This roundup was intended to be published on November 30, but was actually posted on December 23. I’ve adjusted the date published to reflect when it should have been posted so that it appears at the correct place in the feed. I only included content from November and will publish a December roundup soon.

The original LEGO Brick?

Here’s a short feel-good story for the holidays… Back in 2022, I interviewed all of the LEGO Masters Season 3 contestants. I especially enjoyed my discussion with Stephen Joo, one of the two Firefighters who teamed up for the show.

When I asked him about his “favorite LEGO Set, MOC or Souvenir”, he lit up with enthusiasm and shared the following story:

Stephen Joo: “On a trip to Billund while attending the Skaerbaek Fan convention I passed by the famed home of the founder of LEGO. It’s classic Danish architecture with red toned bricks and stone Lions flanking the front door. At the time it was undergoing a facelift and a construction crew was replacing damaged and weathered bricks.”

Fragment of brick from Ole Kirk’s House given to Stephen’s friend Miles.

“I asked if I could take a fragmented chunk of brick from the discard pile and they said to go ahead. Seeing I was traveling internationally I opted for a smaller chunk but it’s a unique souvenir. I gifted a little piece to one of my best friends in the LEGO community (Miles aka Miffy).”

A few months later, Stephen told me that he had another small chunk that I could have if I would like it. Always enthusiastic about obscure LEGO lore and stories, of course I said yes!

A tiny piece of The Lion House, a cherished gift from Stephen Joo.

Even though he wasn’t able to make it to BrickCon this year, he sent me my own treasure box by way of a mutual friend. It’s easily one of my favorite LEGO artifacts because of the sincerity of the gift and the power of storytelling. Thanks again Stephen!

New at Brick Architect

We posted a ton of great content in November that I hope you had a chance to enjoy!

• Review: Summer 2024 LEGO Dreamzzz Sets
  I put a big pile of LEGO Sets in front of a small builder to see which sets resonated most! There are some high-flying choices to consider!
• Review: 2024 LEGO Advent Calendars
  The holidays upon us — Learn about the best and worst for 2024 (There’s also a brand new Disney Advent Calendar to consider.)
• Video: The LEGO Architect – Learn popular architectural styles using LEGO
  You can watch my presentation from the comfort of home — I can’t wait to hear what you enjoy most!
• LEGO Parts Guide improvements
  In November, I added more parts to database, more custom images, and introduced the ability to see retired parts in galleries sorted by category!

Best articles from around the web

Learn more about the LEGO hobby every month with a selection of great content from around the web.

• Billund’s Buildings: LEGO’s Hometown History
  I wish that I read this article by Bailey Fullarton highlighting the many LEGO-owned buildings hidden around Billund before my trip there this summer. I will definitely re-read this before my next trip to famuiliarize myself with some of the lesser-known buildings.
  —BrickNerd
• Best new LEGO parts of 2024
  I’m thankful that Thomas Jenkins took the time to highlight some of the best new parts which were released this year. Better still, the article is packed with interesting building techniques that use these new parts.
  —New Elementary
• 10 things you didn’t know about LEGO (17:11)
  This video offers a few insights from The LEGO Group’s long history that Daniel Konstanski learned about while researching his book, The Secret Life of LEGO Bricks. It was interesting to learn that a pastel Fabuland reboot was considered in the 90’s to target girls, but was abandoned in favor of Belville.
  —@Brick_Fanatics on Youtube
• Every LEGO Collab Standard, Themed Month and Recurring Contest
  I love how BrickNerd patron Charlie Stephens took the time to summarize the most popular collaborative building standards you may encounter at LEGO conventions around the world. The reason that these stardards are important is that it makes it possible for many collaborators to work together to build something impressive. I also love that participating in a collaborative build is one of the most approachable ways to display your first MOC at a conveention!
  —BrickNerd
• Modulex: LEGO’s Most Successful Failure (25:20)
  While I still haven’t found time to watch this lengthy video about the history of Modulex, I thought many readers would like to learn more about this forgotten system of smaller LEGO bricks with cubic proportions that was created with Architects in mind.
  —@SpitBrix on YouTube
• 2024 Skærbæk workshop and After-Party Fest: introducing the elements
  I’m always excited to see a wide variety of weird ways to connect some popular new parts for 2024. Thanks to Tom Loftus for sharing these ideas with us!.
  —New Elementary
• Roman, Elliott, and Robert Caro: Live in Conversation
  I really enjoyed parts of this discussion about the art of writing and storytelling. In particular, I felt like the discussion of rhythm in writing was interesting – inlcuding the rhythm of starting a chapter by listing things that happened such as all of the roads moses built in his career as a way of driving curiosity.
  — 99% Invisible