Being one of the world’s most popular toys for 90 years now, it’s no surprise that there have been many attempts to recreate LEGO’s iconic blocks. I mean, it can’t be that hard, can it? But something about the Denmark-made blocks feels different from its competition and knock-offs. The materials are sturdier, the shapes more…
For many, a line of LEGO-inspired 3D printed jewelry is sure to bring a wave of nostalgia. For others who still regularly buy LEGO sets, it’s simply an ingenious way to repurpose those extra bricks as fashion accessories. Such is the premise behind the new jewelry line from French design studio Hint Lab. Thomas and…
Though they may be inedible, I think we can all agree that LEGO food is still pretty cool, especially if captured in stop motion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyy-KAMrO3I Earlier this month, YouTuber I Like Home created a LEGO donburi sashimi bowl. While the actual dish is relatively easy to make, his LEGO version took over a month to produce. More than…
Rollercoasters are fun. LEGOs are also fun. Therefore, by the unspoken rule of cool, putting the two together only makes the end result much cooler. A few months ago, Chris Burton of Half-Asleep Chris took 10 LEGO roller coaster sets with the sole purpose of making a single, giant roller coaster. After opening 423 plastic…
While watching a 3-hour drama about a sinking ship is not everyone’s cup of tea, spending 3 hours on a LEGO Titanic set is a different story. Just a few days ago, the Denmark-based toy company unveiled their latest and largest LEGO set yet. And just like the original ship it was based on, this…
You may just write it off as another animated film, but most people consider The Lego Movie as a big leap for LEGO animated features. That’s because prior to Chris Pratt taking center stage as Emmet Brickowski, LEGO features were quite unrealistic and focused more on the CGI rather than the strengths of LEGO. So…
Back in 2009, LEGO partnered with Japanese company Muji and it’s hard to see why. The former is a Danish toy company known for making plastic bricks while the latter is a retail company widely known for its clothing, furniture, and stationery, just to name a few. So, what really spurred LEGO and Muji to…
Making things with LEGO is cool and pretty easy. The same thing goes for creating the bricks themselves. Due to the toy’s simple design and the amount of stuff you can build with it, there’s a lot of unofficial products which try to emulate the Danish company’s iconic bricks. Even though they might have been…
Despite all the things you can make with it, LEGO is still made out of plastic. And plastic, on its own, isn’t very strong. Or is it? The Brick Experiment Channel has been putting LEGO pieces through the wringer for as long as it has existed. This time, however, they wanted to see if the…
Not everyone in the world can say they hold a Guinness World Record. It takes a lot of time and dedication to hone a skill, and a little bit of luck to get the guys and gals from the esteemed organization to notice you. One day, LEGO speed builder Paul Ufema got an email from…
When you’re a kid, concepts of prejudice and discrimination don’t exist. It is only when we are subject to others that hurtful notions like sexism and racism seep into our subconscious – altering the way we look at the world. The LEGO company is a group that always strives for inclusion, so it’s a wonder…
If the past couple of years have taught us anything, it’s that isolation can bring out the crazy, creative juices inside all of us. And that’s not a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination. Trapped within the confines of his home, Half-Asleep Chris took to making LEGO sets naturally. But upon making his…
The Brick Experiment Channel has taken a break from destroying every LEGO brick known to man. Today, it will indulge us with a simple LEGO gear train: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAThvwGJJoI The goal: to create the longest 1:1 LEGO gear train imaginable. The restrictions: they can only use LEGO parts to create the gear train. On top of…
Have you ever seen Michael Jackson’s iconic Thriller music video and said, “Hey! I can do that!” Well, with the advances in cinematography, special effects, and costume design since the video first came out in 1983, I’m pretty sure you can. But while a working adult such as yourself has access to the know-how and…
There are two types of first time LEGO builders: those who stack LEGOs randomly as high as they possibly can, and those who make impressive structures such as… cars! And while I’m still extremely proud of the 20-brick high wall I made when I was 4-years-old, I, as an adult now, see how much more…
If you thought the Death Star was the biggest LEGO set in existence, then you’re still living in the 2010s, my friend. As of November 2020, the award for the biggest, baddest set in the Denmark-based toy company’s arsenal goes to the new 9,036-piece Roman Colosseum. Just ask LEGO designer Rok Kobe, who talks about…
There’s rarely worse pain in life than stepping on a stray LEGO block (and I speak from experience). First-world problems, right? Yet, it’s sad so many floors are littered with LEGOs. We could blame the kiddos, but… we buy the LEGOs, encourage their imagination and, dogonit, there’ll be time to have a clean house after…
LEGO’s are known the world over! Their blocks excite our imagination. Give a kid a mess of Lego blocks and in no time they’ll have a structure reaching to the sky! Yet for all the fun of making buildings or secret caves, let’s face it, there wouldn’t be much life to LEGOs without those tiny,…
It was bound to happen sooner or later, so it comes as no surprise when someone made a working drone using the world’s most buildable children’s toy. The Brick Experiment Channel takes LEGO blocks to the sky and shows us how to make our own toy drones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUVvQk7XLd4 The motors, propellers, and drone body are…
While there’s nothing quite as bad as stepping on a stray LEGO block, a close second is having to sort out the mess of bricks once you (or your kids) are done using them. It’s bad enough finding all of the little buggers, but when you’re a LEGO aficionado who plans on using specific parts…
If you haven’t seen it yet (and you definitely should), the new live-action series The Mandalorian (available via Disney+) is pretty much all any Star Wars fan talks about these days. It’s dirtier, grittier, and has way more personality and lore than the recent films of the past decade. It’s no surprise then that Brick…
Though LEGOs have been used to create lots of things such as robots and life-size vehicle models, they never really move as smoothly as you would want them too. It might be due to their blocky nature, but without the aid of outside parts from different manufacturers, LEGOs move in a clicky, clacky manner unique…
Despite being one of the most iconic plastic toys of all time, the first LEGO toys were, in fact, crafted from wood. The company, founded by master carpenter Ole Kirk Kristiansen in 1932, initially crafted the toys out of wood but switched over to plastic when wood supplies became scarce in the aftermath of WWII.…
For the serious LEGO junkies out there, the LEGO IDEAS community is a one-stop shop for all things plastic brick. From message boards to activity ideas, the platform—which is officially hosted by LEGO—encourages members to share their creations and compete for prizes with build competitions. It’s also where master builders can upload proposals for new…
LEGO tie-ins with upcoming vehicles are nothing new, and the Jaguar 2020 Land Rover Defender is no exception. While the real thing will be out sometime next Spring (and it looks to be awesome), you can get the LEGO version as soon as next week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smampJ2MIhU Made in partnership with Jaguar/Land Rover, the LEGO Technic Land…
After stepping on them for years, a Finish YouTube creator has had enough of tiny LEGO bricks. Using his aptly named Brick Experiment Channel, he makes videos which pit a variety of LEGOs against fire, concrete, and quite possibly their only worthy opponent: other LEGO pieces. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjhOGoZ-bNI In this particular video, he tests just how…
The pizza has been delivered, the ale is chilled, and you’re just about ready to get floored with this week’s SolidSmack Weekend Reader. The Weekend Reader is your In-shorts Reader and gives you a glimpse of the most interesting articles featured on the ‘Smack’. A recap of the week that was, and a glimpse of…
The world is never short of life-size LEGO vehicles. We’ve seen a static Chevrolet Silverado Pickup Truck, a road-worthy LEGO Bugatti Chiron which can hit a roaring 12 MPH (20 KPH), and now, we have a classic: the Volkswagen Type 2 (T2) Bus or Kombi. For those unfamiliar with the name, the T2 might be…
I know, I know. We go a little LEGO crazy at times, but can you blame us with 400,000 piece VW van projects? You may recall the LEGO Nintendo Switch cartridge carrying case we shared. A simple build, but sometimes you just need a simple one to contrast the complex month-long builds. Reddit user squid50s…
There are an infinite number of uses for the traditional LEGO brick, but using the plastic toys for teaching robotics through STEM curriculums in the classroom has surged in popularity in the last decade—and the applications keep getting better and better. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXwX0BEKxXE With the introduction of the SPIKE Prime LEGO kit, the company aims to…
For many, half the fun of owning a Nintendo Switch portable gaming console is playing video games—while the other half is spent personalizing the hardware itself. Nintendo gets this; the video game company has put out tons of accessories for the Switch, ranging from various carrying cases to the cardboard-based Nintendo Labo. The number of…
Always a (giant) crowd pleaser for any LEGO fan – making gigantic ‘things’ out of LEGO—this time it’s a Chevrolet Silverado pick up truck. Agreed it’s only because of a movie partnership – “The LEGO® Movie 2: The Second Part” – no less, we can all do with a little bit more of the bricks…
If I’m to be truly honest, the infinite possibilities of LEGOs can be a bit daunting when it comes to building. When someone 10 years younger than myself can make a masterpiece out of the same 500 bricks I’m given, it can feel disheartening to even begin my own creation. Not as many adults have…
Even though the game has been out for more than two years, Blizzard Entertainment’s Overwatch just keeps getting bigger and bigger. They’ve already made stop-motion videos and Nerf guns, so it was only a matter of time before the massive franchise moved on to everyone’s favorite building toy: LEGO. To complement the small-scale Bastion set,…
