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Kevin Loch, a software engineer from [[Wikipedia:Reston, Virginia|Reston, Virginia]],<ref name="Bender 2010"/><ref name="KLNet"/> started what would become Brickshelf in April 1998 after seeing numerous requests for scans of LEGO [[building instruction]]s on [[rec.toys.lego]]. Loch posted to the newsgroup on April 19 asking readers for scans of instructions from discontinued sets, stating that he had "essentially unlimited" [[Wikipedia:Disk storage|disk storage]] and [[Wikipedia:Bandwidth|bandwidth]] to host the files.<ref name="rec.toys.lego Loch 98-04-19"/> Upon receiving his first submission, Loch publicly launched his instruction scan site on April 20.<ref name="rec.toys.lego Loch 98-04-20"/> The first version of the site was a basic [[Wikipedia:Web server directory index|directory index]] on Loch's main website, KL.Net.<ref name="rec.toys.lego Loch 98-04-19"/><ref name="KLNet"/> To avoid potential legal issues with the [[LEGO Group]], Loch only accepted scans from LEGO sets and [[idea books]] that were no longer being sold through retail outlets, initially restricting submissions to sets released before 1996; scans could not be [[Wikipedia:Image editing|modified]] for similar reasons.<ref name="rec.toys.lego Loch 98-04-29"/><ref name="rec.toys.lego Loch 98-05-02"/> Readers were originally asked to contribute scans by emailing Loch a [[Wikipedia:URL|URL]] to an [[Wikipedia:HTTP server|HTTP]], [[Wikipedia:File Transfer Protocol|FTP]], or [[Wikipedia:Gopher (protocol)|Gopher]] [[Wikipedia:Server (computing)|server]] containing their own scans.<ref name="rec.toys.lego Loch 98-04-19"/> A few days later on April 22, Loch set up an [[Wikipedia:FTP server|FTP server]] that contributors could alternatively upload scans to; starting July 2, uploaded scans could also be viewed on the FTP server.<ref name="rec.toys.lego Loch 98-04-22"/><ref name="rec.toys.lego Loch 98-07-02"/>
Kevin Loch, a software engineer from [[Wikipedia:Reston, Virginia|Reston, Virginia]],<ref name="Bender 2010"/><ref name="KLNet"/> started what would become Brickshelf in April 1998 after seeing numerous requests for scans of LEGO [[building instruction]]s on [[rec.toys.lego]]. Loch posted to the newsgroup on April 19 asking readers for scans of instructions from discontinued sets, stating that he had "essentially unlimited" [[Wikipedia:Disk storage|disk storage]] and [[Wikipedia:Bandwidth|bandwidth]] to host the files.<ref name="rec.toys.lego Loch 98-04-19"/> Upon receiving his first submission, Loch publicly launched his instruction scan site on April 20.<ref name="rec.toys.lego Loch 98-04-20"/> The first version of the site was a basic [[Wikipedia:Web server directory index|directory index]] on Loch's main website, KL.Net.<ref name="rec.toys.lego Loch 98-04-19"/><ref name="KLNet"/> To avoid potential legal issues with the [[LEGO Group]], Loch only accepted scans from LEGO sets and [[idea books]] that were no longer being sold through retail outlets, initially restricting submissions to sets released before 1996; scans could not be [[Wikipedia:Image editing|modified]] for similar reasons.<ref name="rec.toys.lego Loch 98-04-29"/><ref name="rec.toys.lego Loch 98-05-02"/> Readers were originally asked to contribute scans by emailing Loch a [[Wikipedia:URL|URL]] to an [[Wikipedia:HTTP server|HTTP]], [[Wikipedia:File Transfer Protocol|FTP]], or [[Wikipedia:Gopher (protocol)|Gopher]] [[Wikipedia:Server (computing)|server]] containing their own scans.<ref name="rec.toys.lego Loch 98-04-19"/> A few days later on April 22, Loch set up an [[Wikipedia:FTP server|FTP server]] that contributors could alternatively upload scans to; starting July 2, uploaded scans could also be viewed on the FTP server.<ref name="rec.toys.lego Loch 98-04-22"/><ref name="rec.toys.lego Loch 98-07-02"/>


By April 23, the website had over 60 megabytes of images for around 40 different sets, and had been viewed by over 200 people.<ref name="rec.toys.lego Loch 98-04-23"/> By May 2, it had delivered over {{formatnum:30000}} image files.<ref name="rec.toys.lego Loch 98-05-02"/>
By April 23, the directory had over 60 megabytes of images for around 40 different sets, and had been viewed by over 200 people.<ref name="rec.toys.lego Loch 98-04-23"/> By May 2, it had delivered over {{formatnum:30000}} image files.<ref name="rec.toys.lego Loch 98-05-02"/> By July 2, it had grown to over 800 megabytes of images.<ref name="rec.toys.lego Loch 98-07-02"/>


On July 9, 1998, Loch announced he had started scanning and uploading his own collection; he also began allowing scans of [[LEGO catalogs]].<ref name="rec.toys.lego Loch 98-07-09a"/><ref name="rec.toys.lego Loch 98-07-09b"/>
On July 9, 1998, Loch announced he had started scanning and uploading his own collection; he also began allowing scans of [[LEGO catalogs]].<ref name="rec.toys.lego Loch 98-07-09a"/><ref name="rec.toys.lego Loch 98-07-09b"/>

Latest revision as of 12:59, 17 January 2026

Brickshelf
A simple drawing of a red 1×1 LEGO brick with two smaller shapes, one blue and one yellow, leaning against it
A simple website showing a gallery of images and options to log in, search the gallery, or browse certain tags. The six images shown are in a "Recent Folders" section.
Screenshot of the Brickshelf home page on February 16, 2025
Type of site
Image hosting service
Available inEnglish
Headquarters
Reston, Virginia
,
United States
OwnerJames Browning (2025–present)
Created byKevin M. Loch
ParentBrickshelf II, LLC
URLbrickshelf.com
RegistrationRequired to upload files
Launched
  • April 20, 1998; 27 years ago (1998-04-20) (KL.Net/scans)
  • August 31, 1999; 26 years ago (1999-08-31) (Brickshelf)
Current statusActive

Brickshelf is a LEGO image hosting service created by Kevin Loch. The site was initially launched in April 1998 to host scans of LEGO instructions before becoming its own website in August 1999. In February 2000 Brickshelf began allowing user uploads. As of January 2026, Brickshelf contains over 4.9 million files in 430 thousand folders.

History

Kevin Loch, a software engineer from Reston, Virginia,[1][2] started what would become Brickshelf in April 1998 after seeing numerous requests for scans of LEGO building instructions on rec.toys.lego. Loch posted to the newsgroup on April 19 asking readers for scans of instructions from discontinued sets, stating that he had "essentially unlimited" disk storage and bandwidth to host the files.[3] Upon receiving his first submission, Loch publicly launched his instruction scan site on April 20.[4] The first version of the site was a basic directory index on Loch's main website, KL.Net.[3][2] To avoid potential legal issues with the LEGO Group, Loch only accepted scans from LEGO sets and idea books that were no longer being sold through retail outlets, initially restricting submissions to sets released before 1996; scans could not be modified for similar reasons.[5][6] Readers were originally asked to contribute scans by emailing Loch a URL to an HTTP, FTP, or Gopher server containing their own scans.[3] A few days later on April 22, Loch set up an FTP server that contributors could alternatively upload scans to; starting July 2, uploaded scans could also be viewed on the FTP server.[7][8]

By April 23, the directory had over 60 megabytes of images for around 40 different sets, and had been viewed by over 200 people.[9] By May 2, it had delivered over 30,000 image files.[6] By July 2, it had grown to over 800 megabytes of images.[8]

On July 9, 1998, Loch announced he had started scanning and uploading his own collection; he also began allowing scans of LEGO catalogs.[10][11]


References

  1. ↑ Bender, Jonathan (2010). LEGO: A Love Story. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 107–108. ISBN 978-0-470-40702-8.
  2. ↑ a b "Kevin Loch's Net Server". Archived from the original on November 11, 1998.
  3. ↑ a b c Loch, Kevin (April 19, 1998). "instruction scans". Newsgroup: rec.toys.lego. Usenet: [email protected]. Archived from the original on February 16, 2025. Retrieved January 15, 2026 – via Google Groups.
  4. ↑ Loch, Kevin (April 20, 1998). "scan site". Newsgroup: rec.toys.lego. Usenet: [email protected]. Archived from the original on February 19, 2025. Retrieved January 15, 2026 – via Google Groups.
  5. ↑ Loch, Kevin (April 29, 1998). "Re: Everyone Give a Big Thank You to Kevin Loch". Newsgroup: rec.toys.lego. Usenet: [email protected]. Archived from the original on February 19, 2025. Retrieved January 15, 2026 – via Google Groups.
  6. ↑ a b Loch, Kevin (May 2, 1998). "Re: That cool posting site..." Newsgroup: rec.toys.lego. Usenet: [email protected]. Archived from the original on February 20, 2025. Retrieved January 15, 2026 – via Google Groups.
  7. ↑ Loch, Kevin (April 22, 1998). "instruction scans site". Newsgroup: rec.toys.lego. Usenet: [email protected]. Archived from the original on February 19, 2025. Retrieved January 15, 2026 – via Google Groups.
  8. ↑ a b Loch, Kevin (July 2, 1998). "Scans site now ftp'able". Newsgroup: rec.toys.lego. Usenet: [email protected]. Archived from the original on January 16, 2026. Retrieved January 15, 2026 – via Google Groups.
  9. ↑ Loch, Kevin (April 23, 1998). "Re: instruction scan site". Newsgroup: rec.toys.lego. Usenet: [email protected]. Archived from the original on February 19, 2025. Retrieved January 15, 2026 – via Google Groups.
  10. ↑ Loch, Kevin (July 9, 1998). "I've borrowed a scanner (finally)". Newsgroup: rec.toys.lego. Usenet: [email protected]. Archived from the original on January 16, 2026. Retrieved January 16, 2026 – via Google Groups.
  11. ↑ Loch, Kevin (July 9, 1998). "Re: I've borrowed a scanner (finally)". Newsgroup: rec.toys.lego. Usenet: [email protected]. Archived from the original on January 16, 2026. Retrieved January 16, 2026 – via Google Groups.
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