Video: Making the LEGO Parts Guide into a book!

Discover some of the challenges I’m facing while creating a printed parts guide, and the solutions I’m exploring to make the book great!

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Uncategorized

As you hopefully know, I’ve been working hard to translate my online LEGO Parts Guide into a printed book. I’ve been sharing extensive ‘Behind the scenes‘ content with my supporters on Patreon, but also try to share some of my progress on the website and in my newsletters.

I gave the following presentation at BrickCon on September 5, 2025. The presentation included interactive sections asking participants for feedback on some of the challenges I was facing in completing the guide, such as:

  • The number of top-level categories in the guide.
  • How much ‘history’ to include in the chapters.
  • How ‘retired’ parts could be handled in future editions of the guide.
  • How to handle groups of nearly identical parts.
  • If DUPLO should be included.

You can watch the whole presentation on YouTube. (Give it a ‘thumbs up’ if you liked it.)

I hope enjoyed the video… Ideas to make the guide even better? Send me an email. Thanks!

LEGO Storage Podcast — Brick Architect × AFOLs Welcome

My latest thinking on strategies to organize, sort and store LEGO collections – on a podcast!

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Interviews

Last week, I participated in an in-depth discussion with brothers Grinch and West on their weekly conversational LEGO podcast AFOLs Welcome. The focus of our discussion was exploring strategies to organize, sort, and store your LEGO collection.

Listen to the episode on:

You can also watch us talk by viewing the episode on YouTube. (I even cleaned my LEGO room to have a less distracting background!)

AFOLs Welcome Episode 45 - The Brick Architect - Sorting and Storing LEGO.

AFOLs Welcome Episode 45 – The Brick Architect – Sorting and Storing LEGO.

While I encourage you to listen to our whole conversation, you can use these links to jump to a specific topic…

  • 25:47 – Introduction – About Tom Alphin
  • 32:10 – Making ‘The LEGO Architect’ book
  • 35:41 – Making ‘The LEGO Storage Guide’
  • 39:23 – LEGO Parts Guide / Most Common LEGO Parts
  • 43:11 – My Goal: Creating resources for LEGO Builders
  • 48:39 – Creative constraints of the LEGO System
  • 50:12 – Favorite Theme / Set
  • 52:55 – Expanding on my book in the future
  • 59:37 – Sorting Strategies – Part, Color, Element
  • 1:03:50 – How my sorting strategy has evolved
  • 1:07:15 – Storing Air
  • 1:10:01 – Increasing number of unique parts (and labels)
  • 1:12:17 – Importance of a Hierarchal system
  • 1:13:23 – Creating succinct part names for Labels
  • 1:21:10 – BrickLink vs Brick Architect Hierarchy
  • 1:24:45 – Storage recommendations for all ages
  • 1:30:22 – When to stop sorting?
  • 1:33:23 – Minifigs and Instructions
  • 1:37:27 – Final Thoughts
I hope you enjoy listening to our discussions! As always, if you have any questions please leave a comment here or in your favorite podcast app — Thanks!

LEGO Parts Guide improvements

More parts added to database, more custom images, and the ability to see retired parts in galleries!

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Parts

New Parts

In the past couple weeks, I’ve reviewed the top 1250 Most Common Current Parts, and the Top 1250 Most Common Parts of All Time, and added all of the missing parts to the database!

A few of the 80 new parts added to the database since September 1.

A few of the 80 new parts added to the database since September 1.

While parts need to be added to the database to appear in the main galleries sorted by part, placeholder pages are automatically created for parts which haven’t been added yet. That’s why I also added 232 additional part images since September 1 — this ensures even more parts appear nicely in the lists of most common parts even when I haven’t added them to the guide fully.

New Feature – Retired parts in Galleries!

I’ve finally added enough retired parts that it seems appropriate to include an option to show them in the galleries sorted by category as well.

You can now toggle between seeing Current Parts (default) and All Parts in the galleries sorted by category.

You can now toggle between seeing Current Parts (default) and All Parts in the galleries sorted by category.

By default, you will contine to only see current parts. I added a new option to show ‘All Parts’ which displays both current and retired parts in the gallery.

Check out these improvements to The LEGO Parts Guide by visiting https://brickarchitect.com/parts/

Redesigning the Most Common LEGO Parts Guide

The new experience is interactive, updated regularly, and integrates nicely with the LEGO Parts Guide.

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Parts

Last month, I launched a completely new LEGO Parts Guide which allows you to explore LEGO parts using a streamlined, well-organized alternative to sites like Bricklink or Rebrickable. I am thrilled to share a new experience that builds on the Parts Guide in an elegant way.

