The Brothers Brick

Stephen Pakbaz‘s MSL Curiosity Rover project on LEGO CUUSOO hit 10,000 supporters 10 months ago, but today LEGO is announcing that Curiosity will become the next new LEGO set through the CUUSOO program.

(This is Stephen’s project photo. I expect the final product may be slightly different. We’ll share the official product photos when we get them.)

Here’s the official announcement:

Results of the Fall 2012 LEGO® Review

We’re excited to share the results of the Fall LEGO® Review. In September, three LEGO CUUSOO projects entered the second quarterly review period for projects that successfully reach 10,000 supporters. These three projects — the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover, UCS Sandcrawler™, and Thinking with Portals!™ — have been being considered for production by the LEGO Review Board.

21104 Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover – pending final name confirmation

It is with great pleasure we reveal that the next LEGO CUUSOO set will be the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover, based upon the LEGO CUUSOO project by Perijove.

This project rose to popularity in late summer 2012, when the real Mars Curiosity Rover approached and landed on the planet Mars in its historic mission. The model designer, LEGO CUUSOO user Perijove is a Mechanical Engineer who worked on the actual Curiosity rover at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Perijove writes that he built and submitted the rover to further the educational outreach of the Mars Curiosity rover’s incredible mission, and to encourage greater public support for space exploration.

The final product is still in development. Exact pricing and availability is still being determined, so stay tuned for an update on when you can buy your own Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover in the coming months.

Tim Courtney shares the news in this video:

Personally, I couldn’t be more excited. This is easily my favorite LEGO CUUSOO project from the past 18 months, and is one of the best projects that reflects the spirit of CUUSOO. I know many of you out there will be disappointed that the Star Wars and Portal projects weren’t approved, but I hope you can join me in giving Stephen Pakbaz some well-deserved congratulations!

Update: Caylin and Chris are there at BrickWorld, and Caylin got this shot of the model they used to make the announcement there in Chicago:

It looks essentially identical to the one Stephen used for the project itself, so that’s a good sign, though I also expect that it’s still going through the redesign project with LEGO.

The big LEGO set being revealed this evening at BrickWorld in Chicago is 10234 Sydney Opera House. Designed by Jamie Berard, this new LEGO set recreates the architectural masterpiece that overlooks Sydney Harbor in Australia. Due out in September 2013, 10234 Sydney Opera House will include nearly 3,000 pieces and cost $320 in the US.

Here are all the official details from LEGO:

10234 Sydney Opera House™

Ages 16+. 2,989 pieces.
Recreate Australia’s architectural masterpiece!
US $319.99 CA $379.99 DE 279.99€ UK 249.99 £ DK 2499.00 DKK

Recreate one of the 20th century’s most distinctive buildings with the Sydney Opera House™ model. Build the unmistakable shell roofline, waterfront forecourt and more with this authentic representation of Australia’s most iconic building. Employ a variety of new and advancedbuilding techniques to recreate the complex forms, angled walls and subtle detailing of the real thing! Collect lots of dark tan LEGO® bricks including the rare 1x1x2/3 stud and 1x2x2/3 stud slopes, as well as a 48×48 stud baseplate in blue for the very first time!

• Build this model of a UNESCO World Heritage Site!
• Includes hard-to-find dark tan LEGO® bricks, tiles and sloped bricks!
• Collect the 48×48 stud baseplate, available in blue for the very first time!
• Sturdy construction allows the model to be handled and moved!
• Features advanced building techniques for complex forms, angled walls and subtle detailing!
• Measures over 11″ high, 25″ wide and 15″ deep!

Available for sale directly through LEGO® beginning September 2013

Here’s a video of designer Jamie Berard talking about his new set:

Don’t miss the other big announcement of the night: LEGO approves Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover CUUSOO project

I really enjoyed BioShock Infinite a couple months ago, though I’m still not entirely sure what to make of Songbird. Imagine Rigney may not either, but he’s made this monster (friend?) out of LEGO anyway.

Imagine has also included lots of action closer to the floating platform that I’m having trouble calling “ground,” with Booker DeWitt and Elizabeth running away from Songbird while the twins stand by and Vox Populi round the corner.

Thanks for the tip, Jordan!

Russell Crowe was on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon promoting Man of Steel a couple nights ago, and Jimmy brought out some of the recent Jor-El toys depicting Russell Crowe in the movie role. Russell Crowe said that his son’s favorite toy in the whole world is the LEGO minifig, and he’s very happy to have a minifig version of his dad now.

Of course, the Jor-El minifig doesn’t actually come in any sets, but you can get it for free. The LEGO Shop’s June promotion is a free Jor-El minifig for orders over $75 or £50. LEGO is also introducing free shipping “every day” on all orders over $75/£50.

But first, all of the summer 2013 LEGO Lord of the Rings sets are out on both the LEGO Shop website and Amazon.com (links below go to Amazon, where buying anything goes to support TBB; scroll to the bottom of the post if you want to get them from the LEGO Shop, with the Jor-El minifig).

79006 The Council of Elrond includes Elrond, Arwen, Frodo, and Gimli, with 243 pieces for $30.

79007 Battle at the Black Gate includes Aragorn, Gandalf the White (previously only available as Gandalf the Grey), the Mouth of Sauron, two orcs, an eagle, and 656 pieces for $60.

The big set from this batch of new LEGO Lord of the Rings sets is LEGO LOTR 79008 Pirate Ship Ambush with Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, the King of the Dead, two Dead Men of Dunharrow, a Corsair pirate, and two orcs. For $100, you get 756 pieces.

Finally, LEGO LOTR 79005 The Wizard Battle includes Gandalf the Grey and Saruman for $13 — a nice little set for two such major characters.

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UPDATE: Presumably to make room for all the new Lord of the Rings sets (in their enormous warehouses, ha!), Amazon.com has discounted a number of sets from The Hobbit as well:

• 20% off 79003 An Unexpected Gathering (My review: Best. LEGO set. OF ALL TIIIMMMEEE!!!)
• 24% off 79010 The Goblin King Battle (Josh’s review)
• 22% off 9473 The Mines of Moria
• 13% off 9474 The Battle of Helm’s Deep

(Watch to make sure you’re not getting ripped off when the prices change, or when the sales start going to third party sellers on the same page, for a much higher price.)

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With apologies for the visual repetition and a reminder that clicking through from TBB goes to support the site, here are the Jor-El links:

LEGO Shop link for US readers:

LEGO Shop link for Canadian readers:

LEGO Shop link for UK readers:

Most of the LEGO models by Michael Jasper (mijasper) that we’ve featured here over the years have highlighted minifigs with perfectly scaled tools, furniture, and other brick-built accessories — every one featuring Michael’s brilliant parts usage (far and above merely “nice“). It’s still wonderful to see Michael build something a bit bigger, if only just. This model of a 1957 Ford Taunus certainly doesn’t suffer from immensity, but Michael still manages to pack it full of detail.

The black-and-white color scheme on the car contrasts beautifully with the elderly minifig Michael has included for scale. Of course, no model he builds would be free of NPU — note the brackets in the wheel well and tan windows as seat backs inside the car.

“The Wave in Vejle” is a building designed by Henning Larsen Architects in Vejle, Denmark. Joaquin Cantolla says that his LEGO version is a “free interpretation” of the real-life building, but the spirit of this award-winning architectural masterpiece comes through clearly in LEGO.

Thanks to reader Henrik Høxbroe for the tip!

The long-term future of the online LEGO sales site BrickLink.com has been uncertain ever since its founder Daniel Jezek passed away two and a half years ago. Today, Daniel’s family announced that they have sold BrickLink.com to a company that promises to upgrade and maintain the site.

Here’s the full announcement from Eliska Jezkova, Daniel’s mother and until recently the CEO of BrickLink:

About a week ago I posted a special message to thank all of you for supporting us over the nearly three years since my son Dan died. I thank all those who sent personal messages to me about what BrickLink has meant to them. In my message, I mentioned some progress we made, and also the challenges we faced. Good news remaining is that, despite the challenges, business has been brisk and even impressive. When I took over the website in the name of my son, the representational visitor log (front page of BrickLink) was at about 50 million visitors. Today, it is at nearly 144 million visitors and counting. Nearly two-thirds of all those who visited BrickLink over the 13 years since its inception have arrived here in the short time we’ve run BrickLink.com. Also, we’ve partnered with security experts and have been able to make the website safer than it has ever been. I’m proud of these facts and I again thank all of you for your patience in sticking with us to this day.

But it’s a new era, and much needs to be done to bring BrickLink to a higher level and to become the site whose potential all of you see and we want to reach as well.

Thus, I am announcing that I am stepping down as CEO of BrickLink and have handed the website over to the committed and competent hands of a new owner, Jung-Ju “Jay” Kim, founder of Nexon, one of the world’s largest online game companies.

I completely endorse Jay to take the reins of BrickLink. He has the knowledge, resources and capabilities needed for the job. He has a passion, not just for all things LEGO, but also for BrickLink. Like most of you, he has been a member of the community for years. He has tremendous respect for what Dan accomplished while he was alive. He also has a compelling desire to carry forward Dan’s vision and his guiding principles that were laid down more than a decade ago. Jay and his team are ready to work toward “BrickLink 2.0”, as well as continuing hardware architecture and application upgrades.

It’s a bright future for BrickLink, and I intend to be a part of it along with the rest of the BrickLink Community. Larry and I will be staying on in an advisory-consulting role to the new owners. Eric Smith will be staying on as Admin to ensure a smooth, seamless transition with minimal interruption.

Part of that transition will include relocation of the BrickLink site to a different data center. Later today you will learn more about that server relocation and the migration schedule, which has been carefully designed to minimize downtime.

It’s been a great three years. I did my best and I am sorry that the hacking incidents waylaid us from doing more, earlier. I am proud of the amazing growth of BrickLink, thanks to all of you.

As hard as it was to give up our treasured BrickLink that Dan loved so much, I felt it was the right thing to do, not for me, but for the Community. And, as always, it is that worldwide community that matters to me most, just as it mattered to Dan. That is why I am passing the torch to new leadership. It is what Dan would have wanted me to do.

As I mentioned, I will remain on with BrickLink and will act as an ambassador and link to BrickLink’s lineal past. Please feel free to contact me any time at [email protected] I still want to hear from you.

Thank you and let’s all look forward to tomorrow.

Best regards,

Eliska Jezkova, former CEO of BrickLink.com

In addition, here’s the text of the message from Jung-Ju “Jay” Kim, founder of the online game company Nexon:

Dear BrickLink Community,

I am extremely pleased to be taking over the operations of BrickLink.com. I’ve been a LEGO fan for 40 years and an avid user of BrickLink.com for over a decade. My first plans are to upgrade the website, and do our best to make users happier and more prosperous, while staying true to the original vision of BrickLink.com founder, Daniel Jezek. We will work hard in order to ensure that BrickLink.com becomes stable, secure and as user-friendly as possible.

I want to sincerely thank the family of Daniel Jezek, especially his mother Eliska, as well as the BrickLink.com Community, for the opportunity to upgrade and operate such a beloved website as BrickLink.com. In order to expedite the process of renovating BrickLink.com, I and Bricklink Limited will be asking users to e-mail us with their ideas for the improved functionality of the site, as well as any current issues that need to be addressed in order to provide users with the best possible selling and buying experience. We’ll establish those lines of communication very soon.

Thank you for your continued patronage and support of BrickLink.com

Jung-Ju Kim, incoming owner of BrickLink.com

It remains to be seen what changes all of this will mean for those of us who use BrickLink regularly. Stay tuned to TBB for more details as we learn them.

One beautiful summer evening in December 2008, I walked down a dirt road in New Zealand and listened to a distinctive hooting in the distance — the nighttime call of the kiwi. Today, I work for a company based in Auckland and look forward to returning to New Zealand again soon.

Thomas Poulsom (DeTomaso77) has been posting antipodean birds for a while, but he’s just added two from New Zealand to his growing collection of living dinosaurs, starting with the iconic kiwi and the weird & wonderful kakapo (an adorably fat, flightless parrot).

Here’s “Kaimi the Kiwi”:

And “Karo the Kakapo”:

We’ve been supporters of Thomas’ LEGO CUUSOO project since the beginning, and I’m glad to see that it now has more than 6,200 supporters, though I’m inclined to agree with LEGO in their official comment that we’d like to see Thomas focus on one particular bird (my favorite is Bobby Robin).

But Thomas doesn’t just build LEGO birds. He recently posted a round and chubby badger named Roger to highlight the plight of this unique animal in Great Britain.

If you’re seeing Thomas’ animal models here for the first time, head on over to his photostream on Flickr for hundreds more LEGO animal photos.

This seems to be the week of angular spaceships, as legodrome adds his own pointy starfighter to the mix. The engine cluster and underside bristling with missiles are excellent, beautifully presented in this collage view.

With only seven updates to supporters and a lack of constant coverage from certain quarters (I’m looking at you, TBB — oh wait, that’s us), the Brickmania Track Links Kickstarter project has hit its funding goals, enabling Dan Siskind to add stretch goals for the remaining funding period between now and June 8th, this coming Saturday.

Available add-ons include these custom-printed minifigs:

…while the stretch goals include alternate colors (below), T-shirts for everyone, and more:

I’ve already supported this project on behalf of TBB, and I’m looking forward to trying out the custom tracks on all my recent armor and sharing the results when the finished product arrives later this summer.

But if you’re hearing about this for the first time, you still have a few more days to get your pledges in.

LEGO designer Adam Grabowski (Misterzumbi) is obsessed with cars. Adam has taken a break from posting photos of beat-up Fords to post some rather excellent custom LEGO cars from the Mad Max series of movies.

Adam isn’t afraid to sticker the heck out of his builds, nor to paint a brick here and there if it isn’t available in the correct color. The end result is gorgeous — Max’s Interceptor.

The Ford Landau from The Road Warrior is covered in paint, about which Adam says, “The paint will never come off. Those bricks are ruined.”

Kevin Ulrich of BrotherhoodWorkshop has continued posting hilarious short movies animated with LEGO. His latest takes a break from the Lord of the Rings to hit not one but two other popular LEGO themes. Check out the video below.

TBB first-timer Jeremy Couch (Marchides) might have dubbed his mini-mech “Vera Crone,” but with a green color scheme and white stripes, it might as well be the perfect Brothers Brick-bot.

The Vera Crone appears to be fully pose-able, including transforming from chunky bipedal mecha to flight mode.

Thanks to reader Curtis for the tip, via Facebook.

Okay, just one more — I couldn’t pass up the beautiful landscaping in this scene by Gary the Procrastinator, who managed to finish his diorama well in advance of the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. Gary has depicted Col. Strong Vincent leading the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division of the V Corps of the Army of the Potomac in an overnight march to the decisive battle that would place the Union Army on the road to victory. Strong was mortally wounded defending Little Round Top during the battle.

Gary built this as part of a collaborative display for BrickFair Virginia this summer.

Before I hand things over to Keith for the weekend, I think I owe our readers a somewhat more adorable chaser to follow all the super-serious discussions about LEGO and the military this week. This “MK45-Toad” is brought to you by Pate-keetongu.

The use of binoculars for the tank treads is brilliant, and even the minifig includes some interesting part combinations, like the modern/space visor on the LEGO Castle helmet.