The Brothers Brick

Have you ever broken a fingernail trying to pull two LEGO bricks apart? Ever resorted to a butter knife? Teeth? What you needed was a Brick Separator.

For all those building emergencies, Andrew Summersgill (Doctor Sinister) has the solution:

Not coincidentally, Andrew is also running for chairman of The Brickish Association. Here’s a campaign poster that perfectly sums up my own approach to LEGO — FUN is not a four-letter word!

Hey Andrew, I’ll be expecting that wire transfer for £19,999,999.99 into my offshore account any day now…

The fighter by Geoff Herndon (Tekka Croe) that Dan blogged yesterday may be spikier, but I’m a sucker for small and adorable.

This Power Miners bike would make an awesome impulse-purchase set.

EDIT: Oh look, this drilling unit by Kevin Fedde (Crimson Wolf) also fits the post title!

EDIT 2: Okay, what is up with all the two-wheeled Power Miners vehicles? Huh, Rocko?

March is apparently the new December — at least in terms of the plethora of LEGO contests happening at the same time.

From Bricks to Bothans has just announced the Podracer Challenge. The challenge is to create an original podracer (not one featured in Episode I or in the Expanded Universe) like the Pre-Classic Space and 3vil podracers featured in the graphic above.

The prizes:

• First Prize: Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter, Chrome Darth Vader, and Chrome C-3PO
• Second Prize: Chrome Vader or Chrome Threepio – your choice
• Third Prize Chrome Vader or Chrome Threepio – whatever the 2nd prize winner didn’t choose.

Prolific builder Jordan Schwartz (Sir Nadroj) recently posted two indoor scenes of a rather morbid nature.

In Green Murder, a dastardly deed is done in the arboretum:

No less chilling is this scene featuring Jordan’s collection of LEGO animals — the Taxidermist:

LEGO Pirates fan site ForbiddenCove.com has just announced the Whale of a Tale Contest. Build an outlandish tale on a base no more than 32×32 studs, though there’s no restriction in height.

You could win one of these 2009 LEGO Pirates sets:

• First Prize: 6253 Shipwreck Hideout
• Second Prize: 6240 Kraken Attackin’
• Third Prize: 6239 Cannon Battle

Sebastiaan Arts has built a working forklift using the LEGO power functions system. He’s used the infrared remote control to allow him to both drive and steer the forklift. Not only can he drive it with the remote, though, he can raise and lower the fork! Make sure you check out the video of it in action.

Looks like Tim Goddard (RogueBantha) can’t wait for the release of 10195 later this month, so he built his own Republic Dropship and AT-OT walker in microscale:

Here’s a trio of Tim’s AT-OT walkers (actually, a different design from the one above) in action on the Outer Rim planet Felucia:

This steampunk battle scene by SlyOwl has it all — floating rock, brick-built smoke, cool splash effects, and even a steampunk Chinook helicopter.

See more photos on Brickshelf.

Classic-Pirates.com is hosting a new contest that challenges you to build places and locations from the LEGO Pirates universe within a 24×24 base.

Here are the prizes:

• 1st Place: 6268 Renegade Runner
• 2nd Place: 6256 Islander Catamaran
• 3rd Place: 6245 Harbour Sentry
• Creative Critic: 6256 Islander Catamaran

Read more about the Captain’s Quarters Contest on Classic-Pirates.com.

Tekka Croe has built a beautiful new space fighter. He’s called it the “MX-01 Firefli”, and while I’m not sure why it’s not a “Firefly,” I really enjoy the shape of it. It looks more like a tropical fish than anything else to me, considering all the bright colors and spines. It’s also quite heavily armed, as you can see.

Nathan Simkiss (Arterin) has recently posted a fantastic array of micro scale space creations. He’s managed to make clever use of several parts to create great detail at a small scale. I especially love his “freighter/tanker thing,” below.