Nerdvember is halfway gone, BrickNerd aficionados! “What exactly is Nerdvember?” you ask. Well, it’s a month where we get EXCEPTIONALLY nerdy (we’re talking double-tiered pocket-protector nerdy) and dive even deeper into LEGO topics, techniques, themes, history, lore, MOCs, and more. But it also means we host our annual contest where you can reimagine our mascot, Nerdly, to win some awe-inspiring prizes! In past years we’ve done a high fantasy theme and a survival theme. “So what’s the contest theme this year?” you ask? (Sheesh, so many questions!!!) This year we are feeling a bit more… animated. Welcome to Nerdvember 2024: Animation Edition! Animated Excitement Yes indeed, animation in all its forms is the theme of the contest. We want you to get creative with our Nerdly mascot (here are basic instructions as a PDF download) and customize it to an animated character of your choosing. We’re looking for the best that animation has...

This article was originally a presentation at Brickworld 2024. Enjoy the slides. No one else got to enjoy them much, because the lights were acting up. Ever wanted to build something that was just too big for one person? Ever wanted to join other builders for a LEGO project and see what their process is like? Or do you want to get a friend or family member interested in building alongside you? Sounds like you might be interested in a collab. Collaborations come in all shapes and sizes. They’re a big part of the LEGO community and there are groups of LEGO fans collaborating all the time, many of them intentionally making it easy for anyone to jump in and build along. But what if you have your own idea? What if you want to head up a collaboration yourself? Where do you start—and maybe more importantly, how do you push...

At Bricks Cascade 2024, my kids discovered the joy of a LEGO Derby. As I wrote in a previous article, a Brick Derby is a Pinewood Derby but swapping pine for plastic. When we asked our soon-to-be 9-year-old what he wanted to do for his birthday this year, it wasn’t much of a surprise when he chose a Backyard Brick Derby. Obviously, we said yes, but we had to get to work to pull it off. Ramps and Race Cars To make a ramp, I’d need help in the woodworking department. After looking up layouts and blueprints to set up a Brick Derby, I found these plans and sent them to a friend and long tenured Home Depot employee who was able to construct it for me. It’s 32 inches long and breaks into four sections for transportation and storage. I then purchased the 6x16 stud baseplates for the cars from...

Scandinavian folklore is full of tales of little people living in the woods and meadows. Swedish builder Peter Ilmrud gives us a glimpse of one community of fairy folk who have made a lingonberry cidery out of an old boot. Peter incorporates DUPLO and Scala elements alongside wildflowers from the Botanicals line and many custom flowers and berry bushes in the vibrant display. The boot, which doubles as fairy housing and green house, features some incredible shaping with an eclectic mix of brown elements giving the boot a weatheted look. The roof is gorgeous, using pairs of bowed plates in staggered rows for a scaly effect. At ground level, Peter packs the scene with fun details of the wee folk going about their work chopping, stomping, and barrel aging their cider. Perhaps my favorite detail is this rider tranporting hjortron berries from a nearby bog. The beetle design is phenomenal, creating...

One thing that Star Wars – and especially – the prequels, for their flaws – does really well is villains. One look at Darth Maul or the Emperor and there’s no doubting which side they’re on. But really, none of them looked as villainous as the skeletal General Grievous, whose likeness has been captured by N.A.B.E_mocs over on Flickr. In builds where the cybernetic and natural collide, texture can be a useful tool to differentiate between the two, and this is a fantastic example. Grievous’ armour is almost entirely studless. It’s wondefully organically shaped, too – a touch of irony therein, perhaps! In contrast, his fleshy bits (for want of a better phrase) are rougher. His oesophagus (I think that’s what it is) is all studded plates, while the red eyes use anti-studs to perfectly accentuate their organic nature. The post This LEGO bust would make a fine addition to any...