I started my Mickey Mouse (based off Paul Lee‘s, which was in turn inspired by the Lowell Sphere) with no intention to follow up beyond the original build, but it’s morphed into seven builds so far. The last of those builds is this Minnie, which I originally wrote off as uninteresting and not possible with the color palette LEGO currently offers. I was wrong on both counts; once I found that there was an “official, non-standard” (red dress with white polka dots) version of Minnie, I decided to give it a go, and I’m really happy with where it ended up. My daughter is too.
Tag Archives: brucelowell
Mickey Mouse
My friend (and amazing artist and builder) Paul Lee was inspired by the Lowell Sphere to build a Mickey Mouse back in 2011. I’ve always liked how it turned out and wanted to make my own. It ended up taking on a life of its own and has resulted in six different Disney character builds (so far); this is the first of them.
Banana Stand
“There’s always money in the Banana Stand!“
Since I posted my original Banana Stand in 2015, I’ve received many requests for instructions, sets, stickers, etc. Since then I’ve been able to refine the design and, more importantly, have some professionally printed and die-cut stickers made up for the MOC. I heard the calls for making this available loud and clear. I wanted this to be a special kit; my first publicly available kit that incorporated full color PDF instructions, custom figures, high quality stickers, all in a fun build and a nice package!
CLICK HERE or on one of the pictures to pre-order your Banana Stand today over at my Web Store!
- Pre-orders will start March 14th 2019
- All pre-orders will also receive a “Banana Man” mini-figure!
- Kits are expected to ship on Cinco de Cuatro, May 4th 2019
Bananas
Donut Shop
This was a collaborative build with David Costa. It was a lot of fun working with him, and the best thing about it is that instructions are available. Click the link below:
BricksLA 2019 MOC of Note Trophy
Following up on the trophies I made for BricksLA 2018, I also built three of these “MOC of Note” trophies for BricksLA 2019, which was held in Pasadena, CA earlier this month. It was a perfect followup to my LEGO “sports” trophy, and maintained the theme from 2018.
The funny thing is, I actually won one of these trophies for my Los Angeles City Hall MOC that I (re)debuted at the show!
BricksLA 2018 MOC of Note Trophy
I built three of these “MOC of Note” trophies for BricksLA 2018, which is held annually in Pasadena, CA in the month of January. It was a perfect opportunity to build a LEGO “sports” trophy; I’ve had some pictures saved in my ideas folder for about 5 years so I’m glad I was able to follow through on it.
I also built MOC of Note trophies for BricksLA 2017 but I don’t think I have any pictures saved unfortunately.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers LEGO Ideas Project – Support Achieved!
I’m delighted to say that the LEGO Ideas Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Project has received 10,000 supporters! A huge THANK YOU to everyone who’s supported this project. What does this mean for the project now? Now that the project has achieved the required 10,000 supporters, it has gone into the LEGO Review phase. Beginning in May and lasting for several months, this project (along with several others) will be evaluated by a LEGO review board to see if it can become a new LEGO Ideas set. If it does get picked, there will then be several more months of design and production before it hits shelves. Let’s hope that happens! 🙂
Regarding the possibility of Saban Brands signing a deal with the LEGO group while already having a deal with another brand (MEGA), Jason Bischoff (Director of Global Consumer Products for Saban Brands) put those fears to rest pretty early on with a post on RangerBoard.com, saying:
“It is a non-exclusive deal […] there is nothing about the MEGA deal that prevents us from exploring LEGO ideas.”
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers LEGO Ideas Project – MEGAZORD!
To (more tangibly) celebrate passing the halfway point on this project, I wanted to build part of the Megazord. It has a removable sled that comfortably fits all five Power Rangers, too! Please continue to spread the word! #LEGOMMPR
SUPPORT THIS PROJECT on LEGO Ideas!
In Which I Redesign My LEGO Wall
This past month I undertook a project several years in the making, and at least one year overdue: redesigning my main LEGO wall. This is what my wall looked like as of the start of the project:
I wanted to document this process since I’ve received a lot of questions and comments over the years about my LEGO organization. If you follow me on Instagram, you might’ve seen some in-progress shots of one side of the wall. Also, since today is the two year anniversary of my website going public, I thought I’d try posting something new and different.
I’ve been using the above space as my LEGO studio for about five years now, and my vision for what I need and want out of the space has vastly changed in the time that I’ve been building in it. This wall, for instance, was originally intended to hold up at least forty-five Stack-On containers (they make 18, 39, and 60 drawer options in this size). This was my main means of organizing my LEGO bricks between roughly 2003 to 2010, and it worked well in my previous work space.
Many factors, including the increasing size of my collection, the depth of the drawers and the change in building space, caused me to almost completely outgrow this method. Back around 2005 I bought forty-eight Sterilite 3-drawer containers, and have moved on to more than double to a current total of 100 (only one will be pictured here). Interesting side note: it’s really crazy seeing the price of the Sterilite containers more than double since I first started purchasing them, from about $5.00 to about $12.00 on average.
I’ve become very fond of using Darice bead organizers mostly because of their price (consistently $2.00 each) but also for their functionality for sorting specific smaller elements that need more separation than a Stack-On or Sterilite drawer will offer.
Over the years, certain part types and colors have outgrown single Darice containers. I was searching for a few different options (including using two Darice containers for single part types) but finally settled last year on Plano organizers for their versatility, compatible size (two Darice containers fit perfectly on top of one Plano container) and price (about $2.50 each; I got really lucky and found a bunch on massive discount).
Now that we’re past the primer on the types of containers I use and why, we can get on to the whys and hows of this remodel. As I mentioned, my collection outgrew the Stack-On containers but the original shelving I used was still geared specifically for them. The containers were bolted to the wall, and because of how I made the shelving, they were angled back so that when an earthquake hits (when, not if; California’s due for one soon!) the containers and drawers shouldn’t fly forward. The shelves were only 8″ deep, and the Darice bead organizers are about 11″ wide and the Plano containers about 11″ deep, so both stuck out around 3″. I also needed more shelves between the original three levels meant for the Stack-On containers, so that the Darice and Plano containers wouldn’t be stacked too high and/or putting too much weight on the shelves.
The original wood paneling on the wall was nice (I guess), but a big chunk was missing out of the top right corner. I wanted to have lighter walls (that actually covered the entire wall) and that would allow for more shelves above the top shelf, maximizing the amount of shelving and allowing for growth in the future; if there’s one thing I’ve noticed about my LEGO collection is that it only gets bigger. Lastly, I wanted the shelves to be legitimately earthquake proof; having not just more and deeper shelves, but shelves that would secure the containers on them when the next big quake comes around. After much note taking, plan drawing, and cost calculating, I was ready to go.
TL;DR: Wall bad, need to make good.
Continue to Page 2 in which we’ll tear down and rebuild the wall!