BrickJournal #68

Issue 68 • July 2021

Alice Finch and the Women’s Brick Initiative The Women of Philippines LUG

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Issue 68 • July 2021

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

People Serge Vanschoenwinkel: Building a Supercar!.......................................3 Women’s Brick Initiative: Clutch Holds More Than Bricks Together......................................8 Alice Finch: Displaying Like a Master!..........................10 Master Builder Gallery: Caz Mockett....................................................14 Kristal Dubois.................................................17 Mel Finelli.........................................................20 Sachiko Akinaga...........................................23 WBI Member Profile: Adelle Trotta....................................................25 Lucie Filteau....................................................26 Megan Rothrock...........................................28 Teresa Elsmore...............................................31 Women of LEGO Masters: Jessica Ewud...................................................32 Jessica Farrell..................................................34 Runa Lindblom..............................................37

Building You Can Build It: Quasar Fire Class Cruiser Carrier............38 Minifigure Customization 101: Ruth Bader Ginsburg..................................44 Women’s Brick Initiative: Making LEGO Into Jewelry.......................49 BrickNerd DIY Fan Art: Puzzle Piece.....................................................50

Community Women’s Brick Initiative: Summer Research Overview..................52 The Duck Collaborative..............................54 Quilt Collaborative.......................................56 Let’s Build!........................................................59 Women of the Phillipines: Team PMS.........................................................60 Diversity and Inclusion: GayFOLs............................................................64 Bantha Bricks Files: David Strenzler’s Force of Bricks.............66 Community Ads...............................................78 Last Word.............................................................79 AFOLs....................................................................80

From the Editor: Hello there!

When I first began in this hobby at the turn of the century, I found it interesting that the vast majority of builders were male. At the time, it was an assumption that building things was a male-oriented interest. But in the immediate years afterward, some things happened to shake up that assumption:

Issue 68 • July 2021 Publisher John Morrow

Editor in Chief Joe Meno

Photography Editor Geoff Gray Proofreader John Morrow

Japanese Bureau Editor Nathan Bryan

The first dedicated LEGO fan website, LUGNET, was formed by Todd Lehmann and Suzanne Eaton (then Suzanne Rice). One of the first LEGO fan events in the US, BrickFest, was coordinated by Christina Hitchcock.

West Coast Editors Ashley Glennon

This was something that, way back then, I noticed and wanted to get others involved with. So I had two female co-editors in the first years of the magazine. I added them to give me another view of the community, and they did! One now works at LEGO (Melody Caddick) and another is here in this issue (Megan Rothrock).

Bantha Bricks Correspondent Steven Smyth

Now, more people have come into the hobby from all walks of life, and BrickJournal is happy to welcome them here and online! Many thanks to Alice Finch and her staff at Women’s Brick Initiative for writing and composing this issue’s features, and thanks to Mark Larson for his layout work!

LEGO Ideas Correspondent Glen Wadleigh

Contributors: Sachiko Akinaga, Chestnut Amatong, Kelly Bartlett, Jared Burks, Christopher Deck, Kristal Dubois, Teresa Elsmore, Jessica Ewud, Jessica Farrell, Alice Finch, Mel Finelli, Lucie Fitteau, Erik H., Runa Lindblom, Megan Lum, Louise Mariano, Daneen McDermott, Caz Mockett, Nyssa Hope Rogers, Megan Rothrock, JacQueline Sanchez, David Schefcik, Steven Smyth, David Strenzler, Stephanie Taylor, Adelle Trotta, Serge Vanschoenwinkel, Inez Vasquez, and Greg Hyland.

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!

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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: Alice Finch’s model of Potala’s Palace in Tibet, made in 2013. Photography provided by Alice Finch.

About the Contents: A section of a quilt that was done as a collaborative build. Photography

by Daneen McDermott.

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, 6701 Coachman Drive, 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

Serge Vanschoenwinkel

Building a Supercar!

Article and Photography

by Serge Vanschoenwinkel

Above: Serge with his sports car models—with the real Countachs and a new virtual build on his computer of his new Lamborghini Diablo GTR. He would have liked to have it built but was still waiting for some parts on the way. Behind is the Statue of Liberty and one of the most incredible MOCs Serge has ever seen, the Alien Xenomorph from buildbetterbricks!

Serge Vanschoenwinkel is a software solution architect at Eurocontrol, the European agency that regulates air traffic all over Europe. Outside of work, he plays chess, guitar and piano. He also builds LEGO models, with one of his most recent creations being a vehicle that often stops traffic: a Lamborghini Countach.

What’s also impressive is that Serge has only been building as an adult for a year. As a boy, he loved Technic sets, but he only got back into building when he went to an event in Brussels (his hometown) that displayed personal LEGO creations. It was an eye-opening experience, as he remembered LEGO being interesting but not really good-looking.

He realized then that the LEGO world had evolved tremendously since he was a kid.

Because of his recent return, his favorite themes are also evolving. Serge definitely list his favorites as Creator Expert, Cars and modulars. He also keeps an eye on the Technic world and his interest in LEGO Architecture is growing. Another favorite is LEGO Ideas, and for a future theme, he would love to see LEGO create a kind of “creatures” line-up.

Serge’s first models were inspired from Belgian comics (he was a fan of comic artist André Franquin) and it came naturally to him. From there he imagined some funny animals. These were simple builds (around 100 bricks) that were made by playing with the bricks, with his only guidance being his imagination.

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Serge’s Lamborghini models with his favorite set, the 1989 Batmobile.

Themes aren’t the reason why Serge builds. For him it’s going beyond and trying to build his own things. He always had an interest in modeling in general, and he found that the charm of a LEGO MOC comes from their imperfections—maybe not imperfections, but their drift from the real world. This drift freed up his imagination. Building was something he tried to do when he was a kid, but he didn’t succeed very well then. When he saw the displays in the Brussels expo, he discovered that everything was possible.

The Countach is his favorite car, so it was a natural model for him to try to build. The car is somewhere between the classic cars and the more aggressive supercars, like the ones that exist today. For Serge, the Countach is the perfect balance between the two. From the start, he knew he could design one, so he didn’t give up, and with a little bit of luck, he completed it.

Building a car model is a process for Serge. For accuracy, he starts by printing the blueprints and measuring the proportions with a ruler. The most critical moment in building is deciding what scale to build, depending on available LEGO parts to reproduce the car’s elements. This is a step that needs to be carefully considered. From there, he does the design on his computer using stud.io, a LEGO building program from Bricklink. When he completes the digital model, it’s easy to generate instructions. From there, he starts the build with real LEGO parts.

Some of Serge’s earlier creations. The fish is his first model: a piranha inspired from the universe of the Marsupilami in comics’ Spirou & Fantasio (which is a very famous comic series in Belgium from the ’60s). Serge likes its “cartoon” look! Then he designed the car (that looks like a taxi), which is the Fiat 509 of Gaston Lagaffe (another hero, or should we say anti-hero, from the same Belgian author Andre Franquin). Serge loved reading these comics as a kid. The sheep, the flamingo and the cat are his own creations.

Peace and Love (the sheep) is a symbol trying to reconcile black and white people imagined just after George Floyd died. Then Serge imagined a Flamingo which completely lost his mind, as simple as that! And the cat is desperately trying to catch a mouse but hasn’t succeeded yet!

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The Countach has been Serge’s hardest build by far. Having angles and curves all over, he had to imagine new techniques to generate inclines in two different planes for the same parts. There were also numerous half-stud offsets which used many SNOT (Stud Not on Top) techniques.

The black Countach.

With the car profile being so low, there wasn’t a lot of room for the offsets. The hardest part of the car was the rear and how it was connected to the sides. With all of these factors, it was a real challenge for Serge to reproduce the Countach’s lines.

Since building the Countach, he has also completed a model of the Lamborghini Diablo, the Countach’s successor. His next model will be another car, probably a Ferrari 250 GTO. He loves cars from the ’80s. There is also an existing model of the xenomorph from Alien and he would like to one day build the Alien Queen. Last but not least, Serge would like to build an alternate build of the Batmobile 1989 UCS set.

He can imagine a Bugatti with Batman-style wings on the roof! All of these are very ambitious projects, so he cannot tell if they will become real one day—fingers crossed.

More views of the Lamborghinis.

For builders, Serge advises, “Assemble loads and loads of official LEGO sets, and also build MOCs that you like if you can. If it’s too expensive, then buy secondhand and sell when finished. On each build, it is important to focus on the techniques used and understand them. Wonder ‘how the heck is this part connecting perfectly to this one ?’ when building SNOT (Stud Not On Top) techniques. For this it is important to understand the sizes and offsets of most common bricks. For instance, you have to know that the width of a stud equals the height of two-and-a-half plates, and many other things like that.

“The design of complex models must be done on a computer—unless you have thousands of hours of free time and are not worried about fingers bleeding. Surprisingly, on my computer I start by placing the external (visible) parts.

When I’m satisfied with the shape, I go on with the structure underneath.”

Now it’s time to reveal some of the secrets hidden inside the Countach with Serge...

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Building the Countach

by Serge Vanschoenwinkel

The first photo shows the basic chassis covered by plates; not a lot to say about that. But we already see the side flanks; I used the same technique as the Ferrari F40 to connect them to the chassis with a half-stud offset.

Later on, these side flanks will support parts of the body with a half-stud offset back to the center, and be connected again to the rest! So it is very solid, there is no way you can pull them off once the model is built. Note the gray T-shape Technic beams, placed horizontally at the rear. They are part of one of my favorite techniques used in the build to create angles. I’ll tell more in a few steps...

The full interior is added to the model.

It is important to add it early, because there will be some beams for the roof that will make interior access difficult.

The air intakes have been added on each side. They are connected on a pivot pin (in blue in the diagram) to allow for an angle, and when the model will be entirely built, the air intakes will be blocked between the body and the engine bay, with no gap, so they will not move! It’s not really complex, but I’m proud of how accurately they are placed.

You can also see that I added two balls, mounted on the T-shape beams that I mentioned earlier. These balls will bear the parts that are at the top of the body, on each side close to the rear. These parts need to be placed with a specific angle in two different directions at the same time: they are inclined slightly towards the sides but also towards the rear. A ball joint allows that with a single, but strong connection. These are the parts for which I encountered the most difficulties to place accurately.

The balls must be placed at a specific position; the accuracy of the positioning is a quarter of the height of a plate!

The T-shape beams were initially not part of my design (I’ve tried many other techniques, more or less successfully), but they ended up to be the most practical solution with the required accuracy.

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The rear before and after connecting to the structure! This part is my favorite one, also one of the most difficult to design. The complexity comes from the exact dimensions that it must have. I also wanted to reproduce perfectly the gap between the lights in different trans colors. This part is full of SNOT techniques and half-stud offsets. At this stage, the light assemblies are connected to the rest with only one stud each and can fall easily. But the body will connect to the opposite side of the light assemblies, and secure them!

The step that I’m most proud of. It shows the body part that will be connected to the chassis and to the rear lights. Here, there are half-stud offsets in two directions at the same time: the stud of the last brick (the one bearing the orange light) connects to the center slot on the back of the curve. The fact that this stud from the rear has to come exactly at this place, explains why the rear part was one of the most difficult to design!

The rear is finished except the rear wing, and the roof is placed. Now it’s time to build the hood. But I’ll stop here, there is not much to say about that.

If you want to see a different build that Serge did, view his entry to the LEGO Ideas Out of This World Space Builds contest: https://ideas.lego.com/challenges/3a0cb2a7-395f-400c-8e0bc3428041a8fe/application/56ff45ce-c70d-4b4b-a05f-1a3de24f4021 or scan this QR code!

People

Women’s Brick Initiative logo and slogan.

Women’s Brick Initiative:

Clutch Holds More Than Bricks Together “... committed to the advancement of all women in the LEGO community.”

Article and Photography by Megan Lum

Megan Lum Instagram: @meganvlum Facebook: megan.v.lum

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Women’s Brick Initiative duck collaboration at Bricks Cascade, 2020.

I first discovered the Women’s Brick Initiative during Brickworld Chicago in 2019. It was my first time attending Brickworld—I’d heard about the scale and size of the con before, so decided I had to experience it for myself. I’d attended many conventions; and while Brickworld was undoubtedly larger than any other con I’d been to, it still had something in common with all the rest—I just didn’t see that many women. While I had friends there, I still felt rather alone.

I’m not the only one who feels that way. According to LEGO, only about 14% of all adult fans of LEGO (AFOLs) are women. I made it a point to talk to several women builders who were exhibiting at Brickworld, and invariably, our conversation turned to “there should be a group for women builders.” I started to think I should consider starting a women’s builders group. Fortunately, during my last half-hour at the con, someone told me that “Alice Finch has just started the Women’s Brick Initiative.”

WBI was created as a result of two women having much the same conversation as I’d had with those women builders at Brickworld. At Skaerbaek Fan Weekend in 2017, Alice Finch (of Hogwarts and Rivendell fame) and noted toy photographer Shelly Corbett met, and upon learning that they shared the view that there should be more women involved in the LEGO hobby, decided to do something about it. As a result, the Women’s Brick Initiative (WBI) was born, with the purpose of inspiring women and girls to pursue their personal creative vision using the LEGO brick.

Both Alice and Shelly live in the Seattle area, but had never met until they both traveled several thousand miles to Skaerbaek. This is one of the reasons WBI exists—to provide an opportunity where women don’t have to travel just to find other women who enjoy LEGO. I ended up joining WBI’s leadership team not long after that conversation at Brickworld.

Since its inception, WBI has worked toward bringing equity and diversity to the LEGO hobby while creating an atmosphere where all builders are welcome.

Elsewhere in this magazine you’ll read about many of WBI’s activities—interactive workshops, innovative research, and collaborative builds. All of these efforts support one or more of WBI’s goals, with a recurring theme: Clutch holds more than bricks together.

Women’s Brick Initiative Goals Inspire We will INSPIRE more women and girls to join our LEGO hobby while honoring the female artists, builders and LEGO enthusiasts who are already making a difference.

Support We will SUPPORT our community through workshops, events, skill building activities and a positive community experience.

Empower We will EMPOWER our community by challenging entrenched inequity and bias.

We will increase representation of women and other underrepresented groups within all aspects of the LEGO ecosystem.

Women’s Brick Initiative group photo at Bricks Cascade 2020 workshop.

WBI workshops have resonated with women in the LEGO community. Before the pandemic, every WBI workshop has been filled to capacity with many waiting to get in.

They have provided a valuable avenue for women AFOLs who have felt that they didn’t quite fit in—much like I had at Brickworld—and offer a welcoming space to allow participants to connect, learn, and share experiences. As Jyoti Patel, one of the directors of WBI and a workshop facilitator, puts it: “We are committed to changing the narrative and creating a safe space for women and those who feel like they’re on the outside, to be welcomed and supported.”

In 2020, WBI started its groundbreaking intern program, made possible through a partnership with Smith College.

Thanks to the pandemic, all work was performed virtually.

WBI interns conducted research around gender and equality issues in the LEGO ecosystem (see pages 52-53).

Results of this research are posted to our website and shared during presentations at LEGO conventions. One of the results of this research was the unveiling of the diverse minifigure petition that you can see online. In December, WBI published a Top Ten list for LEGO for Equity in Inclusion; something that will become an annual feature.

As the pandemic has shifted conventions online, WBI has continued their workshops and hosted collaborative builds virtually. Notable among the collaborative builds has been the WBI Quilts (see more details on page 56), which have proven so popular, several other LUGs have created their own.

To that end, WBI has a significant online presence.

In addition to its website (www.womensbrickinitiative. com) where all news and research are published, WBI can be found on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (@ thewomensbrick). There’s also an active Facebook group.

WBI hosts monthly online socials that, thanks to the pandemic, are open to members around the world.

From the beginning, WBI has maintained a direct relationship with LEGO management, continuing the convention around diversity and gender equity. WBI was designated a Recognized LEGO Online Community in 2018.

The pandemic has not slowed WBI and the future looks bright. 2021 brings the second year of the intern program, where we will continue our research into gender equity and social issues in LEGO. We are founding members of the Brick Alliance in which we’ll partner with other organizations to highlight equity issues across the LEGO community. We will continue to demonstrate that clutch does, indeed, hold more than bricks together.

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People

Alice Finch:

Displaying like a Master!

“Small interactions can make the difference between feeling like you’re a part of something, or you’re not.”

Interview by Megan Lum Photography by Alice Finch 10

Alice Finch burst onto the AFOL scene with her impressive 400,000 piece Hogwarts build, and gained more recognition as one of the featured builders in the documentary A LEGO Brickumentary. The co-founder of the Women’s Brick Initiative (WBI) and the Brick Alliance (BA) has continued to build, but also devotes time to social justice issues and making the LEGO community more accessible to everyone. Recently, I sat down with Alice to talk about LEGO, social justice, and just what happened to that enormous Hogwarts build.

Alice Finch Flickr Gallery: bippitybricks Instagram: @bippitybricks

going to look like, because this was from the world he developed. So I took the instruction—I mostly did the landscaping and he did everything else—the buildings, scenery, and placement of the minifigs. We’ve worked together on other collaborations, like the Isle of Berk from 2014. When we’re in the LEGO world, we are colleagues and equals as opposed to mother and son, so there’s a lot of tossing back and forth of ideas.

How have your sons (Thorin and Hadrian) influenced your building?

They’ve always been involved. When I was working on Rivendell, and Hadrian was four, he built a train station right through the middle of the model. Because for him, how else would the elves get to work every day? There was a train with track, a little train station and a water station with tank and mugs set out on the table, so that when the elves got to work, they had their water cooler.

That was a way for him to feel included in the model.

My position wasn’t “Get your hands off my model!”, but instead, “Come and build with me.” At the same time, Thorin built the bridge over the river on the very far left of the model, and both built trees. As they’ve gotten older, they’ve gotten much more sophisticated in terms of what they can do and the kinds of conversations we can have.

Hadrian likes to specialize in the lighting and the very technical parts of models, and Thorin is very good at storytelling with the minifigs.

What happened to your Hogwarts? Is it still intact?

Alice’s HogwartsTM Castle layout.

Megan Lum: Every LEGO fan knows Alice Finch’s Hogwarts. How did you follow up on that?

Alice Finch: After Hogwarts, there was Rivendell, which was a collaboration with David Frank. Then there was another collaboration, Mouse Guard, based on graphic novels by David Peterson, with about a dozen builders from ArchLUG. Next came some small projects, including the Potala Palace (this issue’s cover image), a microscale Notre Dame, and the Burg Eltz castle in Germany. I also did a travel model of Hogwarts, because I needed to have a suitcase-sized version for international conferences.

It’s been a big question for me, what to do with Hogwarts.

Right now, it’s still in storage. For me and a good part of the world, the feeling around Hogwarts has changed based on the recent actions of JK Rowling. So how do I feel comfortable presenting it to the public again? I’ve been thinking that for the 10th anniversary of Hogwarts being built (2022), perhaps I’ll modify it to be a Pride Hogwarts that is massively inclusive in every possible way. It needs to be remodeled to make it more travel worthy, so this is a way to have a goal to make that happen. Nobody really looks forward to taking apart an old model and rebuilding it, so I’m using this idea to motivate myself to get this done.

You’ve done a number of collaborations. What draws you to those?

I really like doing collaborations. I find it rewarding to work with other people and see what comes of joint effort.

The last collaboration I did was with my son Thorin. He has created an entire world, about which he’s writing a novel. He wanted to build a particular location (Dargon Bridge, pictured) within that world, and we took it to Bricks Cascade in 2020. For that collaboration, Thorin did all of the directing in terms of what the model was

Dargon Bridge, a collaboration with Alice and her son, Thorin, based on Thorin’s original novel.

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Alice’s massive and elegantly detailed Rivendell layout.

Tell us about what you’re doing with LEGO now. What are you building?

I haven’t been building very much recently, primarily because it is painful to build. I have neuropathy, essentially nerve pain in my fingers, that makes it difficult to manipulate and push down on the bricks. So I’ve been finding other ways to use the brick. That includes finding ways for other people to build, or to encourage others in the building community, or establishing a new group like the Brick Alliance. I’ve also published several LEGO books (The LEGO Architecture Idea Book, 365 Things to do with LEGO Bricks, and LEGO Halloween Ideas, among others).

With the pandemic, one challenge has been coming up with ways to connect online, but it can be turned into a good thing rather than a limitation. I’ve been working with EDsnaps, an organization dedicated to increasing diversity in the STEM workforce. There’s a term they use—it combines global and local—Glocal. So I’ve worked with them in an online environment and serve on their Board of Advisors. It’s all about finding ways to turn this online environment into a positive thing.

Detailed shot from Alice’s Rivendell layout.

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The original UNHCR refugee campaign poster with Alice and Paul Lee’s planned update to the work, highlighted in green.

You’re very active in social justice issues. How do you combine LEGO with social justice?

I started by volunteering in classrooms, because that way I could still be in the thick of things, but not building myself. I collaborated with a friend of mine who was a teacher at my local middle school and we did a project around diversity and inclusion. Middle school (grades 6-8) is a prime age to talk with kids about what diversity and inclusion really means. The project eventually involved up to 180 different students, building mosaics about diverse super-heroes. It started with “What is a super-hero?

What is super-hero art?” Then these groups of kids built LEGO mosaics about diverse super-heroes. But when the kids built these diverse super-heroes, 11 out of 12 of the superheroes were the equivalent of white. So we had a conversation with these kids about why that happened, what did this mean, and why white was the dominant skin color. There was a fair amount of diversity of the kids in the classroom and yet they all leaned towards blonde and white. It was an important insight to the kids about the nature of inherent bias. The next year we did mosaic posters based on climate change, which highlighted a region, a plant and an animal.

Another important project is the refugee poster project.

This was initiated by the refugee crisis a couple years ago, and I remembered that I had a poster in my classroom when I used to teach middle school that used LEGO minifigures to demonstrate that refugees don’t look any different than anybody else. There were four posters produced 20 years ago by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and with the need for more awareness, I got to thinking about rebooting those posters using modern minifigures, representing actual people who are refugees who have contributed to modern society. The intent is to educate people how refugees are an important aspect of society and how they contribute positively for all our benefit. I’m working with Paul Lee (noted LEGO artist) on new images, and we’re in the process of identifying the right people at the UNHCR and LEGO to get the legal permissions to finish.

Another way of combining LEGO with social justice came when you started the Women’s Brick Initiative and the Brick Alliance. What were the inspirations for those?

With the Women’s Brick Initiative, much of it was prompted by my own experience in the LEGO hobbyverse. After I built Hogwarts and Rivendell, and getting the attention that came with it, what started out as a

Climate change mosaic posters displayed at Bricks Cascade, a LEGO fan event in Portland, Oregon.

positive experience with my local LEGO community quickly turned negative. I wanted to prevent that from happening to other people entering the hobby, as well as find supportive ways to encourage and include them in the LEGO community. This was particularly true for LEGO conventions and events, so that when new people came, they felt like they had some kind of network or community. That was the impetus for having the workshops for WBI—to create that community to create connections between participants. When I met Shelly Corbett (WBI co-founder) in 2017, everything fell into place. We’ve continued that work now since Megan Lum (WBI director) joined in 2019.

With the Brick Alliance (formed in summer 2020 with online group GayFOLs), I think it has to do with the overlap between varying communities, and the need for support and connection between them. It’s a terrible feeling to not know where your puzzle piece fits into the bigger puzzle. Small interactions can make the difference between feeling like you’re a part of something, or you’re not. There was a person at a recent Brick Alliance round table discussion, and they shared that it was the first time ever they felt comfortable and included in a LEGO space at that gathering. That’s what it’s all about—giving them a space where they felt truly part of the community.

Hopefully some of the things that we can do at WBI or BA will make other people feel like they have a space where they are part of the hobby, in whatever way you interact, whether that’s photography or brickfilms or vignettes or mosaics or sculpture, whatever it happens to be. One of my goals is to find a way for you to feel like you are part of the community and that you’re welcome.

Alice presenting to AFOLs in Hong Kong.

If you want to see more of Alice’s work, you can go to her Flickr gallery at https://www.flickr. com/photos/bippitybricks/ or scan this QR code!

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People

Close-up detail of Caz’s Micropolis model in the LEGO House Master Builder Gallery.

Master Builder Gallery:

Caz Mockett

Article and Photography by Caz Mockett

“My buildings are firmly based in fantasy rather than reality...”

Caz Mockett YouTube: BlockHeadUK Instagram: @cazmockett Twitter: @cazphoto

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Caz Mockett poses with her model at the Master Builder Gallery.

I have been building MOCs since October 2017 when I emerged from my Dark Ages. My main interest is architecture and my first attempts at building Microscale were awful. Very quickly I stumbled upon the Micropolis standard, which immediately captivated my imagination and provided a framework which directed my creativity.

I continued building and improving, while gaining inspiration from many well-known Micropolis builders who had been making models within the standard for almost a decade. My efforts were encouraged by members of my LEGO User Group, the London AFOLs, which I had joined in November 2017.

A few months later I led a workshop on Micropolis for the group, and was beginning to make a few waves within the wider Micropolis community online. In January 2019, my LUG Ambassador encouraged me to put forward some of my MOCs for consideration for display at the LEGO House in Billund. I wasn’t convinced they would get very far, but I assembled a portfolio of my best builds which was passed on to the team at LEGO House who curate the AFOL exhibits within.

A couple of months later, I was surprised and delighted to be invited to show a selection of my Micropolis MOCs in the Masterpiece Gallery, an honor which I would not have believed I could achieve when I started fiddling around with bricks less than two years previously!

The six city blocks contained in Caz’s Master Builder Gallery display.

Setting up the models in the gallery was great fun and it was lovely to meet the other exhibitors whose work I had admired previously only from afar. I have six full blocks of Micropolis on display, which shows a colorful mix of residential, commercial and municipal buildings, together with a canal, tramway and elevated rail line. My buildings are firmly based in fantasy rather than reality, as I love the freedom this gives me in terms of colors, shapes and techniques, but I do still find much inspiration from real architectural projects by innovators such as Santiago Calatrava and the late Zaha Hadid.

Bustling traffic contrasts with lush landscaping on the river in Caz’s Micropolis.

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This one block microscale module shows Holy Island, a rocky outcrop just off the coast of Micropolis. It has a fortified monastery on top, with tiny houses nestling in the cliffs (built with a few Big Ugly Rock Pieces).

I continue to build Micropolis MOCs, which I showcase regularly on my YouTube channel, BlockHeadUK. I enjoy building models in minifigure-scale too, to enlarge my ever-growing custom Ningajo District, and I love the Minifigure Habitats standard, which provides the challenge of building minifigure-scale dioramas, but in a very restricted footprint.

My work was originally due to remain in the Masterpiece Gallery until September 2020, but the duration of all the current exhibits has now been extended until September 2021.

Minifigure Habitat—Tomb Of The Scorpion King.

Caz’s Micropolis Air & Space Museum, designed with LDD and built February 2018, mostly from bits ordered from BrickLink.

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Minifigure Habitat diorama showing three ladies from The LEGO Movie 2 in their Girl Band.

Top view of the Micropolis Air & Space Museum.

People

The Artist, one of Kristal’s creations displayed at the LEGO House.

Master Builder Gallery:

Kristal Dubois

Article and Photography

by Kristal Dubois

Kristal Dubois Instagram: @kristaldubois Kristal setting up her bat at the LEGO House.

Like many women my age, I never played with LEGO as a child. My exposure to LEGO didn’t build slowly, the way it does for many people, one set at a time.

Instead, when I met and eventually moved in with my partner, Jason Allemann, I had the privilege of moving into a house with a large, perfectly-sorted collection.

Suddenly, I had an entire studio full of a weird kind of recyclable sculpting material, and it pretty quickly became an awesome creative outlet.

I’ve always been most inspired to build whimsical models, pages from children’s books or scenes from nature. The first kinetic sculpture I built, The Artist, 17 is currently on display in the Masterpiece Gallery in the LEGO house.

Another model by Kristal.

When I started on this project, I had a vision of exactly what I wanted, but, as so often happens, my vision didn’t exactly match my technical skills. Jason warned me that I should really design the mechanism first, but of course I didn’t listen. And, after many, many failed attempts and rebuilds, I learned some valuable lessons. I’ve gotten better at planning ahead, prototyping, and building reliable mechanisms. Most importantly, I’ve learned that part of the joy of building with LEGO is that there’s always more to learn.

Of course, being invited to display my models in the Masterpiece Gallery was an honor, but it was also a bit uncomfortable. I felt a bit of imposter syndrome. I am no master builder and I’m still new to this. It took some time to recognize that the visitors who wander through the LEGO House aren’t there to judge our technical expertise or our choice of color palette. They want to find something that inspires them and the best way we can inspire others is by sharing a small part of our 18 imagination.

“...whimsical models, pages from children’s books... scenes from nature.”

Kristal’s mechanical bat, which flaps and moves its wings forward like a real bat.

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People

Picnic in the City: A model of the LaFrance Super-Streamline—Huffman Built.

Master Builder Gallery:

Mel Finelli

Article and Photography by Mel Finelli

“Bicycles is where it really started for me.”

Mel with her display at the LEGO House Master Builder Gallery.

Mel Finelli Flickr Gallery: melan-e Instagram: @mellegobuilder

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At 20 years old I was having a bit of a life crisis. Finishing my Psychology degree, I had failed in learning how to bridge everything I love into what I wanted to do. I didn’t want to be a therapist, but I loved learning about people. I didn’t want to go to school for art, but loved creating and loved how art made me feel. At that time I felt lost. I felt lost for many years. I still feel lost today at times, ten years later. Looking back to this past decade, I am asked what influenced my life the most; what were some of my greatest experiences; what opened the most doors for me—and the answer to all of that starts with LEGO.

The first community I joined where I felt like I was a part of something, outside of a school or a workplace, was the LEGO community. Shortly after finishing my degree I got a job that involved working with the popular interlocking bricks. I discovered this new world of LEGO fans, most of them adults—amazing LEGO builders who taught me the “rules” of LEGO building.

Over the years I quickly learned what I loved in freestyle LEGO building, and just as quickly my work was getting noticed. I was meeting builders who referred to themselves as “artists,” and this sometimes meant breaking the “rules” that the community ingrained in you. Sometimes this meant using techniques or attachments that were not official, by LEGO Designer standards. Sometimes this meant using materials to add structural integrity, or to keep elements connected without the frustration of clutch strength loss. Sometimes this meant building things

Mel constructs one of her bicycle models at a display.

Too Cool for School: A 1970s Mk 1 Raleigh Chopper, one of the bicycles that Mel had built.

that were emotionally triggering. I started to tentatively consider myself an artist when a very successful LEGO artist in Toronto said to me, “Builders follow the rules, artists do not limit themselves by their medium.”

Bicycles is where it really started for me. I’ve written plenty online about how I got to the idea of the bicycles, but haven’t talked much about how it opened up things for me.

I had created something no one in the LEGO community had seen before. Yes they had seen bicycles made out of LEGO, but not at this scale or detail. The contrast of using a blocky, limited medium with the fragility and delicate frames of bicycles changed things up.

I was already attending events in North America for some years. As my bikes were gaining traction at these events and online, my opportunities to display my work elsewhere really broadened. From small towns to big cities, I got to show my work, but really there was so much more to it. Finding friends in Italy, meeting designers in the UK, catching up with artists in Australia—it’s been an absolute privilege. So to be asked to display in the LEGO House Master Builder Gallery in 2018 was a dream come true.

Exhibiting in the Master Builder Gallery with some of the best builders all over the world was intimidating. After years of convincing myself

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Catching Some Waves: 1960s Schwinn J39 Stingray.

I might be considered an artist, this was affirming. What a privilege to have been able to meet builders I had admired for years—reconnecting with old friends I hadn’t seen for a long time, and I met my best friend during those wonderful days. Being in the LEGO House not only convinced me that I was indeed an artist, but for the first time made me feel like I was here because of my talent— and not because of my gender.

In the early years of my LEGO career, it didn’t feel nice to be told “This is a really good creation for a woman”, “You didn’t win that award because you’re a woman”, “You were invited to that event because they wanted women representation.” I feel so lucky for every award my work has earned, every magazine they’ve been in, every blog they’ve been featured on—but being one of the only women at these events, in these magazines, on these blogs makes you wonder what you’re being noticed for. I’ve mentioned this topic in nearly every interview I did the first four years of my LEGO building, being a woman in the LEGO community. As more people from all genders and backgrounds entered the LEGO community, this became less of a topic people felt they needed to focus on with me and my work. LEGO House was so full of diversity and inclusivity. I was here for my talent; I earned this and I learned to be proud of it.

LEGO House lined up sort of perfectly with my life. I was living in England at the time and about to move to Scotland for work. I was dealing with the end of a relationship, as well as mourning the loss of my dad. Most of my collection was in storage in Canada, and a bit of it was in boxes just arrived from overseas. I had enough parts and enough time to model a draft 22 of my Penny Farthing in England. Then once I

was in Scotland, I had some amazing friends who were able to help me acquire the correct colored parts I needed to finish the model—just in time for Denmark. It’s not an easy way to create. It’s a balance of using what you have and ordering what you truly need. Having a LEGO community who can help is the cherry on top. Using what I already had forced me to open my mind to using parts in unique ways. I continued this building style with my next two bikes, the Raleigh Chopper and the Schwinn Stingray, before packing it all away and moving to Australia.

Four bikes in my luggage—was all the LEGO I had for a year. This was my break from building. I dabbled in digital LEGO building, I still searched online and joined a LUG in Melbourne and attended events. I had packed in so many details into my bicycles that even though I didn’t build anything new for a year, when I displayed them, I still felt involved in the community. Other amazing builders were present and carried a vast amount of knowledge, their techniques, and of course their experiences. It’s scary to not be able to hide behind new creations, so it took pushing through that fear and showing an interest in what these amazing people were creating.

Returning to Canada meant the reunion of all my LEGO and fitting it all into a tiny apartment. Did I start building right away? No. Did a pandemic make me want to build more? Absolutely not. Building, just like all other forms of creativity, is therapeutic. 2020 was very stressful for us all, and it’s okay if we didn’t find fulfillment in the things we usually do. Eventually I started working on my next bike, my most challenging one yet, but I am taking my time with it—enjoying the process and finding inspiration from this wonderful community when I feel lost.

People

Sachiko’s latest work: 2020, Jump comics, Hanano-Keiji collaboration.

“...there were few products targeting girls and women.”

Sachiko Akinaga Website: http://www.lets-brick.com/index2.html Instagram: @sachiko_akinaga

Master Builder Gallery:

Sachiko Akinaga Article and Photography by Sachiko Akinaga

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In all five broadcasts, AFOL players were all men except me, but all the AFOLs’ amazing works that participated have increased a lot of new LEGO fans regardless of gender. Of course, it also became an opportunity to increase the number of girls and female LEGO fans.

Since 2011, the Harry Potter series has been a popular product for many female fans, but personally I am very happy with the release of LEGO Friends from 2012. This is because, unlike the 2004 Clickits series, it is a product for girls that emphasizes building. Girls’ participation in my workshops and brick classrooms has increased, they all love LEGO Friends, and also my nieces all love LEGO Friends. So LEGO Friends is one of the product series that I definitely want LEGO to continue.

5th TV Champion winning work, Dragon Festival Has Come!

I’m currently a freelance brick artist and graphic designer based in Tokyo, Japan. The main work I do is building models and holding brick events at the request of companies. In addition, I publish original LEGO works on my website and I have some online brick classes for children.

I have loved playing with LEGO bricks since I was four or five years old. I used to play bricks with my brother, but unfortunately, I didn’t have any LEGO-loving friends among my girlfriends. After childhood, I became a graphic designer, and from 2001 to 2014, as a LEGO fan I ran a LEGO community site called “Let’s LEGO.” Because I knew that LEGO has many charms other than commercial LEGO products, I wanted to convey some of the charms to as many people as possible and increase LEGO fans.

As of 2020, my website, Let’s LEGO, has changed to a business site as a brick artist, but my desire to increase LEGO fans remains unchanged. Their 348 MOCs sent by LEGO fans in the past are still published in the “Friends’ Work” category in my site. And I have uploaded all my MOCs I have created so far. If you are interested in my work, please see it on my website (www.lets-brick.com/ index2.html).

I’m glad that the children I met on the community site a long time ago are now AFOLs and active on SNS. I hope that the number of LEGO fans will continue to increase regardless of gender. I feel that Japanese LEGO fans in 2020 are 90% male and 10% female. With the sale of DOTS in 2020, I hope that the number of girls’ LEGO fans will continue to increase in 2021!

My website had a community place (BBS) where many LEGO fans from children to adults gathered, but there were fewer female LEGO fans than I expected.

I mainly made MOCs of the unisex genre and uploaded them to my website, but the people who gathered on it were about 95% men: 5% women, both children and AFOL. I thought the reason was that there were few products targeting girls and women.

In the 2000s, there were no cute series like Fabuland and Paradisa, and the only LEGO product for girls was Belville series. However, in Japan, Belville was not seen by many people because it was only sold at a few LEGO specialty stores. Therefore, it was generally recognized that LEGO blocks were boys’ toys. On the other hand, with the release of MINDSTORMS, Star Wars, Creator series, etc., the recognition that LEGO is not just a toy for children has become popular in Japan.

In Japan from 2005 to 2011, there was a TV program that inspired many Japanese to discover the new appeal of LEGO. The LEGO brick contest was aired five times as one of the genres of the famous Japanese TV program “TV Champion”. I participated three times (1st, 24 2nd, 5th) and won all.

2nd TV Champion winning work, Let’s go to the Earth Park!

People

Adelle struggling with the mitten build at BrickCan 2017!

I’m not a builder. I didn’t own sets in my childhood. But I’m completely in love with attending LEGO conventions.

WBI Member Profile:

Why would a non-builder like me fall in love with the conventions and community in this way?

Adelle Trotta

In 2013 I finally convinced my LEGO-obsessed but introverted partner to try BrickCon. I felt a convention would be a great experience for him, but had no expectations for myself. I planned to attend as a “supportive significant other” and imagined I’d spend my time sightseeing around the city. In actuality, I found myself spending the entire time at the convention!

Article and photography by Adelle Trotta

The creations were inspiring and I was amazed at what the builders were able to achieve.

Behind the work, I was so interested in the people themselves. The diversity in backgrounds, cultures and personalities were delightful. “Brazilian elevator mechanical proprietor and iron builder,” “Nunavut tourism and Aurora Borealis expert, non-Lego significant other” and “US Army Lieutenant Colonel + part-time comedian” were just some of the wonderful characters I met that year.

And of course my partner’s happiness lifted my spirits as well. He joined a building collaboration, excitedly met spacers “in real life,” and geeked out on SNOT connections and color blocking. The amount of joy that brought him was enough for me to want to go back every year.

That first experience created lasting friendships. We kept in touch and were fortunate to visit our new friends in their home cities around the world. We also explored new conventions, intentionally trying new things (sometimes our existing friends came along!) and every time we made new friends and connections. We’ve visited LEGO events

“Behind the work, I was so interested in the people...”

Adelle Trotta

and/or friends in seven countries so far, and we can’t wait for travel to re-open so we can continue exploring.

This has been a ‘WOW’ for me. I can be supportive of my partner’s hobby, while also meeting interesting people from all over the world. Travel, Friends, Culture, Food, and LEGO. I call that PERFECT!!!

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People

Lucie’s hospital creation’s facade.

WBI Member Profile:

Lucie Filteau

Article and Photography by Lucie Filteau

“I’m so thankful I made time for this creative outlet...”

My favorite builds are of the anesthesia machine that I work with every day, the façade of my beloved hospital, and more recently, a collection of interior vignettes within the hospital. To be honest, my initial motivation for LEGO building was simply a means to hang out with my husband and two sons. Little did I realize that this hobby would bring me so much more.

Having spent so many years focused on my education, then simultaneously building my career and raising kids, I never allowed myself to have a recreational pastime. I’m so thankful that I made time for this creative outlet and am amazed at how effectively it helps me unwind from life’s stressors. Never has that been more apparent than this past year, where my LEGO escape has been such a critical part of maintaining my sanity and wellness. It has helped

Lucie Filteau Flickr Gallery: sleepybricks Facebook: lucie.filteau Instagram: luciefil Twitter: DrLucieFilteau After 14 years of marriage to Michael Gale, an avid AFOL and LEGO entrepreneur (FxBricks.com), I finally decided to join in the fun. Michael enthusiastically gave me my first LEGO set for Christmas (Tower Bridge!) to teach me some building techniques and created a space for me in his LEGO studio. Soon after, I wanted to create MOCs and he suggested that I build something that I’m passionate about. It didn’t take long to decide that my creations would be inspired by my career as an anesthesiologist.

The department of Radiology at Lucie’s hospital.

sustain me throughout the pandemic and allowed me to be a better physician during the most challenging time of my career.

This hobby has also led to wonderful friendships with fellow AFOLs, both in our Ottawa LUG (ParLUGment) and internationally. Michael and I truly cherish the social life we’ve built around our shared passion for the brick.

Most of our travel revolves around LEGO events and we look forward to resuming these trips and reconnecting with so many members of this wonderful community.

I’ve developed a far deeper appreciation of my everyday world simply by choosing to recreate it. In planning my hospital build, I found myself looking at my workplace in a way that I had never seen it before. I carefully studied various rooms, pieces of equipment and people. I discovered architectural features that I had never noticed, after 20 years of walking right by them! I’m grateful for this newfound attention to the beautiful details that quietly surround me.

