Today’s guest article comes from Mirko Crucchiola, an Italian AFOL, member of ItLUG, and writer for Brick.It Magazine. He shares a deep dive about the mystery of LEGO Minitalia in Italy. LEGO Minitalia I want to tell you the story about a particular LEGO theme that fully reflects my Italian origins: LEGO Minitalia. Throughout LEGO history, there have been numerous themes that were abandoned during the production process, such as the now-famous Sea-Tron. There have also been some LEGO themes that have been completely forgotten, not because they were abandoned, but because of their exclusivity to a particular region. BrickNerd’s own Sue Ann Barber has identified some of these bricks in her article on Hard to Identify LEGO Parts. One of these hard-to-identify parts, made with low-quality plastics and without LEGO logos (and very often identified as clones from competitors), is LEGO Minitalia which was sold only in the Italian market...

Two new LEGO Botanicals sets were revealed last night and you can now pre-order both sets today on the LEGO Shop. The Japanese Red Maple Bonsai Tree (10348) retails for $59.99 while the Happy Plants (10349) retails for $22.99. Both sets will release on June 1. Welcome tranquility into your home with the LEGO® Botanicals Japanese Red Maple Bonsai Tree (10348) building kit for adults. Flourishing with stunning details, this nature-inspired set becomes gorgeous plant decor that will never wilt or need to be watered. Capturing the beauty and vibrancy of real red maple bonsai trees, this LEGO plant has red and orange leaves and sits in a dark green plant pot. Relax and unwind as you create the plant before displaying it proudly as home decor or office decor that will bring a touch of calm and serenity wherever it’s placed. Symbols of peace and balance, red maple bonsai trees...

Even if you have practiced how to get your creative juices flowing, sometimes you need a little inspiration to get a nudge in the right direction. I realize this is not true for everyone. Maybe you want to keep your brain free from outside stimuli in order to be truly creative, but I am so far beyond that stage that I don’t care anymore. I love browsing through inspirational artwork to get ideas for new LEGO MOCs! Artwork by John Wallin Liberto Have you ever stumbled across an image or artwork that you found very inspirational? And then some days later, when you want to look at it again, you can’t find it and you can’t remember how you found it in the first place? Or maybe you take screenshots of things you like, and then you have to scroll through years of photos of cats and birthday parties just to...

The promotion for the LEGO Coral Reef Diorama (40783) gift with purchase is now live on the LEGO Shop. From now until April 29, you can get it with general purchases of $150 or more, while supplies last. The 260 piece set is the second diorama GWP set this year following the Tropical Rainforest (40782) back in February. To help you get to the price requirement, LEGO is also offering double Insiders points on the LEGO Art Vincent van Gogh – Sunflowers (31215). Double points on it will only last until April 28. In addition, there are some Botanicals bundles that allow you to save 15% when you buy both sets. • Timeless Blooms Bundle – Wildflower Bouquet (10313) + Flower Bouquet (10280)• Succulent Collection Bundle – Tiny Plants (10329) + Succulents (10309) As a Rakuten/Linkshare Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. The post LEGO Coral Reef Diorama (40783) GWP Now...

In the first part of this series, we explored the intersection of custom-made elements and official LEGO parts, highlighting how our creative solutions often predated the arrival of official counterparts. That fun comparison sparked even more ideas, and now it’s time to continue our journey into how both custom and official LEGO accessories can work together to elevate our builds—and our photographs. Let’s dive into more side-by-side examples of creative evolution, where sculpted accessories and new LEGO elements combine to tell even more vivid stories. Birds of a Feather Starting with some multicultural attributes, what’s a sweeping savannah scene without a majestic eagle soaring overhead? I originally sculpted this big bird specially for travel and adventure photos since they play a great role in the formation of the right mood and atmosphere. Imagine my joy when LEGO introduced its own dynamic eagle element! How to use both The official LEGO eagle...

Life gives us gifts in so many ways. I was gifted with a wonderful husband and two amazing children. If you have read my earlier articles, you know that we have faced some hard times together, but the challenges have led us to grow and understand each other even more. Sharing LEGO is a big part of our lives as a family, and I like sharing our experiences with you. I hope that our story will give you some insights that I would have found helpful when I first joined the AFOL world. Today, I will connect these joyful thoughts about love, space, and LEGO with my spaceship build “Strangers in a Strange Land.” Join me for happy times and an adventure in space! The spaceship IEV Sunshine is an Interstellar Exploration Vessel that travels in space looking for planets with sentient lifeforms and new plants that could be used for...

Easter is almost here, and we at BrickNerd wish you a joyful holiday with your family and friends! This special time of the year calls for another fun build. I wanted to create something that one can use as decoration for the upcoming holiday. I decided to do a cute egg stand and add a little bunny in charge of the painting. The bunny (or at least the head) was inspired by these awesome chibi figures. Instructions to Build an Easter Egg Stand and Bunny Let’s start with the stand itself. I used lime green for it with a splash of color, representing the different paints the bunny used to decorate the egg. You can change the “paint” dots with whatever colors you like and even match them with the egg you put on there. Here are the instructions to build it: After we’re done with the bunny’s body, comes the...

After flying high and sailing smooth in last month’s peek into airplane and boat element NPU, we’re staying grounded—sort of. This time, we’re rolling into the world of wheels and tires, some of LEGO’s most iconic and versatile parts. Sure, they’re meant for cars, trucks, and all things that vroom... but in the hands of a clever builder? These rubbery rings and round parts can become anything. From monster mouths to bonsai pots, wheels go way beyond the road. Wheely cool pieces, eh? Let’s hit the gas and get bricks rolling to check out some wheely clever builds! LEGO on the Move It’s common knowledge these days that The LEGO Group produces the most tires in the world (though much smaller in size than most of their competitors). LEGO cars have been produced since the 60s in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Trucks? Yep. Racecars? Definitely. Lunar rovers? Even those,...

The Super Robots by BrickOzzy is the latest project to achieve 10,000 supporters on LEGO Ideas. The 1,400 piece build features an Art tribute to some of Japan’s most iconic Mecha animated series, Mazinger Z, Daitarn 3, and Goldrake. The project joins Civil Engineering: Types of Bridges – Revisited, National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, Go Go Power Rangers! LEGO Megazord, Booknook: Story Laboratory, Medieval Knight, Coraline – The Pink Palace, Taylor Swift Lover House, Jellyfish Collection, Nolinor Boeing 737-200, Portal 2: Core Replacement Station, Ancient Roman Temple, The Holiday – Rosehill Cottage, Gilmore Girls: Stars Hollow, Appa the Sky Bison, Grand Central Station, “Love Enlighten Me” The Bench of the Lampposts in Love, Bob Ross – The Joy of Building, Peter Rabbit and the Garden, Disney’s Phineas and Ferb Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated, Muppets – Statler & Waldorf’s Balcony Key Rack, Junkyard with Working Magnet Crane, How I Met Your Mother, Ascensor da...

Every once in a while, you see a build that’s so creative you don’t even want to say, “Why didn’t I think of that?” It’s the kind of build that just makes you take a deep breath and try to take in the limitless breadth of imagination captured in LEGO, where, if you’re anything like me, you quickly get drowned, swept away, and get that incurable itch to get building! That’s exactly the feeling I got when I stumbled on this build by shiu (Shiutoku). optical illusion II. First off, it was an instant follow for me, but then of course I popped in to check on his Flickr photostream only to discover it wasn’t just one optical illusion, but shiu was working on four such illusions for a short series! And so, of course, we sat down to talk to him about it. He was awesome enough to answer our...