You are currently browsing the The Brothers Brick weblog archives for March, 2008.
Contrary to popular (or at least my) belief it would appear that greater LA does have a public transport system. Peter Norman (Swoofty) has recreated a Metrolink locomotive in his usual highly detailed style. The old-school ‘pony ear’ technique of tiles between studs makes for a really effective window and the snazzy use of textures on the door is just delightful.
Dave Lartigue (Flickr) puts some experimental weapons in the hands of the Undead, with devastating consequences for the Crown Knights.
Now witness the firepower of these fully operational Dyna-Gloves!
See more great action shots on Flickr.
Here’s the latest (and final) communication from LEGO about 9-volt trains, RC trains, and the future Power Functions trains:
Dear all,
As promised in the second communication from the 6th of December last year, we will give you the latest information and decisions regarding the development of the new train system based on LEGO Power Functions.
We are still working on the final details and doing a lot of testing of the new Power Functions elements; however, we are again able to give you some more details.
First – we will not change the gauge of the rails so there is no need to be afraid that the L gauge will disappear.
On the rechargeable battery box we have been working to get the best compromise between size and power. It has been decided that we will use a powerful Lithium Polymer battery and the size of the box will be 4 studs wide, 8 studs long and 4 studs high – this should fit in most of the trains.
The already existing standard LEGO transformer will be used to recharge and as the power supply.The existing Power Functions RC Receiver already has integrated speed control. To enable the use of this we will make a newly designed RC handset with speed control capability.
All the above new Train related Power Functions items as well as the current battery train motor (with cross axles and wheels) will be available separately through LEGO Shop@Home before the Summer of 2009.
As you know we arranged a train workshop in November 2007 where ten AFOLs from around the world: Denmark, USA, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and United Kingdom participated, built with the prototype elements and also looked into ideas and possibilities for new train designs using the Power Function elements. Based on the outcome of this workshop and all the other fantastic input we got from the AFOL community over the last 6 months, our designers worked on the first train set using the new Power Functions system. This set will be truly aimed at the AFOL community to acknowledge the importance of the adult LEGO hobbyists in the LEGO train world.
This communication will be the last one regarding the transition from the 9V train system into the new Power Functions train system. Due to all the very valuable AFOL feedback we are far down the road with the development of the new elements and also the new train set. We appreciate all your efforts through this transition which we expect to be fully executed in 2009.
Stay tuned for the new LEGO train system coming in 2009.
Tormod Askildsen, Head of LEGO Community Development
Jamie “Morgan19″ Spencer is on quite a roll with his custom steampunk creations. Sure, Jamie uses paint to achieve some of the gold coloring, but it’s so darn shiny and cool that even purists have got to give these beauties a closer look. :-D
His most recent creation is a firefighting robot titled “Dühnlist, Flameward of the Deutsches Reich”:
The requisite Morgan19 schematic:
Finally, BuySteampunk.com is holding a contest in which you can actually win a copy of Jamie’s Kriegerhund . The site also has a great interview with Jamie as well.
Texture, action, creatures, thatch and falling minifigs. There’s really nothing to not like about Adrian Florea‘s (Olog) latest diorama. I think I’ll let it speak for itself.
Patrick Bosman erects an impressive facade of the Cafe De Kroon Restaurant in Amsterdam. What’s most noticeable about this model is the diagonal construction of the structure, where the builder managed to seamlessly construct the building on a diagonal axis of the baseplate, a difficult feat when the LEGO studs run horizontally and vertically. Check out the gallery, featuring a detailed interior with a lively atmosphere.
The rather large Bionicle community and creations are not so well represented here on our blog, but once in a while a Bionicle figure catches my eye. This one is called Shinonome, created by Brickshelf user “fuh-min“. What’s especially outstanding regarding this creation is the strikingly awesome posability of the figure, which includes this b-boy handstand. Check out the gallery for some more.
Master pirate fan Richie Dulin has decided to take a break from building sailing vessels to remix set 4837 into a minifig sized narrow gauge locomotive: the Port Brique Historic Railway Loco No 4. The detail he’s crammed into such a tiny model is impressive.
Nick Dean (aka Kcaster) shows in a vignette how to deal with snipers, by taking them out with a bang! Sorry Camping Carl, you’ve been found.
Dear model making readers,
On Brothers Brick we love showcasing the best examples of LEGO model making we can find. As a pictorial blog, however, we have to ensure that our posts are visually appealing and draw the reader to each and every post. Sometimes this can mean that we cannot post a model due to a lack of a clear picture to use in its post. Visual clarity is important and without a good feature photo we cannot have a good feature post.
As such we’d like to request everyone out there who would like to appear here to try to take clearer photos of your models. If you post a great model please try to take at least one photo with a nice clean background so that the model pops out. All you need is an A2 sheet of paper to put under and behind the model to improve things dramatically. As you can see from the example below the clear background is so much better (same angle, same natural lighting, A2 in the second shot). Reading and taking the advice of one of the many photograph tutorials or threads [1] [2] [3] [4] can improve things even more.
Thank you in advance,
Tim
PS. If you know of any more photography tutorials please post a link in the discussion here.
Who never knew the dead can be tasty for some? Christophe Bongay seems to be working on a rather fascinating creation of a zombie stew. Check out some of his other whimsical scenes here.
Ever since we featured Alex Eylar‘s band of minifig hitmen called The Irregulars, he’s come up with another band of deadly assassins called The Lonely People. The crazies become creepier and the deaths get messier. Read each killer’s profile on MOCpages.
Ralph Savelsberg (Flickr) may live somewhere in southern England, but that doesn’t mean he can’t join us on the highway to a KOA hookup somewhere south of Yosemite — at least in spirit.
Check out his Ford F-150 pickup and Winnebago RV:
Don’t miss the bike rack and lots of other great details in Ralph’s Wheels photoset.
As always, a bonus airplane — a US Navy Lockheed S-3B Viking:
The average LEGO mecha we feature here are heavily armed, anthropomorphous robots. In other words, they tend to stand on two legs and go “pew! pew!” As much as I’m a fan of Gundam-inspired mecha, it’s nice to take a break and think about what mecha might really be like in the future — the blue-collar workbots of the space docks and maglev yards.
To that end, Izzo presents his “Sci-Fi Industrial Mecha Competition“.
Here’s one example from Izzo’s own repertoire — a railroad bot:
Okay, this one’s bipedal, but still a great example of a construction mecha:
Although Izzo is only accepting contest entries from builders over the age of 19 in Japan, that doesn’t mean you can’t take his contest as a challenge and build something cool yourself. Even if it’s not for a prize, I for one think the world could use more rail-laying, cargo-hauling, sewer-cleaning, reactor-scrubbing mecha.
To get you started, here’s Izzo’s great list of inspirational links:
Izzo gives Izmojuki a LEGO makeover:
Who needs prizes to motivate you when the end result can be this cool? Get building!
She walked in out of the fog with one thing on her mind. She had to know.
The private dick put his feet up on the desk and laughed. He’d seen her type before.
“You may need to know, sweet cheeks, but when I’m through, you ain’t gonna wanna know.”
Random pseudo-noir writing by yours truly, “LEGO Noir” by Tyler (aka Legohaulic:
