2018 Parts Fest #2: Marcel V's Helmet, Kitchen and More

Our second guest builder taking part in our second 2018 Parts Fest is Marcel V, an excellent LEGO® builder from Germany with an eye for detail whose work is full of creative parts use. We posted him a selection of new LEGO parts last month and waited to see what would happen.

Yay, new elements to discover! Can’t wait to dive into it…

2018 Parts Fest #2: Grantmasters' elephant, church and more

We sent some of the most interesting new LEGO® parts from 2018 to fan builders to see how they would use them. Grantmasters received his elements in two parcels due to a slight logistics issue and so his first post took a look at the 1x1 brackets, and now the remaining elements are explored in this second post. Over to Grantmasters...

So, round 2 began after receiving a load more parts from New Elementary. Whilst this image isn't all of the parts sent, it is all of the parts I included in this lot of builds.

2018 Parts Fest #2: Grantmasters' 1x1 brackets

As well as running workshops at fan events like Skaerbaek or Paredes de Coura, we also like to post a bunch of new LEGO® elements to some of our favourite builders from across the world. We will be publishing the techniques and creations they came up with in the coming weeks, and then show you what builders at the Skaerbaek workshop did with them. First up we have Grantmasters, a talented builder from New Zealand. The first of his two posts takes a look at the 1x1 brackets: Medium Stone Grey [TLG]/Light Bluish Grey [BL] Plate 1X1, W/ 1.5 Plate 1X1, Downwards (Element ID 6248078|Design ID 36841) and Dark Stone Grey [TLG]/ Dark Bluish Gray [BL] 1X1, W/ 1.5 Plate 1X1, Upwards (6225494|36840).

Initially, I was a bit stumped by the brackets as they aren't really what I would usually consider a "decorative" seed part. Over the years I have regularly wanted one of these brackets for various builds.  I tried to arrange the brackets with different orientations and with other offset types of connections to see where that took me first.

2018 Parts Fest #2: Introducing the Elements

Clearly we love new elements here at New Elementary, and what better way to explore the potential connections and uses than to send a pile of new parts to some innovative and inspirational LEGO® builders.

Let's introduce the  elements released in the second half of 2018 that our guest builders will be taking a closer look at in the coming weeks.

LEGO® MOVIE 2 review: 70840 Welcome to Apocalypseburg!

Coming 1 February 2019 (and already available for VIP members), LEGO® 70840 Welcome to Apocalypseburg!
 is the largest and arguably most thrilling set from THE LEGO MOVIE 2: The Second Part. But how do the parts stack up? Sven Franic takes a look inside this 3178-piece set and its plethora of Sand Green.

The flagship set for THE LEGO MOVIE 2: The Second Part focuses attention on the part of the film featuring the derelict remains of Bricksburg from the first film (which may have some resemblance to New York?). This is an opportunity to jump on the revived pop-culture trend of the post-apocalypse dystopia and a great way for adult fans to connect with what is probably the closest The LEGO Group will touch a certain Ozploitation trilogy from our childhoods. 

PdC Parts Fest 2018: shield, mudguard and arch

I've been super-slow at showing you the rest of what was created in our workshop in Paredes de Coura (PdC) Fan Weekend in Portugal way back in June 2018... so here's a few more to inspire your building ideas. 25 builders were given 11 of the new LEGO® parts released in 2018 to create as many ideas, tablescraps, techniques and small MOCs as they could. Huge thanks go to Andrew Tipping for taking the photographs.

"Minifigure, Shield Rectangular with 4 Studs" [BL]/ "Plate 2X3 W/ Hor. 3,2 Shaft" [TLG] (Design ID 30166)

2018 Parts Fest #1: Luc Byard's The Alchemist

One of the 2018 LEGO® elements that we sent to builders to investigate was the new minifigure neck bracket with four bar attachments (Element ID 6215458 | Design ID 36452). One of our talented buiders, Luc Byard, used it to create a walker mech and has now come up with another interesting creation based upon this unusual part.

