Category Archives: People

LEGO fandom is a worldwide phenomenon, a vast community. Whether you consider yourself an AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO), ALE (Adult LEGO Enthusiast), some other crazy acronym, a parent of a young builder, or even just a casual fan who appreciates all the amazing models LEGO builders create, there’s more to LEGO than just the models themselves. Here at The Brothers Brick, we bring you the stories behind the models, with interviews, builder profiles, and more.

The amazing digital wizard

Dimitri Burakov is an incredibly talended LEGO renderer from Lithuania. He uses an array of programs to create anything from polished renders to professional instructions of LEGO models both official and fan-built.

I recently came across his works on Brickshelf and contacted him about cooperating on some projects. The results are amazing. Below is a beautiful rendering of my tripod mecha with sample instruction steps. In exchange, I shipped out a big package from S@H.

If you’re interested in having renderings and/or instructions done for your work by a professional, you can find Dimitri’s contact info at his Brickshelf gallery.

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Two more podcasts from LAML radio

Lend your ears to two more recent podcasts from LAML radio, highlighting subjects including Bionicle and the BZP community, Perhaps Plastic Explosives– a community for the lego military theme, and a tip on how to stay on top of recent lego creations and news from the community via RSS feed.

So, what’d you get for Christmas?

My lovely wife apparently went out at the last minute and found both 7620 Indiana Jones Motorcycle Chase and 7621 Indiana Jones and the Lost Tomb.

Naturally, I spent Christmas morning savoring the build:

Oh, and I can’t wait to play LEGO Indiana Jones next summer on my new Wii:

I hope everyone got what they wanted for Christmas — I sure did! :-D

I call dibs on Norman Mailer’s LEGO

Apparently, the late writer Norman Mailer was a LEGO fan of sorts. You can see him here in his New York apartment with his large LEGO sculpture in the background:

Apparently, Mailer built “a vast Lego city, incorporating some 15,000 pieces, known as the city of the future, seeming to take as much pride in it as in any of his other creations.”

According to architecture writer Lynn Becker, Mailer’s LEGO creation appears as the frontispiece in his 1966 book Cannibals and Christians:

So not only is this LEGO creation by one of the leading writers of the past 50 years, it’s built from vintage LEGO! Just the thing to expand my selection of basic bricks. I bet they’d need a good dusting, though…

Check out our previous post about writer Douglas Coupland’s LEGO obsession.

(Via KyleSmithOnline.com, with a tip from reader James Lucas Jones.)

LAML podcast interviews Rocko

LAML Radio‘s latest podcast is all about the castle builder Rock, who in recent months turned out some outstanding castle-themed dioramas and buildings, including his most recent Chateau Satan. Click on the image below to listen to the podcast.

Since this is an unedited interview there’s bound to be some memorable quotes:

“Well, uh, let’s see… who am I, um, I’m just a guy”

“I like The Brother’s Brick”

“There are some good things popping up on the internet like Nannan’s stuff, you know, his little demented, demented creations and all that. I’m a really big fan of that.” (Sorry, shameless self-promotion :) )

“..wholesome and lovely little pink cuddly, uh, uh [chuckles], lovable little fluffy creations that are just all cute and whatever…”

Origins

I know my brother’s going to resent me for saying this, but first-born children tend to get all the photographic attention — at least until the second kid comes along. The first five years of my life were meticulously photographed by my mom and dad, including a handful of photos documenting my early love of LEGO. Here I am showing off some unrecognizable creation, circa 1978:

I think this one’s a bit earlier, from about 1977:

From 1977 to 2007 and from Basic bricks to Cafe Corner, this post brings my LEGO hobby full circle. I wonder what the next 30 years will bring!

So, do you have any old photos of yourself playing with LEGO as a kid?