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As a Lego noob watching Lego Masters, I spot certain techniques being used time and again, without any real explanation (Lego Masters is great for entertainment, but offers little to no instruction). For example, curves can be created by alternating 1x2 bricks and 1x1 "barrels" (or cones).

Is there any kind of online catalog of Lego techniques? Does such a thing exist? Not only would this allow me to learn more rapidly, but I could also refer to the technique by its correct name.

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  • Related/duplicate? bricks.stackexchange.com/questions/7695/…
    – shoover
    Commented May 5, 2021 at 15:23
  • @shoover I think the distinction is the other question is about books and this one is about an online resource. There is definitely some overlap (Similar topic, different medium). In my original answer I only included the books I could think of but I have added an online resource that I think may be more helpful.
    – Ambo100 ♦
    Commented May 5, 2021 at 16:40
  • @Ambo100, yeah, that's why I didn't flag it as a dup. It's definitely related, but not the same question.
    – shoover
    Commented May 5, 2021 at 21:17
  • @shoover Thanks for sharing it though! It looks like I made an edit to that question a few years ago so must have seen I often forget about these.
    – Ambo100 ♦
    Commented May 5, 2021 at 21:52

3 Answers 3

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Swooshable has a great collection of SNOT (studs not on top) and advanced techniques, it is probably the closest thing you will get to an online catalogue.

enter image description here

They seem to have updated their SNOT section with some really pretty renderings, piece information, videos and step by step instructions. Most of the articles for advanced techniques lead to external sites.

There are also techniques for making LEGO fonts and an introduction to building techniques and many other cool things.

There are a also few books I can recommend, they are all from the same publisher (no starch press) but are probably the best resources.

The Unofficial LEGO Builder's Guide, 2nd Edition

I have both editions but I prefer the second as it is in full colour and much more compact. It covers among many other things:

  • Common vocabulary
  • Structural tips (Building round walls, bracing, columns, etc.)
  • Parts that can be used as substitutions
  • Advice on planning builds
  • Mosaics
  • Sculptures
  • An index of commonly used parts.

enter image description here

The Unofficial LEGO Technic Builder's Guide, 2nd Edition

The best book there is for Technic builders, it covers the basic concepts, mechanics, pneumatics, motors and other more advanced concepts.

enter image description here

The LEGO Technic Idea Book: Simple Machines

Also covers Technic concepts but from a minimalist perspective. The techniques are presented purely visually so it is up to you to work out how they work. It's a good book to flick through to get inspiration.

enter image description here

If you aren't looking for anything in particular, you can also have a look at the top questions with the 'building' tag on this site.

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    These are excellent books.
    – chicks
    Commented May 5, 2021 at 11:34
  • Just added Swooshable which I completely forgot about but I think may be a better resource in regards to the question.
    – Ambo100 ♦
    Commented May 5, 2021 at 16:35
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I think it is impossible to have a catalog of ALL building techniques. New solutions being invented each day using old and newly released parts.

There are couple of Flickr groups I could suggest for interesting solutions people end up with for their models:

  1. LEGO Techniques
  2. News LEGO Techniques

You can also stumble on NPU acronym in LEGO community, which stands for Nice Part Use. It is often used for naming a combination of elements connected in unusual way.

PS. Oh, and it is possible to build circles with usual, non-round bricks, you just need a bit of space:

enter image description here

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    I used to do that as a young kid with Duplo blocks; it was a lot of fun to build curved structures (tank treads, sadly, never held together though :()!
    – bob
    Commented May 5, 2021 at 15:48
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I'm working on a Youtube channel where I explain Lego techniques, but I only just started the project. I've got two videos right now.

Link to my channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCApO8jYdw4k8plpvEVI8zCQ

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    Hi Ben and welcome to Bricks.SE! Your channel has the potential to become the catalog of techniques OP asked for, just make sure to drop by here now and then to update this answer if you upload new videos.
    – zovits
    Commented May 5, 2021 at 9:17
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    Okay, I will do that!
    – Ben H.
    Commented May 5, 2021 at 23:08
  • @zovits it doesn't make sense to keep updating this answer with URLs to new videos. This would become a promo post, rather than an answer. I think it could actually be better to update answer with URL to channel, than individual videos.
    – Alex
    Commented May 20, 2021 at 19:42
  • @Alex I think I'll do that instead, it sounds much simpler.
    – Ben H.
    Commented May 22, 2021 at 12:35

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