The Brothers Brick

Shannon Ocean has titled this sculpture “Delicate Civilization” — with a couple important messages worth clicking through to Flickr for.

The asymmetrical microscale city is excellent in its own right:

If you’re like me, you’re probably panicking a little bit about what to get your loved ones for the holidays. Hanukkah began last night at sundown, and Christmas is only three days away! Like many retailers, the LEGO Shop now says that they can’t guarantee shipment by Christmas. What to do?

Why not give a LEGO e-Gift Card?

Available in denominations from $10 to $500, it’s the perfect last-minute holiday gift!

(Advertisement by Anthony Sava featuring his Hudson 4-6-4)

Since it’s the season of giving I felt it was timely to remind our readers of another great LEGO supplementary piece manufacturer: Big Bens Bricks LLC. Ben Fleskes has been manufacturing high-quality ABS wheels for LEGO trains for a few years now and it’s almost impossible to build steam trains without using his excellent products. The wheels are designed to be fully compatible with standard LEGO train pieces with diameters and spacing chosen to fully integrate with the regular system. There’s even LDRAW parts for instructions.

As one recent convertee puts it they allow him to

expand my building options by embracing the supplemental elements produced by community members in order to complement the excellent range offered by LEGO.

On a personal note along these lines, BBB wheels are the only pieces not produced by TLG that I will use in my own models.

And as Peter Norman demonstrates in the above truck design they are not just for steam trains. You can also see how close they match to the (later released) official small wheels with the rubber bands.

Inspired by the Ipsart site closed down in 2006, Ed Broom set about recreating the public art in and around Ipswich, Suffolk, UK using nothing but basic LEGO bricks in “traditional” colors:

As you can see, Ed also photographed his homages in sight of the original artwork.

For lots more, check out Ed’s IpsArtLego photoset on Flickr.

This fantastic big rig by Firas Abu-Jaber evokes the classic sets of the Model Team series — sets like 5580 Highway Rig (1986) or 5571 Giant Truck (1996).

A LEGO big rig has never looked so realistic or so good.

After arriving home from sunny New Zealand, I’ve been watching the snow accumulate here in Seattle for the past week.

Many parts of the United States have been gripped by an Arctic freeze, inspiring Improbcat to dub our collective freeze the Snowpocalypse:

This looks like a great set of vehicles for navigating the frigid wasteland, and a cool group of minifigs to hang out with along the way.

BrickArms will soon release some recognizable and highly-anticipated custom sci-fi weapons for your minifigs. These include the plasma sword, energy pistol, photon pistol, and the needle gun.

These items will be mass produced in a variety of colors, including transparent colors. The exact release date has not been determined, but according to BrickArms spokesperson Badger, “fans of BrickArms can expect these accessories to join the BrickArms family sooner than later!”

As usual, you can expect the highest quality custom accessories from BrickArms and 100% compatibility with LEGO products. The energy pistol and needle gun prototypes have different colored sections for added detail, while the full-production versions will be available in single colors.

Visit the BrickArms Forums to discuss these and other accessories and see what else is coming in 2009!

Gork presents the famous scene from Don Quixote when the delusional knight errant charges the giant with four great arms, aka the windmill.

For those who have seen the cartoon Samurai Jack, you’ll recognize the infamous Aku built by ImpreSariO.

Mike Psiaki continues to churn out great additions to his Jurassic Park layout.

His latest is actually inspired by 5935 Island Hopper, from the Adventurers “Dino Island” series.

Here’s Mike’s current lineup of terrible lizards:

Chuck Citrin isn’t afraid to build LEGO creations inspired by Halo, mainly because he does it so well. Here’s his cargo and maintenance variant of the AV-14 Hornet:

Regardless of the inspiration, I’m always amazed by Chuck’s ability to fit minifigs inside his tiny little vehicles.

While we all eagerly wait for the release of 10193 Medieval Market Village next month, we can enjoy the fruits of Rocko‘s labors:

For the “Act of Chivalry” category in this year’s Colossal Castle Contest, one of Rocko’s signature “Leians” rescues a bunch of unfortunate lads, their savior astride a glorious pegasus:

If you’ve built something of your own for the Colossal Castle Contest VI, don’t forget to submit your entry.

Andrew Lee based his latest mecha on a frame by Soren Roberts, but the head reminds me of classic 1980s Japanese superheroes:

Surprisingly, the mecha fits a minifig pilot!

Mark Borlase‘s most recent revision to his colossal 5′X10′ Hoth base diorama is a marvel to behold. The entire display consists of 55,000 to 60,000 pieces and has cool features such as 50 real lights and a remote controlled mechanism that deploys troops from the AT-ATs.

The entire creation took over 4 years in the making and consumed about $3000 (that’s a lot of white bricks!). This creation won the recent Star Wars building challenge and was featured in the official LEGO Magazine. Looks like hard work paid off, congratulations Mark!

Rong Yiren has been taking a break from his signature Primal Bots. Instead he has embarked on a foray into the realm of medical bots. This one can work you over on the run…