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

Preserving analog recording devices in plastic

Chungpo Cheng takes us back to early ’90s with a trio of classic pieces of recording technology, including a 3.5″ diskette, cassette tape and VHS tape. These formats are prone to degradation over time and, in many ways, are more fragile than paper documents. Chungpo has faithfully immortalized them in LEGO-form…or has he? Sadly, the bricks we have today won’t be the same forever. Case in point; those white bricks tend to yellow over time, especially with prolonged exposure to heat and UV light. Some bricks can also become brittle with age and crack under pressure. I’ll tell you who doesn’t crack under pressure, though – Chungpo Cheng, that’s who!

FD&Videotape&Audio Tape

Judging by the attention to detail, it’s clear that Chungpo respects magnetic media as much as LEGO bricks. The VHS and audio tape have reverse sides that embody the age-old Blockbuster rental mantra, “be kind. Please rewind.” Don’t forget to repeatedly hit that tracking button either.

FD&Videotape&Audio Tape

First to the flames

Fire engines are serious business, with each one being built to the specifications of the fire department placing the order. When building a LEGO version of a fire apparatus, you almost have to see it in person to analyze all the details that make it unique. Last year, Sven’s vacation in New York City landed him the opportunity to ride around in the Harlem Hilton firehouse’s Engine 69. The experience left such an impression on him that he had to make his own version of the truck and, as you can see, it is packed with plenty of detail. The proportions feel just right, as does the greebling of the gauges and switches. Finishing off the model are some phenomenal custom decals, allowing the LEGO truck to faithfully represent its real-life counterpart.

FDNY Engine 69 Harlem Hilton

Flipping the engine around reveals that Sven’s model can be appreciated from multiple angles. The only thing that’s missing are some minifig firefighters! Perhaps they’re taking a needed break from fighting fires to fire up the grill and eat some burgers.

FDNY Engine 69 Harlem Hilton

LEGO Overwatch 75976 Wrecking Ball [Review]

Earlier this year, LEGO released six sets based on Blizzard’s first person shooter video game, Overwatch. This colorful cast of characters is now being joined by Wrecking Ball and Junkrat & Roadhog in LEGO form. We will be reviewing each set separately, and this one will focus on 75976 Wrecking Ball and his transforming hamster ball mech. Wrecking Ball consists of 227 pieces and is currently available online via the LEGO shop for $19.99 USD | $24.99 CAD | £17.99 GBP

Read the rest of the review.

Sweet cyberpunk dreams at the No-Tell Motel

What do you do when you are eagerly awaiting the release of a video game, and the wait is killing you? If you’re like Jan T. and are drooling over screenshots of RPG (role-playing game) Cyberpunk 2077, you draw inspiration from your obsession and channel it into a LEGO model. Jan’s No-Tell Motel offers an atmosphere that is simultaneously gritty and colorful; dilapidated city streets and patches of rusty metal contrast nicely with the teal upper floor and purple & green graffiti. There are also plenty of excellent details to spot, including thugs & junkies, grass peaking through the concrete, a balcony supported by a Technic shock absorber, and a Technic piston acting as a flower pot. Here, the world can go to Hell and still look beautiful.

Pacifica. 2077.

A TARDIS console room fit for an adventurer

The ever popular television series Doctor Who has inspired many a LEGO TARDIS, including an official LEGO Ideas set. Wanting to go for something a little different, GunnBuilding has taken the TARDIS console room and re-imagined it in the LEGO Adventurers theme. As such, it is filled with plenty of historic artifacts collected on many an…adventure. This, coupled with the tiled floor and arch-laden tan wall, makes this model feel like IT BELONGS IN A MUSEUM! The camera and piles of books suggest someone has been busy and, if the hat hanging off the railing is any indication, that person is the one-and-only Johnny Thunder.

The Adventurer's Console Room

This model is a digital render and, as such, may include some pieces in non-production colors.

Close to the stars: LEGO Star Wars X-Wing lands on the top of Europe [NEWS]

To promote Triple Force Friday, LEGO GmbH took their Star Wars celebration to the Swiss Alps, unveiling a giant LEGO X-Wing atop Jungfraujoch, also known as “the top of Europe.” While it’s not the first life-size LEGO X-Wing ever made, it is the first time one has been displayed atop the Alps!

Full press release (rough translation from the original German press release) and image gallery from LEGO below.


Close to the stars: LEGO Star Wars™ X-Wing™ lands on the top of Europe

  • On today’s “Force Friday,” a life-size LEGO® Star Wars™ X-Wing™ built from 2.5 million LEGO® elements has landed 3,454 meters (11345.14 ft) above sea level on the Jungfraujoch – “Top of Europe”.
  • This makes the Jungfraujoch the highest point on the planet where a LEGO® Star Wars™ X-Wing™ starfighter has ever landed.
  • As of October 4, 2019, ten new LEGO® Star Wars™ sets are available worldwide for the movie Star Wars™: The Rise of Skywalker.
  • With LEGO® Star Wars™, one of the most popular LEGO® product lines continues the Skywalker saga in the 20th anniversary of the licensing agreement.
  • Jungfraujoch, Munich – October 4, 2019: “Do or do not. There is no try,” says Jedi Master Yoda to Luke Skywalker in Star Wars™: The Empire Strikes Back. Yoda then uses the Force to lift an X-Wing™ out of the swamp, making the impossible possible for Luke. In the spirit of this message, on “Force Friday,” October 4, 2019 LEGO GmbH unveiled atop the Jungfraujoch in Switzerland a faithful LEGO® replica of the distinctive Star Wars™ X-Wing™ starfighter from the Skywalker saga. True to the motto “The Force is in your Hands,” LEGO GmbH wants to show that even things that may seem too challenging can be mastered by landing the large model at the highest point on which an X-Wing™ has ever landed – at least in this galaxy.

    With the landing of the LEGO® Star Wars™ X-Wing™ on the longest glacier in the Alps, LEGO GmbH also celebrates a very special partnership; the licensing agreement signed 20 years ago marked the beginning of a successful intergalactic journey that has since brought people together across both generations and countries.

    The LEGO® Star Wars™ X-Wing™ was built by LEGO® Certified Professional Georg Schmitt with his ten-member team, made entirely of 2.5 million LEGO bricks, and measures a remarkable ten by ten meters (32.8 ft x 32.8 ft). It took more than 1,500 hours to build the LEGO® Star Wars™ X-Wing™.

    “For 20 years, LEGO® Star Wars™ has been inspiring children and adults worldwide, representing limitless play and building. Bringing a life-size LEGO® Star Wars™ X-Wing™ onto the Jungfraujoch symbolizes the power of creativity and shows that, with the new LEGO® Star Wars™ sets in our hands, it’s up to us to continue the story after the last episode,” explains Florian Gmeiner, Senior Marketing Director at LEGO GmbH. “Playing with LEGO® bricks inspires your imagination and allows you to tell stories and sometimes even master challenges. With this event we want to motivate everyone to believe in their dreams and their potential, because: ‘The Force is in your Hands.'”

    Fans of all ages can look forward to ten new LEGO® Star Wars™ sets, which will be available in stores worldwide on October 4, 2019. In addition to new LEGO® Star Wars™ products for the movie Star Wars:™ The Rise of Skywalker, which will be released in cinemas in Switzerland and Germany on December 18, 2019, there will be a reissue of the Yoda™ sculpture as well as a new version of the popular Millennium Falcon™, with which young and old can create their own personal adventures in search of Kylo Ren’s™ Shuttle. With the new LEGO® Star Wars™ sets, the story is retold – it’s in your hands!

    For more information about LEGO® Star Wars™ products, visit https://www.lego.com/de-de/themes/star-wars (US | CAN | UK)


    Fishing with a greebly grizzly

    Salmon swimming upstream brings all the bears to the yard…er river. It also inspired Simon NH‘s latest LEGO build, depicting a brown grizzly fishing for dinner. What makes this bear unique is the diverse range of parts and colors used to sculpt its body and represent how things in nature are more complex than meets the eye. Simon’s bear features ears comprised of a minifigure hood on the left and female hair on the right, while a minifigure shooter and snowshoes form its iconic muzzle. The scene is also set with some fantastic landscaping, from the rippling waterfall to the rocky terrain with splashes of greenery. It’s truly a GRRiffic build!

    grizzly bear

    If you’d like to see Simon’s build in person and happen to be passing through Denmark, it will be on display in the Masterpiece Gallery at the LEGO House.

