I don’t think I’d want to be on the wrong side of this one. It’s not often that I see a helicopter design that looks original, but this one by flickr user piratesxlovexrum is awesome. It’s aggressive and bold, and looks vaguely Soviet-inspired. And I have to point out that great bit of photography.
This mind-blowing working compound crossbow is completely LEGO, and made by builders extraordinaire Sean and Steph Mayo (Siercon and Coral). Be sure to check out the video of it in action! Not only does it shoot, even the cables are made from LEGO train electronics wires.
The Brothers Brick snagged a quick interview with Sean and Steph about this awesome creation:
The Brothers Brick: Where did you get your inspiration?
Sean and Steph: We wanted to use LEGO to shoot a projectile, building something other than a catapult or a trebuchet. We’ve seen lots of epic brick built guns online, and thought it would be tons of fun to create a custom Lego compound bow. This quickly evolved into crossbow for extra stability, as the bow is under tons of tension.
TBB: How long did this build take?
S&S: We probably spent a week playing around with the different mechanics. We had a lot to figure out about the flexibility of LEGO pieces under stress, how much the train cables could take, and which pieces would be useful for the cams. Once that was sorted the actual construction in a couple days.
TBB: Why a compound Crossbow, wouldn’t it have been enough to just create a bow?
S&S: A regular bow honestly would probably have been more effective as a lot of the natural flexibility of the LEGO pieces makes them more conducive to a recurve bow rather than a compound bow. But for ages we’ve been fascinated by the cams, idler wheels, and the mechanics of a compound bow, so we wanted to give it a try!
TBB: How many pieces did you use?
S&S: We usually don’t count the pieces we used, and have no clue how some builders do it, but we estimate around 1700 pieces.
TBB: How far can it shoot/how much would it hurt?
S&S: Disregarding the outliers, it can shoot around 40 feet. As a bow without the compound element it could shoot farther, but we couldn’t resist trying to build the cams. As far as how much damage it can deliver, we’re not entirely sure. We have yet to shoot anyone with it, and it is tipped with a flexible rubber lego (both for the competition this was built for and to minimize any accidental injury). It can likely stick into drywall with a sharp enough tip, but not much else.
TBB: What is it designed from? Is this from a video game or something similar?
S&S: This is an original design, but influenced by the Spartan Laser aesthetic from the Halo series. We also wanted to use the green spikes as viper fangs, so we tried to stick with venomous snake inspired highlights. We picture this to be something a Green Arrow vigilante might carry around.
Be sure to check out some of Sean and Steph’s previous insanely awesome creations, like the giant sushi roll and Cortana hologram.
Mark and Steven Erickson have done it again. This castle is gorgeous…truly a piece of art. I love how each feature is seamlessly integrated in the an outstanding whole. Rockwork, mottled walls, foliage and figs are all crafted into a spectacular sum that is greater than its parts.
If I were to describe the work of Jonas (LEGOLIZE IT MAN) I think the most appropriate word would be ‘stylish’. It is relatively easy to make a LEGO spaceship and take a picture of it. It is another thing altogether to make it look legitimately cool. Perhaps I am biased, but I would tend to think that your average person seeing this (whether being a LEGO fan or not) would say, “Well that looks rad!”
If Jonas were to publish a coffee table book full of prints of his work, I would buy it immediately. I would read it…and then I would be inspired to build cool LEGO sci-fi things.
I like it when people’s builds make me want a coffee table book full of them.
This sweet mobile fighting platform by Garry features the same cockpit and hull, and then adds legs, rotors, and whatnot onto it to turn it into different weaponized vehicles, all of which look totally BA.
Apparently, there’s more than one contest involving the new small VW camper set going on right now. In addition to the Star Wars Contest mentioned by Tromas, it seems that Eurobricks is hosting a contest, too.
I was tipped off when I spotted this cool moon camper by Tyler Sky (Bricksky). The idea of a moon buggy hauling around little habitats really struck my fancy, and I had to post it here.
Harley Davidson is still going strong, but in the sixties competition by Japanese motorcycle manufacturers almost drove them out of business. Japanese bikes, such as this Kawasaki Vulcan modeled by LegoMarat, don’t have the same ‘swag’ as hogs, but there’s something to be said for a bike that works every time you start it and that doesn’t make your teeth rattle when idling (or so I’ve been told). Irrespective of whether you like Japanese bikes or not, this one does make for a very nice model.
When I first saw it, I wasn’t quite sure I was looking at LEGO. Part of that is due to the windscreen, which indeed isn’t LEGO, but it’s also because of the nice amount of chrome, clever combination of parts for the headlight and just the right level of detail.
Carl Merriam‘s Lego microscope uses four Lego magnifying glasses to make it actually work! Check out the view from through the microscope.
Angus MacLane had me chuckling when I saw his entry for the ongoing Star Warsify The Mini Camper-Van Contest on FBTB. Not only is the build masterfully created, but to travel the 61.35 parsecs to take the picture on Tatooine…now that shows some dedication!
Japanese builder Moko brings us this awesome model of Gipsy Danger, the humongous alien-fighting war machine in Pacific Rim, Guillermo Del Toro’s high-budget homage to mecha.
Lego Minecraft The Nether is among the two new Lego Minecraft sets released in September. The set contains 466 pieces and retails for $34.99, 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:
Cons:
This set is not as great as The Village. It has fewer features and modular components. I feel like this is the weakest of the 3 Minecraft sets. It’s a different story if you like dark red of the setting of The Nether. As with Minecraft sets stock can be unpredictable, so now is as good as any time to get it. It does not appear that Lego stores has them for sale.
Lego Minecraft The Village is among the two new Lego Minecraft sets released in September. The set contains 469 pieces and retails for $34.99, 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:
Cons:
I recommend this set to both builders and Minecraft fans. It is an improvement over the first Lego Minecraft set with the addition of the removable walls. The currently exclusive dark green and dark tan tiles is a huge bonus for builders, and the extra printed parts for the micro mob characters means you’ll easily be able to make 2 of each with a few parts from your own collection. Don’t hesitate to pick up this set as stock can be unpredictable. It does not appear that Lego stores has them for sale either.