You are currently browsing the The Brothers Brick weblog archives for May, 2011.
Clearly, C3PO would drive this landspeeder by Luka (kost u grlu). It makes great use of the limited palette of gold parts available. What really kicks this creation up, though, is the interspersing of detail and mechanical bits throughout, much like C3P0′s exposed midsection. The use of the Build a Buzz’s helmet visor as a windscreen is just icing on the cake.
While most of us have been busy playing Portal 2,
Martin’s Combine Strider is sure to strike fear into every Resistance fighter, even if they’re armed with rocket launchers.
I love self-reference and this LEGO model of a LEGO moulding machine is as self-referential as they come. Sadly if you don’t already own one of these (I don’t) then I doubt you ever will. It would appear only 68 were made for the LEGO Inside Tour.
Patrick Boivin was commissioned to make the official Cars 2 trailer in Lego, and he did a great job bringing out the personality of the characters through their animated facial features. The rest is some pretty smooth stop-motion action.
Thanks for the tip [Dablackcat]!
As we reported back in November, LEGO and NASA signed a deal to release sets like 3368 Space Center and even send LEGO up in one of the final Shuttle missions.
Endeavour launched earlier this week and is now docked at the International Space Station, where astronauts are using a specially built, clear glovebox to build some really awesome LEGO sets — for science! The box ensures that our favorite plastic bricks don’t get lost in the inner workings of the ISS, and — years in the future when the abandoned ISS hangs like a beacon of past glory in the evening sky — jams a crucial gear or something and brings the whole thing tumbling down on Perth.
I like the little Hubble a lot. I’m trying to dig up how the general public can get these models (comment if you know), which were apparently made available to teachers so kids can follow along down here on boring old Earth.
Jesus Diaz over at Gizmodo has a nice write-up with all the details.
I’ve been enjoying Kaptain Kobold‘s fun little LEGO creations for just about as long as I’ve been blogging, and I’m especially enjoying his latest set of microscale arms and armor from World War II.
Alan’s Renault FT-17 tank and Heinkel He 162 “Volksjäger” fighter jet illustrate that you don’t have to put a lot of parts together to make really great, recognizable models.
My favorite is this Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter, complete with spinning prop and tiny guns.
The 390 1913 Cadillac set was released in 1975, and may have been one of the sets my dad bought himself that got me into LEGO a couple of years later (I’ve always had several of those big red wheels in my collection of unknown provenance).
Luka (kost u grlu) puts a modern, minifig-scale spin on this old classic.
What I like most about this model is that Luka incorporated smaller versions of the old-style red wheels into his remake. The three-wide cab is quite cool, too.
Not only does Ralph Savelsberg (Mad physicist) make nice looking LEGO models (in this case a tiller truck) he likes to go that extra km and add features. In this case a bunch of opening doors and working ladder. For the big kid in every AFOL.
Recently Soren Roberts ([Soren]) made a comment on the Goliath alluding to having something similar in the works. Well it’s not quite a docking cradle but it is a combat repair ship so serves a similar role. I’m a sucker for arms on ships but I’ll quote Kyle Vrieze to describe what I really like: ‘You somehow space the components and segments by precisely the right gap to make best use of the negative space’. Indeed.
This pegasus sculpture by Edulyoung is beautiful enough to highlight here, but the Technic pedestal reveals there’s more to this flying LEGO horse than pretty white bricks.
This video of the pegasus in motion quite literally took my breath away.
Via Legobloggen.
The last few days have brought enough LEGO Shop news that I’m having a hard time keeping up, starting with 10218 Pet Shop last week and free shipping on orders of $75 or more from today through the end of May.
The new, smaller 4867 Hogwarts is now available for pre-order (out on June 1), with seven minifigs.
Continuing with licensed themes, the SYSTEM-scale Cars 2 sets are out, and apparently include a fair number of interesting parts and colors.
Finally, the full complement of non-licensed summer sets are also out, including the new Alien Conquest space theme, which has a wonderful Vic Viper tribute to nnenn.
LEGO Castle fans are rejoicing (myself included) over the release of the latest Kingdoms sets, which have new goats and chickens alongside printed pigs and horses.
Capt. Thomas Foolery lives up to his name with this amusing scene, in which several ladies of questionable character try to lure a pirate away from his online pursuits.
Ladies: “Come back to bed, Cap’n!”
Pirate: “As soon as I finish reading the Brothers Brick and posting to Eurobricks.”
Yarrr! A wise choice indeed, matey!
It was just brought to my attention that 7066 Earth Defense HQ contains a tribute to nnenn. The decal on the Vic Viper ship is the brilliant idea of Mark Stafford who designed the set. This by itself is enough cause for me to own a copy of the set.
Photo by polywen
If anyone can make red and yellow look so good in a space MOC, then that builder is probably Mike Yoder. Mike’s latest addition to his North Central Positronics theme is a microscale docking station. The fact that it was completed in less than a week is as impressive as the build itself.
Gerard Joosten (aka Elephant Knight) just posted his latest in a line of large, detailed sailing ships. Christened The Lynx, it is a beautiful example of a minifig scale Clipper Schooner.
Gerard agreed to sit down with me and answer some questions about the ship and how he builds.
TBB: Thanks for taking the time to talk with me, Gerard. Tell our readers a little bit about yourself. How long have you been into Lego and what themes do you build in?
GJ: I have been into Lego since just before my fourth birthday, when I got 1464 Pirate Lookout. I have never been into a dark age, and my older brother said I’m the biggest AFOL in my family of 7 kids. I mostly build in Pirates and Space, with Castle a bit behind those. Though I dabble in almost anything, except for Steampunk.
TBB: You have two older brothers who are adult Lego fans. Do you feel that their influence and your early exposure to the online Lego fan community has had an impact on your builds?
GJ: They certainly had an influence. Dan built a ship in 2008, a bit before the pirates line came out, that really opened up my love for Pirates. Dan has also pushed me into doing more realistic stuff.
TBB: So why no Steampunk?
GJ: I am just not a fan of steampunk. I think the idea of spaceships and mechs powered by steam to be silly.
TBB: Fair enough. You said you’ve been into Lego since you were four. So how many years have you been into Lego now?
GJ: 15 years and it doesn’t look like I am going to slow down at all.
TBB: So is Pirate your favourite theme?
GJ: Pirates and Space are always competing for first, but I think Pirates has a bit of an edge, simply because I build better sailing ships then spaceships.
TBB: You are becoming well-known for your large, detailed ships. How is this one different from your previous builds?
GJ: Well, this is my second time using reference material, and my first time basing it on a real ship. Also, this is the first time I have built a ship in minifig scale, and used proper cloth (As opposed to paper) for the sails.
TBB: Did using reference material make this build more difficult?
GJ: Somewhat. Using reference material meant I couldn’t be as loose as I normally would be. The hull especially took a lot longer since I had to match it up with something.
TBB: Is this your biggest ship so far?
GJ: It isn’t my longest, but I think it might be the tallest. The HMS Brunswick was 124 studs long, but a bit heftier. But the Lynx is wider and that has to count for something. I would have to say this isn’t quite my biggest, but it is close.
TBB: What was the most difficult part of this build?
GJ: I dunno. I think making the sails, since my scissors sucked. Can’t really say if any part of the actual build was harder then the rest.
TBB: What part of this ship turned out exactly how you envisioned it?
GJ: The angle of the masts. I got the idea how to do it, and it worked perfectly.
TBB: They do look really good. One thing that stands out on your ships is the custom sails and rigging. What do you use to make them? How much string went into the rigging on the Lynx?
GJ: In this case, I used cloth that I bought at Walmart. I usually use paper, but since the sails on this were larger then your regular sheet of paper, and since I wanted to raise the bar for myself a bit higher, I went with cloth. As for how much string, I don’t know at this point. By the time I dismantle this, I’ll know.
TBB: Are you going to start using cloth on all of your future ships?
GJ: I already converted one of my old ships to cloth sails, so I think it looks like it could happen, though paper is cheaper, and I am a bit of a mizer.
TBB: Where do you get inspiration for your ships?
GJ: Generally I just feel like building a ship, and I build one. In the Lynx’s case, Caylin challenged me to build a minifig scale tall ship, so that’s what I did.
TBB: As far as I can tell, your rigging is very accurate. How important is historical accuracy to you?
GJ: It is important whenever I feel like being historically accurate, which is happening more and more often these days. And since this ship was based on an actual ship, it was pretty obvious that I would have to make the rigging accurate.
TBB: Is there anything you want to mention that I haven’t asked about?
GJ: Whenever I build a sailing ship, I like to compare it to my first sailing ship I got, 6250 Cross Bone Clipper. In this case, there isn’t even a comparison.
TBB: I have to agree! Thanks for taking the time with us.
GJ: No problem!