The Brothers Brick

If there was any doubt of the superior firepower fielded by the Royal Austrian Mechanized Military, Peter Morris lays such doubts to rest. Permanently.

The slats on the front window are incredible. Oh, and this machine of impending doom has eight-wheel steering.

Here’s a peek at the missile:

If you were a LEGO pirate, what would you name your tiny but heavily armed pirate dinghy? Chuck Citrin has named his Cantankerous Toad. But of course.

I guess Friendly Frog just doesn’t quite work, does it?

Joris Blok‘s little vignette is both funny and touching. When you ran over that poor frog while driving through the Okefenokee last June, is this what happened afterward?

As several of us spend more time away from the computer getting ready for BrickCon in less than two weeks, the creations we don’t blog begin to stack up. But remember, The Brothers Brick is not the only LEGO blog on the net!

I believe the LEGO blogosphere is better when there are lots of us out there highlighting our favorite LEGO creations and linking to each other. For those of you who are readers, though, all those links in our side bar probably look pretty overwhelming. Where to start?

Here are just a few of my favorite LEGO blogs:

• Klocki: Marcin “Hippotam” Danielak leads my favorite LEGO blog, available in three languages — Polish, English, and Portuguese. If it’s not on The Brothers Brick, it’ll be on Klocki.
• Young Spacers Association Blog: This blog excels by breaking many of my silly “rules.” Their irreverence makes reading YSAB a genuine pleasure.
• VignetteBricks, MicroBricks, and MinilandBricks: Where some bloggers do one thing and do it well (or not), Bruce does three things well, highlighting the best vignettes, microscale, and miniland creations.
• LegostyleLog: The only personal blog to show up on my list, Izzo’s blog is worth reading because we just can’t blog everything this prolific Japanese builder creates.
• Brick Town Talk: LEGO Town creations deserve more exposure, and Brick Town Talk does just that by highlighting all of the fantastic buildings inspired by Cafe Corner.
• BioniBlog: When there’s a great Bionicle creation to be blogged, it’s sure to find its way to BioniBlog. We just wish Ean had more to blog…
• TechnicBRICKs: The Brothers Brick focuses mainly on SYSTEM creations, so Technic creations sometimes fall through the cracks. Read TechnicBRICKS to find out what you’re missing from all the talented Technic builders out there.
• The NXT STEP: Kid-friendly and educationally focused, The NXT STEP brings together the best LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT creations and news from around the Web. With a contributor list longer than some blog’s blogrolls, there’s always something new to see and learn on The NXT STEP.

So, readers, what’s your favorite LEGO blog, and why?

Brickshelf user (and Klocki contributor) Sariel presents two versions of an auto-controlled tripod turret, one featuring light-up fiber-optic cables and a spinning barrel while the other features a fully-working firing mechanism that launches 12 clips.

Check out the Youtube video of both versions of the gun:

Karf Oolhu has given his monkeys wings! Well, jetpacks, but it amounts to the same thing: Freakin’ Flying Monkeys!

Tim G (Roguebantha) has been working lately on a microscale Star Wars battle of epic proportions. It’s all come down to this action-packed diorama featuring some of the best LEGO Star Wars mini models around. Click on the pictures below for the Flickr gallery, or you can check out the Brickshelf gallery here.

Check out the smoke effect on this crashing X-wing, which is cleverly supported by the laser beam from the turret.

Another one of mine. I was playing around with the new Lego shark and was comparing him with the previous renditions. I think this was inevitable!

I don’t think I would ever chase a bear with a spear, but I’m not a caveman either…

We’ll end our nautically themed evening on a more peaceful note, with a gorgeous coral reef scene by Shannon Ocean:

That brick-built hammerhead shark is truly fantastic, as are the variety of other undersea flora and fauna (including skeletons as bleached coral).

Aaron “DARKspawn” Andrews sends forth the Imperial Navy’s Commodore Bainbridge to certain doom:

Notice how placing bricks on their sides has allowed Aaron to “float” various items in the water. Achieving a similar effect, he demonstrates that carrying a cannon in a rowboat isn’t such a bright idea:

The LEGO privateers o’er at Classic-Pirates.com have scoured the seven seas to bring all ye ungrateful, lice-infested, lilly-livered sprogs the biggest pile o’ swag in LEGO contest history with the newly announced Pillage the Village Contest.

There be plenty o’ loot fer all, with LEGO Pirate sets of yore to be had in four dastardly categories:

• Division 1 – Large:
  • 1st Prize: 6285 Black Seas Barracuda
  • 2nd Prize: 6273 Rock Island Refuge
  • 3rd Prize: 6279 Skull Island
• Division 2 – Medium:
  • 1st Prize: 6270 Forbidden Island
  • 2nd Prize: 6264 Forbidden Cove
  • 3rd Prize: 6265 Saber Island
• Division 3 – Small:
  • 1st Prize: 6270 Forbidden Island
  • 2nd Prize: 6258 Palm Hideout
  • 3rd Prize: 6256 Islander Catamaran
• Division 4 – Creative Critic:
  • 1st Prize: 6270 Forbidden Island
  • 2nd Prize: 6260 Shipwreck Island
  • 3rd Prize: 1713 Shipwrecked Pirate

(Actually, our GO MINIMAN GO Photo Contest boasts some serious prizes, with a Green Grocer, 4 Market Streets, 13 Vintage Minifigure Collections, and 4 Golden Anniversary Sets, but we’ll let the Pirates have their day…)

Mutinous bilge-rat Richard A. McCarthy (Flickr) has encountered some lovely lasses of the sea:

Scurvy seadog Jordan Schwartz strands an Imperial landlubber on a desert isle. Down below, there be nothin’ but a shark and a poop deck.

Says Jordan, “After crashing against a shark infested reef, our lone Imperial Governor is stranded on a small, unstable spit of land. And I think the heat is getting to him…”

(Just for the record, I’m not going to try to talk like a pirate in every post today.)

It has been many months since we saw teaser pictures of Arvo‘s Doll, and now the builders have finally uploaded a complete frontal shot of the amazing model.