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The Monster Series by The Brick Show

One of my favorite LEGO builders is Tyler Clites (a.k.a. Legohaulic). Tyler is particularly well known for his very expressive brick-built LEGO characters and beautiful spaceships (see his flickr gallery). Recently, Tyler teamed up with The Brick Show to produce a video-series making funny little brick-built characters. They are somewhat similar to the now discontinued LEGO Mixels line, but also have their own uniqueness. 🙂

The episodes are called the Monster Series, and they are posted on The Brick Show’s YouTube channel. In each video, Tyler introduced a new character, and then shows how to build them with step-by-step instructions. The videos are funny, and suitable for young children. Most of the monsters have moving eyes, or mouth, which makes them very expressive. And Tyler has a name for each of them. In the video-player below, you can find all the episodes released so far. Enjoy!

The Monster Series characters use basic LEGO elements, so most LEGO fans should be able to build them without difficulty. Tyler also encourages viewers to mix up the colors and substitute pieces as necessary. After all, there are no hard and fast rules for building monsters. If you have pieces from the LEGO Mixels collection, or you own any of the LEGO Classic sets you are definitely well-stocked for these projects.

It is nice to see skilled LEGO fans reaching out to the younger generation through projects like this, and sharing their LEGO building tips and tricks. This video-series is done so well, it could easily be on LEGO’s own channel. So if you have kids around, or if you just want to do a little doodling with LEGO bricks on a lazy day, check out the videos and start building!

What do you think? How do you like this video-series by Tyler and The Brick Show? Did you build any of the monsters yourself? What other kind of tutorials would like to see? Feel free to share your thoughts and discuss in the comment section below! 😉

And you might also like to check out the following related posts:

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LEGO Classic Creativity Boxes review

LEGO has gotten quite a bit of criticism through the years for not having enough sets with basic LEGO bricks, so in 2015 they re-introduced the LEGO Classic line. However, judging by the number of emails I get from parents and grandparents who complain that they can’t find boxes of basic LEGO elements, it seems like quite a lot of people are still not aware of the LEGO Classic sets, or perhaps they don’t know where to look for them.

I have already written an overall review on the LEGO Classic line (see: LEGO Classic Sets – Review & Thoughts), so I won’t repeat myself, but just as a reminder, LEGO Classic sets include mostly basic LEGO bricks (and a few specialized pieces, like wheels, windows, etc.), in a beautiful rainbow of colors. The packaging of the LEGO Classic sets shows the type, color and number of pieces inside, so you know exactly what kind of combination you are getting. The sets come with no instructions, only a few suggestions, so they are perfect for free-building. (Step-by-step instructions for some of the suggested models are available at the official LEGO Classic website.)

So far, all the LEGO Classic sets have been fairly large, from anywhere between 221 pieces (#10692 LEGO Classic Creative Bricks), all the way to 1600 pieces (#10654 LEGO Classic XL Creative Brick Box). Each box provides plenty of pieces to work with to build some fun models, or you can just use them to bulk up your LEGO collection with basic elements in a wide range of colors. You should be able to find the sets at most well-stocked LEGO retailers (Toys’R’Us, Target, Wal-Mart, etc.), and they are also available directly from LEGO under the LEGO Classic section of the Online LEGO Shop.

While LEGO continues to carry the large LEGO Classic brick boxes, this year they also introduced a collection of tiny LEGO Classic sets. The #10706 LEGO Classic Blue Creativity Box, the #10707 LEGO Classic Red Creativity Box, the #10708 LEGO Classic Green Creativity Box, and #10709 LEGO Classic Orange Creativity Box include about 65 pieces each with some suggested fun models. And they only cost $4.99.

While the LEGO Classic Creative Box sets are small, they are actually really well thought out. Each set comes with basic elements in one color group (blues, reds, greens and yellows), and each set includes suggested models for a vehicle, an animal and a building. In other words, even though the focus of the LEGO Classic line is basic bricks and free-building, you can build something recognizable and playable right away.

LEGO has been releasing some very impressive large sets for collectors with the deepest pockets, but they have been also doing an excellent job with providing inexpensive sets with really good designs. LEGO City, LEGO Creator and LEGO Friends all have very nice small sets, and now LEGO Classic expands the selection. They are basically fun little pocket sets, great for introducing a child to LEGO, or surprising someone with a nice little gift. This wonderful article at Brickset comes to mind, where children in remote places of Mongolia get introduced to LEGO via small LEGO sets. So next time you are looking for gifts for friends, relatives, a charity event, or just something to share with others as you travel, remember that these tiny sets pack a lot of magic.

What do you think? Have you tried any of the LEGO Classic sets? How do you like them? And if you have kids, how do they like the sets? Feel free to share your own review and thoughts in the comment section below! 😉

And you might also like to check out the following related posts:

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