Picture this: You are from Canada and are on the last night of a cross-country road trip where you just spent several weeks attending LEGO Conventions and sightseeing across the United States. You are alone, your car is jam-packed full of your custom LEGO models, your best clothes, travel stuff, and the results of multiple shopping trips. You stop at a hotel for the night, exhausted after a long day of driving. You know there is no way you can unload the car alone into the hotel. Some MOCs are just too heavy… View fullsize View fullsize You think to yourself, “Well, it’s 10:30 pm and I’ll be up early to get on the road again. I will park as close to the hotel as possible, under the hotel security camera, by the front door… that’s the second safest thing you could do. Plus, the hotel will monitor the parking lot,...

Whether you call them Tokens of Appreciation, Fan Trophies, Trophy Tokens or some other variation of the name, these small LEGO-related items have become well-established at many of the major AFOL events across North America. Although often attributed to the late Arthur Gugick at Brickworld in 2012, there is some evidence of AFOLs leaving tokens as early as 2007 and 2008. The actual tokens vary greatly but can be mini-MOCs, printed tiles, stickers, cards or some other small item given to an AFOL or placed near their display to recognise that you really liked their MOC or some part of their build. This year, Tokens of Appreciation were introduced to the Brixpo LEGO Fan Event in Adelaide, South Australia. The Australian version of the Tokens of Appreciation first appeared at Brickvention 2023 in Melbourne. Aspen Arnold surprised a small number of builders by placing a token near their MOCs. As the...

LEGO builders should venture out of their comfort zones more. Often this will result in a neat surprise, just like this keep built by Taylor. You wouldn’t expect this to be built by someone who usually builds space MOCs—especially not on this scale. The name he chose for this keep is one that suits it very well, it’s truly a jewel! The different heights of towers and walls make it imposing, and the level of detail is pleasing to look at. For example, those Nexo Knights shields used for the crenelations are used perfectly. The walls have a good texture to avoid the so-called “grey wall syndrome.” And the use of several green tones makes it truly deserve the name “Emerald.” Of course, I was curious how this keep came to be, and Taylor was kind enough to answer questions I had about the MOC. View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize...

Best of BrickNerd - Article originally published September 14, 2021. “To Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before” is not only the well-known mission of the starship Enterprise from Star Trek but is also the way that Samuel Hatmaker lives their life. Sam has been “boldly going” new places for a long time now; from boldly building MOCs in kitschy themes like Golden Girls, Devine, and Jem and the Holograms, to boldly taking part in the first season of LEGO Masters US. (It is hard to believe the second season is ending today!) It is only fitting that the next place Sam would boldly go would be on a Star Trek voyage. However, before we teleport ourselves back to mid-August and the “Roddenberry Interactive Stage” of the recent Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas, I’d first like to tell you about a “mission” of my own. Since we have written...

Best of BrickNerd - Article originally published September 22, 2021. You may be surprised by the number of pigs in the LEGO world; I certainly was! They cross several building systems, multiple decades, colours, and themes both licensed and non. When I was mostly finished my cataloguing, a friend asked me to pick an animal that I had more than 10 examples of and show them off. Well, sagh, I apologise for it taking so long, but I’ve finally got round to writing up ‘Pigs’. I know that you won’t mind me sharing it with the rest of the BrickNerd community! My happy piggery Before I Start, a Note on Moulds In this article I’ll refer to some items being the ‘same mould’. That may not be 100% accurate. There are others who know far more about different moulds than I, including our own Francesco Spreafico.  What I mean by the...

Today’s guest article comes from Brian Saviano, a LEGO Super Mario super-AFOL who shares how the Twitch community came together to help raise funds to fight cancer. Standing Up For Change We all have the ability to do good, regardless of our reach. Small acts of generosity, kindness, and empathy change how the world turns. It’s from the combined efforts of an outstanding collection of people uniting for the greater good. These ideals were exemplified as the LEGO BrickBuilding Community on Twitch (a live-streaming video platform) came together to support Stand Up To Cancer. We raised over $40,000 in the name of eradicating cancer. With the help of people new to the hobby, established creators, and a network of amazing friends, we took massive leaps forward in funding life-changing cancer research. Let me guide you through our beginnings, process, and intentions with this grueling fight against cancer. Fueling the Fight Against...

In my quest for SNOT building techniques, I have come across some ways of building that might be considered somewhat controversial. You might have heard of so-called “illegal LEGO techniques” that cause stress on elements. Well, in this article I will highlight illegal techniques that have the best potential when it comes to SNOT. Don’t worry… we won’t be breaking any laws here (but we might break some LEGO elements!). This is the sixth article in our LEGO SNOT series. I suggest reading the previous articles about SNOT (Studs Not on Top) and sideways building first to get the most out of this article: Hinged SNOT Modern SNOT History of SNOT SNOT Basics Advanced SNOT So let’s take a look at some illegal techniques with the SNOT-iest potential… What Are Illegal Techniques? The term “illegal” was first used by LEGO designer Jamie Berard in a presentation about LEGO building techniques in...

LEGO has released the full trailer for Season 1, Part 2 of LEGO Ninjago: Dragons Rising. If my memory serves me correct, this is the same trailer that was shown during San Diego Comic Con 2023. It seems that Ninjago fans couldn’t wait for the trailer to come out as it has over 100k views in just over 10 hours. The end of Season 1 will air on October 12. The post LEGO Ninjago: Dragons Rising Season 1 Part 2 Full Trailer appeared first on The Brick Fan. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran

LEGO has revealed the LEGO Ideas x Pick a Brick sets that will be available on the LEGO Shop in the near future. These sets are from the Round 2 challenge back in April and will be small, customizable builds. The designs are currently undergoing internal development and there will be updates when they are available. Which one(s) are your favorite? Back to the Middle Ages by Damzosbricks LEGO Store Display by Martin_Studio Let’s Make a Green Day Display! by Ganpat the Celt Modular Minifigure Crossing by ThatOneGuy_Steve Police Lineup by Bricklingtonville RC Car Mini-racing by Mitsu-san78 The Stage by Benlouisa The post LEGO Ideas x Pick a Brick Selected Designs Revealed appeared first on The Brick Fan. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran

LEGO has revealed the new LEGO Disney Wish sets which will be coming on October 1. The movie focuses on a 17-year-old girl named Asha who makes a passionate plea to the stars in a moment of need when she senses a darkness in the Kingdom of Rosas that no one else does. Asha in the City of Rosas (43223) 154 pieces/$19.99 King Magnifico’s Castle (43224) – 613 pieces/$99.99 Asha’s Cottage (43231) – 509 pieces/$49.99 The post LEGO Disney Wish Sets Revealed appeared first on The Brick Fan. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran