Building Instructions Archives

Return to the Upside Down With This Custom LEGO Stranger Things Demogorgon

If you recall back in July of last year, LEGO launched a building contest to celebrate the release of its Netflix tie-in set the LEGO Stranger Things The Upside Down (75810). Entries were submitted then, and of course, what roster of winners will be there without the titular and monstrous custom LEGO Stranger Things Demogorgon. Thanks to Build Better Bricks, we now have an opportunity to build a brick version of this monstrous creature from the depths of the other world.

Designed by Aaron Newman from LEGO Masters US, this custom LEGO Stranger Things Demogorgon comes in 350 pieces and features a moveable head and mouth and plenty of points of articulation allowing for a more dynamic, and fluid movement. Though this model is not exactly the same as that of the runner-up winner from the contest that I mentioned earlier, I prefer the more detailed features of this creation by Aaron.

If you want to relive those edge-of-your-seat moments in Stranger Things using LEGO bricks, I guess now is the best time to do so especially most of us are staying at home. You may head over to Build Better Bricks to purchase the building instructions for this custom LEGO Stranger Things Demogorgon. Your purchase will include a 135-page building guide in rich, PDF format, a parts list, and a Stud.io file for easy importing of the parts needed via Bricklink.

Additionally, you may want to take advantage of B3’s storewide sale where you can get 1 free building instructions for every 2 instructions purchased. You may want to pair-up your custom LEGO Demogorgon, say with a mean-looking custom LEGO Werewolf, or a brick-built Frankenstein to complete your monster trio.

So what will you be building today? Stay safe and keep on building!

Here’s How You Can Have Your Very Own LEGO Ideas Pursuit of Flight Custom Set

If you’re following our blog site for some time now, you may probably have stumbled across the impressive work of Jason Allemann or aka JK Brickworks for most members of the LEGO fan community. He’s been known as the fan builder behind some official LEGO sets released such as the LEGO Ideas Pop-Up Book (21315) and the LEGO Ideas Maze (21305). But in spite of his many accomplishments, he always finds time to give back to the community. And this time around, he is sharing to the world one of his prized creations to show us how we can build our very own LEGO Ideas Pursuit of Flight custom set.

If you recall, the Pursuit of Flight was Jason’s most recent entry to the LEGO Ideas platform that managed to enter the Second 2019 LEGO Ideas Review Stage. However, it was bested by the now approved LEGO Ideas Medieval Castle and Winnie the Pooh. However, in spite of this setback, it did not deter Jason from giving back to those LEGO fans who supported his work. He now makes the building instructions available to the public for free as his way of saying thank you for the 10K support that his LEGO product idea received throughout the years.

If you want to have your own set based on this entry, then you may head over at Jason’s website, JK Brickworks, to download the instructions in PDF format, including its parts list, and a reference to a Rebrickable page so you can check if you have the 367 parts needed lying around in your LEGO collection. You also have the option of motorizing this build, using the Power Functions M-Motor instead of the hand crank. In case you missed it, here is a video demo on how his Pursuit of Flight works.

A huge thanks to Jason for sharing this impressive work for us to enjoy!

Create Your Own LEGO Christmas Tree (40338) With These Building Instructions

In case you missed out on this year’s holiday gift-with-purchase (GWP) set in the form of the LEGO Christmas Tree (40338), you might be interested to know that LEGO’s Customer Service has also uploaded the building instructions to recreate this set. You may download a copy of it right here.

It’s nice of LEGO to make the building instructions for their exclusive promotional sets – such as the Buildable Red Brick for example – available to the public particularly to LEGO fans that may have missed out on this promo. As part of its Black Friday deals, the LEGO Christmas Tree (40338) was only made available for four days from November 29 to December 2, for a minimum single-receipt purchase worth $120 USD. It obviously comes with a relatively higher qualifying purchase as compared to other promos, but as a freebie coming in at 392 pieces and with some pretty nice play features, I certainly have no qualms about it.

Check out its parts list below and see if you have them in your collection. Take note that there are some elements that are relatively rare or were recently introduced making them a bit hard to find. Examples of these are the 1/4 Arch Brick 5×5 in red variant only found in sets such as the exclusive promotional LEGOLAND Park (40346) set, and the LEGO Creator Expert London Bus (10258) from 2017. There’s also the 10×10 Octagonal Plate which can only be found on larger sets such as the LEGO Friends Heartlake City Amusement Pier (41375), LEGO Movie 2 Queen Watevra’s ‘So-Not-Evil’ Space Palace (70838), and LEGO Harry Potter Hogwarts Clock Tower (75948) to name a few. So a bit of improvising may be needed if you don’t have these parts yet.

As much as I understand the idea of giving shopping incentives and freebies to LEGO fans, I wish that LEGO will eventually make the LEGO Christmas Tree (40338), as well as other previously released seasonal gift-with-purchase (GWP) sets such as the LEGO Christmas Carousel (40293) and LEGO Christmas Gift Box (40292) both from last year, available as regular selling items in LEGO brand stores. In my opinion, it will be nice to offer them initially as exclusive freebies but LEGO will be serving the larger LEGO community in general if they will make these sets available for sale later on.

In the meantime, we have at least their publicly available building instructions to thank for as a service to fans. Don’t forget to check out the upcoming promotional freebies this month such as the exclusive LEGO Creator Mini Gingerbread House (40337) and the free LEGO Star Wars Collectible Obi-Wan Kenobi Minifigure (30624) as featured on the LEGO Store December Calendar.

Happy holiday building everyone!

LEGO Batman 1989 Batmobile Limited Edition (40433) Building Instructions Released!

This is another case example of how much a LEGO freebie or gift-with-purchase (GWP) could be in high demand. Last month, it was revealed that a mini-version of the mammoth-sized LEGO Batman 1989 Batmobile (76139) will be offered as a promotional item to celebrate the release of its larger counterpart. Back then, the terms and conditions on how to avail of this promotional item are not known yet. It was only when this month’s LEGO Store Calendar was released that it was finally confirmed that the LEGO Batman 1989 Batmobile Limited Edition (40433) will be an exclusive freebie for those who will purchase its larger, and more expensive, cousin. For those of us who didn’t manage to get a copy of this mini-version of the 80’s classic Batmobile, then we can always head over to LEGO’s Customer Service portal now that the building instructions for this set are finally made available. You may get your copy in PDF format right here.

Truth be told, though the promo period for the LEGO Batman 1989 Batmobile Limited Edition (40433) ran for several days from November 29 to December 5, not all LEGO fans were quite happy about the exclusivity of this free set. In fact, most LEGO fans will agree that at 366 pieces and almost 12 inches in length, this promotional may deserve its own space on store shelves.

As I mentioned, this version was only made available for those who purchased its larger replica. But in case you want to build your very own mini LEGO 1989 Batmobile, then you may want to see if the following parts are available in your LEGO collection.

I guess the difficulty in building this set lies in the (very) limited availability of the new 1x8x1 Brick with Bow element. Other than the recent LEGO Ninjago Empire Temple of Madness (71712), previously released sets that also have an identical part includes the LEGO Marvel Superheroes Royal Talon Fighter Attack (76100) from last year and a similar version of the Batmobile from 2006 which is the LEGO Batmobile Two Face’s Escape (7781).

This new LEGO piece is necessary for those sleek, curved edges prominently seen at the front and back sides of the build of the Mini Batmobile. In the absence of this LEGO element, it will require a bit of a challenge to replicate those fine lines that make this set visually stand out.

A newer version of LEGO’s 1x8x1 Brick with Bow element.

Whatever is the case, do let us know how you intend to go around building this set without this rare piece. Share your thoughts and ideas in the comments below.

Here’s Your Chance to Build Your Own LEGO VIP Exclusive Buildable Red Brick (5006085)

If you recall from last month’s LEGO Black Friday promos, LEGO offered an enticing exclusive freebie for all of its VIP members. The LEGO VIP exclusive Buildable Red Brick (5006085) relatively had a very short window of availability that only ran for two days. It was a sort of a pre-Black Friday promo that ran during the weekends from November 23 to 24.

Needless to say, it’s a great display set to have for any LEGO aficionado, and I understand the frustration of some if they missed out on this promotional. But thankfully, LEGO’s Customer Service has uploaded the building instructions for this freebie so you can build this on your own using any LEGO pieces that you may already have. If you want to give it a try, you can download a PDF copy of this set’s building instructions right here.

Coming in at 65 pieces, the Buildable Red Brick (5006085) is a pretty straightforward build. There are no exclusive parts in this set which consisted mainly of red and black plates, tiles and bricks. Here’s a rundown of its parts list, and try to see if you have them in your collection.

I like the simplicity of this build and I hope that LEGO will release more of these desktop accessories in the future. I love the idea of seeing this buildable brick beside another exclusive which is the LEGO Brick 60th Anniversary Red Pencil Pot (6258618) that I reported way back from October last year. If you’re into buildable LEGO desk accessories, you may also be interested to check out the LEGO Pencil Pot (40188) which is currently at 20% off at LEGO Shop@Home.

Happy building brick fans!

Oh Boy! This Custom LEGO Mickey Mouse Pays Homage to the Most Famous Disney Character of All Time

Perhaps it’s safe to say that Mickey Mouse is Disney’s most brick-rendered character ever since, well, we learned to play with LEGO bricks. Our good ol’ pal Mickey further cemented this title when LEGO and Disney entered into a partnership that gave us our first LEGO sets featuring the iconic mouse. Initially made available as part of LEGO’s Baby Theme, a predecessor to the LEGO Duplo line back in 2000, Mickey continued to be a part of LEGO sets that catered to budding preschool builders. However, during the past 3 to 4 years, LEGO made Mickey’s presence even more felt across its sets now catering to an older generation of LEGO fans who grew up with Disney’s main star. In 2016, we saw our very first LEGO Mickey Mouse minifigure in the LEGO Disney CMF (71012), and the massive LEGO Disney Castle (71040). This year, LEGO added another tribute to the legendary Disney character with the introduction of the LEGO Ideas Steamboat Willie (21317) and the LEGO Disney CMF Series 2 (71024) both of which feature a vintage version of the star.

Furthermore, we also get to see a LEGO Mickey Mouse BrickHeadz edition which gives us our very first official brick-built version of the character. The LEGO fan community was likewise eager to showcase their own custom LEGO Mickey Mouse builds: from a Mecha Mickey Robo to a LEGO Mickey Mouse brick statue, LEGO fans can’t seem to have enough of the most famous mouse of all time.

This time around, Build Better Bricks also pays tribute to Mickey with its own brick-built version of the character while throwing in a couple of play features at the same time. B3’s LEGO Mickey Mouse is a whimsical take on the Disney star’s fun-loving and adventurous spirit. The way Mickey’s face and head turned out is really spot-on, making use of LEGO’s new rounded tiles. There are also a couple of legs and arms articulations that are featured in this original B3 creation which allows you to pose this custom LEGO Mickey Mouse in many different ways.

It’s Mickey Mouse, the most iconic and famous cartoon character of all time. This LEGO model features lots of articulation and allows you to bring a little animation magic to the model. The face, eyes, hands, feet and buttons all make use of some of the new rounded tile pieces which are perfect for this model. Explore some of the fun techniques in the head which capture his iconic look. ~ Build Better Bricks

If you wish to try and build this original creation, then you may want to check Build Better Bricks’ website to purchase the instructions for building this MOC. Coming in at 262 pieces, this B3 original design may include parts that are not yet available in your parts inventory, so your purchase will also include a Stud.io file that allows you to seamlessly buy and transact over at Bricklink for those missing parts. This is also a good time to buy those building instructions that you want since B3 is running a buy 2 get 1 promotional. Hot dog! Happy building!

The LEGO Group Announces LEGO Audio and Braille Building Instructions

The LEGO Group is now taking the play and build experience a step higher. With its goal of making the LEGO system of play accessible to all, TLG today announced a new initiative that will allow children and individuals with visual impairments enjoy the experience of playing with LEGO bricks. The LEGO Audio and Braille Building Instructions utilize artificial intelligence in interpreting visual building instructions in a usable verbal and tactile format. This initiative was first developed by long-time LEGO fan Matthew Shifrin who also happens to be blind. This was later picked up by LEGO where the latter took the initiative of coming up with a soft launch of LEGO Audio Instructions.

The LEGO Audio and Braille Building Instructions are still in its early stages, with four easy-to-build sets receiving its first resources for the blind. LEGO promises to release more building instructions for the visually impaired by 2020, and for other future LEGO sets to be released with such similar free support. Just click on the following links below to know more how this is done.

If you recall, LEGO is very much intentional in making sure that all children benefit from the value of playing with LEGO bricks. Earlier this year, we saw the launch of LEGO Braille Bricks where the LEGO Group aims to develop the love for using Braille among children with visual disabilities. And having an accompanying set of LEGO audio and Braille building instructions and other resources for the blind will give children an opportunity for a new way to build, and to make playing with LEGO bricks more inclusive.

You can read the LEGO Group’s full press release right here.

Make Your Own LEGO Tree In The Woods With These Building Instructions

Last week LEGO brand stores all over launched a promotional Make and Take building event to celebrate the release of the LEGO Ideas Treehouse (21318) set. Marking this event is the promotional LEGO Tree In The Woods – a microbuild of its larger cousin coming in at 53 pieces. LEGO fans who managed to sign-up for this Make and Take Building Event were able to bring home this easy to build, LEGO Tree In The Woods.

I like this set personally, and its many possibilities for inclusion in other MOCs, like minifigure vignettes for example. And for those who were not able to make it during this in-store event (such as me), we have the Brickfinder to thank for, for sharing these instructions online. As you can see from the parts list, there is no particular hard-to-find or exclusive part included (except probably for the leaf elements and the frog figure), so its likely that you have all the parts needed to create your own mini LEGO Tree In The Woods.

The building instruction is pretty straightforward starting with the 6×6 plate. Afterward, it’s simply moving upwards stacking the pieces on top of each other. You may download the building instructions right here as a PDF file, or check out the images right here. Thanks again to the Brickfinder for sharing these to all.

“My Mommy Always Said There Were No Monsters… Only A Vicious-Looking Custom LEGO Aliens Xenomorph”

From a LEGO Facehugger MOC to a custom LEGO parasitic chest buster, it looks like the next step to this nasty alien’s brick evolution has finally arrived. We are all very familiar with that lingering sense of fear of being physically invaded and being turned to a host by that terrifying Xenomorph from the Alien movie franchise. Over the years, director Ridley Scott’s vision of this dreaded alien powerhouse managed to become a sort of pop culture icon immortalized in many different forms. And this time, our brick rockstars from Build Better Bricks managed to capture the alien’s final form in a custom LEGO Aliens Xenomorph.

Coming in at 599 pieces, this latest offering from B3 gives you an ultra-realistic version of this iconic monster, complete with all the fine details of the alien creature from the 1980s. For example, this alien’s head is perfectly replicated using shoulder pad pieces and Technic click hinges, while the mouth can be opened and even placed with a tiny, inner jaw. For added realism, a transclear 1×4 antenna may be connected underneath its mouth for that menacing drool.

Another cool feature of this build is its highly articulated and flexible tail, thanks to its use of Technic ball joints. These joints allow the custom LEGO Xenomorph to be posed in many different ways as well. The way in which these joints are connected also closely resembles the monster’s tail and skeletal structure as seen in the movie. These and the rest of the build’s features are aptly explained by Tyler in this latest B3 video. Watch this.

If you wish to add this to your collection of movie-inspired builds, then be sure to check out Build Better Bricks for details on how you can build this MOC. For a minimal amount, you get a 70-page building instruction, a parts list to see if you have the necessary LEGO pieces to assemble your own custom LEGO Xenomorph and Stud.io file that will help you find and purchase any missing parts from Bricklink.

This custom LEGO Aliens Xenomorph follows B3’s collection of high-quality building instructions inspired by other film franchises such as those from Star Wars, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Carribean, Marvel, and my personal favorite, Lord of the Rings.

Building Instructions for LEGO SDCC 2019 Exclusive Sets Now Available

For LEGO fans who were not able to join in this year’s San Diego Comic-Con and thus have access to the LEGO SDCC 2019 exclusive sets that are to be found in the LEGO booth, this might be our chance to have our own versions of these. LEGO Customer Services was kind enough to upload the building instructions for this three LEGO SDCC 2019 exclusive sets: the LEGO Star Wars Sith Trooper Bust (77901), the LEGO Marvel Superheroes Captain Marvel and the Asis (77902), and LEGO DC Comics The Dark Knight of Gotham City (77903).

Check out the building instructions for each of these sets by clicking on the following links.

LEGO Star Wars Sith Trooper Bust (77901)

LEGO Marvel Superheroes Captain Marvel and the Asis (77902)

LEGO DC Comics The Dark Knight of Gotham City (77903)

Though there are no exclusive parts included in these sets save for the 2×3 special anniversary printed tile that goes with the Dark Knight of Gotham City (77903), the rest are relatively common. There are also a couple of first-for-2019 parts that are still exceptionally rare like the Black 1X2 Roof Tile used in the Sith Trooper Bust, and the Medium Stone Gray 2×2 Inverted Plate with Snap for the Captain Marvel and the Asis, both of which are found only in 4 to 5 sets. With some improvision, these parts can be somehow replaced if you’re not the completionist type.

If you need a handy tool to know if you have all the necessary parts needed to build these sets LEGO SDCC 2019 exclusive sets, then you may want to check out Rebrickable. Not only does the site have the needed parts inventory from these sets, but it also features a handful of powerful search tools to help you see if you have all the parts that you will require as compared against the LEGO sets that you currently have. It also allows you to connect to Bricklink or Brickowl to directly purchase any missing LEGO parts to third-party sellers if in case you need to find that rare piece.

So what do you think about this collection of LEGO SDCC 2019 exclusives? Which one will you build this weekend?