Chris Wunz (Wuntztwice) has built a cool little flying car. I love retro-futuristic stuff, and this car captures that aesthetic very well. He’s also built in some cool features, like the rotating hover engines, and a very detailed cockpit.
Yearly Archives: 2009
Don’t get caught by the Krabouillator
Christophe Bongay built a bone-crushingly brutal creation called the Krabouillator. It looks deadly, and I sure don’t want to be on the business end of this thing.
Chris B’s Litesuits
Chris B has recently posted a couple of small robots/hardsuits that have a lot of style. He has achieved some really cool shapes and details at a small scale. I especially like the head and shoulder winglets on the yellow one. Based on their names, there may even be a third one in the works.
Johnny’s Gunship
There have been a lot of really great starfighters posted online lately, and this one by Johnny (Dr. X) is certainly no exception. One thing that does make it different, is that it’s not an entry for the “Show us what you got” contest over on flickr, for which I am a judge. I’ve been trying not to show any bias by blogging about entries, which has been rather frustrating. I was glad to see this ship, which is pretty cool, wasn’t an entry for the contest (he already entered something in the contest).
There’s a neat explanation for the fins that pop open on the side of the ship, revealing a radar array, that has a clever realism to it that I like. More importantly, though, it just looks cool, it reminds me a of a cobra fanning its hood.
A little bit of Deutsch
Sold out Big Ben Bricks hand car stars in Peter Edwards’ hilarious ad
There’s something inherently funny about advertising a sold-out product, as Peter Edwards does with a hand car from Big Ben Bricks in this video:
The video features a fantastic Technic bridge long enough to span a LEGO Amazon:
Four of the Best: LEGO Aircraft
In most niches of LEGO there are a handful of builders who have really pushed building. Any list is, of course, going to be quite personal but hopefully can give a good idea of what can be achieved. On The Brothers Brick we tend to focus only on new models but this can neglect some older builders whose influence is still felt. To redress this we hope to intermittently present ‘X of the Best’ posts to showcase the ‘leaders’ in any given niche.
LEGO aircraft design presents some unique challenges. The models are typically based on real prototypes and usually have multi-directional curves which are extremely challenging to represent in LEGO. Here are four builders that I feel have really pushed LEGO aircraft building and that I always find myself going back to when I need inspiration.
Klaus Dobisch (gallery EDIT: now eastpole too): Klaus has been building incredible aircraft for many years now. His attention to detail and, in particular to keeping his designs smooth is particularly impressive.
Mike Psiaki (mpsiaki): With his ability to seamlessly use multiple techniques in a single model Mike offers a wealth of incredible designs, each of which offers many ideas for other builders.
HIEN (HIEN): While not as prolific as Klaus or Mike, Hien packs in a huge amount of accuracy in his tiny models.
Ralph Savelsberg (Mad Physicist): Ralph is, in my opinion, the king of profiles. His effort in getting every angle just right really shows and, particularly in his new models, his windscreens and cockpits are excellent examples of what can be done with a bit of sculpting.
Neo Classic Space Roundup #2
The 30th anniversary celebration of Classic Space continues over on the Neo Classic Space website.
Pete Reid built a design by nnenn for the collaborative LL-989 Wildfire:
nnenn himself pits a pair of Heavy Interceptors and a Troop Support Sled against an alien species known as the Ugokin:
Ian Grieg captures the essence of 891 Two Seater Space Scooter with his LL-892 Skimmer, while I paid homage to 886 Space Buggy with my LL-997 “Craterbuster” rover:
Mark Kupietz builds vertically for LL-938 Supply Ship:
Keep an eye on neoclassicspace.com throughout the rest of the month for even more great creations inspired by vintage LEGO Space sets.
An endangered species
It’s been a while but I finally managed to build something I’m kind of happy with again. I basically set out to avoid any of the standard starfighter shapes although of course it’s not wholly original. Hopefully this heralds more models from me. I’ve been feeling very rusty.
Remote controlled mini truck
Moritz Nolting (Nolnet) experiments with incorporating the power functions RC system into the smallest truck he can make to produce a creation that’s both functional and visually authentic. I really like how the bulky battery box is cleverly incorporated as the cargo container of the truck.
Check out the Youtube video showing the truck in action and see it do a wheelie.
The Pony Express goes airborne
Brent (thwaak) has built what looks like a flying submarine for the Pony Express. I love the sort of whimsy that can go into a steampunk creation, and this is a great example. It even has a periscope! The mix of colors on the hull is a nice touch too, it looks like a mix of wood and metal.
Nathan Proudlove enters the Boonta Eve podrace
Actually, Nathan Proudlove has entered the FBTB 2009 Podracer Challenge, but a random Episode I reference seemed to work better. No?
Nathan used light bricks from LEGO Creator sets for the energy binders. The dark blue and black color scheme contrasts nicely with the lighter highlights.