LEGO Alt Builds By Tamás Borján

Certain LEGO sets capture the imagination of alt builders more than others, one such example is 2024’s 75375: Millennium Falcon. Equally, certain LEGO alt build designers can become very well known on social media. Here at BrickFLIC.com we are great fans of Tamás Borján, from Székesfehérvár, Hungary, who kindly took the time to answer our questions in our first LEGO Fan Designer Spotlight.

What are LEGO Alt Builds?

Most LEGO fans can be divided into two camps. First, we have those who build their LEGO sets only to then take them apart, adding the pieces to their collection of loose parts to be made into something else later. The second camp, in which I include myself, is for those who love to collect and build official LEGO sets to display them in their designed state. Imagine how many IKEA bookcases and storage units have been purchased solely for this purpose!

There is also, however, a select group of LEGO fans who, when presented with a LEGO set, can envision the possibility of an alternate build, i.e. a LEGO set that is made into a completely new creation, using only the parts from the original set.

The Force is Strong with This One

Although every set has countless possibilities for creating LEGO alt builds, only limited by the builder’s imagination, 75375: Millenium Falcon has been generating some incredible examples. When I first came across Tamás’s LEGO Alt Build designs on Instagram, @tomassobuilds, I was particularly impressed by his Dash Render’s Outrider alt build, using only the parts from 75375: Millennium Falcon. I assumed that he had a wealth of experience in creating LEGO alt builds, so was surprised to not only learn that the Outrider was actually his first alt build design, but also that he had purchased the Falcon set with the sole intention of building something else!

“As a child I made several attempts to build the Outrider. However, I guess I just grew up to the challenge, so this was the right time to make a real alternate build from a Millennium Falcon set” says Tamás, “I just took a glance at the Millennium Falcon and the picture of the Outrider came to my mind. So I thought, why not give it a try?”

The Greatest Teacher, Failure Is

Tamás was spurred on by the success of his Outrider build, “After the Outrider I gained some confidence and also, I learned the pieces it consists of. And actually, the pieces seemed very usable so I decided to try some different ships as well. I created a Razor Crest and a Ghost. These are the three alternates I have at the moment from only this set.”

I was curious to learn about Tamás’s design process, which will always start with a digital build in Bricklink Stud.io 2.0, “There is a cool feature where you can load an official set’s parts as a palette so it’s pretty easy to grab the pieces and build something new. When I feel like my digital plans are okay to check physically, I get the parts and build it with real bricks. During this test build usually some problems come up that I have to fix. When everything is settled, I take pictures, videos and make the instructions that I’m sharing with the public.”

The limitation on available LEGO pieces when doing an alt build provides an additional challenge when trying to capture the most distinguishing aspects of a design. This is a challenge that Tamás enjoys, using the available parts in new and clever ways, as he attempts to recreate a subject so that it is instantly recognisable to fans. I particularly like to see how Tamás uses a combination of hinges, bar or clip plates to create the slopes and angles that make his designs so recognisable, it’s a real signature style.

Tamás offers this advice to anyone looking to create their own alt builds, “Don’t think too much, just start to put the bricks together and you will find out if your idea is going to work or not.” 

Other LEGO Alt Builds by Tamás

Tamás has expanded on his Millennium Falcon alt builds by combining this set with 75362: Ashoka Tano’s T-6 Jedi Shuttle to create a brilliant version of the Ebon Hawk from Knights of the Old Republic. At time of writing, Tamás is currently working on an alternate build using a combination of two other Star Wars sets, 75405: Home One Starcruiser and 75404: Acclamator-Class Assault Ship, showcasing the alt build potential of more of the ships in LEGO’s Star Wars Fleet.

If you are looking forward to seeing what Tamás will be creating using these 2 ships and checking out his other builds, including his awesome Rancor created with 3 x 76967: Little Eatie: T-Rex sets, make sure to follow him on Instagram @tomassobuilds and get the instructions to his alt builds on Rebrickable. You can also support Tamás’ latest submission on LEGO Ideas, Technics SL-1200 MK2 Turntable.

Fun Fact: As with so many of us LEGO fans, Tamás started his LEGO journey as a child, when aged four his parents bought him his first set, 6535: Dumper.

If you would like some amazing artwork created by the LEGO community, check out our first LEGO Art Gallery!