The Unofficial LEGO Builder's Guide

Today was something new for me. It was the first interview I did for the book. Luckily Jason Meserve from NetworkWorld.com is a really easy guy to talk to, so that made it a fun experience for me.

You can find the downloads for the interview here:

http://www.networkworld.com/research/2005/0829radio.html

Of course afterward I had a few of those thoughts like, “Oh, I should have mentioned this…” and “I should have answered such and such differently.” but all in all I think it went o.k.

Regards,
Allan B.

A quick blurb posted to a blog on Make.

http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2005/08/the_unofficial.html

Every little bit helps.

Allan

This was the press release that went out from O’Reilly today. As always, please email me with any comments or questions. Or, drop by apotome.com to learn more about the book.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media contact: Patricia Witkin
patricia@nostarch.com
415.863.9900 x303

UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO THE BASICS - AND NOT-SO-BASICS OF BUILDING WITH
LEGO BRICKS

Longtime hobbyist lays firm foundation for building with LEGO elements

August 24, 2005, San Francisco - Bridging the gap between instructions
included with LEGO sets and the unlimited world of freestyle LEGO
building, The Unofficial LEGO Builder’s Guide (No Starch Press,
September ‘05) is a nuts-and-bolts approach to making original models
from those famous plastic bricks. Written by Allan Bedford, a lifelong
LEGO fan whose most ambitious model to date is a 5,000-piece replica of
Toronto’s famed CN Tower, this new title draws together core techniques,
principles and reference information.

Focusing on building actual models with real bricks, The Unofficial LEGO
Builder’s Guide includes complete instructions for building several
models but also encourages readers to use their imaginations to create
their own fantastic designs. While the book incorporates basic engineering
and architecture principles, its tone is friendly, light-hearted and
geared toward helping readers of all ages get the most fun out of the
popular pastime.

Inside The Unofficial LEGO Builder’s Guide, readers will learn:

-The best ways to connect bricks and how best to use those patterns
-Tricks for calculating and building to scale
-How to think and build in 3-D
-Step-by-step plans to create a train station on the scale of LEGO people
(a.k.a., “minifigs")
-How to build spheres, jumbo-sized LEGO bricks and micro-scaled models
-An end-to-end design exercise for creating a mini space shuttle
-Tips for sorting and storing LEGO pieces

The Unofficial LEGO Builder’s Guide also includes the “Brickopedia,”
a visual guide to nearly 300 of the most useful and reusable elements of
the LEGO system, with historical notes, common uses, part numbers, and the
year each piece first appeared in a LEGO set.

“Although age-old, LEGO building seems to be more popular than ever,”
said Bill Pollock, founder of No Starch Press. “Allan’s book takes the
LEGO building hobby seriously and does a great job of spelling out the
fundamentals so that anyone can become a master builder.”

The Unofficial LEGO Builder’s Guide will appeal both to children who are
ready for more ambitious projects and adults who are rediscovering the joy
of building with LEGO elements - as their own hobby or one to share with
their kids.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Allan Bedford is an active member of the online LEGO
community, having contributed ideas and discussions for several years.
He works as a business analyst by day and spends his spare time cycling,
designing board games and, of course, building with LEGO bricks.

The Unofficial LEGO Builder’s Guide by Allan Bedford
September 2005, 376 pp., $24.95, ISBN 1-59327-054-2
Available at fine bookstores everywhere, from www.oreilly.com/nostarch, or
directly from No Starch Press (www.nostarch.com, orders@nostarch.com,
800.420.7240).

ABOUT NO STARCH PRESS: Founded in 1994, No Starch Press is one of the few
remaining independent computer book publishers. We publish the finest in
geek entertainment - unique books on technology, with a focus on Open
Source, security, hacking, programming, and alternative operating systems.
Our titles have personality, our authors are passionate, and our books
tackle topics that people care about. See www.nostarch.com for more. (And
by the way, most No Starch Press books use RepKover, a lay-flat binding
that won’t snap shut. Hungry geeks love it.)

LEGO, the brick configuration and the minifigure are trademarks of the
LEGO Group, which is not responsible for this publication. Copyright 2005 The
LEGO Group. All rights reserved.

# # #

Question: What is the Brickopedia?

Answer: The Brickopedia is a feature that is unique to The Unofficial LEGO Builder’s Guide. This section of the book is technically Appendix A, but I have always referred to it as the Brickopedia to better describe what readers would find in it. It is, as the name suggests, an encyclopedia of sorts. And of course as you can guess it’s an encyclopedia of LEGO elements.

