LEGO Community Headlines and Highlights for February 2023
February was another month filled with fascinating features, interesting deep dives and cool videos from all across the LEGO community. We are lucky to have this many outlets and channels that keep creating incredibly content, and these are the best of the month.
Here on BrickNerd, LEGO Elves moved into Rivendell, we modded a cabin and raided a Viking village. We celebrated 100 issues of Blocks Magazine, covered the history of LEGO trains and experienced the struggles of creating a black sigfig. We covered shiny chromed cars, analyzed the color of the villainous vehicles in LEGO City and took a deep dive into Fabuland. We measured LEGO down to the LDU, learned about the AFOL ARMY behind BTS, were dazzled by a wedding dress and smashed a LEGO castle. In fact, we’ve published so many interesting articles in February, that we’ve included an interactive calendar of them at the bottom of this post so you can make sure you didn’t miss a thing.
But there are many more fascinating stories to be told from within the LEGO community, so here are some of the best LEGO articles and videos that caught our contributors’ attention throughout the month of February. We applaud the effort that went into each of these features, so click on the headlines or photos to head to each story or video. They are well worth your time!
Beyond the Brick: LEGO Moon Base Collaboration at Atlanta Brick Con 2023
The brothers from Beyond the Brick got the scoop on this giant moon base collab at Atlanta Brick Con that is full of more history and LEGO experience than meets the eye.
Blocks Magazine: Creator of LEGO Pirates: Niels Milan Pedersen
Niels Milan Pedersen is a legend amongst LEGO designers. The creator of the Black Seas Barracuda, the LEGO skeleton and Captain Redbeard shares how he got hired back in the year 1980.
BrickinNick: Interview with the Architects of Rivendell
The secrets of LEGO Rivendell are uncovered as we hear from the designers who talk about why Gimli doesn’t have a double-bladed axe, how the set almost featured numerous lamp posts, and how a team of people work on a single set.
Brickset: Bricks on Display- A Collection of Interlocking Building Bricks
LEGO might be the most well-known manufacturer of interlocking building bricks but over the decades there’s been numerous attempts at similar systems from a variety of competitors. Carlos José Baragaño Móner highlights the various systems and their history and brings them together in a custom display case.
BZPower: Making Masks - Pool of Blue Protodermis!
An interesting development in the Bionicle community in the last couple of years has been the emergence of mask makers. Read on as tourmalinex details how they go about creating a mask, from resin printing to curing to detailing.
DuckBricks: Every Ninjago Location Ever Made
Get ready for a guided tour of Ninjago City like you’ve never seen before to witness every Ninjago building ever made into an official set.
matyho kostky: History of the LEGO Architecture Series (translated)
matyho kostky’s Vlastimil goes back in time and highlights the history of the LEGO Architecture line, covering Adam Reed Tucker, Modulex and even special employee sets.
New Elementary: LEGO City Review and MOCs: 60338 Smashing Chimpanzee Stunt Loop
New Elementary is at their best when they look at a set and show us that even the wildest elements have an application beyond their intended use. This month, Thomas Jenkins took the pieces of one of the latest City Stuntz sets for a spin.
Old Gray Bricks: A Group Chat with Every Winner of LEGO Masters US
For the first time ever, meet all the winners of LEGO Masters US at the same time, hear about what they think are winning techniques, and learn why BrickNerd’s Simon Liu and participating in Iron Builder are the keys to taking home the trophy.
Peter Dibble: The Forgotten Story of Modulex - LEGO's Lost Cousin
Modulex is a relict of the past, re-discovered not just by MOC creators in recent years. Peter Dibble’s documentary covers its history in great detail.
R.R. Slugger: It's Not Easy Being Trans Neon Green
Is the color Trans Neon Green gone for good? Take a deep dive into the history of the color, its glowing possibilities, and how the past connects to the present of this florescent color.
Rambling Brick: The Road Goes Ever On - In Search Of Hobbits…
Join Richard as he visits the very beginnings of his LEGO hobby as he hunts for the Fellowship figures he created on his own within his collection of sets and parts.
SpitBrix: Monster Fighters - This LEGO Theme Was Cursed...
Monster Fighters was a great theme from the early 2010s: Vampires and ghosts, some great vehicles and playsets, a sprinkle of steampunk… Follow SpitBrix down memory lane as they go on a hunt for monsters and more!
The Brothers Brick: When and Why Did LEGO Include Progress Bars in Instructions Guides?
For a while now we have gotten a little company when we are building LEGO sets. At times a bounty hunter or a ninja will mark our progress with a set. Read how and when the progress bar came into being.
Tiago Catarino: A Frame Cabin LEGO Designers Interview
Hear from the designers themselves who took the LEGO Ideas A-Frame Cabin submission and transformed it into a final model, hand-drawn art included!
Tips&Bricks: Brick-Built Hearts for Valentine’s Day
What would Valentine’s Day be without hearts? And what better day to highlight the ways that builders have captured hearts over the years? Here are a couple of ideas for your next valentine!
Tips&Bricks: Basics and Tutorial for Building LEGO in Blender
Blender is increasingly being used to create stunning renders of LEGO models created in Stud.io or other digital building tools. This month Tips&Bricks shows you how to get into just that!
Toy Photographers: Feature Friday - Megan Mitchel
16-year-old toy photographer Megan Mitchel shares how and why they got into toy photography and what tools they use to create some magical photos.
True North Bricks: Interview with LEGO Master Nick and Stacey
True North Bricks interviews the show-stealing Canadian winners of the third season of LEGO Masters, Nick and Stacey.
Women’s Brick Initiative: Are Star Wars Minifigs Accurately Representative of Star Wars Films?
How does the screen time of characters in the Star Wars galaxy compare to the frequency they appear in minifigure form? WBI ran the numbers…
Zusammengebaut: Walking with Minifigures - The 1989 LEGO Catalogue
1989 was a special year for LEGO—it was the first to introduce minifigures with face decorations other than the classic smile. Take a guided tour through the catalog from that year to see how minifigures changed the face of LEGO—literally.
If all of those amazing features weren’t enough to satisfy your LEGO community craving, here is an interactive calendar of everything that BrickNerd has published this last month to make sure you didn’t miss a single article.
Did we miss any of your favorite LEGO articles and content for the month? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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