September is now here and there are brand new sets that are now available for purchase on the LEGO Shop. The headliner sets are from Harry Potter which include the Gringotts Wizarding Bank – Collectors’ Edition (76417) and the Hogwarts Castle and Grounds. Coincidentally, LEGO is also doing a LEGO Harry Potter: Back to Hogwarts event where you can get the Gringotts Vault (40598) and Quidditch Practice (30651) polybag with a $130 LEGO Harry Potter purchase. This event will run until September 13, while supplies last. The LEGO Star Wars theme also has a decent sized release with the new Ahsoka sets based on the new Disney+ series. BrickHeadz • Sonic the Hedgehog (40627) – $9.99• Miles “Tails” Prower (40628) – $9.99 City • Passenger Airplane (60367) – $119.99• LEGO City Advent Calendar 2023 (60381) – $34.99 Disney • Walt Disney Tribute Camera (43230) – $99.99• Peter Pan & Wendy’s Flight...

Summer’s in full swing and August is already over – time to relax in the evening sun and enjoy this month’s smorgasbord of great features, insightful articles and deep dives from all across the LEGO community! We are lucky to have this many outlets and channels that keep creating incredible content, and these are the best of the month. Here at BrickNerd, we delved into the stuff of dreams and nightmares with the new LEGO Dreamzzz sets and covered San Diego Comic-Con from an AFOL perspective. We visited Korea Brick Party and an incredible LEGO Train Event in Germany, moved a LEGO collection, and covered disability representation in LEGO, autistic AFOLs and highlighted the highs and lows of neurodivergent builders. We talked Bio-Cup 2023 finals and LEGO animal NPU, LEGO waterfall techniques and LEGO Rock Raiders. We even published instructions for a LEGO chess set and chronicled the illustrious career of...

Following my first article for BrickNerd discussing my Autism diagnosis and how this relates to me being an AFOL—especially how LEGO has been a strategy with supporting this—I wanted to gain the perspectives of other Autistic AFOLs. I sought out other AFOLs who felt safe enough to share their experiences. Rather than summarize what they said, I’ve opted to include their own words because I think they are more powerful coming from the source. Here are the interviews I conducted. Molly Belfield: Speaking LEGO As A Common Language Kate: When did you get your diagnosis, and can you summarise, if you’re comfortable, how it affects your daily life? Image by Chris Christian. Molly: I was diagnosed with Autism when I was 21. At the time, I was at university studying to become a paediatric nurse. Although I don't often tell people that I'm Autistic, I now feel so much happier because...

Since the release of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace in 1999, The LEGO Group has produced many sets using the Intellectual Property (IP) of other companies. Harry Potter followed Star Wars in 2001, and over the next two decades, there was a surge of new licenses making it the most important factor in The LEGO Group’s stunning growth. In turn, LEGO fans have benefited from the expanded range which offers a broader array of themes, sets, and minifigures. This has provided expanded play options for kids and a resounding hit of nostalgia for adults. Images © The LEGO Group. Gabby’s Dollhouse 10787 Kitty Fairy's Garden Party But of course, all of this comes at a cost. Using the IP of other another organisation incurs a fee, and a portion of that fee must be passed onto the customer to make the product viable. Still, the increased prices can cause some contention...

Today, we dive into the most beloved part by LEGO GBC (Great Ball Contraption) builders: the chrome cup. This rare and elusive part typically sells for 6 euros ($6.50 USD) on BrickLink and is being hoarded by some of the greatest builders—and it isn’t because it is shiny. Animated gif by Frederik hareide. Where did the part originate from, and why has it only ever been produced in one color? Why is the chrome cup being hoarded by GBC builders? And are there any alternatives? Read on to learn about the legend of the chome cup. History of The Legendary Chrome Cup The chrome cup was released long before the first LEGO GBC ball existed in 1993. It was featured in sets 9701-1 and 9702-1 as part of the Educational & Dacta Control Lab sets. As the BrickLink name suggests, the part’s primary function is to reflect the light in a...

NASA’s Space Launch System – To the Moon and Mars by NASA RocketBuilder is the latest project to achieve 10,000 supporters on LEGO Ideas. Consisting on 1,745 pieces, the build features the complete Space Launch System and is built around its Core Stage. 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...

Best of BrickNerd - Article originally published August 23, 2021. Wait, is that smaller than I remember?? We’ve featured Wayne Tyler’s updated and gigantic “micro” build of the United States National Mall (actually it was a second update from our original post in 2018). He has built like mad and expanded the already impressive layout greatly. But now there’s a new twist to his journey—building a micro version… of his micro build! The New MOC in all its glory - And look, he labelled all the buildings! We saw the build and knew we needed to get the inside scoop, so read on to find out more: Doug: So how big is the new “small” version of the National Mall compared to your prior MOC, and were you able to cover the same subject material? Wayne: The microscale version of the National Mall is about 16 feet long and uses a...

September is almost here and here’s a quick guide on some of the new LEGO releases for the month on the LEGO Shop. The wave isn’t as big as from the previous few months but there are some really nice ones that you can expect to see. As far as promotions are concerned, we don’t know of anything yet as of this post. BrickHeadz • Sonic the Hedgehog (40627) – $9.99• Miles “Tails” Prower (40628) – $9.99 City • Passenger Airplane (60367) – $119.99• LEGO City Advent Calendar 2023 (60381) – $34.99 Disney • Walt Disney Tribute Camera (43230) – $99.99• Peter Pan & Wendy’s Flight over London (43232) – $59.99 Friends • Holiday Ski Slope and Cafe (41756) – $79.99• LEGO Friends Advent Calendar 2023 (41758) – $34.99• Igloo Holiday Adventure (41760) – $49.99 Harry Potter • Gringotts Wizarding Bank – Collectors’ Edition (76417) – $429.99 – September 4• LEGO...

The set has been out for a few months now but LEGO has released the designer video for the LEGO Ninjago City Markets (71799). LEGO Designers Markus and Angel talk about some of the many details that went into this 6,163 piece set. It features building that are four floors high filled with various shops as well as the first flushable LEGO toilet which took the LEGO team weeks to get it working correctly. There’s also a cable car that goes between two buildings. The post LEGO Ninjago City Markets (71799) Designer Video appeared first on The Brick Fan. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran

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...