BrickNerd

September is here, and judging by the contest line-up this month it’s surely trying its best to have us forget Summer. There is plenty on offer – be it pirates, trains, or space – so get ready to be inspired and have fun building! We’ve listed them in order of deadline so you can plan your building time wisely—especially in a month that always seems to fly by. Be sure to check the LEGO activity calendar for local challenges and events near you.

Ever wonder what goes into creating the packaging we covet on a shelf until the dust settles or tear into on the car ride home from the store? What sort of rules do designers have to follow before they’re allowed to run wild with their ideas? There’s more to the process of designing box art for LEGO packaging than you’re likely aware of.

Today’s guest article comes from Samuel Hatmaker, a lifelong Trekkie, professional toy designer and LEGO artist who competed on LEGO Masters and created LEGO artwork for Roddenberry Entertainment. With LEGO returning to the original Enterprise for its second Star Trek set, who better to take a closer look? Two Obsessions Collide I got my first LEGO set when I was a little kid, and I have never stopped building.

Following my first article discussing my Autism diagnosis and how this relates to me being an AFOL—especially how LEGO has been a strategy with supporting this—I wanted to gain the perspectives of other Autistic AFOLs. I sought out other AFOLs who felt safe enough to share their experiences. Rather than summarize what they said, I’ve opted to include their own words because I think they are more powerful coming from the source. Here are the interviews I conducted.

Today’s guest article comes from Zane Houston, a math teacher and builder from Colorado known for his impressive Pokémon MOCs. After taking on LEGO Pokémon’s original starter trio, he now returns to see whether Pikachu can be rebuilt using only the elements included in the official set. Returning to the Launch Wave A lot has happened since the first LEGO Pokémon sets arrived in February.

LEGO was kind enough to send BrickNerd the entire initial wave of LEGO Pokémon Smart Play sets, including all the sets and polybags. I had volunteered to take a look at them, but as a guy who doesn’t buy LEGO sets often, I was a bit overwhelmed at first. There was also one small problem: I don’t know much about Pokémon. Sure, I’ve heard of Pikachu.

The LEGO Group has always been known for high quality customer service. In the rare case when a set is missing a piece, they’ll sent you a replacement. If you break a piece, they’ll send you a replacement. Today in the age of the internet, this process is mostly handled online with typical corporate anonymity. Sure, you can still call customer service and (eventually) speak to a real person that will give their first name.

Have you ever wondered what the LEGO community was like in the 2000s? Today’s guest writer and veteran builder Nannan Zhang shares his thoughts on building and sharing MOCs online for the past 20 years. Humble Beginnings in a Humble Community Space 2004—In that year, Flickr was launched, MOCpages celebrated its first birthday, BrickLink turned three, and Brickshelf was the big brother of the budding community at five years old.

Today’s guest article comes from Richard Dryden, a builder, DJ and sneakerhead who takes a closer look at LEGO 40921 Up-Scaled Blue Astronaut Minifigure and reflects on why Classic Space still means so much to him. Growing Up with LEGO Space My most beloved symbols of outer space are LEGO astronaut minifigures and their spacecraft. Classic Space is one of the themes that kickstarted my LEGO obsession as a kid.

There’s plenty of “head canon” surrounding the colors of Classic Space astronauts. Did Red pilots fly the ships while Blue astronauts kept them running? Were Yellow minifigures really scientists? Some of these ideas come from childhood imagination, others from comments made by LEGO designers over the years, and a few have origins that are much harder to trace. I found myself thinking about those questions while reading Tim Johnson’s excellent LEGO Space: 1978–1992.