While the Nintendo Switch Labo lets you create your own external peripherals, there’s no getting around the fact the vanilla Labo consists of flimsy cardboard. To this end, people have been finding other materials to better improve Nintendo’s ambitious—but in some cases, materially flawed—creation. And what better material to use than LEGOs! Apart from being a…
Remember LEGO’s Bugatti Chiron model kit earlier this year? Well, apparently they thought 3,599 pieces wasn’t enough… so they made a life-sized version to go with the 1:8 scale replica. It isn’t for show either; this LEGO “supercar” consists of over 1,000,000 non-glued bricks and can hold two passengers while accelerating to over 20 km/h.…
Even in a world full of change, there are many constants in the universe: taxes, Disney’s ever-present plan to own everything your childhood holds dear, and LEGO Star Wars kits. LOTS of LEGO Star Wars kits. While it can’t house the gigantic 7,541-piece Millenium Falcon, this 2,812-piece LEGO recreation of The Empire Strikes Back’s Cloud…
Epic Games’ Fortnite is a popular third-person shooter-survival game that pits up to four players who work together to fight off zombie-like creatures and defend objects by building fortifications. Players can choose a myriad of guns to do battle with, including an excellent double-barrel shotgun that can dispatch enemies rather quickly. Being a favorite of…
Kids these days might not have a taste for them, but back in the day, superheroes didn’t rule the movie world; superspies did. And no one was more famous than British secret agent James Bond. Created by writer Ian Flemming, the fictional spy has 24 films and countless novels spanning decades; inspiring both kids and…
Continuing the tradition of making miniatures of some of the world’s most remarkable automobile designs, LEGO and French car manufacturer Bugatti have teamed up to create one of the most complex block builds you’ll ever find: a 1:8 scale LEGO Bugatti Chiron. The stunning model measures 14cm high, 25cm wide, and is made up of…
Ever since we saw Matt Denton’s LEGO Technic Go-kart, we’ve been keeping an eye on his YouTube channel for what’s next. He’s gone through phases of small hexapods, large hexapods, animatronics, Arduino controlled hydraulics and, most recently, massive 3D printed LEGO kits. After completing two other giant LEGO builds, we were pretty sure it was…
If you miss the joy of throwing quarters down a cheap arcade machine or working on a gigantic LEGO creation, then this unique project might fill both of those gaping holes from your youthful glory days. LEGO creator Bre Burns’ love for arcade machines was so strong, she decided to make Benny’s Spaceship Adventure –…
Though LEGOs can be used to build just about everything from a ship in a bottle to a Tic Tac dispenser, the one thing they aren’t so good at is cleaning up after themselves. YouTuber The Brick Wall must have stepped on one too many of his LEGO builds because his newest project is a…
As plastic continues to pollute our oceans and overtake our landfills at an all-time high, it’s clear that to reverse the effects of a potentially unlivable planet; it’s up to consumer product manufacturers to take matters into their own hands. Along with Nike and Apple—both of whom are spending billions to try to reverse the…
Like peanut butter and jelly or biscuits and gravy, the combination of YouTube and LEGO is a match made in heaven. For one, it gives block builders an epic platform to socialize and comment on hundreds (if not thousands) of builds. Second, it provides the rest of us a chance to sit back and relax…
From a working Tic Tac dispenser to the iconic 7,541-piece Millennium Falcon, almost everything under the sun has been created using the deceptively painful iconic plastic bricks. Really, as long as you don’t accidentally step on one with a bare foot, you can never really go wrong with LEGOs. LEGO Ideas is the latest project…
If there is one thing the LEGO is good at—besides creating some of the best toys of all time—it’s staying in the news. Last week, the company announced their new 7,541-piece Lego Millennium Falcon—the biggest and most expensive set ever released by the company. Created for diehard fans under their Ultimate Collector Series collection, the…
If you’ve ever needed an excuse to buy a 3D printer, let this be the one. YouTuber Matt Denton recently 3D printed an entire LEGO ‘vintage’ Technic kit (#1972—released in 1985) scaled up to a full-sized go-kart. Yes—we’re talking modeling and printing all 98 pieces including the tires. With nearly 170 hours of printing time…
A LEGO Ninjango City model? NO. THE LEGO Ninajgo City. Well, at least the interesting bits that can be economically manufactured and fit economically in a box. The name may be slightly misleading, but the kit is no less impressive. Continuing his penchant for creating amazing LEGO build videos, YouTube user Bart van Dijk has another impressive…
It’s no secret that LEGO designers have always been drawn to supercars as inspiration for new LEGO sets. Whether it’s an F1 racer or a Porsche 911 designed to be assembled after the true-to-life factory assembly process, you can be sure that somebody at LEGO HQ has considered replicating it with the plastic bricks. But…