The Brothers Brick

It looks like the new LEGO Minifigures: Character Encyclopedia (through series 10) is now available for pre-order on Amazon at a pretty nice price. Ten bucks isn’t bad for a book that comes with a special fig itself (rumor is that it’s a toy soldier).  I have a funny feeling that secret figure is going to be highly sought-after, and it will likely fetch nearly the price of the book on BrickLink.

My tag line may be a bad joke, but it’s by far the worst thing about this post. Juzu has posted a pretty cool looking mecha over on Flickr, and taken advantage of his local weather for a change in scenery. The build itself makes fantastic use of stickers to add detail to a form that’s curvy and bulky in all the right ways. The snowy background, and off center composition of the photo, draw attention to the build in a manner that adds a feeling of authenticity to the photo.

These book-ends by Bart De Dobbelaer would make the perfect ends for any sci-fi book collection. In fact, Bart has me thinking that book-ends might be a fun new format to try building.

Bart has done his usual great jobs on these. The technical bits on the bottom have just the right amount of details to look interesting and clean at the same time. The contrast with the brightly colored organic tentacle shapes adds motion as visual interest for a scene that keeps me looking.

Nate Decastro seems to have a way with speeders. I just spotted this most recent creation on Flickr. I love the baby blue with the dark gray mechanical bits, and the touch of tan on the upholstery. As it turns out, there are quite a few other interesting speeders in his photostream.

These tiny space planes by Griffin! are fantastic models. At micro scale, every piece used counts, and this builder has made sure to choose carefully. Every element used in this creation appears to have a purpose, represents an important part of the ship, and contributes to the overall aesthetic. I think my favorite detail may be the binoculars as intakes, but the minifig skis as the fuselage are also fantastic.

This castle display by The Brick Time Team is a pretty attractive display. There is a lot of detail, and the edges of the display are decorated quite nicely. What really sets it apart however, is its modular nature. With this configuration, the builders can quickly convert this display into a variety of options. I think there’s a lot of potential here for expansion.

Here’s a fun little build by Andrew Lee. He’s managed to pack a great deal of detail into a small package. I’m a fan of energy axes and circular magazines, so the armaments leave me happy.

It looks like Andrew posted a whole team of bots last night, so make sure to check out his photo stream.

I couldn’t resist the latest by Bartosz Kacprzyk. I can’t wait to show this to my son, who’s a Rudolph super-fan. Make sure to check out some of the other recent creations on his page, too, there’s some great stuff!

This morning, I came across two mecha models, from two different builders, that share a common attribute. Their legs are all quite thin, one might even say elegant (or flimsy). Personally, I have trouble keeping mecha with thick legs and joints standing, so I really appreciate the effort that went into these.

First, there’s the Zip Kit by Dave Steeves. It had an old-school mechwarrior vibe that I dig, and while the construction of the base is simple, I quite like it.

Next, is the VT-318 Kelly, by Rod Gillies. He could just as well have called it the black swan, as it stands balanced en pointe. It’s also a cool looking mecha, once you get over the shock that it’s actually standing.

Jean-Pascal Rignault has always had a way with hover cars. I love the angles and aggressive look of this new creation. To me, it harkens back to the aesthetic of ’60s muscle cars, in an awesome way. The flame stickers on the side are the perfect complement to the look.

I’m loving This new scene by Zane Houston. Frankly, as soon as I spotted a mecha gorilla in a thumbnail, I was sold. Then, I saw a diorama of it ape-handling a truck, and I got excited. When I zoomed in and saw that the mecha was piloted by a chimp? Well, I for one, welcome our new ape masters.

I just received an exciting announcement from LEGO. It seems that their design team is accepting submissions for ideas in something like a contest. It seems like one person will get to work with LEGO Designers to develop their idea into an official theme.

Find the full text of the announcement from LEGO, after the break. (more…)

We’ve featured many of Jarek‘s Warhammer 40K creations in the past, but this is a first. Instead of scale models of vehicles or troops from the games, he’s built a life-sized gun from the game. He’s built in several cool play features, though not launching a projectile, which you can see in his youtube video, below.

I’ll be honest, I’m not exactly sure what the story is behind this new creation by Barney Main (SlyOwl). I am sure, however, that it’s an amazing build. The level of detail is fantastic, and the household objects are rendered in LEGO perfectly. The chicken is full of great part usage and details, and the expression on its face is fantastic.

This new addition to the Monster Fighters theme is due out from LEGO Shop at Home in September, and, frankly, I can’t wait. This model looks great! I bet you could plop it down next to the Cafe Corner series of buildings, and it’d fit in perfectly (though it might bring neighboring property values down). Not only is it a cool design, but it looks chock full of great parts, including zombie heads on the columns!

Without further ado, here’s the text from LEGO:

10228 Haunted House
Ages 14+. 2,064 pieces.
US $179.99 CA $199.99 DE 149.99 € UK 119.99 £ DK 1499 DKK
Enter the Haunted House at your peril!
The crooked Haunted House is home to the scariest ghosts and monsters. Tremble in fear as you open the gate, go weak at the knees as you step onto the porch and gasp in horror at the fireplace, kitchen, office, folding staircase, bedroom, potion room, music room and collection of other creepy objects. Dare you enter the Haunted House?!
• Add to your LEGO® Monster Fights Collection with the first officlal LEGO® Haunted House!
• Includes 6 minifigures: 2 glow-in-the-dark ghosts, Vampyre, Vampyre’s Bride, Zombie chef and butler
• Features unique ‘crooked’ design featuring boarded up windows and working front gate.
• Haunted House opens to reveal detailed interior with 3 floors.
• First floor features fireplace that swings open and displays a ship in a bottle on the mantle.
• Cook up a ghoulish meal with the Zombie chef in the kitchen complete with old-style stove, jars and table.
• Write letters from the Vampyre’s haunted office.
• Pull the lever hidden in the chimney to release the drop down staircase and access the top floor.
• Top floor features gramophone, records and newspaper LEGO® elements.
• Customize the Haunted House with new stickers for wall hangings, spider webs and curtains.
• Measures 15.4” (39cm) high, 9.4” (24cm) wide and 7.5” (19cm) deep