Monthly Archives: September 2013

At the end of days, only this will remain

This Bionicle bug by Monsterbrick is as terrifying picture of what will haunt the ruins of humanity after the apocalypse. This build is a perfect example of how much can be accomplished with just a few pieces–I doubt there are more than 35 pieces in this model, yet it’s strikingly well crafted.

Quick! Step on that!

Classic Dutch DAF

Hot on the heels of fellow Dutch truck builder Dennis Glaasker, Nanko Klein Paste (nkle) has also built a new truck. Unlike Dennis’ trucks, it’s not all shiny and full of chrome, however. It’s a much more utilitarian-looking Dutch DAF 2300 truck from the early eighties.

DAF FT 2300 ti-02a by nkle on flickr

There is much to like though, such as the construction of the radiator with a small edge around it, the SNOT construction on the side of the cab and front bumper and the detailed chassis, engine bay and working tilt cab. Growing up, I used to regularly see trucks like this and I absolutely love it.

Lego Star Wars 75017: Duel on Geonosis [Review]

75017 Duel on Geonosis is one of the sets from the summer wave of Lego Star Wars. The set contains 390 pieces and retails for $39.99, which you can buy from Amazon.

Here is my summary of the highlights of the set, which are elaborated in the review video below.


Pros:

  • Includes unique minifigs such as a new Yoda, Count Dooku, and Poggle the Lesser
  • Hard to find parts include dark brown cheese slopes and brown 2×2 round bricks with grille
  • Decent play features


Cons:

  • Limited display value

This is a well rounded set that has good parts, minifigs, play features, and an acceptable price per part ratio. It probably won’t look good sitting on a shelf and is more meant to be played with or parted into your collection. Luckily Amazon has a small discount on the set at the moment.

“The albatross begins with its vengeance”

Come fly with me, constant reader, before the weekend draws to a close and the Monday factory whistle blows. Our conveyance is provided by the always impressive David Roberts and his “Albatross“, while the soundtrack is provided by Iron Maiden, who I had the great fortune to see recently on tour here in Vegas. Rock on David, way to bring the clean lines, bold colors and snappy presentation. I’ll see the rest of you next Friday at the fights.

T.T.A. Albatross

Quirks of trainy history

And to keep up the train theme, Mike Pianta (scruffulous) has gone to rather smaller extremes in his teeny rail motor car. As is pretty clear from Mike’s LEGO Model, rail motors were a sort of car or small bus that ran on the tracks. They were used to service less popular lines in various countries before cars and buses took over. This one was built for a challenge over at LEGO Train MOCs.

AEC Rail Motor Car

A train trip to the country

The background might not be LEGO, but I can assure you that the Class 116 DMU (that’s a diesel powered inter-connected train for those who don’t speak train nerd) certainly is*. And as if good looks weren’t enough, Carl Greatrix (bricktrix) has given this commuter train full digitally controlled lighting, sounds and motor control with help from “Richard and Mike”.

LEGO Class 116 DMU DCC at PW's

* Admittedly a few pieces may have been bent, cut, and otherwise modified.

Life-sized Lego Dalek is set to exterminate

This life-sized Lego Dalek by Elephant-Knight is built in the Blacktron 2 color scheme. This ambitious project began at the start of the year and is ready for BrickCon in October. Just be careful not to get too close or you could end up on the floor like the builder’s unfortunate brother.

Blacktron Dalek

The Four Faces of Jose Carlos Fernandez

We complete today’s Orange Trilogy with this many-scaled celebration of the self by the builder mentioned in the title, Madrid’s own Jose Carlos Fernandez (Lego-Man-at-arms). One thing is for certain; to deny the power of the maxi-figs beard would be perilous.

Maxi_me2

Jose also likes to draw a comic from time to time and I found this one to be all too familiar.

CartoonManatarms5

I’m gonna cut you good!

Joe Perez (MortalSwordsman) returns by popular demand with this manga inspired Angel Dragon. The builder calls it an “action figure“, and with a pose like this, who am I to debate such wisdom.

Description

“It’s the Orange Blossom Special Bringin’ my baby back”

We can’t let a weekend slip by without something for our valued Train-heads, the progenitors of our shared hobby. To that end, Poland’s Maciej Drwięga would like to share his latest effort with you the very orange “PKP WM15A heavy rail truck“, a staple of the Polish rail system. Not only is the design pleasing to the eye, it has some nice play features as well like moving crane and a tilting bed. The builder credits Mrzumbi’s 2006 version for inspiring this build.

PKP WM15A

PKP WM15A

“We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical.”

Frequent contributor Chris McVeigh (powerpig) stops by the TBB watchtower with his latest nostalgic model entitled “57 Channels and Nothing On“. I’m sure Springsteen would dig this model, as he no doubt had a similar set growing up in Jersey. The wallpaper is a nice touch, but as a few of the commentators on Flickr pointed out, the table should have been made out of Lego. The builder had some decidedly convenient artistic rhetoric about not wanting to keep the focus on the T.V. but many of us are just not buying it. Come on Chris, nit-picky AFOLs are watching, step up your game before it’s too late. When writing this entry I came across an old posting from 2008 that some of you may find interesting.

57 Channels and Nothing On

“We now return control of your television set to you.”

“We’re not going to Moscow. It’s Czechoslovakia. It’s like going into Wisconsin.”

Matt Bace (mmbace) takes us back to 1981’s “Stripes” and one of most bad-ass RV’s in cinematic history, the EM-50 Urban Assault Vehicle. “That’s a fact, Jack.”

EM-50