Today’s guest article comes from Karina Sturm to mark Global Accessibility Awareness Day and has been updated and republished with permission from ABILITY Magazine — founding sponsor of abilityJOBS.com, ABILITYJobFair.org and abilityEntertainment.org. Rita Ebel tries one of the ramps she built for a business in Hanau. Most Germans have heard of Rita Ebel, better known as the ‘LEGO Oma.’ The 65-year-old lady with the short blonde pixie cut and a Hessian dialect is known all over the world since her wheelchair ramps made entirely from LEGO have become a tourist attraction in the city of Hanau, Germany and beyond. Rita and her colorful ramps have been featured on numerous TV shows, in newspapers, and in the new book “LEGO Heroes”. Rita spoke with us in German which has been translated about her LEGO ramps, her life as a wheelchair user, accessibility, and the challenges of building more than a dozen ramps...

Something big is coming! In honor of BrickNerd’s 10th Anniversary, we are building something gigantic to celebrate our brick-built mascot Nerdly and bringing it to Brickworld Chicago next month. That’s right, Nerdly is getting an upgrade! We’re building a Nerdly that is ten times the size as normal to celebrate each of the past ten years! (Well, actually it is 12x bigger to make the math a little easier in studs, but who’s counting?) Work has already begun on this behemoth and structural tests are being conducted to ensure peak nerdity. We want to celebrate with YOU, our loyal readers and fellow nerds, so there are a few ways to get involved. In addition to the gigantic Nerdly, we are going to create the largest nerd herd ever assembled! If you are going to Brickworld Chicago, bring a Nerdly along to join the brigade! (Here are the instructions.) We’ll also have...

You’ve built your first LEGO creation (MOC = My Own Creation). You’ve taken pictures, edited them as best you know how, and now you’re ready to share with the world. The only question is… which world? Where are you going to post your masterpiece? Let me share with you my totally unbiased opinion. Along the way, we’ll ask penetrating questions about motivation, community, and emojis. Warning 1: this is not a dissertation and I haven’t researched my thesis. Don’t take my thoughts here as a final conclusion; this is just a preliminary expression of a tentative opinion. Some of these opinions, I admit, are more tentative than others. Warning 2: This is just one LEGO builder’s opinion, founded on a limited decade of experience. I haven’t tried every photo-sharing site out there by a long shot. I haven’t interacted with every slice of the LEGO community. I’m just thinking aloud and inviting you to join me....

The LEGO Botanical Collection introduced LEGO lovers to a different kind of model, translating organic forms into life-like brick sculptures previously only seen in MOCs and the now-retired 21301 Birds set from LEGO Ideas. The relatively affordable price point (only one set, 10289 Birds of Paradise, retails above $60 USD) and stunning models have made it extremely popular to both experienced and novice builders. Today we chat with Floss Barrett, a grandmother from the United Kingdom, whose love for the Botanicals line prompted her to help start the Botanicals Blocks Fans Facebook Group — an online haven for lovers of all things related to brick-made flowers.  Floss with her brick garden on full display. Inez: Hey, Floss! Thanks for agreeing to chat with us. Could you tell us something about yourself and your LEGO story? Floss: I remember going to the local toyshop as a child in the ‘60s and buying...

In my last review of the LEGO Harry Potter Banner sets, we take a look at the Hufflepuff House Banner (76412). It has 313 pieces and retails for $34.99 like the other ones in the wave. Minifigures There are three unique minifigures included in the set, Cedric Diggory, Susan Bones, and Hannah Abbott. Cedric Diggory wears a striped yellow and black sweater with some tan legs. His double-sided head shows him smile on one side and a smirk on the other. Susan Bones has on a gray cardigan with Hufflepuff colors. Her double-sided head shows her with a smile on one side and a scared expression on the other. She uses a rubber ponytail piece that is brand new. Lastly, we have Hannah Abbott who has on some black robes. Her double-sided head with a smile on one side and a smirk on the other. Build Like with all the other...

Best of BrickNerd - Article originally published May 11, 2022. What is shiny, red, fast and dangerous? Well, it’s a Fuchikoma! This one made by Ids looks as menacing as it should be. It has a very clean look to it, with smooth curves, neat angles and nice usage of pieces like the “shield” and plenty of appealing greebling. That said, let’s have a closer look at the model together with Ids himself! Marco: You’ve mentioned having built this MOC for Marchikoma. Could you explain with this means and how you got inspired to build it? Ids: Last year after Febrovery, a theme month to build a Space Rover, I saw Marchikoma on Flickr. Here the goal is to make a small robot, that looks a bit like a spider. It needs to have at least four legs, two arms and a double-segmented body. The rules in the Flickr group describe...

There are some images of a new LEGO DC Batman 1992 (30653) polybag that have started to hit store shelves. It has 40 pieces and most likely will be available at Target for $4.99. There is a rumored 1992 Batcave (76252) coming this summer and supposedly this version of Batman will be in it. The molded cowl piece has an updated symbol and the torso is slightly different from the one in the 1989 Batmobile (76139) and the 1989 Batwing. **Via Brickset** The post LEGO DC Batman 1992 (30653) Polybag Revealed appeared first on The Brick Fan. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran

Best of BrickNerd - Article originally published May 3, 2022. Planet Earth by Allyson Gail LEGO brick separators are everywhere (except when you really need one)! Cluttering your build table and falling on the floor, waiting to be stepped upon! We’re talking about the all-too-common brick separator. Join BrickNerd for a quick look at the history, usage and building inspiration of the brick separators. And see what we learned about whether they are indeed taking over the world! Beginnings of Separation The first brick separator was introduced in 1990 (time flies when you’re having fun). The original design was unchanged for over twenty years (1990 – 2011). Old dark gray was the most common color, appearing in 66 sets. Green was the only other released color, appearing in 17 sets. (We aren’t going to cover other mysterious colors that have appeared in the wild in this article. We’ll save that investigative...

There are new reports that the LEGO Super Mario theme could be retiring by summer 2024. The Adventures with Mario (71360), Adventures with Luigi (71387), and Adventures with Peach (71403) Starter Courses were supposed to be produced until July 2026 but it looks like that date has been pushed up to July 2024. This piece of news is interesting as the new LEGO Donkey Kong were just announced and won’t be available until August. This means the sets will only be available for about a year or so while the existing sets will be done by July 2024. There’s no reasoning on why the End-of-Life date was pushed up but it’s easy to assume that the LEGO Super Mario sets don’t do as as LEGO had expected them to do. It seems the sets are always on constant sales on Amazon to get rid of inventory. Fans of Super Mario were...

A Mexico LEGO Certified Store, legostoresmx, has revealed a new LEGO Taco Stand (5007866) gift with purchase set. From the looks of it, the set may be exclusive to Mexico for a limited time with purchases of $3,999 MXN which is about $227 USD. The set features a taquero stand with a spit and a minifigure of the cook. The promotion starts today but doesn’t specify an end date. The post LEGO Taco Stand (5007866) Mexico Exclusive Gift with Purchase Revealed appeared first on The Brick Fan. Original linkOriginal author: Allen "Tormentalous" Tran