Monthly Archives: June 2013

Unleash the Fuerza

I can’t remember the last time I blogged a Bionicle figure, but this one by Lord Oblivion stood out to me for two reasons. The head design is an ingenious combination of two halves of the spiked ball piece, complemented by a set of smoothly flowing body armor.

Fuerza

50 Shades of Bley: Iain Heath’s Mad LEGO Science

Resident mad genius and meme chaser Iain Heath has just put out a crazy video explaining how to dye your bricks. All you purists out there can put your pitchforks down and simply skip over this one, but for everyone else, it’s some pretty cool stuff whether you’re into LEGO mutilation or not. In this video Iain explains how he achieved the flesh tones used in his large-scale Gollum character. And for those of you who haven’t seen it, Iain’s previous video describing his design process for the accompanying Bilbo is also well worth a watch.

When I retire, I’d like to live in Everard Lodge

Mark of Falworth is currently one of the most prolific castle builders in the Lego community, known for his detailed landscapes as evident in this collaboration with his brother (Brother Steven). Their use of the colorful leaves from altBricks really brings out the autumn beauty of this diorama.

Everard Lodge Revisited

Alien dropship with hovertank

Raoul Baldwin built this alien dropship using train tracks as the backbone. It carries a tank attached via magnets. Perhaps more interesting are the decorated the bricks by watercolor crayons for an added texture.

Terra1

Bad Hare Day

Galaktek makes great use of the part-separator in his recent model Bad Hare Day. According to the builder, “The Heartlake pets aren’t sure what this “war” thing is (can you eat it?), but they’re eager to help. Betsy Bunny has joined the Heartlake Air Force as an auxiliary in her Recon Skimmer, leaping past enemy lines to gather intelligence. Because of the open cockpit, Betsy has named her craft the Bad Hare Day. I can’t make this stuff up.

Bunny's Recon Skimmer (aka Bad Hare Day)

The time went too quickly, constant reader, and we find ourselves at the end of another weekend. Thanks for your continued support of Friday Night Fights and all the models posted over the last 72 hours, your comments make a difference, not only to the fighters but to all the builders whose work is featured on the Brother-Ship. See you next weekend.

Anaconda Stealth VTOL

Like many of you, I have a weakness for all things VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing): jet-packs, fighters, helicopters or spaceships etc. Pascal (pasukaru76) feeds my need for vertical speed with his latest microscale wonder the Anaconda Stealth VTOL. I didn’t know rotary engines were capable of stealthy locomotion, but maybe it has “whisper mode” technology like the chopper in T.V.’s Airwolf.

Anaconda Stealth VTOL

Ralph, if you’re reading this buddy, you really need to take a crack at Airwolf. Strinfellow Hawke demands it!

Pastrami Sandwich Man is always relevant.

So says the architect of Pastrami Sandwich Man, a younger builder who has become a TBB fixture, Lego Junkie. Maybe it is the hour here in Vegas (1:30am) or mellow state I find myself in, but I very much want to consume Mr. Pastrami Sandwich Man. I don’t have the necessary ingredients in my refrigerator o the ability to sally forth to acquire them. Curse you Junkie and your delicious creation that taunts me from afar.

Pastrami Sandwich Man!

Sail Across the Desert

Our hopscotching around the planet for New Guy Saturday draws to a close with one final stop in beautiful Lagoa Santa, Brasil. Felipe Avelar (Felipe Descomplicado) makes in inaugural appearance on TBB with a fantastical conveyance he calls a Flying Sailskiff. File this model somewhere between Jabba’s sail-barge and a flying bathtub, but is pleasantly free of any conventional notions of Steampunk. I really like the spotter minifig with the walkie-talkie way up on the bow, and the nice glow of the lighting through the plate sails.

Flying Sailskiff

I hope you have enjoyed today’s exploration into new talent, we now return you to your regularly scheduled slate of veteran builders and associated boilerplate.

Learning to fly in WW2

The latest diorama by Gary the Procrastinator shows a not unusual day in 1943 at Randolph Field. Back in 1943, the US Military had a need for large numbers of new pilots to fight in World War II. Their standard training aircraft was the Boeing Stearman 75 Kaydet, often known simply as the Stearman. Like many aircraft of its era it was a so-called tail dragger, with an undercarriage that consisted of two main wheels and a tail wheel. Taking off and landing in such an aircraft could be tricky, in particular in crosswinds. In the diorama, one trainee pilot gets it right. The other, however, has veered off the runway, the main wheels have dug into the grass and the aircraft has nosed over.

Stearman PT-17 Kaydet Diorama, Overview

The aircraft models are beautifully built in the colours typical for these trainers and, while the landscaping is a little more straightforward than on Gary’s march to Gettysburg diorama, the tyre marks on the runway and through the grass are a nice touch.

Tweezer

Don’t even think about leaving Poland yet constant reader, your papers are not in order! Rookie Piotr H. (MeGustaKapusta) hails from Stargard SzczeciƄski, where he dreams…among other things…about lanky medical robots called “Tweezers loping through weedy fields. The model is inspired by artist Keith Thompson’s S19 SYRINGE SAINT if you’re interested in such things. I don’t think this is the last we’ll be seeing of Mr. Piotr H.

T52 Tweezer

USS Queen of the West

New Guy (or gal) Saturday rolls down the mighty Mississippi river with JBIronWorks, who provides today’s exploration into American military history with his interpretation of a Civil War era warship. According to the builder:

The Queen of the West was a side wheel steamboat launched in 1854 for service on the Mississippi river and its offshoots. In 1861, she was bought by Colonel Charles Ellet Jr., along with eight other vessels, and was converted into a fleet of rams, ordered by the War Department. Sent into service in early 1862, they served in many engagements, including The Battle of Memphis, where Ellet was mortally wounded aboard the Queen, his flagship.

USS Queen Of The West broadside view.

Designed for Speed

Does it feel like the first time yet, constant reader? Please join me in welcoming another newcomer Josh Derksen (armoredgear7) to the big build party, he seems like a decent fellow and he brought his own bottle. Josh also brought this slick model for your careful inspection, a spacecraft he describes as a “two-man scout ship designed for speed“. Space must be so terribly lonely; it’s good to bring a friend with you.

Scout - Canopy Open