The Brothers Brick

…until now. I loved Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon and this rendition by Mike Nieves is spot on. I especially like the menacing look of the eyes, but there’s a lot of dragon to love in this.

Brickshelf user midnightcat built a detailed kyomachiya townhouse complete with a fully adorned interior. The technique of building the roof with a combination of cylinders and tiles create a good effect.

Q: What’s the similarity and difference between these two camels?

A: Both are dead and one is skinned!

Thanks to Sam W. (-infomaniac-), I’ll never be able to look at Lego camels the same again.

Actually, neither of these ships uses true LEGO “blue.” They both use shades other than the standard blue, along with various bits of brown. Both of these ships caught my eye today (I’ve built my own brown and blue combinations, so I’m a fan).

First is the Arashi by Nathan Proudlove. He’s achieved an interesting effect by suspending engine pods far forward on spindly booms. It’s enough to make one wonder how it even stayed balanced for the photo to be taken.

Second, is a cute little ship by Tyler Clites. The most impressive thing about this ship is that it’s not really all that small at all, yet it looks like an adorable little ship. I’m also a big fan of the construction of the various intakes on the front. They add just enough detailing to balance out all the smooth curves on the rest of the ship.

It might not be my dream home, but I can appreciate the influences and sleek lines in Zack (NewRight)’s dream home. All it needs, according to him, are the pretty dolls.

Considering it looks like it should be perched in the hills of southern California, I’d have to say his assessment probably isn’t far off the mark.

Interior shots can be found on Brickshelf.

Brickshelf user legorianer built a minifig scale version of an old train station from the early 20th century. The roof technique is simple and effective. Check out the entire gallery for construction photos.

That last one deserves a chaser. Here’s an adorable robot composed of bacon and eggs by KryptonHeidt.

Looks delicious, even to a vegetarian like me.

Arguably the most controversial LEGO creation of all time may have been Polish artist Zbigniew Libera’s 7-piece “Konzentrationslager“.

Nearly 15 years later, yoshix presents “Todeslager”.

A line of prisoners walks in the snow toward a building labeled “Showers” while other prisoners are forced to unload coal for the gas chamber’s engines. A guard leans his rifle against the wall of the building. The barrel of a sniper rifle pokes from the window of a watchtower overlooking the scene.

So, what do you see in this diorama? (Let’s set aside speculation about the builder’s intent for the moment, because — let’s face it — those kinds of discussions are hardly fair and rarely interesting.) What does it say to you?

And how does it fit into the broader LEGO military building “scene”? Are there certain subjects that should never be depicted in LEGO? If so, what are they, and why?

This mecha by Nathaniel Shields is called Without Expression, but to me it looks full of character. The use of the tire is intriguing.

Thanks for the tip El Barto!

I can tell you where I’ll be going when I need the services of a forge. This creation is simply stunning. I’m partial to the look of 1×1 and 1×2 plates used to emulate stone; the chimney here is a gorgeous example.

All of the details here, really, are just wonderful. I see something new every time I look. What’s your favorite part about this forge?

Mr. Watkins, you have outdone yourself.

While Richard Dawkins might dispute the educational value of a cave man drawing a dinosaur, Karwik combines Duplo cave painting bricks with wonderfully atmospheric presentation in this little scene evocative of Lascaux, circa 15,000 BCE.

The stalactites are also a nice touch.

The LEGO Group’s evil plan to prevent LEGO fans from identifying the new Series 3 Collectible Minifigs has now been completely foiled. LEGO says that the barcodes were never intended to enable people to get past their cunning marketing ploy (ha!), so they eliminated the unique barcodes on the back of each Series 1 and Series 2 minifig bag.

Instead, the Series 3 manufacturing process seems to have put patterns of raised bumps on the flat part on the bottom of the package. FBTB Forums member that guy cracked the code yesterday, and I’ve confirmed that the dot method works with my own case of figs this evening.

Rick Theroux pulled all the dot patterns together into a handy-dandy cheat sheet:

The consumer wins! Nice try, corporate goons.

The dot patterns can be a little tough to distinguish in a few cases, so it’s also a good idea to know what you’re looking for and identify your Series 3 minifigs through the bag by touch.

Those of us in the Pacific Northwest have been lucky enough to have the Series 3 Collectible Minifigures shipped to our little corner of the United States significantly earlier than the rest of the world. Hillel and Jeff aren’t the only ones out scouring our local Fred Meyer stores first thing in the morning.

Since Series 3 packaging doesn’t have a barcode unique to each minifig and the “dot method” can be a little tough, it’s good to have other ways to get past LEGO’s ridiculous marketing ploy.

SEALUG member J Junker posted a great guide to figuring out which minifig is in the bag by feeling for specific elements. Here’s J’s method in its entirety:

Gorilla – it’s best to find the banana. Be careful though, the Pilot has goggles that can feel like a banana.

Pilot – feel for the backpack/parachute (and the goggles there’s an indentation in the middle that the banana doesn’t have).

Racecar Driver – feel for all 3 of these, head, helmet & hair. He’s the only guy with all 3.  Finding the visor helps too.

Samurai – if you find the sword, that’s the best. He’s also got an ‘armor’ chest piece that’s unique.  It collapses inward when you squeeze it from front to back.

Rapper – feel for the mic, and his hat brim is curved. Careful not to mistake for the Hula Girl… She has 2 maracas that feel like the mic.

Hula Girl – finding both maracas is the best. The hair also feels different, since it’s designed to be in the front and back. Easy to confuse with the Rapper by feel and dots.

Indian Chief – the headdress is pretty easy to feel.  It’s very big.

Baseball Player – the bat is a dead giveaway. One of the easiest to feel.

The Mummy – the dots are very easy to spot on this one. Really the best way to feel this one is to find the scorpion.

Sumo Wrestler – another where the dots help quite a bit. I only felt the trophy one time, so I ended up feeling for the ball of hair on top of his head the most.

Alien – the head has the 2 distinct spheres. I almost always felt the beam from the gun as well. Dots are good for this one too.

Space Pirate (Cyborg) - easy to confuse with the race car driver. If you can find his robot hand, that’s the best. Remember that both the alien and this guy have a ray coming from their gun (the gun: which is also a good way to narrow it down to one of the 2).

Tennis Player – the racket is the tell tell here.

Elf (Legolas) – I felt the back if the shield on the first one, but found the bow & arrow easiest from then on out.

Snowboarder – the snow board is as easy as the surfboard and skateboard were to feel. Both ends curve up.

The Fisherman – the fish is easy to feel, plus the rope on the fishing pole is very different than anything else since it’s ‘soft’.

Thanks, J!

We could certainly have used this little mecha by Chris (Ironsniper) a few months ago. I love the tiny little arms and the big Bionicle harpoon.

Thanks for the tip, Nancy!

I can’t get enough of Jon Hall‘s dieselpulp fighter aircraft, and his latest is my favorite so far.

The stickers are all custom-designed by Jon, with a pinup girl that’ll get the blood pumping in even the iciest flyboy’s veins. And that is some serious firepower sprouting from the fighter’s nose.

Awesome tip, Don!