I don’t keep in mind when my household first acquired our first Lego bricks. Like awakening from a fever dream, I regained consciousness previously few years and realized we now have an entire room devoted to Lego, with 1000’s of bricks organized by coloration in a chest-high shelving unit (and an enormous bin of combined items on the ground).

Most fans can empathize and have an analogous expertise. None extra so than Stacey Roy, the “brickfluencer” who received final yr’s season of Lego Masters. The Fox present is a contest between numerous pairs of Lego fans as they compete in opposition to one another in a sequence of, frankly, insane themed constructing challenges. Last season, actor Chris Pratt guest-hosted a Jurassic Park–themed episode the place the groups needed to embrace fireworks and explosions of their dinosaur builds. Roy and her companion, Nick Della Mora, received in a finale that challenged them to include their very first Lego set into their grasp construct.

The competitors removes one main constraint: Each workforce can decide no matter items they want and nevertheless many from the Brick Pit, an unbelievable wall with tens of millions of bricks and specialty bricks for every problem. If you’re just starting out, accumulating sufficient items to construct something can appear to be step one on a path to insolvency. Yes, typically you’re simply broke. (I promised my husband the Colosseum for Christmas, FML.) But all of us have to begin someplace. We requested Roy for her tips about learn how to get began constructing a Lego assortment. 

If you purchase one thing utilizing hyperlinks in our tales, we might earn a fee. This helps assist our journalism. Learn more.

Start With a Theme

Most of us get into Lego the identical method—we discover a set we actually need and go from there. “I felt the urge to get back into Lego a few years ago, in the most insane way possible,” Roy says. “I bought the Millennium Falcon ($850). It’s an amazing set and I highly recommend it.”

Lego began making licensing deals way back to 1999, including iconic properties like Star Wars and Marvel to its roster. If you’re into Star Wars, beginning out by accumulating every of these units might be the easiest way to construct up a group of specialty items to reuse. The most recognizably distinctive items are probably the minifigures, however with a bit of creativeness, different items might be repurposed as properly. Roy factors out that the Lego pink frog on a bonsai tree appears precisely like a cherry blossom while you take a step again.

Once you’ve began with a theme, Roy recommends the modular building sets, which include a lot of significantly helpful constructing items. For instance, the Boutique Hotel ($230) has Victorian-style wrought-iron railings that, while you look nearer, are literally skeleton arms. “Lego is incredibly imaginative when it comes to reusing pieces,” Roy says. Pay consideration to what you need to construct, and you’ll be taught which items and constructing types you favor.

Finding Specific Pieces

If there’s a particular piece you must have to finish a construct, Lego’s on-line Pick a Brick—the place you could find items by key phrase, piece quantity, coloration, and set—is the pure first place to begin. But it’s not your solely useful resource.

My household is subscribed to the Lego Insiders program, which, relying on what number of Lego bricks you purchase, is value it. You get factors for purchases and a heads-up on Lego gross sales. My 8-year-old additionally enjoys the Lego Life children’ journal. It’s vital to notice right here that you just don’t get factors for purchases made outdoors of official Lego shops or Lego.com, which implies that purchases made at Legoland and at Lego-certified or affiliated shops received’t depend towards your totals.

Roy recommends visiting your native Lego retailer in particular person. “Because every Lego store is different and offers different things, I make it a priority to visit every store in person when I travel,” she says.