Starship Troopers seems to be a movie that divides people (I like it*), but hopefully negative opinions about the film won’t detract from Tim Goddard’s (Rogue Bantha) excellent LEGO rendition of the “bugs”. And if you really hate the movie, take heart from Ian Heath’s “Woah, did Blacktron just take it up a notch?!”.
* And yes, I do know it was a book first.
I can’t leave you with a bunch of half-naked dudes as TBB’s sole attempt at a Father’s day post. With that in mind, enjoy this heartwarming photo of Canada’s Adam Dodge (age 5) and the coolest kind of dad that can rock a red sweater with a turtleneck, while teaching his boy the finer points of sorting.
Thumbs up to all the dads out there, see you next weekend.
I searched the darkest corners of the internet for LEGO related material to cobble together a decent Father’s Day post, to no avail. Luke and Vader riding a rollercoaster together just doesn’t do it for me and my own little builder wouldn’t sit still long enough to photograph our first collaboration; a 12 inch tall model of Aku (the shogun of sorrow). So instead, enjoy a bunch of half-naked dudes, courtesy of Moko
Happy Father’s Day.
Here is a vehicle that is sure to please both the hot-weather crowd and studs-out advocates like TBB’s own Wreck-it-Ralph. The builder is Joe Perez, better known as MortalSwordsman, and the car is part of his ongoing Alan Mann Racing Team project. The excellent roll-cage is just one of many details which include the kind of boilerplate car functionality you’ve come to expect and enjoy. If you’re interested in a more detailed inspection and you can put up with the frequent service outages, head over to MOCpages to get your fill.
Sometimes the right photo can make all the difference. This photo was posted by Bio Master last week and I decided not to blog the creation because the builder referred to it as a “preview”. Although the finalized photos of this vision in gold were posted during the week, I don’t think any of them can match the power of the original teaser shot.
TBB seems to be at odds with the Bionicle building community of late, and from my limited perspective they seem very difficult to please. Bionicle builders get upset when you don’t blog Bionicle…they get upset when you blog the wrong Bionicle…they get upset if you use the wrong title…it’s all terribly exhausting. My personal message to the Bionicle community is this: “Lighten up, Francis“.
Nick Trotta (tardisblue)makes his second appearance of 2013 on the Brother-Ship with a chunk-tacular spaceship called Zornhau. According to the builder, “Zornhau”, or the “wrathful strike”, is one of five medieval fencing master-cuts. Who knew?
Nick also posted a companion video that highlights his design process, and the nifty trick he uses to space the 1×2 tiles on the engine intakes.
Ever wonder what the Master Model Builders at LEGOLAND Carlsbad like to do on their California State-mandated, twice daily, ten minute breaks? Well according to my source, (a mole positioned deep within the Carlsbad California model-shop known as “The Encroacher”) many of the Master Builders use the free time to build. Who can blame them? With one of the world’s greatest parts-palette to work with, the temptation to put it to imaginative use must be overwhelming.
In my monthly meeting with “The Encroacher” he pointed me towards a posting from fellow shop worker Joel Baker. The model in question is a Miniland-scale interpretation of everyone’s favorite chair o’ doom, the Iron Throne from George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones. The model itself was actually constructed by a third Master Model Builder, Megan Correnti…yes this story is like a sweet onion, constant reader; layers upon layers.
Stay tuned for more tales from…”The Encroacher”…
(edit) I just saw that the model was also featured on BrickNerd. Tommy Williamson does a great job on the blog, and it wasn’t my intent to poach his post.
Facebook tipster Curtis D Collins is pretty sure that Shinjen the Samurai is fit for your discerning consumption. Curtis, if you’re wrong about this one buddy, that’s it for you. You’ll never get so much as a toe in the revolving door of TBB Headquarters. Your name will be no good in this town. The constant readers of this site will decide your fate as a tipster for TBB in the comments. Even their silence can be deadly.
I happen to love this model by Vlad Lisen (Rhymes_Shelter), and I think the readers will too. That face! You’re probably safe this time Collins…but watch your step my friend, especially around Tripod and Gould, those two are spoiling for a fight.
So said Malachi Constant in Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s “Sirens of Titan“. Malachi would no doubt have been a fan of Alex Jones’s (Orion Pax) latest creation the Seagrave Fire Engine. The model features a number of custom chrome elements, but if you stripped it all away or replaced it with a more purist solution, the model would be no less stunning.
And since it is just after 4:20 here in Vegas, I figured I’d throw in some extra Paxian eye-candy for the stoners out there. Enjoy “Emerald Ivy”
Whoah…dude…don’t bogart the spliff.
Perhaps the return of Arrested Development put the idea of a tiny teddy in Karf Oohlu‘s (Reformed Cthulhu) head. Perhaps it’s just a coincidence. Regardless, the teddy bears in space helmets are adorable and funny, and the “Tiny Teddy” name is associated with hilarity in my mind.
Remember the Peterbilt big rig built by Jörg (lichtblau)? Perhaps not, but several months ago he built a new version. It is slightly smaller, such that the overall proportions are a better match for how tall minifigures are.
It is a beautifully proportioned model, full of clever details. Take a look at how the roof plates on top of the sleeper cab match up with the curved bricks underneath, for instance. I loved it when I first saw it and I was not alone, because this beauty inspired billyburg to build a beastly Monster Truck version.
He notes that he contacted Jörg before building it. He received nothing but encouragement and mentions that this is what’s great about the Lego community. I couldn’t agree more, especially with a result like this.
Stephen Pakbaz‘s MSL Curiosity Rover project on LEGO CUUSOO hit 10,000 supporters 10 months ago, but today LEGO is announcing that Curiosity will become the next new LEGO set through the CUUSOO program.
(This is Stephen’s project photo. I expect the final product may be slightly different. We’ll share the official product photos when we get them.)
Here’s the official announcement:
Results of the Fall 2012 LEGO® Review
We’re excited to share the results of the Fall LEGO® Review. In September, three LEGO CUUSOO projects entered the second quarterly review period for projects that successfully reach 10,000 supporters. These three projects — the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover, UCS Sandcrawler™, and Thinking with Portals!™ — have been being considered for production by the LEGO Review Board.
21104 Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover – pending final name confirmation
It is with great pleasure we reveal that the next LEGO CUUSOO set will be the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover, based upon the LEGO CUUSOO project by Perijove.
This project rose to popularity in late summer 2012, when the real Mars Curiosity Rover approached and landed on the planet Mars in its historic mission. The model designer, LEGO CUUSOO user Perijove is a Mechanical Engineer who worked on the actual Curiosity rover at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Perijove writes that he built and submitted the rover to further the educational outreach of the Mars Curiosity rover’s incredible mission, and to encourage greater public support for space exploration.
The final product is still in development. Exact pricing and availability is still being determined, so stay tuned for an update on when you can buy your own Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover in the coming months.
Tim Courtney shares the news in this video:
Personally, I couldn’t be more excited. This is easily my favorite LEGO CUUSOO project from the past 18 months, and is one of the best projects that reflects the spirit of CUUSOO. I know many of you out there will be disappointed that the Star Wars and Portal projects weren’t approved, but I hope you can join me in giving Stephen Pakbaz some well-deserved congratulations!
Update: Caylin and Chris are there at BrickWorld, and Caylin got this shot of the model they used to make the announcement there in Chicago:
It looks essentially identical to the one Stephen used for the project itself, so that’s a good sign, though I also expect that it’s still going through the redesign project with LEGO.