The New Black - Jonas Kramm: Lamps

Today we have the first results from "The New Black", New Elementary's latest celebration of new LEGO® parts. Selections of pieces (see my previous post to read about them) were sent to various builders and first up we have one of several posts by Jonas Kramm featuring his interesting little builds and observations about the parts. Jonas is well-known as Legopard on Flickr and can now be found on Instagram as @jonaskramm. If you are not already familiar with his work, you must check it out! Recently Jonas has also become the ambassador for German LUG Imperium der Steine.

It felt like Christmas in July when a package from the Royal Mail arrived here in Germany. Luckily, I was picked to test some new LEGO pieces for New Elementary. The brief Tim had chosen was “The New Black” and was obviously affected by the majority colour of the elements. Exceptions were only the two colourless parts in trans-clear.

I was warned that the pieces would arrive unsorted, but that wasn't too bad. Because while sorting I got the first ideas what pieces I could use for what purpose. I was really flashed by the selection Tim has chosen, as it contained a lot of new moulds and recoloured elements that I had totally missed in the part update in June.

After I got a good overview of all the elements I made my first choice and started to play around with the Mini Pony Tail in Black (Element ID 6129476 | Design ID 22411). For me it looked perfect as an ornament made of metal, so I integrated it in an antiquarian lamp post. Furthermore the Pony Tail turned out to go perfectly with two other elements: the Flex Rod 7M recoloured in Black (Element ID 6132744 | Design ID 32580) created a column with an interesting texture, and I used the new bar/axle connector mould “Cross Holes W/ Double Ø 3.2 Shaft Hole” (Element ID 6155068 | Design ID 24122) to connect the Pony Tails to the vertical bars. Minifig screwdrivers connect the dishes and also give some detail to the inside of the bulbs.

The texture created by the Flex Rod continues within the lower, thicker part of the lamp post with a Technic axle connector. Due to rubber material the rod is made of, it can bend and so only symmetrical constructions will balance on top. In addition to the big lamp with four lights, I built one with a single light in the same design.

Now that I had the lamp parts laying around I tried my hands at another lamp design where I connected the lights not from below but from above. Train wheels (Element ID 4496343 | Design ID 57878) are turned into lampshades and get held in place by the new 1x1 plate modified with handle (Element ID 6157554 | Design ID 26047). The rounded part of the plate flows perfectly with the 1x1 round plate beneath and the 1x1 round tile above. The new bar/axle connector is used again, this time within the lamppost.

For my fourth lamp I took the new tassel mould (Element ID 6156679 | Design ID 25375) as the seed part. Some different train wheels (Element ID 4227006 | Design ID 50254) fit perfectly and the paint roller (Element ID 6099599 | Design ID 12885) makes a perfect attachment for them.

At the centre of the construction is the still-essential 1x1 brick modified with studs on all sides. Along with the two lamps it holds the decorative Nexo shields (Element ID 6128992 | Design ID 22385) and, on top, the clip which in turn holds the helmet decoration (Element ID 6155122 | Design ID 11437). For the post, I used the same technique as already used on the first lamp.

These are just a few ideas for lamps but I already started loving these new moulds. My highlight at this point is the very versatile bar/axle connector (Design ID 24122). Stay tuned for more ways I found to use the new elements.

READ MORE: See how Jonas used the same parts to create ornate fences that will inspire your own LEGO models

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