Build The Lego Toy Of Your Dreams On A Mac

Think of today’s episode as Free Toys For Mac Users. Toys? As in Lego toys. Rather, virtual Legos. My father is an engineer. I have four brothers. Two in college, two are engineers.

Yes, I grew up playing with Legos. Fortunately, the brotherly influence was modest, and there were never enough Lego building blocks or toys to go around, but I can crank out a few inspired Lego creations in nothing flat. As a Mac users I’m always looking for something useful for my children. Virtual Legos? Yep. Use your Mac to create the Lego toys of your dreams.

A Virtual Lego Builder

Since we Mac users are somewhat elitist, it’s possible that many have never used Lego building blocks, or Lego toys.

For those that had the pleasure of building mostly male dominated toys and Lego creations, you know the basic problems.

First, Legos are expensive. Whether the toys or the blocks, there’s nothing cheap about Lego plastic. Second, Legos tend to get lost. Pets. Neighborhood kids. Sofas. Toilets. Blocks and toys disappear as if by magic.

Third, there were never enough blocks or toys to go around (see above for reasons). Finally, whatever education or learning value there is in a Lego toy or creation is debatable.

My parents sure didn’t buy Legos for me.

The Lego Collection In Your Mac

Mac and PC users have games which place us in a virtual reality. Why not a virtual toy? That’s what Bricksmith is. A Lego palace on your Mac.

Think about what Bricksmith really is. It looks like Legos. It works like Legos. It creates like Legos. But it’s all done on your Mac. What does that mean? No price tag. Bricksmith is a virtual Lego creator without a price tag.

What else does that mean? You never run out of Lego building blocks or toys. Neither blocks nor toys will get crushed by a pet, swallowed up by a toilet, or snitched by a neighborhood kid.

The only negative that I can see is that it takes some work to build a virtual replica of some of Lego’s more esoteric (and expensive) toys. Toys? Aren’t Legos just blocks? If you ask that then you’ve been living a lonely life.

Create Blocks & Toys For Free

Bricksmith is based upon the LDraw Library which creates the Lego building blocks on a computer. When you download Bricksmith you have an option to get the whole LDraw Library, too. That’s the right option.

Blocks are one thing, but toys are something else. Bricksmith includes a Minifigure Generator so you can build your own toys and characters. Legs, hands, arms, hips, torso, head, and accessories are just a click and configure away from virtual reality.

If you’re new to Legos and want to know what all the excitement is about, the Tutorial will get you started with your own creation. Start with blocks, then progress to more complex pieces.

You control the size, the colors, the dimensions of the pieces and how they fit together. It’s like building Legos from the ground up but not having to fork over any money for the pleasure. Besides, there’s an extra level of satisfaction that comes with building your own creation from virtual scratch.

Bricksmith is an entire Lego factory in your Mac. You won’t run out of ideas, options, or bricks. It’s all virtual so you can toss a MacBook into a bag for a trip to grandma’s house and never worry about losing bricks or toys.

Is there educational value in Bricksmith? If there is in Legos, there is in Bricksmith. Besides, it’s difficult to beat the price.