Building your own design – How to start?

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For a person coming into the LEGO hobby today, chances are they are probably coming into it due to an IP or specific item that caught their attention.  Reading posts in various groups, I see an increasing number of posts asking how one goes from building a set with instructions to building their own design.  This is a bigger leap today than it was when I got started in the hobby.  It can be a daunting challenge as to where or how to start. Going from the LEGO Black Panther Jet to building your own design can be quite rewarding, but how to start? 

Looking back at my journey with the hobby, much has changed.  When I started in the hobby in the 90’s, there were alternative builds showcased on the boxes.  There was more focus on the building system rather then the IPs.  The parts library was also much smaller. Going to the front page of Bricklink, it shows at the time of this writing that there are 54,854 parts listed in the catalog.  Comparing sample years, in 1995 there is 442 items identified in the parts catalog verses 2018 has 3040 items identified.  

Taking these numbers into account, when you consider the number of possible combinations of two 2x4 bricks is 24 different ways.  Three 2x4 bricks can be combined in 1,060 ways. Six 2x4 bricks can be combined in more than 915 million possible combinations.  The possibilities are truly mind-boggling when you consider all the possible combinations of all the parts in the catalog.  

With all this, it is not intended to scare anyone away from trying to create their designs. One of the most common recommendations offered is to jump in and try.  This doesn’t really answer the question as to how does one start.  The following is not intended to be “The” answer, but rather one of many possibilities that may or may not work for the reader.LEGO is a construction toy, with a building system at its core.  With that in mind, it is important to spend time to learn the system.  There are many approaches on how to do this and again, I will focus on one method.

Take any three parts and try to put them together.  It doesn’t matter what three parts you choose, just choose any three.  For example, I chose: a 1x1 Cylinder, 1x2 Plate and a 2x2 Plate

Studying the images located below, you can see that for some of the examples I have repeated a part. The idea is to start with three LEGO Elements and see how they can connect and what shapes you can create with them. 

Why not give it a try yourself and see how fun it can be to experiment with various ways of connecting LEGO Bricks together.  Cheers from the Construct-a-Venture Crew!

Editor’s note: Many thanks to Megan Rothrock and Jim Foulds for this guest post

Old School Hoverboard

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And by old school we mean positively prehistoric. This is Crushrock’s Hoverboard, from builder Adam Dodge. I’m assuming this is for the LEGO Ideas Flintstone’s Contest that’s currently running. From the description…

"Take a slow cruise around Bedrock with Crushrock's Hoverboard. Ease your aching toes after peddling around town al day, and let the breeze waft past you while you take in the sights. Ride confidently above the cobblestones at our two safe speeds: slow, and really slow! “

Four Seasons

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With the blazing heat of summer here to accompany us every step we make, it becomes hard to remember a time without sunburns and a constant desire for air conditioning. Luckily for us, roΙΙi is here to remind us of all the other wonderful seasons of the year in this fantastic series of micro builds. And let me tell you, the summer micro build really floats my boat if you know what I’m saying.

Stingray

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Builder Melan-E is back with another classic bicycle, this time it’s a Schwinn Stingray. Sadly, I’m old enough to remember these from my early childhood. While the real bike from my youth was the Scrambler, there were plenty of these still around when I was younger. In fact the first time (yeah it happened more than once) my brother got his foot caught in some spokes was on the back of one of these. Ah, memories.

Tea Ceremony

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Character builder extraordinaire Eero Okkonen is back with a rare diorama. This time it’s a tranquil scene in feudal Japan, a tea ceremony. I could go into some details about this, but they would pale in comparison with the extensive blog post Eero has done, head over there and read up on and see more pictures of this wondrous and beautiful build.

Akira 2019

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My old buddy Thorsten Bonsch, in honor of the story of Akira, set in the year 2019, has come up with this stunning scene: Off to the Containment Unit. A real pioneer of the genre, Akira was the first widely distributed serious Japanese Anime in Europe and North America, unlike the usual Saturday morning cartoons for kiddies (still love Tranzor Z, though). Click on the images to see all those tasty greebles up close. Awesome!

Yellow Crane Tower

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I don’t know much about this creation. It’s from builder Smoker, has no description and the image names are just alphanumeric strings. The only reason I know the name is because there’s an album name and I’m familiar with the tower that inspired this build. What I do know is this is an absolute masterpiece, an incredibly intricate example of classic Chinese architecture and as beautiful as the tower that inspired it.

Carry-On Space Base

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This is so clever I can’t stand it. This transforming space base by builder chris office reminds me of the old Mattel and Micro Machines play sets. It starts as a pretty cool looking suit case, which is pretty ship-like already, with a classic space logo and plenty of greebs. But then you open it up and unveil a whole little space station world, complete with ships and vehicles, a landing pad, what looks like soil processing and even a bar! I could see a whole line based on this concept, with a different case for each theme, like a treasure chest for pirates, a trunk for adventurers and a crate for city.

Bulleid Merchant Navy Class

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As I’ve stated more than once on this blog I don’t know diddly about trains, so I’ll let builder technoandrew’s description do all the talking… The Merchant Navy class was designed by Oliver Bulleid for the Southern Railway, and introduced many novel features to a British locomotive. However, many of these innovations proved troublesome, so the class were subsequently rebuilt by British Railways to a more conventional design. My model represents the rebuilt version.

Get Some!

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“I wanna introduce you to a personal friend of mine. This is an M41A Pulse Rifle. Ten millimeter, with over-and-under thirty millimeter pump action grenade launcher.”
— Cpl. Hicks

Builder Nick Brick is back with one of my all time favorite sci-fi weapons, the M41A Pulse Rifle from Aliens. I still recall sitting in the theater during the pulse pounding 2 hour 34 minute adrenaline rush that is Aliens and going “oooohhh” when Hicks was showing this to Ripley.

Beautiful Brick Bouquet

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Not only is this sculpture by builder jarekwally eye catching and whimsical, it’s also a reminder that LEGO is moving away from petroleum based plastic to plant-based. This is part of their commitment to being sustainable by the year 2030, and they’re well on their way. I’d personally like a couple bouquets like this around the house, fun to look at and pretty difficult to kill (bringing a live plant into this house is pretty much a death sentence).

Samurai Mech

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I was stunned to learn that builder Eero Okkonen constructed this gorgeous behemoth in two days, TWO DAYS! I know I’m a slow builder, glacially slow any more (seriously, my current MOC has been on the table in the studio for well over a year) but this just blows my mind. Sometimes it’s the pressure of a contest deadline that can kick a build into overdrive, in this case the Eurobricks Ninjago Contest. But to beat the deadline with such an awesome figure, color me impressed.

I’ve Seen This One it Doesn’t Turn Out Well for the Coyote

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The Road Runner and Coyote, two of the classic cartoon foils. Chris Goddard has succeeded where Wile E. never did, by capturing the Road Runner in brick form. Also Wile E Coyote, and a back drop straight out of a classic Merry Melodies short. The classic elements are there: the Road Runner about to set off something the Coyote attempted earlier and failed, the Coyote’s later over complicated attempted to snag the Road Runner, a fantastic American Southwest backdrop, and the Road Runner’s knowing look to the audience just before the Coyote, with his bulging eyes gets his comeuppance. The only thing missing is the painted tunnel that turns into a real tunnel later, but that would likely crowd the scene.

Game Of Thrones Castles In Motion

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Fans of Game of Thrones should recognize these iconic castles from the opening titles of the series. Builder Legopard spent three months recreating six of the locations of Westeros and Essos, not only capturing the look and feel of them, but also adding brilliant mechanical action to all. Check out the video to see them all in motion, and try to keep your jaw from hitting the table.

Alien Turns 40

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Yesterday while we were celebrating my wife’s birthday there was another birthday getting some recognition, the movie Alien. On May 25th 1979 Ridley Scott changed everything about science fiction and horror, and this was one of the pivotal moments in the film, brilliantly recreated by Ochre Jelly on it’s 40th anniversary. Let this be a lesson to you kids, don’t go poking your head into strange eggs on a distant world, no matter how cool your costume is.

Notre Dame

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The world watched in collective horror as fire raged through Notre Dame last month. We all reacted in our own way, some prayed, some cried, some vowed to rebuild and some were just frozen in disbelief. But builder Rocco Buttliere committed to building this, a spectacular recreation of the beloved architectural masterpiece. It is intentionally set in springtime to represent rebirth, a notion I find irresistibly uplifting. Click through for more pictures and some fascinating history.

Diner Mini Modular

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I really dig the mini modular scale. The original set is one of my favorite sets of all time, and I still have it together. In fact, you’ll find it in the background of a great many of the animations at BrickNerd Studios, it’s perfect for forced perspective. This mini version of the diner by Swan Dutchman would make a perfect addition to the set too. It’s amazingly accurate to the proportions and colors of the original, including the signage on the front, isn’t that spiffy?