BrickJournal #55 by TwoMorrows Publishing

The Magazine for LEGO® Enthusiasts of All Ages! Issue 55 • February 2019

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Masks and More: The LEGO Creations of Felix Jaensch Bryan Benson’s Kermorvan Lighthouse

Alex de Jong’s Tinkerbell

82658 00366

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Issue 55 • February 2019

Contents

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

People

Bryan Benson’s Kermorvan Lighthouse....................................3 Builder Profile: Felix Jaensch............................8 Builder Profile: Amado Canlas Pinlac........15 You Can Build It: Yellow Coreopsis...............................................20 Dave Schefcik’s Winter Village......................22 Builder Profile: Jacob Sadovich...................26 Three Things to Know about Steve Peterson........................................32

Building

Alex de Jong: Building “a Little Faith, Trust, and a Little Pixie Dust”...................................38

BrickNerd’s DIY Fan Art: Fishing Bear.........................................................44 You Can Build It: Nu-Class Attack Shuttle.................................50 Minifigure Customization 101: Does Something Smell like Fish?.............54

Community

Giacinto and the Cathedral............................60 A Great Crane Contraption.............................64 From Carpenter to Toymaker: A LEGO Story......................................................68 Making a Replica of the Classic 1935 Wooden Duck....................................................71 Community Ads...................................................78 Last Word.................................................................79 Bricks in the Middle............................................80

From the Editor: Hi! This issue has a lot of people building a lot of different things.

February 2019 Issue 55

There’s a Star Wars builder with his drivein, a builder with a Winter Village layout, a builder who displayed at the LEGO House, and two builders that went to Italy to display their creations! That’s just some of the stuff you’ll find in here!

Publisher John Morrow

Editor in Chief Joe Meno

Photography Editor Geoff Gray Proofreader John Morrow

Japanese Bureau Editor Nathan Bryan

West Coast Editors Todd Y. Kubo & Ashley Glennon LEGO Ideas Correspondent Glen Wadleigh Layout & Graphic Design Todd Y. Kubo

Contributors: Bryan Benson, Jared Burks, Giacinto Consiglio, Christopher Deck, Steve Guiness, Kevin Hinkle, Matthew Hocker, Felix Jaensch, Alex de Jung, Steve Peterson, Amado Pinlac, Jacob Sadovich, Dave Schefcik,Tommy Williamson, and Greg Hyland.

We have more instructions from the gang and another set from Amado Pinlac, who is the builder who displayed at the LEGO House. And a look back at the LEGO Group when they were selling wooden toys! There’s a lot to go through, so don’t waste your time here—jump in! Have fun reading! Joe Meno, Editor P.S. Have ideas or comments? Drop me a line at brickjournal@gmail.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 to subscribe, go to http://bit.ly/BrickJournalSub or scan below!

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Subscriptions

Many thanks to the websites who have served as mirrors for BrickJournal:

www.LUGNET.com, www.Brickshelf.com, www.peeron.com, www.brickmodder.net www.rustyclank.com

About the Cover: One of Felix Jaensch’s amazing masks.

About the Contents: Ever see a Technic trebuchet? Here’s one on the left that is aimed at the tower...will it hit? Go to YouTube to find out! Photo provided by Nicolas Lespour

Glossary AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO) AFFOL (Adult Female Fan of LEGO) TFFOL (Teen Female 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) POOP (Pieces—that can be or should be made—Of Other Pieces)

SNOT (Studs Not on Top) LUG (LEGO Users Group) LTC (LEGO Train Club) MECHA (a large armored robot on legs, typically controlled by a pilot seated inside) MECH (a large piloted combat robot) 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 2011, 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 $60 Economy US, $72 Expedited US, $94 International, or $24 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, 9001 Barb Anne Court, Springfield, VA 22152, 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.

People

Bryan’s layout at BrickSlopes 2018.

Bryan Benson’s Kermorvan Lighthouse Article by Joe Meno Photography by Kirk Benson and Joe Meno

Bryan Benson is a new builder on the block. His layout of the Kermorvan Lighthouse was first displayed at BrickSlopes in Utah, then at BrickCon in Seattle, where it got accolades from builders and public visitors. BrickJournal got to know the builder and took a good look at the layout. Both have a lot more to them than meets the eye. How old are you? I am 33, originally from California, but have spent most of my life in Utah. Utah is a great state, a secret that I hope stays that way from the rest of the world. There are a lot of really creative people here, which gives us some great LEGO talent to draw from. What do you do in real life? I am in banking, nothing to do with money though. I work in risk and fraud management, trying to keep up with, and catch, the bad guys. I also own a small custom furniture business called Benson Family Furniture: Another creative outlet for me. It is fun to make people’s dreams become reality and provide heirloom pieces that will get passed through their family’s generations. And lest I forget, I work part-time for LEGO. When did you start LEGO building? I’ve been building LEGO-produced sets for as long as I can remember. LEGO Castle and LEGO Exploriens were the ones I recall being drawn to the most. I received the Planetary Decoder one year for Christmas and was in seventh heaven. That same year my best friend, Kirk, got the Explorien Starship and I remember thinking that it was the biggest set I had ever seen. Building and playing with that gift is a big part of my childhood memories.

Did you have a Dark Age? [sigh] Yes, I did. As a matter of fact, I remember the exact moment I decided to take my tub of LEGO to a thrift store. It was time to grow up, I thought. I was moving out of my parents house, getting married; it was just time. Of course, in retrospect this was a huge mistake. I still wish I had all that brick back. Remember that Exploriens Planetary Decoder? Well, just last year I stumbled across it at a Bricks and Minifigures store, and it was mine in mere moments. It is a cherished part of my collection. When did you get back into building? I started buying LEGO-produced sets again when I was about 24 or 25. I had a real job, was single and had disposable income. So, I started buying every Star Wars set I could get my hands on. Remember the biggest set I had ever seen, Exploriens Starship? Well, compared to my first UCS set, it made that starship seem weak at 662 pieces. That set was the UCS B-wing, weighing in at 1484 pieces. This is, in my opinion, a seriously underrated set—to this day in my Top Five sets I have built. And that was it. I was hooked. I continued to gobble up everything I could get my hands on. I realized right away that I needed to stay away from City theme or I would never be able to pay my rent again. There is just so much product in that theme and I would have to have every single set. There were a lot of sets I purchased when I was less discerning than I am now. Most of those were purchased to satiate an itch I just had to scratch to build something, anything. Now those sets are broken down and part of the MOC building brick. Working on the lighthouse walls in LEGO Digital Designer.

Working on the rocky terrain of the shoreline.

What inspired you to start and /or restart building? I don’t know if I can put my finger on it, to be honest. I was kind of in a place in my life where I had work, a small group of really close friends, and not a lot else. So, I started filling my down time with LEGO. I wish I could say it was one thing in particular. I do know what inspired me to start building my first MOC, though. I had attended a train show with a friend and his son, shortly after discovering sets again. At this show, the local LUG was displaying their creations. The first thing you could see when you walked in was a seven-foot-tall tower of Orthanc just looming over everything. This was the first exposure I had to MOCs. I didn’t even know anything like this was possible with LEGO. The detail was amazing. Who would think that thousands of solid black bricks could lend so much detail to a build? I found out who the creator was, Cody Ottley (Cody O on Flickr), and talked to him for a while. I found out there was a LUG and went to my first meeting. It was still years before I built my first MOC, but Cody’s talent is definitely what lit my fire. As a matter of fact, the Lighthouse is my first MOC. [laughs] What’s your favorite theme? That would have to be Star Wars. Of course, I am a huge fan of the movie franchise; yep, even love the prequels. Creating my favorite scenes in LEGO is so much fun. I would say the next is the modular buildings. Both my wife and I love building them and displaying them in our home. Why do you like to build? Building LEGO-created sets is such a release from life. Following simple instructions, taking meaningless parts and creating something brilliant, makes you feel like you’ve

accomplished something really cool. And really, it just makes me happy. It a passion that I think is hard to explain. Creating MOCs, although I am new to it, is something more. When I have a MOC rattling around in my mind, it’s all I can think about. I think about it while I drive, at work, before bed, always! The only way to get it out of your mind, like a song stuck in your head, is to build it. Of course, it never ends up like you thought it would. As you build, the MOC takes on its own shape and you kinda just help it along. Everyone says building LEGO sets is creative, but really, the designer was creative. Until you build a MOC, you are just being told what to do. Folks who tear those sets apart and create their own visions are creative. I have got a long way to get to the point where I truly feel like I am among their ranks, but I will keep trying. What inspired you to build the lighthouse and layout? So, the lighthouse is my first MOC. BrickSlopes, in Salt Lake City, Utah had just ended, and I was on an inspiration high after seeing all the amazing MOCs at that show. Of course seeing all the trophies being handed out to these builders didn’t hurt. BrickSlopes also had the best prizes for winners. They recognized the best builders in a major way. Watching the closing ceremony, I just thought, I need that to be me one day. And that’s never going to happen if I don’t get started. I needed to build something, anything, start small and work my way up. My mind was in the perfect zone to figure out something to build. As I recall, I saw a photo of Kermorvan Lighthouse on Instagram and immediately knew that was what I needed to build. So, I started. And… maybe failed at the start. How did you plan the build? First I started by looking up as many photos as I could find. I tried to get photos on all sides, in different weather, artsy and plain, videos, anything! There wasn’t a lot, really. There also wasn’t too much information in general about the lighthouse. Apparently, it’s not a big deal in France. I tried to build the lighthouse in LEGO Digital Designer, but realized pretty fast that rockwork wasn’t going to be easy to design, especially for a newbie to the tool. Instead, I just sat down with my brick and started building. Heights, shapes, and so on became more important. I got as close to minifig scale as I could, which dictated dimensions. It was important for me to design the entire layout to be easy to move and reassemble. Most components are 1x1 small baseplates, there are a few 1x2, and two 2x2 plates. In order to make all of the rockwork around the base of the lighthouse line up right, I made negative impressions in the base and positive bricks on the modular pieces. I made sure that the patterns only lined up with one plate. Assembly was a breeze. I knew I wanted to make the light spin as well. I researched the pattern used and discovered that in real life, a full rotation takes five seconds. I used a PFx brick (a third-party electric brick) to recreate this motion. An LED spotlight from Brickstuff helped make it as realistic as possible.

The lighthouse’s beacon turns and lights up.

Nearby, there’s a picnic on the shore. The keeper’s home.

I did not originally intend the land adjacent to the lighthouse to get quite so out of control. In the beginning I only planned the bridge across the small bay, and that was all. In real life, the land near the lighthouse is quite boring. Lots of weeds and rocks. But, go big or go home, right? So I

Even a remote lighthouse can get hit by grafitti!

Behind the keeper’s house is a garden.

And in the garden are hidden... porgs?

decided to add a lighthouse keeper’s home with a farm and lots of plant detail. How long did it take to complete? The build took me nine months. In the middle I also built my second MOC. That took three months, and was much smaller. It probably took longer than it would for more experienced builders, but with multiple jobs, a family and wife, it’s hard to find time for LEGO. Not to mention all the times I had to tear something apart and start over again because I wasn’t happy with it. This happens to everyone I suppose. I would say the most time was spent on the rockwork around the base of the lighthouse, and all the terrain and plants on the land. There is a lot of detail in the Flora. My wife is responsible for the corn field, and all the beautiful plants in the garden around the house. She worked really hard to try and make every flower in the garden unique, and came pretty darn close. We wanted the plants around the outside of the fence to look overgrown, and did this by layering leaf pieces on top of one another, pinning then down with the five-pronged plant parts, and setting minifigure hands in the leaves here and there. This made it look like a sprawling vine taking over the terrain. The Flora was recognized at Brickcon 2018 and won Best of Flora. I couldn’t be happier with the way the plants turned out, regardless of the time it took. What are you most happy with concerning the layout? I am most happy with the detail in this MOC. I have recognized that there are kind of two categories of MOCs: Huge and small. Often you see huge MOCs with not much detail, and small-to-medium with a ton of amazing detail. The big ones take home awards. I wanted to make sure that my MOC was both large and detailed. I made this my focus. Within the main theme of a lighthouse and caretaker, I tried to have individual stories scattered all over the MOC. If you look close and pay attention, you can follow quick stories all over. For instance, the bald biker-looking minifig spray painting “Jill <3 Bryan” on the stone wall—well, that is mine and my wife’s name, and I happen to be bald and love motorcycles. Or the sign above the date to the house that reads “Bensons est. 2014”. We are the Bensons, and we were married in 2014. There are dozens of these Easter eggs hidden in the MOC. What was the hardest part to build? The hardest part to build was the rockwork. I’ve never before built a MOC, let alone detailed terrain. In keeping with my desire to stay true to the real appearance of the lighthouse, I tried to keep the rockwork the same. The challenge here was that the rock on one side is a different texture than the other due to the storm and general weather direction. The right vs. left side have slightly different patterns to them, to give it this real-life feel. Also, those aspen trees. Geez, they look cool, but when the AC vents turn on at cons, those trees start shaking like a real leaf in the wind. They also didn’t travel well. I basically had to re-assemble them at every new display the MOC went to. But, you can tell an AFOL by how flimsy the techniques are, right? How has public reaction been? Seeing the public enjoy my build has been great. At BrickSlopes, it is easier to chat with the public about your

MOC, and the public feedback is a lot of fun. I hid a lot of Easter eggs in my MOC and handed out candy if a fan could find all of them. I created a cheat sheet checklist with all the things hid in the MOC. For example, three porgs, three brothers from Brave, six snails and so on. When they were able to cross them all off, the child or adult would get a piece of candy. The best way to foster the builders of tomorrow is through play, and active participation like this in the creations will get their creative minds running. What advice would you give to a beginning builder? Just try. A lot of folks I talk to say that they could never do anything like this. Well, I said the same thing. The truth is that I never tried. For years I tried to build MOCs in my head. That isn’t how it works. It takes getting your hands on the pieces, making mistakes, and trying different techniques. The other thing I would say is, small is cooler than big. The public likes big, but LEGO enthusiasts, I feel, like small. It’s much cooler to make MOCs that are recognizable out of fewer pieces. If you don’t have the parts in the colors you want, make it in the ones you have and replace them as you get more. But just start.

The keeper’s front yard is filled with flowers.

Another view of the lighthouse.

The lighthouse keeper also has chickens.

o h u t i r w f urry frie d e r r e f n n d o c I T h f ink of t s, I h e Builder Profile People

Felix Jaensch

32-year-old Felix Jaensch is a German LEGO builder whose work you may have viewed online. He is currently studying Law. After passing his first bar exam, he paused his studies for health reasons, and later tried studying Design. When he found that he did not have an interest in Design, he made the decision to return to his Law studies.

His first encounter with LEGO was with a set at the age of three. Since then, he has never stopped building. During his teenage years, he felt it was unnatural to abandon a hobby which he still had passion for, so he never had a ”Dark Age.” He has kept on building to the present day, where he creates animals out of brick. Felix talked to BrickJournal about his building and animals.

w i t h k l t a h w e a d l n imals u o c I If Grunt, squ eak, What led you to build animals?

Well, you build what you like. I guess that’s also the reason why there are so many Star Wars and Lord of the Rings MOCs out there. I am simply fascinated by biodiversity. I like the challenge of creating the semblance of ”life.” And at the end of the day, I have a result—which I enjoy—standing in my rooms.

And they could squeak 8

man t o anima l amazi ng repa rtee

If someone saw your Flickr account:

https://www.flickr.com/people/134907510@N05/

talk w i t squaw h the animals k with t he animals

they would see you’ve built weapons—a sword and a blaster among them. What drove you to build those?

The blaster and all the other weapons are inspired by LEGO weapons which I saw on the Internet. I was in the mood to build something completely different and I saw a lot of naturalistic-looking weapons online. Some even had functions. It was a challenge to build something similar. I wanted something good looking, but also with functions. It’s a totally different way of building.

That is the advantage of LEGO. You can use it for art or build something technical—or both at the same time. I was pleased with the result. The rapier emerged due to the fact that I had a lot of grey hinge plates from the Pick-A-Brick wall in the local LEGO store. I was wondering what they could be used for. So that was the result.

and sq . uawk a . . e m nd speak and talk to Felix’s models are traditionally ”studs up” builds. He believes the iconic nature of LEGO leads to staying true to this form of building—although you can see various creative techniques used in the faces, eyes and heads of a lot of his models, solving the challenges of creating organic forms. Left: Orangutan Top Left: House Mouse Top Right: Octopus Center Above: Alexandrine Parakeet

w i t h k l t a h w e a d l n imals u o c I If Grunt, squ eak, How do you plan your builds?

Do you sketch them out, or just build until you get what you want?

The birds Felix builds are well proportioned, and at times can turn out to be the actual size of the true bird itself. Above: Greater Tit Below: Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo Below Right: Felix at work on one of his new works, a Rhesus Macaque.

At first I wonder what could be a nice model. Then I think about the critical parts and if it’s possible to realize the model properly in the first place. It stands or falls with suitable parts or techniques for the eyes. I collect reference material and start building. Unfortunately, bigger models need some plain sketches for the size and proportion. I don’t like to do them, but it’s very difficult to get an impression of the size without a sketch—and when I start with the head, I need to know the proportions right from the beginning.

What is your building style? You don’t seem to use SNOT techniques to make your models.

And they could squeak I am an opportunist. I use every technique I know to build a model. Whatever works is fine. For very specific structures like faces, hands, paws, etc., I use slopes, SNOT, hinges, and every technique that is actually possible with LEGO. It turns out that surfaces, no matter how big or curved, look much better by traditional methods.

talk w i t squaw h the animals k with t he animals The capabilities of slopes are limited. By layering bricks you can build every angle or curve you need. At close quarters it looks angular, but from a distance it becomes a coherent form. It’s about holistic psychology—and I am building a LEGO model! So why hide studs? I think it adds an ”iconic” look to build realistic models with studs on top. Why do you like building birds?

I am interested in all kinds of animals—but I am especially fascinated by intelligent species. Those are mainly primates and different birds. Monkeys are usually relatively big. The bodies and faces are challenging! Most birds are small.

There are also other reasons—I live in the city. There are a lot of animals. The adaptive ones exist in much higher

and sq . uawk a . . e nd speak and talk to m

From large to small, Felix’s birds are beautiful works to view. Left: Ringed Neck Parakeet Center: Common Kestrel (male) Right: Cockatiel

f the

w i t h k l t a h w e anima d l u o If I c Grunt, squ ls eak,

population numbers than in the countryside. The escape area is reduced, their territories are smaller. Some species appreciate the warmer temperature or the absence of hunters. But the most common animals in the city are birds—you see them everywhere. I think that’s a reason why I am fixated with birds so much. What are the challenges you encounter building your animals? It’s the scale, the eyes, faces, feet/hands, the posture in general, coloring stability...

And they could squeak

From your photo gallery, you seem to like to build organic forms—which are some of the hardest to build in LEGO. Do you find this true, and what makes this something you want to build?

Felix builds other animals which have the same detail and artistry as his birds. His models also take advantage of the bright colors of the LEGO bricks themselves. Above Left: Bengal Tiger Right: Pipistrel Opposite Page, Left: Blue and Gold Macaw Top Right: Squirrel Monkey Bottom Right: Common Rat

to anim al amazi ng repa rtee

talk w i squaw th the animals k with t he animals

In my opinion, it is one of the most difficult things to build with LEGO. It’s a lot of trial and error. You always have to correct many, many times until you are done. But to me, the result is most satisfying. What are your planning to build next?

Unfortunately I had less time to spend on LEGO this year. In addition, I was busy with some commissioned LEGO works. I am still working on a life-size rhesus macaque. As I thought—it is probably the most challenging model I am building to date, and takes a lot of time. There is also this new ”AFOL Designer Program” running right now, and I want to submit an entry. This keeps me busy, too. What advice would you offer to a beginning LEGO builder?

Concerning LEGO sculpting: Don’t start with a specific scale. That is most difficult with LEGO, especially for big or very small models. If you build something ”living”, start with the eyes. That is the most important feature for the best result. Stick to photos if it has to be a naturalistic model. And be prepared to spend a lot of time with trial and error.

and sq . uawk a . . e m nd speak and talk to

Two examples of Felix Jaensch’s spectacular mask work, as spotlighted on this issue’s cover.

BrickJournal #50 is a double-size special in book format! Don’t miss this landmark edition, celebrating over a decade as the premier publication for LEGO® fans! (144-page FULL-COLOR trade paperback) $17.95 (Digital Edition) $7.95 ISBN: 978-1-60549-082-3

Order now at: http://bit.ly/Brickjournal50 14

People

Amado Canlas Pinlac in front of the Yellow Zone display case at the LEGO House in Billund, Denmark. Among the display are a few of the seven creations he had accepted by the LEGO Community Engagement team. Right: Purple Wildflowers Inset below: Yellow Coreopsis

Builder Profile

Amado Canlas Pinlac From Star Wars To Nature MOCs

Amado Pinlac is a builder well known for his Star Wars creations and layouts. He has been spotlighted in books, websites and magazines (including BrickJournal), and his work has also been seen at LEGO fan conventions. However, some completely different creations took Amado overseas to display at the LEGO House. Here is the story, as told by the builder himself: It all started innocently enough with an e-mail that I received in early May 2017, from the LEGO Community Engagement Team in Billund. They were asking if I would be interested in displaying some MOCs at the Lego House in time for the September grand opening. I do not recall how many times I re-read the e-mail that day. My wife, Marleth, and I were already making plans for the rest of the year to decide which brick conventions to attend, and now everything immediately was on hold. We had to contain our excitement as I responded to find out more details about the invite—which, strangely enough, did not mention anything about Star Wars at all. Through the weeks that passed, the constant flow of communication with the LEGO House design team continued. The team and I were finally able to agree upon

which creations were to be exhibited around mid-July. All of the pictures for the models that I had submitted were from an online post, which featured only one set of flowers in the final Flower Box arrangement as seen on a Brothers Brick post: https://www.brothers-brick.com/2017/06/06/ the-power-of-a-flower. There was some confusion on my side, so I had to confirm that I understood where the models would be set up in the layout of the Yellow Zone display case. I also had to confirm that I needed to bring so many of my creations. The enthusiastic response I got back was, ”Yes, seven (of your) MOCs were to be part of the exhibit.” The LEGO Community Engagement team had chosen these from my submissions: • Birds on a Tree • Black-Eyed Susans • Purple Wildflowers • Bouquet of Flowers • White Flowers • Flower Box • Yellow Coreopsis

Billund I was elated that LEGO decided to request all of the individual flower arrangements—now there was no doubt in my mind that I had to build them all! I quickly discovered that there were not enough bricks and pieces in my stock inventory to do what I had planned, and I had less than two months to go. After quickly placing orders in a handful of Bricklink stores and waiting for a couple of weeks to get all the orders in, I would finally be able to build the remaining MOCs. During the course of the build (and exercising some artistic license), I decided to vary the colors from the four basic flower species that I had done (yellow, white, red, purple) and add more color combinations for each. Along the way, I added more details like a vase, tray, and small planters to give each arrangement a unique individual

presence. Near the completion of building all the MOCs, I decided to build a new frame for the Birds on a Tree with supporting stands at the back to keep it upright when displayed. I completed everything by the end of August. It was now time to pack the models up for the trip to Billund, Denmark. After waiting anxiously for September to come, since the arrival of the first e-mail, my wife and I travelled to the setup/installation of the seven models. We joined an exclusive group of 34 other AFOLs and their creations coming from all over the world. We were all selected to exhibit our work for the very first time in the new Home Above: Mixed Floral Breeds. Below: The creation that got Amado noticed, the Flower Box Creation that was featured on the Brothers-Brick website in June 2017.

Of The Brick – The LEGO House. At the LEGO House, in the Masterpiece gallery, the Yellow and Green Zones were the areas where our creations would be on display for a year until the next batch came along. Afterwards, we attended the AFOL Grand Opening on September 22, 2017, where over 700 AFOLs attended (including many who came from the Skærbæk Fan Weekend nearby)! The entire week was a blur—there was a whole program of events for each of the days that we were there! On top of that, I was meeting and exchanging ideas with the other AFOLs who were displaying their creations, and those in attendance for the Grand Opening. For me, a fitting end to all the activities of the AFOL Grand Opening day was to be able to write a message to all fans who visit the Home Of The Brick. My message, along

Left: Amado staging his MOCs during the installation in the Yellow Zone display case at The LEGO House. Above: Leaving a message on the Six Bricks wall. Bottom: White Flowers MOC installed in the Yellow Zone Display case.

very first set of the original four floral breeds similar to the LEGO House creations were completed and installed in November 2017 at the Rockefeller Center store in New York, and is still currently on display! Additionally, one of the five LEGO Certified Stores in the Philippines displayed the second floral set, and it has toured the other locations as a joint project with PinoyLUG. I collaborated with PinoyLUG to coordinate the removal and installation from one location to another. The installation and unveiling of the Floral MOCs was held on April 28, 2018 in the ”ACPin Live in Manila” event at the first LEGO Certified Store location at the Ayala Malls The 30th. For the first time, I would be able to bring MOCs to my home country, and have my fellow Filipino AFOLs enjoy them in person. Other possible brick conventions in the Philippines are currently under consideration for displaying the floral models.

with all of the 34 AFOLs that were invited and had their creations displayed, was mounted on the Six Bricks wall. We joined a group of the people who have—in one way or another—contributed to making the LEGO House a reality. It was an easy choice for me what to write: “Build what inspires you!” People who have talked to me, or have read some of my online posts, would probably recognize me saying this statement every now and then.

The Power of the Flower is not done! As if the exhibit at the LEGO House for my MOCs was not enough to be ecstatic about, there were inquiries for similar floral creations when we returned home. Multiple floral sets would need to be completed. The

Top: Red Amazon Flora. Bottom Left: Ad announcing building event at the LEGO Certified Store. Bottom Right: Flowers From Another Paradise.

Opportunity Knocks a Second Time Where the first year of AFOLs and their creations selected went to the LEGO House, there was a different selection process the next round. In March 2018, the contest “Help Decorate The LEGO House” was hosted at the LEGO Rebrick website. I was already planning a trip back in September to pick up my creations. This contest was an opportunity to submit once again. The contest would allow multiple entries, and selections. It would run for more than a month, from March until early April, so I decided to create seven floral MOCs that were vastly different in design and concept from the previous seven MOCs on display. The e-mail I received notified me that five of the seven MOCs I had entered were winners: • Mixed Floral Breeds • Red Five • Flowers From Another Paradise • Red Amazon Flora • Jasmine Buds In total, there were 321 entries submitted! 41 entries won, which were created by 31 builders. The final tally of the winning entries and builders: 24 builders with one winning entry, six builders with two winning entries, and one solitary builder with five winning entries. I was the single builder with the most MOCs chosen! It is a great honor being the only AFOL to currently have the sole distinction of back-to-back years, and have the most MOCs on display at the Home Of The Brick! From the second set of MOCs that Amado was to install at The LEGO House. Above: Jasmine buds. Top Right: Red Five.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think all of this would ever come true!

You Can Build It Flower Model

Yellow Coreopsis Design by Amado Pinlac Instructions by Joe Meno Here’s your chance to build your own Yellow Coreopsis. The main inspiration for the Yellow Coreopsis and the other floral breeds came from my neighborhood where I’ve seen them blooming during the Spring of 2017 while doing gardening chores. At night I gathered the bricks to create these flowers, which eventually got the attention of the public and the rest of the LEGO community.

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

Qty Color 1 White

Part 75937.dat

3 3 8 8 1 8

Red Red Orange Orange Yellow Yellow

3742.dat 33291.dat 6091.dat 49668.dat 4740.dat 61252.dat

1 1 3 1

Green Green Green Green

3022.dat 3062b.dat 3741a.dat 4032a.dat

1 2 1

Green Green Green

4032b.dat 6003.dat 19119.dat

1 3

Green Green

30093.dat 30239.dat

Description Plate 2 x 2 with Rod Frame Octagonal Reinforced

Plant Flower Plate 1 x 1 Round with Tabs Brick 2 x 1 x 1 & 1/3 with Curved Top Plate 1 x 1 with Tooth In-line Dish 2 x 2 Inverted Plate 1 x 1 with Clip Horizontal (Thick C-Clip)

Plate 2 x 2 Brick 1 x 1 Round with Hollow Stud Plant Flower Stem Plate 2 x 2 Round with Axlehole Type 1 Plate 2 x 2 Round with Axlehole Type 2 Plate 6 x 6 with Round Corner Plant Flower Stem with Bar and 6 Stems Plant Sea Grass Plant Leaves 6 x 5 Swordleaf with Clip

People

The village on display at BricksLA 2018, where it won “Best In Show”, as voted on by fellow builders.

Dave Schefcik’s Winter Village Article by Joe Meno Photography by Joe Meno and Dave Schefcik

Dave Schefcik apparently likes Winter. His layout, the Winter Village, is an effort that took three years and close to 200,000 bricks to complete. Over 500 minifigures are on the layout, which is six feet deep and 20 feet long. There’s also a powered train, a lit town, and even a Rebel stronghold under attack by mini AT-AT walkers. This is interesting, as Dave runs his own business as a public relations consultant, helping technology companies prepare for and work through security and privacy issues. His favorite toy while growing up was LEGO, but he went through a “Dark Age” like many fans. Dave got back into building when one of his cousins lent him his original Harry Potter collection and some Ultimate Collectors Series Star Wars sets to display at his office. This hooked him, as he found that LEGO building was a good way to relax from dealing with the stress of crisis communications. When asked about his favorite theme, his answer is obviously the Winter Village. “This whole layout is built as an homage to the line, with each holiday set represented in some way, “ he said. “For example, the church is made from two Santa’s Workshops. But the Architecture line is a close second.”

Before he built the Winter Village, Dave was mostly a set collector, but he always liked modifying or expanding sets to be bigger and better. He found doing this to be a good way to bridge the gap from just enjoying sets, to then building unique creations. Inspiration came from a place close to the heart. Dave explains, “My grandmother had a beautiful Winter Village under her Christmas tree when I was growing up, and the LEGO sets really made me think back to that time I spent with family. Like that, I think the Winter Village is a bit of a community build. It wouldn’t be here without Wayne Hussey (retired coordinator of BrickCon), who built the ski mountain, and Terri Landers, who built Elsa’s ice castle and the North Pole tower, and were a creative driving force, and I like incorporating good ideas from all over including Jason Allemann (who designed a sleigh with moving reindeer that Dave built and incorporated into the layout), Miro Dudas (who inspired the trolley and train station), and many more amazing builders. LEGO even sent their new spruce tree elements, so the whole creation could be the biggest creation with the most sustainable plant elements produced from plant-based plastic ever.”

A conductor directs the trolley to a stop.

Elsa and Anna build a castle in an unconventional way with their snowgies.

The layout was initially built all connected, but Dave realized that it couldn’t be moved easily, so he rebuilt it, learning from his mistake. The Winter Village is in three parts: The central village, the ski mountain, and the outside areas. The main village and mountain are each based on a 48x48 base grid. He wanted to avoid exposed baseplates and having builds look like they were on a square base, so in the village he tried to hide as many seams as possible by placing landscaping or buildings over the top of them. The layout can be modular, so it is easy to display only some or all of the village. Dave’s style of building touches on two things: Detail and storytelling. He likes to design things that tell a story, and are built in 360 degrees and can be viewed from any angle. He also likes to create new techniques like using white Nexo Knight blades as icicles, shoving white animal horns into trees to make them look snow-covered.

Clearing the track for the Holiday Train!

There’s a lot of activity by the ice pond.

Portrait of a layout: The Village at BricksLA 2018.

An overhead view of the layout gives you an idea of its size. Townspeople gather at the chapel for the holidays.

Terri Landers came up with the brilliant technique of using loose white flowers as snow to break up the studs. The end result is what Dave really likes: “I love when a kid stops to look at the village and spends an hour discovering all the fun scenes and hidden references.“ The layout’s size makes it challenging to move from event to event. However, Dave came up with a solution. He specially ordered cardboard boxes to fit 48x48 baseplates and created a simple grid labelling system to help know where everything was. It takes one person almost 14 hours to set the layout up, because all the detail on the outside of the main core has to be set up by hand. Luckily there are always some amazing people in the LEGO community who are there to help. Dave’s next projects will be a little while in coming—he will most likely take a break and focus on some smaller creations the next few years. Eventually he would like to make a big forest floor with over-sized flowers and bugs, all motorized and moving. Dave’s grid system is on each box, so he knows what goes where.

Rebels and Imperials in an epic snowball fight.

For a builder just beginning, Dave has the following advice: “Find an official LEGO set that you love, get two of them, then see if you can combine them into something bigger and better. You’ll already have inspiration from the original set and have the pieces you need to make something else awesome. You can also keep reading things like BrickJournal and The Brothers Brick to see other people’s LEGO builds to help inspire creativity.”

Santa takes flight.

One of the many festive vignettes seen in the Winter Village.

People

Builder Profile

Jake Sadovich Jake Sadovich is a builder that has an unique distinction. He is one of a few LEGO fans that have had their LEGO Ideas submission make it to production! He is the designer of the Ship in a Bottle project that is now the 21313 Ship in the Bottle set! He also displays at LEGO fan conventions and was recently spotted at BrickSlopes, a fan event in Utah. BrickJournal got the chance to talk to him there. BrickJournal: What do you do when you’re not building? I work at an escape room currently. I’m in charge of designing and building props and any other thing that needs to be built, as well as coming up with puzzles and game play. When did you start building? I don’t recall exactly how old I was, but I started building quite young. I remember going to my grandma’s house and other various relatives’ who would have a variety of toys on hand for us kids to play with. I always gravitated toward the constitution toys, LEGO in particular. Did you have a Dark Age? Not much of a Dark Age, really. When my kids were little I didn’t have much time or money to put into LEGO, but I had all my creations up on shelves, so it was still around, but I just couldn’t build much. As the kids got bigger and started getting their own LEGO, I was able to build with them, and occasionally on my own. Then around fiveto-six years ago, I really began focusing on building as a serious hobby, and attended my first LEGO convention, Brickslopes, as an AFOL in 2015. What is your favorite theme? Space/Star Wars.

One of many Star Wars themed creations from Jake: A Jawa, with lit eyes. Star Wars, Jawa TM & ©Lucasfilm

What was your first MOC? The first MOC I can recall was an A-10 Warthog out of Duplo when I was very young. Looking back, I must admit it really didn’t look like an A-10; it barely looked like an airplane, but I had a pretty big imagination. The first one I did a few years ago to begin my serious hobby was a Technic figure-scale Podracer. What has been your biggest MOC? My biggest MOC so far is probably my Technic figure-scale moonbase. Some of Jake’s other works, where he build in various scales. Above: Technic figure scale Naboo Fighter. Opposite Page: A few views of the Galidor figure scale Pitts Special Biplane.

You build in different themes—Star Wars and planes—and in different scales. Why is that? I enjoy doing different scales, anything from micro- to Galidor-scale. Some ideas just end up in different scales for a variety of reasons. It’s often as simple as ”the part that gave me the idea” sets the scale; a couple of good examples of this are my midi-scale Red-5 (X-Wing) and Galidor-scale Pitts Special; the seed part for the X-Wing was the minifig ski pole, and for the Pitts it was the large airplane wing. Of course, on the Pitts, the seed part didn’t end up in the final build, but it ended up so large that Galidor was the only scale that it would fit in. What’s your favorite build? Tell us why it’s your favorite. Favorite MOC is a tough one. They each had their own challenges to work through that made finishing each one very satisfying, and if I finished and kept it, it’s because I really like it. I probably have to go with Ship in a Bottle for favorite for now, with the Pitts Special a very close second. The Ship being probably my most known creation—that was subsequently adapted into an Ideas set—it is pretty hard to top, so I’ll go with that. It was also one of the most

challenging to design, which in turn makes it one of the most satisfying to complete. I often wondered while building it, if I would even be able to find a way to complete it. How do you approach your builds? Do you sketch up plans or just build until you are done? Occasionally I will do sketches; not nice detailed, or scale ones, but rough outlines of concepts. Mostly though, it’s just trial and error and moving parts around till I’m satisfied with the results. What’s the hardest creation you have built? Again, kind of a toss-up between the Ship and Pitts Special. With the Pitts, the challenge was trying to get it to look as close to a scale model of a real plane as possible using LEGO elements. I spent many hours poring over pictures of the plane from as many angles as I could find, in order to get the dimensions to look correct. I think I spent about fifty percent of the actual build time making the nose, and remaking the nose, and remaking the nose... With the Ship in the Bottle, the main challenge was doing a large clear bottle with no holes or gaps, out of LEGO. I spent a lot of time on Bricklink looking at all the parts produced in trans-clear, trying to figure it out. In the end, the biggest challenge was the bottle itself. How to do the bottom? This was what had me worried the entire time—if I could pull it off or not. It ended up being many small parts cobbled together (not unlike the set version, though using different parts) to make a base that I was quite happy with in the end. Why do you like to build? I like to build because it gives me a creative outlet, and kind of an escape, also. I enjoy working through the challenges and exercising my creativity and imagination.

Can you tell me about the Ship in a Bottle? How did it became an Ideas set? Did you expect it to get 10,000 votes? How did the set translate out to the LEGO version, as opposed to your submission? Several years ago I assembled a small ship in a bottle kit that I had come across at a thrift store. I had it on a shelf for a while and wondered if I could do a LEGO version—just kind of a thought at first, with no real plan. Once in a while, over the next year-and-a-half or more, while I was doing other projects, the thought would come up and I’d think more on it for a bit and move on. I debated between building a LEGO ship in a glass bottle and doing the whole thing in LEGO several times. In mid-2016, I was starting a very ambitious Steampunk Dirigible. I got sidetracked when I decided to do an Aerobatic Biplane, which I in turn tabled in early October to finally attempt the Ship in a Bottle idea.

It took three very busy weeks of all evening and weekend hours, late nights, and scheming all day while at work—but I managed to complete the build. I was very excited to show it to my local LUG (Lego Users Group) friends—one of whom suggested I put pictures of it on “AFOLS of Facebook.” I had been in the Facebook group for a while, but hadn’t really posted anything at that point, so I got some hastily taken photos (if I recall correctly, the nameplate was missing a couple of parts still) and posted them. I hoped people would like it, of course, but I was quite surprised by the overwhelmingly positive response! In the few groups I shared it with, there were so many reactions and comments. Many of the comments were suggestions to put it on LEGO Ideas. So I looked into the rules, and the process

Jake’s LEGO Ideas submission Ship in a Bottle photos are by December Gonzaga.

and decided to give it a go. Again, I hoped people would like it—and I was stunned by the reaction! It managed to acquire the requisite 10,000 supporters in 48 days, and made it just in time for the next scheduled review period to begin! I have just been along for the ride ever since I submitted it—and it’s been an enjoyable ride, to say the least. As far as the differences between my version and the official set? Well, LEGO only had to redesign about 98% of it to make it feasible to mass-produce. There is good reason for the redesign—the original is very fragile. In fact, with the amount of redesign LEGO had put into it, I’m a bit surprised it passed in the first place. Pleasantly surprised, that is.

Jake’s submission made it all through the review process and has become the LEGO Ideas set 21313 Ship in a Bottle. You can see some of the redesign that has occurred to make this an actual production set. One noticeable difference is the overall size of the model compared to Jake’s original design.

You built a DaVinci model, the Ornithopter, that is now on LEGO Ideas—what inspired you to build that? I was trying to find people in my area building traditional ships in bottles to see if I could get some pictures of my build with some of theirs; maybe a picture in their workspace with all the tools and such, that would end up in the manual for my set. I ended up at a local hobby shop asking around (they didn’t know anyone.) While I was there, I found a small-scale wind-up model of DaVinci’s Ornithopter, and bought it just for fun. I didn’t get very far on the drive home before I started scheming on how I could replicate it in LEGO. I decided if could get it right, I would put it on Ideas. We even heard it took you to Italy to show it? I was contacted this Spring by a guy on Twitter who had seen the Ornithopter online and asked if I would be willing to loan it to the company he works for, to add it to The DaVinci Experience in Florence, Italy. We e-mailed back and forth for several days to figure out the best way to make it happen. In the end, I decided to get the parts to build a second one and go to Florence and build it there, so transport wouldn’t be an issue for the creation. The DaVinci Experience even turned it into a live build event; it was a great time! While I was there I was able to visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and attended the Summer party for Orange Team LUG in Pisa. That was awesome—and they gave me some cool swag! I was also able to connect with the LUG in Florence, Toscana Bricks, and some members came to the live build (more cool swag)! I hung out with them for a time. All in all, it was a fantastic experience!

What projects do you have planned for the future? A couple future plans include a small-scale rolling city and a Technic figure-scale Steampunk Dirigible. What advice would you give to a beginning builder? Build what inspires you.

Don’t just read BrickJournal —

BUILD WITH IT!

Designed by BrickJournal’s Editor-in-Chief JOE MENO, these custom sets are inspired by the themes and builders featured in this magazine! Find out about these sets and upcoming designs at: www.brickjournal.com/sets

Microscale Space Shuttle with Base: 50 pcs. $10 Mini EV3 set: 106 pcs. $25

Y-bot Mark I: 38 pcs. $7 Custom watercolor commissions: $100 Prints: $15 Lucky Dog: 57 pcs. $12 Minecreep: 75 pcs. $15

Building Sets

Microscale AH-64 Apache Copter: 103 pcs. $20

Order at: www.brickjournal.com/sets

These are not LEGO® products. They are reused LEGO elements that have been repackaged or altered from their original form. LEGO is a trademark of the LEGO Group, which does not sponsor, authorize or endorse these products. The LEGO Group is not liable for any loss injury, or damage arising from the use or misuse of these products.

People

Just another Summer night at the Sarlacc Cinema.

Three Things to Know about Steve Peterson Article by Joe Meno Photography by Steve Peterson and Joe Meno

Steve Peterson is in many ways a typical person you would meet at a LEGO fan event. Outside of events, he owns an insurance agency, which is something as far away from LEGO building as one can think. But once a person talks to him and takes a look at his work, one finds out how much he puts into his hobby and the community. So, for you the reader, here are…

Three Things to Know about Steve Peterson 1. He’s a Star Wars builder. At a LEGO fan event, such as BrickSlopes and BrickCon this year, Steve isn’t that far from his creations. His favorite building theme is Star Wars, and it’s pretty obvious from his displays how much he loves building—his creations are large, but his layout is huge. All of his creations have something to do with Star Wars, which got him out of his Dark Age. When asked about how he started back into building, he replies, “I had a Dark Age from about 1999 to 2015. I was walking through Target looking for Christmas gifts for my nephew, and Poe’s X-Wing (75102) caught my eye. The orange and black color scheme on what was traditionally a white/grey/red X-wing was amazing to me.” After his Dark Age ended, he began to collect more and more sets. He discovered two things: The task of collecting retired sets in particular could be daunting and costly, and more importantly, that the designs released by the LEGO Group were largely cyclical. As he noted, “Once you have one version of the X-Wing, TIE Fighter, AT-AT sets, etc., you realize they are all mostly the same.”

Steve’s holocrons.

A closer look at one of the panels of the Sith holocron.

Steve, as he puts it, “craved something more unique and with higher quality than all the off-the-shelf sets provide.” He began building on his own with modifying existing sets by adding new colors and swapping out parts, but that didn’t last long. After about two months of off-and-on building on LEGO Digital Designer and more than four re-designs, Steve built his first true MOC, the bounty hunter Dengar’s ship, The Punishing One. He’s also built Sith and Jedi holocrons. From there, his creations progressed in skill and size and culminated to the layout he displayed at BrickSlopes, and expanded at BrickCon, Sarlacc Cinemas.

Dengar’s ship, The Punishing One.

Sarlacc Cinemas answers the question: What if the Star Wars Universe had a speeder drive-in theater to watch the movies? Who would show up? And who works there? Steve’s answer is an expansive diorama, with the traditional drive-in now filled with landspeeders owned by the bounty hunters from Star Wars. Steve was inspired by Boba Fett’s silver Speeder, seen in the Star Wars Christmas Special. When he finished that speeder, he decided to design a speeder for Bossk, then one for every bounty hunter. Using in-universe vehicle designs as much as possible, he used each hunter’s unique style, personality, colors, and other attributes to influence the land speeders’ design—each speeder would be as recognizable as possible. The cinema in digital form. The projector and concession stand.

The box office.

The overall layout.

Steve’s pride in the layout shows. When asked about his favorite speeder, he points out Boba Fett’s speeder. When he is asked what his favorite part is, he singles out the screen. He explains, “I wanted to find a way to keep it as sleek and as thin as possible while still housing a ten-inch tablet. I have seen a few other attempts at building a Drive-In theater using LEGO, but they all felt clunky to me.” The landscape of the layout was the hardest part to build for Steve. This was his first large-scale model, so building the landscape correctly was a challenge. Fortunately, he joined a LEGO Users Group (LUG) for the first time, Utah LEGO Users Group (ULUG). There, he got landscaping advice and learned techniques from the group’s president, Cody Ottley.

Wait, Star Lord showed up? Boba Fett’s speeder.

The other side of the box office.

One of the relics is a crashed skyhopper.

A Tusken Raider and his Bantha settle in to watch the movies.

What wasn’t so hard were the many details that are packed into the layout. Droids work at the concession stand, and astromechs deliver popcorn and drinks to the parked speeders. Steve had the following design process: “I wanted to use characters that the public would connect with, like R2-D2 and C3PO, in a way that made sense, rather than just placing them in. Though, what better job for a droid than serving refreshments??” He continues: “I wanted to add graffiti and other small details to make the Drive-In feel run down and like it could exist in the Star Wars Universe. Since the theater is set on the planet Tatooine, what better name would it have than Sarlacc Cinemas? I also wanted to add a number of ‘easter eggs’ for people to find, the longer they looked at the layout.”

Jar Jar cleaning up.

Some of the wait staff at the cinemas.

Steve’s mash-ups.

Steve’s building goes beyond exclusively Star Wars creations; he also combines World War II vehicles and Star Wars to create impressive mash-ups. This brings us to the second thing to know about him… 2. Steve Peterson likes combining genres.

The Ghost and a B-17 are combined here. An X-Wing plus a P-51 Mustang equals the fighter below.

He started his mash-ups with WWII vehicles because much of the inspiration for Star Wars was taken, as Steve describes, “from the soldiers and vehicles in WWII; Stormtroopers, dogfights, and even the Empire itself.” He began building these by studying photos of WWII aircraft and dogfights and decided that the P-51 Mustang and X-Wing would be a perfect mash-up to start with. From there, he designs his models in LEGO Digital Designer, where more often than not he redesigns them in the program multiple times before he turns them into a reality. Steve has made several mash-ups since, including a Y-Wing and a P-38 Lightning and a ME109 with a TIE Fighter. The largest is a B-17 bomber with the Ghost from the Star Wars Rebels series. A Y-Wing plus a P-38 Lightning yields this vehicle.

However, Steve doesn’t always build with bricks. If you go onto Facebook, look for the LEGO Star Wars Fans page. He’s one of the administrators of the page (along with Steven Smyth), which means… 3. Steve Peterson is a community builder. The LEGO Star Wars Fans page was created in June 2016 as a place for people to enjoy LEGO Star Wars in a clean, family-friendly environment. Members are a mix of all types of LEGO fans: Collectors, builders, artists… everyone enjoys the hobby differently, and the group celebrates that diversity. As of November 2018, there are just over 22,000 members on the page. The page regularly holds MOC contests and giveaways that are sponsored by LEGO-related family-owned businesses and Bricklink shops that also offer members special discounts. In 2017, the group expanded into community service.

Steven Smyth and Steve Peterson at BrickSlopes 2017.

Steve tells the story of the expansion here: “In summer 2017, our admin team decided to raise funds for a member of our team that was battling a brain tumor. The idea started small—the group member wanted to build his wife a custom set as a thank you for caring for him. When we learned of this, we jumped into action. Our members raised more than enough for the gift, and were able to donate the rest towards his hospital bills. In all, the group raised about $1,800 in only a few short weeks. “In 2018, we decided to step things up. LEGO Star Wars Fans started Bricks for Hope, Building to Cure and teamed up with the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Between June and August, members and sponsors generously donated $3,700. One of our sponsors, Atlanta Brick Company, further donated by allowing members to use a portion of funds to purchase LEGO sets at cost to give to the patients currently staying at the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center.

Jawas meet a patient at the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Canter.

“In September 2018, we teamed up with the 501st Legion (a Star Wars costuming group that specializes in Imperial characters), Georgia Garrison to deliver the sets to the children and bring them a much needed distraction from their day. “We were truly blessed to be able to bring a smile to these warriors fighting cancer and other terrible illnesses, and we are going to make donations to children’s hospitals an annual tradition in our group.” So that’s Steve Peterson in a sketch: A Star Wars builder, mash-up maker, and community builder. You’ll probably see him at a LEGO Fan event on the US West Coast—you can’t miss his creations! And if you are on Facebook, you can check out the LEGO Star Wars Fans page, where you’ll see there is a much larger world to look at in the hobby! LEGO Star Wars Fans present the center with a donation check for $3,700. Present are: (from left to right) Steven Smyth, Michael Bourgeois, Steve Peterson, and Alex Prather of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Georgia.

Building

Alex de Jong: Building “ a Little Faith,

Article and art by Alex de Jong

Tinkerbell TM & ©Disney

Trust, and a Little Pixie Dust! ”

Alex de Jong is a 42-year-old computer programmer who has been building a long time—since he was four. As a teenager, he went into other hobbies like model building, Meccano, and making chain mail. He still kept his eye on the LEGO on the toy shelves, and 12 years ago, he found the Creator Wild Things (4884-1). Both he and his wife liked the set, so they bought it. After that, he got his old LEGO sets from the attic and rekindled his LEGO fascination.

It all started with a figure...

What got Alex started on building was the creative aspect of LEGO: Seeing something take form by one’s own hands. His favorite theme feeds on that interest; he loves LEGO sculpture sets, such as the Yoda Ultimate Collector Series LEGO set (7194-1), Ollie the Dragon (3724-1), and the original Statue of Liberty set (3450-1). Tinkerbell was the result of two of Alex’s other interests: Disney and collecting plastic figurines. Inspiration hit when Alex came across a figure of Tinkerbell that had ‘something special’ that made it stand out from the rest. For Alex, a question came up: Should he buy the figurine (it was really expensive), and after some thought, another question: How would this look in LEGO? The short answers: Yes, and he was going to find out!

Top center: A Tinkerbell figure was the starting point for this model. After taking some photos and setting up a LEGO-scaled grid to the size Alex wanted, he built a digital model on his computer, seen here.

The next step in building Tinkerbell was deciding the scale. Since Alex wanted this sculpture to be the centerpiece of his collection and a showstopper, he decided that Tinkerbell would be one meter high. Along with that, he needed to get reference photographs. This was easy to do, as he had the figurine and a camera. There were two photos needed: A front view and a side view. A matching LEGO scale grid was drawn on both photos to give a building pattern to start construction. Using the gridded photos, Alex began piecing together a digital framework with a brick building program, MLCAD.

Spooling the Thread...

The spool ends are plates that are arranged to attach at a slight angle. With a lot of plates, a smooth curve could be made.

