To my mother and father, and my sister.
Thank you for your brilliant and unwavering love and support.
This book would not be without you.
Acknowledgments
Great credit must first go to all the readers and fans of the first edition of The Unofficial LEGO Builders Guide (ULBG) . I know from stories Ive heard and emails Ive received just how close to your hearts many of you held this book. And from there, you helped spread the word by telling friends and relatives, inquiring at local bookstores, and by giving the book as gifts. Youre all ULBG gurus, and this book could not have been as successful without you. Thank you.
Next, I want to thank the crew at No Starch Press for the continued support theyve offered to me and this book over the years. Thank you, Serena Yang, for all your incredible hard work managing this rewrite and bringing the color version of ULBG to fruition. Thanks also for not letting me lose sight of anything on my To Do list! Riley Hoffman and Alison Law, thank you for contributing to the new look and layout and for helping handle the hundreds of little changes that were made. Thanks go to Bill Pollock for encouraging me to undertake this colorful makeover of ULBG and for many suggestions and advice along the way. Thanks go to Karol Jurado as well for her many hours of hard work on the first edition. And Leigh Poehler, thank you for all the many emailed questions youve responded to over the years. I appreciate your always being there with a reassuring answer.
Although theyre already mentioned in the dedication, these acknowledgements wouldnt be complete without once again mentioning my parents. There are no two bigger ULBG fans in the world. And, because of their tireless efforts, telling friends and acquaintances far and wide, there are now many more fans of my book out there. Thanks, Mom and Dad.
A note of thanks goes to Patricia Witkin for the many ways she found to put the first edition of the book in front of tech and geek bloggers who wrote such terrific reviews. You helped create even more ULBG gurus.
Thanks go to Joe Meno for the continued support from both himself and BrickJournal . Further thanks go to Joe and also to John Fiala and Frdric Siva for the time and energy they spent reading and reviewing the first edition of the book. I appreciate all the honest and insightful feedback they provided.
By now youll have no doubt noticed that The Unofficial LEGO Builders Guide is now in full color. A very special thanks to Eric Albrecht, who worked with me for several months to re-render the hundreds of images needed to re-create all the figures in the book. Great work, Ericthank you!
And thanks go to all of the software and parts authors in the virtual LEGO community as well. Many of the images in this book were produced with their tools, and without them the book would not be nearly as interesting. Be sure to visit http://ldraw.org/ to get started building your own virtual LEGO models.
To the gang at Hipstamatic, thank you for all your love and support!
What can I say to jacki? Thank you for always being jacki! Im deeply grateful for the friendship that we share. Thank you for your trust and your photographic inspiration.
Megan, thank you for your artistic ear, your strong shoulder, and your check-ins along the way.
A note of thanks goes to Dana, for patience, guidance, and companionship through unprecedented change.
Lisa, Im so glad that weve found an incredible renewed friendship as older, more real versions of ourselves.
Introduction
LEGO bricks have been engaging builders young and old for decades. There are a number of ways to connect LEGO bricks, and millions of different things can be created with them. For many builders, the possibilities can be overwhelming. The question is often the same: How do I get started?
I hope to answer that question with this book. The Unofficial LEGO Builders Guide starts at the very beginning, assuming no prior knowledge on your part.
In , youll learn what a single LEGO brick is, how pieces are categorized, and what keeps elements from falling apart when you snap them together.
builds on these basics with core building techniques for every builder. Fundamental principles (like how to secure a column of bricks) are explained and illustrated, setting the stage for the examples to follow.
In , youll learn about scale and how to build a train station to minifig scale.
explores the slightly larger world of miniland-scale buildingthe same scale used in miniland exhibits in LEGOLAND theme parks around the world.
looks at scaling up by teaching you the principles behind building jumbo versions of LEGO elements.
In , we shrink things down by learning to build at microscale, creating models that need a minimum of parts.
Have you ever wondered how to build a LEGO sphere? looks at sculptures and gives you step-by-step instructions for a complete sphere, using just 220 basic pieces!
moves on to mosaics, explaining how to create beautiful patterns and even how to re-create your favorite photos using common LEGO elements.
By , youll be ready to become a model designer! I take you through the entire process, from finding a subject to constructing a complete prototype. Full instructions for a space shuttle are included.