The Brothers Brick

Is there a contest going on that I’m not aware of? The recent crop of sky-fi fighters makes it seem as though dieselpulp may be replacing steampunk as the fan-created theme du jour.

Anyway, I couldn’t blog the more recent fighters by other builders and pass up my favorite, the P-79 Stratofighter “Steel Wind” by Jon Hall:

The judicious sticker usage and gorgeous presentation truly enhance what would be an awesome fighter regardless.

This month’s LUGNuts challenge — Kickin’ it Oldschool! — is coming to a close, with many great cars and trucks from the pre-1950 era. Here are just a couple of my favorites.

Nathan Proudlove rolls out a 1940 Ford pickup truck, tricked out to please any skateboarder:

Tim Inman (rabidnovaracer) heads to the beach in his 1948 Chevrolet Fleetmaster station wagon:

I like the fun little details in this diorama of a hike in Switzerland by Erik Smit (.eti), but by far my favorite thing is the cartoony clouds in the sky. The use of microfigs to portray distant hikers is also fun.

Some may object to the busyness of the diorama and use of big ugly rock pieces, but the charms far outweigh those concerns for me.

Graphic designer Eric (edubl31216) recently posted several tasty LEGO models of food. The can of Pepsi and hotdog are my favorites.

See all of Eric’s LEGO food on Flickr, including several shots of the building techniques he used to make them.

Thanks for the tip, Bruce!

While we wait for Brandon Bannerman (Catsy) to finish his Halo ringworld, he fills our quotient of micro video game locales with the Citadel from Mass Effect.

Of the presentation, Brandon says, “Shot in low light with two blacklights to make the trans-neon-orange elements fluoresce.” Nice.

(And don’t miss Ben Fellowes’ SSV Normandy.)

Of all the ancient monuments in the world that I’d like to visit, Angkor Wat is very near the top of the list. Arthur Gugick (torgugick) uses a random pattern of 1×1 square and round plates in multiple colors of gray to emulate the weathered stones of this classical Khmer monument.

Via twee affect.

Fredo Houben (Fredoichi) seems to be taking a break from the tiny mecha we love so much to build a series of sky-fi fighters, which we also love.

Check out more of Fredo’s sky-fighters in his photoset on Flickr.

Iain Heath knows what I like. Hayao Miyazaki is my favorite director, and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is easily my favorite animated movie — more so because I love the manga version that Miyazaki continued writing and drawing for ten years after the movie was released. Naturally, I prefer it in the original Japanese.

I’m sure you won’t begrudge me, dear readers, taking this opportunity to remind everyone that this is precisely the sort of wonderful LEGO model we’re looking for as part of the Big in Japan display at BrickCon.

It’s been nearly a year since Danny Rice (Big_X) posted a LEGO creation, but bricks have never been far from his thoughts, since this little guy has been keeping him company on his desk.

LEGO fans sometimes criticize so-called “single-use” parts. Danny proves that there’s more than one use for the LEGO Star Wars Dewback head.

Those of us who’ve attended LEGO conventions like BrickCon and BrickFest over the last couple of years have probably come away with at least one of Bob Kojima’s LEGO-themed T-shirts. The only problem has been that they weren’t available outside these LEGO events.

Just in time for T-shirt weather, Bob has launched BrickShirts.com, where you can buy all of his designs.

Some of my favorites are the ones based on the original, hand-drawn images included with The LEGO Group’s patents, like the minifig (above) and “stud and tube” brick patent.

EJ Nichols (Gold_2) has combined the sky-fi aesthetic with the Vic Viper form, and the result is rather awesome.

(Coincidentally, the XP-55 Ascender was a World War II prototype that would fit right in to the fantastic world of sky-fi.)

Jonathan (legomocs) finished his T-rex skeleton and it is beautiful. The challenge of tacking such a complex organic shape is formidable, but Jonathan pulled it off. This is a very respectable build.

Brian Kescenovitz built one of the best mechas I’ve seen in a while. Take a close look and you can see that he has spared no attention to details. The use of rubber bands to simulate wiring really adds a touch of realism. The presentation also plays a role in enhancing the build. Of course, Brian brings us the best of both.

This is what you get when the creative minds of Jordan Schwartz and Mark Stafford get together. Mark wanted Exo-Force and Jordan wanted Fabuland, so why not have both?

The Portuguese Lego fan community Comunidade 0937 is hosting their annual Lego event from June 7 -13 in Paredes de Coura. This year’s event is called Arte em Peças (Art in Parts) and will feature both private and public conventions. You can see pictures from the previous year’s event on Flickr.

In addition to displays, there will be activities including Mindstorms NXT demonstrations, contests, a free-build pool, opportunities to buy Lego, and surprise activities announced at the event. Check it out if you’re around the area!