About Matt Hocker

Matt Hocker has been an avid LEGO fan since the age of 4, when he received a box of his father's 1960s era LEGO bricks. In addition to being a builder at heart, Matt is passionate about LEGO history and has amassed a sizable collection of LEGO ephemera to provide context for the LEGO story. Matt's collection forms what he likes to call the Library of the Brick, and he lives by the slogan "building history one stud at a time." He invites you to ask him any questions you might have about the hobby or the history behind the brick.

Posts by Matt Hocker

Fabian’s marvelous marbled bricks [Feature]

Last week, we showed you more of Beryll Roehl’s wonderful LEGO test brick photographs. Today, we’re going to look at Norwegian collector Fabian Lindblad and his equally enjoyable snapshots of marbled bricks. Marbled bricks are named such after the swirls of different colored plastic they contain. Some elements are intentionally marbled for sets, while others are the result of changing over the plastic in a mold from one color to another. In the past, LEGO employees occasionally took them home to share with their children. Today, the standard procedure is to recycle them so they don’t leave the building. However, if you are really lucky, you might just find a marbling error in one of your latest sets.

Grey/white? marbled old logo brick.

See more awe-inspiring images of these highly collectible bricks

Baby Yoda you must build [Instructions]

With the recent Launch of the Disney+ streaming service, The Mandalorian series has been well-received and one character in particular has taken the internet by storm; of course, I’m talking about “Baby Yoda.” Images and scenes of the galaxy’s cutest toddler have blown up like a supernova. It was only a matter of time until a LEGO fan built the little guy, and Miro Dudas answered the call with an adorably charming rendition. Better yet, Miro decided to share the secrets of the Force with everyone in the form of free building instructions on Rebrickable!

Baby Yoda

Using the force to fight to the Teth

With the recent launch of Disney+, there’s been a lot of buzz about The Mandalorian, the latest Star Wars series to hit the TV screen. Builder Jaap Bijl reaches back into Star Wars’ televised past with a Star Wars: The Clone Wars duel between Obi Wan and the bounty hunter Cad Bane. The purple planet of Teth is well-represented here, with nicely sculpted rockwork and enough tonal variety to keep things interesting.

Clone Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. Cad Bane

Both characters are locked in a fierce battle, complete with sabers waving and guns-a-blazing. While they may be the stars of the show, my favorite element in this scene is the black and gray tree. The leaves are cleverly sculpted from curved slopes, along with a few ball and socket joint connections.

When pink touches yellow, you’re a dead fellow

If you’ve been hankering to hit the stars in a stylish Vic Viper, Kirby Warden has you covered with his blazing yellow Kigiku. In Japanese, Kigiku means yellow chrysanthemum but don’t let the name fool you; if you think you can outrun this starfighter, it’s time to wake up and smell the roses! You’re not going to get away when the pilot has maximum visibility in the cockpit mounted high above the fuselage.

Kigiku

If the subtle angles of the body formed using hinges are any indication, this is also one speedy vessel. Even the most formidable opponents may find themselves distracted by Kigiku’s lively yellow, dark pink, white and dark bluish gray color scheme.

Kigiku

The amethyst bonsai

Purple treeze all in the ground. Don’t know if they’re growing up or down. Is it crystal or purple ice? Whatever it is, Duncan Lindbo built a tree that’s nice. Queue Jimi Hendrix guitar solo – Duncan’s magical-looking tree is constructed from transparent purple Bionicle elements, which are lit throughout to give it a sparkly, crystalline appearance. If something could be grown from a shard of the Dark Crystal I’d imagine this would be it!

If you’d like to see more of Duncan’s work in purple, be sure to check out his loathsome worm we featured back in September.

These LEGO test bricks are fantastically photogenic [Feature]

When it comes to LEGO, Beryll Roehl is both a collector and artist. LEGO test bricks are the focal point of her collection, and she takes this hobby to the next level by beautifully photographing pieces alongside objects with similar colors. LEGO’s test bricks were produced in a multitude of materials and colors for the purpose of research and development, and they have an exciting history. To learn more about these unique relics of LEGO’s past, be sure to read our informative interview with Beryll. Since then, Beryll has photographed even more bricks like these black BASF bricks with a little bumblebee. How cute!

Black is beautiful!

See more of Beryll’s beautifully photographed test bricks

You ever driven with the devil in the pale moonlight?

Jerry Builds Bricks Returns with a stunning rendition of the Batmobile from Tim Burton’s Batman (1989). This is Jerry’s 2nd iteration of the Caped Crusader’s ride; we featured his building instructions for the first version last year. While it features some design cues found in the first model, the latest rendition looks sleeker and meaner. This is especially noticeable in the curve of the fins and the front fenders, which consist of curved slopes on hinges instead of angular slopes.

1989_Batmobile_5

Once you’ve finished drooling over Jerry’s bat-tastic Batmobile, be sure to check out our review of LEGO set 76139 1989 Batmobile!

The beginner’s guide to collecting LEGO wooden toys, the original LEGO Originals [Feature]

LEGO hasn’t always been a manufacturer of plastic building blocks. From 1932 until 1960, LEGO manufactured wooden toys and, this year, they are celebrating this heritage with the release of LEGO Originals Wooden Minifigure 853967. As a casual collector of wooden LEGO toys, I find the LEGO Originals line intriguing because LEGO is embracing its roots in such a way that allows the public to participate. As excited as I am for the future of LEGO Originals, I thought it might fun to take a look at what I like to call the original “LEGO Originals.”

Two LEGO Ducks
1940s Quacking duck and circa late-1930s orange duck – image courtesy of Matthew Hocker
Continue reading to learn more about collecting vintage wooden LEGO toys

This tiny temple towers above the sea

As Andreas Lenander’s Temple of Qa’te demonstrates, you don’t need a ton of LEGO bricks to create a big world. Despite it’s tiny size, Andreas’ diorama has a lot of activity, from the sailing ship and waves in the sea to the temple mounted high atop a cliff. There is some clever microscale parts usage here, including white claws for the ship’s sales and plant stems with 3 leaves representing palm trees. The greenery and architectural style of the temple give off a Mediterranean/Middle Eastern vibe, making it the perfect destination for tourists escaping the winter chills.

Temple of Qa'te

We have a Hulkbuster!

If you saw our review of the LEGO Marvel Hulkbuster: Ultron Edition set last year, you might recall there was some disappointment with the figure’s appearance. John Car has come smashing though with a more faithful looking rendition of the Hulkbuster. While it uses some of the parts and stickers from the original set, the proportions feel bigger, beefier and Hulkier.

See more of this hulking Hulkbuster

LEGO reveals giant wooden minifigure as part of new collectible Originals product line [News]

LEGO is celebrating its past in a big way this year. When founder Ole Kirk Christiansen began making toys in 1932, he made them out of wood before shifting to plastic. LEGO manufactured wooden toys until 1960, always with the highest commitment to quality. The LEGO brick may have taken over eventually, but the company’s origin is rooted in wooden toys. Today, LEGO announced they are returning to those roots in a big way — by launching a new product line selling an upscale wooden minifigure: LEGO Originals 853967 Wooden Minifigure.

The giant wooden minifigure will sell for US $119.99 | CAN 154.99 | UK £109.99. in select LEGO stores and online beginning November 3rd for LEGO VIPS with general availability beginning November 8th.

(EDIT: The wooden figure is also available from LEGO in bundles including a discount of up to $30 US when combined with various other LEGO products, including one 1,500-piece Classic set.)

Click to read more about LEGO Originals Wooden Minifigure 853967

Springboard your adventure in this mechanical grasshopper

Hop around! Hop around! Hop up and up, and get down! In devising solutions for building robots, it’s sometimes best to start with examples found in nature. When Moko set out to build his latest LEGO mech, he looked to the springy grasshopper. Moko’s model is both an excellent representation of the insect and has just enough metallic bits to make it feel mechanical. Hopping power is provided by the legs’ robust hydraulic system, while the black pistol feet likely give it the ability to stick to nearly any surface.

Hopper