BrickJournal #41 by TwoMorrows Publishing

The Magazine for LEGO® Enthusiasts of All Ages! Issue 41 • September 2016

8.95

in the US

Out of This World LEGO! Space Building with Lia Chan Board 2001: a Space Odyssey’s Orion with Nick Dean John Wolfe’s Rockets

Instructions AND MORE! ISBN-10: 1-60549-070-9 ISBN-13: 978-1-60549-070-0 50895

9 781605 490700

We’re In Canada Too! St. John’s, NL

EVANSVILLE, IN Phoenix, AZ

Issue 41 • September 2016

Contents

From the Editor........................................................2

Review A Look at LEGO’s Ghostbusters HQ...............3

People Building a Space Program..............................10 Luigi Priori: Classic Space Cremona............20 John Wolfe: Rocketman....................................29 Brick in the USSR: Russian Spacecraft.......37 Nick Dean’s Spaceplane Orion......................42

Building You Can Build It: MINI Soyuz Spacecraft....................................46 Minifigure Customization 101: Engineering a Custom Minifig..................51

Community Brickfilming with Kevin Ulrich......................57 Creating a LEGO Idea: Billy Burg’s L.E.G.O................................................60 Countdown to Building...................................67 Community Ads...................................................78 Last Word.................................................................79 AFOLs........................................................................80

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From the Editor: Hi! And now some spacy stuff!

September 2016 Issue 41

One of my favorite interests is space travel and technology, so it wasn’t to hard for me to make an issue themed to this—and discovering Lia Chan’s models online, thanks to a message from Brian Mardis.

Publisher John Morrow

Editor in Chief Joe Meno

Photography Editor Geoff Gray Proofreader John Morrow

Japanese Bureau Editor Nathan Bryan West Coast Editors Todd Kubo Ashley Glennon

LEGO Ideas Correspondent Glen Wadleigh

Contributors: Billy Burg, Jared Burks, Lia Chan, Tyler Clites, Nick Dean, Christopher Deck, Joe Evangelista, Luigi Priori, Valerie Roche, Kim Smith (the fourmonkeys), John Wolfe,and Greg Hyland. Many thanks to the websites who have served as mirrors for BrickJournal:

I also owed an article about another builder, John Wolfe, who builds rockets. Tall rockets. From there, I found some Russian models from Tyler Clites, and got some instructions and columns from Christopher Deck, Tommy Williamson, and Jared Burks. And there are a couple of other surprises too that I won’t talk about here (like the story from BrickJournal Italy!)—you’ll have to read through! All this made for an issue that was a lot of fun to make, so... Have fun reading and building! Joe Meno, Editor P.S. Have ideas or comments? Drop me a line at admin@brickjournal.com. I’m open to suggestions and comments and will do my best to reply. P.P.S... Yes, BrickJournal has a website — www.brickjournal.com! Twitter? Yep, there too — http://twitter.com/brickjournal. Facebook? Yup — http://www.facebook. com/group.php?gid=58728699914&ref=mf. Or you can scan the bottom codes with a QR reader! P.P.P.S. If you want info on a subscription, you can go to: http://twomorrows.com/ index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=78&products_id=616 or scan below! Website

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About the Cover: Lia Chan’s astronaut takes a spacewalk. Photo provided by Lia Chan. About the Contents: Lia Chan’s Shuttle Complex 39A. Photo provided by Lia Chan.

Glossary AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO) NLSO (Non-LEGO Significant Other) MOC (My Own Creation) TLG (The LEGO Group) BURP (Big Ugly Rock Piece) LURP (Little Ugly Rock Piece) MECHA (a large armored robot on legs, typically controlled by a pilot seated inside) MECH (a large piloted combat robot)

GUNDAM (sci-fi media franchise featuring giant robots or “mecha”) SNOT (Studs Not on Top) POOP (Pieces—that can be or should be made—Of Other Pieces) LUG (LEGO Users Group) LTC (LEGO Train Club) DARK AGES (usually teen years, when you drift away from building) STUDS OUT (building where the studs on bricks face the viewer)

LEGO®, TECHNIC, MINDSTORMS, Belville, Scala, BIONICLE, ExoForce, Mars Mission, World City, and other LEGO theme lines are trademarks of the LEGO Group of companies. All articles, photos, and art are copyright BrickJournal Media, LLC 2016, TwoMorrows Publishing and the respective writers, photographers, and artists. All rights reserved. All trademarked items are the property of their respective owners and licensees. Subscriptions are $55 Economy US, $66 Expedited US, $87 International, or $23.70 Digital Only and can be purchased at www.twomorrows.com or payment sent to: TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614 USA. The editorial/advertising office address for BrickJournal is: BrickJournal Editor, 5610 Briar Oak Lane #510, Raleigh, NC 27612 USA or admin@brickjournal.com. First Printing. Printed in China. ISSN 1941-2347.

BrickJournal and its staff would like to thank the LDraw community for the software it makes available to the community, which we use for making all of the instructions and renderings in this magazine. We would especially like to thank Kevin Clague for his continued upgrades of the LPub tool that is a part of2the LDraw suite. For more information, please visit http://www.ldraw.org.

Review

Fear, horror, terrifying nightmares, ghosts. None of these sound like a great way to start a day. We tell ourselves that we can overcome our fears; that horror can be overturned by kindness; that nightmares can’t hurt us; and that ghosts aren’t real.

But what happens when ghosts are real? What happens when telling yourself you’re not afraid of ghosts doesn’t get rid of them? Where will you turn? And who are you going to call?

A Look at the Ghostbusters Headquarters Review by Joe Evangelista Photography by Joe Meno and the LEGO Group.

“This place is great. You gotta try this pole!”

Nostalgia is a great thing. It helps us preserve an age of innocence as we revel in what came before. But nostalgia alone cannot keep a franchise moving forward. It needs to grow, adapt, take risks, and become more than the sum of its parts. For many years Ghostbusters has been a thing of nostalgia, but now with a new movie almost upon us, it is a time of change. Oddly enough, one way to usher in that change is to celebrate the past in a manner that helps create new adventures for the future.

Looks like Slimer has been through this kitchen already!

“So Egon, you’re saying that we can make this toaster breakdance?” “It’s basic kinetic physics, Ray—slime goes in, toaster go boom!”

The latest entry into the world of busting ghosts is the LEGO Ghostbusters Firehouse Headquarters (set #75827). LEGO has struck at the heart of what makes Ghostbusters great with its new set—a throwback to the Kenner and Mattel playsets of old with incredible attention to detail, and overflowing with nostalgic references and nods. Colander on Louis Tully’s head? “Check.” Mood slime possessed dancing toaster? “Check.” Plasmatic refractor? Anti-Ectoplasm destruct mechanism? Bipolar adjustor? “Check, check, and check.” Trans-warp drive? “Check...” well, maybe they’re still working on adding that last one. Ever since the Ecto-1 was released in 2014, fans have been eager for more minifigs from the movies and more ghosts to bust. There is no shortage of either with this Firehouse Headquarters set—an impressive 9 minifigs and 3 ghosts are included for your busting delight. The attention to detail on the figs is equally impressive. Highly requested ghosts—the librarian and cab driver ghosts—both make their LEGO debut in this set. Additionally, there are alternate versions of the Ghostbusters with arm printing (sporting the iconic shoulder no-ghost logo patch and elbow pads) and even a Venkman that has been covered

in slime. Peter can’t seem to escape any iteration of the source material (movie, cartoon, comics, toys, LEGO) without getting some hugs from his best bud Slimer. Weighing in at over 4,600 pieces, this is not a set for the faint of wallet. It’ll run you a hefty $350 (USD) and leave you feeling like the floor of a taxicab when you are done building it. But then again, if you’re planning on having your Ghostbuster minifigs take their Ecto-1 set and go up against a Sumerian (not Babylonian) god, then you’re going to need a place to store the beast once the job is done! And store it you can as the set comes complete with a red containment unit built into the rear corner underneath the main staircase. The unit itself is based off of the first movie, and is much smaller than its Real Ghostbusters cartoon counterpart. Had LEGO included the massive sized containment unit somewhere in this set, not only would it have pushed the parts count to well over 5,000, but they would have had to supply an army of Walter Pecks to make sure there weren’t any biological or environmental impacts! (Hint, hint—Walter Peck is noticeably absent from this set. Does this mean we’ll see him in a future, unannounced set?) The first thing many LEGO fans will notice is that the set opens in a decidedly different way—from the middle of the left side. Clips on the roof hold in the sides so that they don’t come loose when the containment unit burps or gets out of alignment (you can only stuff so many spuds and slimers in there before you have to do a tune-up!). Once the panels are open, the detail inside is a delightful return to childhood: it’s a giant playset. From looking at the promotional pictures one might think that there is an abundance of blank space inside the firehouse, but upon building the set it becomes clear very quickly that there is an overabundance of fantastic details. The interior of everyone’s favorite firehouse is brilliantly decorated with scenes from both movies seamlessly integrated together. The set is a tribute to the overall franchise, and is sure to be a fan favorite for years to come. The build itself will take some time, even for the more seasoned builders. At each step along the way the set becomes more completed and impressive. And it is a fun build! Snapping together all the unique details, setting the stage for many Ghostbusting adventures—it all has a sense of purpose as you move from one step to the next. That being said, once you finish the garage level, the next two floors will feel a bit repetitious. You’ll find yourself building the outer walls in the same manner for each level and using the same techniques over and over again. You’ll also find yourself snapping countless 1x1 and 1x2 tiles to their matching 1x1 and 1x2 studded bricks for the brick

Louis: “This thing is safe right?” Egon: “Of course, that’s why you have the colander on your head.”

Oh Slimer!

fascade that goes along the windows. Those parts quickly pass though and then you’re back building fun details and scenes from the movie. All-in-all the build balances itself out with what needs to be done (the 4 walls of a firehouse with impressive detailing) and what builders want to do (create fun details and play features for the set). When finished, builders are treated to a playset that allows them to play out their Ghostbusters dreams with the hope of maybe one day adding an official chapter to the newly reenergized franchise. One thing that jumps out as you build this set is that the designer, Marcos Bessa, really knows his source material. While there are only so many ways that you can build a NYC landmark firehouse, the use of parts and selection of elements included in this set is wonderfully diverse. A vast sticker sheet full of details helps to aid the overall immersion. The dark red and gray exterior evokes a very New York City vibe; all that’s missing is the graffiti and

We’re the best, we’re the beautiful, we’re only the first of many Ghostbusters!

city cab to make you feel like you’re in the actual New York City neighborhood of Tribeca. We can only wish that the Ghostbusters logo sign hanging outside the firehouse was printed and just a little bit larger. Given the size of the model, the logo itself feels a bit small in proportion. It’s as if we can already hear Dr. Venkman saying, “You don’t think it’s too subtle, Marty? You don’t think people are going to drive down and not see the sign?” Little nuances aside, this set feels like Ghostbusters. There might be additions, corrections, substitutions that fans will make for this set (haunted firehouse, Stay-Puft smashing through the walls, Ninja Turtles running across the rooftops, etc.), but it is very clear that this set is iconic. It’s the third largest LEGO set ever released and instantly recognizable by fans of LEGO, ’80s movies, pop culture gurus, everyday Joes, and Ghostbusters fans—the latter of which will go to extreme lengths to build props, costumes, Ecto-Mobiles all in the name of fandom, and many in the name of helping charities raise money for worthy causes. With this set, LEGO has matched the level of enthusiasm that Ghostbusters fans generate on a daily basis. The connection between Ghostbusters and LEGO makes perfect sense. LEGO built a massive following in the ’80s, which is the era from which many fans will look back on as the golden years for many sets. Check the value of any ’80s castle, space or pirate set and you’ll soon understand why. Ghostbusters came out in 1984 and is a quintessential ’80s movie, from the shooting style to the setting to the way everyone is smoking a cigarette (something that was done away with by the time Ghostbusters II came out in 1989, when Hollywood in general realized they needed to clean up their act).

There really isn’t a bad angle from which to view this set. Pair it next to some props and the Ecto-1 and your display is complete. Ecto-1 lighting provided by ‘Blinky Bricks’. Microscale firehouse designed by Obedient Machine (flickr username).

A few minor detail changes later, the LEGO Ghostbusters firehouse is a shining beacon of art imitating life.

Marry the two together and you have a winning combination that’s sure to bring smiles to the faces of many fans (registered voter or otherwise). Giving Ghostbusters such a massive headquarters set, despite only having the one existing set, is nothing short of an ’80s uplifting, powerfilled, shoulder-padded montage miracle. The audience won’t know what hit them when this theme is done with them. We can all hope that in addition to the new Ecto-1 coming out for the 2016 movie, that there are more bustin’ surprises in store from LEGO in the years to follow.

Audiences are in for quite a treat when the new Ghostbusters movie opens in theaters on July 15,

2016. The film itself is a reboot with many of the original cast on hand to provide cameos as new characters— passing the torch, as it were, and letting a new generation take the lead in the supernatural fight. But no matter who is clicking the bricks together, wearing the jumpsuit, piecing together their proton pack, or standing in front of scary goblins and ghouls with a dopey smile and a slight sideways grin, you’ll never have to wonder the inevitable question: “Who you gonna call?” This set was provided to BrickJournal for review purposes. The review is in no way representative of the LEGO Group, but of BrickJournal.

People

Building A Space Program Article by Lia Chan Apollo 17 astronaut at Space Center Houston Starship Gallery.

A new builder on the scene talks about building her own spaceships, and launchers, and spacemen...

Space walking astronaut with MMU/EMU.

I started playing with LEGO when I was about 4 years old. One of my mom’s best friends gave me two sets, the Basic Building set numbers 10 and 50. I wasn’t really into LEGO at that point with these two sets. It wasn’t until I got the Advance Basic Set 911 that I was hooked. By the time I was 7 years old, I was playing with Technic sets, with the first being the set 856 Bulldozer and the set 960 Power Pack. I had many more sets since then, but I own them mostly to use them for parts. The only LEGO sets that I would build from instructions are LEGO Technic sets since I do like to sit for hours playing with them. My love for aviation and space exploration started around the same time that I got into playing with LEGO. Since I was still in Hong Kong at the time, I remember sitting on the roof top at my cousin’s house watching planes landing at Kai Tak Airport. I would build planes out of LEGO and little cities and have my own tiny version of the airport. The James Bond movie Moonraker was what got me hooked with space exploration. I did build my own version of the Space Shuttle and space station, and I wanted to get all those LEGO Classic Space sets. I did put off the love of space exploration for awhile, but really got back into it when the Space Shuttle mission 51-L became the highlight in my sixth grade science class. I remember everyone was excited about a teacher going into space. After the Challenger accident, I would try to find out as much about the Space Shuttle and the future for space flight as possible. Most of the things I built out of LEGO since then were space-related.

Space Shuttle at Launch Pad 39A My very first huge space related project was the Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39A. LEGO had come up with the set 10231 Shuttle Expedition back in 2011. That got me thinking about creating the entire launch pad. It took me about three months to build. I was lucky enough to find detailed blueprints, photographs, and drawings from the NASA website. Building large MOCs really did test my limits on building techniques. It took me about two weeks just to get the design right for the Rotating Service Structure (RSS) to have it strong enough to support its own weight. I did have several mishaps while I was building this MOC. I actually knocked down the entire launch tower and RSS while I was putting the mobile launcher onto the pad. I went to my first LEGO convention the following year (2012), Brick Fiesta in Houston, TX. The only MOC I took with me was the KSC launch Pad. I didn’t know anyone at the convention at the time. Only one or two people knew I was the one who made the launch pad, since they saw me setting it up. Everyone at the convention finally found out that I was the one who made the MOC at the award ceremony. I won in the Best of Space large category. I think I was a little more well known in the TEX-LUG community right after that. The biggest improvements that I have made to the MOC since then is I made it motorized. I used 4 LEGO L-motors, 1 LEGO XL motor, 4 LEGO M-motors, 1 S-Brick, 1-LEGO 8881 Battery box, 2-LEGO 88800 Battery boxes, and 2 IR Receivers. I will eventually add another S-Brick so I won’t have to use the IR receivers anymore. Since I have so little room to work with inside the crawler, I had to make the support legs on the launch pad to raise and lower instead of having the crawler to raise and lower. The Rotating Service structure does move to enclose the shuttle in the servicing mode. The crew access arm and liquid oxygen vent arm swing forward. I will add LED lights and a fog machine later to simulate a shuttle launch at my next convention.

Construction of the Rotating Service Structure.

Detail of the Fixed Service Structure of Launch Pad 39A.

Most updated version of Launch Pad 39A with Power Functions.

Shuttle Carrier Aircraft with Space Shuttle at Space Center Houston Independence Plaza.

Shuttle Carrier Aircraft with Space Shuttle

In that same year, 2012, I took a trip to the Kennedy Space Center to see the Farewell Tour of the Shuttle Endeavour. After the trip I decided to do a MOC of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) with Shuttle Endeavour. The building technique I used was based on the LEGO 787 set. The scale of the 747 is the same scale as the 787 set. I used the blueprints of both of the planes from the Boeing website to make sure I had the scale correct. I did have to use 8 of the LEGO boat weights in the front of the plane to keep the plane balanced on its wheels. Later I made a diorama of the SCA landing at runway 15, along with its T-38 chase plane. I took that MOC to Brickfiesta 2013 and won the Best in Flying Machine category. I have made several improvements since then, and some were due to accidents I had while I was transporting it to cons. In 2016, I was lucky enough to get permission from the Space Center Houston to have my SCA MOC on display there, over the Spring Break holiday back in March. Since Space Center Houston just opened up their new SCA exhibit two months prior, they gave me permission to display my MOC there. The most awesome thing was just to have my MOC next to the real SCA.

Apollo 17 Astronaut at Space Center Houston Starship Gallery.

Detail of EMU/MMU.

Maxifigure Astronaut

I made the minifig astronaut a year later after seeing a fellow LUG member bringing his Giant LEGO minifig set 3723. I wanted my minifig to be more 3-D-like, instead of looking like a printed minifig. The arms and legs are posable, with an internal locking mechanism. The MMU does come apart from the EMU. I did have to add one extra plate higher on the back of the feet to keep the astronaut from falling backwards, since the MMU/EMU units are so heavy. So the entire minifig is tilted forward a little while it is in its standing position. I have made a second minifig astronaut this year. Joe Meno gave me the idea of putting Power Function to a large minifig. So I made an Apollo 17 astronaut minifig powered by a LEGO Mindstorms EV3 unit. The Mindstorms computer is in the back of the EMU. It is powered by one large and one medium EV3 servo motor. The right arm and head move with programming and an EV3 infrared sensor in the front of the head. So when you walk up close enough to the minifig, it will give a salute movement to a LEGO US flag.

Space walking astronaut with MMU/EMU.

Space Launch System on Launch Pad 39B.

Space Launch System

I made the Space Launch System with mobile launch pad in 2014, since I was able to find more detail drawings and diagrams of both the SLS rocket and the mobile launch pad. The building technique of the launch tower is similar to my Pad 39. I did have to redo the SLS rocket because NASA had changed the color of the rocket from its original black and white to now orange and white. Also, my first rocket was a little off, with its diameter of the rocket being too wide. I have more mishaps with this MOC than my other ones. Being such a tall structure, it is so much easier to knock it off balance. I even had an accident while I was doing the photo shoot of the MOC. Since the real KSC launch complex is next to the Florida coast, I took the MOCs out to Lake Grapevine to give a more realistic feel to the photos. After I set the MOC up next to the lake, a strong wind knocked the entire MOC over. I was glad only about a handful of pieces fell into the lake. It took me two days to put the MOC back together.

Detail of crew access arm and umbilical system on service tower.

International Space Station.

International Space Station

I made the International Space Station in 2015 when DFWLUG was invited to do a display at the Dallas Moon Day event at the Frontier of Flight Museum. Another LUG member and I put together the MOC with only about a week to work with. He was making the Russian module of the station, and I was doing the rest of the station. The ISS was a big hit at the Moon Day event. Since then, I have made the Russian modules as well, along with all the changes NASA has made to the station, including the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module and all the supplies vehicles. My next goal will be making a display structure so I can have it hanging up instead of sitting on a display table. That will be a challenge since the MOC is so heavy, and due to the flexibility of long LEGO pieces.

I do have other NASA/Space-related MOCs that I am planning to do. KSC Launch Pad 41 and SpaceX are in the designing stages. I am hoping someday I will get to display all of my MOCs at the Kennedy Space Center. That will be a challenge to come.

People

Luigi and his Winter Village (only partially visible in the photo) at ItLUG Lecco 2014.

Luigi Priori: Classic Space Cremona Interview by Francesco Spreafico Photography by Luigi Priori

This issue we go to Italy, interviewing one of the best ItLUG (Italian LEGO® Users Group) builders: Luigi Priori, wellknown in the Italian AFOL world for his Winter Village… and not just for that anymore! BrickJournal: Hello Luigi, could you introduce yourself to our readers? Luigi Priori: My name is Luigi Priori, I live in Cremona, a town in the north of Italy, and in the AFOL world I’m known as Priovit70. In 2010, after discovering the ItLUG website, I realized that I was not the only adult who had started building with LEGO bricks again. So, together with six friends of mine, I founded the “Cremona Bricks” association, with the intent of gathering fans of LEGO from my hometown

and the surrounding area. Four years later, after Cremona Bricks had been recognized by the LEGO Group as a LUG, I became its Ambassador. Now Cremona Bricks has 95 members and still growing. Obviously, I’m very happy with that. Routine question: did you have a Dark Age? And if you did, how long did it last and how did you get out of it? I think that almost every AFOL experiences a Dark Age. Years pass, priorities and tastes change, you become 18 and you don’t even look at bricks anymore. That happened to me too. It’s nothing odd. In 1993, while I was at university, I bought some Pirates sets, like the Renegade Runner (#6268), and those brought me out of my Dark Age for a little while. After that, I was definitively through with LEGO for fifteen long years. I kept loving LEGO, as I browsed avidly through the new catalogs whenever I had the chance to keep me up-to-date with sets and themes, but nothing more than that. Until, in 2009, surfing on the Web, I chanced upon a picture of the upcoming set 10199, the Winter Toy Shop, just presented, but not available yet in Italy. Being a mountains and snow enthusiast, I could hardly believe my eyes seeing such a set, with an unquestionable mountain style and a lot of snow, even if in form of white bricks. It was love at first sight! I bought it immediately from a California seller on eBay (because I didn’t even know of LEGO Shop@Home) and, just in time

Luigi’s sigfig with Cremona Bricks members.

for my 39th birthday, I got my hands on this beautiful set that I built in a flash. And this is where everything started, or, even better, where everything started again. For a year I’ve laid low, but when the set 10216 (Winter Bakery) came out, I heard a click in my head and I started thinking of a winter diorama. In Italy you are well-known as the builder of amazing winter MOCs (it’s simply impossible to choose between you and Sandro Damiano [another ItLUG member with a love for snow; sdrnet on Flickr] in this field.) Lately, though, we’ve seen you wander in different lands. What brought on this change? I’ve spent five years working, in my little spare time, almost exclusively on the Winter Village, taking idea and sets from other themes and processing them with the right amount of white pieces. My friend Sandro Damiano, (another ItLUG member) and I started our winter villages almost at the same time, often taking similar ideas, even without seeing each other or talking to each other, and finding out from our photos uploaded to Flickr. Then, after a while, ideas began to run out. This is what happened to me, while Sandro kept working on his awesome Winter Village that now is just out of my league, for both size and details. Accidentally, just when I started losing winter ideas, at the end of 2014, inside Cremona Bricks, we were talking about a great CITY diorama for an upcoming event, therefore about modulars, trains, tracks and a serious lack

Pretzel van in Luigi’s Winter Village (a modification of the set 70804). Luigi’s Winter Village with lights on.

A detail of the tunnel under the village and the frozen waterfall.

The entrance to the Village, called Snow Peak. One of Luigi’s favorite details: the paved road with the curved sidewalks and a snowplowing bobcat, while a band plays a merry tune and a guy with an enormous ring proposes to his girlfriend.

in that town we are about to design: the train station. I immediately seized the opportunity, and I volunteered to fill that gap, undertaking to build a station as similar as possible to the one of my hometown, at least in its style. As in all my other creations, size doesn’t really matter: I prefer quality (and details) over quantity. This building is three baseplates long and one baseplate wide, for a total of 7000 pieces, more or less, with my usual attention to details and with some funny scenes. So I discovered that the CITY theme is as beautiful as Winter Village; they’re closely related, after all, and you don’t even need all those white pieces, and possibilities are endless. My Flickr followers are aware that, for the last year my creations have all been about Classic Space, or, better, Neoclassic Space. They’re mostly adventures of spaceman Benny from The LEGO Movie and his robotic sidekick, based on Peter Reid’s Keko. I had to modify it lightly, because of my chronic lack of pieces, but after all, I loved the result, and I decided to call it Mr. Robot; the name is not very original, but it should bring back those memories of Mr. Coffee and Mr. Radar from Spaceballs. Was Classic Space a passion of yours when you were a child, or did you fall in love with it only recently? Classic Space was my real Passion (with the capital P) as a child. Being born back in 1970, I was there at the right time to witness the beginning and the rise of that fabulous theme. I still remember the first spaceship I got as a gift, absolutely brilliant in its plainness, seeing it now: I’m talking, obviously, of the Space Cruiser, the one with the LL924 printed brick. I was ten, and, back then

Front view of the train station built in 2015.

A graffiti writer in action just outside the station.

it was really something. One year ago, thirty-five years after that milestone, I found in my mom’s attic two boxes full of LEGO parts, straight from my childhood, with a lot of Technic gears, but also with some blue bricks, some light gray bricks, some transparent yellow bricks and, to my great surprise… that 1x6x5 blue brick with a monitor showing a rocket lifting off printed on it; it was in set 6970, Beta I Command Base. I couldn’t believe my eyes, and while I was holding it in my hands, for the second time after the end of my Dark Age, I heard a click in my head, and my Classic Space mania started that day. A few days later, I put together a vignette with Benny, one of the most brilliant minifigs of the last years, in my humble opinion, with his broken helmet (by the way, in those boxes I also found a bunch of them) and the washed-out logo. In this vignette Benny, in his space outpost, watches a vintage clip on a monitor and he thinks he recognized his grandpa

“These are not the shuttles we are looking for!” R2-D2 and C-3PO consult the timetable on platform 3 in Luigi’s station.

Some weird characters are waiting on platform 3, including Luigi’s sigfig with a LEGO bag.

General view of Luigi’s station at the 2015 Skærbæk Fan Weekend.

Sometimes even Batman runs out of gas...

in that clip. This is, in a few words, how “Hey! That’s Grandpa on TV” was born. But it was only the beginning, because I immediately began working on a real space station, that could fit on a single baseplate, and that is detailed just on the inside (the outside is not important for my purposes), where I set most parts of Benny’s adventures, adding new characters and/or new elements each time.

Somebody chats with friends and somebody else has to drag heavy trunks.

“Always Ask the Locals For Directions,” from Memoirs of an Intrepid Minifig.

How do you design your MOCs? Do you use LDD/MLCad or similar software or work directly with actual parts? I started using LDD since the very beginning and, maybe because I use Autocad every day, I immediately got along with it. Sure, sometimes I fight with it, when I can’t seem to put a piece where or how I want, but I couldn’t do anything without it. I start with a sketch, a raw model, and then I keep working on it, adding elements and details and optimizing the parts. This process takes me at least one or two weeks. Then I have to build what I designed, and this is where all the real problems begin: first of all, I could realize that the colors I used don’t match as well as it seemed in LDD, or, even worse, that a part is not borne by any other piece. So I start modifying directly while I am building. Recently I’ve rediscovered the pleasure of improvising entire sections of a model, building directly with the real parts, like I did as a child. Just to resume the Classic Space topic, back then there were not so many sets as today. And if you were lucky, you managed to get all of them (we are talking of five, six sets per theme), you built them once, you played with them for a while, then you took them apart and with all the pieces tried to build something. This way of building, in my opinion, doesn’t have to be seen as a regression, because it has some advantages and makes the building process even more challenging. With LDD the only limit you have is your fantasy (and your ability in using the software), you can design huge models, so huge that maybe you don’t even have the money to buy all the needed pieces. But if you start building directly, you take up the challenge of building something with the parts you have at home in that moment, optimizing the pieces to the limit and maybe using innovative techniques. As the readers can see from your photos, another passion of yours is photography. How did you get the idea of creating these sorts of pictures?

“A DJ’s Worst Nightmare” from Memoirs of an Intrepid Minifig.

“Welcome to the Jungle” from Memoirs of an Intrepid Minifig.

“Canoeing Down a Mountain Stream” from Memoirs of an Intrepid Minifig.

“Walking on a Ledge” from Memoirs of an Intrepid Minifig.

I don’t consider myself a pro or even a semi-pro photographer, but photography has always been a great passion for me. I have always loved to take photos, mostly of landscapes. After the end of my Dark Age, I started facing the problem of photographing my creations and uploading them to the Web. So I had to move from landscapes to definitely smaller subjects, using often strange, homemade techniques, since I’ve never had classic photo studio stuff. Not having softboxes or other similar things, I’ve always managed where I could, with colorful cardboards in the background and improper lightning, working hard afterwards with Photoshop. I must confess that seeing now some of my first pictures makes me smile at my naiveté. I delightedly remember the idea of taking photographs of the steps during the building of my train station: 68 pictures that show the internal structure and all those details that, after completing the building and putting the roof on, can hardly be seen. About two years ago, I got this crazy idea of bringing some minifigs with me in my backpack during my winter and summer hikes, with the clear purpose of photographing them in various situations. So I started a project called Memoirs of an Intrepid Minifig, 93 photos on my Flickr photostream. I made a book with them and I had it printed, just for my personal satisfaction, and even

“On Holiday” from Memoirs of an Intrepid Minifig.

because I think that photos are not meant be seen only on a computer screen. In all these photos, the main character sometimes comes with co-stars... well, it’s not that difficult to guess, that my sig-fig and often the “memoirs” are autobiographical in a certain way.

“Renovation Works” from Benny’s Adventures in Space—Benny and Mr. Robot start renovating their space station.

In the wake of this series, and with the renewed passion for Classic Space, I started a new project, similar to the old one, but with Benny as the main character. So, in this last year, I’ve been working on Benny’s Adventures in Space, that counts, for now, more than 100 photos. I had a book printed for some friends with the first 40 pictures, and a new one is almost on its way. The biggest difference between the two projects is that in the latest one the pictures tell a story that I have vaguely in my mind, and that sometimes takes sudden turns, because of crazy, totally unexpected ideas. The photos are, for the most part, taken in Benny’s space station. The project has been on hold for some months because I was very busy working on a new MOC I presented at the latest event held by my LUG, “Mattoncini all’ombra del Torrazzo” (“Bricks in the shade of Torrazzo”, the tall bell tower of my hometown’s cathedral). Obviously it’s a space MOC, a typical American diner in Classic Space colors, with a robot as owner and chef: he’s really grumpy, but he makes the best hot dogs of the southern quadrants. This creation is a further evolution

“Let’s Get This Party Started!!” from Benny’s Adventures in Space—Benny gives an outpost warming party (blogged by BrickNerd on July 19, 2015).

“Fully Charged and Ready to Cook!” from Benny’s Adventures in Space. Benny, sick and tired of his space dried food, decided to buy a robot chef. “Big Wednesday” from Benny’s Adventures in Space—Benny and Mr. Robot are about to surf. LEGO replica of the famous photo “One last peek before bedtime” of Captain Samantha Cristoforetti aboard the ISS.

One of the characters of Luigi’s latest MOC. He’s a distant cousin of the more famous HAL 9000 and shares with it some behavior problems. He’s the grumpy owner and chef of Al’s space diner, where you can find the best hot dogs of the southern quadrants.

of my work, not for the techniques I used, but for the attention I paid to the presentation: I think I did my best in photography and character introduction. Every character, even the minor ones, has his own name, a story (that you can read in the photo description on Flickr) and his own precise nature. As usual, you can find inspirations from different movies, mash-ups, details even in the hidden spots—so hidden that some of them are almost impossible to be seen. But I know that they are right there, and that’s important to me. Thank you for you time, Luigi! You can see all of Luigi’s photos on his Flickr account: https://www.flickr.com/photos/priovit70 Memoirs of an Intrepid Minifig: https://www.flickr.com/photos/priovit70/albums/ 72157643166218873 Benny’s Adventures in Space: https://www.flickr.com/photos/priovit70/albums/ 72157654139760009 Space Cola delivery robot, just a generic UMX-A900 model with human look. Custom printed torso and bricks. Space Cola logo and Vintage advertising poster created by Luigi.

Starting from BrickBuildersPro’s Hot Dog Diner, Luigi ended up with this rotating space diner in classic space colors on that small asteroid.

NCS “Reckless” a class-B space truck, piloted by Qlalny from planet Dawharvis, who often stops at Al’s diner. It’s a heavily customized Peterbilt S-797 for intergalactic runs. Rumor has it that it made the Kessel Run faster than a certain well-known Corellian freighter…

Space Cola delivery speeder, regularly supplying Al’s Space diner. Modified version of set 75141 Kanan’s Speeder Bike with Classic Space colors and custom printed tiles (graphics by Luigi).

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Building

John’s Saturn V first stage.

Saturn V First Stage The real Saturn V first stage.

John Wolfe: Rocketman! Article by John Wolfe

Origins My idea for building a rocket came from a family trip to New Orleans in 2011. While there we visited the Michoud Assembly facility where NASA and their contractors built the Saturn V first stage, and they still have one on display outside. I took many photos for reference and began thinking about how I could build it in LEGO.

The first model I built was an S-1C first stage booster that measured 33’ diameter by 178’ tall. After several tries at making a brick-built cylindrical structure, I settled on a diameter of 22 studs—1.5 feet per stud. From that dimension, I calculated that the height should be 1.9 feet per brick. To match my picture from New Orleans, I also built the shop transporter that was used to move the boosters around during manufacturing and testing. Initially I didn’t think about using a specific scale, I just used 1.5 feet per stud and 1.9 feet per brick. Eventually, I calculated this as approximately 1:60 scale. This is slightly too small to be minifig scale, but the math worked out better for many of the pieces I used. All of the large rockets I’ve built has been to this same 1:60 scale. It’s important for me to have the correct sizes, but I think it is more important to be able to show the relative sizes of most of our rockets and spacecraft. I was happy to have built a MOC that was special to me, but my LUG friends felt I shouldn’t stop at only a first stage. They challenged me to build a complete Saturn V rocket, a kind of challenge they would continue many times.

Saturn V

I set out in late 2011 to build the additional stages, but I began to have difficulties with weight and fragility. The first stage had to be rebuilt with Technic beams inside to hold the layers together. This kept everything tight and has been used in all my larger rockets since. The enormity of the project became apparent as my 1.5/1.9 scale meant that the whole rocket was going to be just over 6 feet tall. But the scale helped as the 4x4 curved panels gave me the opportunity to have a true round section for the service module. It wasn’t a perfect match on diameter, but it was close enough to use and looked much better than a brick-built cylinder. My first showing of the full rocket was at Brickworld in 2012. It was impressive as it stood 6 feet tall and was displayed on top of the show tables. This version was 192 bricks tall and weighed 20 pounds. Of course I didn’t count how many pieces were used, so I had to make a guess when people would ask at shows.

More Rockets My LUG friends again challenged me to build a tower and launch platform, but I felt that was too large of a project and kept myself busy building several more rockets. My chosen scale of 1.5/1.9 made building a Mercury/ Redstone rocket almost perfect for using 4-stud diameter cylinders. And the Gemini/Titan rocket was almost perfect for the 6-stud diameter cylinders. So far my scale had lucked out for three different rockets. After these two “round” rockets, I built a brick-based Saturn IB rocket that was 14 studs in diameter. While not as tall as the Saturn V, it was still very large at almost 100 bricks tall. I did have a desire to build a tower and launch platform, so I decided to go simple and build one scaled for the LEGO Saturn V model from set #7468. To go along with this display, I also built a Space Shuttle and launch platform of roughly the same scale as #7468.

Other rockets, from left to right: Saturn I-B, Gemini/Titan, and Mercury/Redstone.

More of John’s rockets: a microscale space shuttle and Saturn V with gantry.

Tower & Launch Platform My LUG friends thought my rockets were great and loved having them at shows, but they persisted in pestering me about a tower and launch platform and I did eventually give in. To keep my scale, the launch platform measured 106-studs by 90-studs, and 13 bricks tall. Initially the platform was built just as a stand to hold up the rocket. It didn’t have much structural integrity, and I would have to rebuild it completely to make it sit properly on the crawler. The simple brick exterior is hiding over 200 sixteen-stud Technic bricks running horizontally, clamped together vertically with several hundred Technic beams. The tower had many challenges, the biggest being fragility. At my 1:60 scale, the structure of the tower would have thin supports, which wouldn’t hold up to moving it at all. I had to overbuild some of the structure, but still maintained the scale with the main portion of the tower being 26-studs square. When complete, the tower stood noticeably larger than the rocket, extending above the rocket and having a static crane at the very top. By this time, the whole MOC stood about 8 feet tall.

A closer look at the Command Module and nose cone.

Gantry sections.

Making it Move Again, my LUG friends said it was great, but why doesn’t it have a crawler to move it? Here is where I started my favorite part of the project—the Crawler Transporter. This mega machine was able to lift and move an entire Saturn V rocket, launch platform, and tower—a whopping 12 million pounds in addition to its own weight of 6 million pounds. This was a big challenge, and many of my friends didn’t think it was going to be possible. My model of the crawler does not lift (yet…) but it does move my Saturn V display. The crawler has four trucks underneath with each having two tracks of Technic links. The trucks are built “upside down” so the backs of the links glide across tile facing downwards. I was concerned about wear, but there has been surprisingly little wear considering how much weight it carries. Each truck has a XL-motor turning the tracks through several gear reductions and a worm drive. It moves slightly faster than scale speed, but being faster makes it easier for people to see it move. All four motors are fed power from a custom built battery-pack, although it works just fine with a standard LEGO battery-pack, but the battery life isn’t too great. Direction of the crawler is from a manual Technic switch. Originally it was using an IR remote, but the possibility of having interference from other remotes presented a dangerous situation, so it is now manual only. I have made several revisions to the crawler, each time making it stronger and capable of moving more weight. My Saturn V, launch platform, and tower weigh about 65 pounds—not a trivial amount of LEGO, but easily moved by the crawler. The latest version has been able to move 100 pounds smoothly. I have on a few occasions set children on the crawler at shows and moved them back and forth. There was even a time-lapse video of Brickworld 2014 setup day where I can be seen moving a child. The crawler is built to support all the weight from the four trucks located at the corners, so the structure had to be very rigid. The frame is built with over 350 sixteenstud Technic bricks, reinforced with hundreds of Technic beams and over three thousand Technic pins to hold it all together. Who is driving the crawler?!?

John’s Saturn V on the launchpad and crawler.

Crane & Lights Another challenge from friends had me rebuild the crane on top of the tower. The original crane was a static display only. The new crane has three functions—swiveling left/ right, raising and lowering the hook, and moving the lift trolley closer in and farther out on the crane boom. It can lift a surprising amount of weight, but is limited by not having nearly as much counterweight as the real crane. In order to provide power for the crane, I ran custom wiring up through the tower with four LED lights illuminating each floor on the tower. This provides a soft glow that is visible even in daylight. The Saturn V lit up.

The Saturn V on the launchpad for night operations. Another look at the crawler.

Delta IV Heavy I had been showing this completed display of scale rockets at shows throughout our LUG region for several years and thought it was as complete as any MOC can be. Then my friends asked if I was going to make any rockets from more recent NASA programs. Sticking with the same 1.5/1.9 scale, I decided to build a Delta-IV Heavy rocket so people could see just how large the Apollo program rockets were. Thankfully I was able to source enough dark-orange bricks to make the correct color for the tanks. When complete, the Delta-IV is 12-studs diameter and 131 bricks tall. My Delta-IV Heavy was the focus of my worst transport tragedy. I needed to have it completed quickly for a promotional event, and I didn’t take the time to reinforce it with Technic beams. When I arrived at the event, I pulled it from the box and it crumbled in my hands, becoming a loose box of brick. Taking the time to build it right has fixed this and provided a valuable lesson to not rush a build. Delta IV under construction. Another look at the micro rockets. The Saturn I-B, Space Shuttle, and Delta IV on display.

Space Shuttle My newest spacecraft is partly a challenge from friends, but more a way to educate the public at shows. When I would display my Saturn V rocket, I would frequently have people refer to it as a “space shuttle”. While very frustrating for me as a space historian, I didn’t have a good way to show the difference. Now I have a Shuttle orbiter with external fuel tank and two solid rocket boosters—a complete Space Shuttle built in my same 1:60 scale. With a size of 52 studs wide and 81 studs long, it is considerably larger than any of the LEGO shuttle sets. The payload bay does not yet open, but plans are underway to include opening and maybe even a Canadarm.

Transportation & Disassembly My biggest challenge has been how to transport these rockets. I’ve endured more than my share of accidents and shattered displays over the years, and my methods of transport come from trial and error. As mentioned earlier, all of the larger rockets have Technic beam reinforcing hidden inside to keep them from sagging or splitting when laying horizontally. The Saturn V rocket separates into 1st, 2nd, and 3rd stages and then the spacecraft on top. The rocket stages lay flat in a box that I have fitted with foam panels to cushion. The Saturn 1B separates in the same fashion and fits with Saturn V. A Delta-IV Heavy is essentially three identical first stages lashed together in a line, with a second stage on top of the middle first stage. My MOC breaks down into these same four pieces as well by using Technic pins. The engines at the bottom support all the weight, so the pins only have to hold the sections together. Pulling them apart allows me to lay them flat in a foam lined box. For the Space Shuttle I had the challenge of vastly different support heights of the different portions. As in the DeltaIV, the solid rocket boosters attach to the sides of the external tank with Technic pins. The bottom of the external tank is well above the base of the booster rockets and its weight made using technic pins alone not possible. The tank rests on a stack of trans-clear cylinders to take the weight. Then the shuttle attaches to the tank in the proper places by using a Technic pin at the front and an axle at the back. A small stack of trans-clear bricks supports the weight of the Orbiter. For transport, the four pieces pull apart easily, and like everything else, lay flat in a foam-lined box.

The space shuttle.

Future Plans My future plans include a couple of additional rockets, and another launch platform. Next up is a Space-X Falcon 9. This rocket has been breaking new ground lately by being able to recover its first stage and return to a safe landing. A technological breakthrough like this definitely deserves its place in LEGO. I also have ideas for adding a Space Race-era Soviet rocket so I can have another size comparison. There are additional opportunities for models of the European, Chinese, and Indian space programs. Stay tuned and keep attending Brickworld Chicago to see the growing collection.

An overhead view.

A night time view of John’s rockets.

My launch platform transports in two pieces: the front two-thirds of the platform is one piece where the Saturn V mounts and the back third is where the tower attaches. These two sections of platform are held together by Technic bricks spanning the joint and held in by axles. This method makes transport easy, but the platform has to be fully supported underneath. The tower is three sections, the bottom of which is attached to the rear of the platform. The two upper sections stay together by gravity and can be easily pulled up and off to store in yet another foam lined box.

Building

The Vostok spacecraft.

Break out the vodka, comrades! Sit back and enjoy these spacecrafts straight from the Soviet Union. The famous Vostok and Soyuz are two of the most notable Russian spacecrafts. I had the privilege of building these for a client who is an out-ofthis-world space enthusiast. His name is Jordi Gasull, he is a well-known film writer from Spain, and his latest film Capture the Flag (an animated feature) is all about space. Over a number of years, I have created a wide variety of fictional and real world spacecrafts for him. Everything from the Lunar Rover, to the Apollo 11 command module, to the Moon Tanks and Rocket from the Tintin comics, and even the EVA Pod and Moonbus from 2001: A Space Odyssey. These two particular Russian spacecraft were a fun challenge. Not only did I want to accurately capture the shape, but I also wanted to include some interior details and room for minifigures. I just couldn’t justify making the Vostok without a Yuri Gagarin minifigure. The biggest challenge for both of these crafts was to capture the appropriate shaping of the cylindrical and sloping shapes. On the Vostok, the round capsule was very difficult to achieve while still leaving room for the figure. The easiest way to remove the figure while keeping a strong spherical shape was to have a removable seat for the figure.

Brick in the USSR: Russian Spacecraft by Tyler Clites Article and Photography by Tyler Clites

Looking inside the Vostok.

Another view.

The Soyuz spacecraft.

The Soyuz is much larger and left more room for the three minifigures. Creating rounded shapes that could be easily opened to allow access to the interior made for an interesting challenge. The cylindrical back section too was tricky because I needed to capture a very specific diameter.

After building these two models, I have a huge appreciation for the new brackets that LEGO has given us in recent years. They were vital in so many areas of the construction on these two crafts.

The Soyuz modules.

A peek inside the spacecraft.

Some views of the 2001 Moonbus.

The EVA Pod and Moonbus from 2001: A Space Odyssey were some of my first projects for Jordi. The EVA Pod was an interesting build because of Jordi’s request for working lights. Packing a small Lifelites kit and battery pack into the pod unfortunately left no room for a minifigure, but makes for a fun effect. Besides, the Moonbus has plenty of room for eight figures to comfortably cruise around looking for ominous obelisks. Dasvidaniya, comrades!

The 2001 pod.

Building

The Orion Spaceplane.

Nick Dean’s

Spaceplane Orion Article by Joe Meno

Nick Dean started his hobby a few years ago as a TFOL (Teen Fan of LEGO) and became well-known for building military models, and then turned to other themes. One of his most recent creations is a replica of the Pan Am spaceplane Orion, seen in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. BrickJournal talked to him about building the spacecraft. BrickJournal: To start the interview: What do you do? Nick Dean: I’m an industrial designer. Industrial design is the design of the aesthetics and usability of products for mass production. I recently graduated from the University of Cincinnati’s School of Design in April of 2016 and am currently interning at Smart Design, in NYC. When did you start building? I started building around the same time as most kids. My first LEGO set was 6441, Deep Sea Refuge. Like a lot of TFOLs today, rather than have a Dark Age, I discovered the online LEGO community in Sixth or Seventh Grade and kept building with the help of the community.

Another angle.

A look at the tail.

What were your favorite themes? That’s a tough one. I’ve always been partial to the Xtreme Team sets. And the original Star Wars sets. And the divers sets. And the Life on Mars Sets. Actually, one of my favorites was the line-up LEGO did for the Tour De France years ago. I got one of the sets off eBay and cherished it… until I found a use for its parts, at least. What got you into space building? I’ve always loved space. I had plenty of non-LEGO space toys as a kid, and visited Kennedy and Huntsville when I was 7. I think ultimately however, the reason I built space was I ran into Classic Space Forums (classic-space. com) when I first found my way into the online LEGO fan community. I saw people like Chris Giddens, Adrian Drake, and Mark Stafford building the first SHIPs and I was awestruck and wanted to be on their level. The Classic Space Forums were very welcoming to young builders and provided plenty of constructive criticism then.

What inspired you to build the Orion? I’m not sure when I first saw 2001: A Space Odyssey, probably some time in high school, but when I did see it, I found it absolutely engrossing. The cinematography, especially considering the time it was made (1968) was stunning, and the numerous interpretations the viewer could make made it ceaselessly interesting. I wanted to build something to pay homage to the movie and embody my interest in it. At first I wanted to make the space station, and I tried, but it collapsed under its own weight. In 2014, Taschen, an art book publisher, released an official retrospective book that I immediately purchased. In it were photos of the film’s production, set design, and most importantly, schematics of the Orion. How did you research the model? The book proved an invaluable resource. In addition to the schematics, there were photos both from the film and from the sets. I was able to count the numbers of seats in the interior, see how the cockpit was laid out, and map the relations of the windows to the cockpit to the wings, etc. What were the biggest challenges in building the Orion? Building any large scale aircraft is not easy. One of the most complicated parts of this airplane was making the taper of the nose from the main body of the fuselage. The taper starts nearly all the way behind the cabin, and subtly becomes more and more steep. I eyeballed the entire thing, so it was very difficult to keep consistent. In addition, matching that taper on the sides of the nose was equally difficult. I tried numerous techniques to have the sides taper cleanly and match the top, but they frequently came out choppy and inconsistent. I would try one style, build it out to about 75% complete, decide I didn’t like it, and throw it against the wall. I would then try again and again until it looked “right.” Surprisingly, once I figured out the nose, it made doing the tail, which I dreaded doing, much much easier.

The nose and cockpit of the Orion.

Looking at the airlock and cockpit.

Inside the Cockpit

The Orion’s cockpit is a tight space, but Nick manages not only to make room for a pilot and co-pilot, but also make a detailed instrument panel using stickers for LEGO sets. The anti-glare panel in front of the cockpit glass is achieved by SNOT building.

A closer look at the nose of the spaceplane.

A look Inside the Orion

The Orion’s interior uses a lot of non-standard building. To create thin spacing, jumper plates were used to position the cabin chairs one half-stud away from the cabin walls. The center row was tiled one plate higher than the passenger’s floor, and to allow a minifigure to stand, a jumper plate was added. The doors are actually inset half of a stud. This was done by fitting a 2-stud wide door in 3 studs of space. Again a jumper is used on the bottom to keep the door in place, as the door has a 2x2 plate on the bottom that has a center hole that fits on the jumper. The window bar fits the fuselage by using headlight bricks and cheese wedges to form a tight fit with the body. There are only a couple of studs on the top and holes on the bottom that hold the bar in place, but the roof reinforces the overall structure.

How did you work out the interior? The interior was one of the few things that I had plenty of footage to work with. The aircraft itself is barely featured in the movie and there are no close-ups of the exterior. The interior, however, is shown in numerous camera angles and shots. I used those to figure out how many rows of seats to build, and for example, to show me that the aisle was elevated above the well for the seats. The cockpit is shown for a few seconds in the film as well, giving me a general idea of its layout, though it ultimately is smaller than the schematics showed it to be.