When my hospital was displayed within the hospital itself, staff I had never met stopped me in the hallway to express their shared love for our workplace. They very much appreciated my choices to ensure representation, not only for the diversity of our staff but by the diversity of occupations required to deliver quality patient care.

One cleaner hugged me (pre-Covid!) and told me he was deeply moved at being “seen” in my creation.

Although I was well aware of my own affection for my workplace, I wasn’t quite prepared for the public’s response. When exhibiting at brick conventions, individuals would exclaim to their children “that’s where you were born!” or “that’s where your grandmother worked for 40 years!”. Even those not familiar with this specific building had poignant hospital stories to share, and I felt privileged to be witness to the memorable life experiences that were evoked by my creation.

When my new hobby was discovered by members of the Canadian Anesthesiologists’ Society (CAS), I was approached to donate the anesthesia machine as a fund

The operating room.

A... specific procedure.

raiser for the Canadian Anesthesia Research Foundation.

Raffle tickets sold swiftly at our annual national convention and $4300 was raised. I’m told that this was the highest amount raised by a single individual and am so proud that, through my LEGO building, I was able to contribute to a cause so near to my heart.

After winning the People’s Choice award at Bricks in The Six in Toronto, I was asked to do a segment for a national news network. This was way out of my comfort zone but, given my enthusiasm for this hobby, I pushed myself to do it. I later stepped even further out of my comfort zone to do a live TV segment on our local news. Both were very positive experiences, which significantly increased my confidence for being in the media. Months later, when interviewing for the Vice President position at the CAS, I was asked if I had any media training/experience and was able to provide evidence of my ability to handle myself on camera. I got the position! I certainly never expected my hobby to contribute to my professional success…

Last but certainly not least, I’ve also become acutely aware that as a middle-aged female, I challenge the stereotype of what a LEGO builder looks like. Standing beside my creations at brick conventions, countless people have walked right past me to compliment my husband (standing beside his nearby train layout) on the hospital.

He smiles and points in my direction and they return, exclaiming, “You built this?” I very much enjoy seeing the look in the eyes of young girls (and their mom’s) and like to think that at least a few have been inspired to go home and do the same.

The morgue.

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People

WBI Member Profile:

Megan Rothrock Article and Photography

by Megan Rothrock

“I found it frustrating that so many areas were ‘Boys Clubs.’”

Bionicle Dragon Fly complete with disco ball eyes!

One thing Leads to Another: Never say Never!

If I were to jump back in time, and tell myself, “Hey Megs! Pay close attention for, in the next decade, you are going to…”

Megan Rothrock Instagram: @cavclicks Instagram: @legoadventurebook

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• Travel the globe making friends and meeting wonderful creative spirits.

• Share your art work globally.

• Become an Editor for the published magazine Brick Journal.

• Foster and promote the LEGO Hobby to a global audience.

• Have your LEGO Models displayed in LEGO’s own Museum.

• Become a LEGO Product Designer and work with stellar talent in the Toy Industry.

Phergy the Podagon, built from one of Megan’s original sketches.

• Befriend LEGO Legends sharing their contributions with the world.

• Learn Games Design help to forge new play experiences (LEGO Universe).

Another one of Megan’s creations, Hemi STP.

• Assist with LEGO’s Archives, having the honor to help preserve Toy History.

• Speak on Toy Panels at Comic Conventions.

• Teach Toy Design with Designers from Mattel and Fisher Price (CSU Summer Arts).

• Create a series of popular selling Children’s Books (LEGO Adventure Books Vol. 1-3).

• Become a Teacher of Toys and much more! ...I think I would’ve replied with: “Wow! What? Seriously?

How do I start?!”

However, that is exactly what happened, and what an adventure it’s been!

A Foundation as an AFOL: Many moons ago I was one of a handful of talented Lady AFOLs, building MOCs and sharing them online in a magical space called LUGNet. From there it was Classic Castle and Classic Space and my ‘megs’ account on Brickshelf.com. Building all sorts of fun creatures and scenes, I would enter Building Competitions and win! It was wonderful to discover others with a passion to build with LEGO, and we all inspired each other.

I have to give thanks to Mark Stafford, (Lego_nabii) and later Senior Product Designer for The LEGO Group, for introducing me to this world of online LEGO Builders. As my builds began to be noticed, many didn’t realize I was actually a girl! When some found out, they suddenly got a bit awkward with their posts. I thought that a shame, as for me, I didn’t see any difference if I was a girl or not, as it was all about the builds and I’d enjoyed the banter. At times I discovered some others were also girls, and they too weren’t sharing that they were girls either. We all just loved to build with LEGO Bricks and share our work. I’m thrilled to see how far we as Lady LEGO Builders have come!

Bringing the Pieces Together: I’ve always been a bit of a rebel, choosing professions that were traditionally highly male roles, like the ReproGraphics and Animation Industries. I found it frustrating so many areas were “Boys’ Clubs.” I never wanted to be a Secretary or work in Ink and Paint, I wanted to make things: be it Animation, Graphics or Toys! When I began in these professions, I was met with resistance and had to over-prove myself to advance. Finding women in higher roles was rare, but when I did, they kindly took me under their wing and encouraged me to keep going.

Today I’m happy to see things are getting better for women in creative fields, but there’s still a lot of work to do.

I’ve met and worked with other ambitious ladies who also strive to promote and encourage girls to create and follow their dreams. They in turn have inspired me and it’s great to see how much our Lady AFOL Community has grown over the years! When Alice (Finch) approached me to contribute to this issue of BrickJournal, I was thrilled to join in!

Up, Down, Sideways and Back Again: My time with the LEGO Group was amazing: I stretched my creativity in ways I’d never thought possible, grew as a person, a Designer, and learned some valuable lessons! My role of European Bureau for BrickJournal (there’s an article about that in issue #50) taught me the joy of telling others’ stories and how good it feels to share them.

Creating the LEGO Adventure Books (also an article in BrickJournal) was another epic journey allowing me the opportunity to involve so many talented LEGO Builders around the world and share their work! Some of them also became LEGO Designers after they appeared in my LAB books.

A selection of Megan’s LEGO books and some of its stars.

Each of these experiences allowed me to build on top of the previous ones and continue building! As new and exciting challenges come around, I’ve learned how good it is to pay attention, embrace them all and continue exploring and learning. It’s been a long road filled with exciting times, great fellow creatives, hair-pulling moments, personal and professional challenges, twists and turns, 29 lessons learned, late nights, and loads of fun!

Building Our Future Generation: Today, teaching students online, helping to spur their imagination and share some joy and whimsy in these curious times, is great. Creating LEGO-based, other Toy and Art Classes for Students ranging from five years to thirteen years and older, has been a fun challenge. With different situations daily, there is never a dull moment!

Designing Girl Space: When I began teaching, I felt it important to create some classes with girls in mind, showing them how awesome it is to build with LEGO bricks! I encourage them to push past those ‘Building Blocks,’ solve challenges, communicate with one another, and encourage each other, as it inspires us all.

Mushroom House—later used as inspiration for the LEGO Death Star playsets.

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With the technologies and tools we have today, the sky is the limit and we can achieve anything! This is such an important message to convey to our future generation, and especially girls as they can tend to be self-defeating at times. Helping them to explore with LEGO bricks and build their imaginations, is so great and it’s amazing to see them find their feet and rock out some great LEGO builds!

The Building Never Stops: Mind you, it has been quite a climb to get where I now am and there are still challenges, but I’m so honored to be a part of such a wonderful contribution to the world.

Confidence in yourself, your work, and in others will get you far on this planet, and being able to inspire my students is truly a gift.

People

Member Profile:

Teresa Elsmore Article and Photography by Teresa Elsmore Teresa Elsmore Website: warlenelsmore.com Facebook: brickwarren Instagram: @elsmorew

They say that if you make your hobby your job, you’ll never work a day in your life. It’s partially true.

Teresa’s creation for the LEGO House competition: Walled Garden.

it has grown with the mainstream increasing interest in AFOLdom and, despite the inevitable family rows everyso-often, it is a wonderfully supportive place to be. It gave me my first links to AFOLs from other countries, and a gateway to international events; a source of important and deep friendships.

I’ve been a member of TartanLUG since 2017 and I adore the Scottish AFOL community. They are a supportive, friendly, giving, caring group, who are enthusiastic and fun. They embody the archetypally Scottish traits of welcome and mischief, and it really warms my heart to be part of it.

Clients bring amazing experiences: touring exhibitions across the UK; recreating Dippy the Dinosaur; building the National Museum of Scotland and creating the World’s Largest LEGO Ship for DFDS. Building and designing for work does means I build less for me, though. My creative and physical energy is often used up on clients’ projects or business admin, leaving little for MOCing. I love each MOC I’ve made; but doing this professionally means I’m not prolific. It doesn’t mean I don’t have a long list of ideas, though! Occasionally you get lucky and a client’s project allows you to make something you’ve been MOCplanning for a while—that’s a particularly good feeling.

I also collect and catalogue LEGO creatures and I MOC digitally too, both of which I can do when away from my physical brick stock.

I joined Brickish in 2006 and immediately found a dedicated group of like-minded individuals who were welcoming, friendly, and open. I’m still friends with everyone I met at that first, albeit small, event, which says a lot about the strength of the UK community. Since then,

Teresa with her giant AstroKitty MOC.

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People

Jessica with one of her latest works, Serene Ultra Violet Waterfall, at the ASML office in Wilton, Connecticut.

Women of LEGO Masters:

Jessica Ewud Article and Photography by Jessica Ewud

“At the root of my most popular work is Andy Warhol...”

Jessica Ewud Website: www.ragzyart.com

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Jessica Ewud.

How did you get started building with LEGO? Did you build as a kid? What inspires you as an adult builder?

Unlike the traditional AFOL, I didn’t build as a child. I was told at a young age I couldn’t play with LEGO because “blocks were for boys.” When I was a kid, boys’ and girls’ toys were separated in the classroom. As a young girl, I’d find myself in the “girls” section of the toys at recess.

Uninterested in the dolls, I found myself gravitating toward the crayons and art supplies as an alternative.

In 2008, when the market had crashed, there were few jobs in finance, my chosen major in college. I graduated in 2010, with a Bachelor’s of Business in Financial Markets.

Unsuccessful at finding opportunity in the finance field, I decided to give my art a try, something I never thought I’d be successful at. I started my art career by painting murals

in public spaces, and continued to do my art as a side “gig” for several years.

One night, when I was looking to take my art to the next level, I had a dream. In my dream I created a piece entitled “LEGO Lincoln.” I thought it was so brilliant, I woke myself out of sleep and texted it to myself so I wouldn’t forget it. The next day I went to get materials to make it, and found myself for the first time in the LEGO store.

“What is this?” I thought to myself. It was a new revelation for me. It kind of reminded me of the scene in Nightmare Before Christmas, when Jack Skellington discovers and becomes infatuated with the Christmas and Holiday décor for the first time.

My LEGO Lincoln proved to be a success, catching the eyeball of a prestigious gallery in Greenwich, Connecticut. The gallerist insisted I make more work with this theme—so I did.

I’m inspired by so many things. My artwork has a lot of symbolism. My hidden meanings are a nod to Da Vinci, while the idea of different perspectives comes from Claude Monet. You saw an echo of this on LEGO Masters where I secretly hid words in my hairbows. At the root of my most popular work is Andy Warhol, my favorite artist.

My most popular works are inspired by him, taking his concepts and bringing them into a more three-dimensional light. To me, Warhol symbolizes the building blocks of contemporary art.

The LEGO bricks always symbolize building blocks.

Lincoln symbolizes the building blocks of the civil rights movement.

My work is also a nod to women in STEAM. The inclusion of “A” with STEM is important to me. Art is a science, and science is everything—and art tells the story of science.

What did you learn or take away from participating in the LEGO Masters series?

I’d say above all, women can do anything. I was highly underestimated by my peers, despite being the only professional fine artist on the program. I had to overcome many obstacles on the show, many of which others did not have to deal with.

Another section of Serene Ultra Violet Waterfall.

Our team did not build together in the past and we barely knew each other. But I didn’t let that stop me. I had a clear goal in mind and nothing was going to get in the way of that. As women, it’s important to keep your eye on the prize and stay grounded in your values.

The odds were against me, but this was a theme I was all too familiar with. Despite over 50% of the market for artists being women, over 87% of collections are dominated by men. It was an honor to be one of the only two women in the finals, and the only ethnic minority. I wanted to represent women, artists, and Middle Eastern women as well.

What have you built since then?

Oh my goodness, so much. But at this point in time I’m not allowed to say. You’ll see. Lots of pieces for private collectors, and my biggest piece yet!

What is the best piece of building advice you were ever given?

It was actually by Brickmaster Jamie and Amy. In the finale while we were planning our ideas, they said, “Make sure this piece shows who you are.” I think it’s important when creating something in any medium to stay true to yourself always; this is when you will accomplish your best work.

Another look at her mosaic.

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People

Jessica’s model of Superman’s Fortress of Solitude.

Women of LEGO Masters:

Jessica Farrell

Article and Photography by Jessica Farrell

“The experience became far more precious than the competition itself…”

Jessica Farrell Flickr Gallery: Janet VanD

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As a person who believes everyone’s voice should count, I often volunteer to participate in national surveys on topical matters. These surveys always guarantee anonymity, but usually ask general questions such as gender and profession. Recently, the astonishing realization came to me that, if I stated my gender and profession, I couldn’t remain anonymous as I am the only female professional LEGO® Brick Artist in my country! As my insurance broker pointed out, I’m not exactly in the drop-down menu.

