About Andrew Becraft (TBB Editor-in-Chief)

Andrew Becraft is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Brothers Brick. He's been building with LEGO for more than 40 years, and writing about LEGO here on TBB since 2005. He's also the co-author, together with TBB Senior Editor Chris Malloy, of the DK book Ultimate LEGO Star Wars. Andrew is an active member of the online LEGO community, as well as his local LEGO users group, SEALUG. Andrew is also a regular attendee of BrickCon, where he organizes a collaborative display for readers of The Brothes Brick nearly every year. You can check out Andrew's own LEGO creations on Flickr. Read Andrew's non-LEGO writing on his personal blog, Andrew-Becraft.com. Andrew lives in Seattle with his wife and dogs, and by day leads software design and planning teams.

Posts by Andrew Becraft (TBB Editor-in-Chief)

Nominations open for LEGO Ambassadors Program Cycle 7 (2009/2010) [News]

First, the complete announcement from The LEGO Group:

Hello LEGO Enthusiasts,

We’re happy to announce that the nomination process for LEGO Ambassador Cycle 7 is now open.

The LEGO Ambassador Program is designed to give the AFOL Community a direct line into the LEGO Company. The Program is essentially a gathering of community representatives that speak on behalf of the larger communities they are a part of. This group is able to bring forward the interests, concerns and questions directly to LEGO Employees.

Who’s allowed to nominate?

Any AFOL Community Group (online or on the map) will have the opportunity to submit nominations from their group (up to 3 people if they so choose). Not everyone can be selected for the program in order to keep the group manageable.

If you choose to submit a nomination it does not mean that your candidate will be chosen, but it does mean that your group will have just as much an opportunity to get involved in having a direct representative in the LEGO Ambassador Program. We will try to get a diverse group of people who are able to represent the whole AFOL community as good as possible.

Groups can certainly nominate someone already in the Ambassador Program, but the program has a two term limit in order to opportunites for more people to be involved. After a term out of the program, a previous Ambassador can be re-nominated (this rule only started with cycle 6 so all current Ambassadors are still eligible).

A group that submits a nomination for the LEGO Ambassador program should be established and known within the LEGO Community.

What should a nomination have in it?

Name and age of the nominee.

Where is the nominee from?

Which Group does this nominee represent?

Does this person consent to being nominated (Please do not submit a nomination on behalf of someone you have not discussed with beforehand).

Explanation of who the nominees are, what their activities are, and why they would be a good representative of their community (at least 3 testimonials from members of nominating group are required)

Key interests of the nominee (themes, building styles, and some examples of their building)

NEW!!! Platform – The nominations should now include a list of the goals that the nominee and the community he/she represents are looking to accomplish as part of the program. Remember the LEGO Ambassador Program is all about the AFOL community having representation into the LEGO Group, so this is an effort to have you think ahead as to what you really think would benefit your communities the most.

When is the Nomination Due?

July 1, 2009 by midnight GMT. If a nomination is received after this time it will be automatically rejected. The new cycle will be announced on approximately July 8, 2009.

Who Should the Nominations be sent too?

Nominations should be sent directly to steve@lego.com

What might a LEGO Ambassador be committing too?

LEGO Ambassadors are committing to represent their communities interests to the LEGO Group.

There are projects that Ambassadors can take part in, it is up to the individual to decide what they may or may not be interested in working on. It all comes down to how they feel they can best represent their community.

Online discussions will be held for the Entire group of Ambassadors that will include members of the LEGO Community Team and other LEGO Employees as well.

In order to get the most out of the program you should be willing to give some time to in order to help discussions along. If you don’t give time to it then you may not be dishonoring the nomination you received from the community.

There is no NDA requirement to take part in the LEGO Ambassador Program for Cycle 7. There may be an instance where a special project will come up and the Ambassadors may have to sign an NDA to participate in that, but it will take place in a separate forum in order to limit confusion as to what can be said outside of the Ambassador program. Otherwise, anything shared in Ambassador Discussions can be shared with the AFOL Community.

This next session of the Ambassador Program will last approximately one year.
Thank you all. Your nominations are very valuable for helping the LEGO Community Team choose the next round of LEGO Ambassadors.

Steve Witt – LEGO Ambassador Lead
&
Tormod, Jan, Jim, Lenka, and Phil
The LEGO Community Team

Next, I’ll be posting separately about how this is going to work here on The Brothers Brick. (And to consolidate comments where they’re most relevant, I’m going to lock comments on this first post.)

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Harrison’s Sonic Screwdriver can open any LEGO door

Harrison (corran101) says he’s been on a bit of a Doctor Who kick lately. His life-size sonic screwdriver would fit perfectly in the Doctor’s hand.

See more of Harrison’s Dr. Who LEGO creations on Flickr.

Mace Windu gets his ride pimped

Kevin (Legorevolution) combines a whole bunch of rare chrome-gold LEGO elements with an excellent microscale cityscape for this wonderful scene featuring everyone’s favorite purple-lightsaber-wielding Jedi.

A chrome-gold C-3PO head serves as the hood ornament on the speeder piloted by “Lord Bamfness”.

Please welcome my brother to The Brothers Brick!

Ever since I recruited Josh and we renamed our newly relaunched blog “The Brothers Brick,” I thought it would be awesome to have my real-life brother join us. Call me sentimental, but it just made sense.

Our LEGO brotherhood has been a circuitous journey that goes back more than 30 years. When he was barely walking, Thanel (not his real name; he’ll explain why) destroyed my 381 Police Headquarters by climbing up to my top bunk, where I’d built it, and pushing it off to the floor below. I was devastated.

When he was old enough to have his own LEGO, our rivalry continued.

My Crusaders and Forestmen waged endless battles against his Black Falcons on our bedroom floor, complete with movement rules and hit points to track who was winning — at least a decade before BrikWars. We also built collaboratively, combining our collections for moonbases and medieval landscapes that rival in size (if not in building skills) some of the largest dioramas we regularly feature here.

As we grew older and each entered varied levels of Dark Ages, LEGO remained a point of commonality — graduation and birthday gifts to each other, and conversations about the latest Wild West and Adventurers sets we saw in stores.

All that is in the past, though. Looking to the future, I’m very pleased to announce that Thanel is joining The Brothers Brick as our newest contributor. One of the main things he’ll be documenting with his posts will be his emergence from LEGO isolation into the broader LEGO fan community — both online and offline. I think this is a different perspective from that of our other contributors, each recruited for their deep ties to various LEGO fan communities.

It’s also a point of view shared by many of you readers out there. Where do I start? Is there a LEGO club in my area? What’s it feel like to post that first work-in-progress LEGO creation and have it ripped apart? Thanel will be working to answer those questions.

But enough from me! Let’s hear from Thanel himself.

LEGO Harry Potter Video Game announced at E3 2009 [News]

It’s no surprise that there’s lots of video game news this week. The industry expo, E3, is happening June 2 through 4 in Los Angeles, California. Today’s big news is the announcement by Warner Bros. and TT Games of LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4.

No details on platforms or a more specific release date than “2010”.

Via Kotaku.

Legohaulic’s Delorean goes Brick to the Future at 88 miles per hour

Tyler Clites (Legohaulic) says he’s been having “loads of fun” with his LEGO Power Functions motors and remote control.

Most recently, he added a motor to his LEGO Delorean. Naturally, the Delorean can zoom around Tyler’s kitchen floor.

Via Young Spacers .

LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues announced [News]

TT Games and LucasArts recently announced LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues.

LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues

Due out this fall for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PSP, Windows, Wii, and Nintendo DS, the game is apparently going to include all of the content from the first LEGO Indiana Jones, along with new objectives, a new Crystal Skull section, and a level editor (a first among the current generation of LEGO games).

LEGO Power Miners loader by Marek Markiewicz

Like many adult fans of LEGO, Marek Markiewicz wasn’t convinced that the new LEGO Power Miners theme would work. Then Marek built this.

Marek calls his creation boring, but I don’t think heavy equipment can ever be boring. The low-slung vehicle is designed to work in the low-ceilinged tunnels of a mine.

Wolfpack ... in space!

Combining two classic LEGO themes often results in something really cool. The QRT-39 Arufa Dansei “Alpha Male” fighter by Daniel Drisdelle mashes up the classic LEGO Castle theme Wolfpack with Space.

Supermarine Spitfire Mk IX by Lego Monster

We generally don’t blog two planes by the same builder two days apart, but this Spitfire by Ed Diment (Lego Monster) is too gorgeous to pass up.

The plane has a three-stud-wide fuselage, great camouflage, and a beautiful profile.

Nnenn finds a way

Contrary to popular opinion, nnenn doesn’t just build spaceships. This “Wayfinder” transport includes a modular cargo container, a really interesting cockpit, and some funky instruments on the roof.

Douglas C-47 Dakota

With the second LEGO Military Contest wrapping up tomorrow, it seems that it’s a week for planes.

Motor.On‘s entry is the Douglas C-47 Dakota transport, used by Allied forces during World War II and the Berlin Airlift.