Geneva Durand is a freelance writer and self-publisher. Now 27, she has been building for thirteen years. Before that, she enjoyed playing with LEGO bricks with her siblings, but it was then just a toy for her.
The Ninjago theme got her into the online LEGO community, and from there she started entering competitions and building nearly everything she could think of. Her building style has grown as she has, and while she has considerably less time to build than she did as a kid, it’s still her biggest hobby. Her love of LEGO started with Ninjago, but her favorite themes are now the Botanical line, with Speed Champions close behind.
Online LEGO community competitions gave Geneva the prompting she needed to start building and kept her going through the years. Even today, about half of what she builds is for competitions.
Geneva has amassed a continually growing concept box of ideas and things that she eventually wants to build. Often, she will find a contest that inspires her to build something that adapts well to a contest prompt. An example would be her entry for the 2023 edition of the Wandering Skies Competition that prompted an “Off the Beaten Path” fantasy/steampunk era build. She had been wanting to do a floating island for some time, so building a pirate island for the contest came to mind.
Geneva Durand: From Pirates to Computers
Article
and Photography
by Geneva Durand
Geneva Durand with her rendition of The Vault.
Geneva’s builds can take anywhere from a day to three or four months. Geneva doubts she has taken much more than that, because she usually does builds on a deadline (either for a competition or a convention), so something forces her to finish sooner, rather than later. She’s generally a fast builder, though; builds that take her months tend to do so because she is focusing on something else. Pirate Isle took her four days to complete.
Geneva has found herself planning her builds more and more as she has matured as a builder. While plans may change in the middle of a build, she has found the final model is stronger and tells a more compelling story if she has planed it out more. These days, she will generally do a little sketch, browse some concept art, and sometimes even throw a few ideas at an AI image generator until she has a pretty firm idea of the layout and colors she would like to use on the build. Sometimes she will even “build in her head” and solve some of the technical problems without touching a single brick!
Various views of Pirate Isle.
Gary Fleischer: Building Berlin
Article and Photography by Gary
Fleischer
2020, Gary Fleischer applied for the TV game show LEGO Masters in Germany. While he ultimately didn’t get to compete in the show that year, he got back into building after a 15-year Dark Age and bought a LEGO set of the Berlin skyline—Berlin is his hometown.
The set was a disappointment for Gary. Having a large basement, he thought, “Almost no one has done something that size yet.” After a friend bet him that it would be impossible to build a LEGO layout of the city because it was so lopsided and crooked, Gary decided to build it at 1:1250 scale, and in 2020 set upon completing his MOC.
During that time, Gary did some other things—while he is a trained graphic designer, he left the field to start BRYX Toys, a company that creates custom sets and models from LEGO and other building blocks. He also competed in LEGO Masters 2021.
BrixxBerlin ad the Berlin TV Tower.
In
The Berlin TV Tower.
Brandenburg Gate, an iconic Berlin landmark.
Sébastien Houyoux: Micro Architect Building
Article
and Photography
by Sébastien Houyoux
Sébastien Houyoux got back into LEGO building during the first Covid-19 lockdown in 2020. While sorting through his old toys, he reopened an old box where all his bricks were mixed together. Deciding to take on the challenge of sorting the parts out and rebuilding his own sets, Sébastien quickly returned to the hobby.
Going to college, Sébastien is a fourth-year student, studying to become a civil engineering inspector specializing in structures. It shouldn’t be surprising that his favorite theme is the Architecture series, or more generally any sets representing monuments from around the world. His apartment is filled with LEGO monuments from all over the globe!
Discovering the builds by Rocco Buttliere in early 2021 inspired Sébastien to start building his own creations. Rocco’s creations were greatly admired by Sébastien, who thought, “Why can’t I build these?” He gave it a shot and hasn’t stopped designing since.
Sébastien’s inspirations for his creations come from two directions. The first and most common is when he takes an interest in a monument like a bridge or skyscraper, for example, and he asks himself how he can recreate it in LEGO, what techniques to use, what dimensions to give the creation, and other factors. The second way is more spontaneous: he spend a lot of time on Google Earth and he virtually explores cities he’s not familiar with. Sometimes he discovers remarkable monuments or buildings, which become new subjects to build.
Sébastien’s rendition of Vatican City.
Marco Lucafò: Micro Madness!
Article and Photography by
Marco Lucafò
Marco Lucafò is a map designer by profession, but has a background in architecture and urban planning. This training has helped him become a LEGO builder, although he has 35 years of experience building since childhood. He got back into the hobby as an adult less than a decade ago, and has been building MOCs for a couple of years.
It was a combination of finally having disposable income and a place of his own that led Marco into LEGO building as an adult. He was also lured in by how advanced LEGO sets had become since he was a teenager. The set that really got him, he believes, was the Saturn V, which is still in his top three builds of all time.
Marco Lucafò’s example of a SimCity 2000 layout, using his modules.
A close-up of the layout.
Concerning favorite themes, Marco doesn’t think he has one—he will always be partial to his childhood classics (City, Space, Pirates, Castle), but as an adult he mostly sticks to Ideas or Icons sets, with the occasional Art set for diversity. One theme he has grown out of, unfortunately, is Technic—somehow he never adapted to the studless modern version of the theme.
While he had the itch to build for a while, what got Marco interested in building MOCs is, interestingly enough, his fiancé, who is completely uninterested in LEGO. It turns out building something out of bricks is the only creative work he is capable of, so when he wanted to gift her something personal and unique, building something for her came as a natural choice. Marco’s first digital build was a diorama of their first night together, and his first physical build was a replica of their wedding venue.
Marco tends to be inspired more by real-world objects or references, as he loves the challenge of replicating either an existing object or something
Another layout example.
Some examples of building modules that could be made.
Terrain modules.
Street and base modules for placing buildings.
Gilles’ Bonsai Forest Shrine.
Gilles de Crombrugghe (@akidandabrick on Instagram) is a young builder—16 years old. He started building when he was ten, and in the ensuing years grew from building basic models to creations that have been displayed at LEGO House. He has also taken part in a lot of exhibits and displays.
LEGO building is his main passion. Other than that, he likes to draw, as it can sometimes help him visualize ideas for MOCs. He’s also a tennis player and very much interested in architecture (mainly Islamic and Asian), which is reflected in his creations. If LEGO didn’t exist, Gilles would have focused on drawing and let it become his art medium.
Gilles’ first set (7635) was received when he was four. Starting his building with a LEGO farm set, Gilles quickly got into Ninjago. For playing, that was his favorite theme, but he was also very fond of older themes like Adventurers and Aquanauts.
Gilles de Crombrugghe: Building Art and Architecture
Article and Photography
by Gilles de Crombrugghe
The shrine.
A peek at the Bonsai Tea Garden.
Building
Isaac Snyder: LEGO Designer and
Builder
Article
and Photography
by Isaac Snyder
Isaac Snyder is a professional LEGO set designer that started out as a LEGO builder. In the time that he has been with the LEGO Group, he has designed over a dozen sets, including ones for the Minecraft theme and LEGO Ideas, including the Viking Village (21343) and Horizon Forbidden West: Tallneck (76989). Here, he talks with BrickJournal about the projects he builds outside of work, just for fun!
BrickJournal: How long have you been building?
Since I was a young kid. My older siblings had some LEGO sets, so I grew up around bricks. I’m from a big family and we couldn’t afford lots of new sets, so we had two big plastic tubs we kept all our parts in, and from that spent countless hours building houses, cars, trucks, castles, etc. Often these were inspired by new product lines we thought looked amazing. I distinctly remember building our own array of mechs influenced by Exo-Force, and trying mechanical functions in a bunch of mining vehicles after seeing the Power Miners line.
What got you into building as an adult?
I found the online LEGO community very young. As a young teen, medieval times and castles especially caught my interest, so I was looking them up on the internet when I came across the classic-castle forum. Seeing the incredible models others were building instantly inspired me, and I started trying to emulate that level of MOCing and joined a few different forums. That was in 2011, and I have stayed very engaged with the community ever since.
What’s your favorite theme?
Castle, as it’s what drew me into building as a serious hobby. In recent years I have been building more and more space, but still always enjoy a good medieval model.
What inspired you to start building MOCs?
As mentioned above, it was the classic-castle forum and seeing others’ work that really hooked me. I built lots of custom creations as a kid, and enjoyed it, but had never dreamed how complex and detailed LEGO models could be. So I spent a lot of time studying other MOCs, learning techniques, and trying to incorporate those learnings into my own models—as well as building a bigger parts collection via the discovery of Bricklink!
The starship Azarel.
What are the inspirations behind your builds?
Everdell Chapel: Board games are another big hobby of mine, and one of the most beautiful board games I have played is Everdell. My brother John and I both loved the charming world of woodland creatures and have now made a few models based off specific card art from the game. This one was the chapel, which features a quaint church perched atop some craggy rocks.
Everdell Chapel.
Everdell Chapel’s steeple.
Everdell Chapel’s entrance.
Gentle Gidman: Building Airships and Space Settlements
Article and Photography
by Gentle Gidman
Gentle Gidman (GentleSpring on Flickr) is a younger builder and a childcare worker. At the age of 18, she has been building for twelve years and is a new AFOL. She is so new, in fact, that the biggest event that got her building as an adult was just cleaning her desk off so she could start on her next project!
She got the first LEGO Friends set, which became her favorite theme. Her brothers, also members of the LEGO building community, were the ones who inspired her to use parts from her old sets to build MOCs.
Food on the Fly was built for the “Wandering Skies” contest. The category she entered had to be a business and she hadn’t tried her hand at an airship yet, so she went for it!
The time it takes Gentle to build a MOC depends on what she wants to build. For her, it can be as simple as an easyto-build open air market or more complex, like a solar settlement.
To start a build, Geneva spends most of her time finding a criteria that inspires her. With Food on the Fly, the criteria was that it had to be a floating business. That gave her the idea of a traveling market. As with many of her MOCs, she likes to add an element of whimsy or humor. The idea of such a modern convenience as the supermarket was funny in a steampunk setting. Once she had the idea and inspiration, it was just a matter of choosing her key elements and building around them.
Gentle’s Food on the Fly.
Genesis Solar Settlement
Welcome to the Genesis Solar Settlement, the space research center of tomorrow. This, the habitat of four brave space travelers, is also the mecca of developing a habitat for all people.
We start off our tour in the living quarters, also known as the Green Division. Four compact bunks, combined with a transitional seating area, make this the perfect place to unwind after a long day of learning. Top it off with large, wrap-around windows and a full-view skylight, and there’s plenty of “space” to live!
Let’s proceed to the Blue Division. A dual garden box creates the perfect biome to study all the unusual soil. A large glassed-in tower is ideal for inspection of some of the more voluminous species. Cap it off with a mudroom and airlock and we’re on to the garage.
Green Division
Blue Division
ABrickDreamer:
Building Micros and Movies
Article and Photography
by Davide Sacramati
The LEGO fan community is a diverse bunch. Builder Davide Sacramati (abrickdreamer on Flickr) is a good example, being an Italian AFOL who happens to be a youth football coach living in Singapore. While he has been building since he was a kid, he started MOC building around 2017.
A combination of things got him into adult building. One thing was seeing a very interesting LEGO documentary where he first found out about AFOLs and LEGO Ideas (the LEGO crowdfunding platform). Another thing was visiting a beautiful exhibition in Singapore: Piece of Peace, a selection of World Heritage sites recreated with LEGO. Finally, Davide’s wife gifted him a LEGO set: the Venice skyline Architecture set. That set got him completely hooked.
Davide has no favorite theme in particular—he would gladly build any set. If he had to pick themes, they would probably be LEGO Icons and LEGO Ideas. When Davide got back into LEGO building, he didn’t have the space or budget for sets, especially the big expensive ones for adults. As a result, he decided to fill the lack of LEGO in his life by building his own MOCs. Initially he didn’t have a part inventory, so he started digitally building with LEGO Digital Designer and then Stud.io
Davide Sacramati’s media-inspired habitats!
For Davide, inspiration can come from many places. His first MOCs were mostly based on IPs (intellectual properties), real buildings, or specific designs for LEGO Ideas. Now, he has a different approach. He loves participating in all kinds of LEGO contests, as they give builders a prompt, which is an easy starting point. Davide recommends any and every builder to participate in these contests.