The interior is revealed by removing the cabin roof, which is a separate part that fits on the center stud on the 2x2 plates.

What are you happiest with? I’m probably most happy with the taper I was referring to earlier. I’ve had this thing sitting on a shelf for a couple years now, and I’m always happy to see how well I pulled off the taper. It’s nice to see from various angles that nothing looks off or out of line. It would really bother me if it were jagged or too sharp. The model might not have survived this long had something been off. I’m also pretty happy with the engines. I expected the engines to maybe make or break this project, but they came together well. One of the surprising things about this project was it only took two to four weeks or so. I had been living in Germany, working and studying in Düsseldorf, and was only able to work on this when I came home between semesters in October, and for Christmas.

What’s next? That’s a good question, and something I’ve been asking myself. I have a lot of unfinished works-in-progress sitting on my desk, but as I’ve become more involved with Industrial Design, my creative energy to build with LEGO has sadly waned. I have a couple of small things I’ve done but never shown, and would love to do another SHIP, but at this point, I’m lucky if I build anything at all. I think my next major project is a complete re-sort of my collection, followed by a return to smaller projects. I just don’t have the time or energy for anything bigger. You can see more of Nick’s work at his Flickr gallery: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ kcaster/ or by scanningthe QR code at the left.

A look at the rear, including the built Pan Am logo.

Landing the Orion

Nick built the model with retractable landing gear that not only fold, but also support the weight of the craft. Here’s a look at how the gear deploys.

Gear up.

Gear down.

Nose Gear

Doors open.

Gear down.

Doors close.

Doors open.

Gear down.

Fuselage Gear

You Can Build It MINI Model

MINI Soyuz Spacecraft

Design and Instructions by Christopher Deck Hello everybody, I am certainly glad to join you again for the current issue of BrickJournal! I am also particularly excited about the lead topic of this issue—Real Space! As some of you might remember, there was the fantastic official real space theme called Discovery in the year 2003, coming with a badge of six sets. I very much liked this theme and found it very inspiring, as it featured huge designer models as well as micro-scaled models. It was this real space theme and the first wave of Star Wars mini models of the same year that encouraged me to start building my own mini models. I am very grateful for the opportunity to contribute my first mini model to the Discovery space theme here and now in this issue. Together with you, we will build a mini

version of the Soyuz spacecraft which is used to shuttle astronauts to the International Space Station in orbit around Earth. I hope you will find this a nice addition to your real space collection! Just one small note about the construction: While the construction is pretty straight-forward this time, and is concentrated about that cool cylinder piece which I always wanted to use for a mini model, you might not have enough pearl gold plates for the solar panels. But no worries, you can also easily replace them with orange or yellow ones. I wish you happy building and see you next time!

You can view Christopher’s webpage by going to www.deckdesigns.de or scanning this QR code!

Parts List

(Parts can be ordered from Bricklink.com by searching by part number and color)

Main Ship

Qty Color Part 2 Light-Bluish-Gray 47905.dat 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 3941.dat 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 30360.dat 1 White 3960.dat 2 Light-Bluish-Gray 44359.dat 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 4593.dat 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 4592.dat 4 Dark-Bluish-Gray 4073.dat 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 44358.dat 1 White 60474.dat

Description Brick 1 x 1 with Studs on Two Opposite Sides Brick 2 x 2 Round Cylinder 3 x 6 x 2 2/3 Horizontal Dish 4 x 4 Inverted Hemisphere 3 x 3 Ball Turret Hinge Control Stick Hinge Control Stick Base Plate 1 x 1 Round Plate 2 x 2 with Hemispherical Socket 3 x 3 x 2 Plate 4 x 4 Round with Hole and Snap stud

Qty Color Part 2 Light-Bluish-Gray 2341.dat 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 4274.dat 2 Light-Bluish-Gray 2432.dat

Solar Panels

Qty Color Part 2 Pearl-Gold 3024.dat 10 Pearl-Gold 6019.dat 4 Pearl-Gold 48336.dat

Description Slope Brick 45 3 x 1 Inverted Double Technic Pin 1/2 Tile 1 x 2 with Handle Description Plate 1 x 1 Plate 1 x 1 with Clip Horizontal (Open U-Clip) Plate 1 x 2 with Handle Type 2

www.brickcoaster.com

Custom Roller Coaster Tracks, Sets and Accessories 49

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LEGO fans: You Can Build It!

YOU CAN BUILD IT is a new ongoing series of instruction books on the art of LEGO® custom building, from the producers of BRICKJOURNAL magazine! Spinning off from BrickJournal’s popular “You Can Build It” column, these FULL-COLOR books are loaded with nothing but STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS by some of the top custom builders in the LEGO fan community. BOOK ONE is for beginning-to-intermediate builders, with instructions for custom creations including Miniland figures, a fire engine, a tulip, a spacefighter (below), a street vignette, plus miniscale models from “a galaxy far, far away,” and more! BOOK TWO has even more detailed projects to tackle, including advanced Miniland figures, a miniscale yellow castle, a deep sea scene, a mini USS Constitution, and more! So if you’re ready to go beyond the standard LEGO sets available in stores and move into custom building with the bricks you already own, this ongoing series will quickly take you from novice to expert builder, teaching you key building techniques along the way!

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Don’t miss Jared K. Burks’ two books Minifigure Customization: Populate Your World! and its sequel Minifigure Customization: Why Live In The Box? (both are available now at www.twomorrows.com)

Building

This hobby has brought me many opportunities and enjoyment. The activity I enjoy more than most any other is watching the creative process of children. This is why I am always excited to help out at events at my local Children’s Museum of Houston. Recently I was asked to plan an activity for the Maker’s Space at the museum to celebrate National Engineering Week. I had to ask myself what to do—clearly a custom figure, but which one, and how to wrap it in an engineering concept? The most famous fictitious engineer of all times, Scotty, “I’ve given her all I can Captain, and I can’t give her no more!”? Naw, this would be too easy and doesn’t use enough engineering techniques. So I planned on capitalizing on that creative muscle children have to create an “Alien Engineer.” I wanted to allow them to completely create something for their own and customize as many details as they would like. Given that this was an event at the Museum, I had to create the foundations for their creations, which is what I will be covering in this article. To create a cohesive set of figures for the children, I had to decide on the color palette for the figures and all the parts the children and I would be creating. I commonly start with a color palette when designing any custom figure. I make sure not only all the colors used in the design fit the palette, but the accessories and weapons do as well. This is a practice LEGO follows as well, which is why we end up with all these oddly colored weapons and accessories on occasion.

Minifig Customization 101

Engineering a Custom Minifigure! Article by Jared K. Burks

This started with the decal designs for their Alien Engineers. I wanted to base this on a NASA space suit, preferably one that was a bit more futuristic, so I looked into concept art. To look at concept art I searched the web and found a suitable concept suit for the Alien Engineer to wear that resembled current suits, but had the futuristic edge I needed for the figure. The inspirational concept art was created by Oscar Cafaro, and published on the Humans in Space website. Color Palette

Clearly I couldn’t directly convert this inspiration to the figure, but I was able to use it as a foundation. The children attending the event would be at least eight years old, but applying the decals to odd locations might be a challenge for them, so I decided to limit the applications to a torso and a random location (arm, leg, and head, their choosing). The torso design would allow them to be successful, and the random location would be a bit of a challenge and let them truly customize their figure. So I created a torso design and sensor gauge inspired by Mr. Cafaro’s concept art. The gauge was to help designate the space alien as an Engineer to monitor their suit or some other device; of course, accessories will also help.

Figure 3: Concept art: http://www.humansinspace.org/space_astronaut_ concept_art_01_oscar_cafaro/

Using Waterslide Decals

Because this was an event for the Children’s Museum, education was always a primary focus. So during the class I discussed how Waterslide decal film works, specifically the three critical features of water; universal solvent, adhesion, and cohesion. These three features of water are what make the process successful.

Waterslide Film

Torso and Gauge decal design.

As most of you now know, we dip the waterslide decal film into water. This is using the universal solvent properties of water to dissolve the dextrose (a form of sugar) layer of the decal and release the waterslide film from the backing paper. This takes approximately 1 minute for the dextrose to be dissolved by the residual water after dipping the decal. Now we start working on the adhesive and cohesive properties of water to transfer or slide the decal from the backing paper onto the figure. The decal has great adhesive properties when dry, which means if it dries or touches a dry area it will stick and tear. Water has great adhesive properties, meaning it sticks to other things, and even greater cohesive properties, meaning it sticks to itself. Think about this statement. This is why water forms in drops and meniscus. Water’s cohesion allows us to transfer a drop of water to the torso for the decal to float or slide onto the torso. We can transfer water in this way because the adhesion of the water to our transfer device is lower than the cohesion of water to itself. Water also is adhesive to the decal and keeps the decal from rolling or wrinkling up. Once the decal is in place, the water can be removed with a cotton swab functioning as a sponge, and the decal will adhere to its final location. So without these amazing properties of water, we could not create custom figures in this way.

Custom heads.

After completing the decaling, the kids in attendance and I created custom alien heads using silicon rubber molds of heads I had previously cast. These were made in bright colors in the color palette to help tie all the figures together. The kids were then encouraged to paint or detail the heads for further customization. The process of casting custom heads uses a two-part urethane plastic resin that cures (hardens) because of an exothermic reaction (heat). This reaction is sensitive to moisture, so coloring the parts can cause issues if not properly performed. Also, because these heads are so small, the exothermic reaction might not proceed as quickly as it would in a larger part where more resin would be present; ie. more resin, more heat, less resin, less heat. This means that curing smaller parts may take longer than the instructions note. (Exothermic reactions are also used in hand warmer heat packs.)

Vacuum Forming

Vacuum forming remains a popular deforming process where the vacuum removes the air underneath a soft and flexible thermoplastic (heat sensitive) sheet, creating pressure to pull the plastic onto a mold. The vacuum forming process starts by raising the plastic sheet towards a heater to soften the plastic, before being pulled down onto the mold to create a draping form. The aim is always to create a high definition outcome without any excessive thinning of the plastic taking place. Vacuum forming is used to make many toy containers as well as several other commercial products, which makes it perfect for our display stand.

Plastic Forming Diagram.

For those wanting to build a vacuum former, there are plenty of plans online for creating simple formers. Make Magazine’s website is a great resource for these plans: http://makezine.com/images/store/Vacuumformer-lo.pdf

Thermoplastic sheets. Vacuum Former.

http://makeprojects.com/Project/Kitchen+Floor+Vacuum+F ormer/68/1 http://blog.makezine.com/2012/09/26/dirt-cheapvacuum-former/

Mock up and photo of cog.

Diagram of cog.

From here we had a complete figure, but as this was an engineering event which couldn’t be finished at this point. We needed more engineering angles. So with the help of Brent Richardson of the Children’s Museum, we designed a 3-D printed cog with the words Children’s Museum of Houston on top. The cog contained a square hole in the center. Yes, odd, but this was strategic and engineered this way! See, the 3-D printed part didn’t allow the kids to participate, so we used this as a mold for vacuum forming and allowed the kids to vacuum form their own minifigure display stand. By adding a 1x1 brick to the center of the vacuum formed resulting part, the kids had the perfect stand for their alien engineer. The kids could further customize the stand by painting, coloring, or filling the inside of the stand, which many of them did. Basically I created a simple cog shape in a Vector Art program, then Brent converted it into a 3-D printable file. He had to make some slight alterations to the Cog to make it print a bit better, which helped it function better as a vacuum form mold. Specifically, the text changed. To vacuum form the cog with crisp sides, the cog must be slightly elevated—this was done using some simple foam. The thermoplastic sheet was heated and then pulled over the cog mold. The mold was then removed and the children were encouraged to color or paint the inside of the cog to bring color to the display stand.

Vacuum Formed Stand with Details.

More stand examples.

As I mentioned earlier no figure is complete without accessories. So we gave the alien engineer a spanner (big wrench)! We tooled up, and the engineer was off to build LEGO projects with the kids.

For this event to celebrate engineers, we designed a process, engineered parts with exothermic resin plastic using silicon molds and vacuum formed 3-D printing parts to create display stands with thermoplastic; we used three properties of water to transfer and adhere waterslide film to a figure, and most importantly we helped kids and their parents have fun at the Houston Children’s Museum. I hope this article on NASA and engineering inspires you to engineer your own custom figures, but don’t simply create. It is important to understand the processes of how you create so you can better understand the limits, and push yourself and your ideas further. Disclaimer: Many, MANY Minecraft Zombies were sacrificed for the production of these Alien Engineers.

Alien Engineers!

You can view Jared’s webpage by going to http://www.fineclonier.com/ or scanning this QR code!

FROM THE PRODUCERS OF BRICKJOURNAL:

LEGO fans: You Can Build It!

YOU CAN BUILD IT is a new ongoing series of instruction books on the art of LEGO® custom building, from the producers of BRICKJOURNAL magazine! Spinning off from BrickJournal’s popular “You Can Build It” column, these FULL-COLOR books are loaded with nothing but STEP-BYSTEP INSTRUCTIONS by some of the top custom builders in the LEGO fan community. BOOK ONE offers instructions for custom creations including Miniland figures, a fire engine, a spacefighter (below), a tulip, a street vignette, plus miniscale models from “a galaxy far, far away,” and more! BOOK TWO has even more custom projects to tackle, including advanced Miniland figures, a miniscale yellow castle, a deep sea scene, a mini USS Constitution, and more! So if you’re ready to go beyond the standard LEGO sets available in stores and move into custom building with the bricks you already own, this ongoing series will quickly teach you key building techniques of the pros! (Recommended for ages 8 and above) More Engineers!

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ALL THEfor PARTS THE SPACEFIGHTER SET Come backGET next issue moreFOR Minifigure Customization! FROM BOOK ONE FOR ONLY $5.95!

Get both books on minifigure customizing! BRICKJOURNAL columnist JARED K. BURKS’ book MINIFIGURE CUSTOMIZATION: POPULATE YOUR WORLD! shows a wide range of techniques you can use to alter the lovable LEGO® Minifigure. And the sequel, MINIFIGURE CUSTOMIZATION2: WHY LIVE IN THE BOX?, offers even more techniques to alter minifigures! • Virtual customization, and designing decals • Custom part modification and creation • 3-D printing and painting techniques • Lighting with LEDs or EL wire • Ideas on displays and digital photography • Plus a custom gallery with tips & tricks! Don’t live inside the box—populate your world with any alien, superhero, historical, action, horror, or science-fiction figure you can “just imagine”!

(84-page FULL-COLOR Trade Paperbacks) $10.95 (Digital Editions) $4.95

TwoMorrows—A New Day For LEGO Fans!

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Community

Brickfilming with Kevin Ulrich! Article by Kim Smith (thefourmonkeys)

Kevin at work on a bluescreen shot.

Kevin Ulrich is a professional LEGO stop-motion artist (brickfilmer) residing in southern California. His studio, the Brotherhood Workshop, creates fan films based on the Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Star Wars, The Avengers, Jurassic World, and many more popular films. Although Kevin has been brickfilming professionally for the past couple of years, he originally started brickfilming as an aspiring filmmaker when he was a child. Growing up in a military family meant that Kevin moved to a new house every three or four years, so having lasting friendships wasn’t a part of his childhood. He was also homeschooled, which allowed him to have the extra time to put into creating his projects. Kevin recalls, “I was very introverted and very isolated, therefore I had lots of time to just learn something that only involved myself.” A shot from LEGO The Hobbit—Dwarven Dreams. A shot from LEGO Harry Potter: How to Kill a Dementor.

Around the age of eight, he realized he wanted to be some sort of storyteller or novelist. His original desire was to be a novel illustrator. Later, he wanted to do filmmaking projects, so he tried to do animation with flipbooks, which didn’t yield the results he had hoped. Three years later, in 2000, when LEGO released the Steven Spielberg Movie Maker Set, Kevin discovered stop-motion filming. At that point, he could pursue doing videos or film in a way that he understood. Between the ages of 11-13, he produced 20 feature-length LEGO animated movies, running at about 5 frames per second. He was able to create about 5-10 minutes of animation per day. As time went on, he eventually moved away from doing LEGO stop-motion animations and started working on claymation projects. Starting college, Kevin decided that his stop-motion days were over, as he wanted to pursue live-action filmmaking. He thought that if he had people and resources at his disposal, he would be able to make something

live-action that he was proud of, but discovered “it was very difficult to make an imaginative film that isn’t animated without any money.” So a year later, he resumed creating claymation films. Over the next three years, he made a half-hour claymation film, graduated college, submitted the film to festivals, picked up three or four awards, but hadn’t gone as far as he anticipated. Kevin hoped it would get his foot in the door, and that “some big producer would see it and fund a feature-length sequel,” but it didn’t turn out that way.

Setting up a shot for a LEGO Star Wars video.

Kevin started a job at a video production company as an editor (and sometimes director) of corporate videos being used in internal meetings. Although he loved working there, he realized his artistic creativity was not being satisfied. Being a religious person, he put a lot of prayer and thought into where his career should go. Shortly after his prayer and reflection, he had an epiphany on his way home from work and decided to stop off at the LEGO store to buy some Lord of the Rings sets and make a LEGO stop-motion video. He created his very first professional quality LEGO video called Orcs Not Evil, Just Misunderstood (LEGO Lord of the Rings: Orcs), and posted it on YouTube. He shared it with his friend, a popular YouTuber named Zach King, who “liked” the video, which in turn helped its views skyrocket. Kevin realized that the video he created in one weekend had gotten him farther than the claymation video which took him three years to create. At that point, he started working two full-time jobs. He worked 40 hours per week at his day job, then 30-40 hours per week on weekends and evenings to create videos for his YouTube channel. After approximately six months, someone from The LEGO Group contacted him and asked if he would be interested in doing stop-motion for their Hobbit product line. Obviously he said yes, and has been creating commissioned videos for them ever since. He also created several brickfilms for How It Should Have Ended, which have been very popular, and have helped him gain a larger online following. Kevin’s success allowed him to leave his job at the video production company, and devote 100% of his time to brickfilming. Interestingly enough, he worked out a deal with his former employers to rent space and some equipment from them. This way he was able to work in a place he enjoyed, and still be around the people he liked. Of course, they loved keeping him around, so it was a mutually beneficial agreement.

Rigging up a shot for ‘floating’ R2-D2. The wire is digitally removed.

58 Checking the shot.

Kevin typically works approximately 70 hours per week, which is primarily animation, compositing, and email interactions with clients. Most of the work done for Brotherhood Workshop is done by Kevin, but on the elaborate LEGO builds he hires his younger brother Brian. On some of the detailed visual effects he hires his friend Rick Cortez. His fiancé, Celina, also helps with concepts and scripts. He is currently using Final Cut for editing, and Adobe After Effects for compositing and special effects. His stopmotion camera is a Canon 60D, but before that he was using a Canon T2i until he “wore that thing completely out.” For lighting he uses an ARRI Kit, which is another benefit to renting space from his former employer. His audio recording and voiceovers are usually recorded with a Zoom microphone. Kevin animates 24 frames per second, which helps make his animations exceptionally smooth, as most brickfilmers animate 12-15 frames per second.

Kevin also has an extensive LEGO collection. When he does commissioned work for The LEGO Group, they typically send him the entire line relating to that specific product line for use in the video. He keeps most of his built sets on bookshelves, but he also has bins of LEGO sorted by color. One day if time allows, he’ll sort by piece instead of color, as it makes it easier to find the exact piece he’s looking for. When animating, he usually likes listening to audio books, but he will also watch/listen to sitcoms as an alternative during times when he needs to concentrate more.

A shot from Jurassic World in 90 Seconds.

He finds that audio-driven shows work best. Kevin’s favorite LEGO themed product is, of course, Lord of the Rings. His personal favorite brickfilm that he has created is Desolation of Smaug. He dedicated two months of his time to create this film. Recently, the commissioned work that he’s done for LEGO and other clients have kept him very busy and unable to create brickfilms for his own YouTube channel, but he has been able to release several helpful brickfilming tutorial videos. Kevin’s brickfilm accomplishments include: Assisting Tommy Williamson and James Morr with the original stopmotion scenes made for The LEGO Brickumentary, which was released in 2015. He was also interviewed for the Bricks in Motion Documentary which was released in 2016. One of his “ReBrick LEGO Movie Competition” entries, Gorgy Wants a Horse, won first place, and part of it was shown in The LEGO Movie. He’s a two-time winner of The Brickfilmer’s Guild Brickfilmer of the Year, for 2013 and 2014. His film Home Free—Crazy Life won third place at Cine Brick 2015 and was the winner at CineBrique 2015.

Another shot from LEGO The Hobbit—Dwarven Dreams.

Kevin is very dedicated to his craft, and it shows in his work. His combination of creativity and skill has yielded some of the best brickfilms seen on the Internet. We look forward to seeing more of his work.

A shot from Orcs Not Evil, Just Misunderstood (LEGO Lord of the Rings: Orcs).

Community

Astronaut downtime. My Homage to the FebRovery Flickr group—the spirit of Lego in online form! https://www.flickr.com/groups/1841195@N22/

Creating a LEGO Idea:

Billy Burg’s L.E.G.O. Article and Photography by Billy Burg Surface Skimmer mapping the lunar surface.

Billy Burg is a 40-something AFOL from the UK. He’s also a lover of: climbing, cycling, whisky, the great outdoors, science (I was a researcher/academic in Organic Chemistry), aviation and spaceflight, nature, music, photography and most things small—especially little plastic bricks! Bitten by a tick, he contracted Lyme Disease 12 years ago. As a result, he has been very ill and largely housebound since. Billy has been rediscovering LEGO and when up to it, for him, putting bricks together has been a great therapy and real lifesaver. Billy’s building began in 2010 with an alternate build to a LEGO Technic motorcycle. From there he progressed to building modern vehicles and now builds space-related builds and models. His latest project is one close to his heart: the Lunar Exploration Geological Outpost, or L.E.G.O. Inspiration for the set came from a love for the Classic Space sets. While Benny and his Spaceship were kind of cool, his ship did not feel like the Classic sets of old. Also, there are no Classic Space sets to buy at the moment! No disrespect meant to LEGO, as they make the most wonderful fun creative ‘system’ in the world, but Billy thought any Classic Spacer knew what he meant:

“I’ve always loved the blue classic space men. They always put a smile on my face, so by default they would have to be my favourite thing about the set I designed. In terms of the rest of the Idea/set, it’s hard to pick out a most-liked feature, which brings me nicely on to the most difficult aspects of the design process for me. As might be imagined, a lot of my other Flickr models/uploads are intended as display rather than playthings.”

LL-1923 Galaxy Patroller off on a mission.

Billy’s idea is intended to be a fun self-contained play set. There is a larger Galaxy Patroller spaceship, a 6 -wheeled Lunar Utility Vehicle, a Lunar Surface Skimmer for zipping across and mapping the lunar surface, together with a total of six minifigures, dog- and hover-bots plus other accessories. Including the baseplate, there are just under 800 pieces in total. He thinks a retail price of £60-65 (or $70-80) should be realistically achievable. Each model has been developed to be child friendly and only ‘legal’ LEGO connections have been used to join the parts together. The Galaxy Patroller (above) has been dropped from several feet and it stays virtually intact. It features retractable undercarriage, opening canopy and removable under-wing stores. It’s fun to play with and is very swoosh-able!

The Lunar Utility Vehicle and Lunar Surface Skimmer (below) are also robustly built. The Utility Vehicle features a detailed seating area, spare air-tanks for the astronauts, tools, working rear suspension, multi-position crane/grappling claw and sides that can be lowered to allow the easy loading of the accessories. The Surface Skimmer features retractable landing gear, a large underside radar for mapping the lunar surface and a positionable rear radar dish for monitoring the flights of the Galaxy Patroller. Other accessories include a small transportable radar station, cargo for the Utility Vehicle, a tool box, a jet pack for one of the astronauts, and roller skates and hand held rockets to give the Outpost team something to do on their days off!

Utility Vehicle, Surface Skimmer, crew and accessories. Ready for play.

One of the greatest challenges for Billy was to make all the models look like all his previous work, but using only LEGO legal connections (connections that do not cause element/ part stress). He also wanted the models to be genuinely childfriendly and stable. He did not find it an easy task.

Vic-Viper Galaxy Patroller prototype.

It took about four months for Billy to develop the set, fitting it in when he had the energy. It was originally going to feature other models of his, such as a ‘legalised’ Y-wing he built instead of his Vic Viper modeled main ship, and a ‘legalised’ Lunar Walker instead of the Surface Skimmer/speeder bike. However, he felt they would both be too fragile. Whilst he tried to make the models strong, realistic details and capturing the old CS charm and developing his own style were his top priorities. A case in point would be the SNOT work inside the main ship. Originally it was built using illegal building techniques, so the canopy was not fixed to the rest of the ship. By trial and error, Billy figured out how to secure the canopy by using a 1x2 modified plate with rail. It would keep the canopy in place, even with vigorous upside-down swooshing. Imagining he was a LEGO designer , Billy reworked the inside using only legal techniques, inserting a droid arm at just the right place to connect the canopy to the

Galaxy Patroller on landing pad.

Galaxy Patroller.

rest of the ship. Replacing the faux six-wheel drive train and the method he attached the windscreen of his original lunar jeep also had to be done, although these were easier fixes. Taking the photos was fairly easy. Processing them was not. Instead of a simple shot, Billy wanted to have some stars and a space backdrop, so he spent a good amount of time teaching himself some Photoshop skills to get the desired effect. As for the future of the proposed set, there are already some updates on the way. The crew will be a diverse group with men and women. The main ship will have fewer items that look like weapons. Alternate thruster designs will be uploaded. As there are six crew and the Classic Space astronauts thus far have been released in six colors, Billy is considering making the change from an all blue to a mixed color-suited crew (ie. one of each). If you have voted, Billy cannot express his appreciation enough. If not, he would appreciate it if you were to vote anyway. If successful, the royalties would go to his dad who is paying for his ongoing private medical care in the USA. Utility Vehicle and MUTT play features.

Utility Vehicle suspension.

Billy is grateful to the community, as he explains: “The LEGO community has been very helpful to me—with folk that I don’t even know and have never met helping me out. It’s all been very humbling. If the real world was more like this, it would be in peace rather than in pieces, as it oftentimes seems to be to me. Thank you again for inviting me to present the project. I appreciate it very much.” You can support Billy’s set by going to: https://ideas.lego.com/projects/140905 or using the QR code to the left.

You can see Billy’s work in his gallery at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/billyburg/ or at the QR code to the left.

Astronauts in different suits at the mobile radar station.

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Countdown to Building Article by Valerie Roche

My name is Valerie Roche, I am the mother of two creative “AFOL” children. Everything started about eight years ago when my husband found a trunk containing his old LEGO bricks from the ’70s, which has given our family passion for LEGO. Having purchased and assembled many LEGO sets, we quickly realized that we obviously still lacked the necessary bricks to build our own original designs! It was then that we discovered this awesome freeware: LEGO Digital Designer. From that moment, my children have had the freedom to design without the limits of missing pieces. My husband and I have tried to help realize some of our children’s ideas by bringing our experience in the artistic or mechanical and technical fields. The concept of the LEGO collaborative design was born! I leave it to my children to do all the research and documentation for their chosen project ideas because I think it brings more culture in this wonderful educational plastic brick. Once the project is finalized, we submit it at LEGO Ideas so that maybe, it becomes an official LEGO sets sold in toy stores. Because I think again that for my children, in addition to the satisfaction of one day seeing one of their idea compete with LEGO Group products, this will bring to them some values like humility, culture of well finished work, and the spirit of competition. After submitting twenty family original projects, I was invited by some LEGO Ideas friends to collaborate with Dr. Circe Verba on two science-related projects called Research Geology and Research Geology Adventures. Left: A version of the Apollo 11 rocket with the launch gantry and transporter crawler. Below: A closer look at the crawler.

A breakdown of the Saturn V rocket showing its stages.

For the Apollo 11 Saturn V project, Felix Stiessen and I love space exploration and space travel almost as much as we like LEGO, and we have always been interested in the NASA Apollo mission. The whole LEGO rocket is about 1 meter/130 studs high (approx. 1:110 scale), has 2326 bricks, and lots of features: • Removable hatches on all 3 stages to view the detailed inside with fuel tanks • Removable 1st rocket-stage with the main rocket engine • Removable 2nd rocket-stage with rocket engine

The rocket stand, which replaced the gantry and crawler.

• Removable 3rd rocket-stage with the Apollo spacecraft

A breakdown of the upper section of the rocket.

• Apollo spacecraft with the “Eagle” Lunar Lander and the Lunar Orbiter • Rescue rocket (Launch Escape System) on top of the whole spacecraft • Stand with printed plaque and two minifigure astronauts on the Moon for display Update: The Apollo 11 Saturn V project was an Ideas project that reached the 10,000 supporter threshold for consideration by the LEGO Group for production. Right before press time, the LEGO Group announced that this set would go forward as a LEGO Ideas set! Congratulations to Valerie and Felix!!

Launch Escape System

Command Module

Service Module

Complete assembly.

Lunar Module, Command Module, and Service Module.

The most challenging part, I would say, was the Lunar Landing module. Felix tried building it as small as possible (he wanted it to fit in the half-cone parts as seen in the model) while still looking good and accurate. After that, we built the rocket around it. We also tried to make the rocket as sturdy as possible, so I included pillars and beams inside for structural integrity. I also designed the inside tanks with the opening covers, the display stand, and I created a free eBooklet, which explains the long building-process and the multiple updates in trying to perfect our design by adding the best of each collaborator! It actually took quite a long time to finish the whole model. There were often times when one of us would just abandon the project for a few weeks and came back to it later, thanks to the fact that it was a collaborative project, and it was always the case that one of us continued making progress on the project and remotivated the other. All in all we would say, it took us about a year.

Prepared for landing.

The challenge in Mission Apollo 17 project was for Felix and I to reproduce the design as precisely as possible on the scale of a minifigure and to insert a large number of features for maximum playability. Here are four examples: • The Lunar Module has 718 bricks and a full interior with control devices, a seat, and much more. On the exterior it has many moveable antennas, an exit door, and playability access to the inside. The landing gear is retractable and there is also some storage room for the Lunar Rover and research equipment. • The Control Module CM has 527 bricks and includes seats for all three astronauts, dashboard with control computers, detailed interior with oxygen tanks, four playability access doors, and an opening entrance/exit port for the astronauts. The Command Module’s interior, accessible by opening panels.

Mission Apollo 17

(https://ideas.lego.com/projects/143054)

• The Lunar Rover Vehicle is built out of 100 bricks and has working steering, two foldable seats for the astronauts, TV-camera, steering joy-stick, and holders for research devices. The Service Module SM has 488 bricks. It can be attached to the CM and features a playable access to the technical area and film storage.

The Lunar Module with astronaut and Lunar Rover. A look at the Lunar Module interior. The Command Module, Service Module, and Lunar Rover are incorporated into a stand. The Lunar Module is separate.

The Service Module with access panel open.

Saturn V and Mobile Launcher https://ideas.lego.com/projects/124515

In the collaborative project Saturn V & Mobile Launcher, Patrick Hess and I wanted to make sure that this microsized model of the Saturn V rocket, this time accompanied by the iconic mobile launch tower and crawler-transporter, was the most economical with a limited number of bricks and, at the same time, still very accurate and playable. This roughly 1:600 scale replica packs countless details into its easy-to-assemble 386 pieces. Some of these features include: • 3-component design optimal for both display and playtime • many movable parts, including synchronized poseable crawler treads, articulating tower contact points, and adjustable service crane • thoughtful construction that includes many reinforcements for sturdiness and playability, such as a hidden rigid hose to strengthen the rocket structure • highly accurate full-color decals to complete the authenticity of the design • detailed eBooklet about the creation of this LEGO model, the history and engineering behind the crawler and mobile launch tower, and all of the Apollo program launches and missions

The crawler.

The full set.

The Space Launch System.

NASA Space Launch System Orion Program https://ideas.lego.com/projects/141291

In our latest project, NASA SLS Orion Program, on the theme of “Journey to Mars!” (online at LEGO Ideas in June 2016), Dr Emmanuel Urquieta, Patrick Hess and I wanted this design to be modern and innovative, yet look to the future. This new collaborative project and also the Project: Saturn V & Mobile Launcher will be built in real LEGO bricks by Dr. Emmanuel Urquieta during an official mission for NASA at Houston Texas: HERA CRM3 mission XI. The training starts on June 28, 2016, Mission day one on July 12, and splashdown 30 days later. The HERA XI crew is made up of three males and one female. Dr. Urquieta is one of the crew members and will be assembling the Saturn V LEGO model designed by Valerie Roche and Patrick Hess, as well as an Orion LEGO model. This mission is honoring Apollo XI by using some of the details from the patch into the HERA XI patch. The assembly of the Saturn V rocket also will serve as a tribute to Apollo XI. This brand-new 1:600 scale, 785-piece model features similar attention to detail and great playability as previous nanoscale designs. A few of these details include:

• three-component composition for easy playability and display

A look at the gantry from above.

• many movable and poseable parts, including synchronized crawler treads assemblies, adjustable height and folding gateways for both optional models of rocket, elevator-equipped tower extending from the ground to the highest gateway, hinged flaps for exhaust control below the launchpad, and much more

Two versions of Orion.

• thoughtful construction that includes many reinforcements for sturdiness and playability, such as three hidden rigid hoses to strengthen the rocket structure • highly accurate full-color decals to complete the authenticity of the design If I were to give any advice to beginning builders, it would be to only to build what you like! At first, with rather simple assemblies, document as much as possible about the subject. Try not to find inspiration in existing similar designs and believe in original ideas. I would also suggest building your models digitally as well as with real LEGO bricks. That way you can take cool shots of the digital version and also show that it would be possible in real life, and checking the solidity of your construction. A close-up of the crawler, showing its steering function. A closer look at the launcher base, showing the folding legs.

The crawler.

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LEGO MECHA! How to build giant robots and mechs with builders BENJAMIN CHEH MING HANN and KELVIN LOW, and SETH HIGGINS shows us his amazing transforming LEGO robots! And even cyborgs love Minifig Customization by JARED K. BURKS, step-by-step "You Can Build It" instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, DIY Fan Art by BrickNerd TOMMY WILLIAMSON, MINDSTORMS robotics lessons, and more!

LEGO DINOSAURS! Builder WILLIAM PUGH discusses building prehistoric creatures, a LEGO Jurassic World by DIEGO MAXIMINO PRIETO ALVAREZ, and dino bones by MATT SAILORS! Plus: Minifigure Customization by JARED K. BURKS, stepby-step "You Can Build It" instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, DIY Fan Art by BrickNerd TOMMY WILLIAMSON, MINDSTORMS robotics lessons, and more!

LEGO COOL CARS AND HOT RODS! LEGO car builders Stephan Sander, Jordanian Firas Abu-Jaber, and Andrea Lattanzio! Plus: Minifigure Customization by JARED K. BURKS, AFOLs by cartoonist GREG HYLAND, step-by-step "You Can Build It" instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd Pop Art by TOMMY WILLIAMSON, MINDSTORMS robotics lessons by DAMIEN KEE, and more!

STAR WARS! Amazing custom ships by ERIC DRUON, incredible galactic layouts by builder AC PIN, a look at the many droid creations built by LEGO fans—truly, the LEGO Force has awakened! Plus JARED K. BURKS on minifigure customizing, step-bystep “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd DIY Fan Art, MINDSTORMS robotics lessons by DAMIEN KEE, and more!

MICROSCALE BUILDING! With JUSTIN McMILLAN’s micro house and other buildings, a look at the MICROSCALE Standard by TwinLUG, and featuring some of the best microscopic LEGO work from around the world, plus JARED K. BURKS’ minifigure customizing, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd DIY Fan Art, MINDSTORMS robotics lessons by DAMIEN KEE, and more!

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HISTORY IN LEGO BRICKS! LEGO pro RYAN McNAUGHT on his LEGO Pompeii and other projects, military builder DAN SISKIND on his BrickMania creations, and LASSE VESTERGARD about his historical building, JARED K. BURKS on minifigure customizing, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd DIY Fan Art, MINDSTORMS robotics lessons by DAMIEN KEE, and more!

TOMMY WILLIAMSON on the making of his YouTube sensation BATMAN VS SUPERMAN, BRANDON GRIFFITH’S COMICBRICKS PROJECT recreates iconic comic book covers out of LEGO, JARED BURKS and his custom Agents of SHIELD minifigs, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd DIY Fan Art, MINDSTORMS robotics lessons by DAMIEN KEE, and more!

LEGO ROBOTS! A talk with MINDSTORMS EV3 builders MARC-ANDRE BAZERGUI and ANDY MILLUZZI, designer LEE MAGPILI, CHRIS GIDDENS with his amazing robot sculptures, plus Minifigure Customization by JARED BURKS, step-bystep “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd DIY Fan Art by TOMMY WILLIAMSON, other looks at MINDSTORMS building, and more!

LEGO ARTISTRY with builder/photographer CHRIS McVEIGH; mosaic builders BRIAN KORTE, DAVE WARE and DAVE SHADDIX; and sculptors SEAN KENNEY (about his nature models) and ED DIMENT (about a full-size bus stop built with LEGO bricks)! Plus Minifigure Customization by JARED K. BURKS, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, MINDSTORMS building, and more!

Building LEGO bricks WITH character, with IAIN HEATH and TOMMY WILLIAMSON, Manga-inspired creations of MIKE DUNG, sculptures by Taiwanese Brick Artist YO YO CHEN, Minifigure Customization by JARED BURKS, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd DIY Fan Art by TOMMY WILLIAMSON, MINDSTORMS building, and more!

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LEGO ARCHITECTURE with JONATHAN LOPES, a microscale model of Copenhagen by ULRIK HANSEN, and a look at the LEGO MUSEUM being constructed in Denmark! Plus Minifigure Customization by JARED BURKS, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd DIY Fan Art by TOMMY WILLIAMSON, MINDSTORMS building with DAMIEN KEE, and more!

TECHNIC hot rod builder PAUL BORATKO and editor JOE MENO diagram instructions on adding functions to your models, shoptalk with LEGO TECHNIC designers, and more surprises to keep your creations moving at top speed! Plus Minifigure Customization by JARED BURKS, step-bystep “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd DIY Fan Art by TOMMY WILLIAMSON, and more!

Learn what went into the making of The LEGO Movie and other brickfilms with moviemaker DAVID PAGANO, chat with brickfilmers The Brotherhood Workshop, sit in on a talk with the makers of LEGO: A Brickumentary, a look at MINDSTORMS building, minifigure customization by JARED BURKS, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, AFOLs by GREG HYLAND, & more!

GUY HIMBER takes you to the IRON BUILDER CONTEST, which showcases the top LEGO® builders in the world! Cover by LEGO magazine and comic artist PAUL LEE, amazing custom models by LINO MARTINS, TYLER CLITES, BRUCE LOWELL, COLE BLAQ and others, minifigure customization by JARED BURKS, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, AFOLs by GREG HYLAND, & more!

CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL with builders SEAN and STEPHANIE MAYO (known online as Siercon and Coral), other custom animal models from BrickJournal editor JOE MENO, LEGO DINOSAURS with WILL PUGH, plus more minifigure customization by JARED BURKS, AFOLs by cartoonist GREG HYLAND, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, and more!

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LEGO SUPERHEROES! Behind-the-scenes of the DC and Marvel Comics sets, plus a feature on GREG HYLAND, the artist of the superhero comic books in each box! Also, other superhero work by ALEX SCHRANZ and our cover artist OLIVIER CURTO. Plus, JARED K. BURKS’ regular column on minifigure customization, building tips, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions, and more!

LEGO EVENTS ISSUE covering our own BRICKMAGIC FESTIVAL, BRICKWORLD, BRICKFAIR, BRICKCON, plus other events outside the US. There’s full event details, plus interviews with the winners of the BRICKMAGIC CHALLENGE competition, complete with instructions to build award winning models. Also JARED K. BURKS’ regular column on minifigure customizing, building tips, and more!

Go to Japan with articles on two JAPANESE LEGO FAN EVENTS, plus take a look at JAPAN’S SACRED LEGO LAND, Nasu Highland Park—the site of the BrickFan events and a pilgrimage site for many Japanese LEGO fans. Also, a feature on JAPAN’S TV CHAMPIONSHIP OF LEGO, a look at the CLICKBRICK LEGO SHOPS in Japan, plus how to get into TECHNIC BUILDING, LEGO EDUCATION, and more!

LEGO SPACE WAR issue! A STARFIGHTER BUILDING LESSON by Peter Reid, WHY SPACE MARINES ARE SO POPULAR by Mark Stafford, a trip behind the scenes of LEGO’S NEW ALIEN CONQUEST SETS that hit store shelves earlier this year, plus JARED K. BURKS’ column on MINIFIGURE CUSTOMIZATION, building tips, event reports, our step-by-step “YOU CAN BUILD IT” INSTRUCTIONS, and more!

Focuses on STEAMPUNK! Feature editor GUY HIMBER gives a tour with a look at his work, DAVE DeGOBBI’s, NATHAN PROUDLOVE’s, and others! There’s also a look at the history of LEGO Steampunk building, as well as instructions for a Steampunk plane by ROD GILLIES! Plus our regular columns on minifigure customization, building tips, event reports, our step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions, and much more!

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BRICKJOURNAL #10

BrickJournal goes undersea with looks at the creation of LEGO’s new ATLANTIS SETS, plus a spotlight on a fan-created underwater theme, THE SEA MONKEYS, with builder FELIX GRECO! Also, a report on the LEGO WORLD convention in the Netherlands, BUILDER SPOTLIGHTS, INSTRUCTIONS and ways to CUSTOMIZE MINIFIGURES, LEGO HISTORY, and more!

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BRICKJOURNAL #9

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BrickJournal looks at LEGO® DISNEY SETS, with features on the Disney LEGO sets of the past (MICKEY and MINNIE) and present (TOY STORY and PRINCE OF PERSIA)! We also present Disney models built by LEGO fans, and a look at the newest Master Build model at WALT DISNEY WORLD, plus articles and instructions on building and customization, and more!

We go to the Middle Ages, with a look at the LEGO Group’s CASTLE LINE, featuring an interview with the designer behind the first LEGO castle set, the YELLOW CASTLE. Also: we spotlight builders that have created their own large-scale version of the castle, and interview other castle builders, plus a report on BRICKWORLD in Chicago, ands still more instructions and building tips!

Focuses on the new LEGO ARCHITECTURE line, with a look at the new sets designed by ADAM REED TUCKER, plus interviews with other architectural builders, including SPENCER REZKALLA. Also, behind the scenes on the creation of POWER MINERS and the GRAND CAROUSEL, a LEGO BATTLESHIP over 20 feet long, reports from LEGO events worldwide, and more!

Spotlight on CLASSIC SPACE SETS and a look at new ones, BRANDON GRIFFITH shows his STAR TREK MODELS, LEGO set designers discuss their work creating the SPACE POLICE with PIRATE SETS, POWER FUNCTIONS TRAIN DEVELOPMENT, the world’s TALLEST LEGO TOWER, MINIFIGURE CUSTOMIZATION, plus coverage of BRICKFEST 2009 and more!

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BRICKJOURNAL #25

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MEDIEVAL CASTLE BUILDING! Top LEGO® Castle builders present their creations, including BOB CARNEY’s amazingly detailed model of Neuschwanstein Castle, plus others, along with articles on building and detailing castles of your own! Also: JARED BURKS on minifigure customization, AFOLs by cartoonist GREG HYLAND, stepby-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, and more!

LEGO TRAINS! Builder CALE LEIPHART shows how to get started building trains and train layouts, with instructions on building microscale trains by editor JOE MENO, building layouts with the members of the Pennsylvania LEGO Users Group (PennLUG), fan-built LEGO monorails minifigure customization by JARED BURKS, microscale building by CHRISTOPHER DECK, “You Can Build It”, and more!

STAR WARS issue, with custom creations from a long time ago and far, far away! JACOB CARPENTER’s Imperial Star Destroyer, MARK KELSO’s Invisible Hand, interview with SIMON MACDONALD about building Star Wars costume props with LEGO elements, history of the LEGO X-Wing, plus our regular features on minifigure customization by JARED BURKS, “You Can Build It” instructions, and more!

LEGO PLANE BUILDING! Top builder RALPH SAVELSBERG takes off with his custom LEGO fighter models, there’s a squadron of articles on Sky-Fi planes by FRADEL GONZALES and COLE MARTIN, find instructions to build a Sky-Fi plane, plus our regular feature on minifigure customization by JARED BURKS, AFOLs by GREG HYLAND, other step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions, and more!

LEGO CAR BUILDING! Guest editors LINO MARTINS and NATHAN PROUDLOVE of LUGNuts share secrets behind their LEGO car creations, and present TECHNIC SUPERCAR MODELS by PAUL BORATKO III and other top builders! Plus custom instructions by TIM GOULD and CHRISTOPHER DECK, minifigure customization by JARED BURKS, step-by-step “You Can Build It” section, and more!

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BRICKJOURNAL #15

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Looks at the LEGO MECHA genre of building, especially in Japan! Feature editor NATHAN BRYAN spotlights mecha builders such as SAITO YOSHIKAZU, TAKAYUKI TORII, SUKYU and others! Also, a talk with BRIAN COOPER and MARK NEUMANN about their mecha creations, mecha building instructions by SAITO YOSHIKAZU, our regular columns on minifigure customization, building, event reports, and more!

Discover the world of stop-motion LEGO FILMS, with brickfilmer DAVID PAGANO and others spotlighting LEGO filmmaking, the history of the medium and its community, interviews with the makers of the films seen on the LEGO CLUB SHOW and LEGO.com, and instructions on how to film and build puppets for brick flicks! Plus how to customize minifigures, event reports, step-by-step building instructions, and more!

Special EVENT ISSUE with reports from BRICKMAGIC (the newest US LEGO fan festival, organized by BrickJournal magazine), BRICKWORLD (one of the oldest US LEGO fan events), and others! Plus: spotlight on BIONICLE Builder NORBERT LAGUBUEN, our regular column on minifigure customization, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions, spotlights on builders and their work, and more!

A look at back-to-school sculptures by NATHAN SAWAYA, LEGO builder MARCOS BESSA’s creations, ANGUS MACLANE’s CubeDudes, a Nepali Diorama by JORDAN SCHWARTZ, instructions to build a school bus for your LEGO town, MINIFIGURE CUSTOMIZATION by JARED K. BURKS, how a POWER MINERS model became one for ATLANTIS, building standards, and much more!

“Racers” theme issue, with building tips on race cars by the ARVO BROTHERS, interview with LEGO RACERS designer ANDREW WOODMAN, LEGO FORMULA ONE RACING, TECHNIC SPORTS CAR building, event reports, instructions and columns on MINIFIGURE CUSTOMIZATION by JARED K. BURKS, MICRO BUILDING, builder spotlights, LEGO HISTORY, and more!

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BRICKJOURNAL #5

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BRICKJOURNAL #1

Event report on the MINDSTORMS 10th ANNIVERSARY at LEGO HEADQUARTERS, Pixar’s ANGUS MACLANE on LEGO in filmmaking, a glimpse at the LEGO Group’s past with the DIRECTOR OF LEGO’S IDEA HOUSE, event reports, a look at how SEAN KENNEY’s LEGO creations ended up on NBC’S 30 ROCK television show, instructions and spotlights on builders, and more!

Interviews with LEGO BUILDERS including cover model builder ARTHUR GUGICK, event reports from BRICKFAIR and others, touring the LEGO IDEA HOUSE, plus STEP-BY-STEP BUILDING INSTRUCTIONS and TECHNIQUES for all skill levels, NEW SET REVIEWS, and an extensive report on constructing the Chinese Olympic Village in LEGO!

Event Reports from BRICKWORLD, FIRST LEGO LEAGUE WORLD FESTIVAL and PIECE OF PEACE (Japan), spotlight on our cover model builder BRYCE McGLONE, behind the scenes of LEGO BATMAN, LEGO at COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL, FIRST LEGO LEAGUE WORLD FESTIVAL, plus STEP-BY-STEP BUILDING INSTRUCTIONS, TECHNIQUES, and more!

This FULL-COLOR issue spotlights blockbuster summer movies, LEGO style! Go behind the scenes for new sets for INDIANA JONES, and see new models, including an MINI FLYING WING and a LEGO CITY, a lifesize IRON MAN, plus how to CUSTOMIZE MINIFIGURES, BUILDING INSTRUCTIONS, a tour of the ONLINE LEGO FACTORY, and lots more!

The ultimate resource for LEGO enthusiasts of all ages, showcasing events, people, and models! FULL-COLOR #1 features an interview with Certified LEGO Professional NATHAN SAWAYA, car designs by STEPHAN SANDER, step-by-step building instructions and techniques for all skill levels, new set reviews, on-the-scene reports from LEGO community events, and other surprises!

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Last Word It’s now 2:32 a.m., and I am in Chicago finishing this issue off. The previous evening, I was the keynote speaker at Brickworld, one of the leading LEGO fan conventions in the US. My speech was on the LEGO fan community and how it has progressed. In roughly 15 years, the community has grown from online groups and beginning clubs, to now multiple conventions and events around the world. It’s amazing to have been witness to this. However, we as a community must not rest on our laurels. We have created a relationship with the LEGO Group that other companies would die for, and we need to maintain this relationship in our efforts. We need to step forward from our community to help the greater community. How can we do that? The answers are staring at us. We are builders. We make things. And we are artists. So what can we do? We can teach and inspire those around us to build not only models, but solutions to the problems that we face now. The most obvious example is FIRST® LEGO League, but there is so much more. BrickJournal will be looking into FLL and other approaches in upcoming issues. So what can you do? Build on! Joe Meno

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