Monthly Archives: September 2009

Ralph’s pumper roars to the rescue

Having just finished building 10197 Fire Brigadeicon (awesome!), I’m tuned to see fire engines, ladder trucks, and other rescue apparatus everywhere. Ralph Savelsberg (Mad physicist) doesn’t disappoint with his American-style pumper truck.

LEGO fire engine rescue pumper

Ralph’s pumper shares some key traits with the new set — interesting, complex techniques and great design. The way he continues the stripes from front to back, with that zig near the middle, is amazing, as are the wheel wells. The brick-built vertical doors on the back are the first I’ve seen.

LEGO fire engine rescue pumper

May-Ling is ready to play fetch

LEGO terrier

Daiman Mardon has an adorable terrier named May-Ling. Well, we assume she’s adorable, given how cute her LEGO alter ego is.

Dalebottom Keep

Classic-Castle user Karrde posted his excellent interpretation of the 32×32 Castle Challenge, Dalebottom Keep:

The whole build has some interesting aspects. Part of his goal was to include plenty of playability and modularity. I think he succeeded.

Dear LEGO: We want 6299 LEGO Pirates Advent Calendar!

It’s that time of the year again, LEGO fans. In what I hope does not become an annual tradition, we’ve received confirmation from LEGO that this year’s non-City advent calendar, 6299 LEGO Pirates Advent Calendar, will not be made available in the United States.

6299 LEGO Pirates Advent Calendar

The success of our campaign to get 7979 Castle Advent Calendar last year was the result of both luck (a pallet of sets that got shipped to the US distribution center accidentally) and persistent community activism (here on TBB and on sites like Classic Castle).

Though we can’t guarantee luck again, we can certainly do our part to see what effect LEGO fan community activism can have this time around. Leave a comment here on this post expressing your support and we’ll pass your sentiments along to LEGO through our resident LEGO Ambassador.

And last but not least: Yarrr!!!

Over and under

Esben Kolinds LEGO London Overground

Esben Kolind introduces non-Londoners to the London Overground. Yes, you read that right. It’s the Bombardier train for the new overground lines built and being built around London. Very slick work on the lights which actually work.

Another entry for the Train-Tech Building Contest.

What is creativity?

Creativity is a term that defines the LEGO hobby, but have you ever thought why some works are more creative than others? Nnenn shares a metaphor about his interpretation of creativity that many builders can benefit from knowing. In summary, each creation is a dot on a clustered diagram; while most fall near the center, the truly creative ones are the outliers. Read the short essay to find out how you can build something that stands out from the crowd.

BrickCon 2009 pre-registration ends in only one week [News]

LEGO BrickCon logo by Adam HallyIf you’re still on the fence about attending BrickCon 2009, time is quickly running out. There’s just one week left to pre-register for the con, which will guarantee you your goody bag and engraved badge brick.

Although the public exhibition is great for showing off your LEGO creations (“Ooh! Is that a set?”), BrickCon for me has always been about the people. With over 200 LEGO fans registered so far, BrickCon 2009 is sure to bring together people you’d probably never get to meet otherwise.

Also, it’s a chance to buy LEGO sets at rock-bottom prices, as LEGO ships pallets of scratched-up sets from across the country to sell to fans at up to 50% off.

LEGO Store haul from BrickCon

See you all in a few weeks!

Nowhere to hide from the many eyes of Panoptes

It can be argued that the latest mecha by Bill (kidthor) is one of his best ones yet, but unarguably the photography on this one is his best, highlighting the crystal clear details of the creation against a non-distracting white background. You can find the full gallery on MOCpages, which shows a well-designed circular cockpit.

The crazy wild west

SlyOwl‘s latest scene uses slanted bricks and slopes to create a realistic texture on the cliff. It’s hard to tell at a glance which bricks are true slopes versus slanted bricks and vice versa, which makes this creation even more interesting.

The technique by itself is enough to warrant a mention on the blog, but the builder has included an action packed interior full of comical hilarity.

Ping Pong

Steven Marshalls Ping Pong

Steven Marshall gives his minifigs a workout with the excellent ping-pong game.

In defense of Polish independence

Our Polish friends over at Klocki remind us that Poland is currently observing the 70th anniversary of the September Campaign, when Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union both invaded, divided, and annexed the country between them.

Ciamek (Piglet on MOCpages) recreates a German propaganda photo that implied how weak and ineffectual Polish resistance was, as a group of German soldiers easily swats aside the border barrier.

LEGO September Campaign Nazi propaganda photo

LEGO Nazi photographersIn truth, the entire scene was staged, taken two weeks after the invasion — an attempt to illustrate the Third Reich’s easy dominance over Poland.

Ciamek sets the record straight in his LEGO diorama. Fierce, valiant Polish resistance prevented any such easy scene until well after the beginning of hostilities.

See more photos on Ciamek’s website and on MOCpages, where he has several other LEGO creations related to World War II and the September Campaign.

Harrison’s LEGO Wall-E looks skyward

Harrison (corran101) says he’s had his Wall-E lying around for quite a while. This tiny diorama illustrates the continuing emotive power of Wall-E. The rundown robot in the background totally makes this, with a rusted patch and broken eye.

LEGO Wall-E

And don’t miss those tread marks behind Harrison’s LEGO Wall-E. Well worth the wait, I think.