Monthly Archives: April 2008

The Tabletown Army is very green

Doctor Sinister‘s “Tabletown Army” is a formidable force, matched only by Magnus Lauglo’s armor or Ralph Savelsberg’s overwhelming air superiority.

Dr. S goes studless in his latest project — applying an unstudded sheen to the entire Tabletown Army:

Okay, that’s more adorable than formidable, but it was my favorite of the bunch. If you’re looking to defend a large recycling plant, the Vindicator may be a better option.

Clancy goes Green

Even Trolls care…

Working LEGO mousetrap

Jason Allemann unveils a working brick-built mousetrap that actually caught two mice. A mechanism shuts the gate of the cage when the mouse steps on the pressure plate, which pulls out the axle supporting the gate. Simple and brilliant.

Snakehead mecha by bmck

What better way to continue our green-themed posts on Earth Day than with this great green mecha by bmck? I love the detailing on the end of the gun:

Via Young Spacers Association Blog.

Happy Earth Day 2008!

Gary McIntire celebrates Earth Day with a little vignette illustrating the joy of recycling:

Learn more about Earth Day on Wikipedia.

Mesa 6 standoff by Nnenn

Nnenn’s latest microscale fleets are as expansive as ever:

…but the standout is definitely the Jway ECM cruiser:

(Speaking of MicroBricks…)

Bruce launches MinilandBricks [News]

Bruce of VignetteBricks and MicroBricks mentioned in our recent Claim to Fame roundup that someone should start a blog about Miniland LEGO creations.

Given that Miniland is the scale Master Builders use for the amazing cities and monuments at LEGOLAND theme parks, it only seems natural that this building scale should have its own blog.

And that’s just what Bruce has created, with MinilandBricks. Bruce says, “I’ll highlight MOCs and also great photography of the official park models.”

Incidentally, Bruce is also recruiting. If you’re interested in contributing to MicroBricks, drop him a line.

Best of luck, Bruce!

New 2008 BrickArms weapons [Review]

At BrickCon in October, I learned about the Halo-inspired weapons and the M1 Garand rifle that Will Chapman of BrickArms was working on at the time (see First look at new BrickArms weapons).

Last week, I received my shipment of new 2008 BrickArms weapons, and I’ve been eagerly building and waiting for a break in the snow (!) to take pictures.

Aside from much improved polish, the BA-M5 rifles and BA-M6 pistols aren’t substantially different from the prototypes I highlighted in October, as seen here with a trio of UNSC Marines from Halo:

UNSC Marines with BrickArms on Flickr

In addition to the BA-M5 and BA-M6, the latest batch of BrickArms weapons includes two more weapons inspired by science fiction. The PKD2019 Replicant Blaster takes its inspiration from Blade Runner, so I whipped up a custom Rick Deckard to “retire” my minifig androids:

Rick Deckard on Flickr

The final M1 Garand rifle is slightly larger than the prototype. Regardless, a minifig can hold the rifle at several points, as demonstrated below by a custom WW2 US Army Sergeant minifig you can also buy from BrickArms:

US Army Sergeant with M1 Garand on Flickr US Army Sergeant with M1 Garand on Flickr

My favorite new BrickArms weapon is the Mk48 Machine Gun. Bundled with a bipod and monopod, the Mk48 resembles the M240 and M249 families of modern machine guns (at least at minifig scale). Other additions to the contemporary arsenal are the MP7 PDW and M84 Stun Grenade (aka “flashbang”):

SOCOM with BrickArms on Flickr

The Bipod from the Mk48 can attach wherever a minifig hand can attach, including other BrickArms weapons, such as the PSG1 Sniper Rifle (with S.W.A.T. sniper below). A Monopod can convert your M1 Garand into an M14 (with Marine, circa 1965):

S.W.A.T. Operator on Flickr Vietnam Marine on Flickr

The other sci-fi-inspired weapon is the Auto-9, from RoboCop (below):

RoboCop with Auto-9 on Flickr

The priciest thing I picked up this time from BrickArms was the Medkit ($8). The Medkit includes a syringe, scalpel, and bag. Although BrickArms sold a limited run of 30 World War II medic minifigs a while back, I missed them when they were $25, and the final minifig went for $162.50 (!) on eBay.

So I made my own (mostly), using the new Medkit, an Indiana Jones bag, and bits of the Sergeant:

Medic with BrickArms Medkit on Flickr

As I said last February in my first BrickArms review, BrickArms weapons compare well to official LEGO elements on both price (on the secondary market) and quality. This certainly holds true for the 2008 weapons, which continue to extend the building possibilities provided by our favorite little plastic bricks.

For more photos of the new weapons and accessories, see my BrickArms photoset on Flickr.

Also check out our previous coverage of BrickArms here on The Brothers Brick:

RAMM Leopard IV Hoverstreitkräfte by Andrew Lee

Andrew Lee gets in on some RAMM action with this awesome hovertank:

Tim Zarki’s robot wants to help you!

Remember Tim Zarki‘s previous robot? I argued that it stood several hundred feet tall and could walk over tall buildings.

Well, if this latest robot is that tall, we’re in serious trouble:

Just floatin’

Brickshelf user graviton recreated a Dan Piraro comic of LEGO gangsters. “It ain’t workin’, Boss. He’s just floatin’.”

Treading all terrains in the Sandpiper

Brian Kescenovitz (mondayn00dle) is one of the few builders who usually doesn’t put much color into their models, sometimes conveying the iron/steel utility. Unlike his bulkier mechs, Brian’s latest work is a spindly scout walker called the Sandpiper, constructed with focus to fine detailing mechanisms rather than heavy armor.