Building LEGO® Warbirds Past and Present!

The Magazine for LEGO® Enthusiasts of All Ages!

Issue 58 • August 2019

$8.95 in the US Building LEGO® Warbirds Past and Present!

with James Cherry and Ralph Savelsburg! Corvin Stichert’s Seraphim!

Instructions

1 82658 00383 8 AND MORE! Issue 58 • August 2019

Contents From the Editor...... 2 People João Eínon: Secret Weapon Builder...... 3 Tan Yi Liang: Mechs Against NF2...... 6 Building Nicholas Kramer: Builder of Warbirds and Warships...... 10 You Can Build It: Mini V-22 Osprey...... 14 Building the Grumman X-29...... 22 The Aircraft and Helicopters of Carrier Air Wing Eight...... 29 Corvin Stichert: Building Modern & Future Planes...... 36 James Cherry: Props, Jets and Bricks!...... 44 Minifigure Customization 101: Usurping a Theme – Evil Soliloquy, Act II: GEAR!...... 52 You Can Build It: Mini Boeing 747 “Jumbo” Jet...... 59 Community From LEGO Education: Introducing SPIKE Prime...... 64 Review: Building LEGO Dream Cars with Mattia Zamboni...... 70 Community Ads...... 78 Last Word...... 79 Bricks in the Middle...... 80 People

João Eínon with his model. João Eínon is a 30-year-old Portugese LEGO builder. His job is at the ticket office at Portela Airport, located in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. He’s an AFOL who is a plane builder. His latest model is a huge plane that was a version of a flying João Eínon: aircraft carrier, the Daimler Benz Project C. Before that, he has built other aircraft and military vehicles. João has always had LEGO in his house. His father and cousins gave him all their Secret LEGO collections, and after that, he continued to buy more and more. Luckily, he never had a Dark Age and always continued to build even when he got older. However, for many years, he thought that he was the only teenager that contin- Weapon ued to build with LEGO. That changed in 2005 when João did a Google search on “LEGO Military” and found Dan Siskind’s BrickMania website. After contact- ing and talking to him for a little while, Dan explained to João that there were Builder thousands of Adult Fans of LEGO worldwide. Shortly after that, he became a member of the Portugese 0937 Community and since then, he has participated at Article by Joe Meno a number of LEGO events in Portugal, Germany, Denmark, and the United States. João’s favorite LEGO theme is Classic Pirates, but while he has some of those Photography by João Eínon sets at his home, he always prefers to build his own models, specifically military planes, warships and tanks. This, combined with a video game, inspired him to build the Daimler Benz Project C. Many years ago, he bought the PS2 game Secret Weapons over Normandy, which featured this plane as the final Boss. The real plane was a secret project developed by the Germans at the end of World War II. The plane was designed to carry five manned guided bombs under the wings and then launch them against targets with extreme precision. Luckily this plane never flew, but João was so impressed with the size that he had to eventually make it.

2 3 People

KS22 Keisha, Beatus Flamma Pattern.

Tan Yi Liang: Another view of KS22 Keisha, Beatus Flamma Pattern.

Mechs Against NF2 What motivates a builder? What inspires them to make creations? For Tan YL, his current inspiration is a genetic Article and Art by Tan Yi Liang disorder. Rear view of KS22 Keisha, Shooting Star pattern. Before that, Tan had been building other creations for a while. He’s a 34-year-old Malaysian journalist with an English-language Malaysian newspaper, but he started building around the age of five. He spent more time creating his own models than building sets, as he always found sets to be less fulfilling, and harder than creating new models. For Tan, LEGO has always been about creative expression. Tan’s main focus initially were conventional and science- fiction flyers like fighters, starfighters, bombers, and helicopters, as he had a love of aircraft in general. Mecha were actually a sideline to his main interests until 1999, when he discovered the creations of Mladen Pejic. The mecha Mladen built showed Tan what could be done with LEGO given enough practice, passion, and skill. He doesn’t have a favorite theme, but his current favorite set is D.Va and Reinhardt (75973) from LEGO Overwatch. Tan’s work is never far from his initial inspirations—the vast majority of the mechs he builds are flyers; when he comes up with new designs, he tries to create a seamless blend of a fighter, bomber or gunship and large power armor. He’s also learned a lot since he started posting his models online in 2014, when he built to occupy his time after his girlfriend Keisha Petrus passed away from Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2). 6 7 Building

The C-47 Skytrain comes to life with motorized propellers. LEGO fans come from all walks of life and all kinds of jobs. Nicholas Kramer has two jobs: His career as a Deputy Sheriff for a department in Wisconsin, and brick designer Nicholas Kramer: and owner/operator of NK Custom Bricks. His company sells custom LEGO kits, including military planes and ships in micro- and minifigure scale. BrickJournal talked to him Builder about his building. of Warbirds BrickJournal: When did you start LEGO building? Nicholas Kramer: I built as a kid years ago, but as all childhoods go, life moved on to other interests and and Warships responsibilities. Did you have a Dark Age when you stopped building? If Interview by Joe Meno you did, what got you back into building? Photography provided by Nicholas Kramer Definitely the Dark Ages. I didn’t touch a LEGO from the mid-’90s until March 2015. I got my daughter a Disney LEGO set for us to build together.

10 11 Parts List (Parts can be ordered from Bricklink.com by You Can Build It searching by part number and color) MINI Model Qty Color Part Description 1 Trans Clear 3023.dat Plate 1 x 2 1 Trans Clear 85984.dat Slope Brick 31 1 x 2 x 0.667 1 Pearl Gold 90398.dat Minifig Statuette 2 Black 2780.dat Technic Pin w/Friction and Slots 2 Black 15790.dat Propellor 3 Blade 9 Diameter with Technic Peghole 1 Black 55298.dat Minifig Tool Screwdriver 1 Black 90370.dat Minifig Microphone 4 Black 98138.dat Tile 1 x 1 Round with Groove 2 Lt Bluish Grey 3020.dat Plate 2 x 4 1 Lt Bluish Grey 3021.dat Plate 2 x 3 8 Lt Bluish Grey 3022.dat Plate 2 x 2 11 Lt Bluish Grey 3023.dat Plate 1 x 2 6 Lt Bluish Grey 3024.dat Plate 1 x 1 1 Lt Bluish Grey 3068b.dat Tile 2 x 2 with Groove 4 Lt Bluish Grey 3069b.dat Tile 1 x 2 with Groove 6 Lt Bluish Grey 3070b.dat Tile 1 x 1 with Groove 2 Lt Bluish Grey 3623.dat Plate 1 x 3 1 Lt Bluish Grey 3795.dat Plate 2 x 6 2 Lt Bluish Grey 4081b.dat Plate 1 x 1 w/Clip Light Type 2 1 Lt Bluish Grey 4085c.dat Plate 1 x 1 with Clip Vertical (Thick U-Clip) Mini V-22 2 Lt Bluish Grey 4274.dat Technic Pin 1/2 3 Lt Bluish Grey 4733.dat Brick 1 x 1 with Studs on Four Osprey Sides 2 Lt Bluish Grey 6541.dat Technic Brick 1 x 1 with Hole Design by Nicholas Kramer 8 Lt Bluish Grey 11477.dat Slope Brick Curved 2 x 1 Instructions by Joe Meno 2 Lt Bluish Grey 13547.dat Slope Brick Curved 4 x 1 Inverted 1 Lt Bluish Grey 15068.dat Slope Brick Curved 2 x 2 x 0.667 The V-22 Osprey is the first production tiltrotor plane. The 1 Lt Bluish Grey 15573.dat Plate 1 x 2 w/Groove w/1 Cen- rotors at the tips of the wings can tilt up to 90 degrees, giv- tre Stud, without Understud ing the craft the ability to take off and land like a helicopter. 2 Lt Bluish Grey 18677.dat Plate 1 x 2 with Offset Peghole This lets the Osprey take off and land in a small area. After on Underside takeoff, the rotors are tilted forward and the Osprey per- 1 Lt Bluish Grey 24299.dat Wing 2 x 2 Left forms as a plane, with a speed of 310 miles per hour. 1 Lt Bluish Grey 24307.dat Wing 2 x 2 Right 2 Lt Bluish Grey 28192.dat Slope Brick 45 2 x 1 with Cut- The Osprey is in service in the United States Navy and Air out and without Stud Force as a transport craft for troops and equipment. This model by Nichoas Kramer is small-scale, but has tilting 1 Lt Bluish Grey 34103.dat Plate 1 x 3 with 2 Studs Offset rotors. Have fun building it! 2 Lt Bluish Grey 41769.dat Wing 2 x 4 Right 2 Lt Bluish Grey 41770.dat Wing 2 x 4 Left 2 Lt Bluish Grey 42446.dat Bracket 1 x 1 - 1 x 1 2 Lt Bluish Grey 43857.dat Technic Beam 2 1 Lt Bluish Grey 44728.dat Bracket 1 x 2 - 2 x 2 2 Lt Bluish Grey 58176.dat Cylinder Domed 1 x 1 x 1.667 with Bar 2 Lt Bluish Grey 61678.dat Slope Brick Curved 4 x 1 2 Lt Bluish Grey 63864.dat Tile 1 x 3 with Groove 2 Lt Bluish Grey 85861.dat Plate 1 x 1 Round w/Open Stud 2 Lt Bluish Grey 87079.dat Tile 2 x 4 with Groove 14 4 Lt Bluish Grey 87087.dat Brick 1 x 1 with Stud on 1 Side 15 4 Lt Bluish Grey 99780.dat Bracket 1 x 2 - 1 x 2 Up Building

The X-29 all ready to fly another test mission.

Following the Bell X-1, in which Chuck Yeager famously became the first pilot to fly faster than the speed of sound in level flight, dating back to 1947, there has been a long line of American experimental aircraft called “X-planes”. X-planes have pushed the frontiers of aeronautical research. The X-29, which first flew in 1984, was an X-plane intended for testing so- called forward-swept wings. Two examples were built by Grumman, a Long Island-based manufacturer with a long history of producing aircraft for the US Navy, including the F-14 Tomcat of Top Gun fame. Building Grumman was also responsible for the spider-like Apollo Lunar Modules used to land American astronauts on the Moon, so they certainly weren’t the Grumman strangers to building unconventional flying machines. The two X-29s flew a grand total of 242 test flights until their retirement in 1991. Both aircraft X-29 currently reside in museums. Forward-swept wings At a first glance, forward-swept wings may seem like an odd idea, but they Article by Ralph Savelsberg can have a lot of advantages for a fighter aircraft. The shape of an aircraft wing changes the flow of the air around it, such that the pressure under the wing becomes larger than the pressure on top. As a result you get an aerodynamic lift force pointing upwards. If the nose of an aircraft is raised, increasing the angle between the wing and the airflow, this lift force increases. That angle is called the angle of attack. For a jet fighter, being able to fly at high angles of attack can be very useful, because the large lift force helps to make it maneuverable. 22 However, if the angle of attack becomes too large, the airflow over the wing 23 forward, but that they cannot splay out too far sideways. This solution was inspired by an F-16 model by Corvin Stichert. Given that the real aircraft’s gear was from an F-16, this seems only fitting. The wheels themselves are mounted at an angle relative to the struts using LEGO revolvers, so that they are vertical when the aircraft is parked. This is an idea I picked up from John Lamarck.

I always like to have some working features on my aircraft models, such as a folding landing gear.

The fuselage gets wider towards the intakes, which gave me just enough space to house the gear when folded. All this space did mean I had to take some care to make the fuselage sufficiently sturdy. Fortunately it is just tall enough for me to run a few plates lengthwise through it, above the landing gear bay. I built the gentle curve of the intakes into the fuselage using wedge bricks and curved slopes mounted sideways. Both X-29s had an attractive color scheme, with white overall paint. The white was contrasted with thin dark blue and red lines that ran along the length of the fuselage and curved graciously over the wings. Initially I wanted to build these into the construction using plates. However, I soon realized that, with the panels for the cockpit sides and the complicated wing construction, this wasn’t feasible. So, I decided to use stickers instead. I made these myself, using a vector graphics program on a computer and an inkjet printer. After carefully cutting them, I attached them to the model using thin adhesive tape.

Cockpit detail (left) the distinctive forward swept wings (center) and engine detail (right).

26 27 People

A model of one of the aircraft that started it all: An F-14A Tomcat in the 1978 markings of Fighter Squadron 84, “The Jolly Rogers”.

Was it triggered by a movie such as Top Gun or The Final Countdown or a book by Tom Clancy or Stephen Coonts, or perhaps by seeing the model kits being built by my best friend? I don’t know, but as a teenager I developed a fascination with military aviation, and with naval aviation in particular. The Aircraft I started making model kits. One of the first scale models I built was a 1/48 scale F-14 Tomcat in the seventies markings of US Navy Fighter Squadron 84, “The and Helicopters Jolly Rogers”. Most US Navy jets from that time were painted light grey on top, with white undersides and white control surfaces and, more importantly, with of Carrier Air brightly colored markings identifying the squadron they belonged to. The Jolly Rogers are famous for the skull and crossbones applied to the fins of their aircraft. Wing Eight I also had a poster of one of their Tomcats on the wall above my bed. However, when built my model kits never looked quite as good as the pictures on the box they came in. I was simply too impatient for all the sanding, gluing and painting Article by Ralph Savelsberg and for sitting around waiting for paint or glue to dry. I have been an enthusiastic LEGO builder for most of my life, and because model kits weren’t really my cup of tea, at some point I turned to building aircraft models out of LEGO parts instead. Since then, aircraft models have been the staple of my LEGO diet. Over the years, I have always kept at least one model of an F-14 Tomcat. An earlier version was featured in the second ever issue of BrickJournal, way back in 2006. LEGO has changed a lot since I was a teenager, or even since that first BrickJournal article. There are many more colors and parts that simply didn’t exist 25 years ago. In particular curved slopes, wedge bricks and wedge plates with different angles really help with building aircraft models. I also have a much bigger budget and can rely on resources such as Bricklink for buying parts. As a result, I can now do things that I could only dream of doing with my limited childhood parts collection. As a child I used to find minifigures a bit dull, with their identical goofy smiley faces, so I started building my aircraft at 28 a slightly larger scale, rarely used minifigures. Nowadays minifigures are much 29 more varied and fun, but I have mostly stuck to the scale I’ve been using for Electronic attack squadron 141 “Shadowhawks” flew EA-6B Prowlers as part of Carrier Air The wing also had three squadrons of F/A-18 Hornet strike fighters, one with Wing Eight in 2003. S-3B Viking anti-submarine warfare aircraft, a number of SH-60F/ HH-60H Seahawk helicopters, and E-2C Hawkeyes. I’ve built an example of each type. The Hawkeye was a particularly fun build, with its radar dish and weirdly canted tailfins. Like the old E-1 Tracer before it, it has propellers, but they are powered by more advanced turbine engines.

Aircraft of Carrier Air Wing Eight in 2003, clockwise, starting from the upper left: An F/A-18C Hornet strike fighter, an SH-60F Seahawk anti-submarine warfare and utility helicopter, an S-3B Viking anti- submarine warfare aircraft, and an E-2C Hawkeye airborne-early warning aircraft.

34 Building

Corvin Stichert is a builder who has been seen showing Corvin Stichert: off his planes at BrickFair Virginia. He also took the leap from fan builder to LEGO designer in 2015. Before that, Building Modern he worked as a community manager and student concept artist. BrickJournal talked to him about his planes. and Future Planes BrickJournal: How long have you been building? Interview by Joe Meno Corvin Stichert: I received my first sets at the age of 4, starting with a bucket of classic bricks and my father’s Photography by Corvin Stichert bricks from his childhood, followed by my first town sets. All in all, that makes 24 years of building with bricks. Did you have a Dark Age? If so, what got you out of it? Yes and no. I lost a lot of interest in the classic themes in the early 2000s. Part of that was of course due to becoming a teenager, but also the sets themselves. A lot of them were just too simple for my taste. Luckily, that was when the first waves of Star Wars sets were released, and I found the building challenges I was looking for. I had only just been introduced to the movies a year or two prior, so it happened at just the right time. It felt like forever to save up enough pocket money to buy that first X-Wing. And then in 2001, Bionicle was launched and I heavily got into that. I stuck with Star Wars and Bionicle for many years, building just a few MOCs here and there whenever the mood struck. It wasn’t exactly a full ‘dark age’, but it was very casual up until 2010, when I attended my first LEGO fan event. It was quite eye-opening, and meeting so many like-minded 36 builders re-energized the wish to create my own models. 37 Building

James’ Corsair diorama. James Cherry is a builder who lives an ordinary life. He’s married, has a son, and a dog and cat. He has been working James Cherry: for a computer games company for the last 20 years. His interests include skateboarding and playing guitar in a band. Props, Jets, Another interest he has is in aviation, and he combines LEGO building with it to create incredibly detailed models of aircraft. While he builds other subjects, like cars, he is and Bricks! most known for his planes, which have been seen online and in events in the UK. James talked to BrickJournal about Interview by Joe Meno his planes and building. Photography by James Cherry BrickJournal: When did you start LEGO building? James Cherry: I have built LEGO since being a small kid; it An overhead view of the diorama. was by far my favorite toy growing up. I continued building until around the age of 16 before other interests got in the way. Did you have a Dark Age? If so, what got you back into building? I got back into LEGO at the start of the Star Wars franchise, especially after the first few UCS sets. I began to understand what could be achieved with LEGO as a medium and that realistic representations of real life objects were possible. What is your favorite theme? I have enjoyed a number of LEGO themes over the years, starting with Classic Space; I got into Technic at a fairly young age; then Star Wars and nowadays mainly Technic and some of the ideas sets like the Saturn 5. I don’t buy a lot of kits for myself these days, but my son loves LEGO and I get to enjoy many of the newer sets that he gets! Why did you choose LEGO as a medium? My dad used to ask me that all the time! He is a scale R/C aircraft builder, and an amazing one at that. He never used to understand my choice of medium. Seeing some of my latest models, though, I think he understands that the level of fidelity that can be achieved with LEGO now is 44 pretty high. Though they have functionality, he does still 45 A look at the custom chrome on the Mustang.

create the shaping. This process is the most time consuming and usually involves many, many iterations before they get finalized. The last build stage is the detail like undercarriage, missiles, pylons, gear doors and cockpit interior. Finally the stickers and stencils are applied to finish the model off. The main ambitions with the Mustang were that I wanted to build the internal frame and components accurately (like fuel tanks, frame structure and engine) and wanted to have it chromed to loosely resemble the bare metal finish of many of the real aircraft. I built a Technic frame which was held rigid largely by putting the large 16x8 tiles down the fuselage side. Most of the parts I chromed myself in vinyl. The studded parts I bought custom chromed. The F4J Phantom was my first proper foray with Power Functions. While with the P-51D it made sense to have the control column and rudder pedals manually drive the control surfaces by cables, I wanted to create remotely Interior compartments are also built in the plane. controlled control surfaces for the Phantom. Due to the much larger size of the real aircraft, I scaled down to 1/15. I built this model from the ground up with the Power many iterations. The complex nature of the curves on that Functions as key and then skinned the Technic frame and plane meant it was a huge challenge to model accurately functions with the outer shaping. I use huge amounts of the and also maintain the functionality. The inclusion of the discontinued finger hinge pieces in all of my model outer carrier deck section added an extra dimension. I love to shaping, as well as various ball joints and other hinges. be able to display the models in some kind of background My main ambition with any of my models is to build an environment, and that one I was really pleased with; the tow accurate scale model. This is always forefront in my mind truck and carrier deck crew (designed by the awesome Joe and I generally will not compromise that for anything. Perez) really helped the overall display. This tends to make building the functions much harder My latest aircraft build, the F4U Corsair, continued this as I generally have less space to fit them due to internal theme with a detailed background to place it on, which was structures needed to support the accurate outer skin. a lot of fun to build, especially the palm trees. It is the first The F-14A Tomcat was an evolution of the experience I had of a number of planned 1/15 scale WW2 aircraft I intend to building the Phantom. I refined many of the techniques and build. I am currently building 2 Spitfires, a Mk5 46 incorporated new ones and it took a year to build with so and a Mk14. 47 Building Minifig Customization 101: Usurping a Theme - Evil Soliloquy, Act II: GEAR!

As with the start of every continued TV show, there is a quick recap from last time… AIM troops guide an Air Support vehicle. Last time on Minifigure Customization 101, we demonstrated the creation of a unique A.I.M. Agent helmet, which was 3D printed and painted to color match Article and Photography by Jared K. Burks LEGO bright light orange. Minifigure art was drawn and A.I.M., Modok TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. printed onto torsos to complete the basic figure. Now M.O.D.O.K. has his minions; they need their gear…. For those unfamiliar with A.I.M. Agents, a quick recap will follow. Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.) is an organization of brilliant scientists and their hirelings dedicated to the acquisition of power and the overthrow of all government by technological means (i.e., Evil Tony Stark types). A.I.M. was the scientific research division of the subversive military organization Hydra however; they seceded from Hydra in the late ’60s because of political differences, and began independent operations. A.I.M. first came to public attention when it was incorporated as an international cartel dealing with the development and marketing of new technological products. It supplied hardware and weapons to governmental and quasi- governmental agencies. Sometime after this, Colonel Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. exposed A.I.M. to be a subversive organization. Since then, all of A.I.M.’s activities have been covert. In the Marvel world, A.I.M. has only had three major achievements: The Super-Adaptoid, the Cosmic Cube containing an Infinity Stone, and M.O.D.O.K. Thus, M.O.D.O.K. needs to meet his makers! [Footnote: 52 M.O.D.O.K. and A.I.M. biographies were modified from Marvel. 53 com] Parts List (Parts can be ordered from Bricklink.com by searching by part number and color) Qty Color Part Description 1 White 4733.dat Brick 1 x 1 with Studs on Four Sides 2 White 85861.dat Plate 1 x 1 Round with Open Stud White 2 Pearl Gold 577b.dat Minifig Lightsaber Hilt with Bottom Ring 2 Pearl Gold 2412b.dat Tile 1 x 2 Grille with Groove 2 Pearl Gold 3023.dat Plate 1 x 2 4 Pearl Gold 3048b.dat Slope Brick 45 1 x 2 Triple 6 Pearl Gold 6091.dat Brick 2 x 1 x 1 & 1/3 with Curved Top 24 Pearl Gold 6141.dat Plate 1 x 1 Round 1 Pearl Gold 15573.dat Plate 1 x 2 with Groove with 1 Centre Stud, without Understud 2 Pearl Gold 47457.dat Slope Brick Curved 2 x 2 x 2/3 Triple with Two Top Studs 1 Pearl Gold 60474.dat Plate 4 x 4 Round with Hole and Snapstud 2 Pearl Gold 61252.dat Plate 1 x 1 with Clip Horizontal (Thick C-Clip) M.O.D.O.K. – 1 Dark Purple 44728.dat Bracket 1 x 2 Photo and custom chair - 2 x 2 by Jeff “Octopunk” Cross.

52 53 You Can Build It Mini Boeing 747 MINI Model “Jumbo” Jet

Parts List (Parts can be ordered from Bricklink.com by searching by part number and color)

Qty Color Part Description 4 Lt-Bluish-Gray 87087.dat Brick 1 x 1 with Stud on 1 Side 2 White 6192.dat Brick 2 x 4 with Curved Top Design and Instructions 7 Lt-Bluish-Gray 59900.dat Cone 1 x 1 with Stop by Christopher Deck 1 White 6039.dat Cone 2 x 2 x 1.667 Octagonal 4 Lt-Bluish-Gray 2429.dat Hinge Plate 1 x 4 Base Hello everybody, I am very excited about this mini-model 4 Lt-Bluish-Gray 2430.dat Hinge Plate 1 x 4 Top building session in this issue of BrickJournal, which is all 4 Lt-Bluish-Gray 3626c.dat Minifig Head about planes! This year is a special one for all plane fans with Closed Hollow Stud like me, as we are celebrating the jubilee of the famous 3 Black 11253.dat Minifig Roller Skate Boeing 747, more commonly known as “Jumbo Jet”. It’s 4 Lt-Bluish-Gray 3024.dat Plate 1 x 1 already been 50 years since 1969, when the huge passenger plane had its first flight! 1 Lt-Bluish-Gray 3023.dat Plate 1 x 2 3 White 3023.dat Plate 1 x 2 A perfect opportunity for an oxymoron—and a model: 1 Red 4596.dat Plate 1 x 2 with 3L Extension a Mini Jumbo. So, let’s get started! and Stud Hole The plane’s most distinctive design feature is of course its 5 Lt-Bluish-Gray 3794a.dat Plate 1 x 2 without Groove hump of the upper deck sitting on the main deck level. with 1 Centre Stud The most convenient way to build this was to use two 2 White 3623.dat Plate 1 x 3 different curved slopes, which both feature a tapering 2 Lt-Bluish-Gray 2420.dat Plate 2 x 2 Corner towards the top. In this way, they go along very well with 1 White 87580.dat Plate 2 x 2 with Groove the rounded bricks for the main cabin. with 1 Centre Stud 1 White 99206.dat Plate 2 x 2 x 0.667 with 2 Studs Another tricky point when building miniature planes is On Side and Two Raised the sweep back of modern planes’ wings. To achieve this 1 Lt-Bluish-Gray 3020.dat Plate 2 x 4 without generating unnecessary gaps between wing and main hull, the use of hinge plates is a common method. 1 White 3020.dat Plate 2 x 4 This especially works well for the rear wings as they cling 1 Red 3795.dat Plate 2 x 6 to the space nose which perfectly resembles the auxiliary 1 Red 3034.dat Plate 2 x 8 power unit of the plane. 1 Lt-Bluish-Gray 3034.dat Plate 2 x 8 2 Trans-Black 54200.dat Slope Brick 31 1 x 1 x 0.667 The Mini Jumbo comes complete with landing gear 1 White 44675.dat Slope Brick Curved Top 2 x 2 x 1 for which we use minifigure roller skates. The white/ with Dimples gray color scheme with the red highlighting line has been chosen as these were the colors of the first Jumbo 1 White 41855.dat Slope Brick Rounded 2 x 2 x 0.667 prototype—the “City of Everett”. 1 White 2340.dat Tail 4 x 1 x 3 1 Trans-Green 98138.dat Tile 1 x 1 Round with Groove I really hope you will build this model and will have as 1 Trans-Red 98138.dat Tile 1 x 1 Round with Groove much fun with it as I had. I wish you happy building, and 1 Trans-Red 3070b.dat Tile 1 x 1 with Groove see you next time! 1 White 24246.dat Tile 1 x 1 with Rounded End 2 Lt-Bluish-Gray 41770.dat Wing 2 x 4 Left 2 Lt-Bluish-Gray 41769.dat Wing 2 x 4 Right 1 Lt-Bluish-Gray 3933.dat Wing 4 x 8 Left 1 Lt-Bluish-Gray 3934.dat Wing 4 x 8 Right 59 60 61 Community

From LEGO Education: Introducing SPIKE Prime!

Article by Joe Meno Photography provided by LEGO Education

A SPIKE Prime model - the Breakdancer! One of the many attendees of the New York SPIKE Prime event. On April 2, 2019, a LEGO set was unveiled at an event in New York City. However, this set was announced from LEGO Education, the branch of the company that produces the MINDSTORMS EV3 set and more recently, the WeDo Educational set. The name of the set? SPIKE Prime. Like its predecessors, the set creates a hands-on approach to both building with LEGO bricks and elements and coding. As a completely new design in both hardware and software, SPIKE Prime is a set that is between the WeDo 2.0 and MINDSTORMS EV3 in difficulty. For those students who have worked with the WeDo 2.0, SPIKE Prime adds more powered options to their builds and the Scratch language to their programming base. From there, students also progress to Python, which is a popular programming language that is used worldwide and in real-world settings. SPIKE Prime builds not only LEGO creations, but also confidence in students. While targeted to middle school, the set is designed to reach all levels of learners and to be 64 inclusive, intuitive and naturally adaptive with its physical 65 and digital creative approach. With the hands-on projects and lessons, SPIKE Prime lets students engage in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) learning in an immediate and exciting environment. IF YOU ENJOYED THIS PREVIEW, Esben StærkCLICK Jørgensen, THE LINK president TO ORDER of LEGO THIS Education, said: “WeISSUE are seeing IN PRINT a challenge OR DIGITAL globally FORMAT! in middle school children, typically aged 11-14. At that age, children start losing their confidence in learning. A Confidence in Learn- ing Poll (fielded by Harris Insights and Analytics and online at https://theharrispoll.com/global-confidence-poll-executive- summary/) data shows that most students say if they failed at something once, they don’t want to try again. With SPIKE Prime and the lessons featured in the SPIKE app, these children will be inspired to experiment with different solutions, try new things and ultimately become more confident learners. And for teachers, time is the ultimate barrier. The lesson plans, resources and models make it so easy for teachers to integrate SPIKE Prime into the classroom.” Each SPIKE Prime set has 523 pieces which can be used to build many differentBRICKJOURNAL creations, including #58 corresponding LEGO WARBIRDS, PAST AND PRESENT! JEFF CHERRY’S WWII STEAM lessonand modern plans fighters (P-51that Mustang were and created F-14 Tomcat), by RALPH and for educa- tors to helpSAVELSBURG’S them bring BrickJournal more exclusive hands-on X-plane, MICHAEL STEAM learning BROWN’S F-14 Tomcat “Vandy One”, step-by-step LEGO in- into theirstructions curriculum by CHRISTOPHER and DECKget, studentsBrickNerd’s DIY moreFan Art with engaged and TOMMY WILLIAMSON, Minifigure Customization with JARED excited aboutK. BURKS STEAM, and more! subjects. LEGO Education and the LEGO Group have(84-page also FULL-COLOR created magazine) 11 new $8.95 innovative elements for the LEGO System(Digital in Play, Edition) which $4.95 will be first seen with SPIKE Prime.http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98_78_166&products_id=1436 These new elements include an innovative integrator brick, which allows for building together with The SPIKE Prime Competitive Robot, using parts from the Expansion Set. both the LEGO Technic and the LEGO System platforms, further expanding systematic creativity and the building providing lesson plans and resources in the SPIKE App. possibilities. SPIKE Prime is unique in that it combines physical building with beloved LEGO bricks, digital skills with Scratch- BrickJournal had a few questions about the system and based coding, and such a wide array of standards-aligned talked to LEGO Education about them: curriculum designed to be relatable and make learning BrickJournal: What was the reasoning behind the cre- joyful for middle schoolers and to build their confidence. ation of SPIKE Prime? Was it meant as an easier version SPIKE Prime is complementary to our learning continuum of MINDSTORMS, basically, and if so, what did SPIKE and WeDo2.0 will continue to serve the primary school Prime simplify? audience, while MINDSTORMS EV3 Education will serve middle school as well as high school students. LEGO Education: SPIKE Prime was created to help grow confidence in STEAM subjects among middle school teachers and students, whatever their starting point. SPIKE Prime is one of the easiest STEAM learning products for teachers to bring into the classroom—we know it can be daunting for teachers to find the right solution and then build lesson plans, so we’ve done the work for the teachers,

Another model from the set.

64 65