Issue 72 • March 2022
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Dave Schefcik’s Rainbow Heart
Kelly Barlett’s Creations
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Issue 72 • March 2022
Contents From the Editor....................................................2
People Kelly Bartlett: Building Brick Art!............................................3 Chris Perron: Designing the White Dragon Horse Jet...........................................................10
Building Ben Thompson: Space Builder..................................................16
Dave Schefcik’s Rainbow Heart...............................................20 Lucas Evart: Building a Space Program!.......................26 Amantha Vandiviere: Making Walt Disney World’s Main Street... ..................................................34 You Can Build It: MINI Stone Needle Diorama...................40 Minifigure Customization 101: RWBY (WIP).....................................................46
Community Beijing, China: Block-Joy Planet Assembly Art Exhibition.................................................54 Building an Art Exhibition...........................62 Bantha Bricks Files: Builder and Photographer Anthony Bill.....................................................68 Community Ads...............................................78 Last Word.............................................................79 AFOLs....................................................................80
From the Editor: Hi!
March 2022 Issue 72 Publisher John Morrow Editor in Chief Joe Meno Photography Editor Geoff Gray Proofreader John Morrow Japanese Bureau Editor Nathan Bryan West Coast Editors Ashley Glennon BrickNerd Editor Dave Schefcik Bantha Bricks Correspondent Steven Smyth Contributors: Patryk Antczak, Kelly Bartlett, Anthony Bill, Jared Burks, Cool Toys Trend, Christopher Deck, Lucas Evart, Bartlomiej Huetter, Łukasz Mackowiak, Chris Perron, Rafal Piasek, Krzysztof Pusz, Dave Schefcik, Steven Smyth, Ben Thompson, Amantha Vandiviere, and Greg Hyland. 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: Dave Schefcik’s Rainbow Heart graces the cover! Photography provided by Dave Schefcik. About the Contents: Looking down one of Ben Thompson’s interior builds. Render by Ben THmpson.
You might have noticed an article or two missing the past couple of issues. There were two articles in this issue that did not make it by press time (and both were in the issue’s description). The interviews with Inez Vasquez and Caz Mockett will be in the next issue. The Space Shuttle mod article hasn’t been completed because we only got confirmed with NASA in the past week. Why? Well... it’s a long story. That said, this issue has a little of everything, including two event reports! We usually don’t cover those because of the time of publication happening months after the events, but these are different. You’ll see why when you read them. Also, we have a LEGO Designer talk a little about a set he did—which was a fun subject to talk about! There’s more builders, too—who built Disney-inspired models and mosaics, and much more. So get a drink, get comfy in a nice chair, and start reading... Joe Meno, editor P.S. Have ideas or comments? Drop me a line at brickjournal@gmail.com. I’m open to suggestions and comments and will do my best to reply. P.P.S... Yes, BrickJournal has a website — www.brickjournal.com! Twitter? Yep, there too — http://twitter.com/brickjournal. Facebook? Yup — http://www.facebook.com/group. php?gid=58728699914&ref=mf. Or you can scan the bottom codes with a QR reader! P.P.P.S. If you want info on a subscription, you can go to www.twomorrows.com or scan below!
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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)
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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)
BrickJournalTM issue 72, March 2022 (ISSN 1941-2347) is published bi-monthly by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Periodicals postage pending at Raleigh, NC. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to BrickJournal, c/o TwoMorrows, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614. Joe Meno, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. BrickJournal Editorial Offices: 6701 Coachman Drive, Springfield, VA 22152, USA. E-mail: admin@brickjournal.com. Send subscription funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial offices. Six-issue subscriptions: $68 US, $103 Elsewhere, $29 Digital Only, and can be purchased at www.twomorrows.com. 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 © BrickJournal Media, LLC 2021, TwoMorrows Publishing and the respective writers, photographers, and artists. All rights reserved. All trademarked items are the property of their respective owners and licensees. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING.
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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 of the LDraw suite. For more information, please visit http://www.ldraw.org.
People Kelly Bartlett began LEGO building when she was about five years old, starting with many of the classic castle, space, and pirates sets from the Eighties. Back then, she and her brother would make a few MOCs with the loose pieces they had, but there just wasn’t the large variety of parts and colors available like there is now. As kids, they mostly built sets and kept them together so they could set up towns and tell stories with them.
Kelly Bartlett:
Building Brick Art!
Article by Joe Meno Photography by Kelly Bartlett Kelly with a map of Hawaii, made with LEGO World Map parts.
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Fast forward a few decades: Kelly now lives in Portland, Oregon with her family and works for the Oregon Library Association. When she started building sets with her children, she realized LEGO had come a long way from the basic sets she’d had as a kid. She was envious watching her then-eight-year-old daughter build the Pet Shop Modular and the Parisian Cafe sets by herself. So Kelly’s husband bought a set just for her: Assembly Square. Kelly couldn’t get enough—every time she finished a build, she wished it had lasted longer, and she kept wanting sets that were bigger and bigger because she enjoyed the process so much. Because of this, she enjoys building Creator Expert and Ideas themes, but really prefers any set that is huge and/or complicated. It took an event and a LEGO Master to start Kelly on the path of MOC-building. The event was Bricks Cascade (a LEGO Fan event in Portland, Oregon). She had gone to the convention with her family and was in awe of the creations on display. “The builds were all so amazing,” she says. “I marveled at how LEGO fans could create such great models and sculptures from their own imagination and without instructions.” Her family encouraged her to build something of her own, but Kelly had no idea where to start.
“Olympic Tribute.”
It was a class that Kelly took from Boone Langston (a LEGO Masters Season One contestant) a few years later that gave her the push she needed to try making small MOCs. The class was a week long, and she made sure to complete a build each day so she always had something to turn in. “I wasn’t always happy with them, but no matter how basic those first MOCs were, Boone always gave helpful feedback, and I felt encouraged to try again.” Since then, Kelly has stayed with creating MOCs and hasn’t built a set from instructions in a long time. For Kelly, inspiration comes from a few places. She is often influenced by the natural world, and loves the challenge of using plastic LEGO elements to create art that has an organic look and feel.
“Army of Frogs.”
A closer look at the “Army of Frogs.”
“Impostor.”
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She also loves reading books and stories, so the idea of creating a MOC that has a story to it appeals to her. She draws inspiration from the books she reads, though not specifically to recreate scenes. Kelly says, “I’m inspired to do with LEGO what a good author has done for me with their book—the way they capture emotion and character and make me feel something with their art.” For Kelly, building a MOC from start to finish usually takes about a month, depending on the size and complexity of the build as well as what parts are needed. “I don’t have a huge collection of pieces, so usually the most time-consuming thing is waiting for my parts orders to arrive.” Sometimes she has a very clear picture in her head of what she wants to make, and the build goes quickly over a few days or a week. Other times, she has a general idea of what she wants to make, but it takes her a while to construct all the different elements that go into it. Kelly says there is always a lot of deconstructing and rebuilding before she figures out what pieces she needs to make the model look the way it does in her head. The butterfly mosaic “Emergence” took about a week to build, while “The Chocolate Shop” took about eight months because of all of the elements inside and the tedious nature of the walls and floor.
A constellation map using LEGO Art Maps Set.
Pussy willow branches.
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Having a visual viewpoint for building is helpful, even if it is her own simple sketch. She doesn’t spend much time on sketching—they are done quickly and are very rough. She also doesn’t use any digital design programs. From the sketch, Kelly usually starts with one aspect of her build that seems small and doable. “When I feel successful at something, I want to continue, so starting with the parts of the MOC that are the easiest allows me to work up to building the harder things.” Once she has a few different components of the build assembled, she is able to see them together and make a plan for the size and layout of the whole build. That’s the point where she will make the base and start figuring out the more difficult components. Her favorite part of the build is in the last week or two when all the different aspects of it come together, and she can finally see a concrete version of what’s been in her head.
“Emergence,” along with its concept sketch.
In a short time, Kelly’s builds have gotten attention. The build that she is most proud of, “Emergence,” is on display at LEGO Headquarters in Billund, Denmark. “It was such an honor for this to be selected as a winner in a LEGO Ideas contest. I love knowing that LEGO designers get to see it when they go to work each day.” Kelly is also proud of the miniature Chocolate Shop because of some of the techniques she used to create certain parts. She tried to think of ways to add more detail and dimension to the build—for example, instead of doing flat brick walls and a tile floor, she used lots of small, textured, and rounded plates for the walls, and curved slopes turned sideways for the floor. Both techniques were time-consuming, but they add just a little bit of detail to something that might have been pretty basic-looking. She was also happy with how the tower of macarons 6
You can see more of Kelly’s work at her Instagram account: https://www.instagram. com/kellybartlett31/ or you can scan this QR code. She also has a Flickr account: https://www. flickr.com/photos/60762653@N03/albums
and the little shopping bag turned out. Those were some of her tougher technical challenges. Also, she had never seen the Ninjago ‘tornadoes’ used in a build before, so she loved being able to pioneer their use as light fixtures. When asked why she builds, Kelly’s answer is short and simple: she builds to create art. “LEGO has been the perfect medium for my artistic tendencies—more forgiving than any other medium because I can literally undo mistakes and it’s like they never happened.” This gives her a feeling
of freedom to create without worrying about ‘messing up’ or wasting materials. She also builds to see joy on other people’s faces when they look at something she has created. “Sometimes people cannot believe my MOCs are made of LEGO, and it’s fun to see the amazement on their faces when they learn how they’re created,” Kelly says. “So I guess I build for my own joy as well as the enjoyment of others.”
“The Chocolate Shop.”
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As for future builds, Kelly has a long list of MOCs she wants to make. She laughs, “I am adding to it faster than I am checking things off, so I should have creations to show for a while!” Currently, she has a companion piece to the “Army of Frogs” in the works. She is also working on something with a pop culture theme, which she doesn’t do a lot of. And there are a few more mosaics in progress, too. For LEGO builders, she offers the following advice: “For me, the most important part of MOC-building was just to start. So that’s it—just start. Start with something small, something simple, something that brings you joy. Know that with LEGO, any mistake can be undone like it never happened. “And when you make something, share it. Post it on your social media or share it with your family and friends. You’ll get feedback that will inspire you to make something else. And the more things you create, the better you will get at it.” The LEGO hobby appeals to many people for many different reasons, but for Kelly Bartlett, it is about combining her strengths in logic and organization with her desire to be creative. She encourages other fans to embrace what they enjoy about LEGO, whether that means assembling sets, collecting minifigs, or building MOCs. “There’s no wrong way to enjoy LEGO, so do what you love and let it inspire you to play.”
The macaron tree.
A lower view of the model. A closer look at the bag, indicating scale.
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People
Chris Perron:
Designing the White Dragon Horse Jet
Article by Joe Meno Photography by Chris Perron and Joe Meno Set Art provided by The LEGO Group
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One of the sets that I bought was the White Dragon Horse Set (80020)—not because I am a Monkie Kid fan, but it looked cool on the box. What I didn’t expect was that the hours building the set would be a fun exercise in techniques, including a few really unconventional methods. The set showed me so many new techniques, I wanted to find out about how this set was designed. The set designer announced the set launch on Facebook, so I contacted him to find out about the set and his approach to design. I also took a look at some of his work on Flickr to see if there were any builds he did that could be forerunners to the LEGO set. Bur first, a quick introduction to the LEGO designer.
Chris Perron has spent most of his life LEGO building—he started when he was two years old. Having a desire to build and create things (probably from growing up spending most his time building LEGO creations), he wanted to pursue something in the field of design. With that, working for the LEGO Group was always a dream of his, so while finishing his degree in Industrial Design, he decided to focus on becoming a LEGO Designer. Five years ago, he became one. His favorite building theme is Space. He always loved the LEGO Space themes growing up, with the bright colors and big transparent canopies and panels, which were always huge draw for him. He loves playing with different color schemes and making interesting shapes and silhouettes and then turning those into some kind of sci-fi design, whether it be a spaceship, rover or mech.
The Dark Phantom, which uses some shaping and parts he used in the set.
This approach helped him create the White Dragon Horse set, and I chatted with him through e-mail about the design process behind the set. Joe Meno: I have seen your work online and you have a unique design sense that uses color in unusual ways. When did you begin building in that manner? You are something of a color sculptor and it shows in the set. Using gradations of green (an uncommon color) makes the craft very distinct. Chris Perron: I think color was always what would inspire my LEGO creations, especially canopies. For example, I would pick up a transparent-green canopy that I thought was interesting and then start trying colors that I thought looked nice with it. Then if I decided I wanted to use dark red as the primary solid color, I would look at what different shapes came in that color and use that as a starting point for my designs. Since starting at the LEGO Group, I’ve had the opportunity to work with a designer who has quite an extensive knowledge of color theory, and I’ve been trying to learn more about that to bring into my models as well.
Before the set was released... These models were built by Chris, experimenting with the forms and parts that he would later use in the White Dragon Horse Set. The Xenon Zapper.
The Violet Vanquisher.
Starting a New Theme In 2020, inspired by the 500-year-old Chinese story of the Monkey King, LEGO Monkie Kid is the LEGO Group’s take on a new, untold chapter of the legendary tale. Initially launching eight exciting sets, an animated mini-movie and TV series, LEGO Monkie Kid is the first ever LEGO theme to be inspired by a Chinese legend and is rooted firmly in the country’s culture and values. The theme’s sets are packed with fun, excitement and an epic story just waiting to unfold… The tale begins when an ordinary boy, Monkie Kid, finds Monkey King’s legendary staff and he becomes the chosen one. Together with his brave and loyal friends, Monkie Kid begins his quest to stop the Demon Bull King and his army of Bull Clones from taking over the city. By 2021, another enemy has invaded, and another wave of sets is released!
Let’s get to the set. Each LEGO set begins with a design brief. What were the initial parameters? Was the set even named at that point? We knew we wanted to create a larger vehicle for Mei, as she only had smaller builds in the first year of the LEGO Monkie Kid launch. I don’t remember exactly if other ideas were entertained, but I know pretty early on we wanted to give her a jet/spaceship of some sort. We also had the defining features of the icons being a dragon and a horse for her character. I think White Dragon Horse Jet (which ended up being the official set name) was the working title of the brief from the start, which really gave some key ideas to think about. It’s also interesting designing a model in the second year of a launch, since the initial design language has already been set for the character in some form, so the new design should follow suit and fit in. That means I knew the jet I was going to start working on should look like it fits alongside the set 80006 White Dragon Horse Bike. I also had the idea of the price we wanted to sell the model for, so that gave me a good idea of how big it should be, which is also really important. Sometimes downsizing or upsizing a model can drastically change it a lot and require a lot of reworking (or starting from scratch sometimes), so it’s really great to have a good vision of what it’s going to be. The Creative Lead of the project also found some concept art/inspirations from various sources to generate a mood board to give an idea of the ‘feeling’ he wanted the vehicle to have. It’s a very useful design tool to communicate such an abstract concept of how you want something to feel, and the more images and concept art you can use, the more useful it is. How was color determined?
Mei and her first set, the White Dragon Horse Bike.
Mei and the White Dragon Horse Bike.
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In this instance, color was mostly defined from the first year launch, with Mei’s color scheme being primarily white, and bright green as her secondary color with gold details and transparent bright green. This time she was going to have a bigger vehicle than before, so that opened the opportunity to add a bit more to her color palette. I remember seeing one of my colleagues play with the gradient from lime green to bright green to teal and thought that seemed like a really nice way to add a bit more color without changing the feel of the character. Plus, teal is my absolute favorite color, so I’m always happy to add some of that into the model as well!
So you have the design brief and color selections—what’s your approach with making design sketches? Did you make preliminary drawings of the model beforehand? After the initial brief and discussion with the creative lead looking at the mood board, I started doing my own research and looking into what I thought would work. I knew I wanted to incorporate the icons of “Dragon” and “Horse,” so I started thinking of what features are similar between them and what is different. Pretty early on I decided I wanted to try and build a horse head as the front, as dragon heads have been done many times in LEGO bricks before, and I thought there would be other ways to incorporate dragon features into the design. I also thought about the mane, and how if I built it in a certain way it could work to look like a horse mane or the spikes running down a dragon’s neck, depending how you view it. Looking at the elements that the bike in 80006 was built, they were mostly faceted shaping parts, similar to what you’d see in the ’80s and ’90s space sets before the bow and curved slope elements came out. So I wanted to try and use mostly flat sloped surfaces for my shaping.
The Jet’s distinct silhouette.
Finally, I also started looking at images of jets. This model, at the end of the day, is made to be a cool toy for kids, so it has to be something that they would recognize. Unlike when I’m building my own MOCs to post online for fun, I can’t be too abstract and wacky with shapes that won’t make sense to kids. I looked at what features of jets make them iconic, and what makes them look fast. I knew I would take creative liberties afterwards, but it’s helpful to start with an iconic silhouette. Sometimes I will sketch out top-down silhouettes to try out shapes, or now
Mei’s latest vehicle, the White Dragon Horse Jet!
Si, the Spider Queen’s Huntsman, Mo the cat, and Mei are the minifigures that come with the White Dragon Horse Jet set.
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Horsing Around 3 x 3 wedge slopes match when rotated 90 degrees, making a shape transition possible.
I’ll even quickly 3-D model some ideas to get a sense of the forms. But most often I will just jump straight into the bricks and start building. For this model, I started with looking at how to make a horse head without using curved slopes. The 3x3 wedge slopes were some of the first pieces I played with for this model, and I really liked how they could be combined to create an interesting transition from the brow line to the nose. The horse head is a really clever build. How did you come up with the final design? A lot of trial and error! The initial concept of building those sections tubeside to tubeside started from day one, as that’s the geometry that allows the sloped edges of the 3x3 wedge slopes to line up when rotated 90 degrees, but I had no idea how to attach it. I knew that the 1x1 vertical clips center the bar on the stud below it, so I had an idea that would be some way to attach the sections to line up with the SNOT build, but it wasn’t enough to stop the nose from splitting apart sideways at the very tip. I spent a lot of time looking at different solutions, and found a lot of different ways it wouldn’t work, or some that were way too complex to explain in building instructions aimed at seven-year-old builders. Finally, when just browsing through different elements, my eye caught the 1x5 plate with the cross axle hole in the center, and the idea struck me. I was extremely relieved to find out the wedge plate didn’t block the axle hole at all, and the snout came together quite quickly after that.
The 1 x 1 vertical clips center the bar on the stud below it.
A 1 x 5 plate with cross axle hole in the snout allows the snout halves to stay together.
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1 x 1 headlight bricks are inserted on the ends of a 4 stud long bar (light saber bar) to make a place to clip the snout.
How did you visualize other elements of your build? I look at the green scales in the wings as some type of power cell, for example. Do you think of reasons behind parts and shapes in your builds? I think that’s the best part about details like that in a model, is everyone will interpret it in different ways. I imagined it would be some kind of vent, but it could be seen as power cells, solar panels, armor, speakers... who knows?! Another interesting build in your set is the vending machine. How did that get in the set? It’s different enough to be a separate bagged set if you wanted it to?
The wings are thicker than they From the start we knew we wanted appear, using slopes to overlap and this set to be a rescue mission: a way to hide the elements under. Tiles are used show the story of the new spider vilto make a layering that is a nice touch lains attacking a civilian, with Mei and to the set. White tiles cover the corners Mo working together to save them. We and edges under. had different roles of the spiders across the sets, with “Huntsman” being the one who utilizes traps and has a big pet spider to assist him in capturing civilians. With that storyline in mind, I generated several different concepts of what this trap and function could be. It can be quite a challenge to make something that is a fun play feature, makes sense story wise, and be clearly communicated in a single image on the box art without any supporting text to explain the story. After trying various iterations, we really liked the idea of a vending machine that could be used as bait to lure minifigures over and capture them in the web. I ended up basing the model very heavily on the functioning vending machine seen in 70657 Ninjago City Docks as it works really well and fit what we were trying to achieve. What are some other things that you try to add in your set designs? First of all, I want to make a cool toy! Something that you can pick up, swoosh around and play with. I really like when models have some simple functions, shooters and a place to store accessories. I also want the building experience to be enjoyable, so that it makes sense what you’re building without being too complex and confusing, but also have interesting sections that experienced builders will enjoy. Whatever set I design, I know that for some people building it, it will be their first ever building experience, while for an experienced builder, it might be their 100th set they’ve built. I don’t want it to be too abstract or complicated; I hope that after assembling the set, builders will be inspired to take it apart and try making their own creations. You can see more of Chris’ builds on his Flickr account: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ thebrickbin/ or scan the QR code here! He also has an Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/ctperron/
The vending machine actually works through a clever feed mechanism.
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Building
A small ship interior.
Ben Thompson:
Space Builder! Article and Photography by Ben Thompson
An example of Ben’s interior work.
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An artist and graphic designer, Ben Thompson has been building all his life. His brother knew Ben would get into building before Ben was born, as he said, “I’ll have to hide my LEGO.” Building was something Ben did through his childhood until high school. A friend of his had a better collection, so both of them built there.
Lunar habitat laser communication station.
Before both Ben and his friend “gave it up,” they did one last big build—a big base which was still built until recently.
A botanical bay.
Ben returned to the hobby when his old friend bought him a set as a gift in 2016. From there, Ben started collecting a few Star Wars and Classic Space minifigures for a while, eventually progressing to kits and parts and finally building his own creations.
Different views of the starship bridge.
Futuron and Space in general are the themes that Ben likes to build the most. For him, the blue and white color scheme always looked really cool and blended into the semirealistic style he built. They seemed like proper explorers, before Space Police was needed. Chatting at the bay.
A look at the detail of the bay deck.
Ben has always been interested in space travel and science. However, while Space is Ben’s favorite theme to build, he really doesn’t want to be an astronaut. He instead wants to go to space as he imagines it to be. His building strives for a look like NASA crossed with 2001: A Space Odyssey— the space stuff he kind of wished he could have built as a kid, and how he wished real space technology would have become. He works to make his ships look realistic, at least to him. Movie inspirations include 2001, Alien, and The Abyss. Inspiration also comes from designers like Stanley Kubrick and Ron Cobb.
Starship bridge.
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EV Darwin.
Ben’s most difficult creation has been the EV (Exploration Vessel) Darwin. The ship started as an experiment to see if he could build a big front window. The window dictated the size of the front of the ship and the model went from there. He had already done tests of the hexagonal building the ship in hexagonal cross sections would be easier for him, but at the time it was all experimental. He also wanted the ship to have everything, so it’s got a cool big bridge, two airlocks, crew quarters, a galley, a medical area and a bathroom. Much of it ends up hidden because of the construction of the ship but it’s nice to know there are things around corners. The ship was also designed to land either vertically or horizontally like a real spacecraft. EV Darwin became the first ship Ben built with an interior and exterior. Here is where he began using the EV designation to his models. EV Sagan was dismantled before the interior was completed. The ring of windows around the neck is something Ben wants to use in another build, as when the model was set upright the window ring became an observation tower.
EV Darwin vertically landed.
EV Darwin side view.
Building for Ben is an organic process. He generally just starts building, but will often tear something down and rebuild large sections as he works out better ways to do it. He doesn’t really want to end up with an infinite amount of LEGO, so he often refines designs and build the same thing better. His time on builds can vary widely, from just a few days to over a year. Ben usually doesn’t sketch beyond every basic lines, finding nice arrangements of hexagons and stuff. As his builds have grown in scope, he has seen that he could use more preplanning. Sometimes his building starts with experiments in LEGO geometry - with the hexagonal ships, the building technique defined what was possible so Ben had to find ways to work within its limitations. He builds, stares, then improves his builds as a process.
EV Darwin interior.
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Ben’s proudest achievement has been making spheres from icosahedrons, which took a while to fully develop.
EV Sagan.
More interiors from the Darwin.
His moonbase laser/telescope used a new way to make a sphere. He’s always liked geometry and the way shapes fit together and combine. Some LEGO builds almost crystallize more than being designed - they fit the only way they can.
Icosahedron construct.
Other builds include building a LL918 (One Man Spaceship) Other replicas include Tombstone from Battlebots and HAL9000 from 2001.
Ben’s LL918.
Future projects on Ben’s schedule include building a moonbase that’s done as a cross-section of the land, so he can show underground structures and can build more pure interior builds. He also plans to redo some of his older builds but add lighting. His current project is a new ship, the EV Feynmann.
A landing craft from the icosahedron.
Another project that he has been playing around with is a working rover with lights, a laser and an old iPhone as a camera - inspired by watching livestreams of deep sea ROV submarines.
HAL 9000.
For builders, Ben’s advice is short: Have fun. Learn from kits but you can do better. Practice and experiment. You can see more of Ben’s work on his Facebook page: https://www.facebook. com/benthompsonartdesign Privateer prospecting ship.
Tombstone.
The EV Feynmann
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Building
Dave Schefcik’s
Rainbow Heart Article by Joe Meno Photography by Dave Schefcik
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I went to my first LEGO fan convention post-COVID in August 2020: BrickFair Virginia. After over a year of staying home and only virtually attending events, this was a nice step back to normalcy. There were protocols that had to be done at the event, but it was also an opportunity to meet friends, make friends, and see what everyone built during the pandemic. One of the creations that got my attention was a mosaic built by BrickNerd chief Dave Schefcik. The idea was simple: a heart radiating a rainbow of color. However, what made it interesting was that it was composed of tiny tiles, so it had the feel of stained glass. The bigger surprise, though, was seeing it during the World of Lights, where the expo hall lighting is dimmed and illuminated MOCs make themselves known. Dave’s mosaic was lit, and with rotating colors of light, it glowed and pulsed as if alive! It wasn’t a hard decision for me to request an interview with Dave, so let’s find out about his mosaic: “Rainbow Heart.”
Joe Meno: The design of the heart is so colorful and eyecatching. What inspired you to create it? Dave Schefcik: There are a few inspirations behind my “Rainbow Heart” mosaic. First off, there were a few craft stores that had LEGO Dots sets at a really steep discount last summer in the United States. With the help of my LUG, I was able to get quite a few of the bracelets and extra Dots bags which were fun to sort, but that led me to have an excess of small tiles in my collection. I thought a mosaic would be a fun way to utilize some of the pieces, but I wanted to try a new technique—using all the small, printed tiles as a way to increase the overall detail. Unfortunately that got very complicated quickly and I realized that even with the sales, I didn’t have enough printed tiles for an entire mosaic. So I focused on the quarter circle tiles (or pizza tiles as some people call them) which I had in abundance. I had so many different bright colors that I thought something rainbow related would really be fun, and Pride month was on the horizon, which was an added motivator. I also wanted to create a mosaic that was a bit more artistic and intentional than many of the computergenerated ones you see around, though I used my fair share of technology to create it.
Lots of Dots.
Lots of sorted Dots.
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The technique you used for the mosaic is different than anything I’ve seen before. How did you come up with the technique using the quarter circle tiles? The idea actually came to me all at once. One evening when pondering how to use the element, I realized that a quarter circle tile doesn’t fully cover the entire 1x1 plate beneath it. One corner is exposed. If you consider a 1x1 space on a mosaic to be a pixel, that means that a quarter circle tile on top of another color could actually increase the resolution of the entire mosaic while still keeping the size relatively manageable. But that meant that I had to build two mosaics on top of each other, which would double the piece count too. The quarter circle tile also has four possible orientations for each corner, so I quickly came to the realization that the possible color and orientation combinations were vast. After a few quick building tests, I found Color table of tiles with a white bottom layer.
Color table of tiles with a dark gray bottom layer.
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that the quarter circle tiles were great at conveying more organic movement to the static grid of a LEGO mosaic, and I decided that a grayscale underlayer would not only simplify the math, but also utilize color theory to add more gradients to the colored tiles when viewed at a distance. How did you determine what colors to use for the underlayer and top layer of the mosaic? My first step was to visualize all the “pixel” color possibilities at my disposal. Using my target image idea of a heart with radiating bursts of color, I started to map out what each mosaic pixel should be in Microsoft Excel. I dabbled in pixel art growing up, so I created what looked like a giant Tetris board of nothing but corner pieces stacked on top of each other. Splitting each cell into four quadrants, I Color table of tiles with a light gray bottom layer.
Color table of tiles with a black bottom layer.
Steps in making the mosaic:
1. Source art.
2. Sketching with Excel. Each square is a tile with a bottom layer.
3. Visualizing the mosiac using rendered quarter circle tiles.
4. Physically built with final visual adjustments made.
mimicked the peek-through of the underlayer by changing one corner into a grayscale color that aided in the overall design. I also wanted the finished mosaic to feel organic and avoid too many patterns and repetition that LEGO builders sometimes subconsciously create, so I set myself a few rules to guide the process and constrain the possibilities: 1.
No quarter circle tiles on top of their same color in the underlayer to prevent a solid square of color.
2.
No exact same “pixels” next to each other to avoid repetition.
3.
A tile’s color should not be repeated more than three times in a row or column per instance to avoid large color blocks.
4.
A quarter circle tile’s orientation should not be repeated more than three times in a row or column per instance.
5.
No complete circles made with the tiles that might draw focus away from the piece as a whole.
In my LEGO building experience, I’ve found that constraints actually lead to creativity. I feel like I am more creative when I have access to less pieces (though I still try to have more on hand!). With these guidelines in place, I essentially had everything I needed to create an algorithm to scale up the process since pixel art by hand is very time consuming. Using my Excel mockup as a guide, I utilized BrickLink’s Studio software to generate images of all the readily available colors of quarter circle tiles in each orientation on top of white, light gray, dark gray and black underlayers. I then split up these images into each “pixel” and layered them on top of my grid to start visualizing what the final result would look like and make what I guess could be considered “instructions” for myself. After some tweaking by hand and using a critical eye to nail some fine details, I was able get my first glimpse at what the final mosaic would look like. It was exciting to see the whole idea and process come together and it really encouraged me to keep going.
The bottom grayscale layer is plotted by looking at the Excel grid and focusing on the four values peeking under the color values: White, Light Gray, Dark Gray, and Black. These are then listed and transferred to the base plate, as seen here.
Was the actual building process difficult, or did it come together quickly once you had your final plan in place? It seemed easy at first. I started building by placing the underlayer of plates then the top layer of tiles on each stud as I progressed, but I quickly discovered that my eyes crossed trying to see which grayscale color to place
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The heart of the mosaic.
The initial version of Rainbow Heart was a square composition.
beneath the tile. Instead, I copied down what each of the underlayer studs should be into a notebook and then converted that into an Excel grid which became “instructions” for each underlayer plate. It was fun building these because they reminded me of QR codes. (I scanned one for fun to see what would happen, to no avail.) The quarter circle tile layer came next. I was able to listen to some podcasts as I built, which took about a week of actual building time. (LEGO’s recent Bits & Bricks gaming podcast got me through a lot of the repetitive work.) After it was “finished” the first time, I expanded the design horizontally from a square to more of a rectangle, which increased the part count from around 4,500 pieces to 5,500 (a MOC is never really finished, is it?). I also had to purchase quite a few quarter tiles from Bricks and Pieces because many of the darker colors and earth tones aren’t included in LEGO Dots sets, and I wanted to include every color produced. I did have more than enough blues and purples though! After that, I had to figure out how to get a photo of it without light reflecting on the many tiles, which was much harder than you might expect. How has the reaction to your Rainbow Heart mosaic been? I heard you got some special feedback about it. I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the reception online—it was the first MOC I’ve made that someone offered to purchase (though it isn’t for sale at the moment)! I’ve heard a few people say that they think that it sparkles or even looks like stained glass. Many people say that it is smaller than they expect when they see it in real life (mostly due to the fact that it has more detail in it than would be possible using solid color 1x1 studs). It also won the 2021 GayFOLs Pride Parade contest which came with the added benefit of hearing the reactions from two prominent designers at LEGO, Mathew Ashton and Jamie Berard. Matthew said it was “eye-catching, powerful and colorful” and “embodies so much positivity.” Jaime called it “playful” and said he “appreciated the artistic side” and being able to “get lost in all the little details.” It isn’t often that AFOLs get feedback from designers in Billund about their MOCs, so I really enjoyed hearing what they had to say. I was also really moved by the people who said the design gave them a little hope for the future! But my favorite reaction was watching a young kid look at it at a convention this past summer. He spent maybe 15 minutes getting close, than walking further away. He’d squint with one eye closed, then open both his eyes up as wide as they could go. At one point he even tried to turn his head upside-down, then cross his eyes like he hoped a 3-D image would pop out of it. His mom was there just giggling at the spectacle after I made eye-contact with her. It was so joyful to watch him look at it! I’ve had the pleasure of seeing this mosaic in person and can say that it is absolutely luminescent and comes alive, especially with your lighting setup as it changes colors. How did you get that effect to work so well?
Rainbow Heart was enlarged to a horizontal composition.
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That’s a fun story, actually. I’m sorry to say that the lighting was all a happy accident! I knew I’d be taking the piece to BrickFair Virginia which has a “World of Lights” display, where they turn off the main exhibition hall lights to let the MOCs really shine (pun intended!). I purchased
a small floodlight online to light up the mosaic, and cut a hole out of some black felt draped over it to make sure there was no unintentional light bleed onto anyone else’s work. In the dark, the floodlight really made the heart look almost like it was emanating color from inside the mosaic somehow. I then noticed that there was a control app I could download and discovered that the floodlight could fade and rotate through colored light. I flipped off the overhead lamps in my room and was stunned by what I saw! Certain colors fluoresced, others seemed to change hues entirely as the colored light cycled through the spectrum. At one point the blues disappeared and the center of the heart popped out, making it almost feel like the heart was pulsing. I was stunned! So as much as I would like to take credit for carefully planning how it looks and reacts to light, in this case, it was literally unintentional brilliance (pun intended again!). With heading the revamped BrickNerd plus your normal everyday job, do you have much time to build? If so, do you have another LEGO project in mind? I work in crisis communications, so building LEGO helps me relax at the end of a stressful day. I enjoy working on an official set or tinkering with some new parts to explore their geometry and future building possibilities. I also love hearing stories about the culture of LEGO and the AFOL community. So between finding amazing stories to tell on BrickNerd and putting out fires for work, I have a few moments here and there to work on my own creations. I’ve already begun work designing my next mosaic using the same technique from my Rainbow Heart that I hope to have time to build in the coming year—unless I get an idea for another LEGO project that distracts me!
BrickNerd is 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 showcases the best of the international LEGO fan community highlighting builds, hosting contests, conducting interviews, and publishing detailed articles about LEGO. BrickJournal is proud to continue its partnership with BrickNerd. You can go to the BrickNerd website by typing bricknerd.com in your browser or by scanning this QR code!
Rainbow Heart when seen under different colors of light: (from the top) white, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and purple.
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Building
The CSV Vespucci.
Lucas Evart:
Building a Space Program! Article and Photography by Lucas Evart
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My name is Lucas Evart and I’m 39 years old. Currently, my day job is at the U.S. Geological Survey where I do a variety of tasks including, but not limited to, editing scientific papers, creating and editing training materials, and processing geotechnical data. For hobbies I enjoy reading, video games, woodworking, and LEGO (obviously). I got LEGO as a gift at my first birthday party, so I’ve been a builder at least since then. Over the years, my building style and what I get from the experience of building with LEGO has changed from swooshing spaceships around, complete with my own Michael Winslow-level sound effects, to creating artistic pieces that represent my hopes for what humanity might someday achieve. I never had what I’d call a Dark Age, but in my late teens to early twenties, I moved around a lot and had to put my LEGO away for practical reasons. In the early 2000s, two things happened: the UCS Star Destroyer set came out and I discovered BrickLink. The Star Destroyer introduced me to the concept of building with normal bricks and plates over a Technic framework, which reinvigorated my love of the brick.
Building in 1991.
Early Years Like many builders, I started out very simply. Choosing my favorite theme is a hard task. Like a lot of people who build in space/sci-fi themes, especially those of my age and a little older, I have a soft spot for Classic Space. Nostalgia for the late ’80s to early ’90s space themes runs strong in me, so I might say Space Police, Futuron, M-Tron, or Blacktron are contenders for my favorite theme. Then again, I really enjoyed Space Police III with its callbacks to some of those old themes.
By the early 2000s my building style hadn’t really evolved much from my studs-up childhood. A picture of a vehicle I built in 2003 shows how simplistic my designs were.
I couldn’t say what inspired me to build anything beyond a set, as I’ve been doing it so long that it’s just second nature to me at this point. In fact, nowadays, I’m not as interested in sets as I am parts.
My Builds I tend to build big spaceships. As I mentioned in my background, I really got back into LEGO in large part because of the UCS Star Destroyer. The idea of being able to take my builds to grand new levels by skinning over Technic frameworks got my imagination going. For a decade or more I played around with trying to build hulls from plates. The design of the UCS Imperial Shuttle used bricks along with Technic lift arms in the wings/fin; drawing inspiration from that set, I experimented with similar techniques. It was during this period that I began to do a lot more SNOT building.
Lucas’ Mobile Command Center (2003).
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By 2012 I had learned to build things with studs facing in all different directions. If I’d only waited another decade, I could have used curved tiles to smooth out the front of this bounty hunter.
Bounty Hunter Ship.
Recent Times: CSV Thuvia In 2018 I attended my first BrickCon with friend and fellow builder Bill McQuown (MKyuun on Flickr, who builds some truly amazing transforming mecha—if you haven’t seen his work, you’re missing out). My build was a rush job, completed in less than three months while working 55+ hours per week at a job. The result was the Thuvia, a passenger transport doing Earth-Mars runs. It was designed with one big engine for constant acceleration to simulate very low gravity. I’d always wanted to build big spaceships, and this was my first real try at doing so. The hull panels are brick-built, attached over a series of stacked decks. The intention was to build internal compartments, but I ran out of time. The command bridge was an experiment that I wasn’t happy with, but the rest of the hull looked reasonably good, and I was sure I could do better next time. Those round tiles along the sides paired nicely with the—at the time—newly released 4 x 4 plates with a 3 x 3 round cutout corner to create escape pod bays. One of the pods is visible, folded open, on the table. As a little extra to spice up the display, I created what would become a staple of my convention space builds: the info card. Astute readers may notice the connection between the class of ship and her name.
The CSV Thuvia at BrickCon 2018.
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CSV Thuvia schematic.
CSV Vespucci The Vespucci is a cargo vessel designed to carry supplies and colonists to colonies in the Saturnian system. Due to the duration of the voyage, it features a pair of contrarotating habitat rings to stave off health complications from extended periods in microgravity. Its cargo bays double as hangars for small landing craft. As with seafaring ships back on good old Earth, her name and home port (Luna Gateway) are printed on her hull. It was while creating the decals for the Vespucci that I came up with the idea to make an aerospace company brand to put on all my spaceships. Thus, Evarts Aerospace was born.
After seeing Jeff Bergquist’s excellent Odysseus (a spaceship with a rotating habitat ring; look it up on Flickr, it’s worth it) at BricksCascade in 2019, I started thinking about how to build my own ring ship. I wanted to do something no one had ever done before, and to do it big. And hey, while I was at it, why not build two of them that spun opposite directions to balance out the torque?
The launch of a ship and aerospace company.
The Vespucci’s central truss.
The biggest challenge was that LEGO has a limitation in terms of rotating parts. Pretty much everything has to spin around a single pin or axle. If a ship only has one axle running through the middle of it, it’s not very structurally sound, so I set to work trying to figure out a way to get past that problem. I envisioned a single, massive truss running the length of a ship with a ring spinning around it.
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A failed ring.
Another failed ring.
My first ideas employed the four-part round Technic gear pieces, but they proved to be unsuited for the ridiculously large weight requirements of what I was planning. There aren’t all that many ways to build a stable circular shape from LEGO, but I remembered the Alien Conquest sets and how they employed narrow train track for the outer part of a flying saucer. I had a circle or two worth of those, so I decided they would be a good place to start. I came up with the idea of having the track stay in place and the ring rotate on it. My first ideas were essentially building a train on the outside of two train track circles placed back-toback, but nothing I could do would make the “cars” space out evenly. Then I realized there was something that had the exact spacing of that ring of track: more track! Each ring ended up being made with four complete circles of track, with train wheels sandwiched in-between to form giant bearings. Using an inscribed polygon calculator on the internet, I found that there was a geometrically viable outer diameter for the ring that could be built around those tracks, allowing each of the 32 outer hull segments to be an integer number of L-units long. I found only one size that would work without going out to something like 3 feet in each direction. That would have been a little too big, so I went with this size. The final challenge was to motorize the rings. I could see no way to put the motors in the ring supports, so they had to go inside the ring. Power had to go inside the rings too, unless I wanted to try to build some kind of inductive power transfer system, or perhaps cover the tracks with copper foil as I’ve seen some train folks do to electrify track. How to transfer the motive force to the ring also proved difficult. In order to smoothly transfer force, I took advantage of the slight backward flexibility of the large tank tread pieces to essentially turn the outside of the stationary ring structure into a giant gear around which the ring could be driven. This worked, although the torque required proved to be too much for LEGO axles to handle for long, and after ruining several 13L axles, I was forced to resort to aftermarket steel axles.
A look inside a ring, showing the wheels that compose the giant bearing.
Initially, the plan was to have two rings separated by some distance along the central truss, but they ended up weighing about 20 lbs. each. The truss was unable to support their combined weight without bending and the motors began to struggle. To reduce weight, I stripped the outer skin from one flat side of each ring and placed them right next to one another. The central truss was reinforced with long pieces of clear acrylic inserted vertically, like I-beams, which provided enough strength without being too obvious. This reinforcement also enabled me to split the truss into two pieces to make transporting the 8 foot beam much easier. After the rings, I added the cargo bays and forward docking module. Each of these was an adventure in its own right.
A look from outside showing the supports to keep the ring shape.
Building in progress.
Luna Gateway The Gateway is the Vespucci’s home port. This description accompanied Luna Gateway in its online display at BrickCon 2020, and I think it perfectly encapsulates the station: Evarts Aerospace presents: Luna Gateway. This multipurpose station is positioned at the L1 Lagrange point and serves as a cargo transfer station and shipyard for the construction and service of spacecraft. It was constructed in the late 2000s as a replacement for the aging Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway. Taking advantage of the booming lunar manufacturing infrastructure, the station was the first to be assembled directly in space instead of with modules built on the surface of a planet or moon.
Shipping container.
Working my way toward the stern, I added the shipping containers. These I branded with custom decals of the logos of old LEGO space themes. The exception was the Toys ’R’ Us container, which I made using the stickered panels from the toy store set.
The station is made up of a central core over 2,700 meters in length, containing communications, power, life support, a shipyard facility, and cargo storage and handling docks. Surrounding the core is a habitation ring 110 decks thick, supporting a resident population of over 5,000 people.
Next came the twin fusion reactors and their huge cooling fins. I strung the cooling fins with red EL wire to simulate a warm glow, but unfortunately, they weren’t bright enough to be visible in normal room lighting. The blue EL wire in the fusion reactors’ injectors came through much better, though. Finally, I added the drive section. The engines are lit by LED tea lights held in place with rubber bands, and the fuel tanks are 6 x 6 LEGO cylinders wrapped in gold foil. Normally, I’m not a huge fan of incorporating non-LEGO elements, but the foil looked too good not to include it. I wanted to keep going, adding more sections and making the ship bigger, but at 9’ 9” long, my wife said it was too big already. Good thing she doesn’t know about my plans to build an O’Neill cylinder... This build took about a year to complete. Of everything I’ve built, it’s the thing I’m most proud of.
A public relations photo of the station.
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Although not the first shipyard to produce vessels for exploration and colonization of the outer solar system, Luna Gateway holds a special place as the station responsible for development of some of the fastest and most robust ships ever built. The Vespucci-class colony support ship, famous for making four Earth-Saturn round trips with no major equipment failures, was designed and constructed here! Rumors that military ships are being constructed at Luna Gateway are patently false, and Evarts Aerospace has no further comment on that matter.
Luna Gateway’s shipyard.
Whether you’re just stopping by on your way to the far reaches of the solar system or taking a low-gravity vacation, Luna Gateway is your gateway to everything space! BrickCon 2020 had to be held online due to COVID-19. This created a unique opportunity to experiment with presentation in ways that simply aren’t possible in a conventional hall. I invested in an off-camera flash and black fabric backdrop to get what I hoped would be space-like images with hard lighting on the “sunward” side and dark shadows on the far side. I leave it to the reader to decide if the technique succeeded. Due to the uncertainty surrounding whether or not there would be a BrickCon 2020, I had only a month to build Luna Gateway! Much like with the Vespucci, I employed train tracks to construct a stable circular ring. The station is not motorized, so it was far simpler to construct the ring. The ship exiting the shipyard facility is about the size of the Vespucci, to give you a sense of scale for the whole station.
Luna Gateway’s shipyard and habitat ring.
After an accident that resulted in the upper part of the station being reduced to a bin of loose parts, I decided a stand was in order. A rounded piece of plywood painted matte black attached to two vertical pieces of acrylic provided excellent stability in addition to reducing the load on the horizontal supports. Building large spaceships and stations becomes increasingly challenging as they are not meant to exist in a gravity well, and ABS plastic has its limits. The interior of the ring showing infrastructure.
Cargo storage and transfer docks. Communications tower.
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Luna Gateway.
Wrapping up My method for building is about 10% planning and 90% inspiration. Usually, I start out with a general idea of what I want to make and go from there. I might make a rough sketch in a little black book I have for that purpose. Often, the brick doesn’t quite do what I want it to and the original plan changes. When building the rings for the Vespucci, I had to employ mathematical tools to figure out at what radii I could bridge across between radial struts to support the outer shell. That was probably the most intense planning I’ve ever done on a build. When I was a kid, I loved just about anything sci-fi. As I got older, I became more focused on hard sci-fi based on what is scientifically possible, or at least plausible. Now, that’s what inspires my builds. My goal is to represent one possible bright future for humanity through the medium of LEGO. In the next few years, I have plans to build a minifigurescale single-stage-to-orbit spaceplane (possibly with a spaceport) and a Martian homestead. With luck, one of these will be ready in time for BrickCon 2022. A microscale O’Neill cylinder, built to realistic proportions, may also be in the works someday. My advice to beginning builders is not to get too hung up on making things perfect. Nothing’s perfect. Art is done when the artist decides its done. Your work may not live up to your own expectations sometimes, but the people
looking at it don’t know what your expectations were, they just appreciate what’s good about it. Build what inspires you and don’t be afraid to share it. You can see more Lucas’ work at his Flickr gallery: https://www.flickr.com/photos/62902705@N00/
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Building
Amantha Vandiviere:
Making Walt Disney World’s Main Street Article and Photography by Amantha Vandiviere
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Amantha Vandiviere is a mom, a wife and owner of a dance studio with around 250 students ages 3 to 18 enrolled. All of this keeps her very busy, but she also is a LEGO builder. She has been a builder since childhood, but started building more seriously when she bought her daughter some LEGO sets, and found she had more fun with them than her daughter did! Amantha’s sister is an AFOL too, so there is a sense of sibling rivalry that pushes them both to try more and more complex builds.
Bakery (above), interior (below), and detail (bottom).
When Covid and its resulting shutdowns happened, it gave her a lot of free time to work on models. Her favorite sets are the Expert Modular buildings, since the colors in these sets work well with her builds. Growing up, she and her sister didn’t have many sets, just bulk bricks, so they always built their own models— Amantha’s were usually houses. Among her builds was a modular-based layout of Walt Disney World’s Main Street, which she posted on Facebook. This set of buildings was inspired after a visit to Disney World about the same time as her daughter inherited a Disney Castle set from another family member. Amantha loves to create and also loves miniatures, so building her own replicas in LEGO fills her creative buckets. Building also helps her de-stress and clear her mind when times are challenging. Currently, Amantha is focused on building parts of Walt Disney World. She has already added Splash Mountain and is working on Space Mountain. Future plans include building Rosebud Motel and Rose Apothecary from the TV show Schitt’s Creek, but she will need to dismantle Main Street to do that, and she isn’t quite ready yet for that, as Amantha doesn’t keep any of her builds—she takes photos of them and demolishes them for the next project!
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“I’m Walking Right Down the Middle of Main Street, USA...”
Crystal Arts shop (above), interior (below), and detail (bottom).
Amantha’s process for building is finding photos for reference and copying as close as possible. This involves a lot of taking apart and putting back together and trial and error. Planning, building, destroying, rebuilding, and destroying and so forth until she is happy, is her work cycle. She rarely special orders bricks for specific projects—she just uses what she has. If she doesn’t have the part she needs, she just finds another way to create or make and usually ends up liking the end result better. Using what she has on hand also pushes her to be more creative.
Watch shop (above), interior (below), and detail (bottom).
Main Street Cinema (above), interior (below), and detail (bottom).
This set of buildings is only one side of Main Street, USA. As a guest enters the park, this will be the right side heading toward Cinderella Castle.
Candy Store (above), interior (below), and detail (bottom).
Beauty Shop (above), interior (below), and detail (bottom).
Gift Shop (above), interior (below), and detail (bottom).
Carnival Cruise Line’s Fascination.
Main Street wasn’t Amantha’s first creation. Her hardest project was one that she built before Main Street: a model of the Carnival Fascination cruise ship, circa 1999. Having both and interior and exterior, it was completely modular so decks could be removed to reveal the interior. There are personal reasons behind this build: she met her husband there. She was a dancer on the cruise and he was a trumpet player in the band, so there are some very fond memories attached to the ship. Building the ship was also good therapy for her during the pandemic, as Amantha saw the effect Covid had on the cruise line industry and on friends they still had working for Carnival.
Carnival’s Fascination (1999)
Fascination’s pool and waterslide.
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Fascination’s main deck with pool, and at the front, the bridge.
Fascination’s lower deck (the Atrium), showing the elevator shaft in transparent blue.
Fascination’s entertainment deck (Hollywood Boulevard).
Fascination’s piano bar.
Fascination’s stack.
Fascination’s disco (Diamonds are Forever).
Concerning building, she has these words for others just beginning: “Start with kits that are similar to what you will ultimately want to make. This not only helps build your inventory of pieces, but teaches you building techniques and gives you ideas you can later incorporate into your MOCs!” Fascination’s aft section.
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You Can Build It MINI Build MINI Stone Needle Diorama Design and Instructions by Christopher Deck Hello everybody and welcome to a classic Star Wars building session! During the past years we not only built mini models together, but we also made up some scenes from the classic Star Wars movies. We already had scenes from Endor, Dagobah, Tatooine, and Yavin. Today we want to build another popular motif from the planet Tatooine—the legendary Stone Needle. The Stone Needle is a rock formation that stands in the middle of Beggar’s Canyon on Tatooine. It is a slim and tall spike of rock with an eyelet-like top which you can fly through if you’re a skilled enough pilot. Local pilots compete against each other to see who can do it best with their speeder. The location is mentioned and pictured in various sources of the Star Wars media. A popular airspeeder on Tatooine is the T-16 Skyhopper, also seen and mentioned in various Star Wars sources. So the real challenge for this mini diorama is to build a stone needle and a micro skyhopper model that will actually fit into it, and still be recognizable. I hope you will like the result! 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)
Canyon Walls Qty Color 2 Reddish-Brown 2 Reddish-Brown 1 Reddish-Brown 2 Reddish-Brown 1 Reddish-Brown 2 Reddish-Brown 1 Reddish-Brown 1 Reddish-Brown 2 Reddish-Brown 1 Reddish-Brown 2 Dark-Tan 1 Reddish-Brown 1 Reddish-Brown 2 1 1 1 1 2
Part 3005.dat 3004.dat 3010.dat 3003.dat 2456.dat 47847.dat 6083.dat 6082.dat 3023.dat 3795.dat 3027.dat 4286.dat 3747a.dat
Description Brick 1 x 1 Brick 1 x 2 Brick 1 x 4 Brick 2 x 2 Brick 2 x 6 Panel 2 x 4 x 6 Rock Panel 3 x 8 x 7 Rock Triangular Panel 4 x 10 x 6 Rock Rectangular Plate 1 x 2 Plate 2 x 6 Plate 6 x 16 Slope Brick 33 3 x 1 Slope Brick 33 3 x 2 Inverted without Ribs between Studs Reddish-Brown 3665.dat Slope Brick 45 2 x 1 Inverted Reddish-Brown 3660.dat Slope Brick 45 2 x 2 Inverted Reddish-Brown 60481.dat Slope Brick 65 2 x 1 x 2 Reddish-Brown 3678b.dat Slope Brick 65 2 x 2 x 2 with Centre Tube Reddish-Brown 2449.dat Slope Brick 75 2 x 1 x 3 Inverted Reddish-Brown 92946.dat Slope Plate 45 2 x 1
Micro Skyhopper Qty Color 1 Red 1 White 1 White 1 White 2 White 2 White
Part 4070.dat 4070.dat 4733.dat 90540.dat 3024.dat 61252.dat
1 2 2 2 1
4081a.dat 48336.dat 54200.dat 54200.dat 15712.dat
White White White Trans-White White
Description Brick 1 x 1 with Headlight Brick 1 x 1 with Headlight Brick 1 x 1 with Studs on Four Sides Minifig Ski Pole Plate 1 x 1 Plate 1 x 1 with Clip Horizontal (Thick C-Clip) Plate 1 x 1 with Clip Light Type 1 Plate 1 x 2 with Handle Type 2 Slope Brick 31 1 x 1 x 0.667 Slope Brick 31 1 x 1 x 0.667 Tile 1 x 1 with Clip (Thick C-Clip)
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WHATEVER YOU’RE INTO, BUILD IT WITH
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Building
Ruby with her Crescent Rose (in progress). All RWBY characters are TM & © Roosterteeth.
Minifigure Customization 101:
Article by Jared Burks RWBY, pronounced “Ruby,” is an American anime influenced computer animated web series created by Monty Oum for Rooster Teeth. RWBY is set in the fictional world of Remnant, which is composed of four kingdoms plagued by malevolent creatures known as the “Creatures of Grimm.” Prior to the events of the series, the world was overseen by two opposing deities, the god of Light and god of Darkness. Humanity is obliterated by these gods due to the actions of Salem, a vengeful woman cursed with immortality for trying to manipulate these gods into reviving her beloved Ozma. Ozma was subsequently reincarnated into a world as the gods abandoned it to serve as a guide to the new human race leading them towards harmony. Eventually, the discovery of
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the element Dust triggers a technological and industrial revolution among humans and leads the story to the present day. In the present day, Ozma’s current incarnation Ozpin has established academies in the four kingdoms to train young warriors known as Huntsmen and Huntresses to battle the Grimm and to guard the world’s secrets. These academies secretly conceal four relics that when united summon the gods back to Remnant to judge the progress of humanity toward harmony. Want to watch it? It is available here: https://roosterteeth.com/series/rwby The series focuses on four girls that enrolled in Beacon Academy in the kingdom of Vale: Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna (of the half-human, halfanimal Faunus race), and Ruby’s half-sister Yang Xiao Long. Together, they form team RWBY (“ruby”), which as you have gathered is derived from the names of the four main characters, Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang. Monty Oum based these characters on their respective theme colors around Red, White, Black, and Yellow and designed the characters with assistance from artist Ein Lee, utilizing designs inspired by classic fairy tale characters. The characters’ names also share the same letter and the meaning as the color (e.g. Ruby refers to the ruby gemstone, “Weiss” translates to “white” in German,
Character Inspirations Ruby Rose’s character design was heavily inspired by the fairy tale character of Little Red Riding Hood. This is evident by her red hooded cloak, and this inspiration was also hinted at during the “Red” trailer when she is fighting off Beowolves, a type of monster resembling werewolves. However, she subverts the traditional version of the story; instead of being rescued by a hunter, she herself is the huntress. Weiss Schnee’s character was inspired by fairy tale character Snow White. This was referenced by the song she sang during the “White” trailer, called “Mirror Mirror.” Her full name also translates from German to “White Snow.” Blake Belladonna’s character was inspired by the character of Belle from “The Beauty and The Beast.” This is referenced in her last name Belladonna and also in the “Black” trailer, when she is with a boy named Adam. Adam is the name of the man who became The Beast in Beauty and the Beast (1991). Yang Xiao Long is inspired by the fairy tale character of Goldilocks. While her inspiration may not be quite as obvious as the other three main characters, series creator Monty Oum has said that Yang’s personality is to jump straight into a situation without thinking, which relates to Goldilocks’ story where she enters a strange house to eat food and sleep in a bed without thinking about what would happen when the owners returned.
Blake is an old English word for “black,” and Yang’s name means “sun” in Cantonese). There are many other Huntsmen and Huntresses teams in the show. The second major team is JNPR, which are inspired by historical or mythical crossdressers, Jaune being Jeanne Arc, Pyrrha being Achilles, Nora being Thor, and Ren being Hua Mulan. Team JNPR was originally going to be the “B-team,” however their role in the show has grown. I may eventually dabble in making JNPR as well, as I find the design behind the show intriguing. One of the other very interesting bits of the shows is the weapons that the Huntsmen and Huntresses use to fight off the Grimm. Though standard weapons exist, the majority of weapons shown in RWBY are usually designed to be transformable, using a foldable frame that is capable of shifting various sections to change the weapon from one form into another in mere seconds. Weapons with a foldable frame possess two or more selected forms, and the wielder is capable of freely swapping between each weapon state, depending on their needs. Typically, such weapons would have both a melee state and a ranged combat state, but are not necessarily limited to those specific types of attacks while in each state. Weapons can
The Crescent Rose.
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also have an inactive state known as a “sheathed” form, locking and securing the weapon while outside of combat, similar to the safety catch of a firearm. For example, Crescent Rose (Ruby’s Weapon) and Ember Celica (Yang’s Weapon) shrink down to be holstered and carried easily, while Myrtenaster (Weiss’ Weapon) and Gambol Shroud (Blake’s Weapon) both have separate sheaths. Weapons are commonly fueled by “dust,” enhancing their potential beyond what we would expect and allowing them to create almost magical attacks. I have long been captivated by characters and series where the design elements repurpose known characters in unique ways, so this series has spoken to me for some time. Over the next couple of issues, I will be creating Team RWBY; however, in this issue I will be primarily focused on the team leader, Ruby Rose, and her closest team member Weiss Schnee. These figures will not be completed at the end of this issue as these figures are some of the most complicated ones I have designed and built to date. Let’s break down what is needed.
The Myrtenaster.
Character Figure Design Hair Accessories
Weapons
Ruby Art Hair piece Scarf/hood combo Cape Skirt Crescent Rose Weapon
Weiss Art Hair piece
Skirt Myrtenaster Weapon
I am going to focus on the character designs from Season Four of the show, where the characters are a bit older and have traveled outside of their training academy.
Ruby.
This is a more challenging period for the characters, as their world is starting to crumble and they have faced some initial challenges to their belief systems, as well as some real loss.
Artwork and Printing
Weiss.
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To start with the creation of these figures, I have used the inspirational character study art at the left to recreate in LEGO form the art for their LEGO body parts. These have been printed by Geeky Ink Studios as a preliminary design as I work through all the accessories and how those accessories will attach to the figures. I design this artwork in Corel Draw, a vector-based program, attempting to stay in the LEGO standard. For Ruby, the trick was to keep her simple and true to the character as she is the youngest member of the team, and actually accepted into Beacon two years before she should have been—so a touch of a child prodigy. Ruby is a bit of a tomboy and is more rough and tumble, dressing primarily in black with red
Character turnaround of Ruby.
Character turnaround of Weiss.
highlights. Weiss is the inverse of Ruby, who comes from the wealthiest family in all of the four kingdoms. Weiss is very pastel in design and I selected the use of sand purple for her torso, which has only ever been released on one LEGO figure. This is a perfect color for Weiss as she has this color, plus blue and white. One of the greatest challenges of these figures will be Weiss’ skirt, as it will need to be painted, and while I have a stand-in part today, it is a far cry from the final design.
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Element Design Each figure requires several custom elements, and my design is to create these in the LEGOverse.
Skirt
Editing the 3-D file.
The need of a skirt is shared between the two characters, and an element that can be used for both with a bit of modification. First off, the LEGO skirt (https://www. bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=24782#T=C) does not exist in the needed colors and both characters have a layered or ruffled skirt; to create this, I used LEOCad to export the LEGO skirt into an OBJ file that I could import in the MeshMixer. This allowed me to fix the skirt part and to cut out the lower portion and duplicate it to create the layered design. I can now 3-D print the parts on my resin printer in the desired base colors and paint as needed. For Ruby, this is simple: paint the layered edge red. However, for Weiss, this is merely the beginning of complexity. I have a poorly painted first draft part today.
Test print.
Test print with LEGO skirt.
Hood/Scarf The next part that was created in a similar manner is a mixture of two LEGO parts, the LEGO hood and the LEGO scarf. Hood: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem. page?P=15428#T=C Scarf: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem. page?P=25376#T=C
LEGO hood and scarf elements.
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I again used LEOCad to obtain the OBJ files that I imported into MeshMixer. I cut the tails from the scarf and repaired the mesh. I then cut the hood from the neck piece and bonded that to the scarf. In the process I made the hood substantially larger, as Ruby’s hood is very big. This created the needed part that I could now 3-D print and ultimately paint. Again, given that this is a work-inprogress, this part will likely change a bit as I go through a few more iterations.
Editing the 3-D file. Testing the 3-D print.
A turnaround of the 3-D printed hood.
Weapons These were created from the ground up. The issue is the scale: Ruby’s Crescent Rose is a giant scythe, while Weiss’s Myrtenaster is basically a rapier. This meant I had to design these in Fusion 360 to fit not only the characters, but to also contain the needed details. Both these weapons will require very custom paint jobs, which will take a lot of masking out and are beyond this article. Fusion 360 is a CAD based program where 2-D drawings can be converted into 3-D shapes by extruding and subtracting or adding different elements together. As both Ruby’s and Weiss’ weapons are reasonably basic in design, they were not complicated to draw, just time-consuming to add all the appropriate details. I have a temporary Crescent Rose that is not my final design in today’s photo, and I have the final design of the Myrtenaster, but in the wrong color.
Digital models of the Crescent Rose.
Designing the digital Myrtenaster.
The final.
Test weapons.
Hair Pieces
Working with the digital hair file.
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I have been attempting to learn to 3-D sculpt; this is quite different from the basic use of Fusion 360, and needed when creating a more organic shape such as hair. I was able to take a few different elements and merge while modifying to create Weiss’ hair. As you can see in the photo, I had to modify the parts in different scales, so I cut Weiss’ ponytail away from her head, added a cylinder to represent the hair band, and then added a LEGO crown for the tiara that she wears. This is still in the testing phase, as scale has been problematic and the part I have currently is too small and has cracked. For Ruby, I have not yet been able to get the needed “messy” look that is needed. For today, I have a LEGO stand-in, which had to be shortened to allow for the scarf/hood part that attaches at the bottom of the head. This will be replaced in time.
Test hairpiece.
Cape Ruby’s cape is very central to her character. All characters have something called a semblance. Semblance are powers exhibited by some characters in RWBY, developed from their Auras. These are different from person to person and can range from super strength and manipulating objects to disorienting opponents. Ruby’s is that she can decompose on the molecular level and travel distances quite rapidly. This is visualized as she is wrapped in her cloak and becomes rose petals. Because of the hood, she needs a cape with one hole to allow it to fit under the hood element (see image of two-holed cape with hood part that causes buckling of fabric) and I am working on getting one of these in the needed red color, but for today I have a standin from the most recently released What If? Scarlet Witch. This cape needs to be recreated in red fabric and needs to be worn, as Ruby’s is tattered (see two example capes with single hole; tattered cape will be the long term goal in red).
Cape examples.
Status Clearly this is a work-in-progress article, and I chose to share this today to highlight the fact that things don’t always work correctly the first time. Also, that designs can be very complicated and take much longer than one thinks when a project begins. I clearly have some problems still to solve, especially with hair pieces, capes, painting, and some 3-D printing still to achieve. The joy is in the learning process that goes into each of these figures, and I can’t wait to share the final results with everyone—so stay tuned for the final reveal of team RWBY.
Ruby with stand-in cape and hair.
You can view Jared’s webpage by going to http://www.fineclonier.com/ or scanning this QR code!
Don’t miss Jared’s two books Minifigure Customization: Populate Your World! and its sequel Minifigure Customization: Why Live In The Box? (available at twomorrows.com). On sale:
5 each!
$
Weiss (in progress).
Next Time: Completing the RWBY Figures!
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Community At the end of June 2021, Cool Toys Trend went to the 751D-PARK in Beijing and made a beeline to the “Block-Joy Planet Assembly Art Exhibition” for a long-awaited visit with outstanding creations of LEGO brick masters in China. Since the Exhibition hall was not too crowded, there was plenty of time and space to admire the brick creations one by one. The exhibition featured 27 creations by five Chinese designers, who will be introduced here. Let’s cut right to the chase and enter the wonderful miniature worlds created by LEGO bricks. Quadrangle (by Eric Kou)
The exhibition site.
Beijing, China:
Block-Joy Planet Assembly Art Exhibition Article and Photography by Cool Toys Trend
Siheyuan or She Fang is a traditional Chinese house building with houses on four sides that enclose the courtyard in the middle. The four sides give the courtyard its common name: Quadrangle. A model by Eric Kou recreates various details of this traditional architectural type. This model is in minifigure scale, showing a plain but vivid and cozy scene. The quadrangle itself is not just a set of buildings, but a cultural heritage. As such, no brick exhibition in Beijing would be complete without one. The typical Beijing quadrangle has the following: 1 The Main Room
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Chinese arched Door
2 The West Wing Room
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Hexagonal Pavilion
3 The East Wing Room
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Carved Balustrades
4 A Festoon Gate
The quadrangle.
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3 1
5
2 7
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A look at the balustrades (carved rails) on the roof.
A Jiangnan Town (by GS) Immediately after this model is a diorama of a waterside town in the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. This region, called the Jiangnan, has been renowned as a paradise on Earth since ancient times. With crisscrossing rivers and lakes, small ancient towns and idyllic rural buildings, it creates a picturesque landscape. Photos of this model have been online for some time, but they are no comparison to seeing the real model. In addition to the residential building in the southern Anhui province, there are silks and satin shops and stores as well as restaurants specializing in Huaiyang cuisine. There’s also activity—rickshaws taking people across town, vendors and peddlers showing their wares, and boats pulling onto shore.
A look at some of the detail of the town.
An overview of the town.
The Realm Garden (by Shuying) Another landmark of the Jiangnan displayed at the exhibition is a Suzhou garden. An outstanding element of Chinese garden culture, Suzhou gardens have enjoyed the reputation of “a universe rebuilt within a confined space.” The layout displayed is the Realm Garden, which is inspired by Suzhou gardens. Despite its confined space, the layout attempts to condense as many architectural garden elements as possible. Graceful arch and zigzag bridges, endlessly winding corridors, high and steep hexagonal pavilions, and horse-head walls symbolize buildings of Huizhou and traditional Chinese architecture. With the blend of natural objects such as the rocks, bamboo forests and crushed stone paths as well as Lake Heart Isle, it might be easy to forget it is a LEGO model. However, a quick glance reveals that the stone pagoda in the lake is made up of LEGO Technic gears.
The Realm Garden.
Some of the details of the layout.
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The Silver Lion Fortress (by GS) This is a model that will excite Castle fans! Towering above the clouds (and there really is a cloud), this fortress castle instantly transports viewers from the scenery of Jiangnan to the European continent a thousand years ago. The model, which is set in the First Fortress of the Silver Lion Empire, is a secondary building of the Silver Lion City. This was GS’s first attempt working on a European-style Middle Earth castle, so he chose a recognizable style. As the actual size of the main city was not so large, he also added mountains, plains, rivers groves, and other features to make the scene richer and fuller. The Fortress’ gate can pulled up and down along with its drawbridge.
Details of the fortress.
The Lost Castle (by Shuying) Another Shuying creation, this castle draws inspiration from a landscape painting in which an elegant long bridge spans between two imposing mountains. In a cave under the bridge, a waterfall flows. Since there weren’t parts to build the mountains, the bridge and castle were built instead. Built in the baroque style, the fortress gives the bridge a delicate and light touch. The extensive use of various gears and couplings in the iron gates, bridges, rooftop columns, balustrades, and windows of the mood are a refreshing sight. The model is small-scale but luxurious, manifesting strong romanticism and showing the creator’s imagination. Lights inside the castle give it a sense of scale and atmosphere. Other views of the castle.
Peach Blossom City & Campsis Grandiflora [Sky-reaching] Tower (by Geng Lei) Peach Blossom City is a combination of two models to make a Chinese architectural showcase. Geng Lei’s inspiration for his layout came from an ancient Chinese poem: In the human world, the fourth month sees the fading of all flowers; On the mountain temple, peach blossoms begin to bloom. Is the lady standing in Peach Blossom City waiting for her beloved who has not yet returned? The tall tower that marks the Peach Blossom City is called the Campsis grandiflora (Sky-Reaching) Tower with a height of 1.35 meters. If peach blossoms are believed to represent love and prosperity, then the campsis grandiflora is a symbol of stubborn perseverance, climbing upwards— never tiring or compromising. Pink leaf parts were used for the peach blossoms and the body of the tower, seemingly going straight skyward to take the never-yielding gesture of the Campsis grandiflora. The beauty of the model comes from the contrast of the heaviness of the masonry and the subtlety of the wooden structure.
Peach Blossom City.
The Great Wall (by Shuying) The Great Wall is a romantic creation that spans time and space. The mysterious Mogul Caves are backed by the majestic Qilian Mountain. The blue Namtso lake embraces the white Rainbow-Shaped Bridge. The steep majestic passes are connected to the graceful Lakeside Great Water, winding upward atop the mountains with multicolored trees. Under the layout is a modular structure, using trusses supporting the internal structure of each module, making the layout both lightweight and sturdy. Throughout China’s time-honored history, the Great Wall has been a symbol of defending the country’s people against enemies and guarding Chinese civilization. Under the guardianship of the Great Wall, the calm waters of a lake, the golden autumn scenery, and a leisurely shepherd boy bring out the image of a tranquil home. The Rainbow-Shaped Bridge and the Mogao Caves at Dunhuang represent the achievements of Chinese civilization in the fields of technology and nature. Beyond, on the edge of the towering mountain, an eagle gazes into the distance—a sentinel for humanity, keeping guard from outside threats.
Details of the Great Wall.
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Transformers (by Geng Lei) There isn’t anything else to tell about these models—fans of the animated Transformers will immediately recognize these characters.
The Glorybringer (by Geng Lei) A group of several bionic-based mechs are displayed in the exhibition. Made up of LEGO Technic parts, the Glorybringer is a model that offers a striking resemblance to a scorpion.
The most difficult aspect of building LEGO bionic creations is the balance between a creature’s appearance and the mobility of its joints. Through the builder’s skillful manipulation, those cold, hard mechanical parts are given a life-like spirit. Such a build can present a variety of posters while still remaining it proportions and recognizable appearance.
The Glorybringer and accompanying robots.
Arbiter of the Wilderness (by Geng Lei) With a length of 1.5 meters, this is a giant truck! Although scaled for a minifigures, it’s still a behemoth for them. While the body sections are slightly repetitive, this is definitely a great example of the wasteland theme, reminiscent of the designs seen in the Chinese Sci-fi film The Wandering Earth, where the planet has to be moved from orbit!
The Intrepid (by Ling) The Intrepid is a 2.5 meter spaceship built by Ling. Consisting of more than 50,000 LEGO elements, the ship took four months to build.
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Fusion City and the Institute of Magical Plants (by Geng Lei) The two large-scale cyberpunk styled buildings are the Fusion City and the Institute of Magical Plants. The overriding theme of this layout is the depressing life in the city, contrasting with the advanced technology. Designer Geng Lei created a storyline for these buildings: In a parallel universe using highly advanced technology, a people is controlled by an evil group. The group developed a mind control potion, that turned people into easily manipulated zombies. Resisting the mind control, the people revolt. Using all of the materials they have, they built two towers out of the reach of the evil forces. The people live in Fusion City, a building with no stairs where people rely on autonomous aerial vehicles to travel between floors. The second building, the Institute of Magical Plants, is used to cultivate a variety of rare plants to develop an antidote to the mind control potion. Due to supply shortages, the people make use of all the resources they can access, such as containers for walls, excavator buckets as roofs, and kayaks as eaves. No less than 70 facades are used for one building alone. Will these resourceful and brave minifigures finally be able to change their destiny? That depends on whether the plants they grow are magical enough.
The Sound of Snow Falling (by Shuying) The two towers. A closer look at one of the towers.
A heavy snowfall settles on the white tiles and red walls. A slender woman, in snow white clothing and with hair as black as night, holds an oil umbrella. She strolls to the porch and stops to watch. All of this is in a shadow box frame, creating a scene that doesn’t look like it’s LEGO elements. Assembling this creation with such a theme required careful thought and design in all aspects, including layering, color matching, and detailed modeling. The entire outer frame is embedded with lattice windows at the corners, making the layout look like it is being seen through a Chinese window. Snow-covered tree branches break the upper section of the layout, adding a layer of detail. Two Chinese street lamps covered in snow help to create a peaceful, tranquil feeling. The paneling on either side of the walls is inlaid with dimensional flower panels, while the red walls are slightly mottled, reflecting a sense of history. Both use only a few different colored elements. Toward the top of the wall are eleven Duodong (corbel brackets). Looking closer; the Duodong are assembled with parts of eight different shades of blue, grey, and transparent elements. The centerpiece of the display is the female figure. Instead of the usual pixelated sculptures, this one was assembled by using many curved and wedge-shaped parts to show the gentle and charming features on the figure. The block exhibition was an enjoyable display. Although it isn’t that large, it still takes and hour or two to look over carefully. It’s great to see many of the top Chinese AFOLs’ best creations in one exhibition. Hopefully this will be the beginning of showcasing builders in China.
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Community
Building an Art Exhibition Article and Photography by Rafal Piasek, Patryk Antczak, Krzysztof Pusz, Bartlomiej Huetter, and Łukasz Mackowiak
Setting up a mosaic on the desktop.
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Building a mosaic seems simple: you take the photo, put it into the mosaic maker, and get ready-made instructions for building the parts list. In reality, it is not that simple. Considerations need to be made with color availability and making tweaks to get proper coloring and dithering. It is a long process, and to do it right, it takes several hours of tweaking on a fast computer. That’s what the building part of this project was about, but there is more to the story. Here is some background. There are three recognized LUGs (LEGO User Groups) in Poland and all were involved in this project. LUGPOL and Stowarzyszenie Zbudujmy To (in English, ”association Let’s build it”) are nationwide groups, while WAWLUG is based in Warsaw and focused more on face-toface interactions (which Covid did not make any easier). When working with AFOLs, LEGO Poland always reaches to all Polish LUGs, but often, due to extremely tight time constraints, such actions happen mainly in Warsaw, where the Local Offices are located. This time there was a little bit more time, so everyone managed to involve people from other regions too. Parts of the “paintings” were built in Warsaw, Poznań, and Gdańsk areas.
The LUGs had “Panorama of Warsaw’’ on the wall of one of the conference rooms in the Polish LEGO Offices some time ago, and it fit there so well, LEGO Poland had an idea to continue the mosaic on a larger scale. In 2020, they started talking with the Museum that holds the original paintings. The initial plan was to present brick recreations next to the originals in the museum. To our disappointment, the Museum backed out from the project for unknown reasons. Since the work was already progressing, LEGO Poland decided to display the project in Gallery by The Beach (Galeria przy Plaży). Located at the Vistula river bank, it is frequented by both locals and tourists. This was a brilliant move, as many more people could see it than in the old museum. That was bringing the art to the masses—the exact mission behind this exhibition. Projects were prepared by four AFOLs: Bartlomiej Huetter, Łukasz Ogrodnik, Rafał Piasek, and Dominik Skarbek-Kruszewski. After testing all available mosaic software, we settled on LD Digital Mosaic Creator (LDDMC). Created by Lasse Deleuran (lassedeleuran@gmail.com), this program best fit our needs. Working with LEGO, supporting us with all needed bricks, let us develop a system that creates very detailed mosaics, and makes them sturdy enough so they can be easily moved around without risk of breakage. We have 1x1 plates stacked in a way so you look at the side of them—this gives 2.5 times better resolution than usual mosaics, where studs face the public. Every seventh row of pixels is replaced by 1x3 plates (where color allows), that lets us connect with two layers of two bricks wide Technic bricks. After designing it, we split it into stripes, so each participant could build his part separately. After the bricks were delivered, we had a small sorting party where we prepared packs of bricks for each builder or team and then had them sent around Poland. After about two weeks all the parts were brought together in Warsaw where we assembled the pieces, and added a fourth layer of Technic beams connecting rows of Technic bricks vertically, making the entire construction very sturdy.
Recieving bricks.
Some of the tools made for placing the 1x1 plates.
Mosaic Construction
A mosaic segment is a stack of plates. 1x1 plates are replaced with 1x3 as color allows so Technic bricks can be used to set up a backing. The completed sections were ‘stripes’ and were set up so builders could build different stripes as a group build.
The backing is reinforced by another layer of Technic bricks attached by pins. Since the reinfrcement tightens the backing bricks and secures it vertically, the entire mosiac becomes a very secure build.
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Of course the project had some challenges we had to face. Once we prepared the list of bricks we needed, it appeared that one color that we thought was available, was in fact absent. So we had to redesign the paintings from scratch—fortunately we had enough practice to make it go much faster the second time. Building the paintings with real bricks was quite a challenge. There are over 150,000 bricks across all the “paintings,” most of them 1x1 plates. Stacking them requires a lot of focus and attention, as each mistake will contribute negatively to the final result. Sticking so many little bricks makes the fingers hurt. To mitigate that, some of us created tools (out of LEGO bricks of course) to mitigate finger ache, including a sewing thimble. Stripe building party!
Mosiacs and Originals
Here’s a look at the completed mosiacs and their source art. Art is courtesy of the National Museum in Warsaw, Poland. The original artists and mosaic builders are listed, as are the part counts. At the Seaside by Anna Bilińska-Bohdanowicz, painter (1854-1893) Mosiac Creators: Dominik Skarbek-Kruszewski, Paweł Kwil, Jakub Maciejec, Jan Woźnica 14,500 LEGO elements
Displaying LEGO mosaics, especially those where studs are unexposed, is challenging in itself. The shiny surface of the plastic attracts a lot of reflections, so they have to be looked at from an angle to be seen clearly. Displaying them on the tilted stands reduced the problem but did not remove it completely, but it was possible to admire the art in all its glory. When the mosaics were completed, LEGO Poland took over, and from Noon to 10:00pm, anyone walking through Vistula Boulevards could marvel at the recreations of top Polish paintings recreated in LEGO Bricks. Most of the visitors were awed to see the well known painting masterpieces remade in LEGO. There was a full mixture of people attending, ranging from avid AFOLs through Art Lovers, random local people taking a walk at the bank of the river, and tourists and families with kids. It seemed that kids liked the paintings less than adults, probably because there were too few play opportunities for their taste, but the idea was to promote the use of LEGO bricks to make art—to go beyond the concept of what many people think: that LEGO is only a toy.
Reinforcing a mosaic.
Mosiac builders Dominik Skarbek-Kruszewski, Paweł Kwil, Jakub Maciejec, Jan Woźnica.
Mosaic builders Bartłomiej Huetter, Patryk Antczak, Michał Ciołek, Bartłomiej Głuchowski, Krzysztof Pusz.
Indian Summer by Józef Chełmoński, painter (1849-1914) Mosaic Creators: Łukasz Ogrodnik, Michał Babik, Marek Janik, Paweł Jurczyński, Maciej Ramlo, Wojciech Regliński, Władysław Weker 85,000 LEGO elements
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The mosaics on display.
Jewess From Oranges
by Aleksander Gierymski, painter (1850-1901) Mosaic Creators: Rafał Piasek, Łukasz Maćkowiak, Jan Trąbka, Mateusz Waldowski, Bartosz Zborowski 15,500 LEGO bricks
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Stańczyk by Jan Matejko, painter (1838-1893) Mosaic Creators: Bartłomiej Huetter, Patryk Antczak, Michał Ciołek, Bartłomiej Głuchowski, Krzysztof Pusz 43,000 LEGO elements
Will there be more opportunities to see the project? LEGO plans to display the paintings at more occasions, but the exact details are not yet known. We still hope that it will be possible to see our recreations next to the originals. In the meantime, we managed to bring the project to Skaerbaek Fan Weekend where it was warmly received. Due to the sturdy build the paintings arrived in perfect condition and the set-up took only 15 minutes. In 2022, the paintings will be displayed on the walls of the LEGO Poland offices. The Polish LUGs are very lucky that their Local LEGO Offices are so eager to push the LEGO/AFOL cooperation to the next level—who knows what they will prepare next year? Either way, you can follow them on their websites and social media. Hopefully other LLOs could take the example of Polish ones and work more closely with the AFOLs all around the globe. You can find more of the LUGPOL’s creations at http://lugpol.pl http://zbudujmy.to WAWLUG’s creations can be found at https://wawlug.pl
Some Stats: 21 people were involved, 158,000 LEGO elements were used, and it took over 400 man hours to build all the mosaics. All of the paintings are exhibited in National Museum in Warsaw; here are the links: https://cyfrowe.mnw.art.pl/pl/katalog/509735 https://cyfrowe.mnw.art.pl/pl/katalog/509842 https://cyfrowe.mnw.art.pl/pl/katalog/518028 https://cyfrowe.mnw.art.pl/pl/katalog/508153
The four mosaics on display.
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Builder and Photographer
A New Hope.
Anthony Bill
Anthony Bill Article by Steven Smyth, Bantha Bricks: Fans of LEGO Star Wars Photography by Anthony Bill
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. Anthony Bill, also known as BillsBrickz on Instagram, is an extremely talented builder and photographer of custom Star Wars Lego. I thought it would be a lot of fun to catch up with Anthony and find out more about him! Steven Smyth: How’s it going, Anthony? I know you have quite a following with the members of the Bantha Bricks group, and I know people in the community and beyond in other online discussions have been blown away with your builds and photography. You have truly built some amazing MOCs, dioramas and vignettes, but for the uninitiated, please introduce yourself and tell us a little about what you do. Anthony Bill: I’m all good, thank you! I will keep the boring stuff short and sweet. My name is Anthony and I go by the name of @billsbrickz on Instagram and other communities. I live in Cambridge, United Kingdom, and by day I am a Technical Representative for a high-tech engineering company; by night I am a LEGO MOC builder and photographer! I am an avid MOC builder with my main interest lying with the Star Wars theme. I was lucky enough to have lots of LEGO throughout my childhood; my first set was from the pirate theme, but I had a diverse collection throughout and always loved building MOCs, especially with my younger brother. I then rediscovered my love of the brick and got back into building around five years ago; whilst out shopping, I caught a glimpse of the UCS Slave I, Boba Fett’s Firespray starship, and that was it—I was hooked again!
Would you say Star Wars is your favorite theme? Or do you have a shocker for us? Now obviously my favorite theme is Star Wars, but I do have a varied collection including some of the Ideas, Stranger Things and Ghostbusters sets; lots of nostalgia! One of my personal favorites is the Ghostbusters Firehouse Headquarters, which I luckily bagged on sale just before it was retired. What inspired you to build these scenes and then photograph them? After several years away from the hobby, I started acquiring a number of sets and my Star Wars minifigure collection was growing rapidly. I wanted to design a unique display solution depicting different scenes for each, and at the time, the only bricks I had were LEGO pieces I had in sets that I owned. I did not have the array needed to complete my ideas. I decided to download the digital design software called Stud.io from Bricklink, which enabled me to create all my designs digitally before calculating what I needed to purchase to make them a reality. Another great feature of this software was being able to create. Can you tell us a bit about the construction—any special techniques you used? My favorite techniques include SNOT (Studs Not On Top) builds, particularly for walls and floors. I also try to make the scene, especially the environments, as detailed and realistic as possible with minimal studs showing. Did you freestyle build this or did you use a computer design program to lay it out first? Once our twins were born, the time and space I had to build was very limited. Unlike most other builders, I do not have a work area with parts sorted into bins; mine is all in Ziploc® bags checked into two very large containers. When I do build in real life, I tend to have thousands of bricks sprawled out on the
AT-DT walker with trooper.
Queen Amidala follows Obi-Wan (center) and Qui-Gon Jinn (right) in Theed Palace.
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Jabba’s Throne Room.
A Bespin modular creation.
floor, like when I was a child, just without my parents nagging me to clean them up! I realized I needed to find another way to keep building and the answer to this was Bricklink’s Stud.io software and Mecabricks—two amazing pieces of free software where I could build with no limit on colors or the number of pieces. This is where I started making some rather large designs such as the Jabba’s Throne Room, Coruscant Underworld and Theed builds. Mecabricks is also great for rendering—there are lots of options for lighting and image settings. I frequently get asked if my renders are real or digital builds, which just goes to show how far rendering has come along. Were there any moments in this build where you felt like, “Aww man, I’m stuck!” If so, how did you overcome that obstacle?
The Death Star control room in modular form.
This happens every time I build! It can often be quite frustrating, especially when you have a great idea in your head but cannot get it laid out correctly. Sometimes a short break can help. I often find that I can build for several hours and not like what I have created, and then suddenly it starts coming to life and it looks great. This usually occurs right at the end. Perseverance is key! What would be your advice to anyone looking to build a custom Star Wars scene or even a diorama on their own? I tend to trawl the internet looking for cool behind-the-scenes images, concept art, and study other people’s builds for inspiration. I also study lots of stills from various movies and TV shows. If anybody is looking to create their own scenes, I would highly recommend either checking mine out for inspiration, or others on Instagram for some great ideas. I really try and put a lot of effort into the scenery, especially with photography style shots. I often find that a lot of the small details I create do not even make it into the final image.
Now Boba Fett’s Throne Room.
Taking a Shot
Making a photo composition isn’t as easy as it looks. For a complete scene, all the elements have to be built— lighting and other effects can be added afterwards. In this case, a card was used to reflect light (‘bounce light’) to the figure.
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The Mandolorian in action.
Tell us more about your photography of the builds. What kind of equipment do you use? My photography skills and knowledge are very limited. Believe it or not, ninety-five percent of my photos are just taken with my phone and edited afterwards. I do own a DSLR camera, but I feel the current lens I have is not quite good enough to capture all of the finer details. For more photography style shots, I like to get the camera angle as low as possible to make the viewer feel like they are present in the scene. How do you do the lighting effects—do you use a light box?
The Executor’s bridge in modular form.
