Tag Archives: Guide

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

Your guide to the 21 new LEGO sets for mid-April 2019 including LEGO Movie 2, Toy Story 4, Spider-Man and Powered Up components [News]

LEGO typically releases new sets at the beginning of the month, but they have uploaded a mid-April wave of sets from The LEGO Movie 2, Spider-Man: Far from Home, Toy Story 4 as well as new Powered Up components. Of note, The Rexcelsior is the largest set released this month, the Spider-Man sets qualify for the current Avengers Tower gift with purchase, and Powered Up components are now available.

This wave is certainly a bit bigger than the 17 sets that came earlier this month but still short of the 112 new sets from this January. But no fear, we have your guide right here to each and every new set.
See all of the Mid-April 2019 wave of LEGO sets available now

The Unofficial LEGO Technic Builder’s Guide [Review]

No Starch Press recently sent us a review copy of their latest Technic offering, The Unofficial LEGO Technic Builder’s Guide by Paweł “Sariel” Kmieć.

The Unofficial LEGO Technic Builder's Guide

I found the book to be full of very useful information. I am not an expert Technic builder by any means and when I first thumbed through the book I was overwhelmed by the amount of detail that the book offers. However, when I actually started reading the book, I found that the way Paweł presents the information made everything very clear. He starts with basic concepts and then builds upon them throughout the book in a very clear and concise fashion. I think any adult LEGO fan will be able to follow this book and incorporate the techniques into their own creations. But this book is not for young builders. Many, if not most, of the techniques are quite advanced and would lead to frustration for younger builders.

The Unofficial LEGO Technic Builder's Guide

The book consists of 333 pages divided up into five parts: Basics, Mechanics, Motors, Advanced Mechanics and Models. The first three sections give you the groundwork needed to understand the Technic system and how the majority of the parts work. I found this to be very helpful. I have used many Technic pieces over the years but wasn’t clear on the functions of each and every part. These first three sections are a great reference of Technic pieces and their functions, as well as being vital in introducing the terminology used throughout the rest of the book. I highly recommend reading these sections in depth and not skipping ahead.

The Unofficial LEGO Technic Builder's Guide

The fourth section, Advanced Mechanics, teaches you how to design and build transmissions, steering systems, suspensions for wheeled and tracked vehicles along with other concepts and ideas.

The fifth and final section instructs the reader in designing and planning their own models.

Overall, I would recommend this book for any adult builder who is interested in becoming more familiar with Technic and using Technic in their own creations. The book is well-laid out and the information is presented clearly. It is definitely an asset that deserves a place on the shelf.

Visit No Starch Press for this and other LEGO-related books. is also available on Amazon.com.