Category Archives: Building Techniques

Not sure what SNOT is? Want to learn innovative new ways to create awesome LEGO models of your own? Peruse our posts about LEGO building techniques to pick up tricks & tips from the best.

The joy of leaving your LEGO model in someone else’s capable hands

I’ve seen some wonderful collaborations between talented LEGO builders and photo editors over the years, and though I certainly can’t claim to be either, I included a note in my description of the Aldrin Mars Cycler I posted yesterday saying that I wouldn’t mind if somebody felt like Photoshopping it onto a cool space photo. halfbeak left me a comment offering to help, and we were soon exchanging ideas in email.

I wouldn’t normally post one of my own LEGO models twice, but I’ve learned a few things along the way that I thought I’d share.

After nearly 10 years of posting my LEGO models online, I find myself pretty locked in to the “Dorling-Kindersley aesthetic” of LEGO photography and presentation — a three-quarters view of the LEGO model on a neutral (usually white) background. (I know Chris has strong opinions about this, too.) Even as I was envisioning something flashier than my unedited photo in my head, it was still basically the same thing, except with Mars in the background. Halfbeak combined views of Earth and Mars with the NASA logo and some text to create something that looks a lot like the publicity photos NASA releases for its missions. Way cool.

I also have a tendency to let the LEGO model take over the whole photo, but halfbeak scaled it down in several of his edits to really emphasize how tiny a human creation is on the cosmic stage.

In many of his edits, he changed the orientation of the spacecraft from my original photo, turning it on its side and even upside down — after all, there is no “up” or “down” in space.

One of my favorite edits is this vertically oriented photo, with Mars hanging above the minuscule ship. This one is now the wallpaper on my phone.

Ultimately, my Aldrin Mars Cycler isn’t necessarily the favorite among the things I’ve built, but these photos demonstrate how stellar presentation can take a fun but fairly middle-of-the-road model to a whole new level. These are now easily my favorite photos of something I’ve built. I’ve also learned to look beyond how I’ve photographed the model in thinking about how best to present it.

Huge thanks to halfbeak for truly awesome work! It’s amazing what variety he’s created from just one original photo.

See all twelve photos on Flickr.

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Unconventional MOCs

The two latest creations by Sean and Steph (Siercon and Coral) feature completely ridiculous yet interesting methods of building (or unbuilding). The first is a sea-scape made out of only transparent bricks that are not connected in any way.

The second is a medieval scene made from clone bricks and modified by real fire.

There’s a video to prove it:

A game of ping-pong

Michael Jasper‘s table tennis scene is as usual an inspiration in parts usage. Can you find the ping-pong ball?

Time-lapse sorting of 100 Lego sets

Rymdreglage, the creator of 8-bit trip, recently announced the making of 8-bit trip 2. Anyone who has undertaken a large Lego project will also know the tedious process of sorting. 71 hours later and this video was made.

Via Toys N Bricks

Pierre goes big + shows off his LEGO workspace

We’re used to seeing epic microscale spaceships from Pierre E Fieschi, so this minifig-scale intercepter/bomber was a pleasant surprise. The gantry alone is fantastic, but the vehicle itself has all kinds of crazy angles and spots of color to pore over in the full-size photo.

As much as I enjoy Pierre’s latest build, I was most intrigued recently by Pierre’s LEGO workspace:

Even his workspace is aesthetically pleasing, while remaining functional with a plexiglass surface on a turntable, surrounded by well-sorted LEGO.

Fencing

Breaking my break again. This time because of an amazing broken fence by Maciej Drwiega.

Cheese slope mosaics tutorial

With the mentioning of cheese slope mosaics, one name stands out, which is none other than Katie Walker (eilonwy77). She has just wrote a detailed and illustrated article showing techniques and ample examples of what can be accomplished in the field of mosaics with these tiny angled parts. Check it out on MosaicBricks.

Nice day for a swim

Katie Walker (eilonwy77) is known for using unconventional building techniques to achieve beautiful artistic patterns and designs. Her Pool Party scene uses curves at almost all the major outlines of the model to set it apart from a traditional build. The techniques for the brick wall, trees, and pool deck are also worth noting.

Timeline of design

I was pleased to notice that Pierre Fieschi has given us all an insight into the design of his GAHNN Sniping Dreadnought. It’s great to see how he’s evolved the shape and colours using what looks like a mix of computer aided sketching and LEGO bricks.

LEGO bookend for LEGO books

When I first saw this bookend by Deborah Higdon I was suitably delighted by the cute design and well-crafted microscale train. And then I noticed the book.

Dave Lartigue invents automatic LEGO sorting box [April Fool’s]

Dave says, “One of the biggest hassles involved with building with Lego is sorting. Oh sure, I could keep all my bricks in a big tub, but it’s easer to work with them if they’re sorted. Fortunately, there are all kinds of gadgets and gizmos you can use to more easily sort bricks by size. Unfortunately, I mostly sort by color, and there isn’t an easy way to do that.”

Thankfully, Dave invented the Brick Sorter, a device that uses symbols written on glossy cardboard and a simple shake of an Amazon.com box to pull the target color out of the unsorted mess.

Hard to believe? I thought so too, until I saw the video:

Read all about it on Dave Ex Machina.

RAILBRICKS 11 Released

The latest edition of RAILBRICKS has just been released and, as usual, it’s chock full of good articles for LEGO train fans and AFOLs in general. You can get a low resolution copy here or follow the picture below for more options.