Are you a LEGO fan who is tired of hearing, “Can’t you give me other gift ideas than LEGO?” during the holiday season? Are you a loved one of a LEGO fan looking to give something different because your LEGO fan has already bought all their gift ideas for themselves? Are you an AFOL who also loves tools? Are you curious as to what other AFOLs use to build? If you answered yes or maybe to any of those questions, then BrickNerd is here to help you! This list of useful tools for LEGO builders was sourced from both patrons and contributors of BrickNerd. Some of these gift ideas, as great a tool as they may be, may not always align with some builders’ purist sensibilities. And some of the utility of these gift ideas may surprise you. Yes, the best gift for a LEGO lover is more LEGO, but this...

December has snuck up on us, Christmas decorations are up and illuminating the nights, and hot coco has entered the LEGO rooms. Time to snuggle up with a blanket and build some new MOCs! Here’s the latest bunch of LEGO contests and challenges from all around the AFOL community for November 2025 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. 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...

Amazon has dropped the price of the LEGO Super Mario Piranha Plant (71426) by 40% which is very close to its lowest ever price. With this discount, the set is now priced at $35.99 which saves you $24 on the 540 piece set. The set features a recreation of the stationary villain from Super Mario Bros. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. The post LEGO Super Mario Piranha Plant (71426) Amazon Deal 40% Off – December 2025 appeared first on The Brick Fan. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran

LEGO has revealed a new Christmas gift with purchase set coming soon with the LEGO Creator Celebration Series: Gingerbread Train Ornament (40777). The set features a small train that is in the style of a gingerbread house. There’s no information yet on when it will be available or the price requirement to get it. Celebrate the holiday season with this LEGO® Creator Celebration Series: Gingerbread Train Ornament (40777) Christmas toy. The steam engine-style gingerbread train is decorated with icing and sweet elements, with an ice-cream cone topped with a cherry at the front. It makes a great Christmas-themed gift, and kids aged 8 and up can use the toy train with turning wheels to play out fun stories or as a Christmas decoration to add color to any room. Set contains 190 pieces. The post LEGO Creator Celebration Series: Gingerbread Train Ornament (40777) GWP Revealed appeared first on The Brick Fan....

It’s another week of updates for LEGO Ideas projects that have reached the Third 2025 Review Stage. Again, this round is more subtle than the previous one as we only have 44 projects that have reached the 10,000 supporter goal. Old Western Town – Brickmaster5000 KPop Demon Hunters – TrumanBricks Asterix & Obelix – KyriakosBuilder LEGO Kimonos – TheDriXx The post LEGO Ideas December 5 Update appeared first on The Brick Fan. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran

Once again, the holidays are upon us! As folks may have noticed over the years, Christmas is pretty popular here at BrickNerd, and we’ve gotten nerdy about all manner of holiday decorations and traditions. We’ve covered the trees themselves with the UCS Christmas Tree (Eiffel tower) and how to make a large-scale wooden LEGO tree. We’ve had plenty of articles on ornaments (Roguebricks Christmas Bauble Secret Santa and Deck the-Halls with Balls of LEGO). If you go way back in the archives, you even find full a brick-built tree! Expanding beyond our own little Nerdom, you have Chris McVeigh’s two excellent ornament books, and the LEGO company’s own ornament offerings, but we will stop there to keep the list short! But I can’t recall ever seeing anyone who has made Christmas tree lights out of LEGO… Well, now someone has! Light proof of concept on a single bulb demo light Let...

Even though all the major shopping events are now over, Amazon still currently has the LEGO Icons PAC-MAN Arcade (10323) on sale for 30% off. The set is listed for $189.99 which is the same as during Black Friday and it is a savings of $80. This price is still the lowest that we’ve seen it at. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. The post LEGO Icons PAC-MAN Arcade (10323) Amazon Deal – December 2025 appeared first on The Brick Fan. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran

Last year at LEGO World Utrecht, BrickNerd challenged several builders to create a new GBC module only using parts from a single set. After the success of that competition and the following interest, we are bringing the challenge back for another round! The builders loved it, the crowd loved it, and it pushed all of us to be more creative. So here we are back again with a new set that has entered the arena… Choosing the Right Set for a One-Week GBC Build Choosing the right set was the first real hurdle. Last year, the choice was easy. 42167 Technic Garbage Truck had plenty of panels and just enough gears to build a reliable GBC module, so it was the obvious pick for the first attempt. For this year, we again leaned into Technic sets. They simply offer the best starting point for GBC building, with the structural parts and...

LEGO has officially revealed the next set in the Modular Buildings Collection line with the LEGO Icons Shopping Street (11371). Releasing on January 1, the set has 3,456 pieces and will retail for $249.99. The build is inspired by European architecture and features buildings with charming, angled walls, ornate facades, a central alleyway, and a classic plaza. The three story building includes a two story music shop and next to it is a furniture shop. The top floor is a furnished home with a roof garden. When you purchase the Shopping Street from January 1-7, you can also get the Vintage Parade Car (40913) gift with purchase set, while supplies last. Immerse yourself in a creative project with the LEGO® Icons Shopping Street miniature house building kit for adults (11371). Unwind as you craft this captivating addition to the LEGO Modular Buildings Collection. Inspired by historic European architecture, this richly detailed...

Last week, we reported that BrickLink would be stopping operations in 35 countries around the world. The reason given was that they didn’t have the resources to support Marketplace operations in those area at the same level as other countries and would end on December 12. This announcement angered and saddened many LEGO fans in the affected countries because BrickLink may be the only way to get LEGO or it was their livelihood. Head of BrickLink, Steven Lee, has issued an apology statement regarding the announcement. They basically apologized that BrickLink didn’t allow enough time to the affected countries enough notice so instead of closing on December 12, they just pushed it back to January 31, 2026. They are also removing fees from November, December, and January. The apology letter didn’t really explain why they don’t have the resources to support those countries. They letter was just long-winded without explaining and...