Adam Ward hosts a show called Brick x Brick at Soul Pancake on YouTube. They call him the Bob Ross of LEGO, which I find very funny.
Here are some answers to the questions you might have about this book.
Is It Just Another LEGO Creations Book?
Not at all! The great thing about this book is the creativity outlet. The 19 projects offered range from difficult to easy (I wondered about that), and are all pretty neat: they move, they can be worn, they can be used as household items, and they can be made into a work of art that can be hung on the wall.
Do I Need to Buy More LEGO Kits to Use This Book?
Here’s the rub. It is true that the author builds most things with less than 100 LEGO pieces, however, they are special pieces. There is a pretty good list of which ones to choose, and Adam heartily recommends the Pick-a-Brick strategy.
He also offers a pretty good explanatory lists of why some of these special pieces rock. For instance, when we did the flower displayed below, we needed eight ball-and-socket joints, which luckily we had.
What is the Recommended Age Range?
Builds in the book range from extremely advanced to fairly basic. I would say that most savvy LEGO builders will have seen some of the techniques used in this book. However, I would advise to watch the video alongside the explanations on the YouTube channel to really understand how to use pieces in unusual ways.
My favorites were the Artistic Tile creations and the Household Items: you can make a tissue box out of LEGO, a car key holder, a picture frame… all of these are intended for you to know that anything in your house can benefit from LEGO bricks usage.
Any Downsides?
I would seriously advise Adam Ward to change the angle in which the pieces are photographed. There is no way to know the thickness of the piece and we had to improvise with some of the slopes, because there are one-thickness slopes and almost-square-thickness slopes and you could use either. Also, the instructions are move overview based; you have step-by-step instructions but some of the steps expect you to jump ahead, figuring out how each piece fits in.
Final Thoughts
Brick x Brick also has a Brick-abulary, fun facts and weird pieces’ lore, cool recommended LEGO sets, and ideas. This is a book for a more advanced type of builder: my geeky husband and me being more drawn in than my kid, who is still a traditionalist. However, he was amazed by our builds and I’m sure that he will enjoy it way more the more advanced in his building skills he is.
Price: $24.99
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Publish Date: December 01, 2020
Pages: 232
Type: Hardcover
EAN/UPC: 9780593097496
BISAC Categories: Activity Books – General Crafts & Hobbies
