About Nannan

Nannan became involved with the online LEGO community in late 2004. He has been a builder for as long as he can remember. Nannan builds in a variety of themes that often overlap with the science fiction universe; other times they are purely made up ones. You can see his creations on Flickr, MOCpages and Brickshelf. In real life, Nannan is a physician living in Dallas.

Posts by Nannan

LEGO: A Love Story by Jonathan Bender [Book Review]

I recently read Jonathan Bender’s book, LEGO: A Love Story, released at the beginning of May. The book chronicles the personal story of an AFOL’s plunge from his Dark Ages into the LEGO subculture. The narrative delivered in 262 pages highlights the diversity of the hobby and the author’s own transformative experiences. All the while, the story takes place on a real life stage as Bender reconciles his image as an AFOL amidst forging a stronger relationship with his wife through building LEGO sets while trying to conceive a child and start a family.

As a LEGO fan, I am delighted to read the first book that describes the LEGO subculture. Jonathan Bender came out of his Dark Ages in 2008 when he received a LEGO set on his 30th birthday. Whether you doubt someone with two years of experience in the LEGO community can write a book about the hobby, you may be impressed by the author’s research and experiences in this short time.

The book chronologically depicts Bender’s experiences in LEGO. He has traveled to conventions, seen the collections of AFOLs and Bricklink sellers, visited LEGOLAND, and toured LEGO’s headquarters in Denmark and North America. Each experience is told subjectively and accompanied by the author’s own feelings and thoughts. The tone of Bender’s writing is very lighthearted and honest, and humor is present in each chapter. Although I have never heard of Jonathan Bender, I feel like I know him well after reading his book.

Depending on your LEGO background, the book has different things to offer. For those unfamiliar with LEGO beyond their childhood experiences playing with the toy, you may be inspired by the diversity of the hobby for adults and consider buying a LEGO set or two. For experienced LEGO fans, you’ll recognize many names mentioned in the book. At the same time, there’s still quite a few gems for you to discover and new things to learn.

The book is not without deficiencies. First, only a few ordinary photos are presented in the book. A black-and-white picture heads each chapter while twelve color photos are included in the middle of the book. Since LEGO is a visual medium, the lack of pictures may frustrate those who are unfamiliar with certain sets, elements, people, or places described. Second, while Bender captures many diverse aspects of the hobby, it is impossible to comprehensively cover every realm of the hobby. For instance, two major areas including the online communities and non-US fan communities are not mentioned in great detail. Lastly, certain individuals are given extensive coverage in the book, which highlights their opinions and personalities regardless of whether they represent those of the majority.

Overall, I recommend LEGO: A Love Story to all fans of the hobby and those who are new to it. It is the first book to give an answer on what it means to be an AFOL. At the same time, the narrative does not seek to impose a set of views. Rather, it presents the hobby without glorifying or criticizing it and lets you form your own conclusions.

There are additional reviews of the book by LEGO fans Mariann Asanuma and Bruce Heitbrink. You can download Chapter 16, “A Guest in LEGO’s House” as a sample. The book is available on Amazon.com.

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Enemy in sight

Justin Vaughn (Mainman) built a highly-original creation depicting an F-15 dogfight using forced perspective. Besides the editing of the HUD, everything else is 100% Lego. Click on the picture to read more about the setup.

The Legend Of Mary Jane

Luke Watkins (Derfel Cadarn) is known to build some highly detailed castle dioramas, and they all have intriguing backstories. This one is no different. I really like the diagonally oriented houses and the rich flora of the village. All this beauty is contrasted with a sinister story depicting the burning of a girl. Find out what’s going on by reading the story.

T-rex skeleton still looks hungry

Jonathan (legomocs) finished his T-rex skeleton and it is beautiful. The challenge of tacking such a complex organic shape is formidable, but Jonathan pulled it off. This is a very respectable build.

Archangel mecha suit dominates the skies

Brian Kescenovitz built one of the best mechas I’ve seen in a while. Take a close look and you can see that he has spared no attention to details. The use of rubber bands to simulate wiring really adds a touch of realism. The presentation also plays a role in enhancing the build. Of course, Brian brings us the best of both.

Fabuforce mashes adorable animals with beastly mechas

This is what you get when the creative minds of Jordan Schwartz and Mark Stafford get together. Mark wanted Exo-Force and Jordan wanted Fabuland, so why not have both?

Arte em Peças Lego event in Portugal, June 7 – 13

The Portuguese Lego fan community Comunidade 0937 is hosting their annual Lego event from June 7 -13 in Paredes de Coura. This year’s event is called Arte em Peças (Art in Parts) and will feature both private and public conventions. You can see pictures from the previous year’s event on Flickr.

In addition to displays, there will be activities including Mindstorms NXT demonstrations, contests, a free-build pool, opportunities to buy Lego, and surprise activities announced at the event. Check it out if you’re around the area!

Graduation gifts

Over the past several weeks I’ve been building gifts to thank various people of my university for the role they’ve played in my undergraduate education at Washington University in St. Louis. The past four years have been an intellectually stimulating journey in my study of arts and sciences and the biology major. At the same time, college saw the boom in my Lego hobby, and I am happy to have employed my experience in building to create these tokens of thanks for the people at my school.

This DNA sculpture park was made for my research mentor, whom I had the privilege of working in his genetics lab for three and a half years. The DNA helix codes for a secret message, which can be solved with some knowledge of molecular biology.

The pirate ship was made for my residential college director whom I’ve known since freshman year. This creation was my foray into building the pirate theme, and it was by a miracle that I discovered the resemblance of white windscreen pieces to sails. The exercise vignette was for my physiology professor, who really cared for her students and made a point to drill it into our young minds to exercise and take care of our bodies. Her quote engraved on the vignette got me back into running this year.

