by Cole Edmonson | July 19, 2026
The background image and header graphic from the original BrickReplicas.com homepage (I started setting up the site in late 2015 and officially launched / starting promoting it in 2016).
To me, ‘Brick Replicas’ is about Freedom
As a passionate LEGO fan who has been building with the toy bricks for 29 years, I officially launched this site ten years ago for:
- The freedom to build realistic LEGO replicas of guns and other cool things from history, the military, movies, pop culture, video games, technology, and more
- The freedom to host a fully customized portfolio of LEGO creations online
- The freedom to defy censorship from social media platforms
- The freedom to learn new tools (CAD, graphic design, web coding) for sharing my work
- The freedom to build out a virtual instructions shop as an entrepreneur
- The freedom to offer plans and parts lists to my fellow fans around the world
Since my site’s shop opened, thousands of Brick Replicas instructions sets have been purchased and downloaded by freedom-loving LEGO fans in 48 different countries. (This even includes personal purchases from current employees of The LEGO Group itself in Denmark!).
This freedom also means that everyone can get creative with my existing Brick Replicas designs and have fun modifying them. It’s so neat to see the creative customizations that people have come up with:
Pictured: My 1911 design with new sights, modified stand, and a heightened frame to allow for working slide. Image source: legoGoneGaming on Flickr
PIctured: My 1911 design, with a brand new color palette! Image source: Vebjørn Halvorsen on Facebook
What’s involved
BrickReplicas.com would not be possible if it weren’t for the thousands of people who have supported my work, funded the maintenance costs for this website, and encouraged me to keep going!
Each of my signature Brick Replicas takes about 20–30hrs to research and design by hand. (And then there’s at least another 10–20hrs to produce the professional-grade instructions.) There’s no shortcut to designing these models. The more realistic they are, the more time they take to make (which is why it takes me forever to come out with new builds; it’s because they’re top-notch quality.) I strive to continue developing new building techniques and experimenting with new parts, which also adds time to the assembly process.
WIP photo from my Andúril replica build
Then there’s the build-testing, the decals design, the photography and/or video capture, the copywriting, the editing, the documentation, the posting, and the customer service. It’s always important to keep answering emails, replying to comments, and providing technical support. (This includes updating code every time BrickLink changes their preferred parts numbers!)
My goal is to provide the very best instructions-buying and building experiences for the most realistic LEGO replicas possible. This striving for excellence is why people come back for more. Yet, this amount of work and quality standards are also why you don’t see new releases from Brick Replicas very often. I have limited time available outside of my full-time job and taking care of my growing family.
My family’s ‘SigFig’ collection
Your support makes it possible
If you like my work and want to see more new stuff come out, please consider the following (if you haven’t already):
- Join the email list to stay on top of all the news and updates
- Subscribe to my YouTube channel as I plan to start posting more videos
- Message me about the things you’d like me to prioritize on the to-do list
- …and of course, purchase a set of instructions to enjoy building with!
Each of these makes a big difference. Your support is what makes it possible for me to continue creating these. Thank you so much for visiting BrickReplicas.com and being a part of this story!
The best is yet to come,
Cole
Thank you so much for your support!