Customer Reviews

Virtual Lego: The Official LDraw.org guide to LDraw Tools for Windows

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is excellent in almost every respect.
It does a great job of introducing the reader to the LDraw suite of tool for making LEGO creations on your computer. Though this book is geared toward beginners, it is also a great tool for those intermediate users looking to expand their LDraw horizons. I especially liked the sections on creating building instructions. Additionally, all the reference sections make this book worthwhile for even the seasoned LDrawer; I loved the visual color reference on the inside front cover. This book would make a fine addition to any LEGO enthusiasts library.

If you want to do lego CAD, this book is for you! I had used MLCAD and LPub before I got the book to some degree, but my abilities exploded after going through the tutorials. LSynth is also very clearly explained. The CD that is included is a big plus for those who have had difficulty installing the software (all of which is free from the internet though) and also includes some tutorial models for use with the book. The additional resources described in the book show that he is interested in getting as much use out of Lego CAD from the general populace.

All in all, well worth the money and the read!

This is an EXCELLENT book for people SERIOUS about building simple AND complex models using LDRAW. While working with the program I found myself constantly referencing the book--which can be read front-to-back... but ALSO be used as a quick reference book. This has earned itself a permanent position on my bookshelf--no wait--next to my computer!

After having been able to review the content during it's creation, I was totally impressed. In fact, I picked up a great number of techniques that I didn't already know...even though I thought I was pretty advanced. Good work to all the authors!

The LEGO-CAD software available through LDraw is awesome and powerful and totally indecipherable to newbies. Some of the software (like Bricksmith for Mac OS, which I *love*) is GUI and user-friendly and very approachable. Most of it is crazy opaque, with documentation that is equally obtuse and often simply incorrect. You need a good guide, and VIRTUAL LEGO FOR WINDOWS is it. The writing is crisp and clear, the book well organized, and authors Tim Courtney, Ahui Herrera, and Steve Bliss walk you through all of the software you need to build projects, render them, and produce great images and build instructions. You can really do *stunning* work with this powerful software, and Courtney/Herrera/Bliss totally bring that into reach for LEGO-CAD newbies. I'm a Mac-user, and still found this book *really* useful. Some of the software isn't great on Mac but most of the actual nuts-and-bolts info translates. E.g., they favor MLCad as their LEGO editor, while I think Bricksmith is *much* slicker for Mac users. Similarly, they go into great depth with POV-ray, which doesn't load on modern Mac OSes at all. But, MegaPOV (which they only treat lightly) works fine on Macs, and most of the details about POV-Ray carry over, since MegaPOV is basically just a wrapper for running POV-ray.

All told, this is a *much needed* resource for LEGO-CAD; it would be *terrific* if they came out with a new addition with sections tailored to Mac users.

As a person who just loves to build stuff, Legos have always been at the top of my list of MUST have toys. Although as an adult, I no longer refer to them as toys but engineering projects. Lets face it, with enough Legos you can build ANYTHING.
Enter Virtual LEGO: The Official [...] Guide To LDraw Tools for Windows. In spite of that long and confusing title, this book is a must have if you want to take working with Legos to the next level. In a nut shell, this book takes design software that was developed in the late 90's specifically for Lego blocks and teaches you how to use your computer to design projects.
Unfortunately the original software designer passed away shortly after it's release. A group of dedicated Lego enthusiast (that is the [...] in the title) have kept it alive and are constantly updating and adding to the software. There are now several programs that can work together to design and build models on your computer, create custom building instructions, and even publish your work on the web or in print.
Even though the programs are free to download at the web site, there is a learning curve and this book addresses that quite well. The manual will guide you through several projects and teach you how to create your own models. There is a CD included with the book which makes it very convenient to load onto your computer and get started right away. The web site has the latest parts updates for the library and "how to" articles. This makes the book a real bargain in my opinion. Not only do you get a comprehensive manual and CD of programs, but access to the organization that keeps it going and all of their knowledge base.
Please note: Lego has a program of their own that can be downloaded for free at the official Lego site. The official Lego software is not as comprehensive as LDraw and is geared more to the younger set.

What a great pleasure it is to thumb through my buddy Tim's (and Ahui & Steve's) hard work and see the big payoff. Guys, this thing is great. Sits perfectly alongside any computer/instructional/technical/howto book. Things are made easy and very well explained throughout. And hey, any book I'm in can't be a bad one. :-)

Dude i know the guy that wrote this book. I had a beer with him one night and he told about this book and i was like wow. I think i might have to buy it. TIM YOU RULE