The base is made of two sections: The spool, and the thread. The thread is four parts that were fitted around the spool supports.

The loose thread is a chain of 1x2 plates that are flexed to the shape needed.

Starting the Head...

Alex started building Tinkerbell by trying different building styles on her face. Facing the challenge of making an organic LEGO sculpture led him to use rounded slopes (far right) as opposed to slopes and inverse slopes.

Fixing the Hair...

Tinkerbell’s hair was ‘sketched’ by using bricks as an outline to follow. Her bun was made as a separate unit that was held in place with Bionicle ‘pins.’ Again, curved slopes were used to define the hair wave, with overlapping parts reinforcing layers. The final version, at the right, shows how all the curved parts work together to create an organic illusion of life.

Also, different lips were explored before Alex chose to go with a thin upper lip and full lower lip. Other faces experimented with eye size and nose shape until he made his final version.

Fleshing out the Model...

With Tinkerbell’s body sketched out, Alex starts building to fit the body sketch.

Adding a leg and adding a little to the body.

One of the legs in progress. The pom-pom on the shoe is a sphere that was created by Bruce Lowell, so it’s now called the Lowell Sphere.

There were other considerations to deal with for the sculpture. Since Tinkerbell was going to be so large, it had to be able to come apart in sections that could be packed for transport. Ideally this should also be easy to assemble. The sections could be defined and separated on the digital file. Alex made her in ten sections: the torso, head, arms, legs (each including the knee), wings, spool of thread and a little loose end of thread. Close to completion—arms are needed!

Looking at the Finished Model...

Alex used black elements to define Tinkerbell’s eyelashes. This subtle additionis one of the many things that were done to make her come to life.

Alex’s use of hinge and curved elements makes Tinkerbell look natural. Her pose is relaxed, and the combination of curved parts and odd angles reinforces the lifelike look of the sculpture.

After working out the sections, parts were ordered and building started. The hardest part of Tinkerbell to build was, according to Alex, the face. It was a major challenge to get the face just right so it was instantly recognizable. With the face, the entire sculpture took almost five months to complete.

The Muppets TM & ©Disney

Alex has also built other characters too, including most of the Smurfs and a few of the Muppets, including Miss Piggy, Beaker, and Statler and Waldorf. On the drawing board for future building are Smurfette, Kermit the Frog, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Flower the skunk from Bambi, and more Smurfs. When there are enough requests, he’ll make building instructions for Tinkerbell. When asked for advice for a beginning builder, Alex answers: “Just try to build whatever it is you want to build. LEGO is a very forgiving building material. Rebuild what you don’t like and learn. Connect with other builders through the Internet and through clubs. Discuss what you are doing and learn from each other.

About this issue’s model:

Fishing Bear

Here in California we don’t get much snow, and the lakes don’t freeze. Well, at least not where I live. And we certainly don’t have polar bears. So this comes completely from my imagination, but I have it under good authority that bears fish, and I like to think they wear hats when they do.

Parts List

(Parts can be ordered through Bricklink.com by searching by part number and color) Qty Part 2 2341.dat

Design and Instructions by Tommy Williamson Tommy Williamson is no stranger to BrickJournal, having been featured previously for his Jack Sparrow miniland scale figure. Since then, he has gone farther into building, making some remarkable Star Trek props and other models. He’s now doing a column for BrickJournal: DIY Fan Art. Here, Tommy takes a little time out from his busy schedule at BrickNerd.com to make a model of his choosing for the magazine.

2 1 1 1 2 2 6 2 2 8 4 1 4 4 1 1 1 2 2 5 1 2 2 2 1 6 2 8 2

7 1 1 1 1 2 2

Color White

Description Slope Brick 45 3 x 1 Inverted Double without Inner Stopper Rings 2450.dat White Plate 3 x 3 without Corner 3005.dat White Brick 1 x 1 3010.dat White Brick 1 x 4 3021.dat White Plate 2 x 3 3022.dat White Plate 2 x 2 3023.dat White Plate 1 x 2 3024.dat White Plate 1 x 1 3035.dat White Plate 4 x 8 3037.dat White Slope Brick 45 2 x 4 3040b.dat White Slope Brick 45 2 x 1 3045.dat White Slope Brick 45 2 x 2 Double Convex 3460.dat White Plate 1 x 8 3623.dat White Plate 1 x 3 3710.dat White Plate 1 x 4 3794a.dat White Plate 1 x 2 without Groove with 1 Centre Stud 3937.dat White Hinge 1 x 2 Base 3938.dat White Hinge 1 x 2 Top 4081b.dat White Plate 1 x 1 with Clip Light Type 2 4286.dat White Slope Brick 33 3 x 1 6091.dat White Brick 2 x 1 x 1 & 1/3 with Curved Top 6141.dat White Plate 1 x 1 Round 43710.dat White Slope Brick 2 x 4 Triple Left 43711.dat White Slope Brick 2 x 4 Triple Right 43722.dat White Wing 2 x 3 Right 43723.dat White Wing 2 x 3 Left 47905.dat White Brick 1 x 1 with Studs on Two Opposite Sides 49668.dat White Plate 1 x 1 with Tooth In-line 50746.dat White Slope Brick 31 1 x 1 x 0.667 64225.dat White Wedge 4 x 3 Triple Curved without Studs 87087.dat White Brick 1 x 1 with Stud on 1 Side 93273.dat White Slope Brick Curved 4 x 1 Double 2614.dat Black Minifig Tool Fishing Rod 3878.dat Black Minifig Top Hat 50746.dat Black Slope Brick 31 1 x 1 x 0.667 98138.dat Black Tile 1 x 1 Round with Groove 41539.dat Medium Blue Plate 8 x 8

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You Can Build It MINI Model

But with all the new shapes we are getting recently—no doubt, the new piece forms are incredibly useful, and allow for building techniques you didn’t even think of before—I am also a fan of old piece shapes: For example the 1x4x1 fence piece (part number 3633) which plays its role as bracket piece perfectly in the shuttle’s wings. I wish you happy building and hope to meet you again next time!

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

Main Body Qty 2

Nu-Class Attack Shuttle Design and Instructions by Christopher Deck

Hello everybody, it’s my pleasure to be here again for another mini model building session featured in our fantastic BrickJournal! Today we want to build a Nu-Class Attack Shuttle, a very popular and recognizable design seen throughout the animated Clone Wars TV series. My first version of this shuttle dates back to the year 2009, the same year when the official system-scaled playset (set no. 8019) was released by the LEGO group. It was followed by an official mini model (set no. 30050) one year later in 2010. I bet you will guess which one I liked better. So why do we build another version of this shuttle nine years later? First of all, because it’s still a remarkable shuttle design where you can already see strong similarities to the later Lambda Shuttle, one of the most famous Star Wars ships of all time. Plus, we didn’t build one of these together here. Second, because a builder’s attitude and skills change over the years, as well as the available piece shapes. With more new pieces and increasing building skills, you tend to update or completely rebuild your models. It’s an ongoing circular flow of renewal and a real mammoth task if you have more than 300 mini models…

1 1 4 3 1 4 4 3 4 1 2 1 1 2 4 1 1 2 1 1

Color Dark-Red

Part Description 3062b.dat Brick 1 x 1 Round with Hollow Stud

Dark-Bluish-Gray 87087.dat Brick 1 x 1 with Stud on 1 Side White 3004.dat Brick 1 x 2 White 3938.dat Hinge 1 x 2 Top White 3024.dat Plate 1 x 1 Dark-Bluish-Gray 3024.dat Plate 1 x 1 Trans-Light-Blue 6141.dat Plate 1 x 1 Round White 85861.dat Plate 1 x 1 Round with Open Stud White 3023.dat Plate 1 x 2 White 2540.dat Plate 1 x 2 with Handle Dark-Bluish-Gray 60478.dat Plate 1 x 2 with Handle on End White 3623.dat Plate 1 x 3 White 3021.dat Plate 2 x 3 Dark-Bluish-Gray 54200.dat Slope Brick 31 1 x 1 x 0.667 Dark-Red 54200.dat Slope Brick 31 1 x 1 x 0.667 White 85984.dat Slope Brick 31 1 x 2 x 0.667 Dark-Red 3040b.dat Slope Brick 45 2 x 1 Dark-Bluish-Gray 3665.dat Slope Brick 45 2 x 1 Inverted Dark-Bluish-Gray 32002.dat Technic Pin 3/4 Dark Red 3070b.dat Tile 1 x 1 with Groove White 2412b.dat Tile 1 x 2 Grille with Groove

Wings and Cockpit Qty 1 1 2 2 1 4 2 2 1 2 1 2 2 2 2 1 1

Color Part Description Yellow 4070.dat Brick 1 x 1 with Headlight Dark-Red 4733.dat Brick 1 x 1 with Studs on Four Sides White 3633.dat Fence Lattice 1 x 4 x 1 Dark-Bluish-Gray 30162.dat Minifig Binoculars with Round Eyepiece Dark-Bluish-Gray 6019.dat Plate 1 x 1 with Clip Horizontal White 11476.dat Plate 1 x 2 with Clip Horizontal on Side White 3022.dat Plate 2 x 2 Trans-White 54200.dat Slope Brick 31 1 x 1 x 0.667 Dark-Bluish-Gray 3070b.dat Tile 1 x 1 with Groove Dark-Red 3070b.dat Tile 1 x 1 with Groove White 3070b.dat Tile 1 x 1 with Groove Yellow 2412b.dat Tile 1 x 2 Grille with Groove Dark-Red 3069b.dat Tile 1 x 2 with Groove White 43723.dat Wing 2 x 3 Left White 43722.dat Wing 2 x 3 Right Dark-Red 41770.dat Wing 2 x 4 Left Dark-Red 41769.dat Wing 2 x 4 Right

www.brickcoaster.com

Custom Roller Coaster Tracks, Sets and Accessories

Building Minifig Customization 101:

Does Something Smell Like Fish? Article and Photography by Jared K. Burks

For this article, I found myself searching for inspiration. Halloween was upon us here in Texas and my family was dressed as PJ Masks; my 20-month-old son was Gecko, my 3-year-old daughter Owlet, my wife Luna Girl, and I was the mad scientist Romeo. My eldest daughter was Chewie, the shortest Wookie I have seen, but it did my heart proud to see her representing the original Star Wars trilogy. This got me thinking of the past year’s costumes and how I could make a related figure. I still recall the movie Boxtrolls from Laika, which was one of the first daddy-daughter date movies I saw with my eldest daughter. She actually enjoyed the movie so much we dressed as Fish the Boxtroll for Halloween in 2014, when Branwen was 6 years old. At that time, I had found this amazing pdf with the art from the film containing the labels of multiple characters. This is what we used to make the labels for the box in the photo below. I was able to reuse these labels in this project. Every project starts with great research to find all the little details; this one just benefited from past research. I had previously made the main character of the Boxtrolls film, Eggs, after seeing this film. The figure, or more accurately, his box, was lost to hurricane Harvey. The character’s box was made from an actual cardboard Branwen as Fish box, which did not take kindly to water. The Boxtrolls film tells the story of Eggs, a human boy raised by trash-collecting trolls, known as “Boxtrolls”, as he attempts to save them from Archibald Snatcher, a pest exterminator. I was lucky, through my work on the Coraline project, to discover treasure troves of Laika high resolution imaging at an auction house that sold some of the film props and characters.

Eggs from Boxtrolls.

Boxtrolls TM & ©Boxtrolls LLC

Above left and right: Photos of the Fish stop-motion puppet.

I had always wanted to create Fish, but several issues faced this character, primarily getting the box perfect from the standpoint of LEGO. I was mildly happy with Eggs’ box, but it was not perfect and lacked the accurate detail. I also did not figure that LEGO would have used an actual box. While searching for inspiration, the figures on my desk, or more accurately their parts, commonly serve as points of inspiration. Just looking at the parts for a while allows them to pop out for various other applications. This is when I solved the issue of Fish’s box. The neck attachment looked like the hole in the box for the head, the armholes are ringed for the arms, and the size was nearly perfect. I merely had one decision to make: Sand off the studs, or cover them with tiles. I decided I wanted to cover them with tiles. This is a problem because the Brick Suit is a 2x3-sized element. I do not have any 2x3 tiles and they are not available in dark tan. Also, Fish has a center fold on his box and I wanted to repeat this on the figure for the decal to settle into this to further emphasize this space; therefore a custom tile was needed—well, two of them actually. I took two tiles, held them face-to-face, and started sanding one side till I got them down to a 1.5 x 2 tile. Then I rounded the sanded edges to emphasize the crease. The rear of the F-18, showing the moving flaps and control surfaces. The exhaust vanes are barely seen at the bottom, but can be opened and closed.

The next major issue with Fish and the Boxtrolls from the film is that they have a more organic shape; ie., they look as if they were made of clay. They are not uniform in shape and their features are often not symmetrical. They are beautiful in their cute ugliness. They appear to be Claymation figures, even though they are not. To capture this as best I could, I wanted something that would take imperfections well, so instead of clay, I went to modifying an existing LEGO part. I searched through many and decided the clown would get the axe; that is right, Krusty the Clown was going to be re-imagined. I also had many of these laying around due to the mass selloff of the LEGO Dimensions Krusty set, so it was easy to cut up. Krusty’s head had a lot of things going for it; specifically, his hair would work for Fish’s ears, his tuft of hair on top was nearly perfect for Fish, and with the long shape, it could be whittled down to the correct size for Fish.

LEGO I / inspiration, from the LEGO Collectible Minifigures series.

Starting to modify by building a base figure. Using the brick vest from the collectible minifig and a Krusty the Clown minifigure head, the figure is ready to be modified.

Simpsons TM & ©Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Whittling down Krusty’s head was primarily a task for a nail file (cardboard and sandpaper used to file your fingernails). I then used an X-acto knife with a very sharp blade. Please exercise caution when using an X-acto knife; it is easy to cut yourself. Most accidents occur with a dull blade as the blade catches on the cutting and then slips under higher pressure. Using a sharp blade helps avoid these issues. I was also trying a new style X-Acto knife blade called a Z-11, zirconium nitride coated blades, which X-Acto claims is their sharpest and most durable blade ever. I guess I will find out, but I did find the blades to work very well.

Tools used to whittle down the head: X-acto hobby knife and nail files.

Stages in whittling and cutting.

I carved out the mouth and eyes using the X-Acto and I shaped the ears with the knife. I added the nose with a tiny piece of clay that I cured with a heat gun. Then it was time for priming! I used Games Workshop Skull White primer as I was using the Red Brick Suit, which I was worried, would skew the color of the brown box and make it appear orange. I also primed the sculpted head, legs, and arms. I used the yellow Woody arms, white legs, and the Krusty head is a bright light yellow. I primed to try to get more uniform color to the final parts and allow the paint to attach to the smooth LEGO surface better.

Primer paints for the figure.

I then used a new type of spray paint to give the base color to the LEGO figure, Eden Green and Flat Burlap. These were used trying to recreate LEGO olive green and LEGO dark tan. I painted all parts because I wanted the colors to match. These two paints were Rust-Oleum universal spray paint. This paint is not designed for what I was using it for, and while the Burlap paint sprayed well, the Eden green spit a bit, so I had to use good technique where you start spraying and then move the paint over the part and stop. This allowed the paint to spit initially before covering the part more uniformly. Once all the parts were individually painted, I started the process of designing the decal for the front of Fish’s box, and started hand-painting the head and designing the eyes for Fish. Let us complete the painting before describing the decaling. For Fish’s head, he has a white-ish smile, a raccoon-style mask, green hair tuft, pink nose and ears. Using a brush, I painted the smile white and hair and mask dark green. From there I layered dark grey onto the mask, and finally black on the mask. Then on a piece of scrap paper, I mixed a little white and red to make the pink for the nose and ears. I then took a small styrene rod, dipped it into the black, and touched it to the nostril region of the nose to highlight the nostrils. I then printed the eyes I have drawn for Fish at various sizes to compare once printed. I chose the size that seemed to fit and applied to the head with water and decal setting solution. I let the head dry for about an hour and then clear-coated the whole head.

Parts primed for painting.

Painting the head.

It was now time to design the front of Fish’s box. I mentioned earlier that I had high-resolution imaging of the “official” Fish character. I did something I never do; I cropped the front of the box from the photo. I always use Vector art, not raster, but because this raster image was so high in resolution, it allowed me to use the photo. I then shifted color slightly trying to get it to match my paint; I then crisply cut the box front out of the image, created a white layer that matched, and printed in high resolution on my decal film. By blind luck, my box fold from my tile trick aligned nicely to the box fold in the design. I applied the decal by dipping in water and sliding it onto the box. I then applied decal-setting solution to get the decal to conform to the surface of the tiles. Once dry, I clear-coated the decal to protect it on the LEGO tiles. Painting more detail.

I now had a complete figure in parts: Hands, arms, hips, legs, brick suit, covering tiles, and head. Did I mention I live in Houston, Texas; we received 2.5 inches of rain in an hour on Halloween afternoon, and it has stayed wet ever since? I have struggled to get paint to dry in a reasonable timeframe because the humidity stays so high here, so I decided to try something new. One of the devices that survived the flood was a food dehydrator. I figured, warm dehydrating air circulating around the figure parts sounded good to me. I did not take parts that were immediately painted and place into the dehydrator; I generally gave them 15 minutes to an hour before placing them in the dehydrator. I started the dehydrator at 90 degrees F (32 C) and placed the parts inside attached to a small baseplate. I dehydrated/dried the paint for two hours. The dehydrator then turned off and the figure finished curing overnight inside the big round chamber. The next morning I found a completely dry figure and quickly assembled it and grabbed Fish’s favorite teddy bear for photos.

Detailing Fish’s box.

The baseplate inserted into a dehydrator. Completed figure parts on a baseplate for drying.

The finished product.

This allowed me to finalize the figure and take a few snaps of Fish from various angles. I left Fish’s head a bit rough, but I am pleased with the way it looks. With a bit more time, I would have molded and cast the figure to further the cleaning process, but I do not have that set-up yet and time did not permit. I am pleased with the new techniques I tried, specifically modifying Krusty’s head, modifying tiles, new paint brand, decal from photo, and finally the food dehydrator to cure the paint; I will be doing that last one a lot more frequently. I hope you like Fish as much as I do; now to recreate Eggs, so he has his adopted son.

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

Come back next issue for more Minifigure Customization!

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

People

Giacinto Consiglio’s model of Florence Cathedral.

Giacinto and the Cathedral

Article by Giacinto Consiglio Photography by Claudio Giovannini

I’m Giacinto Consiglio, a 18-year-old student and LEGO builder. My love for LEGO is also sided by a strong passion for architecture, and every trip I go on is a unique opportunity to appreciate new building solutions and to feel the power of iconic landmarks standing in front of me. One of these is undoubtedly the Florence Cathedral, that I visited for the first time in 2014. Its multicolored marble decorations, the imposing bell tower, and the glorious dome, totally captivated me, so I decided I’d take the challenge to build it out of LEGO bricks. My first attempt failed due to a number of factors, such as the excessive size I chose and the marble colored stripes I didn’t know how to reproduce. It wasn’t until 2016, with my second visit to the birthplace of the Renaissance, that I managed to successfully begin a LEGO replica of the church. The walls begin to take shape.

As I mentioned before, one of the trickiest parts were the marble decorations, but another was on a chromatic level. The original facade uses red, green, and white marble, but they’re not as bright as LEGO colors, and red marble is much more brownish than you could expect. The best option for green marble seemed dark green/earth green, but it still looked too intense if compared to the real one, which is somehow “faded”. Consequently, I chose my beloved sand green for green marble, dark orange for red marble, and dark red for the terracotta roof and for the dome. The scale I chose turned out to be compatible to many essential bricks you just can’t replace with brickbuilt solutions, such as statuettes, arches, roof slopes, etc. To make the marble stripes as narrow as in the actual building, I used several SNOT techniques, but the most difficult parts were the three apses and the dome. Luckily they’re polygonal and not round, and this made the translation into LEGO bricks significantly easier. I started with the facade, then work went on along the sides. Finally I made the domes. The three twin apses feature a halved dome, and their reduced dimensions made the design process even more complex than the main dome, built by one of the greatest Italian architects of all times, Filippo Brunelleschi. My version of the dome had to respect the “pointed” appearance of the cupola, which is different from other similar structures, generally built in a semispherical shape: To do this, I used dark red plates connected by hinges, and several ties linked the external covering to an inner pillar. Its fragility, though, made the actual building nearly nerve-wracking: After all, I could never imagine I would build it for real some months later!

The completed walls.

A look at the LEGO Digital Designer file and the apses (half-domed roofs) or the cathedral.

For the preliminary design I used LEGO Digital Designer and it took me around one month to build the cathedral alone, then I added Giotto’s bell tower and the baptistery in the following days. I posted the digital renderings of my creation on an Italian LEGO-related forum, and unexpectedly a few days later I was contacted by Tuscan LEGO

Adding the attachments points for the central dome.

The cathedral roof in progress.

enthusiasts group ToscanaBricks, who offered to completely fund the construction. Gathering the nearly 20,000 bricks took several months: They shared some of their own bricks, but most of them were ordered from Bricklink, LEGO Pick-a-Brick, and Bricks&Pieces. Digital models always need a final “physical” test before building, and such a complex work might easily include techniques that are not as stable in real life as they appear on a PC screen. Some limited modifications had to be made, but the overall appearance of the cathedral was luckily preserved.

The top of the cupola, which is attached to the top of the pillar supporting the roof panels.

Nearing completion, with the bell tower being added.

ToscanaBricks’ members strongly wanted the model to be built live somewhere in Florence: In the end, they arranged a live building at Museo dell’Opera del Duomo in Florence, right behind the apses of the cathedral. Building a 20,000piece MOC in front of an audience required the construction time to be dramatically reduced: To do this, they disassembled the preliminary model into sub-sections, which were then carefully labelled and re-assembled in Florence during the live building. The model remained there for several months, and afterwards has been exhibited in several locations: On November 10 and 11 it was displayed at the Bricks in Florence festival along with some of my other MOCs (mainly modular building) and my Baroque Cathedral.

TuscanaBrick member Mirko Romano adds the bell tower at the live build while Enrico Vannucchi looks on.

Over 20,000 bricks later, the cathedral is complete. Members of TuscanaBricks and Giancinto gather around the cathedral. From left to right are: Enrico Vannucchi, Daniele Bocini, Giacinto, Mirko Romano, and Nico Mascagni.

People

A Great Crane Contraption

Article and Photography by Nicolas Lespour “What happens when you give four LEGO Technic fans 25 of our Rough Terrain Crane sets and ask them to build something amazing?” This was the question posed by the LEGO Group on a YouTube video released on October 13, 2018. The result was also shown on the video—a contraption where cranes and other machines rolled, turned, or otherwise moved in sequence. What began as an uphill cabin on a rack, culminated in a trebuchet launching a tire into a building made of Technic panels. BrickJournal was able to speak to the builders behind this great crane contraption.

How did LEGO contact you? Did you know each other beforehand? TechLUG has been an active group in the LEGO Technic community over the last ten years. As an Ambassador for TechLUG, LEGO contacted Régis Gamba during February 2018 to ask if our group would be interested in working on a secret project with an upcoming Summer Technic set. After a few e-mails with LEGO, Régis knew the project would be cool. But as it was definitely not a one guy thing, he asked Alban Nourry, Maxime Alberti and I (Nicolas Lespour) if we were interested in such a project. Yes, we were ! After Non-Disclosure Agreements got signed, things went very quickly. Indeed, Maxime received the first Rough Terrain Crane (#42082) sets in the beginning of March. How much time were you given to design and build your contraption? We estimated that we spent about 650 hours. This estimation includes ten hours of building time per Crane,

The contraption is made up of over 86,000 LEGO parts and elements. There are a total of 28 different modules that uses mechanical and electric machines to run, 29 if the clock that is activated separately is included.

the time to design the layout of the machine, building the various modules and modified cranes, and the tests to improve the final machine and make it reliable. How was the layout designed? We worked on the layout as soon as we had the cranes in our hands, and built a few to have a rough idea of what we could do. Then, we drew the layout on a whiteboard with many ideas for the modules and modified cranes. We had to make a contraption which features the Rough Terrain Crane, so we decided to use cranes and modules to make movements with a start and a final point. After analyzing the parts and the design of the crane, many ideas came to our minds. Eventually, we decided to make a zig-zag layout to put as many modules as possible in the area (which was approx 5x5 meters, or 16.4 feet square). As Maxime wanted to make a trebuchet, we decided to put it at the very end with a tire thrown over the machine towards a building.

You can see the contraption go through its paces on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/yceanr6v or on Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/ycfdw496

Who designed the machines that were built for the layout? After the overall shape of the layout was decided, we divided the zig-zag layout into lines. I (Nicolas) made the first line with the clock, the cabin on the upward rack, the fan, the LEGO logo sign, and the motorized steering crane. Maxime made the second line with the turtle module, the yo-yo, and the rolling cages. Alban made the next line with the many driving and rotating cranes, plus the hamster module. Nicolas made two last modules before the trebuchet: The destroyed house and the kinetic sculpture. And Maxime did the trebuchet. With that organization, we were able to test our lines at home and improve them. Each line was linked to the previous one by using a motorized steering crane. This was both convenient and simple to make the overall zig-zag shape. Of course, we did a global test in a large room in the middle of the project to make sure that we were working in the right direction.

The Contraption Builders

Alban Nourry

Maxime Alberti

Nicolas Lespour

Régis Gamba

Alban is 45 and got back into building 11 years ago after his Dark Age.

Maxime is 31 and has been LEGO building since childhood, building with his older brother, to now, with a three-year Dark Age during his studies. He has been building a solid 20 years doing mainly unfinished LEGO Technic creations.

