2019 Parts Fest #1: Introducing the Elements

It is Parts Fest time once more here at New Elementary. We have posted a lovely selection of new-for-2019 LEGO® elements to some of the most innovative, inspiring builders we know and love. This time our featured builders are from Ireland, the Netherlands, UK, Germany, USA, Poland, France and Sweden; each with their own style and techniques to bring to our parts festival.

In this first post,  we wanted to introduce the elements included in this parts festival. All the elements are new to 2019 and almost all are completely new element moulds. Without further ado, let's meet the elements.

2019 Parts Fest #1: Jaap Bijl - week 3

Jaap Bijl (jaapxaap) reveals his final LEGO® model for our Parts Festival using a collection of seed parts chosen by us.

So here it is. My third and final update for the Parts Fest. I wrote last time that this update would be all about my final build that shows uses of some of the seed parts. I showed a little work in progress of a mushroom house with a purple door en an arch of stars above it. Over the last week I have spent quite some time on it and here it is. I present to you my Mushroom Mansion!

2019 Parts Fest #1: Samuel Pister's clown and soldier

Time for the second half of Samuel Pister's creations for our Parts Festival today, where LEGO® builders from around the world try out new pieces. If you missed his first bunch, they're here.

For this clown creation, I integrated many of the parts from the selection:

• Vibrant Coral Gear Wheel 6x6, Z14 (6258385| 35446)
• Medium Lilac/ Dark Purple Gear Wheel 2X2, Z6 (6238330 | 35442)
• Bright Purple/ Dark Pink Plate 3X3, Heart, No. 1 (6254513|39613)
• Bright Yellow/ Yellow Design Plate, 4X4X2/3, No. 1 (6248804|39611)
• Bright Orange/ Orange Tile 1X1, Heart, No. 1 (6258993|39739)

2019 Parts Fest #1: Tom Loftus is Starry-Eyed

The next Parts Festival participant to introduce you to is Tom Loftus (Inthert on Flickr), a UK-based LEGO® builder who was one of the winners of our Build 'n' Fix contest earlier this year with his lovely spade, although spaceships are really his thing. Here's the first of his investigations into our 19 seed parts.

At first, I questioned how useful the star element (Design Plate 4X4X2/3 No. 1 in Bright Yellow/ Yellow – Element ID 6248804| Design ID 39611) would be, especially without straying straight into illegal techniques. This is simply down to its number of connection points which, for a part of its size, is pretty limited. A star with nine friends is a slightly different story though.

2019 Parts Fest #1: Jessica Farrell's flowers

Being a horticulturalist, Jessica Farrell was well placed to build flowers with the LEGO® parts we gave her for our Parts Festival! In her final post, she gives us a beautiful bunch of bunches.

NARCISSUS

Outside my bedroom window there is a clump of dwarf narcissus that faithfully bloom a cheery yellow and orange every February, no matter how inclement the weather. What better way to immortalise them than by recreating them out of my favourite medium? 

2019 Parts Fest #1: Jaap Bijl - week 1

The next LEGO® builder to introduce you to is Jaap Bijl (jaapxaap, found on Flickr and Instagram) from the Netherlands and he is a member of Lowlug and Innovalug. His building motto is “Never ask whether something is possible with LEGO or not. Only ask how.” Sounds like an ideal candidate for our challenging Parts Festival! Jaap has taken the unique approach of sending us weekly updates on his progress; an insight into his creative process.

A week ago I got my hands on the parts New Elementary sent me and that made me excited as I had no idea what pieces I would receive. I took the package straight to my room, got a pair of scissors and immediately opened it. Since then they have been sitting on the coffee table in my room! I had a lot of work to finish first but by having them in sight I still saw them a few times a day, to get inspired.

I started experimenting with the pieces that immediately triggered my creativity, such as the purple gear (Gear Wheel 2X2, Z6 in Medium Lilac/ Purple  – 6238330 | 35442). That was not because of the shape but the colour. If you follow me, you might know that I have done a lot of fantasy builds with purple, so getting new purple pieces was a fun surprise! It just looked like a flower to me. This was the same thought I had with the yellow star pieces from The LEGO Movie 2 sets (Design Plate, 4X4X2/3, No. 1 in Bright Yellow/ Yellow – 6248804|39611) which were a lot bigger than I expected, which means a harder (and more fun!) challenge to incorporate them into a build.

2019 Parts Fest #1: Duncan Lindbo's star-stuff

Yes, our completed LEGO® Parts Festival came back again! But it definitely finishes today, and what better way than with a creation by Duncan Lindbo who has really pushed the boat out with this festival. 

Everything is made of star-stuff, to paraphrase the late, great Carl Sagan. In the case of this MOC, that’s not just true in an abstract cosmic sense, it’s true in a more literal “I used a bunch of the new star pieces”.

I was casting around for ideas when it dawned on me that because the stars (Design Plate, 4X4X2/3, No. 1 in Bright Yellow/ Yellow – 6248804|39611) are two plates high, with a one plate high base and one plate high points, two columns of stars would mesh together easily. Throw a few meshed columns together, and they looked like the teeth of a gigantic shredder.