LEGO Community Headlines & Highlights for January 2021

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The LEGO community is broad and vast, and so too are all the blogs, magazines and YouTube channels that consistently create amazing content about our favorite bricks. At BrickNerd, we celebrate getting nerdy about the bricks (I mean, you’ve read some of our articles, right!?). So we are starting a new series curating the best LEGO stories that caught our contributors’ attention throughout the month.

There are so many fascinating stories to be told from within the LEGO community, and we applaud the effort that went into each of these features. Click on the headlines or photos to head to each article. They are well worth your time!


Beyond the Brick: LEGO Technic Ferrari Set Designer Q&A

Beyond the Brick's Joshua Hanlon talks live with LEGO Technic Ferrari set designer Aurelien Julien Rouffiange.


Bits & Bricks: LEGO Minifigures - A Conversation

Journalist Brian Crecente and documentarian Ethan Vincent speak with minifigure expert Tara Wike about how the LEGO minifigure evolved in digital form and helped to influence the physical figures.


Blocks: LEGO fandom on Instagram

Oliver Brindle picks out Blocks magazine’s Instagram Spotlight pics each month. Here, he explains how he accesses the LEGO fan community via Instagram and shares some tips for finding like-minded fans on the platform.


Boone Builds: The World's Biggest LEGO Alternate Build!

In this video, Boone shows the design process, inspiration and building of his Castello Fortificato, an alternate build to the newly released LEGO Colosseum.


Brick Architect: Most Common DUPLO Parts

Have you wondered which DUPLO parts are most common, or which DUPLO parts come in the most colors? Let’s find out!


Brick Fanatics: AFOLs taught us to take adults seriously

In an interview with Brick Fanatics, LEGO Head of AFOL Engagement Tormod Askildsen credits AFOLs with showing the LEGO Group that adults need play too.


BrickJournal: A Conversation With LEGO Flower Bouquet Designer Anderson Grubb

In this joint interview from a Recognized LEGO Fan Media team, LEGO Designer Anderson Grubb talks about the recently-released LEGO Flower Bouquet and about the work and decisions that went into making this beautiful botanical set.


Brickset: The composition of modular buildings

The composition of a modular is vital. Alongside the colour scheme, it is what draws the eye to the model even in the smallest of images. There are two basic ways to go: “hilly” composition or “flat” composition.


Brickset: Using Super Mario sets as display models

There has been a lot of debate as to the intended appeal of the LEGO Super Mario sets. The focus on playability creates a unique inspiration for different kinds of MOCs where interactive functions are the heart of builds.


JANGBRiCKS: LEGO road plate harmony! Quick, easy, cheap fixes & integrations

Connecting LEGO City 2021 road plates to old baseplates, modular buildings, Creator 3-in-1s & more with the right height and minimal cost, plus more modification ideas.


New Elementary: LEGO 71741 Ninjago City Gardens Interview - Designer Markus Rollbühler

To learn more about the process of creating the set, we spoke to Markus Rollbühler who discusses the design of the Ninjago City Gardens set, its new elements, building techniques, secret references and shares a look at several sketch models!


New Elementary: Inside The LEGO Element Design Department - Interview With Marinus Jasperse, Senior Designer

We chatted with Marinus Jasperse to gain a deeper insight into how the element designers at The LEGO Group are structured and operate.


PROMOBRICKS: An interview with LEGO designer and train fan Torben Plagborg

[Google Translate] LEGO designers from decade’s past usually disappear in anonymity. But it is precisely these old designers who gave us many great sets from our childhood - and you know (almost) nothing about them.


Rambling Brick: What if they introduced a new Technic pin, and nobody noticed?

We noticed that the black Technic pins on The Colosseum were not the same as the black Technic pins from the past 30 or so years. Is it significantly different? And can we fathom why it has been introduced?


StoneWars: LEGO Ideas 90th anniversary survey - Bionicle wins 1st round, but half want a castle

The LEGO Group is running a fan-poll for an upcoming anniversary set. Hardly any poll at LEGO has attracted such attention. Today, we’re taking another look at the issue, as we have the interim results of the official LEGO Ideas poll.


The Brick Blogger: LEGO World Builder - First Idea in Development

LEGO World Builder is somewhat similar to LEGO Ideas, but instead of submitting ideas for potential future LEGO sets, it’s for submitting ideas for new LEGO entertainment (i.e. web or TV series and maybe even the next LEGO movie).


The Brothers Brick: LEGO Designers reveal secrets and inspiration behind the Cyber Drone 3-in-1 Creator set

LEGO Designer George Gilliatt and Graphic Designer Matthew James Parsons recently shared insights on their work and inspiration behind the Cyber Drone set.


Tips&Bricks: Technique Analysis - Vatican City by Rocco Buttliere

From techniques to create the intricate detailing of the dome and piazza to creating angled landscaping, this build is packed full of interesting techniques and unique part uses!


Did we miss any of your favorite LEGO articles from around the internet? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.