This vignette by Justin Vaughn (-Mainman-/Xifux) that portrays a small group of Colonial soldiers at Valley Forge during the Revolutionary War seems particularly fitting for Independence Day. I’ve been sitting on it for a little while waiting for the right time, and this seemed to be it.
I love the snow clinging to the tree.
Johan van den Heuvel (Teddy) built this diorama that incorporates several building techniques to give the impression of a wood-paneled study. Mr. Whiskers, the cat, is plotting to take over the world. Mine just nap.
My favorite element is probably the coffeemaker, though the bookshelves are a close second.
The rumored, non-exclusive LEGO windmill set appears to be on the horizon, in the form of 7747 Wind Turbine Transport.
The set isn’t available in the US yet (we got the tip from reader Matthew in the UK), so here’s a direct link in case the ones above don’t work:
http://shop.lego.com/Product/Default.aspx?p=7747
And for those of you wondering what the heck a “Vestas Windmill” is, 4999 Vestas Windmill was a special limited-edition set created exclusively for employees of the Danish wind turbine company Vestas. As cool as it was, it was never made available to the general public, which caused quite a ruckus in the LEGO fan community.
Though substantially smaller than 4999, Perhaps 7747 Wind Turbine Transport represents The LEGO Group listening to that hue and cry…
The winners of Classic-Castle’s Battles Contest have finally been chosen. Not surprisingly, some of the winners will be familiar to TBB readers. But enough talking, here they are!
1st Place: Medieval Hooligan Brawl by forseti
2nd Place: Defending the Village by DNL
3rd Place: Defense of the Iron Oak by SuvieD
Best Vignette: Sir Wunstud jumped by Orcs by Rod Gillies
Congratulations to the winners! There were a lot of good entries in there and judging was very difficult. Way to go!
Thank you Alex Schranz (Orion Pax). Superb LEGO walkman, tape and headphone set.
Three months to BrickCon!
BrickCon 2009 is looking for any talks, roundtables, and special activities you would like to see at the Con this year. Going to and putting on sessions are one of the things that makes a Lego convention fun.
Past talks have included manufacturing custom parts, an introduction to LDraw, and packing Lego models for shipment, among many others.
Roundtables, or moderated discussions, have included Moonbase standards and design, landscaping, and anything that someone can think of.
Activities already planned for this year include the Dirty Brickster and the Wacky Race.
All we need for more talks, roundtables, and activities are ideas and people to run with them. Projectors and a computer will be available (although bringing your own laptop ensures compatibility). All spaces can be configured with tables and chairs as desired.
Any registered attendee who would like to run a presentation or activity should e-mail proposals or questions to me (my first three initials @ morfydd.net—please mention BrickCon in the subject). If possible, please include a possible title, brief description for the event program, and any time constraints or facility requirements. Events are typically scheduled to run up to fifty minutes but can be scheduled for more or less time.
I need proposals by September 6 to have time to prepare the schedule and the program. Earlier is better.
BrickCon is an annual adult Lego hobbyist convention and exposition in Seattle. BrickCon 2009 will be October 1–4, 2009, in the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall. For more information or to register visit
http://www.brickcon.org/—
TWS Garrison
http://www.morfydd.net/twsg/
LEGO: CA+++ SW++ GA+c #++++++ LS+++ P+++++ YB77m
Okay, so I don’t know that this diorama by Mristoph Chonnaie (stenertje) is actually set on a moon made of yellow cheese, but it sure is delicious.
Take a closer look at the base and the fighters in the full photoset on Flickr.
Thanks for the tip, Rodney (we’re a bit behind right now).
I never thought it could be done, but it’s possible to build your own fully-functional LEGO combination safe. Merijn van Wouden has shown us how to do just that with detailed step-by-step instructions and a cool video to show how the mechanisms work. I’m astounded.
As great as they are, brownstones and storefronts are fairly common LEGO structures built to the “Cafe Corner standard.” That makes this great train station by Johan van den Heuvel (Teddy) that much cooler.
I love the columns and the arches of the recessed entryway. The size itself is a first, as far as I can recall — not only double-wide but double-deep.
See interior shots and detail photos on Flickr, MOCpages, and Brickshelf.
This year at BrickWorld, we shot a video coverage of the convention that features short clips of fans and builders talking about LEGO. This started when Tyler (Legohaulic) brought the idea along with a brick-built TBB microphone. Everything happened spontaneously and we are able to share with you the faces and voices of many LEGO fans for the first time on the blog.
I’d like give special thanks to Tyler for doing pretty much all the work with the video and everyone who shared their moment of embarrassment with us. We certainly wished to get around to more of the great people there, but the four days went by too fast! I hope you enjoy our first ever video coverage of a LEGO convention.
In this clip: Jay Hanes, Mark Kelso, Brian Alano, Tyler Clites, Kyle Vrieze, Jenn Wagner, and Rae McCormick.
In this clip: Liam Heeger, Lee Jones, Brian Kescenovitz, Matija Grguric, Dennis Price, Chris Edwards, Fradel Gonzales, and Jon Walden.
In this clip: Dave Sterling, Stacy Sterling, Heather Braaten, Alex Eylar, Sean Kenney, Matt De Lanoy, Brian Bonahoom, Steve Witt, Mikael Sjostedt, and Mark Larson.
This vignette by Tyler Clites (Legohaulic) is just too beautiful and surreal to pass up.