This build came out of looking for a way to connect the two shafts that are at 90° to each other. ‘Easy enough,’ I said to myself but the placement is not as convenient as I expected. It’s a tight fit and I think I’m pushing tolerances but I managed to secure them.

LEGO® Unikitty: the floppy puppy ear

In the last of his series investigating the interesting parts introduced for the LEGO® Unikitty! theme, Sven Franic turns his attention to the floppy ears of Unikitty's brother, Little Prince Puppycorn. (Yes, the unicorn/cat thing has a unicorn/dog thing for a sibling. Keep up.)

For our final study of unusual new Unikitty elements, it is time for Design Plate 1X1, No. 1 (Design ID 35463) or, by BrickLink’s more descriptive terminology, Tile, Modified 1 x 1 with Tooth / Ear Vertical, Triangular.

LEGO® Minecraft: BigFigs Series 1

LEGO® Minecraft are taking a different direction in 2019 with the new subtheme BigFigs, which features yet another new scale of Minecraft build. 21148 Steve with Parrot, 21149 Alex with Chicken and 21150 Skeleton with Magma Cube will be released 1st January and we asked Jonas Kramm to investigate the new pieces that come in these sets. 

The trend that LEGO® Minecraft sets are privileged to include new elements continues. Usually these are specific Minecraft moulds such as the tools and heads (which I’ve recently explored) but sometimes also includes pieces that aren’t so specialised, that will be used in other sets and themes afterwards as well. Let’s take a look at the new Minecraft sets called BigFig Series 1, and see what is new.

LEGO® MOVIE 2 review: 70827 Ultrakatty & Warrior Lucy!

THE LEGO® MOVIE 2: The Second Part is assembling in cinemas in February 2019, and we happened to stumble upon a few of the tie-in sets placed on the shelf early in a John Lewis store. We took this opportunity to review some of the sets before their official release starting with 70827 Ultrakatty & Warrior Lucy! This set contains 348 parts and is due for release 26th December 2018 in the UK priced at £24.99/ US$29.99/ €29.99.

Clearly, we have not yet seen THE LEGO® MOVIE 2: The Second Part but from the trailers and the various promotional information we know that it takes place five years after the end of the first movie. We saw some DUPLO characters appear just as the final credits started to roll and it seems those invaders turned awesome Bricksburg into a post-apocalyptic wasteland, now known as Apocalypseburg.

LEGO® Minecraft animals: Horse and Wolf

Jonas Kramm has been examining the LEGO® Minecraft animals and thinking up inspiring ideas as to how they might be used for something other than blocky animals! 

Welcome to the last lesson of Minecraft Anatomy class. Today we will analyse the horse and the wolf to see what can be done with grey Minecraft moulds.

LEGO® Minecraft animals: Cat and Rabbit

Continuing his challenge to use the LEGO® Minecraft animal heads in original ways, Jonas Kramm takes a look at another two animals.

In today’s lesson about Minecraft animals we will take a closer look at the moulds of the cat and the rabbit. (If you missed my last class featuring the silverfish and chicken parts, you can catch up here.) We also have a guest builder, my friend Cole Blaq!

LEGO® Minecraft animals: Silverfish and Chicken

I've always been intrigued by the animal head elements that were specially introduced for LEGO® Minecraft sets. They're highly specialised and don't entirely conform to the System, but their blockiness and intriguing shapes made me wonder what else could be done with them. Who could I challenge to take on such a challenging challenge? The brilliant Jonas Kramm accepted my evil task! Over the course of three posts he will examine six Minecraft animal moulds.

Under the radar of most AFOLs, LEGO® has added several new Minecraft animal moulds to their assortment, which seem to be quite strange on first sight. But in a series of articles here on New Elementary I will dive into the blocky world, analyse the geometry of several Minecraft moulds and show you examples for the capability of these elements.

LEGO® Creator Expert 10264 Corner Garage: new parts usage

Now that we have outlined the new elements within LEGO® Creator Expert 10264 Corner Garage it is time to take a closer look at how these parts are used within the set.

