You don’t have to own a single LEGO brick to have fun building with LEGO. Software like LDraw and LEGO Digital Designer empowers people to create virtual LEGO models unconstrained by the scarcity of a particular LEGO brick (or even its availability in a specific color).
I thought that it might be nice to do something for the community to finish off 2008 (fixed thanks). So I’ve begun a project to develop a Western Train along with some instructions. You can find the instructions here or as an MPD. I’ll be adding new posts when I complete new stock so check Continue reading →
It seems like many were impressed with the Dimitri’s render of the Mammoth Tank. Just now I stumbled upon a Flickr user, Ernesto Carrillo, who has a set of amazing digital renders of LEGO Technic models. Check them out:
Remember Peter Morris‘ Mammoth Tank? Dimitri recently rendered this model in stunning realism, making the creation appear no less than physically tangible in front of your eyes. According to Peter, a rendering like this takes much computer horsepower and skills and there’s only “a couple others out there that render as well as [Dimitri] does. Continue reading →
The upcoming 2009 Technic set, 8259 Mini Dozer, looks very promising and has inspired eager fans to create their own before the set hits stores. What amazes me the most is this set of animated instructions created by AVCAmpos: Via Klocki
It’s been a while since I built anything I considered remotely worth blogging. I figured this one was fun enough to post as underwater attack craft seem a sadly neglected genre. The LB 13 “Bottlenose” was designed to fill a void (at least in my heart) and was inspired by Tim Zarki’s (spook‘s) SubApoc stuff.
Rocks: check, base: check, launchpad: check, compact design: check, fun colours: check. After admiring his recent (and tiny) Fireball I asked Peter Morris to do me the honour of building something for my Dogfighters 2137 theme and he’s more than lived up to my expectations with the bDY-210 Drahken and its base. As an added Continue reading →
Matt Wagner (jedimasterwagner) is fast becoming one of my favourite LDrawers. As can be seen in this latest work he treats the rendering process as a means of creating artworks as well as for constructing models. I’d love to see the image he based this on for comparison.
Sjaak Alvarez recently posted a third installment in his ongoing series “It’s hard to be a Stormtrooper”. Watch for the hilarious cameo at the end: Sjaak animates each of his videos himself, using 3ds max 2009 and final Render 2.0. Very cool.
Our resident virtual LEGO and cave racer expert is dutifully withholding judgement as the Pigs on the Wing contest winds down. But this virtual cave racer by Matt Wagner is too cool to pass up:
One of my side-interests (originally my main interest) in LEGO is CAD or virtual building using the LDraw system first created by the late James Jessiman. When you have a small collection of parts it is a great way to ‘build’ models that live up to your imagination rather than being limited to your supply. Continue reading →
There’s been more than a bit of speculation about the upcoming fan-designed Space sets (a couple more pictures), so I asked Chris Giddens and Mark Sandlin a few questions. Andrew Becraft: Let’s get the easy questions out of the way. Are the two of you the fans behind the designs for the forthcoming Star Justice Continue reading →
Dimitri Burakov is an incredibly talended LEGO renderer from Lithuania. He uses an array of programs to create anything from polished renders to professional instructions of LEGO models both official and fan-built. I recently came across his works on Brickshelf and contacted him about cooperating on some projects. The results are amazing. Below is a Continue reading →
Matija Puzar announced back in September that he had completed his LDraw design for a LEGO version of the Croatian National Theater. As impressive as the design may have been, the actual creation is just plain gorgeous. The capitals on the columns are particularly beautiful. Thanks to Brick Town Talk for pointing me to the Continue reading →
Brickshelf user Shaggie has done an amazingly high quality render of a town scene involving misterzumbi’s Fiat126p design. This is certainly one of the most realistic LEGO renders I’ve seen.
RACHAL (RAytracing CHALlenge) is a challenge we run on ldraw.org where various people render the same virtual LEGO creation (typically a vignette like scene). The point of it is to allow people to challenge themselves on rendering a shared LEGO scene adding their own technical and artistic interpretations. The first one has just finished and Continue reading →
