And with that the first month of the year is over! A flurry of reviews and set announcement is behind us – time to take a look at what else this lovely community had to offer! We have a smorgasbord of insightful articles, interesting features and deep dives from all across the LEGO community on offer – care to join us? We are lucky to have this many outlets and channels that keep creating incredible content, and these are the best of the month.

Here at BrickNerd, we visited Brickvention, went back to Vic Viper school, topped by Gringotts and broke into its vaults. We put our winter village back into storage, sent the new DreamZzz sets to talented French builders while we also remixed a Friends mansion. And we learned all about forced perspective (in two parts, no less!), unleashed Orctober and glinched with Galidor. We even published instructions for a broody Batman, modernized classic LEGO trains, and went on a flamingo safari. In fact, we’ve published so many interesting articles in January that we’ve included an interactive calendar of them at the bottom of this post so you can make sure you didn’t miss a thing.

But there are many more fascinating stories to be told from within the LEGO community, so here are some of the best LEGO articles and videos that caught our contributors’ attention throughout the month of January. We applaud the effort that went into each of these features, so click on the headlines or photos to head to each story or video. They are well worth your time!

Benny Productions: How To Make Your LEGO Come to Life

How do you edit photos to make minifigures come alive? According to Benny Productions, it is all about the lighting. Here are his tips to make a scene come together and make it really pop!

CheeseyStudios: LEGO Aliens!

LEGO Space being such a long-running theme, there have been a fair number of encounters of the third kind. “Alien Conquest” had them in the title and U.F.O. was full of them, and now they have popped up in LEGO City, too. Time for Caleb of CheesyStudios to round them all up!

DuckBricks: Touring the LEGO Factory in Denmark

As part of their prize for winning the latest seasons of the American version of LEGO Masters, DuckBricks was able to visit the LEGO factory in Billund last September. This video is an exclusive behind-the-scenes look into the facility.

Larry’s Lego: History of LEGO’s Narrow Gauge Trains and Track

Did you know that LEGO released dozens of little trains over the years? From polybags to employee gifts, there has been a wide selection – Larry’s Lego covers all of them.

matyho kostky: The BIONICLE Story: From Converse-wearing Cyborgs to Maori-Inspired Warriors (translated)

LEGO Bionicle is a theme equally loved and hated by different parts of the community. It has a long history though, and an interesting one at that, with predecessors and concepts that date all the way back to 1995. matyho kostky covers it all.

matyho kostky: Meet: Captain Redbeard (translated)

A character synonymous with one of LEGO’s long-lasting and most beloved themes, Captain Redbeard is a pirate we all love. But how did he come into being? Find out over on matyho kostky (and kindly overlook the automatic translation butchering the poor pirate’s name)!

New Elementary: Christopher Hoffmann's Ma.K MOC using 42156 PEUGEOT 9X8 24H Le Mans Hybrid Hypercar

The Maschinen Krieger (Ma.K) might be a niche theme to build in but the resulting creations usually stand out for being beautifully sculpted and detailed. Christopher Hoffmann’s walker is both, and ingeniously showcases how recent Technic parts can result in smooth curves and make for satisfying shapes. Be ready for some minifig hands!

Solid Brix Studios: Building Geonosis in LEGO – Week 10: Expansion

What was already the biggest MOC of the iconic Battle of Geonosis out there was deemed too small once David Hall and his friends had put all the vehicles in place and it turned out to be quite cramped. Time to expand it and include some hidden details!

Stonewars: A Journey through Middle-Earth

If you are in for some leaning back with a hot choco to enjoy a collection of some of the best Lord of the Rings vignettes, Stonewars has just that for you! 77 vignettes total, all part of a giant collaboration of five international builders, this is a masterclass of vignette design. We’ve featured parts of this collaboration before but now it’s all collected in one place.

TheJumiFilm: Impossible LEGO Animations

LEGO Stop Motion is its own art form. If you want to learn some new tricks, TheJumiFilm has you covered: Super speed movement across the screen, Master Building or looped animations are just a few examples.

Tips & Bricks: Five Reasons Why Representation Matters

On the surface, representation might not seem important or relevant for a LEGO blog like Tips&Bricks to discuss, yet they make it a priority. Here are their top five reasons why representation in the LEGO hobby matters.

If all of those amazing features weren’t enough to satisfy your LEGO community craving, here is an interactive calendar of everything that BrickNerd has published this last month to make sure you didn’t miss a single article.

Did we miss any of your favorite LEGO articles and content for the month? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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