BrickJournal #67 by TwoMorrows Publishing

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Issue 66 • March 2021

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

People Tom Gerardin: Building Ideas!.......................3

Building Alexandre Rossier: Back for More!...............8 Jerry Hung: A City Layout Like No Other!...................16 Stijn van der Laan (Red Spacecat): Building Future Visions..............................22 Damian Thomas: Building Dinosaur Bones!... ......................28

John Randall: Displaying Like a Master!..........................34 Dario Minisini: Building Butterflies and More!...............40 Dario Del Frate: Building a Fairy tale Castle.......................44 You Can Build It: X-29 Forward Swept Wing Plane..........48 You Can Build It: Razor Crest.......................................................52 Minifigure Customization 101: One Original Thought is Worth 1000 Meaningless Quotes!......................58

Community Bantha Bricks Files: Eloi Parizeau’s Nebulon-B Escort/ Medical Frigate and GR-75 Medium Transport.......................................66 SORTLUG: What Happens When the Cons are Gone?.........................................................72 Community Ads...............................................78 Last Word.............................................................79 AFOLs....................................................................80

From the Editor: Hello there! Another two months, another issue! And this one is different, for sure.

May 2021 Issue 67

There’s a lot of... different building in here. We have a skeleton builder and a space builder and a butterfly builder and...

Publisher John Morrow

Editor in Chief Joe Meno

Photography Editor Geoff Gray Proofreader John Morrow

Japanese Bureau Editor Nathan Bryan West Coast Editors Ashley Glennon

LEGO Ideas Correspondent Glen Wadleigh Bantha Bricks Correspondent Steven Smyth

Contributors: Jared Burks, Christopher Deck, Dario Del Frate, Tom Gerardin, Alexandre Rossier, Jerry Hung, Stijn van der Laan, Dario Minisini, Eloi Parizeau, John Randall, Steven Smyth, Damian Thomas, and Greg Hyland.

...then we have displayers of sets, but in permanent displays—they don’t go to events. As a result, they have details and lighting—things that are not in too many event displays yet. We have builders that tell stories with their builds. And we have a castle builder here, but not necessarily of castles that we usually think of. So sit back, relax and take a look at what we got for you! You’ll love it! 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 info on a subscription, you can go to www.twomorrows.com or scan below!

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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: Tom Gerardin’s characters Billy and Charlie make the cover with their adventures! Photography provided by Tom Gerardin. About the Contents: One of the many sections of Jerry Hung’s city layout. Photography by Jerry Hung. Star Wars and all related characters and properties TM & © Lucasfilm.

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 $68 Economy US, $80 Expedited US, $103 International, or $27 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 Ct, 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

Nathan and Tom at LEGO Masters UK in 2018.

Tom Gerardin has been building for 17 years, and he’s a 21-year-old university student in his third year studying 3-D Design. In those building years he went from a person who built sets to a builder that not only has created a LEGO Ideas set that made its support goal, but also has competed on television with his skills! As a child, Tom would try to build sets himself that were too expensive for him to save for, and as he got older, he discovered that he wanted to build his own ideas and models. He developed his building skills while building sets, learning techniques, and coming up with new ones and using them in his own creations from his teen years into his adult years.

Tom Gerardin:

Building Ideas! Article and Photography by Tom Gerardin

Best friends Billy (right) and Charlie (left) on the town!

Inspiration for his builds comes from a variety of places. Tom really enjoys character design, so he might come up with a character in his head and then translate it into LEGO bricks. He also draws a lot so his builds might come from aspects of his drawing. Sometimes he plans a build before he starts making it, but most of the time he just gets stuck in with the bricks and experiments until he has a final design. Building time can vary—designing and building one of Tom’s small models can take only 30 minutes to an hour to design, while something larger like a vehicle from a film or a building can take up to a few days to create. It really depends on when he thinks a model is ready for building. The hardest model (and model he is proudest of) is Wallace (of Wallace and Gromit fame), which also became a successful LEGO Ideas project. Tom was inspired to build Wallace and Gromit by his childhood. He spent a lot of time watching the classic Aardman shows such as

Creature Comforts and Chicken Run, but the movies he watched the most were Wallace and Gromit. He watched the original three shorts so many times, he fell in love with them. Even back then, he tried to recreate scenes from the shorts out of LEGO—his creations back then didn’t look anything like the characters, but that didn’t matter to young Tom. Fast forward to today—he decided to revisit his younger self’s dream and try again to combine Wallace and Gromit and LEGO.

Billy and Charlie spot a cake...

For Tom, translating a plasticine character to LEGO was no easy task. It was really difficult recreating all the curves and lines of Wallace, especially around the mouth area. But after the model was finished, Tom was very pleased with the result: a set that is 2,198 pieces and includes five brickbuilt characters and accessories. He continued his work on the rest of the characters for the Ideas set and was repaid for his efforts by receiving 10,000 supporters to his project in only six weeks! Reliving his childhood dream is one of the reasons why he builds. Tom loves LEEGO, and he always has. He continues to build because it’s going to help him get his dream job, which is to be a LEGO model designer. This has been a dream since Tom was four. When he builds and plays with LEGO bricks, he gets taken to a place that he calls the zone—for Tom, it’s hard to explain. He knows it sounds cheesy, but it’s when he is sitting on the floor or at his desk surrounded by LEGO where he is in his element building, not thinking about anything else but what he is designing. He forgets about his classes and other parts of everyday life and he just does what he loves, and he can do it for hours. LEGO just makes him so happy—he thinks he’ll always love LEGO. His love of LEGO got him another opportunity to build. In 2018, he was a contestant on LEGO Masters France. For Tom, it was an amazing experience, especially because it introduced him to people in the LEGO community. It was great for him to talk to an amazing group of people that shared the same passions as himself.

...plan, and...

Playing video games.

Tom’s Best Friend Series

“My most recent LEGO series of my making is a series I call ‘Best Friends’. It follows the lives of best friends Billy and Charlie and what adventures they get up to. My inspiration for them is stuff that I got up to as a child and I am somebody who loves storytelling, and I wanted to dedicate a whole LEGO series to that. I am so happy with how they have been received by LEGO fans; I love that people find them funny and also relate to them too, and because of Billy and Charlie’s popularity, there are many more on the way very soon!” Watching fireworks on Guy Fawkes Day.

Billy and Charlie’s Halloween goes a little awry.

First love.

Shaun the Sheep, Wallace and Grommit TM & © Aardman Animations, Ltd.

Shaun the Sheep.

On LEGO Masters France, he met someone who has become very important in his life. He didn’t have LEGO friends before, but his team partner Nathan Stewart quickly became Tom’s first and best LEGO friend. With his new teammate, Tom built a LEGO model that had to create a beautiful explosion, a moving model based on a period in history (the Ice Age), and built a bridge that could bear an absurd amount of weight without breaking. Nathan turned out to be the best build partner Tom could have had. Besides the building, Tom’s experience with the show was really great. He made some lifelong friends because of the show, in addition to his best mate Nathan: his fellow contestants who all still talk today, and the amazing staff on set. He also got the chance to meet some LEGO designers during the LEGO Master auditions. With all of this, he still has other projects he is working on, but aren’t ready to be talked about yet.

Playing more games.

Feathers McGraw, one of the models for the Wallace and Gromit Ideas set.

The cooker, a fully articulated model for the Wallace and Gromit Ideas set.

Tom’s Wallace and Gromit submission for LEGO Ideas, which gathered 10,000 votes in six weeks!

Tom’s advice for beginning builders: “A perfect place to start is with making B models. When you purchase a LEGO set, and just with the pieces from that model, make it your own. By being limited to a small amount of bricks, it forces you to problem-solve more, which to me is what makes LEGO building fun. It gets your brain thinking and your creativity flowing.” The Wrong Trousers and Feathers McGraw.

Wallace.

Gromit.

Building

Alexandre Rossier:

Back for More! Article and Photography by Alexandre Rossier 8

BrickJournal showcased Alexandre Rossier’s builds last issue, but had to return to for more! His MOCs are as extraordinary as his work as a designer and photographer. The detail and craft he uses in both his creations and photography are simply beautiful, and prolific online. Here are some more LEGO projects that he has built. If you haven’t see his work online, you can view it at his Instagram feed. Til then, enjoy his creations here, with his notes on the builds!

Some of the modular buildings in John’s layout.

Rocket Transporter

A homage to the legendary Mobile Rocket transport 6950 set from 1982, but more than twice the original size. It is based on the drivetrain of the recent 42311 Volvo Hauler, with the automatic gearbox, knot steering—and the rocket articulated support instead of the dump unit!

Husqvarna Vitspindel Exploration Vehicle Each Christmas provides good motivation to create a vehicle for Santa Claus to deliver his presents around the world. This was his 2019 model, produced by the Swedish firm Husqvarna (today owned 10 by Austrians, actually), called Vitspindel

(white spider). It features huge all-terrain abilities with independent suspensions and an articulated front unit. It is powered by two hydrogen-fed V6 engines and houses a crew of six people. The R/C model is powered by six Power Functions motors.

Sand Beast The vehicle is a retro-futuristic vehicle designed for extreme races on sand. It is basically a huge displacement V12 positioned in the center of the car, flanked by two passengers’ pods. Their low position ensures an optimal center of gravity, and visibility to the right is improved by using cameras, while in-/egress is made easier thanks to one-piece canopies. On the front, a push-rod suspension set-up helps to reduce the upsprung masses, while a live axle configuration allows the tracks (necessary to increase traction on sand!) to work efficiently. The color scheme is a homage to the formula racers of the Sixties. The model is remote-controlled and uses Powered-Up motors and controller.

Arctic Explorer The design of an extreme transportation for Santa Claus is a yearly challenge for me. This year, my goal was to use gigantic hubless wheels on the back, and to stabilize, guide and power them at the same time. Santa’s presents are contained in four spheres suspended to a mobile crane at the back. On the center, two pods are dedicated to the famous owner: a sleeping room and an

office. The cockpit offers a 210° view on the sides and, on the top, a clear view to the sky. The model is powered by four L-motors for traction, plus one motor to steer the front track units, one for the radar dish, and another for the rear crane. The vehicle (which would naturally be constructed by Prinoth, the Italian snow-groomer manufacturer) has independent suspensions all around. Length: 55cm, weight, 2.5kg.

Building

Jerry Hung:

A City Layout Like No Other! Article and Photography by Jerry Hung

John Randall’s train display.

Some of the modular buildings in John’s layout.

In the daytime, Jerry Hung is an online vendor of computer and automobile cables. Off the job, though, he is a collector of LEGO sets, and has been since childhood. His fascination with LEGO City sets started when he got his first city set from his father: the LEGOLand Fire Station (6382) from 1981. Since then, he has gotten many more sets, and he did what many would do: he started building a layout with his sets.

One of the monorails makes a stop.

Over the next 33 years, Jerry built, tore down, and rebuilt his city layout, adding new sets and elements. Over 150 sets from the ’80s and ’90s take up the tables, but they only make up one third of Jerry’s vintage set collection. There are no modern or modular buildings in the city, making the layout very colorful. Construction of the town took several months. Jerry’s favorite set on the layout is the monorail, which winds through the city and its many districts. The area Jerry is most satisfied with is the residential section. The challenge he had while building the layout was to use the limited space to effectively display a certain amount of sets he had, and with no feeling of crowding. Although Jerry used bluebrick (a third-party train layout program) as a digital

A very busy harbor.

Taking diners.

A residential roundabout.

Soccer game in progress.

Jerry’s City by the Numbers

Size: 366cm X 228cm Dimensions in 32 x 32 baseplates: 15x8 Number of sets used: above 150 Oldest set used: 376 House with Garden (1978) Newest set used: 10219 Maersk train 2011) Smallest set used: 6606 Road Repair Set (1983) Largest set used: 6399 Airport Shuttle (1990) Construction in progress.

A look at the monorail routes.

method to plan the layout from the beginning, the result looked different than digital, as the layout was actually changed three times. In addition, he took into account the viewing angle of the city by trying to avoid overlapping buildings. He did this by making sure that the taller buildings were in the back, to keep from blocking others. The result is a colorful layout that evokes a nostalgic time for most LEGO fans. Jerry built the city as a homage to the classic LEGO catalogs, and the photos here look like excerpts from the books from long ago. His layout is one of the things displayed on Facebook at JH Toys Secret Base (https://www.facebook.com/ jhtoyssecretbase), along with other parts of his toy collection. Here are some photos from the layout—enjoy! A fire station. All aboard!

A train station.

Pit stop for a racetrack.

Moving shipping containers.

Moving cargo.

Building

The A-32 Skyracer.

Stijn van der Laan (Red Spacecat):

Building Future Visions Stijn’s KA-9 robot.

Article and Photography by John Randall

Stijn van der Laan is a Project Manager and Art Director at a digital agency, with his main focus being helping the healthcare sector better connect with patients by improving the online presence. He’s also an incredible LEGO builder, as you’ll see. BrickJournal talked to him about the hobby and his building. BrickJournal: How long have you been building? Stijn van der Laan: LEGO has always been my go-to toy growing up. But then the “Dark Age” hit when game consoles inevitably won the battle for my attention. About 15 years ago I came across some randomly assorted bricks at an online marketplace, which I immediately purchased. This brought me out of said “Dark Age” and I haven’t stopped building and buying more LEGO ever since. What got you into building as an adult?

The realization that I could buy individual LEGO parts online definitely rekindled my interest. Shortly after that revelation I learned about the SNOT (Studs Not On Top) technique by seeing some builds from creative talent and fellow Dutchman Fredo Houben (Fredoichi). That really got my motor running and even motivated me to start sharing my own creations online via Flickr

some 10 years ago. The feedback and encouragement I received, coupled with the profound sense of community, really anchored me there. Over the years I’ve connected to many people, some of whom I now consider my friends. This also motivated me to make numerous trips to AFOL conventions around the world in order to meet these people in person, with the Japan Brickfest in 2019 being a recent highlight.

An expeditionary modular autonomous vehicle (EMAV).

What’s your favorite theme? Looking around the room where my collection is on display (I keep most of my builds intact), there’s no point denying that I seem to exclusively build sci-fi themed MOCs. Most of them could be categorized as “semi-plausible nearfuture”, with some outlandish SHIPs in between. One attractive aspect of the sci-fi theme is that anything goes. It’s fun to dream up things that don’t exist while also challenging in trying to build something that feels real and plausible without having a real-world reference. What inspired you to build something besides a set? Personally I’ve always regarded LEGO sets as 3-D puzzles with instructions. The challenge for me is to create something in real life that I can think up with my mind. LEGO is currently my favorite tool for accomplishing that task. What are the inspirations behind your builds?

The CFX-7 Peregrine unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV).

As with most builders, my inspiration can come from anywhere. I could get inspired by something a fellow builder created, or something random I saw on TV. The most difficult thing for me is to start building without a clear vision of the project. For instance, if I’ve set the goal for myself to just build an airplane, without being inspired by something first, then I will really struggle. Whereas when I happen to see a cool airplane and then start designing my own, the process will go much more smoothly. How long can it take to build a model? I’m a very slow builder because I keep reworking and finetuning the model until I’m completely satisfied with the result. This can become somewhat frustrating at times because of the slow progress, but I just know I won’t be happy with a rushed creation. So at a minimum I’ll spend a few months on a MOC. Depending on the size of the build this time can grow to up to about six months before I feel comfortable posting it on the internet. The USS Spirit, a near-future assault craft.

Stijn’s Cargo Dropship.

The dropship’s pilot after a mission.

Do you design your builds on paper beforehand? Drawing isn’t a skill of mine that I’m very proud of, and rarely does it help me visualize what I have pictured in my mind. I’m more of a “hands-on” guy in that regard. However, I increasingly use digital tools like Bricklink Studio to quickly sketch out some ideas. By using such a tool I can also easily check if parts are indeed available in the colors I intend to use, in order to prevent frustrations later on in the project. What was the hardest build you have done?

Different views of the dropship.

The “Cargo Dropship” was definitely my hardest creation yet. Several aspects of this particular build made it a real challenge for me. First of all I chose a “Technic Figure” scale, which meant it was going to be significantly larger than when I had gone for a “Minifig” scale build. Then there were a number of parts that I specifically wanted to use while also maintain a homogenous color scheme, resulting in the choice for Dark Blue as the main color. The biggest challenge was to make the model sturdy enough while also having a lot of gaps in the structure for all the functional parts like the rotating thrusters, retractable landing struts, and the general U-shape required to load and fit a container. Providing structural integrity in a SNOT design with those large gaps, while also achieving the desired proportions and shape, took a lot of trial and error. But I’m very pleased with how it turned out in the end.

What’s a build you are most proud of? Are there any other parts of your build that you want to focus on? It has to be the USS Saratoga, if only because of the surprising amount of people who started making their own versions, even warranting a dedicated “The Saratoga Fleet” Flickr group. The initial challenge I set for myself was to have the sides of the hull meet the top part as seamlessly as possible, and without any hinges showing. The rest of the ship’s design pretty much flowed directly from the structural solutions I came up with. Additionally, as with most of my builds looking ostensibly simple at first glance, I had to make it interesting enough for close inspection as well. I also had to hunt for some unfortunately rare parts for this one—like the quite illusive green double convex slopes for the bow of the ship, and the nearly extinct light bluish gray locking turntables for the main cannons. All in all, this MOC touched on many aspects that I love about this hobby. The challenging but rewarding building experience, the friendly feedback and subsequent interactions with fellow builders, the surprising engagement of some builders who started to reverse-engineer the MOC and create digital and physical iterations and variations of their own—all good fun! Different views of the Saratoga.

Right: One of the variants of the Saratoga by builder Ryan Olsen.

Building the AV-22B SeaHawk

1. The initial build has been done digitally, as seen in the background.

2. The cockpit is built with bricks that have studs on the side to allow adding of side panels.

3. The fuselage is extended, with landing gear installed. The side paneles are placed.

4. Wings are built, and details are beginning to be added.

5. Panels are removed and changed to add dark gray as an accent.

6. A better look at the panels showing how they attach to the cockpit.

7. The fuselage sections, with the panels assembled.

8. A closer look at the fuselage sections, including the landing pads. The completed SeaHawk.

The process of building a MOC is long, especially if the model is based on an environment that requires accuracy. Near-future and science-fiction vehicles, like Stijn’s Seahawk, often fall under some kind of restrictions to lend authenticity. Here’s a glimpse of his design process and building skill. Through the build, you can see the beginning ideas get refined by adding accents and detailing. While he has built the model digitally, he adds more as he physically works on the model. One thing to note is Stijn’s use of blue parts—they are ‘filler’ parts used to act in place of other parts that are not on hand. These parts are replaced when the correct parts are available.

Rear view of the SeaHawk.

How do you build? Do you plan your builds or just start building til you’re finished? Usually I start out with a rough idea of what I’m planning on building, and I’ll try to do some initial sketches in Bricklink Studio to feel if there’s something there. I’ll know I’m confident enough to continue with a project when I start sending images to my friends for feedback. At that point I usually start building it for real to get a better feel for the proportions. During the building process I often briefly return to the digital creation for some additional sketching to save time trying different ideas. When I’m all done with the physical build, I’ll usually go on to finish the digital one so I can share it along with my pictures. Why do you build? Do you build because you want to make a replica of something? Or just want to create? Or something else entirely? The process of translating something from your mind into something tangible to hold in your hand never ceases to amaze me. It’s just so cool to see a creation that once was only a vague image in my head, now sitting in front of me ready to be shared with fellow enthusiasts. LEGO is an awesome and extremely accessible artistic medium because of its diversity of parts and ease of use, making it possible to give shape to your imagination. What other projects are you working on? Whenever I finish a project, I’ll fall into somewhat of a building lull. I usually put a lot of time and effort into my projects, however small, and that does take its toll. Since I’ve just completed a project, I don’t yet know what will catch my attention to build next! Fortunately, it usually only takes a small spark to get me going again, so we’ll have to see where that small spark will lead me next.

The SeaHawk in action.

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If you want to see more of Stijn’s work you can go to his Flickr gallery: https:// www.flickr.com/photos/redspacecat/ or scan the QR code below!

What advice would you give to beginning builders? The single most important advice I can give is to always build what you like instead of what you think other people expect from you. It’s very tempting to build something you think might be appreciated more, especially if you plan to jump right into the online LEGO community and post your MOCs on the internet. This should never be the goal, as that will always result in a compromise, and building will feel like a chore instead of a fun experience. Stay true to what interests you and you’ll eventually find people who will appreciate you for it. A second piece of advice I have is to be open to feedback or even actively ask for it. There are many talented builders out there with great advice on how you could improve your MOCs. You should make use of that resource.

You can also go to his Instagram feed: https://www.instagram.com/red_spacecat/ or scan the QR below!

Building

Damian’s Tyrannosaurs Rex skull.

Damian Thomas:

Building Dinosaur Bones! Article and Photography by Damian Thomas

The idea of building something new in LEGO is one that drives many a builder, yet is actually very challenging. For Damian Thomas, a technical illustrator in the aerospace sector, it was a matter of building bones: dinosaur bones. His models are also unique in that he uses Technic elements to build his creations. To do this, he had to build on a lifetime of building experience. For him, it started when his family inherited a basic LEGO collection from a neighbor when he was a boy. Damian remembers playing with it for hours at a young age. Now 49, Damian recalls when he came back to building as an adult: “The wife was getting rid of a desk that was in the kids’ room and I thought the top would be the ideal place to build a Hoth MOC on, and it all started from that.” From there, he realized he had many favorite themes: Star Wars, Ninjago, Batman—anything that looks good, really. For Damian, the problem is that LEGO is coming out with so many sets, it’s become hard to choose which one to buy. Building his own models was the next step for him. Damian reflects: “I think as a child I was limited to what I had and what I could build and as an adult the doors just opened up to the LEGO candy shop… and then with social media there were so many examples of great creations… and I thought, I

want to do that.” Finding the new thing to build was a matter of searching online for something that Damian hadn’t seen anyone else build with LEGO before. He saw that dinosaurs had been built using standard bricks, but nobody had tackled building them using Technic parts. For him, it seemed like a good challenge… and the rest is history. The Tyrannosaurus Rex was the first dinosaur that he tackled, and with it came a big learning curve. It took around 70 hours to build the skull. He originally wanted to build the full skeleton, but figured it would cost too much to build in standard bricks, so he turned to Technic parts because their panel parts were bigger and he could get better coverage. Once he started building with the panels and pins, he realized that he could make great shapes, and his building went forward from there.

Dilophosaurus skull.

From there, he went on to build a Triceratops skull, where the challenge was its support frame, which took just as long to build as shaping the skull. The total time on that project was, like the T-Rex skull, around 70 hours. After that, he built a Dilophosaurus skull that took only 40 hours to complete.

Triceratops skull in progress.

A look at the support structure of the Triceratops model.

The Triceratops skull (top) and Dilophosaurus skull (bottom).

The Technic Technique Technic building is not very common outside of Mindstorms robotics and mechanical modeling of cars and other vehicles, as the building system is designed for movement and flexibility. Unlike the basic LEGO system, Technic is a system that builds joints together that can swivel or flex together, making them ideal for making different frames and supports. With the addition of Technic panels, surface shaping became possible. You can see a couple of examples of basic shaping below with some panels. Pins and pins with pin joints (the black parts) create joints that let the panels rotate into place, creating organic-looking shapes. Pin holes in the panels allow for other joint points. Some simple Technic panel constructs.

Front view of the Triceratops skull.

Damian’s latest project was building a complete skeleton of a velociraptor. Until that model, the Triceratops was the most challenging build he had done—however, he really enjoyed the challenge. Building the skulls and skeletons starts by printing out reference images from as many angles as possible. Damian has a visual in his head of what he wants the end product to be and from there, he chooses a scale and then builds away. The building is a process where he is constantly thinking about what pieces to use and how he can connect them. There’s no preplanning beyond the images; he loves to build on the fly. As he notes, “Sometimes I get an idea

One construct rotated to show underneath (left), and another construct.

Damian’s son shows off the skulls and their scale.

The life-size velociraptor.

The skull.

The skull and neck.

projects, sometimes too many to work on. Projects from finishing a ninja scene, to rebuilding the green drag mech in a Ninjago set closer to the movie design, to adding a collapsing AT-AT with his Hoth battle, to a few other projects and, nearly forgotten, his next dinosaur skull—the Spinosaurus—all wait in line to be completed. Damian’s advice for builders? “Just go for it. Plan it the best you can with research or sketches or just on the fly. Whatever suits you really, and then go for it. It’s all about the enjoyment.”

A night on the town!

and it doesn’t work, but I accidentally find a better way. A lot of the time, I find ways to achieve the best results by accident.” His velociraptor is the model he’s the proudest of. He wanted the challenge of building a smaller skull but still use the same Technic style. With this build, the skull had many different versions before Damian was happy with the final version. He took a break from building the skull for a couple of days to rest. When he returned, he was able to see what he needed to change. He also wasn’t sure how he was going to build the legs and arms, so he played around with some idea. Eventually, he came up with a style using Technic beams with panels to create the form for the leg and arm bones as well as the tail. The end result is a fully realized skeleton in action.

Looking at the skull front.

Damian has many reasons for building. He loves to create things, but building is also therapeutic. He describes: “You forget about the problems around you and I also think it’s good exercise for your brain with all the problem-solving. And I just love LEGO; I always have.” As for upcoming projects, Damian always has a few

Building

John Randall:

Displaying like a Master!

Article and Photography by John Randall 34

John Randall’s train display.

Many LEGO builders build their creations to display at events, taking the time to package and store their models and layouts for transport, then setting up at displays or conventions. It’s a cycle that is repeated constantly, and for some, it’s a routine. But what if you are not able go to events? If you’re John Randall, you build your own display. Since 2007 (when the first LEGO Modular building was released), he has been building LEGO sets and placing them in a home display in his garage.

Some of the modular buildings in John’s layout.

As a result, his garage has been transformed. John has his woodshop, a treadmill, and his LEGO displays in place of the usual garage items. His cabinets and shelves and display cases are all built by him for his sets, and his wife does all the painting. The result is a professional-level permanent display that looks more like a museum display than anything else. John started building sets with the Racers series of cars and from there began collecting and building vehicles. Retiring from the Marine Corps Reserve as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2006, he continued to build, but when he was diagnosed with melanoma and was restricted from outdoor activities, he decided to build bigger. From a layout that started on a 4 foot by 8 foot sheet of plywood and the first LEGO Modular Building (the Cafe Corner), he has expanded from shelves full of cars and trucks to a multilevel train layout to show his collection. The Cafe Corner began a tradition of building a LEGO Modular set, with fifteen sets built so far. His wife buys the sets when they are released in January, with John receiving them in December either for his birthday or for Christmas.

A look at part of the lower level.

While there are shelves that have his extensive LEGO car collection, the centerpiece is his train layout, or layouts. He has three levels of train track, with the lower level that has a logging operation as well as a train station. The middle section (which is waist-high) is the main level, with most of the buildings and city landscaping. The buildings are on terraces that are higher than the trains running, so they go under the buildings when they travel. The upper level will have the newest buildings, starting with the Modular Bookshop. The tracks used are 9-volt tracks that were available until 200x, and John’s trains include sets from

The display under plexiglass.

A track is mounted from the ceiling and has a running cargo train. A panorama of the main level.

The left side of the main level, with a tunnel that goes behind the buildings.

the 9-volt era to the more recent Powered Up trains. Each level has a full circuit of track. There is also a hanging track from the ceiling with a train. All of these are protected with plexiglass to keep dust from settling on the sets and layout. With all the detail that the sets have, the layouts are already impressive. However, John took things one step farther on the middle level; he lit the buildings! The streetlights and interior lighting to the buildings all work, thanks to lighting sets from Brickstuff (which has been featured in BrickJournal #50). When the garage lights are turned off, night falls on the layout and it takes on a life of its own.

A look at the upper level of the display, ready for expansion.

One of the many shelves of vehicles that John has displayed.

Storage cabinets under the display.

A night on the town!

John’s skills are shown not only in the construction of the layouts and cases, but also in the shelving and cabinets that aren’t so apparent. Drawers are built in cabinets under the display cases, as well as a control panel for his lighting system. With a folding panel, there is a space to sort and store extra bricks. With over 15 years of modular buildings and train sets, there is more still being built—the newest Modular, the Police Station, will take its place in 2021. With that set, and the trains that will follow, John’s town and display will continue to grow.

A Budding Christmas Layout John is not the only one enjoying building His wife started a Christmas train layout, adding a LEGO Winter Village set every year, just as John’s layouts are expanded with the latest LEGO Modular. There’s ten sets on the layout, with the latest set, the Elf Club House, to be added.

Building

A butterfly nears a flower.

Dario Minisini:

Building Butterflies and More!

Article and Photography by Dario Minisini

Dario Minisini is a 48-year-old tattoo artist that wishes he was ten years younger. He started building as an adult when his son was a baby—18 years ago. When he was a child, Dario enjoyed LEGO building very much. He came from a modest family; he only got LEGO on Christmas Day and his birthday. As a result, he guarded them jealously. As an adult, he became a trains and Happy Potter enthusiast. He is often inspired to build—working in an artistic world, it is almost natural for Dario. Once he decides on an idea, he immediately builds multicolor with the colors he has, and then orders what he needs to finish the MOC. Because building comes naturally to him, Dario doesn’t always design on paper beforehand. When he starts building, he never stops because he can’t wait to finish it. He makes different kinds of MOCs, sometimes a unique piece or a series. He ultimately wants to make creations that are different from the usual MOCs. Through the LEGO he

represents what he thinks and feels. He has also done some large scale models, based on the Second World War. In the most artistic MOCs he tries to represent his emotions. The hardest builds he has done have been the Human Disaster and Butterflies in Love, which he created during the lockdown to give to the people that are the dearest to him. Dario’s MOCs are unique in that they are not defined by the LEGO brick—the butterflies Dario make are sinuous and organic, and when they are together, they are joyful and dynamic. His other works carry the same whimsy, except for his creations based on more serious subjects. He’s not afraid to confront contemporary issues with his building.

Another butterfly.

Top Left, Top Right, Above: Butterflies in Love.

A prismatic butterfly.

Above, Below, Bottom Right: More Butterflies in Love.

His current project is a large scale model inspired by the pirates world. Unfortunately, when working on large scale pieces, it is often difficult to have parts in large quantities, so while waiting for parts, he works on other things at the same time. LEGO building is his escape valve. When he builds, Dario escapes real life and its problems. It is his magic world and he has a lot of fun! He doesn’t go online very much, but likes when someone appreciates his work.

Celebrating LEGO Classic Space! Butterflies in Love.

Tin soldier. One of Dario’s more emotional pieces, with a butterfly being the environment.

Building

Dario Del Frate:

Building a Fairy Tale Castle! Article and Photography by Dario Del Frate

Sleeping Beauty Castle.

Recognize this castle? If you are a Disney fan you probably know it as the castle that is at Disneyland Paris, named Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant (French for “The Castle of the Beauty in the Sleeping Wood”), but known in English as Sleeping Beauty Castle. Called by many Disney fans as the most beautiful Disney castle of any park, this model was built by Dario Del Frate, who was in the last issue showing his crystal 44 models. BrickJournal talked to him about the castle.

BrickJournal: What inspired you to build the Castle, and what made you choose microscale? Dario del Frate: Paris is the first Disney park we visited— ten years ago now—and when I stepped in and saw the castle, soft pink in the raising sun at the end of Main Street... I was in awe! I didn’t expect it to feel so real and so enchanted at the same time. It blew me away! From that moment I wanted to build it with LEGO!

Sleeping Beauty Castle opened up.

Microscale is my favourite style—mainly because they are tricky to build and force you to use quite some imagination to pick the right piece! The castle on top would have been prohibitive to build (for me) at minifig scale—far too big: if you have a lot of LEGO and do not live in a castle... well that’s the only way to go! How did you plan the build, especially the interior? What did you use for reference? There’s a lot of pics available on the web; even Google Earth was very useful for the overall proportions, and I spent an entire morning taking pictures and videos of the real castle the last time we visited (just before starting the build) to have the best possible source material! And then the question was to define the actual scale based on one reference brick—in this case I wanted to use the round 2 x 2 as a section of the side towers since they fit so nicely with the cones for the roofs which were available in blue, and built from there! There’s also a golden frog... let’s see if you can spot it! Did you build it digitally first, then for real, or the other way around? I always build my “serious stuff” digitally! I need to plan my builds, I am not a fast builder at all! I go through several iterations. I then start building with real bricks, whatever colors I have at home and test the build’s solidity (looking

One side of the interior, showing a spinning wheel and Belle’s Rose.

A look at the spires of the castle...

for illegal connections) and go back to studio. Then I buy the pieces in the right color! If they are not available I try to change technique to avoid using them. For example, I could not find in pink the piece I used originally to attach the three windows piece (a tooth of course), so I came out with quite a complex build (see picture) to build it in reverse (studs in) and use a 2x2 plate instead, which was available in pink! How long did it take to build? Six months! The back and forth process is time consuming, but I put in quite some time during the pandemic lockdown; my minerals came out during the same period! What part of the castle was the hardest to design? In general getting the right proportions was challenging, but I am satisfied with the result! The real castle is in fact made up of several smaller buildings, towers, and roofs which merge seamlessly, one into the other, and getting that result was hard! The back roof of the castle, being a huge semi-cone (reminiscent of a wizard’s hat) was also very challenging! The small buildings in Alsatian style were also tricky to make! They are very tiny and I wanted to add the most details I possibly could. I guess the big round tower drove me quite crazy! The whole top is built with a combination of upward/ downward studs because I wanted to use the macaroni tile on top. What are you happiest with concerning the castle? The overall silhouette. When I look at it from the front, I get the classic Disney vibe! Then the fact that it splits open! It was not something I thought about at the beginning, but then my wife Sandra told me, “Imagine if you could open it”... it was a revelation! So much more fun; so many details to be added! Some of the interiors were there already, like the main corridor and columns, but almost impossible to see.

...and at the dragon that sleeps underneath.

At a rear corner rests the Sword in the Stone. Behind it is the switch to light the tunnel with the dragon.

So I re-designed the connections around the split line and worked from there. We managed to add the rose, the fuse, Aladdin, the Xmas tree shop, the glass blower shop—they are almost in the same spot as in the real castle! I also love the Crystal cave. It’s basically the dragon’s lair... but I put a light brick and some huge Crystal (1x1 cheese slopes actually) stalactites as “reference” to the minerals I was also working on! Donald and Daisy are neat micro-builds, but not the usual Disney build—what was behind building them instead of Mickey? Since I was a kid and started with Disney’s comics, I always went for Donald—“Paperino” as we call him in Italy! I always had a soft spot for his defects: his bad luck, his bad temper! He’s so human—Mickey by that time (mid ’80s) in Italy was depicted as a super-smart, perfect investigator, and I did not relate to him! Somehow the imperfections of Donald made me love him. Also the life story with Daisy is so cute! And I am the romantic kind of guy, so I had to have them. They are standing next to each other in the build... but when you open the castle, at the end they kiss! Any plans to build more Disney attractions? It’s crazy I know, but having Main Street done—that’s something I am thinking of!

Donald (left) and Daisy Duck (right) in microscale.

An overhead view of the castle from the front.

Still on LEGO Ideas!

A rendering of the interior room with the rose. The windows are colored to simulate the stained glass windows that cover the rear of the room.

You can still vote for this Ideas set at: https://ideas.LEGO.com/projects/91a8106f11ab-47df-a2f9-b8c5151ef5f4/official_ comments#content_nav_tabs or you can scan the QR code at the left! 47

You Can Build It MINI Build

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

Qty Color

Part

Description

White

2431.dat

Tile 1 x 4 with Groove

White

3070b.dat

Tile 1 x 1 with Groove

3 1 1 1 1

White White White White White

3023.dat 3024.dat 3176.dat 3623.dat 3710.dat

2 White 15573.dat 1 White 15672.dat 1 White 24299.dat 1 White 24307.dat 1 White 24482.dat 1

White

32028.dat

White

36840.dat

1 1 1 2

NASA X-29 Forward Swept Wing Plane Design and Instructions by Joe Meno

The X-29 was an experiment plane that was tested by NASA in the mid- and late-‘80s. There were only two built, but their futuristic appearance made them a favorite for aviation buffs. While the real plane was made of metal and composites, this one is made of plastic plates and slopes. I was inspired to build this microscale model by Ralph Savelsburg’s minifigure scale X-29, which was featured in BrickJournal #58. The scale was selected by using the scale defined by Brickmania’s Micro Brick Battles, which is 1/120. Building the model was a matter of finding some blueprints, which were online, then scaling the drawings to the right size. After that, I started building. Amazingly enough, it wasn’t that hard to come up with a model that had the right lines. There were two problems I ran into. One was the nose. I was able to use a cone, but I wanted a point. I was stumped until I saw a Ninjago set with the pointed piece I was looking for—I took a quick look online at Bricklink to see if the part came in white (it was pearl gold in the Ninjago set), and since it did, I ordered a few. While waiting for the parts to come in, I had to figure out the second problem.

White White White White White

33909.dat 43722.dat 43723.dat 51739.dat 59900.dat

1 White 99206.dat 1

Red

3024.dat

1 Trans Black 3069b.dat 1 Trans Black 54200.dat 1 Light Bluish Grey 85861.dat 1 Dark Blue 3024.dat 1 Dark Blue 3623.dat 7 Dark Blue 15573.dat

Plate 1 x 2 Plate 1 x 1

Plate 3 x 2 with Hole Plate 1 x 3 Plate 1 x 4

Plate 1 x 2 with Groove with 1 Center Stud, without Understud Slope Plate 45 2 x 1 Wing 2 x 2 Left Wing 2 x 2 Right Spike 2.4L with 4 Fins with Bar 0.4L Plate 1 x 2 with Door Rail

Tile 2 x 2 with Studs on Edge Bracket 1 x 1 - 1 x 1 Up Wing 2 x 3 Right Wing 2 x 3 Left Wing 2 x 4

Cone 1 x 1 with Stop

Plate 2 x 2 x 0.667 with Two Studs On Side and Two Raised Plate 1 x 1

Tile 1 x 2 with Groove Slope Brick 31 1 x 1 x 0.667 Plate 1 x 1 Round with Open Stud Plate 1 x 1 Plate 1 x 3 Plate 1 x 2 with Groove with 1 Center Stud, without Understud

LEGO is a system that is mostly right angles, so angled wings are a challenge. A forward swept wing is a problem. I was able to figure a way to forward sweep a wing plate, but it was only held in place on one stud. How would I keep the wing angled correctly? The answer turned out to be a simple elegant solution. You’ll see it when you build the plane. All in all this was a model that was a fun design to work on, and one that results with a small swooshable plane. Have fun building!

NEW BOOKS FROM TWOMORROWS

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For its 80th issue, the JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR magazine presents a double-sized 50th anniversary examination of Kirby’s magnum opus! Spanning the pages of four different comics starting in 1970 (NEW GODS, FOREVER PEOPLE, MISTER MIRACLE, and JIMMY OLSEN), the sprawling “Epic for our times” was cut short mid-stream, leaving fans wondering how Jack would’ve resolved the confrontation between evil DARKSEID of Apokolips, and his son ORION of New Genesis. This companion to that “FOURTH WORLD” series looks back at JACK KIRBY’s own words, as well as those of assistants MARK EVANIER and STEVE SHERMAN, inker MIKE ROYER, and publisher CARMINE INFANTINO, to determine how it came about, where it was going, and how Kirby would’ve ended it before it was prematurely cancelled by DC Comics! It also examines Kirby’s use of gods in THOR and other strips prior to the Fourth World, how they influenced his DC epic, and affected later series like THE ETERNALS and CAPTAIN VICTORY. With an overview of hundreds of Kirby’s creations like BIG BARDA, BOOM TUBES and GRANNY GOODNESS, and post-Kirby uses of his concepts, no Fourth World fan will want to miss it! Compiled, researched, and edited by JOHN MORROW, with contributions by JON B. COOKE. (160-page FULL-COLOR trade paperback) $26.95 • (Digital Edition) $12.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-098-4 • SHIPS MARCH 2021!

OR -COL FULLDCOVER HAR RIES SE nting me f docu ecade o d y! c ea h s histor comic

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KEITH DALLAS & JASON SACKS detail the decade X-MEN #1 sold 8.1 million copies, IMAGE COMICS formed, Superman died, Batman broke his back, Neil Gaiman’s SANDMAN led to the VERTIGO line of adult comics, and gimmicky covers, skimpy costumes, and mega-crossovers ruled!

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https://groups.io/g/twomorrows

You Can Build It MINI Build

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

Main Body

Qty Color Part 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 36841.dat 1 Dark-Bluish-Gray 36840.dat 2 Light-Bluish-Gray 49307.dat 3 1 2 2

Razor Crest Design and Instructions by Christopher Deck Hello everybody and welcome to an exciting building session in this issue of BrickJournal! Today we want to step into the world of the Star Wars live-action series The Mandalorian. The main ship of the series is the Mandalorian’s personal starship, named “Razor Crest.” With its round truncated nose and sloped cockpit and the huge wing-mounted cylindrical engines, it looks like a hybrid of Republic Gunship and the bounty hunter gunship “Halo” from the animated Clone Wars series. With almost 70 pieces, the model is very compact for being quite small. It features some quite enjoyable building techniques, and is very detailed for its size. Many newer date pieces like 1x1 brackets (36840, 36841), shortened 1x1 cones (85975), 1x1 rounded slopes (49307), and curved wedge slopes (29119, 29120) made this possible. Some remarkable details are the angled cockpit, a retractable cargo hatch at the ship’s rear, and additional landing gear that can be attached on the underside. Therefore you simply need three 1x1 round plates (4073), and three minifigure ice skates (93555). You can see the landing gear detail on the second image showing the ship in landing position. With that I am done for this issue’s building session and hope you will be having fun and excitement during building this little model. Have a good time and see you next time!

1 2 2 3 1 1 9 2 2 1 1 2

Description Bracket 1 x 1 - 1 x 1 Down Bracket 1 x 1 - 1 x 1 Up Brick 1 x 1 x 0.667 with Curved Top Light-Bluish-Gray 52107.dat Brick 1 x 2 with Studs on Sides Light-Bluish-Gray 3024.dat Plate 1 x 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 32828.dat Plate 1 x 1 Round with Bar Dark-Bluish-Gray 61252.dat Plate 1 x 1 with Clip Horizontal (Thick C-Clip) Light-Bluish-Gray 3023.dat Plate 1 x 2 Light-Bluish-Gray 60478.dat Plate 1 x 2 with Handle on End Dark-Bluish-Gray 11458.dat Plate 1 x 2 with Offset Peghole Light-Bluish-Gray 3623.dat Plate 1 x 3 Light-Bluish-Gray 3710.dat Plate 1 x 4 Dark-Bluish-Gray 3710.dat Plate 1 x 4 Light-Bluish-Gray 61409.dat Slope Brick 18 2 x 1 x 0.667 Grille Light-Bluish-Gray 54200.dat Slope Brick 31 1 x 1 x 0.667 Trans-Clear 54200.dat Slope Brick 31 1 x 1 x 0.667 Light-Bluish-Gray 29120.dat Slope Brick Curved 2 x 1 with Cutout Left Light-Bluish-Gray 29119.dat Slope Brick Curved 2 x 1 with Cutout Right Light-Bluish-Gray 3069b.dat Tile 1 x 2 with Groove

Top

Qty Color Part 2 Dark-Bluish-Gray 36840.dat 2 Light-Bluish-Gray 3023.dat 4 Light-Bluish-Gray 34103.dat 2 Light-Bluish-Gray 3022.dat 2 Light-Bluish-Gray 26601.dat 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 29120.dat 1

Light-Bluish-Gray 29119.dat

2 2 1 1 1

Dark-Bluish-Gray 2412b.dat Light-Bluish-Gray 3069b.dat Light-Bluish-Gray 87079.dat Light-Bluish-Gray 41770.dat Light-Bluish-Gray 41769.dat

Engines

Qty Color Part 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 98100.dat 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 17485.dat 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 85975.dat 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 4274.dat 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 32187.dat 1

Light-Bluish-Gray 15535.dat

Description Bracket 1 x 1 - 1 x 1 Up Plate 1 x 2 Plate 1 x 3 with 2 Studs Offset Plate 2 x 2 Plate 2 x 2 without Corner Slope Brick Curved 2 x 1 with Cutout Left Slope Brick Curved 2 x 1 with Cutout Right Tile 1 x 2 Grille with Groove Tile 1 x 2 with Groove Tile 2 x 4 with Groove Wing 2 x 4 Left Wing 2 x 4 Right Description Brick 2 x 2 Round Sloped Brick 2 x 2 Round with Pin Holes Minifig Hat Fez Technic Pin 1/2 Technic Transmission Driving Ring Extension Tile 2 x 2 Round with Hole

Spider-Man and all related characters TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Building

Minifigure Customization 101:

One Original Thought is Worth 1000 Meaningless Quotes! Article by Jared Burks

An example of halftones mixing colors.

