Best of BrickNerd - Article originally published August 4, 2022. Today’s guest article is written by Ben Bartlett who is a student at St. John's College. You can find his work on Flickr as #1 Nomad. From TFOL to AFOL This year, I attended my first convention as an AFOL. And, in celebration of this, I displayed with a LUG and in a collab for the first time. It felt like I was ascending from my former TFOL self, becoming a grown-up doing grown-up things. It felt as if I had become a fully-fledged member of the LEGO community at large. However, I couldn’t have felt this way without the rich environment I had as a TFOL. I was fortunate enough to have great builders supplying advice and encouragement for my MOCs. These people made me feel included in the community at a young age; they wanted me to be heard...

Disney Pixar’s Luxo Jr Lamp by T0BY1KENOBI20506 is the latest product to achieve 10.000 supporters on LEGO Ideas. The build features the little lamp that usually replaces the “I” in the beginning of Pixar movies. The project joins “Big Boy” Locomotive, Retro Arcade, Spartan Helmet of Leonidas, Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider, The Muppet Show, Red Bull Racing F1 Team RB18 1:12, Scooby Doo Mystery Machine, Western River Steamboat, Dreamwork’s Shrek Swamp, Asterix & Obelix, Venice, Stilt House, Red Bull RB18, Trojan Horse, Red Dwarf: Sleeping Quarters, TaleSpin Seaduck Meeting Seagull, Stud Lane Book Nook, Minifigure Gumball Machine, Greenhouse, Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Box: Dark Magician vs Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Phineas and Ferb Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc., Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Taylor Swift “Lover House”, The Motograph, Taylor Swift’s Lover House, Disney’s Phineas and Ferb: Perry the Platypus/Agent P, Flying Scotsman – LNER Class A3 4472 4-6-2 Pacific Steam Locomotive, Jumanji Game Board, Kerbal Space Program...

Howdy BrickNerd readers! It has been a while since my last article, and I have missed launching my nerdy thoughts out into the world wide web. Oy vey, I was just pooped after my last big MOC—but now it’s time to hop back on the wagon and build and write some more! And I’m excited to say I found a perfect bite-sized challenge to get back into the swing of things: The challenge was a self-run one-man task to build BrickCon trophies solely of the parts from sets provided by LEGO and BrickNerd! (You know, these MOC trophies for certain building categories that we wrote about here and here?) So let’s dive in and I’ll tell you all about it! Part I: From Whence Dost Thy Idea Originate? The premiere question I feel I must answer is “where’d this cool idea come from?” Two independent driving forces came together for this...

With the pubic availability of LEGO Braille Bricks, today we feature a guest article from Kat Sipe (drkatbuilds) about disability representation in LEGO. As a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), disability representation and adaptive equipment are part of my work every day. In my professional world, I have to help advocate for patients, recommend equipment, and educate individuals about mobility as ableism is still deeply ingrained in the medical world and beyond. Disability continues to be a stigma, but in recent years this is starting to change. However, I am absolutely thrilled to see improving disability representation within the LEGO world! It is well documented in psychology literature that it is essential to see individuals represented in the world they interact with, including toys. This article will highlight all of the amazing steps forward The LEGO Group (TLG) has made, as well as suggest a few ideas for future development. History...

Back in 2020, LEGO officially launched LEGO Braille Bricks which was produced to help visually impaired children learn Braille and today, they announced that they are now available for purchase on the LEGO Shop. Due to popular demand and overwhelming response to the original launch, LEGO Braille Bricks – Play with Braille (40656) will officially be released on September 1 and you can pre-order it today for $89.99. The set has 287 pieces coming in five colous: white, yellow, green, red and blue. All bricks are fully compatible with other LEGO products and the studs on each brick are arranged to correspond to the numbers and letters in the braille system, with the printed version of the symbol or letter situated below the studs. BRINGING BRAILLE FUN HOME:LEGO® BRAILLE BRICKS ON SALE FOR THE FIRST TIME • Following an overwhelming response from around the world,LEGO® Braille Bricks are now available to...

BrickLink has announced the finalists of the Series 2 BrickLink Designer Program in which fans voted for projects that they want to see produced. These five designs will go to crowdfunding in June 2024. Logging Railway by ties25 The Ocean House by Hanwas Mushroom House by JonasKramm Brick Cross Train Station by brickester Ominous Isle by jazlecraz The post BrickLink Designer Program Series 2 Finalists Revealed appeared first on The Brick Fan. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran

Moving a cherished LEGO collection can be a daunting task for even the most seasoned AFOLs (Adult Fans of LEGO). In this article, we'll delve into a LEGO fan’s potentially greatest struggle: relocating their beloved LEGO creations and collection. While there's no magical formula to make this process entirely seamless, we'll explore some valuable insights, stories, and practical tips to help mitigate the challenges and preserve your precious creations intact. BrickNerd has previously discussed how to fly with MOCs and how to store your collection of pieces, but how do you move it all when life makes you take a different direction? Whether moving to a new house, rearranging rooms, or embarking on an international move, read on to glean insights from personal experiences and expert advice. Embracing the Challenge If you're expecting a quick fix or foolproof solution for relocating your LEGO collection, I must disappoint you. The reality is...

If you didn’t see it yet, there is a LEGO Insiders sweepstakes for the San Diego Comic Con 2018 LEGO Marvel Super Heroes Sheriff Deadpool graded minifigure. It doesn’t have SDCC clamshell but it is graded 95% Gold by UK Graders. Each entry costs 50 Insider points and you can have a max of 50 entries. The last day to enter is September 12. The post LEGO SDCC 2018 Marvel Super Heroes Sheriff Deadpool Sweepstakes for Insiders appeared first on The Brick Fan. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran

The nominees for the 2023 Toys of the Year Awards have been announced and LEGO has quite a few sets in the running this year. As usual you can submit your picks for a chance to win some of the toys. The winners will be announced on November 20. LEGO has eight products nominated in six categories which you can check out below. Collectible • Disney 100 Collectible Minifigures (71038) Construction • LEGO Disney 100 “Up” House (43217) • LEGO Friends Heartlake International School (41731) Grown-Up • LEGO Art Hokusai – The Great Wave (31208) • LEGO Icons Lord of the Rings Rivendell (10316) Infant/Toddler • LEGO DUPLO 3-in-1 Tree House (10993) Preschool • LEGO Disney Celebration Train (43212) STEAM • LEGO Technic NASA Mars Rover Perseverance (42158) The post LEGO Nominated for 2023 Toy of the Year Awards appeared first on The Brick Fan. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran

I can hardly believe it is August already, and I am delighted to share once again my perspective on attending Bauspielbahn-Treffen 2023 (BSBT). As a reminder, BSBT is a LEGO fan event dedicated exclusively to trains and takes place in the charming town of Schkeuditz, just 12 km northwest of Leipzig, Germany. My previous BrickNerd articles discussing BSBT are linked here for 2021 and 2022. 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...