LEGO Ideas Book

There is lots to love about this book and nothing to dislike, so long as you accept the title: it's inspirational in intent. There are no step-by-step instructions as you would find if you bought an off-the-shelf LEGO kit. Instead there heaps of pictures of different types of LEGO objects, from buildings to animals to vehicles to practical objects (e.g. picture frames) all designed and built by six amateur LEGO enthusiasts. I think it's great that LEGO reach out to their biggest fans in this way, instead of using people who work for the company as designers - a very different style emerges, with a somewhat old-time air to it, by which I mean prior to the rebirth of LEGO as a company that does movie tie-ins, cartoon DVDs and video games. That rebirth probably saved the company from extinction but it's good to see that they can mix that modern commercialism with the old enthusiast-supporting ethos with projects such as this book.

There's a lot more than just pictures of LEGO models, though: there are tips on how to design your own projects, how to reduce weight and maintain strength in large models, ways of creating certain effects - all sorts. There are also interviews with the designers, covering such things as what they would build given all the time and bricks they needed, what their biggest models are and where they get their inspiration from.

The graphic design is also excellent and the use of humour makes the book accessible to just about any age of LEGO builder. Great stuff!