5x5 fest: Aron Gerencsér's MOCs

Aron Gerencsér (@_pohaturon) not only kicked off our rubber band holder parts fest earlier this week, he also created MOCs for our 5x5 fest! Let's see what he came up with using a selection of interesting new parts released in 2021.

Recently I got the chance to team up with four other builders to dive into five new-ish LEGO® sets, dig into all the fancy new pieces and craft MOCs showcasing the most interesting specimens. 

Our subjects for this exercise are 43184 Raya and Sisu Dragon, 71746 Jungle Dragon, 71740 Jay’s Electro Mech and 43104 Alien DJ BeatBox. All sets from the first half of 2021, there are interesting - and fairly specialised - pieces to be found in them all. 

Rubber Band Holders Parts Festival – Aron Gerencsér's MOCs

Aron Gerencsér (@_pohaturon) has been busy organising another parts festival for you, featuring some guest builders, which we will be revealing to you every Tuesday for the next 3 weeks, starting today! And for the first time, the chosen seed parts are not new - in fact some people might not even class them as proper LEGO® parts. I guess that makes this our first ever Forbidden Elementary Parts Festival!

Throughout the decades, we’ve seen the LEGO® building system evolve in oftentimes unusual or unpredictable ways to accommodate new designs, new functions, new themes or even material and manufacturing changes in the company’s attempts to become more environmentally friendly. One of the most fascinating products of this evolution, to me, are those elements which service other elements –and not the set itself. 

My fellow New Elementarian Tom Loftus delved into a similar topic with the sticker sheet cardboard box a while ago, and back in 2018 Elspeth De Montes explored the plastic left over after detaching Harry Potter wands - however this time around, our subjects are neither packaging nor sprues. But sort of. Maybe? 

5x5 fest: Kev Levell's MOCs

Kev Levell (@kevlevell) is the next contributor to our 5x5 fest! We sent 5 LEGO® sets to 5 of our team and asked them to get creative with the parts. Be inspired every Friday!

As outlined in the 5x5 fest introductory article, each contributor was given two fixed sets, a Beatbox and a choice of up to two other sets. My five sets were 71476 Jungle Dragon, 43184 Raya and Sisu Dragon, 43107 Hip-Hop Robot BeatBox, 71740 Jay’s Electro Mech and 41921 Extra Dots Series 3.  I have not exclusively used parts from any of the sets in my MOCs, more is the case that I have used parts from all these sets in a haphazard fashion.

5x5 fest: Caz Mockett's MOCs

Caz Mockett (@cazmockett) is the first of the 5 contributors in our 5x5 fest! We sent her 5 LEGO® sets and asked her to use the new and interesting parts to create MOCs. Every Friday is 5x5 fest day for the next 5 weeks, so come back to see what our next AFOL built.

As a relative newbie to the New Elementary team, I have not been involved in a Parts Festival before, so I was eager to have a go this time. We each received a copy of LEGO® set 71746 Jungle Dragon from the Ninjago theme, 43184 Raya And Sisu Dragon from the Disney lineup, one of the eight VIDIYO™ BeatBoxes and up to two extra small sets of our choice, to use for our MOC festival. To save repetition, we covered the interesting new elements in the two largest sets in our 5x5 fest introductory article, and I took a comprehensive look at the new parts in all of the Beat Boxes previously. We were encouraged to look at the pieces in our sets as seed parts or to give inspiration, but we were quite at liberty to add additional pieces from our own collections to complete our builds.

5x5 fest: Introducing the elements

It's been a while since we ran one of our "parts festivals", where we send LEGO builders some of the most interesting new elements and ask them to create some original models to inspire you. Well, buckle up because we have not one but two parts festivals coming at you this month, and they're a little different to before! We will introduce the second one soon, but today we reveal our 5x5 fest.

No, LEGO have not released a 5x5 plate, it's nothing like that! We simply sent 5 of our gorgeous contributors 5 LEGO sets, and asked them to get busy making gorgeous stuff. As well as parts in the sets, they could use their own part collections. So for the next 5 weeks, every Friday is 5x5 fest day when we will reveal what each of the builders created! The gorgeous bunch are Caz Mockett, Kev Levell, Aron Gerencsér, Thomas Jenkins and Tom Loftus.

LEGO® Trolls World Tour: Grantmasters' MOCs

We sent trolls to New Zealand! The incredible Grantmasters (on Flickr) agreed to take a bunch of LEGO® Trolls World Tour sets to use as ‘seed parts’ for original creations using his own collection. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

The sets arrived and my kids said to me, "Good luck with that!" – so figured perhaps I had my work cut out for me? Indeed they proved to be a bit of a test of my creativity. Included were 41251 Poppy’s Pod, 41255 Pop Village Celebration and two copies of both 41252 Poppy’s Hot Air Balloon Adventure and 41253 Lonesome Flats Raft Adventure.

I started by emptying all of the sets out and seeing which parts I thought were interesting.

LEGO® Arcade Pods: Aron Gerencser's Robot Lovers and Hermit Crab

Continuing our examination of the cruellest seed part ever, today's builder grappling with the arcade pod from LEGO® Ninjago is Aron Gerencser (Pohaturon on Flickr). He's a professional journalist from Hungary who joins the New E team as contributor and subeditor, so make him welcome!

They say couples who play together, stay together - and I guess if that applies to both LEGO® and video games, the buff stacks!

LEGO® Arcade Pods: Mansur Soeleman's Tank & Terribilis

Today, Mansur “Waffles” Soeleman (instagram.com/lamborghiniwafflesauce) reveals his LEGO® creations using the two specialised parts that comprise the 'Arcade Pod' from Ninjago. Back in April, Victor Pruvost analysed these new parts and created his own models, and we sent some to other builders to see what they could come up with. Some products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this. Let's see how Mansur got on!

It would be an understatement to say that building something with the main element from 71715 Jay Avatar Arcade Pod was a challenge. It is a large, clumsy LEGO® part with strange shapes and bits sticking out. The angles on the front were not the issue; it was the clips and plate on the sides that got in the way of using this part in the ways I wanted to.

LEGO® DOTS: Cole Blaq's bracelet & tile ideas

So far Cole Blaq has used the LEGO® DOTS bracelets we sent him to create viruses and sea creatures and for his final post today he presents a collection of tablescraps, techniques and smaller ideas using both the bracelets as well as the printed tiles, to inspire you. Cole is an artist and educator in Germany primarily influenced by graffiti and LEGO. The Dots products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

I received three copies each of 41900 Rainbow, 41902 Sparkly Unicorn, 41901 Funky Animals and 41912 Love Birds. With such a limited parts selection, I concentrated on the rubber bracelets and on a few selected printed tiles. The available connections for mounting the bracelets are not that easy to integrate with the LEGO System. Therefore I had to get around this, which led to some not-so-smooth solutions. While the studs do have a firm grip, once they are bent (or have no counter-pressure from the rear side) attaching stuff to them is tricky, unstable and often disappointing.

First of all a tribar, or ‘Penrose triangle’.

LEGO® DOTS: Cole Blaq's Beasts from Below

Cole Blaq took up our challenge of using some LEGO® DOTS bracelets in his own creations, firstly to create some intriguing abstract sculptures and today we reveal his next collection of creations. Cole is a visual artist and educator based in Germany who is primarily influenced by the mediums of graffiti and LEGO. The Dots products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

I received three copies each of 41900 Rainbow, 41902 Sparkly Unicorn, 41901 Funky Animals and 41912 Love Birds to use as seed parts. My limited collection of the newer ‘bubblegum’ colours is rather small for exploring larger builds. I’d love to have also received the black bracelets from 41903 Cosmic Wonder as I consider those more useful due to their neutral colouring.

