Introduction On August 1, 2023 LEGO released a new set (76262) that creates a reasonably accurate replica of Captain America’s Shield from the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) movies. The initial reactions to this set were less than positive with some people comparing it unfavorably to the bigger (and more expensive) custom version sold by Bricker Builds. That particular version is built as a sculpture created by stacking regular plates, which makes it far more sturdy. The official set on the other hand is smaller and seems more flimsy. But there are many reasons to appreciate the new se ..read more

Every so often we come across a technique used in an official LEGO set or a MOC that leaves us scratching our heads. Surely there must be a good explanation for how that technique works, but it isn’t always readily apparent. As it turns out, there is usually some math involved and my goal with this series of posts is to try to delve into the math behind LEGO techniques. The first post in this series can be found here. In April 2022 LEGO announced two new additions to their Botanical Collection line. I will be talking about one of them (10311 Orchid) in this post. What kind of math could possi ..read more

Have you come across a LEGO technique used in an official set or a MOC that left you wondering “how does that even work ?”. It turns out there is a pretty good explanation for every technique out there as long as you don’t mind getting your hands dirty with a little math. In this new series of posts, I will try to use math to explain how some of these techniques work (suggestions are always welcome for the techniques I should cover next). Let’s start first with the latest modular building set from LEGO – the Boutique Hotel 10297 which was released on January 1, 2022. The first thing that draw ..read more

Introduction Creating your own builds using LEGO bricks can sometimes be a lot of hard work. There’s definitely some blood, sweat and tears involved and not to forget, some SNOT. The SNOT I am referring to here is not what you are probably thinking of, but a technique that is used by LEGO builders to build sideways (instead of stacking bricks one on top of the other). SNOT is an abbreviation (though not the most elegant one) for “Studs Not On Top”. If you look through the bricks that make up any recent LEGO set, there is a good chance that you will see some bricks that have studs (bumps) not j ..read more

Introduction What are half stud offsets and why do we need them ? Before we get into that, let’s start with the basics. A stud is not just the bump you see on the top of a LEGO piece that allows you to connect it to other LEGO pieces. It is also a unit of measurement representing the distance between two adjacent bumps (or knobs) on a LEGO piece (measured center to center). The basic building block of the LEGO system is a 1×1 brick which is exactly 1 stud wide and 1 stud deep (though it is a little taller than 1 stud). A 2×4 brick is 2 studs wide and 4 studs deep. All basic LEGO pieces (bricks ..read more

Introduction How many different ways can you attach a 1×6 brick to a baseplate ? There are quite a few as you can imagine, but each time the studs of the brick have to line up with the studs of the baseplate under it. That is just how LEGO works. The studs on the baseplate are in a regular square grid and therefore you can only place your 1×6 brick such that it is parallel to one of the sides of the baseplate. Suppose you are building a castle out of LEGO and one of your walls needs to be at a 45 degree angle, are you out of luck ? Remember the regular square grid I mentioned earlier ? If you ..read more

LEGO is not a medium that is inherently suited to building round shapes. After all, the basic building block – a 1×1 brick has a square footprint and a LEGO baseplate has studs placed in a regular square grid. And yet, there are many wonderful LEGO creations out there that include round shapes – all kinds of cylinders and even spheres. I did not have much experience building these shapes out of LEGO until I started working on my own version of the Taj Mahal. The focal point of this well-known landmark (which happens to be one of the modern wonders of the world) is its massive dome which sits a ..read more

Italy has some of the most impressive architecture (some of it dating back to the earliest days of Western Civilization) that can be found anywhere in the world. It is probably no coincidence that Italy is also home to some of the best LEGO builders specializing in architecture. Now two of these builders – Luca Petraglia and Antonio Cerretti have teamed up to form SPQR Bricks. Their first collaboration so far has produced a custom version of the Colosseum. Unlike the official LEGO set of the Colosseum (that was recently released) which depicts this world landmark as it can be seen in the curre ..read more

In the interest of continuing to provide perspectives other than my own, I am happy to invite my third guest to this blog – Alexandre Canavarro. He is an AFOL from Brazil who has been working for the last couple of years on a very ambitious LEGO cathedral project. It is still very much a work in progress, but what Alexandre has managed to accomplish so far is already very impressive. I have been following Alexandre on Instagram for the last two years, watching this amazing project take shape. With its massive scale, soaring columns that come together in stately arches and colorful “stained ..read more

One of the great things about being an AFOL is that you belong to a community of builders from around the world who share the same hobby as you. Although our paths may never cross in real life, there is still a sense of camaraderie among us AFOLs on the internet (especially on social media) with all of us supporting each other’s work and of course learning from each other. Nearly all of my LEGO models have been based on American skyscrapers and yet I have found a lot of inspiration in the work of my guest Michael Haas who is based in Germany. His models of classic European bui ..read more