The Unofficial LEGO Builder's Guide

When I began writing ‘The LEGO Builder’s Guide’ I wondered to myself how
many files I would end up with by the end of the process. I create Word
files for each chapter. That’s not very many. I create rendered images for
each chapter. That’s a few more. I created more than 250 images for the
Brickopedia. O.K. now that’s getting into bigger numbers.

Then there’s the photos. Usually 2 or 3 thrown away for every one good shot
I get.

Then there’s the raw scans of hand drawn images or real life objects.

Then there’s the misc support files like the Table of Contents, the index,
the Introduction, and so on. Not many of those, but they did seem to add
up.

Where the real bulk of the files seemed to get produced was during the
rendering of images, that I mentioned earlier. For any one image there is
at least the following files produced:

- base file from LEOCad
- dat file used to begin rendering process
- pov file produced to send to the rendering software
- jpg version of the final image
- bmp version of the final image
- my own resized/cropped version of the final image

And so on.

Well, they really have added up over the last year and a half. All of these
files now total more than 5,200 and take up more than 10 gig of hard drive
space!

So in the end it was more than I could even imagine at the start.

Later,
Allan

It thrills me to see LEGO sets like this:

LEGO Shop: Make & Create: Building Bonanza (4886)

Not only is it a set comprised of many common parts (with a few specialty parts of course) but it’s a good set comprised of many common parts.

It’s my feeling that anyone who would buy and enjoy that set will also be a fan of The Unofficial LEGO Builder’s Guide.

UPDATE: Dec 13/05
When I finally got a chance to build this set I was pleased to see that my initial feelings about it had been right. It reinforces many of the ideas and techniques presented in the book. The house in the official LEGO set actually shares some similar construction techniques with the train station I used in Chapter 3 of ULBG. Though I didn’t realize this until the book had already been published.

AB

As a book nears completion the chapters all go through a stage known as ‘copy editing’. In some ways, this has been my least favorite part of writing this book. Reviewing the chapters is tedious and time consuming. On the other hand, this is the last chance to really add or delete any text that still needs my attention. This has lead to a few cases where the pressure of having to come up with ’something’ has resulted in that something being better than I could have churned out if there were no stress at all.

Having a good copy editor (and I have a great one) is particularly key to this phase for obvious reasons. The reason I see as most important is the fact that this person is putting the final polish on words that you wrote; giving flavor, feeling and meaning to your voice. I think of it as someone putting the final coat of varnish on a wooden table that I’ve built. The table is mine, I crafted the legs and brought together the pieces that make up the top. Now, someone is putting on the stain that will bring out the grain in the wood and give the piece the color that will be the first thing everyone sees. Having a copy editor who knows what hue of stain to use on the table that is your book is critical.

Now… where was I? Oh yes, reviewing copy edits.

Regards,
Allan B.

This past Saturday was a pretty spectacular day where I live. Clear skies, no wind and lots of sun made it the perfect day for a bike ride.

For me, cycling began as a way of avoiding commuting to work by bus. That was a few years ago and I was living then in a much larger city. Today, cycling has become a more relaxing activity, though I still get to work that way so long as there’s no snow on the ground.

My first bike (as an adult cyclist) was a beefy out-dated over-built mountain bike. Not the ideal commuting vechicle, but it got me around. My wife, on the other hand, had gotten a bike a few years ago that was much more comfortable. It was a Norco cruiser, a reproduction of an old 50’s style beach cruiser, complete with white wall balloon tires, shiny chrome fenders and even a cool bell. I knew, from the moment I rode it for the first time, that I wanted a cruiser some day too.

As luck would have it, I found one. Literally. I found a bike that was on its way to the dump and to be honest it looked like that was where it belonged.

Last summer I found a Roby single speed light-weight in pretty rough condition. It had been repainted (at least partially with a brush) and was covered in various layers of rust, dirt and overall neglect. The tires were flat, the chain nearly frozen stiff by lack of oil and the mattress-style saddle looked as though it had hosted one too many fannies in its day.

With a little paint remover and a lot of sweat I stripped the bike completely down, taking the frame right down to the bare metal. In repainting and reassembling it my biggest surprise was that once I was done it still worked! Not bad for a first time bike mechanic.

Here is the before shot:

And here is the same bike a month later:

The only compromises I made to the original style of the bike was to replace the saddle with a more modern gel-filled version and to replace the hand grips with fancy ergonomic versions that make long rides much more comfortable.

The paint is not the original scheme either, but rather a two-tone flat black and cherry red rat rod design that I came up with. This bike looks mean. Well, as mean as a bicycle can look I guess. LOL

Now if you’re a cyclist and you’ve never ridden a single speed before I highly recommend that you give one a try. Borrow one from a friend or drop into your local bike shop and take one out for a tour. Contrary to popular belief, a single speed is not more difficult to ride than a multi-gear monster. In fact, not having to worry about changing gears leaves more time for enjoying the sights.

But remember… if you’re going out for a ride, don’t forget your helmet!

Later,
Allan