Lego Zine

GET CONNECTED TO WORLD OF LEGO BRICKS

By Paul Villegas

June 2022

Once Brick Upon a

A Happily Ever After Built on Fun

Lego spent years building their own sub brands such as Lego City and Lego Friends. It soon began to partner with other brands to create new sets. Lego and Disney began collaborating in 1999 with sets based on characters and movies.

In 2016 the magic of Disney Parks came to Lego life with the iconic Cinderella

Castle from Walt Disney World. This marked the first time one of the park icons was created with Lego. The set included over 4,000 pieces to create the dazzling detail Disney and Lego are known for. It is one of

the tallest Lego sets and featured exclusive mini figures such as Tinker Bell which had a brandnew wig made for the figure.

To give the castle just the right work Lego worked with Disney Parks as well as Disney Consumer Products,the backside of the castle includes elements from multiple Disney Princesses such as the magic carpet from Aladdin and the Magic Mirror from Snow White.

A mini version of the castle was created in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Walt Disney World Resort.

HEADZ

of the Class

When Lego Gets a Big Head

sets were introduced at San Diego Comic Con in 2016. The line focuses on buildable characters based on holidays and popular franchises such as Star Wars and the DC Superheroes.

Lego is always looking to create new styles of Lego sets. The increased popularity of character driven sets led the company to begin designing a new kind of figure that went beyond the Mini Figure. The Lego Brickheadz

Lego Brickheadz are intended to be a quick build with a collectible look. Designers of the Brickheadz had to balance the set having an intended outcome but also have the pieces open to the free building Lego is known for.

During a Lego Fan Days media event

BrickHeadz designer Austin Carlson said that the designs went through quite the evolution as more sets were being created with a need for the characters to hold objects as well as have specialized printed pieces.

Carlson also had mentioned that Lego wanted the designs align with the Mini Figures where they’d have a recognizable silhouette.

The most recent additions to the family of Lego Brickheadz is the British singing group the Spice Girls.

What the Duck?

The Unlikely Start of Lego Bricks

Lego has been one of the most popular building bricks for many decades. Many know Lego’s iconic plastic material and designs for creating aww inspiring builds and on the not so bright side hurting your barefoot if you step on one. But what most people don’t know that the origins of Lego are not what one would think.

The name Lego come from the Danish phrase leg godt which means “play well”, it also means “I put together” in Latin. The first plastic bricks

were produced in 1949 and Lego began its life in the workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen, a wood carver. He gained a reputation for high quality wooden toys. One of his most popular creations was a duck that was able to be pulled around by a string. Although the company struggled at times Ole never let the quality of his toys diminish.

patented by Christiansen’s son

Godtfred Kirk in 1958. Just two years later a fire destroyed the company’s warehouse which housed its wooden toys leading to the discontinuation of wood toys and the company’s focus on the plastic bricks. Ole’s passion for high quality continued with the production of the bricks, they are made so precisely that the original bricks still fit together perfectly

with current bricks. The simplicity of the bricks is often cited as the reason of the longevity of the brand. In 1963 Godtfred Kirk introduced the ten characteristics he believed Lego represented.

1. Unlimited play possibilities

2. For girls, for boys

3. Enthusiasm to all ages

4. Play all year round

5. Stimulating and harmonious play

6. Endless hours of play

7. Imagination, creativity, development

8. More Lego, multiplied play value

9. Always topical

10. Safety and quality

Adventures New

In 1968 the fun of Lego went beyond building at home when the first ever Legoland theme park opened in Billund, Denmark. Guests could experience attractions based on their favorite Lego sets and see world class Lego builds. The most recent one can be found in New York state.

The brand new park is located in Goshen, New York, about 1.5 hours from New York City near the corner of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Developed by Merlin Entertainment, the ninth Legoland resort in the world and third in the United States occupies 150 acres of a 500 acre property.

The park’s seven lands are laid out in a circle. It’s simple to navigate: you either go clockwise or counterclockwise around the park making it nearly impossible to miss seeing any of the attractions.

MOC of Month

Let Your Imagination Soar!

MOC is an acronym for My Own Creation and are builds that have been designed and built by Lego fans, using original ideas The online community of Lego MOC builders share their designs with each other and have a variety of MOC’s that they create.

Our MOC of the month was submitted by Jacob Chavez of Covina, California. His design was done in the style of the

Lego Architect where small pieces are used to create the design. We love the use of the colored clear bricks as windows.

The entry has some nice detail in the pillars as well as the plants that surround the hotel.

Builders can submit their designs to Lego for consideration to become an official Lego set. There is a strict set of rules a builder must follow in order for the MOC to be considered for becoming a Lego set.

The builder must also gain 10,000 votes in a certain time period to gauge how popular the set might become of it were to be made.

Minifig Fun

Check out this month’s submissions from our readers having some “Minifig Fun”

by James

“Web Slinger”

Martinez

“D’oh-nuts”

by Alex Elias

“Tea Time”

by Scarlett Chavez

“Jackpot”

by Andrew Hsu

Holiday Fun

The holidays are a great time to spruce up your sets with special decor. Here are this month’s submission for “Holiday Fun.”

“Easter Wonderland”

by Katie Bass

“Halloween Screams”

by Matt Roath

New Bricks Block

Welcome our New MiniFig Friends! on the

Lego Minifigures have become just as iconic as the Lego bricks themselves. Over the years they have gone through a few transformations as more and more licensed characters have joined the Minifigure lineup.

The Muppets have now found themselves as part of the Lego universe, each with a small item that corresponds with the figure. The fun of searching for your favorite character is just as fun as the Muppets themselves.

The Muppets have joined a long line of famous characters from television and movies to have their images translated into a Minifig. While the traditional Mini Figures share nearly identical body pieces creating characters like Kermit and Miss Piggy require special molds for the shape of their heads.

Traditional Mini Figures

The Muppets Mini Figure sets includes twelve of famously hilarious characters.

12. Janice

1. Kermit the Frog

2. Miss Piggy

3. Rowlf the Dog

4. Dr. Bunsen Honeydew

5. Beaker

6. Gonzo

7. Fozzie Bear

8. Waldorf

9. Statler

10. Animal

11. Swedish Chef

The of

Art Lego

Masterpieces Square by Square

For years Lego has built their reputation on sets that are built from the ground up and although enjoyed by many adults are typically thought of as for kids.

traits of figures such as Elvis, Marilyn Monroe and Mickey Mouse

In order to appeal to adults Lego created the “Lego Art” series in 2020. The mosaic based designs uses 1x1 plates and tiles to create pro-

The entire building experience was changed as well. A color bar is used to represent the various colored bags. Colors and numbers are used to make the build easier. Lego introduced new elements and new

colors to entice new builders. The use of both flat pieces and studded pieces help create shadow effects on the portraits.

Another unique aspect of the Lego Art series is that each work of art has an accompanied soundtrack to play while building. A special QR code is included on the packaging and last around 90 minutes.

The soundtrack also includes an interview with the designer of the mosaic about the production of the Lego Art piece.

Although Lego has only officially had these flat designs for two years, many Lego builders around the world have been designing small tiled and stud art work for years which may have inspired Lego to create their own line.

Don’t forget to get connected next month.