Tales From The Brick

In Episode 39 of Tales From The Brick, Jon (8 Bit Bricks) sits down with Cody Wells, owner of C3Brix, custom LEGO artist, educator, and longtime member of the LEGO community. Cody shares how LEGO became an important part of his life as a child, from building a ghost trap to conquer his fear of sleeping upstairs to recreating toys he saw on Saturday morning cartoons. Years later, rediscovering his childhood LEGO collection during one of the darkest periods of his life helped reconnect him with something that had always given him a sense of creativity and belonging. Cody takes us through the unlikely path that turned that rediscovered passion into a career. He talks about moving to New York, finding his LEGO community through I LUG NY, building his first mosaics in a small apartment, and taking on increasingly ambitious commissions. Those projects eventually included an eight-foot LEGO sandcastle for Resorts World Casino and custom creations for professional wrestlers including Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, Jerry "The King" Lawler, and Finn Bálor. The conversation also explores the evolution of C3Brix from custom builds into a unique LEGO store in New Hampshire filled with retired, collectible, and hard-to-find sets. Cody shares how education has become another major part of his work, including a summer tour that took him through more than 24 states for 140 library events, five week-long camps, and other appearances. He talks about bringing LEGO experiences to communities across the country, meeting families who traveled hours to attend his programs, and why making those experiences accessible to kids remains so important to him. Along the way, Cody and Jon reminisce about the early days of the LEGO community, BrickShelf, custom builds, wrestling, Classic Space, and the never-ending problem of finding enough room for a LEGO collection. Cody also shares what's ahead for C3Brix, from continuing his travels and educational programs to eventually making the store the focus of the next chapter of his LEGO career. Find Cody Wells & C3Brix: • Website: C3Brix.com• Instagram: @C3Brix• Facebook: C3Brix To find the best LEGO deals, check out the Bargain Bricks app. View the video version of this podcast at https://youtu.be/V2sgKLlt3Eg For more Tales From The Brick, visit talesfromthebrick.com. Until next time... play well.

In Episode 38 of Tales From The Brick, Jon (8 Bit Bricks) sits down with Guy Himber, the mad genius behind Crazy Bricks, to talk about a LEGO journey that spans filmmaking, steampunk MOCs, custom parts, and more than two decades in the LEGO community. Guy shares how building with his son brought him out of his dark age, how the early Flickr community helped shape his experience as an AFOL, and how he even used LEGO Technic to prototype the mechanics for a giant Godzilla model while working in the film industry. Guy tells the unlikely story of how a BrickCon theme called "Pigs vs. Cows" inspired his first Kickstarter and eventually grew into Crazy Bricks. He takes us behind the scenes of creating custom LEGO-compatible parts, from Crazy Arms and Crazy Legs to goats, dinosaurs, mimics, glow-in-the-dark cats, Wacky Bags, and the upcoming Cat Butt Bricks. Along the way, Guy explains how his background in industrial design and decades working in film influence the way he approaches designing, prototyping, manufacturing, and collaborating with other creators. The conversation also dives into creativity, breaking the unwritten rules of LEGO building, the evolution of the AFOL community, and why criticism can be one of a designer's most valuable tools. Guy shares why he loves pushing ideas beyond what already exists, how Crazy Bricks has managed to convert a few LEGO purists along the way, and why sometimes the strangest idea on the list is the one worth making. Find Guy Himber & Crazy Bricks: • Website: crazybricks.com• Instagram: @getcrazybricks To find the best LEGO deals, check out the Bargain Bricks app. View the video version of this podcast at https://youtu.be/Z6uDgO3uHSk For more Tales From The Brick, visit talesfromthebrick.com. Until next time... play well.

In Episode 37 of Tales From The Brick, Jon (8 Bit Bricks) sits down with Daniel Zimmerman, Master Model Builder at LEGOLAND New York and custom LEGO builder known online as TacoBricks. Daniel shares how a childhood obsession with LEGO never went through a dark age, eventually taking him from building MOCs in his basement and attending BrickFair with his mom to turning LEGO building into a full-time career. Daniel takes us behind the scenes of life as a Master Model Builder, from maintaining Miniland and designing new models to teaching workshops, interacting with guests, and occasionally chasing rabbits out of the displays. He talks about building seasonal models, creating Miniland versions of celebrities and LEGO community members, working on massive projects for the park, and collaborations with organizations like Radio City Music Hall and the Newburgh Armory. The conversation also explores Daniel's work outside LEGOLAND, including custom commissions, writing and building for BrickNerd, and the six-foot-long 1924 Studebaker model that took 14 months to complete. Daniel shares the story of his first commission for one of his favorite bands, Slow Pulp, his passion for music-inspired builds, and the projects he hopes to tackle next, from AC/DC and Def Leppard logos to trains and more Ninjago creations. Find Daniel Zimmerman: • Instagram: @TacoBricks• BrickNerd: Find Daniel's builds and articles on BrickNerd• Visit Daniel and the Master Model Builders at LEGOLAND New York To find the best LEGO deals, check out the Bargain Bricks app. View the video version of this podcast at https://youtu.be/-THMbhZnw0Y For more Tales From The Brick, visit talesfromthebrick.com. Until next time... play well.

In Episode 36 of Tales From The Brick, Jon (8 Bit Bricks) is joined by Jessica and Justin Rupp, longtime LEGO city and train builders and the creators of BrickLayouts, a web app designed to make planning LEGO displays easier. Jessica and Justin share how a model train show helped reignite their love of LEGO, eventually leading them to join the Washington Metro Area LEGO Train Club and attend the very first BrickFair in 2008. They talk about nearly two decades of building and displaying together, from trains and detailed city layouts to landscapes, cabins, animals, and even the LEGO wedding canopy they built together and had their guests sign. The conversation also dives into the problem that led them to create BrickLayouts. After years of planning displays with paper, graph paper, spreadsheets, and other workarounds, they decided to build their own solution. Jessica and Justin explain how BrickLayouts lets builders plan layouts across devices, work with track, roads, buildings, layers and custom shapes, share plans with other builders, and prepare collaborative convention displays. They also discuss upcoming features including custom MOCs, expanded support for LUGs, a public layout gallery, more track options, and some more ambitious ideas for the future. Find Jessica, Justin & BrickLayouts: • Website: https://bricklayouts.com• App: app.bricklayouts.com• Instagram: BrickLayouts• Facebook: BrickLayouts• Reddit: BrickLayouts• Discord: BrickLayouts To find the best LEGO deals, check out the Bargain Bricks app. For more Tales From The Brick, visit talesfromthebrick.com. View the video version of this podcast at https://youtu.be/cDNOoP4wqnM Until next time... play well.

In Episode 35 of Tales From The Brick, Jon (8 Bit Bricks) is joined by Kate, AKA BrickHuntress, an award-winning LEGO mosaic artist and high school mental health counselor whose work combines art, unconventional parts, lighting, and even wearable LEGO creations. Kate shares how building alongside her older brother introduced her to LEGO as a kid, how her son's interest brought her back after her dark age, and how seeing The Art of the Brick completely changed the way she looked at LEGO. That inspiration led to her first mosaic, painstakingly built over several months using pieces she dug out of the bulk bins at her local LEGO shop. The conversation dives into how Kate's artistic background influences her builds, from using botanical elements and unexpected pieces to create hair and texture to hiding Easter eggs throughout her mosaics. She also talks about incorporating lighting into her artwork, creating a wearable LEGO dress using nets, and why she loves pushing LEGO beyond traditional building techniques. Kate also brings her experience as a mental health counselor into the conversation, discussing the calming, tactile nature of LEGO and how students naturally gravitate toward the bricks in her office. She shares how she has brought LEGO into the classroom, used mosaics to teach art history, and seen firsthand how building can give kids a creative outlet. Plus, Kate talks about collaborating with Eric Clough on a massive Harry Potter build, the magic of watching kids discover MOCs at conventions, and her plans for a new dinosaur mosaic that will combine three-dimensional building, LEGO nets, and motorized movement. Find Brick Huntress: • Instagram: @brickhuntress• TikTok: @brickhuntress To find the best LEGO deals, check out the Bargain Bricks app. Until next time... play well.