Monthly Archives: July 2009

What it is ... is beautiful – LEGO ad from 1981

I’m not generally one to look to the past as somehow superior to the present or future. Nevertheless, seeing this LEGO ad from 1981 struck a nerve.

What it is is beautiful

Most LEGO ads today emphasize action and playability. Both wonderfully effective attributes to sell toys, I’m sure. It’s not so much that The LEGO Group has changed as much as LEGO has had to adapt to a different advertising climate. I get it, I really do.

Still, I miss the days when LEGO emphasized the basics: quality, creativity, and — as in this beautiful ad — pride in accomplishment. (There’s also something to be said about gender neutrality, but I’ll leave that for another day.)

Hat-tip to Moose Greebles for the scan from the back of Decorating and Craft Idea magazine.

LEGO studs as Braille

Why has nobody ever done this before? Well, Anthony Sava (SavaTheAggie) may be the first.

LEGO Braille 'Play Well'

The Braille text spells “Leg Godt” — “Play Well” in Danish, and the origin of the toy’s name.

The Dark Side is stronger than AAA

Having conquered the Cute, Chris McVeigh (powerpig) is at it again.

Emperor Palpatine jump-starting Darth Vader's car

It’s Emperor Palpatine jump-starting Darth Vader’s roadster with force lightning. What more is there to say?

Where’s My Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator

Mrs. Monster has produced a tribute to everyone’s favorite cartoon alien, Marvin the Martian. This reminds me of . . . college, there was a guy in my dorm who wore nothing but Marvin the Martian t-shirts, he had at least a dozen.

LEGO Marvin the Martian

Thanks to James Shields for the tip.

LEGO Technic pin remover

If you’re a builder, you most likely have run into situations when you got one of these Technic pins stuck. Luckily, barman has a solution that may save you a broken fingernail or two. In this simple little device, the exposed end of the pin is inserted into a Technic brick and held in place by the increased friction from an bar that’s then inserted into the pin. You can build the device yourself from the instructions and see if it’s worth the effort!

Catherine’s table saw is ready to sever LEGO fingers

One of the coolest LEGO creations I saw at the most recent SEALUG meeting was this great table saw by Catherine (Lego Queen).

LEGO table saw

The wheels change the angle and elevation of the blade, while the rip fence slides back and forth. I suspect there’s enough room underneath for a Power Functions motor. Hmmm…

Check out more of Catherine’s Town & Technic LEGO creations on Flickr.

OMG! They killed Kenny!

Skipping the phrase that comes afterwards, we bring you to Dirk VH‘s brick-built Kenny from South Park, complete with axe in head and the resulting gore effects.

If only I had a Grail Diary

I really need to keep better track of my imaginary adventures. I did have real adventures in Italy in March/April of this year, and kept a journal for the first time, which was well worth it. Because of that, this creation by Rod Gillies (2 Much Caffeine) of the “X marks the spot” scene from “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” in the Venice library caught my attention. He’s been making a whole series of scenes from Indiana Jones movies using some parts from the newer official sets to portray other favorite scenes.

2MC Venice Library

There is a lot to like in this creation, but oddly enough my two favorite things are the stanchions at the left, and the use of the different dark gray tiles to create the X on the floor, especially cool that he made it at the appropriate angle. I really appreciate the variety of colors that show up now that I’m sorting my 25+ year accumulation of LEGO for the first time.

[Edited to fix some inaccuracies-Thanel]

Professor Eggplant goes small

Fresh from completing his massive Estuary Stronghold, Bryan (Professor Eggplant | Eggy Pop) takes on microscale. His resulting LEGO Castle is a thing of beauty.

LEGO microscale island castle

The transition is gorgeous from blue ocean (apparently non-production trans-blue plates) to sandy beach and verdant land. It’s hard to pack a lot of detail into a castle this small, but Bryan manages with a nice little dome, itty-bitty cheese-slope roofs, and Technic pin-hole windows.

See more angles on MOCpages.

Pepa Quin’s StarCraft II Terran Medivac Dropship will cure what ails you

Matt De Lanoy (Pepa Quin) continues his awesome series of StarCraft II LEGO creations with his latest, the Medivac Dropship.

LEGO StarCraft II Medivac Dropship

Dropships are one of my favorite sci-fi vehicles, and Matt’s SC2 version doesn’t disappoint. Note the brick-built red crosses and how Matt has incorporated the new Space Police III spikes. (Via Young Spacers Association Blog.)

And since we missed it last month, here’s Matt’s SCV (which I suspect is good to go):

LEGO StarCraft II SCV

See all of Matt’s StarCraft II LEGO creations on Flickr.

Gimley wants you off his lawn

Bionicle builder retinence branched out to LEGO SYSTEM mecha recently, with excellent results.

White LEGO mecha with staff

“Project Gimley” has a lot of personality. I mean, how challenging is it to make an immortal mecha look old?

Medieval Knievel entertains the peasant masses

For his “First serious Castle moc ever,” this substantial diorama by monsterphonic is pretty darn awesome.

LEGO Medieval Knievel diorama

The crenellations on the top of the walls are interesting, and the half-timber structure adds excellent variety. The water and landscaping are nice, but it’s the action taking place above the dock that makes this scene brilliant.

Via Legobloggen.