Yearly Archives: 2013

“Isolation is not good for me.”

We might as well build a casita out on the TBB back-40 and install Fedde (Karf Oolhu) as one of the blog’s Artists in Residence. By my count, and admittedly math was never my strong suit, the self-styled “Reformed Cthulhu” has appeared 20 times on TBB as of this posting. The model is typical Karfian boilerplate that elicited many cries of NPU!” on Flickr. There are currently 2,966 in his stream (the vast majority are LEGO realated), and 1,803 models have been placed int the LEGO Group on Flickr. While I realize that more doesn’t necessarily mean better, I can think of few builders who are as prolific and talented as Karf.

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Helios Invictus

I guess I’m a sucker for models featuring a yellow background this weekend; maybe I’m feeling nostalgic for my old apartment. At any rate, you are invited by LowestFormOfWit to gaze in astonishment at his latest creation, “Highlord Tyrestian’s XH9 Helios Invictus“. Highlord…

It’s Tractor Time

16 year old Polish wunderkind Damian Z. (Thietmaier) swears he’s done with tractors this time. If that is true, then I think we should take time to savor the builder’s final effort, “KD35.013“. At the time of this posting I was not able to determine whether or not Damian has been recruited into the shadowy and powerful group known as LUGPol. If he is not, it is surely only a matter of time.

But why stop with just one tractor? I wouldn’t want TBB to be accused of having an anti-tractor bias, so let’s get in the way-back machine and set the dial to 2010 for this gem entitled “Ursus C-360“.

And finally I’m going to slip in this excellent Road-grader from KryptonHeidt at no additional charge. I don’t think Damian will mind sharing the white-hot spotlight of TBB.

Hatsune Miku says hi!!

Mike Dung (MikeVd) would like to present his latest model, a likeness of Hatsune Miku, a singing Japanese simulacrum whose name translates to “The first Sound from the Future”.

I came across this video while looking for information on this…”collaboratively constructed cyber celebrity” who has apparently been featured on over 100,000 songs!? Color me perplexed.

Gorgy Wants a Horse

ReBrick recently crowned a winner in their LEGO Movie Competition. The video is entitled “Gorgy Wants a Horse” and the responsible party is Brotherhood Workshop. The technical execution seems flawless to my uneducated eyes and the story had me grinning.

Now try not to be “jelly”, constant reader, when you check out the prize package.

One (1) grand winner will receive a prize of:
•The chance to be featured during a scene in THE LEGO MOVIE.
•A trip to WB Studios with Deluxe VIP Tour for 2 with a 2-night hotel stay in beautiful Los Angeles, airfare included.
•A trip to meet the directors of the movie to take part in a LEGO Build with 2-night hotel stay in beautiful Los Angeles, airfare included.
•A customized engraved LEGO ticket to THE LEGO MOVIE designed and built by the official LEGO model shop.
•The full product range of the set from the movie when available, signed by designers.

I had never heard of The LEGO Movie until now, and with a snyopsis like: “An ordinary Lego mini-figure, mistakenly thought to be the extraordinary MasterBuilder, is recruited to join a quest to stop an evil Lego tyrant from gluing the universe together.” I know I will be shelling out my 15 bucks at the local megaplex.

Friday Night Fights (Round 6)

Welcome back fight fans, to Sin City Nevada for another bludgeoning edition of Friday Night Fights! Tonight’s bout features two hard-bitten fighters from the ancient Bionicle school of building. Let’s go to the tale of the tape:

Fighting out of the red corner…the Finnish Firebrand…Pate-keetongu and his “Bladis-Now with sunglasses”.

And fighting out of the blue corner…from the bad streets of the Cybertron…Clark (Banjax) and his “DSCF3960”.

As usual, constant reader, you are tasked with deciding the outcome of this pugilistic endeavor by way of comment. On the last edition of Friday Night Fights, galaktek gave his hapless opponent a beating he won’t soon forget to the tune of a 7-3 victory. With 10 vote total, last week’s bout was the most successful of the series: cheers to both Galaktek and LEGOLIZE IT MAN. I don’t usually mention the loser in the wrap-up, but it was a good fight.

King Candy Cy-Bug

Bruce Lowell brings the fun with his most recent build…the King Candy Cy-Bug from Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph. Again Bruce shows that he is a master at creating builds with a tonne of character. But where is Ralph when ya need him?

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Brick Fiesta registration deadline is May 31

If you’re planning on attending Brick Fiesta in Dallas but have not yet registered, you have until the end of May to do so and get your engraved badge. Visit Brick Fiesta’s website for registration details.

Atlas & P-Body by eldeeem

Despite heroic contributions from Xbox friends like Tyler, I never quite managed to get all the way through co-op mode in Portal 2. Still, it was really really fun, and I always enjoy seeing LEGO renditions of the paired test subjects Atlas and P-Body. This version by Ryan H. (eldeeem) is at a larger scale that enables him to add plenty of detail and color contrast. I’m rarely a fan of rubber bands as critical structural elements in LEGO models (yes, even in official sets), but by adding them around other bricks, Ryan has softened the corners of several blocky areas rather nicely.

Build your own Lego Angry Birds characters [Instructions]

Max Yang (artifexcreation) created instructional videos with step by step photos on how to build your own Lego Angry Birds characters. The Red Bird is shown below. Check out the other videos and keep an eye out on his YouTube playlist for more to come.

Angels on a pin

I suspect that Pascal (pasukaru76) has more of these delightful fellows coming, but for now we can make do with no-name and Raziel. His first two little LEGO neo-angels (presumably based on Evangelion) are just so cute.

Life-size LEGO Star Wars X-wing – official details

We hope you enjoy our exclusive coverage of the life-size LEGO Star Wars X-wing unveiled in New York earlier today, but we’d be remiss in our duties if we didn’t pass along the official info from LEGO as well.

See the full photoset on Flickr for all the official photo’s, along with Joe Meno’s from the warehouse.

Here’s the press release:

THE LEGO GROUP UNVEILS WORLD’S LARGEST LEGO® MODEL TO DELIGHT LEGO STAR WARS™ FANS ACROSS THE GALAXY

-More than five million LEGO bricks used to create life-sized X-Wing starfighter in celebration of new LEGO Star Wars animated TV special “The Yoda™ Chronicles” premiering on Cartoon Network-

NEW YORK CITY (May 23, 2013) – The LEGO Group today unveiled the world’s largest LEGO model, a 1:1 replica of the LEGO® Star Wars™ X-Wing starfighter, in New York’s Times Square. To celebrate the upcoming premiere of The Yoda Chronicles on Cartoon Network on Wednesday, May 29 at 8:00 p.m. (ET, PT), the massive replica took 32 master builders, five million LEGO bricks and over 17,000 hours to complete. The model weighs nearly 46,000 pounds, stands 11 feet tall and 43 feet long, with a wingspan of 44 feet. The Model will “take off” for a summer landing at LEGOLAND® California Resort where it will be installed through the remainder of the year.

“Just as kids love to test and hone their LEGO building skills and imaginative storytelling, our LEGO Master Builders are always testing their creative skills to top their last larger-than-life sized creations,” said Michael McNally, Brand Relations Director for LEGO Systems. “The size and structural complexity of a freestanding model 42 times the size of one our retail sets was a challenge they could not resist.”
LEGO Star Wars is the original and most successful licensed product collection in The LEGO Group’s history and remains among the best-selling global toy lines. The theme’s evergreen strength comes from its appeal across generations to fans of all ages and a steady introduction of digital content such as The Yoda Chronicles to compliment the building experience.

“Much the same way that fans can build the Star Wars universe with our LEGO sets, we are fortunate to work with Lucasfilm to build new stories, characters and vehicles through one-of-a-kind content such as the new “Yoda Chronicles” miniseries launching on Cartoon Network,” said Nicholas Hort, LEGO Star Wars brand manager.

LEGO Star Wars X-Wing Starfighter Model Fun Facts

Contains 5,335,200 LEGO bricks

Weighs 45,980 pounds

Height: 11 feet / 3.35 meters

Length: 43 feet / 13.1 meters

Wingspan: 44 feet / 13.44 meters

32 builders spent 17,336 hours to construct – about 4 months

Built in the LEGO Model Shop in Kladno, Czech Republic

Is a one-to-one replica of LEGO Star Wars set #9493; The model is 42x the size of the retail building set

The model was heavily engineered to withstand all the transportation, setup/break down and to ensure it was safe for Times Square given the subway system below and California’s seismic requirements for the LEGOLAND California Resort installation.

How to Celebrate From a “Galaxy Far, Far Away” with Cool Content and LEGO Bricks

“The Yoda Chronicles”
The Yoda Chronicles is an exciting, funny and action-packed new LEGO Star Wars story told in three animated TV specials. “The Phantom Clone” will premiere on Wednesday, May 29 at 8:00 p.m. (ET, PT) on Cartoon Network with specials two and three airing later this year. In the first of three specials, a brand new character, Jek 14 will enter the Star Wars universe. Created by the LEGO Group, Jek 14 is a clone who has been ‘enhanced’ by the Force.
LEGO Star Wars Red Five X-Wing Starfighter™
The most detailed and realistic version of the construction set, the LEGO Star Wars Red Five X-Wing Starfighter, is now available as the ultimate collectible. This exclusive model that contains over 1,500 LEGO bricks comes with a special display stand and data sheet label, is available at LEGO® brand retail stores and shop.LEGO.com for $199.99 USD.

For more information, visit LEGO.com/StarWars