These are the exciting bricks that open up whole new possibilities in LEGO building. In my experience, the most useful bricks are those that change the direction of the studs or give fine detailing to models. It seems like no matter how many of these bricks I have, they’re never enough. Warren Elsmore has been in love with LEGO since the age of four. These days, he's seen as a LEGO artist, and is commissioned to construct huge models out of the plastic bricks—from Olympic stadia to international train stations. In this excerpt from his new book, Brick City, he lists the ten LEGO pieces he finds most useful. These are the little brothers of the hinge bricks that I remember as a child – small but strong hinges that let you choose the exact angle for your creation. When one stud is just too much! Jumpers are excellent for creating half-stud offset for fine details. Check out the 2x2 Jumper, too. (Officially called an ‘Earling’ after the brick’s inventor) The original ‘Studs Not On Top’ (SNOT) brick, used for headlights on millions of cars.
Its geometry is very clever – the depth of the recess is exactly the height of two plates. Nicknamed the ‘dalek’ in the UK, these are fantastic for creating small columns, as they let you point plates out in four directions. Overlap them and you have eight directions. Nicknamed a ‘ross’, as it is half a ‘davros’ – which, as you will know if you watch Doctor Who, might be described as a half dalek! These bricks give you a simple way of attaching a plate to the side of a brick – for detailing or to use a special brick in an unexpected manner. A new piece introduced in 2012, but so useful! These pieces help where other brackets can’t, and add real strength to your model. Only available in the LEGO® game sets, these parts are suitable for anchoring rods into the floor. A great piece that gives models a really smooth, modern look. These are useful for modelling buildings, vehicles, and even animals. Structural steelwork plays a huge part in modern architecture, and these pieces joined together are just the right shape to model that in LEGO form.
The oldest brick around, and still my personal favourite. Strong, compact, and great for providing structure underneath something delicate.In his new book, Brick City, LEGO artist Warren Elsmore takes readers on a world tour and explores more than 12 global cities and their iconic structures. Each city is examined and recreated in LEGO form. Comprising amazing artwork, exploratory photographs and detailed breakdowns, Brick City looks at the essence of what makes an urban landscape recognizable.It all started with a trip to a Lego store in the United States. Ryan "The Brick Man" McNaught was expecting twins and bought blocks for his future children.When McNaught returned to Australia, before his children were born, he whipped out the blocks and began to build. That was eight years ago. Now, McNaught is one of 14 Lego "certified" professionals in the world. He is a real life master builder, travelling the world making the biggest and best Lego models - and hoping they don't get smashed.
How can you improve your relationship with Lego beyond painfully stepping on an unassuming brick?Start with The Brick Man's 10 best Lego pieces. Lego brick 2 x 4 Most are familiar with Lego's traditional brick."It's the brick I use the most and is by far my favourite, it's very versatile," McNaught said."It is relatively large, we use it a lot with the big sculptures to get to the size relatively quickly." Lego brick 1 x 2. This element will allow you to add fine details to your Lego masterpiece. "At the risk of sounding nerdy, you have knobs going in an x and y axis," McNaught said. "What a jumper plate allows us to do is change that axis in half studs, so you can work in between two studs with a jumper plate." This piece is also referred to as the Washing Machine Brick or the Headlight Brick. "It is really powerful," McNaught said. "It allows you to do crazy geometry." "It has a stud on the side and makes bricks go in different directions."
"It's an amazingly common piece and has the most amount of colours. It allows you to make a nice soft slope for objects like roofs and cars," McNaught said. Unsurprisingly, it's called a "cheese slope" because it looks like a wedge of cheddar cheese. McNaught said this piece is the "spatula of Lego". "In the Lego mathematical system, three plates equals a brick in height," McNaught said. "So what you can do is if you don't want to go as high, you can use a plate." "It is handy, great for filling in gaps." McNaught said the piece could be used for the inside of an arch. "Holes inside the brick allows you to join bricks to pins and axles and are really important in a Lego system," McNaught said. "Use them all the time." Lego 1x1 round brick "Like a Lego brick but round instead of square, if you need to use pillars, (something) cylindrical," McNaught said. "What they allow me to do in my world is to bring models to life," McNaught said.
"I can show emotion, I can show people having fun. For children it's roll-play ... it brings things to life." What is a Lego Certified Professional? It is a community-based program created by adult Lego hobbyists. Though they are not employees, they are officially recognised by the Lego Group as business partners. A Lego Certified Professional is selected based on proficiency, enthusiasm and professional approach towards the building community. Painstaking creations destroyed in seconds It hasn't always been smooth building for the Lego legend. In 2013, McNaught's $25,000 replica of Elvis (a helicopter) was destroyed by youths in a shopping centre in Cairns, Qld. Reports say vandals broke into the centre and ruined his 100,000 piece creation. McNaught said he can now laugh about the incident. "Channel 7 and 9 were at the centre because they had heard there was a helicopter crash." This year a child destroyed a Lego sculpture worth $20,000 in China.