Become a LEGO Master Book Review

I am far from a LEGO master, but I have great admiration for people who can turn simple bricks into works of art. From re-creating famous buildings to making mosaics of artwork or photos or even three-dimensional sculptures, there are so many things you can do beyond what even the most intricate kits suggest.

Thanks to No Starch Press for providing a review copy of this book, plus a discount code and giveaway copies (see below for more).

Deepak Shenoy is an engineer and AFOL (aka adult fan of LEGO) who is known for making skyscrapers and other famous landmarks out of LEGO. (Check out his Instagram page to see some of his builds.)

His book The LEGO Builder’s Handbook is aimed at adults who want to build beyond the kits and who aren’t afraid of a little math to help them make accurate models and do things you might not have thought possible with bricks such as sideways building, angled walls, round shapes, mosaics and sculptures.

Learning the Basics of Designing with LEGO

The book begins by talking about the history of the LEGO system and why LEGO is such a great tool for building beyond purchased kits. Because the pieces have always been made to exacting specifications, blocks of any age can fit together, and the way they are designed to fit makes them strong as well as being able to be reconfigured in countless ways.

Shenoy gives an overview of the different kinds of LEGO pieces including bricks, plates, tiles, round elements and Technic pieces, and explores units of measure in the LEGO world. All of this information is helpful to know as you work to become a LEGO master and build your own structures or read through the logic of how building different objects works.

There’s also a lot of talk about scale and how to make projects look right in brick form. While using minifigure scale (about 1:42 compared to the size of an average human adult) works fine for some projects, really large builds will need to be scaled even smaller to make them logistically possible.

For example, building the Empire State Building at a 1:42 scale would produce a model that’s 35 feet tall, much too big, heavy and expensive to make. Shenoy goes into a lot of detail into how he designed an Empire State Building model that’s appropriately sized with a good level of detail and is also structurally sound. It’s easy to see why he’s a LEGO master!

LEGO Building Techniques

The LEGO Builder’s Handbook has a lot of great information on how to make projects that work well and hold together. YOu’ll learn about different ways to orient bricks for strength, building internal support structures and creating sloped roofs.

You’ll also learn some amazing LEGO master techniques like using jumper plates to offset pieces from each other (to make recessed windows, for example), building sideways (which uses the acronym SNOT, or studs not on top) and building angled walls. There’s a good bit of geometry involved, but if math makes you glaze over you don’t necessarily need to know how to calculate it to know that it works.

In addition the book covers making round shapes like domes and spheres. There are lots of great diagrams to walk you through the techniques and descriptions of the exact kinds of blocks you need to make them.

Digital LEGO Masters

These days you can also use your computer to help you design the project of your dreams. Computer-assisted builds are ideal for things like mosaics, where you’re basically painting with bricks to make a realistic design. Shenoy takes you through the different kinds of mosaics and how to create your pattern with the help of design software.

You’ll also see how to make 3-D models using computer programs and the different ways they can be put together.

Because this book has no actual models or patterns for you to follow, you might still have questions on how to get started with your own designs, so a next steps section at the back of the book covers some frequently asked questions such as:

• What’s the best way to design a project?
• How do I know what pieces I need?
• How do I store all my LEGOs?
• Should I build digitally or using real pieces?

Because I’m not much of a LEGO builder myself, this book kid of blew my mind with the possibilities and it inspired me to want to try to build more creative things with bricks. If you’re already an AFOL or an older kid who likes to build outside the box, this book is sure to inspire you and give you the tools you need to create whatever you want, brick by brick.

Discount Code

If you’d like to get your hands on this book and become a LEGO master in your own right, you can buy it direct from the publisher and use code OURDAILYLEGO to get 25 percent off the purchase price. This offer is good through Oct. 19, 2024.