Nicolas is 29 and has been building since 2007, so 11 years have passed after his Dark Age.

Régis is 31 years old and has been into LEGO for 11 years, with the creation of TechLUG.

He has been an active member on TechLUG from its beginning, and was moderator for several years. Now, he still does Technic creations every month, which can be seen on his blog here: www.nico71.fr . His creations are mainly vehicles and machines. Each time he creates something, he tries to offer building instructions so that people can reproduce his models.

He does a lot of Technic reviews, but is not a Technic builder per se. Virtually all his MOCs are Star Wars related as he really loves to design UCS models. You can find his work here: www.flickr. com/photos/anio-ucs/ albums

(Alban42800)

He is a fan of Technic and Mindstorms. Alban has participated in three robotic contests (Eurobot once, and Fribot twice) and made some Great Ball Contraption modules. On his blog http:// blogotechnic.blogspot. com he used to do reviews of old and recent models and of my MOCs. Today, he is more discrete on the Internet. What he prefers to do in LEGO Technic and Mindstorms is to build something that is both useless and fun.

(Buz)

Maxime does LEGO in his garage, not so much over the Internet as he has no skill at editing video. He tries to go on small- and medium-sized exhibitions in his area. He is working on building some Technic stuff or Great Ball Contraption modules. Like Alban, Maxime has participated in some robotic events. Maxime’s Youtube username is buzlamouche.

(Nico71)

(Anio)

How long did it take to set up the layout? LEGO rented a studio for a weekend. We set up the layout all day Saturday. It was rather quick to assemble the entire layout, but we had to make many adjustments so that it worked fine. We also decided to change the orientation of the zig-zag and the location of the final tower because of filming and viewing convenience. Then, LEGO shot the machine on Sunday.

Maxime and Nicolas take a look at one of the modules. This one has a turtle on the end of the black boom, which rotates to trip the wheel mallet in the foreground.

Did the layout work as expected? Yes, the overall machine worked as we expected. We had to make a lot of tiny adjustments though, to make sure all movement sequences were okay. We also had to make some minor changes because some modules were sensitive to the flatness of the floor, or because it required some final improvements. After we ran some tests, dead batteries were also something we had to consider, just like the way we rewound the winch or the placement of certain moving modules. LEGO did many shooting tests on Saturday to find out the best way of filming the machine. Is this just a one-time project, or will this layout be seen at events? This is just a one-time project. We built the machine and displayed it at the studio, LEGO shot the movie, and then the machine was taken apart. The goal for LEGO was to involve the community to build something amazing with the upcoming Rough Terrain Crane and to make two promotional videos: A one-shot on YouTube, and a more detailed one on Facebook.

A closer look at the clock which actually functions with a pendulum mechanism.

What is next? At the moment, we don’t know if LEGO will do future collaborations with us. But all we can say is that they appreciated working with us (and so did we!), and that we are welcome to Billund to meet again.

Nicolas and Alban make some adjustments on the layout.

History

Esso toys, including BILOfix tanker truck

From Carpenter to Toymaker:

The LEGO Story

Article by Matthew Hocker Photography by Matthew Hocker, Niels Thomsen, and Richard Bintanja

“LEGO made wooden toys? I had no idea!” This is typically the response I receive when talking to the general public about LEGO’s earliest toys. Most people tend to associate the history of LEGO with the plastic interlocking bricks we all know and love today. In 1958, a patent was filed for what became the modern LEGO brick. They were a vast improvement over LEGO’s earlier Automatic Binding Bricks, which were released in 1949. Mercedes Unimog.

Impact of the Great Depression on a Danish Business:

However, the origins of LEGO as a toy company can be traced back to the Wall Street Crash of 1929, which ushered in a lengthy global economic depression. Thanks to the Great Depression, thousands of companies across dozens of industries went out of business. Resourcefulness and a willingness to adapt were vital in surviving this type of environment. One man who possessed both of these traits was Ole Kirk Christiansen, an aspiring carpenter in the sleepy Danish town of Billund. Ole was just 25 when he purchased a woodworking shop in 1916. When the Depression hit, demand for his shops’ services began to dwindle. Tough times were ahead; keeping food on the Christiansen table became a challenge, and employees were let go. Despite this, faith and family motivated Ole to trudge on.

Unfortunate Circumstances Lead to Great Toys:

At this point, he started making wooden ironing boards and ladders. Ole couldn’t afford to waste any wood; which is why he crafted working, miniature models of his ideas before engaging in full-size production. Doing this ensured the finished product would function perfectly. These miniatures proved to be a turning point in Ole’s career because they inspired him to focus his efforts on making and selling wooden toys. His first toys appeared in 1932, but they didn’t bear the LEGO name yet! That wouldn’t happen until 1934 when Ole officially named his company LEGO.

Wooden Ducks Become a Smashing Success: Ole offered a wide range of wooden playthings, from vehicles to animal pull-toys. Some featured working parts, such as the famous wooden duck which opened and closed its mouth when you pulled it around. Later versions of the duck included a sound mechanism which generated a “quacking” noise. The duck became one of the LEGO Group’s most successful wooden toys and was in production from the 1930s through 1950s. It also became the official symbol of the company’s history.

LEGO ducks. The duck in the rear is the ‘quacking’ version.

LEGO is a Family Business—The Rise of Godtfred Christiansen:

Ole’s sons joined the family business, including Godtfred who was designing toys for his father by the age of seventeen. Godtfred began attending Haslev Technical School in 1939. While in school, he aspired to become an auto mechanic and conceptualized automotive toys for LEGO in his free time. Rather than become a mechanic, Godtfred returned home to work for LEGO at his father’s request. Bowling game. Players would knock the pins, causing them to roll and rest on the point notches.

This shot from the early 1950s shows workers painting wooden trucks.

1957

1958 Here are print ads from that time period.

1955.

ry. anniversa O’s 25th G E L g n celebrati 1957 ad

The End of One Era Leads to the Birth of a New One

LEGO discontinued all wooden toy production in 1960, following a devastating fire which destroyed the carpentry workshops (the company suffered a similar fire in 1942). Under the leadership of Ole’s son Godtfred, the decision was made to abandon wood toys in favor of plastic toys. Specifically, he wanted to focus on improving the increasingly popular LEGO System building bricks we know and love.

A photo from the 1960 fire that destroyed the wooden toy warehouse.

Not everyone in the Christiansen family agreed with Godtfred’s decision. His brothers Karl Georg and Gerhardt left LEGO to form their own wooden toy company under the name of BILOfix. LEGO started using the BILOfix label on its wooden toys from 1959 through 1960, and the brothers appropriated the name for their company. In other words, some BILOfix toys are official LEGO products. BILOfix also developed a wooden beam construction toy similar in appearance to the likes of Erector or what would later become LEGO Technic. While the LEGO brand took off like a rocket, BILOfix would gradually disappear.

A Rich Past Provides the Foundation for the Future:

Although LEGO abandoned wooden toy production, the company has always embraced its heritage. Ducks often appear in LEGO sets as a nod to the original wooden duck pull-toys. In 1998, LEGO even commissioned a reproduction of its 1940s LEGO Klodser (blocks) game and sold it in LEGOLand Billund. In four more years the LEGO Group will observe its 90th anniversary, and it will be interesting to see how the company will continue celebrating its wooden past.

BILOflx construction toys were introduced as LEGO products in 1959.

LEGO klodster (block) game.

History

Steve Guinness, a Teacher and AFOL from Chester in the UK, takes us through his latest project making a replica of the classic wooden LEGO duck. Earlier in 2017 I was lucky enough to visit Billund in Denmark, and have a tour of the Lion House, part of the LEGO Ideas House. Included in this exhibit were a number of original wooden LEGO toys. I’m a teacher by profession, teaching Design and Technology in the UK to 11-18-yearolds, which includes skills such as woodworking, so the wooden beginnings of LEGO’s history are of great interest to me.

Making a Replica of the Classic 1935 LEGO Wooden Duck Article by Steve Guiness

The wooden duck stood out to me in the museum as something special; it’s so instantly recognizable, and I immediately thought it would be great fun to have a go at making a replica. I took as many photos as I could, but wasn’t allowed to remove the toy from its glass case, so couldn’t get precise measurements. On returning home I put the photos in to some 2-D drawing software I use at work, and carefully traced the outlines in order to produce some templates. My aim was for the duck to be 1:1 in scale with the original, but as I worked from photos and not exact measurements, it could well be a little out. I cut the templates out on a laser cutter using 3mm thick MDF board. I then used some pine softwood that I had spare in my workshop and cut out the different parts

Parts were traced from a photo to make templates.

using a mechanical scroll saw, and sanded them to a fine finish. The wheels and truck base were drilled and held in place with a wooden dowel. The original LEGO duck was made from Beech hardwood, ideal for making toys due to its close grain structure and hardwearing properties.

Cut from wood, parts are fitted together.

The next step was to think about the mechanism that makes the beak open and close when the toy is pulled along. There were a couple of different versions in the museum in Billund; one used a metal rod and crank shaft to create both movement and a sort of quacking noise, as the rod is sprung and vibrates against a piece of hardboard. The other was a simpler wooden cam and follower mechanism, consisting of an offset wooden cam, which rotates with the wheels to enable the follower and the beak to rise and fall. I chose to recreate the cam and follower version, as it seemed a little more straightforward to work out. With some fine adjustment, I got this to work well; the head has no hinge as it simply rotates around a small wooden dowel acting as a pivot point at the top of the neck. The final stage was to finish the toy with paint. I prepared all the parts with primer and then applied three coasts of toy-safe gloss colors. I had each color matched as closely as possible to the photos I’d taken of the original duck. Once the paint was fully dry, I distressed some of the edges with sandpaper, to add a bit of wear and age to achieve the final look I wanted.

A look at the beak moving mechanism.

The duck and the truck ready for joining.

Completed.

The paint is distressed with sandpaper.

A larger-than-life LEGO skateboard.

Comparing the old and new, I was really pleased with the result; it was great fun to do, and I would encourage anyone to have a go. I’m not planning to make more ducks, as for me it’s just a fun way to combine some of my interests and decorate my house! I’ve made a few other wooden pieces linked with my love of LEGO, including wooden Minifigures, Flowers, and a giant wooden skateboard which I use as a coffee table, and a giant wooden tree. I’m not sure what’s next but I’m sure I’ll do more at some point; maybe a rocking horse, in LEGO style, or something simple like a police minifigure walkie-talkie to remind me of the Police LEGO sets I loved to play with as a child. Scaled-up trees.

A large-scale flower.

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MECHA

LAST ISSUE: BRICKJOURNAL #54

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY: A covert Dossier on Taiwan’s HSINWEI CHI and his revolutionary LEGO animals and giant robots! We also declassify other top LEGO builders’ creations, including MICHAEL BROWN’s colossal Technic-scale F-18 Hornet! Plus: Minifigure customizing from JARED K. BURKS, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd’s DIY Fan Art, & more! (84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $4.95

BRICKJOURNAL #15

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!

OUTER SPACE

BRICKJOURNAL #6

CLASSIC SPACE SETS and 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!

BRICKJOURNAL #17

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 ALIEN CONQUEST SETS, plus JARED K. BURKS’ column on MINIFIGURE CUSTOMIZATION, building tips, event reports, our step-by-step “YOU CAN BUILD IT” INSTRUCTIONS, and more!

TRAINS

BRICKJOURNAL #24

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

BRICKJOURNAL #46

More with train builder CALE LEIPHART, updated train layouts and models from the PENNLug, BRICK MODEL RAILROADER (a new LEGO Train fan website that launched this year), and more locomotive action! Plus: Minifigure customizing from JARED K. BURKS’, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, & more!

BRICKJOURNAL #40

Build giant robots and mechs with 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, stepby-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, DIY Fan Art by TOMMY WILLIAMSON, and more!

BRICKJOURNAL #48

Secrets and tricks of building mechs with some of the best mecca builders in the world! Interviews with BENJAMIN CHEH, KELVIN LOW, LU SIM, FREDDY TAM, DAVID LIU, and SAM CHEUNG! Plus: Minifigure customizing from JARED K. BURKS’, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd’s DIY Fan Art, & more!

STAR WARS™

BRICKJOURNAL #41

Space-themed LEGO creations of LIA CHAN, 2001: A Space Odyssey’s Orion space plane by NICK DEAN, and Pre-Classic Space builder CHRIS GIDDENS! Plus: JARED K. BURKS’ minifigure customizing, stepby-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd DIY Fan Art, MINDSTORMS robotics by DAMIEN KEE, and more!

BRICKJOURNAL #23

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 minifigure customization by JARED BURKS, “You Can Build It” instructions, and more!

BRICKJOURNAL #37

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-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd DIY Fan Art, MINDSTORMS robotics lessons by DAMIEN KEE, & more!

