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).
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.
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.
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…
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.
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.
The photography is bad and the picture is way too big (sorry Tupperfan). And what sets this minifig apart isn’t even a LEGO piece, but this is just too good to pass up:
If I’m not mistaken, that’s an earbud cover. Nice.
EDIT (3/8/06): Tupperfan has taken updated pictures. Thanks dude!
Who knew those crazy dinosaurs from the Dino Attack theme could be incorporated into anything?! But Sugegasa manages:
What I like about Sugegasa’s creations is that all the fiercest robots/lizards/rocket launchers/dragons are always driven/ridden/wielded/controlled by adorable smiley-faced minifigs. (Oh, and I want that torso! Minifig belly buttons are just so cute!)
A couple more entries in the shiritori word game.
First up, Uda-san posts a vignette of figure-skater Mao Asada receiving a bag full of LEGO goodies from a fan:
Nigou continues the game, from Uda-san’s Mao Asada to her sweet-potato vendor’s cart (manned by Hagrid). These vendors sell sweet-potatoes baked on a bed of red-hot stones. Today, they most often drive around in little trucks, with their oven on the back, so these traditional carts are a rare sight:
Name: Guildford Postlethwait
Occupation: Ethnographer, best-selling author, popular lecturer. Charlatan.
Published works: Reflections on Fieldwork Among the Tuba. The Purple Snows of Kashmir. Life with the Yak-Herders of Samoa. Tanganyikan Tiger-Hunting Rituals. In Marco Polo’s Footsteps: Retracing a Spaniard’s Discovery of the West Indies.
I’ve always been drawn to anachronism in LEGO creations. I used to create complicated laser emplacement weapons for my Forestmen to fend off my brother’s Black Falcons. That’s why my next MOC will likely be something steampunk-ish. But enough about me.
Brickshelf user felixisgr8 just posted a really cool airship that uses boat pieces in an interesting way:
Earlier this week, Bruce (of VignetteBricks) posted on Classic-Castle.com about a LEGO exhibit in Japan. I’d seen links to this on Japanese LEGO blogs, but that was before I started Pan-Pacific Bricks (and then I forgot).
The “Piece of Peace” exhibit, sponsored by McDonald’s and Yahoo! Kids, was a charity event in which the proceeds from ticket and souvenir sales benefited UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. With the motto “It takes a lot of pieces to build peace,” the exhibit showcased UNESCO World Heritage Sites in LEGO, built with the assistance of Japanese LEGO Master Builder Kazuyoshi Naoe.
Here’s Mont St. Michelle in France:
And Machu Picchu in Peru:
This page lists each of the sites recreated in LEGO for the exhibit. Unfortunately, it’s in Japanese. LUGNET user M. Moolhuysen assembled a site-by-site list in English (with links), so I’ll link to his list instead of duplicating it here.
For even better pictures, watch the wonderful 20-minute video (in Windows Media Format) available at three bit rates toward the bottom of this page. The video shows close-up shots of each LEGO creation, from many different angles. A Japanese explanation appears on-screen, but each site is also identified in English. The end of the video also shows several interesting non-UNESCO LEGO creations by contemporary artists and graphic designers. Well worth watching.
The bad news is that the exhibit now appears to be over; the last listed date is October through November of 2005.