The Picture of Suburban Bliss

Aaron Newman July 20, 2021

I designed this replica of a private residence on commission. Although the client only paid me for digital deliverables—i.e., design services and instructions, but no physical bricks—I couldn’t resist splurging a little on parts to recreate my finished product in real life, with a few modifications of my own to “spruce up” the build. Yes, that was a pun, because yes, the addition of a towering redwood tree in the backyard was one of my biggest add-ons!

This 360-degree home recreation also features fully realized, furnished interior spaces, making it perhaps the most in-depth structural recreation I have ever completed at this size. Keeping balance between external and internal was a fun puzzle to solve, and while I was battling for space much of the time, I’m pleased with and proud of the final result.

Read on to learn more about the design choices behind this build, and to check out all the rooms of the house!

Science on the High Seas

Aaron Newman November 16, 2020

I designed this replica of a real-life research vessel on commission. While I’ve done a few seafaring builds before, I’d never built a full-size modern boat prior to this project. I love to tackle new subjects, since they throw all kinds of unexpected puzzles my way; as such, I relished this project as a great opportunity to grow as a builder. In the end, I finished with a larger, cooler, and more beautiful model than I ever expected to produce.

Clocking in at over 2,000 bricks, this minifigure-scale recreation measures over than 20" (50cm) long and weighs over 4 lbs (nearly 2 kg). The boat also features 3 levels of carefully crafted interior details that emulate those of the actual vessel, which are accessible in the LEGO modular building style, via removable roofs and sub-layers.

Read on to find out what’s inside this vessel, and to learn more about the choices I made and challenges I faced during its design process!

We Are Cleared for Takeoff

Aaron Newman June 21, 2020

I designed this replica of a Tupolev 204-300 (Tu-204-300) on commission. It was my first time building a replica airplane, but I hope it won’t be my last; I had loads of fun working on this plane!

The stimulating puzzle of this project was capturing the craft as accurately as possible… not just by eye, but by math. Read on to learn more about the design choices behind this aircraft model.

"Here's the Story... of a Lovely Lady..."

Aaron Newman May 20, 2020

I designed this famous house from The Brady Bunch (1969-74) on commission. Before beginning work, I hadn’t even listened to the show’s catchy theme! However, I very quickly came to realize that merely speaking the first few lyrics of that song will send many people into paroxysms of nostalgia. The Brady Bunch is a landmark show beloved by millions, and the Bradys’ iconic house now a tourist attraction that is the second-most photographed house in the United States. It was a real treat for me to replicate and recreate a truly meaningful piece of American pop culture.

I love tackling the challenges unique to replicating architecture in brick form, and this home posed more than just those delicious run-of-the-mill puzzles. You see, I was set to model a house that technically never had, and never will, exist. My model of the Bradys’ house—the combination of an amalgam of sources—required a good deal of compromise, research, and imagination to reach its finished form. Read on to learn more about the design choices behind this project!

North Shore, Chattanooga

Aaron Newman April 22, 2020

I built this replica of a private residence on commission. This house, nicknamed “North Shore Chattanooga” by its owner, is a gorgeous piece of architecture that was a blast to replicate in bricks!

I am extremely proud of this little model, which I think packs in a great deal of accuracy and detail despite its small size. Learn more about the design choices I made on my replica of North Shore Chattanooga by reading on.

Exploring New Terrain

Aaron Newman April 17, 2020

I created this replica of a 2015 Ford Explorer as a custom gift for somebody. It was one of my first times building a car, and the first time I’ve ever tried to replicate a real-life vehicle! Read on to learn more of the challenges and choices I faced in this project.

Behind-The-Build: Arch & Truss Bridge

Aaron Newman March 13, 2020

For Episode 6 of LEGO Masters, “Need for Speed/Super Bridge” (3/12/2020), Christian and I created the “Arch & Truss” bridge, a double-support structure built to span a 6’ (183cm) gap and hold as much weight as possible.

This 7-hour challenge put teams’ engineering expertise to the test. With so little time to work and a blatantly quantitative assessment at the challenge’s end, there was very little room for error in this challenge. Every choice we made could be the one that catapulted us to victory… or else sent us to the bottom. The stakes were high even without the Golden Brick being up for grabs once more!

Read on for my special dissection of this model’s process, design choices, and more.

Behind-The-Build: Attack on Sustainable City

Aaron Newman March 6, 2020

For Episode 5 of LEGO Masters, “Mega City Block” (3/4/2020), Christian and I created “Attack on Sustainable City,” an environmentally-minded city block under threat by an enormous pollution monster.

This build—which was divided into a 14 hour first part and a 4-hour second part—was a huge emotional roller coaster for me. As we wheeled our build into the gallery during the final two minutes of part one, our table hit a brick on the floor, sending a shock wave up the tall tower and toppling five of its fourteen stories. This catastrophic collapse felt like the lowest of lows… until we got an extremely lucky twist!

In part two of the challenge, during which we were instructed to put our city blocks “under attack,” Christian and I managed to both rebuild our fallen tower and create an iconic monster of which we were quite proud. Our finished model definitely made its mark; it turned out to be the tallest building of all.

“Attack on Sustainable City” landed us in the top two teams for this week. Read on for my special dissection of this model’s process, design choices, and more.

This Build is Parthenonsense

Aaron Newman August 21, 2019

I designed this scene with a friend of mine, another talented LEGO artist named Tristan. Tristan trekked north to visit me one Thursday night, and over the course of a little under three hours, we conceived of and put together what you see here! We wanted to assemble a creation that required both of our complementary styles. I specialize in fine details, the small and the clever, while Tristan’s forte is building large and implementing functionality into his work. A large-scale microscale scene with an electronic component included seemed the optimal way to showcase our strengths, so that’s what we built.

The story: an intergalactic spacecraft arrives on Earth… not in present day, or in the future, but back in ancient times. The UFO’s mission is a Wall-E-esque one: gather vegetation samples from our green planet and harvest them for alien science. Indiscriminate in their approach—or, perhaps, just totally unruffled by the presence of human civilization—the UFO has alighted on the forest surrounding a greco-roman city atop a plateau. And thus begins Earth’s first contact with extraterrestrial life!

Originally, we thought we’d build the same UFO, accidentally beaming up a dragon from a medieval European castle. As we built, though (really, as we assessed how much time we had left in our session together!) our vision evolved. Read on to learn some more about who built what, what thoughts went into this creation, and more.