The annual Bionicle building competition, Bio-Cup 2024, is back! This year’s preliminary theme is “Space” so head over to their Flickr or Discord group to join all the fun. But what if you don’t know how to build with Bionicle? Well this is the article for you! LEGO is known for its grid of studs with perfect right angles and straight sides. But more and more, builders are pushing what the LEGO System is capable of by using a few special pieces to fine-tune those angles. Today we will take a look at some of the techniques to achieve that more organic look by combining Bionicle and System elements. Terminology Before we get started in this article, I thought it would be useful to go over a bit of the key terminology I mention. Knowing these terms will really help as you start merging Bionicle and System builds. Constraction: A combination...

Growing up Catholic and Irish American in the central United States tends to make one aware of the University of Notre Dame. More than a few of my family members are fans of the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame! (Where the nickname of Fighting Irish came from when the school was founded by French Missionaries is a story for another time.). In February, a coworker who is an alumnus of Notre Dame sent me a text with a link to an admissions article with beautiful pictures of a LEGO build of McKenna Hall—the University of Notre Dame’s “Main Building.” The MOC was a commission piece by University alumni Father Bob Simon. Over the next few weeks, Fr. Simon and I shared some delightful emails about this build and his previous MOC of the Vatican (St Peter’s Square and Basilica). Fr. Simon and McKenna Hall: Photo by Mr. Rooney of ND Development office...

Nerd Alert! The following article is about a niche within a niche within a niche, so normal people who might happen to read this will wonder, “Why even bother?” Well, I wasn’t going to write it, but then I remembered this website’s name, so here we go… I’m a LEGO 2x4 brick collector. I collect them all and their infinite variations. It’s not hyperbole—they really are infinite if you consider tests, prototypes, mold/position combinations, and marbled bricks. Among these infinite variations, there’s one brick made with a specific mold, that I find really interesting, and that’s what I’m going to talk about today. Why are these bricks special? Read on! Where It All Began I’ll begin at the end to make things more intriguing. In summary, LEGOLAND master builders have access to parts not typically available in regular LEGO sets. These parts are generally known as “Q elements”. They tend to...

Today’s article comes from Katie Walker, who has contributed to BrickNerd before with articles about her cheese slope mosaics. Today, she shares a very personal story about sorting LEGO… and cats. LEGO Sorting and Cats Hello! My name is Katie, and I have a LEGO sorting problem. Or perhaps it’s more like a hobby? Either way, my method may not be to everyone’s taste, but it works for me. I had an active building streak when my oldest kids were little (lots of cheese slope mosaics, etc.), but then I went back to work and entered a gray age—a time when an AFOL stops building because of time, interest, or just life getting in the way. I kept buying sets and building them, then dismantling and sorting them. Then I had another baby and moved to a bigger house. Somehow, I now have less space for building. I have a desk...

It’s that time of year, BrickNerd fans! Time to ditch the scarves and mittens and dig out the flip-flops and Panama hats! It’s also a great time to review some summertime-themed MOCs because the temperatures outside are going up, up, up and the kids are heading out on summer break! Yes, we are going back in time to look at some of the hottest MOCs of the season. To set the mood, enjoy a DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince classic while you peruse this article. And if you look really close in the video, you might even be able to see yours truly in the background. No joke! Beach House 2 We start with Beach House 2… (I must have missed the first movie). One option for summer fun is to rent a house by the ocean, especially if you’ve got a big crew: family, friends, or all of the...