    Craft me a hammer, sword, or a horseshoe or two

    Growing up in the 1990s, one of the things that made LEGO castle sets so appealing was the way in which they were advertised; catalog images were perfect at world-building, with sets placed within carefully crafted, colorful environments. Robbadopdop‘s blacksmith shop evokes those fond memories, and his attention to detail would have impressed my 8-year-old self ten times over. There’s plenty of clever parts usage to appreciate here, including a minifigure ruff for flower petals, hair representing the end of a mop, and disposable sprues from plants with 3 large leaves for green vines winding up the side of the building. The building itself employs an excellent use of color and utilizes a diverse range of parts, which helps it feel both gritty and fun to look at.

    Blacksmith's Workshop

    One of the coolest details is the way the roof flexes, complete with staggered shingles. If you’re wondering how this detail was achieved, Robbadopdop has shared pictures of the internal structure. He used rigid tubing, which can be easily cut to size and is flexible enough to shape, and the roofing was then draped into place. The end result is fantastic.

    Blacksmith's Workshop - Roof WIP

    A gardener’s worst nightmare

    If you have a green thumb, running into a loathsome worm could leave you with no thumbs. This slimy, purple annelid with two massive claws was built by Duncan Lindbo, and it looks terrifyingly awesome. Purple, dark pink, and orange elements complement one another nicely, along with a drip of neon green drool. What really makes the build is this hilarious photo, driving home the point of how disgusting a loathsome worm is. It’s a truly unique way of displaying one’s brick-built creatures.

    Loathsome worm discovery

    A closer look reveals Duncan put a lot of heart into his build…literally! The beast’s underbelly is comprised of 3×3 heart plates and 1×1 heart tiles. Don’t let all the love and playful colors deceive you, though; the worm’s mandibles are reminiscent of the Predator’s, and they look ready to inflict some serious pain (along with a deadly dose venom). Everything about it screams. “you can look, but don’t touch!”

    Loathsome worm, coiled

    Lounge in this library with style

    Libraries are more than book repositories; they also provide educational services and activities for their surrounding communities. Thanks to Łukasz Libuszewski’s, the little citizens of LEGOLAND can now enjoy everything a library has to offer. It looks both modern and inviting, complete with enough glass to let the sunshine in. The library sports a modular design, in which sections can be removed to reveal the service desk and bookshelves. Especially impressive is the motorized glass elevator. Be sure to watch Łukasz’ video to view the library from all angles, the interior and elevator in action. You might even want to sign up for a library card!

    Modern Library

    Ancient Aliens

    I’m not saying it was aliens–but it was aliens! Builders Aaron Newman and Tristan Cain teamed up to build a close encounter of the ancient kind. Cleverly named “Parthenonsense,” the scene depicts a microscale Greek-inspired city being visited by a red “chariot of the gods.” The city itself is enjoyable to look at, with curved walls, a bridge, and buildings of varying heights. I particularly enjoy the UFO, which has a self-sustaining habitat under its dome. The beam of light over the lighthouse is a nice touch, almost as if the spacecraft is engaging in oneupmanship with its terrestrial subjects.

    First Contact

    To learn more about the model, visit Aaron’s personal blog post on “Parthenonsense.”

    Welcome to Air Batman

    You are now free to walk about the cockpit in this massive 1:20 scale model of the classic Batwing. Designed by Eivind Loekken, the Batwing looks sleek and fast thanks to extensive use of angled plates, tiles, and slopes of varying degrees; you won’t find a single stud in sight. Equally impressive is the custom Batman Technic figure seated in the cockpit.

    Lego moc Batwing 1:20 scale

    See more of Batman’s favorite flying vehicle.