Corner Room Views

   A view into a room is always nice at a corner angle.  These entries for September's Building Challenge: Corner Room are certainly nice!  With so many LEGO sets offering modular construction, this a is good way to build skills to personalize any set or bucket of bricks.  Friends bricks offer a refreshing array of detailed, multi-use bricks & pieces, as well as colors found throughout our daily lives!

Creating "My Happy Place" based on her own Office/Photo Studio, Renatta_R gives us a glimpse behind-the-scenes of a LEGO fan. Building is just one aspect; getting the lighting just right for photography is another skill. Combine the two for sharing MOCs and it's creativity squared! 

At this point, the Friends bricks and other LEGO system bricks complement each other so well, it's a seamless blend.

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"The Lego Room" is another example of how passionate fans are! The amount of resources, time & effort merely sorting bricks into accessible storage containers is dedication. Then building such a clever representation of the very activity is inspiring for all who view it. Even though fujiia was a LEGO fan before, Friends has ignited her creativity to the next level!

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Kids and families playing with LEGO is a typical activity 

around the world, yet wayneallen's entry was built by 

his Daughter as depicting herself and her sister playing with their LEGO bricks in the middle of their Living Room floor. The wonderful details and lively scene she created is a 

perfect picture of LEGO Friends fans!

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One great way to get ready for LEGO building is muscle-building 

as dr_spock_888 has keenly created in his "Friends Exercise Room" 

where Mia lifts weights, while Emma rides the stationary bike and Andrea can sip Lemonade 'while' lifting free-weights! This room could be part of any number of places in Heartlake City -- the school, Olivia's House, or maybe the new Beach House.

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While building "My Favourite Room" Kristel pulled from her memory of times when she was a girl.  She shares with us how using bricks as a creative medium, we are able to transcend time and place while evoking an emotional connection to real life. It's hard to resist drifting to thoughts of our 

own room as a child when we look at all these flawless details.

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Results from last Building Challenge: MOD Month

MOD Set MOCs

   Modifying a set with personalized builder tweaks -- as long as the original set remains easily recognized -- is a fun way to build out-of-the-box while also transitioning to a MOC (My Own Creation).  It's called a MOD.  We have creations from this month's building challenge: MOD Month.

The second story modification to Heartlake High by tikitikitembo retains the classic school look while adding more room and a solid roof.  The front pavement looks very inviting with an inlaid tile pattern and designated spaces for flora.

There are clever bike racks to keep walkways clear for students to socialize.

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A room was built around Mia's Karate Studio by KPowers67 for easier transport as a playset, or to fit into a larger creation.  The lovely tiled floor and Ninja screens as windows carry this from mere set to MOD!

Did you notice the Sensei watching her Karate moves?

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Several sets modified into modules by Kristel for Andrea's Place creates a playable, yet more organized way to display each design.  Since this MOD is also Modular, it's easier to enjoy the various activities!

When not visiting Marie in the City Park Cafe or hanging out in her Bedroom, Andrea can practice her piano skills near near her Stage and beautiful windows!
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Creations from previous Building Challenge: Time~Warp

EV3-ized Dolphin Cruiser

Anika Vuurzoon motorized the LEGO Friends Dolphin Cruiser and she has created "leaping" Dolphins with the latest LEGO robotics kit "EV3" of the Mindstorms category.  Watch it in action!



Great job showing your creative and technical skills, Anika!

Time~Warp MOC parade!

   From Friends Bricks' first community Building Challenge "Time~Warp"
we have some creations to parade past you!
They are concepts (using ~150 bricks) these builders would have liked as a LEGO Friends set when they were 10 years old.

Bricksky built a Friends-style "Big Rig" truck -- which just happens to be pulling a "Beach Party Float" leading off this parade!  There's no doubt this is a fun Heartlake City event; the color-scheme is blended perfectly.  Check out all the clever ways Friends elements serve as mechanical functions.  Imagination itself is a builder's vehicle when setting out to create with all these new bricks.

Horses and Castles go together like ... well, like LEGO bricks!  In building "Emma's Fantasy Stable" kjw010 added crenelations to the parapet for a nice place to relax & view the surrounding area.  The small yard in front of the horse's stall is lovely and inviting.  This creation is playable, transportable and designed with wall techniques which would add to any girl's construction skills.  Such a fun concept for dreaming of her own pony!

Flower power is a regular style in pinkpinkandmorepink's MOC repertoire (she won best in show with a garden scene at an fan event in Australia) and so it's fitting that she would liked to have built & played with a "Flower Shop" creation as a young girl.  This shop could easily slide into Heartlake City's downtown area -- right next to the new Bakery!

Adding a second-story to showcase wedding gowns, pinkpinkandmorepink created "The Bridal Shop" for Heartlake City.  Whether girls play make-believe while wearing grown-up wedding attire, or happen to be a flower girl for a relative's wedding -- these lovely details, such as a veil hanging display, are just what a LEGO fan would want in a Bridal Shop!

"The Bat-Friend-Mobile" is Ultron32's creation for our MOC parade.  It's a version of the Batmobile with the signature Friends color Lavender added to the classic black.  We've seen many signals in current culture that purple is the new black ... this creation adds to the trend.  Besides, this is Batgirl's ride!

"Kite-Flying by the Lighthouse" is the scene LegoMyMamma created to reminisce about activities she enjoyed when she was a 10-year-old girl.  The heart-shaped lake in Heartlake City could surely use a Lighthouse.  With Friends large yacht and small speedboats enjoying the water -- we need to make sure the dock is easy to find.

We get a special sneak peek inside the Big Top during a rehearsal of the "Heartlake City Circus" built by fujiia.  This creation is super active: trapeze artists, horse-riding stunts, juggling, magic show, adorable clowns, and a "heart-ring" Master with a circus bear.  Follow the bright lights of the friendly sign to the purple curtain entrance and be inspired!

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This parade winds down near where it began -- with a creation by Bricksky.  This awesome "Monster Truck" for Stephanie shows friendly is also strong!  Once again, a creative use of Friends elements in new & unexpected ways!  It reminds me of a Powder-Puff Derby I went to as a 10-year-old! :-)

Andrea's Race Car can surely go full-reverse and speed away!

So, remember to mind where you park near the parade route -- you don't want your vehicle run over by one of these in Heartlake City!

Join us for our next Building Challenge!

Powerful Engineering

Mahjqa shows us that the LEGO Friends and their bricks can be used in all sorts of technical ways.  Here he has deftly incorporated power functions into two large vehicles so that can drive, turn, shoot, bulldoze and bulldoze their way through anything in their path.



Check out the video to see the vehicles in action. 

From the Danish corner of Heartlake City...

Anne Mette Vestergård made this Friends-rendition of a typical Danish house, using lots of bright light orange bricks and dark red roof pieces. 

I can't help but appreciate what looks to be lots of dark red cheese slopes along the steep slope along the upper story of the house.  For extra Friends' pets fun, check out Anne's LEGO Duck Fishing model too.
 

Friendsington Castle

   Fabulous castle & super heroes collaboration build between fujiia and Kloou for the 2013 Fana'Briques event in France:

   The blending of several themes & genres, all while maintaining the overall 'Friends' design & style is wonderful!


   As you can see from additional views, creativity is quite ample in adapting scenes with "other" characters.

   To continue on this magical fantastical journey -- more images (which show more of the great details) can be found here & here.  Enjoy!

Modular for Friends set modules

   Making more room for new sets, kjw010 built a wonderful Modular for her daughter's Emma sets and calls it: Emma's Place.  She combined 3 sets into a townhouse style of building, which takes up less horizontal space, yet because it's Modular, each level can be accessed for playability.



   She has created a classic Heartlake City building that would also fit well into any LEGO town layout.  The middle section, with nearly floor-to-ceiling windows, topped with the upper level's traditional sloped roof and inset windows blends Friends style with her signature Modular design.  She did a similar build with several sets for a Modular Stable.



   In a collaboration with her daughter on this section, it houses Emma's Design Studio.  Checkout the rest of the Emma's Place to see the "action" in the top level and to be inspired for creating your own set modules!

Lovely Bright Green Friends House

   These colors together are so lovely to me.  It takes me back to my childhood and a favorite outfit with green & pink stripes and bubblegum-pink cherries.
   This house built in Friends style setting along a street of other houses fitting of Heartlake City was created by AlfredD.
 

   This is apparently from a larger layout presented at LEGOWORLD 2012.  For more inspired houses, visit the entire folder on Brickshelf.

X-wing Friendly

   A fighter spaceship can be built out of Friends bricks, just as Melan-E has done.  Bricks are bricks in the hobby of LEGO construction toys.  As long as there is "clutch power" the creativity factor is infinite.  Color combination is about personal taste; the re-creation of a known vessel or structure remains the same in overall shape.
   Pink5 is the name she has given to her creation.  After viewing it, you can read the story behind the name and the chosen genre.

      Here is what she wrote on her photo set description:
   "This build in no way is to make the statement of 'Girls like Star Wars too! Wooo!'. This build is for the people out there who either have kids or don't and intentionally or not, dictate what kids should like or shouldn't. I'm not saying that everyone does, but some do and I deal with those people on a daily basis. Its the people who walk into the store and say 'Wheres the girl LEGO?' or 'Why doesn't LEGO make anything for girls?' and its not necessarily your fault. Subconsciously you say these things because someone taught you long ago that blue is for boys and pink is for girls. And hey, when a young girl comes running into our store and heads straight for the Friends line, I say awesome and I ask her what her favourite Friends character is and what her favourite set is. And its amazing.

    But its the other times when a young girl is desperately trying to show her parents how cool the Spiderman sets are and her dad/mom says 'Sweetheart, that stuff is for boys, look at the pink stuff over there' that this built was made for.

    This image is to allow those out there to see something in a different light, in this case a different colour, and open your mind up to the possibility that yes, your daughter can like Star Wars (or Batman or Ninja Turtles or whatever they want) and that is awesome and absolutely normal :)"

   To view additional angles of this build see the full set for Pink5.

May the Fourth be with you Friends

   The super prolific builder "monsterbrick" Matt Armstrong has blended Friends bricks into a creation of a familiar character.  This he calls "R2-QT-Pi" and when you see it you'll quickly recognize a resemblance.

  
   The new slope bricks from the City Park Cafe set used on the feet may be my favorite adaptation used in this design.
   This droid is part of his astromech for the pi series, which will be on display at LEGOLAND California for Star Wars Days June 15th and 16th 2013.  Here is a straight front view of this creation.  Here you can see a 'companion' version.

Modular LEGO Friends Cafe

   In some cities, you just have to build 'up' due to space.  MOCer Jotabeeeeeee did this and achieved transforming a LEGO Friends City Park Cafe into a City Modular with wonderful details, while maintaining recognizable features.  Any Heartlake City resident would easily see their favorite hang-out spot has been expanded.  The customized signage is particularly sweet!

   For a few more photo angles and to see more City Modulars, take a stroll through the set.

Mia's Magic Tricks starring Mini-Fig twin assistants

   Are you seeing double or triple?  Gianni Spigno creates a scene with Friends bricks and two classic minifigures.  Even though they're classic, they can still share Mia's hair pieces ;-)

Have you blended Friends & classic well?  Send us a link to your creation.

Friends in Sydney

   Friends are showing up at LEGO fan events more & more these days.  It's great to see Kimberly's creation of Friends buildings & scenes blended with Paradisa.  The Sydney Brick Show 2013 was held in Australia (of course) and is an annual event; visit their official site for more photos, plus information on next year's show.



photo by pete white brick

   Here's a view down her Paradisa beach layout.

Giant Friends Puppy

   We go from mini-scale to Giant now with Paul Yperman's Giant Friends Puppy; apparently it's terrorizing a LEGO City scene.  Oh, my!

   For additional views of this adorable over-grown Friends Pet, visit his MOCpages.  He's also kindly added the LDD instructions file for anyone who owns enough brown bricks to try their hand at building it.
   Don't forget about necessary pet accessories too ;-)

Mini Yacht & House

   Re-working the math of LEGO set creation brick numbers by re-creating a design into mini-scale isn't as easy as it looks!  The LEGO Group designers have even started doing this with sets, such as the Modular building series.
   Here are a few mini-scaled creations in the Friends theme for you to enjoy.  See how easily you recognize them.

   Even without the added text of Dolphin Cruiser, most fans would know it's a mini version of the soon to be released yacht for LEGO Friends.  Nekodesign_th did a nice job at maintaining scale, as well as a fun way to present her creation!  How clever to have a Mini-Doll viewing it as an exhibit :-)  Be sure to check out her photostream for lots of other mini creations -- a town, a tank, a star destroyer and more.

   Taking the flagship set of LEGO Friends Olivia's House into the mini-scale, winkg4sez maintains creation integrity.  Once again, upon first glance a Friends fan would recognize this house.  Now you have to check out the interior that has also been re-created into mini -- with loads of details!

Bricking Bavaria LEGO Friends Beach scene

   Stop by the Pasing LEGO store to see this fun creation by 1wave in person -- it will be displayed in the "Windows in the Community" window April 6 - May 6th.  Or, just enjoy it here and dream of your own beach scenario!

   The boat is a fun design, as well as the snack stand.  We see more & more beach scenes created with LEGO Friends bricks and Mini-Dolls.  The colors and overall atmosphere of Heartlake City must be an inspiration.
   See if you recognize a few 'other' characters in another angle of this creation :-)

Flamingo Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme

Despite criticism that the Friends line is all about the colors pink and purple, I find there is really not that much of those colors included in the actual sets.  This makes it quite hard to actually build something with pink or purple as the predominant theme.  Alex Jones (Orion Pax) didn't seem to be held back much by this problem.  His Flamingo Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme is quite the riot of lavender mixed with shades of pink.  I see quite the assortment of Friends elements included in the build, along with Clikits and various other pieces. 

Check out Alex's webpage for detailed high-res shots.  I particularly like the tile with Mia's cards printed on them being used as the license plate. 

Cinema - Showing "Friends style"

   You may recognize this cinema design from the Town Plan -- it has been adapted into a Friend-ly style Cinema by Sanna. 

                                              by Sanna via her blog

   I like how the pink and tan blend with the classic LEGO red bricks she uses, rather than the dark red color which dominates the official set.  The way she blends these colors creates a more modern look.  It makes me hungry for a twist of red licorice!
   Modifying such well-known LEGO buildings to easily appear along the street in Heartlake City is a bold move.  Sanna accomplishes this with style!

Garden Room

   Global weather affects everyone; especially now that we are all connected via the Internet.  Knowing of a friend who can enjoy a Summer's day, while another drudges through another round of Winter's mix can lead to empathy.
   That's why just looking at Emma's Garden Room by Kristel can positively affect a person halfway around the globe!

Built in traditional Friends style and colors, this could easily be located near the back of Olivia's House!

Just like any solarium, conservatory or greenhouse, this Garden Room has a glass ceiling for maximum sunlight to grow plants and warm the soul.

   Kristel created a Potting Bench to showcase the lovely growing area in the Garden Room.  Attention to detail is superb.  This room has all the tools needed for successful growing!

   Sharing a sunny & cheery Garden Room with Friends is what it's all about.  There's a lovely sofa, fun potted-plants, table with stools to enjoy a cuppa ... something -- perhaps coffee, tea, or hot chocolate -- depending on your taste.
   Wait, is that a frog over there? :-)

   To enjoy a few more images of this delightful build, see the full set of Emma's Garden Room on her Flickr (kjw010).

Which little voice would you listen to?

   Harkening images of a cartoon in which a character has two opposing "figures" appear on each shoulder, with voices only that character can hear, giving advice on whether or not to follow-through with a specific deed is 6kyubi6's creation:

    Friends Mini-Dolls customized to represent two differing attitudes make this creation a nice appeal to fans from various angles.  The brick lettering is excellent too!  Both cars are fun and clever.
   The creator titled it:  "A ride to Hell or to Heaven, you choose!"

   So, which voice are you gonna listen to? :-)

In a Gal-City not far far away ...

   Stephanie and her friends enjoy their Star Wars obsession in her room, as re-created by Ninja_Nin in "Stephanie's Playroom" MOC:

   For anyone who thinks Friends and [insert your favorite theme here] are mutually exclusive ... well, think with your eyes!

   For additional fun with theme-blending, set mash-ups, Ninja_Nin also created a "Baby Rock Monsters Nursery" scene with Power Miners bricks & Friends bricks:

   So, if you read any hyperbole about LEGO Friends not being 'compatible' consider the source an unreliable one.  Of course they are compatible -- all LEGO Bricks are!  Says right there on the box, "Building toy" -- if you take the time to read facts.

Friends by the Sea

   Water activities are always fun.  In Cyndi Bourne's lively "Friends Beach" scene, you can see those girls are enjoying their day in the sun!

   She used a trip to Mexico as inspiration to build; initially this began as a practice for palm tree techniques.  There are a few more photos of her creation in her set on Flickr.

   Now that Heartlake City has its own pool, we will most likely be seeing more creations like the wonderful "Pool Party" Katie (eilonwy77) built last year:

 

   Katie also built her water-themed creation as part of exploring building techniques; for her, it was the curved wall and trees with inter-woven leaf branches.  For additional images & instructions, visit her set.

   Building techniques, old & new, are just one more aspect of LEGO Friends theme in getting more girls to have interest in construction play.  The prevalence of polygons in future technology is undeniable.  There's no reason new technology can't be fun too ;-)

Primary Park

   Inspired by the Friends slide, Toni (tonistokes529) decided she wanted to build a playground.
   While LEGO bricks have always come in primary colors: red, yellow, blue; those colors are also found in Friends sets.
   Visit her Primary Park and see just how Friendly it is!

   She built: a see-saw, stairs to funhouse with an adventure's wobbly bridge, vertical climb bars, monkey bars, climbing wall, sandbox, park bench seats, lovely tree for shade, swing set, basketball court, bicycle rack, and even a drinking fountain!  Whew!  That's a lot of fun packed into one park!

    Oh and hey -- there's that Friends slide (from Heartlake City Pool) which provided the motivation to push her building skills! 
   Most of these primary-colored-bricks you see here do come in Friends sets; some of these are from other System sets -- which all play nice together ;-)
  

   Bird's-eye-view (yes, actually that bird is a Friends' pet) looking like a typical playground found in every town & city across the globe.  Sure looks fun to me!

   Toni has even provided other fans a diagram of how she built the swings -- quite similar to the swing from Olivia's House, with just a seat change for Primary Park.

   Primarily known for pastel colors, LEGO Friends sets contain merely 10% of the color pink.  They also contain some nice technic building opportunities.
   Ready to have fun building your own park?  Head over to Toni's Primary Park set for inspiration by viewing additional close-up photos of the various playground equipment.