“If you can draw the human figure, you can draw anything!” I’ve seen this statement in all manner of art books and websites. There’s a lot of truth in it, but also a mighty challenge! We all know exactly what a person looks like. So it is very easy to be hyper-critical of small mistakes. Plus, the human form is hard with so many curves, so many things that are proportional to each other, then tie in foreshortening effects, and on and on. Many of the same issues exist in building the human form in LEGO with the addition of working in a medium that is fairly rectangular. Figure/character building is so not my wheelhouse—my much-neglected Flickr is mostly spaceships, castles, and LUG events. That being said, some of my figure builds are MOCs I’m the most proud of. So I hope sharing my journey out of my comfort zone will...

By and large, the LEGO community is a place of childlike wonder and happy stories, where good wins and creativity prevails. That said, there is a darkness in the world of LEGO. That’s right, we’re talking about the Dark Age, that dreaded period where once-devoted LEGO enthusiasts grow apart from the brick. Absolutely tragic. I think it’s generally agreed upon that the ultimate source of these dark ages is college. Hit with the double-whammy of being away from your LEGO collection and being frantically busy 24/7, this is a dark time for many would-be AFOLs. That’s why, when I left for college about two months ago, I came in with a plan and determination to avoid this common pitfall. Now, I’m here to share some of my experiences so far in staying active in the LEGO hobby while at college. Display Only The first (and perhaps most obvious) method of staying...

One of the greatest parts of being a LEGO fan is all of the wonderful events hosted around the world—events for like-minded fans to display their models and socialize with each other. This is something I am especially interested in as I really enjoy traveling and have been looking into all the different conventions worldwide that I can attend. When I heard about the offer to attend LEGO Shows Kuwait, though, my interest was really piqued because I had never heard about it before, either online or from anyone in person. You may also have the same questions I had: what is LEGO Shows? What happens there? And where in the world is Kuwait? Well, to get the easy question out of the way, Kuwait is a small country bordering Saudi Arabia and Iraq with a coastline on the Persian Gulf. LEGO Shows is not like your standard LEGO fan event...

Best of BrickNerd — Article originally published October 17, 2021 and republished today to celebrate Creations for Charity 2023 where you can donate or purchase a MOC, including one of our mascot Nerdly! For 15 years, Nannan Zhang has been organizing Creations for Charity, a fundraiser where LEGO fans can donate and purchase custom MOCs and more to help raise money to send LEGO to kids in need. We sat down with Nannan to chat about this year’s efforts that just launched and learn how to get involved. Dave: Hi Nannan! We are so glad you are organizing Creations for Charity again. For those who may not know, can you tell us what it is all about? Nannan: Creations for Charity (CfC) is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization that hosts an annual fundraising event from October to November where builders from all over the world donate custom LEGO creations to sell and...

Today’s BrickNerd article features a guest post about BrickCon 2023 by Joe Meno of BrickJournal Magazine. Hi BrickNerd readers! I'm Joe Meno, the editor of BrickJournal Magazine. One of my duties for the magazine is to look for builders to feature in issues and to sell copies of the magazine and subscriptions. The primary way I do this is by being a vendor at LEGO events and conventions. You might have seen me in a booth at BrickFair VA or at BrickCon. This year, though, I brought a special guest to BrickCon, one of Walt Disney’s legendary Imagineers. I’ll let her introduce herself: My name is Terri Hardin and I am a Disney Imagineer. I have a Patreon page called Terri’s Tribe, where I met Joe Meno and learned about LEGO. I love learning new things and when Joe and Naomi Takeuchi began to share with me LEGO in the 21st...

We’re winding down on the Amazon Prime Big Day deals and the last couple of items I want to highlight are some LEGO Star Wars sets. The UCS Razor Crest (75331 is on sale for $479.99 which is 20% off. This is the lowest this set has been since May. The other set is the UCS Luke Skywalker’s Landspeeder (75341) and this one is priced at $167.99 which is 30% off. Note that you need to choose frustration-free shippin get this price. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. The post LEGO Star Wars UCS Amazon Prime Big Day Deals appeared first on The Brick Fan. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran

LEGO has put up the product page for the upcoming LEGO Disney 100 Mini Steamboat Willie (40659) gift with purchase set. It is a replica of the original LEGO Ideas 21317 set that uses 424 pieces. There’s still no details yet on how to get it on the LEGO Shop but we do know that shopDisney will have it with LEGO purchases of $150 starting on October 15. The post LEGO Disney 100 Mini Steamboat Willie (40659) GWP Official Images appeared first on The Brick Fan. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran

A LEGO digital catalog has given a first look at the upcoming LEGO Ideas The Orient Express (21344). There’s no information about the set but we can see that it has a blue color scheme and has two carriages. The official announcement of the set should be coming real soon so stay tuned. The post LEGO Ideas The Orient Express (21344) First Look appeared first on The Brick Fan. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran

As AFOLs, there’s a lot we take for granted when it comes to knowledge about LEGO. Recently, while helping my son with a build, he asked me what one of the printed symbols meant in the instructions, and I realized just how many symbols there can be in one LEGO instruction booklet. When newcomers or children come into the hobby, it can be confusing to figure out what all this means. Below, I’ve gathered 12 symbols from LEGO instructions that I could find in current use and written what they mean. I was also curious about how well they translate, so I assembled an impartial panel to scientifically measure the symbols’ effectiveness. And by scientific panel, I of course, mean I asked my three boys, aged 3, 5, and 7, what they thought the symbols meant. Symbol 1 - Simultaneous Builders LEGO has recognized that people like to build together, so...

The fan vote for BrickLink Designer Program Series 3 is now live and you can now choose your favorite designs for a chance to purchase them in the future. You can use the three emojis to show your interest from the 185 designs and BrickLink will choose five of them using a their criteria. Voting will run until October 20 and their review stage will run from October 21 through November 19. The winning designs will be announced on November 20 and BrickLink will start preparing them for production. The post BrickLink Designer Program Series 3 Fan Vote Live appeared first on The Brick Fan. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran