I am an AFOL and I am Autistic. I was diagnosed with Autism as an adult, and I have been reflecting on how my neurodiversity and obsession with LEGO bricks are interlinked. This article is written from my personal perspective, and I don’t speak for everyone, but maybe by sharing my experiences others can learn a bit more. Features of Autism include but are not limited to restricted interests, obsessions, struggling to engage in conversations not to one’s own interest—I am not certain that the latter applies to me—but when I talk about LEGO I certainly feel more comfortable and confident in what I am talking about than when I am trying to navigate the realms of “small talk”. As a quick aside, Tips & Bricks recently posted about Autism Acceptance Month which is worth a read if you want to hear about others’ experiences as well. Collecting Since receiving my...

The LEGO Group has announced a new initiative called LEGO Max that will implement lifetime purchase limits for customers as part of their corporate sustainability strategy. Named after the now-defunct LEGO Club mascot, LEGO Max seeks to “maximize fun for all” while being responsible stewards of their planet protection promise. As the main tenet of LEGO Max, the company will cap their overall production output (even though demand for LEGO products continues to grow each year). This means that once all existing factory construction projects are complete, the company will no longer expand production capacity. With a finite supply of products, the added customer lifetime purchase limits are meant to ensure that LEGO fans prioritize the sets they want most. A sub-initiative of LEGO Max is their “Share More – Build More” effort, which will give fans the ability to earn offset purchasing credits by reselling new or used LEGO products...

The LEGO Group has announced some initiatives to support and celebrate neurodivergent fans. Partnering with KultureCity, all LEGO Stores in the US and Canada as well as the LEGO House will have enhanced accessibility for individuals with sensory needs and non-visible disabilities. LEGO® Entities Continue Drive to Make Play Experiences Accessible to All and Launch New Wave of Long-Term Initiatives to Support And Celebrate Neurodivergent Fans • Range of long-term initiatives announced to mark the start of Autism Acceptance Month.• KultureCity®, an organisation dedicated to making venues more inclusive, to certify LEGO® House and LEGO stores.• LEGO Life Magazine updates following audit by inclusivity experts, Special Networks.• The LEGO Foundation announces final winners of its Play for All Accelerator programme for innovation specifically supporting neurodivergent children• Series of videos by autistic creators encourages people to ‘Love the Way They Think’ Billund, Denmark, April 2, 2024: The LEGO Group, LEGO House and...

Happy Easter, BrickNerd fans! With the arrival of spring, we thought it would be fun to take a look at a fluffle of brick-built rabbits! That’s right, this is a rabbit round-up of these furry little critters! What inspired this foray into all things adorable? Well, it could be our AdoraBuild contest which is down to its last month! (Seriously, what are you waiting for to enter!?) But in reality, it is because last year, LEGO sent us this little bunny and they just started to multiply! 40575 Year of the Rabbit was a set with purchase last year (this year is the dragon—such a cooler creature—could a rabbit eat a dragon? No way! Well, unless it was this rabbit...). So before we build the set in the most epic way possible, let’s see what wascally wabbit MOCs we can find first. Rabbit by car-mp First up, we’ve got this handsome...

Okay, BrickNerd fans, better pop a couple of Dramamines and slip on your swim floaties because today we’re checking out some crafty LEGO wave action MOCs! We’ll jump right in (feet first of course) with Grant Davis’ lovely seaside scene, complete with lighthouse, sand castle, and surfing bear. The video shows all those nifty Technic innards that create the wavy action as well as the aesthetic details that make the set such a splash. Paddeling back in time a few years, we’ve got Deborah Higdon’s Copenhagen Nyhavn scene from 2014. Since this is an urban setting, the watery action appears more sloshy than wavy. Thus the absence of surfing bears. Now for our third iteration of LEGO wave action, we’ve got Brian William’s World of Lights award-winning display at BrickWorld 2019, captured by BrickNerd’s own Ted Andes. Using a similar plates-over-netting technique as the other builds, Brian creates a higher amplitude...