2024 Skærbæk workshop and After-Party Fest: introducing the elements

New Elementary ran a building workshop at Skærbæk Fan Weekend in September 2024. During the event, attendees were tasked with making something using 10 elements released in the last 12 months as seed parts; we will show you some of the results in due course, but first up, it's our turn! We rounded up some of the reclaimed seed parts from the workshop to run one of our "parts festivals", and dispatched them to a couple of our regular contributors: Kev Levell and Caz Mockett, and one of the workshop attendees, Nathan Don as a guest builder.

So, welcome to After-PartyFest! For our first instalment, Tom Loftus introduces all 10 elements and to take a closer look at those that have escaped New Elementary's analytical eye so far. 

Bug Fest: MOCs from kekenoji, Ikuse Ryouji, and Takamichi Irie

The last instalment of our Bug Fest crescendos with three more MOCs from three more inspirational builders. Kekenoji, Ikuse Ryouji, and Irie Takamichi, all have wildly different building styles and each approached this challenge in a different way.

Bug Fest: Tary's MOCs

Our latest Parts Festival, Bug Fest – where we've sent LEGO® Ideas 21342 The Insect Collection to five amazing builders and asked them to create original models – continues today! 

Tary (@nobu_tary on Twitter and Instagram) is famed for his LEGO food and robot builds, and his Bug Fest builds do not disappoint! Let's see what he has to offer.

Bug Fest: Moko's MOCs

For our latest Parts Festival we've added the bricks from LEGO® Ideas 21342 The Insect Collection to the collections of five amazing builders, and asked them to create original models. Welcome to Bug Fest!

Kicking the fest off today is Moko, a master of nice parts usage (NPU). Indeed, one of his Bug Fest MOCs really puts the 'P' into NPU...

Bug Fest using LEGO® Ideas 21342 The Insect Collection: Introducing the elements

It's December and New Elementary is getting in the festive mood with a Parts Fest! 

We invited five incredibly talented builders, @kekenoji, @moko_bricks, @legomichiiiiii, @r194.lego, and @nobu_tary to inspire us with their LEGO creations using elements from LEGO® Ideas 21342 The Insect Collection. With an inventory that ticked all the boxes for colourful and interesting elements, it seemed like the perfect set for a Parts Fest, or maybe this time it's a Bug Fest...

Flowerfest: Caz Mockett

Having introduced the sets that we have been using in our Flowerfest back in April, I've enjoyed seeing the MOCs built by my fellow contributors Eero Okkonen, Tom Loftus and Thomas Jenkins. It's now up to me to follow their fantastic articles and close our festival with some creations of my own.

Flowerfest: Thomas Jenkins

For our FlowerFest, we're analyzing and building with elements found in the 2023 LEGO® Botanical Collection sets: 40646 Daffodils, 10313 Wildflower Bouquet, and 10314 Dried Flower Centerpiece. Eero Okkonen and Tom Loftus have already treated us to some blooming wonderful creations; now it's my turn. 

Flowerfest: Tom Loftus

Last week, New Elementary's Flowerfest kicked off with an impressive line-up of character builds by Eero Okkonen. A Sontaran built from rose petals is a tough act to follow, but I'm ready to do my best! I'll be analyzing two recent arrivals to the LEGO® Botanical Collection - 40646 Daffodils and 10313 Wildflower Bouquet - and sharing MOCs inspired by their parts.

Flowerfest: Eero Okkonen

After we took a look at the new and rare parts in the 2023 LEGO® Icons Botanical Collection sets a week ago, I am now kicking off our Flowerfest! Over the next few weeks, my New Elementary colleagues and I will reveal what we created with these beautiful elements.

I received two LEGO® Icons Botanical Collection sets, 40646 Daffodils and 10314 Dried Flower Centrepiece. As usual, these floral bricks and pieces inspired me to build flowing hair and elegant clothes… Well, mostly. I also turned a rose into Sontaran.

Flowerfest: Introducing the elements

Here at New Elementary, we love a good Parts Festival! But we also love to push boundaries. So how about a Parts Festival containing no new moulds?

For our latest series of posts exploring new uses for elements, Eero Okkonen, Tom Loftus, Thomas Jenkins and myself will be harvesting three 2023 sets for seed parts... which will blossom into our original creations for your perusal.

Space Tools Parts Fest: Kev Levell

We're challenging our team of astro-engineers to create original LEGO® models using 'Space Tools' - the minifigure accessories found in Classic Space sets - and today is the final instalment!

As the Chief Flight Director of this exploration it falls to me to bring our mission to an end. The team has safely returned home, I've completed their debriefing, and once I present my findings I'll round out these proceedings with a few words of thanks.

From the selected tools I chose the Metal Detectors 4479 & 93106 and Radios 3962a, 3962b and 19220 as well as the 'T' Bar 84868.

Space Tools Parts Fest: Ryan Harkin

The second of our two Glorious Galactic Guests joins our Parts Festival today to present some wonderful MOCs using a selection of the minifigure accessories found in Classic Space sets. Ryan Harkin is @brickmasterryan on Instagram.

New Elementary asked me to build something “not space” using a couple of the Classic Space tools from their seed selection. I chose the Axe (3835) and the Robot Arm (4735). Like Benny, my instant reaction was, “Spaceship?”. My next reaction was… well, I’m guessing you’ve seen the movie so you know how this ends.

Space Tools Parts Fest: Dana Knudson

The first of two Glorious Galactic Guests joins our Parts Festival today to present some wonderful MOCs using a selection of the minifigure accessories found in Classic Space sets. Dana Knudson is @Troublesbricking on Instagram.

Dana chose to utilise 3835 Axe from 1978 which has been made available in 3 colours, 3959 Space Gun/ Torch from 1979 which has been available in 11 colours, 4735 Robot Arm from 1985 which has been available in 9 colours, and 4349 Megaphone from 1982 which has been available in 10 colours. 

Space Tools Parts Fest: Thomas Jenkins

We're challenging our team of astro-engineers to create original LEGO® models using 'Space Tools' - the minifigure accessories found in Classic Space sets. 

Our parts festival continues this week as I examine two elements: 3838 Air Tanks and 3837 Shovel, both released in 1978, although it seems space shovels were only required for very large ships like 6929 Starfleet Voyager from 1981 and 6985 Cosmic Fleet Voyager from 1986.

Space Tools Parts Fest: Tim Goddard

Tim Goddard tools up as guest author this week, in our challenge to create original LEGO® models using 'Space Tools' - the minifigure accessories found in Classic Space sets.

In this instalment of New Elementary's exploration of minifig Space utensils, I look at the space guns / torches / loudhailers / blasters / megaphones. Call them what you will, they are certainly classic parts and are still using in LEGO sets today. Here is my collection!

Space Tools Parts Fest: Tom Loftus

We're challenging our team of astro-engineers to create original LEGO® models using 'Space Tools' - the minifigure accessories found in Classic Space sets.

For the next leg of our look at minifig space utensils, I'm exploring two elements: Chainsaw Body (2516) from 1990 and Control Panel (2342) introduced in 1986. 

Space Tools Parts Fest: Caz Mockett

We're challenging our team of astro-engineers to create original LEGO® models using 'Space Tools' - the minifigure accessories found in Classic Space sets.

I chose to take a look at part 4360: Minifigure, Utensil Camera with Side Sight (Space Gun) which made its debut in black in two 1982 space-related releases, 6880 Surface Explorer and 6950 Mobile Rocket Transport.

Space Tools Parts Fest: Introducing the elements

We have decided to celebrate the release of 10497 Galaxy Explorer with a LEGO® Space-themed Parts Festival. We have a series of builders lined up to deliver new insight and MOCs to you – for the coming weeks, every Thursday is Toolsday!

If you haven't read it already, see Caz's thoroughly excellent review of set 10497 which is available now, if it hasn't sold out already! Please consider using our affiliate links if buying from LEGO.com, New Elementary may get a commission: USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop | UK LEGO Shop.

LEGO® Cloth Fest: Áron Gerencsér

Some products in this article were provided by LEGO®; the author's opinions are their own.

Editor's note: It is with sadness and joy that we announce this is Áron Gerencsér's final article for New Elementary, as he will soon join the LEGO Group as a designer! We can't thank Aron enough for the immense energy and creativity he has brought to us these last couple of years and trust that New E chums Sven, Lee, Markus and Chris will welcome him warmly in Billund. We can't wait to review his first product!

What with diving deep into the world of LEGO® pieces on a regular basis, we often find ourselves up to our necks in plastic of all shapes and sizes - it’s what we do after all. However, taking closer looks at all the various new elements does also result in us handling other materials as well - albeit rarely! 

Back in 2020, fellow New Elementary contributor Tom Loftus took a look at the inner cardboard packaging you get with some sets, but this time around Eero Okkonen and I will be taking a look at another non-plastic LEGO® material: cloth!

Old Elementary: Part 4 of the LEGO® BIONICLE 20th Anniversary Festival

Guest contributors Alex Van de Kleut, Mitch H and Matt Goldberg conclude our celebration of the 20th anniversary of LEGO® BIONICLE with three more parts; examined and utilized in builds.