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Creative Toy Walk of Fame
In the Spotlight:
Lego
Intro to Lego on Wikipedia.org
Lego is a line
of toys manufactured by Lego Group, a privately held company
based in Denmark. Its flagship product, also commonly
referred to as Lego, consists of colorful interlocking
plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears,
minifigures (also called minifigs or "Lego People"), and
other pieces which can be assembled and connected in myriad
combinations. Many interlocking accessories, including cars,
planes, trains, buildings, castles, sculptures, ships,
spaceships, and even working robots are available for
purchase. Lego bricks are noted for their precision and
quality of manufacture, resulting in an inexpensive yet
uniformly high-quality product.
Links
BrickWiki
BrickWiki is
an open content LEGO Encyclopedia, where
anyone can create and edit content about
LEGO Bricks. The purpose of this site is to
provide a place for new and veteran fans of
LEGO to share information, ideas, links,
methodologies, or any information. We hope
this will serve as a sort of "electronic
warehouse" of LEGO knowledge.
Wikipedia.org extensive profile
on Lego
Wikipedia extensive overview of
Lego History
Lego profile on the National Toy Hall of Fame website
Portal to all the Legoland Theme
Parks
The Brick Testament Website
The
Brick Testament website
contains an amazing 233 Bible stories illustrated by over 2000
dioramas constructed solely of Lego bricks, Lego little people,
and Lego accessories.
Be forewarned, though ... this is not a "censored"
collection. The Bible does cover stories that have "mature
content." The site creator includes a "ratings guide" to warn
the viewer when a story contains one or more scenes that include
nudity, sexual content, violence, or cursing.
Eric Harshbarger: Lego Sculptures and Mosaics
Collection of Harshbarger's Lego works, including a number of
skylines of cities.
Mona Lisa out of 30,000 Lego bricks.
Nathan Sawaya gallery
Sawaya is a Lego Master Builder at the Legoland theme park.
This is a collection of his own Lego artwork.
Han Solo in carbonite out of 10,000 Lego bricks.
Lego Church
Seven foot recreation, in Lego bricks and mini figures, of
the Abston Church of Christ
Minifig Museum of Modern Art
A parody in Lego bricks of a Museum of Modern Art.
Henry Lim's Lego sculptures
Variety of Lego brick artwork by Lim, including a five-foot
wide Sgt. Pepper poster, and a six-foot
harpsichord made entirely out of bricks except for the strings
... that is playable.
BOOKS
The Unofficial Lego
Builder's Guide by Allan Bedford
Amazon.com Reader
Review:
I have to admit,
this is one of the most interesting books I've read all
year! Expecting simply a discussion on the best way to build
a wall, I was surprised at the amount of awe the author is
able to instill in the reader regarding those little plastic
bricks. LEGO's are actually quite amazing. As the author
points out, the LEGO company adheres to some of the
strictest quality control measures. Releasing a brick that
is too tall or two short is unacceptable, as your creations
simply wouldn't fit together.
The author takes almost a Zen-like approach toward LEGOs. To
truly build, you must first understand the brick. So he
helps you understand the brick. I can't believe I'm saying
this, but it's truly fascinating stuff. After discussing the
brick and basic building techniques (you would be
disappointed if there wasn't a discussion on how to build
the best wall, wouldn't you?), the author shows how to build
for different perspectives. Sure you can build things the
same size as those little LEGO people, but you can also
build things that are much bigger. The challenges and tips
for doing just that are outlined.
I always wondered how some people were able to create
something amazing from scratch out of their LEGO
collections. Well, I still may not be able to create
something out of thin air, but the author does show how to
plan your creation. In fact, he shows how he designed and
built a model of the space shuttle-and it all looks so easy.
It simply comes down to careful planning, having the right
LEGO parts, and a little bit of time.
One thing I thought was really cool about this book was the
appendix. Here the author shows every single LEGO piece, its
part number, and a description of what it's good for.
This is really an amazing book. You can feel the great
respect the author has for LEGOs, and when you're done, you
feel the same way. I also really enjoyed the author's
approach to LEGO building, as it was something I've never
seen before. This is a great gift for that LEGO builder in
your life.
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