The Brothers Brick

Dylan B. posted this great temple a few days ago and I’m finally getting around to it. I especially like the stones around the pond, thought that’s not the only cool feature by any means.

Shannon Sproule (Shannon Ocean) brings us a sample of life in the year 2001. There’s nothing not to love in this but the transparent yellow plate in the spike is utterly perfect to my eyes. If I were that classic black spaceman I would be in heaven.

One of the interesting things about living in Southern California is that I get to talk quite a few of the model designers who are working on exhibits and installations for LEGOLAND Malaysia, which is scheduled to open in April of 2012. I get to hear about it, but I don’t get to see. I’ve also heard several of my friends here in SoCal talk about their own training process as well as the crew of Malaysian designers who have been hired and trained to work on the same projects. Bill Toenjes was nice enough to send us a link to an article in Johor Buzz, an English language Malay news site, which ran a great profile of several of the team in Malaysia.

We in the adult LEGO community usually get the (very interesting) perspective of adult fans who go on to work for LEGO or LEGOLAND, but the numerous straight-out-of-their-dark-age graphic designers, artists, engineers, and architects are kind of overlooked, though they seem to make up the bulk of the model and set design teams. It’s interesting to hear their perspective.

1,000,000 Points is what Angus MacLane wins for building the cast of my favorite show on TV, 30 Rock. Here’s Frank Rossitano (Judah Friedlander), complete with trucker hat:

…plus four more, including the lovely Liz Lemon:

I want to go to there.

On one hand, it’s difficult to continue being surprised at the brilliant LEGO creations that Kris Kelvin churns out with alarming regularity. On the other hand, we can rely on a steady stream of cool stuff to enjoy every month or two, like “Castle of the Order of the Black Falcons”.

Tito challenged himself to use what is sometimes considered a “useless” part. Make it the cowling for an awesome speeder bike, and there’s no such thing as a useless LEGO element.

The minifig hand attached to the horn on the front is a lovely little detail.

busboy489 has produced another fantastic entry for Classic-Castle‘s annual contest. I particularly like the gentle curve of the walk-way between the two towers over the water. It’s quite elegant.

Is it wrong that I think this treaded engine of death is adorable? Apparently, the M8 is a real vehicle from World War II, but that stubby little cannon is really rather cute. Keep ‘em rolling, Captain Eugene.

We generally don’t feature the all-too-common (though sometimes artistic) photos of official LEGO sets people post online, but these ones by Avanaut are hardly stormtroopers in cereal bowls.

The rebel air corps may need a bit of help from their ground crew to get into this frozen Y-wing:

A pair of rebel troopers take advantage of the weather for a bit of winter fun:

Photoshop, you say. No. It’s all real. Thanks for the tip, Dave Eaton!

Martin Latta (thire5) crafted a lot of details into his hangar diorama including a busy crew that does all the tasks including prisoner transport. Hey, is that Chewie in the cage?

Brickshelf user Lumix has posted a comprehensive gallery of photos of the upcoming TIE Defender in 2010. The retail price of the set is $49.99 I believe.

Iain Heath (Ochre Jelly) makes a rather hilarious connection between Mike from Monsters, Inc. and a Granny Smith apple. Jaw-dropping indeed.

For a bonus Monsters, Inc. LEGO creation, here’s “Boo’s Door” by Alex Eylar:

Click the pic to see Boo in her adorable monster costume.

qworg presents “Pegasus’ Fortress,” a small castle on a very tall spire of rock.

Notice the town, docks, and even clouds far below the castle. The combination of minifig scale and microscale create a forced-perspective effect that takes this from cool to awesome.

TT Games has released a trailer for their upcoming LEGO Harry Potter video game. It doesn’t show a lot of gameplay footage, but reveals the studio’s signature humor.

Via Kotaku.

Barney Main (SlyOwl) is known for his action-packed, medium-sized castle dioramas. His newest creation depicts the dissolution of a monastery 1536 under Henry VIII. There are lots of details and techniques to soak in, including the roof, the window designs, and the chandeliers and altar in the interior.