LEGO Ideas has started a new building contest in which you reimagine an old LEGO set and modernize it and it could become a future gift with purchase set. The contest will run until April 30 and the fan vote will run through May with the winning build being announced on May 28. The build must be between 200-250 pieces and inpired by a past LEGO set. You can only use LEGO IP themes like Ninjago, Bionicle, Castle, Space, etc. and not any third party licenses. The Grand Prize Winner for the Fan Vote will also receive: • 21347 – Red London Telephone Box• 31147 – Retro Camera• 10334 – Retro Radio• 21343 – Viking Village• 10305 – Lion Knights’ Castle• 21342 – The Insect Collection• 10355 – Blacktron Renegade• 40649 – Up-Scaled LEGO® Minifigure The Runner-Up for the Fan Vote will receive the following sets: • 21347 – Red London...

March heralds the arrival of spring (in the northern hemisphere), and like the arrival of spring flowers there was no shortage of great LEGO content from around the globe! Here at BrickNerd, we launched the Imperial March contest (we hope you got your entry in!), learned about the best parts for landscaping, and took an in-depth look at Jan Beyer’s time with The LEGO Group. We provided instructions for building your own Leprechaun for St Patrick’s Day, a mini-microscope, and a train wagon! We looked at some food MOCs realistic enough to make your mouth water, automated an amusement park, and discovered that size doesn’t matter when it comes to your LEGO collection. We even took a hard look at whether The LEGO Group has become a lifestyle brand and celebrated some of the women who are building up the LEGO fan community. In fact, we’ve published so many interesting articles...

Celebrate Vincent van Gogh’s birthday today by indulging in some of the sets that LEGO has released. In the past few years, LEGO has made a few sets for the artist with the first one being the LEGO Ideas Vincent van Gogh – The Starry Night (21333). This set recreates the iconic painting in a 3D design. The other set was just released at the beginning of March which is the LEGO Art Vincent van Gogh – Sunflowers (31215). This set also has a 3D feel with the design replicating the brushstrokes and the different shading techniques used for the flowers. Both sets can be hung on walls so if you’re looking to decorate your house, these aren’t bad choices. As a Rakuten/Linkshare Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. The post Celebrate Vincent van Gogh’s Birthday with LEGO appeared first on The Brick Fan. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran

Time is running out! We’re down to the last two days to join our Imperial March contest to show the galaxy what you’ve got. The hyperspace lanes are closing soon, so if you’ve been waiting to submit your creations, now’s the time! Whether you’ve built an iconic character, an epic starship, or a totally reimagined scene from a galaxy far, far away—make sure your entries are submitted by the end of March in your local galactic standard time (aka by 11:59 pm PT on March 31st). If you’ve been stalling like a malfunctioning hyperdrive, now’s your last chance to make the jump to lightspeed and submit your entries! Three Epic Categories There’s still time to strike back in any—or all—of the following categories: 1. Legendary Characters and Creatures Wookies, Jawas, Jedi, and Jar Jar—if it walks, crawls, or flies in the galaxy, it’s fair game. Use the Force (or your parts...

In a decade of MOCing, I’ve learned many things—new techniques, better ways to use color, and more effective NPU. But if I could go back and tell myself one thing, it’d be this: always remember what you’re building for! Lights, camera… convention? Of course, that advice could be taken in a profound way, diving into goals and ambitions, but just now I mean it in a more practical sense. Every MOC has a history, and a big part of its history will be the place where it shines, whether as part of a well-curated photostream, maybe catching the eye of fan sites or winning community contests—or displayed at a LEGO convention then on a shelf, periodically dusted and eagerly pointed out to interested guests. Where you plan to showcase your MOC will affect how it’s viewed: colors, layout, size, and perspective often show up differently in a photo than in a...

Middle-earth, MIDDLE-EARTH, MIDDLE-EARTH!!! We each have our own obsessions that can cause us to go full “Benny-from-The-LEGO-Movie-mode,” and for me, that obsession is Middle-earth. As such, it’s no surprise that I was ecstatic upon learning about the latest addition to LEGO Lord of the Rings line, 10354 The Shire. As one of the most iconic locations in Middle-earth, and with a stellar cast of minifigures to boot, I had high expectations for the set. For the most part, I wasn’t disappointed. That said, I also couldn’t help but wonder about what could have been. While the set captures the beginning of The Lord of the Rings perfectly, I question if there was potential to explore some other directions. In particular, what if the set had been based on The Hobbit rather than The Lord of the Rings? But before we dive into hypotheticals, let’s take a look at the set that...

Almost a year ago, I shared instructions for building a LEGO shipping container—a simple but versatile design that can slot neatly into your cityscape, industrial layout, or train yard. Clearly, what is missing is a train wagon to carry those containers! I did have a wagon design shown below; however, it was not a design I felt was suitable enough for instructions at the time. Thankfully, I have finally taken the time to revise the design and produce instructions, which is the main topic for this article! This LEGO wagon is loosely based on the British Rail FGA container flat wagon, but it is generic enough to represent any single-deck “con-flat” wagon. The real-world FGA wagons were designed in the 1960s to carry standardized freight containers across the British rail network. My LEGO version borrows the same open-frame structure and container pad layout, but with a build streamlined for both simplicity...

For each issue of BrickJournal Magazine, the BrickNerd team creates instructions for a LEGO mini-model to go with the theme of the cover story. For their recent issue about all things microscale, we created a microscope! Building a Microscope For this microscale model, we aimed to create a microscope that reveals the secrets of the miniature world around us… along with a little BrickNerd humor! With only 58 pieces, this microscope is small but mighty. The core of the microscope uses a sturdy, white double inverted curved slope, more common to plane sets. The teal accents and base mimic the look of a real laboratory microscope with black highlights that make the color pop in comparison. The adjustable focus knobs are made with vehicle wheels. And look out for a secret BrickNerd easter egg on the viewing platform—one of the smallest brick-built Nerdlies to ever exist! So start building your own...

Today, we are going to talk about a theme that didn’t do much for me as a kid—but does appeal to me now (even more when seeing what can be done with it when building MOCs based on it). I’m talking about Rock Raiders. You know, the miners on a remote planet who are looking for crystals that may or may not have been a space theme? They are usually accompanied with vehicles that are easily recognizable from their teal and yellow accents. quadcopter Well, they are recognizable if you know your stuff! LegoMathijs aka Mathijs Bongers is someone who certainly does. He loves the theme and has a wonderful collection of stunning Rock Raider MOCs. He was also so kind to talk a bit about those MOCs with us at BrickNerd! Rocking Out with Rock Raiders Marco: Scrolling through your Flickr account I noticed MOCs based on a vast variety...

These days, nearly every LEGO set includes at least one highly specialized element—the kind of part you’d look at and wonder, “How on earth am I supposed to use that in something else?” Today, we're diving into a collection of builds that give new life to aircraft and watercraft elements. Some interesting elemnts, eh? Buckle up and get ready for launch because it’s time for some high-flying, sea-sailing NPU! (NPU stands for Nice Part Sage, btw.) Whatever Floats Your Boat From ferryboats to blimps to catamarans, nearly every LEGO theme has taken to the skies or the seas. One of the earliest floaty entries was 311-1 Ferry, released in 1973. It is so simple and delightfully retro, but look at that hull! Just a year later, LEGO debuted its first airplane with a specialized engine piece: 657-1 Executive Jet. (Though I would love to see those printed window plates again!) Fast...