One of my favorite films is Spider-Man: Into the SpiderVerse; the art in this film reminds me so much of old comic book art and calls me back to my youth when I learned to create commercial art in my father’s print company. We created halftone images to generate more colors using fewer inks. This trick of the eye has always amazed me, and is likely why the film speaks to me beyond its great story. Halftone is the reprographic technique simulating a continuous-tone imagery using dots, varying either in size or in spacing, thus generating a gradient-like effect. Where continuous-tone imagery contains an infinite range of colors or greys, the halftone process reduces visual reproductions to an image that is printed with only one color of ink, in dots of differing size or spacing or both. This reproduction relies on a basic optical illusion: when the halftone dots are small, the human eye interprets the patterned areas as if they were smooth tones. “Halftone” can be used to refer specifically to the image that is produced by this process. Just as color photography evolved with the addition of filters and film layers, color printing is made possible by repeating the halftone process for each subtractive color—most commonly using what is called the “CMYK color model.” The semi-opaque property of ink allows halftone dots of different colors to create another optical effect, full-color imagery. [–summarized from Wikipedia] You may recall, I created the figures from the film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse for a previous article, and since then I have wanted to create a unique display for these figures. Like many figures, we find what

accessories are missing when we attempt to place them into their environment. That was never truer than with these figures. In this article, I am going to focus on the simple, the accessory. It has been said, “A lot of people never use their initiative because no-one told them to.” I am telling you now, create accessories, and do not merely rely on LEGO or the LEGO aftermarket to create the accessories your figures need. Creation of these accessories has never been easier than it is today with 3-D printing. It is 3-D printing that actually helps make the accessories I am focusing on possible, as I am not sure how I would sculpt or scratch build them at this scale given their repetition, and the need for several copies of the same element—strengths of the 3-D printer.

An example of halftone used for shading.

Making a Mural The “No Expectations” graffiti mural really stood out to me, as it has too many others, in the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse film. What also stood out at the end of the film was Miles’ paper entitled “Great Expectations” with the same prototype art on the cover that he used to create his “No Expectations” graffiti mural. My thought for the custom minifigure display is to have all of the Spider-People from the film show up to help Miles repaint the mural. They will convert it from “No Expectations” to “Great Expectations.” My version of this art isn’t film accurate even though I started with the original art for the piece from the film. By chance, I happen to follow the artists Patrick O’Keefe @okeefe_artist and Bob Persichetti @bob_persichetti who created the art for the film and shared it on Instagram. I used this original art to create my display wall film for this scene (https://twitter.com/okeefe_artist/ status/1077991710024761346) and while mine is not movie-accurate, it is fairly close to the artist’s original file. I chose to make mine on a wall of a singular color instead of including the arch and making the room an octagon as it is in the film. I have tried to include some of these details elsewhere, but as this is a display, a larger flat surface makes it easier to highlight the figures in front of a flat wall. With all the above said, I need to set the scene and highlight the characters in the scene. If you watch the film, Miles and his Uncle Aaron leave spray cans and other items behind. These would still be around as this is a deserted subway access tunnel. Miles carries most of his paint in his backpack, and there are also barrels, a concrete bench, and a few other miscellaneous items, but the two items that stand out the most are the cans of spray paint and the milk crate(s) he stands on while painting. There are ways to create something that resembles a spray paint can in LEGO form, but I was not taken with them; and there are crates, but their scale seems off compared to a LEGO minifigure. Therefore, I set out to create these two accessories. I hope that they will inspire you to create many more simple accessories.

The “No Expectations” art as graphitti.

The extracted art.

Miles’ paper with the art. The graphitti placed on a brick built wall for a display.

Making Milk Crates

Milk crates made for Jared’s display.

Preliminary spray can designs to figure out size and scale.

The milk crate is a work in progress; however, I have been playing with scale and form to see what fits into the LEGOverse and what does not. To start that study I have visited Thingiverse and downloaded one of the most popular milk crates already on the site: https:// www.thingiverse.com/thing:3349271. I did scale this to a 2x2 size and then merely printed it out. My goal is to get four cans of spray paint to fit inside of this, something not possible when using the LEGO 2x2 container in either the 2x2x2 or 2x2x1 sizes (https://www. bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=61780#T=C or https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem. page?P=35700#T=C). When I scaled the milk crate on Thingiverse, it has much thinner walls than a traditional LEGO item. While this issue bothers me, I am willing to live with it at this time. I do plan on using this concept and redrawing a milk crate with slightly thicker walls and better handgrips. I will also make the base solid and add LEGO studs to the base. I know that four 1x1 bricks will not fit inside as they will be the size of the crate, so I will forgo this concern as this is for accessories that are smaller in diameter than the LEGO brick. I will also make the bottom of the crate have at least a central stud acceptor, but more likely a complete 2x2. There are aspects of the downloaded crate that I enjoy. The hand openings are perfect as is the spacing of the horizontal slats of the crate. The ribbed structure of the crate is an element I enjoyed and I will strive to incorporate this detail in my design. I commonly start a parts creation in this way. It allows me to understand at scale what I like and dislike, and how I would approach the issue differently to achieve my goals. For now the crate works for my needs; I merely needed to paint the crate to stand in until I have more time to create a new one in the future.

Creating a Can

Initial preliminary idea for spray can lid.

The pièce de résistance and the primary focus on this article is the creation of a spray paint can. Unlike the crates, I knew exactly how I wanted to create this part and even what size. I actually need two different versions of this part, an open and closed can with and without the lid. The lid and the internal dome display the paint color, and this way if the can is opened or closed, it will add a small pop of color to the display vignette. I wanted the spray nozzle to be the size of a LEGO bar so a minifigure could hold it by the nozzle (even though I do not expect that to happen often); I also wanted a handle in the can just below the colored lid or dome. Finally, I wanted a lip at the bottom and a second lip at the edge where the can would mate with the lid or the colored dome, thus separating the “opened” or “closed” aspect. I was designing this to make it easier to paint and decal. The total height of the spray can needed to be slightly shorter than five plates tall or it would seem out of scale to the LEGO figure. I might have been able to use four plates

tall, but this would make the can seem squat, and I wanted it to look longer. This is all because of the stud acceptor I also created on the bottom of the can, which is accurate given the domed base of the spray can. Aforementioned, I also created a domed top to the open can for the color swatch to be displayed for the can color. I created this all in Autodesk’s Fusion 360. I actually cloned the model and merely added the top as the difference. I also added fillets to all my edges to keep things rounded, as printing at this scale, it would be hard to see a sharp 90-degree edge, and that would deviate from the feel anyway. Once created, I exported the files in STL format for printing on my Epax X1 with the light upgrade. I used grey ABS-like resin for the strength and printed the part as a solid model. I did this for strength and shrinkage minimization. If the part is solid, it is harder for the resin to shrink, as it would have to compress during the shrinkage. I printed the parts with the bottom edge down and on an angle to minimize the visibility of the layer lines. The edge down was to minimize the support marks, but this created a challenge, especially to the closed lid spray paint cans. The design features the stud acceptor, and for some odd reason it was printing as filled instead of open for the LEGO stud to enter, thus I had a flat base. I’m not sure why it affected those cans and not the open ones; perhaps it was the number I was printing at one time. Once I increased the angle and spaced them out a bit more to allow resin to flow (reducing the adhesive and cohesive forces),

3-D design of lidded can, showing the hand bar and stud acceptor on the bottom.

3-D print of a can.

3-D design of open can, showing the hand bar and holdable nozzle.

Cans waiting for detail.

Passing the minifigure holding test.

I successfully printed both the open and closed spray cans. This was merely a portion of the creation; next was detailing.

Masking cans for painting.

I have long touted that one should paint and then decal. This way, if your masking allows paint to go places it should not, the decal can conceal the error. It is important to think about these issues, regardless if it is a figure or an accessory that you are creating. For the capped spray cans, masking was quite easy; wrap the can in tape just below the top lip and then spray the lid the desired color. For the uncapped cans, it was a bit more than that. I still masked the can just as I had done for the capped cans, but I also needed to mask the spray nozzle, as I wanted to leave it unpainted. If a figure holds and releases a painted part multiple times, the paint can wear off and the paint can make the area larger and harder for the figure to hold it, so leaving it unpainted was optimal. Therefore, I had to cut a small strip of tape and create a circle around the nozzle. I then placed a piece of tape flat against this circle. If I had mashed it down or tried to fold it over, I would have created stress at the base of the tape and gotten paint where I did not want it on the nozzle. Pay close attention to masking as an ounce (gram) of prevention is worth a pound (kilogram) of cure. Once taped I attached the can to a stick to hold it while I painted it with, you guessed it, spray paint. After 10-15 minutes, I delicately removed the tape, as I do not like my paint to completely dry with tape in place. Last bit of advice Painted cans with an artist.

Masking for nozzle painting.

here is to match the can colors to the art color you are going to have them near, so you do not have a ton of red spray paint cans and no red on your graffiti wall. At this point, I nearly had a complete accessory, but I needed the Blind paint can logo from the film. This is a simple decal wrapping around the can; I merely needed to figure out where the handhold would be so I could make sure the brand name was facing out in the right place. This required Google or me to remember some old geometry formulas to figure out the circumference of a circle, which is equal to 2 x p x radius. Even though I created these parts, I always use a measured value instead of a value from the CAD program used, as parts will shrink or expand and small differences can make issues. To calculate the radius, I measured the diameter with calipers and then used half of the measured diameter for the radius. This gave me the length around the spray can. From here, I measured the height of the can with the same calipers. Next came the tricky part, measuring the cut-out for the handhold, which was easier than you might think. Using a small piece of tape, I placed the tape at the start of the handhold and then with a pen I marked the other side. I peeled up the tape, laid it flat on the table, and measured the distance between the edge and the mark. The other measurement (height) is on a flat plane and easily measured. I created a rectangle and cut it in half, as I wanted the decal split to be where the hand connects

More view of the paint cans.

The cans fit in the milkcrate. Reference photos of spray can labels.

to conceal the connection of the decal. This is also an important point to improve the appearance, and one we do not commonly face with minifigure decals. Having a template, the next bit was to create a design for the Blind brand spray paint, which is all text-based, and most below the resolution limit of the printers, so it needed to be dots or lines (LEGO uses lines, but given the halftone nature of the film, I thought dots would be better). Label designs.

I would love to show the display at this point, but alas it still has many other needed elements to complete it. For now, I will show a bit of work in progress. I hope you enjoyed the article and how creating even something as simple as a can of spray paint can really make a display. Since this article is about graffiti accessories, I will let you in on a secret: the title, quote about initative, and the quotes below are all from the famous graffiti artist Banksy. Imagine a city where graffiti wasn’t illegal, a city where everybody could draw whatever they liked. Where every street was awash with a million colors and little phrases. Where standing at a bus stop was never boring. A city that felt like a party where everyone was invited, not just the real estate agents and barons of big business. Imagine a city like that and stop leaning against the wall—it’s wet.

Completed spray paint cans.

Adding some detail to the layout.

Let us bring more graffiti to our LEGO cities and make them more colorful than they already are. People say graffiti is ugly, irresponsible and childish... but that’s only if it’s done properly. Remember we are all playing with a child’s toy after all, so let us all create a more beautiful LEGOverse! You can go to Jared’s webpage by going to http://www.fineclonier.com/ or scanning this QR code!

An artist and his media.

Come back next issue for more Minifigure Customization! 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).

Bantha Bricks Files 66

Bantha Bricks Files: Eloi Parizeau’s

Nebulon-B Escort/ Medical Frigate and GR-75 Medium Transport Article by Steven Smyth, Bantha Bricks: Fans of LEGO Star Wars Photography by Eloi Parizeau

Galactic greetings! I’m Steven Smyth from Bantha Bricks: Fans of LEGO Star Wars. Since the community’s founding in 2016, on an almost daily basis, I have witnessed amazing and creative Star Wars builds in the best Star Wars themed building brick group on Facebook. Eloi Parizeau is one such creative builder and recently shared this Nebulon-B Escort/ Medical Frigate and GR-75 Medium Transport combo. Steven Smyth: How’s it going Eloi? I’ve known you for years now through the Facebook group, first as a member and then as a moderator of the all-volunteer Admin Team that helps monitor the group content to maintain a family-friendly atmosphere. Everyone in Bantha Bricks has been wowed by your many awesome Star Wars brick builds, but

few years, but I am now working in microscale and detailed spaceships. I love being a moderator in Bantha Bricks, I believe we have an awesome team; it has allowed me to meet some amazing builders and have friendships with some fabulous people. Would you say Star Wars is your favorite theme? Or do you have a surprise theme for us? Back in 1999, I saw a LEGO X-Wing on a shelf at Wal-Mart and couldn’t help myself, it just fell into my cart and I bought it. I now have over 300 different Star Wars sets in my collection and I also love collecting Star Wars minifigs. Lately, I discovered the Hidden Side theme and I have to say it is really cool! Sadly, LEGO pulled the plug on this theme by the end of 2020 so it will stay on shelves for less than two years. I love to see what the Ideas theme brings to us every year, but TLG seems to only release big costly sets lately. I end up passing on them most of the time. I keep my money for parts! Why do you choose the LEGO brick as your medium to express yourself? Three years ago, two friends asked me to enter their LUG and attend some events to show my builds. I have done four events since then and really appreciate the interaction with the public, so it convinced me to work on better MOCs, and I have really improved my skills at this point. LEGO lets me show my love for Star Wars by creating some great models with awesome techniques. I have learned a lot by talking with people in my LUG and other exhibitors at events. I have also learned tons of nice building techniques in the Bantha Bricks Facebook group. It’s in that group that I have learned how to use Bricklink, and it’s now a cool part of my life! In regards to your latest build, of the Nebulon-B Escort/Medical Frigate and GR-75 Medium Transport combo, what inspired you to build those particular ships?

A group shot.

for the uninitiated please introduce yourself and tell us a little about what you do. Eloi Parizeau: Hi Steven, I’m doing fine, thanks for asking! I have been in the LEGO world all my life, got my first set at the age of 4 years old. My father is an architect, so I have some related skills in my blood for building MOCs. Speaking about architecture, I am an architectural technician, a career that really stepped up my taste for great builds. I grew up trying to explore different styles of builds. Offroad trucks, spaceships, space bases, medieval castles, race cars, anything offered by LEGO at that time. I really loved the Castle and Blacktron themes during my childhood. I still have some of my castles and all of my Blacktron in my collection. Now I focus on Star Wars builds. I have built many lightsaber hilts in the last

Since 1999, I really hoped LEGO could release a set of the Nebulon-B. I remember having spent so many hours trying to build it when I was a kid but at that time, the variety of bricks was not good enough to build such a complex ship. When I first joined Bantha Bricks almost four years ago, I saw the Mortesv model and I was stunned by the accuracy of it. It stayed in my head all the way until the beginning of the pandemic back in March of 2020. Being confined at home gave me some free time to play with my bricks, so I started the dream project. Surprisingly, it took me only twenty hours to create it. I then realized how I could think about a model and it appears in my mind so clearly that I can build it in one try. The only modifications I have done since are greebling upgrades. As for the GR-75, it was an automatic; when you have a Nebulon-B you need a GR-75 Transport! So I did the same thing, worked on a way to do the shell with curved slopes, used modified plates with handle and with clips to add to the curved

Another group shot.

look and fix the panels below. The moment I had the shell done, I could create an awesome work of greebling by building micro containers fixed on big plates that I attached to the shell with 1x2 bricks with studs on each side, then placed on their side to reverse the container module. As I have done for the Nebulon-B, I have provided my container section with spots for stands. Can you tell us a bit about the construction, and any special techniques you used?

The forward section of the Nebulon-B.

I first built the cargo parts under the front section, trying to provide a spot for a stand, finding a way to fix it to the upper section. When I completed it, I created a way to do the bridge part with possibilities to fix it at each ends with Technic pins to be able to build it modular. Each end of the bridge enter front and back section of the Nebulon is 6 studs wide and is locked into a solid structural Technic build that avoids dislocation. Front and back cores are made of bricks and Technic beams to get a structure that can be very sturdy, and I used hinge plates above and below to fix a panel on each side. Panels are made with hinge plates to create the right shape of the ship. I have incorporated engines at the back of the ship and worked on side panels to get around the engines. As I have done with the cargo section, I have worked on a way to provide a stand solution on the back section. Finally, I took easily 3 to 4 hours to add greebling on every panel and bridge section. Creating the shell for the GR-75 was the coolest part of those two builds, using white and a little touch of light bluish gray and tan for the texture and clips technique for a very unique shape. I am really proud of the result. What are your favorite design elements you used for the creation of the Nebulon-B?

Side view.

nebulon-b escort/ medical frigate

I should tell you that my Nebulon-B is counting at least 26 hinge plates, it really worked perfectly for the shape of this ship. I can also tell you that I love using double jumper, grills and mini ski poles for adding a complexity effect on my creation.

What are your favorite design elements you used for the creation of the GR-75? Definitely the shell built with multiple sizes of curved slopes, wedges and wedge plates. It is really unnatural to build a shape like that with LEGO. I have learned a lot by creating a micro container section for this ship, using some of those techniques in my microscale MOCs now. Ultimately using the space for an unbelievable number of details and still stay aesthetic with the final model is a great accomplishment.

The Nebulon-B’s engines.

What references did you use to help you build these ships? For both of the builds, I simply made a Google search and found lot of pics of each ship with multiple designs and versions. I then chose a version with seven to eight pictures of each ship with a view of almost every angle, and built based on what I could see in those pictures. It helped me stay focused on the proportions of the Nebulon because it is easy to step out of the line and oversize it! Did you freestyle build these Rebel Fleet ships or did you use a computer design program to lay it out first? I love the real thing; I build with bricks first. I usually know exactly what I need and buy what I don’t already have in my inventory. I can create in real life and end with a final product that I know is sturdy and have no weakness—a thing we can’t say with all digital builds found on Rebrickable. Oh? I have never bought instructions on Rebrickable before; tell me more. Usually designers build their models to test the product, but not everyone does this, leading to frail designs. After the build, when I have time, I reverse build my MOCs on Stud.io for my personal files. Lately I’ve done some instructions after building and testing them for The Nebulon-B turning away. my microscale designs, and they are available on Rebrickable. Were there any moments on either, or both, of these builds where you felt like, “Aww man, I’m stuck!” If so, how did you overcome those obstacles? Like I said before, I keep a detailed image of my creation in my head and I just build it until I’m done. I rarely stop my work until I don’t know what to do. I can build models in one shot almost every time. It can happen to me with some of my microscales, but then I try to build something else and rethink my original image in my mind! Fortunately, it works out in the end! What would be your advice to anyone looking to build a Star Wars ship on their own? First I would say, use every building experience to learn techniques and memorize them. Every time I build an official LEGO set, I learn something I could use later in a MOC.

A closer look at the GR-75 Medium Transport.

That is a good point—what else? Second, start creating a little build and then slowly upgrade the size of your builds. Do this before you go with a super massive complex project. When you are stuck on a big project, it hurts to dismantle it and retry building it too many times. You have to take the experience on the smallest builds before going for the ultimate MOC. I’ve built sets for ages before really starting to create my own models. Do you have instructions available for people to follow along and build the amazing things you design? If you do, how would our readers go about finding these?

Another angle.

GR-75 MD. transport 70

Lately I have done some instructions for my MOCs and they are available on Rebrickable.com. You can see my work on my Flickr page and also on Instagram. My user name is Jedimasterels. If you are a Bantha Bricks Facebook group member, you can see all my updated builds when I post them, and if you are not a member of this awesome group… what are you waiting for?!?

I know, right? In regards to your time spent in the Bantha Bricks community, have there been any builders you have come across that have helped, or inspired you to make your cool creations? Definitely, there are a lot of amazing builders that are members in the group. The first builder that inspired me was Tom Vanhaelen. Some of his builds gave me the push to improve my skills and create. There is also Papaglop. I have talked a lot with him as he lives in my country, Canada, and I met him at an event. His creations are awesome and full of incredible techniques. He also taught me how to use Stud.io to make nice instructions. Jake Sadovich is also a legendary builder, known for his Ship in a Bottle, and his building skills are amazing in every theme: Star Wars, cars, planes, micro. What a builder! Any final ideas or thoughts you would like to add? I just want to say that LEGO is clearly the most brilliant toy ever made. It brings creativity and enjoyment everywhere, and that is what we expect from a hobby. I also want to thank you so much for this interview; I appreciate the opportunity. Lastly, I love Bantha Bricks! To see more amazing builds, cool contests and giveaways and family-friendly discussion about everything Star Wars brick, check out the Bantha Bricks: Fans of LEGO Star Wars Facebook group at: http://www.facebook.com/groups/starwarsLEGOgroup or banthabricks.com or scan the QR code here! Top view of the GR-75.

Looking up at the transport.

Bottom view of the GR-75.

Community

SORTLUG:

What Happens When the Cons are Gone? Editorial by Joe Meno Photos by Joe Meno and courtesy of BrickCon 2020.

The sign-off screen of a SORTLUG call.

By the time you are reading this, it will be Spring, but I’m writing this in the middle of December 2020, the final month of what could be easily called a challenging year. In fact, the year was just bad. 2020 didn’t start that way. The beginning of the year was jump-started by BricksLA (in Los Angeles, California) and Brickfair Alabama (in Birmingham), returning LEGO fan conventions that brought in hundreds of visitors. Overseas, events were also picking up and leading to another year of growth for the community. LEGO Masters USA introduced the hobby in a competitive form to many, and the US conventions were preparing for renewed energy in the conventions when BricksCascade, a convention based in Portland, Oregon hosted builders that were on the show. Crowds came to see the new celebrities, and things looked bright, until the Coronavirus came. Everything stopped in March. I was set to go to an event in Minneapolis, plans were cancelled when the venue was shut down. As the virus spread, stay-athome orders were put in place and people were restricted from meeting in large groups, which affected every LEGO fan event worldwide. Events were cancelled as restrictions prevented venues from opening. For me, as the weeks wore into months without meetings, things became harder and harder to do. One of the greatest things about going to conventions and events is meeting old friends and making new ones, and discovering the new builders taking the hobby in different directions. Without events, those meeting points no longer existed. Other things also were disrupted. Offices had to be closed and be replaced with remote and online work. Restaurants and theaters were shut down, so most places that were social centers were closed. This put most events in a bad position. Since most were held at venues, they were cancelled as the venues remained closed. Many events took an economic hit because of this, but it remains to be seen which events return. Some events, such as Brickworld and BrickCon and Japan Brickfest held online conventions. The LEGO House also did virtual events as they had to shut down their events.

As for the community, the LEGO User Groups (LUGs) made their own solutions. Most did video conferencing, through Zoom or some other service, that permitted some interaction with members.

With these challenges, though, there came opportunities. One of those happened during an online discussion with BrickCon—a question was brought up about having an online call just to sort bricks. And with that, SORTLUG came into being. SORTLUG may sound like a club, but there are no bylaws or dues for membership. The common ground is that everyone is a LEGO fan, and they probably have to sort their bricks and parts. The SORTLUG conference is a background noise to listen to while sorting. There’s a more important personal reason behind SORTLUG, though. Usually building and sorting are personal tasks or efforts that happen with a builder in solitude, and are the worst thing about the hobby. It’s not too unlike raking leaves from under a tree you’re taking care of: you can clear the ground for a short time, but you will always have to rake. Worse, as the tree grows, you have to rake more leaves. Sorting is much like that—a forced, never-ending task that has to be done. With the conference, sorting becomes a group activity where people can chat about whatever strikes them as they work. As a result, the calls are chats that may fall quiet from time to time as people get focused on what they are doing off-screen. SORTLUG also has really long calls that last twelve hours. No one is expected to last through an entire call except for the hosts, but with such a long time to visit, people drop in from around the world. The hosts may be in North America, but there are regular callers from Australia, Norway, and Germany. And suddenly what was a conference became a chance to talk with new people from completely different places and parts of the hobby. Resellers also sort and are part of the call—they are the ones that know how to sort parts the best! So yes, the pandemic has been a challenge for me and even this magazine, as events are one of the main ways that builders are found for articles. And personally, it has been mentally exhausting going on a routine that no longer has any definition—the days did melt together for a time. But I, as many other people, am adjusting. What started as an idea to occupy time while sorting has become something like going to a favorite hangout, where everyone is friendly and has a story to tell. The hobby has made way to friendships.

