About

Welcome to Brickmaniatoys.com, internet blog for Brickmania custom LEGO® building kits. Founded by independent designer Daniel Siskind in 1999, Brickmania has become known for offering high quality building kits made from genuine LEGO brand parts, but in subjects falling outside the company’s official product line at the time of their release. These include medieval and renaissance castles, age of pirates and colonization, and military models from World War I, World War II, and modern warfare. Brickmania products are for sale in our own web store, in our retail store locations and a select LEGO fan events in North America.

The Early Years

Dan was introduced to the small but globally connected adult LEGO community in 2000 when he was among the first enthusiasts to create and market his very own kit using LEGO brand bricks. The kit, a medieval blacksmith shop, was an instant success and was soon followed by several additional medieval village building kits. At the same time, fan demand—based on photographs on this web site—led to the release of Brickmania’s first military and train themed kits. With more than a dozen successfully released custom kits under his belt—one of which was officially licensed to LEGO as set 3739 in 2002—Dan announced a hiatus from custom LEGO kits to pursue other interests. As a final overture Dan released a CD containing the instructions for all of his previously released kits in September 2003 and then slipped into quiet retirement. While considering Brickmania a closed chapter Dan continued to volunteer his time building the GMLTC (Greater Midwest Lego Train Club) on a part time basis.

The Rebirth

In 2008 Dan was approached by a publisher with a request to author a book about military modeling with LEGO bricks. He soon discovered a large international following for his models had developed alongside a booming market for knockoff Brickmania kits. Encouraged by the unexpected celebrity status, he posted new instructions sets on the Brickmania web site as part of a newly founded subscription service. Response was immediate, overwhelmingly positive and led to the release of new Brickmania kits by the spring of 2009. One year and 1000 kits later, Brickmania was officially incorporated as Brickmania LLC and sales have continued at a meteoric pace ever since. While Brickmania is no longer a dining room operation, Dan remains at the helm and continues to deliver bar-raising design quality and an unequalled dedication to historical accuracy.

The Brickmania Toyworks

Until 2017, we opened a portion of our space to the public every second Saturday of the month for a free open house. The “Brickmania Toyworks” is located in the historic Thorp Building, a restored WW2-era armaments factory in the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District. We would display a large number of models, dioramas, sculptures and mosaics made of LEGO® bricks. We also have a large collection of bricks, including a DUPLO assortment for the younger kids, and we invited fans to stay and create a while. Brickmania Toyworks is now connected to our GHQ Store, which stocks a complete line of Brickmania custom LEGO kits and minifigures, BrickArms accessories and the largest selection of Brickmania-exclusive custom printed elements. Starting in 2020, World War Brick returns to Minneapolis and the Brickmania Toyworks space.

Retail Stores

Starting with our first store in 2015, located in the Mall of America, Brickmania has striven to provide a unique and fun experience to our fans through our retail locations. Since 2019 we have moved our Mall of America store to the GHQ Store located in Northeast Minneapolis. We also service the Chicago area from our Schaumburg Store. Opening in 2019, we are also proud to provide a retail experience on the east coast at our Capital Store in Chantilly, VA. Each store provides monthly events, free and open to all ages, where fans can come together to learn new techniques and creatively play with Brickmania toys.

The Train Room

Until 2017, the Brickmania Toyworks hosted the “Train Room,” filled with huge operating LEGO train displays. It was open to the public every first Thursday, the second Saturday of the month, plus the occasional special event. The Train Room’s displays were created and maintained by volunteers of the GMLTC (Greater Midwest Lego Train Club) and TCLTC (Twin Cities Lego Train Club), both at once housed within the Brickmania Toyworks.

Click here for more information and directions.