This evil little floating rock was summoned into existence by Henry F, and it has a sinister feel that I love. The gray rocks have a cloud-like look that really makes them feel like they are floating, and the pillars give it a very elegant look. The genuflecting skeletons give it just the right amount of comic relief!
This was built for Colossal Castle Contest XIV.
“Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
I wouldn’t dream of telling anyone else how to vote, let alone people who live in a different country to me. However, to any external observer (and to most of the Americans I’ve spoken to) the current Presidential election campaign has been singularly depressing in its negative tone. And that’s what prompted me to build this model.
Here’s hoping whoever wins out in tomorrow’s vote will at least attempt to heal some of the divisions that have opened up. Whatever happens, if you don’t vote, you can’t complain.
LEGO Builders Of America — from our worldwide team of contributors to our friends in the USA — put your bricks down for a little while tomorrow and go exercise your franchise.
The Ultimate Collector Series (UCS) 75059 Sandcrawler has just gone on sale on Amazon for $63 off its normal price, bringing it down to only $236.99. That’s 21% off, a rare sale for a UCS set. LEGO announced earlier this year that the Sandcrawler would be retiring soon, so it’s only a matter of time before the currently available stock runs out and the price skyrockets.
Find the Sandcrawler on Amazon for $236.99.
The Sandcrawler isn’t the only good LEGO bargain right now, though. We highlighted a number of great deals in a sales roundup last week, and many of them are still active. Below, you can check out some more awesome holiday sales.
Last week we got our first look at 2017’s City sets, starting with the full Police line. Today we get a look at what the civilians in LEGO City will be doing next year, and it seems they’re rather active with aerial acrobatics, rally racing, deep sea fishing, and more. And, of course, to feed all that sporting, there’s a food truck serving fresh pizza. Check out all 9 new sets below!
Still haven’t picked up this year’s City sets? Amazon has many of them are on sale just in time for the holidays, such as 60051 High-speed Passenger Train for 30% off and 60097 City Square for 23% off.
It’s time to put your smartphone camera back into your pocket and embrace the wonder of the Graflex Speed Graphic camera. Back in the 1960s, Graflex cameras were the standard camera used by press photographers (before some were renamed paparazzi). Milan CMadge has built a LEGO version of this famous camera that is remarkably accurate compared to the real thing.
The method of building the flash housing is particularly clever, as Milan has used 3mm flexible hose to shape the reflector and a couple of curved cockpits for the bulb. Interesting bit of trivia now: the 3-cell Graflex flashgun was modified and used as the prop for Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber in Star Wars: A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.
For most people in my part of the world, grilling season is over. But nobu_tary brings back a taste of summer with this little treat. It is a deceptively simple build but the builder nailed it. I really like the use of bananas as the drizzle of mustard and the subtle curve of the “dog” in the bun. I may need to fire up the grill today and chase away the November rain!
Cecilie Fritzvold has once again been inspired to create a microscale city skyline in the style of the skyline sets within the LEGO Architecture theme. LEGO released 21028 New York City, 21027 Berlin and 21026 Venice as part of a trio of new city skyline sets earlier this year. Cecilie has chosen the beautiful French capital, Paris, a city full of impressive architecture and grandiose buildings. Cecile’s build includes (from left to right) Arc de Triomphe, Tour Eiffel, Dômes des Invalides, Notre-Dame, and Colonne de Juillet (Place de la Bastille). The small strips of transparent blue on each side represent the River Seine.
Notre-Dame is my own favourite in this build — I think that the combination of ingenious parts use and the textured stonework for such a small build are fantastic. If you like this type of build, you will also enjoy Cecilie’s Tokyo skyline build that we blogged a couple of months ago and Michael Jasper’s microscale model of Dortmund.
This brick-built figure by simply bricking it is really very striking. The choice of colors to highlight the hair of this figure is perfect, and the builder incorporated just the right number of greebles and unexpected LEGO parts into the build. It surprises without overwhelming and achieves the desired effect without overcrowding. I love it!
Last month we featured an impressive Lite Brite-style LEGO creation by British builder Jonathan Gale. Apparently that build was just the beginning of Gale’s lightsaber balancing escapades. Like Picasso, Gale won’t be satisfied to leave this building style behind until he’s mastered it. So far, he has experimented with both hexagonal and grid-based light-saber arrangements. His most recent build uses 2695 lightsaber blades to create the iconic LEGO logo.
Grantmasters has recreated Greg Broadmore’s Saboteur 66 in LEGO form and it’s beautiful. The builder uses a variety of subtle techniques to maintain the elegance and sleek design of the original. I want one of these sitting on a shelf in my LEGO room!
Lately I’ve been a bit obsessed with LEGO’s greatest failure of all time. So much so that my wife has threatened to plan an intervention if I don’t stop. Those fans who have been around for a while know the horror of which I speak.
Galidor: Defenders of the Outer Dimension was, and is, the worst thing ever created by The LEGO Company. The deeper you dig into it, the worse it gets. Action figures with little to no LEGO connections, a failed television show and video game, electronic figures that “interact” with said show/game and European exclusives issued to areas where the show wasn’t available. Galidor was a failure of epic proportions. However, while stomping about in the bottomless muck, I stumbled across an old jewel that we never featured here:
Created by Steve Puckett, this build features the Galidor TDN module as the cockpit of a rather awesome mecha. I can’t believe we missed this because I blogged one of his other Galidor-esque creations back in 2008. I love the amount of tech that the builder has crammed onto this Mecha and how he has managed to make the juxtaposition of Galidor and real LEGO work. It’s a thing of beauty!
Check out the whole gallery of pictures here.
