Oh, how soon they forget. When I was looking through our monthly BrickNerd contest round-up for October, I noticed that a once-popular monthly building theme was conspicuously absent from our list; Ma.Ktoberfest. Sure, there hasn’t been much buzz or enthusiasm for the Sci-Fi theme over the last few years, but its exclusion is striking. We made t-shirts, I tell you. T-SHIRTS!!! (designed by Victor Vercesi; Instagram) I mean, at one point there were Ma.Ktoberfest T-shirts designed for it. T-SHIRTS!!! (And I’m pretty sure it was the first monthly building theme to ever do so). To make matters worse, people are now being gas-lit into thinking that the theme month for October has been Mechtober all along (I blame Simon). Well, as always, we here at BrickNerd are here to set the record straight. So What is “Ma.K”? Kow Yokoyama - Creator of “Maschinen Krieger” Ma.K is the short form for Maschinen...

Here at BrickNerd, we love to highlight the bright and imaginative works of talented builders across the LEGO community—and today’s feature is no exception to that. I had the pleasure of speaking with Katja (Palixa And The Bricks): a talented LEGO artist and a two-time finalist in BrickNerd’s own Nerdvember contests in 2016 and 2017. View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize Ann: Hi Katja! I’m very excited to discuss your work on BrickNerd! Please, tell us a bit about yourself. When did your interest in LEGO begin? Katja: Hi Ann! And I am very excited to be interviewed by BrickNerd! I am a software engineer living in the south of Germany. Like many people, I came into contact with LEGO as a child. My mum bought me a few small sets, and I just loved playing with them and taking them apart to build new stuff. While LEGO sets definitely have...

Against the wishes of our Nerd-in-Chief Dave, we are happily re-publishing this interview about his Rainbow Heart mosaic for a very special reason: you might be able to purchase it as a product! Yes, this double-layered color extravaganza is now up for public vote through the BrickLink Designer Program Series 6. If it receives enough “heart happy face” 😍 reactions from those with BrickLink accounts, it could be produced as a limited-edition set! Keen-eyed viewers will notice there have been a few updates from the original, mostly due to the color palette for the BDP program. The greyscale sub-layer has also been optimized to reduce the amount of pieces to fit the program’s piece count limit. So what are you waiting for!? Go and vote for Rainbow Heart, share the link with your friends, and you might be able to build it and hang it on your wall soon! With that,...

Today’s guest article comes from Kyle Keller, a prolific builder and Brothers Brick contributor from the Pacific Northwest. We’ve highlighted his Stardew Valley MOC before, and today he takes us through his process of building custom MOC trophies for AFOL conventions. Defining the Trophy I understand that for many of you outside of the United States, the concept of a LEGO trophy may be a bit of a mystery. Even within the US, what constitutes a trophy can vary depending on your side of the Mississippi. (See BrickNerd’s article all about LEGO trophies at conventions.) And while I’ll leave the legacy of the brick-built trophy to someone far more wizened than myself, I feel I should still specify the subject of this article. I’m here to talk to you all about the creation of the US’s West Coast version: a construction typically on an 8x8 plate that includes a 1x8 brick...

“And the award goes to...” The audience collectively holds its breath. The nominees bristle with anticipation. The announcer searches for his reading glasses… I still vividly remember my first award. It was also my very first LEGO convention, and for better or worse, I got the taste of that thrill of the chase. So let's go a bit deeper into LEGO conventions and these awards. I'm going to use some of my elementary school education and give you the 5 W's: Who, What, Where, When and Why of LEGO trophies. (I apologize in advance for mainly focusing on just a few conventions, but those are the ones I know best and can comment on from firsthand experience. Yes, I know it's a bad data set from a statistical point of view.) WHERE Let's start with WHERE. Actually, LEGO trophies are not everywhere. Awards and trophies tend to be omnipresent at North...

A new month is upon us which means more competitive building! Are you ready? Here’s the latest bunch of LEGO contests and challenges from all around the AFOL community for October 2024 to help you find some inspiration and motivation to build! There’s nothing quite like a theme or a prompt to take you out of your comfort zone and give you something new to try. Besides, 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 helps make sure you actually finish! We’ve listed them in order of deadline so you can plan your building time to the best advantage. Make sure to check the LEGO activity calendar for local challenges and events near you. Here at BrickNerd, some of our fondest memories, greatest building achievements, coolest trophies, and best friendships came from LEGO...

Less than a day ago, LEGO Insider early access for the new LEGO Star Wars UCS Jabba’s Sail Barge (75397) went live and with it, you could’ve gotten the 145 piece Luke Skywalker’s Lightsaber (40730) as a gift with purchase. As expected, the GWP has now sold out online for the US as it doesn’t add to cart anymore. LEGO Stores may still have some in stock so you have to check with them to see if they do or not. Other countries may still have them in stock as well but it’s hard to say if they’ll reach the general public release or if it’ll actually run all the way until October 10 which is when the promotion ends. The post LEGO Star Wars Luke Skywalker’s Lightsaber (40730) GWP Sold Out in US appeared first on The Brick Fan. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran

Pre-orders for the upcoming LEGO Horizon Adventures game are now live for various retailers. The game will be released on November 14 for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC. There is a regular edition of the game as well as the Digital Deluxe Edition which includes the following: • Roller Coaster Customization• Banuk Armor outfit• Shadow Stalwart outfit• “Alloy” Aloy outfit• Ratchet outfit• Rivet outfit• Sackboy outfit You can get the Digital Deluxe versions on PSN, Steam, and the Epic Game Store. As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.… Continue The post LEGO Horizon Adventures Pre-Orders Live appeared first on The Brick Fan. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran

You can now order the new LEGO Monkey Palace board game on Amazon. The game is scheduled to be released tomorrow and it costs $39.99. Monkey Palace is LEGO’s foray back into the board game space and is developed in conjunction with Asmodee. It features a jungle-themed game of light strategy for two to four players that incorporates both collaborative and competitive elements. Players must strategically work together to construct the Monkey Palace while competing for the highest brick income and points. As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. The post LEGO Monkey Palace Board Game Available on Amazon appeared first on The Brick Fan. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran

The LEGO Star Wars Jabba’s Sail Barge (75397) is now available for purchase on the LEGO Shop for Insiders. The set is the next LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series set and it retails for $499.99. For the next few days, you can also get Luke Skywalker’s Lightsaber (40730) as a gift with purchase set. If it doesn’t sell out, it will be available for everybody and the promotion will run until October 10. The set also qualifies you for the Brite Bomber BrickHeadz and Halloween Pumpkin GWPs since they have general purchase requirements. Note that the Brite Bomber promo only runs for one more day since it ends tomorrow night. As a Rakuten/LinkShare Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. The post LEGO Star Wars UCS Jabba’s Sail Barge (75397) Available on LEGO Shop appeared first on The Brick Fan. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran