BrickJournal #79 by TwoMorrows Publishing

Issue 79 • May/June 2023

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Looks at Brick Art! The Builds of Andreas Lenander Builders Jack England Deepak Shenoy

Mosaics Sculptures INSTRUCTIONS AND MORE! 1

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Issue 79 • May 2023

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

People Andreas Lenander Brick Master........................................................3 Thomas Labourot: Comics and Classic Space... ........................9 Emerging from a Dark Age: An Interview with Jack England... .........13 M’Brick: Brick Mosaic Artist... ....................................17 Jordan Metzgar: Brick Botanist... ..............................................21 JacQueline Brick Jeweler... ..........................26

Building brikfont: Exploring Type with Craig Ward.. ..........30 Zachary Steinman: Sculpting in Bricks and Plates!.. .............34 Deepak Shenoy: All About LEGO Mosaics... ........................38 BrickNerd Instructions: Arts and Crafts Supplies... .........................46 Minifigure Customization 101: Ugh, I smell like a human, Part 2............56 You Can Build It: MINI Lancer Pursuit Craft..........................62

Community Bantha Bricks: Tatooine............................................................66 Last Word.............................................................79 Classic AFOLs.....................................................80

From the Editor: Hi! “Let’s do an art issue!”

May 2023 Issue 79

Publisher John Morrow

Editor in Chief Joe Meno

This was an idea that had been bouncing around for a while, but didn’t gain traction until a few models were spotted online.

BrickNerd and Assistant Editor Dave Schefcik

Art is a tough thing to explain—art is perceived differently by different people. Art is also mistaken for craft (it’s even called “arts and crafts”). The vast majority of LEGO builds are not pieces of art, but incredible works of craft, where the skill used to make an item is outstanding.

Proofreader John Morrow

For me, making a minifigure scale layout, most of the time, is an expression of craft. Creating details and items that make the layout come to life is mostly craft. The layout becomes art when my reaction isn’t “what a cool layout!” to “this layout makes me happy!”

Photography Editor Geoff Gray

Japanese Bureau Editor Nathan Bryan West Coast Editors Ashley Glennon

Bantha Bricks Correspondent Steven Smyth

Contributors: Jared Burks, Christopher Deck, Jack England, Thomas Labourot, JacQueline, Gwyneth Kozbial, Andreas Lenander, Cyril Linard, M’Brick, Jordan Metzgar, Samuel Pister, Deepak Shenoy, Steven Smyth, Zachary Steinman, Craig Ward, 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: Andreas Lenander presents a landscape that is abstract—with bricks providing the color for the minifigures. Photo by Andreas Lenander. About the Contents: Sandspeeders seen on the Tatooine layout featured by Bantha Bricks. Photo by Cyril Linard

Art will touch you emotionally. Craft is there, but it’s so invisible, the emotion comes through. Art can make you happy or sad, and it can also inspire. There’s a couple peeks at the craft, so you can see how these works were built. So take a look and get inspired—have fun! 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!

Website

Twitter

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)

Facebook

Subscriptions

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 79, May/June 2022 (ISSN 1941-2347) is published bi-monthly by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Periodicals postage paid 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: $73 US, $111 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. Star Wars TM & © Lucasfilm. All articles, photos, and art © BrickJournal Media, LLC, 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.

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

Andreas Lenander (right, with his LEGO Masters partner Emma Friman Browne)

Andreas Lenander:

Brick Master

Article and Photography by Andreas Lenander

I “re-discovered” LEGO around nine years ago when my middle son got a set from a friend of mine. After building that set (my son was three at the time, so he was not very helpful...), I realized that this whole LEGO thing was a lot of fun. Shortly after that, my wife bought me a few Star Wars sets, which really got me hooked. I started buying a few sets here and there, and for some reason discovered the concept of MOCs. After that, there was no looking back! I started building my own stuff more and more, and for the past sixto-seven years, I’ve pretty much exclusively built MOCs. As I’ve been building, I’ve noticed that LEGO is a great medium for art. I’ve done some painting (poorly...) before, but the bricks really seem to work well with my brain. I really appreciate the limitations and problem-solving that goes into creating interesting shapes using LEGO. I enjoy lots of different types of art in general, so I guess this is my way of “expressing myself” (I’m trying really hard not to sound too pretentious—ha-ha!).

The inspiration for my bricks and color MOCs were a few MOCs that I had seen from around the community. I can’t remember any specific build that inspired me, but I know I was fascinated with the concept of color flowing down like dripping paint. I started experimenting a bit with those types of shapes to see if I could create something that I felt looked good. After a while, I figured it would be kind of fun to add a monochrome minifigure that sort of ‘came alive’ from the flowing color. For some reason, I started thinking about the whole chicken-or-egg discussion [what came first, the chicken or the egg?- Ed.] which led to the addition of the oversized brick to this equation. The concept felt like something I would enjoy seeing myself, so I decided to build it. The response to the first build was pretty overwhelming, so that inspired me to add more versions with different colors. Eventually, that led to the rainbow picture where I added the base colors, and also a few combinations to get that rainbow look. That’s pretty much the story of how those builds came together. There were a few challenges in designing the brick and the flow of color, especially because I wanted to pose the brick at an angle, but at the same time have at least some sense of stability. The inner structure of the builds has gone through a few iterations, but I’m pretty happy with them at this point. Andreas’ creation Dádýr.

A fire dragon. A happy dragon.

A ghost stag.

The beginning...red. Left: A Mongol.

The model broken down to assemblies.

Breaking Down a Brick The stream connected.

With the different colors that I have used for this series of models, I have made different iterations to the brick, as some colors have limited parts. Here you can see how the brick was built in steps. The stream of paint is connected with a clip, allowing the brick to be suspended at an angle. I usually have the same approach regardless of what I’m building. Starting with an image in my head, I try to get that out using the bricks. When creating structures, like buildings and stuff like that, I usually try to focus on a few clear lines to make the build cohesive. Most builds go through quite a few iterations, and I like to think I’ve gotten better at stepping back and not being hesitant to tear some stuff down if it doesn’t look the way I want. When building more organic stuff, it’s more about getting the overall shape fairly okay, but you can get away with a lot more by adding foliage and other details. So when I build organic builds, I’ve come to the conclusion that more is more!

Side wall added. The top plate seals the model.

Jack and the Beanstalk. Vintage radio.

The beginning...yellow.

Andreas and Emma’s final build.

I won LEGO Masters Sweden 2022, and participating in it was truly an adventure. I was very happy to share the win with Emma; she is a very talented builder and we trusted each other 100%, which I think was key to getting the win. It’s a pretty stressful experience and I’m very proud of what we were able to build, especially the final build, which I guess was pretty “artsy” as well. It was important for both of us to showcase (on national TV) what LEGO has meant to us in terms of dealing with stress, and how it can be a source of joy and strength. Another view of the winning build.

Winning the LEGO Masters trophy!

People

Comics are a great source of inspiration for builders. And while this is exactly how I started a previous article for BrickNerd on The Unicorn from Tintin, it holds so very true for this feature on Thomas Labourot, aka Legolabo, a French comic book artist and classic space builder I had the chance to chat with. Being a big fan of comics, I just had to know how Thomas merges these two passions—I hope you’ll enjoy our conversation as much as I did! Sam: Hello Thomas, I’m honoured to be talking to you. To start off, would you mind introducing yourself?

Thomas Labourot:

Comics and Classic Space

Article by Samuel Pister of BrickNerd.com

Thomas Labourot : Hi Sam, I am a 45-year-old boy who likes to draw and play, to tell stories, and to create worlds to escape to. You are a comic book writer by profession. What are some of the titles you worked on, and were any of them published in the US? I’m currently working on a new series whose first volume has just been released in July: A-LAN at Dupuis with BEKA helming the script. This year I also released Animal Farm, an adaptation of George Orwell’s novel at Jungle with Maxe l’Hermenier writing the script, and at the beginning of October, I released an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol! I also finished my series Aliénor Mandragore at rue de sèvres, with Séverine Gauthier taking care of the script.

A sampling of the graphic novels done by Labourot.

An American first volume of Aliénor is available; the others are too recent. You work out of Workshop 510 together with other renowned comic authors. Can you tell us a bit about that special work environment? It’s a workshop of more than 130 square meters where dust fights without mercy in the middle of a lot of toys, books, and pots of paint! And in the middle of all that, there are seven people who live there from morning to evening, who work there and create comic strips. There is a scriptwriter, some French-Belgian cartoonists, comic book artists, and colorists, and all of them try to cohabit in this geek’s den!

Labourot’s workspace.

Why Classic Space? What is your creative process when building? I imagine you rely on your experience as an artist when conceiving how your creations will look. That goes back to how I started with LEGO. My first box was 918 Space Transport! Sometimes I do use drawings to lay down my first shapes. Then I either go into Stud. io, or I go directly to realising it with bricks, depending on the size and the complexity of the creation. I also test a lot with real pieces to be sure that it works, because sometimes the software is capricious, and can’t show if it works or not. When you go to the next step—which is building— what software do you use, and how do you design your models? Stud.io is my software of choice. I often start with the parts that will be key for me visually—an engine or the cockpit for example—and then I build around those important elements. I always put myself in the place of my minifigures. In my ships, I try to make sure that everything is practical and useful to scale. If we have to live in this ship, it must be functional, so I work a lot on the details and the practical things... which means I spend a lot of time designing a model. Labourot’s sketches.

Once the set is finished, I usually let it rest for a month and then I start the deconstruction stage: I remove the unnecessary things or things that are not flattering for the silhouette of the vehicle, and I also start to look at the price of the set... because I don’t want my models to exceed crazy sums of money by using too many rare parts. This step is long but I rather like it; it feels a bit like working for LEGO. Then once this step is done, I move on to creating the building instructions, to check once again that everything is good, and also because I love this part. I always try to make building instructions accessible for all ages, and that also takes a lot of time.

And finally the last step, the one I enjoy the most: the ordering of parts (if I don’t have everything in stock) and following the construction process with my building instructions—this is where I see in real life if everything is okay, and if all those weeks of conception have been up to the result. Sometimes it’s okay, sometimes it’s not, so I retouch as I go along the assembly, retouching the real model and the virtual one!

Some of Labourot’s models.

The use of pieces from the Classic Space era remains a constant, but you use a lot of recent pieces in your MOCs, too. How do you decide which pieces to use?

A build inspired by an illustration by Akira Toriyama, seen at the right.

Yes, I use only the new gray, light and dark, and regular blue! Trans-yellow for everything transparent, and I allow myself to use trans-orange for the engines! I’m a rebel... For me, Classic Space is these colors. On the other hand, there is no limit on the parts as long as they are of the right color. Nor on the color of the minifigures—I use a little bit of everything... You are (among others) a very big fan of Akira Toriyama. Can you explain to us to what extent you find inspiration in his universe, to adapt it to your creations? Akira Toriyama, father of Slump and Dragon Ball among others, loves making models, and he is passionate about everything that is a military vehicle. He merges his two passions in his drawings and I love it—he deforms them, using very geometrical shapes in his interpretation of vehicles in his illustrations. In short, he inspires me! He is my spiritual master, and for some creations I was directly inspired by some of his drawings.

Some design and instruction work by Labourot.

Do you share the instructions of the models you make? I think that, like me, many would want to build models of such playability! I share my plans for free via my socials, on my Facebook and Instagram, approximately every two to three weeks. I started sharing instructions when LEGO released their awesome 10497 Galaxy Explorer set. I built all three versions, and on the smallest one (the 918 remake), LEGO didn’t include landing gear. Why? It remains a mystery! So with the remaining parts of their set, I proposed a revisited version, and as I had modeled everything in 3-D, I shared the instructions. So for the moment, I’m sharing mainly small creations, but I plan to create a YouTube channel to share how some of the bigger ones are built. More vehicles by Labourot.

Thank you so much, Thomas! I will now classically leave you for more dark but colorful space. [grins] Thank you, Sam! You can see more of Labourot’s work on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/legolabo/ or you can scan the QR code here!

If you attended Bricks by the Bay, a California LEGO fan convention, you may have noticed the gorgeous MOC of a portrait of a dog used as the program book’s cover image. The MOC is actually a memorial to builder Jack England’s beloved pet, Arden. Jack works professionally training seeing eye dogs, and while Arden wasn’t a fit as a service dog, he found service as man’s best friend. Arden lives on in this exquisite piece of art.

People

Jack’s other MOCs—which involve a variety of styles, nice parts usage, and fresh techniques—all caught my eye. It was hard to believe that Bricks by the Bay was Jack’s debut in the AFOL community; I welcomed him with Nerdy gushing, and he honored me with an interview. Gwyneth Kozbial: Please start off by telling us a little about yourself. Where are you from, and how long have you been involved with LEGO building? Jack England: I am from Salt Lake City, Utah originally, and now live in Emeryville, California. I am 30 years old. I built LEGO as a child through Junior High, then stopped like many others. l got my first set as an adult during COVID and have been building ever since (2+ years). As a kid, I mostly built sets, then I made up my own things—but nothing as a serious project. As an adult, my interest has been primarily in MOCs; I mostly have interest in sets only for the parts. You must have built quite a foundation as a child to come up with these creations in only two years. How did you come out of your Dark Age? What primarily sparked my interest in LEGO as an adult was watching the first season of LEGO Masters, combined with looking for things to do during the pandemic. Before seeing the show, I had never really thought about LEGO as an adult, since (unfortunately) selling a lot of my collection before I started college. I was amazed at the variety of new parts and colors and what the contestants were able to sculpt. From there, I jumped into the online community to see all the amazing MOCs out there for inspiration.

Jack England with some of his work.

Emerging from a Dark Age: An Interview with Jack England Article by Gwyneth Kozbial of BrickNerd.com Photography provided by Jack England

Many builders took up LEGO during the pandemic to cope with the isolation. Are you part of a LUG or online building community? This is the first I’ve seen of you at a convention, and your online presence is even newer than that. After seeing Flynn and Richard on LEGO Masters and learning they lived in the Bay Area, I participated in some of the TrickyLUG challenges which have sparked the inspiration for many of my builds. I also met a lot of awesome people from BayLUG at Bricks by the Bay (BBTB), so I am interested in joining them as well. BBTB was my first convention. I’ve shared some things on Reddit before, and I just recently started an Instagram account for my builds (@ ardent_bricks). My partner is very supportive of my hobby and even lets me display my MOCs in the living room! TrickyLUG is a really supportive community; I love their challenges. Do you have other hobbies that play into your LEGO building? This is one of my primary hobbies right now, at least as my outlet for art. Others include rock climbing and juggling.

Sanguine and Plaza.

How did you begin MOC building? What was your first AFOL creation? We’d love to learn more about your process.

Jack’s first effort at building an organic shape: his pug’s face.

It’s hard to say what my first real MOC was, as I had to make the most of limited pieces initially. I enjoyed the challenge of puzzling together pieces to sculpt an organic shape, and figuring out unique ways to connect them. I tried making a bust of my pug’s face. I thought it was pretty successful, despite the wrong colors and lack of pieces to finish it. Not too tough a process. My first large-scale MOC was for a two-week free build challenge. It started with a jellyfish made of mostly translucent orange parts. I decided to make the base the mouth of an anglerfish, with the jellyfish attached as a deceptive bait with a light glowing. I made a scuba diver unsuspectingly swimming toward the enticing light to complete the scene (dark, I know).

This build was a huge challenge compared to previous ones, as I was quickly trying to scale up the open mouth of the angler fish, without focusing on structural integrity very much. The rainbow eucalyptus tree I built soon after was of similar scale, and became a challenge as I added more and more detail to the foliage. I discovered the technique for the trunk trying to make a cylinder shape with hinge plates on their side, and using cheese slopes to fill in the gaps and make it smooth all the way around. I have had to rebuild the tree three times: the first being to change the colors of the bark, the second to fortify the hollow inside of the tree, and the third after it fell from an accident in transport. Each rebuild I was able to further add to the structural integrity, but that is still a learning curve for me as I focus mostly on aesthetics. A lot of my building starts from discovering an interesting technique or seed part, then expanding from there. I try to allow the process to be as organic as possible, though I’ve recognized with each one that at least having a rough big picture planned out is helpful, especially for structural reasons. I often work from photos and references.

Jack’s anglerfish.

Building a Rainbow Eucalyptus Tree Here are some photos of the tree being built. Some of the techniques mentioned can be seen here.

Trunk test build.

The trunk structure.

Adding foliage.

Adding more foliage and roots.

Refining.

The completed tree.

15 15

The process of making the mosaic portrait of Arden was a completely different process from previous MOCs. It almost felt closer to painting than building with LEGO, with the wedge plates giving an interesting relief effect that also produces effective brush strokes through what is exposed. I used BrickLink Stud.io to design it and figure out the right colors before ordering the parts to make it. I want to try more mosaics in this style, focused on depth, contrast, and bringing the subject to life. Thanks for sharing your process. There’s always so much more than meets the eye. Do you have a large collection of building pieces? Do you collect sets? If so, do you “borrow” from them?

Jack’s portrait of Arden.

I would say I have a fairly large collection of pieces, at least to make small-medium MOCs. I’ve collected mostly bulk LEGO versus sets, and have stopped accumulating significant amounts for now. I definitely borrow parts from sets if I need them. If I need specific parts, I source them from BrickLink, but I try to make it work with what I have. For example, I saw the Batman Clayface set for sale online, and the sandstone colors inspired me to build a model of the Delicate Arch. Your profession is unique. Does it influence your LEGO work in subtle ways? I feel that my work in training service dogs is a reflection of my passion for working with animals. I also enjoy wildlife photography, and I have done several pet Arden. portraits in pencil and pastel in the past. I view LEGO as an art medium like any other, and I enjoy attempting to sculpt organic forms with a focus on color, texture, and interesting part usage. My work so far in LEGO is mostly influenced by the natural world and draws inspiration from all the amazing builders out there.

The Delicate Arch. Guide dog and trainer.

What is the most challenging part of building? Do you have projects in progress or on the horizon? Most of the challenges I encounter in my building come with trying to make curves and organic shapes appear realistic, and I draw motivation from those challenges. I love the satisfaction of bringing a photo or figure to “life” through LEGO. My next project on the horizon is another relief mosaic of a black bear emerging out of a meadow toward the camera (from a photo I took on a recent camping trip). I can’t wait to see it, and whatever other builds pop up! You can see more of Jack’s work on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/ardent_bricks/ or you can scan the QR code here!

People

M’Brick:

Brick Mosaic Artist! Article by Joe Meno Photography by M’Brick M’Brick’s portrait of Frida Kahlo. A close-up of the portrait.

M’Brick is a French brick artist that has made a name for himself on Instagram making mosaics. His feed is filled with his creations—large pixellated paintings and street art, all done with LEGO. He first built with LEGO as a boy, but went into a Dark Age when he became a teenager. He started his artistic journey 15 years ago when he wanted to make a painting. After trying several different approaches to painting, he ended up using LEGO to make mosaics. After that first return to the brick, it was another several years before he had a desire to for street art expression, again wondering what he would use as a medium. He looked back at the painting and asked himself, “Why not do street art with LEGO?” That question inspired him to build his LEGO art, and his continuing inspiration is his desire to create art. Other inspirations include, as he states, “The universe around me and the things that I like.” He also loves sneakers, cars, watches, street art, and hip hop.

Since he regards LEGO bricks and elements as a medium, he isn’t interested in the different sets that the brand offers. While he sees all the themes that LEGO offers, he builds from what is available. He sees himself strictly as an artist—LEGO happens to be the medium that he uses to express himself. For one of his mosaics, between drawing, pixelating, ordering of parts, and the construction itself, it takes M’Brick about a month to complete. If pressed, he can do three mosaics in two months. It takes some time to make these as they are large— at least 120cm x 80cm (48” x 32”)! A typical day for M’Brick is spent mostly on building his mosaics. He works on one creation at a time until it’s done, focusing on the single instead of splitting his efforts on two or three. He also takes some time out to include photos and videos on his social media (Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and even LinkedIn) and plan for future creations. Nowadays, he also has started to receive a lot of requests for commissions, so his days have become busy.

“Marianne.” Some views of the details in the mosaic.

M’Brick’s hardest build to date has been “Marianne,” inspired by a painting by Shepard Fairey. While it was complex to begin with, M’Brick cuts 48 x 48 baseplates to make the outline of his mosaics. It turns out that this particular work has a meticulous lace outline. Another work that was a challenge was his black Porsche mosaic. He spent a lot of time using a very heavy color mix to make the reflections of the car.

His favorite builds include the black Porsche, “Marianne,” and art done of Daft Punk and Frida. One piece of an Air Jordan sneaker has a special place in his heart, as it was the piece that went viral online and got M’Brick visibility. That piece is now with a appreciative collector.

The Air Jordan sneaker. A close-up of the sneaker’s build.

A portrait of Daft Punk.

A look at the detail of the Daft Punk portrait.

A close-up of the group minifigures.

M’Brick’s Porsche art.

Even though he is gathering a following and taking commissions, M’Brick still builds mainly for himself. However, it’s frustrating and complicated to make his art; he wishes that he could build quicker.

Different views of the mosaic art.

Future projects include making more art for an exhibition in his hometown of Dijon, France. With this new art there will also be sneakers, cars, and a lot of other things coming, too. Based on demand, he is also working on a website through BigCartel to sell 1/1 scale digital prints in limited editions. You can see more art at: https://www. instagram.com/ mbrick_art/ or by scanning this QR code!

Do the LEGO Botanical series sets pass muster with a botanist? The last few years have been an exciting time to be both a botanist and an AFOL. The LEGO group has introduced fun, flowery builds like the cheery Floral Art set (31207), begun using plant-based plastics to produce parts, and launched the stunning Botanical Collection. As a botanist, I study plants. In my case, I focus on the diversity of plants, especially the world’s ferns and the southeastern USA’s plants and their ecology, or how they fit into their local environment. I am the curator of the Virginia Tech Massey Herbarium, which is a botanical museum that supports education and research.

Building

Jordan Metzgar:

Brick Botanist

I love to combine my passions for botany and LEGO. I have sponsored botanical LEGO contests for local kids, used brick building activities to teach evolution in my college courses, and made MOCs of my students’ research projects as their graduation presents. Needless to say, I was an immediate fan of the Botanical Collection! These sets feature some fabulous part usage and are gorgeous display models. But do these new plant builds pass scientific muster? Let’s take a look at these five Icons-level sets and see how they compare with their real-life inspirations.

Flower Bouquet 10280 The bouquet is a versatile set that would be a great Valentine’s gift for the AFOL in your life. This set begs you to try some creative display possibilities, since no vase is included. Six different types of flowers are included, along with a couple greenery options. Out of the aster (Asteraceae), California poppy (Eschscholzia californica), common daisy (Bellis perennis), lavender (Lavandula), rose (Rosa), and snapdragons (Antirrhinum), I found the aster and snapdragon to be the most interesting.

The purple aster flower cluster from the Flower Bouquet set (left) and live chrysanthemum flower cluster (right). A single floret for both the build and a live chrysanthemum are shown in the middle, with a magnified look at the female pistil inside the floret.

The aster doesn’t specify which species it represents, just that it is one of the more than 30,000 species in the Aster family. The compact, symmetrical shape reminds me of some chrysanthemum varieties, so we’ll use that as a comparison. Chrysanthemums, like all other asters, have a lot of botanical complexity going with their flowers. All aster “flowers” are actually clusters of tiny flowers that meld together to look like a single flower that attracts pollinators. The mum’s purple “petals” are a type of little flower called a ray floret. Each one has a little pistil inside that has all the female parts of a flower (stigma, style, and ovary). Ray florets usually have three small lobes at their tip, so the three-lobed leaf part (32607) used in this set was a good choice. Brick-built and live snapdragon flower clusters. Both clusters are indeterminate because the flowers start opening at the bottom of the cluster.

The snapdragon build shows a wonderful progression of open flowers towards the base of the stem, and yellowishgreen teeth (49668) representing flower buds at the peak. This is a perfect example of an indeterminate flower cluster that has flowers open from bottom to top. Other plants, like blackberries (Rubus), start flowering at the top of the stem. Snapdragon flowers are bilaterally symmetric with a single plane of symmetry like the human face. The brick flowers are radially symmetric, but otherwise convey the appearance of snapdragons.

Bonsai Tree 10281

Close-ups of the LEGO snapdragon flower and a live flower. The dotted lines show that the LEGO flower has many planes of symmetry and the live flower has a single plane of symmetry.

The bonsai tradition spans well over 1,000 years in Japan and encourages pruning and constraining small trees to create small replicas of mature trees. This set includes parts for builders to customize their tree with green leaves or colorful cherry blossoms. The brick-built trunk uses a variety of parts to produce an elegantly curved appearance reminiscent of the weathered look of a bonsai tree. The cherry tree option includes white leaves instead of the green leaves that would be found in a live cherry tree, making clear that this is a somewhat abstract representation of a blooming cherry. The set combines bright pink frogs (33320) and dark pink flowers (32606) to represent a cherry tree covered in buds and blossoms. One hundred of the frogs are included with the set, making it a memorable and quirky build!

A live bonsai tree, and the cherry tree Bonsai Tree set model.

Bird of Paradise 10289 The actual bird of paradise (Strelitzia reginae) can grow to over six feet tall! The LEGO version is an impressive 18” tall, but is still a scale model. The set makes ample use of Technic connectors and panels to construct the leaf stalks and blades. In a neat coincidence, this gives the leaves hollow chambers in their middle, just like real-life bird of paradise leaves! The real show-stoppers on both the build and the plant are the flowers. Several flowers emerge one after another in a colorful line. Each of these flowers has three orange sepals and three blue petals. A little interpretation is needed in the build, but it seems like one fully open flower is shown, with another new flower emerging behind it. The sepals are shown in orange and the dark purple epees (93550) that lay inside of them represent the petals. My only criticism is that the open flower only shows one orange sepal behind dark purple epee. In comparison to the real flower, there should be a second sepal behind the petals and a third sepal in front of it.

Live and LEGO bird of paradise flower heads with individual flowers labeled. The petals and sepals of the largest live flower are marked.

A side-by-side comparison of a live bird of paradise leaf and a brick-built leaf (left). The holes on the underside of the LEGO leaf (right) can be imaginatively compared to the air chambers in the live leaf shown below.

Succulents 10309 This delightful set consists of nine interlocking mini-builds. This collection is an especially great option for building with friends or for LEGO newcomers looking for a quick but satisfying build. The set has one Aloe vera, one hens and chicks, two cacti, two stonecrops, and three different Echeveria varieties. Let’s look at one of the cacti and one of the stonecrops. So, what is a cactus, anyway? A cactus is a type of succulent plant, but not all succulents are cacti. The cactus family has over 1700 species with some common traits.

Cacti make modified leaves called spines that emerge in small clusters from tiny modified branches called areoles. The use of a dark tan round plate combined with a tan bar with three prongs on the moon cactus is a great way to represent this feature.

LEGO and live grafted moon cacti. The middle shows a close-up of one of each plant’s tiny branches (“areoles”) with spines emerging from them.

The chimeric moon cactus is a bit of a biological oddity— it’s actually two different cacti grafted together, with a green dragon fruit (Selenicereus) serving as the base and a colorful mutant moon cactus (Gymnocalycium mihanovichii) on top. The bright moon cactus portion is not a flower— it’s a plant that can’t make chlorophyll and as a result isn’t green. This mutation means the plant can’t survive for long on its own. Moon cacti produce small outgrowths that can become new plants if they are cut off and potted. The orange, five-petalled flower pieces (24866) scattered around the LEGO moon cactus pass as these small vegetative offshoots. The set also includes an impressively realistic burro’s tail (Sedum morganianum) from the stonecrop genus. Instead of a succulent stem like in cacti, these plants have fat succulent leaves, creatively depicted here with yellowishgreen eggs (24946). This was by far my favorite part usage in the set, and the eggs perfectly capture the burro tail’s form. These leaves are alternately arranged in the real plants, meaning each leaf emerges at a different height on the stem. In this set, the leaves emerge from Travis bricks (4733), which would technically make them whorled leaves as they are at the same height on the stem. But the real plant’s leaves are so tightly packed together that the overall look of the burro’s tail is still captured.

A live burro’s tail plant next to the LEGO version.

Leaves and aerial roots of the moth orchid. The LEGO version shows two leaves and two aerial roots. The live plant has five leaves and several roots.

Orchid 10311 The set is based on moth orchids (Phalaenopsis spp.), which have many color variations and are often sold in grocery stores. Moth orchids have long, broad, dark green leaves and aerial roots that grow out of the pot like pale green worms. This set does a great job of recreating these parts using dark green windscreens (41751) for the leaves and olive-green dinosaur tail pieces (40378 and 40379) for the roots. The leaves would be more accurate if they were all connected to the same stem instead of being scattered around the pot; however, they still appear remarkably life-like. Flower buds are creatively shown with pink, swirled ice cream tiles (15470) and the young flowers are depicted with pink and white headgear pieces that are a re-colored version of the monster head piece previously used for the Demogorgon from Stranger Things. The small headgear flowers don’t quite match up with the larger flower’s colors, but it’s a cool effect. The flowers beautifully suggest the geometry and curvature of the moth orchid’s blossoms by using a mix of shields (2586) for the sepals and shoulder armor pieces (21560) for the petals. A small structure in the center of each flower is accented with bright pink Bionicle teeth (41669), a magenta frog (33320), and a dark pink Technic gear (32072). This part of the build recreates the labellum of an orchid. This specialized petal helps to attract

A LEGO moth orchid flower (left). The frog has been removed to show what could represent LEGO pollen masses below it (“pollinia”, middle). The live flower has its pollinia exposed and its sepals and petals labeled (right).

pollinators to the column, which combines the pollenproducing male parts (stamens) and pollen-receiving female parts (stigma) of the flower. The only improvement would have been to use a yellow axle (6587) instead of a gray one to attach the frog. This part would be the closest representation of the orange-hued mass of pollen that orchids produce and is revealed when pollinators flip off the column’s cap.

Overall I admit I’m more than a little biased, but I give the Botanical Collection sets a resounding A+! Some features aren’t quite botanically accurate, but the models use creative solutions to produce incredibly realistic and gorgeous models. Best of all, these plants won’t ever die from neglect! Where will the series go from here? A series of flowers with their pollinators would be engaging and promote conservation efforts for both imperiled plants and animals. Imagine builds of Calla lilies (Zantedeschia aethiopica) with beetles and lupines (Lupinus) with bees! Or picture a set that teaches builders about the diversity of plant communities on Earth. Plants representing each biome on Earth could be featured, from a coffee tree (Coffea) for the tropical rainforest to an alpine forgetme-not (Myosotis alpestris) from the Arctic tundra. A new set could also highlight how plants adapt to their environments. Species with neat adaptations like the parasitic Indian paintbrush (Castilleja) or carnivorous Venus fly trap (Dionaea muscipula) would be showstoppers! Personally, I’d love to see LEGO tackle a fern. The delicate, feather-like leaf of a lady fern (Athyrium) would be hard to represent using LEGO pieces, but I think the set designers are up to the challenge! Jordan is the curator of the Virginia Tech Massey Herbarium and teaches undergraduate courses, conducts research, and runs an outreach program. He earned his Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Alaska Fairbanks by studying the parsley ferns (Cryptogramma). He enjoys coaching the First® LEGO League Challenge robotics team The Night Owls with his oldest son Jed and building whimsical minifigs with his youngest son Nat. Jordan can be reached at ferns@vt.edu.

People

JacQueline

Brick Jeweler LEGO building is the art of creating. Using a seemingly unlimited palette of parts, one can build almost anything. Discovering the limitations of the bricks and elements is part of the art, and poses a question: Do you stay with the limitations of the brick, or do you go farther? Jeweler JacQueline encountered this challenge from another angle... she wanted to make jewelry with plastic. She was very interested in using color in her work, but wasn’t interested in colored stones. Working with plastic, though, is too toxic for a small studio. In 2002, she had a “Eureka moment” when she thought of LEGO bricks.

Article by Joe Meno Photos by Cole Rodger

JacQ made her first piece of LEGO jewelry with a minimalist look in mind. Sanding off the logo and sandblasting changed the brick from a shiny toy to create a more sophisticated aesthetic. In the years following, JacQ got recognized at galleries and eventually by the LEGO Group itself as a member of LEGO’s Creation Nation. JacQ got an appreciation for the quality of the brick when she tried to use another company’s bricks and discovered that their bricks would melt during sanding and had mold lines and other inconsistencies. After that, she fell in love with LEGO bricks and later, the company and fan community. JacQ creates her work using LEGO elements, precious metals and diamonds, by cutting, sanding, drilling, and sandblasting LEGO elements to alter their appearance. Sandblasting achieves a matte finish to create simplicity to a shiny beautiful brick. She also cuts from the elements, eventually recycling and reusing parts in her pieces. Craftsmanship is very important to her, so she is always trying to hand fabricate all her clasps and create connections that are unique and surprising to the viewer. As a result, her work has evolved from telling her forever young story with more of a sophisticated perspective, while still honoring “play” in her Portland Skies collection.

JacQ took some time with me to talk about some of her pieces: Rainbow Pendant This was the first Rainbow pendant I created. Each plate is filed down and sandblasted.

Linear Rainbow Pendant When I put the LEGO bricks together for this pendant, I cut the piece in half with a saw so it is not too thick. I then hand-fabricate the silver bezel around it. I was inspired by a MOC by builder Bruce Heller to create this piece. To the average person, this does not come across as LEGO bricks, so I love the simplicity and mystery of that.

Rainbow Cascade Bracelet I like to utilize all the pieces of the LEGO brick. I fabricated this bracelet by drilling holes in the studs of a brick, sawing off the tops and then sanding them even to create the links. I like asking AFOLs if they recognize where the pieces come from. I like how surprised they are when I tell them.

Candy Land Collection JacQ’s sophisticated Portland Skies collection continues to incorporate brick parts in new and unexpected ways while at the other end of the spectrum, Candy Land is a nod to the nostalgic memories of sneaking an extra piece of candy... the refreshing blast of a peppermint swirl... picking flowers... and getting generous scoops of both ice cream and whipped cream!

Andy Ring Hand-fabricated sterling silver with brushed finish. This LEGO reminds JacQ of Andy Warhol’s “Flowers.”

Peppermint Swirl Ring Hand fabricated sterling silver with brushed finish and peppermint LEGO tile. Peppermint Swirl Necklace Hand-fabricated sterling silver with oxidized finish, sandblasted LEGO brick tiles, stud and flower with a .03 carat diamond.

Daisy and Diamond Ring

Whipped Cream Dollop Ring

Hand-fabricated sterling silver with brushed finish, .03 carat diamond and LEGO flower.

Hand-fabricated sterling silver ring with brushed finish, .03 carat diamond and LEGO flower.

Candy Land collection makes me so happy. I love finding new fun food pieces. I just found cupcakes, so stay tuned for cupcake charms and rings—chocolate and vanilla!

Teddy Bears

Modular Earrings

Belville teddy bears from left to right: teal diamond with sterling silver chain, orange diamond with 18k yellow gold chain, yellow diamond with 18k yellow gold chain.

Inspired by the aerial view of the LEGO House. Handfabricated sterling silver with sand blasted LEGO pieces.

JacQ says this about her work: “Using LEGO bricks in my work is unexpected to some, but most have a relationship with LEGO in some way. I feel my work is unique since it appeals to such a large demographic, such as architects, teachers, parents, people who have played with LEGO, adults who still play with LEGO, and those who like simple, modern design. I am very fortunate the LEGO Group and the LEGO fan community embrace my idea and support my practice.” You can see more of JacQ’s work here: Website: www.jacquelinesanchez.com Instagram: @jacquelinesanchezjewelry Facebook: @jacquelinesanchezjewelry You can scan this QR code to see her website!

Building

...to a LEGO mosaic. From a 1968 poster...

brikfont:

Exploring Type with Craig Ward Article by Joe Meno Photos and Art by Craig Ward

Typography is the study and creation of letter and number forms into common families—known as typefaces or fonts. Typographers made the typefaces and fonts that are used everywhere, from signs to computer displays. Exploring letterforms usually is done with drawings and renderings... until Craig Ward began using LEGO elements. Craig is a graphic designer with an impressive portfolio. Since graduating college in 2003, he has been in the advertising field, with a couple of Design Director roles at a couple of agencies under his belt. He also started his own portfolio of typographic work in parallel and became a freelancer in 2012. Since then, he has picked up an eclectic array of clients, including Calvin Klein, Dior, Adobe, Zoom Kings of Leon, Domino Records, and others. His work has also been seen on the covers of Wired, Time, and the Washington Post. In mid 2021, he was (like the rest of us) in the middle of a pandemic lockdown. Stuck at home, he was working with the Wall Street Journal on a proposal for a brand identity system that used visible grids and was referencing the Wim Crouwel/Vormgevers poster from 1968, which he always loved.

Coincidentally, as his kids were home from school, Craig was surrounded by some of his eldest daughter’s LEGO and it struck him that it might a fun thing to try and recreate the poster using LEGO bricks. This became the inspiration for brikfont, an Instagram account which is the home of Craig’s LEGO work. The inspiration is clear—the Vormgevers poster looks exactly like a LEGO poster would! Surprisingly enough, no one else had thought of building a LEGO version, which led Craig to build his. While he searched online for other examples of LEGO typography, Craig found most of the typography in LEGO to be quite clunky or compromised, and wanted to try and buck that. To do this, Craig’s work is done as a stud-up mosaic, which gives him a standard square grid to work with his design work. With a belief that creativity thrives on restriction, he found working to the standard grid actually being very helpful and presenting some of the same challenges that he would face when designing a traditional typeface. Still, for Craig, there is a comforting naivety to the simplicity of a LEGO grid.

A font created by Ward, inspired by LEGO elements.

A font exploration.

Looking at a Typeface

letterspacing

A typeface or font is a collection of characters (letters, numbers and punctuation) that is designed as a commonly designed group. There are two groups of typefaces: serif and sans serif. Serif fonts have variable widths in their characters. Examples of these would be Times or Palatino, which is the typeface used by BrickJournal for reading copy.

baseline

ascender

Sans-serif fonts have uniform widths in their character set. Examples of these would be Helvetica or Myriad, which is used by BrickJournal for headlines. The baseline is the imaginary line that a font rests on. A character is made up of a stroke. The lower-case height of a character is its x-height. Upper case is a face’s cap height. Parts of a character stroke that rise above the x-height are ascenders, and parts that dropped below are descenders.

cap height xheight baseline descender

An example of a san serif face by Ward.

A serif capital built by Ward, with arched plates creating the round serif strokes.

Building these projects required parts, and Craig steadily gathered them, as problems arose which he couldn’t solve with the pieces he had onhand. To begin with, he didn’t have enough black and white pieces to recreate the Crouwel poster, so he initially went to the LEGO store on 5th Avenue/23rd Street in Manhattan and purchased a photobooth portrait kit just for the parts. For a graphic, he uploaded a black to white gradient, so he came away with a few bags of single stud black, white, and two shades of gray plates, plus a gray baseplate. He did as much as he could with those before purchasing a selection of other parts—circles, quarter rounds, quarter circles at different scales, angled parts, and others. It was interesting because he got to really think about how many parts it takes to make a typeface. Rendering a typeface, whether it’s custom or not, requires translating its form onto the grid. Some of the finer details are too small for translation and are interpolated by using gray elements. Craig uses Photoshop to make a 72 dpi (screen resolution) document with the same pixel dimensions as baseplate stud dimensions (32 studs by 32 studs or 48 x 48 studs, for example). At a 32 x 32 size (which roughly translates to a website favicon), most type is abstracted to visual mush, but Craig uses the various anti-aliasing options in Photoshop, adjusting the contrast where necessary, and then posterizing the images into four shades: black, dark gray, light gray, and white. Setting the pixel grid to visible on the program, he can zoom in by around 800% and screen grab a set of instructions to follow. If the render doesn’t feel correct, he will rework it by eye. Once he got into the groove of rendering, Craig worked directly on the baseplate for a couple of pieces.

Another type study of the font seen on checks. A poster replicated with gray and black plates substituting for type.

Here you can see some of his work from brickfont. Here, he began exploring type, then creating typefaces. Print templates of his work can be found on Etsy, and prints of his type studies can be found on Society6.com.

Anti-aliasing is the use of intermediate (in this case gray) plates to soften edges—this makes curves smoother.

You can view Ward’s Instagram feed by going to: https://www.instagram.com/brikfont/ or scanning this QR code!

Building

Zachary Steinman:

Sculpting in Bricks and Plates! Article by Joe Meno Photos by Zachary Steinman

Some of Zachary’s builds. The build above was inspired by artist Nikolaus Weller.

A LEGO builder on Instagram has made a name for himself making sculptures based on LEGO. Building a cube with studs on all faces, Zachary Steinman has been creating an expanding collection of sculptures with differing surface treatments. Patterns and grids are seemingly carved into the surface of these cubes, making them appear as if made from something other than studded bricks and plates.

Zachary started building about two years ago during the pandemic. He started building Star Wars sets and then decided to start making his own designs, going from regular LEGO minifigure scale builds into more abstract and geometric sculptures over the last year or so. As a child, Zachary spent countless hours building LEGO spaceships and machinery. His mother is an artist, and he always admired her creativity, but did not consider himself an artist until recently. He always had a fascination and appreciation for geometric patterns and shapes, which shows in his work. He also loves art and sculpture, so it was a natural progression in his LEGO builds to creating similar forms and patterns with them. Even though he really isn’t a numbers or math person, something about the consistency and fit of LEGO bricks just clicks and makes sense to him. LEGO’s consistency and fit are some of the motivations behind his building. He loves to create new things, or just prove to himself that something can be done. Zachary also takes pictures and screenshots of interesting objects and sculptures and tries to replicate them at least in part with LEGO bricks. Most of the time, though, he tries to adapt and adjust his work a bit.

More of Zachary’s builds.

35 35

Looking at a Cube Corner

2 studs 5 plates

Zachary’s cube builds have a core structure—six plates (4 studs x 4 studs in the diagram above) joined at the corners by 1 x 1 bricks with studs on four sides. This creates a cube with studs facing outward. The plates do not meet and the resulting corner notch is one plate in depth. That gap is sealed when a brick and a tile is added—the height becomes five plates, which is the same length as two studs. By using this relationship, the sides make smooth corners.

Experimenting with different configurations of bricks, plates and slopes inspires him. Zachary will just start putting parts together to form different patterns and see how it looks from different angles and perspectives. He doesn’t like his builds to be too busy or distracting, so most of them are pretty clean and not overwhelmingly complicated. People may say that his builds look intricate, but they are relatively simple in construction. Some of Zachary’s models do end up challenging him. One of the hardest models he has made was a spherical build that incorporated different plates, clips and dishes, and became exponentially harder to complete as he got finished and closed the build. Another challenging build was his Dwarf Throne (from The Hobbit). He built it to scale, and the challenge was replicating all of the throne’s angles and proportions, as well as incorporating a lighting system inside.

Some different builds by Zachary.

With all of the builds he has posted, Zachary has only recently been introduced to the LEGO fan community. In January 2021, he was contacted about taking part in a fun LEGO challenge called the Daily Brick Limit. Each day of the month, a build is made with the corresponding number of bricks. This really challenges the builder to be inventive with the bricks. As for displays, he hasn’t been at an event yet. He would love to do so at some point. He’ll just keep building, as he notes: “I like variety and a challenge, and will continue to challenge myself with a variety of different MOCs.” You can see more of his work at his Instagram feed: https://www.instagram.com/ steinmanzachary/ or you can scan this QR code:

Building

“San Giorgio Maggiore at Dusk” by Claude Monet.

Introduction

Deepak Shenoy:

All About LEGO Mosaics Article and Photography by Deepak Shenoy

A mosaic in the traditional sense is a picture or pattern created by arranging together small colored pieces of stone, glass, etc. As the name implies, a LEGO mosaic is a mosaic created using LEGO pieces. Unlike traditional mosaics where the pieces of stone or glass need to be cut to size and mounted on some kind of a substrate using glue, we can create a LEGO mosaic simply by attaching LEGO bricks, plates and other elements to one or more baseplates. So, how exactly do you go about designing a LEGO mosaic? Some LEGO artists have the amazing ability to use trial and error to create mosaics freehand, but the rest of us have to rely on some kind of software to aid us in this effort. We need this software to be able to take any image that we provide it and turn it into the best approximation that is possible of the image, using the available LEGO pieces and colors. To understand how LEGO mosaic software works, let us first take a closer look at the typical starting point for a LEGO mosaic—namely a digital image. Digital images may be ubiquitous on our smartphones and computers, but it is helpful to understand how the data in an image file is organized. An image is basically a two-dimensional grid of square picture elements (or pixels) each of which has a particular color. All the pixels (especially when there are enough of them) blend together in our brains to create the illusion of a continuous image with light, shadows, shapes, colors, and textures that resemble what we see in the real world.

The pixel grid in an image is analogous to the regular square grid of stud locations in the LEGO system. And so, if we can somehow map each pixel in the image to a LEGO 1×1 brick or plate, we can create a LEGO representation of the digital image, or in other words, a LEGO mosaic. However, it is not always as simple as that. In fact, a LEGO mosaic can at best only be a very crude approximation of the original image, and there are two reasons for this: The resolution of the image and its color depth. Resolution The resolution is the level of detail that is captured in the image and it is proportional to the number of pixels that it has (the more pixels that an image has, the more details it is able to capture). You normally cannot see the individual pixels that make up a digital image (unless you zoom into it all the way using a photo editor like Photoshop) and that is because of the sheer number of pixels that make up a typical image. The earliest digital cameras from A mosaic of the famous “Afghan Girl” photograph from National Geographic. the late 1990s produced images with what would now be considered a very low resolution—typically something like 1024×768 pixels, which is under one megapixel (a commonly used unit that is equivalent to one million pixels). But if we translate that to LEGO where the smallest element we can use to represent each pixel is a 1×1 brick or plate (with a footprint of 0.8×0.8 cm), we would end up with a LEGO mosaic that is 27×20 feet wide ! So clearly, we have to reduce the resolution (number of pixels) of the source image dramatically before we can represent it using LEGO. For instance, if we downsize the 1024×768 image by a factor of 8, we would end up with 128×96 pixels. This would work out to a large (but more manageable) mosaic that is 40×30 inches wide. This process comes with a significant loss of fine detail in the resulting LEGO mosaic. It is also more challenging to create the illusion of a continuous image because it is hard not to see the individual pixels that make up a LEGO mosaic. It’s no wonder that most LEGO mosaics don’t look like much when viewed up close. You always have to step back a few feet to get the intended effect of the mosaic.

A close-up showing the pixels (tiles) in the mosaic.

Color Depth Next, we look at color depth. In a typical color image, each pixel has eight bits of data for each of the three primary colors: Red, Green and Blue. By combining these three primary colors in the correct proportion, we can represent more colors in the color spectrum than humans can actually perceive. Each bit can have two values (0 or 1) and so eight bits allow us to represent a total of 2x2x2x2x2x2x2x2 = 256 total values (0 to 255) for the intensity of each primary color, and together we have a total of 256x256x256 = 16.7 million possible combinations, each of which is a distinct color in the color spectrum. When we create a LEGO mosaic, we have to map those 16.7 million colors to the forty or so commonly available colors in the LEGO color palette.

As you can imagine, this also results in a significant loss of the detail in the image that comes from the gradations of light, shade and color. It also creates limitations on the kinds of images that can be represented well using LEGO mosaics (for instance, images that have subtle gradations of a small number of colors do not always translate to LEGO very well). Motivation for Creating a New Program While there is no dearth of software options available (some free, others not) for converting digital images into LEGO mosaics, including the mosaic maker that is part of LEGO’s own Bricklink Studio software, I didn’t find any of them to be up to the task of converting cross stitch patterns into LEGO mosaics. LEGO, as you may recall, is based on a regular square grid of stud locations. But it is not the only art/craft form that relies on a regular square grid. In fact, there are other crafts like cross stitch and diamond painting that also use a regular square grid. The designs for these crafts are depicted as patterns made up of colored squares that are laid out in a grid (these squares would be occupied by stitches in a completed cross stitch, or flat beads known as “diamonds” in a diamond painting). There are a wealth of cross stitch and diamond painting patterns available Vincent Van Gogh’s “Self-portrait with Grey Felt Hat.” online (many of them for free) that could be adapted into LEGO mosaics, but the process of doing this manually (one pixel at a time) can be tedious and time consuming. This prompted me to brush off my coding skills to create my own program that could automate the conversion of cross stitch patterns into LEGO mosaics. But once I accomplished that original goal, I decided to extend my program to be able to create various kinds of LEGO mosaics, not just from cross stitch patterns, but regular images as well. Here, I will be covering the different types of LEGO mosaics, and also providing some insights into the inner workings of my program. Types of LEGO Mosaics

Studs-out Mosaics Studs-out mosaics are the most common type of LEGO mosaics. They are created by attaching LEGO bricks or plates to a LEGO baseplate with their studs facing out. Each pixel is represented by a 1×1 brick or plate which happens to have a square footprint. One advantage of using regular bricks or plates is that they can be combined into longer pieces when the mosaic pattern allows it (when two or more neighboring pixels have the same color) for a reduced overall piece count. However, some prefer to avoid having blocky pixels in their studs-out mosaics by using 1×1 round plates instead, or even 1×1 round tiles that have no studs showing (as in the LEGO Art sets).

Studs-up Mosaics

One way to increase the resolution of LEGO mosaics (albeit in just one dimen-

sion) is by building them with their studs up. LEGO plates are thinner counterparts of bricks, and they are thinner by a factor of 2.5 compared to the regular stud dimension. And so if we stack LEGO plates such that the design of the mosaic is created by plates as seen from their side, we can pack more detail into the same overall size. One obvious downside is that we now have to deal with rectangular pixels. Studs-up mosaics are also more challenging to build, practically speaking, because we are creating the mosaics by stacking plates rather than attaching them to a baseplate. This can lead to stability issues, especially if the design of the mosaic does not allow for the plates to be overlapped correctly for a stable structure (in most cases, we may have to make the mosaic two studs deep, allowing longer plates to be attached horizontally behind the mosaic for improved stability). While studs-up mosaics are usually built using LEGO plates, some may prefer to use bricks instead, which A studs-up mosaic showing a small section of Sandro Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus.” results in a larger pixel that is still not square in size (given that a 1×1 LEGO brick is slightly taller than it is wide).

Lenticular Mosaics A lenticular mosaic creates the illusion of an image that changes with the viewing angle. Lenticular mosaics (along with lenticular wall displays) take their inspiration from a 16th century invention called tabula scalata (or “turning images”). A tabula scalata has two images divided into vertical strips and printed on different sides of a corrugated surface, allowing the two entirely different images to be seen, depending on the viewing angle.

A lenticular mosaic showing Vincent Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” from one side...

...and Katsushika Hokusai’s “The Great Wave Off Kanagawa” from the other side.

Back in 2010, AFOL Chris Doyle stumbled upon the idea of creating lenticular LEGO mosaics using cheese slope pieces. He placed the cheese slope pieces such that they faced opposite directions (left vs. right) in alternate columns. This created a corrugated surface similar to what is used in a traditional lenticular mosaic, and allowed two distinct images to be combined into a single LEGO mosaic (with only one image visible when the mosaic is viewed from either the left or the right side).

Isometric Pattern Mosaics The 2×2 triangular tile is a relatively new addition to the LEGO catalog (it was introduced in 2018). However, it opens up a lot of new possibilities for mosaics when it is combined with regular 2×2 square tiles. These 2×2 tiles can be used to create a wide range of interesting mosaics that represent isometric geometric patterns (patterns that do not have the perspective distortion that you would normally see in a 3-D representation). There is no good way to create these mosaics using software, but I decided to include them here anyway (I have explored isometric pattern mosaics extensively, but they are typically built digitally, one piece at a time).

Some isometric pattern mosaics built entirely using 2x2 triangular and square tiles.

Steps Involved in Creating a LEGO Mosaic from a Digital Image

Image Resizing We have seen how a typical digital image has too many pixels for it to be represented as is, in LEGO mosaic form. The first step to creating a LEGO mosaic is resizing the image to match the size (in pixels) of the LEGO mosaic that we are planning to build. We have to take care to ensure that our original image has the same aspect ratio (proportions) as our mosaic (this can be achieved by selectively cropping the image) to ensure that we don’t distort our image when we resize it.

If we want our LEGO mosaic to be, say, 128×96 studs wide, the image will first have to be resized to have 128×96 pixels, at least in the case of a studs-out mosaic. Things get a little more tricky for studs-up and lenticular mosaics. The pixels in studs-up mosaics are rectangular, and so we can fit more of them (2.5 to be exact) in one stud dimension vertically. And so, the image will have to be resized to 128×240 pixels (240 is 96 times 2.5), and this way, when we build the mosaic using the sides of 1×1 plates (which are much wider than they are tall), the completed mosaic has the correct proportions. In the case of lenticular mosaics, we are dealing with two different images that need to be combined. We will need to resize each image to have half the width (in terms of pixels) of the finished mosaic (which works out to 128×48 in our example) and interleave the columns of pixels in the two images for a total size of 128×96 pixels.

There are several different algorithms that can be used to resize images. A common one that works well enough in most cases is Lanczos Resampling (something you may have come across in Photoshop and other image editing software). However, when we are starting with an image (such as a cross stitch pattern) that already has a pixelated appearance, a different method like Box Resampling can prove to be useful. This method works by breaking the original image into boxes (which can correspond to the “pixels”) and averages the colors inside each box.

Color Quantization Color quantization is the process of decreasing the color depth of an image (or reducing the number of distinct colors that it uses). This is an important step for the creation of the LEGO mosaic because it involves going from an image that has millions of distinct colors to one with the 40 or so colors in the LEGO color palette. The method used for this step has a great bearing on how well the LEGO mosaic resembles the original image. The simplest method (and least intensive computationally) is to remain in the RGB color space (which is essentially a three-dimensional space with the three primary colors Red, Green and Blue making up the three dimensions), and for each color in the original image, find the nearest neighbor in the more limited color palette (the LEGO palette in this case). But this method doesn’t always align with the way humans perceive similarity between colors. An alternative is to use the L*a*b* color space, which was designed to better represent the way humans perceive color. It is also a three-dimensional space where L* or lightness is an achromatic component that represents shades of grey, and the a* and b* components represent the proportions of the primary colors (red, green, blue and yellow). By converting all our colors from RGB to the L*a*b* and using the Delta-E algorithm to compute the difference between colors in the L*a*b* color space, we can create LEGO mosaics that more closely resemble the original images that we started with.

Dithering While there is no good way to counter the loss of resolution that the creation of a LEGO mosaic entails, we can use dithering to somewhat alleviate the loss of color depth. Dithering is a technique that allows an image with a wide gamut of colors to be represented using a much more limited color palette. It involves arranging pixels in the available colors in such a way that they collectively emulate the colors that are missing. This technique was used historically in early computer displays that had very limited color palettes. Inkjet printers to this day use halftoning, which is a form of dithering (in this case, the individual dots or pixels can vary in size).

A mosaic of Taylor Swift that uses dithering.

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A mosaic created from a cross stitch pattern.

Here is a simple example that may help illustrate the concept of dithering. Suppose we want to display shades of gray, and only have the option of using either black or white. Neither black nor white can really pass for gray, and yet if we have enough pixels to work with, we can create checkerboard patterns with the right proportion of black and white pixels that combine to create the illusion of various shades of gray. In the same way, if our original image includes colors that do not exist in the LEGO palette, we can arrange LEGO pieces in the available colors in such a way that they combine in our brains to create the illusion of seeing the colors that are missing. More on the new Mosaic Program

An Elvis Presley mosaic with...

...and without dithering.

While it is beyond the scope of this article to provide a step-by-step breakdown of how the mosaic program works, it more or less carries out the basic steps I have listed above. The inputs to the program are a digital image (or two if a lenticular mosaic is desired) along with the type of mosaic (studs-out, studs-up, or lenticular) as well as the dimensions of the final mosaic in terms of LEGO studs. In the case of studs-out mosaics, there is an option to use regular plates (which are automatically combined into longer ones), round plates, or round tiles. Similarly, studsup mosaics can be built using either plates or bricks. Dithering can be enabled if needed, along with box resampling (if the starting image is a cross stitch or diamond painting pattern). The program uses the L*a*b* color space and the Delta-E algorithm to ensure that the mapping of colors to the LEGO color palette is done as accurately as possible. The output is an Ldraw file, which is a common format used to specify LEGO models. This file can be imported into Bricklink Studio as well as LEGO Digital Designer. I am still working on developing a graphical user interface for the program, as well as the ability to output a parts list that can be exported to Bricklink (without the need to use Stud.io), and possibly building instructions for the mosaics.

You can see more of Deepak’s work at his Instagram gallery: https://www.instagram.com/ deepshen6/ or you can scan the QR code here!

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Parts List

Arts and Crafts Supplies Design and Instructions by the BrickNerd Team It’s time to get crafty! For the art theme in this issue, we designed three mini-builds of art supplies you’d find at a craft shop, including scissors, a paintbrush and some paint, and an easel and canvas. The scissors feature back-to-back mudguards for the shape of the handles using a fun SNOT technique made possible with the new 1x1x2/3 brick with a hole in it. They also pivot like a real pair, though we don’t recommend using them to cut any paper. For the paint supplies, you can customize your paint colors and canvas with whatever you want, using new 3x3 circle tiles. Also see if you can find the well-placed banana used in the paintbrush. Lastly, the easel and canvas can be used for many different things. Need a MOC card holder at a LEGO convention? Use the mini easel! Want to create your own 8x8 masterpiece? Go for it! Oh, and those older red butterflies can be substituted with the newer yellow ones too (80674). This was a fun collection to design. We hope you enjoy building them just as much as you like to get artistic with the brick!

(Parts can be ordered through Bricklink.com by searching by part number and color) Qty Part Color Description 1 35442.dat Md. Lilac Plate Gear 6 Tooth 2 x 2 1 67095.dat Md. Lilac Tile 3 x 3 Round 4 3023.dat Black Plate 1 x 2 4 3024.dat Black Plate 1 x 1 4 3070b.dat Black Tile 1 x 1 with Groove 1 30364.dat Black Hinge Brick 1 x 2 Locking with Single Finger On End 6 32062.dat Black Technic Axle 2 Notched 1 44302a.dat Black Hinge Plate 1 x 2 Locking with Dual Finger on End Vertical with Groove on Short Side 4 50967.dat Black Slope Brick Curved 8 x 1 x 1 & 2/3 with Arch 4 61678.dat Black Slope Brick Curved 4 x 1 12 86996.dat Black Plate 1 x 1 x 0.667 2 25269.dat Green Tile 1 x 1 Corner Round 2 27925.dat Green Tile 2 x 2 Corner Round 1 67095.dat Green Tile 3 x 3 Round 1 25269.dat Yellow Tile 1 x 1 Corner Round 3 2429.dat Tan Hinge Plate 1 x 4 Base 3 2430.dat Tan Hinge Plate 1 x 4 Top 2 3623.dat Tan Plate 1 x 3 3 3666.dat Tan Plate 1 x 6 3 4162.dat Tan Tile 1 x 8 2 6636.dat Tan Tile 1 x 6 3 15207.dat Tan Panel 1 x 4 x 1 with Rounded Corners, Thin Wall 2 60479.dat Tan Plate 1 x 12 1 69729.dat Tan Tile 2 x 6 1 27925.dat Bright Lt Orange Tile 2 x 2 Corner Round 1 20482.dat Pearl Gold Tile 1 x 1 Round with Pin and Pin Hole 1 79393.dat Orange Tile Round Corner 3 x 3 Macaroni 1 4589.dat Reddish Brown Cone 1 x 1 6 59443.dat Reddish Brown Technic Axle Joiner Inline Smooth 1 33085.dat Red Minifig Food Banana 1 67095.dat Red Tile 3 x 3 Round 2 95828.dat Red Animal Butterfly with Stud Tube and Pin Hole 1 15573.dat White Plate 1 x 2 with Groove with 1 Centre Stud, without Understud 1 41539.dat White Plate 8 x 8 1 3673.dat Lt. Bluish Grey Technic Pin 2 3700.dat Lt. Bluish Grey Technic Brick 1 x 2 with Hole 2 3710.dat Lt. Bluish Grey Plate 1 x 4 2 4477.dat Lt. Bluish Grey Plate 1 x 10 2 60479.dat Lt. Bluish Grey Plate 1 x 12 2 63864.dat Lt. Bluish Grey Tile 1 x 3 3 68325.dat Lt. Bluish Grey Brick 4 x 4 Round with 3 x 3 Recess with Hole and Snapstud 2 85970.dat Lt. Bluish Grey Slope Brick Curved 1 x 8 with Plate 1 x 2 1 59900.dat Metallic Silver Cone 1 x 1 with Stop 6 78258.dat Dark Bluish Grey Bar 2L with Thick Stop and Pin Holes

Paint

2 Brush

1 2 3 4 5 47

Easel

Scissors

53 53

2x 1

BrickNerd is your place for all things LEGO and the LEGO fan community. Spearheaded by Dave Schefcik and some of the best LEGO builders in the world, the site’s mission is to showcase the best of the AFOL community by highlighting builds, interviews and in-depth articles. BrickJournal is proud to continue its partnership with BrickNerd. You can go to the BrickNerd website by typing: https://bricknerd.com/ on your browser or by scanning this QR code!

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Building Minifig Customization 101:

Ugh, I smell like a human, Part 2 Article and Photography by Jared Burks

Continuing our dive into the world of San and Ashitaka from Princess Mononoke, we will complete the figures today. If time and space hold out, I may even tackle a small vignette to display the characters. For those that missed the last issue, Princess Mononoke is an animated film set during the 14th Century, the Muromachi period of Japan. Princess Mononoke tells the story of Ashitaka, a young prince cursed by the hatred of a dying boar god. The boar was corrupted by being shot with an iron ball, which lodged in his body. “Hear me loathsome humans,” the boar says. “You shall know my agony and my hatred”. Ashitaka seeks a cure for this curse transferred to him by the boar god by traveling across the land, hoping to find the Shishigami, a deer-like forest spirit with the power to bring life and death. During his travels, Ashitaka discovers a world out of balance. The ironworks community of Tatara, run by the enigmatic Lady Eboshi, is ravaging the nearby forest for resources, provoking the wrath of ferocious wolf god Moro and her feral human daughter San (the titular Mononoke, which roughly translates to specter or wraith). Ashitaka is caught in the middle and he must figure out how to navigate this difficult world with “eyes unclouded.” Here is an updated listing of builds for the characters of Princess Mononoke, showing what was made last issue and what is in this issue.

Characters Wolves (Moro, Ichi and Nii) Yakul Kodama Ashitaka

Completed Ichi and Ni Saddle in Issue 78 Primitive Saddle Horns

Hair (Modified LEGO)

Bandana (LEGO 15619)

Quiver (LEGO 4498)

Sword

San

Hair (Modified LEGO) Fur Cape and Necklace

Fur Hood and Mask

Spear

Scabbard

Dagger

Completed Saddle painted in this issue Wolf noses blackened

LEGO Baby Body Decorated and painted

Quiver, bow, sword, scabbard decorated and painted

Hair, cape, hood, mask spear, dagger decorated and painted

Custom head at 7.5 degree tilt Decorated with Sharpie and painted

Hood (Arealight’s hood) Decorated and painted Hood decoration and paint issues

Figure art Drawn & printed

Added fur to neck, top of head, ears and belly

Removed eye detailing

Figure Art drawn and printed

Bowl (part 34172pb02) decorated and painted

Arm Demon Designed, decorated and painted

Future Moro Reins Cape Tan Projects

Wolves (Ichi & Nii) Let’s dive right into finishing off the figures for this issue. The sibling wolves Ichi and Nii were really the easiest to finalize, as the saddle was designed in the last issue. I painted it with white vinyl dye, and then I merely needed to change a few things from The Lord of the Rings Wargs. Primarily I needed to change their nose color, which was dark red, and to alter the dark tan detail below their eyes. The nose color is simply altered through the use of a Sharpie marker. I prefer the Industrial version, which is alcohol resistant, so if you use these, it is nearly impossible to remove—be careful. The issue of the dark tan detail below the eyes (see before) is easily removed using toothpaste, Brasso, or a high grit sand paper. I went a touch fancier using the MicroMesh Sanding swabs that I happen to have. This allowed me very accurate control, but a toothpick with some toothpaste would have also worked, just taken a touch longer. With these two alterations and the saddle ready for one of them, the wolf siblings are ready for the display.

The two areas needing alteration: the nose and the area below the eyes.

The nose is altered with a Sharpie.

Necklace Chrystal Dagger Earrings

Yakul (Ashitaka’s Mount)

The area below the eye is cleaned with sanding swabs (left).

Since we are working on the animal characters, let’s take a look at Yakul. Most of his work was performed in the last issue with the horns and saddle. That said, I really wanted to make him appear furrier, and to do this I wanted to add vinyl stickers. I could hand paint these details, but outlining the fur to make it two-tone would have been a major challenge. I could use the vinyl stickers as a masking and paint Yakul, but for now they will just stick on. To start this process, I needed to create a template to draw the design. By taking a set of photos and figuring out the scale of the photos, you can draw the needed pieces directly on top of the photos and use them as your underlying template. The below neck fur was a touch more complicated, as that fur wraps around multiple sizes, and there are contour lines that I wished to follow, so I created a much more complex template that I followed when creating that design.

Kodama - Tree Spirits (Bonus Items)

The templates used create the vinyl stickers for Yakul. Stickers in place.

The Kodama are these little tree spirits that lead Ashitaka to safety in the film, and reappear multiple times throughout when interesting things take place. Oddly enough, their heads bobble side to side, and in the long term I may construct a LEGO bobble head for them. But for today, I have customized a LEGO baby by painting it white with vinyl dye, and then created a custom 3-D printed baby head to go with the painted LEGO baby. The custom LEGO styled baby head was modified in how it attaches to the baby body. The internal post was modified so that the head goes on at a 7.5-degree angle instead of straight-on. This allows the head to tilt or cant to one side or the other to replicate the bobble. Based on how I turn the head, it will cant left, right, forward, or backward, so only one modification is needed, and many effects are possible. To create the Kodama’s faces, I simply painted them by hand, as their eyes are not very uniform in size or scale, and I thought a hand-done fast paint job would replicate that effect.

Kodama close-up.

The finished Kodama in place.

The problematic hood.

Ashitaka Ashitaka has had the most work done to his accessories, primarily because he has had the most items to actually paint or modify. Let’s start with the largest issue out of the entire build, Ashitaka’s hood. I debated creating my own hood and at this point, I likely should have gone this route. That said, Arealight’s hood (https://www. arealightcustoms.com/shop/Yellow-Hood.html) pairs incredibly well with the LEGO Ninja Bandana 15619. This combo is perfect for Ashitaka; the only issue is Arealight’s hood is not available in red. Okay, easy enough, I’ve painted tons of things, I’ll paint it. Problem is, Arealight’s hood is a soft rubbery part, and no matter what paint I have tried, nothing seems to stick to it. Everything pops loose and peels away, leaving the hood perfectly clean from any paint, vinyl dye, fabric paint, RIT dye, enamel, acrylic for plastic, with primer, without primer—and this is all after I have roughed up the part with a green Scotch bright pad or sandpaper. I have purchased six different red paints and three primers; nothing seems to work. I have a part to show today, but long term, I must find a replacement, as this will chip. Let’s step away from the pain and visit the sword that I custom designed in the last issue. This sword has a very simple paint strategy. Using a mixture of Tamiya and regular painter masking tape, I masked off one area and spraypainted the other. Just be careful and allow each area of paint to dry before masking on top, or you could peel away the paint you have been working on. Following this masking method, I also painted Ashitaka’s bow and quiver to match his other items with this dark red accent. Given that he is a Prince, I thought this dark red was more fitting, and contrasted to his bright red hood. This led me to paint a LEGO bowl red (something that identifies Ashitaka in the film). The other key feature is that demon mark that touched Ashitaka in his fight with the dying boar god. This demon grabs and marks his arm, and creating something that could be 3-D printed was a challenge, as was painting it. When it is attached to the arm of the figure, it looks amazing. If time permits, I will create his grass cloak. I’m not exactly sure how I want to display this figure, but it looks like I will need multiple figures to showcase all of his accessories.

Masking and painting the sword handle.

The sword above and quiver below.

The red bowl.

The arm devil (above) and its placement on the arm (right). The bow after painting.

San

San’s hairpiece.

The mask.

This leaves us with San, the titular Mononoke. San has a modified hair piece that I 3-D printed in the last issue. This hair piece was spraypainted brown, but this is just the start. Next, using a small brush, I painted the headband a dark blue and added a central white dot with the smallest brush I had, completing her hair. The key here was not just getting the style, but making it fit with the fur cape. This cape also has to allow her to fit into the primitive saddle and to mesh with the masked hood. So this was a complex hair style that had to fit with many downstream parts. Keeping all this in mind is not trivial, and adding a layer of paint can destroy your fit. This is one of the reasons I did not paint the blade of Ashitaka’s sword, as I was unsure if it would then fit back in the scabbard. The fur cape was fairly easy to paint white, but the integrated necklace featuring teeth was a bit more challenging. Again turning to the small brushes, I painted the string black to highlight the individual teeth. While magnified I see some small errors, the 12 inch or 30 cm rule means that it looks great. The concern I had was the cape and the hood were going to rub on each other, or the paint would be too thick. When I have these concerns, I try and 3-D print in a color that wouldn’t detract, so I printed these parts in white. Had I printed them in black or grey, if the paint was damaged, the part under color would be very visible. The hood was the most challenging and exciting to paint. The base was sprayed white, then the red layer was added to the mask and ears. From there, the back of the ears was painted black. At this point I had to avoid coffee, as I had to paint the eye and mouth areas the light orange color. I of course made some errors, and had to come back with white or red paint to touch-up the parts.

The cape with necklace.

Next came San’s weapons, the spear and dagger. These were easy to create in a 3-D program and printed quite well, but I did make an error. I raised the details on these parts where I should have recessed them. The reason, was painting them. As raised elements I had to paint them perfectly or it would show. Had I recessed them, I could have added paint and wiped the part, removing any paint that wasn’t in the recessed area. While the raised details turned out okay, I made it harder than I should have. Always learning! The handles, caps, and wraps were masked and spraypainted much like Ashitaka’s weapons.

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

Painted spear and dagger.

The extra elements such as the necklace, crystal dagger, and earrings were reconsidered for a few reasons. The necklace would have been far too fragile without the cape to stabilize it, or details would have been lost. The crystal dagger could have been added in the torso art, but given the mask version I chose to make (she has two), I decided against this detail. Finally, her earrings were something I desperately want to create, but am at a loss given the Minifigure head and the hair. While they are huge in the film, the proportions of the LEGO character make them very challenging to pull off. As such, they also had to be sacrificed. Ultimately I don’t feel the custom San figure is missing anything, but some of these choices have to be made in the moment of creation. Here we have the Wolves Nii and Ichi, Kodama tree spirits, Yakul the giant serow, Ashitaka the prince touched by a demon, and San Princess Mononoke. Now I want to figure out how to create a display capturing these characters on the side of the mountain where the film takes place. Hopefully I will figure out this display soon, but not being a major builder, I am stuck on capturing three animals (two wolves and one serow) which feature fixed legs that all have to be on the same plane. To create a slope, I have to slope a plate and then mask it so that the studs are on the angle, or figure out some creative way to slope the foot areas of each of these three. This is a task for another day. I hope you have enjoyed the creation of these figures. Most anything is possible these days with a bit of 3-D printing.

San’s parts completed.

Come back next issue for more Minifigure Customization!

The finished models.

You Can Build It MINI Build

MINI Lancer Pursuit Craft Design and Instructions by Christopher Deck Hello everybody, and welcome to the latest MINI model building session! These are exciting days in the Star Wars universe, looking at the recent launch of the newest live-action television series Andor. As images and background information are still rare these days, we will build a nice little spacecraft that appears in the series Andor, but was already shortly featured in the animated television series Rebels. We are talking about the Lancer-class Pursuit Craft. It is a difficult ship to build due to its special shape. It features elements of a dome, and dish with a trapezoid rear part. Attached to both sides are large engine cylinders. The ship is also heavily armed. It took a long time, until finally a solution turned out to work properly for this shape. We make use of an unusual part which does the perfect job to combine several of the shape elements. The modified 6x6 cross plate with dome (part number 30303) is a relatively large piece you would not expect in a fragile looking mini model, but it smoothly disappears in the construction. Another highlight is the use of the minifigure lantern with handle in combination with the hinge piece with claw end (part number 41529). The claw nicely covers the large handle of the lantern which represents the engines in a decent way. I hope you will enjoy building this little model! Have fun, and see you next time!

Parts List (Parts can be ordered from Bricklink.com by searching by part number and color) Qty Color 2 Lt-Bluish-Gray 2 Trans-Lt-Blue 2 Lt-Bluish-Gray

Part 99780.dat 3062b.dat 58176.dat

2 Lt-Bluish-Gray

30552.dat

2 (Old) Dark-Gray 41529.dat 3 (Old) Dark-Gray 30162.dat 2 2 1 1

Black Lt-Bluish-Gray Black Lt-Bluish-Gray

85975.dat 37776.dat 3024.dat 6019.dat

1 1 1 1 2 2 1 2 1 1 1

(Old) Dark-Gray 3023.dat Lt-Bluish-Gray 32028.dat Lt-Bluish-Gray 2540.dat Lt-Bluish-Gray 3839b.dat Lt-Bluish-Gray 3022.dat Lt-Bluish-Gray 2420.dat Lt-Bluish-Gray 18674.dat Lt-Bluish-Gray 26601.dat Lt-Bluish-Gray 3021.dat Lt-Bluish-Gray 3020.dat Yellow 18646.dat

1 (Old) Dark-Gray 30303.dat 1 Lt-Bluish-Gray 85984.dat 1 Black 28192.dat 2 2 2 1 1 1

Lt-Bluish-Gray Lt-Bluish-Gray Lt-Bluish-Gray Yellow Yellow Lt-Bluish-Gray

32449.dat 4274.dat 2412b.dat 41770.dat 41769.dat 48183.dat

Description Bracket 1 x 2 - 1 x 2 Up Brick 1 x 1 Round with Hollow Stud Cylinder Domed 1 x 1 x 1.667 with Bar Hinge Arm Locking with Single Finger and Axlehole Hinge Wedge 1 x 3 Locking with 2 Fingers, 2 Studs and Clip Minifig Binoculars with Round Eyepiece Minifig Hat Fez Minifig Lantern Plate 1 x 1 Plate 1 x 1 with Clip Horizontal (Open U-Clip) Plate 1 x 2 Plate 1 x 2 with Door Rail Plate 1 x 2 with Handle Plate 1 x 2 with Handles Type 2 Plate 2 x 2 Plate 2 x 2 Corner Plate 2 x 2 Round with 1 Centre Stud Plate 2 x 2 without Corner Plate 2 x 3 Plate 2 x 4 Plate 3 x 6 Round Half with 1 x 2 Cutout Plate 6 x 6 x 0.667 Cross with Dome Slope Brick 31 1 x 2 x 0.667 Slope Brick 45 2 x 1 with Cutout and without Stud Technic Beam 4 x 0.5 Liftarm Technic Pin 1/2 Tile 1 x 2 Grille with Groove Wing 2 x 4 Left Wing 2 x 4 Right Wing 3 x 4 with 1 x 2 Cutout with Stud Notches

1 2

3 4

6 63

starship fleet 66

Tatooine Article by Steven Smyth, Bantha Bricks: Fans of LEGO Star Wars Photography by Cyril Linard

Steven Smyth: How’s it going, guys? I’ve known you two for years now through the Facebook group; first as members, and then as moderators of the all-volunteer Admin Team that helps monitor the group content to maintain a family-friendly atmosphere. Everyone in Bantha Bricks has been wowed by your many awesome Star Wars brick builds, but here recently you have really upped your game with this massive Tatooine diorama! Where did this take place?

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. Xavier Laffray and Frank Averstegge are such creative builders, and recently shared a custom collaboration build of Tatooine with a large group of AFOLs.

Frank Averstegge: The Olivet Bricks 5éme Edition event took place in Olivet, France, which is a town near Orléans and about 100km from Paris. Who were all the builders that participated? Xavier Laffray: The team behind this massive undertaking was Mélodie Baron, Fabien Bois, Sébastien Le Querrec, Cyril Linard, Stéphane Mainil, John Quairia, Carmen Deville, Jean-Jacques Taillé, Victor Boscá Cárcel, Frank Averstegge, Xenia Mai and myself, Xavier Laffray. That is an impressive line-up! I recognize many of those names, especially Victor. With that many builders bringing their creations together, I have to ask: About how many LEGO bricks do you estimate were used? Frank: Puhhhhh! That is a good question; I think we estimated that it must be a million or even more. So many

little pieces! Victor created a big Mos Eisley part with real scenes, and a lot of fun scenes, like his amazing Mos Eisley “McEisley” restaurant with a drive-in for land speeders. I love that MOC very much. He also built an awesome hangar. All in all, his section was about 110 32x32 tan baseplates. Holy Hutt balls! So, how long did it take to plan this awesome Tatooine collaboration? Xavier: It all started in 2021 with a first diorama presented at Olivet Bricks on the theme of Tatooine. I had shared many of my designs on Bantha Bricks with the Mos Eisley Market, different homes, Watto’s Junkyard, docking bays, and different land speeders. This first version measured just over 12 square meters. It was made by the same team of friends. We had already talked last year about meeting on Olivet Bricks with Frank and Victor, but the deadlines were too short. So, I started working on a plan over a year ago, and there were many different versions before arriving at the final result. It took many hours of work and ideas… many ideas.

Rey left?

How many countries were represented in the collaboration of this giant build? Frank: France, Spain, Belgium, and Germany.

Rebels work on a transport in a maintenance bay.

A Krayt dragon waits for the Mandolorian and Tusken Raiders.

DAVID EISENHAUER’S STARFLEET

The Mos Eisley Cantina.

That is really cool to know AFOLs from all over Europe joined forces to create this visual wonder. What was the total size of the display in meters? Frank: 35 square meters, Xavier? Xavier: The final surface had more than 560 base plates and was 35 square meters-plus. That is truly mind-boggling to think about the size of this display. Who constructed which parts of the build: can you break it down for us?

Another area on the layout, with a McEisleys in the distance.

Frank: Xenia built the cantina which is part of our Tatooine that we brought from Germany. Also, she did a lot of work on our sand structure. My favorite MOCs we brought to Olivet Bricks were my new UCS Millennium Falcon hangar, the Mandalorian N1 Naboo Starfighter hangar and, surely, my Jabba’s Palace build. All in all, Xenia and I had also about 110 32x32 tan Baseplates there. Xavier, you know more to talk about the other MOCs. Xavier: One of the ideas was the podracing scene. I prepared several grandstand designs and finally sent it to Victor. He was over the moon! We talked a lot among Frank, Victor, and me to ensure the connection of our creations—mainly because of the difference in height of base plates. I could have done better, but I went through a lot of hardships this year, and my surgery complicated things. But we pulled it off.

It sounds like a very complicated endeavor with not only a lot of moving parts, but a lot of different people involved. Can you tell us more about the rest of the team? Xavier: The effort towards this achievement was also made possible by other members of the team. John and his wife Carmen have made an awesome layout with tracks, which were also included in the thickness of the baseplate with a modified Imperial transport. John made several buildings, including a peepshow. Stéphane had also made buildings such as the cinema and the toy store. Sébastien made a Mandalorian hideout and an enormous 1.54-meter tall, lighted tower that looks similar to the Lothal tower from Star Wars Rebels. Jean Jacques made the Imperial platform, similar to the one seen on Endor in Return of the Jedi, and a big antenna. Jean Jacques also made a beautiful city hall. Fabien had made many buildings and Cyril created the Sarlacc and land speeders, because we added more base plates just before the beginning of the convention. But we were all perfectly interconnected with a beautiful development of the landscape from Mos Pelgo and the desert, to the city and the Imperial base. Moreover, Pascal, made us a magnificent painting to complete the décor.

The town hall.

A theater is playing the local movies.

A detailed interior to one of the modules.

This diorama is simply amazing! I cannot imagine you all would stop here. So, the burning question now is… what are your future plans? Frank: We have been thinking about a huge Naboo diorama with the same team, and maybe invite more to join. Xavier: Yes, one of the projects would be to make a diorama on the theme of Naboo. But other projects are possible, such as Takodana. Another project being developed parallel to these dioramas is a Jedi temple. It would be awesome to have Anthony Bill with us for the Jedi archive. Frank, do you remember the Jedi stairs I made with Pascal? It was the first part of the biggest project to develop in two to three years. Frank: Yes, it was beautiful!

The builders behind the layout, from left to the right (standing): Xenia, Frank, Xavier, Jean-Jacques Taillé, Sébastien Le Querrec, John Quairia, Stéphane Mainil. From left to the right (kneeling): Cyril Linard (President of the BsB association), Fabien Bois, and Victor Bosca Carcel.

The Skywalker homestead.

Xavier: Jean Jacques has started on a second part of the Jedi temple already, representing The Old Republic. That is fantastic news, and I cannot wait to see more massive and extremely detailed team-built dioramas from you all in the future! Thank you so much for taking time to talk to us about your Tatooine build and upcoming plans! To see more amazing builds, cool contests and giveaways, and family-friendly discussion about everything Star Wars brick, check out the Bantha Bricks: Fans of LEGO Star Wars Facebook group at: http://www.facebook.com/groups/starwarsLEGOgroup or banthabricks.com or scan the QR code here!

BRITMANIA

by MARK VOGER

Remember when long-haired British rock ’n’ rollers made teenage girls swoon — and their parents go crazy? BRITMANIA plunges into the period when suddenly, America went wild for All Things British. This profusely illustrated fullcolor hardback, subtitled “The British Invasion of the Sixties in Pop Culture,” explores the movies (A HARD DAY’S NIGHT, HAVING A WILD WEEKEND), TV (THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW, MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR), collectibles (TOYS, GAMES, TRADING CARDS, LUNCH BOXES), comics (real-life Brits in the DC and MARVEL UNIVERSES) and, of course, the music! Written and designed by MARK VOGER (MONSTER MASH, GROOVY, HOLLY JOLLY), BRITMANIA features interviews with members of THE BEATLES, THE ROLLING STONES, THE WHO, THE KINKS, HERMAN’S HERMITS, THE YARDBIRDS, THE ANIMALS, THE HOLLIES & more. It’s a gas, gas, gas! (192-page COLOR HARDCOVER) $43.95 • (Digital Edition) $15.99 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-115-8 • NOW SHIPPING!

GROOVY also by MARK VOGER

From Woodstock, “The Banana Splits,” and “Sgt. Pepper” to “H.R. Pufnstuf,” Altamont, and “The Partridge Family,” GROOVY is a far-out trip to the era of lava lamps and love beads. This profusely illustrated hardcover book, in psychedelic color, features interviews with icons of grooviness such as PETER MAX, BRIAN WILSON, PETER FONDA, MELANIE, DAVID CASSIDY, members of the JEFFERSON AIRPLANE, CREAM, THE DOORS, THE COWSILLS and VANILLA FUDGE; and cast members of groovy TV shows like “The Monkees,” “Laugh-In” and “The Brady Bunch.” Revisit the era’s rock festivals, movies, art, comics and cartoons in this color-saturated pop-culture history! (192-page COLOR HARDCOVER) $39.95 • (Digital Edition) $13.99 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-080-9

CHARLTON COMPANION

TEAM-UP COMPANION OUR ARTISTS AT WAR AMERICAN TV COMICS (1940s-1980s)

THE LIFE & ART OF

DAVE COCKRUM

JON B. COOKE’s all-new history of the notorious all-in-one comics company, from the 1940s to the ’70s, with GIORDANO, DITKO, STATON, BYRNE and more!

MICHAEL EURY examines team-up comic books of the Silver and Bronze Ages of Comics in a lushly illustrated selection of informative essays, special features, and trivia-loaded issue-by-issue indexes!

Examines US War comics from EC, DC COMICS, WARREN PUBLISHING, CHARLTON, and more! Featuring KURTZMAN, SEVERIN, DAVIS, WOOD, KUBERT, GLANZMAN, KIRBY, and others!

History of over 300 TV shows and 2000+ comic book adaptations, from well-known series (STAR TREK, PARTRIDGE FAMILY, THE MUNSTERS) to lesser-known shows.

GLEN CADIGAN’s bio of the artist who redesigned the Legion of Super-Heroes and introduced X-Men characters Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Logan!

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(160-page COLOR SOFTCOVER) $27.95 HC: $36.95 • (Digital Edition) $14.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-113-4

REED CRANDALL

Illustrator of the Comics

MIKE GRELL

LIFE IS DRAWING WITHOUT AN ERASER

JOHN SEVERIN

HERO-A-GO-GO!

Documents the life and career of the master Golden Age artist of Captain Marvel Jr. and other classic characters! (160-page COLOR HARDCOVER) $39.95 (Digital Edition) $14.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-090-8

History of Crandall’s life and career, from Golden Age Quality Comics, to Warren war and horror, Flash Gordon, and beyond!

Career-spanning tribute to the Legion of Super-Heroes & Warlord comics art legend!

Biography of the EC, MARVEL and MAD mainstay, co-creator of American Eagle, and 40+ year CRACKED magazine contributor.

Looks at comics' 1960s CAMP AGE, when spies liked their wars cold and their women warm, and TV's Batman shook a mean cape!

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AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES

FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER SERIES

documents each decade of comics history!

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MAC RABOY

Master of the Comics

TWO-FISTED COMIC ARTIST

TwoMorrows. The Future of Comics History. Phone: 919-449-0344 E-mail: store@twomorrows.com Web: www.twomorrows.com

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THE MAGAZINE FOR LEGO ENTHUSIASTS OF ALL AGES!

2023

BRICKJOURNAL magazine (edited by Joe Meno) spotlights all aspects of the LEGO® Fan Community, showcasing events, BRICKJOURNAL #81 people, and models every issue, with to the city: Ellis City by GARETH and contributions and how-to articles by top Head CATHY ELLIS, New Hasima by STEFAN builders worldwide, new product intros, FORMENTATO, and Fabuland City by LAUGHLIN! Plus a wealth of and more. Available in both FULL-COLOR STEVEN other MOCs (”My Own Creations”) are print and digital editions. Print subscribers showcased, along with: Nerding Out with BRICKNERD, AFOLs by GREG HYLAND, get the digital version FREE!

SUBSCRIBE! Six issues: $73 in the US $ 111 International • $29 Digital Only

BRICKJOURNAL #78

BRICKJOURNAL #77

BRICKJOURNAL #80

BRICKJOURNAL #79

Explore the CASTLE theme with builders GUILLAUME GRENZARD and AMENK SACHO! And building castles with some of the best castle builders in the LEGO fan community! Plus: Nerding Out with BRICKNERD, AFOLs by GREG HYLAND, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, and Minifigure by CHRISTOPHER DECK, and Minifigure Customization with JARED K. BURKS! Customization with JARED K. BURKS! Edited by JOE MENO.

Create Brick Art with builders ANDREAS LELANDER and JACK ENGLAND! Learn how to build mosaics and sculptures with DEEP SHEN and some of the best LEGO builders around the world! Plus: AFOLs by cartoonist GREG HYLAND, step-by step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd’s DIY Fan Art, Minifigure Customization with JARED K. BURKS, and more!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships August 2023

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BRICKJOURNAL #76

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships June 2023

BRICKJOURNAL #75

BRICKJOURNAL #74

Celebrate Spring with AMADO PINLAC and JAMES ZHAN’s botanical LEGO® builds! Learn how to grow a brick garden of your own with some of the best builders in the LEGO community! Plus: AFOLs by cartoonist GREG HYLAND, step-by step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd’s DIY Fan Art, Minifigure Customization with JARED K. BURKS, and more! Edited by JOE MENO.

LEGO® PHOTOGRAPHY, with guest editor SHELLY CORBETT! SCOTT MURPHY on how he brings his whimsical ideas to life, WENDY VERBOOM photographs LEGO minifigures meeting nature, and ARVIN COLOMA shows how to photograph LEGO in unexpected places! Plus BRICKNERD, AFOLs by GREG HYLAND, building instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, and JARED K. BURKS’ Minifigure Customization!

Visit the BRICK ANIMAL KINGDOM with with KEN ITO’s amazing ocean creatures, fascinating woodland creatures by MIRO DUDAS, and the animal creations of FILBRICK! Plus: Nerding Out with BRICKNERD, AFOLs by GREG HYLAND, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, Minifigure Customization with JARED K. BURKS, and more! Edited by JOE MENO.

The fast-changing world of MECHA! Learn how to build mechs with some of the best mecha builders in the world: BENJAMIN CHEH, KELVIN LOW, LU SIM, and SAM CHEUNG! Plus: AFOLs (“Adult Fans of LEGO”) by cartoonist GREG HYLAND, step-by step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd’s DIY Fan Art, Minifigure Customization with JARED K. BURKS, and more!

Amazing LEGO® STAR WARS builds, including Lando Calrissian’s Treadable by JÜRGEN WITTNER, Starkiller Base by JHAELON EDWARDS, and more from STEVEN SMYTH and Bantha Bricks! Plus: Minifigure Customization by JARED K. BURKS, AFOLs by GREG HYLAND, stepby-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK (including a LEGO BB-8), and more! Edited by JOE MENO.

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BRICKJOURNAL #73

BRICKJOURNAL #72

BRICKJOURNAL #71

BRICKJOURNAL #70

BRICKJOURNAL #69

Board ANTOINE HUGUERRE’s Big Thunder Mountain! Go to Monstropolis to help Sully find Mike Wazowski in BRANDON JAMES’ Monsters, Inc factory! Plus, more intricate STAR WARS creations by builder LEE GOLDMAN, nerding Out with BrickNerd, AFOLs by GREG HYLAND, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, and Minifigure Customization with JARED K. BURKS!

LEGO® COLOR! A mosaic by Bricknerd’s DAVE SCHEFCIK, CAZ MOCKETT and her monocolor habitats, flowers and other creations by INEZ VAQUEZ, STEVEN SMYTH’s intricate Star Wars builds, “AFOLs” by GREG HYLAND, step-bystep “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, Minifigure Customization with JARED K. BURKS, and more!

LEGO® photography with Toy Photographers Blog founder SHELLY CORBETT, and photographers ASTRID HEYLAND, NATASJA VOS, and MARCO ZANCONI offer their favorite tips and tricks to make your creations look great! Plus, STEVEN SMYTH’s Star Wars builds, instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, Minifigure Customization with JARED K. BURKS, and more!

LEGO® brick-built Edwards Island by DALE HARRIS of HarrisBricks! The hot rods of PAUL SLUITERS! Rocket to outer space with SCOTT BOWMAN and JOE CHAMBERS’ Space Shuttle Discovery set! Plus, Star Wars builds with STEVEN SMYTH of Bantha Bricks, BrickNerd, step-by-step building instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, and Minifigure Customization with JARED K. BURKS!

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

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

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#68: Women of LEGO building!

#67: Best friends & Disneyland Paris!

#66: LEGO brick photography!

#65: Happy holiday building!

#64: Classic LEGO themes re-imagined!

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#63: Undersea LEGO building!

#62: LEGO Trains!

#61: LEGO figure building!

#60: Spooky LEGO building!

#59: Star WarsTMthemed builders!

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#58: LEGO warbirds, past and present!

#57: Microscale LEGO building!

#56: Life-size LEGO!

#55: LEGO heads & tails!

#54: Top secret LEGO!

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#50 is a double-size book!

A landmark edition, celebrating over a decade as the premier publication for LEGO® fans! #53: Video games LEGO-style!

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#50: double-size Anniversary Book!

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#42: LEGO Education!

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#40: LEGO Mecha!

#39: LEGO Dinosaurs!

#38: LEGO Cool Cars & Hot Rods!

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#35: History in LEGO bricks!

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#30: LEGO Architecture!

#29: TECHNIC Building!

#28: The LEGO Movie!

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#25: LEGO Medieval Castle building!

#24: LEGO Trains!

#23: LEGO Star WarsTM!

#22: LEGO Plane building!

#21: LEGO Car building!

#20: LEGO Superheroes!

#19: LEGO Events issue!

#18: Japanese LEGO creations!

#17: LEGO Space War!

#15: LEGO Mecha!

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MINIFIGURE CUSTOMIZATION #1 AND #2

YOU CAN BUILD IT, BOOK 1 and BOOK 2

JARED K. BURKS shares his knowledge of the techniques he uses to alter the lovable LEGO® Minifigure into any character you can imagine! #1 offers step-by-step tutorials on decal design and application; color alteration; custom part modification and creation; plus tips on minifigure displays and digital photography to capture your custom figures in the best light! #2 presents advanced techniques: advanced decal application; custom part modification and creation; 3-D printing; advanced painting techniques; lighting figures with LEDs or EL wire; tips on minifigure displays; and a Gallery from top customizers, with their best tricks and tips!

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

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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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We have 79 issues!

Last Word

I could not have foreseen the magazine going this long! Way back in 2005, I was only wanting to have a record for builders and builders-to-be to see and be able to join the LEGO fan community. It’s been fascinating to see the community grow from a small international group of builders to a growing network of events and builders and fans. It’s also been interesting watching the LEGO Group grow and expand their set portfolio. I would have not have predicted a set based on The Office! I would also have not have expected LEGO to become so prevalent. It’s now a mainstream product with something for everyone. So what lies ahead? I am writing this as 2022 wraps up (it’s December 29) and am looking forward to the new year. There have been new sets announced for the year and a relaunch of a theme (Friends). And the fans are building new things and layouts. 2023 looks exciting.

Everyone’s friends at AFOL events...

And we’ll be showing and hopefully inspiring builders. Til then—build on!

That Joe Meno Guy

Classics

Pity the fool that doesn’t pick up

RetroFan #26! RETROFAN #26

The saga of Saturday morning’s Super Friends, Part One! Plus: A history of MR. T, TV’s AVENGERS (Steed and Mrs. Peel), Daktari’s CHERYL MILLER, Mexican movie monsters, John and Yoko’s nation of Nutopia, ELIZABETH SHEPHERD (the actress who almost played Emma Peel), and more! With ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, MARK VOGER, & MICHAEL EURY. NOW SHIPPING! And in RETROFAN #25, meet Mission: Impossible’s LYNDA DAY GEORGE in an exclusive interview! And celebrate RAMBO’s 50th birthday with his creator, novelist DAVID MORRELL! Plus: TV faves WKRP IN CINCINNATI and SPACE: 1999, Fleisher’s and Filmation’s SUPERMAN CARTOONS, commercial jingles, JERRY LEWIS and BOB HOPE comic books, and more fun, fab features! Featuring columns by ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, and MARK VOGER! Edited by MICHAEL EURY. NOW SHIPPING! (84-page magazines) $10.95 • (Digital Editions) $4.99

RETROFAN #20

RETROFAN #21

RETROFAN #22

RETROFAN #23

RETROFAN #24

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, singer B. J. THOMAS in one of his final interviews, LONE RANGER cartoons, G.I. JOE, and more! 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.

Surf’s up as SIXTIES BEACH MOVIES make a RetroFan splash! Plus: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, ZORRO’s Saturday morning cartoon, TV’s THE WILD, WILD WEST, CARtoons and other drag-mags, VALSPEAK, and more fun, fab features! Like, totally! Featuring columns by ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, and MARK VOGER! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.

Meet the stars behind the Black Lagoon: RICOU BROWNING, BEN CHAPMAN, JULIE ADAMS, and LORI NELSON! Plus SHADOW CHASERS, featuring show creator KENNETH JOHNSON. Also: THE BEATLES’ YELLOW SUBMARINE, FLASH GORDON cartoons, TV’s cult classic THE PRISONER and kid’s show ZOOM, COLORFORMS, M&Ms, and more fun, fab features! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.

Interviews with Lost in Space’s ANGELA CARTWRIGHT and BILL MUMY, and Land of the Lost’s WESLEY EURE! Revisit Leave It to Beaver with JERRY MATHERS, TONY DOW, and KEN OSMOND! Plus: UNDERDOG, Rankin-Bass’ stop-motion classic THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY, Christmas gifts you didn’t want, the CABBAGE PATCH KIDS fad, and more! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.

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

RETROFAN #15

RETROFAN #16

RETROFAN #17

RETROFAN #18

RETROFAN #19

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.

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!

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BACK ISSUE #142

BACK ISSUE #143

BACK ISSUE #144

SUPER ISSUE! Superboy’s Bronze Age adventures, and interviews with GERARD CHRISTOPHER and STACY HAIDUK of the Superboy live-action TV series. Plus: Super Goof, Super Richie (Rich), Super-Dagwood, Super Mario Bros., Frank Thorne’s Far Out Green Super Cool, NICK MEGLIN and JACK DAVIS’ Superfan, and more! Featuring a Superboy and Krypto cover by DAVE COCKRUM! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.

A special tribute issue to NEAL ADAMS (1941–2022), celebrating his Bronze Age DC Comics contributions! In-depth Batman and Superman interviews, ‘Green Lantern/Green Arrow’—Fifty Years Later, Neal Adams—Under the Radar, Continuity Associates, a ‘Rough Stuff’ pencil art gallery, Power Records, and more! Re-presenting Adams’ iconic cover art to BATMAN #227. (Plus: See ALTER EGO #181!)

BRONZE AGE SAVAGE LANDS, starring Ka-Zar in the 1970s! Plus: Turok—Dinosaur Hunter, DON GLUT’s Dagar and Tragg, Annihilus and the Negative Zone, Planet of Vampires, Pat Mills’s Flesh (from 2000AD), and WALTER SIMONSON and MIKE MIGNOLA’s Wolverine: The Jungle Adventure. With CONWAY, GULACY, HAMA, NICIEZA, SEARS, THOMAS, and more! JOHN BUSCEMA cover!

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COMIC BOOK CREATOR #30

KIRBY COLLECTOR #86

KIRBY COLLECTOR #87

RETROFAN #27

Canadian comic book artist, illustrator, and graphic novelist MICHAEL CHO in a careerspanning interview and art gallery, a 1974 look at JACK ADLER and the DC Comics production department’s process of reprinting Golden Age material, color newspaper tabloid THE FUNNY PAGES examined in depth by its editor RON BARRETT, plus CBC’s usual columns and features, including HEMBECK! Edited by JON B. COOKE.

VISUAL COMPARISONS! Analysis of unused vs. known Kirby covers and art, BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH on his stylizations in Captain America’s Bicentennial Battles, Kirby’s incorporation of real-life images in his work, WILL MURRAY’s conversations with top pros just after Jack’s passing, unused Mister Miracle cover inked by WALTER SIMONSON, and more! Edited by JOHN MORROW.

LAW & ORDER! Kirby’s lawmen from the Newsboy Legion’s Jim Harper and “Terrible” Turpin, to Western gunfighters, and even future policemen like OMAC and Captain Victory! Also: how a Marvel cop led to the creation of Funky Flashman! Justice Traps The Guilty and Headline Comics! Plus MARK EVANIER moderating 2022’s Kirby Tribute Panel (with Sin City’s FRANK MILLER). MACHLAN cover inks.

Interview with Captain Kangaroo BOB KEESHAN, The ROCKFORD FILES, teen monster movies, the Kung Fu and BRUCE LEE crazes, JACK KIRBY’s comedy comics, DON DRYSDALE’s TV drop-ins, outrageous toys, Challenge of the Super Friends, 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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Explores when America went wild in the ’60s for All Things British! MOVIES (A Hard Day’s Night, Having a Wild Weekend), TV (The Ed Sullivan Show), COLLECTIBLES (toys, games, trading cards, lunch boxes), COMICS (real-life Brits in DC and Marvel Universes) MUSIC (features interviews with members of the BEATLES, the ROLLING STONES, THE WHO, HERMAN’S HERMITS, the YARDBIRDS, the ANIMALS, the HOLLIES), & more! By MARK VOGER. (192-page COLOR HARDCOVER) $43.95 (Digital Edition) $15.99 ISBN 978-1-60549-115-8 • Now shipping!

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ALTER EGO #182

An FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America) special, behind a breathtaking JERRY ORDWAY cover! Features on Uncle Marvel and the Fawcett Family by P.C. HAMERLINCK, ACG artist KENNETH LANDAU (Commander Battle and The Atomic Sub), and writer LEE GOLDSMITH (Golden Age Green Lantern, Flash, and others). Plus Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt by MICHAEL T. GILBERT, and more!

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ALTER EGO #181

Special NEAL ADAMS ISSUE, featuring indepth interviews with Neal by HOWARD CHAYKIN, BRYAN STROUD, and RICHARD ARNDT. Also: a “lost” ADAMS BRAVE & THE BOLD COVER with Batman and Green Arrow, and unseen Adams art and artifacts. Plus FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America), MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, and more! Edited by ROY THOMAS. (Plus: See BACK ISSUE #143!)