Scenes from a Presentation BrickCon 2020 was held online with presentations from builders and LEGO representatives. One presentation was done by me with fellow panelists John Rudy and Bill Vollbrecht, talking about Disneyinspired building. During the 40-minute presentation, you could see models from each of us as well as hear how we built our models. While this could have been done as a panel if BrickCon was actually held, the panel would not have been as intimate, as there was no stage—we were all talking to you and answering your questions. This presentation can be seen on BrickJournal’s Youtube channel.

John Rudy shows one of his ride vehicles.

So while the pandemic can try to keep the community apart, we will find a way to get back together stronger than ever, one call at a time.

Are Virtual Events the Next Step for Conventions? As the pandemic continued, conventions went virtual. Instead of a venue, people went to a website to go to various pages for presentations, contests, or vendors. Convention attendees were able to see presentations and also show their models to the public with live online meetings.

Another one of John’s ride vehicles: Dumbo!

The advantage to these events was there were no venues. Also, since there were no venues, no one had to travel to attend or visit. Events could easily get international guests—t was just a matter setting up a schedule. There were downsides, too. While hundreds of people could go through displays at a convention, a live conference with a displayer or presenter would have capacity issues at that number. Also, since people were online, vendors were often passed over to see displays. Both of these factors woulld drive down revenue for an event on both ticket sales and vendor sales and attendance. So what happens going forward? There will be more virtual conventions in 2021, but the virtual convention will have to become less of a display and more of a show that takes advantage of the medium. Presentations that provide attendees or visitors a chance to talk and interact with guests and panels could provide a new opportunity for outreach, even when events can come back. Some pop culture conventions are experimenting with this format. The big challenge facing LEGO fan events right now, though, is how to make an online event as exciting and memorable as a real event. A large part of a LEGO fan convention for the public is seeing the models and creations up close. Until that part of the experience can be digitally duplicated on a large scale, the best approach would be to make online events about the builders, and not so much on what they build.

Bill Vollbrecht’s model of Minnie Mouse.

My model of Mickey as the Brave Little Tailor.

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BRICKJOURNAL #57

BRICKJOURNAL #56

MYSTERIOUS, SPOOKY LEGO BUILDING! FLYNN DeMARCO’s motorized Treasure of the Snake Queen, Laika’s MISSING LINK by HOLLY WEBSTER, STACY STERLING’s HAUNTED MANSION, “AFOLs” by GREG HYLAND, “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd’s DIY Fan Art with TOMMY WILLIAMSON, Minifigure Customization with JARED K. BURKS, and more!

STAR WARSTM THEMED BUILDERS! Travel to a galaxy far, far away with JACOB NEIL CARPENTER’S DEATH STAR, the galactic work of MIRI DUDAS, and the LEGO® Star Wars-inspired photography of JAMES PHILIPPART! Plus “You Can Build It” instructions, BrickNerd’s DIY Fan Art with TOMMY WILLIAMSON, Minifigure Customization with JARED K. BURKS, and more!

LEGO WARBIRDS, PAST AND PRESENT! JEFF CHERRY’S WWII and modern fighters (P-51 Mustang and F-14 Tomcat), RALPH SAVELSBURG’S BrickJournal exclusive X-plane, MICHAEL BROWN’S F-14 Tomcat “Vandy One”, step-by-step LEGO instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd’s DIY Fan Art with TOMMY WILLIAMSON, Minifigure Customization with JARED K. BURKS, and more!

MICROSCALE LEGO BUILDING! Tour WAYNE TYLER’S National Mall (Washington, DC) layout, skyscrapers from ROCCO BUTTLIERE, BLAKE FOSTER’s Ugly Duckling spaceship, step-by-step “You Can Build It” LEGO instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd’s DIY Fan Art with TOMMY WILLIAMSON, Minifigure Customization with JARED K. BURKS, and more!

LIFE-SIZE LEGO and what it takes to build them (besides a ton of LEGO brick)! HELEN SHAM’s sculptures of giant everyday items, MAGNUS LAUGHLO’s GI Joe®-inspired models, military builds by ERIC ONG, plus “Bricks In The Middle” comic by KEVIN HINKLE, “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd’s DIY Fan Art, Minifig Customization by JARED K. BURKS, & more!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99

BRICKJOURNAL #55

BRICKJOURNAL #54

BRICKJOURNAL #53

BRICKJOURNAL #52

BRICKJOURNAL #51

LEGO HEADS & TAILS: FELIX JAENSCH’s remarkable LEGO sculptures, from realistic animals to the human skull and amazing face masks! BRYAN BENSON’s detailed Kermorvan Lighthouse and how he built it from LEGO bricks. A spectacular Winter layout by DAVE SCHEFCIK! Plus: Minifigure customizing, step-by-step instructions, BrickNerd, & more!

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY: HSINWEI CHI and his revolutionary LEGO animals and giant robots! We also declassify other top LEGO builders’ creations, including MICHAEL BROWN’s 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!

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!

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!

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!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99

NOW ON SALE! BRICKJOURNAL’S ACCLAIMED BOOKS FOR LEGO FANS!

MINIFIGURE CUSTOMIZATION 1

MINIFIGURE CUSTOMIZATION 2

JARED K. BURKS shares his knowledge of the techniques he uses to alter the lovable LEGO® Minifigure into any character you can imagine! With step-by-step tutorials on decal design and application; color alteration; custom part modification and creation; plus tips on minifigure displays and digital photography to capture your custom figures in the best light!

The sequel introduces advanced techniques to alter minifigs, with more tutorials on virtual customization; designing decals and advanced decal application; custom part modification and creation; 3-D printing; advanced painting techniques; lighting figures with LEDs or EL wire; tips on minifigure displays; and a Gallery from top customizers, with their best tricks and tips!

(84-page FULL-COLOR trade paperback) $10.95 NOW ONLY $5 (Digital Edition) $4.99

BRICKJOURNAL #50

YOU CAN BUILD IT, BOOK 1 and BOOK 2

DOUBLE-SIZE BOOK! JOE MENO discusses the beginnings of BrickJournal, LEGO Group’s TORMOD ASKILDSEN interviewed, fan community growth over 10 years, and the best builders of the past 50 issues! Plus: Minifigure customizing with JARED K. BURKS, instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, & more!

From the producers of BRICKJOURNAL MAGAZINE comes a new series of books, compiling STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS by the LEGO fan community’s top custom builders! BOOK ONE is for beginning-to-intermediate builders, and features instructions for LEGO creations from a fire engine and Christmas ornaments to miniscale models from a galaxy far, far away! BOOK TWO is for intermediate-to-advanced builders, with more detailed projects to tackle, from a miniscale yellow castle and miniland people, to a mini USS Constitution! Together, these books take you from novice to expert builder, teaching you key building techniques along the way!

(144-page FULL-COLOR trade paperback) $17.95 NOW ONLY $10 (Digital Edition) $8.99

(84-page FULL-COLOR trade paperbacks) $9.95 NOW ONLY $5 each (Digital Editions) $4.99 each

BRICKJOURNAL #1-49 $

3 EACH

PRINT OR DIGITAL

BRICKJOURNAL #49

Get copies of the first 49 issues of BrickJournal for only $3 each (66% off, with a free Digital Edition)! Or the Digital Edition only for $2.99! #3, 5-6, 9-13, 15, 17-49 are currently available in print editions, but are close to selling out!

BRICKJOURNAL #48

BRICKJOURNAL #47

40th ANNIVERSARY OF LEGO TECHNIC! 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!

THE WORLD OF LEGO MECHA! Learn the 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!

LEGO GOES UNDERSEA! Builder MITSURU NIKAIDO shows us his undersea creatures and organic builds! Then jump aboard MARCELLO DeCICCO’s minifigure-scale warships! And see amazing architectural creations by PEDRO NASCIMENTO! 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) $3.00 (Digital Edition) $2.99

BRICKJOURNAL #46

BRICKJOURNAL #45

BRICKJOURNAL #44

BRICKJOURNAL #43

BRICKJOURNAL #42

LEGO TRAINS! Spotlight on train builder CALE LEIPHART, a look at the train layouts and models from the PENNSYLVANIA LEGO Users Group (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’, stepby-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, & more!

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

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

LEGO GAMING! 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, MINDSTORMS robotics and more!

LEGO EDUCATION! See 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 LEGO MINDSTORMS to the next level! Plus: Minifigure customizing from JARED K. BURKS’, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, & more!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $3.00 (Digital Edition) $2.99

BRICKJOURNAL #41

BRICKJOURNAL #40

BRICKJOURNAL #39

BRICKJOURNAL #38

BRICKJOURNAL #37

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

LEGO MECHA! 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 BrickNerd TOMMY WILLIAMSON, MINDSTORMS robotics lessons, and more!

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

LEGO COOL CARS AND HOT RODS! LEGO car builders STEPHAN SANDER, JORDANIAN FIRAS ABU-JABER, and ANDREA LATTANZIO! Plus: Minifigure Customization by JARED K. BURKS, AFOLs by cartoonist GREG HYLAND, step-bystep “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd Pop Art by TOMMY WILLIAMSON, MINDSTORMS robotics lessons by DAMIEN KEE, and more!

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

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $3.00 (Digital Edition) $2.99

BRICKJOURNAL #36

BRICKJOURNAL #35

BRICKJOURNAL #34

BRICKJOURNAL #33

BRICKJOURNAL #32

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

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

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

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

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

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $3.00 (Digital Edition) $2.99

BRICKJOURNAL #31

BRICKJOURNAL #30

BRICKJOURNAL #29

BRICKJOURNAL #28

BRICKJOURNAL #27

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

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

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

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

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

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $3.00 (Digital Edition) $2.99

BRICKJOURNAL #26

BRICKJOURNAL #25

BRICKJOURNAL #24

BRICKJOURNAL #23

BRICKJOURNAL #22

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

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

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

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

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

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $3.00 (Digital Edition) $2.99

TwoMorrows TwoMorrows Publishing 10407 Bedfordtown Drive Raleigh, NC 27614 USA 919-449-0344 E-mail:

BRICKJOURNAL #21

BRICKJOURNAL #20

BRICKJOURNAL #19

BRICKJOURNAL #18

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

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

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

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

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $3.00 (Digital Edition) $2.99

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Last Word Well, we’re done for this issue. Hopefully things will be getting better by the time this issue is out. It would be so nice to get out and go to an event or even a meeting! Many thanks to all the contributors of this issue—this was an issue where I was surprised at the different subjects that we covered. From home displays to building butterflies to dinosaur skeletons, this issue opened up my eyes, and I hope yours. I just want to build a motorized dino skull. Wouldn’t that be cool? Next issue we take a look to see how diverse the community is. It’ll be another eye-opening issue, I’m sure.

Yeah, as Jonas Kramm noted, that’s a bad place to hide!