Although there are many highly talented AFOLs in the world, very few take the scary plunge and turn their hobby into a job; even fewer of these are women. I think this is a knock-on effect from the early days when LEGO bricks were originally viewed as primarily a boy’s toy and few girls were given LEGO sets as gifts. This was not the company’s intention, but a reflection of society’s views as a whole. In 1978 I wrote a long letter to LEGO, telling them how much I loved my new yellow castle set, but I wished they made more sets for girls because I was very tired of people telling me that LEGO was for boys. I was delighted to get an equally long letter back telling me that LEGO already made lots of stuff for girls because every single LEGO brick and set (including my beloved castle) was made for boys and girls alike. I never forgot that message and rejoice to see that each year more and more girls embrace the brick.

My path from child fan to Dark Age to AFOL to Brick Artist was long and winding, with some very unexpected thrills and spills.

Back in 2017 I was approached by a British TV production team and asked if I would participate, along with my son, Faolán, in a new pilot show which would later be known as LEGO Masters. Being part of that very first series, upon which all other LEGO Masters series were based, was an exciting, challenging, exhilarating, frustrating, maddening and, above all, fun experience that we will remember all our lives. We loved being part of that guinea-pig group of participants, with all the laughs, annoyances and craziness that a pilot show will have. The experience became far more precious than the competition itself, particularly since none of us were even told if there was going to be a prize! There were also serious moments and, even though I wasn’t the only female contestant, I was very aware of representing an underrepresented group and worried that I’d let people down. (We were also the only team representing Ireland in a UK show, so no pressure, right?)

Although I’d done some commissioned work before, it was after LEGO Masters that I transitioned from hobbyist to professional. That only happened because of two things: a change in mindset (convincing myself I could do it) and invaluable support from my family and friends, notably Breda and David Fennell (Irish LUG Brick.ie), Markus Rollbühler (LEGO designer) and Nate Dias (AFOL and LM winner).

Jessica’s model of Santiago di Compostela Cathedral.

Jessica’s Liberty of London MOC.

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I now divide my work between building commissioned models and facilitating brick workshops for children and families of all ages. It’s challenging and rewarding, never a dull moment, but sometimes I regret not having enough time or creative energy left over to do personal projects. For example, my Legends & Lore series, featured in BrickJournal #63, is still unfinished! One fellow female professional brick artist, Teresa Elsmore, told me she hardly ever gets time to do MOCs anymore. I totally understand!

Jessica with her model of Her Majesty’s Theatre.

Jessica’s model of Kyuubi no Kitsune (Japanese nine-tailed fox).

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Jessica’s Plant Monster Invasion MOC.

Covid-19 brought me a massive amount of setbacks, as it did for everyone. All my hands-on workshops ceased and several other projects evaporated, but I was fortunate to be able to weather the storm by building a lot of models for DK Books, and also doing contract work for The LEGO Group, which brought exciting new experiences and opportunities in itself. Once again, I am aware there’s not many female builders with these opportunities, so I hope to be an inspiration for others.

I would wish that, as the number of female builders increases, any novelty factor will wear off and the need to identify separately will disappear. I was once asked if I would like to be identified as an LFOL (Lady Fan of LEGO) rather than AFOL; I declined, feeling it was more exclusive than inclusive. Even though there is a need for more female representation within the community, I would rather be recognized because I am good at what I do, than because I am a woman.

Peop

Women of LEGO Masters:

Runa Lindblom

Article and Photography

by Runa Lindblom

Runa Lindblom showing her work.

I didn’t grow up with LEGO. Well, my uncle had a small box of old classic pieces for when we kids visited, but that was the extent of it. There was still an attitude that girls and boys had separate toys. As a gender-rebellious kid in the ’90s, much of the “Girls’ LEGO” was too pink for me, so no one bought me any.

Like many adults who rediscover LEGO, the world was opened to me by a child. I attended my first brick convention (Brickvention 2016) as a treat for my five-year old brother. I walked in with zero expectations and walked out astounded by the creativity!

“LEGO provides an endless creative freedom…”

Runa Lindblom Flickr and Instagram: @LEGOValkyrja

One year later I displayed my first ever proper MOC: a large brick-built model of Spyro the Dragon. In January 2018, Crash Bandicoot followed along with a feeling that the LEGO community was home. Later that year I would find myself recovering from brain surgery as I built my most challenging build: a crystal fox from Star Wars.

In 2019, Annie O’Reilly approached me about applying for LEGO Masters Australia. I had hesitated on applying previously, but when she asked me I instantly said yes! Together we embarked on the most incredible journey. The competition was definitely not easy and the challenges taught us a lot. From the moment we stepped into that studio, our skills were pushed to new limits.

Looking back, I wish I’d had a few more years of building skills to prepare me, yet at the same time my skills doubled in just a few intense weeks!

LEGO Masters proved to me once again the power of the LEGO community. It is hard to think of any other competition where all the contestants forge such an open and collegial friendship.

At the moment I have limited access to real LEGO, so I have been exploring Digital Designer software. Sometimes it can be a real challenge to get the digital pieces to do what you want, so I have started out with some 2-D mosaics. The current Art Series product range doesn’t include many women, so I was inspired to start with some kickass super-heroes to show what we are missing out on!

LEGO provides an endless creative freedom for so many people, and I absolutely love looking at what people come up with!

Runa’s crystal fox.

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You Can Build It MINI Build

Quasar Fire Class Cruiser Carrier Design and Instructions

by Christopher Deck

Hello everybody, and welcome to our next building session! The starship we are going to build today is a very special one to me. Most of you will know this carrier from the recent Star Wars: Rebels animated series where it has an appearance as “Phoenix Home.” However, the ship was introduced more than 25 years ago in the novel The Truce at Bakura and also appeared in late 1990s computer game Rebellion. These sources belonged to the former “Expanded Universe” now titled as “Legends.”

The size of the cruiser carrier is slightly longer than the famous Nebulon-B Frigate, making it one of the Rebel Alliance’s bigger ships in the fleet. The size also makes it attractive for a Rebel support fleet you might want to build to scale with the big UCS Star Destroyer (set number 10030), the smaller playset version (set number 75055), or the midi-scaled version (set number 8099).

The model comes detailed with hangar base, underside command pod with turbolasers (using wrench tool pieces), and engine section. I hope you will build this vessel, and maybe you want to build different versions for your variously scaled rebel fleets. The relatively straightforward shape gives you plenty of wedge-shaped pieces to realize every possible scale!

Happy building, and see you next time!

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

Main Body

Qty Color Part Description 4 Dark-Bluish-Gray 3062b.dat Brick 1 x 1 Round with Hollow Stud 2 Light-Bluish-Gray 87087.dat Brick 1 x 1 with Stud on 1 Side 2 Light-Bluish-Gray 3004.dat Brick 1 x 2 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 11211.dat Brick 1 x 2 with Two Studs on One Side 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 3003.dat Brick 2 x 2 2 Light-Bluish-Gray 3007.dat Brick 2 x 8 1 Trans-Light-Blue 4740.dat Dish 2 x 2 Inverted 2 Dark-Bluish-Gray 55300.dat Minifig Tool Box Wrench 9 Light-Bluish-Gray 6231.dat Panel 1 x 1 x 1 Corner with Rounded Corners 8 Light-Bluish-Gray 4865a.dat Panel 1 x 2 x 1 with Square Corners 4 Trans-Light-Blue 6141.dat Plate 1 x 1 Round 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 32028.dat Plate 1 x 2 with Door Rail 2 Light-Bluish-Gray 15573.dat Plate 1 x 2 with Groove with 1 Centre Stud, without Understud 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 3022.dat Plate 2 x 2 1 Dark-Bluish-Gray 18674.dat Plate 2 x 2 Round with 1 Centre Stud 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 3035.dat Plate 4 x 8 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 3030.dat Plate 4 x 10 4 Light-Bluish-Gray 85984.dat Slope Brick 31 1 x 2 x 0.667 2 Light-Bluish-Gray 4286.dat Slope Brick 33 3 x 1 6 Light-Bluish-Gray 3039.dat Slope Brick 45 2 x 2 10 Light-Bluish-Gray 3660.dat Slope Brick 45 2 x 2 Inverted 4 Light-Bluish-Gray 24201.dat Slope Brick Curved 2 x 1 Inverted 2 Light-Bluish-Gray 6541.dat Technic Brick 1 x 1 with Hole 2 Light-Bluish-Gray 3700.dat Technic Brick 1 x 2 with Hole 1 Trans-Black 3069b.dat Tile 1 x 2 with Groove 4 Light-Bluish-Gray 11203.dat Tile 2 x 2 Inverted with Groove 1 Dark-Bluish-Gray 15535.dat Tile 2 x 2 Round with Hole 4 Light-Bluish-Gray 33909.dat Tile 2 x 2 with Studs on Edge 2 Light-Bluish-Gray 6179.dat Tile 4 x 4 with Studs on Edge 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 54384.dat Wing 3 x 6 Left 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 54383.dat Wing 3 x 6 Right 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 50305.dat Wing 3 x 8 Left 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 50304.dat Wing 3 x 8 Right 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 47397.dat Wing 3 x 12 Left 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 47398.dat Wing 3 x 12 Right

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Building Minifigure Customization 101:

I have on multiple occasions written about projects for my children and with my friends; I have not written about creating a figure with my wife, and that changes today. Rarely do I create a figure that replicates a historical individual; however, we are also going down that road today. This historical individual, though short in stature, looms large in history. I reference no other than the Notorious RBG.

Brief Bio of Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Ruth Bader Ginsburg (March 15, 1933-September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist serving on the Supreme Court of the United States and previously on the U.S. Court of Appeals. She was nominated to the Supreme Court by then President Bill Clinton; replacing retiring justice Byron White. At the time, RBG was viewed as a moderate consensus-building jurist; however, she eventually became part of the liberal wing of the Court.

RBG was the first Jewish woman on the Court and only the second woman to serve on the Court after Sandra Day O’Connor.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Article by Jared Burks Ruth Bader Ginsburg as a minifigure.

RBG spent most of her legal career advocating for gender equality and women’s rights, winning many arguments before the Supreme Court before she was elevated to serve as a Jurist. She advocated as a volunteer attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, served as a member of its board of directors, and participated as one of its general counsel in the 1970s until her appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals by President Jimmy Carter. She served on the Court of Appeals until her Supreme Court appointment in 1993. Between O’Connor’s retirement in 2006 and the appointment of Sonia Sotomayor in 2009, RBG was the only female justice on the Supreme Court.

This period is when RBG became more forceful in her dissents with several notable cases.

RBG gained attention in American Pop Culture for her passionate and stylish dissents, which were widely seen as reflecting paradigm shifts in the law. It was during this time that she was dubbed “The Notorious R.B.G.”, a moniker she later embraced. RBG embraced style while adhering to the subdued dress code of a Jurist by incorporating elaborate collars for her robes. Her dissent collar is particularly memorable and how she commonly appeared in photographs; however, she wore many varied collars. Ultimately, despite surviving several bouts of cancer during which she continued to serve without missing a day of the Court schedule, she succumbed to pancreatic cancer in 2020 at the age of 87.

Basic Parts:

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To create this custom figure, the efforts went well beyond creating the figure as it also meant creating a custom display, which would also serve as a box to hold the figure. However, this is putting the cart before the horse; let us discuss the figure creation first. This creation started with parts selection. The parts selected for RBG were easy to determine; she wears black robes and luckily the newish dress element perfectly replicates her flowing robes (https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem. page?P=36036#T=C). Couple this with a black torso, head,

and the bun hairstyle (https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/ catalogitem.page?P=99240#T=C). However no Jurist/Judge is complete without a gavel. The issue is LEGO has only ever created this part for the Judge figure appearing in the CMS series 9 set. This makes the part rather rare and very limited on the secondary market. This left me using a common brick based solution using the following parts.

Gavel and Collar:

Hair and robe parts.

Bar 1L with Top Stud and two Side Studs (Connector) + 1 round 1x1 plate on either side. I attempted several versions, but this one seemed the best scale and detail.

I did attempt to 3-D create and print a part, but was not happy with the results at the time. I was still learning quite a bit about printing and did not have my resin printer yet, and the results were less than optimal. In addition, I was going to have to worry about painting or dying the parts; and that was beyond my goals for the project.

This left me considering how to create RBG’s signature collar, something that I am still playing with now. Should I use the Ruff introduced with the Thespian actor in CMS 8 (https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem. page?P=99251#T=C), should I create a custom 3-D printed element, or should I merely include it in the design? The original thought was to have one collar on the figure as part of the design, but also to have a 3-D printed version that would allow someone to change her collar to other versions, as she was known for so many different versions.

Again, I wasn’t able to satisfactorily print the 3-D version at the time, so I let it go for now. No custom figure is ever quite finished and I am always ambitious as to how I want to create them. For now the collar will be part of the printed design.

Jig: To capture the RBG’s jurist swagger, I had to create a robe design with collar, and I wanted a swivel head design to allow her two different expressions. The robes were an easy design to draw and I will not go into too much detail here, as I have covered the creation of vector graphics multiple times in the past. My decal printer computer has been broken for a while; as such, I wanted to get these printed. However, the person printing did not have a jig to accommodate the dress/robe part I wanted to use. This allowed me to create something I had not before, and it created complications as the alignment of the art to the jig was critical. The design needed to align to the center top of the torso, as the torso and dress elements would be printed together at the same time. I was fortunate to have a Glowforge laser printer (Referral link: https://glowforge. us/f/XxUXj7) that allowed me to cut out a four-layered jig. The four layers were needed to hold the dress piece up, due to the 16+ mm depth the part has because of the back flowing detail. This is the major reason an existing jig would not function. I had to create four different layers to support the element as it slopes to the back. The basic outline of the figure was reasonably easy to draw up from measurements of the figure. From there a test cut was performed to make sure the figure fit inside the jig without scratching or damaging the figure. The top layer was

A built gavel...

...and gavel parts.

Collar references.

Collar ideas, including a 3-D printed part.

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cut from acrylic, but the other three layers were cut from wood for ease. Once it was determined the figure fit well, it was easy enough to create a layout and cut them out on the Glowforge.

Printing:

Testing a laser cut jig.

Corner printing.

