Yearly Archives: 2020

Take a trip to Dreamland in this sweet LEGO bedroom

Builder Heikki M. brings us memories of childhood with this simple but perfect little LEGO bedroom vignette. Sometimes models don’t need to be over complicated to make an impression. The color work and studless modeling are just perfect and give an air of reality at first glance. I love the small pink play kitchen with its little details and the pop of green in the striped rug. The bunk bed looks like it just stepped out of IKEA catalog and probably took longer to build than it seems, just like real thing. The pillowcases and the rumpled sheet are not LEGO but are made from a real life pillow case. Non-LEGO additions can sometimes look disjointed, but here, it blends right in and adds to the realism of the model as a whole. The toys scattered around the room are a terrific final detail, but my favorite is the pink bird, seemingly tossed casually under the bed, just waiting to be picked up and played with.

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Let this spirit wolf take you on a journey

What can you build using eleven pounds of Technic beams and wedge plates? If you said a LEGO midi-scale Star Destroyer you might be correct. However, if you said White Spirit Wolf you are likely Michael Kanemoto. Wedge plates and Technic beams are not the first things that come to mind when replicating natural elements but Michael pulls off the look nicely. He tells us this labor of love took about one-hundred hours on and off from April 30th to July 14th.

I particularly love the eyes; there’s a depth and cunning knowing to them. I’ve only viewed wolves from a safe distance but this LEGO creation possesses the same mesmerizing gaze as a real wolf in the wild. How can you stare into this face and deny it whatever it is that spirit wolves want? I’m smitten!

An organ only the devil could love

Well, not really. We think this fiendish-looking organ is pretty cool. But it sure is scary! There are pipe organs found in churches and then there’s this. LEGO builder [VB] says that his inspiration came from the “Hellmouth” of the middle ages. The unfaithful would perish within its fiery maw. Organs, while beautiful, often have a creepy sound to them, and we can only imagine what this would sound like. Wondering if that face (faces?) is what people of the 1300s were having nightmares about? Yep, this matches the Google images. Sweet dreams.

While you’re here, check out [VB]’s other creepy creations.

Voodoo? You do! Do what? Remind me of the babe...

Sometimes LEGO creations raise more questions than they answer. This sculpture of Baron Samedi by Leonid An has me scratching my head a bit. Wikipedia says the Baron is is noted for disruption, obscenity, debauchery, and having a particular fondness for tobacco and rum. But what does that have to do with that Scala baby? Sure, I could just focus on the great building techniques like the tires-for-tophat, nested-cape ascot, bucket-handle belt buckle, or the gorgeous curves in the coat. Or maybe I could ponder the patience required to balance two horn elements atop 1×1 rounds plate to create the eye sockets on the skull. But my eyes keep going back to that swaddled infant. It’s a creepy part to begin with, and this setting ramps that waaaay up.

This isn’t the first time we’ve featured a work by Leonid that features a creepy use of that baby figure, either. I’m not sure if I’m hoping we’ll see another, or if maybe it’s better if this never comes up again.

That rumbling just might be Godzilla: King of Monsters

What’s that rumbling you hear? It could be that three-bean burrito repeating on you or it could be something even more monstrous. LEGO Saturn V co-designer Valerie Roche teams up with her Space-X co-designer Matthew Nolan to build Godzilla: King of Monsters. The end result is 2034 pieces of pagoda-toppling mass-destruction! Godzilla’s features include a posable head, with snapping jaws, articulated arms, elbows, hands, and fingers.
Also articulated legs, knee joints, ankles, and feet as well as a rotatable tail and his signature dorsal plates, which “ripple with internal energy”. I’m going to assume that means light bricks. That is some good Godzilla action right there! We’re pretty fascinated by this mutant monster. Check out our Godzilla archives.

All hail the Great He-Goat!

Francisco Goya’s disturbing Black Paintings — in particular “Witches’ Sabbath” or “The Great He-Goat” in the Prado Museum in Madrid today — have inspired Joss Woodyard‘s latest entry in the ongoing BioCup contest. The Satanic figure is surrounded by gloom, lit by a circle of candles, wearing a shaggy cloak made of black wings. The yellow lever base is terrifyingly perfect for the slit-eyed gaze of the Dark Lord, while minifig arms provide the split lip of the beast’s muzzle. In its left arm, the Devil carries what appears to be a swaddled child, perhaps a sacrificial victim.

In addition to naturally organic shapes from Bionicle and Hero Factory, Joss softens the shapes further with tires and strings. All of this makes the He-Goat’s exposed rib-cage all the more horrifying, built from insect or spider legs. I can nearly hear the chitinous rustling as he lurches toward you in the dark…

Robots now copying great masterpieces

Not content to copy the human form, self-aware robots are now co-opting the works of their original masters in a blatant attempt to show off. This latest piece of so-called art depicts the creation of some robot by another robot, documented by a human “assistant” called Red. While the subject may be a bit derivative (I think there is a famous chapel somewhere in Europe that has something similar on the ceiling), I can find no fault in the construction. Notice the twisting tubes on the creator, which remind the viewer of muscles coiled for action… And the reclining figure looks like it is well suited to its purpose if that purpose is laying around while the human servants do all the work.

Car broken down in the middle of nowhere? Call Lonely Joe for a tow.

Some LEGO builders find a niche in the community and spend most of their time building there, churning out beautiful creations that all fit a similar genre. For some that’s castle, for others that’s space, for others it’s Bionicle, and for others it’s some licensed theme or other. For TBB 2019 Builder of the Year Andrea Lattanzio, that niche would be shacks and automobiles. Few builders out there can equal the clean lines and perfect textures of his buildings; just look at the uneven tiles for the siding, and the perfection of sideways masonry bricks for the adjacent shed. The build is nearly studless, which helps those clean lines, and the photography is pristine, which helps too.

But don’t let that expert photography fool you; this is not a simple build. You don’t get a studless look by accident, not without plenty of SNOT (studs not on top) techniques. Plus there are myriad clever parts usages. For example, there’s a hockey stick and a harpoon holding lamps; there are pirate hooks on the truck’s bumper; and those sideview mirrors are mighty cleaver, I mean, clever. And speaking of the truck, Andrea’s vehicle designs are as clean and elegant as his shacks; no studs, crisp color blocking, and perfect shaping and scaling.

Ringing up some nostalgia on this Japanese pay phone

Bright green pay phones that supported the new prepaid phone cards began replacing the old pink rotary pay phones in Japan just as my family left for the States in the late 80’s. With public telephones a rare sight today in the US, I was shocked to see that the same phones were still everywhere when I finally went home to visit last summer. nobu_tary has captured the shapes and colors of the real thing perfectly in LEGO, with a detailed black face — complete with digital readout screen and card slot — and iconic lime green body. The black panel incorporates three ammunition pouches from the Rogue One Death Trooper buildable figure, which Tary did not use in his larger, more detailed LEGO Death Trooper figure a few years ago.

A bit of trivia on why pay phones are still everywhere in Japan: When a disaster such as an earthquake or typhoon strikes that affects cell phone coverage, all pay phones can be activated for free use so that people can call emergency services or even just to contact loved ones.

This lovely little green box doesn’t just take me back to my last few years in Japan, it also takes me back a year to what may be my last international trip in a long time…

Taking the gasser to a car show

Earlier this year, before the COVID-19 pandemic, I was looking forward to spending three weeks away from home this summer. At the end of July, I was going to attend BrickFair Virginia. After that I’d fly to Denver, to make a road trip with a friend. I’d subsequently return to Virginia for a work meeting before finally jetting home. Now, of course, none of that is happening. Instead, I’m currently having a short “staycation” at home and will actually be working most of August. In the hope of putting myself into a relaxed vacation mood nonetheless, I built a Chevrolet Express conversion van a couple of weeks ago.

It is a very American concept: convert a regular passenger van into a luxury cruiser with captain’s seats, rear seats that can be folded into a bed, tinted windows, a raised roof, cool rims, and some snazzy graphics on the outside. SUVs have cornered much of their market in the last decade or so, but this is the kind of vehicle I imagine would work well for long road trips and family vacations. I particularly enjoyed building the pattern into the sides, with dark tan and old dark grey plates. However, as much as I enjoyed building it, the end result was a bit underwhelming. So, to fit my vacation theme, I considered building a trailer for it, with a jet ski or an all-terrain-vehicle. However, I wasn’t looking forward to building either.

I finally got a little bit excited thinking about putting a custom car on the trailer instead. Custom cars generally don’t float my boat, but since I liked building the pattern on the van so much, I relished building a car with a paint scheme with flames. To fit the van it had to be American, of course. So, I picked a “Gasser”. This is a particular type of classic drag racer. It uses a body shell of a stock car, with really fat rear tires, a stripped-out interior, an oversized engine, and a jacked-up front end. The flames are optional, but I built mine using yellow, bright light orange and orange plates. The car is a ’57 Chevrolet Bel Air, which is just about the most American car I can imagine. It isn’t quite the holiday vehicle I had in mind, but at least it’s fun.

LEGO brick shows its true colors

No matter what color we are on the outside, inside, we are all the same. If you crack us open, we spill our bright and beautiful ABS plastic filling out into endless possibilities of shapes and forms. Andreas Lenander reminds us that many beautiful and amazing things can be created from LEGO elements, which have certainly come a long way since that first 2×4 classic red brick.

BrickCon 2020 is moving online in October with a full convention for adult fans of LEGO [News]

BrickCon today announced that its 2020 convention in October will be moving from the Space Needle to cyberspace. BrickCon is TBB’s “home convention” that usually gathers hundreds of talented LEGO builders in Seattle to exhibit their creations and meet fellow AFOLs (adult fans of LEGO) from around the world. As you might expect due to the current state of the pandemic, a gathering of 500 attendees with more than 10,000 people from the general public isn’t feasible, so BrickCon organizers are translating the full convention to an online format.

BrickCon 2020 will be held online Oct. 2 – 4 with builder registration opening on Aug. 1st. The convention will feature a keynote, online MOC exhibition, building awards including Best of Show and People’s Choice, games, prizes, workshops, social events, and a virtual marketplace for LEGO-related vendors. The convention will also offer registered builders “BrickCon Bundles” for purchase that include mailed swag like exclusive t-shirts, engraved bricks, a custom LEGO kit, activities and “other surprises.”

For this year’s exhibition, BrickCon 2020 will also accept photorealistic renders of LEGO creations since the online format is capable of showcasing them well. An online convention also means that adult builders from anywhere across the globe can attend BrickCon 2020 at home without traveling. With everything going on in the world, The Brothers Brick is excited to see our fellow builders online at BrickCon 2020 in October!

The full BrickCon 2020 announcement, registration details, and contact information are included below.