The DNA vignette was also given to my research mentor, and it was for the special occasion on his 60th birthday last week. The spiral effect achieved with Bionicle claws contines to be a hit; the effect of this technique far overshadows its simplicity. The vignette of the green ball is a gift for my behavioral ecology professor, one of the funniest and liveliest faculty at the school. I’ve compared attending his classes to watching stand-up comedy, and I hoped to have captured this liveliness in a video showing the motion and sound effects of the creation.

This depiction of our school’s landmark, Brooking’s Hall, is a gift for my super friendly and resourceful four-year adviser. The build uses the medium dark flesh color from the Prince of Persia sets, and the rarity of the colors reflected the $100+ pricetag on my Bricklink orders. The creation is also my first attempt at building an architectural replica, which I am quite happy for the push to expand my building repertoire.

This fantasy aircraft is for my lab bench mentor, who taught me the skills of DNA manipulation and the etiquette of research. I’ve never built an aircraft like this, but knowing his interest in hobby planes, I couldn’t think of anything better to make.

I presented the last of these gifts yesterday, and I am truly flattered by the responses. Each recipient, with the exception of my research mentor, have voluntarily told me the specific place where the gift will be displayed for a long time to come. In the case of my research mentor, I saw the creation on the windowsill of his office the next day I came to lab. From this, I learned that Lego is truly a special medium.

Today I graduated from college. My next step in life is to apply for medical school, and I’ll be taking a year off to work close to home. Thus, this break from my studies roughly translates into an obscene amount of time to build in the upcoming year.

Brickworld 2010 sci-fi collaboration displays

If you are attending Brickworld in June, you probably know that the theme for this year is space. More specifically, there are four collaboration displays designed to accommodate a variety of sci-fi creations. Here are the details:

The Space Frontiers display is a collection of space crafts and objects found in space. The guidelines are simple: if it flies or floats in space, then it has a place. You’re encouraged to build a stand for small or medium-sized creations so that your ships do not appear docked on the table.

The Renegade Planet display is dedicated to mechs and ground vehicles of the sci-fi genre. The overarching theme is a planet for outcasts who have built these mechs and vehicles to survive and conquer. You are encouraged to bring tan baseplate(s) that covers the area of your model. Feel free to build an outpost or other small desert structures.

The Vic Viper Fly-In display is a collection of Vic Vipers in memory of Nate “nnenn” Nielson, who passed away in April. There are many ways to build a Vic Viper, and there’s no shortage of inspiration from Novvember or the Vic Vipers Flickr group.

The Modern Warfare display is a collection of infantry, vehicles, and combat-torn buildings set in a sub-apocalyptic world based on the Modern Warfare video game. If you’re interested, there’s an active Flickr group that has everything you need to know to participate, including details on how to receive a free contributor’s pack from BrickArms.

Lastly, a huge thanks to Tyler Clites for creating the graphics for the first three space displays.

Brickworld 2010: announcements and reminders

Brickworld is approaching fast in less than a month and a half. So far over 700 fans have registered, and it’s awesomely scary! Here are some announcements and reminders to get you prepared for the largest LEGO convention in the US.

Theme:
The theme for this year is 2010: Bricks In Space. You are encouraged to work something spacey into your MOCs. For the sci-fi builders, there are four collaboration displays where you will most likely find one suitable for what you’re bringing.

Registration
Reminder: the first 750 registrants that are paid in full by May 20, 2010 will receive an engraved name badge and goody bag. If you are a returning attendee, you can sign in to register. New attendees can sign up here.

Keynote speaker:
The keynote speaker for this year is Lisbeth Valther Pallesen, Executive Vice President for Consumer Education Direct (CED). CED includes: LEGO CLUB, LEGO Digital (Universe/LEGO.com), Community Engagement and Communications (Steve Witt), LEGO Brand Retail, LEGO Shop@Home, LEGO Education. I look forward to hearing from someone of the upper management who reports directly to the CEO.

Presentations and workshops
Presentation slots are filling up fast, so if you want to give a 50 minute presentation, please contact us! Registration for workshops will open soon, stay tuned.

Esther Walner Memorial Charity Auction
This year we have some of the most unique and rare items in our charity auction. Bring extra money for the auction or just stop by and see some cool stuff.

MOC cards
MOC cards are due June 1st. Please register all MOCs that you are bringing and the MOC card info for each one. Your MOC card provides info about your creation to other and will make your creation eligible for an award.

Transportation:
To get from the airport to the hotel, the fastest and most popular method is by taxi. In particular, American Taxi has the best rates (~$35 from O’Hare to the Westin). Their number is 847-255-9600, which you may want to store in your phone.

Hotel rooms:
As usual, Brickworld is held at the Westin Hotel & Convention Center. This year, we have reserved the entire place for Brickworld events and attendees. But don’t wait until the last minute to book your room. Last year the two-bed rooms were out prior to the event. Click here to book your room at the special Brickworld rate.

Pictures from previous Brickworlds are on the Brickworld Flickr group.

Upcoming City and Castle Advent Calendars [News]

Catching up on my backlog of product news are the advent calendars for 2010. The City Advent Calendar has a focus on miniature toys and includes an almost naked Santa in a shower, lolwut? The Castle Advent Calendar has a nice array of minifigs and selection of castle accessories. I don’t know anything about their availability across different countries, but I hope they’ll be broadly available.

New images of LEGO 8684 Collectible Minifigures Series 2

While the first series of collectible minifigs are currently being released, detailed pictures of the next set are out. The lineup is equally amazing as the first series. I haven’t heard anything about the release date for these, but they’ll be worth the wait.

Via Brickset