James in 3D LEGO® brick letters

About this build

James has 5 letters, stands 7 layers tall and adds up to 65 bricks. Every horizontal run uses 2×N bricks LEGO actually sells, and consecutive layers stagger their joints — a real brick bond — so the letters stand on their own. At this piece count it helps to build letter by letter and check the spacing as you go.

Piece inventory

Building James takes 65 bricks in 5 different sizes: 29 of 2×2, 18 of 2×1, 13 of 2×6, 3 of 2×3 and 2 of 2×4. The 2×2 ones are 45% of the total, so those are the ones to keep spare. By colour that is 21 green, 17 blue, 14 yellow and 13 red. The same name as a flat mosaic drops to 35 pieces, 30 fewer, and needs 2 baseplates instead of 2.

Letter by letter

The 5 letters of James don't cost the same: J with 11, A with 13, M with 18, E with 11 and S with 12. M is the priciest at 18 bricks and E the cheapest at 11.

Size and space

Standing up, James is 39 studs wide — about 31.2 cm — and 7 layers tall, which is 6.7 cm. Each letter is 2 studs deep, so it stands unsupported. You need 2 baseplates of 32 × 16.

S, M or L: what changes

In the generator, James costs about the same at S and M — what changes there is the width — and jumps at L: 61 bricks at S, 65 at M and 128 at L. At L the name stretches to 59.2 cm and needs 3 baseplates, so it's the choice to make before buying any bricks.

Ideas for this 3D name

• Standing letters for James on a desk or a wide shelf.
• Birthday decoration that stands up without any support.
• Build it in pairs of letters and split the work.

How to build it

1. Open the generator with James pre-filled, in the 3D view.
2. Gather the 65 pieces — most of them are 29 of 2×2.
3. Get 2 baseplates of 32 × 16 studs ready for the 5 letters.
4. Stack the 7 layers, staggering the joints like a real brick bond.

More names in 3D

• Liam
• Noah
• Olivia
• Emma