Brick City: Global Icons To Make From LEGO – Review

Last week, I was given a copy of Brick City: Global Icons To Make From LEGO to review by BARRON’S publishing. I was very excited to have the opportunity to review my second LEGO book, but there was an additional surprise that I will post about tomorrow. 😉

 Brick City: Global Icons To Make From LEGO

• Published by BARRON’S
• Released May 1, 2013
• Written by Warren Elsmore
• $19.99 ($22.99 CAN)
• Features more than 400 pictures and illustrations including model instructions

I will start by saying this is a great LEGO book.  It’s perfect for LEGO fans of all ages, as well as architectural fans.  The models in Brick City will inspire your mind and creativity and hopefully get you building.  The models pictured represent the most famous landmarks from around the world.

In addition to the stunning models, there are several sections talking about various LEGO topics such as:

LEGO building techniques

Traditional LEGO construction is called studs-on-top and refer to the studs of the LEGO brick pointing up.  The book also illustrates SNOT building, or studs-not-on-top.  SNOT building allows studs to face in any direction leading to more accurate shapes.

Color Theory

This section deals with choosing the right color(s) for your creation.  There are many considerations related to your choice of color.  What details define your model?  What colors are available.  It’s not always as easy as it seems!

LEGO customizing

Sometimes, you just can’t find the right printed LEGO part, and you may be forced to customize your LEGO elements.  This can including painting them, or printing your own custom stickers or water slides to achieve just the right look.

Immediately following several pages of these interesting LEGO tidbits, we are transported to San Francisco to begin our LEGO journey.  I found it odd that there was nothing introducing the model section.  It just sort of starts.  Also, after going through a couple US cities, we come to New York which includes a nice description on the city.  I wish the book included something similar for all cities, or at least country by country.

As I mentioned earlier, there are numerous sets of instructions included with Brick City.  Below is an example of them.  This picture is much larger than they appear in the book however.  In the book,  they are actually quite small, and sometimes difficult to read.  I wish they were made available online as PDF files.

Overall, I think this is a great book.  It’s very easy to flip through, and have hundreds of inspiring LEGO creations at your fingertips.  One last thing I would have liked to seen included is a picture of the real life creation the LEGO model represents.  I was familiar with 90% of them, but there were a few that I have no idea how good the LEGO model actually is.

That being said, I am very happy to have this LEGO book in my collection, and I think you’ll be happy with it as well!