You may discover this ranking data when browsing the Parts Guide — Rankings are now shown for every part.

You may have already discovered the ranking data when browsing the Parts Guide — Rankings are now shown for every part.

I believe that having easy access to raking data will be tremendously helpful to people trying to organize their own LEGO Collections. Why? Because it gives people a much better sense about which parts are common and which ones are rare — You probably don’t need a dedicated drawer in your storage solution if a part isn’t very common (unless you have gone out of your way to acquire that part in bulk).

Parts are ranked on multiple dimensions, with a 'weighted' ranking that takes multiple values into account at the top.

Parts are ranked on multiple dimensions, with a weighted ‘Overall Rank’ at the top which takes multiple metrics into account.

There are two ways to explore the Most Common LEGO Parts:

Explore the Current Most Common LEGO Parts, sorted by weighted ranking.

Explore the Current Most Common LEGO Parts, sorted by weighted ranking.

The ‘Overall Rank’ is weighted to highlight parts that are most common against three different measures – the sheer number of pieces produced of that part, the number of sets that the part comes in, and the number of unique colors that the part has been produced in. If you want to sort the list in a different way, you can click on the tabs along the top

One of my favorite views highlights those parts which have been produced for the longest time.

One of my favorite views highlights those parts which have been produced for the longest time.

Looking Back: I first launched my original guide to the Most Common LEGO Parts in 2019. It was cobbled together using an embarrasing mix of Microsoft Access and Excel, which was exported as static HTML for use on the website. Even though I was unable to update it with new data very often, it grew to be one of the most popular resources at Brick Architect! That’s why I am so excited about this new experience — I can update it whenever I want by simply re-importing the inventories and re-calculating the results.

Please spend some time exploring the new and improved Most Common LEGO Parts Guide by visiting https://brickarchitect.com/parts/most-common/ — Thanks!

You can also join an enthusiastic discussion about these new features at r/LegoStorage on Reddit. Your feedback matters, so please leave a comment or email me your ideas!

Introducing the LEGO Parts Guide!

Understand how LEGO works and sort like a pro using this free guide — it’s like a dictionary of all the best LEGO parts.

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Storage

I’m excited to launch a completely new experience here at Brick Architect! The LEGO Parts Guide is a well-organized, beautifully designed alternative to sites like Bricklink or Rebrickable when you just want to browse relatively common parts that are still being produced, without being bogged down in printed parts, extremely rare parts, or parts which retired two decades ago.

Learn about each category with a text description and a gallery of LEGO parts.

Learn about each category with a text description and a gallery of LEGO parts.

I built this initial version with two audiences in mind:

  • Organizing your own collection — With just 13 top-level categories, it’s easy to get started in sorting your collection the Brick Architect way. As your collection continues to grow, sub-categories allow you to fine-tune your storage solution so you can find everything quickly.
  • Understanding how LEGO works — As you explore the categories and sub-categories, the title and description for each folder teaches you about the various connection types, complex geometries, and other skills you need to learn on your road to a Master Builder.
Learn about each part on a dedicated page, with links to popular sites like Pick-a-Brick, Bricklink, and Rebrickable to learn more.

Learn about each part on a dedicated page, with links to popular sites like Pick-a-Brick, Bricklink, and Rebrickable to learn more.

This is also just the beginning — I’m eager to keep making this experience better by enhancing the page to learn more about each part, offering an easy way to print a LEGO Brick Label for a specific part, and adding more parts to the guide.

Your feedback will help me prioritize the most valuable improvements, so please leave a comment or email me your ideas!

Check out the LEGO Parts Guide by visiting https://brickarchitect.com/parts/ — Thanks!

LEGO Brick Labels v40

120 new labels for a total of 1802 unique parts — should sorting your LEGO collection be your 2024 New Year’s resolution?

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Brick Labels

I’ve painstakingly reviewed every new LEGO part released in 2023, as well as older parts that I had missed. This is a major update to the collection!

Version 40 adds labels for 120 new parts and updates to 14 existing parts.

Version 40 adds labels for 120 new parts and updates to 14 existing parts.

What’s in this update?

I work hard to make sure that every update makes the collection better and more complete. This includes a lot of work that you might not notice to ensure that each part is placed at an appropriate location in the collection, since many people use the contact sheet as a guide when building and when sorting.

The new labels are almost evenly distributed across three categories:

  1. Brand new parts for 2023.
    This includes some parts that are already very popular, as well as some parts from the end of the year which I anticipate will be very popular soon.
  2. Parts from 2022 which are becoming more popular.
    This includes parts which I was not sure if they would remain rare (or only used in a single theme), but have shown continued popularity.
  3. Parts from earlier years that have shown longevity, even if they are not used in all that many sets.
    This include a review of fresh data showing the 1500 most common LEGO parts.

Whether you use my guide to help sort your collection into logical groups, or print the labels to make parts easier to find, I hope this update helps you get more organized!

Support LEGO Brick Labels

Join 94 LEGO fans who support LEGO Brick Labels at patreon.com. Your support helps LEGO Brick Labels project and Brick Architect website. Supporters at the Patron level or higher get immediate access to behind-the-scenes content about how these labels are created, and public recognition for your support.

I hope my LEGO Brick Labels collection and LEGO Storage Guide help you get more organized in the New Year!

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

The robots are not coming for your LEGO…

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Brick Architect

In the interest of transparency and to further the important discussion about the long-term role of AI technologies in our society, I have added an AI Policy section to our About page. As always, we would love to hear your thoughts about our approach, or additional AI technologies we should consider that align with our goals and values. The following is an excerpt of our Artificial Intelligence Policy.

Here at Brick Architect, we take pride in creating in-depth LEGO content that is written by humans, for humans. We also recognize that a number of Artifical Intelligence (AI) technologies can help us create better content.

Our Goal: Even with the introduction of advanced generative AI built on neural network architectures (such as ChatGPT), we will continue to write our own stories and complement them with great photography. If we decide to include AI-generated images or text in future articles, they will be clearly marked.

We are currently using AI technology in the following ways:

  • Image Editing
  • Text Editing
  • Summarization
  • Translation
  • Transcription

Lastly, as more and more content from around the web is replaced with AI generated content, we aim to continue offering rigorously researched articles written by humans. We’ve always include links to source material when appropriate, but we will make a greater effort to include more citations to reputable sources that help us write the best content possible.

As always, we would love to hear your thoughts about our approach, or additional AI technologies we should consider that align with our goals and values.

How are you using AI? Leave a comment or email me at tom@tomalphin.com — Thanks!

#40585 World of Wonders available now (VIP Rewards)

An interesting “baby architecture” set containing four popular landmarks was released today.

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Architecture Series · Shopping

I am not happy with the increasing purchase requirements for gift-with-purchase sets, and I’m not a fan of the awkward system that allows LEGO VIP Members to spend VIP Points on exclusive ‘free’ sets either. They aren’t really free anyways since you need to make another purchase. (You will probably want to spend enough to receive free shipping, too – $35 in United States).

Nonetheless, since Brick Architect was created to celebrate LEGO Architecture, I wanted to make sure readers are aware that #40585 World of Wonders is available for a limited time on the VIP Rewards Center. It costs 2700 points, which works out to $20.77 USD for 382 pieces – an equivalent of $0.054 per piece. (A $20 dicount at LEGO.com costs 2600 points.)

#40585 World of Wonders is available now as a 'featured reward' for VIPs.

#40585 World of Wonders is available now as a ‘featured reward’ for VIPs.

As noted in my January 2023 Roundup, I noticed that the set uses stickers instead of printed tiles which is unfortunate. As you can see in the photos below, even The LEGO Group can’t apply stickers without a little bit of dust sticking to the edge.

Disappointed to see stickers instead of printed tiles with this set.

Disappointed to see stickers instead of printed tiles with this set.

#21041 The Great Wall of China and #21056 Taj Mahal have already been captured in LEGO Architecture sets — I would not be surprised to see a larger LEGO Architecture set based on Al-Khazneh (Petra) or The Parthenon later this year.

If you decide to buy #40585 World of Wonders using VIP points, please consider using our referral links, it helps!

Update: How LUGBULK works—and strategies for making the most of it!

Find out which parts and colors are the cheapest and most expensive on BrickLink and learn more about the LUGBULK program.

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AFOL

One of our most popular articles explains what LUGBULK is and how to use the opportunity to improve your LEGO parts library (while saving money). I’ve updated the part availability and pricing data in the article for January 2023 — just in time to finalize your own LUGBULK order!

Updated table showing current BrickLink cost & availability for some of the most common LEGO Parts.

Updated table showing current BrickLink cost & availability for some of the most common LEGO Parts.

Other improvements:

  • Background color for each column matches the color of those parts.
    This makes it much easier to find the color you are looking for.
  • Added new 370Medium Brown and 1089Warm TanMedium Tan colors to tables.
    …even though the new colors aren’t available in basic parts yet!
  • Added a new table showing color rankings over time.
    You can use it to better understand which colors are gaining and losing popularity.
  • Updated analysis to reflect latest trends.
    This includes a downward trend in cost of plates while the cost of bricks remains largely unchanged.
Learn more by visiting brickarchitect.com/lugbulk/

LEGO Brick Labels v39

This update adds 117 new labels to the LEGO Brick Labels collection!