New Elements in position

First, lets start with the two new elements. White Turntable 2x2 Female (Element ID 6238334 | Design ID 27448) has a central hole with a small lip around the inside that allows certain elements to snap onto the lip and spin whilst maintaining clutch.

Very few parts actually connect to this hole at the moment; Plate 4X4 Round W. Snap (Design ID 60474), Plate 6X6 Round with Tube Snap (Design ID 11213) and Plate Octagonal 10X10 W. Snap (Design ID 89523) were the three elements I could find. [EDIT: Read the comments for more highlighted by our readers!]

LEGO® Unikitty: The 1x3 Inverted Tile with Hole

Sven Franic continues his examination of the new moulds to be found in the LEGO® Unikitty! theme.

Continuing our quest for interesting new elements from the Unikitty universe, it is time for what is probably the most exciting piece from the bunch: Tile 1X3, Inverted, W/ 3.2 Hole (Design ID 35459).

2018 Parts Fest #1: Tim Goddard's BrickHeadz (and spaceships)

We sent a varied selection of new LEGO® parts from 2018 to some fan builders to build at home, and Tim Goddard (co-author of LEGO Space: Building the Future, plug plug) not only built at home but also down the boozer. Following on from his main builds that we posted two months ago, here are some fun extras.

On the second Monday of every month, London AFOLs hold a gathering in a pub near Euston station. Prosaically, the meeting after I was given this parts selection, London AFOLs had a meetup and that month it was a BrickHeadz-themed evening.

I went prepared, taking this sub-build which uses the interesting hooped minifigure accessory (Element ID 6207840|Design ID 35485) which is only found in LEGO Super Heroes 76100 Royal Talon Fighter Attack and 76103 Corvus Glaive Thresher Attack.

Using the healthy stock of parts provided at the pub I ended the evening with this post-apocalyptic version of myself...

2018 Parts Fest #1: Luc Byard's Walker

We sent a varied selection of new LEGO® parts to some expert fan builders for them to explore techniques and models to share with you. Here's one from Luc Byard (Flickr).

I love Tim; no-one can give you some really awkward LEGO® parts and say ‘build something with those’ quite like he can. The latest bunch included that new minifigure neck bracket with 4 bars (Element ID 6215458 | Design ID 36452) which looks cool… then you try and build with it!

My finished build is a micro Robotech-style walker. And with all that black, I just had to pair it with trans-yellow to give it a Blacktron scheme.

Old Elementary: Ralf Langer's Modulex MOCs

Ralf Langer is a German builder who seems to have a real knack for integrating Modulex into his LEGO® creations. This is the second article in a two-part series; read the first part detailing his Modulex-to-LEGO connections here.

Combining the techniques from my previous article, let's see some real life examples of MOCs that were not built simply to show off a single technique.

For this building, I used the linked tile bricks technique for the window arches. The rest of the window frame is made out of Modulex 1x3 tiles that are held by some Plate 1X1 W. Upright Holder.

Old Elementary: Modulex and LEGO® brick connection techniques

A year ago we published an article explaining what the old LEGO® product called Modulex is, its history and useful resources about it. There were mixed reactions to the article, primarily because Modulex is incompatible with the LEGO System bricks we all know and love. Or are they? More recently we came across Ralf Langer, a German builder who seems to have a real knack for integrating Modulex into his creations. Ralf was happy to offer some insight into his methods.

I bought my first Modulex bricks back in June. I'm not quite sure why I finally decided to give it a try but most probably they were terracotta, a nice muted earth tone. I really like using muted colours and the Modulex colour Terracotta is a tone that seems to be suitable for roofs or decorative strips for houses.

LEGO® Unikitty: The 4-petal flower

Continuing our exploration of the smorgasbord of new elements from the LEGO® Unikitty™ series, it is time for an unusual element. Sven Franic investigates.

'Design Plate 4X4X2/3' or 'Plant Flower 4 x 4 Rounded Petals' as BrickLink call it (Design ID 35473) is a new element so far only available in Dark Pink [BL] / Bright Purple [TLG] (Element ID 6226524).