Ray

LEGO® DOTS: Cole Blaq's Viruses

One of the more unusual elements introduced in 2020 is the LEGO® DOTS bracelet, and we love a challenge here at New Elementary – almost as much as we love challenging others! So Elspeth De Montes asked Cole Blaq if he would take on the challenge of using some Dots bracelet sets in his own creations. If you don’t know of Cole, he’s been a legendary figure on the AFOL scene for well over a decade. He is a visual artist and educator based in Germany who is primarily influenced by the mediums of graffiti and LEGO. The Dots products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

I was sent 41900 Rainbow, 41902 Sparkly Unicorn, 41901 Funky Animals and 41912 Love Birds. The parts selection is very limited in these sets, so I concentrated on smaller builds, initially to find useful implementations highlighting the bracelets (Design ID 66821) which are most interesting. Their flexibility really opens up possibilities. An issue however is the amount of studs, and where they are positioned. This makes these irregular parts even more irregular.

Tipper Ends: Eero Okkonen's Aurora Sievert & Hurricane III

Yesterday, Eero Okkonen examined in great detail the history and geometry of the 'Tipper End Family' of LEGO® pieces, especially Vehicle, Tipper End Flat with Pins (Design ID 3145) and Vehicle, Tipper End Sloped (3436). Today he reveals this never-before-published model he built in February using tipper ends, but first he takes us through earlier models where he utilised these unusual parts that were introduced five decades ago.  

Previous Builds

A more mathematical approach to tipper ends is a new and exciting world to me, but I’ve used them few times before, mostly as armour shells or clothing, something akin to Constraction shells.

Minifig Posing Stand: Pierre-E Fieschi's starfighters

This year we have been examining an interesting new LEGO® part: the new posing element (Design ID 65578) known as "Handle, No.1", "Minifigure, Utensil Posing Stand, Bar with Hollow Stud" or "Bar, Angled with Stud on End". Following on from Jonas Kramm's and Kevin Levell's analyses, our final article reveals what gaming concept artist Pierre-E Fieschi (see his Instagram, ArtStation) created using the posing stands we sent him.

Mini LEGO TIE interceptor

I had the idea to make a mini TIE interceptor from Star Wars - which is one of my favourite TIE designs – using the 45° trans-clear thingies instead of the usual hinge/clip assemblies for the wings.

LEGO® NINJAGO™ Arcade Pods: Victor Pruvost's Computer and Rover

2020 seems to be a bit of a year for LEGO® pods. The Friends, Ninjago and Trolls lines all feature large two-piece containers that you might struggle to think of uses for. Today, Victor Pruvost examines the second of these: the LEGO NINJAGO Arcade Pods which come in sets 71714 Kai Avatar, 71715 Jay Avatar and 71716 Lloyd Avatar.

Breaking away from the usual spinners, flyers and other Spinjitzu-related entry-level sets, LEGO® released three Arcade Pods as part of the latest Ninjago wave, which is inspired by video games. Like the new Friends Play Cubes, these Arcade Pods are built around two specialized new parts, which we’re examining today.

Those two elements are:

• Arcade Front (Design ID 65067), which comes in the three classic colours Bright Red/ Red (Element ID 6287556), Bright Blue/ Blue (6287557), and Dark Green/ Green (6287559). It is called Design Element, Front, 6X6X7 by TLG/Brickset, Minifigure, Utensil Arcade Game Cabinet Body by BrickLink and Pod, Arcade Machine by Rebrickable.
• Arcade Back (Design ID 65068), which is only available in Dark Stone Grey/ Dark Bluish Gray (Element ID 6287562). It is called Design Element, Back, 6X8X1, W/3.2 Shaft by TLG/Brickset, Minifigure, Utensil Arcade Game Cabinet Back by BrickLink and Plate Special 6 x 8 x 1 with Bar, Door by Rebrickable.

