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 Disney’s 100th anniversary, BrickNerd contributor Miro Dudas created a life-size Tinkerbell—the largest “mini-model” we’ve ever published. A Fantastic Floating Fairy To celebrate the magical theme of this BrickJournal issue, we decided to create a life-size LEGO Tinkerbell. The core design repurposes my previous Surfing Girls creation from a few years ago. The arms and legs were already positioned perfectly so adjusting them for Tink was a breeze. All I had to do was make her fly. I gave her a pedestal and a clear support to anchor her in mid-air. (Building tip: use an older clear support rod since they are more rigid. The newer ones are made with a newer plastic that has a bit more bend and can’t quite support...

Today’s article comes from guest contributor Jesse Gros who discusses how AI-generated “LEGO” sets are sparking a debate between inspiration and imitation within the AFOL community. From Pixels to Plastic Is the world of MOC building on the brink of a transformation? This past week, high-quality IA-generated “LEGO” sets started popping up on Instagram on pages like @brick4world. At first glance, these images looked like real sets. When I saw the first one, my heart skipped a beat: “Oh, I’m buying that set for sure!” Seconds later, I read the post and realized it was an AI mockup made up of digital “pieces” that approximate LEGO. This sent my mind whirling. AI creation by brick4world. One of the first comments in the thread below the image expressed anger: “Can we not post that AI crap here?” Responses included comments about the images being used for “inspiration.” Another pointed out that translating...

A new month is upon us which means more competitive building! Are you ready? Here’s the latest batch of LEGO contests and challenges from all around the AFOL community for November 2023 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...

Best of BrickNerd - Article originally published November 2, 2022. I first read The Lord of the Rings when I was nine, and since then I’ve been hooked on J.R.R. Tolkien’s fictional world of Arda and Middle Earth. One of the things that’s always appealed to me about Middle Earth is the incredibly dense worldbuilding that Tolkien imbued it with and the wealth of amazing locations featured within its stories. (That’s one of the characteristics of High Fantasy which was the theme for BrickNerd’s Nerdvember contest in 2022. This year’s contest theme is “survival” which could also work.) When LEGO started releasing sets based on the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies back in 2012, they captured many of these stunning locations in brick form to the delight of many LOTR-obsessed LEGO fans. However, while the sets we got were incredible, the theme ended far too quickly and we were...

A few weeks ago, I received a mystery box provided to BrickNerd by LEGO. The only thing I knew was that the set was part of the Botanical Collection. My girlfriend already has the original Flower and Wildflower Bouquets, along with the Bonsai Tree (those sets are “hers” and I’m allowed to “steal” parts from them only for a couple of days but then I have to return them to their places), so she was very excited to add another botanical set to her collection. We were both delighted with 10329 Tiny Plants when it arrived, and I asked her to build them so we could take pictures of the set. But after that, I wanted to play with the parts and build something out of it. A Few Words About Tiny Plants… From Chrissy (The Current Owner of The Set) “The box is the typical representation of the Icons sets:...

The minifigure head element is a timeless mold that will be around for as long as The LEGO Group still exists. During its 48 years of service, its shape remains unchanged, but the variety of colours and prints makes it one of the most aesthetically interesting pieces in the LEGO canon. Today, we’re going to focus on its colours, in particular, the evolution from classic yellow to realistic human tones, and how this helped the minifigure head become LEGO’s most “charismatic” part. Star Wars Minifigure Head Tones, 1999 to 2023 (Including non-printed heads). Data Source: Rebrickable Quick Quiz There are currently 44 solid LEGO colours in use (excluding transparent, pearl etc). But only 40 of them have been used as a printed minifigure head…which four have yet to be used? You can find out at the end of the article. From Classic Town to Nation State Data Source: Wikipedia… yes, I...

November has arrived which means BrickNerd is celebrating Nerdvember! It is a month where we get EXCEPTIONALLY nerdy (well… nerdier than normal) 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 amazing prizes! So what’s the contest theme this year? Our last Nerdvember contest was High Fantasy-themed. This year we are feeling a bit more… apocalyptic. Welcome to Nerdvember 2023: Survivor Edition! Last Nerdly Standing Because our very own Mega-Nerdly met its spectacular demise (though an update on that is coming later this month), we were inspired to theme this Nerdvember on survival (or Nerd-vival!?). We want you to get creative with our mascot Nerdly (here are basic instructions as a PDF download) and customize it to a survival character or scene of your choosing. We’re looking...

JB Spielwaren has revealed two new 2024 LEGO Minecraft sets with The Armoury (21252) and The Animal Sanctuary (21253). The Armoury has 203 pieces and includes minifigures of the Armorer and Alex while the Sanctuary has 206 pieces and includes a Cat, Rabbit, Cow, Sheep, Dog, Player Character, and Baby Zombie. Both will be available starting in January. The post Two LEGO Minecraft 2024 Sets Revealed appeared first on The Brick Fan. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran

Just like that, we’re in November and there are there are some new promotions that have gone live on the LEGO Shop which include the LEGO Ideas Tribute to Galileo Galilei (40595) and the the LEGO Christmas VIP Add-on Pack (40609). Both will run simultaneously until November 16 or while supplies last. The Tribute to Galileo Galilei will require a purchase of $130 while the Christmas polybag will need a $50 purchase. Remember that pre-orders do count towards the promotions so some of the recent reveals like the Natural History Museum (10326) and the Dune Atreides Royal Ornithopter (10327) do work. As a Rakuten/Linkshare Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. The post LEGO Ideas Tribute to Galileo Galilei (40595) & Christmas VIP Add-on Pack (40609) Promotions Live on LEGO Shop appeared first on The Brick Fan. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran

Another LEGO Super Mario 2024 set has been revealed on JB Spielwaren with Nabbit at Toad’s Shop (71429). It has 230 pieces and it features a brick-built Nabbit which is a new character to the them along with Yellow Toad who is not new but you can get him now in a cheaper set. The post LEGO Super Mario Nabbit at Toad’s Shop (71429) Revealed appeared first on The Brick Fan. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran