Monthly Archives: April 2011

Bricks Helping Japan – LEGO Charity Auctions – It Goes to FOUR THOUSAND!

So far, our auctions have raised over FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS! Thanks so much to everyone who has donated creations, and everyone who has bid on them! I have to add, I’ve seen a lot of friends and fellow LEGO fans show up in the winners list for these auctions, and it’s quite touching to see our community coming out like this to help a good cause.

I’ve just added another half dozen donations to our listings, so please check them out. Meanwhile, several of our auctions of donated LEGO creations are ending in just a few hours! Remember, all proceeds go to the Red Cross, so please bid liberally, and feel free to spread the word! As a reminder, here’s the full explanation of this charity LEGO auction effort. Here’s an example of an auction that’s about to end, but it’s not the only one! There’s also a nifty little garden vignette ending soon, followed by a cool Renault from our friends at HispaBrick.

Lynx Light Recon Tank

Also, don’t forget to check out all the other on-going auctions to help the Red Cross in their efforts to help the victims of the earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan and the Pacific Rim. I listed several new auctions today and yesterday, including some fantastic LEGO creations and several pieces of original LEGO comic art by Greg Hyland! All of the pieces by Greg have been published, whether on FBTB.net, in LEGO BrickMaster Magazine, or Star Wars Insider Magazine.

This is NPU

I freely admit to getting frustrated by the amount of ‘NPU‘ (Nice Part Use) I see thrown around LEGO models. The acronym was originally used for a part being used cleverly in a different circumstance. Both these examples feature such a use. Nowadays it seems to be used for just about anything. This, dear readers, is wrong (to para-borrow a phrase from Twee Affect).

We need more flame units!

First we have Joshua Morris (I scream clone) who demonstrates a classic NPU by using a turkey on Mr Potato Head’s nose and croissants as his eyebrows.

some kind of Rally Car...

Secondly Robert H. (Robiwan_Kenobi) uses loads of parts in unusual ways but the most notable ‘NPU’ is the little airvent made from the end of a skiflipper.

Note how in each case a very specific part has been reused in a novel way. That is NPU.

I <3 NYC

I don’t think I’ve ever looked so forward to a specific LEGO project finally coming to fruition. So seeing the words “as complete as it is going to get” appear on Jonathan Lopes’ MOCpage tonight was some pretty spectacular news. This is actually Jonathan’s second iteration of his urban landscape and he’s really taken lessons from his earlier layout to make this one better.

Jonathan Lopes LEGO NY

Jonathan’s chief specialty is his mastery of urban decay which adds a level of authenticity rarely seen in shiny plastic. I’ll be going through the layout pictures in detail.

Unfortunately I’m half asleep right now so will have to add the rest of this blog post tomorrow. But if ever there was a model I wanted to put up ASAP it was this one. Expect a longer version.

Thanks to some pet related drama I didn’t have a chance to update this. Short version of what I was going to write is as follows: check out each picture in detail, especially for the dirty bits as they’re what really makes it grand.

Bricks Helping Japan – LEGO Charity Auctions

So far, our auctions have raised over $700! Thanks so much to everyone who has donated creations, and everyone who has bid on them!

Several of our auctions of donated LEGO creations are ending in just a few hours! Remember, all proceeds go to the Red Cross, so please bid liberally, and feel free to spread the word! As a reminder, here’s the full explanation of this charity LEGO auction effort. There’s only one day left to bid on the gigantic Phenix!

Phenix LEGO Giant StarSHIP

Also, don’t forget to check out all the other on-going auctions to help the Red Cross in their efforts to help the victims of the earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan and the Pacific Rim. I listed several new auctions today and yesterday, including some fantastic LEGO creations and several pieces of original LEGO comic art by Greg Hyland! All of the pieces by Greg have been published, whether on FBTB.net, in LEGO BrickMaster Magazine, or Star Wars Insider Magazine.

Boat wharf

Henrik Hoexbroe’s wharf diorama combines a lot of very nice little LEGO models into an equally appealling whole diorama. His attention to detail on each small element really shows and he gathers it all into a really cogent whole through clever placement and minor details. A really excellent town diorama.

One big MOC!

McPod – a cheesy podburger that flies

I can’t say anything more clever than The Living Brick did about this podracer that Tommy Williamson built for the 2011 FBTB Podracer Challenge, so I’ll just quote OJ: “It looks almost good enough to eat! So in that respect it’s very similar to the real thing.” Indeed…

McPod™

Chrome Stormtrooper winners

LEGO Chrome StormtrooperSince the April Fool’s joke about winning 800 chrome stormtroopers accidentally got posted at 10 PM on March 31 causing a shocking number of you to apparently take the post seriously, we’re making it up to you by giving away 5 of the real thing (which is all we actually have) to 5 of you who commented on the post.

And the randomly generated winners are:

  • bluesky681
  • tigre-bleu
  • Cold Ivory
  • toksik
  • bricktrooper403

We’ll shoot you an e-mail to get your contact info to send you the stormie.

Now, with that out of the way, I’ll add one note of caution about Things You Read on the Internet: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. And then magnify that by a factor of 83.4% whenever it’s April 1 somewhere on the planet. Eight hundred chrome stormtroopers to one winner? Really, people? Really?

Sigh…

But of course I like nightmares personified!

Actually, I’m going to be honest. Hellraiser is, in fact, one of the many films I haven’t seen. I’m just not big into horror. What I can appreciate, though, is a spot-on custom creation that even I can recognize. This is totally one of those.

Fantastic job, capnbootle!

If I were a legovore . . .

. . . I would so eat this. This entry by Sven Junga for the Mocathalon contest is fantastic in and of itself, but the brick built scalloped edge plate, garnish and crustacean flesh extractor all enhance the awesomeness.

LEGO lobster Sven Junga

Psycho Clickipiller

This psychedelic Clickipiller train by Megan Rothrock (megzter1) is both a cute creative concept, and a bit disturbing. I especially like the googly eyes and odd angle of the mouth.

LEGO Clickipiller Train Megan Rothrock

I think I would generally be more into trains if they were covered in Clikits.

District 9 ARC gun

Tyler Clites built a life-sized replica of the ARC gun from District 9. Nuff said. I’ll leave you to pick up pieces of your brain from the floor.

The historic Grand Hotel in Kristiansund

Daniel Asc created a faithful replica of the Grand Hotel in Kristiansund, Norway. His model was built 100 years after the original landmark, which was established just before the 20th century. For a creation this large, it didn’t lose out on quality. See what I mean and check out the detail shots in the gallery on Flickr.