Lots of kids are receiving Lego and Lego Technic sets this holiday season, and plenty more have accumulated years’ worth of Lego from holidays and birthdays past. Here are some books to help kids and adults alike learn how to create their own unique Lego constructions, simple and complex Lego Technic machines and contraptions, and the more challenging three-dimensional shapes like spheres:
The Unofficial LEGO Builder’s Guide – Now in Color! (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $9.99)
What’s the difference between a tile and a plate? Why isn’t it a good idea to stack bricks in columns to make a wall? How do you build a LEGO mosaic or build at different scales? You’ll find the answers to these and other questions in The Unofficial LEGO Builder’s Guide.
Now in full color, this brand-new edition of a well-loved favorite will show you how to:
• Construct models that won’t fall apart
• Choose the right pieces and substitute when needed
• Build to micro, jumbo, and miniland scale
• Make playable board games out of LEGO pieces
• Create photo mosaics and curved sculptures
• Build a miniature space shuttle, a minifig-sized train station, and more
Of course, the real fun of LEGO building lies in creating your own models—from choosing the subject to clicking that final brick into place. Learn how in The Unofficial LEGO Builder’s Guide.
Includes the Brickopedia, a visual dictionary of nearly 300 of the most commonly used LEGO elements!
The LEGO Adventure Book, Vol. 1 (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $11.99)
Unleash your imagination as you journey through the wide-ranging world of LEGO building with The LEGO Adventure Book.
This inspiring tour is filled with bright visuals, step-by-step breakdowns of 25 models, and nearly 200 example models from the world’s best builders. Learn to build robots, trains, medieval villages, spaceships, airplanes, and much more.
Whether you’re brand-new to LEGO or have been building for years, this book is sure to spark your imagination and motivate you to keep creating!
The LEGO Adventure Book, Vol. 2: Spaceships, Pirates, Dragons & More! (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $11.99)
Join Megs and Brickbot on another exciting tour of LEGO® building in this second volume of The LEGO Adventure Book series. As they track the Destructor and rebuild the models he destroys, you’ll follow along and meet some of the world’s best builders.
Learn to create sleek spaceships, exotic pirate hideaways, fire-breathing dragons, fast cars, and much more. With nearly 40 step-by-step breakdowns and 100 example models, The LEGO Adventure Book is sure to spark your imagination and keep you building!
Note: This full-color ebook is not compatible with Kindle E Ink devices.
The Lego Technic Idea Book: Simple Machines: 1 (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $9.99)
The LEGO® Technic Idea Book: Simple Machines is a collection of hundreds of working examples of simple yet fascinating Technic models that you can build based on their pictures alone. Each project uses color-coded pieces and is photographed from multiple angles, making it easy to see how the models are assembled without the need for step-by-step instructions. Every model illustrates a different principle, concept, or mechanism that will inspire your own original creations. You’re encouraged to use these elements as building blocks to create your own masterpieces.
The Technic models in Simple Machines demonstrate basic configurations of gears, shafts, pulleys, turntables, connectors, and the like. You’ll learn how to create small, elegant machines like cranes, operable doors, motorized cars, a rubber band-powered rocket launcher, a hand-cranked drag racer, and even musical instruments.
This visual guide, the first in the three-volume LEGO Technic Idea Book series, is the brainchild of master builder Yoshihito Isogawa of Tokyo, Japan. Each title is filled with photos of Isogawa’s unique models, all of which are designed to fire the imaginations of LEGO builders young and old. Imagine. Create. Invent. Now, what will you build? NOTE: The LEGO Technic Idea Book series uses parts from various Technic sets. If you don’t have some of the pieces shown in a particular model, experiment by substituting your own parts or visit the No Starch Press website for a list of the special parts used in the book.
The Lego Technic Idea Book: Wheeled Wonders: 2 (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $9.99)
The LEGO® Technic Idea Book: Wheeled Wonders is a collection of hundreds of mechanisms for cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other vehicles that you can build based on their pictures alone. Each project uses color-coded pieces and is photographed from multiple angles, making it easy to see how the models are assembled without the need for step-by-step instructions.
Every model illustrates a different principle, concept, or mechanism that will inspire your own original creations. You’re encouraged to use these elements as building blocks to create your own masterpieces. The Technic models in Wheeled Wonders spin or move things, drag race, haul heavy gear, bump off walls, wind up and go, and much more. You’ll discover how to build differential gears, implement steering and suspension, and design clutch and transmission systems to use in your own vehicles.
This visual guide, the second in the three-volume LEGO Technic Idea Book series, is the brainchild of master builder Yoshihito Isogawa of Tokyo, Japan. Each title is filled with photos of Isogawa’s unique models, all of which are designed to fire the imaginations of LEGO builders young and old. Imagine. Create. Invent. Now, what will you build? NOTE: The LEGO Technic Idea Book series uses parts from various Technic sets. If you don’t have some of the pieces shown in a particular model, experiment by substituting your own parts or visit the No Starch Press website for a list of the special parts used in the book.
The Lego Technic Idea Book: Fantastic Contraptions: 3 (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $9.99)
The LEGO® Technic Idea Book: Fantastic Contraptions is a collection of hundreds of working examples of simple yet fascinating Technic models that you can build based on their pictures alone. Each project uses color-coded pieces and is photographed from multiple angles, making it easy to see how the models are assembled without the need for step-by-step instructions.
Every model illustrates a different principle, concept, or mechanism that will inspire your own original creations. You’re encouraged to use these elements as building blocks to create your own masterpieces. The Technic models in Fantastic Contraptions include working catapults, crawling spiders, and bipedal walkers, as well as gadgets powered by fans, propellers, springs, magnets, and vibration. You’ll even learn how to add lights, pneumatics, and solar panels to your own models.
This visual guide, the third in the three-volume LEGO Technic Idea Book series, is the brainchild of master builder Yoshihito Isogawa of Tokyo, Japan. Each title is filled with photos of Isogawa’s unique models, all of which are designed to fire the imaginations of LEGO builders young and old. Imagine. Create. Invent. Now, what will you build? NOTE: The LEGO Technic Idea Book series uses parts from various Technic sets. If you don’t have some of the pieces shown in a particular model, experiment by substituting your own parts or visit the No Starch Press website for a list of the special parts used in the book.