CONTENTS
// THE SORT 06 A LEGO legend 08 What’s New and Next 09 Continuing the Infinity Saga 10 Ideas latest 11 Brick Central 12 Better than gold? 13 Secrets we’ve spotted in... 14 Build Challenge 16 Meet… G La Brique 18 Latest from LEGO House 19 Gaming Download 20 Screen Time 21 Restoring Notre-Dame 22 Top 10 24 In other news… 25 The Lost Elements 26 The Brick Debate 28 Contest of the Month 30 What’s new at BrickLink 31 Five things we’ve learned 32 This LEGO Life
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// FEATURES 34 Dangerous dreams DREAMZzz Design Director Cerim Manovi reveals how he and his team came up with a compelling second year adventure and some of the strangest LEGO models ever conceived.
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48 Launching a LEGO space mission Hans Burkhard Schlömer didn’t have to plan a mission to the Moon, but he took on a challenge almost as intricate – recreating the Artemis Space Launch System as a LEGO display model.
to plan a a challenge temis lay model.
58 Tubes not on bottom Sideways building could have happened decades before fans popularised the technique – in fact, the LEGO Group dreamed up an entire new element 60 years ago... the TNOB brick.
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88 Five years of monkey business Senior Designer Xiaodong Wen explains how five years of fruitful collaboration led to 80054 Megapolis City, a huge set that celebrates Monkie Kid’s first big milestone.
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96 Modulex: The forgotten system Modulex pivoted in response to what users needed and found success, then decades later pivoted again to become a signage company.
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4 | Blocks
Editor GRAHAM E. HANCOCK A LEGO expert who can’t remember life without the brick, Graham loves using that knowledge to bring Blocks to readers every single month. Build Expert & Historian DANIEL KONSTANSKI Both a builder and a collector, Daniel has extensively researched the LEGO Group’s history, making him an unrivalled fount of knowledge. Build Specialist SIMON PICKARD If there’s a way to put two bricks together, Simon knows it. He’s an experienced builder who is always discovering new techniques.
Features Writer KAT REES-JAUKE This life-long brick fan is always ready to dig deep into the latest sets to find out how they were conceptualised, designed and developed. Features Writer ANTHONY WALKER-COOK With a passion for fantasy sets but a penchant for any box that features the LEGO logo, Anthony covers every aspect of the brick experience. Reviews Writer DAVE CARTLIDGE Whether it ’s from Marvel Super Heroes, Friends, Technic or any other theme, Dave has the LEGO build know-how to assess the latest sets.
Build Curator GENEVA DURAND A 2x2 pillar of the community, Geneva is a respected member of the online creative LEGO scene with an expert eye for the best builds out there. News Writer RYAN EVERLETH This LEGO aficionado has eclectic tastes, including Star Wars, Ideas and The Lord of the Rings. He always has a take on the latest news. Photographer PHIL WRIGHTON Models never look better than when this prize-winning LEGO photographer has worked his magic to produce beautiful Blocks covers.