Interestingly enough, Element IDs 6287558, 6287560 and 6287561 aren’t assigned, so I wonder if there could be more Arcade Pods in the future for the other Ninjas, with different colours.

LEGO® Xtra: Inthert uses 40376 Botanical Accessories as seed parts

You may recall we recently challenged Inthert to get creative with a couple of polybags from the LEGO® Xtra range. We already published his creations based upon 40375 Sports Accessories and today comes the other bag: 40376 Botanical Accessories which has 32 pieces and is priced £3.99 / $3.99 / 3.99€.

 

For the green-fingered among you, there is 40376 Botanical Accessories (not to be confused with 2018’s 40310 Botanical Accessories).

LEGO® Xtra: Inthert tackles 40375 Sports Accessories

Sometimes The LEGO Group offer us polybags from the LEGO® Xtra range to review, and although these don't contain completely new elements or recolours we still love the challenge of figuring out what to do with them! In the past Tim Goddard has taken on the challenge but this time we've asked another UK Spacer, Inthert, to get creative with them. 

Unless you’re willing to purchase multiple sets or rummage in the build-a-minifigure section in store, obtaining a good selection of themed parts direct from LEGO® can be tricky. At least that was the case before the LEGO Xtra polybags hit shelves. Each bag typically consists of a handful of accessories along with a few basic bricks that can be used to make a suggested small build or two. Today we’ll be focusing on 40375 Sports Accessories; we’ll look over the parts included, then dive into some MOCs I made using the bag’s contents as seed elements.

Minifig Posing Stand: Kevin Levell's Fishy Fun

We sent a few builders an interesting new LEGO® part and following on from Jonas Kramm's analysis last month, UK-based builder Kevin Levell reveals what he made of these small but useful angled bar and stud elements.

The new posing element (Design ID 65578) is officially known as "Handle, No.1", while BrickLink call it "Minifigure, Utensil Posing Stand, Bar with Hollow Stud" and Rebrickable have gone with the neat "Bar, Angled with Stud on End" and can be found in 71026 DC Superheroes Collectible Minifigure series. It looks to be another wonderfully versatile addition to the selection of small LEGO parts.

Minifig Posing Stand: Jonas Kramm's fantastic furniture

As soon as we saw the LEGO® DC Super Heroes Collectable Minifigure Series, we knew that we had to get our hands on the new little transparent angled bar included with the figures. We gave a handful of these new elements to three creative minds to see what they thought, and we will publish these over the coming weeks. First up is Jonas Kramm who analyses its geometry and possibilities.

Jumping, flying and fighting: these poses and many more can now be achieved easily by your LEGO minifigures. With the new element introduced in the DC Super Heroes Collectible Minifigure Series, called "Handle No.1" (6285587|65578) by The LEGO Group and "Minifigure, Utensil Posing Stand" by BrickLink, minifigures can strike a suitably super stance by connecting it to the bottom or the back of their legs. Regardless of which DC character you get, you get one posing stand and often even an extra one spare.

2019 Parts Fest #2: Eero Okkonen's trio of characters

Well it's been our biggest, longest Parts Festival to date but today our LEGO® building fiesta comes to an end with not one, not two but three incredible characters designed by Eero Okkonen featuring the new 2019 pieces we sent him. You can also see his earlier parts fest builds here and follow his builds on his blog.

Gwathlo of Order of Morning Star

2019 Parts Fest #2: Mansur Soeleman's kitchen, church and temple

Today sees the return of Mansur “Waffles” Soeleman (Flickr & Instagram) to our Parts Festival, who previously blew us away with his LEGO® Star Wars creations. We have a really varied range of creations from him, using the seed parts we provided.

Life Sized Stove

Exploring the jumper plate-like characteristics of the 'Frozone board' (32627) led me to discover its real life counterpart one morning when I spilled freshly brewed espresso on a stove-top: perfect knobs, unlike the ones I had to clean the coffee from.