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UNOFFICIAL
GUIDE TO THE BASICS – AND NOT-SO-BASICS
OF BUILDING WITH LEGO® BRICKS
Longtime hobbyist lays firm foundation
for building with LEGO elements
The
Unofficial LEGO Builder’s Guide
by Allan
Bedford 
Bridging
the gap between instructions included with LEGO sets and the
unlimited world of freestyle LEGO building, The Unofficial
LEGO® Builder’s Guide (No Starch Press, September
’05) is a nuts-and-bolts approach to making original
models from those famous plastic bricks. Written by Allan
Bedford, a lifelong LEGO fan whose most ambitious model to
date is a 5,000-piece replica of Toronto’s famed CN
Tower, this new title draws together core techniques, principles
and reference information.
Focusing
on building actual models with real bricks, The Unofficial
LEGO Builder’s Guide includes complete instructions
for building several models but also encourages readers to
use their imaginations to create their own fantastic designs.
While the book incorporates basic engineering and architecture
principles, its tone is friendly, light-hearted and geared
toward helping readers of all ages get the most fun out of
the popular pastime.
Inside
The Unofficial LEGO Builder’s Guide, readers will learn:
· The best ways to connect bricks and how best to use
those patterns
· Tricks for calculating and building to scale
· How to think and build in 3-D
· Step-by-step plans to create a train station on the
scale of LEGO people (a.k.a., “minifigs”)
· How to build spheres, jumbo-sized LEGO bricks and
micro-scaled models
· An end-to-end design exercise for creating a mini
space shuttle
· Tips for sorting and storing LEGO pieces
The Unofficial
LEGO Builder’s Guide also includes the “Brickopedia,”
a visual guide to nearly 300 of the most useful and reusable
elements of the LEGO system, with historical notes, common
uses, part numbers, and the year each piece first appeared
in a LEGO set.
“Although
age-old, LEGO building seems to be more popular than ever,”
said Bill Pollock, founder of No Starch Press. “Allan’s
book takes the LEGO building hobby seriously and does a great
job of spelling out the fundamentals so that anyone can become
a master builder.”
The Unofficial
LEGO Builder’s Guide will appeal both to children who
are ready for more ambitious projects and adults who are rediscovering
the joy of building with LEGO elements – as their own
hobby or one to share with their kids.
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR: Allan Bedford is an active member of
the online LEGO community, having contributed ideas and discussions
for several years. He works as a business analyst by day and
spends his spare time cycling, designing board games and,
of course, building with LEGO bricks.
The Unofficial
LEGO® Builder's Guide by Allan Bedford
September 2005, 376 pp., $24.95, ISBN 1-59327-054-2
Available at fine bookstores everywhere, from www.oreilly.com/nostarch,
or directly from No Starch Press (www.nostarch.com, orders@nostarch.com,
800.420.7240).
ABOUT
NO STARCH PRESS: Founded in 1994, No Starch Press
is one of the few remaining independent computer book publishers.
We publish the finest in geek entertainment — unique
books on technology, with a focus on Open Source, security,
hacking, programming, and alternative operating systems. Our
titles have personality, our authors are passionate, and our
books tackle topics that people care about. See www.nostarch.com
for more. (And by the way, most No Starch Press books use
RepKover, a lay-flat binding that won’t snap shut. Hungry
geeks love it.)
Download
a sample chapter now chapter.
Buy
The Unofficial LEGO Builder’s Guide
@ Amazon.com
LEGO,
the brick configuration and the minifigure are trademarks
of the LEGO Group, which is not responsible for this publication.
© 2005 The LEGO Group. All rights reserved.
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