Latest News from Brickmania

BRICKMANIA 401 (Released March 15, 2009)
CUSTOM MODEL KIT

SKILL LEVEL 3 (OF 5): INTERMEDIATE

Fokker DR.1 Dreidecker

The iconic plane made famous by World War One ace Manfred von Richthofen aka The Red Baron.

Total Pieces: 324 genuine LEGO elements + Mauser pistol from BrickArms
Minifigs: 1

I absolutely fell in love with this model and felt compelled to make it into a kit after six year's hiatus from new Brickmania releases. The model is perfectly proportioned for minifigs (scale is 1 stud = 1 foot), is surprisingly sturdy, and is just plain fun to "swoosh" around the house.

The Fokker Dr.1 Dreidecker ("tri plane") is perhaps the most famous airplane of World War One. My model comes in the bold red livery of the war's top ace Manfred von Richthofen, who scored his final 20 of 80 victories in this fighter. In his own words Richtohofen described the Dr.1: "It climbed like a monkey and maneuvered like the devil." A total of 320 Dr.1's were built during the war and it served with distinction until being replaced by the more advanced Fokker D VII (arguably THE best fighter plane of the war).

Model Details: The kit is made up of 324 new LEGO elements (including a "Baron" minifig) and a pistol from Brickarms. Full-color printed building instructions and a signed certificate of authenticity are also included in the sealed box, which is also individually numbered and signed. As with all Brickmania kits, this design will be available for a limited time only and may be discontinued without notice.

Limited availability: The instructions for this model were specifically designed for inclusion in my forthcoming military modeling book and will not be available through my instructions subscription club. Instructions for the Spad S.XIII (the other plane in the picture above) will be available to club members shortly.

First paid, first shipped: Due to overwhelming demand for this kit I am currently unable to keep them on the shelf for ready shipping. I am currently making them in small batches and shipping them out as fast as I can gather the parts. Kits will be shipped in order payment was received and kit assemble can take as long as 2-3 weeks before shipping.

Read more: Fokker Dr.1 Custom Kit Available to Order!

Happy New Year and welcome to Brickmania.com!

I know many of you are eagerly awaiting the new set of instructions for January 2009. I just want to ask you to patiently hold tight for another day and I will have the new set of instructions ready to view and build. As of yesterday I was not 100% happy with the models (yes, there are two models again) and made several revisions over the course of the last 24 hours. I am now finally satisfied that models live up to my standards of detail and accuracy. I am currently in the process of creating the digital version of the models that will be used to generate the images of the instructions. I hope to have the first draft of these instructions available by the end of today (January 1) or sometime early tomorrow.

Thanks for your patience and support... it will soon be rewarded!

Dan

PS: The Brickmania forum has been taken offline for the moment. A vastly superior Brickmania forum will be available soon!

After a five year hiatus from releasing new kits and instructions, I am pleased to announce the launch of the Brickmania Instructions Club. Membership in the club will include subscription access to new sets of instructions to be released each month. It will also include complete access to the entire archive of my previously released instructions sets.

On December 1, 2008 I will release my first new set of instructions to kick off the Brickmania Instructions Club. The featured model is the StuG III mechanized assault gun featured in my model gallery. These instructions have been slated for printing in my forthcoming military modeling guide. As a bonus to members, the club version will also include exclusive instructions for a Panzer III alternate model. Both vehicles have been built entirely with parts that are easily obtainable from recent LEGO sets and should be relatively easy to find. The instructions are assembled as high-resolution .PDF files which can be viewed on your screen or printed with picture-quality results. My instructions now include parts-per-step box, with visual representations of each element, plus a master list to help you assemble all the parts you will need.

Membership to the Brickmania Instructions Club is available as an annual subscription service. A one year membership is $30 and will include at new set of building instructions to be released each month. The model subjects will be varied and I already have a long list of subjects lined up up that cover military, castle, trains and more. A feedback forum is also being launched to help help generate feedback, determine future models, and offer a place for builders to share strategies for finding parts, building tips, customizations, and other useful information.

To join the Brickmania Instructions Club, you must first register for an account on this site. Once registered and logged in, click the PURCHASE SUBSCRIPTION link in the under the YOUR ACCOUNT tab in the menu above. Subscriptions can be processed in real time using Paypal or can be purchased offline via snail mail.

In fall 2008 I plan to release new custom model instructions for the first time in more than five years through the new Brickmania Instructions Club.

Since late 2007 I have been working on dozens of new models and instructions sets as part of my forthcoming book on military modeling. The book will not be large enough physically or in subject range to include every set I have developed. Therefore I will be launching a Brickmania Instructions Club to make the excess models available to the general public. Since my models and instructions take hundreds of hours to develop, membership in the club will be be fee based. Members will enjoy an new set of model instructions each month, including many exclusive club-only designs, plus have access to the full archive of new and "classic" Brickmania instruction sets. Club members will also have first crack any custom model kit pre-sales should I actually decide to walk down that path again (In the past, some of my most exclusive kits were available ONLY to my previous customers and were never offered for public sale). When my book is published I will also make autographed copies available exclusively to club members.

Memberships will be available starting November 2008. Watch this space for updates.