Great credit must first go to all the readers and fans of the first edition of The Unofficial LEGO Builder’s Guide (ULBG). I know from stories I’ve heard and emails I’ve received just how close to your hearts many of you held this book. And from there, you helped spread the word by telling friends and relatives, inquiring at local bookstores, and by giving the book as gifts. You’re all ULBG gurus, and this book could not have been as successful without you. Thank you.

Next, I want to thank the crew at No Starch Press for the continued support they’ve offered to me and this book over the years. Thank you, Serena Yang, for all your incredible hard work managing this rewrite and bringing the color version of ULBG to fruition. Thanks also for not letting me lose sight of anything on my To Do list! Riley Hoffman and Alison Law, thank you for contributing to the new look and layout and for helping handle the hundreds of little changes that were made. Thanks go to Bill Pollock for encouraging me to undertake this colorful makeover of ULBG and for many suggestions and advice along the way. Thanks go to Karol Jurado as well for her many hours of hard work on the first edition. And Leigh Poehler, thank you for all the many emailed questions you’ve responded to over the years. I appreciate your always being there with a reassuring answer.

Although they’re already mentioned in the dedication, these acknowledgements wouldn’t be complete without once again mentioning my parents. There are no two bigger ULBG fans in the world. And, because of their tireless efforts, telling friends and acquaintances far and wide, there are now many more fans of my book out there. Thanks, Mom and Dad.

A note of thanks goes to Patricia Witkin for the many ways she found to put the first edition of the book in front of tech and geek bloggers who wrote such terrific reviews. You helped create even more ULBG gurus.

Thanks go to Joe Meno for the continued support from both himself and BrickJournal. Further thanks go to Joe and also to John Fiala and Frédéric Siva for the time and energy they spent reading and reviewing the first edition of the book. I appreciate all the honest and insightful feedback they provided.

By now you’ll have no doubt noticed that The Unofficial LEGO Builder’s Guide is now in full color. A very special thanks to Eric Albrecht, who worked with me for several months to re-render the hundreds of images needed to re-create all the figures in the book. Great work, Eric—thank you!

And thanks go to all of the software and parts authors in the “virtual” LEGO community as well. Many of the images in this book were produced with their tools, and without them the book would not be nearly as interesting. Be sure to visit http://ldraw.org/ to get started building your own virtual LEGO models.

To the gang at Hipstamatic, thank you for all your love and support!

What can I say to jacki? Thank you for always being jacki! I’m deeply grateful for the friendship that we share. Thank you for your trust and your photographic inspiration.

Megan, thank you for your artistic ear, your strong shoulder, and your check-ins along the way.

A note of thanks goes to Dana, for patience, guidance, and companionship through unprecedented change.

Lisa, I’m so glad that we’ve found an incredible renewed friendship as older, more real versions of ourselves.