Monthly Archives: March 2007

I’m-a gonna win!

Mike Count Blockula Crowley has so finished six characters in his series of large-scale minifigs inspired by Mario Kart since I first blogged Bowser back in January. Here are my favorites — and I can’t wait to see them in person at BrickFest PDX at the end of this month.

Mario and Toad:

Yoshi:

Donkey Kong:

Check out all of Mike’s Mario Kart characters on Flickr.

Lego, Lego me do. You know I Lego you!

Digger Digger Dogstar does it again! Here’s his version of Please Please Me:

So, more trains? Or not?

Train builders create some fantastic stuff — often overlooked by those of us more involved in themes like Space and Castle.

For example, check out Anthony Sava’s full-size and micro-scale No. 805 American 4-4-0 (via MicroBricks):

Or all of the displays LEGO train clubs create for events, like the layout Bill Ward participated in at a recent Train Collectors’ Association event:

And creations for train layouts are often on a scale much larger than in other themes, like Bill Vollbrecht’s Maersk Headquarters building in last year’s NWBrickCon train layout:

So a question for readers of The Brothers Brick: Do you want to see more trains and layouts? Or should we stick with the old stand-bys — castles, space ships, minifigs, mecha, and so on? Leave a comment and let us know.

Bith and Ithorian Minifigs by Moko

Looks like Moko’s officially working on a series. This time, it’s some of the most challenging characters from the Star Wars universe — the aliens.

His latest minifigs include a Bith musician from the Mos Eisley Cantina (not yet on Brickshelf):

And the Ithorian Momaw Nadon, also from the Cantina scene in A New Hope:

The Nnenness continues.

Nnenn is quickly becoming one of my favourite builders. He’s got all the necessary qualities — excellent technique, wonderful imagination, great presentation. But he also manages to shake things around a bit in the community! When the traditional view can be said to be that of the purist — only use original Lego pieces, essentially – Nnenn doesn’t refrain from using clone bricks, modifying existing pieces or playing with custom stickers. Very refreshing when done this well, as it is in his Ula-Kit 319.

So is the more liberal view Nnenn represents a step forward or a step backward for our hobby? Judge for yourself.

The evolution of the vignette continues...

First there was the vignette itself, then came the V-Pod, and now Nelson Yrizarry has invented a new form of vignette titled “MOCBox.” “MOC” stands for “my own creation” (doesn’t every hobby have its own vocabulary?), and as its name implies, MOCBoxes are creations inside a little box.

Check out Nelson’s first ten MOCBoxes in his Brickshelf gallery, as well as his introductory announcement on Classic-Castle Forums. Here’s my favorite, a double-decker MOCBox titled “Neighbors”:

Versus & Assault by Izzo

Here is the seventh and eighth creations in the incredible Drakkhen series by Izzo.

Versus features a red dragon locked in mortal combat with a golem. Overall, its pretty spiffy and really like the wizard fig.

Assault depicts a two-headed yellow dragon as it attacked a very nicely built castle. Not only is the dragon a very nice build, but castle is quite eye-catching as well.

Thwack! Shinbone to the skull!

Mark Twain is awesome, and I love Jane Austen. However, here’s what Twain had to say about Austen:

I haven’t any right to criticise books, and I don’t do it except when I hate them. I often want to criticise Jane Austen, but her books madden me so that I can’t conceal my frenzy from the reader; and therefore I have to stop every time I begin. Everytime I read Pride and Prejudice I want to dig her up and beat her over the skull with her own shin-bone.

Nathan Cunningham captures this scene from Twain’s imagination in a hilarious new vignette:

Jedi Master Shaak Ti by Moko

I always thought Shaak Ti was a pretty cool-looking Jedi, but never figured out how to make a brick-built version of her. Trust Moko to figure it out:

Plastic soul, man, plastic soul!

Thus said Paul McCartney on take 1 of “I’m Down” — the phrase that inspired the album title Rubber Soul, here recreated through the genius that is Digger Digger Dogstar:

Plastic soul indeed.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Steve Bishop wishes us all a happy St. Patrick’s Day with a vignette titled “The Luck of the Irish”:

News: Pictures of Summer 2007 Star Wars Minifigs

German LEGO blog The Brick Time has noticed photos I’d missed of the new minifigs in the summer 2007 LEGO Star Wars sets.

I’m rather excited about the Naboo pilot and redesigned Anakin Skywalker minifigs in 7660 Naboo Starfighter:

 

But I’m very excited by Kit Fisto in 7661 Jedi Starfighter: