I may or may not be a sucker for pretty ships. So this definitely caught my eye. Can I just say how much I LOVE that custom sail? Frankly, this is just pretty all around: the attention to the waves, the stylings of the hull, the rigging…Yep. Pretty.
Bravo, Gabriel (qi_tah). Bravo.
One of the really fun things I like to do is collaborate on builds – Eurobricks had the same idea with the Pirates Teamwork Contest. One of the entries was by Cara Lego and Legonardo Davidy. These two builds are just full of fun play features and brilliant detail – and I’d knock over my black seas barracuda to proudly display this ‘set’ instead:
And I just LOVE this play feature:
Don’t forget to check out Cara Lego‘s photostream for some behind the scenes and some break downs on some of the more interesting bits.
A new LEGO Movie set 70810 MetalBeard’s Seacow has been officially unveiled at ToyFair in New York City. Looks like there’s a different version of MetalBeard in this set from the previous set, which works for me. I must say, I’m pretty excited about this set (though not as much as I am about Benny’s Classic Spaceship, of course).
[EDIT] This set is now available to LEGO VIP members (a free rewards program) at LEGO Shop at Home.
Here’s the press release and photos:
70810 MetalBeard’s Sea Cow
Ages 14+ 2,741 Pieces
US $249.99 – CA $299.99 – DE 249.99€ – UK £169.99 – DK 2,199.00 DKK
*Euro pricing varies by country. Please visit shop.LEGO.com for regional pricing.Help our heroes escape the Micro Managers on MetalBeard’s Sea Cow!
Shiver me timbers, the Micro Managers are approaching our heroes and MetalBeard aboard his wacky Sea Cow ship. Climb the mast to keep a look-out. Fire the powerful shooting cannons from the side of the ship to repel the Micro Managers. And watch out – one has flick missiles and the other can shoot a net! Raise the anchors, spin the rear propellers and steer the ship to safety with the mini version of MetalBeard at the wheel. Includes 4 minifigures: Benny, Emmet, Vitruvius and Wyldstyle, and 2 figures: MetalBeard and QueasyKitty.
Battle 2 Micro Managers with The LEGO® Movie MetalBeard’s Sea Cow with mini version of MetalBeard, 4 minifigures and cow with wings!
• Includes 4 minifigures: Benny, Emmet, Vitruvius and Wyldstyle, and 2 figures: MetalBeard and QueasyKitty
• MetalBeard’s Sea Cow features chimney, 2 anchors, 4 back propellers, 2 huge side turbines, lanterns, 2 gold keys, 2 bottles, bottle with printed ship, box with 4 black coals, hammer, wrench, shovel, gold crowbar and a barrel with 2 rammers. Plus cannon and ammunition deck with 6 cannons and 2 boxes with cannon ammunition (12 pieces), and boiler room with 2 flint guns, 2 flint pistols and 2 swords. Also features captain’s room with treasure chest containing 6 gold coins, 2 red jewels and 2 green jewels, 2 blueprints, 2 maps, globe, sextant, ink vial and quill, and a portrait of MetalBeard
• Also includes a cow with wings!
• The large Micro Manager features fold-up wings with hidden flick missiles, 2 claws and fold-down satellite dish
• The small Micro Manager features a net shooter
• Weapons include 2 flint guns, 2 flint pistols and 2 swords
• Steer the ship with the mini MetalBeard with sword and treasure chest
• Fire the cannons on both sides of the ship to fend off attackers
• Take off the funnel to access the cannon and ammunition deck
• Open the top to access the captain’s cabin and check out the maps, treasure chest, MetalBeard portrait and more!
• Open the doors to the boiler room to access the weapons
• Turn the exhaust to raise and lower the anchors
• Rotate the giant side turbines
• Place a minifigure on the fore mast to operate the mounted guns
• Keep a look-out from the crow’s nest
• Get the fire going below the huge funnel
• Make the rear propellers spin and speed away
• Watch The LEGO® Movie to see all your favorite characters in action
• MetalBeard’s Sea Cow measures over 22” (58cm) high, 24” (61cm) long and 7” (19cm) wide
• The Micro Manager (large) measures over 3” (9cm) high, 4” (12cm) long and 4” (12cm) wide
• The Micro Manager (small) measures over 1” (5cm) high, 2” (6cm) long and 1” (5cm) wide
• Mini MetalBeard measures over 4” (11cm) high, 5” (13cm) deep, and 5” (13cm) wide
• Double-decker couch measures over 3” (8cm) high, 3” (10cm) wide and less than 1” (2cm) long
Available for sale directly through LEGO® beginning
March 2014 via shop.LEGO.com, LEGO® Stores or via phone
Here’s the full set of photos:
David Frank (Fraslund) is one of the best period and fantasy architecture builders currently working. You may recall the last project of his that we featured here, the gigantic Rivendell diorama he constructed with Alice Finch. As much as I loved Rivendell, as a longtime pirates fan, I have to say that David’s latest model, though smaller, enthralls me just as much.
I have to start with a confession: I don’t remember ever reading Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson, but I did see the animated TV series as a child, I saw the Muppets version several years ago and I’ve actually been in Bristol. Unfortunately, none of those experiences are of much use when describing what is going on in the latest scene built by Matthew Hurt, which depicts the Hispaniola in the port of Bristol at the start of its journey.
So, instead I’m going to focus on some of the details that make it such a great model. Check out the different types of textures used for the roof-tiles of the warehouses, for instance, or the brick-built sails. Then there’s the weathered look of the quay. And finally, the sails cleverly incorporate log bricks that make them look far more like cloth than if they would be built just out of regular plates and bricks.
Our next model isn’t a vignette by the strictest sense of the LEGO nerd definition, the footprint is well over the prescribed 8 x 8 stud rule, but it still has the feel of one. The subject matter is the duel in the blacksmith shop from Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. Ian Spacek is the responsible party, and although he doesn’t have any specific detail that will illicit cries of “NPU bro!” on Flickr, the scene is just about perfect. I’m not sure how faithful it is to the original, but just taken as a LEGO construct it has a wonderful simplicity. Ian also has some nice work in his photostream from a Willy Wonka themed BrickWorld collaboration he participated in earlier this year.
From Polish builder Lukasz Wiktorowicz (LL) comes a scene of daring men following in the footsteps of the great Trojan warriors of yore, slipping in under the enemy’s watchful eyes in disguise. Ok, well, actually, it’s just Pintel and Ragetti from Pirates of the Caribbean masquerading as women, but it makes a smashing good LEGO scene, brought to life with clever parts usages and some great forced perspective.
Photographing very large LEGO models can be a real challenge. I’d bookmarked this gorgeous diorama by Gabriel Thomson (qi_tah) when he first posted it last week, but wasn’t sure I’d blog it because the lighting was a bit dark, and he’d been forced to use a sheet for the backdrop that didn’t completely cover the room behind the model. But looking over my queue again today, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Kyle Collard had worked some Photoshop GIMP magic on Gabriel’s photo, making it really pop.
The model itself is of course wonderful, and it won “Best in Show” at BrickVention in Melbourne this past weekend, with both a crashed ship and an oared caravel, as well as a lighthouse and large-scale landscaping — as the name implies, the island itself is shaped like a turtle.
Just goes to show what a difference excellent presentation — and a little help from a friend — can make to a LEGO model.
One of the last major models Mike Crowley posted online was a new type of brick-built figure, the “BigFig.” BigFigs are built from bricks, but look like large minifigs. Mike showed off his new idea with a recreation of the classic LEGO Pirates captain minifig:
In March 2009, Mike wrote:
Basic features include:
- head can rotate
- face / hairpiece can be customized
- arms are connected with Technic axles to prevent “drooping” when holding objects
- hands can rotate
- torso and hip-piece fronts and backs can be customized
- legs are connected using Technic rotating / ratcheting click hinges, allowing for some rotation backward and full 90 degree rotation forward (into the seated position)
- head, arms, hands, hips and legs all separate in the same places that a regular-sized minifig’s do
- the rear and bottoms of the legs have “holes” built into them to resemble those on the legs of a regular-sized minifig and are spaced so as to fit onto “studs” built 2×2 and spaced 2 studs apart from one another.
In case you’d like to try your own hand at building a BigFig, Mike even posted a breakdown:
Franko Komljenovic finally posted images of his long work in progress. He says that it’s still not done, so we can expect some more interior images. The hull looks pretty finished to me though, and I especially like the stern made of arches and the tilted windows on captain’s cabin.
