Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene |
Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (or ABS) is a thermoplastic used to produce molded products such as musical instruments, protective equipment, and LEGO bricks |
BAM Box |
Many LEGO stores have an assortment of minifig parts and accessories separate from the Pick-A-Brick wall. There is a plastic container (the “box”) that holds 3 minifigs. A BAM Box of 3 complete minifigs can be purchased for around $10 |
Billund, Denmark |
Billund, Denmark is the location of the international headquarters of The LEGO Group |
Brick Badge |
Also known as an Engraved Brick Badge, this item is a stack of bricks that has a name and other info engraved on the surface. There is generally a magnet stuck to the backside of the badge that allows someone to wear it on their shirt. Brick Badges are available for preorder, but only for a limited time |
Brick Film |
A Brick Film is a stop-motion movie made by animating LEGO pieces |
Brick Separator |
A brick separator is a wedgeshaped LEGO element specially designed for use in separating other LEGO bricks or plates. A new style of brick separator was introduced by LEGO in late 2011 |
Collectible Minifigure |
LEGO released the first series of Collectible Minifigs in the first half of 2010. Unlike most LEGO sets, the Collectible Minifigs come in a small bag that contains just one minifig and its accessories. Each series contains 16 minifigs |
Color Change |
The color change occurred in late 2003, when the original dark and light greys were replaced by bluish shades of grey (dark bley and light bley), and the older brown was replaced by a redder shade of brown (reddish-brown) |
CUUSOO |
The LEGO CUUSOO (now LEGO Ideas) program is an opportunity for fans to promote their own model for a chance to have it produced as an official LEGO set. In order to submit an entry, one must upload an image and description of their proposed set. Users can vote to support models on the Ideas website. Once a model reaches 10,000 votes, it is reviewed by TLC, and if it passes, is produced as a set |
Dark Age |
A dark age is the period in an AFOL’s life when LEGO products are temporarily set aside for other interests. Dark ages typically occur from sometime in the middle teen years to sometime in adulthood. Due to the fan community developed online as well as the formation of teen-friendly LUGs, dark ages are becoming less common |
Dark Bley |
Dark bley refers to the bluish shade of dark grey which, in 2003, replaced the older, browner version of dark grey in LEGO sets. Bluish + Grey = Bley |
Enfield, Connecticut |
Enfield, Connecticut is the location of the North American headquarters of The LEGO Group |
Fleshie |
A fleshie is a minifig whose skin is fleshtoned, as opposed to traditional yellow-skinned minifigs. Fleshies were introduced in 2004 for use in licensed sets to distinguish figures representing real people from the more generic figures appearing in non-licensed sets |
Footprint |
This is the amount of table space that a MOC takes up. A building may be 1 foot, 3 inches wide by 1 foot, 9 inches long, but the landscaping or baseplates that it is built on makes it take up a 2X3 baseplate footprint. The coordinator for a collaborative area will often use the footprint sizes of the MOCs that people are bringing to design the layout on the tables beforehand |
LDraw |
LEGO Draw, LDraw, (also known as MLCAD) is a freeware program which allows LEGO enthusiasts to create virtual MOCs. LDraw is constantly being extended and refined by members of the LEGO community |
Leg Godt |
The phrase leg godt means “play well” in Danish and is the source of the name of The LEGO Group. The LEGO Group also claims that LEGO translates as “I assemble” or “I put together” in Latin, although this is a rather strained translation |
LEGO Ambassador & Network |
LEGO Ambassadors are represent each RLUG and work with The LEGO Group in order to foster communication and collaboration between the company and the LEGO enthusiast community. The ambassador is also the key link in getting LEGO support for RLUG (eg – free stuff)and they participate in the LEGO Ambassador Network (LAN). Learn more here |
LEGO |
The LEGO Group (or The LEGO Company, or TLC, or TLG) is the official name of the company that produces LEGO products. The LEGO Company prefers that the term “LEGO” should only be used alone to refer to the company, otherwise the term should be used as an adjective, as in “LEGO sets” or “LEGO elements” |
LEGO Train Club |
A LEGO Train Club (or LTC, or simply train club) is a group of LEGO train enthusiasts (often restricted to AFOLs and TFOLs) who meet regularly (either in person or online) to discuss railroad-related aspects of the hobby and participate in collaborative activities. Thus, an LTC is a particular type of LUG |
Light Bley |
Light bley refers to the bluish shade of light grey which, in 2003, replaced the older, browner version of light grey in LEGO sets. Bluish + Grey = Bley |
LUGBULK |
The LUGBULK program is a once a year opportunity for RLUGs (see below) to purchase large amounts of pieces (BULK) directly from the LEGO Company. An RLUG has to apply and meet certain requirements (public shows, website, minimum number of members, etc.) to participate in the program |
Microscale |
Microscale (or microfig scale, or pocket model scale) MOCs are any MOCs that are built in a scale much smaller than minifig scale. Often, microscale MOCs are built accoding to a onestud- brick = one-adult-human scale, although this varies |
MINDSTORMS |
MINDSTORMS LEGO product line which combines programmable bricks with motors and TECHNIC elements in order to create LEGO robots. MINDSTORMS products are used by schools and other programs in order to teach the fundamentals of robot design and control |
Minifigure |
Minifigures (or MFs, or minifigs) are the figures most often found in LEGO sets today. Typically approximately four bricks in height, minifigures have interchangeable hands, hair, legs, heads, torsos, and accessories |
Minifigure Scale |
Minifigure scale (or minifig scale) refers to LEGO creations that are built to the scale of minifigures. Thus, minifigure scale is approximate 1:48, but varies between 1:30 and 1:100 in many creations |
Nanoscale |
Nanoscale is like microscale, only even smaller. In this scale, there is no piece small enough to represent a minifig. The Star Destroyer from the 10143 Death Star set is an example of nanoscale |
Pick-A-Brick |
Pick-A-Brick (or PAB) is a service provided at LEGO retail stores where particular elements are stored in containers on a wall. Customers can buy as many elements off the wall as can fit into a plastic cup (or sometimes, special larger containers) for a fixed price. The LEGO website also has a version of P.A.B. where you can buy individual pieces |
Piece Made Of Other Pieces |
A piece made of other pieces (or piece of other pieces, or POOP) is a single LEGO element that could have been built out of two or more common LEGO elements |
Programmable Brick |
A programmable brick is a large LEGO brick containing electronics which allow it to be used in the creation of LEGO MINDSTORMS robots. Programmable bricks include the RCX, NXT, and EV3 programmable bricks |
Purist |
MOC is purist if it does not contain any paint, clone bricks, non-LEGO stickers, modified parts, or third-party parts or accessories. The term can also be used to refer to LEGO enthusiasts who restrict their building techniques in this way |
Recognized LUG |
A Recognized LEGO User Group, RLUG, is a LUG that has applied to LEGO to be a recognized group to participate in RLUG specific programs with The LEGO Group |
Seriously Huge Investment in Parts |
A Seriously Huge Investment in Parts (or SHIP) is a spacecraft MOC that is at least one hundred studs in length. Building a SHIP is viewed as a rite of passage within the LEGO space community |
Signature Figure |
A signature figure (or sig fig) is a minifigure used by a LEGO enthusiast to represent him- or herself. Often, photographs of signature figures are used as avatars on online forums and other LEGO-related sites |
Speed Build |
A speed build is a competition where small teams of builders are challenged to construct an official (and typically, very large) LEGO set as quickly as possible |
Studs Not On Top |
Studs not on top (or SNOT) refers to a body of specialized building techniques that allow LEGO elements to be incorporated into MOCs on their sides or even upside down in order to obtain the shape or effect desired by the builder. This style of building is different from the traditional method of building with all of the pieces right-side-up, hence the name |
TLC |
TLC stands for The LEGO Company (sometimes called “The LEGO Group of Companies” or other names depending on the country and the legal regulations of that country.) While the single word “LEGO” can refer to the LEGO Company, fans sometimes use the acronym “TLC” instead, since the word “LEGO” can also refer to the products made by the LEGO Company |