Monthly Archives: March 2009

LEGO Twitter Fail Whale by tveskov

When Twitter goes down, the scale of sadness around the Web is epic enough to warrant a Fail Whale. Bjarne Tveskov (tveskov) gives the Twitter Fail Whale the LEGO treatment in what is sure to make the rounds on the ‘net faster than a tweeting cheetah on speed:

Naturally, you can also follow Bjarne Tveskov on Twitter.

10195 Republic Dropship with AT-OT Walker now available [News]

The much-anticipated LEGO Star Wars set 10195 Republic Dropship with AT-OT Walker is now available from the LEGO Shop online.

Yes, yes, I know — I’m a couple days behind on this…

Cole Blaq’s Soylent Scream isn’t like a grapefruit. No, not at all.

Soylent Scream fighter by Cole Blaq

I’m not sure whether it’s the unique color scheme or the shape, but I find Cole Blaq‘s Soylent Scream menacingly beautiful.

More photos of Soylent Scream on Flickr.

8960 Thunder Driller + Power Functions = PowerDriller (with bonus Mini Driller)

Jarek (Jerrec) combines a LEGO Power Functions motor and remote control with 8960 Thunder Driller to rather amusing effect:

On the smaller end of things, Scratel (Wojciech Scrat) has built a microscale version of Thunder Driller, completing with working drill:

See more photos of the Mini Driller on Brickshelf.

LEGO Space Police 2009 arrives early for Kaitimar

I can’t wait for the new LEGO Space Police sets coming out later this year (August, maybe?). Gorazd Vahen (kaitimar) seems to share my impatience, as he demonstrates with a pair of excellent vehicles he designed himself.

LEGO Space Police MOCs by Kaitimar

The Spike is being pursued by a police cruiser. Gotta love that orange stripe.

thundercats Thundercats THUNDERCATS HO!!

Tim (Roguebantha) has built an entry for the FBTB Podracer contest that’s sure to strike fear into Mumra’s heart. It looks like it would fit in with the vehicles from the old TV show perfectly. I love the claws, and mouth detail, and basically everything else about it. The engine pods even retract and attach to the body!
Thundercats Podracer

Laboured lifting in LEGO

LEGO Mecha

Lukas W. (gladius) appears to have channeled Soren Roberts to build this excellent maintenence bot for the Civilian Mecha Competition on flickr. The long doodad (technical term) next to the cockpit has some truly superb detailing and the whole model is compact and excellent.

2009 BrickForge accessories include stone tools and particle gun [Review]

As someone obsessed with archaeological LEGO, the new BrickForge accessories for 2009 make me happy.

The Tribal Spear works perfectly as a scalloped obsidian blade from the Neolithic — just the sort of weapon for cavemen to take down a mastodon or mammoth:

LEGO Neolithic minifigs with BrickForge Tribal Spears

The Tribal Sword is designed to resemble the Aztec macahuitl, inspiring me to give my Aztec god minifigs some Aztec warriors:

LEGO Aztec warriors with BrickForge macahuitl

Of course, not all of the new BrickForge accessories are stone implements.

The Plasma Blaster and Crowbar enable LEGO fans to build video game minifigs like Master Chief from Bungie’s Halo and Gordon Freeman from Valve’s Half-Life:

LEGO Master Chief and Gordon Freeman minifigs

The Goblin Sword and Goblin Shield allowed me to update my Uruk Hai minifigs from Lord of the Rings. What horde of orc minifigs would be complete without a Saruman minifig? Saruman wields a Sorcerer Staff.

LEGO Uruk Hai minifigs LEGO Saruman minifig

LEGO riot policeThe new Nightstick (right) combines with the older Military Helmet and Round Shield to create a policeman in riot gear.

Finally, the Particle Gun and Particle Pack (below) work beautifully for Ghostbusters. With multiple connection points like the Megagun, both of these new BrickForge accessories can hook up hoses or whatever else you can think of:

LEGO Ghostbusters minifigs

I have quite the backlog of ideas for musical minifigs, so I couldn’t decide which one to highlight BrickForge’s microphone. I’ll get to that new accessory later…

With so many things to inspire interesting minifigs, this may be my favorite batch of BrickForge accessories so far. All of the new stuff is available in both black and gray (though I still prefer BrickForge’s black accessories over their gray).

See all of the new items (except the microphone) in my BrickForge photoset on Flickr, and check out the BrickForge website for the full line of custom accessories.

Kocke Klub announces second KockeFest, April 4 in Ljubljana, Slovenia

Slovenian LEGO club Kocke Klub has announced that they will be holding a second LEGO exhibition on April 4, 2009 in Ljubljana. (“Kocke” means “brick” and is pronounced COT-SKA.)

KockeFest Poster

Here’s the full announcement in Slovenian:

Kocke klub v soboto, 4. aprila 2009, 10h-17h v OŠ Šmartno pod Šmarno goro pri Ljubljani organizira 02. KockeFest – pomlad 2009 – LEGO delavnico in razstavo LEGO kreacij.

KockeFest bo nudil tekmovanje v LEGO sumu, svetovno premiero novega pnevmatskega V8 motorja iz kock LEGO, predstavitev delujočih modelov LEGO gradbene mehanizacije in različnih Mindstorms robotov, makete gradbišča, vlaka, gusarjev ter LEGO Technic sete, dva igralna kotička z nagradami za najboljše kreacije in LEGO bazar ter še veliko drugih LEGO zanimivosti. Za več informacij prosimo poglejte na www.kocke.si/kockefest/.

And in English:

Kocke club will organize 2nd KockeFest – spring 2009 – LEGO workshop and LEGO creations exhibition. It will be held on Saturday, April 4th between 10am and 5 pm in primary school Šmartno at Ljubljana.

KockeFest will present the LEGO sumo championship, the world premiere of new V8 pneumatic engine made out of LEGO bricks, the working models of LEGO construction equipment and various Mindstorms robots, the mock-ups of building grounds, trains, pirates and LEGO Technic sets, two playing corners with awards for the best creations, Lego marketplace and more LEGO interesting features. For more information please visit www.silug.si/kockefest/eng_index.php.

Read more about KockeFest — and see pictures from the first KockeFest — on the Kocke Klub website.

EDIT: Kocke Klub has also released a 16-page magazine illustrating some of the best LEGO creations from members. Download your copy of KockeList and check it out! It’s in Slovenian, but LEGO is our common language, and there are lots of great pictures.

My Neo-Classic-Space Contribution

Neo Classic Space Robot Command CenterSet 6951, the Robot Command Center was my absolute favorite Classic Space set (of the sets I actually had) when I was growing up. When the opportunity came up to create a Neo Classic Space creation, my mind immediately went to this set. It was basically a mecha, except that the legs didn’t move at all, and the arms were attached to the knees.

I figured that new parts and techniques would allow me to do something really cool with this idea. I did decide to lose a few of the play features from the original, even though I like them. There was just something about a little ship docking in my mecha’s crotch that didn’t seem right. I’m surprised that so few of the builders in this effort built robots, but at least it makes my contribution fairly unique.

I also have to thank one of my non-LEGO friends for suggesting an electric guitar, so it could rock out.

Neo Classic Space Roundup 3

Mobile Rocket TransportMarch is may be winding down, but the level of creations being posted for the LEGO Neo-Classic-Space project sure aren’t. Some really spectacular stuff has been posted lately. There’s a really cool research base by Ben Jarvis, shown below. Not to mention Adrian Drake’s massive updated rendition of the 6950 Mobile Rocket Transport (which is the huge truck with rocket, at right). I also cannot get enough of the LL-301 Falcon (below, spaceship) by Stuart Crawhaw. Stuart used old train rail pieces to make the wings, which came out beautifully. I’m also really excited, because I’m finally going to be able to post my own creation tonight, after more than a month of keeping it secret.

Neo Classic Space Research Base LL-301 Falcon

Daniel Z’s castle evolution (stage 3)

Daniel Z has revealed the third stage of his castle evolution project, now featuring a fully recognizable castle with highly fortified walls. For the previous stages, see 2 and 1. Will the project develop further? I sure hope it does!