For physical builds, I used to use a light box but I quickly outgrew it. I now tend to use a number of light sources such as LED strip lights, ripped out of the old light box, and RGB video lights. They are relatively cheap and have multiple colors to really add some atmosphere to a shot. For the digital builds I tend to cram in lots of light sources and drop the light exposure down to a minimum, and really rely on the light sources to bring the scene to life. Knowing you are a Firestar Toys ambassador, can you tell us more about Firestar and that relationship? I have been a huge fan of Firestar Toys for several years. It used to be very difficult to source custom parts, such as Brickarms, Arealight and Clone Army Customs in the United Kingdom, and they had the perfect solution. When I first discovered them, I was truly amazed with the part selection and soon started showing them off to my followers on Instagram. My personal favorites are their custom printed arms; they really give a nice finishing touch to some of the Star Wars minifigures! They also have a huge range of their own custom printed Star Wars figures not available elsewhere. Firestar Toys hand-picks ambassadors based on the quality of their account profile and the fact that they are already customers and fans of their products. Each ambassador has their own unique share code which will save their followers and fans money at the checkout. This system has now been rolled out to all customers who each receive their
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own share codes which will allow them to earn points to spend when used! Additional benefits for being a brand ambassador are things such as early access into new product launches. If anybody is new to Firestar Toys and would like to save themselves some money whilst ordering, the code FSBBZ10 will save you 10% off all products. Any final things you would like to add? I have learned a lot of new and interesting build techniques through various places such as the Bantha Bricks Facebook group and Instagram pages. Also, there are so many talented builders, photographers and great pages on Instagram for ideas. The Instagram community is very helpful and friendly. I often engage with other similar accounts to mine as their feedback and opinions are very useful. A few pages I would recommend checking out would be @tipsandbricks @jonaskramm @ranghall @codyaner_bricks and @balancedbricks.
Operation Knightfall.
To see more amazing builds, cool contests and giveaways and familyfriendly 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!
Medal Ceremony modular.
End of war.
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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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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!
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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!
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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!
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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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YOU CAN BUILD IT, BOOK 1 and BOOK 2
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! (84-page FULL-COLOR trade paperbacks) $9.95 NOW ONLY $5 each (Digital Editions) $4.99 each
BRICKJOURNAL #49
BRICKJOURNAL #48
BRICKJOURNAL #47
BRICKJOURNAL #46
BRICKJOURNAL #45
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!
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!
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BRICKJOURNAL #44
BRICKJOURNAL #43
BRICKJOURNAL #42
BRICKJOURNAL #41
BRICKJOURNAL #40
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!
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!
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BRICKJOURNAL #39
BRICKJOURNAL #38
BRICKJOURNAL #37
BRICKJOURNAL #36
BRICKJOURNAL #35
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!
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!
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BRICKJOURNAL #34
BRICKJOURNAL #33
BRICKJOURNAL #32
BRICKJOURNAL #31
BRICKJOURNAL #30
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!
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!
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BRICKJOURNAL #29
BRICKJOURNAL #28
BRICKJOURNAL #27
BRICKJOURNAL #26
BRICKJOURNAL #25
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!
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!
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TwoMorrows TwoMorrows Publishing 10407 Bedfordtown Drive Raleigh, NC 27614 USA 919-449-0344 E-mail:
BRICKJOURNAL #24
BRICKJOURNAL #23
BRICKJOURNAL #22
BRICKJOURNAL #21
LEGO TRAINS! Builder CALE LEIPHART shows how to get started building trains and train layouts, with instructions on building microscale trains by editor JOE MENO, building layouts with the members of the Pennsylvania LEGO Users Group (PennLUG), fan-built LEGO monorails minifigure customization by JARED BURKS, microscale building by CHRISTOPHER DECK, “You Can Build It”, and more!
STAR WARS issue, with custom creations from a long time ago and far, far away! JACOB CARPENTER’s Imperial Star Destroyer, MARK KELSO’s Invisible Hand, interview with SIMON MACDONALD about building Star Wars costume props with LEGO elements, history of the LEGO X-Wing, plus our regular features on minifigure customization by JARED BURKS, “You Can Build It” instructions, and more!
LEGO PLANE BUILDING! Top builder RALPH SAVELSBERG takes off with his custom LEGO fighter models, there’s a squadron of articles on Sky-Fi planes by FRADEL GONZALES and COLE MARTIN, find instructions to build a Sky-Fi plane, plus our regular feature on minifigure customization by JARED BURKS, AFOLs by GREG HYLAND, other step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions, and more!
LEGO CAR BUILDING! Guest editors LINO MARTINS and NATHAN PROUDLOVE of LUGNuts share secrets behind their LEGO car creations, and present TECHNIC SUPERCAR MODELS by PAUL BORATKO III and other top builders! Plus custom instructions by TIM GOULD and CHRISTOPHER DECK, minifigure customization by JARED BURKS, step-by-step “You Can Build It” section, and more!
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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.
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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.
It’s done!
Last Word
And within this issue was a lot of different things—bulders I just met, and models I have just seen. Some of these were seen online through social media that I don’t follow much, and some just show up at events, like BrickCon, which I went to in Seattle, Washington in October. If you haven’t gone to a LEGO Fan event, take the time to find one close to you and go. It’s very different to see an actual LEGO build in front of you and talk to the builder, compared to seeing it on a printed page or online. If you’re lucky, you will be able to touch and play with a build or help others build. At BrickCon, you can win an award if you make a banana split tank battling on a waffle. The above was built by Todd Kubo, who must have been on some sugar high while building! Note: It’s motorized.
The community is like that—we play, we build, we do things. And what’s great about that is each of us has something to offer. It may be rough, but diamonds start as coal. Keep that in mind if you are building something. As a beginner or an experienced builder, there’s something that each of us can offer to push ourselves, and maybe our community, forward. I hope to see you at those events and see what you are displaying. Til then, build on! That Joe Meno Guy
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! SIX ISSUES: 68 Economy US (with free digital editions) 91 Premium US 103 International • 29 Digital Only
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RETROFAN #14
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RETROFAN #15
RETROFAN #19
RETROFAN #20
RETROFAN #21
Interview with Bond Girl and Hammer Films actress CAROLINE MUNRO! Plus: WACKY PACKAGES, COURAGEOUS CAT AND MINUTE MOUSE, FILMATION’S GHOSTBUSTERS vs. the REAL GHOSTBUSTERS, Bandai’s rare PRO WRESTLER ERASERS, behind the scenes of Sixties movies, WATERGATE at Fifty, Go-Go Dancing, a visit to the Red Skelton Museum, and more fun, fab features!
MAD’s maddest artist, SERGIO ARAGONÉS, is profiled! Plus: TV’s Route 66 and an interview with star GEORGE MAHARIS, MOE HOWARD’s final years, catching up with singer B.J. THOMAS, LONE RANGER cartoons, G.I. JOE, and more fun, fab features! Featuring columns by ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, and MARK VOGER! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.
Meet JULIE NEWMAR, the purr-fect Catwoman! Plus: ASTRO BOY, TARZAN Saturday morning cartoons, the true history of PEBBLES CEREAL, TV’s THE UNTOUCHABLES and SEARCH, the MONKEEMOBILE, SOVIET EXPO ’77, and more fun, fab features! Featuring columns by ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, and MARK VOGER! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.
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RETROFAN #16
RETROFAN #17
RETROFAN #18
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!
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.
Our BARBARA EDEN interview will keep you forever dreaming of Jeannie! Plus: The Invaders, the BILLIE JEAN KING/BOBBY RIGGS tennis battle of the sexes, HANNABARBERA’s Saturday morning super-heroes of the Sixties, THE MONSTER TIMES fanzine, and more fun, fab features! Featuring ERNEST FARINO, ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW!, and MICHAEL EURY.
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TwoMorrows. The Future of Pop History.
RETROFAN #10
RETROFAN #11
RETROFAN #12
RETROFAN #13
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!
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New from TwoMorrows!
ALTER EGO #176
The Golden Age comics of major pulp magazine publisher STREET & SMITH (THE SHADOW, DOC SAVAGE, RED DRAGON, SUPERSNIPE) examined in loving detail by MARK CARLSON-GHOST! Art by BOB POWELL, HOWARD NOSTRAND, and others, ANTHONY TOLLIN on “The Shadow/Batman Connection”, FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT, JOHN BROOME, PETER NORMANTON, and more!
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KIRBY COLLECTOR #82
KIRBY COLLECTOR #83
BACK ISSUE #133
CBA BULLPEN
Collects all seven issues of JON B. COOKE’s rare fanzine from the early 2000s just after COMIC BOOK ARTIST ended its TwoMorrows run. Interviews with GEORGE TUSKA, FRED HEMBECK, TERRY BEATTY, and FRANK BOLLE, an all-star tribute to JACK ABEL, a new feature on JACK KIRBY’s unknown 1960 baseball card art, and a 16-page full-color section! (176-page paperback w/COLOR) $24.95 (Digital Edition) $8.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-105-9
BACK ISSUE #134
COMIC BOOK CREATOR #27
Extensive PAUL GULACY retrospective by GREG BIGA that includes Paul himself, VAL MAYERIK, P. CRAIG RUSSELL, TIM TRUMAN, ROY THOMAS, and others. Plus a JOE SINNOTT MEMORIAL; BUD PLANT discusses his career as underground comix retailer, distributor, fledgling publisher of JACK KATZ’s FIRST KINGDOM, and mailorder bookseller; our regular columnists, and the latest from HEMBECK! (84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships Winter 2022
BACK ISSUE #135
“THE MANY WORLDS OF JACK KIRBY!” From Sub-Atomica to outer space, visit Kirby’s work from World War II, the Fourth World, and hidden worlds of Subterranea, Wakanda, Olympia, Lemuria, Atlantis, the Microverse, and others! Plus, a 2021 Kirby panel, featuring JONATHAN ROSS, NEIL GAIMAN, & MARK EVANIER, a Kirby pencil art gallery from 1960s CAPTAIN AMERICA, and more!
“Famous Firsts!” How JACK KIRBY was a pioneer in comics: Romance Comics genre, Kid Gangs, double-page spreads, Black heroes, new formats, super-hero satire, and others! With MARK EVANIER and our regular columnists, plus a gallery of Jack’s pencil art from CAPTAIN AMERICA, JIMMY OLSEN, CAPTAIN VICTORY, DESTROYER DUCK, BLACK PANTHER, unseen ANIMATION CONCEPTS, & more!
STARMEN ISSUE, headlined by JAMES ROBINSON and TONY HARRIS’s Jack Knight Starman! Plus: The StarSpangled Kid, Starjammers, the 1980s Starman, and Starstruck! Featuring DAVE COCKRUM, GERRY CONWAY, ROBERT GREENBERGER, ELAINE LEE, TOM LYLE, MICHAEL Wm. KALUTA, ROGER STERN, ROY THOMAS, and more. Jack Knight Starman cover by TONY HARRIS.
BRONZE AGE RARITIES & ODDITIES, spotlighting rare ‘80s European Superman comics! Plus: CURT SWAN’s Batman, JIM APARO’s Superman, DAVID ANTHONY KRAFT’s Marvel custom comics, MICHAEL USLAN’s unseen Earth-Two stories, Leaf’s DC Secret Origins, Marvel’s Evel Knievel, cover variants, and more! With EDUARDO BARRETO, PAUL KUPPERBERG, ALEX SAVIUK, and more. Cover by JOE KUBERT.
SILVER ISSUE, starring the Silver Surfer in the Bronze Age! Plus: JACK KIRBY’s Silver Star, SCOTT HAMPTON’s Silverheels, Silver Sable, Silver Banshee, and more! Featuring KURT BUSIEK, STEVEN BUTLER, TOM DeFALCO, STEVE ENGLEHART, RON FRENZ, STERLING GATES, RON MARZ, FABIAN NICIEZA, ALEX ROSS, MARSHALL ROGERS, JOE RUBINSTEIN, ROGER STERN, and cover by FRENZ and SINNOTT.
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ALTER EGO #175
Spotlighting the artists of ROY THOMAS’ 1980s DC series ALL-STAR SQUADRON! Interviews with artists ARVELL JONES, RICHARD HOWELL, and JERRY ORDWAY, conducted by RICHARD ARNDT! Plus, the Squadron’s FINAL SECRETS, including previously unpublished art, & covers for issues that never existed! With FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT, and a wraparound cover by ARVELL JONES!
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ALTER EGO #174
FCA [FAWCETT COLLECTORS OF AMERICA] issue—spearheaded by feisty and informative articles by Captain Marvel co-creator C.C. BECK—plus a fabulous feature on vintage cards created in Spain and starring The Marvel Family! In addition: DR. WILLIAM FOSTER III interview (conclusion)—MICHAEL T. GILBERT on the lost art of comicbook greats—the haunting of JOHN BROOME—and more! BECK cover!