2019 Parts Fest #2 : Eero's Fig-barf

Minifigures are not something you see an awful lot of on New Elementary but for his next Parts Festival submission, Finnish builder Eero Okkonen used the seed parts to create some awesome outfits and accessories!

I used to make lot of custom minifigures, usually in so-called 'barfs' of four to six figs but I last made one in August 2016, over three years ago.  Some of seed parts seemed useful at minifig scale, so I began fiddling. At first these figs were going to be on the bridge scene which developed into the creation called Frost Serpent Arises but they didn’t work in that context. In a way, this is a special gift to anyone who has asked me to make another barf or wondered why I ever stopped.

2019 Parts Fest #2: Kev's Robots

UK-based builder Kevin Levell is back and, as with many other Parts Festival creations, these ideas are spawned from those amazing LEGO® Batman accessory packs. Many of you readers have expressed frustration that these are unavailable from Bricks & Pieces, because they are 'locked' to the Batman license. It seems there might be good news on the way about this – part 50018 is now listed on B&P, although out of stock – so we will keep you updated.

I very often like to build in a freeform, directionless, even Zen-like way. Part of the delight of a Parts Festival for me is the opportunity to experiment with new parts in that exact way. I very rarely have a clear idea of what I want to do, I normally just tinker, putting things together in abstract ways, in regimented or geometric ways, until something 'speaks' to me. Often, multiples of the same part are a particularly effective way to do this, and this is a further delight of a Parts Festival.

2019 Parts Fest #2: Tim Goddard's Bots and Hover Racer

Tim Goddard returns to our Parts Festival today using the new LEGO® parts we sent him to create interesting and inspiring models.

Underwater Geometry

The marine life family bag (Accessories, Marine Life, No. 1 in Vibrant Coral – 49595 | 6262127) is tricky, it basically is what it says on the tin. What else could it be? Of course I have already seen some good uses within this very Parts Festival.

PFC, 24 (plus some seaweed/coral and a couple of extra fish)

I used the pieces in a random underwater geometric shape, again making use of the 120º 3.18mm bar. Having a hollow stud on both sides in the middle of this piece is amazingly useful. The centre is a stud thick; if you put a tile on both sides the height is exactly 1 brick.

2019 Parts Fest #2: Sagh's bugs

Returning to our Parts Festival today is Paulo 'Sagh' Carreira from Portugal with more fun and inspiring creations using some of the newest LEGO® parts.

When I arrived home from Skaerbaek Fan Weekend with the seed parts, I decided that I would not look up these parts on the internet. I didn’t want to see their original uses, to avoid being influenced. While the use of some parts is quite clear, like Will’s hair or Bo Peep’s staff, others presented themselves as mysteries. The Mini Accessory, No. 11 in Silver Metallic (6266977|50018) was one of those mysteries. What a great set of parts!

Giant Elk Beetle

The Giant Elk Beetle walks the woods in search for food with a slow but steady pace to save energy for the mating season. That’s when the males became very active, fighting each other by making use of their big antlers.

The mix of joints with different angles and connections in this pack of parts were the perfect means to replicate different creature’s articulations. I took inspiration from different species of large beetles with horns, and after some fiddling with the parts a robust dark red beetle was born.

2019 Parts Fest #2: Pierre-E Fieschi's Liebherr Tunnelier

Today, Pierre-E Fieschi returns to our Parts Festival. Following his sci-fi creations, Pierre burned the midnight oil to make another model using new LEGO® elements from our selection.

I got into the small polybags of Silver Metallic/Flat Silver tools and connectors known officially as Mini Accessory, No. 11 (50018 | 6266977) - and all are incredible! Somehow looking at these parts led to me finally building a Liebherr Tunnelier.

Old Elementary: The 1x2 plate with handle

Let's take a momentary break from our amazing Parts Festival to enjoy another look back into LEGO® element history. Skye Barnick suggested we discuss a tiny change to a familiar piece that occurred in 1983 and stepping up to the task we have Inthert, a UK-based builder who participated in our earlier Parts Festival this year.

Coming alongside the introduction of the beloved minifigure in 1978, the 1x2 plate with handlebars (Mini Handle - Design ID 3839) was among the first LEGO® elements to feature 3.18mm diameter bars, essentially meaning it was perfect for being held by tiny minifigure hands… or was it?

2019 Parts Fest #2: Oscar Cederwall's Clips and Crustacean

Today Oscar Cederwall returns to our Parts Festival, following his first post of geometric explorations, to present more fun and clever uses for our selection of new LEGO® elements.

The Shepherd's Staff

Sadly, Bo Peep's crook (Tool, No. 10 in Medium Azure – 49492 | 6256157) loses its clutch power on the curved hook part, so it can't be used with clips. It works great as antennae though. Here is some made-up crustacean.

2019 Parts Fest #2: Andreas Lenander's 3x3 dome inspiration

Following his first post of LEGO® creations for our Parts Festival, Andreas Lenander returns today with three varied builds that were all inspired by one piece.

The new rounded 3x3 dome (Sphere 3X3X11/3, W/ Knob in Medium Stone Grey – 49308 | 6263183) was a piece that I instantly loved when I first saw it. I can see it being used in a variety of builds since it works equally well for nature-scenes (rock work, etc) as it does for sci-fi builds (greebling on a spaceship, etc).

Elementarium IV

The first time I picked up the rounded 3x3 domes (Sphere 3X3X11/3, W/ Knob in Medium Stone Grey – 49308 | 6263183), I knew I had to build a spaceship.

2019 Parts Fest #2: Eero Okkonen's Doctor Who and the Frost Serpent

Finnish builder Eero Okkonen returns to our Parts Festival today with another two varied creations using new LEGO® parts. You can see his earlier two builds here and follow his builds on his blog.

Frost Serpent Arises

Sometimes the bulk of a creation stays almost the same while the concept changes completely. 

2019 Parts Fest #2: Kev Levell's Classic Flash Double Gloucester Gordon Theme

Next to join our Parts Festival is Kevin Levell, a UK-based LEGO® builder who participated in our Nexogon fest and has written other lovely articles for us in the past. Kev just loves a bit of Space, he does. 

I may have squealed like a little child when I opened and emptied out the parcel from Tim, because immediately I could see more than a couple of handfuls of utterly awesome new parts. Some of which I had already (unsuccessfully) been on the scout for. It was these currently ‘unavailable’ parts that interested me most… I could almost smell the potential.