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Custom LEGO printing by CitizenBrick

by Thita (admin) on May 10, 2013

in LEGO Customizers

Today I would like to introduce you to a LEGO customizer we haven’t talked about before, CitizenBrick.com. CitizenBrick offers custom printed LEGO minifigures, tiles, and various other printed LEGO elements. And by custom printed I don’t mean decals, stickers or paint. These are premium pad-printed LEGO elements with the exact same quality as LEGO’s own printing; the designs are amazingly detailed, the colors are brilliant (including metallic colors), and the printing is durable for play.

I have been eyeing CitizenBrick products for quite some time now, but it was only recently I decided to place an order. The custom printed LEGO minifigure that inspired me to place my first order is the limited edition Jungle Commando pictured below. The design and printing looked so impressive I just had to have one. And now that I have him right here on my desk, I’m even more impressed! His torso is fully printed front, back, and on both arms. His legs are printed on the front and both sides, and even his feet are printed! His head is also printed as well as his camo had-wrap. Let me tell you; this little guy is a work of art from head to toe! 😀

Custom LEGO Jungle Commando by CitizenBrick.com

CitizenBrick offers other custom printed LEGO minifigures with incredible quality. Many are military related, but there are also some very unique ones like the “Ink Enthusiast” with beautifully detailed tattoos. I mean he has a fully detailed sailing-ship tattooed on just one leg! 🙄

Custom LEGO Tattoed Minifigure by CitizenBrick

Fully custom printed LEGO minifigures are not cheap, (usually $15-$20 each) however you can still enjoy the quality printing and artwork of CitizenBrick by just getting printed minifigure parts: minifigure heads, legs, torsos, hats, helmets and other accessories.

Custom LEGO Printed Heads by Citizenbrick

Custom LEGO Zombie Parts by CitizenBrick

Some of my most favorite products from CitizenBrick are these adorable minifigure babies. The head-piece is actually a custom part, not just a printed LEGO element. There is also a zombie-version of the baby. 😈

Besides custom printing LEGO minifigures, CitizenBrick also offers custom printed LEGO tiles. In my opinion these are some of their best products and most useful for LEGO fans. There is a wide array of wood-grain printed tiles, cobble-stone printed tiles, steel-plate printed tiles, and tiles with various warnings. Even a few of these can really enhance a LEGO creation and give it realistic detail. I would highly recommend these. The printing on them is smooth, beautiful and durable.

Custom LEGO Printed Tiles by CitizenBrick

CitizenBrick is run by Joseph Trupia from Chicago. His website where you can see all of his products is CitizenBrick.com. He also goes to LEGO conventions, if you would like to meet him personally. I also recommend checking out his Flickr Gallery where he shows off new products, his work-in-progress projects, and takes suggestions for other custom LEGO printed elements and minifigures.

So would I recommend CitizenBrick’s products? Absolutely! I’m highly impressed with the quality of the print, the color-match to LEGO’s colors, the artwork of the designs and the durability of the printed elements. I’m very happy that I ordered some of their products, and I’m sure you will be happy too if you decide to try them. 🙂

Here is something from CitizenBrick’s website that pretty much summarizes what to expect from this company: CitizenBrick is your online resource for impeccable custom-designed small toy collectibles. We know there are a lot of places to shop for these types of curios, and we also know that you appreciate quality craftsmanship. That much is clear. As such, we want CitizenBrick to be a place where you can avoid the bidding-wars, the disappointing durability, and the limited creativity. Buy with complete confidence that you have found the best available. You won’t find stickers that peel off or paint that chips away over time. This is the real deal: forged with professional-caliber equipment and designed to stand the test of time. Each piece is both a functional toy and tiny work of art. Whether you’re looking for a unique gift for a friend, a way to broaden your toy community, or just morbid curiosity, CitizenBrick has you covered. CitizenBrick collectibles are perfect for: nostalgia benders, identity crises, savvy gift-shoppers, jaded hipsters, reclusive diorama-builders, funny people, shirt-pockets, the populace…

Custom LEGO Printed Parts by CitizenBrick

You can check out all of CitizenBrick’s products at CitizenBrick.com. Also, remember that making a purchase from small LEGO customizers like CitizenBrick supports artists with real talent, craftsmanship and work-values. Although these products are more expensive then the ones made en-masse in places like China, in this case you are definitely getting what you pay for. You get incredible products and you are also supporting artists and craftsman who offer real quality, value and durability. Enjoy! 😉

And you might also like to check out the Other Brands section for LEGO compatible custom accessories from LEGO customizers. I have personally tried them all and regularly use them, so if you have questions just let me know in the comment section below…

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LEGO light bricks – more options!

by Thita (admin) on May 9, 2013

in LEGO Customizers

We have talked about lighting up your LEGO creations in Let There Be Light! Light Up Your LEGO World! and Light Up Your Halloween LEGO Haunted House!, and today I would like to share with you another option. There is a Hong Kong based small company that makes LEGO compatible LEGO light-bricks. They sent me some samples to try out and show you! 🙂

What I particularly like about these light-bricks is that no wiring is needed like what you see with some LEGO compatible LED light-kits. Each light-brick is a self-contained light-source with batteries included (same two small cell-batteries as in the official LEGO light-brick). All you have to do is push the little button at the back to turn it on or off.

These custom light-bricks are very similar to the LEGO light-bricks that are available in some LEGO sets, however there are some differences as well. First of all while the LEGO light-brick only comes in 2×3 LEGO brick size and with either yellow or red light, the custom light-bricks are available in several sizes and with lots of light color options (red, yellow, blue, green white). There are also choices for steady lights, blinking lights and multi-color blinking lights -that’s my favorite!

Custom LEGO Light Bricks Colors and Sizes

These custom LEGO light bricks are made of clear plastic with studs on top and connection-points at the bottom, so they are fully compatible with regular LEGO elements. The quality is very good. The top studs connect especially well to regular LEGO bricks. The bottom connections are a tad too tight, and I do have some concern that the bottom of the light-bricks would eventually develop hairline cracks after regular use. However this tends to be an issue even with official LEGO pieces made of clear plastic, as the material is more rigid than regular ABS. Here is a brief video showing you how the light-bricks work.

Below is a picture of regular LEGO light-bricks (red) versus the custom LEGO light-bricks (clear). Since the custom LEGO light-brick is fully clear plastic it spreads the light better then the official LEGO version.

As you can see the two versions of light-up bricks are pretty similar in size and shape, however one thing I particularly like about these custom LEGO light-bricks is that the on-off button is recessed.

The recessed on-off button allows these custom LEGO light bricks to be fully encased between regular LEGO bricks, something you cannot do with the regular LEGO light-brick. One thing I noticed though when I did this is that the custom LEGO light-bricks are a tad off as far as the size. The difference is very small, but it is important to keep in mind if you would plan to surround them with regular LEGO elements. Otherwise they would weaken the structure and also put stress on your LEGO bricks.

The size difference is most noticeable in the height (see pictures). The width is the same as LEGO bricks. The depth is just a tad off on the side where the battery-door is. So I would say that even though you can fully encase them, it is best to leave a bit of room at least on the sides where the size difference is more significant.

Other than this issue these custom LEGO light-bricks are an excellent option for lighting up your LEGO creations, especially since LEGO’s own light-up bricks are so rare and so limited in choices. These may not be on par with LEGO’s unmatched quality and precision, but they are close enough to fit right in with LEGO elements. Here is another picture of the ones I received fully lit up. The color-changing one is also there, but of course that feature won’t show up on the picture. 🙄

The guys who make these custom LEGO light-up bricks are working on putting up a website where you will be able to buy them for $2 each. The website is only half-finished at this point, but if you are interested you can check it out at LightUpBlock.com, and if you would like to get some before the website is fully functional contact Samson at this email address.

So what do you think? How do you like these options for lighting up your LEGO models? If you have any thoughts, feedback or questions feel free to share them in the comment section below. 😉

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

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Custom LEGO printing by CitizenBrick

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