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LEGO mosaic project on Kickstarter

There is an interesting LEGO related project that is looking for funding on Kickstarter right now that I thought to share with you. The project is called Brick-A-Pic, created by LEGO fan Jake Olefsky and his team. They are planning to start an online service that allows you to convert your photo, logo, icon or other image into a LEGO mosaic kit.  You will be able to design, order, build, and hang your mosaic on your wall in just a few easy steps. 🙂

LEGO Mosaic Software by Brick-A-Pic

LEGO mosaics are a great way of using LEGO elements in practical ways; you can recreate family photos, portrays, all kinds of pictures, wall-decorations, company logos, and more. They also make great gifts that people really appreciate because of their unique nature.

LEGO Mosaics by Brick-A-Pick

Creating a LEGO mosaic is actually not that complicated; you just have to pixelize the image then rebuild it with LEGO elements, which are kind of like pixels in the first place. What is complicated with LEGO is to find LEGO colors that matches the original image, and also finding third-party sellers who carry LEGO elements in those colors in the quantities you need. There is an excellent – although a bit dated – software that can help you with the process to convert an image into a LEGO mosaic and we have talked about it before (see links at the end of this post).

LEGO Mosaic Software Example by Brick-A-Pic

What is unique about this new project on Kickstarter is that they don’t just provide a tool that helps you convert an image into a LEGO mosaic, but you can also purchase all the elements needed for the mosaic right there. You won’t end up having to buy parts from different sellers, pay postage on each order separately, and waiting for all the shipments to arrive before you can begin to build your mosaic. So to summarize Brick-A-Pic is planning to provide the following:

  1. Software that correctly converts images into the LEGO palette of colors, optimally places the bricks in the right colors for your LEGO mosaic, and produces a part-list with detailed assembly instructions.
  2. LEGO bricks to take the pain out of ordering everything yourself from various vendors. Brick-A-Pic plans to stock all the LEGO bricks in all the available colors (current and retired), so that you can get the entire mosaic kit from them with one simple step.

As I have mentioned Brick-A-Pic is still in its development stage. They have done some work on the software already, but it will take a designer and a developer an estimated additional 2-3 months to finish. In addition, the Brick-A-Pic team will have to stock up on LEGO elements to be able to provide the kits for the mosaics their customers order.

If you are interested in this project you can help fund it at their Kickstarter page. They are looking to raise $50,000 by mid-August. As you probably know already, Kickstarter is set up in such a way that if a project doesn’t meets its goal by the deadline it won’t be funded at all. If it does meet the minimum then those who backed the project with their pledges will get some perks in the form of being the first to use the LEGO mosaic software when it is fully ready, and also get kits to make their own LEGO mosaic (depending on their level of contribution). You can try out a preliminary version of the software here: Try Brick-A-Pic. And to read further details and help fund the project go  here: Brick-A-Pick Kickstarter Page.

LEGO Mosaic by Brick-A-Pick Try It

So what do you think? How do you like this LEGO mosaic project? Did you ever build a LEGO mosaic? Or would you like to? Feel free to share and discuss in the comment section below! 😉

And you might also like to check out the LEGO mosaics section for more tips, tricks and useful resources or select from the following posts:

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LEGO trains is a well-established sub-hobby within the hobby with fans all around the world. Getting into LEGO trains is not for the faint of heart as it requires substantial investment of money and space. Of course you could just get one LEGO train set and be satisfied with that, however LEGO trains have a way of chugging themselves into your heart and making you want to build bigger layouts with more trains… you have been warned. 🙂

LEGO Train Magazine Railbricks Issue

The best way to see LEGO trains in action is to participate in a LEGO convention open to the public. They almost always have large train layouts and you can chat with the creators to get tips and ideas. There is nothing like seeing LEGO trains in real life, so if you are interested in the hobby I highly recommend you check to see if there is a LEGO convention, or at least a LEGO club near you (some LEGO clubs also specialize in trains).

LEGO Train Railbricks Reviews

If you can’t participate in a LEGO convention and there isn’t a LEGO club near you but you would like to learn more about LEGO trains, the next best thing would be to get in touch with and get inspiration from LEGO train fans online. A great place to start is at railbricks.com. Railbricks publishes a very high quality online magazine with great articles on anything and everything related to LEGO trains.

LEGO Train Magazine Railbricks Issues

The 15th issue of the Railbricks magazine was just released, and it is available as a free download at the railbricks.com website. It includes an interesting editorial on LEGO train layouts by senior editor Elroy Davis, reviews on several of the new LEGO train sets, instructions for building a small diesel train, an interview with professional LEGO Train designers Ricco Rejnholdt Krog and Henrik Andersen, and a lot more. The magazine is over 40 pages long, so there is plenty to see. You can also download all previous issues on the same page, and yes they are all free.

LEGO Train Magazine Railbricks

In addition, the railbricks.com website includes a blog section with more helpful articles, a forum section to interact with other LEGO train fans, a resources page to help you plan out your own LEGO train layout, a gallery of LEGO trains to feast your eyes on, downloadable instructions of LEGO trains (some amazing models here!), a list of the various LEGO train clubs around the world, as well as a calendar for LEGO trains related events.

So if you are interested in LEGO trains, check out railbricks.com. Whether you already have your own LEGO train layout or you are completely new to LEGO trains, I think you will find it valuable. And if you would like to get into LEGO trains you can also check out LEGO’s current selection at the Online LEGO Shop.

Shop LEGO Trains

What do you think? Are you a LEGO train fan? Which LEGO train sets do you have? Or do you prefer to build your own designs? Do you have any tips for those who are new to LEGO trains and would like to get into the hobby? Feel free to share and discuss in the comment section below! 😉

And you might also like to check out the LEGO Trains section for more news, reviews and discussions, or select from the following recent posts:

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