The new website has two sections:

1. A news blog about LEGO Architecture.
2. A companion website for my book The LEGO Architect.

Book: THE LEGO ARCHITECT

The initial reviews of my book are looking great! It’s been featured on a ton of influential websites such as ArchDaily, Brickset, CoolThings, Dezeen, Geekdad, Huffington Post and more.

“Be the Corbusier of LEGO” —The Wall Street Journal just highlighted The LEGO Architect in their “Guide to Fall’s Best”. (September 19, 2015 weekend print edition, and online at WSJ.com.)

I want to provide readers of The LEGO Architect with additional resources to help them learn about the book, and make the most of their purchase. This includes: a guide to the bricks you will need to follow the instructions and complete all of the models in the book, bonus materials such as instructions to build additional models, an extremely detailed bibliography, and a calendar of upcoming events.

Blog: THE BRICK ARCHITECT

http://brickarchitect.com is a blog dedicated to the latest LEGO Architecture news, amazing LEGO Architecture creations from artists around the world, and interviews with talented LEGO builders. My focus so far has been in-depth coverage on advanced LEGO Architecture topics.

Why “brick” in brickarchitect.com?

The LEGO group does not allow anyone to use a domain name containing the word LEGO. The most popular LEGO blogs and websites have chosen to use the word “brick” instead of “LEGO”, such as brickset.com, bricklink.com, eurobricks.com, or brickpicker.com.

(Both brickarchitect.com and thebrickarchitect.com domains will take you to my new site.)

The post LEGO Architecture @ BrickArchitect.com appeared first on Tom Alphin.

This photo which I took was included in Windows 7

In 2007, we took a 4-day trip to visit Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast with my parents. This included a day exploring Ucluelet and Tofino which are on the western cost of Vancouver Island. Since we were staying in Ucluelet, we visited the Amphitrite Lighthouse which is at the far end of town. It’s a beautiful spot to look out and see the ocean and the smaller islands that dot the coast. It was a nice evening, with great color to the southeast as the sun was setting to the west. At 9:18 PM on August 4th, 2007, I took the most famous photo that I have taken, or will ever take in my life. I took one of the 8 “sample photos” which come with Windows 7.

How did a photo I took on vacation end up on more than 600 million computers?
I’ve worked at Microsoft since 2002, where I’ve worked on a broad range of products including Office 2003, Office 2007, several versions of Windows Media Center, Windows Vista, 7, 8, and most recently Windows 10. I have an background in Computer Engineering but I’m not a programmer; I’m a Program Manager, or simply a “PM”.

In broad strokes, PM’s at Microsoft own delivering a specification describing a new capability that we have decided to add to our products. In order to deliver a valuable new feature, we need to first research the needs of our customers and capabilities of competing products, define the target audience, and identify the capabilities that they need. From here we will brainstorm potential solutions and describe the final design in the specification which our developer colleagues (the computer programmers) will build. Along the way we encounter hiccups, adapt the design, test how well it meets customer needs, refine it some more, and finally “ship it” to the world.

Theme gallery and personalization options in Windows 7.

In Windows 7, I was the PM for a popular feature of Windows, the ability to “personalize” Windows to match your needs and your style. This was the release where we redesigned the control panel which is used to personalize your PC. The final design called for a prominent gallery of “Themes” which allowed you to “change the desktop background, window color, sounds, and screen saver all at once.”

To make this design shine, we wanted to include compelling themes which met the needs of customers around the world. I partnered with the team which prepared these default themes, as well additional themes for certain geographies. The process of selecting the best 6 photos for each theme was extremely time consuming, but it was a lot of fun to see so many beautiful photos from around the world.

In December 2008, I submitted these 13 photos for consideration for the Windows 7 Beta.

Through this effort, I also learned that they were also looking for sample photos to include in the Beta release. Sample photos are different from themes in that they are visible in the File Explorer app. (Sample images let users try features like the photo viewer app before adding their own photos later.)

Sample Pictures in Windows 7

I was happy to submit a handful of photos, including my photo of the Amphitrite Lighthouse. Some time later, they asked if they could use my photo in the final release instead. I was excited to hear that my photo might be enjoyed by so many Windows users, so I allowed them to use it.

Best Buy ads for holiday 2009 also included my photo.

About the photo.
At the time, I was still shooting with my first Digital SLR, the 6 megapixel original “Canon EOS Digital Rebel”, and I was using the Canon 10-22 EF-S lens. The photo was taken without a tripod at ISO 100, 1/50 sec, f/6.3, with 17mm zoom. The focus on that lens is a little soft, but you can’t tell given the small size of the final photo.

The photo included in Windows 7 was cropped from the photo I took.

The sample photos were kept small with a low 1024×768 resolution to minimize space on almost every PC in the world. The design team did some light editing from the file I provided, including the removal of the antenna behind the lighthouse and a much tighter cropping.

Easter Egg – I’m in your computer!
Search for “Tom Alphin” on any computer running Windows 7, and this photo will show up! The sample photos were given metadata including a fake “rating” (5 stars, naturally), and the “Author” field with my name. (It also includes an incorrect “date created” of February 11, 2008, which is probably the date that I provided the photo.)

Welcoming Windows 10 with an encore visit to the Lighthouse!
I still work on the Windows team, and am excited by Windows 10, our latest operating system which was released on July 29, 2015. It is the latest Microsoft operating system, and it contains lots of new features including Cortana search capabilities, a new web browser, Windows Hello, and lots more. Many of the new features will appeal to those users still enjoying Windows 7, including a more familiar Start menu and other optimizations for the many users who don’t have a touch screen yet. For the next year, it’s available as a free upgrade for users running Windows 7 or 8. In a way, the release of Windows 10 marks the end of people enjoying my Lighthouse photo on the millions of PC’s running Windows 7.

Standing next to the lighthouse where I took the lighthouse photo 8 years earlier.

Last week I had a chance to visit to the very same lighthouse where I took that photo in 2007, since I hadn’t been back since then. We made a day trip to the west coast of Vancouver Island to visit Pacific Rim National Park, and to visit the lighthouse in Ucluelet (We were staying outside Parksville with my parents, aunt, and uncle).

Panoramic view at the Amphitrite Lighthouse

We weren’t able to wait until sunset since we had a long drive to get back to Parksville, but I seized the opportunity to get some photos of the lighthouse from the same location. This time I had a better camera, a better lens, and a Tripod so everything is nice and sharp.

Placing a tripod in this awkward location helped me achieve the same angle

By carefully reviewing the old photo, I was able to find the closest location I could to the original photograph and set my tripod there. I’m pretty confident that this is the exact spot to re-create the Windows 7 photo from the same angle. I was fun to find what I believe is exactly the same spot, and to take some additional photos.

P.S. I wrote a bestselling book called “The LEGO Architect” which teaches famous Architectural styles such as Art Deco, Modernism, and High-tech styles using LEGO Bricks. Purchase The LEGO Architect for someone you know who loves LEGO or Architecture.

The LEGO Architect is published in English, Français, & 日本語.

The post How my photo of a Lighthouse ended up in Windows 7 appeared first on Tom Alphin.

I’m thrilled to announce that I’m writing a book, The LEGO Architect, which will be published later this year by the great folks at No Starch Press. The book explores popular architectural styles like Neoclassical, Art Deco, Modernism, and Postmodernism through LEGO. For each style, you will see beautiful photos of real buildings, a short explanation of the style, a selection of amazing LEGO buildings created by artists from around the world, and instructions to build small LEGO models based on the unique design elements of each style.

The cover features an amazing LEGO model of Unité d’Habitation, the colorful apartment building in Marseille, France, by celebrated architect Le Corbusier. The LEGO model is by Ken Parel-Sewell / Dan Madryga of One World Architecture. Photo by Dean Lavenson. (More info about this LEGO model at oneworldarchitecture.com)

The book showcases great models created by the best LEGO builders all over the world.

The book is designed to be a “hands on” book that you can spread out while building the models featured in the book, or when building your own LEGO creations. It will have generous 9 x 9 inch pages and a sturdy hardback cover. Many of the models in the book can be built using the parts in the excellent LEGO Architecture Studio set.

Detailed instructions to help you create your own LEGO architecture models in a variety of styles.

Be sure to check out the book when it is available later this year. I hope it inspires your own architectural explorations, and gives you new vocabulary to describe and appreciate the buildings around you. Maybe you will discover a new favorite building or architectural style? I am excited to share more information about the book in the coming months.

Learn how to create amazing architecture using LEGO in my bestselling book, The LEGO Architect. Clear instructions show you how to build the 7 most important architectural styles using common LEGO bricks, and photos of amazing LEGO Architecture will inspire you.

The LEGO Architect is published in English, Français, & 日本語.

About Me

I’ve been an architecture enthusiast my whole life, but I’m not an architect. The LEGO architecture series, and in particular the LEGO Architecture Studio set rekindled my interest in both LEGO and architecture. When I realized that I could write a book which expanded on the projects from my LEGO Architecture 30-day challenge, I knew that I had found a unique perspective and had a story to tell.

The research and creative journey in writing the book has been fascinating. I am seeing the buildings here in Seattle and while traveling with a new found appreciation of their history and the architectural styles which influenced them. Along the way, I’ve revisited some of my favorite architects like Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank Gehry, and I’ve discovered new favorites as well. The biggest surprise has been learning how much the history of architecture is intertwined with a broader global history: Neoclassical architects revisiting classic Greek and Roman architecture, the exuberance of Art Deco mirroring the decadence of the Roaring 20’s, how Postmodern architecture is a reaction against the sterility of Modernism, and how current trends in High-tech architecture are only possible due to tremendous advancements in computer modeling.

3/14/2015: The book is also listed for preorder from Barnes and Noble and O’reilly. It’s really exciting to see it show up on the various online stores.

UPDATE 8/25/2015: Make sure you visit http://brickarchitect.com/book/ for the latest news, bonus features, and more about the book: The LEGO Architect.

The post “The LEGO Architect” – a preview of my upcoming book! appeared first on Tom Alphin.

It’s time to do some deeper analysis of the most intricate part of the model – the former palace and now museum. This is the section of the model built in the French Renaissance style which opened as a museum in 1793 with later remodels and additions. The style is a precursor to the intensely decorated Baroque style that swept over Europe. This creates a challenge for the designers of this LEGO model, since it is difficult to capture these ornate details in such a small scale. As you will see, they employed some uncommon parts usage and other tricks to pack a lot of detail into a small model, much like the 2014 LEGO Architecture set featuring the Trevi Fountain.

Clever use of telescope for columns, and 1x2x2 panel with arch.

The Telescope is well used, although it is only 1 2/3 brick tall so it is placed on a 1×1 round plate to match the height of the panels/arches. Wait, there’s no such thing as a 1x2x2 Panel with an arch! I’ve since learned that this is a part which has existed since 2012, Window 1 x 2 x 2 Castle (90195) Oops, it was new to me… This is the only explanation, and I’m extremely confident that this new piece is real after seeing additional photos from other angles (Especially after seeing this video from promobricks.de). I find it a bit odd that the edge of the panel doesn’t appear to be covered with a tile or other thin component. (The video reveals some odd shadows in the leftmost arch, indicative of this gap.

1×2 Log Bricks give a subtle extra spacing around the upstairs windows.

Another surprise exists upstairs. We see a strange gap between the windows and the bricks in between them. It looked a lot like the end of a 1×2 Log Brick (Palisade), and upon experimentation it achieved the same look as in the photo so I think it’s a correct match. A strange subtle detail, indeed.

Front entrance (substituting for insufficient telescopes)

The middle has some interesting half-brick offsets, creating a roughly curved shape. This is well achieved, and easily re-created using some 1×2 jumper bricks. We also see some trick use of the front and back of a Headlight brick. (Please excuse the 1×1 round bricks, I ran out of telescopes!)

The top is pretty standard fare. (Arches drawn where they will appear.)

Nothing too tricky up top, although I had to make some subtitutions as I don’t have the appropriate 3-brick tall slopes without disassembling my Haunted House. You see the back side of the new panel with arch, which I’ve annotated to show where the arch would appear.

Conclusion

While every LEGO architecture set is an insta-buy for me (I have every model in the series), this is the 2015 set that I am most excited about. I love the challenge of capturing a more ornate Architectural style using LEGO bricks, and the result is excellent. The model is immediately recognizable, and it explores a building that is both iconic and captures two different eras in a single composition. I think the part selection will be interesting, and it’s neat to see a whole new part showing up in the Architecture series first.

I didn’t have enough parts to build both sides of the model, so I superimposed my re-creation on top of the official box photo.

My initial review is 8/10, putting this on par with the excellent Trevi Fountain, and Eiffel Tower; just below my two favorite mid-priced sets: UN Headquarters and The White House.

I look forward to receiving the final set to see if it lives up to my expectations, and to see where I made mistakes in guessing about the construction of this model.

Detailed Parts Analysis:

I did want to offer analysis of a few of the new / uncommon parts in this set…

• NEW COLOR – 16x, Tan Minifig Telescope (64644) – Tan is a new color for this part.
• 12x, 1×2 Tan Log Brick (30136) – Not new or rare, but used in an unusual way on the sides of the windows near the top of the building. (I can’t think of a different part which has this profile.)
• 11x, Tan 1x2x2 Panel with Arch (90195) – I thought this was a new part, but it’s been in 12 sets so far. This is a new part with an a 1-stud wide arch that is 4 plates tall. It looks like glass windows will be able to snap into it, although I don’t think this model will take advantage of that ability. (P.S. I think this new part would allow for a better version of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.)
• 6x, Trans-clear Tile 1×1 (3070) – This is a rare 0.30$ part.
• 38x, Trans-clear Tile 1×2 (3069) – This is a rare 0.20$ part.

The post Reverse Engineering LEGO Architecture 21024 – The Louvre (Part 3 – Conclusion) appeared first on Tom Alphin.

The plaza is easier to see in this photo from toysnbricks.com

Today I wanted to build the courtyard of the Louvre set. Thankfully, I have found a few additional photos which show the building in alternate angles. I actually started off by building most of the left flank of the building, because I wanted to determine how deep the model will be. (We’ll look at it and the central part of the building in the next article.)

Aerial view of the courtyard.

I was able to build the courtyard working from the back-left corner towards the front. The new photo made it easier to guess the sizes of the various wedge plates, which helped me arrange the grid of 2×2 tiles. (I used white tiles because I build almost everything in White.)

Annotated top-down view highlights some of the main shapes and parts.

The main shapes have been highlighted as I predict the part selection. We have three 4×4 wedge plates, and at least two 3×3 wedge plates, since it is hard to tell if the 3×6 wedge is made up of two 3×3 parts or not. We can also see that position of the smaller pyramid in the back is only possible if we use a 1×2 jumper, which would be most attractively surrounded by a 2×2 corner tile, but we’ll see what they actually use.

The courtyard and the first part of the building.

I’m excited by a few of the parts in the set, namely Tile 1×1 (3070) and Tile 1×2 (3069) in Trans-clear. I had to substitute dark gray tiles, since I don’t actually own any 1×2 tiles in trans-clear, since it is currently a 0.20$ part in the US. There should be at least 38 of them! 1×1 clear tiles are even rarer at 0.30$ in any reasonable quantity, and I expect we will get 6 of them.

The post Reverse Engineering LEGO Architecture 21024 – The Louvre (Part 2 – The Courtyard) appeared first on Tom Alphin.

A photo of the unreleased LEGO Architecture set 21024, The Louvre. / Photo from ukonio.de

Back in September, some photos of the upcoming Flatiron Building LEGO Set showed up online, so I took a first stab at reverse-engineering unreleased set 21023 – Flatiron Building. I built the front facade using my collection of mostly white LEGO bricks, and tried to offer some insights into the part selection. I’m back with a two-part preview of the third LEGO Architecture set for 2015 featuring The Louvre. This time I’m going to work on a different part of the model every day, so come back to see the rest of my progress!

The Louvre Pyramid (1989) in Paris, France by architect I.M. Pei. Photo by Benh LIEU SONG. / CC BY-SA 3.0

In this part 1, I am going to focus on the “Louvre Pyramid”, which is the most iconic feature of renowned Postmodern architect I.M. Pei’s 1989 remodel which created a new main entrance and lobby for the famous museum. The bold glass and steel design is a stark contrast to the massive French Renaissance buildings which surround it and hold the main collections. (That style is a precursor to the ornate Baroque period.) The Pyramid was much criticized when it was first completed, but it’s hard to imagine the Louvre without it’s modern glass entrance.

The base is clearly 8×8 studs from the pictures.

The base is clearly 8×8, since we can count four 1×2 Cheese Slopes (85984) across the front, and the pyramid has a square base. The cheese slopes make room for the glass panels that slope inward. The effect would be better if LEGO made cheese corners, but instead we can see that the left and right side will just use 3 cheese slopes instead of 4. I added the central column later, using trial and error to get the height right. I could tell from the photo relies on a 1×1 brick with 4 studs to attach four more clear cheese pieces and a plate on top.

The two glass modules installed using clips and Bar 4L

Next, I looked at the glass panels. The photo is crisp enough that you can make out that the sloping edge uses 1×1 Cheese Slopes (54200), and the rest of the wall is comprised of clear 1×1 and 1×2 plates. I figured that the left and right side of each panel would need to be built facing in opposite directions since inverted cheese slopes don’t exist. You can also clearly see that there are two non-transparent 1×1 plates on each side. Transparent 1×1 clips (4085) don’t exist so it’s fair to assume that these two non-transparent parts connect to an internal structure. (likely due to the fact that Clear bricks are made out of Polycarbonate instead of PVC and is less flexible.) I guessed correctly that two vertical clips (2555) with a bar would create the required angle of attachment.

Wide (front & Back) and Narrow (Left and Right) panels.

I had hoped that all four sides would be constructed the same way, but when I did this, the corners got in each other’s way. The natural assumption was that the left and right sides had narrower panels to make everything fit. I tried this and it fit together perfectly.

Completed Pyramid.

The final result is a completely satisfactory pyramid, although it feels a little fragile for an official set. Who knows, maybe my version of the internal structure isn’t quite right, and they found a way to make it more durable.

The post Reverse Engineering LEGO Architecture 21024 – The Louvre (Part 1) appeared first on Tom Alphin.

The Culture Show: Lego – The Building Blocks of Architecture (2014)

This is a 30-minute TV Programme by the BBC which explores how LEGO has influenced a whole generation of architects. The film includes a short sneak peek at the LEGO factory in Billund and short history of the LEGO company. The bulk of the show is a series of short interviews with influential architects and architecture critics including Bjarke Ingels of BIG, who has the commission to build the “LEGO House”, an upcoming museum in Billund, Denmark for LEGO enthusiasts.

The film also chronicles the recent history of architecture from Modernism, to the Postmodern period, and closing with the High-tech buildings created using advanced computer modeling which are at the forefront today. It closes by begging the question of how LEGO, and increasingly Minecraft, will influence the next generation of architects in the years to come.

You can watch the whole film on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHamIjw11BQ

LEGO® Architecture Creator: Adam Reed Tucker

This is a short video produced by DK in celebration of the release of their new book: LEGO Architecture: The Visual Guide. He talks about his desire to capture the essence of a building simply, and a few words about his favorite models.

Watch at youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwCo2v–Nk4

Towering Ambition – Time lapse build of Burj Khalifa

Watch Adam Reed Tucker build a massive LEGO model of the Burj Khalifa in this short time-lapse film.

Watch it at youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KIIgarM4k8

The LEGO Story

I shouldn’t forget the beautifully produced history of LEGO that was created on the 80th anniversary of the LEGO company. It is an excellent 17-minute 3D animated video.

The film chronicles the companies humble beginnings as a wooden toymaker, the transition to interlocking plastic bricks, the introduction of the minifigure, the decline in the 1990’s and their rebound as they developed licensed products such as Star Wars and Harry Potter.

Watch it at youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdDU_BBJW9Y

The LEGO Movie

I’m sure you’ve already seen the LEGO Movie a thousand times, but I encourage you to re-watch it and pay more attention to the buildings and other models in the world. The entire world is built out of LEGO, and some of the architecture models are pretty interesting.

The post Videos about LEGO Architecture appeared first on Tom Alphin.

I just found the latest new set in the LEGO Architecture series in a Toys R’Us store while on vacation in West Virginia. The set isn’t officially released until January, so I jumped at a chance to get it a little early. I’ve written up a short review of the set, a preview of the part selection, and some spoilers of the build process.

Part Selection

The set isn’t a great value at 29.99$ for 274 pieces, especially since most of these are very small parts. That said, this set includes a ton of great white parts to enhance your LEGO Architecture Studio collection. This includes a huge number of 1×1 round plates with a hollow stud which is a very versatile part that has been expensive in the past.

Part selection in 21022 / Lincoln Memorial.

A few of the most useful and/or expensive parts are:

• 85x White 85861 – Round 1 x 1 with Open Stud (about 0.10$/brick on bricklink)
• 46x White 87994 – Bar 3L (Currently 0.43$/part on bricklink)
• 4x White 91501 – Panel 2 x 2 x 1 Corner (0.12$/part)
• 1x White 85863 – Microfig (0.47$/part)
• Olive Green Tiles – 4x 2×4, 3x 1×6 (about 0.18$/part)

We should expect to see the price for White Bar 3L to collapse on the secondary market as 46 of them are in each set! It’s also good to see another way to collect white microfigs.

Conclusion

I was a bit disappointed in this set when photos of this set leaked online a couple months ago. Fortunately, the set looks good in real life. I really like that the model is interactive – you can remove the roof to see Lincoln sitting on his big marble throne. The detailing of both the interior and exterior is very good. The finished model is pretty small, with a base of 12×16 studs and a height of just 6 1/3 bricks. It doesn’t feel like a particularly good value at a price of 29.99, but it’s a fair price if you can find it on sale for 25$ or less. (It’s also a good deal right now even at retail if you need a lot of the rare white “Bar 3L” parts.)

Completed model.

I think this is about middle of the pack when compared to other small sets in the LEGO Architecture series. It’s definitely better than the Guggenheim, Rockefeller Center and Sydney Opera House models (which are all discontinued at this point), as well as the recent Leaning Tower of Pisa set which is 35$.

Big Ben is a more interesting model and is only 24.99$. Likewise, the UN Headquarters is one of the best sets in the series and is just 20$ more.

Box Build Notes (spoilers…)

I like to build the small LEGO Architecture models without using the instructions. I’ve since learned that this is called a “Box Build” and there are competitions at LEGO conventions to see who can do this fastest. (Hint: I didn’t do all that well…) I sometimes just use the photo on the front of the box, but this time I used the photo on the back as well, since the interior of the model is decorated as well.

Sorting out the parts is my first step when doing a box build.

After sorting the parts, I usually try to build the base, and then move on to the details of the model which are easiest to see in the photo. In this case, I focused on the roof and the columns, since I could easily determine that the top must use the four 2×8 white plates based on the available parts. As you complete the easiest sections of the model, you have fewer parts remaining to build the sections which are partially obscured.

Nearly complete, although I did make a few small mistakes.

I had no problem building the base, then the lid, then the columns and finally constructing the interior. I made three very small mistakes in hidden details of the model, but the exterior was perfect. It was about average difficulty for a model of this size to build without the instructions.

The post LEGO Lincoln Memorial 20122 – Review and Box Build appeared first on Tom Alphin.

Official LEGO Movie image featuring many of the characters in the movie.

My first idea was to go as Vitruvius, as his costume should be pretty easy and recognizable, but upon further consideration, it became clear that the clear match for my own personality was none other than Benny the spaceman. (Spaceship!!!) Others jumped at the opportunity to be Emmet, Unikitty and lots of the other characters from the film.

My whole team dressed up in LEGO Movie costumes.

We went out for lunch in our costumes, and we had a great time at the party in the afternoon. I never stopped buzzing around the building hollering “Spaceship, Spaceship, SPACESHIP!” either… I had hoped we would have time to go to the mall and visit the LEGO store, but lunch took too long. Oh well, next year?

Vitruvius(es), Batman, and Emmett in detail.

Making a Benny Costume

For my Benny costume, I needed a helmet. I created it using 1″ thick foam and blue Duct Tape. I made a tube, then cut the top into four even flaps, which I tapered into rounded triangles using about these proportions. I shaped the helmet by eye rather than using any measurements, which resulted in a helmet which is slightly too tall but otherwise looks great. The jetpack was a late addition, made of paper cardboard and bubble wrap, which I covered in a combination of blue tarp and duct tape. It holds on my back using blue 1″ tubular webbing which I already owned for rock climbing purposes.

Benny Helmet and Jet Pack.

Making a Unikitty costume

I also helped my wife create a Unikitty costume that she could wear to school and at the party we were having at our house. The ears and horn are simply foam attached to a hair band with a hot glue gun and the wig and fuzzy foot warmers came from the party store. I sewed the tail out of white and blue fabric. I created a rough “S” shaped template which was about 11×17″ and cut that out of white fabric. I sewed it along the bottom edge but kept the top edge free. I then sewed a 6″ stripe of blue fabric along the top to give her tail the iconic blue accents. I unfortunately didn’t take any photos of the process as we made it all very quickly on Thursday night.

Unikitty horn, tail and hair.

We had a great time making these costumes and wearing them all day. I hope you enjoyed seeing them as well. Maybe they will inspire your perfect LEGO-themed costume.

I also helped my wife make a Unikitty costume for school.

The post LEGO Movie Halloween Costumes appeared first on Tom Alphin.

My modest LEGO Architecture display.

