Monthly Archives: July 2013

These Despicable Me minions know how to have a good time

Everybody’s favorite super-villain returned to movie theaters this past weekend, assisted by an army of minions. Joachim Klang (-derjoe-) has created a series of photos featuring the adorable minions from Despicable Me 2. One of my favorite scenes from the first movie is when Dave the minion blows up several of his colleagues with a rocket launcher.

Here they are suggesting that you head back to theaters again later this year.

And finally, a little something for those of you who’ve seen the movie.

Though not as bitingly hilarious as the first movie, I thought Despicable Me 2 certainly lived up to its predecessor in sheer entertainment value — my wife and I laughed so hard several times tears were streaming down our faces.

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New and upcoming LEGO books for Jul-Oct 2013

It seems like there are new books about LEGO coming out constantly, both from famously “LEGO-friendly” publishing houses like No Starch Press and from many other publishers.

We haven’t been able to feature or review all of them, so here’s a quick roundup of the many LEGO books published so far in 2013, along with links to pre-order a number of future books.

The Big Unofficial Lego Builder’s Book: Build Your Own City by Joachim Klang and Oliver Albrecht
Brick City: Global Icons to Make from LEGO by Warren Elsmore
LEGO Minifigures: Character Encyclopedia from DK, with an exclusive toy soldier minifig
The BrickGun Book: Build the World’s Most Realistic LEGO Handguns by Jeff Boen
Brick by Brick: How LEGO Rewrote the Rules of Innovation and Conquered the Global Toy Industry by David Robertson with Bill Breen
Lego: Build Your Own Vehicles by Joachim Klang
The LEGO Build-It Book, Vol. 1: Amazing Vehicles by Nathanaël Kuipers and Mattia Zamboni, due out July 29
Beautiful LEGO by Mike Doyle, due out September 10
The LEGO Adventure Book, Vol. 2: Spaceships, Pirates, Dragons & More! by Megan Rothrock, due out September 22
The LEGO Build-It Book, Vol. 2: More Amazing Vehicles by Nathanaël Kuipers and Mattia Zamboni, due out September 22
LEGO Galaxy: Build Your Own Universe by Joe Klang, Oliver Albrecht, and Lutz Uhlmann, due out October 16
LEGO Space: Building the Future by Peter Reid and Tim Goddard, due out October 22

I’m particularly excited about LEGO Space by perennial TBB favorites Pete Reid and Tim Goddard. Though we don’t have too many details about what’s inside, the cover alone hints at Neo-Classic Space greatness.

Are you ready for some football?

Diamond Dave Shaddix hopes you are, and he’s ready to get you in the mood with this outstanding sculpture of an Arizona Cardinal’s helmet. Lucky Dave was commissioned by the NFL franchise to build both the helmet and a mosaic for the upcoming season. While it doesn’t quite match the cool-factor of Dave’s other high-vis commission from world-famous illusionist David Copperfield, it is impressive nonetheless.

Although the dome-protector won't save you from concussions, it is quite wearable. If you want to check out the helmet, sans Dave, it will be ensconced in the Arizona Cardinals HQ in Tempe.

It eats dead things.

It has been a breakout year for Forest King (KingBrick), with multiple appearances on TBB, convention success and too many great builds to shake a stick at. If you like The Vulture make sure you check out the other photos on Flickr to see the engines, landing gear and other fine details.

Legotherapy

New Zealand builder Millie McKenzie, aka Leda Kat would like to share a model with you that is near and dear to her. Dedicated to the nurses of the Chemotherapy Day Ward in Christchurch Oncology Department, Millie manages to make a very serious subject both light-hearted and positive. Hopefully if any of you out there are going through the challenging and daunting treatment, this model will bring a smile to your face.

Run to the hills!

Run for your lives!….lisqr has sent an “alien crawler” war machine to destroy your favorite planet. When I first saw the model I thought it was from our own beloved Brother-Zhang, but the lack of pseudo-poetic gobbledegook gave it away.

This diorama is so metal!

The Night Market Below

I have a certain fondness for Neil Gaiman, and quite enjoyed Neverwhere. It’s not particularly popular, though, for LEGO creations. Understandably so. I was surprised and excited to spot this lovely scene by Ru Corder, which could be torn straight from the pages:

Now granted it’s more of an inspired creation (with a tad-bit of Harry Potter thrown in). There are additional pictures over on MOCpages for you to get more acquainted with the inhabitants of this underground market.

The Windmill

Organic shapes can be awfully tricky with LEGO, and part of that challenge I think is what makes some of the pieces of landscaping and life we see that so very impressive.

Eduardo Gavilán (aToMiKWiWa) does a lovely job with the rock formations that create the foundation for his windmill, and shows how the builders used the formations to their benefit instead of sculpting to what they needed.

Spydor vs. Windraider

Alex Jones (Orion Pax) proves that Prince Adam isn’t the only one with “fabulous secret powers” with his latest nostalgic 1980’s project, The Masters of the Universe. The latest installment in the series focuses on two vehicles the evil Spydor and the heroic Windraider. Alex brings his usual arsenal of weapons to the build including a wicked eye for detail and a willingness to go beyond the purist mindset. For more information on the Masters of the Universe project, head over to Mr. Jones’ website Orion Pax Designs for more He-Manliness.

I’m not sure why, but every time I see a reference to He-Man, I’m reminded of the Village People. You can’t stop the music.

Shunter

Once again I venture into dangerous territory staked out by Brother-Brick Tim to bring you some much needed Train-related action. pinioncorp claims this is an old model, but we won’t hold that against him, especially since he found a way to fit Power Functions inside such a small shunter. The diorama isn’t half-bad either, with just enough snowy detail to make it interesting.

See you next weekend, constant reader, unless of course Tim has other plans…

“Why don’t people like me? Is it because I’m a magic user? Or is my beard too shaggy?”

Bricknave makes his first appearance on the Über-blog with his rendition of The Ice King from Adventure Time. The builder nails every detail with the possible exception of the Ice King’s strange fascination with polygamy, which would admittedly be difficult to accomplish without building a harem to go with him.

What time is it?

Warrior of the tundra

Nick V. puts useless parts to good use in this creative build of an ice warrior. It features parts that most of us wouldn’t dare to touch such as Galidor, the knights action figure helmets, and even a basketball hoop.