LEGO models and bricks are measured in a fanciful unit
called the stud rather than in inches or centimeters. One
stud equals the width of the smallest brick, which is 8 mm
wide. We’ll even use the stud to measure LEGO pieces that
aren’t bricks, like shock absorbers and axles.
When the unit of measurement for a LEGO piece is
omitted, you can safely assume that it is the stud—for
example, a 1×1 brick, a 2×2 tile, and so on. This is how
we’ll refer to pieces in this book.
You might also see the stud referred to by other
names, such as module, dot, or fundamental LEGO unit
(FLU). The letter L is used to indicate length in studs. For
example, a 6.5L shock absorber is 6.5 studs long.
LEGO builders generally measure the height of their
creations, however, in terms of the height of a brick or plate.
For example, we say that something is one brick tall or one
plate tall. Note that one brick tall is equal to 9.6 mm, just a
bit more than a stud (see Figure 2-1).
As illustrated in Figure 2-2, LEGO plates are only one third as tall as a brick, meaning that three stacked plates are
the same height as one brick.