Mariann Asanuma

I see. Well I was just saying what I knew from the time that I was at LEGOLAND, if its different now or whatever, that's fine. It was just my experience that I was commenting on.

What do you mean?

Sorry to break it to you Zornckley, but that isn't true. At one time, it used to be the Model Shops did have access to pieces that the average consumer did not, but that was over a decade ago when that stopped. Even then, it wasn't "all pieces in all colors." What the Model Shops had was the more commonly used special elements like headlight bricks, profile bricks, etc. in all of the standard 10 colors (red, blue, yellow, green, black, white, old grey, old dark grey, brown, and tan) even if they had never been produced in a set. They also had a wider assortment of Maresk blue and clear bricks and plate than was ever available to the public. The brick assortment they had was so that they could more accurately produce the models for the LEGOLAND parks and display models. But as I said, that was all in the past. When I worked in the Model Shop at LEGOLAND California (2003-2007) we could only order the bricks that were being produced for current LEGO sets, and that still holds true to this day. Granted, the Model Shops can order a lot more of one element (even some of the more rare ones that only come 1 to a set), but at the same time, Model Shops only order what will be useful in build models for the theme parks or to go on display. Also, because the Model Shop at LEGOLAND CA was set up in 1998, anything that was more than a 2-3 years older than that would not have been available to order at all. The Model Shops in Denmark and England have a little bit wider range, since they have been operating longer. And, any new bricks that are just starting to be available in sets, the Model Shop often doesn't have, because they haven't ordered them yet. So just as often as not, the Model Shops wouldn't have some of the bricks that a LEGO collector would have. I know its a bit off-topic, and I apologize for that, I just thought that people might like to know.

I know it's still a few days till Easter, but I wanted to get a jump on it. I present to you "Hoppy Easter!" Okay, he's not to happy to be in a bunny suit, but who would be? On my Flikr Group LEGO Miniland I have monthly building challenges. This month's is called "Hop to It!" Hope you like him. Enjoy.

Thanks Asuka. After several attempts at a LEGO version, I decided to make a vinyl sticker for the thunderbolt part. It just didn't work out any other way (at least not at that size).

I'm a big fan of the show "Ace of Cakes" on Food Network here in America. I also found out that Duff Goldman, the star of the show and owner of Charm City Cakes bakery likes LEGO a lot. Because I like the show so much I contacted them and offered to make them a mosaic of their logo. I also made a Miniland scale version of Duff Goldman After I sent it to them, they emailed me and said that they really liked it and would put it "in a place of honor." Then when I was watching the show last week I saw my model in the background by the front door! I was pretty excited to see it there. I contacted them again and asked if I could mention it on my blog. They said "of course!"

Its a little hard to read that link Trexxen. I still don't know what to think of this. If its real, it seems like a weird combination. If its not, who thought it up in the first place?

That is interesting. I'm pretty tempted to make a build myself. Thanks Peppermint_M!

I'm glad you've found your way back LEGO, even if your parents don't understand. I was fortunate enough to have a family that accepted my LEGO hobby so I never had a Dark Age. The only one who kind of disapproved as I got older was my dad, but then when I became a Master Model Builder at LEGOLAND California, and proved that yes, you can make money building with LEGO all day, even he supported me. I've never hidden the fact that I love building with LEGO. In fact now that I'm a Freelance LEGO Artist, I constantly tell perfect strangers what I do. Most of the time, they think its pretty cool that I get paid to "play" with LEGO all day. LEGO is a perfectly acceptable hobby, as long as you do it in moderation.

If you plan on going to any of the days of the Comic Con, you better order your passes now. I was just on the site and all the 4 day passes are already sold out and Saturday is almost sold out too! That's the only problem with Comic Con now, it's almost too popular for its own good! Last year was intensely crowded. It used to be that Saturday was the only day like that, but now even the "Preview" night is packed every year. I saw the LEGO exclusive set, but since I'm not that into Clone Wars, I really didn't really see the need to go after it. The Exclusive Indy set was more interesting to me, but I didn't get that either.

If you are going to build the interior and the exterior on thing I would suggest is to make the walls at least 2 knobs wide. That way you can cover up things like headlight brick holes with a wall panel piece on the inside or something similar.

I made this little model in about 4 hours. I was especially trying to capture the life-like quality in the eyes. It was a fun challenge since I've never built a LEGO bird before. I made it for a fund raising auction that will be held at a local Nature Center this Saturday.

Cute shirt!

If you want to make that big of a project one thing I would recommend is not using LDD. I understand why you are using it is so that you can order exactly the right amount of bricks, but it will take you much, much longer to design the building that way. The reason I can build a relatively "small" building like this (it is 2 feet wide by 3 1/2 feet long by 2 feet tall) in only a few weeks is that I didn't spend hours digitally designing it first. What I did do was draw it out on brick paper (LEGO graph paper). I drew out the front, the side and some of the details on brick paper before I built the actual building. Then I prototyped the specific details like the doors and windows so I knew roughly what the whole building would look like. Once I started building I did add some interior support on the bottom and top, since it wasn't too big that is all that it needed. Yes, it took a lot of bricks, roughly 5000-6000 (I estimate). Since I buy LEGO in bulk most of the time at Pick-a-Brick and Bricklink I don't bother with getting exactly the right pieces for just one project. Even when I am ordering parts specifically for a project I always order a few extras because I know that I will eventually use them in something else. As for how long the project takes, that isn't as important. I build fast because I have to (they are usually commissioned models). I have one of my "hobby" models that will take me a lot longer since I am only building it when I feel like it. The important thing is that you enjoy the entire process.

When you say "large scale" project, about what size will this project be? (inches, feet?) Not to sound egotistic, but since I was a Master Model Designer at LEGOLAND California, I know a thing or two about building in large scale (4 foot long lady bug, 28 foot tall Skyscraper, etc). I totally agree with having some sort of plan. Depending on size, you have to plan for an interior structure of the model. The larger you get, the more structure you need to plan for. Definitely over estimate on time. I'm a pretty fast builder but some of my projects took months to build. Many of my current projects take at least a couple of weeks. Also think about your color scheme. Sometimes you plan on building a model just so, only to find that they don't make that piece in that color. If you are using the common colors like red or blue, this isn't as much of a problem, but it still can happen. If you have any other questions as you go along, feel free to ask me.

Friday March 21st was LEGOLAND California's 10th anniversary. To celebrate this, my good friend and fellow Master Model Designer Bill Vollbrecht designed an amazing LEGO birthday cake. I checked it out on Saturday and took a few photos. I love all the details that were put into this showcasing different areas of the park. The Land of Adventure area is pretty cool. Parts of the cake were even animated and the candles at the top light up. You can see more images on my Flickr photostream and see a video of the animation on my blog.

Thanks Commander Cody. To answer your question: How do I make mosaics? Well, for one I don't make it with a computer program. The reason I know it will look like something is that I start with the image (in this case the Obama poster) and I decide how big or small I want it to be. 1. Using Photoshop (I know I said I don't use a computer program but I meant in the design process ) I enlarge (or shrink the picture) to the size I need. 2. I print it out in the right size. 3. I use transparent brick (LEGO graph) paper and put that over the picture. 4. I start drawing / designing my model on the paper (sometimes I use a light-table to help me design) 5. I build the mosaic (making changes if necessary from original design) I like using a lot of SNOT techniques when building so that I can get the curves and details. Sometimes (like for Obama's eyes) I use other elements than just basic bricks and plates. I try to make it "buildable" and not "cheat" when I make a model, although sometime a brick or two is only held in by gravity. Hope that helps you out.

Thanks guys. I'm not trying to be political, I just thought that the poster looked cool. If you mean Medium Blue (like in the Beetle Set) than yes. It has Medium Blue and the even harder to get Dark Blue. I did get the Beetle set for my Batman Mosaic, but I also got a lot of Medium Blue and Dark Blue from Pick-a-brick and Bricklink over the years. When I see the rarer colors, especially in 1x2 or 2x2 plates, I buy a lot all at once because I know that I will eventually use it in a mosaic of some sort.

Hi all! I just wanted to share my latest LEGO creation with you. It took me about a month (and most of my Dark Blue) to make this. It is 28 inches tall and 19 inches wide. You can read more about it on my blog.

Thanks, 74louloute. Yep, the beard came from Brickforge. I'd been looking for something to do with it.

Hi and hello all! Just thought I'd put something up for the day. Hope you like it.

Great customs!

That is so cool Dr. Brick! I didn't even realize that existed. I may have to look for that Cookie Cutter.

Cool review. I have the yellow one too. I like them, but I also found that they are hard to keep straight, at least in my freezer, so they don't stay brick shaped very well But I have a tip for you with the sports bottles. Try Goo Gone it does pretty well on getting off the sticky remains of glue from plastic and glass.

Sweet train! I love all the little details, especially the train track!