Does it contain all the available LEGO elements? No, it doesn’t. Instead, It contains nearly 300 of what I felt were some of the most core elements to the system. They are among the most basic and reusable pieces that represent the elements most useful to just about any LEGO builder. Theme specific pieces, or pieces that were too specialized were not included. However, many of the pieces that were included will no doubt remind even the most hard core builder just how amazingly versatile the LEGO system really is.

Here is a sample entry taken directly from the book:

As you can see, the Brickopedia isn’t just a collection of pictures of parts, but rather tries to provide some contextual information to help builders judge the usefulness of each part. Additionally, the Brickopedia is organized in a somewhat different way than other databases used to track LEGO pieces. It is broken down by the similarities shared by pieces, rather than by a strict taxonomy. I felt that it was time to revisit the way pieces were categorized and named and in some cases I made minor changes to better suit the way the Brickopedia was set up.

The Brickopedia was created specifically for The Unofficial LEGO Builder’s Guide and is not meant to replace any of the other systems out there used to categorize bricks. Rather, it is simply meant to provide another perspective on the system and of course to match the descriptions given within the rest of the book.

Have you got a great Brickfest experience you want to share? If so, be sure to check out the contest that was announced on LUGNET yesterday. Joe Meno, the Editor/Publisher of BrickJournal and my friends at No Starch Press have worked together to come up with a neat contest that could see you winning a copy of The Unofficial LEGO Builder’s Guide. The contest closes September 9, 2005 so be sure to sit down and relive your fav Brickfest moment soon!

Allan

O.K. sometimes it’s the little things in life that make you smile. I just recently discovered a podcast called “BimPCast". You can find the website here:

Now let me back up. I actually just discovered the whole idea of podcasting, thanks to BimPCast. Yes, I know I’m behind the times, but I only just got an MP3 player about 6 months ago, so I’m getting up to speed as quickly as I can.

So this past weekend (Aug 12 - 14 / 05) was Brickfest but unfortunately I wasn’t able to attend. To my pleasant surprise, BimPCast was there in the guise of Steven Combs and his delightful co-host Nikki. I was thrilled to listen to their light but insightful reporting on many of the events over the course of the three days. Once the weekend was over, I went back to the Bricks in my Pocket site and downloaded some of the older podcasts.

I was listening to show #10 featuring an interview with Joe Meno, Editor of The BrickJournal. Of course, back in the spring I’d written a short piece for the first issue and during the course of the podcast I was surprised to hear Steven mention my instructions for the fire engine. It was just one of those little moments in life, as noted above, that make you smile. So thanks Steven!

Regards,
Allan B.

In anticipation of the upcoming release of The Unofficial LEGO Builder’s Guide I have begun to expand Apotome.com. There you will find information about the Design Grids and also links to websites where the book is available for pre-order.

So if you haven’t yet taken a minute to visit Apotome.com why not click on the picture above and find out even more about the book.

Regards,
Allan B.

I’ve already had a couple of nice emails from people who’ve downloaded and read the sample chapter that is available from No Starch Press (my publisher). I just wanted to post a quick follow-up and reiterate the fact that I’m always interested in hearing what you think about any aspect of the Unofficial LEGO Builder’s Guide.

That could be:

• What you think of the sample chapter
• What are your thoughts on the cover art for the book?
• How did you find out about the book? I’m curious to know how the website and this blog are working as marketing tools.
• What type of LEGO builder are you, and what do you hope the book will provide?

Or really just any comments you’d like to pass along. Please feel free to email with your thoughts.

While I’m thinking of it, here’s another page you might be interested in… have a read through the Table of Contents for the book. And of course, let me know what you think.

Best regards,
Allan B.

Interested in a peak inside The Unofficial LEGO Builder’s Guide? Then why not download the free sample chapter now available from No Starch Press.

The sample is Chapter 6, that deals with microscale models. Along with a discussion of designing at microscale it also includes complete instructions for a tiny house.

Allan

Despite the fact that the shuttle fleet is now grounded, it was impossible to escape the fact that today’s space walk and repair mission wrote a new chapter into manned spaceflight history. Many months ago, as I was writing Chapter 10 of the book I wondered to myself if anyone would be interested in a shuttle model. Afterall, the Columbia tragedy was still relatively recent and at the time it looked as though the return to flight was still a long way off for NASA. But watching a live video feed of the repair operation this morning made me remember why I’d wanted to include a spacecraft in the book in the first place. It may not have been as exciting as the first moon walk, but watching an astronaut (from the POV of his own helmet cam) reach out and work on his own ship while in space was a memory I won’t soon forget.

Allan