Simple Brick Plans for Beginners: 5 Easy Build Projects
The hardest part of starting out with bricks is opening a plan that runs to hundreds of pieces and a hundred-plus steps. You stall on step 12 and the box goes back on the shelf. But simple brick plans deliver just as much satisfaction, and they get you building tonight. Here are five beginner projects that are short, clear and hard to get wrong.
Why Start With Simple Plans?
A lot of new builders go straight for the big set and quit halfway through. Starting with an easy plan has real advantages:
- You finish quickly and get the payoff of a completed model
- You practise the core building techniques without pressure
- You build up spare parts and hands-on experience
- You are far less likely to get frustrated and give up
Every one of the five projects below uses a small parts count, a clear step order and no advanced techniques.
Project 1: Mini House
- Pieces: about 80
- Build time: 15-20 minutes
- Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆
The classic first build. Four walls from standard bricks, a roof on top, then a door and windows. Nothing here is tricky — the whole point is learning how walls lock together and how a roof sits on a corner. Finish it and you have a tidy little house that looks good on a shelf.
Project 2: Simple Car
- Pieces: about 60
- Build time: 10-15 minutes
- Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆
Start with a few chassis bricks for the floor, then stack the body on top and attach the wheels. A cute little car, done. This project is a good introduction to building outward from a flat base rather than upward from a single stack.
Project 3: Small Animals
- Pieces: about 40-80
- Build time: 10-20 minutes
- Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆
A dog, a cat, a little bird — simple bricks are enough to make all kinds of small animals. Because the parts count is low and the shapes are forgiving, these simple brick plans are ideal for building with kids. Swap a colour, move an eye brick one stud over, and you have a new animal.
Project 4: Mini Street Scene
- Pieces: about 150
- Build time: 30-40 minutes
- Difficulty: ★★☆☆☆
Once the basics feel natural, try a mini street scene. A small shop, a tree and a street lamp, combined into one micro scene. It is your first taste of composing several small builds into a single display, and the first project on this list that asks you to plan a layout rather than follow a single stack.
Project 5: Simple Aeroplane
- Pieces: about 100
- Build time: 20-30 minutes
- Difficulty: ★★☆☆☆
Wedge bricks form the wings, slope bricks shape the nose, and you have a small plane ready to fly across your brick world. This is a gentle introduction to angled parts — how wedges and slopes close off a shape so it looks finished from every side.
Beginner Building Tips
- Sort parts by colour first. Before you place a single brick, group the parts by colour. It speeds up the whole build considerably and stops you digging through a pile for every step.
- One step at a time. Do not rush ahead or try to assemble sub-sections from memory. Follow the plan in order; the sequence exists for a reason.
- Use a brick separator. If a part goes on wrong, do not force it off with your fingers. A brick separator lifts it cleanly and saves both the part and your nails.
Where to Go Next
After you have worked through these simple brick plans, move on to something more complex. On brickplan.cn the plans run from entry level all the way up to master builder, so you can step up at your own pace rather than jumping straight into a 2,000-piece model.
For background on designing your own models, read our MOC plans beginner guide to cover the MOC fundamentals. Our guide to the brick plans PDF format will also help you get more out of digital plans on a screen or printout.
Start With One Small Build
Simple brick plans are the best possible starting point for any brick hobbyist. Begin with a small project, build up experience and confidence, and the wider world of brick building opens up quickly. Head to brickplan.cn now and pick your first simple build — the 80-piece mini house is a good place to begin.