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)

BrickArms featured on NPR & in new book on “makers”

I’ve been a fan of BrickArms ever since Will Chapman won me over during a talk at BrickCon way back in 2006. Since then, Will has expanded his business to a new dedicated location, released more new designs than we can keep up with, and been featured in numerous publications and media outlets.

NPR logo The latest coverage of BrickArms was on NPR today. Will explains how his son’s interest in World War II inspired him to create BrickArms, and the story covers a bit of the process Will uses to design his minifigs and accessories. You can listen to the full story on NPR.org.

Following the feature Chris Anderson wrote for WIRED magazine a couple years ago, he expanded the piece into a full-length book titled Makers: The New Industrial Revolution.

I haven’t read the book yet, but we’re told that BrickArms features prominently in the longer work as well, providing an example of how individuals and small business can incubate innovation and deliver interesting new products, without the staff and apparatus of traditional corporations.

If you’ve read the book yourself already, let us know what you think in the comments.

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.

Fredo busts out Captain America

I always enjoy when a LEGO builder surprises me. As much as I love all of the mecha, sky-fi, and Vic Vipers that Fredoichi builds, he’s actually quite a diverse builder who’s been dabbling recently in medium-scale sculptures. His latest is an interesting bust of Captain America.

Fredo accomplishes some of the detail with stickers, and says, “Stickering took more time than the actual build.” If the result looks this great, who am I to quibble with such non-purist ways?

Hawken assault mech by curtydc

After Ma.Ktober, we’ve given mecha a bit of a rest, but this walker by Curtis Collins (curtydc) from the upcoming game Hawken is too cool to pass up.

My favorite detail? Curtis found a bent LEGO antenna in his parts bin and incorporated it into his model.

LEGO Shop Black Friday 2012 deals start at midnight EST / 9 PM PST thru 11/26

“Brick Friday” is back at the LEGO Shop Online. The sale starts at midnight EST / 9 PM PST tonight and lasts through November 26 (aka “Cyber Monday”).

Free shipping on orders over $49.
Free exclusive holiday set on orders over $99.
10% off all orders over $149.

In addition, LEGO has discounted over sixty products between 5% and 50%. Highlights include this year’s LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar at 50% off.

The other items discounted by 50% are:

Highlights from items discounted by 20% include:

Link for U.S. readers

Link for Canadian readers

Link for U.K. readers

Bring LEGO Stephen Hawking home for the holidays

Speaking of the inimitable Mr. Iain Heath of The Living Brick, it’s been nearly six years since his Miniland Stephen Hawking began taking the Internet by storm. Iain’s latest experiment in cloning little plastic cosmologists has been successful, and you can own your own LEGO Stephen Hawking with The Standard Model.

Iain surprised me with a copy of his custom set yesterday, so here’s a quick review. (No photos of my own, since the whole point of a custom kit made by a fan is the parts list and their personal design.)

One of the reasons Iain’s LEGO version of Professor Hawking has stayed viral for so long is that it evokes the man himself so well. I had the privilege of hearing Stephen Hawking give a lecture on M-theory here in Seattle this summer, and Iain has captured the nuance’s of his appearance wonderfully, from the angle of his head to the computer he uses to communicate.

The instructions are clear and easy to follow, printed on nice glossy paper. It’s always interesting building someone else’s design, since it gives you a view into their thinking process. Iain’s model is full of one-stud connections and bricks attached at odd angles — this isn’t a model to give your six-year-old to play with on the floor.

At $39.99, you’re not buying this model to use the parts in your own LEGO creations. Iain has only produced a limited run of 100, and you’d be buying it because you think it’s awesome (like I do) — or because you know it’d make a perfect gift for that LEGO fan who has everything. “The Standard Model” will make an excellent display model on the desk or mantle of any fan of the universe, Stephen Hawking, and little plastic bricks.

You can pick up your own copy of The Standard Model from Amazon.com. If you can’t find the link later, just remember TheStandardModel.info (which’ll take you to Amazon).

UPDATE: Iain is running a bit of a Black Friday sale of his own. Enter the promo code “BROBRICK” at checkout and you’ll get $10 off. Combined with free shipping from Amazon, that makes this a pretty sweet deal for a custom LEGO kit. The sale starts at 6 AM PST on Wednesday (Nov 21) and runs through midnight on Sunday.

Please don’t eat the Truckster

This one’s a year old, but we missed it last year and Iain just blogged it over on The Living Brick, so I say it’s fair game. Joe Klang (-derjoe-) built the Wagon Queen Family Truckster from National Lampoon’s Vacation.

I’d seen all the other National Lampoon vacation movies, but somehow managed to avoid the first one until recently. This is a beautifully rendered LEGO version of a very ugly car, but for those who’ve seen the movie, that black bundle on the roof is a wonderful touch…

Vintage LEGO machine gun made from wood

Bruno Todd has an amazing collection of vintage LEGO toys from before the era of interlocking plastic bricks in his L Gauge Museum photostream. Longtime LEGO fans have probably seen the iconic wooden duck, but have you ever seen a wooden LEGO machine gun?

For a trip into LEGO’s past, check out the rest of Michael’s photos on Flickr.

You can see the L Gauge Museum’s collection of wooden LEGO trains at the San Diego Model Railroad Museum now through mid-January.

LEGO stop-motion animation tips & tricks from BrotherhoodWorkshop

You might think that stop-motion animation is just a matter of taking lots of sequential photos, but there’s a lot more to it than that. Kevin Ulrich shares his experience creating the popular Hobbit and Lord of the Rings shorts we’ve featured here over the past few months.

Like all movies and TV, I would argue myself that what actually makes the BrotherhoodWorkshop shorts so great is excellent writing. Can’t wait to see what they post next!

Double-decker London Routemaster bus

Ralph (Mad Physicist) is assembling a fleet of British vehicles for displays he contributes to as part of the Brickish Association in the UK. His latest is a Miniland-scale Routemaster, better known as the double-decker London bus. Ralph captures the iconic curves wonderfully.

I never got the opportunity to take a ride on one while I was in London a few years ago, but oddly, there’s one that a local garden center uses as a greenhouse up the road here in Seattle…

Sailing the skies aboard Luis’s other-worldly Volare Onerariis

Airships with houses on them are just plain fun — implying a life of endless adventure among the clouds. Luis Baixinho has created this delightful vessel for his own OutroMundo theme. I love the nets tying down the cargo, but my favorite detail is the tile roof of the cabin.

Luis has been creating the people, places, and vehicles of OutroMundo since 2004, so be sure to check out lots more good stuff on Flickr.

Police fire on developmentally disabled man waving LEGO gun

In news that proves again that taking your life-size LEGO guns outdoors isn’t such a great idea, a sheriff’s deputy in Woodinville, Washington (near Seattle) fired on a man waving what appeared to be a gun.

Here’s the AP story in its entirety:

King County Sheriff Steve Strachan says he’s grateful a deputy did not injure a man who waved a gun made of Lego toy building bricks.

The deputy had responded to a report of a man waving a gun at passing cars Thursday in Woodinville. The man raised what appeared to be a gun at the deputy who fired several shots.

The suspect dropped to the ground unhurt. Deputies discovered the gun was a toy and the man was a resident of a nearby home for developmentally disabled adults.

Via The Seattle Times.

Another Times story adds, “The man, who deputies have encountered before, has a ‘fascination with guns’ and had made the handgun out of black Lego blocks.”

Thankfully, this story ended without injury, but this type of situation is why the Seattle Police Department influenced the absence of realistic LEGO guns at BrickCon…

UPDATE: Local TV station KOMO has an updated story with pictures of the gun.

LEGO
Photo by King County Sheriff’s Office

Get a jump on Black Friday deals with free shipping, free holiday set & more [News]

Today only, members of the LEGO VIP Program get early access to “Brick Friday” sales.

The free shipping amount has been lowered to $49.
At $99, you get this year’s exclusive holiday set for free (which can’t be purchased separately).
At $149, you get 10% off your whole order.

And since we haven’t mentioned it yet, the LEGO Shop now has a Retiring Soon page that highlights LEGO sets for which production runs will not be renewed, and so whatever LEGO currently has in stock is all that’s left.

Chief among these is the classic LEGO Castle set 10193 Medieval Market Village, unveiled at BrickCon 2009.

Don’t miss the rest of the Retiring Soon sets on LEGO.com.