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Original brick design · Diego Fontana

Small bricks.
Big stories.

Original MOCs and brick design by Diego Fontana. Real creatures, curious stories and expressive models made to be built.

Explore the MOCs A project together
Purple heron built with bricks, with open wings, on a nature-inspired base
Purple heron · Original MOCArdea purpurea

The collection

Choose a story. Build it.

Download step-by-step PDF instructions and a complete parts list. I physically build and check every model to make sure it can be built.

All my MOCs
Purple Heron MOC by Diego Fontana

Purple heron

Ardea purpurea

One of my greatest Moc. Without a doubt, one of the most evocative. Thanks to the slender silhouette, the characteristic colors and the elegant posture, I think it is perfect for birdwatching and nature enthusiasts, but also for those looking for a spectacular display piece.

Building instructions
The story behind it

A tribute to one of the most splendid and elusive river creatures

The main features: • Realistic colors and details: I have paid particular attention to reproducing the characteristic plumage of the red heron as faithfully as possible. • Posability: the model is adjustable in different places, in particular head, wings and legs, to give the bird different poses. • Two wing configurations: it is possible to build the heron with closed wings, for a more compact aspect to maximize stability, or with open wings, for a presence of great visual effect. • A detailed exhibition base: designed to complete the model and contextualize it, without diverting attention from the main subject.

The kit on BuildaMOC
Life-size Italian Sparrow built with bricks

Italian sparrow

Passer italiae

I love the sparrow: it may not be very flashy, but it’s cute, well-proportioned, cheerful, and a little cheeky. It reminds me of my childhood, when the city was full of them. Here it is in a full-scale version.

Building instructions
The story behind it

Recreate a small yet significant symbol of a vanishing Italy.

When I was a child, sparrows were very common in Italy. It was easy to spot them on windowsills, in gardens, or even on café tables in the city center, snatching up crumbs of brioches. Building a sparrow out of bricks felt a bit like reconstructing a piece of my childhood—and of an Italy that is fading into memory.

Peregrine Falcon built with bricks on a perch

Peregrine falcon

Falco peregrinus

390 kilometers per hour swooping, 234 pieces to build it.

Building instructions
The story behind it

Simply, the hawk of the hawks.

Dives that reach 390 km / h and aerial maneuvers that bend the laws of physics. The peregrine falcon is the true super hero of birds of prey. This project reproduces the proud attitude and the lines sculpted by the wind, ensuring a strong stage presence on shelves and desktops.

Colourful European Bee-eater built with bricks, on a branch

Bee-eater

Merops apiaster

Grey day? Build the most colorful of Italian birds.

On Rebrickable
The story behind it

Posture & Pattern. The secrets of this project.

Reproducing a bee-eater is not at all easy. For this project I focused on two key elements: a pattern of colors that are really consistent with the original, and a structure that reconstructs the typical inclined posture. A perch completes the whole thing, for a shelf sculpture with a great scenographic power.

Blue and orange Kingfisher built with bricks

Kingfisher

Alcedo atthis

A blue and orange electric lightning, a small miracle of nature.

Building instructions
The story behind it

Seize the day!

The kingfisher is a blue and orange electric elf, as wonderful as it is elusive. A flash that splashes through branches and streams, always hunting for a few fish. The diorama is designed as a snapshot, which captures this little miracle of nature at the exact moment when it captures its meal.

Brick-built Dodo in a forest setting

Dodo

Raphus cucullatus

Clumsy, eccentric, a freak. And a bit mysterious, too.

Building instructions
The story behind it

Bring an icon of extinct wildlife back to life.

Unfortunately, few remains of the dodo survive. Reconstructions take into account accounts and illustrations, as well as the few existing specimens. I followed this same approach to create a version that is as faithful as possible, yet also articulated and capable of a wide range of poses.

Original MOCs by Diego Fontana

BricknFreak is the meeting point between brick design, nature and over twenty years spent creating stories for brands, businesses, classrooms and books.

From the world of BricknFreak

Exhibitions, events, news.

Official brick designer for CUBIX by Globo.

A new path in brick design: I am joining the development of CUBIX by Globo, bringing my experience in creative concepts, design and storytelling.

The announcement on Toy Store

The Purple Heron becomes a kit.

A new way to build my Purple Heron: the model now has its own kit page on BuildaMOC.

Discover it on BuildaMOC

BricknFreak at CàdelBrick.

A September event bringing brick enthusiasts together in Cadelbosco di Sopra. The announcement and details from BricknFreak.

Read the story

BricknFreak selected by Blockdeco as a Founding Artist

BrickNFreak has been selected by Blockdeco and is joining the project as a Founding Artist. Blockdeco is an international platform dedicated to brick-based creations as forms of art and design.

More about the project

Its goal is to connect creators with the public, provide international visibility for artists, and help move brick design beyond the traditional confines of collecting and the enthusiast community—bringing it ever closer to the worlds of art, interior design, and décor. Within the project, "Blockdeco Origins" brings together the Founding Artists—those invited to contribute to the gallery’s development and identity from the very beginning. It is a pleasure for BrickNFreak to join a project with such an open, progressive, and international vision. You can view my work on Blockdeco and learn more about the project.

Read the story

The hands behind the bricks

I'm Diego.
I think with my hands.

Diego Fontana, known as BricknFreak, is an Italian creative director, author, lecturer and brick designer. He creates original, buildable models, designed not only to look like something, but to tell you something.

I am an official brick designer for CUBIX by Globo.

His bitten apple core was selected and exhibited at LEGO House, then displayed at LEGOLAND Billund: a small object with a surprisingly long story.

More about me, on TERRA

Commissions & collaborations

Have a gadget, a creature, a place or a story in mind?

Let’s turn it into an original brick-built object. I develop custom MOCs, from the first idea to the tested model, from instructions to the finished, packaged product.

diegofontana@t-e-r-r-a.itOr meet me on Instagram