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Now that a physical jig existed, it had to be attached to the printer bed and aligned such that each opening was mapped in a layout software. This was not a trivial process and was done through several test print options.

For the test print, we commonly only printed the white layer of the ink needed—no reason to use more ink than is necessary. For the first test we added figures randomly across the jig and went for full coverage of the front of the figure. This would allow us to see what the variation was across the figures and determine if there was any twist in the layout, which we found that there was. From there we calculated the twist and altered the layout template to the twist, as altering the bed was much more difficult.

The next test was a corner test, which identified a simple centering error that was easily corrected. After this correction, a successful test print was performed.

Printer jig with front and side cavities.

Prints from oppositie corners used to check centering.

A test result.

Display Box: Now that we had the ability to print on the figures, it was time to work on the display box. I wanted something simple and understated as this, in my opinion, was congruent with RBG’s style. She had flair, but did so in a demure way with only her collars standing out. This lead me back to using my Glowforge laser cutter and a simple brown 3.5 x 3.5 x 1 inch basic jewelry box. I created a cutout for the figure to sit inside the display shelf. I used simple cardstock for this area and cut a rather large plus (+) shape so that the edges would fold down and the figure could sit in the cardstock. This required some height measurements so that the figure would preside at the proper height and not get lost in the bottom of the box. I also left the cotton square, common in most jewelry boxes below the cardstock layer, to support the figure. I then had to figure out how to add her accessories, the gavel, but also a crown (more on the crown in a bit). I tested a location that would allow the crown to be stored over her head and a simple hole for the gavel, but was not happy with these options. I ended up creating tabs that went through the cardstock and secured these elements in place.

These cuts were simple using the Glowforge.

The stages of construction of the display box (clockwise from top left).

Cutting these with my Glowforge laser cutter allowed for the addition of some details, but I desired to keep them simple. I created a basic scales outline and placed her on the left side of the box, mirroring her stance on the liberal wing of the court. This left me with space to add a title above the figure and to add two of her more famous quotes: “Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”

“Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn’t be that women are the exception.”

These were her statements; as such, I added her signature below them. A digital form of RBG’s signature was presented on her wiki page and was an easy addition to the Glowforge design. This completed the interior showcase of the figure and her accessories as any action figure is displayed. The box just didn’t feel complete; it needed an exterior detail, and what better than her collar? I didn’t want to laser etch these as I had done the display card, but I wanted them to have a handmade feel.

Again using the Glowforge, at my wife’s direction, we engraved some rubber stamp material and created an ink stamp of RBG’s dissent collar. We then inked the stamp and stamped the lid of the box in simple black ink. The stamp was created in such a way that it helped align to the lid so that the collar was centered. Thinking through these details makes creation substantially easier and more consistent.

The completed box cover.

The completed result.

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Notorious R.B.G. When RBG hit pop culture, several books were written, including one that titled her the Notorious R.B.G. (https:// www.amazon.com/Notorious-RBG-Times-Bader-Ginsburg/ dp/0062415832) and had a cover picture with her in a crown. This iconic image has been recreated by several artists and has evolved multiple time. I wanted to give the figure this option, and this was one of the reasons I had chosen the bun hairstyle I did; it had a simple hole on top and LEGO has a crown tiara element (https://www.bricklink. com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=33322&idColor=115#T= C&C=115) that would attach via this hole in the hair—it was perfect to recreate the Notorious R.B.G. However, her face would need some additional details to convey the swagger. This was achieved by slightly altering her expression and exchanging her eyeglasses for stylish cat’s eye sunglasses. Now we had a custom figure that captured Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

With a crown...

Platoon of RBG’s: Having created several of these RBG figures, I could not resist creating the platoon of RBG figures with platoon sergeants in sunglasses and the platoon leadership represented as none other than the Notorious R.B.G. herself.

Final Project:

...with a platoon...

The final project has come together, and I am very proud to have had a hand in creating this figure. I happily listened to my wife as we collaborated through this creation and it led me into several new skills. Every step along the way, my wife pointed out critical details and points that improved the project. I have never used a stamp before and completely love that detail. I hope this project inspires and brings memories of one of the most influential women in history. Keep creating and sharing what inspires you.

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

Come back next issue for more Minifigure Customization!

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...with a box.

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

Building

Women’s Brick Initiative:

Making LEGO into Jewelry Article and Photography by JacQueline Sanchez Hammer, jewel, and camera necklace.

JacQueline Sanchez Website: jacquelinesanchez.com

shape, on a sheet of copper. Using a jeweler’s saw, participants cut out the design, then add a small metal loop to turn it into a pendant.

The moment of transformation felt as you see the possibilities of a humble brick, I also felt as I traveled to Skaerbaek, Denmark to share this workshop with a new group of AFOLs. The experience of meeting people from around the world and learning from them as I teach them is a profound feeling. For me, teaching gives me a deeper connection to people and it feeds my soul.

“... see the possibilities of a humble brick.”

Creating these connections through our love for LEGO has been such a fulfilling experience. Not only are girls and women embracing LEGO differently, but we are creating friendships that create meaningful connections across the world.

The Women’s Brick Initiative has made it a goal to inspire and support women and girls who love LEGO, no matter what form that love takes. I am a jewelry designer and LEGO bricks are the colorful and playful part of my craft.

WBI workshops are one way I get to show fans how LEGO and jewelry making intersect.

The WBI has given me the chance to share my knowledge along with my love for LEGO, the creative design process, and to try to make a difference in their lives. If I can inspire girls and women, and encourage them, that makes a bigger purpose to my practice in life.

WBI co-founders—Alice Finch, a builder, and Shelly Corbett, a toy photographer—and I put together a three-part workshop experience. The three areas we focused on— build, play, and design—are represented in the hammer, camera, and diamond symbols of the WBI logo. These three aspects are the centers for all our workshops, and although the topics and projects may be different, the ideas stay the same. This way, a person can attend multiple workshops and not repeat projects.

The jewelry station in the workshop focuses on design.

How do you take a basic brick, or any LEGO part, and turn it into wearable art? Participants learned how to use power tools to drill into a LEGO brick, insert a screw eye, and turn the brick into a pendant necklace. Even though it seems like a small project, this can plant the seed of transforming LEGO into anything.

Another project was drawing a LEGO-related design, such as a minifigure head with eyes and a mouth, or a brick

JacQueline demonstrating jewelry making at a maker faire.

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BrickNerd was a LEGO fan website that was started by Tommy Williamson. Relaunched in 2021 by Dave Schefcik and some of the best LEGO builders in the world, the site continues the mission started by Tommy: to show the best of the LEGO fan community online with builds, interviews and articles. BrickJournal is proud to continue its partnership with BrickNerd.

About this issue’s model: To celebrate the theme of this issue of BrickJournal, the BrickNerd team created a mini-model of a puzzle piece.

We chose this model for this specific issue because a single puzzle piece is a fun and instantly recognizable build, but if you make many and combine them, they become even more beautiful together.

The instructions are for a single puzzle piece, but you can use them to make four puzzle pieces in almost any color.

The elements you will likely have to swap due to color availability are the SNOT bricks and the 1x2 bricks with the curved top on the side. But there are many options depending on the pieces you have on hand. Play around and see what works—a rainbow version with lots of different colors would work too!

The instructions provided create pieces that can easily slide into each other without any visible studs, but you could also make the puzzle pieces connect by substituting the two 1x2 bricks with curved top for the more common 2x2 brick with a curved top and two studs.

Puzzle Piece Design and Instructions

by Our Friends at BrickNerd

You can go to the BrickNerd website by typing: https://bricknerd.com/ on your browser or by scanning this QR code!

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We hope you have as much fun building this puzzle as we had creating it for you. And until next time, stay nerdy about the bricks!

Parts List

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

This can be an alternate part.

32952—Brick 1 x 1 x 1.667 with Studs on 1 Side

This can be an alternate part.

30165 Brick 2 x 2 with Curved Top and 2 Studs on Top

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All 3039 Minifigure Heads Separated by Gender

Neither Category Includes Aliens, Objects and heads used for both male and female

Community

Neither 426

Women’s Brick Initiative:

Summer Research Overview

“As a woman, it is easy to feel out of place in the LEGO community.”

14.0% 19.2%

Female 585

66.7% Male 2028

Fig. 1: Graph by Elise Schatzki-McClain

To say we were shocked would be incorrect— unfortunately, these results merely mirrored what we had already expected: LEGO was creating male characters at 3.5 times the rate of female characters. This (proportionally) tiny amount of female-coded heads further revealed what exactly LEGO uses to code as feminine—and what skin tones they associate with certain expressions and elements. (Fig. 2)

Expressions: Yellow and Light Nougat Number of Instances: Yellow

Number of Instances: Light Nougat

200

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The answer, of course, is painstakingly. For several weeks, spread thinly across the continental US, each intern inevitably turned towards logging each head. Was she wearing make-up? What was her expression? Skin tone?

How many times had the head been released? Did she have eyebrows? How about beauty marks?

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While the work was often frustrating, the results were definitive, to say the least. (Fig. 1)

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Expressions: Reddish Brown and Medium Nougat Number of Instances: Reddish Brown

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Number of Instances: Medium Nougat

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Over the summer of 2020, Women’s Brick Initiative founder Alice Finch and director Megan Lum hired five Smith College interns to try and find out. Many of the ideas for analysis at the beginning of the summer seemed impossible to research, much less use to come to definitive conclusions. How does one extrapolate, for example, what LEGO values in female-coded heads from the 3000+ released over the past 20-some years?

71 46

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al

But could you prove that?

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utr

Part of it is the sheer number issue—it seems that every post from every online LEGO group was either created or posted by male members of the community, especially among adult builders (AFOLs). The problem compounds on itself as intersectional identities come into play: it’s worse for disabled women, women of color, and women in the LGBTQIA+ community. Like many products created by white men, LEGO advertisements and products seemed to be (implicitly or explicitly) for white men.

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As a woman, it is easy to feel out of place in the LEGO community.

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Evi l

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Article by Stephanie Taylor

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Fig. 2: Graphs by Stephanie Taylor

In the deeper analysis shown above, it is clear that LEGO has associated darker skin tones (consciously or unconsciously) with more negative expressions: frowns, anger, and annoyance in particular.

This tiny peek into the conclusions we could draw from just the statistical analysis of female heads set our team ablaze with a hundred different ideas, each one more

detailed than the last. From the survey of female heads, we created a female minifigure-driven timeline, to rival the one that LEGO released in 2018 for the 40th anniversary of minifigures. (Fig. 3) Comparing the two timelines only further indicated the issues LEGO has faced for decades surrounding sexism. For example, the first modern minifigure was released in 1978; it wasn’t until eleven years later that LEGO began production of a female-coded head. Even more distressingly, the first female head of color was not manufactured until 2013, a whopping 35 years after the 1978 debut.

Female Character Heads TIMELINE

1978- 2020

As we had analyzed minifigure heads for inherent sexism and racism and found them running rampant, it seemed only fitting that we turn some of our attention towards minifigures’ infamously problematic younger cousin—the Mini Doll.

The Mini Doll, most famously present in the Friends line, has long been called out for its issues surrounding everything from the sexualization of the characters to the lack of creativity surrounding the design of the sets. Armed with the knowledge that we could prove long suspected issues with minifigures using data, it was time to apply similar strategies to the Friend’s line. From our research, while similar aged “male” targeted lines included car chasing and hospitals, the majority of Friends sets were Animal themed. A shocking number of the “businesses” were sweet shops. (Fig.4) We moved on, working on three projects each at a time: how long did it take CMFs to be equally gendered? (20 years) Could we prove that the modular subtheme was more equitable than many others? Could we give a reason for it? (Yes, and yes) Did the gender divide crossover into the ratio of male/female actors that had minifigures designed after them? (Unfortunately, it does).

LEGO Friends Sets by Category Includes all current and past Friends sets

2007

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ST EM

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First scared/worried female face—first face without a smile

Name of Category Fig. 4: Graph by Sophia Yates

The more we searched, the more issues we discovered—issues that we could prove existed with cold, hard data. Racism and sexism, in particular, were pervasive in almost every set, theme, and advertisement in some way. We had our proof—now, the question became what we could do with it.

One could argue, of course, that LEGO was only producing what its fans demanded, and if that happened to be racist and/or sexist products, then so be it. Educating others in the community had to be the first step.

Whether LEGO will actually respond to our articles, polls, petitions and convention presentations remains to be seen. But pushing for more equity and inclusion in such an exceptional product is too important not to try.

Please go to the WBI website if you are interested in learning more about any of the research projects mentioned here, where we publish articles weekly.

2020

First Mini Doll with closed eyes LEARN MORE: https://womensbrickinitiative.com/

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Community

Women’s Brick Initiative:

The Duck Collaborative “... the duck pond elicited both chuckles and oohs and ahs.”

Article by Nyssa Hope Rogers Photography by Kelly Bartlett

Kelly Bartlett’s “Impostor Duck.”

At the December 2019 Women’s Brick Initiative meeting, we were casting about for ideas for a collaborative build.

I suggested the classic wooden duck, a fairly straightforward build with common parts. This seemed perfect as it wouldn’t take much coordination to bring the build together in time for Bricks Cascade in Portland in March 2020. We would provide the pattern and each builder would customize their own duck. Alice Finch agreed to build a doublesized “mama duck” in the WBI colors of orange, pink and lime green.

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The duck build was advertised at the January and February SeaLug meetings in Seattle as well as at PortLug in Portland, Oregon and on the WBI Facebook page. Most women had not yet heard about WBI and were excited that there was finally

a movement taking off. In all about 22 ducks were built for Bricks Cascade. I had given special encouragement to new builders, and at least one women contributed her first ever MOCs to the “pond.”

With ducks ranging from football team colors to Darth Vader Duck to a beautiful duck covered in plants and flowers by Shelly Corbett, the duck pond elicited both chuckles and oohs and ahs. I was gratified that my beflowered duck in flight was a favorite of the younger girls.

Due to the pandemic, BrickWorld 2020 was a virtual affair in December, but the WBI ducks were there! Some were repeat appearances from Bricks Cascade, but a few new ducks also made the show. One duck in particular made an impression—a MOC of a chicken masquerading as a duck by Kelly Bartlett of Portland, Oregon. This imposter duck sparked a fun conversation about all the crazy MOCs we could build of things impersonating ducks (think Baby Yoda). Maybe the theme for the next duck build…

All of the ducks not quite in a row.

Nyssa Hope Rogers

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Community

Yule Quilt from Brickworld Virtual Con Holiday.

Women’s Brick Initiative:

Quilt Collaborative Article and Photography by Daneen McDermott

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Daneen McDermott Instagram: @Brickwyrm

“Quilts have long been a collaborative effort among creative women.”

Quilty as Charged Since October of 2020, I’ve been collaborating with LEGO builders from all over the world making what I call LEGO Quilts. Here’s how it all started.

BrickCon is my local con and I was eager for the Women’s Brick Initiative to have a group presence there, even if it was all virtual. When it was still about a month away from the submission deadline, and no collaboration had been announced, I decided to step up and organize something.

The initial concept for the Women’s Brick Initiative Quilt collab came together from several converging thoughts in my brain: • The recently available quarter-round DOTS tiles reminded me of the patterns seen in wedding ring quilts.

Stitching a Quilt Together I have a background in graphic design, so I knew my Photoshop skills would be essential. Many AFOLs have gotten practice photographing their own works during 2020, so many photos I received didn’t need much attention. However, every single one arrived in a different resolution. In addition to making all the pixel sizes consistent, some photos weren’t square, some needed color adjustments, some overhung the 6x6 area (always with the weirdest shapes).

In the end, I had to adjust all of them, with each one taking anywhere from a few minutes to a half-hour to add to the quilt. That was probably the biggest surprise I had. But the benefit of spending time with each square was discovering all sorts of new pieces and ways of creating amazing textures.

Women’s Brick Initiative’s first collaborative quilt at BrickCon (virtual) 2020.

• I have a huge fondness for mosaics.

Quilty Pleasures

• I also had a collection of 6x6 plates for a future build.

In October, we exhibited the first quilt collaboration at BrickCon (virtual) 2020 in the Arts category.

• Quilts have long been a collaborative effort among creative women.

I also figured a 6x6 mosaic wouldn’t require a big time or parts commitment, so should be accessible to just about anyone, and a clean square image should be easy to photograph and tile together in Photoshop. I put out the idea to the WBI social channels and the response was terrific: I received more than 220 squares created by 44 women and allies from three continents.

I received a ton of positive feedback and folks who missed out were asking for a chance to join in. So, I set up to do another with a fall theme. This time I used Google Forms to streamline the submission process and track where every quilt square came from. Fourteen AFOLs from four continents joined me for my fall quilt.

Then, just before the winter holiday, with Women’s Brick Initiative presenting at BrickWorld virtual, I prepared

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another quilt with a Yule theme with contributions from 46 members and allies of WBI from four continents.

In addition, that Fall, London AFOLs asked me to join their monthly meeting and talk about the quilt project, and they had each member create one or more quilt squares during the meeting. Many AFOLs commented on how addictive the creation of the squares felt. The South African lug ZALUG also asked for my LEGO quilting advice, as they planned to do an in-person quilt collaboration. That was the fifth continent for LEGO Quilts!

LEGO Quilts have grown to be a bigger part of my life and the AFOL community than I ever dreamed. (If someone in South America or Antarctica is making LEGO quilt squares, please let me know!)

Just for BrickJournal, 31 WBI members and allies from four continents put together this exclusive Rainbow Quilt.

Detailed section from the collaborative Samhain Quilt.

Women’s Brick Initiative collaborative Rainbow Quilt, special project for BrickJournal #68.

Community

Women’s Brick Initiative:

Let’s Build!

Article and Photography

by Alice Finch

A WBI workshop in Hong Kong in 2019.

One of the three main components of any WBI workshop is building, and not just with bricks. Sitting around a table and learning a skill or technique with a cluster of supportive people is also building friendships and relationships. This is where the idea of ‘clutch holds more than bricks together’ came from—we’re also building connections.

Whether it is learning a dozen different architectural detail ideas or building a micro hobbit hole house and incorporating lighting techniques, WBI building kits are meant to be informative and interesting. It enables everyone to move at their own pace, ask questions, suggest variations, and bring people from all across the hobby to a communal place that is supportive, non-competitive, and accessible to both the shy and the brave, the novice and the experienced.

It is through these building experiences that something really important is happening. People feel seen and heard. People feel like they belong and are part of a community. People feel like they have found their tribe and are more aware of others trying to find their place in the hobby. People feel empowered to be brave in sharing their creations on the display floor and inspired to more boldly participate and expand their creativity.

Alice Finch Flickr Gallery: bippitybricks Instagram: @bippitybricks

“People feel like they belong and are part of a community.”

The WBI has offered workshops across the US and the world. In 2019 and early 2020, we held workshops at Bricks Cascade in Portland, Oregon; Let’s Go in Hong Kong; Japan Brick Fest in Kobe, Japan; Skaerbaek Fan Event in Skaerbaek, Denmark; and BrickCon in Seattle, Washington. In 2020, we hosted virtual sessions at Brick World Chicago, BrickFiesta (now Brick Rodeo), Bricks by the Bay, and BrickCon. We will continue to be at online events in 2021 and we are look forward to being present at in-person conventions again when such things become possible. In the meantime, keep on building!

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Community

Medieval village at Abrickadabra 2017 (a Phillipine LEGOfan event).

Women of The Phillipines:

Team PMS

Article by Chestnut Amatong, Louise Mariano, and Inez Vasquez

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Who is Team PMS? TeamPMS is a group of AFOLs, women and allies, who are members of the Philippine Lego Users Group (PhLUG) How did PMS come together as a group?

TeamPMS was put together because there were ladies in PhLUG who wanted to build MOCs in themes that did not particularly interest a majority of the PhLUG members.

Examples of these themes are Fairy Tales, Friends, and Disney, which are more colorful than the predominantly gray and dark colors of Star Wars, Mecha, and Sci-fi popular at that time. We also wanted to encourage more female members and ally friends to build with us in our favorite themes, while also providing support for regular build events at PhLUG. Since we got together in 2014, we have been known to bring color to the PhLUG collaborative builds/dioramas, as well as to the PhLUG Facebook Wall. We are happy to have the support of the members of PhLUG, who have welcomed us and encouraged us to build together and collaborate.

Where did the name TeamPMS come from?

Women are so often associated with PMS in a negative light, so we decided to own it and turn the initials into something positive instead. It stands for many things, such as Pretty Maiden Stackers, Proud Mommas and Singles, among others. We’ve actually forgotten the real meaning of the acronym, but the words “TeamPMS” have become identified with our little group in PhLUG, so it does not matter anymore.

PMS has been an amazing innovator for collaborations and building challenges. What are some of your favorites?

Our first display at the monthly PhLUG meetings, which we call Brickfasts, holds a special place in our hearts. It’s called “Once Upon a Time,” which featured fairy talesthemed MOCs. It was quite a departure from the cars, mechs, and battle mocs that were usually on display.

We also love our FlashMOCs. A FlashMOC is based on an activity in an old flickr LEGO fan group; loosely derived from FlashMOB by one of our members. In PhLUG, it is an online build-sharing activity where a group of MOCers post small, themed builds at a designated time, usually to celebrate an event (Mother’s Day, Christmas), raise awareness (empowerment, conservation) or draw interest to a theme (fairy tales, space). Different groups within PhLUG make use of this activity as well. Some of our favorite FlashMOCs are Brick My Heart to celebrate Valentine’s Day and “Sinong Nanay Mo?” (Who’s your momma?) to celebrate Mother’s Day.

One of the creations from PMS’s FlashMOC Christmas.

We’ve also been lucky enough to participate in various PhLUG displays. For History Con, we displayed various brick-built Tiny Houses based on the popular TV show of History Channel. It was the first time many of us built any MOC as big as a baseplate!

“...we decided to own it and turn the initials into something positive...”

Event title display for PhLUG Abrickababra.

One of the creations from PMS’s FlashMOC Mother’s Day.

A gallery of plants by PMS.

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Lastly, we love our SigFig boxes, wherein members built themselves as LEGO sigfigs occupying 8x8 boxes. Since we could not celebrate our anniversary physically during the Pandemic, we decided to have a “group photo” by stitching together our various sigfig boxes instead. It has since been adapted by PhLUG and other LUGs! How did you come to know about and be a part of the WBI? Two of our members, Chestnut Amatong and Inez Vasquez, attended a workshop held by Alice Finch at the Japan Brick Festival in Kobe, Japan in 2019. Inez and Chestnut became members of the WBI then. Then in May 2020, Inez and Chestnut introduced more Team PMS members to Alice and WBI Ambassador Megan Lum via Zoom. We have been active in the WBI since then!

One of the creations from PMS’s FlashMOC Mother’s Day.

PMS with their tribute to Hans Christian Andersen.

Community

Alan Vega—“Boylston Street”—Winner Best Photography, GayFOLs Pride MOC Contest 2020.

Diversity & Inclusion:

GayFOLs Article by Erik H.

“...what brings us together is the simple joy of a toy...”

Erik H Instagram: @HokayBricks

Erik’s sig-fig.

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Claire Nordlow-Boyd—“Erling Cube.”

GayFOLs is an online community of LGBTQIA and allied LEGO fans. It seeks to create shared spaces where our communities can discuss and celebrate topics related to LEGO, our identities, and the intersections between the two. In simple terms, it gives members a place to celebrate LEGO without having to hide who they are, or who they love.

When what brings us together is the simple joy of a toy, it’s hard to imagine that anyone could feel excluded or unsafe, but the LEGO community is a reflection of our global community. Even in 2021, there is still work to be done.

Many members of GayFOLs can attest to looming hostility in online spaces, and there have even been incidents of vandalism and harassment at actual AFOL conventions.

Whenever and wherever we put ourselves out into the

world, there’s always a chance that someone will have something negative to say; those chances are amplified when the content of our creative work has queer themes.

Brick-built rainbows during Pride Month: “Why do you have to bring politics into LEGO?” but human rights aren’t about politics. Holiday hauls that dare make mention of the same-sex partner who gifted the perfect set: “We don’t need to see that, keep it to yourself,” but no one else is asked to hide who they love. We know very well the harm that discrimination, hostility, and erasure can do. The need for a safe gathering space for our community is vital.

Founded in 2015, the GayFOLs group on Facebook— as of this writing in January 2021, 1044 members, from 41 countries—provides members the opportunity to post just about anything that’s LGBTQIA and/or LEGO-related without a second thought. Our leadership team knows that community can be found all over the internet, so we’re in the process of expanding our reach onto other platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, and Discord.

Additionally, by standing in solidarity with the Brick Alliance, we hope to combine forces and intentions with the greater AFOL community in an effort to create and maintain a more diverse, inclusive, and safe community for us all. By reaching out beyond the borders of our own group, we will be a beacon of support for LGBTQIA fans of LEGO all over the world.

Stacy Lord—“Mini Pride Parade with Pug”—Committee’s Choice Award, GayFOLs Pride MOC Contest 2020.

Recipients of the GayFOLs Visibility Award for their appearance in LEGO Masters (USA): Season 1, presented at Bricks Cascade 2020. (L-R): Richard Board, Flynn de Marco, Samuel “Wildflower” Hatmaker.

Emiliano Fabris—“Queernation”—Winner Best Design, GayFOLs Pride MOC Contest 2020.

Skye Barnick—“Trans”.

The 2020 GayFOLs Visibility Award, designed by Kathryn Harris and Kelley Baek. The design is a microscale model of the entrance to the Oregon Convention Center, site of Bricks Cascade 2020.

David Strenzler’s

Bantha Bricks Files

Force of Bricks

Bantha Bricks Files: Article by Steven Smyth, Bantha Bricks: Fans of LEGO Star Wars Photography by David Strenzler

David’s minimodels as sets.

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. David Strenzler (aka Force of Bricks) is a very popular MOC builder and designer in the community as well as a volunteer moderator. I thought it would be great to learn more about this skilled builder and his Mandalorian show-inspired designs.

Steven Smyth: How’s it going David?

I’ve known you for some time now through the Facebook group and everyone in Bantha Bricks has been wowed by your many awesome Star Wars builds, but for the uninitiated, please introduce yourself and tell us a little about what you do.

David Strenzler: Hi Steven, I’m doing great. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk about two of my greatest passions: LEGO and Star Wars. My main profession is being a social education worker/ systemic consultant, and supporting people with special needs. I really love my job, but there’s this creative part of my personality that also needs to be nourished. So, I would also describe myself as a LEGO enthusiast and since 2018, as a designer of models made of LEGO bricks.

This passion initially arose during my childhood. At the time, my favorite themes within the LEGO universe were especially those from the LEGO Classic Space and LEGO Technic series, which I loved to combine in order to create my own spaceships, stations and cars. But as I grew older, gaming consoles and home computers entered my playroom and my passion began to fade. From this time onwards, my so-called “LEGO Dark A close-up of the front of the TIE Fighter.

The Outland TIE Fighter.

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The Outland TIE Fighter in flight mode.

Ages” emerged, and for many years, I forgot about the big wooden chest in which I had stored all of my bricks.

outland tie fighter

The Outland TIE Fighter in landing mode.

In 2017, almost 30 years later, I received an unexpected present: a small LEGO Star Wars Battle Pack, which immediately rekindled my long-forgotten passion.

Fortunately, my mother had kept the old wooden chest stored in her basement, so I started by cleaning and sorting my bricks. Then, I rebuilt most of my classic sets. At the same time, my collection of mainly Star Wars-themed LEGO sets began to increasingly grow. Now, my passion for LEGO is bigger than ever before and embodied in Force of Bricks, which I established as an official business at the end of 2019. This has allowed me to bring my designs made of LEGO to the attention of a wider public, through commissioned work for companies and other enthusiasts.

