PdC Parts Festival: "Oops, Wrong Portal"

At the Paredes de Coura (PdC) Fan Weekend in Portugal we ran a live 'parts festival' workshop and afterwards, some participants took the new LEGO® parts home to continue experimenting. Alexandre Campos (the Ambassador for PLUG, the Portuguese LEGO User Group) is usually a LEGO Technic builder, so it's a good thing that our parts festivals are all about challenging people! Alexandre sent us this build using the parts and explains how the parts inspired him.

"Guys, I think we got the wrong address. Could you open the portal back home? Uh, guys? Guys?..."

PdC Parts Festival: Day Two

AFOLs from all over the world took part in our first ever live parts festival in June in Portugal at the Paredes de Coura (PdC) Fan Weekend. Each day, 15 builders had just over an hour to explore what might be done with a range of new LEGO® parts. See the parts selection here, but today let's look at what the second round of LEGO fans came up with.

Amy Fennell

PdC Parts Festival: Day One

Our first ever live parts festival (or "parts party" as regular reader Håkan put it!) took place in June in Portugal at the Paredes de Coura (PdC) Fan Weekend. Each day, 15 builders had just over an hour to explore what might be done with a range of new LEGO® parts. See the parts selection here, but today let's look at what the first round of LEGO fans came up with.

Michael Studman 

Yes, that's his real name. Jeal much?

Most of the seed parts are present in this characterful chihuahua! Funny, I never thought to use Boomerang (6153574 | 25892) as the structure of a dog's body...

70620 NINJAGO City

Today, Chris McVeigh (powerpig) reviews the fantastic new range of LEGO® parts found in 70620 NINJAGO City, the largest of the sets from The LEGO NINJAGO Movie range, which went on sale this month priced at £259.99 / US$299.99 / 299.99€.

At 4867 parts, NINJAGO City is one of the biggest LEGO® sets ever. It's visually rich, incredibly detailed, and great fun to build.

The city itself is divided into three sections, coinciding with three hefty building guides. Level 1: The Old World is built atop a murky waterway. On that level you’ll find a fish market, robot maintenance room, and the base of the elevator. Level 2: The Street is a busy pedestrian area that is home to shops and services, including a comic book store, clothing store, and crab kitchen. Up on Level 3: The High Rise, you’ll find Lloyd’s and Misako’s shared apartment, a rooftop sushi restaurant, and a luxury bathroom.

In this article I’ll discuss new parts and how they’re used, highlight some of the more interesting recolours, and then look at the set’s clever roofing techniques.

A stud walks into a bar…

This week, over 300 new, recoloured or printed parts were revealed on Brickset, but there was one in particular that hasn't been listed yet. We will have one from the LEGO® Group soon - but Elspeth De Montes already has her paws on it, and it just might be the most useful new LEGO piece of 2017... 

When the first images of a new set are made public, some fans like to admire the minifigures, other start comparing the accuracy of the set or its relevance within a theme or perhaps even imagine how it would look on their shelf. Others, like my fellow New Elementary contributor Chris McVeigh, prefer to scan for new parts, or parts in new colours.

Rambling Brick: Underneath the Arches

We love a good arch brick here at New Elementary, so when our good friend Richard Jones posted this article on his excellent blog The Rambling Brick recently, we just had to share. He's kindly allowed us to re-post it here as a guest post.

One of the great things about LEGO® bricks is the system: the way elements fit together and interact with each other, sometimes in unexpected ways.  Studs and tubes are easy to understand. As are minifigure hands and the way they plug into the end of a tube or anti stud, or clip over a 3.18mm bar. Every so often you come across a new set of interactions, and wonder just how far these relationships between elements extend.

LEGO® Gothic script alphabet

A quick note to mention that Li Li, a winner in our recent contest, expanded his efforts and created a full set of capital letters in Gothic script (also known as Blackletter) using LEGO® pieces!

This image is just a taster - visit Li's blog, MOC Recipes, to see the full alphabet with a couple of building tips.

It's worth scrolling back in time to look at some of his earlier posts too; MOC Recipes is a great resource for techniques.

READ MORE: See other entries in our LEGO DNA competition

Lettering contest: Entries (Vol.7)

Here are the final entries received for our LEGO® lettering contest. Looks like you guys have been enjoying them as much as I have! Click any image to view larger.

For all images, please be aware that COPYRIGHT IS OWNED BY THE ENTRANT. So, for example, using their design or posting these images elsewhere without their consent might not be cool with them. If you want to get in touch with someone, you can use the contact form (on desktop version of the site in the righthand column) to ask me, and I will let them know.

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Okay Yaramanoglu

Lettering contest: Entries (Vol.6)

We are down to the penultimate bunch of entries into our LEGO® lettering contest. Yes, nearly there! Click any image to view larger.

For all images, please be aware that COPYRIGHT IS OWNED BY THE ENTRANT. So, for example, using their design or posting these images elsewhere without their consent might not be cool with them. If you want to get in touch with someone, you can use the contact form (on desktop version of the site in the righthand column) to ask me, and I will let them know.

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Li Li

Lettering contest: Entries (Vol.5)

Some more great entries to our LEGO® lettering contest are ready for you to enjoy! Click any image to view larger.

For all images, please be aware that COPYRIGHT IS OWNED BY THE ENTRANT. So, for example, using their design or posting these images elsewhere without their consent might not be cool with them. If you want to get in touch with someone, you can use the contact form (on desktop version of the site in the righthand column) to ask me, and I will let them know.

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Eduardo Moreira

Lettering contest: Entries (Vol. 4)

Here are fifteen more entries submitted to our LEGO® lettering contest. Some 'out of the box' ideas today! Click any image to view larger.

For all images, please be aware that COPYRIGHT IS OWNED BY THE ENTRANT. So, for example, using their design or posting these images elsewhere without their consent might not be cool with them. If you want to get in touch with someone, you can use the contact form (on desktop version of the site in the righthand column) to ask me, and I will let them know.

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Didier Dambrin

Lettering contest: Entries (Vol. 3)

Hey - it's our birthday! New Elementary began four years ago today, and what better way to celebrate than with more wonderful ideas submitted to our LEGO® lettering contest! Click any image to view larger.

For all images, please be aware that COPYRIGHT IS OWNED BY THE ENTRANT. So, for example, using their design or posting these images elsewhere without their consent might not be cool with them. If you want to get in touch with someone, you can use the contact form (on desktop version of the site in the righthand column) to ask me, and I will let them know.

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Eduardo Moreira

Lettering contest: Entries (Vol.2)

It seems the range of imaginative ideas in our LEGO® lettering contest is blowing you guys away too - and here is the second bunch of entries for your delectation! Click any image to view larger.

View the original post announcing the contest

For all images, please be aware that COPYRIGHT IS OWNED BY THE ENTRANT. So, for example, using their design or posting these images elsewhere without their consent might not be cool with them. If you want to get in touch with someone, you can use the contact form (on desktop version of the site in the righthand column) to ask me, and I will let them know.

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Steven Throm

"I designed the letters to have a keystone that is located as far to the upper left as possible. It is with a 45 degree angle or a quarter round. Each letter fits into a 4 stub by 5 stud rectangle."

Lettering contest: Entries (Vol. 1)

Well I did promise to message our competition winners yesterday but life has a habit of getting in the way! However us judges are indeed working to whittle down all the entries we received (more than 100!) to a mere three - it's not easy I can tell you. You guys are awesome! I'm absolutely blown away with the variety and ingenuity of the entries.

View the original post announcing the contest

In the meantime, we can now share all these great entries with you. With so many, they will be split over several posts. Click any image to view larger.

For all images, please be aware that COPYRIGHT IS OWNED BY THE ENTRANT. So, for example, using their design or posting these images elsewhere without their consent might not be cool with them. If you want to get in touch with someone, you can use the contact form (on desktop version of the site in the righthand column) to ask me, and I will let them know.

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William Ramsey

32952, the new LEGO® SNOT piece

I've been discussing this on Twitter, but figured it was worth sharing with everyone. Many new set inventories for Summer 2017 have been uploaded onto the LEGO® Group's online parts database this week, so we get our first glimpse of new parts that we will soon be able to buy. A couple of people including occasional New E contributor Chris McVeigh pointed out one in particular.

NEXOGON: The Nexacore Building

Luc Byard surprised me with another creation for our parts festival today! LEGO® part 27255 is critical but nearly invisible in his bold piece of architecture.

One of the first things I thought about doing with Nexogons was using them for the core of some kind of structure, and here's where that led me.

To do so, I knew I would first need a better solution than I used in the Starglider to give the Nexogon a truly six-sided application.

LEGO® Ideas 21309 NASA Apollo Saturn V

Blast off with Elspeth De Montes as she reviews the latest LEGO® Ideas set. Elspeth examines all the new interesting and printed pieces that come in this enormous set, and then describes cool techniques used in the build process.

LEGO Ideas set No.17, 21309 NASA Apollo Saturn V has finally landed after a fairly lengthy wait in production orbit. The original fan designers Felix Stiessen (saabfan) and Valérie Roche (whatsuptoday) submitted their version of the Apollo 11 Mission Model to the LEGO Ideas platform back in August 2014 and achieved the required 10,000 supporters by November 2015. After passing review in June 2016, the final set is due in stores on 1 June 2017, with 1969 parts (a perfectly calculated number to reflect the year of man’s first steps on the moon) and a price tag of US$119.99/£109.99/119.99€. This is the largest set to be released within the Ideas theme to date, both in terms of part count and the model’s impressive 100cm final height... or length.

NEXOGON: Dragon’s head and scaling technique

Our next post from Gabriel Thomson (qi_tah on Flickr) for our parts festival describes the results when he tried using LEGO® Rotor, W/ 4.85 Hole (Design ID 27255) to create the effect of scales.

One of the first things I thought of when I received the Nexogon parts in bulk was the potential to arrange them in a scale-like pattern. I started off with a ‘spine’ of a single column of parts, and used them to create a dragon-like creature.

NEXOGON: Sanctum of the Clockwork King

Duncan Lindbo (donutsftw) is back again today with his Nexogons (the new hexagonal LEGO® piece 27255), taking things a step up...

Phew! This build used up all the Nexogons Tim sent me, and then some!

NEXOGON: Shanghai Tower

Following our run of spaceships utilising the new hexagonal LEGO® part 27255, today Li Li from MOC Recipes returns with a towering example of modern architecture! 

One of the buildings that I’ve always wanted to build is the Shanghai Tower, the world’s second-tallest building after Burj Khalifa. It has a very intriguing twisted shape. I didn’t have a good solution for it — until I saw the Nexogon. It’s perfect for building triangles with concentric centers.