Obviousness doesn’t necessarily diminish awesomeness, as Steve’s man in a dragon costume proved. The first thing I thought of when I saw the Lizardman from the Series 5 Collectible Minifigures was, naturally, Godzilla. While the Pacific Northwest takes a break from being first in the world to get them for a change, Bobofrut gets to be the first to post a Collectible ‘Fig Godzilla (at least that I’m aware of).
Via MicroBricks.
The latest addition to LEGO’s line of Advent Calendars, LEGO Star Wars 7958 Advent Calendar, 
I, for one, wouldn’t want to cross a mage, and certainly wouldn’t want to make fun of his house. Thomas Wunz has posted this lovely little medieval hut for his mage, and while it looks plain for someone of power, it’s a decidedly excellent build.
I’m particularly fond of the non-traditional, odd-shaped base. The building itself is just detailed and fun, with the brick-style tiles on the sides.
Check out some more of the details for this lovely Castle creation!
This is one that I’ve been meaning to post on here for a bit now. Finally got a fire lit under me, so here it is. Sean and Steph Mayo are quickly coming to forefront in the adult lego community and this one is just another feather in their collective cap. I could make a comment about my burning love for this creation but I’ll resist…somewhat.
This Dragon Slayer training vignette, by Steve, is hysterical. It was definitely an unexpected use of the Lizard Man collectible fig. If I lived in medieval times, it would be just my luck to be the peasant in the dragon costume.
Anthony Sava has become a man known for his locomotives and the reputation is well-deserved. He has been working on a project to build all five of the Texas State Railroad locomotives and this is the final one. It has been quite the project and I have enjoyed it. I’m not a train guy but even I have to admit that there is something about locomotives that grabs you. Well done, Tony!
Ever since I saw the cover art for Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds I’ve had a great fondness for tripeds with spindly legs. So it’s no surprise my heart fluttered a little when I saw Nick’s (ElNickre) little diorama. Gloriously retro LEGO.
As readers will have noticed in our LEGO News feed last week, custom minifig accessory vendor BrickForge has just released a new batch of items, including a new “Shock Trooper” armor. We ordered a couple batches, and I managed to find enough sunshine in the Seattle “summer” to take a few pictures.
The armor comes in a sort of steel color that’s rather lovely, along with black that has a similar metallic sheen. Neither color really matches typical colors available for minifig legs and torsos, but they combine reasonably well with neutral colors like bley and black. BrickForge also offers two printed variants, with an eagle on the gray and a flaming skull on the black. I’ll be interested to see how other customizers use these helmets and armor, but I focused on their inevitable use as ODSTs from Halo. Armor for a squad of six will run you a bit over $20.
One of the few areas in which BrickForge and BrickArms overlap is in items inspired (a safe assumption, I think) by the Halo universe, so minifig customizers have a bit more choice in this area. I like to mix and match custom parts from everybody, and I have to admit that I personally prefer the BrickArms versions of these sci-fi weapons (including the previously reviewed BrickArms minigun). I think the combination of the BrickForge armor and BrickArms weapons is undeniably awesome — “better together,” as I always say.
I cracked myself up by putting one of the troopers on a BrickForge scooter, which my wife dubbed the UNSC “Shrew”. I was amused enough that I would like to share this little masterpiece with the world. You’re welcome.
As fun as a couple squads of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers might be, I had the most fun putting together the Avengers — inspired by the blue helmet with an A and the big American shield that begged themselves to be equipped on a classic Captain America. Wolverine (with BrickForge “Savage Mask”) and Thor (BrickForge hammer) quickly followed, supplemented by a HAZEL-helmeted Iron Man, official Spider-Man, and my old Hulk.
The ODSTs and Avengers were distracting enough that I didn’t get a chance to do much with the test tubes, bottles, martini glasses, and other new glassware BrickForge has just released. Briefly, they complement official LEGO items nicely, and I’m highly entertained by the idea of minifigs squaring off against each other in tiny bar fights with broken bottles.
Tyler (Legohaulic) built Chell and a companion cube from Portal 2 to go along with his Lego Atlas and P-Body.
Another BrickFair has passed (Nannan posted a nice wrapup), and that means another joint science fiction display by 3LUG. For those who aren’t aware, 3LUG is made up of myself and Nick Kappatos. This year, we once again made use of an utter abundance of green bricks (one shouldn’t let such resources go to waste). We also tried to move away from our growing trend of crashed space ships.
This display was only complete for a couple of days during BrickFair, and the components have since retired to our separate homes. Hopefully, the diorama is as fun to look at as it was to build. We tried to add enough details and action to keep kids entertained when viewing the display, because their reactions make it worthwhile.
I’ve been reading about Samuel F. B. Morse in David McCullough’s latest book, The Greater Journey, in Morse’s less known artist role, so it pleases me to no end to see that Matt Armstrong (monsterbrick) has added a Morse Key to his ongoing series of 19th century antiques and inventions.
There’s something to be said about such a deceptively simple looking creation of such an unusual subject. Well executed as alway, Monster.
UPDATE: 10220 Volkswagen T1 Camper Van is out now!
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LEGO hippies everywhere are going to rejoice at the new LEGO Shop exclusive set revealed officially today, 10220 Volkswagen T1 Camper Van. At over 1,300 pieces and $100 $120, it’s a substantial set with an amazing amount of detail and what appears to be lots of interesting parts and construction techniques. (Can you tell I’m excited myself?)
I’m certain that most of our readers have already seen the lower-resolution images of the set from the second Collector’s Guide. The folks at LEGO have finally made their official announcement, though, and we’ve got high resolution photos and a video to show off.
The van has an engine in its engine compartment and a complete interior:
I must admit, when I saw the first images of this set online, I wasn’t impressed. I thought that it looked very boxy, and undetailed. Obviously, the subject matter is somewhat boxy, but seeing the high resolution photos, I see more than I expected. The real appeal of this set turns out to be the interior, though. It opens up in a variety of ways, and looks fun to explore.
Check out all the interior and exterior photos in the photoset on Flickr.
Here’s the official press release from LEGO:
10220 Volkswagen T1 Camper Van
Ages 16+. 1,322 pieces.
US$99.99$119.99 CA $129.99 DE 99.99 € UK 79.99 £ DK 799 DKKThis authentic camper van is a replica of the classic Volkswagen Camper Van from 1962. Every iconic feature is here! On the outside, the terrific detailing includes ‘V’ shape three-way color split at the front, rounded roof and window frames, opening ‘splittie’ safari windshield, opening doors, iconic pop-up roof with textile curtain surround, roof rack, rear side air intake vents and lots more! The detailing is equally impressive on the inside, from the authentic VW air-cooled flat four cylinder boxer engine, front cabin bench seat, gear stick, angled dashboard and iconic spherical speedometer, to custom LEGO® features like folding rear bench seat, folding dinette table, closet with mirror and even a painting!
- Features 11 windows, authentic plaid-print textile curtains and wing mirror!
- Rear door opens to reveal detailed engine!
- Interior also features rear bench seat that transforms into a bed, ‘Make LEGO Models, Not War’ T-shirt and rear shelf with plant!
- Measures 11.8″ (30cm) long and 5.5″ (14cm) high!