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Brick Labels
Version 39 adds 74 new LEGO Labels and 43 new DUPLO Labels for a total of 1685 unique labels!

Version 39 adds 74 new LEGO Labels and 43 new DUPLO Labels for a total of 1685 unique labels!

What’s new in this update?

  1. 74 new LEGO labels — including a ton of new parts released in 2022.
  2. 43 new labels for the Most Common DUPLO (and QUATRO) parts.
    There are many adult builders who use DUPLO and even retired QUATRO pieces as filler when building large models.
  3. 51 updated labels.
    The biggest change is use of ‘Ø’ symbol instead of ‘Diameter’ or ‘Dia.’ for rounded parts.
This update uses 'Ø' symbol instead of 'Diameter' or 'Dia.' to make labels for rounded parts more concise.

This update uses ‘Ø’ symbol instead of ‘Diameter’ or ‘Dia.’ to make labels for rounded parts more concise.

How did I pick the Most Common DUPLO parts?
While much less popular than my article highlighting the Most Common LEGO Parts, I also created a similar list of the Most Common DUPLO Parts which was updated recently.

Learn more and download at brickarchitect.com/labels.
LEGO Brick Labels is updated regularly include the most popular new parts. You can support the LEGO Brick Labels project by donating at patreon.com!

LEGO Brick Labels v39 – Beta Preview

At least 51 new labels are coming soon!

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Brick Labels

I’ve reviewed every new LEGO part added in the second half of 2022, plus the top ~1250 Most Common LEGO Parts, and found a lot of great parts that I’m excited to to add to the collection!

There will be at least 51 new labels in the upcoming release.

There will be at least 51 new labels in the upcoming release.

Support LEGO Brick Labels — get early access!

Become a patron at patreon.com to download these new labels right now. Your support helps Brick Architect and the LEGO Brick Labels project in particular. Patrons can also access some behind-the-scenes content about how these labels are created.

Proposed improvements in this update

I am constantly trying to improve the short text descriptions for each part. With this update, I’m exploring the consistent use of diameter (Ø) indicators on many round parts. This is especially relevant when you have a large part with a rounded corner – knowing the diameter/radius of the corner will help you determine which parts to use above or below it. As you can see from the example image, this should also improve parts which already show a diameter (such as tires and wheels).

Using "Ø" symbol to indicate diameter of rounded parts.

Using “Ø” symbol to indicate diameter of rounded parts.

Examples:

  • 1×2 Tile, Ø1 Rounded Ends (part 1126)
    When Ø is followed by a number without units, it means studs. I could have said “Ø1L” instead of “Ø1”, but I want to optimize for simple cases.
  • Hose, Ribbed Ø7mm (part 78c**)
    When Ø is followed by a measurement in mm, I will clearly say so, as in this example “Ø7mm”.
  • Ø24mm × 11mm Integrated Tire w/ Pin (part 72206)
    I will probably update wheels to use this format as well, as in this example.

This is similar to how I started indicating the angle (°) for slopes in version 3.2… I do worry that awareness of ‘Ø’ as the symbol for Diameter is low. While it is certainly something people can learn, I do not want to introduce too much confusion.

This is a potentially major change, so FEEDBACK IS WELCOME! (You can email me or leave a comment.)

P.S. This change was inspired by some official LEGO part names which also use the “Ø” symbol. That symbol happens to be a letter in Danish, but it is also used in mathematical circles (pun intended) to mean diameter.

Updated for 2022: Most Common LEGO Parts

Explore the top 1000 most common parts from 2018-2022 and recent evolution of the LEGO Parts Library.

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Parts

The Most Common LEGO Parts also happens to be one of the most popular articles here at Brick Architect. While it’s interesting to see which parts are the most common, I particularly enjoy learning about parts which are gaining popularity over time, as well as those which are slowly fading to obscurity.

In other words, we can find the slow evolution of the LEGO System of Play hidden in the data.

The 2022 update highlights a few trends in recent years, such as:

  1. The rising popularity of tiny pieces.
  2. Decreasing emphasis on basic bricks and plates.
  3. Possible decrease in popularity of Technic parts.
  4. Blossoming popularity of plant pieces.
  5. Stable popularity for SNOT pieces.

It was also interesting to observe the impact of a single set on the rankings; #10307 Eiffel Tower alone is responsible for doubling the popularity of one part: Bar 2L w/ Stop (part 78258).

Take a deeper dive into the Most Common LEGO Parts.