Wiki — Glossary

Short explanations of terms you'll encounter on Lakea.

…

• Affiliate link

  A special tracking link that lets the retailer see a customer came via Lakea. If you click and buy, we earn a small commission from the retailer — not from you. Your price stays exactly the same.

• AFOL

  Adult Fan of LEGO. Not a formal title; just the common community term. AFOLs now represent a large share of LEGO's market, hence the increasing number of sets aimed at adults (18+).

• BrickLink

  Online marketplace for individual LEGO bricks, minifigures and complete sets, owned by LEGO itself since 2019. Sellers are private collectors and shops worldwide. We link to it when a part isn't available on Pick-a-Brick.

• Brickset

  British fan database with the most complete set history and metadata. Founded in 1997. We use their API for RRPs, release dates, theme structures and download URLs to official LEGO building instructions.

• Building instructions

  The step-by-step PDF booklet that comes with every LEGO set. LEGO hosts all official instructions for free on lego.com — including sets long out of production. We extract our parts lists from these.

• BURP and LURP

  Big Ugly Rock Piece — a single moulded rock formation that LEGO uses to make landscape quickly. AFOLs typically consider them lazy design ("ugly"). LURP (Little) is the smaller variant. Castle and Adventurers sets in the 1990s used them heavily.

• Cheese slope

  The 1×1 sloped part (officially "Slope 30 1×1×2/3") that looks like a triangular cheese wedge. A favourite SNOT part: small, sloped, infinitely versatile for detail work and organic shapes. A typical modular building contains dozens to hundreds.

• Collectible Minifigures

  LEGO's line of standalone minifigures in blind bags. Each series has 12-16 different figures; you don't know which one you got until you open (or feel) the bag. Great collectible; some rare figures fetch high prices second-hand.

• Element ID

  The 6 or 7-digit number LEGO assigns to every unique combination of shape and colour. Unlike the design number (shape only), the element ID is exactly what you need to order a specific part in a specific colour on Pick-a-Brick.

• Greebling

  Adding random technical detail to a surface to make it look complex and mechanical — pipes, panels, antennae, lights. Term comes from the film world (Star Wars model-makers) and was adopted by MOC builders of spaceships, mechs and sci-fi dioramas.

• GWP — gift with purchase

  A free smaller LEGO set that LEGO includes when you buy a certain amount or set on lego.com. Often exclusive for a short period. GWPs are popular with collectors because they're not sold separately.

• Jumper

  A 1×2 or 2×2 plate with a single stud in the centre instead of the usual two or four. Lets you place parts at a half-stud offset — fundamental for detail work and realistic scale models.

• LEGO Architecture

  Theme with miniature versions of world-famous buildings and skylines. Focus on accurate proportions and monochrome colour schemes rather than play features. Meant for display, not interaction. Set sizes range from small (~200 pieces) to large (Statue of Liberty 1685 pieces).

• LEGO Icons

  The thematic successor to Creator Expert, since 2022. Adult-aimed sets that don't fit other themes — botanical sets, vintage cars, modulars, anniversary redesigns. Always 18+. The catch-all for LEGO's top prestige projects that aren't Star Wars, Harry Potter or Architecture.

• LEGO Ideas

  The platform where fans submit their own designs. Designs that reach 10,000 votes get evaluated by LEGO; successful projects become official LEGO sets — with the original designer credited and earning royalties. Iconic sets like 21319 Central Perk and 21330 Home Alone began here.

• LEGO Insiders (formerly VIP)

  LEGO's free loyalty programme, renamed from VIP to Insiders in October 2023. Earn points on lego.com (5% back), redeem for vouchers or exclusive gift sets, plus early access to major releases.

• LEGO Technic

  LEGO's line of mechanically advanced models — cars, cranes, aircraft — built from beams, pins and axles rather than standard bricks. Often features working functions (gears, suspension, hydraulics). Not directly interchangeable with System bricks except via specific connector parts.

• Minifigure (minifig)

  The iconic LEGO little figures — four centimetres tall, yellow skin (or natural skin tones since 2003 for licensed themes). Each minifig is made of a head, torso, legs and optional accessories. They make sets feel alive.

• MISB / NISB / NIB

  Second-hand market conditions. MISB = Mint In Sealed Box (perfect, unopened, original seals). NISB = New In Sealed Box (new, unopened). NIB = New In Box (new but seals may be loose). MISB sets are most valuable for collectors; the price gap between MISB and merely "complete" can be 50-200%.

• MOC and alt builds

  A MOC (My Own Creation) is a fan-designed model — not an official LEGO set. "Alt builds" are MOCs you can build with the bricks of an existing set: same bricks, different result. Instructions come from the designer, often via Rebrickable.

• Modular Buildings

  LEGO's prestige line of adult-oriented buildings, since 2007. One new modular per year that connects to all the others (hence the name). 2500-4000+ pieces per building, always 18+, and notorious for selling out and rising in value second-hand.

• Pick-a-Brick

  LEGO's own store for loose bricks. You order by part number (element ID) directly from LEGO. Not every part is available — exclusive and rare bricks are often missing.

• Polybag

  A small LEGO set packaged in a plastic bag instead of a box. Usually 30-100 pieces, often a mini version of a larger theme (mini-spaceship, holiday figure). Cheap (€3-€8) and frequently free in promotions.

• POOP — Pieces Out Of Other Parts

  Pieces Out Of Other Parts: a LEGO part that could in principle be built from smaller bricks, but which LEGO ships as a single pre-moulded piece. AFOLs see this as diminishing the build experience. Famous examples: complete wings, entire car chassis, pre-coloured walls.

• Powered Up

  LEGO's current system for motorisation and electronic functions in sets. Replaces the older Power Functions since 2018. Uses Bluetooth hubs and a mobile app to control motors, sensors and LEDs. Mostly in Technic and Trains, sometimes Star Wars and Boost.

• Rebrickable

  Independent fan database with LEGO set information, parts lists, and — most importantly — thousands of alternative build designs (MOCs and alt builds) made by fans. Not a marketplace. We source alt-builds data from here.

• Recommended Retail Price (RRP)

  The RRP is the regular price of a set on LEGO.com, without any discount. When LEGO itself sells a set cheaper for a while, the struck-through price remains the RRP. We measure every shop price against this amount to calculate the discount. LEGO sets its own RRP per country and currency; we always show the one for your country.

• SHIP

  Seriously Huge Investment in Parts — a MOC or official set so large it demands thousands of pieces, hundreds of hours, and serious wallet damage. UCS sets like the Millennium Falcon (75192, 7541 pieces) or large MOC spaceships fall in this category.

• SNIR — Studs Not In a Row

  Studs Not In a Row: a refinement of SNOT where studs are deliberately placed off the normal grid to create visual variation. Prevents a surface from looking too repetitive. Heavily used on façades, roofs and organic structures in modulars and MOCs.

• SNOT — Studs Not On Top

  Building technique where studs face not (only) upward but sideways or downward. Enables smoother surfaces and is essential for modern MOCs and LEGO's own prestige sets. Requires specific parts like SNOT bricks (Headlight) and brackets.

• Spare parts

  Extra parts LEGO ships beyond what the building instructions need — usually small pieces like 1×1 plates, common bricks or accessories. Officially "extra parts". Not in the instructions but in the bag. Meant to compensate for losses.

• Stud

  The cylindrical bump on top of a LEGO brick. The fundamental unit on which the whole system runs — sets and MOCs are often measured in studs ("a façade 32 studs wide"). Diameter is exactly 4.8mm; height 1.8mm.

• Stud.io / LDD / LDraw — digital LEGO design

  Software for virtual LEGO building. LDD (LEGO Digital Designer) was LEGO's own tool — discontinued since 2022. Stud.io from BrickLink is the modern successor and the standard for MOCs and official instructions. LDraw is open-source with the largest parts database.

• Theme group

  LEGO's top-level categories under which multiple themes sit. Examples: "Action/Adventure" (Star Wars, Marvel, DC), "Licensed" (all licensed themes), "Themed" (City, Friends, Ninjago). We use theme groups for filtering on the set list page.

• TLG — The LEGO Group

  Acronym for The LEGO Group, the company itself. Used on AFOL forums to distinguish "the company" from the product. Family-owned, based in Billund, Denmark; founded 1932 by Ole Kirk Christiansen. Owned by the Kirk Kristiansen family.

• Ultimate Collector Series

  A LEGO Star Wars product line of large, detailed models for adult collectors. UCS sets typically have 1500+ pieces, a display stand and an info plate with technical specs about the spaceship or vehicle.