Monthly Archives: May 2013

Bike Monster

I knew it was only a matter of time until I was able to give an official shout-out to the “raisin capital of the world“. Fresno California’s Carl Merriam (Carlmerriam) recently designed a LEGO model to be used as a prize for the city’s I Bike Fresno Million Mile Challenge. While Fresno may not have the flashy lifestyle options or ocean access of its neighbors to the north or south in California, as a former resident I can tell you it has a thriving underground LEGO fan culture that is not to be trifled with. It is good to know that Carl is keeping the scene alive since my departure.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Kicking xenomorphs out of airlocks with Kooberz Studios

Alex Kobbs (Kooberz Studios) is kicking off a new series of “BrickTube” videos featuring his signature combination of scenes inspired by movies and video games recreated with LEGO stop-motion animation. His launch video shows a scene from the new Aliens-inspired video game “Colonial Marines.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7g6pIW8E18

Via Kotaku.

“My fist your face, that’s for sure”

Resident of Nazareth, Belgium, Jeffrey Mille (BeLgIuM ww2 bUiLdeR) just posted a very slick example of mobile artillery, the H.A.M.L. (Heavy Armored Missile Launcher). Although the builder has the model tagged “WW2” on Flickr, I was unable to find any reference to such a vehicle. I think things might have gone differently on May 10, 1940 if Belgium was in possession of such a device. The teddy bear is a nice touch of whimsy and reminds me of the umbrella Andrew Somers included on his recent tank.

Eclipse and Omega

Its time for a Friday night Sci-Fi double feature courtesy of Björn (kaydee1982) of Bremen, Germany. The models are reminiscent of any number of 1980’s films, cartoons and toys, without being too specific to any one reference, and also harkens back to the halcyon days of the .Space crowd on LUGNET.

We begin with the “Omega“, which some reviewers on Flickr have likened to the Normandy from the Mass Effect video game series. I did enjoy the builder’s inclusion of his homeland’s flag on the side of the ship.

And finally, Björn has also created a suitable context for the “Eclipse” with the “Omega” space-dock. Not many builders bother to give their models a background beyond a piece of white paper or digital star-field, and the extra effort is appreciated by this Brother Brick.

3 Cheers for the Birthday Boy

Hong Kong’s Andy Hung (andybear) has created a striking mosaic to honor the birthday of the Buddha (Prince Siddhartha Gautama) on today this seventeenth of May, a national holiday in many parts of the world.

I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes from the birthday boy. “Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.”

Friday Night Fights (Round 5)

Welcome back fight fans, to Sin City Nevada for another knockout edition of Friday Night Fights! Tonight’s bout is a stylistic Sci-Fi matchup of Steampunk vs. Homeworld. Let’s go to the tale of the tape:

Fighting out of the red corner…from the land where it is always 4:20…LEGOLIZE IT MAN and his “Battle Transport“.

And fighting out of the blue corner…from the City of Roses…galaktek and his “Löffelschmitt Pegasus Mk III“.

As usual, constant reader, you are tasked with deciding the outcome of this pugilistic endeavor by way of comment. On the last edition of Friday Night Fights, newcomer Nooreuyed showed no mercy against his hapless opponent to the tune of a 4-0 beat down.

Ready to Race with this LEGO R/C Car

Spanish LEGO fan Fernando (Sheepo) shows his crazy engineering skills with this beautiful recreation of a Caterham 7, a small British sports car. Technic builders never cease to amaze me with the amount of functionality they can build entirely with brick and still pack into a small frame, and this model is at the top of the game. It’s got all the LEGO R/C car bells and whistles, including disk brakes, a full transmission, and complete suspension.

LEGO GAGA: The Built This Way Ball.

Paul Hetherington (Brickbaron) must be a little monster because he recently spent quite a bit of time and effort on recreating Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” concert tour from 2012. If you consult the full set, you can find the major highlights and set-changes from the entire big-budget extravaganza. This particular part of the performance is entitled “Highway Unicorn”.

Not content to merely build a copy of the stage, Paul went the extra mile and made a video for the song “Just Dance” using LEGO Power Functions motors to control the animation of portions of the set and Gaga’s backup dancers. For you stat-freaks out there, over 700 minifigures were used to create the audience.

The UAU6 “Winter Moon” Shines Brightly

Brian Kescenovitz‘s (mondayn00dle) Tachikoma style tank was inspired by Deviantart user flyingdebris’ concept art. It is beautifully done and elegant in its execution. It almost appears to be a Mondrian inspired work of art. Notable design elements are the deft use of sticker remnants, the smooth clean lines, and the use of the chainsaw elements to create a one plate stud reversal in the turret. The offset mounting of the white half-domes of the legs/ wheels is also an impressive bit of design work. This “tank” is so esthetically pleasing and friendly looking, I think it would actually make any town it invaded that much more pleasant for it.

A robot from the future that never was

There’s something sad about retro-futurism — the perception of people in the past about what the present or future would look like (think “The Jetsons”). Despite all our hand computers and robots on Mars, we still don’t have practical flying cars or robot butlers.

So it is with a twinge of regret for a future that never came to pass that I share this excellent vintage robot by Jeffrey Heuer (Norweasel). The legs are fully articulated, and he looks like he’s wearing a monocle.

Thanks for the tip, Volume X.

PINK!

Well I guess technically fuchsia. Regardless, this R-Type by F@bz is downright wonderful and very unique representation of the source. The exposed mechanical components coupled with the brilliant colouring make this incredibly fun to look at. It also helps that I find it reminiscent of one of my favourite LEGO starfighters of all time, Max Braun’s Nayvyr PSX-6.2.

Here is the full photoset.

Fatality!

The Iron Builder contest between Chris Maddison (cmaddison) and Bruce Lowell (brucey_wan) is producing some absolute LEGO gems. Chris’ depiction of Sub Zero‘s fatality is particularly timely for Australia, where Mortal Kombat 9 is finally available after a change to the censorship laws.