I displayed this LEGO sculpture at BrickWorld this past summer, and it was a big hit with guests—adults and kids alike.
Why a Puzzle?
One day it dawned on me that I’d never seen a jigsaw puzzle made out of LEGO bricks. At that point it became a simple matter of determining what image to use on top and then to design the puzzle pieces.
For the image I used an existing LEGO portrait I’d built of my son, Christopher.
Building Objectives
Some of the key points I wanted to achieve were:
- since this was my first puzzle, it should be simple, only a few pieces, but enough to get a good variety of pieces
- the thickness of the pieces should be relatively scale to a real jigsaw puzzle
- the pieces should resemble the shapes of real jigsaw puzzle pieces
- and the pieces should be sturdy enough to not need glue to hold them together.
Display at BrickWorld
When I was displaying the puzzle on Saturday, I first kept it mostly together with just one piece removed. The initial reaction I got from a lot of people (especially kids) was, “It’s broken!”
Later I discovered that if I started with the six pieces separated, I drew crowds of a dozen people at a time standing there saying, “ooh, a jigsaw puzzle made of LEGO!” And they were equally amazed that all six pieces fit together. 
Joe Meno, editor of BrickJournal magazine, posted a short video on Facebook with me demonstrating how the puzzle pieces fit together.
The Reverse Side
I intentionally designed the reverse side to aid in building, so the colors alternate. It also gives you a good visual at how the pieces are separate, yet all fit together.