MINDSTORMS & ROBOTICS

BRICKJOURNAL #5

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

BRICKJOURNAL #33

MINDSTORMS EV3 builders MARCANDRE BAZERGUI and ANDY MILLUZZI, designer LEE MAGPILI, CHRIS GIDDENS with his amazing robot sculptures, Minifig Customization by JARED BURKS, stepby-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd DIY Fan Art by TOMMY WILLIAMSON, other looks at MINDSTORMS building, and more!

BRICKJOURNAL #42

How schools and AFOLs build with the new WeDo, FIRST LEGO LEAGUE’s 2016 season explored (with national competitions at LEGOLand California), and robotics builders the Seshan Brothers take MINDSTORMS to the next level! Plus: Minifigure customizing from JARED K. BURKS’, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, & more!

CARS

BRICKJOURNAL #11

“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, MINIFIGURE CUSTOMIZATION by JARED K. BURKS, MICRO BUILDING, builder spotlights, LEGO HISTORY, and more!

STEAMPUNK

BRICKJOURNAL #51

STEAMPUNK, with builder GUY HIMBER! PAUL HETHERINGTON talks about his cover model “Unchain My Heart,” ROD GILLIES’ latest Steampunk work, and a look at the creations of other top Steampunk builders! Plus: Minifigure customizing from JARED K. BURKS’, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd’s DIY Fan Art, & more!

TECHNIC

BRICKJOURNAL #21

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

BRICKJOURNAL #38

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-bystep “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd Pop Art by TOMMY WILLIAMSON, MINDSTORMS robotics lessons by DAMIEN KEE, and more!

DISNEY®

BRICKJOURNAL #9

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!

BRICKJOURNAL #44

THEME PARK ISSUE! ERIK JONES’ custom LEGO version of Cinderella Castle, STÉPHANE DELY’s Disneyland Paris Sleeping Beauty Castle, and JOHN RUDY’s brick versions of your favorite theme park rides! Plus “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd’s DIY Fan Art, Minifigure Customization with JARED K. BURKS and more!

BRICKJOURNAL #29

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

CASTLES

BRICKJOURNAL #25

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

SCULPTURE

BRICKJOURNAL #12

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, MINIFIG CUSTOMIZATION by JARED K. BURKS, how a POWER MINERS model became one for ATLANTIS, building standards, and much more!

BRICKJOURNAL #18

Two JAPANESE LEGO FAN EVENTS, plus a look at JAPAN’S SACRED LEGO LAND, Nasu Highland Park—the site of 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!

BRICKJOURNAL #31

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, and more!

BRICKJOURNAL #49

GEOFF GRAY explores Technic history, JOE MENO interviews former LEGO Set Designer SØREN HOLM about the classic Technic Space Shuttle, MICHAEL BROWN shows off his Technic-scale AH-64, and more! Plus: Minifigure customizing from JARED K. BURKS’, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd’s DIY Fan Art, & more!

BRICKJOURNAL #45

FEMALE LEGO BUILDERS! US Architectural builder ANURADHA PEHRSON, British Microscale builder FERNANDA RIMINI, US Bionicle builder BREANN SLEDGE, and Norwegian Town builder BIRGITTE JONSGARD! Plus: Minifigure customizing from JARED K. BURKS’, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, & more!

DINOSAURS

BRICKJOURNAL #52

Russian builder TIMOFEY TKACHEV, plus what it takes to become a LEGO Certified Professional (an elite group of builders officially recognized by LEGO), with New York’s SEAN KENNEY and Australian RYAN McNAUGHT! Also: Minifigure customizing from JARED K. BURKS’, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd’s DIY Fan Art, & more!

BRICKJOURNAL #39

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, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, DIY Fan Art by BrickNerd TOMMY WILLIAMSON, and more!

SUPER-HEROES

BRICKJOURNAL #20

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!

BRICKJOURNAL #32

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, and more!

EVENTS

BRICKJOURNAL #13

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

BRICKJOURNAL #19

LEGO EVENTS ISSUE covering our own BRICKMAGIC FESTIVAL, BRICKWORLD, BRICKFAIR, BRICKCON, plus other events outside the US. 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!

GAMING

BRICKJOURNAL #34

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, and more!

BRICKFILMS

BRICKJOURNAL #28

Learn what went into making The LEGO Movie and other brickfilms with moviemaker DAVID PAGANO, chat with brickfilmers The Brotherhood Workshop, talk with the makers of LEGO: A Brickumentary, MINDSTORMS building, minifigure customization by JARED BURKS, step-by-step instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, & more!

ARCHITECTURE

BRICKJOURNAL #43

IMAGINE RIGNEY’s Bioshock builds, NICK JENSEN’s characters and props from HALO and other video games, and GamerLUG member SIMON LIU builds LEGO versions of video game characters, spaceships and more! Plus: “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd’s DIY Fan Art, Minifigure Customization with JARED K. BURKS, and more!

BRICKJOURNAL #53

TYLER CLITES and SEAN MAYO show you LEGO hacks to twink and juice your creations! Also, see big bad game-inspired models by BARON VON BRUNK, and Pokemon-inspired models by LI LI! Plus: Minifigure customizing from JARED K. BURKS, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd’s DIY Fan Art, & more!

UNDERSEA

BRICKJOURNAL #10

Looks at the creation of LEGO’S 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, stepby-step building instructions, minifigure customization by JARED BURKS, LEGO history, and more!

MICROSCALE

BRICKJOURNAL #47

Builder MITSURU NIKAIDO shows us undersea creatures and organic builds! Then jump aboard MARCELLO DeCICCO’s minifigure-scale warships! See PEDRO NASCIMENTO’s amazing architectural creations! Plus: Minifigure customizing from JARED K. BURKS’, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd’s DIY Fan Art, & more!

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TwoMorrows. BRICKJOURNAL #7

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!

BRICKJOURNAL #30

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, and more!

BRICKJOURNAL #35

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, and more!

BRICKJOURNAL #36

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-bystep “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd DIY Fan Art, and more!

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Last Word Right now, it’s mid-November. Yes, it takes this long to get an issue out—it’s not as easy as it looks. But it already has snowed here, and in fact, enough snow came down to cancel school. If I had a day that got snowed out, I would be building. In fact, I have done that during the blizzards that happened where I lived. Once the power went out, so I built by candlelight. Creativity, or the practice of it, doesn’t need electricity. I can sketch out ideas and then build—all I need is light to see what I am doing. That’s what I like about creativity. It can be practiced anytime, anywhere. So I usually have at least a sketch pad, and some LEGO parts. There’s usually a small box somewhere close for me to play with... ...or create with. Sometimes a small idea is made; other times bigger things come into being. I never know. But that’s part of the fun. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some building to do... That Joe Meno Guy Lookin for adventure... Built by Shawn Snyder.

by Kevin A. Hinkle

POP CULTURE BOOKS FROM TWOMORROWS MONSTER MASH:

The Creepy, Kooky Monster Craze In America, 1957-1972 Time-trip back to the frightening era of 1957-1972, when monsters stomped into the American mainstream! Once Frankenstein and fiends infiltrated TV in 1957, an avalanche of monster magazines, toys, games, trading cards, and comic books crashed upon an unsuspecting public. This profusely illustrated full-color hardcover covers that creepy, kooky Monster Craze through features on FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND magazine, the #1 hit “Monster Mash,” Aurora’s model kits, TV shows (SHOCK THEATRE, THE ADDAMS FAMILY, THE MUNSTERS, and DARK SHADOWS), “MARS ATTACKS” trading cards, EERIE PUBLICATIONS, PLANET OF THE APES, and more! It features interviews with JAMES WARREN (Creepy, Eerie, and Vampirella magazines), FORREST J ACKERMAN (Famous Monsters of Filmland), JOHN ASTIN (The Addams Family), AL LEWIS (The Munsters), JONATHAN FRID (Dark Shadows), GEORGE BARRIS (monster car customizer), ED “BIG DADDY” ROTH (Rat Fink), BOBBY (BORIS) PICKETT (Monster Mash singer/ songwriter) and others, with a Foreword by TV horror host ZACHERLEY, the “Cool Ghoul.” Written by MARK VOGER. (192-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $39.95 (Digital Edition) $11.95 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-064-9

GROOVY: When Flower Power Bloomed In Pop Culture

A psychedelic look at ‘60s era’s ROCK FESTIVALS, TV, MOVIES, ART, COMICS & CARTOONS! Written by MARK VOGER.

(192-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $39.95 • (Digital Edition) $15.95 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-080-9

KIRBY100

Celebrate JACK KIRBY’S 100th BIRTHDAY with an all-star line-up of 100 COMICS PROS who critique key images from his 50-year career! (224-page FULL-COLOR trade paperback) $34.95 (Digital Edition) $12.95 ISBN: 978-1-60549-078-6

HERO-A-GO-GO!

MICHAEL EURY looks at comics’ CAMP AGE, when spies liked their wars cold and their women warm, and TV’s Batman shook a mean cape! (272-page FULL-COLOR paperback) $36.95 (Digital Edition) $13.95 ISBN: 978-1-60549-073-1

DOWNLOAD OUR FREE 48-PAGE CATALOG OF BOOKS AND MAGAZINES: http://bit.ly/TwoCatalog OR CALL OR WRITE, AND WE'LL MAIL YOU A FREE PRINTED COPY!

LOU SCHEIMER

AGE OF TV HEROES

CREATING THE FILMATION GENERATION Biography of the co-founder of Filmation Studios, which for over 25 years brought the Archies, Shazam, Isis, He-Man, and others to TV and film!

Examining the history of the live-action television adventures of everyone’s favorite comic book heroes, featuring the in-depth stories of the shows’ actors and behind-the-scenes players!

(288-page paperback with COLOR) $29.95 (Digital Edition) $14.95 ISBN: 978-1-60549-044-1

(192-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $39.95 (Digital Edition) $9.95 ISBN: 978-1-60549-010-6

IT CREPT FROM THE TOMB

Digs up the best of FROM THE TOMB (the UK’s preeminent horror comics history magazine): Atomic comics lost to the Cold War, censored British horror comics, the early art of RICHARD CORBEN, Good Girls of a bygone age, TOM SUTTON, DON HECK, LOU MORALES, AL EADEH, BRUCE JONES’ ALIEN WORLDS, HP LOVECRAFT in HEAVY METAL, and more from Atlas, Charlton, Comic Media, DC, EC, Harvey, House of Hammer, Kitchen Sink, Last Gasp, Pacific, Skywald, Warren, and others! (192-page paperback with COLOR) $29.95 (Digital Edition) $10.95 ISBN: 978-1-60549-081-6

TwoMorrows. The Future of Pop History.

TwoMorrows Publishing • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 USA

Phone: 919-449-0344 E-mail: store@twomorrows.com Web: www.twomorrows.com

ctive owners. RetroFan is ™ TwoM

orrows Inc.

Inspired By The MAGICAL Pop Culture We Grew Up With!

#3: SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE Director RICHARD DONNER interview, IRWIN ALLEN’s sci-fi universe, Saturday morning’s undersea adventures of AQUAMAN, ’60s and ’70s horror/sci-fi zines, Spider-Man and Hulk toilet paper, RetroTravel to METROPOLIS, IL’s Superman Celebration, SEA-MONKEYS®, FUNNY FACE beverages & collectibles, a fortress of Superman and Batman memorabilia, and more! NOW SHIPPING!

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RETROFAN #4 spotlights ANDY MANGELS’ exploration of the Saturday morning live-action Shazam! TV show, featuring interviews with JOHN (Captain Marvel) DAVEY and MICHAEL (Billy Batson) Gray. MARTIN PASKO’s Pesky Perspective sets its sting on the Green Hornet in Hollywood! ERNEST FARINO remembers the magical monster maker RAY HARRYHAUSEN! The Oddball World of SCOTT SHAW! time-travels to the long-gone, way-out Santa Monica Pacific Ocean Amusement Park! Plus: the Star Trek Set Tour, interviews with actor SAM J. JONES and Jan and Dean’s DEAN TORRENCE, the British sci-fi TV classic Thunderbirds, Super Collector’s virtual museum of Harvey (Casper, Richie Rich) merchandise, the wild and crazy King Tut fad, and more fun, fab features! (84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 • (Digital Edition) $4.95 • SHIPS MARCH 2019!

SUBSCRIBE NOW! Four issues: $38 Economy, $63 International, $16 Digital Only

TwoMorrows. The Future of Pop History.

TwoMorrows Publishing • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 USA

#5: Interviews with Star Wars’ MARK HAMILL and Greatest American Hero’s WILLIAM KATT! Blast off with Jason of Star Command! Stop by the Museum of Popular Culture! Poke fun at a campy Batman comic book! Plus: “The First Time I Met Tarzan,” Major Matt Mason, Moon Landing Mania, Snuffy Smith at 100 with cartoonist JOHN ROSE, TV Dinners, Celebrity Crushes, and more fun, fab features! SHIPS JUNE 2019! Phone: 919-449-0344 E-mail: store@twomorrows.com Web: www.twomorrows.com

PRINTED IN CHINA PRINTED IN CHINA

Edited by Back Issue’s MICHAEL EURY!