One of the things I’ve noticed as a newcomer to this hobby is that you can spend hours on MakerWorld downloading files and never once think about who made them. The models just exist — polished, detailed, ready to print — and the person behind them is more or less invisible. That gap is a big part of why I started the Interview category in my blog, and it’s exactly why I reached out to The Elemental Brick, the designer behind some of the most impressive Star Wars lightsabers and Big Brick models on the platform.
I’ll be honest about what drew me to The Elemental Brick specifically: LEGO and Star Wars. As a kid of the 80s, those two things were my whole creative universe. Being a latch-key kid meant a lot of hours alone — and with friends when they came around — building worlds out of both. LEGO bricks on the carpet, Star Wars figures on the shelf, an imagination that ran pretty much unsupervised for years. So when I landed on a MakerWorld profile built entirely around the intersection of those two things, it felt less like stumbling across a designer and more like finding someone who grew up in the same headspace I did.
The Elemental Brick is based about an hour outside of St. Louis, Missouri, has been in the motorcycle industry for over 20 years, and came to 3D printing by way of a LEGO buying-and-selling operation that started in 2018. Their catalog on MakerWorld spans screen-accurate lightsabers, a full modular saber system, and a Big Brick series of oversized buildable models — all without AMS, supports, or glue. I printed both Obi-Wan hilts, Qui-Gon’s, and Yoda’s before I even reached out, and the engineering behind each one is genuinely something else.
Here’s the conversation.
“The Elemental Brick” is a great name — is there a story behind it, or did it just feel right for what you were building?
I started buying and selling used LEGO in 2018 under that name. LEGO calls all their parts “elements,” hence Elemental. The logo actually includes the chemical structure for serotonin to represent the joy LEGO brought me. The name followed me into the 3D printing world.
Where in the world are you creating from? The 3D printing community is so global it’s always interesting to know where people are designing.
Just about an hour outside of St. Louis, Missouri.
What were you doing before 3D design? Was there a background in engineering, art, or Star Wars collecting that fed into where you ended up?
I have been in the motorcycle industry for over 20 years. For the last several years, I have been involved with building performance bagger-style motorcycles with a nationally recognized builder. We also develop and design new parts to push the motorcycling world further into the future. I also have an obsession with Star Wars and LEGO, which are very much reflected in my content.
Is this a full-time pursuit or something you squeeze into the margins of another life? Because the pace you’re releasing at doesn’t feel like a side project.
This is purely for fun. I have enough deadlines at work, and this is a relaxing way to keep myself sharp and have some fun solving puzzles in 3D design. Some may notice that when the weather is good, the designs slow down — motorcycles are seasonal, after all.
Your catalog spans two very distinct universes — screen-accurate Star Wars lightsabers and the Big Brick series (the dirt bike, the B1 Battle Droid, Chopper). Do those feel like the same creative voice to you, or are they completely different modes?
They aren’t as distinct as they seem on the surface. LEGO and Star Wars share a long history together, and I have a large collection of LEGO Star Wars sets. Even though most of my Star Wars content isn’t LEGO, I try to incorporate the building aspect and satisfaction that LEGO inspires.
The modular lightsaber system is a different kind of design challenge than a screen-accurate replica — you’re building a parts ecosystem that has to work across combinations you haven’t even printed yet. How do you approach that kind of open-ended engineering problem?
The modular system was in the back of my mind from the onset. Almost all the sabers — screen accurate and modular — share a common thread so that you can take elements from your favorite characters and mix them into your own creation. 3D modeling software helps me see how the parts will interact and build them digitally before printing them for testing.
You’re clearly deep in Star Wars lore — Revan, Baylan Skoll, the Grand Inquisitor, Old Maul — these aren’t casual picks. Does the character or the lore behind a saber influence how you approach the design, or is it more about the engineering challenge of the hilt itself? And how much of what ends up in the catalog is your own list versus what the community is asking for
The lore is the best part about Star Wars — the better the story, the better the saber! Then the challenge of figuring out how to make it work is what’s really fun to me. When someone requests a saber that I had forgotten about, or on the rare occasion wasn’t even aware of, I get excited to dive into the lore behind it. I try to do as many requests as possible — I still have a list with over 30 sabers to go. I don’t think there are too many I’ve designed that haven’t at some point been requested.
Every model ships without AMS, supports, or glue required. Is that a constraint you set before you start designing, or something you work backward to after the shape is roughed out?
The no AMS, no supports, no glue philosophy is very much a cornerstone of my design approach. It’s part of the process from the very beginning of a design. In most cases you have to think several parts ahead to ensure everything will still work well together. It can be a challenge, but that’s the best part.
You actively take requests in comment threads and actually follow through — someone asks for a Starkiller saber, it shows up within days. How do you decide which requests to act on, and does designing something you didn’t choose yourself feel different than something you came up with?
The community as a whole has been amazing and so positive. Early on, I would get excited about the subject of a request and just dive right in. As the requests grew, I started keeping tally marks and tried to tackle the most requested first. Sometimes engineering challenges pushed certain designs to the back burner. I just hope everyone has as much fun printing and building my models as I do designing them.
Disney owns Star Wars and everyone knows how they feel about their IP. What’s the reality of designing in that space — is it something you think about, or do you just create and not worry about it?
Ah, the dreaded takedowns — they are very much a real possibility. I enjoy sharing with the community, and if someday I’m asked by the powers that be to stop, I will. But as a Star Wars fan, it’s just hard not to spread the fun.
What’s the saber or model you’re most proud of — and is it the same one the community responded to most, or something different?
R2-D2 is by far my — and the community’s — favorite. Twelve inches tall and two pounds of completely 3D printed building fun, assembled from 72 individual pieces with a retractable middle leg, no supports, no AMS, no glue required. I spent well over 100 hours working on the model, and the response from the community has been absolutely amazing.
The Elemental Brick closed with something I think is worth leaving right here at the end: “The 3D printing community is growing, and the people are amazing. Thank you for helping it grow.”
That’s the whole thing, honestly.
You can find their full catalog at @elementalbrick on MakerWorld, and their commercial print license is available through MakerWorld. If you haven’t printed a saber yet — start with Obi-Wan. You’ll go back for more. R2-D2 has been added to my queue.