The rear of the Outland TIE Fighter.

Would you say Star Wars is your favorite theme? Or do you have a surprise theme for us?

LEGO Star Wars has undoubtedly become my favorite theme. But crawling deeper into the rabbit hole, I quickly realized that there are so many other interesting themes, and that I can hardly choose only one. So, I also really enjoy the creativity behind the LEGO Ideas community and theme. If I could make a special request, I would ask them to publish a Classic Space-themed set for the 90th Anniversary of TLG. During the Christmas holidays, I also had quite some fun building Super Mario sets with my better half.

Why do you choose the LEGO brick as your medium to express yourself?

A TIE Fighter pilot (left) and Moff Gideon.

For many years during my childhood, LEGO remained the perfect toy through which my individual creativity and fantasies could be expressed, while cultivating the peace of solitude. As an AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO), I quickly realized that only collecting and building ready-made sets would not satisfy the needs of my inner child—the one that had once created universes made of bricks. So, I eventually discovered that there is a huge community of AFOLs worldwide creating their own MOCs (My Own Creations), and that there are many modern possibilities of being creative with LEGO to explore, which finally led me to start developing my own designs.

Thinking about the “why” again, I suppose that there’s basically not a big difference now compared to my younger self. LEGO is still the perfect medium for expressing the way that I artistically relate to the surrounding world. But it also helps me to become focused on what is unfolding in the present moment and to calm my mind when life seems challenging from time to time. In this sense, LEGO plays an important role in putting mindfulness into practice. Looking at the community, it is wonderful to see others building my MOCs and to receive so much warm and positive feedback on my work.

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Your latest build of the minifigure scale Outland TIE Fighter from The Mandalorian had everyone drooling. What inspired you to build that particular ship?

From the first moment that I saw footage of the TIE/LN Starfighter in the original trilogy on VHS tape (I was still a little eighties boy), I fell in love with its design. Back then, there was only LEGO Classic Space, and building Star Wars related models was quite a challenge. So, I had to content myself with playing with the TIE Fighter from Kenner. As an adult, I was quite excited to find out that LEGO had started to produce Star Wars-themed sets and that I could have the LEGO TIEs that I had always wanted as a child. But I still wasn’t satisfied with their accuracy, so I studied the most popular TIE MOC designs in the community, such as: Cereal Eating Builder’s, Inthert’s, Brickfeeder’s and Jerac’s, to name a few. In this way, I learned what is really possible with LEGO bricks and slowly began developing the idea of creating my own TIE design. However, it was the first appearance of the Outland TIE Fighter in The Mandalorian that was a revelation to me and really cemented my conviction of having to build my own TIE design.

Can you tell us about the construction and any special techniques you used?

I started the design process on the cockpit and the wings simultaneously.

That helped me to easily switch between both sub-models and to have an eye on achieving the correct proportions during the building process. During the first step, I worked out the inner cockpit’s design to have a robust frame to attach the hull to. I used a lot of hinge plates, as well as plates with handle/clip and curved slopes to sculpt the hull. It took many different attempts before my high expectations of its shape were satisfied. The wing construction is mainly based on a combination of Technic lift arms and plates modified with studs on side in order to reach a certain level of stability when the wings are in a folded position. It was quite the challenging task to figure this out, and the wings went through at least three different versions.

An overhead view of the TIE Fighter.

What are your favorite design elements you created for the Outland TIE? Building curved or round shapes with LEGO is frequently challenging to me. I’m really pleased by how curvy the cockpit’s hull turned out to be. The wing folding mechanism is another element that turned out to be quite reasonable. Overall, I learned a lot by going through this entire design process—it pushed my boundaries once again.

How did you know or figure out how to build such an amazing and seemingly accurate starfighter?

To develop a first idea of the TIE, I took screenshots from the TIE’s appearance in the show and conducted diligent internet research to find better reference material. Among other things, I found a highly detailed 3-D model of a classic TIE Fighter, which helped me a lot with determining the proper dimensions and adding nice details. The building process itself involved a lot of trial and error in finding my own custom solution.

Did you freestyle build the design or did you use a computer design program to lay it out first?

Usually, I start building my designs in LEGO Bricklink’s Stud.io. Having virtual access to almost every part and color that is officially available gives me the freedom I need to start my design process without any limitations. As things develop, I also test specific building techniques or design elements with real bricks and bring this experience back into my digital model. It’s good to have a large collection of organized spare parts at home to give your ideas a first try.

In the end, I need the feel of real bricks to convince myself of the quality of my design.

Were there any moments in this build where you felt like, aww man, I’m stuck!

If so, how did you overcome that obstacle?

Absolutely, the Outland TIE Fighter was my most challenging design so far.

I started to work on the TIE in April 2020 and published my first digital prototype design of it in June 2020. Part of my design process is always to build a physical prototype before making further alterations or doing the instructions.

I need to be sure that everything is in working order. Especially when I am using building techniques that are more complex or new to me, a test drive is required to minimize errors and to get a feel for the build in a way that can’t be reproduced digitally. When I first built the TIE’s cockpit and wings separately and tried to fit them together, I was surprised to find that the wings were too heavy to be supported by the cockpit and that the wingfolding mechanism was too weak to keep the folded wings in position. That was a serious setback, so I decided after a month of hard work to give myself a break on the TIE’s design and to focus on my Mandalorian-inspired mini builds.

Finally, it took almost half a year and many other designs before I could reestablish my focus on the TIE and revise its model to achieve its final MK2 design. Sometimes, taking distance from one’s own work provides a fresh impetus and the necessary clarity to go on.

A look at one of the TIE Fighter panels.

An overhead rear view of the fighter.

What would be your advice to anyone looking to build a minifigure scale Star Wars ship on their own?

First give yourself enough time to practice building and to learn new building techniques. I built many official LEGO sets as well as MOCs of other designers, and explored the internet to collect, learn and try new building techniques, before I made and published my first design. Second, start with smaller designs to get a feel for the design process and gain enough experience before trying a minifigure scale ship. Third, try to find and collect as many reference materials as possible before you start a new design. From time to time, I refer to free 3-D models or real miniature models of the ships I want to build. This really helps me to visualize the model in bricks. Lastly, there’s an excellent community out there at Bantha Bricks—you will always find a friendly word and support if you need help with your WIP design or want feedback on your final MOC.

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Can you tell us a little bit about your mini builds from The Mandalorian?

Before I started to design my Mandalorian-inspired mini builds, I had already gained some experience through collaborating with Nin-Jato, a fellow MOC builder, on mini ship designs. I was especially impressed by his mini Falcon and X-Wing designs, so I offered to do instructions for them and to revise his models. When I took a break from my minifigure scale Outland TIE Fighter, I first designed my mini Outland TIE Fighter. Then I undertook the challenge of building the mini Razor Crest and the mini Bounty Hunter Fighter. They are funny little builds that are ideal for swooshing around and imitating a wild air chase.

What inspired you to design the mini builds?

The Mandalorian contains so many new ships and vehicles that deserve to be built in LEGO. In my opinion, the TIE, the Crest and the Bounty Hunter Fighter were the most iconic ones during the show’s first season. But we will see, there’s still so much possible.

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?

The mini Razor Crest.

Mandalorian minis

The mini Bounty Hunter Fighter.

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In flight.

All of my work and latest updates as Force of Bricks can be found on Instagram, Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube. My instructions are available on Rebrickable, Belle-Ve Bricks and MOCs Market. Some of my designs can also be purchased as full building kits (PDF + original LEGO bricks) on BuildaMOC and MOCHUB.

In flight mode.

Any final ideas or thoughts you would like to add?

I’m deeply grateful that I found my way back to LEGO as the best creative medium I can imagine, and became part of such an amazing community.

It was especially the Bantha Bricks community that I felt very welcomed by everyone since I started posting my LEGO Star Wars creations and collection.

It is the perfect place to share your passion about LEGO and Star Wars and I’m proud to be a part of it.

The mini Outland TIE Fighter in landing mode.

The Razor Crest and the Outland TIE Fighter.

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!

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THE MAGAZINE FOR LEGO ENTHUSIASTS OF ALL AGES! ®

BRICKJOURNAL magazine (edited by Joe Meno) spotlights all aspects of the LEGO® Fan Community, showcasing events, people, and models every issue, with contributions and how-to articles by top builders worldwide, new product intros, and more. Available in both FULL-COLOR print and digital editions. Print subscribers get the digital version FREE!

SUBSCRIBE! Six issues $68 in the US $ 103 International • $27 Digital Only

BRICKJOURNAL #65

BRICKJOURNAL #64

BRICKJOURNAL #69

BRICKJOURNAL #67

BRICKJOURNAL #66

Starship builders NICK TROTTA and ATTILA GALLIK, TIM GODDARD’s space builds which have been featured online and showcased in the book LEGO Space: Building the Future, STEVEN SMYTH’s intricate Star Wars builds, “AFOLs” by Greg Hyland, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, Minifigure Customization by JARED K. BURKS, and more!

Get an introduction to TOM GERARDIN’s LEGO best friends Billy and Charlie, tour Disneyland Paris’ Sleeping Beauty Castle in bricks with DARIO DEL FRATES, and visit more theme parks LEGO-style with BILL VOLLBRECHT! Plus: “AFOLs” by GREG HYLAND, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, Minifigure Customization by JARED K. BURKS, and more!!

YUANSHENG HE’s breathtaking LEGO® brick art photography, the many models of TOM FROST, and the intricate Star Wars builds of Bantha Brick’s STEVEN SMYTH! Plus: “Bricks in the Middle” by KEVIN HINKLE and MATTHEW KAY, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, Minifigure Customization with JARED K. BURKS, and more!

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BRICKJOURNAL #63

BRICKJOURNAL #62

BRICKJOURNAL #61

BrickJournal celebrates the holidays with acclaimed brick sculptor ZIO CHAO, takes a offbeat look at Christmas with our minifigure customizer/columnist JARED K. BURKS, and decks the halls with the holiday creations of KOEN ZWANENBURG! Plus: “AFOLs” by cartoonist GREG HYLAND, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, and more!

Classic LEGO themes re-imagined! PIET NIEDERHAUSEN’s creations based on the Classic Yellow Castle, CHRIS GIDDENS (originator of Neo-Classic Space theme), and tour the Masterpiece Gallery at Denmark’s LEGO House! Plus: “Bricks in the Middle” by HINKLE and KAY, “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, and Minifigure Customization with JARED K. BURKS!

UNDERSEA LEGO BUILDING! RYAN VAN DUZOR’s Coral Reef, the many creations of COLIN HEMMEN’s Brickiverse, plus a look at JOHN KLAPHEKE’s scenes from the Indiana Jones movies! Also: “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!

LEGO TRAINS! CALE LEIPHART’s Blue Comet, GLENN HOLLAND introduces us to the L-Gauge Modular Building Standard, a look at PennLUG’s Train Roundhouse, and many other train-related surprises!

Plus a “Bricks in the Middle” comic by KEVIN HINKLE, “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, Minifigure Customization with JARED K. BURKS, and more!

LEGO FIGURE BUILDING! JAE WON LEE’s historical and legendary characters, EERO OKKONEN’s stunning mythic figures, ANDREA (“Norton74”) LATTANZIO’s new ultra-realistic builds (including classic food stands and gas stations), “AFOLs”

by GREG HYLAND, “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, Minifigure Customization with JARED K. BURKS, and more!

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BRICKJOURNAL #60

BRICKJOURNAL #59

BRICKJOURNAL #58

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

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

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (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!

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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!

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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!

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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

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

(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

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

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

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

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

LEGO DINOSAURS! Builder WILLIAM PUGH discusses building prehistoric creatures, a LEGO Jurassic World by DIEGO MAXIMINO PRIETO ALVAREZ, and dino bones by MATT SAILORS! Plus: Minifigure Customization by JARED K. BURKS, stepby-step “You Can Build It” instructions

by CHRISTOPHER DECK, DIY Fan Art

by BrickNerd TOMMY WILLIAMSON, MINDSTORMS robotics lessons, and more!

LEGO COOL CARS AND HOT RODS! LEGO car builders STEPHAN SANDER, JORDANIAN FIRAS ABU-JABER, and ANDREA LATTANZIO! Plus: Minifigure Customization by JARED K. BURKS, AFOLs by cartoonist GREG HYLAND, step-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!

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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

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

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

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

(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!

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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!

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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!

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LEGO®, the Minifigure, and the Brick and Knob configurations are trademarks of the LEGO Group of Companies. BrickJournal is not affiliated with The LEGO Group. All characters shown are TM & © their respective owners.

FOR SALE!

ORIGINAL MINIFIGURE COMIC BOOK COVER REPRODUCTIONS

by GREG HYLAND

Commission LEGO™ illustrator, Greg Hyland, to draw a full-size, production-quality recreation of any Marvel or DC comic book cover using LEGO™ Minifigures!

STAR WARS #7

78

Artwork will be a black & white ink drawing on 11”x17” comic book illustration board.

Art will include paste-up cover copy, logos, and trade dress.

Email greg@lethargiclad.com for |NCREDIBLE HULK #181 information on pricing and timeframe.

Last Word And so ends this issue.

There’s not a photo here this time because there haven’t been any events to take photos from—which is a strange state of circumstances.

The community stays healthy with events and gatherings to meet and display, and to build and be inspired to build more.

The past year has been a challenge because personal contact has been curtailed by the pandemic.

Clubs and events dealt with this by doing remote events and meets, but nothing is quite like physically meeting and talking, even with social distancing.

This year has some hope though. With vaccines coming online, normalcy is something that can be seen on the horizon.

During that time, though, there is plenty of time to build. Look online and here for some inspiration. And when all of this is over, let’s get together!

Til then, build on!

That Joe Meno Guy

79

AFOL

A classic from 2007, right before BrickJournal became a print magazine!

80

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

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RETROFAN #10

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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.

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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!

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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!

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New Comics 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!

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All characters TM & © their respective owners.

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!

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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!

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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!