The Brothers Brick

I had the pleasure of hanging out with Thom (aka minifig) on my recent trip to London. Over non-alcoholic drinks at a lovely neighborhood pub far from the tourist crowds, the conversation inevitably turned to LEGO.

Thom apparently decorates his home with great little LEGO scenes. On arrival back in the States, I was pleased to see that he’d uploaded several of the scenes we talked about, including this intrepid streaker:

And these Technic figures with their AT-AT pet:

I was going to close with a sarcastic comment about the obscurity of the British people that Thom’s been honoring in ABS lately, but it turns out that Townes Van Zandt was an American, and I’m just ignorant. :-P

If you’ve been keeping up with LAML Radio, you know that James the host is presenting a podcast interview with a talented builder each day in August. Here’s yet another update of the featured builders in the past few days.

The LEGO minifigure turns 30 today. The very first minifig I got was in 1978, when I was 3 years old. Mr. Policeman had a stickered torso (right).

Today, minifigs are of course my favorite aspect of playing with LEGO, mainly because minifigs represent infinite possibilities.

Former LEGOLAND Master Model Designer Mariann Asanuma puts it best: “Minifigs, in all their countless varieties, are one of the best things that LEGO ever invented.” Indeed.

Naturally, the Internet is abuzz with congratulatory messages for our little plastic friends.

Here at The Brothers Brick, we’re hosting the GO MINIMAN GO Photo Contest, and Gizmodo is hosting a GO MINIMAN GO Video Competition.

If you’re interested in reading all about how the minifig was invented, you can read Minifig History on Minifig.co.uk.

It may just be another day at the office for Justin Vaughn:

But Michael Jasper, the Leonardo da Vinci of minifig builders, conveniently updates his “Things” folder with a pair of tricycles:

There’s a surprising turn of events in this birthday scene by J.R. Schwartz:

So, a very happy birthday to the LEGO minifig! I hope I’m still playing with minifigs when I’m 63, and then again when I’m 93.

August 25th is the 30th birthday of the LEGO minifigure. Here at The Brothers Brick, the minifig holds a very special place in our hearts — after all, we started out as a tiny little blog highlighting our favorite minifig finds.

To wish the minifig a happy 30th birthday, I’m pleased to announce that The Brothers Brick is hosting the GO MINIMAN GO Photo Contest. With awesome prizes like 10185 Green Grocer and four copies of 10190 Market Street, there’s some serious brick to be won. You can build a vignette or diorama and submit it in one of four categories that represent the decades in which minifigs have graced LEGO sets — from the 1970s through today.

The contest is open to everyone in the world who’s 18 years old as of August 1, 2008. You have until October 31, 2008 to submit your entries using our Contact Us page and the GO MINIMAN GO Photo Contest group pool on Flickr.

Here’s an example of the sort of scene you could build:

Entries will be judged by a Master Model Builder and Creative Director from LEGO, along with the Editor-in-Chief of The Brothers Brick (that would be me).

There are important rules for where and how to enter your LEGO creations in this contest, so please read the GO MINIMAN GO Photo Contest Rules carefully.

To see what else is going on to celebrate the 30th birthday of the LEGO minifig, check out GOMINIMANGO.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why is this only open to people over the age of 18?

A: Although we welcome and encourage online participation on The Brothers Brick by anybody over the age of 13, we can’t ask for real names and addresses from people who are not yet adults. This is a legal requirement, and is not intended to discriminate against the talented teenage builders we frequently feature on the blog.

Q: What kind of creations are acceptable in each category?

A: How you interpret the four categories is entirely up to you. Let your imagination run wild! The only requirements are that your entry is a vignette or diorama and that it features a LEGO minifig.

Josh featured LEGO creations by Florian (demdike) twice while I was away, and I’m so glad to learn of this builder who I hadn’t encountered before!

Florian’s latest creation is a “picture from the Ganymede mission in 2026″:

More pics on Brickshelf.

Via Yonder Splendid Assuagement of Bloviation. (Phew!)

Look away if disturbing LEGO images aren’t your thing.

Still here? Well, there’s a lot to take in in Battledog‘s zombie outbreak diorama.

Observe the spilled water, dripping blood, and brave janitor holding off the horde.

I’m really liking all the new pirate creations lately, inspired no doubt by Forbidden Cove and the possibility of a new official LEGO Pirates theme in 2009.

Daniel Z (DNL on Flickr) gets in on the pirate action with this very vertical creation that’s definitely worth the scroll:

It’s always a pleasure when I can feature a cool new LEGO creation by one of our longtime readers. RichardAM (Flickr) has been a regular here for a very long time, and I just love his latest pirate diorama.

In “Imperial Outpost,” a small group of pirates attempts to wreak havoc on some unsuspecting guards:

I especially like the angled walls and the openings around the cannons.

Mike Psiaki‘s latest and last creation of the summer is a post-apocalyptic 18-wheeler transformed into a heavily armored battle platform, complete with swinging wrecking ball of doom.

Zack “NewRight” presents a wonderful landscape accompanied by a short story, which you can read here.

Forbidden Cove has launched the site’s first contest!

Christened the “Castaway Contest“, the premise is to build the abode of a long-stranded survivor. So bust out those fabulous building skills and show them what you can do!

There is some sweet pirate booty up for grabs as well:

First Place: #6265 Sabre Island

Second Place: #6260 Shipwreck Island

(Pictures courtesy of ForbiddenCove)

Patrick Biggs (Ahava516 on Flickr) built an impressive and formidable Bionicle dragon for the BBC (Bionicle Based Creation) Contest #50 on BZPower. Check out the scales on the neck and the use of ninja hang-glider flaps for the wings (a technique which reminds me of Bryce McGlone’s Dragon).

Sly Owl just posted a peaceful diorama of two friends and their game. Having actually played Pooh Sticks myself, I can vouch for the mind-numbing addictiveness of the game. Awesome job, Owl, gotta love Pooh Sticks!

As the Beijing Olympic Games come to a close, two builders have created their own LEGO Olympics. First off, Jarod from Flickr presents a series of beautiful photos of the games using simplistic LEGO props.

Meanwhile, Alan Chia (713 Avenue) uses Stormtrooper minifigs in his depiction of the competitions.

Lino Martins rolls out his latest ride -a goth ’57 Pontiac Safari “complete with suicide doors.” The miniland figure shown is a depiction of his girlfriend Sue, who “commissioned” Lino to build the car. Want to see more cars? check out the LUGNuts group on Flickr.