Name: Timmy Kennedy
Occcupation: Third-grader.
Interests: Candy and cowboys and ninjas and Legos and Star Wars and pizza pockets and Bionicle and Coca-Cola and Grand Theft Auto and peanut butter and Yu-Gi-Oh and…
Monthly Archives: February 2006
Coworkers
Once you let it slip that you build stuff with “Legos,” the floodgates open for “Oh, oh, can you make a minifig of me?” So I finally broke down and did so. The resulting minifigs were all pretty boring, so I made alternate versions that give each person a little more personality.
First up, Joe, who’s always annoyed about something, and likes Audis:
Next, Melissa, who’s a contractor and is therefore my henchman (as opposed to a minion; thus the Oddjob outfit):
Pete, whose Greek heritage is a point of pride (of course, Pete’s family comes from a mountain village, not an island — something much harder to represent in a LEGO minifig):
Paul has a podcast (RSS), in which he plays really cool music and interacts with a mechanical entity named Weasel_bot:
(Paul gets a full-size picture only because both of his figs appear in the same pic; everybody else is like Superman and Clark Kent — they can’t both be in the same picture at the same time.)
Finally, just when you thought you couldn’t look at any more minifigs of my coworkers, BAM!!! NINJAS! Here’s Sky as himself, and as a totally awesome ninja:
Star Wars Hina Doll Display by Izzo
This is just too funny to pass up. A couple weeks before Girl’s Day (Hina-Matsuri) on March 3, families with young girls display a multi-tiered stand of dolls (picture). You can see a minifig-scale version in Nelson Yrizarry’s recent vignette in this picture.
Izzo has turned this idea on its head with his Star Wars Hinamatsuri:
Note the brick-built Jabba the Hutt between Boba Fett and the Gamorrean Guard, as well as the mini-scale AT-AT and AT-STs. Sweet.
Johnny Weir
To welcome the figure-skating fans referred here to see my Michelle Kwan vignette, here’s Johnny Weir:
Johnny is wearing his unique swan outfit, and he apparently named the red glove on his right hand “Camille” (presumably after Camille Saint-Saens, who composed “The Swan”).
Too bad Johnny didn’t even medal…
More Characters from MisterZumbi
MisterZumbi brings us a couple more interesting characters.
The Predator:
And the invisible man (visible on the left, invisible on the right):
Mike Psiaki’s World War II Fighters
These aren’t brand new, but Mike Psiaki recently updated his P-38 Lightning, so that gives me an excuse to post these — two of my favorite World War II fighter planes in LEGO form.
The Lockheed P-38 Lighting:
The Vought F4U Corsair:
(Click each image for the full gallery.)
And just for fun, check out Brenden Wilson’s Corsair Light Fighter — a space-worthy version of the F4U.
Michelle Kwan, Figure Skating Legend
A good friend asked me to make a minifigure of Michelle Kwan, who recently withdrew from the 2006 Olympics. Unsatisfied with the minifig on its own, I hauled out my white bricks and whipped together this vignette — my first non-minifig creation in several months:
Those are supposed to be my friend and her husband in the background. For a better representation of skates, check out Uda-san’s Mao Asada (and for good measure, the obligatory PPB cross-link).
Giant Revive Bicycle by nias
Brickshelf user nias, whose wheelchair and Ferrari Knight I featured previously, recently posted another minifig-scale vehicle — the Giant Revive bicycle:
Click the image to see the full gallery, along with a picture of a real-life Giant Revive bike.
Moko Spawns a Demon
I’ve been waiting for Moko to post this on Brickshelf, but it’s too cool to wait any more:
Nice use of the new Viking horns, helmet, and axe heads, as well as the Harry Potter Deatheater face and black wings.
Valentine’s Day in Japan
Bruce just posted a Valentine’s Day vignette by mumu, so why am I posting about it here on Pan-Pacific Bricks? Isn’t Valentine’s Day common to both the U.S. and Japan? Look closely at the minifigs in this vignette:
In Japan, girls are the ones expected to give chocolate to boys — not the other way around. The interesting thing is, Valentine’s Day on February 14th is followed a month later on March 14th by “White Day,” on which men give women chocolate. You can read all about Valentine’s Day in Japan here.
And what PPB post would be complete without a little something by Izzo? Nothing specifically Japanese about this, but it’s a lovely bar of chocolate:
Mmmmm… Chocolate…
Mr. and Mrs. Chen
Names: Charles and Judy Chen
Occupation: Artists.
Notes: An eccentric son of a New York real estate developer, Charles met and married Judy while attending Burning Man. At the age of forty, Charles grew a Fu Manchu mustache and began wearing traditional Chinese clothing to “get in touch with my roots.” Of course, Charles doesn’t speak either Mandarin or Cantonese, and the furthest east he’s been is Taos, New Mexico.
Boy’s Day Vignette by Nelson Yrizarry
Following up on his Hina-Matsuri vignette (previous PPB post), Nelson Yrizarry presents a vignette based on celebrations of Tango no Sekku, or Boy’s Day (now celebrated as “Children’s Day”).
Here’s what Nelson has to say:
Now known as “Children’s Day” in Japan (a National holiday), this is the day when sons are traditionally honored. Most notable are the large koinobori (carp) banners that are flown – one for each male son. The carp is considered as the most spirited of all fish, able to overcome obstacles such as strong currents – hence, it serves as a symbol of the desired strength and success of the family’s male childen.
I have incorporated other aspects of the Japanese culture – Father enjoying sake; a katanakake (sword stand); a small Zen garden, etc.