BrickCon isn’t really one event, but rather two very different events happening on the same weekend:

1. Public Exhibition – On Saturday or Sunday, you can pay about 10$ to simply walk through the models which are on display and the vendor booths. The models are really impressive, and I think it’s well worth the cost of admission. I should warn that the exhibition can be quite crowded, so I highly recommend arriving early or near the end of the day. It takes me about 1.5 hours to walk through and see all the models, since I don’t spend a lot of time at the vendor booths.
2. Private Convention – For a much higher admission (55$ or more) and a full 3-day time commitment, Adult LEGO enthusiasts can sign-up for the Private convention. This gives you access to the showroom outside of the Public exhibition hours, an opportunity to play LEGO-themed games and contests, a number of talks about LEGO building techniques and the broader LEGO community, and three evening presentations with a good chance of getting a LEGO raffle item gift. It is also a prerequisite to display your LEGO models at the Public Exhibition.

Attending the “Private” convention…

I’m glad that I had already attended around 5 meetings of the Seattle LEGO Users Group before attending the Private convention. I don’t know a ton of members by name yet, but at least there were a lot of familiar faces. The LEGO brick name tags which people wear during the convention are very helpful for this reason! For me, the convention started on Thursday, since I took a long lunch break from work to drop off my LEGO Architecture models and pick up my registration packet. This is also when you sign-up for the various LEGO games and contests.

Goodie Bag!

I was pleased to receive a goodie bag while registering which included my badge and the convention calendar booklet. I received two LEGO Nametag bricks which I customized to show my name and my website URL, and a strong Magnet to hold it on my shirt. I also got two small LEGO sets and some custom Minifigure accessories from some of the sponsors. Not a bad start!

I built a frame out of LEGO to protect the smaller models during transport.

Setting up my models was pretty easy. I found space in the area set aside for LEGO Architecture, and I simply arranged my models in an attractive manner. I brought some signs to help get people excited by my LEGO models, so I built simple LEGO brick stands to hold the signs up. Since the Public Exhibition wasn’t till Saturday, I had plenty of time to tweak my display. (Like I mentioned in my last article, I also created a Microscale recreation of my LEGO Geisel Library model just before the show started and found room in the Micro BrickCon display.)

Imperial Star Destoryer – some assembly required.

What I really enjoyed was watching the show come together. It is really neat to see only a few half-assembled models on Thursday morph into a packed show by Friday evening. It was really cool to see how people transport massive models like an 6 foot Imperial star destroyer (Star Wars), a massive Space Needle broken down into smaller modules, or Anu Pehrson’s “Tiger’s Nest Monastery” which breaks down into about 20 large cardboard boxes for transport.

Chunks of Space Needle.

Games

There’s a broad array of LEGO building games throughout the three-day show, although most of them were on Friday and Saturday. They decide who will play each game based on a raffle, but it’s still good to get your name on the list before it’s full. I signed up for a bunch of the games, not knowing exactly which ones I would be good at or enjoy most. One of the unexpected treats in playing these games is that you get to keep the LEGO sets you build!

Box Build

I was happy to see that I was randomly selected to participate in the game which I was most excited to play! In the Box build, you are given a brand new set which you need to build perfectly using only the photo on the outside of the box – NO INSTRUCTIONS! This is something that I thought I would be really good at, since I build all of the small and medium-sized Architecture sets this way. (I wrote about my process for building a model without the instructions in this article last year.)

Normally, they give everyone a single medium-sized set, but this year we got to build two smaller sets in a row. Mistakes are penalized by some number of seconds per incorrect piece, so you really want to get it right. The first set was 30028 – Holiday Wreath, a 50-piece polybag from 2011. I had no difficulty building this very quickly, but there were a few folks in the room who beat me by at least 30 seconds. Wow.

Other attendees finishing the box build challenge.

For the second model, we built 31001 – Mini Skyflyer at just 62 pieces. It was a much more difficult model due to parts which you couldn’t see which form the center of the model, and the lack of an easily repeatable pattern as in the Wreath. In the end I finished respectably, a little before 1/2 way through the pack, but definitely not a leader by any stretch of the imagination. I learned that I am not nearly as good at building models outside of my normal Architecture focus.

Blind Build

My second game was Blind build, where you need to build a model as fast as you can without seeing what you are building! They have wooden stands with black fabric so you can build the model without seeing it, while the audience can watch your progress from the other side. For this competition, we built 7285 – Police Dog Unit and we could use the instructions. This game is super challenging and stressful because the majority of time spent during the contest is the quest for the right piece.

Trying to finish the model in “Blind Build” competition.

After about 1/3 through the model, I realized that I would have an easier time finding the piece I need if I sorted them in some way. As such, I took a break from building the model to sort the bricks, in some case stacking related bricks so I could find them easier later. This proved to be a good maneuver, and I finished about 12th place out of 45 contestants. Not good enough to go on to the “Finals” round, but I still felt good about my effort.

In my haste, I made a dumb mistake. That’s not a hat on the policeman’s head!

One-Handed Build

The final game which I got to play was the One-handed build. In this contest, you can only use one hand to assemble the model, in our case 177 piece 75003 – A-wing Starfighter Your other hand can only touch the instruction manual. To be clear, you are free to use the table, your feet, your mouth, whatever goes – but just one hand. In practice, I built most of the model with just the one hand, although I found that the minifigures were much easier to assemble by putting the torso in my mouth and using my hand to attach the head.

Finishing the one-handed build.

I actually did a really good job on this contest, finishing around 5th overall. Not bad, especially since the winner was Ryan McNaught, a LEGO Certified Professional LEGO builder from Australia.

Sessions

The conference has three large gatherings in the evenings, a Keynote on Friday, the Awards Ceremony on Saturday, and a closing ceremony on Sunday. There are also numerous talks and other sessions throughout the weekend.

Benny gets a Tattoo on his birthday?

In the Keynote, Ryan McNaught shared photos and stories about his experiences as a LEGO Certified professional. He talked about what it’s like to build massive commissioned projects for LEGO and LEGO retailers. He also had lots of colorful and less kid appropriate stories. One of the funniest projects he organized was an online challenge to better understand what happened to Benny the spaceman on his 30th birthday bender, since he was introduced in the mid-eighties.

The Awards ceremony was a chance for the organizers to thank everyone for their hard work, and to celebrate some of the best models at the show. I got an award for my Microscale Geisel Library which was an unexpected treat. All the other models which received awards, and many of the models which weren’t recognized are truly excellent. The award trophies were all built out of LEGO bricks which is an awesome detail to see… The closing ceremony was lower-key, especially since it is after a long weekend and many of the LEGO builders had several hours of work ahead to disassemble their models and take them home. It was one last chance to giveaway some free LEGO prizes which everyone seemed to enjoy.

I also attended talks on the BrickLink website, advanced LEGO building techniques and a roundtable discussion on techniques for keeping your LEGO organized. (I showed people my Printable LEGO Labels which some people had seen and others were interested in trying at home.) These sessions were interesting for me and for the people attending, but are definitely reserved for serious LEGO geeks.

Bricks are sorted by type before the draft begins.

Lastly, I also participated in a LEGO set draft for the first time. In a draft, a whole bunch of people bring exactly the same LEGO set, and the parts from many copies of the set are sorted by type. Then, each person draws a number from a hat, and in that order you take all the parts of the type you want most until all the bricks are gone. I was more excited than ususal to participate, since the set was 21020 – Trevi Fountain which is packed with White and trans-light blue LEGO parts which I use in my own models. I prepared for the draft by doing a little research into the parts I needed most from the set. I selected those lots which were both very useful to me, and somewhat expensive to purchase on the secondary market, and ended up with lots of good bricks, including a ton of the super-common but useful white 1×1 brick.

What about the Public Exhibition?

The public exhibition looked fantastic – I’ve captured a lot of photos in on Flickr, and you can find even more photos in the public . I already featured some of my favorite models, and will close with a few more of my favorites.

Robert Turner made a “travel edition of his amazing Villa Amanzi model which he brought to the conference from Chicago.

Unbelievable model of DOOM shows four different levels from this iconic Video Game.

Old West model based on the LEGO Movie.

Tiger’s Nest Monastery by Anu Pehrson earned the “People’s Choice” award!

Closing thoughts

I had a great time. Needless to say, you need to be a serious LEGO enthusiast to make the most of the Private Convention. There is the fiscal cost which could be significant if you don’t live in the area, plus the time commitment. I definitely think that there is an opportunity for us to bridge the gap and offer something which in between these two options which is a better bridge for really enthusiastic kids and adults who aren’t sure if they want to get more involved or not.

Some of the highlights for me were: Being able to see the models as they were reassembled. Being able to share my own models with the public and ask what they like most. Speaking with other LEGO builders especially Architecture builders like Robert, Anu, Alice and David. Opportunities for free LEGO. The LEGO games and challenges. I definitely look forward to attending again next year!

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