Best of BrickNerd - Article originally published July 27, 2021. What is MILS? Modular Integrated Landscaping System, or MILS for short, is a system that describes how to build modular landscapes. The modularity of MILS is its key innovation. By standardizing both how modules interconnect and the visual features of module boundaries; builders can combine their modules into collaborative layouts while maintaining consistency of style and appearance. The origin of MILS can be traced back to HispaBrick Magazine issue 013. Antonio Bellon’s series of five articles (issues 013 to 017) are a must-read if you want an in-depth overview of the MILS standard and its background. The key principles of MILS are as follows: Collaboration - This is a core principle of MILS. The MILS system was created to allow builders to combine modules to make large collaborative layouts and dioramas. Flexibility - The formality of the MILS standard is mostly...

Best of BrickNerd - Article originally published July 28, 2022. So lights are cool, right? Everything looks more awesome when you add lights to it: Houses, cars, PCs (you have no idea how much RGB madness is pumping out of the thinky box on my table)… and especially LEGO. In the past here at BrickNerd, Are talked about why one would want to add lights to an existing MOC, and Rob from Brickstuff gave a fantastic tour of his company’s history and offerings. We’ve also had Ann delve into how you can use existing lights on hand for spectacular results in MOC photography. But in my admittedly lackluster research effort, I have yet to see a good overview of what all the options are for LEGO lighting. So that’s what we’ll do here: This article will delve into your options, what you might want to use lighting for, what types of...

To help preserve some of the best LEGO content from the community, today we are pleased to share a guest article from Katie Walker who walks us through the steps of creating a LEGO cheese slope mosaic. Katie was originally one of the main contributors at MosaicBricks, a LEGO blog started by Casey McCoy that ended in 2014. Say Cheese! One of my favorite things to do with LEGO is to use cheese slopes to make different mosaics. I once took a series of photographs that show how to make a simple stained-glass window out of cheese slopes. I'm going to present them here, with some instructions on how to do it. First off, here is the final result: Any of the colors can be changed, of course; I love to take a design that fits into a certain space, and then change the coloring repeatedly until I find all the...

BrickHeadz are an interesting product. They are supposed to be a recognizable brick-built, blocky visualization of your favorite character from movies, TV shows, books, or even LEGO-owned themes. Yet one of their key features is how static they are. There is little to no inherent movement in a BrickHeadz character which makes photographing them both easy yet hard because they are made in the style of figurines. Today I will try to change that. The LEGO Group generously provided BrickNerd with these three new Harry Potter-themed BrickHeadz, and the team challenged me to give them a little bit more life. Harry Potter's Wizarding World is full of magical spells, moving portraits and surprising transformations. For today’s charms class, we're going to try six fun "spells" to create scenes with movement to bring these characters to life. Improvised Action Poses The most popular sport in the magical world, Quidditch, is an extremely...

It’s always nice to see a great MOC with a neat backstory, like these incredible action figures made by JNCE. At first glance, you just see two Chinese warriors, but there’s more to it—and JNCE was willing to share that with us at BrickNerd in a quick interview! Marco: Can you tell me what inspired you to build these action figures?  JNCE: There was a MOC contest in the Chinese community and the theme was something related to Chinese traditional culture with double/dual definition. It was a little bit difficult for me to find a good subject to build. Finally, I choose these action figures to reflect Chinese Door Gods which I thought is quite suitable to the requirement. Marco: Can you explain what these figures mean in Chinese culture? JNCE: It's an old tradition in China that people post two images of ancient generals (Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong) on...

Amazon Prime Day 2023 is now officially live and for the next two days, you can get some great deals on thousands of items. There will be regular sales as well as flash sales that last for only a short amount of time or until stock runs out. Of course, there’s a good selection of LEGO sets that have been discounted a little more than usual, up to 40% off. One of the more notable deals is for the LEGO Marvel Hulkbuster (76210) which has been discounted 43% off. As always, thank you to everything who purchases through our links as we do earn some commission which is used to help maintain the site. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. The post Amazon Prime Days 2023 Now Live appeared first on The Brick Fan. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran

LEGO VIP Days is now here and for those who missed out on previous gift with purchase sets, you have a second chance to get them on the LEGO Shop. From July 11-15, you can get the LEGO Icons Blacktron Cruiser (40580) and the BIONICLE Tahu and Takua (40581) which a purchase of $220 or the Fun and Funky VIP Add-On Pack (40512) with a $50 purchase. In addition, there will also be Double VIP Points for select themes which include LEGO City, LEGO Friends, LEGO Harry Potter, and LEGO Technic. You may also want to check out the Sales Section as LEGO has listed a few more sets on there. Remember to use Rakuten to earn some cash back on your purchases as they are offering up to 15% cash back. In the Rewards Center, the LEGO Bricktober 2022 Fantasy Adventure Ride (5007489) will be released for 2,400 VIP points....

LEGO VIP Days is starting tomorrow and we now know the promotions that will be happening on the LEGO Shop. From July 11-15, there are various promotions listed with the return of previous gift with purchase sets which include the LEGO Icons Blacktron Cruiser (40580), BIONICLE Tahu and Takua (40581), and Fun and Funky VIP Add-On Pack (40512). There’s no purchase requirements listed but I assume it’ll be the same as from before (Blacktron – $190/BIONICLE – $100/VIP Add-On Pack – $50). In addition, there will also be Double VIP Points for select themes which include LEGO City, LEGO Friends, LEGO Harry Potter, and LEGO Technic. In the Rewards Center, the LEGO Bricktober 2022 Fantasy Adventure Ride (5007489) will be released for 2,400 VIP points. The post LEGO VIP Days 2023 Promotions Revealed appeared first on The Brick Fan. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran

LEGO has revealed a new Technic set coming in August with the Yamaha MT-10 SP (42159). The set has 1,478 pieces and retails for $239.99. Here’s a project to thrill adult motorcycle fans. This LEGO® Technic Yamaha MT-10 SP (42159) model pays tribute to the most powerful Yamaha motorcycle in the ‘hyper naked’ category. The stripped-back styling highlights the torquey 4-cylinder engine. Explore the LEGO AR app to see the model come to life. Authentic detailsEach detail has been considered to make this model as faithful as possible to the real-life Yamaha. Features include a 4-cylinder engine, 3-speed transmission and a chain final drive with functional front and rear suspension. Gearbox elements include a shift drum, a shift fork, a gear shift ring and a ratchet drum. The model also includes functional steering via inputs to the handlebar, a side stand and a display stand. The post LEGO Technic Yamaha MT-10...

LEGO has put up the product page for the new LEGO Star Wars Ghost & Phantom II (75357) and you can now pre-order the set today. Releasing on September 1, the set has 1,394 pieces and retails for $159.99. The set is based on the ships from the Rebels series as well as the upcoming Ahsoka series. It includes minifigures of First Officer Hawkins, Lt. Beya, General Hera Syndulla, Jacen Syndulla, and Chopper (C1-10P). As a Rakuten/Linkshare Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. The post LEGO Star Wars Ghost & Phantom II (75357) Now Available for Pre-Order appeared first on The Brick Fan. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran