Issue 68 • July 2021
Alice Finch and the Women’s Brick Initiative The Women of Philippines LUG
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Issue 68 • July 2021
Contents From the Editor....................................................2
People Serge Vanschoenwinkel: Building a Supercar!.......................................3 Women’s Brick Initiative: Clutch Holds More Than Bricks Together......................................8 Alice Finch: Displaying Like a Master!..........................10 Master Builder Gallery: Caz Mockett....................................................14 Kristal Dubois.................................................17 Mel Finelli.........................................................20 Sachiko Akinaga...........................................23 WBI Member Profile: Adelle Trotta....................................................25 Lucie Filteau....................................................26 Megan Rothrock...........................................28 Teresa Elsmore...............................................31 Women of LEGO Masters: Jessica Ewud...................................................32 Jessica Farrell..................................................34 Runa Lindblom..............................................37
Building You Can Build It: Quasar Fire Class Cruiser Carrier............38 Minifigure Customization 101: Ruth Bader Ginsburg..................................44 Women’s Brick Initiative: Making LEGO Into Jewelry.......................49 BrickNerd DIY Fan Art: Puzzle Piece.....................................................50
Community Women’s Brick Initiative: Summer Research Overview..................52 The Duck Collaborative..............................54 Quilt Collaborative.......................................56 Let’s Build!........................................................59 Women of the Phillipines: Team PMS.........................................................60 Diversity and Inclusion: GayFOLs............................................................64 Bantha Bricks Files: David Strenzler’s Force of Bricks.............66 Community Ads...............................................78 Last Word.............................................................79 AFOLs....................................................................80
From the Editor: Hello there!
When I first began in this hobby at the turn of the century, I found it interesting that the vast majority of builders were male. At the time, it was an assumption that building things was a male-oriented interest. But in the immediate years afterward, some things happened to shake up that assumption:
Issue 68 • July 2021 Publisher John Morrow
Editor in Chief Joe Meno
Photography Editor Geoff Gray Proofreader John Morrow
Japanese Bureau Editor Nathan Bryan
The first dedicated LEGO fan website, LUGNET, was formed by Todd Lehmann and Suzanne Eaton (then Suzanne Rice). One of the first LEGO fan events in the US, BrickFest, was coordinated by Christina Hitchcock.
West Coast Editors Ashley Glennon
This was something that, way back then, I noticed and wanted to get others involved with. So I had two female co-editors in the first years of the magazine. I added them to give me another view of the community, and they did! One now works at LEGO (Melody Caddick) and another is here in this issue (Megan Rothrock).
Bantha Bricks Correspondent Steven Smyth
Now, more people have come into the hobby from all walks of life, and BrickJournal is happy to welcome them here and online! Many thanks to Alice Finch and her staff at Women’s Brick Initiative for writing and composing this issue’s features, and thanks to Mark Larson for his layout work!
LEGO Ideas Correspondent Glen Wadleigh
Contributors: Sachiko Akinaga, Chestnut Amatong, Kelly Bartlett, Jared Burks, Christopher Deck, Kristal Dubois, Teresa Elsmore, Jessica Ewud, Jessica Farrell, Alice Finch, Mel Finelli, Lucie Fitteau, Erik H., Runa Lindblom, Megan Lum, Louise Mariano, Daneen McDermott, Caz Mockett, Nyssa Hope Rogers, Megan Rothrock, JacQueline Sanchez, David Schefcik, Steven Smyth, David Strenzler, Stephanie Taylor, Adelle Trotta, Serge Vanschoenwinkel, Inez Vasquez, and Greg Hyland.
Joe Meno, editor P.S. Have ideas or comments? Drop me a line at brickjournal@gmail.com. I’m open to suggestions and comments and will do my best to reply. P.P.S... Yes, BrickJournal has a website — www.brickjournal.com! Twitter? Yep, there too — http://twitter.com/brickjournal. Facebook? Yup — http://www.facebook.com/group. php?gid=58728699914&ref=mf. Or you can scan the bottom codes with a QR reader! P.P.P.S. If you want info on a subscription, you can go to www.twomorrows.com or scan below!
