legends is such a popular game that even non-gamers are familiar with it. That’s probably because of the Netflix hit Arcane. If you are not familiar with it and you are looking for something new to watch, then Arcane might be the show for you. It has solid animation with often vibrant colors and a captivating storyline. The same goes for this vibrant MOC built by Dan O’Connor. Forced Perspective It features wonderful colors mixed together in an often challenging pattern—a MOC that tells the story of the hero of the underworld! Dan was so kind to tell us a bit about how this MOC came together. Cheese Slopes and Friction: A Chat with Dan O’Connor Marco: What inspired you to make an arcane MOC? Are you a fan of the game or the Netflix series? Dan: Aside from building LEGO, I also spend a lot of my free...