The Magazine for LEGO® Enthusiasts of All Ages! Issue 25 • September 2013
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The Castle Issue Builder Spotlight: Bob Carney
Features Instructions AND MORE! EX CL bu USI ild VE it : A wi M th ini th fig e R ur ol e ro le ll rc er oa co st as er te Fa r? ct Yo or u y! ca n
French Castle Building
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The Alamance County Arts Council presents
AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER, 2013 One of CNN’s top 10 ‘Global Must See Exhibitions’
The Captain White House 213 S. Main Street Graham NC, 27253 336 226 4495 This exhibit is offered free and is open to the public through generous community gifts
artsalamance.com Yellow by artist Nathan Sawaya
Hours: Mon - Sat, 9-5 pm | Sun, 1-5 pm
Issue 25 • September 2013
Contents
From the Editor....................................................2
News/Features LEGO Coasters? Maybe ................................4 Making Tracks ...................................................11 There’s a Map for That! ................................14 You Can Build It: London Underground Sign...................16 The X-Wing® Lands in New York..........20 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Review.............................25 Minifigure Customization 101: Photographing Your Customs...........30 Take Lighting to the Next Level!...........33
People/Building Building Castles................................................35 Building Castles: A Timeline....................40 Building the Perfect Castle: Windows and Arrow Slits.......................43
Community
You Can Build It: Micro Guarded Inn.....................................72 Community Ads..............................................78 Last Word..............................................................79 AFOLs......................................................................80
Phrean: A Medieval City.............................50 Ras-al-Jabar.........................................................56 Building Archenval.........................................61 BrickNerd’s Do it Yourself: Trojan Rabbit...................................................68
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People
Paal Smith-Meyer (left) and Adam Reed Tucker show off the Rollercoaster Factory.
LEGO Coasters? Maybe.....
Article by Joe Meno Photography by Joe Meno Additional Art and Photography by Adam Reed Tucker and X-LABS
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As a LEGO® Certified Professional, Adam Reed Tucker has a lot of dreams. One of them was starting the convention for LEGO fans in Chicago, Illinois that became Brickworld. Another was opening a firm devoted to LEGO related projects, named Brickstructures. Still another was developing and launching a LEGO theme, “LEGO Architecture.” It seems fitting that Adam is beginning another dream concept at Brickworld: a LEGO-based rollercoaster. Brickworld 2013 was the place where he veiled his collaboration with CoasterDynamix and LEGO to create the Rollercoaster Factory set. This particular dream, though, was hinted in, of all things, Adam’s company’s logo and some sparring with Paal Smith-Meyer from the LEGO Group. In talking to both Paal Smith-Meyer (Adam’s LEGO collaborator) and Adam, the idea for a rollercoaster had been present for some time. Smith-Meyer talks about the beginning of the rollercoaster collaboration: “I think actually the rollercoaster idea started for Adam, all the way back to the beginning (of working with the LEGO Group). He had the desire to make a rollercoaster, and he said that it was part of his dream to work with the (LEGO) brick and make rollercoasters come alive.” Adam chimes in: “When I created Brickstructures in 2007 I wanted to celebrate all the structures, not just tall buildings that I had been known for, so if you notice in my logo, there is an image of a cityscape containing a skyline, and there’s a bridge and there’s a rollercoaster. Being one of the creative forces behind LEGO Architecture with Paal, I was able to fill the first part of the logo, the skyline. Now, I am working on the other two. At Brickworld 2013, I had the privilege of unveiling three years of work on my rollercoaster concepts to fill a void in the LEGO system and hopefully bring a full new dimension to the LEGO brick as a creative medium.” Looking at the logo, Adam continues: “The last part of the logo is the bridge. All I have to say is stay tuned in 2015.”
Above: Where is all started: the Brickstructures logo. Right: Adam sets up his rollercoaster at Brickworld 2010. Bottom Right: A closer look at the track, which is modified from a CoasterDynamix set. This was the proof of concept for the track system.
Way back in the beginning, however, Paal was a bit surprised. He mentions, “When Adam made his updated Brickstructures logo, I asked why are you adding a rollercoaster? And bridges? He answered that he wanted to add all the things he wanted to achieve. I remember telling him at the time, ‘Adam, maybe you should be focusing on getting LEGO Architecture off the ground, before we start talking about rollercoasters.’” Adam’s reasons for wanting a coaster system are pretty simple. He explains: “There’s a few things behind the coaster system. The first is that I am a little bit of a aficionado—I love all coasters like the wooden rollercoasters and I love all the hypercoasters, so aside from being a fan, there is a heck of a lot of engineering and structure and math and science and physics and believe it or not, architecture that goes into designing a rollercoaster, especially themed rollercoasters. It is an area that I’m really big on being original. One of the great things about our LEGO community is that originality seems to be something that people strive for—not really doing things that have been done before, and this rollercoaster project hasn’t been done before to the level that I think it ought to deserve the attention it deserves. Based on the fan aspect of it and the engineering and structure aspect of it and the fact that the LEGO Group had never really done or tried to create a set, I went forward. Maybe they had tried or attempted it, but it never made the shelves.” Paal concurs,
“We (the LEGO Group) have tried many times ourselves because making coasters with LEGO bricks is something that everyone wants to do. People have tried it with train tracks and they have tried with Technic tubes.” By 2009, Adam was working on LEGO Architecture, but devoted some time thinking about the coaster idea. He made a design breakthrough when he went to the 2009 International Hobby Expo (or iHobby), which was held in Chicago. Adam takes the story from here: “I was at this convention walking around and I saw these two guys pitching a scale model rollercoaster made out of plastic that you had to glue and assemble yourself. To the unskilled patron that would enjoy that type of model, it would have been a disaster to put together. I noticed that
they engineered an HO-scale model coaster and instantly in my head I was able to take their parts and, with knowing LEGO’s building system, had a vision for how the two could work together.“ The two guys Adam met were Jack Rimer and Dan Linden of CoasterDynamix, and from here, the coaster idea began to come together. Adam continues, “Snipping away some of the stuff that CoasterDynamix had for their system, I added the LEGO brick ‘flavor’ to it, I approached Jack and Dan and said, ‘Let’s hold hands together and do this’ because they had the experience and the engineering background to help make this vision possible.” As a result, Adam’s Brickstructures teamed up with CoasterDynamix to begin work on the Rollercoaster Factory. 5
Community
The X-Wing® Lands in This LEGO X-Wing is huge. New York City! ®
Built to promote the Cartoon Network show The Yoda Chronicles, this model is the largest LEGO model ever built. I got to visit the model in a media preview before it was unveiled at Times Square in New York City over Memorial Day weekend. Hidden in a hangar in Long Island, I got a close look at the X-Wing with some other reporters. Our hosts were the team of people from LEGO’s headquarters in Enfield, Connecticut who set up the life-size model. And yes, it’s huge.
Article and Photography by Joe Meno Additional Photography and Art provided by the LEGO Group and LEGOLand California.
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Getting to the hidden hangar turned out to be something of a challenge. Because of secrecy, the invitations for the preview gave no hint as to where the model was, but only to meet at New York City. I got there and was given a limo ride with reporters from a Star Wars fansite, Jedinews.uk. After an hour-long trip, we finally arrived at a small airport. There, in its hangar, rested the X-Wing. The only thing that was curious was the LEGO logo on the door. We were greeted by members of the team that helped set up the model, including LEGO Master Model Builder Erik Varszegi. He and fellow Model Builder Dale E. Chasse were the main tour guides to the model. Both of them led us around, into, and eventually over the model. Erik explained most of the information: The model is actually an enlargement of an actual LEGO Star Wars set, the X-Wing #9493. Expanded 42 times the size of the original, the X-Wing stands 11 feet tall, 42 feet long, and has a wingspan of 43 feet.
During the weekend that the X-Wing was on display, the Times Square Toys ‘R Us store sold a exclusive version of the set that included a special minifigure of Yoda wearing an “I Love NY” T-shirt and box sleeve about the display. There were only 1000 of these available, so needless to say, this was a popular item.
Some details of the X-Wing.
The forward landing gear bay.
X-Wing Specifications Number of Bricks Used: Weight: Height: Length: Wingspan:
5,335,200 45,979.61 pounds 11 feet or 3.35 meters 43 feet or 13.1 meters 44 feet or 13.44 meters
Studs on display.
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Some closer views.
To celebrate the Times Square event, Master Model builders in LEGOLand California built their own miniland version of the X-Wing and placed it in Miniland New York.
The X-Wing spreads its wings at Miniland Times Square.
Meanwhile, the life-size X-Wing remained on display for the next three days in New York City, after which it was packed for delivery by truck to LEGOLand California. The X-Wing landed in LEGOLand California in time for the park’s Star Wars Weekend. Parked inside a hangarlike enclosure, the model was greeted by Imperial troops and Rebel pilots when it landed June 13. It’ll remain on display for the rest of 2013 at LEGOLand, inviting young and old to go to a place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
Landing at LEGOLand California.
Rebels and guests take a look at the newest model at LEGOLand.
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Theme Review
The Hobbit An Expected Review Article by Geoff Gray
On April 29, 2013
I received an email from Jack Sadler, who was the first person to respond to my LEGO Lord of the Rings theme review. He thanked me for the review, asked if I would be doing a Hobbit theme review, and provided me with a list of his desired minifigs. Naturally I could not pass up the opportunity to review more sets derived from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth, so I got in touch with my contact and had the sets shipped out. I also rented the movie (in high definition, played through my xBox 360) to refresh my memory about it. I had seen the movie in the theaters, but (like the LOTR series), I want to wait until all three flicks are released in their extended cut, so I did not buy the disk. I also went back to my copy of the Hobbit on audio CDs and listened to the story again. I felt I was prepared to build the sets and evaluate them for my review.
Overall Design:
The Hobbit sets follow right along in the footsteps of many of their theme sets, where they mix “playability” with the portrayal of a story. There are plenty of moving and projectile pieces, good modular design, and (as with the LOTR sets) excellent accent pieces like the ring, varying swords and daggers and plenty of food, bowls, jewels, bones, etc. The sets are broken into numbered bags for simpler assembly, and there isn’t much in the way of surprises with how the build progresses. The more delicate minifig accessories (such as Bofur’s hat from the set “An Unexpected Gathering”) come in their own bags and some of the wood grain details are added through transparent stickers.
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Building
Photography Setup: Using light sources on opposite sides reduces the presence of shadows.
Minifig Customization 101:
Photographing Your Customs
It has been some time since this series has covered capturing images of custom minifigures. Don’t have a fancy DSLR or even a digital point and shoot camera? No problem! Almost everyone has a cell phone, tablet, or hand-held gaming device that has a camera. Here are a few suggestions on how to get the best pics possible out of whatever device you have. Remember, the best camera is the one you have with you! Several different tips and tricks will be presented to help capture your work the best way possible.
1. Take Care Of Your Camera Phone/Device.
by Michael “Xero” Marzilli & Jared K. Burks Photographs by Michael “Xero” Marzilli
Keep the device’s camera lens clean, especially free of fingerprints. Most of us carry our cell phones in our pockets with keys, change and several other items. Dirt, pocket lint or any number of other items can scratch, smear on or cover the camera lens. The first step in a clear image is shooting through a clean lens!
2. Lighting, Lighting, Lighting!
To take good pictures with your phone/device you need light, and a lot of it. The reason is that the sensors inside phones/devices are very small compared to the ones you find in point & shoot cameras and big DSLRs. Smaller sensors capture less light which leaves the potential of getting a lot of “noise” or grainy, unclear images. The more light you have available, the clearer and brighter your pictures will be. However, avoid getting direct light into the lens or putting your subject too close to a light source. Your pictures will be overexposed, meaning one side is too bright while the other is too dark. With that being said, if possible, avoid direct sunlight.
3. The Closer To Your Subject, The Better 30
One of the most common mistakes with images is that their subject ends up being a tiny, unrecognizable object in the distance. Remember that most LEGO figs are approximately 2 inches tall to begin with. It’s difficult to see and appreciate
the detail in a figure if we can’t see it! Phone/device images tend to be small due to low resolution of the camera (although this is changing)—so fill up your viewfinder with your subject to save having to crop in on the subject in editing it later (which decreases quality even more). Also, do not use your digital zoom function. This will decrease the resolution of the original photo and there’s no amount of editing that will correct pixelated low resolution.
Changing the bulb color in your lamp is an easy way to get very different effects in your photographs, as seen below.
Having said this, getting too close on some model camera phones creates distortion and focusing issues (particularly if the phone/device doesn’t have a macro setting). To avoid blurry or tiny pics, find that distance ‘sweet spot’ to ensure the best quality. This will differ from device to device so practice is key!
4. Stabilize Your Phone/Device.
While you’re taking a photo, put the device or your arm on a flat, stable surface to make sure the photo doesn’t come out blurry. If you can’t find a stable surface, hold your arm against your body. A twitch, a cough or even heavy breathing could be the difference between a sharp and blurry picture. Keep Track of the Shutter Release. By shutter release, I mean the time it takes for the camera to capture the image after you press the shutter button. If the shutter button is on a touch screen, the shutter will probably get tripped after you lift your finger. More often than not, such ‘tripping’ can be cured by keeping your hands as steady as possible. Many devices have a secondary shutter button, so play with all the options and use the one that gives the clearest photo.
5. Adjust the Settings
When it comes to photo settings, most phones and devices are now imitating the features of high-end cameras. Of course, the effectiveness and desired effect varies. The most basic setting that should be utilized if available is the Macro setting (previously mentioned). Typically this is indicated by a tiny flower icon. Make sure to select this option to alter the camera’s focal point to a shorter distance. The next setting to be concerned about is ISO, which is an older term that denoted the speed of the film in relation to its sensitivity to light. While digital photography doesn’t use film, a similar value is still used. The ISO setting, by default, will be set to “auto.” When shooting in direct lighting, you can set the ISO to the lowest value (to avoid grainy, or “noisy”, images). But in poor light, use a higher ISO. Keep in mind the higher the ISO number the longer the shutter stays open, which in turn means you must be very still while taking these low-lit pictures; another reason that lighting is so important. Another critical setting is HDR (High Dynamic Range) imaging. This method captures a greater dynamic range between the brightest and dimmest areas in a field of interest or subject. Using this setting gives a more accurate range of the intensity levels found in the figure and will help when it comes to editing. Non-HDR cameras take pictures at one exposure level with a limited contrast range, which results in the loss of detail in bright or dark areas of a picture. HDR compensates for this loss of detail by taking multiple pictures at different exposure levels and intelligently stitching them together to produce a picture that is representative in both dark and bright areas.
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Community
Phrean: A Medieval City Article and Photography by Daniel Z
I’m a 20-year-old engineering student living in Norway. I have been building with LEGO my whole life, and what might not surprise you is that medieval cities and castles have always been my favorite things to build. When I was younger I was always a little scared of reaching the maximum age on the LEGO boxes, because I couldn’t imagine losing interest in LEGO. Fortunately I didn’t lose interest and kept building, though less frequently than before. Then I discovered the online AFOL community and I got seriously infected with the LEGO virus. Over the next couple of years I built over fifty medium and large sized MOCs, took part in many contests and attended several lego conventions and shows. Lately I haven’t built as much as I used to, but I have started planning my next MOC, which I’ll hopefully build this fall.
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The Medieval City of Phrean I built this MOC to bring to LEGO Fanwelt 2010 in germany where it was part of a large castle-themed layout by the dutch LowLUG. I knew there were going to be many amazing and huge creations at Fanwelt, so in order to make my MOC noticeable at all it had to be big. It was and still is the biggest landscape and building I have built, with the tallest spire reaching a height of more than a metre (3 ft) and a footprint of 1.5 square meters. It took me a few months of off and on building to complete and I would guess I used more or less 20,000 pieces to build it.
Top view showing the layout of Phrean.
The bridge spanning two castle towers.
Another view of the castle and surrounding forestry.
Bridge Building The bridge built above shows some advanced techniques in its construction. To make the lower arch slope, the entire arch is built as a separate part studs down and is placed in a groove between sloped bricks. After that, a walkway is built to be placed over the arch that has studs up and down. Finally, the walls are built, using minifigure legs to make the decorative patterns.
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Community
Ras-al-Jabar Article by Joe Meno Photography by Anton Fedin
Anton Fedin is a fifteen-year-old student from Russia. He started building seriously three years ago. Before that he had just been collecting various sets. Of course, the first works of his were quite simple. Now LEGO is part of his life. With his LEGO hobby, he hopes to make his dream come true of becoming an architect. His castle layout is a good example of technique and inspiration. BrickJournal talked to him about his building. BrickJournal: What are your favorite themes and/or sets? Anton Fedin: My favorite themes are “LEGO Adventurers” and its subtheme “Orient Expedition,” which were released in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It’s a pity I missed them when they were first released, but eventually I was lucky enough to get them all. What I really like is “Scorpion Palace” (#7418). Had it not been for it I wouldn’t have been able to build my Ras-al-Jabar. It was sort of a catalyst for the idea of this diorama. What inspired you to build Ras-al-Jabar? I was inspired bу the architecture of Middle East and lndia
of the Eаrlу Middle Ages. I can’t help admiring their beautiful palaces and busy bazaars crowded with people in bright clothes where you could buy magnificent textile, luxurious blades оr fine jewelry, spices, sweets and fragrances famous all оvеr the world. I often imagined various scenes, kind of Аrаbiаn merchants equipping their саrаvаns оr fleet. It was during оnе such moment when l was enjoying this charming and mysterious Middle Eastern beauty, that it occurred to mе to build my fantasy in the next diоrаmа. I wonder why such an interesting theme is not vеrу рорulаr with LEGO fans. Besides, bу that time I had collected а considerable pile of various items which seemed to bе compatible such as domes, camels, turbans, yataghans, etc. and I was looking forward to using them.
Detail shots of the castle.
Building Castle Walls Anton uses some interesting techniques to make his castle unique by breaking from LEGO building conventions. His castle walls are built with hinges so he can angle them, as you can see below (the red plates are 1x4 hinges). The walls are attached to the baseplate below at certain points, while the angled walls ‘float’ on tiles. The walls also have a distinctive design to establish scale. To the right you can see what makes up a lower castle wall. The window is the viewer’s reference for size. Make several walls and connect some with hinges and a castle perimeter is created!
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