While I was recently browsing BrickLink.com, I found a very interesting product that I thought to share with you. As you probably know already, BrickLink is the Unofficial Online LEGO Marketplace where you can find everything LEGO ever produced; be that LEGO elements, instructions, minifigs, original boxes, gift items and more. Many people don’t know thought that BrickLink also has a Custom Items section where people sell LEGO related accessories. It is a really interesting place to browse for unusual items, and here is where I found what I wanted to show you today: LEGO Minecraft themed baseplates! 🙂
I never saw these LEGO Minecraft baseplates before, but I thought they would be perfect for the LEGO Minecraft sets, and I wanted to learn more about them. So I contacted the store owner, Paul. He told me that the baseplates (he calls them “slabs”) are made of an extra thick plastic, so they don’t bend or bow like LEGO’s baseplates tend to do. The baseplates are white, and then a patented process is used to paint the patterns on the top. He said the paint is very durable and does not come off even after regular use. This made me even more interested, and Paul kindly sent me one.
These LEGO Minecraft baseplates are 12 x 12 inches, or 38 x 38 studs. The studs are fully compatible with LEGO and other similar building blocks. The studs are a perfect fit; LEGO bricks, plates, or minifigs you place on them fit just fine and won’t fall off. I have also tried attaching large plates and bricks, as if there is any miniscule discrepancy in the size or placement of the studs it may not show up on small surfaces, but would in larger ones, but everything fit perfectly well. And LEGO DUPLO bricks fit as well.
And yes, the paint appears to be very strong. It is only painted on the surface of the slab and the top of the studs, so attaching and detaching LEGO elements won’t cause any harm even after repeated use. Maybe after seriously rough play for a long period of time the surface may scratch, but I have tried to scrape off the paint and couldn’t.
Another interesting feature of these LEGO Minecraft baseplates is that they have a lip on two of the four sides. This allows the plates to overlap and create a smooth, even surface. The corners are also sharp instead of rounded, for the same reason; to be able to create a larger unbroken surface. You can use them to cover the top of a play-table or even as a base for wall-mosaics. And of course you can also use them alone if you like.
The bottom of the LEGO Minecraft baseplates has a waffle pattern to give them extra strength and durability, as you can see on the picture below. You can’t attach LEGO elements to the bottom, but this is the case with regular LEGO baseplates as well.
Paul currently offers three different kind of patterns for LEGO Minecraft fans: one with tan and brown colors, the other is tan and green colors, and the third is red and yellow colors. The colors are pretty close to LEGO’s own color palette. In addition to these, he also carries the same LEGO compatible baseplates in solid colors like white, yellow, red, green, blue, tan and black. These are great alternatives for those who are looking for large sturdy baseplates for their LEGO projects. And as I have mentioned, these are also excellent for covering play-tables, and creating surfaces for mosaics. They are much sturdier than LEGO’s own baseplates and I really can’t find anything negative to say about them.
I have to say I really like these baseplates, especially the ones with the Minecraft pattern. I’m a big LEGO Minecraft fan and have all of the LEGO Minecraft Micro World and several of the minifigs size sets as well. The pixelated pattern on the baseplates is 2×2 studs, so it especially fits well the minifig size LEGO Minecraft sets, as they are based on the same pixel size. You can find all the LEGO Minecraft sets at the Online LEGO Shop.
If you are interested in these LEGO Minecraft baseplates, or the solid color slabs, Paul has a store on BrickLink called PaulMartStore where he sells them (just click on the link and look under the Custom Items tab once you are in the store). The baseplates with the Minecraft pattern are $19.99 and the solid color baseplates are $14.99. Paul also sells the baseplates on eBay if you prefer to shop there: PaulMartStore on eBay. And you can also find him on Amazon, where he also sells the plates (search for “slab” once you are in the store): PaulMartStore on Amazon
If you have any questions about these custom LEGO baseplates that I haven’t covered above just let me know. Also, if you have any questions for Paul, you can post those here as well and I will make sure he sees them. So how do you like these custom LEGO baseplates? And what do you think of the ones with the Minecraft pattern? What other patterns would you like to see? Feel free to share and discuss in the comment section below! 😉
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