Book Review: The LEGO Adventures Book 3
No Starch Press has a whole new series of LEGO related titles ready for release and HispaBrick Magazine kicks of its series of reviews with the LEGO Adventure Book 3. I’m a big fan of the series (as are my kids) and parts one and two left us hungry for more.
The LEGO Adventure Book series has evolved quite a bit since the first part came out in 2013. The formula is still the same. Megs acts as our host and takes us from one scene to the next, visiting builder after builder. Chapters are introduced and tied together with brick built comic scenes that provide the entire book with a single story line, making it both fun to read (especially for kids) and an attractive reference for inspiration and techniques.
Comparing the three volumes, the building explanations have evolved very positively. They are becoming ever clearer (better contrasts and parts angles) and it’s increasingly easy to see what parts are needed to build each model. Most of the builds are explained using photographs of the physical part, but a few of the models are digital renders with ditto instructions. Each section uses a different colour to frame the pages, making it easy to find the part of the book you are looking for.
As with the previous two titles, the book has a little of everything, providing inspiration for different kinds of builders. In this edition Peter Reid shows how to build a space robot Birgitte Jonsgard and Craig Mandeville provide ideas for your LEGO City.
Stephan Sander (interviewed in HBM019) shows how to build cars in a larger scale and Jason Railton takes us to the Steam Fair. You can even learn to build your own food, courtesy of Alex Bidolak or a complete orchestra with the help of Matija Puzar!
I’m particularly enamoured with the first chapter with builder Patrick Bosman. No surprise there as I’m a fan of historical themes and Dutch to boot, but the replica of a street in the Dutch city of Dordrecht, including building instructions for a 17th-century house are beautiful while at the same time giving you the feeling “I can do this as well!” And that’s what these books are all really about: no over the top building techniques but lots of useful ideas and tips anyone can use to improve their own LEGO constructions.
For me the book is a must have, but only one of a series of titles I’ve set my sights on. Want to know more about upcoming LEGO related books? My next review will be in HispaBrick Magazine 023 in just a couple of weeks.
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