Here’s another batch of amazing LEGO content from around the web. I hope you find something great that you might have missed!

New at Brick Architect

• 2021 Most Common LEGO Parts
  I made a massive update to the Most Common LEGO Parts analysis based on sets released so far from 2017-2021. To make the article more approachable, I’ve also highlighted 10 parts that increased (or decreased) in popularity most this year.
• LEGO Brick Labels v37 is complete!
  The update includes 76 new labels, and 43 updated labels — for a total of just under 1500 unique labels!
  (Thanks again to the awesome patrons supporting the project!)

Upcoming Events

• November 8, 2021 – LEGO® House Live Tours from History Collection
  The final online tour is in November, focusing on ‘Crisis and Turnaround, 2002 – 2020’.
  The online event is 50 DKK (About $8).
• September 4, 2021 – January 2, 2022 – LEGO Architecture® in Croissy-sur-Seine, France.
  I can’t read French, but it looks like there’s a museum west of Paris with rotating LEGO exhibits. The current exhibit features a mix of official LEGO Architecture sets and custom MOCs. (More photos on Facebook.)
  Monday-Friday, 9:30am-12:30pm and 1:30pm-6:30pm. € 5 / € 3 (discounted rate)

LEGO Architecture Exposition at Histoire en Briques (in Croissy-sur-Seine, France).

Exciting new sets for AFOLs

The LEGO Group continue to overwhelm those of us in the AFOL community with some exciting new sets! (An astounding 1200$ if you decided to buy all of the sets highlighted below!)

• #10284 Camp Nou – FC Barcelona
  Another massive sports stadium, which we learned was designed by LEGO Architecture series designer Rok Zgalin Kobe.
  5509 pieces, $350, available now at LEGO.com
• #10293 Santa’s Visit
  The latest installment in the Winter Village series is a cute holiday home.
  1445 pieces, $100, available now at LEGO.com
• #21329 LEGO Ideas Fender Stratocaster
  An impressively detailed brick-built guitar and matching amplifier.
  1074 pieces, $100, available now at LEGO.com
• #10290 Pickup Truck
  A cute vintage pickup truck that’s ready to bring flowers and produce to market. (While not holiday themed, the dark red color would look great next to your Winter Village scene – even though the scale isn’t quite right.)
  1677 pieces, $130, available now at LEGO.com
• #10291 Queer Eye – The Fab 5 Loft
  A nicely detailed apartment based on another popular TV series.
  974 pieces, $100, available now at LEGO.com
• #76391 Hogwarts Icons – Collectors’ Edition
  A still-life sculpture featuring popular artifacts from the world of Harry Potter.
  3010 pieces, $250, available now at LEGO.com
• #71395 Super Mario 64 Question Mark Block
  A quirky set that looks like a typical Question block from Mario, but opens to reveal scenes from the franchise.
  2064 pieces, $170, available now at LEGO.com

#10284 Camp Nou was designed by LEGO Architecture designer Rok Zgalin Kobe.

Best articles from around the web

While there are always a lot of good articles about LEGO, there were a ton of great articles these past two months, especially nerdy articles about rare or new parts!

• The Faces of LEGO 2021: Setting A Baseline For Gender Representation In Marketing ‘Hero Shots’
  The LEGO Group celebrated the UN’s International day of the Girl by declaring that “we’re actively addressing the challenges that gender biases create and we’re committed more than ever to do our bit to put it right” — This article by Richard Jones fact checks this claim, based on photos displayed this month at LEGO.com
  —Rambling Brick
• Squaring the Circle: Building Round Shapes Using LEGO
  Prolific LEGO Architecture builder Deep Shen highlights several advanced techniques to build curves and domes.
  —BrickNerd
• Fan Day in LEGO® House with new fan exhibition and live presentation
  It’s kind of obvious, but LEGO Employees are also amazing builders. While normally filled with models by fans, the masterpiece gallery is currently displaying these amazing models by LEGO Employees.
  —LEGO House
• LEGO® Element Development: The Escalator Link
  LEGO® Element Development: The Porsche Bows
  In these two articles, we learn from LEGO Element Designer Stephan Breum Steen about the new Escalator Link piece (part 69900), and “Porsche Bows” (part 77180/77182).
  —New Elementary
• LEGO® Element Development: The 4+ Wheelbase
  A similar article about the evolution of the wheelbase used in 4+ sets for younger builders. The most interesting detail for me was to learn how two plastics are used to meet their quality standards, including a new High Impact Polyamide material for the axles.
  —New Elementary
• The Ultimate Guide to LEGO Masters Challenges
  LEGO Masters USA Season 2 contestant Michael Kanemoto offers a detailed exploration of the similarities and differences in the challenges contestants faced across the international editions of the show. (The spreadsheet he created is a nerdy treat!)
  —BrickNerd
• Behind the Scenes of LEGO Masters Norway
  Eduard Petrac offers an unusually in-depth behind-the-scenes look at creating and maintaining the “Brick Pit” for LEGO Masters Norway.
  —BrickNerd
• How big would Star Wars capital ships be at Minifigure scale?
  This is an amazing gallery of images showcasing popular Star Wars ships at LEGO Minifigure scale. #theydidthemath
  —r/legostarwars on Reddit
• A look at this year’s new Technic pins
  Huw Millington offers an in-depth look at new possibilities opened up with three newly released LEGO Technic Pins.
  —Brickset
• I Found Rome a City of Bricks: The UCS LEGO Trevi Fountain
  Luca Petraglia shares their experience building a 50,000 piece version of the Trevi Fountain. Perhaps more impressive than the finished model is the fact that it was designed digitally, too!
  —BrickNerd

Best videos:

Here are a couple videos that might catch your interest, too…

• LEGO House documentary – Home Of The Brick (UK) (48:01)
  Formerly only available to Neflix subscribers, this documentary offers a great summary of the making of, and experiences within the LEGO House in Billund.
  —LEGO House @ YouTube
• Super Modern Stays (34:00)
  Frank Lloyd Wright’s “Still Bend” home is featured in this episode of a show exploring homes that you can actually rent.
  —The World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals @ Netflix (subscription required).

Best podcast episodes:

As always, here are some of the best audio-based stories that I’ve heard recently. Happy Listening!

• 1916 Bogk House (16:39)
  The line between influence and plagirism is fine; let’s learn about the homes designed by some who had worked for Frank Lloyd Wright a few years earlier…
  —Urban Spelunking (Radio Milwaukee)
• #37 – The Surreal History of the LEGO Galidor TV Show, Game Console, and Action Figures (1:12:47)
  This unusually long episode goes really deep into the hostory of LEGO’s least popular theme—Galidor. Long the butt of jokes within the LEGO community, the product was packed with innovations that I had never heard of.
  —Bits N’ Bricks

Brick Architect in the news

• Sorting Nightmare: The Blocky Horror Picture Show
  This article offers an honest exploration of the challenges of sorting a large collection using repurposed storage products. Author Gwyneth Kozbial uses LEGO Brick Labels to help find parts quickly.
  —BrickNerd