Nerdy About The Bricks
After more than two decades at The LEGO Group, Jan Beyer has stepped into a new role outside the company—but not outside the community. In this final part of our interview, he reflects on the company’s evolution, the friendships he’s built, and what’s next for him in the AFOL community.
Read MoreJan Beyer never planned on working for LEGO—but a chance encounter with a UCS X-Wing changed the course of his life. In this first part of our interview, he shares how his AFOL journey began and how it led to 21 years inside The LEGO Group.
Read MoreCasey McCoy tells the story of the awesome AFOL we all know and love, Simon Liu. From his childhood to when he acquired his LEGO superpowers, you won’t want to miss this origin story!
Read MoreThere are many acronyms, terms and phrases used to describe various LEGO things within the world of AFOLs. But what about all the made-up words we use every day that don’t make it into a standard glossary? Welcome to the AFOL Slang Dictionary.
Read MoreMeet Josh Parkinson—a new talent on the building block. He might just have that Marvel(ous) magic touch or that tubular LEGO build you’ve never known you needed to see.
Read MoreHow do you transition from being a TFOL to an AFOL? Ben Bartlett shares his journey through the LEGO community from military to iron builders and beyond.
Read MoreWhen it comes to collecting LEGO, do you build and then keep sets together or do you part them out into pieces? Or do you fall somewhere in between? Between sets and parts, what kind of AFOL are you?
Read MoreIn the third and last part of our interview with Tormod Askildsen, we chat about the later years of his advocacy of the Adult Fan of LEGO (AFOL) community—and why he feels that his wish to welcome adults in LEGO’s primary target group has finally come true.
Read MoreIn the second part of our interview with Tormod Askildsen, we hear about the beginnings of his mission to get The LEGO Group to pay attention to its ever-growing adult fan base—from the change in the color grey to finding a key ally in Germany.
Read MoreHow did LEGO first discover and engage with the AFOL community? Are Heiseldal sits down with Tormod Askildsen to talk about Mindstorms, minifigures on Mars and more.
Read MoreToday we’ve got guest contributor Jesse Gros’ tale of finding an outlet for his pent-up creativity. You guessed it: LEGO!
Read MoreEver wonder what your non-FOL spouses/partners/friends/family/pets have to endure when you’re on a mission for Brick? Today BrickNerd’s Lorren Loveless’ partner, Kimberly, gives us some insight!
Read MoreTen years ago I discovered the AFOL community… and now I’ve built over 600 MOCs. What is it about LEGO that keeps inspiring me, how has my style developed, and what can you hopefully learn from my journey?
Read MoreWhat better way to celebrate International Women’s Day than to talk to women AFOLs about LEGO? In a decidedly unscientific survey, we asked women AFOLs about their thoughts on different aspects of the hobby.
Read MoreLEGO Masters is a global show—and we have a global, nerdy audience. I had the chance to work with the new version in Norway, so join me as I share some of the behind the scenes of the most northern LEGO Masters show ever!
Read MoreWhat is it really like to be a contestant on LEGO Masters? BrickNerd’s own Maria Straatsma and her husband (and BrickNerd alum) Philip reveal what it is really like behind the scenes of the show from an AFOL’s perspective.
Read MoreLEGO recently hosted an online event where three LEGO employees shared their stories about how they went from fans to official designers. If you weren’t able to attend the event, here is a recap of some of the most interesting parts.
Read MoreBrickvention is Australia's premier LEGO fan event and is typically held each January. As a founding and former member of the organizing team behind the event, it holds a special place in my heart. It started in 2006 after the Australian AFOL community on LUGNET requested a regular event in their own country—quite the task at the time. With humble beginnings of fewer than 50 AFOLs in attendance, Brickvention has since become a popular event for Australian AFOLs and regularly attracts local and international visitors.
Read MoreI sat down the other day with Brickworld’s Mark Larson. Actually, it was just a Zoom meeting. Social distancing, you know, safety first!
ElBarto!: So, this is your first year at the helm of Brickworld. What a challenging time to take over this massive operation! Do you hold a grudge against Bryan? I know I would.
Mark Larson: Not at all.
EB: Not even a little? Be honest.
ML: OK, yeah. A huge grudge. How dare he know the future and sell me the company anyway? He TRULY got out at the right time. Luck was on his side, not mine. Bryan has been amazingly supportive during all of this. He has several times expressed how terrible he feels that this is happening in my first year of ownership. The last thing it is is his, or anyone's fault. And it's only the first year. I purchased a strong brand and the shows are already amazing. It was a good investment, even if it's not immediately paying off. Or even if it's immediately making life incredibly difficult. :D Bryan is the structure behind all of the virtual shows. He's spent a ton of time building the website to have the capability to host the virtual shows and learning a lot in order to make them operate smoothly. I couldn't be doing this without him, but I'd be dead without Kathie.
EB: It's called Brickworld Virtual. As a member of VirtuaLUG, it seems fair that we should get some sort of cut of the proceeds, you know, with the name and all. What do you think?
ML: What percentage of 0 would you like? These virtual events, while I do plan to incorporate them somehow into future in-person shows and even do some virtual events in the future, once this is all over—whenever the Jack Stone that will be—they're no replacement for the live events. These events are great and I'm happy to be continuing to connect the community but they're not a profit-making model quite yet.
EB: I see that the event is going to feature some of the contestants from the Brick Masters TV show. What's all that about?
ML: They will be doing some really fun activities all day. At 11am, 1pm, and 3pm CDT they'll be competing in challenges designed by fans. Stop in and maybe you'll get a chance to design a challenge for them. At noon and 4pm, they will be building #MessagesOfHope for Wish Kids. The Make-A-Wish network is running a social media campaign since #WishesAreWaiting. Stop in and build some messages of hope for them to post on social media for all the Wish Kids who aren't able to have their wishes fulfilled due to social restrictions right now.
EB: Is Amy Corbett going to be there? I really dig her accent. Do you have her contact info?
ML: I love her too. I have a platonic crush on her. I could listen to her talk for days.
EB: I hear that Dave Kaleta is going to be showing off his Alphabet Fighters, and Bart Larrow is presenting his worlds famous Battlestar Galactica. Those guys are so cool, right?
ML: Who? Dave and Bart are doing something else really cool, besides just presenting their amazing MOCs in great detail and sharing their creative secrets with the community, they're doing a build challenge every hour. So, stop in at any hour and participate in a cool challenge and maybe get to show off what you built!
EB: Anything else you want to mention? Are you presenting? I hear you're a pretty decent builder.
ML: Meh, I'm OK. Because I'm at the help desk, I'm not displaying. I designed the Escape House game which will run at 11am, 1pm, and 3pm CDT. Maybe some day I'll find somebody to cover the help desk for me and I'll do some stuff.
So there you have it, folks! Exclusive behind the scenes content on the upcoming Brickworld Virtual. Click on any of the pics in the slideshow to find out more.
There's no description on these charming images by builder manufacturajarema, so it's been up to me to interpret what I see (a dangerous proposition sometimes). What I see is me, or at least someone like me, an AFOL. This looks like an AFOL residing over his table at an event, proudly displaying his work to the public (and waiting for the next event, let's say blind build).
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