The Brothers Brick

TLG have a new survey which they’d love you all to complete. Ignore the ‘Kids Inner Circle’ branding. It is for adults.

And to prove they do compile the data here is a brief summary of the last survey

• The survey was completed by 7.911 AFOLs and TFOLs. 35% of respondents were TFOLs, 65% was AFOLs. The number of respondent continues to grow and the difference between teenagers and adults has shifted by 5% in favor of the teenagers from the last survey results.
• In this survey we asked some questions specifically about the use of smart phones. We found that only 33% of the all respondents use one, of those only 19% of the teenage fans use one while 41% of the adults use one.
• Regarding the preferred operating system, Apple was the highest with 49% followed by Android with 16%.
• When asked about interest in interacting with LEGO Customer service, 33% said you preferred not to. Of those that would like to interact, 53% preferred to use an online method such as facebook or virtual chat program

James Zhan (pirate_cat) built the scene of the Chilean miners rescue highlighting the Phoenix capsule and the emotional crowd. The rescued miners even sport their stylish Oakleys!

Eric Harshbarger had made a Mega-MiniFig and I want it. However, this was a commission piece built for a toy store in Connecticut and they won’t let me even borrow it. But what a thing of beauty! Standing about 5 feet tall and using nearly 20,000 bricks, this fig is standing tall and living large.

I just love the dark green color scheme and ruggedness of this gunship by Aaron Dayman.

Mark Kelso (Amhakia) shares with us his vision of Dracula’s castle inspired by the classic black and white horror films. One of the standout features of this shot has got to be the visible rays of light piercing through the window. The interior is disheveled without being messy.

Hillel Cooperman gave us his take on the collectible minifigs earlier this month at BrickCon and I have to say that he expressed my feelings perfectly! Watch the video and tell me what you think. Just one word of warning, there is “adult” language in this video. So cover the ears of any kiddies who might be underfoot.

Many thanks to Nicole Snyder, of Dynamic Video Creations, who did the official videography at BrickCon and posted this video.

Because I love this new ship by Chase Lewis (Vid’). The ship manages to at once be sleek and bulky. It also makes great use of a gigantic tail fin from the airplane sets.

I’d love to say more about this creation, but it’s taken me nearly a week just to find the time to post about it at all.

The seventh issue of RAILBRICKS magazine is now out for your enjoyment under new chief editor Elroy Davis.

It’s filled to the brim with articles, pictures and ideas for LEGO train fans. It includes articles on: What to Do After That Starter Set?, Billund’s Miniland Trains, Emerald Night Improvements and Fun with Radii as well as a great cover pic (and related photography advice) by Anthony Sava. As usual it’s a great read for fans of LEGO trains and non-fans alike.

Head over the the RAILBRICKS website and use the download method of your choice.

This modified off-road Range Rover by Cole Blaq is simply phenomenal. It looks ready for anything.

The intentional hunched back look between the engine and passenger compartments is so well done.

Our occassional technic reviewer Peer Kreuger (mahjqa) doesn’t just know about technic, he’s a dab hand at building it. Drawing inspiration from the Metal Slug computer games and his own omniwheels he’s created the crazy remote controlled Metal Grudge. And to really take it to the next level he’s used camera cars to get action shots like the one above. Much more fun than a computer game.

Alternative flickr video

With LEGO Harry Potter sets making a return this year, it’s nice to see people building various Harry Potter creations again.

Matn has posted a gorgeous Hogsmeade Station that would look just as great in a regular Town/Train layout:

Not content to build something only for the camera (as many of us do — who among us hasn’t “cheated” by leaving off parts on the far side?), Matn built a complete platform and pedestrian overpass:

With lovely half-timber construction, texturing on the chimney, and excellent stonework on the first-floor corners, this creation is truly magical.

With our own piece of futuristic architecture left over from the 1962 World’s Fair spiking the Seattle skyline, I’m always interested to learn about other examples of strange buildings that reflects the failed hopes of decades past.

Much cooler than our Space Needle, Atomium was built for the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair. The aptly nicknamed Polegon has posted a microscale version of this Belgian landmark (via MicroBricks):

Which reminds me of the larger version posted some time back by Fragty (Klocki):

The one occasion where I don’t hate mosquitoes is when VampireBohrok builds one out of Lego. The technique of using flexible hoses to simulate the legs is really effective.

A stormtrooper contemplates what to wear on another day of serving the Empire.

By Mark (Legoagogo)

Steef de Prouw (mediocre) presents a lesser well-known ship from the Star Wars universe based on the Harbinger. The hammerhead shape is as distinctive as it is hard to build, featuring techniques such as half plate offsets to replicate the narrowing tips of the hammer shape. You can read more about this 122 stud long SHIP on MOCpages.