Introducing my LEGO Parts Guide, which is powered by images exported from LDraw.
2024-02-22, 6:50
2024-02-22, 6:50
A couple weeks ago, I asked about how to download the LDraw partlist so that I can include direct links to the LDraw website when people want to learn more about a specific part.
I am excited to announce that the initial release of my LEGO Parts Guide is live!
LINK: https://brickarchitect.com/parts/
What is the LEGO Parts Guide?
I aimed to create a well-organized, beautifully designed alternative to sites like Bricklink or Rebrickable when you just want to browse relatively common parts that are still being produced, without being bogged down in printed parts, extremely rare parts, or parts which retired two decades ago.
![[Image: 2024-02-21-L3-Category-Joint-620x501.png]](https://brickarchitect.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2024-02-21-L3-Category-Joint-620x501.png)
Learn about each category with a text description and a gallery of LEGO parts.
I built this initial version with two audiences in mind:
![[Image: 2024-02-21-Part-Page-cropped-620x420.png]](https://brickarchitect.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2024-02-21-Part-Page-cropped-620x420.png)
Learn about each part on a dedicated page, with links to popular sites like Pick-a-Brick, Bricklink, Rebrickable, and LDraw to learn more.
This is also just the beginning — I’m eager to keep making this experience better by enhancing the page to learn more about each part, offering an easy way to print a LEGO Brick Label for a specific part, and adding more parts to the guide.
Right Now: Feedback Welcome!
This is one of the most knowledgeable and experienced communities of LEGO Parts Experts, so I would LOVE to hear your feedback on the experience I've built so far! What would you like to see me change or add to make this a lot more valuable?
Looking Forward: Partnering well with the LDraw Community?
One experience that I have not built yet but will be building soon is a way to re-calculate the 'most common LEGO parts' on a daily basis. (My previous analysis was very slow to calculate, and I only updated it once or twice a year.)
The problem with a closer-to-realtime LEGO Parts Database is that I will run into more instances where an increasingly popular part doesn't have a 3d model in LDraw yet. Because having a beautiful gallery of part images that are in a consistent style is a requirement for my site, I was wondering if it would be possible to automate the process of requesting new parts in LDraw?
For example: I could create a script that generates a csv containing a list of parts that are in the top 2000 most common LEGO parts, but are not available in LDraw yet.
Thoughts? How can we collaborate better going forward?
Sincerely,
—Tom Alphin / brickarchitect.com
I am excited to announce that the initial release of my LEGO Parts Guide is live!
LINK: https://brickarchitect.com/parts/
What is the LEGO Parts Guide?
I aimed to create a well-organized, beautifully designed alternative to sites like Bricklink or Rebrickable when you just want to browse relatively common parts that are still being produced, without being bogged down in printed parts, extremely rare parts, or parts which retired two decades ago.
Learn about each category with a text description and a gallery of LEGO parts.
I built this initial version with two audiences in mind:
- Organizing your own collection — With just 13 top-level categories, it’s easy to get started in sorting your collection the Brick Architect way. As your collection continues to grow, sub-categories allow you to fine-tune your storage solution so you can find everything quickly.
- Understanding how LEGO works — As you explore the categories and sub-categories, the title and description for each folder teaches you about the various connection types, complex geometries, and other skills you need to learn on your road to a Master Builder.
Learn about each part on a dedicated page, with links to popular sites like Pick-a-Brick, Bricklink, Rebrickable, and LDraw to learn more.
This is also just the beginning — I’m eager to keep making this experience better by enhancing the page to learn more about each part, offering an easy way to print a LEGO Brick Label for a specific part, and adding more parts to the guide.
Right Now: Feedback Welcome!
This is one of the most knowledgeable and experienced communities of LEGO Parts Experts, so I would LOVE to hear your feedback on the experience I've built so far! What would you like to see me change or add to make this a lot more valuable?
Looking Forward: Partnering well with the LDraw Community?
One experience that I have not built yet but will be building soon is a way to re-calculate the 'most common LEGO parts' on a daily basis. (My previous analysis was very slow to calculate, and I only updated it once or twice a year.)
The problem with a closer-to-realtime LEGO Parts Database is that I will run into more instances where an increasingly popular part doesn't have a 3d model in LDraw yet. Because having a beautiful gallery of part images that are in a consistent style is a requirement for my site, I was wondering if it would be possible to automate the process of requesting new parts in LDraw?
For example: I could create a script that generates a csv containing a list of parts that are in the top 2000 most common LEGO parts, but are not available in LDraw yet.
Thoughts? How can we collaborate better going forward?
Sincerely,
—Tom Alphin / brickarchitect.com