Davide’s also a big fan of building small, either in terms of piece count or scale. These factors make the inspiration phase easier. Sometimes he starts from a minifigure and builds a habitat around it. Since he loves the habitat concept, he explored it in microscale. He made a stack of microscale landscape habitats and another stack of iconic scenes in microscale habitats. He also likes to create mini versions of official sets, which is another popular thing to do for microscale fans.
The time needed to make a model varies; it can be just a few hours, if Davide has a clear idea of what he wants to build. If there is a lot of trial and error, it will take longer, but generally he doesn’t have a build on his table for longer than a week.
Every now and then Davide has a bigger project, but usually he likes to build many MOCs on the smaller side. When he starts to build something, he has this urge to finish it; if he builds too big, he gets impatient. LEGO always comes after family and work, so he advocates building small and fast.
Davide always starts with a kind of clear idea of what to build; of course, while building there might be variations and the build could take a bit of a different direction. Generally he completes a MOC, takes photos, makes a YouTube
Super Mario double habitat!
A microscale habitat themed to Back to the Future.
A Jurassic Park habitat.
“I am your father...”.
The Nightmare Before Christmas.
A habitat for a harpy.
My name is Rexson David Magno, hence my online moniker is ReD M on Flickr and Instagram. I am from the Philippines but currently working as a technical engineer for specialized printers in the United Arab Emirates. Growing up, I spent most of my time playing with LEGOs, and being an indoor kid meant that my imagination ran wild through my fingers with these plastic bricks for quite some time, which helped me develop my designing, technical, and building skills that I still use today. And having the ability to transform my curiosities, ideas, and concepts into tangible objects fills me with a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment that is unmatched. Growing up in the mid-1990s and early 2000s was an exciting time for me since it was a booming era for sci-fi shows and video games. I fondly remember watching Voltes-V and Gundam on VHS and spending countless hours playing MechWarrior 4 Vengeance on my old computer. I am a huge fan of science fiction. I enjoy stories that take me to futuristic worlds with advanced technology, where mechas and spaceships are used for different purposes.
Rexson David Magno: Making Mechs and Megaships Building
Article
and Photography
by Rexson David Magno
The MFS (Medium Freighter Ship) Sturgeon.
The Sturgeon with support craft.
I guess the hardest build that I’ve done was the Kintsugi Porcelain Koma for Marchikoma 2022. The whole building experience was challenging yet fun, especially getting the bulbous head, but the hardest part of that build was applying the decals with the Studio 2.0 Part Designer. I’ve faced multiple wonky decal placements at times. Additionally, some parts of the decals got pixelated during import for some reason, so I had to redo or change them since I didn’t like how it looked. Moreover, my laptop gave out a couple of times as well trying to render the images.
My proudest build would be my latest MOC, the Beluga Viper Class Assault VTOL. I got inspired to create it from just a promotional poster of an obscure spaceship from a movie that I saw randomly one day, although I can’t remember the name of the movie anymore. I managed to recreate the cockpit that initially caught my attention, then I decided to incorporate that cockpit into a large-scale MOC, with the final idea of turning it into a VicViperesque Assault VTOL ship. I’m particularly pleased with the weapons I added to the build. Overall, I’m really proud of how it all turned out.
Magno’s Porcelain Koma.
Beluga Viper Class Assault VTOL in flight.
Beluga Viper Class Assaut VTOL in landing mode.
The Ban mecha frame.
You Can Build It
MINI Build
MINI Bucket Truck
by Ryan Bone
Ryan Bone is a builder that has been at various events showing his microscale cities. A recent layout showed a great example of a vehicle in this scale. While his city will be spotlighted in the next issue of BrickJournal, here is a teaser for his work!
But first some words from Ryan:
“I’m 35 and I live in Michigan. I work in a plastic factory— not LEGO because I would put them out of business! I always loved architecture and built many cities as a kid, but sold my collection to buy a PlayStation! I started building my microscale LEGO city in 2012 after a LEGO gag gift from my dad inspired me to splurge on LEGO. I love to build in microscale because I have lots of ideas and not enough space.
“Building on this scale allows me to go 10, 20, maybe 25 floors with a building using about as many pieces as a modular LEGO set. I have currently 120 buildings ranging from small houses built with less than a hundred pieces, to a 50-story skyscraper using well over 20,000 parts!
“I’ll never know exactly how many pieces my city contains but it’s certainly in the range of 150,000. In fact, the 70+ vehicles that bring the city to life account for nearly 2,500! These micromachines take minutes to build with an assortment of spare parts that you may have in your collection!”
Qty Color Part Description
3 Lt Bluish Grey 35480.dat Plate 1 x 2 with Round Ends and 2 Open Studs
1 Lt Bluish Grey 99780.dat Bracket 1 x 2 - 1 x 2 Up
2 Lt Bluish Grey 4070.dat Brick 1 x 1 with Headlight
3 Lt Bluish Grey 2412b.dat Tile 1 x 2 Grille with Groove
1 Lt Bluish Grey 44728.dat Bracket 1 x 2 - 2 x 2 Down
1 Lt Bluish Grey 3023b.dat Plate 1 x 2
2 White 30374.dat Bar 4L Lightsaber Blade
2 White 99781.dat Bracket 1 x 2 - 1 x 2 Down
1 White 33909.dat Plate 2 x 2 with 2 Studs on One Edge
1 White 3680c02.dat Turntable 2 x 2 Plate with Light Bluish Grey Top
1 White 1748.dat Tile 1 x 2 Half Round
1 White 24246.dat Tile 1 x 1 with Rounded End
2 White 4070.dat Brick 1 x 1 with Headlight
1 White 11090.dat Bar Tube with Clip
2 White 15573.dat Plate 1 x 2 with Groove with 1 Centre Stud, without Understud
2 White 11211.dat Brick 1 x 2 with Two Studs on One Side
1 White 3795.dat Plate 2 x 6
1 White 26047.dat Plate 1 x 1 Round with Horizontal Handle on Side
1 White 3020.dat Plate 2 x 4
1 White 15712.dat Tile 1 x 1 with Clip (Thick C-Clip)
1 White 3022.dat Plate 2 x 2
1 White 99207.dat Bracket 1 x 2 - 2 x 2 Up
2 White 87079.dat Tile 2 x 4 with Groove
1 White 18674.dat Plate 2 x 2 Round with 1 Centre Stud
3 White 23443.dat Bar Tube with Handle
1 White 93609.dat Arm Skeleton with Horizontal Clip Bent 56.31
2 Trans Orange 6141.dat Plate 1 x 1 Round
2 Trans Black 54200.dat Slope Brick 31 1 x 1 x 0.667
1 Trans Yellow 98138.dat Tile 1 x 1 Round with Groove
1 Black 99780.dat Bracket 1 x 2 - 1 x 2 Up
4 Black 6141.dat Plate 1 x 1 Round
1 Black 3023b.dat Plate 1 x 2
Building
Minifigure Customization 101:
Why Does Nothing Ever Turn Out Like it Should?
Article
and
Photography by Jared K. Burks
I started with the quote above, because:
“I am too blunt and saucy.” Cymbeline, Act 5, Scene 5 We just got one of the most iconic Tim Burton-themed LEGO sets: “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” featuring some of the best figure variants I have yet seen in any LEGO set ever created, which you would think would make me happy. Good on you, LEGO; the Mayor, Zero, and rest of the characters, Jack and Sally especially, are just phenomenal. That said, bad form, LEGO, for not creating the villains!
Well luckily...
The fact that we do not have the Oogie Boogie, Dr. Finkelstein, or the mask accessories for Lock, Barrel, and Shock is just a travesty. So let us put those talents to good use!
So LEGO left us hanging, but set out with a form that says whatever I create has to be as good or better, and with all the same creativity that LEGO has demonstrated. Where to start?
But alas, no one is going to hold my hand here, so let’s get to creating.
So let’s get to creating and step outside of the same old thing!
For this microscale model, we wanted to create a microscope to reveal the secrets of the mini world around us. The core of the microscope uses a sturdy, white, double inverted slope more common to plane sets.
The teal accents and base mimic the look of a real laboratory microscope, with black highlights to make the color pop in comparison. The adjustable focus knobs are made with vehicle wheels. Look out for a secret BrickNerd Easter egg on the viewing platform!
So start building your own LEGO microscope. Who knows what amazing discoveries await just beyond the lens?
Parts List
(Parts can be ordered through Bricklink.com by searching by part number and color)
Qty Part Color Description
1 11301.dat White Slope Brick Curved 2 x 8 x 2 Inverted Double
1 3023b.dat White Plate 1 x 2
2 34103.dat White Plate 1 x 3 with 2 Studs Offset
1 11212.dat White Plate 3 x 3
1 41682.dat White Bracket 2 x 2 - 1 x 2 Up Centred
4 18653.dat White Arch 1 x 3 x 2 Inverted
1 1750.dat White Brick 2 x 2 x 1 with Curved Bottom
4 6541.dat White Technic Brick 1 x 1 with Hole
1 2654a.dat Trans Clear Dish 2 x 2 with Rim
2 3024.dat Red Plate 1 x 1
2 3666.dat Dark Turquoise Plate 1 x 6
2 60481a.dat Dark Turquoise Slope Brick 65 2 x 1 x 2 with Symmetric Stud Holder
2 73111.dat Dark Turquoise Brick 3 x 3 x 2 Round with Recessed Centre
2 3023b.dat Dark Turquoise Plate 1 x 2
2 3700.dat Dark Turquoise Technic Brick 1 x 2 with Hole
2 6091.dat Dark Turquoise Brick 2 x 1 x 1.333 with Curved Top
2 18653.dat Dark Turquoise Arch 1 x 3 x 2 Inverted
2 11477.dat Dark Turquoise Slope Brick Curved 2 x 1
4 3005.dat Dark Turquoise Brick 1 x 1
1 15535.dat Black Tile 2 x 2 Round with Hole
5 3941.dat Black Brick 2 x 2 Round without Reinforcement
2 2780.dat Black Technic Pin with Friction and Slots
1 3062b.dat Black Brick 1 x 1 Round with Hollow Stud
1 32054.dat Black Technic Pin Long with Stop Bush
2 25269.dat Black Tile 1 x 1 Corner Round
1 87580.dat Black Plate 2 x 2 with Groove with 1 Centre Stud
2 3795.dat Black Plate 2 x 6
1 3956.dat Black Bracket 2 x 2 - 2 x 2 Up
2 18646.dat Black Plate 3 x 6 Round Half with 1 x 2 Cutout
1 11253.dat Black Minifig Roller Skate
1 13971.dat Black Wheel Rim 8 x 18 with Deep Centre Groove, Deep Spokes and Peghole
Life in Pieces
Wittner
Jurgen
Jürgen Wittner: Life in Pieces
Article by David Strenzler, Bantha Bricks: Fans of LEGO Star Wars
Photography by Jürgen Wittner
Galactic greetings! We are Bantha Bricks: Fans of LEGO Star Wars. As administrators of one of the best LEGO Star Wars themed groups on Facebook, David Strenzler, Frank Averstegge and Eloi Parizeau witness amazingly creative builds by Star Wars fans worldwide on a nearly daily basis.
Jürgen Wittner is a very active member of our Bantha Bricks community, as well as an extraordinarily talented MOC builder.
Some of you might recall BrickJournal #74’s Star Wars special featured an interview with Jürgen that was focused on his DN-25 Treadable as seen in Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker. It was our pleasure to speak with Jürgen once more to learn about some of his incredibly detailed 1:16 scale models of iconic Star Wars ships that he designed over the last few years.
David Strenzler: Hello Jürgen. Welcome to the Bantha Bricks Files! The LEGO Star Wars community has been familiar with your undoubtedly skilled Star Wars-inspired designs for some time. Could you please introduce yourself and what you do?
Jürgen Wittner: Hi, I’m Jürgen Wittner, 47 years old, from Berlin, Germany. I’m an architect who works for an office that mainly plans and builds public buildings such as universities, schools, and lecture halls. My main project is a depot with restoration workshops for seven different museums in Berlin.
About four-and-a-half years ago, I started designing LEGO Star Wars MOCs, making instructions for them, and going to LEGO exhibitions in my spare time.
Does Star Wars remain your favorite theme, or have others recently surfaced?
Yes, Star Wars is still my favorite theme. This simply has to do with the fact that I’m an absolute
