The Brothers Brick

Nick Crocco (Steam Pirate) is taking the apocafication of official LEGO sets to great heights.

An armored city bus emerges from 7641 City Corner.

Nick replaces the stickers on the truck in 7733 Truck & Forklift with Space Police III stickers of the same underlying design.

I think it’s awesome that the LEGO designers took an existing LEGO City design and essentially apocafied it themselves for Space Police III. And it was brilliant of Nick to notice.

Of course, it looks like Nick could use some more zombies. Fortunately, we’ll have plenty available at BrickCon.

Aaron Andrews goes retro in this lovely scene.

Don’t have time to grow and care for some flowers? Do what JDavis did. Build ‘em!

You can should check out their other sculptures too. There’s some really nice stuff in there.

It’s official, the 10198 Tantive IV (Rebel Blockade Runner) playset will be released in September at a reasonable $149.99 for 1,408 pieces and 5 minifigs including the exclusive Captain Antilles.

The page on the LEGO Shop online is live now, though the set does not appear to be available for preorder yet.

The Star Wars™ saga begins!

Blasting through space with Darth Vader’s Star Destroyer in pursuit, the Tantive IV blockade runner carries Princess Leia, C-3PO and R2-D2 on a vital mission for the Rebel Alliance. Celebrate the entire Star Wars saga with this all-new version of the very first starship seen in the films! The Tantive IV features an opening cockpit, rotating and elevating turbo laser cannons, rotating radar dish, removable roof section and interior command center. It also includes an opening compartment with removable cargo transport vehicle and 2 detachable escape pods for the droids to make their getaway with the Death Star plans! Includes Princess Leia, C-3PO, R2-D2, Captain Antilles and Rebel Trooper minifigures. Measures 20.5″ (52 cm) x 7.5″ (19 cm) x 5.5″ (14 cm).

• Includes 5 minifigures: Princess Leia, C-3PO, R2-D2, Captain Antilles and a Rebel Trooper!
• Open the cockpit and place 2 minifigures inside!
• Turbo laser cannons on top and bottom can rotate and elevate
• Features a removable roof!
• Lots of interior details including Leia’s desk and command center with seats for 2 minifigures!
• Open the storage compartment to reveal the cargo transport vehicle
• Features rotating radar disc and 2 detachable escape pods!
• Measures 20.5″ (52 cm) long, 7.5″ (19 cm) wide and 5.5″ (14 cm) tall

UPDATE (AB): The LEGO Group was kind enough to send along a few more details on pricing and a batch of additional photos for us to share with you.

10198 Tantive IV will be available September 1, 2009 at the following price points:

• United States: USD $149.99
• Canada: CAD $199.99
• United Kingdom: GBP £97.86
• Germany: EUR €149.99

Here’s the famous rear view of the Tantive IV:

This shot of the cockpit includes a good close-up of Captain Antilles:

The command center creates some nice playability in the center of the ship:

And what Rebel Blockade Runner would be complete without two droids aboard an escape pod?

If you ever wondered what happened to Daniel Z‘s Hrothingas Castle, here is the conclusion to his castle evolution project, showing that not even the mightiest fortresses can stand up to the erosion of time.

Here’s a cool progression picture showing all stages of development:

The power functions IR speed remote control has been recalled by LEGO from the US and Canadian market due to the potential hazard from the overheat of the batteries. This marks only the third LEGO product to be recalled. For more information, click on the picture below to access the official report.

ZED‘s microscale model of the Alin Boutique Sarigerme hotel bears so much resemblance to its real-life counterpart that it makes me wonder if the building was meant to be made in LEGO microscale. If you look at the balconies, the central gray tower with its conical roof, it’s not hard see that they bear resemblance to certain LEGO pieces.

Rayhawk‘s mega version of the LEGO skeleton minifig sure has more character than its smaller counterpart. Note the use of a tricorne for the nasal cavity and the minifig pilot in the ribcage.

It might not seem obvious at first why we’re highlighting yet another creation by Tyler (Legohaulic)…

…but hopefully this video will convince you.

Yiu Keung built a microscale version of the Beijing National Stadium, more commonly known as the Bird’s Nest, using mostly t-pipes and Technic half pins. What a mind-boggling build!

And don’t miss our behind-the-scenes coverage of the minifig-scale LEGO Sport City that Yiu Keung and HKLUG built last summer for the Beijing Olympics.

Chris Parkinson built an impressive SHIP over the course of eight months called the Resource Scout, designed as an exploration vessel to find new resources.

The picture above is actually a render, but the real photo can be found here. To see more pictures including the construction process, visit the gallery on Flickr.

Sebastiaan Arts lives up to his name with this thing of beauty. Gorgeous castles in tan are a rarity, but that isn’t all that sets this creation apart from most of the others. The detail, the height, the apocalyptic battlefield…the list goes on and on.

Ochre Jelly presents Tour de Force, featuring characters from the Clone Wars. I especially like the light trails on the lightsabers. You can read more on his blog.

…one giant leap for a minifig. Mikael (CopMike) celebrates the 40th anniversary of the moon landing with this simple but iconic build of the first step on the moon.

Oh, and talent like Adrian Florea‘s.

The droid arms are connected to blue flex-tubing, giving the repeated element an excellent curve.