YouTube Channel Update for October 2020: How the "Relaunch" is going and some behind-the-scenes info

When I relaunched our YouTube channel about a month ago, it was to see if giving the channel more attention would be enough to push us back into monetization under YouTube's revised rules. It wasn't about the money, it was about something (literally) bigger than that.

Upsized and upgraded Lego Repair Shop set # 6363

A video takes a look around the "rebricking" of Lego Repair Shop set # 6363, which was upsized and upgraded by using two copies of the set.

Project: Upsizing the Classic Auto Repair Shop

If you've followed along with our town you've already gotten a pretty good look at our upsized Repair Shop (recently seen ON FIRE!) I'm still working on a couple interior details (and lighting issues) before doing a video of the shop as it now stands, but I wanted to discuss some of the story and design ideas behind it.

Traffic is Cluttering Up my Town

A short update on the town and a view of the tables separated in this video update. I am trying to balance consistently posting videos with actually having something to talk about -- which also then requires me to find time to BUILD things between the time spent making videos!

Police Truck and Prototyping

Still catching up some old posts and wanted to show you how we "prototype" new vehicles and show you a police truck we developed.

Classic Lego 4 wide truck designs and why they're ideal for your town

My affinity for classic Lego sets is obvious from the videos on this channel, but making 4 wide trucks is not as easy as you would think, because trucks are supposed to be BIG. So how do make a small truck look MASSIVE on a city street when everything is 4 wide?

Catzilla Returns - Part 2

Our cat Sophie was always intent on being AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE to whatever we were working on, and that included the Legotown. Sophie has been gone several years now (sadly) but I thought you'd enjoy these pictures of her roaming around scaring minifigs.

Easy Mod for Lego Tow Trucks

Here's a quick and easy modification that allows for tow trucks to actually "hitch" on a car without making unrealistic moves like popping a wheelie or lifting the front of the car. 

A closer look at the (neglected) lower levels of our Lego tables

This video is in response to Hari Bahadur, who asked to get a better look at the lower level of our Lego tables.

Why 4-wide? What's the biggest advantage of building "classic" scaled Lego?

You might have noticed that our town is build with a LOT less detail than the new modular style towns you see on other channels. Part of that is because it was started-- and has at its core-- a lot of classic Lego sets from the 1980s.

We're back! Maybe? Where do we go from here? Reviving Legotown?!!

Where do we go from here? That's the big question... With the kids out of the picture mostly, the future of our Legotown is in question.

Harry Potter: Street Vigilante!

Office Tower Grows Up and Up

Years ago, it was decided that the people of Bricksburgh couldn't all be expected to spend their days working as firefighters and police officers (which seem to the majority of Lego careers), so we built an office building for them to work in.

That original office building has since grown.  And grown.  And now it has grown again!

Twitting about with Tweeter

Hello fans!  You can find us on Twitter now too:  https://twitter.com/Bricksburgh.  We'll be able to give you more updates and content-- FASTER-- if you follow our account there.

New Police Car & Community Day

This post is a bit of a throwback.  The pictures were taken probably about 2005 or 2006-- but that's the great thing about Lego: they don't really age.  It was fairly early in the Renaissance of Lego, as Tyler was just beginning his journey and I was rediscovering my love of building.  

There was to be a new police car in town but, using our imaginations, we couldn't just "plop" it in town... it had to be shipping in, of course!

Harry Goes Rogue

Harry Potter should really stick to playing with his magic wand.  Uh-hem.   Somehow our favorite boy-wizard got his hands on a rocket propelled grenade launcher.

He's just a kid, after all, so what do suppose happened next?  Shortly after picking up the launcher Harry could be heard asking "what does this red button do?"  

AHHHhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

Barn Find!

One of our best garage sale finds lately was MOST of a horse stable set.  Originally full of details, our Riding Stable (set 6379) has been largely completed using our own extra pieces.  We were able to get a very nice setup despite missing some pieces.

Click on through to see how we've fit this partial set into Bricksburgh!

Where Horses Find Paradisa

Once you get out of the bustling beachfront and race complex of the main level of Bricksburgh, the buildings begin to spread out a bit and the countryside beckons.  The lower level of one table is full of suburbs with a quiet neighborhood street on one end and the Paradisa Rolling Acres Ranch (set #6419) on the other.

Click on through for our video tour!

#TBT Old Town Parade

In the interests and long running tradition of "Throw-Back Thursday"--  which dates all the way back to 2011-- today's post features our town as it appeared back in its FIRST version.

Tyler and I were watching news coverage of a disaster somewhere (I forget where but it's possible these are from around the time of Hurricane Katrina) and we decided to act out a relief effort.   Of course we only had ONE town, so the mission became one of airlifting supplies and rescue workers from the airport.

Upon their return from their operation, the town threw a "Welcome Home" parade for their heroes, followed by a community celebration.

Hospital Makes A Grand Entrance

A fixture in any town is the hospital.  Minifigs who fall ill or get injured can expect to find themselves on the doorstep of our town clinic.  Like many of the structures in Bricksburgh, the hospital received quite an upgrade in location when we moved to the new house.  

Even better than the location change, though, was the new driveway-- a much GRANDER entrance courtyard!