Til then, build on! That Joe Meno Guy

RetroFan:

Pop Culture You Grew Up With! If you love Pop Culture of the Sixties, Seventies, and Eighties, editor MICHAEL EURY’s latest magazine is just for you!

SUBSCRIBE!

68 Economy US (with free digital editions) 80 Expedited US • 87 Premium US 103 International • 27 Digital Only

RETROFAN #10

RETROFAN #11

RETROFAN #15

RETROFAN #16

RETROFAN #17

Sixties teen idol RICKY NELSON remembered by his son MATTHEW NELSON, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., rural sitcom purge, EVEL KNIEVEL toys, the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, Saturday morning’s Super 7, The Muppet Show, behind-the-scenes photos of Sixties movies, an interview with The Sound of Music’s heartthrob-turnedbad guy DANIEL “Rolf” TRUHITTE, and more fun, fab features!

An exclusive interview with Logan’s Run star MICHAEL YORK, plus Logan’s Run novelist WILLIAM F. NOLAN and vehicle customizer DEAN JEFFRIES. Plus: the Marvel Super Heroes cartoons of 1966, H. R. Pufnstuf, Leave It to Beaver’s SUE “Miss Landers” RANDALL, WOLFMAN JACK, drive-in theaters, My Weekly Reader, DAVID MANDEL’s super collection of comic book art, and more!

Dark Shadows’ Angelique, LARA PARKER, sinks her fangs into an exclusive interview. Plus: Rankin-Bass’ Mad Monster Party, Aurora Monster model kits, a chat with Aurora painter JAMES BAMA, George of the Jungle, The Haunting, Jawsmania, Drak Pack, TV dads’ jobs, and more fun, fab features! Featuring columns by FARINO, MANGELS, MURRAY, SAAVEDRA, SHAW, and MICHAEL EURY.

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships June 2021

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships August 2021

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships Oct. 2021

RETROFAN #12

RETROFAN #13

RETROFAN #14

NOW BI-MONTHLY! Celebrating fifty years of SHAFT, interviews with FAMILY AFFAIR’s KATHY GARVER and The Brady Bunch Variety Hour’s GERI “FAKE JAN” REISCHL, ED “BIG DADDY” ROTH, rare GODZILLA merchandise, Spaghetti Westerns, Saturday morning cartoon preview specials, fake presidential candidates, Spider-Man/The Spider parallels, Stuckey’s, and more fun, fab features!

HALLOWEEN ISSUE! Interviews with DARK SHADOWS’ DAVID SELBY, and the niece of movie Frankenstein GLENN STRANGE, JULIE ANN REAMS. Plus: KOLCHAK THE NIGHT STALKER, ROD SERLING retrospective, CASPER THE FRIENDLY GHOST, TV’s Adventures of Superman, Superman’s pal JIMMY OLSEN, QUISP and QUAKE cereals, the DRAK PAK AND THE MONSTER SQUAD, scratch model customs, and more!

CHRIS MANN goes behind the scenes of TV’s sexy sitcom THREE’S COMPANY— and NANCY MORGAN RITTER, first wife of JOHN RITTER, shares stories about the TV funnyman. Plus: RICK GOLDSCHMIDT’s making of RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER, RONNIE SCHELL interview, Sheena Queen of the TV Jungle, Dr. Seuss toys, Popeye cartoons, DOCTOR WHO’s 1960s U.S. invasion, and more!

Exclusive interviews with Lost in Space’s MARK GODDARD and MARTA KRISTEN, Dynomutt and Blue Falcon, Hogan’s Heroes’ BOB CRANE, a history of WhamO’s Frisbee, Twilight Zone and other TV sci-fi anthologies, Who Created Archie Andrews?, oddities from the San Diego Zoo, lava lamps, and more with FARINO, MANGELS, MURRAY, SAAVEDRA, SHAW, and MICHAEL EURY!

Holy backstage pass! See rare, behind-thescenes photos of many of your favorite Sixties TV shows! Plus: an unpublished interview with Green Hornet VAN WILLIAMS, Bigfoot on Saturday morning television, TV’s Zoorama and the San Diego Zoo, The Saint, the lean years of Star Trek fandom, the WrestleFest video game, TV tie-in toys no kid would want, and more fun, fab features!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99

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RETROFAN #5

RETROFAN #6

RETROFAN #7

RETROFAN #8

RETROFAN #9

Interviews with MARK HAMILL & Greatest American Hero’s WILLIAM KATT! Blast off with JASON OF STAR COMMAND! Stop by the MUSEUM OF POPULAR CULTURE! 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!

Interviews with MeTV’s crazy creepster SVENGOOLIE and Eddie Munster himself, BUTCH PATRICK! Call on the original Saturday Morning GHOST BUSTERS, with BOB BURNS! Uncover the nutty NAUGAS! Plus: “My Life in the Twilight Zone,” “I Was a Teenage James Bond,” “My Letters to Famous People,” the ARCHIE-DOBIE GILLIS connection, Pinball Hall of Fame, Alien action figures, Rubik’s Cube & more!

With a JACLYN SMITH interview, as we reopen the Charlie’s Angels Casebook, and visit the Guinness World Records’ largest Charlie’s Angels collection. Plus: interview with LARRY STORCH, The Lone Ranger in Hollywood, The Dick Van Dyke Show, a vintage interview with Jonny Quest creator DOUG WILDEY, a visit to the Land of Oz, the ultra-rare Marvel World superhero playset, and more!

NOW BI-MONTHLY! Interviews with the ’60s grooviest family band THE COWSILLS, and TV’s coolest mom JUNE LOCKHART! Mars Attacks!, MAD Magazine in the ’70s, Flintstones turn 60, Electra Woman & Dyna Girl, Honey West, Max Headroom, Popeye Picnic, the Smiley Face fad, & more! With MICHAEL EURY, ERNEST FARINO, ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, and SCOTT SHAW!

NOW BI-MONTHLY! Interviews with ’70s’ Captain America REB BROWN, and Captain Nice (and Knight Rider’s KITT) WILLIAM DANIELS with wife BONNIE BARTLETT! Plus: Coloring Books, Fall Previews for Saturday morning cartoons, The Cyclops movie, actors behind your favorite TV commercial characters, BENNY HILL, the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention, 8-track tapes, and more!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99

New Summer Magazines!

ALTER EGO #169

ALTER EGO #170

ALTER EGO #171

COMIC BOOK CREATOR #25 COMIC BOOK CREATOR #26

JACK KIRBY is showcased cover-to-cover behind a never-before-printed Kirby cover! WILL MURRAY on Kirby’s contributions to the creation of Iron Man—FCA on his Captain Marvel/Mr. Scarlet Fawcett work—Kirby sections by MICHAEL T. GILBERT & PETER NORMANTON—Kirby in 1960s fanzines—STAN LEE’s colorful quotes about “The King”, and ROY THOMAS on being a Kirby fan (and foil)!

PAUL GUSTAVSON—Golden Age artist of The Angel, Fantom of the Fair, Arrow, Human Bomb, Jester, Plastic Man, Alias the Spider, Quicksilver, Rusty Ryan, Midnight, and others—is remembered by son TERRY GUSTAFSON, who talks in-depth to RICHARD ARNDT. Lots of lush comic art from Centaur, Timely, and (especially) Quality! Plus—FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT, JOHN BROOME, and more!

BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH discusses his new graphic novel MONSTERS, its origin as a 1980s Hulk story, and its evolution into his 300-page magnum opus (includes a gallery of outtakes). Plus part two of our SCOTT SHAW! interview about HannaBarbera licensing material and work with ROY THOMAS on Captain Carrot, KEN MEYER, JR. looks at the great fanzines of 40 years ago, HEMBECK, and more!

Career-spanning interview with TERRY DODSON, and Terry’s wife (and go-to inker) RACHEL DODSON! Plus 1970s/’80s portfolio producer SAL QUARTUCCIO talks about his achievements with Phase and Hot Stuf’, R. CRUMB and DENIS KITCHEN discuss the history of underground comix character Pro Junior, WILL EISNER’s Valentines to his wife, HEMBECK, and more!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Now shipping!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships June 2021

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships August 2021

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships Spring 2021

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Summer 2021

Spotlight on Groovy GARY FRIEDRICH— co-creator of Marvel’s Ghost Rider! ROY THOMAS on their six-decade friendship, wife JEAN FRIEDRICH and nephew ROBERT HIGGERSON on his later years, PETER NORMANTON on GF’s horror/ mystery comics, art by PLOOG, TRIMPE, ROMITA, THE SEVERINS, AYERS, et al.! FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT and Mr. Monster, and more! MIKE PLOOG cover!

BACK ISSUE #128

BACK ISSUE #129

BACK ISSUE #130

KIRBY COLLECTOR #81

TV TOON TIE-INS! Bronze Age HannaBarbera Comics, Underdog, Mighty Mouse, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Pink Panther, Battle of the Planets, and Smokey Bear and Woodsy Owl. Bonus: SCOTT SHAW! digs up Captain Carrot’s roots! Featuring the work of BYRNE, COLON, ENGEL, EVANIER, FIELDS, MICHAEL GALLAGHER, WIN MORTIMER, NORRIS, SEVERIN, SKEATES, STATON, TALLARICO, TOTH, and more!

BRONZE AGE PROMOS, ADS, AND GIMMICKS! The aborted DC Super-Stars Society fan club, Hostess Comic Ads, DC 16-page Preview Comics, rare Marvel custom comics, DC Hotline, Popeye Career Comics, early variant covers, and more. Featuring BARR, HERDLING, LEVITZ, MAGUIRE, MORGAN, PACELLA, PALMIOTTI, SHAW!, TERRY STEWART, THOMAS, WOLFMAN, and more!

“KIRBY: BETA!” Jack’s experimental ideas, characters, and series (Fighting American, Jimmy Olsen, Kamandi, and others), Kirby interview, inspirations for his many “secret societies” (The Project, Habitat, Wakanda), non-superhero genres he explored, 2019 Heroes Con panel (with MARK EVANIER, MIKE ROYER, JIM AMASH, and RAND HOPPE), a pencil art gallery, UNUSED JIMMY OLSEN #141 COVER, and more!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships May 2021

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships June 2021

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships July 2021

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships Aug. 2021

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Summer 2021

2021

BRONZE AGE TV TIE-INS! TV-to-comic adaptations of the ’70s to ’90s, including Bionic Woman, Dark Shadows, Emergency, H. R. Pufnstuf, Hee Haw, Lost in Space (with BILL MUMY), Primus (with ROBERT BROWN), Sledge Hammer, Superboy, V, and others! Featuring BALD, BATES, CAMPITI, EVANIER, JOHN FRANCIS MOORE, SALICRUP, SAVIUK, SPARLING, STATON, WOLFMAN, and more!

SUBSCRIPTION RATES Alter Ego (Six issues) Back Issue (Eight issues) BrickJournal (Six issues) Comic Book Creator (Four issues) Jack Kirby Collector (Four issues) RetroFan (Six issues)

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EXPEDITED US $80 $103 $80 $56 $59 $80

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BACK ISSUE #127

SOLDIERS ISSUE! Sgt. Rock revivals, General Thunderbolt Ross, Beetle Bailey in comics, DC’s Blitzkrieg, War is Hell’s John Kowalski, Atlas’ savage soldiers, The ’Nam, Nth the Ultimate Ninja, and CONWAY and GARCIA-LOPEZ’s Cinder and Ashe. Featuring CLAREMONT, DAVID, DIXON, GOLDEN, HAMA, KUBERT, LOEB, DON LOMAX, DOUG MURRAY, TUCCI, and more. BRIAN BOLLAND cover!