The Brothers Brick

Alex Fojtik‘s Hoodoo mecha is powered by voodoo magic from the shrunken heads and the bones in its “sack.” This is a refreshing take on the mecha theme to say the least.

Cameron (Primus) applies lessons he’s learned as one of the most talented Bionicle builders on the Web to an exceptional dark creature inspired by the writing of H.P. Lovecraft.

The BURPs don’t do much for me, but the Old One more than makes up for a lack of detail in the landscaping.

The Messerschmitt M3 323 was a cargo transport aircraft introduced in 1943 that did not survive past 1944. eastpole77 has built a rather substantial LEGO version of this ill-fated plane, complete with opening front doors.

I’m not sure the green felt flower quite works as the Tunisian sun, but the scene is complete with palm trees and troops debarking to join up with the Afrika Korps.

Thanks for the suggestion, Ruben!

For once, we’re going to pass up a StarCraft II LEGO creation by Matt De Lanoy (Pepa Quin) in favor of what’s sure to be the next Snakes on a Plane. What could that be? Why, Hot Tub Time Machine of course!

While Andrew got the 7684 Pig Farm & Tractor, I bought the new magnets to see if LEGO has improved their minifigure quality in these products, and the answer is: yes, they did!

The minifigs from the new magnet packs (shown below) are indistinguishable from the minifigs you’d find in regular sets.

Whereas before, figures from magnet packs were of notably decreased quality plastic and had loose joints and even printing discrepancies in color. It’s safe to say that LEGO has fixed these problems, but $14.99 for a pack of three figures is still on the price-heavy side.

With a title so catchy, I just had to share it on the blog. FBTB’s newest contest asks you to build an Alternate Separatist Shuttle model, oh what else were you thinking? The winner will receive a cool 8088 ARC-170 Starfighter. Head over to FBTB to view the details. The deadline is March 31st.

Perhaps a bit buried among the news about the release of 10211 Grand Emporium and LEGO Board Games is that the new LEGO City set 7684 Pig Farm & Tractor is also out now.

I’m certainly excited by these other new releases, but it says something that I’m choosing to build the pig farm first. Seriously, pigs! Four of them! Mmmmm, bacon…

UPDATE: I just finished building the set, and it didn’t disappoint. Aside from the pigs, the set also includes a number of other parts I hadn’t gotten before, starting with the short-brimmed baseball cap and a new exhaust pipe piece that appears to be new in 2010.

The tractor includes a lot of nice lime green to complement your Power Miners acquisitions, as well as my favorite wheels and tires. For play value, it has several connection points compatible with attachments from 7637 Farm and 7634 Tractor.

And finally, the elephant (or pig) in the room — the inevitable comparison to BrickForge pigs.

As you can see from the set pictures, the LEGO pigs are similar in style to the new LEGO cows from the farm and 10193 Medieval Market Village. They’re more rounded, and to a certain extent more realistic than traditional LEGO animals like the dog and horse (with printed eyes and rounded bellies).

BrickForge pigs, cows, and sheep share their design aesthetic with the older LEGO animals. Depending on whether you prefer your animals more consistent with your older LEGO animals or more adorably pot-bellied, there’s still a place for both BrickForge animals and their official LEGO counterparts. I like both.

Mark Stafford‘s new creation is called Fast and Furious on the Olympus Highway, and it’s just what the series of pictures depict – a road heist on Mars! You can see more pictures of each individual vehicle on Mark’s MOCpages galleries.

Leigh Holcombe (Worker201) has sent the International Marine Recovery Agency (iMRA) under the sea to investigate the loss of fish. I’d do that job if I got to ride in this beauty.

It’s the whimsical contrast between the parked cars and a creature of legend that I really like about this microscale block by Stefan (-2×4-).

I have a window office now, and if I looked out and saw a bloody great dragon peering down at me it would freak me the hell out.

I’m most familiar with Daniel Z from his epic castle creations, but I like that he’s branching out with this series of boats.

These new items from Alan M. are all that and they appear to know it. The amount of “posability” achieved by this builder is nothing short of incredible.

Via The Living Brick

But I like it. I’m rather odd that way though. Behold Grimmhavn, by Mr. Brick. It’s a nice place to visit and I would like to live there…

The very much anticipated LEGO Board Games are now available from the LEGO Shop online: NEW from LEGO® Shop LEGO Games. Play a new way.

UPDATE: Unfortunately, LEGO has informed us that release plans changed at the last minute and LEGO Board Games will not be released in Canada until later this year. Their release is U.S. only for the time being. Sorry, eh?

Hey, all you lurking Castle Lovers out there, I will be hosting a monthly build challenge on Classic Castle. The first challenge is life-size Medieval Weapons. No other rules. That’s right. No rules. So give it whirl, hop over there, and show us what you can do.

Here’s an example, to get the creative juices flowing: