Hey, all you lurking Castle Lovers out there, I will be hosting a monthly build challenge on Classic Castle. The first challenge is life-size Medieval Weapons. No other rules. That’s right. No rules. So give it whirl, hop over there, and show us what you can do.
Here’s an example, to get the creative juices flowing:
This samurai is astounding. The plethora of unusual pieces meshes perfectly together. Genius, I say. Pure Genius. You can color me a fan of the builder. His name is Cameron, by the way.
And, yes, this is the type of thing we would love to see in the Big In Japan layout at BrickCon this year.
Thanks to Bruce for pointing this out to me.
Fans of the new 7595 Army Men on Patrol set from the Toy Story line may be pleased to learn that BrickArms has released a limited edition pack of bright green weapons to complement these little green men.
The weapons pack includes production versions of several prototypes that have been in circulation for a while, including the BAR and M1 Carbine.
The weekly LEGO news roundups we started to do proved to be too time-consuming, but this past month has been a busy one, and you may have missed a few things. Without further ado, in case you missed it…
See what I mean? A busy month indeed.
I don’t think I’d run across a LEGO creation by Pierre E Fieschi before, so his Khael Mobile Construction Yard left a rather spectacular first impression.
No, that isn’t a render. Here’s a video showing off the ship’s many features, which incorporate pneumatics:
Fancy Pants Productions presents a LEGO Star Wars animation that features some seriously smooth action:
We’re excited to have LEGO icon Keith Goldman conducting several interviews for us with fellow LEGO fans. Take it away, Keith!
This week’s builder is Tony “SavaTheAggie” Sava, who broke onto the scene the same time as I did, which automatically makes him interesting because he had a front row seat for my meteoric rise in the LEGO hobby.
One of the first models by Tony that captured my imagination was Stonebarrow Keep (right).
Now, before you snort and say “I can build better than that” or “I see castles every week better than that”, realize that this was created seven years ago and was considered an amazing build. Tony is currently working on a model of the Cathedral of St. Francis:
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I sat down with Tony at his ranch outside of El Lago, Texas, where we enjoyed ribs, Lone-Star beer and firing his collection of antique shotguns. We also talked about LEGO.
Keith Goldman: You primarily build castle and train models, do you find one more challenging than the other, and do you use fundamentally different approaches when building each?
Tony Sava: I find different challenges in each (oh come on, you gotta give me that cop out). Castles, typically, are primarily studs up creations, but they’re very organic, so finding that balance between what is “made by man” and “made by nature” can be tricky. SNOT is typically reserved for detail work, such as windows or flooring. Trains, on the other hand, can be studs up, or no studs up at all, and have the engineering aspect of being animated and navigating track. Steam engines, especially, I view as a prime mix between artistry and engineering, and it’s a challenge I enjoy quite a bit. It takes quite a bit of time to not only get the shapes correct, but to get all the wheels to navigate the track while the pistons fly around them.
More of Keith’s interview with Tony after the jump: Continue reading
Jarek (Jerac) combines his car building skills with a distinctly Castle aesthetic, for a unique race car with an even more unique driver and her unprecedented pet:
I don’t want to know what sort of fuel is in those yellow canisters…
We know Aleksander Stein best for his impressive military hardware, but he’s branched out lately with civilian versions of those vehicles. His latest is a highly detailed 6×6 crane truck:
The pneumatic crane on Aleksander’s truck isn’t just for show. Here, it’s lifting his Dragoon APV:
From now until March 6th, you can enjoy a Buy 1 get 1 half off sale at Toys R Us both in stores and online. If you order online today only (Feb. 28), you’ll also receive free shipping if your total is over $100 . Unfortunately the sale excludes Star Wars, Toy Story, and electronics, but other themes like Space Police, City, and Atlantis are still fair game. Click on the banner below to start shopping!
Barney Main (SlyOwl) knows our soft spot when he built his entry for the Time Twisters Contest. The association with 10188 Death Star is so obvious and hilarious that you don’t even need to know the rules of the contest to predict this as a likely winner.
There’s a moment in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner
Zach Macias has recreated that scene in LEGO:
Blade Runner – Tears in Rain (in LEGO) from Zach Macias on Vimeo.