2018 Parts Fest #1: Tim Goddard's Engaging Elements

In addition to our Portugal workshop we also sent a varied selection of new LEGO® parts from 2018 to some fan builders, and in an occasional ‘parts festival’ series over the next month or two we’ll be showing you the techniques and models they came up with. First up, our good friend Tim Goddard, co-author of LEGO Space: Building the Future.

At Bricktastic in Manchester this year Tim J mentioned he had a selection of new parts and would I like to explore them for New E. Being the parts monkey that I am, I of course said yes, and what an interesting selection of parts I got!

Let's start small... possibly the smallest LEGO element to date (I am saying this knowing that New E readers will correct me if I am wrong) are the Infinity Stones, which I was supplied with in Transparent Yellow (Element ID 6223002 | Design ID 36451).

The thin 1.5mm bar on the back of the stones allows them to be connected to an ever-increasing range of parts featuring the matching little hole.

I am happy to see them supplied in fours on a sprue because aside from the individual stones, it also allows them to be used both as one large part or the sprue can serve as a piece in its own right, like this perfect fit around round profile bricks.

The 1.5mm bar also just about connects to one of the other new parts provided in my selection: the new flower stud in White (Element ID 6209683 | Design ID 24866). This part adds to a nice little family of 1x1 round studs.

Combine these with this new circular minifigure accessory – some sort of Chakram weapon – in Silver Metallic [TLG]/ Flat Silver [BL] (Element ID 6207840 | Design ID 35485) and a 1x1 tile clip, and you have a nice piece of wearable jewellery (as long as your fingers are slim).

I have made an alternative with a large ruby too, as modelled by my partner Sharon.

I also got some spooky spiders in White Glow [TLG]/ Glow In Dark White [BL] (Element ID 6218845 | Design ID 29111) and a new mould leaf/petal/bract in fetching Medium Lavender (Element ID 6210460 | Design ID 32607) so I have made a little nature scene. The 1.5mm hole in the 1x1 flower stud allows the bush technique I have used here. It could be expanded to make bigger plants and adapted to different designs. Of course you could do this with the old equivalent 4-petal piece (Design ID 33291).

Next, a little diversion tablescrap using a part introduced in 2017, the 2x2 plate with 2 studs (Element ID 6212077 | Design ID 33909) which, with the help of opposing brackets, can be used to add a line between plates, tiles or slopes.

Included in the selection was a couple of different diamond shaped pieces which have a bar at the back, from Elves sets. There are four colours available but I received a Transparent Red one with flame print (Element ID 6213349 | Design ID 36710) and a green one with leaf print (Element ID 6213354 | Design ID 36713).

They tessellate rather nicely on the short 45° sides but I couldn’t find a perfect fit with any other parts along the long sides.

The shape made me think about using the part as a head which led me to rise a phoenix up from other parts in my collection.

And so on to another animal using two other new 2018 moulds: a Nexo Knights weapon in Transparent Bright Green (Element ID 6205442 | Design ID35042) and a minifigure neck bracket with four bar attachments in Black (Element ID 6215458 | Design ID 36452).

The neck bracket is surprisingly hard to use in a model; the neck hole has almost no clutch meaning it needs to be held in a vice-like grip. Read more about it here.

As tricky as the neck bracket was to use I thought I would try it again, this time in something vaguely Ghost in the Shell inspired. The metallic spider piece (Element ID 6208782 | Design ID 35039) used around the eye is another new Nexo Knights part that was included in my selection. See more uses of it here.

Tim will be back with more builds soon.

READ MORE: See how Steve Guinness used some of the same parts to create clockwork robots

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