Website
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Many thanks to the websites who have served as mirrors for BrickJournal:
www.LUGNET.com, www.Brickshelf.com, www.peeron.com, www.brickmodder.net www.rustyclank.com
About the Cover: Alice Finch’s model of Potala’s Palace in Tibet, made in 2013. Photography provided by Alice Finch. About the Contents: A section of a quilt that was done as a collaborative build. Photography by Daneen McDermott. Star Wars and all related characters and properties TM & © Lucasfilm.
Glossary AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO) AFFOL (Adult Female Fan of LEGO) TFFOL (Teen Female Fan of LEGO) NLSO (Non-LEGO Significant Other) MOC (My Own Creation) TLG (The LEGO Group) BURP (Big Ugly Rock Piece) LURP (Little Ugly Rock Piece) POOP (Pieces—that can be or should be made—Of Other Pieces)
SNOT (Studs Not on Top) LUG (LEGO Users Group) LTC (LEGO Train Club) MECHA (a large armored robot on legs, typically controlled by a pilot seated inside) MECH (a large piloted combat robot) DARK AGES (usually teen years, when you drift away from building) STUDS OUT (building where the studs on bricks face the viewer)
LEGO®, TECHNIC, MINDSTORMS, Belville, Scala, BIONICLE, ExoForce, Mars Mission, World City, and other LEGO theme lines are trademarks of the LEGO Group of companies. All articles, photos, and art are copyright BrickJournal Media, LLC 2011, TwoMorrows Publishing and the respective writers, photographers, and artists. All rights reserved. All trademarked items are the property of their respective owners and licensees. Subscriptions are $68 Economy US, $80 Expedited US, $103 International, or $27 Digital Only and can be purchased at www.twomorrows.com or payment sent to: TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614 USA. The editorial/advertising office address for BrickJournal is: BrickJournal Editor, 6701 Coachman Drive, Springfield, VA 22152, USA or admin@brickjournal.com. First Printing. Printed in China. ISSN 1941-2347. BrickJournal and its staff would like to thank the LDraw community for the software it makes available to the community, which we use for making all of the instructions and renderings in this magazine. We would especially like to thank Kevin Clague for his continued upgrades of the LPub tool that is a part of2the LDraw suite. For more information, please visit http://www.ldraw.org.
People
Serge Vanschoenwinkel
Building a Supercar! Article and Photography by Serge Vanschoenwinkel
Above: Serge with his sports car models—with the real Countachs and a new virtual build on his computer of his new Lamborghini Diablo GTR. He would have liked to have it built but was still waiting for some parts on the way. Behind is the Statue of Liberty and one of the most incredible MOCs Serge has ever seen, the Alien Xenomorph from buildbetterbricks!
Serge Vanschoenwinkel is a software solution architect at Eurocontrol, the European agency that regulates air traffic all over Europe. Outside of work, he plays chess, guitar and piano. He also builds LEGO models, with one of his most recent creations being a vehicle that often stops traffic: a Lamborghini Countach. What’s also impressive is that Serge has only been building as an adult for a year. As a boy, he loved Technic sets, but he only got back into building when he went to an event in Brussels (his hometown) that displayed personal LEGO creations. It was an eye-opening experience, as he remembered LEGO being interesting but not really good-looking. He realized then that the LEGO world had evolved tremendously since he was a kid. Because of his recent return, his favorite themes are also evolving. Serge definitely list his favorites as Creator Expert, Cars and modulars. He also keeps an eye on the Technic world and his interest in LEGO Architecture is growing. Another favorite is LEGO Ideas, and for a future theme, he would love to see LEGO create a kind of “creatures” line-up. Serge’s first models were inspired from Belgian comics (he was a fan of comic artist André Franquin) and it came naturally to him. From there he imagined some funny animals. These were simple builds (around 100 bricks) that were made by playing with the bricks, with his only guidance being his imagination. 3
Serge’s Lamborghini models with his favorite set, the 1989 Batmobile.
Themes aren’t the reason why Serge builds. For him it’s going beyond and trying to build his own things. He always had an interest in modeling in general, and he found that the charm of a LEGO MOC comes from their imperfections—maybe not imperfections, but their drift from the real world. This drift freed up his imagination. Building was something he tried to do when he was a kid, but he didn’t succeed very well then. When he saw the displays in the Brussels expo, he discovered that everything was possible. The Countach is his favorite car, so it was a natural model for him to try to build. The car is somewhere between the classic cars and the more aggressive supercars, like the ones that exist today. For Serge, the Countach is the perfect balance between the two. From the start, he knew he could design one, so he didn’t give up, and with a little bit of luck, he completed it. Building a car model is a process for Serge. For accuracy, he starts by printing the blueprints and measuring the proportions with a ruler. The most critical moment in building is deciding what scale to build, depending on available LEGO parts to reproduce the car’s elements. This is a step that needs to be carefully considered. From there, he does the design on his computer using stud.io, a LEGO building program from Bricklink. When he completes the digital model, it’s easy to generate instructions. From there, he starts the build with real LEGO parts.
Some of Serge’s earlier creations. The fish is his first model: a piranha inspired from the universe of the Marsupilami in comics’ Spirou & Fantasio (which is a very famous comic series in Belgium from the ’60s). Serge likes its “cartoon” look! Then he designed the car (that looks like a taxi), which is the Fiat 509 of Gaston Lagaffe (another hero, or should we say anti-hero, from the same Belgian author Andre Franquin). Serge loved reading these comics as a kid. The sheep, the flamingo and the cat are his own creations. Peace and Love (the sheep) is a symbol trying to reconcile black and white people imagined just after George Floyd died. Then Serge imagined a Flamingo which completely lost his mind, as simple as that! And the cat is desperately trying to catch a mouse but hasn’t succeeded yet!
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The Countach has been Serge’s hardest build by far. Having angles and curves all over, he had to imagine new techniques to generate inclines in two different planes for the same parts. There were also numerous half-stud offsets which used many SNOT (Stud Not on Top) techniques.
The black Countach.
With the car profile being so low, there wasn’t a lot of room for the offsets. The hardest part of the car was the rear and how it was connected to the sides. With all of these factors, it was a real challenge for Serge to reproduce the Countach’s lines. Since building the Countach, he has also completed a model of the Lamborghini Diablo, the Countach’s successor. His next model will be another car, probably a Ferrari 250 GTO. He loves cars from the ’80s. There is also an existing model of the xenomorph from Alien and he would like to one day build the Alien Queen. Last but not least, Serge would like to build an alternate build of the Batmobile 1989 UCS set. He can imagine a Bugatti with Batman-style wings on the roof! All of these are very ambitious projects, so he cannot tell if they will become real one day—fingers crossed.
More views of the Lamborghinis.
For builders, Serge advises, “Assemble loads and loads of official LEGO sets, and also build MOCs that you like if you can. If it’s too expensive, then buy secondhand and sell when finished. On each build, it is important to focus on the techniques used and understand them. Wonder ‘how the heck is this part connecting perfectly to this one ?’ when building SNOT (Stud Not On Top) techniques. For this it is important to understand the sizes and offsets of most common bricks. For instance, you have to know that the width of a stud equals the height of two-and-a-half plates, and many other things like that. “The design of complex models must be done on a computer—unless you have thousands of hours of free time and are not worried about fingers bleeding. Surprisingly, on my computer I start by placing the external (visible) parts. When I’m satisfied with the shape, I go on with the structure underneath.” Now it’s time to reveal some of the secrets hidden inside the Countach with Serge...
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People
Alice Finch:
Displaying like a Master! “Small interactions can make the difference between feeling like you’re a part of something, or you’re not.” Interview by Megan Lum Photography by Alice Finch 10
Alice Finch burst onto the AFOL scene with her impressive 400,000 piece Hogwarts build, and gained more recognition as one of the featured builders in the documentary A LEGO Brickumentary. The co-founder of the Women’s Brick Initiative (WBI) and the Brick Alliance (BA) has continued to build, but also devotes time to social justice issues and making the LEGO community more accessible to everyone. Recently, I sat down with Alice to talk about LEGO, social justice, and just what happened to that enormous Hogwarts build.
Alice Finch Flickr Gallery: bippitybricks Instagram: @bippitybricks
going to look like, because this was from the world he developed. So I took the instruction—I mostly did the landscaping and he did everything else—the buildings, scenery, and placement of the minifigs. We’ve worked together on other collaborations, like the Isle of Berk from 2014. When we’re in the LEGO world, we are colleagues and equals as opposed to mother and son, so there’s a lot of tossing back and forth of ideas. How have your sons (Thorin and Hadrian) influenced your building? They’ve always been involved. When I was working on Rivendell, and Hadrian was four, he built a train station right through the middle of the model. Because for him, how else would the elves get to work every day? There was a train with track, a little train station and a water station with tank and mugs set out on the table, so that when the elves got to work, they had their water cooler. That was a way for him to feel included in the model. My position wasn’t “Get your hands off my model!”, but instead, “Come and build with me.” At the same time, Thorin built the bridge over the river on the very far left of the model, and both built trees. As they’ve gotten older, they’ve gotten much more sophisticated in terms of what they can do and the kinds of conversations we can have. Hadrian likes to specialize in the lighting and the very technical parts of models, and Thorin is very good at storytelling with the minifigs. What happened to your Hogwarts? Is it still intact?
Alice’s HogwartsTM Castle layout.
Megan Lum: Every LEGO fan knows Alice Finch’s Hogwarts. How did you follow up on that? Alice Finch: After Hogwarts, there was Rivendell, which was a collaboration with David Frank. Then there was another collaboration, Mouse Guard, based on graphic novels by David Peterson, with about a dozen builders from ArchLUG. Next came some small projects, including the Potala Palace (this issue’s cover image), a microscale Notre Dame, and the Burg Eltz castle in Germany. I also did a travel model of Hogwarts, because I needed to have a suitcase-sized version for international conferences.
It’s been a big question for me, what to do with Hogwarts. Right now, it’s still in storage. For me and a good part of the world, the feeling around Hogwarts has changed based on the recent actions of JK Rowling. So how do I feel comfortable presenting it to the public again? I’ve been thinking that for the 10th anniversary of Hogwarts being built (2022), perhaps I’ll modify it to be a Pride Hogwarts that is massively inclusive in every possible way. It needs to be remodeled to make it more travel worthy, so this is a way to have a goal to make that happen. Nobody really looks forward to taking apart an old model and rebuilding it, so I’m using this idea to motivate myself to get this done.
You’ve done a number of collaborations. What draws you to those? I really like doing collaborations. I find it rewarding to work with other people and see what comes of joint effort. The last collaboration I did was with my son Thorin. He has created an entire world, about which he’s writing a novel. He wanted to build a particular location (Dargon Bridge, pictured) within that world, and we took it to Bricks Cascade in 2020. For that collaboration, Thorin did all of the directing in terms of what the model was
Dargon Bridge, a collaboration with Alice and her son, Thorin, based on Thorin’s original novel.
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People
Close-up detail of Caz’s Micropolis model in the LEGO House Master Builder Gallery.
Master Builder Gallery:
Caz Mockett
Article and Photography by Caz Mockett
“My buildings are firmly based in fantasy rather than reality...” Caz Mockett YouTube: BlockHeadUK Instagram: @cazmockett Twitter: @cazphoto
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Caz Mockett poses with her model at the Master Builder Gallery.
I have been building MOCs since October 2017 when I emerged from my Dark Ages. My main interest is architecture and my first attempts at building Microscale were awful. Very quickly I stumbled upon the Micropolis standard, which immediately captivated my imagination and provided a framework which directed my creativity. I continued building and improving, while gaining inspiration from many well-known Micropolis builders who had been making models within the standard for almost a decade. My efforts were encouraged by members of my LEGO User Group, the London AFOLs, which I had joined in November 2017.
A few months later I led a workshop on Micropolis for the group, and was beginning to make a few waves within the wider Micropolis community online. In January 2019, my LUG Ambassador encouraged me to put forward some of my MOCs for consideration for display at the LEGO House in Billund. I wasn’t convinced they would get very far, but I assembled a portfolio of my best builds which was passed on to the team at LEGO House who curate the AFOL exhibits within. A couple of months later, I was surprised and delighted to be invited to show a selection of my Micropolis MOCs in the Masterpiece Gallery, an honor which I would not have believed I could achieve when I started fiddling around with bricks less than two years previously!
The six city blocks contained in Caz’s Master Builder Gallery display.
Setting up the models in the gallery was great fun and it was lovely to meet the other exhibitors whose work I had admired previously only from afar. I have six full blocks of Micropolis on display, which shows a colorful mix of residential, commercial and municipal buildings, together with a canal, tramway and elevated rail line. My buildings are firmly based in fantasy rather than reality, as I love the freedom this gives me in terms of colors, shapes and techniques, but I do still find much inspiration from real architectural projects by innovators such as Santiago Calatrava and the late Zaha Hadid.
Bustling traffic contrasts with lush landscaping on the river in Caz’s Micropolis.
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People
Picnic in the City: A model of the LaFrance Super-Streamline—Huffman Built.
Master Builder Gallery:
Mel Finelli
Article and Photography by Mel Finelli
“Bicycles is where it really started for me.” Mel with her display at the LEGO House Master Builder Gallery.
Mel Finelli Flickr Gallery: melan-e Instagram: @mellegobuilder
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At 20 years old I was having a bit of a life crisis. Finishing my Psychology degree, I had failed in learning how to bridge everything I love into what I wanted to do. I didn’t want to be a therapist, but I loved learning about people. I didn’t want to go to school for art, but loved creating and loved how art made me feel. At that time I felt lost. I felt lost for many years. I still feel lost today at times, ten years later. Looking back to this past decade, I am asked what influenced my life the most; what were some of my greatest experiences; what opened the most doors for me—and the answer to all of that starts with LEGO.
The first community I joined where I felt like I was a part of something, outside of a school or a workplace, was the LEGO community. Shortly after finishing my degree I got a job that involved working with the popular interlocking bricks. I discovered this new world of LEGO fans, most of them adults—amazing LEGO builders who taught me the “rules” of LEGO building. Over the years I quickly learned what I loved in freestyle LEGO building, and just as quickly my work was getting noticed. I was meeting builders who referred to themselves as “artists,” and this sometimes meant breaking the “rules” that the community ingrained in you. Sometimes this meant using techniques or attachments that were not official, by LEGO Designer standards. Sometimes this meant using materials to add structural integrity, or to keep elements connected without the frustration of clutch strength loss. Sometimes this meant building things
Mel constructs one of her bicycle models at a display.
Too Cool for School: A 1970s Mk 1 Raleigh Chopper, one of the bicycles that Mel had built.
that were emotionally triggering. I started to tentatively consider myself an artist when a very successful LEGO artist in Toronto said to me, “Builders follow the rules, artists do not limit themselves by their medium.” Bicycles is where it really started for me. I’ve written plenty online about how I got to the idea of the bicycles, but haven’t talked much about how it opened up things for me. I had created something no one in the LEGO community had seen before. Yes they had seen bicycles made out of LEGO, but not at this scale or detail. The contrast of using a blocky, limited medium with the fragility and delicate frames of bicycles changed things up.
I was already attending events in North America for some years. As my bikes were gaining traction at these events and online, my opportunities to display my work elsewhere really broadened. From small towns to big cities, I got to show my work, but really there was so much more to it. Finding friends in Italy, meeting designers in the UK, catching up with artists in Australia—it’s been an absolute privilege. So to be asked to display in the LEGO House Master Builder Gallery in 2018 was a dream come true. Exhibiting in the Master Builder Gallery with some of the best builders all over the world was intimidating. After years of convincing myself
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People
Jessica with one of her latest works, Serene Ultra Violet Waterfall, at the ASML office in Wilton, Connecticut.
Women of LEGO Masters:
Jessica Ewud Article and Photography by Jessica Ewud
“At the root of my most popular work is Andy Warhol...” Jessica Ewud Website: www.ragzyart.com
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Jessica Ewud.
How did you get started building with LEGO? Did you build as a kid? What inspires you as an adult builder? Unlike the traditional AFOL, I didn’t build as a child. I was told at a young age I couldn’t play with LEGO because “blocks were for boys.” When I was a kid, boys’ and girls’ toys were separated in the classroom. As a young girl, I’d find myself in the “girls” section of the toys at recess. Uninterested in the dolls, I found myself gravitating toward the crayons and art supplies as an alternative. In 2008, when the market had crashed, there were few jobs in finance, my chosen major in college. I graduated in 2010, with a Bachelor’s of Business in Financial Markets. Unsuccessful at finding opportunity in the finance field, I decided to give my art a try, something I never thought I’d be successful at. I started my art career by painting murals
in public spaces, and continued to do my art as a side “gig” for several years. One night, when I was looking to take my art to the next level, I had a dream. In my dream I created a piece entitled “LEGO Lincoln.” I thought it was so brilliant, I woke myself out of sleep and texted it to myself so I wouldn’t forget it. The next day I went to get materials to make it, and found myself for the first time in the LEGO store. “What is this?” I thought to myself. It was a new revelation for me. It kind of reminded me of the scene in Nightmare Before Christmas, when Jack Skellington discovers and becomes infatuated with the Christmas and Holiday décor for the first time. My LEGO Lincoln proved to be a success, catching the eyeball of a prestigious gallery in Greenwich, Connecticut. The gallerist insisted I make more work with this theme—so I did. I’m inspired by so many things. My artwork has a lot of symbolism. My hidden meanings are a nod to Da Vinci, while the idea of different perspectives comes from Claude Monet. You saw an echo of this on LEGO Masters where I secretly hid words in my hairbows. At the root of my most popular work is Andy Warhol, my favorite artist. My most popular works are inspired by him, taking his concepts and bringing them into a more three-dimensional light. To me, Warhol symbolizes the building blocks of contemporary art. The LEGO bricks always symbolize building blocks. Lincoln symbolizes the building blocks of the civil rights movement. My work is also a nod to women in STEAM. The inclusion of “A” with STEM is important to me. Art is a science, and science is everything—and art tells the story of science. What did you learn or take away from participating in the LEGO Masters series? I’d say above all, women can do anything. I was highly underestimated by my peers, despite being the only professional fine artist on the program. I had to overcome many obstacles on the show, many of which others did not have to deal with.
Another section of Serene Ultra Violet Waterfall.
Our team did not build together in the past and we barely knew each other. But I didn’t let that stop me. I had a clear goal in mind and nothing was going to get in the way of that. As women, it’s important to keep your eye on the prize and stay grounded in your values. The odds were against me, but this was a theme I was all too familiar with. Despite over 50% of the market for artists being women, over 87% of collections are dominated by men. It was an honor to be one of the only two women in the finals, and the only ethnic minority. I wanted to represent women, artists, and Middle Eastern women as well. What have you built since then? Oh my goodness, so much. But at this point in time I’m not allowed to say. You’ll see. Lots of pieces for private collectors, and my biggest piece yet! What is the best piece of building advice you were ever given? It was actually by Brickmaster Jamie and Amy. In the finale while we were planning our ideas, they said, “Make sure this piece shows who you are.” I think it’s important when creating something in any medium to stay true to yourself always; this is when you will accomplish your best work.
Another look at her mosaic.
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People
Jessica’s model of Superman’s Fortress of Solitude.
Women of LEGO Masters:
Jessica Farrell
Article and Photography by Jessica Farrell
“The experience became far more precious than the competition itself…” Jessica Farrell Flickr Gallery: Janet VanD
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As a person who believes everyone’s voice should count, I often volunteer to participate in national surveys on topical matters. These surveys always guarantee anonymity, but usually ask general questions such as gender and profession. Recently, the astonishing realization came to me that, if I stated my gender and profession, I couldn’t remain anonymous as I am the only female professional LEGO® Brick Artist in my country! As my insurance broker pointed out, I’m not exactly in the drop-down menu. Although there are many highly talented AFOLs in the world, very few take the scary plunge and turn their hobby into a job; even fewer of these are women. I think this is a knock-on effect from the early days when LEGO bricks were originally viewed as primarily a boy’s toy and few girls were given LEGO sets as gifts. This was not the company’s intention, but a reflection of society’s views as a whole. In 1978 I wrote a long letter to LEGO, telling them how much I loved my new yellow castle set, but I wished they made more sets for girls because I was very tired of people telling me that LEGO was for boys. I was delighted to get an equally long letter back telling me that LEGO already made lots of stuff for girls because every single LEGO brick and set (including my beloved castle) was made for boys and girls alike. I never forgot that message and rejoice to see that each year more and more girls embrace the brick.
My path from child fan to Dark Age to AFOL to Brick Artist was long and winding, with some very unexpected thrills and spills. Back in 2017 I was approached by a British TV production team and asked if I would participate, along with my son, Faolán, in a new pilot show which would later be known as LEGO Masters. Being part of that very first series, upon which all other LEGO Masters series were based, was an exciting, challenging, exhilarating, frustrating, maddening and, above all, fun experience that we will remember all our lives. We loved being part of that guinea-pig group of participants, with all the laughs, annoyances and craziness that a pilot show will have. The experience became far more precious than the competition itself, particularly since none of us were even told if there was going to be a prize! There were also serious moments and, even though I wasn’t the only female contestant, I was very aware of representing an underrepresented group and worried that I’d let people down. (We were also the only team representing Ireland in a UK show, so no pressure, right?) Although I’d done some commissioned work before, it was after LEGO Masters that I transitioned from hobbyist to professional. That only happened because of two things: a change in mindset (convincing myself I could do it) and invaluable support from my family and friends, notably Breda and David Fennell (Irish LUG Brick.ie), Markus Rollbühler (LEGO designer) and Nate Dias (AFOL and LM winner).
Jessica’s model of Santiago di Compostela Cathedral.
Jessica’s Liberty of London MOC.
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You Can Build It MINI Build
Quasar Fire Class Cruiser Carrier Design and Instructions by Christopher Deck
Hello everybody, and welcome to our next building session! The starship we are going to build today is a very special one to me. Most of you will know this carrier from the recent Star Wars: Rebels animated series where it has an appearance as “Phoenix Home.” However, the ship was introduced more than 25 years ago in the novel The Truce at Bakura and also appeared in late 1990s computer game Rebellion. These sources belonged to the former “Expanded Universe” now titled as “Legends.” The size of the cruiser carrier is slightly longer than the famous Nebulon-B Frigate, making it one of the Rebel Alliance’s bigger ships in the fleet. The size also makes it attractive for a Rebel support fleet you might want to build to scale with the big UCS Star Destroyer (set number 10030), the smaller playset version (set number 75055), or the midi-scaled version (set number 8099). The model comes detailed with hangar base, underside command pod with turbolasers (using wrench tool pieces), and engine section. I hope you will build this vessel, and maybe you want to build different versions for your variously scaled rebel fleets. The relatively straightforward shape gives you plenty of wedge-shaped pieces to realize every possible scale! Happy building, and see you next time!
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Parts List (Parts can be ordered from Bricklink.com by searching by part number and color)
Main Body
Qty Color Part Description 4 Dark-Bluish-Gray 3062b.dat Brick 1 x 1 Round with Hollow Stud 2 Light-Bluish-Gray 87087.dat Brick 1 x 1 with Stud on 1 Side 2 Light-Bluish-Gray 3004.dat Brick 1 x 2 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 11211.dat Brick 1 x 2 with Two Studs on One Side 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 3003.dat Brick 2 x 2 2 Light-Bluish-Gray 3007.dat Brick 2 x 8 1 Trans-Light-Blue 4740.dat Dish 2 x 2 Inverted 2 Dark-Bluish-Gray 55300.dat Minifig Tool Box Wrench 9 Light-Bluish-Gray 6231.dat Panel 1 x 1 x 1 Corner with Rounded Corners 8 Light-Bluish-Gray 4865a.dat Panel 1 x 2 x 1 with Square Corners 4 Trans-Light-Blue 6141.dat Plate 1 x 1 Round 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 32028.dat Plate 1 x 2 with Door Rail 2 Light-Bluish-Gray 15573.dat Plate 1 x 2 with Groove with 1 Centre Stud, without Understud 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 3022.dat Plate 2 x 2 1 Dark-Bluish-Gray 18674.dat Plate 2 x 2 Round with 1 Centre Stud 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 3035.dat Plate 4 x 8 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 3030.dat Plate 4 x 10 4 Light-Bluish-Gray 85984.dat Slope Brick 31 1 x 2 x 0.667 2 Light-Bluish-Gray 4286.dat Slope Brick 33 3 x 1 6 Light-Bluish-Gray 3039.dat Slope Brick 45 2 x 2 10 Light-Bluish-Gray 3660.dat Slope Brick 45 2 x 2 Inverted 4 Light-Bluish-Gray 24201.dat Slope Brick Curved 2 x 1 Inverted 2 Light-Bluish-Gray 6541.dat Technic Brick 1 x 1 with Hole 2 Light-Bluish-Gray 3700.dat Technic Brick 1 x 2 with Hole 1 Trans-Black 3069b.dat Tile 1 x 2 with Groove 4 Light-Bluish-Gray 11203.dat Tile 2 x 2 Inverted with Groove 1 Dark-Bluish-Gray 15535.dat Tile 2 x 2 Round with Hole 4 Light-Bluish-Gray 33909.dat Tile 2 x 2 with Studs on Edge 2 Light-Bluish-Gray 6179.dat Tile 4 x 4 with Studs on Edge 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 54384.dat Wing 3 x 6 Left 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 54383.dat Wing 3 x 6 Right 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 50305.dat Wing 3 x 8 Left 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 50304.dat Wing 3 x 8 Right 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 47397.dat Wing 3 x 12 Left 1 Light-Bluish-Gray 47398.dat Wing 3 x 12 Right
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Community
Yule Quilt from Brickworld Virtual Con Holiday.
Women’s Brick Initiative:
Quilt Collaborative Article and Photography by Daneen McDermott
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Daneen McDermott Instagram: @Brickwyrm
“Quilts have long been a collaborative effort among creative women.”
Quilty as Charged Since October of 2020, I’ve been collaborating with LEGO builders from all over the world making what I call LEGO Quilts. Here’s how it all started. BrickCon is my local con and I was eager for the Women’s Brick Initiative to have a group presence there, even if it was all virtual. When it was still about a month away from the submission deadline, and no collaboration had been announced, I decided to step up and organize something. The initial concept for the Women’s Brick Initiative Quilt collab came together from several converging thoughts in my brain: • The recently available quarter-round DOTS tiles reminded me of the patterns seen in wedding ring quilts.
Stitching a Quilt Together I have a background in graphic design, so I knew my Photoshop skills would be essential. Many AFOLs have gotten practice photographing their own works during 2020, so many photos I received didn’t need much attention. However, every single one arrived in a different resolution. In addition to making all the pixel sizes consistent, some photos weren’t square, some needed color adjustments, some overhung the 6x6 area (always with the weirdest shapes). In the end, I had to adjust all of them, with each one taking anywhere from a few minutes to a half-hour to add to the quilt. That was probably the biggest surprise I had. But the benefit of spending time with each square was discovering all sorts of new pieces and ways of creating amazing textures.
Women’s Brick Initiative’s first collaborative quilt at BrickCon (virtual) 2020.
• I have a huge fondness for mosaics.
Quilty Pleasures
• I also had a collection of 6x6 plates for a future build.
In October, we exhibited the first quilt collaboration at BrickCon (virtual) 2020 in the Arts category.
• Quilts have long been a collaborative effort among creative women. I also figured a 6x6 mosaic wouldn’t require a big time or parts commitment, so should be accessible to just about anyone, and a clean square image should be easy to photograph and tile together in Photoshop. I put out the idea to the WBI social channels and the response was terrific: I received more than 220 squares created by 44 women and allies from three continents.
I received a ton of positive feedback and folks who missed out were asking for a chance to join in. So, I set up to do another with a fall theme. This time I used Google Forms to streamline the submission process and track where every quilt square came from. Fourteen AFOLs from four continents joined me for my fall quilt. Then, just before the winter holiday, with Women’s Brick Initiative presenting at BrickWorld virtual, I prepared
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David Strenzler’s
Bantha Bricks Files
Force of Bricks
Bantha Bricks Files: Article by Steven Smyth, Bantha Bricks: Fans of LEGO Star Wars Photography by David Strenzler
David’s minimodels as sets.
Galactic greetings! I’m Steven Smyth from Bantha Bricks: Fans of LEGO Star Wars. Since the community’s founding in 2016, on an almost daily basis, I have witnessed amazing and creative Star Wars builds in the best Star Wars-themed building brick group on Facebook. David Strenzler (aka Force of Bricks) is a very popular MOC builder and designer in the community as well as a volunteer moderator. I thought it would be great to learn more about this skilled builder and his Mandalorian show-inspired designs.
Steven Smyth: How’s it going David? I’ve known you for some time now through the Facebook group and everyone in Bantha Bricks has been wowed by your many awesome Star Wars builds, but for the uninitiated, please introduce yourself and tell us a little about what you do. David Strenzler: Hi Steven, I’m doing great. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk about two of my greatest passions: LEGO and Star Wars. My main profession is being a social education worker/ systemic consultant, and supporting people with special needs. I really love my job, but there’s this creative part of my personality that also needs to be nourished. So, I would also describe myself as a LEGO enthusiast and since 2018, as a designer of models made of LEGO bricks. This passion initially arose during my childhood. At the time, my favorite themes within the LEGO universe were especially those from the LEGO Classic Space and LEGO Technic series, which I loved to combine in order to create my own spaceships, stations and cars. But as I grew older, gaming consoles and home computers entered my playroom and my passion began to fade. From this time onwards, my so-called “LEGO Dark A close-up of the front of the TIE Fighter.
The Outland TIE Fighter.
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