About Andrew Becraft (TBB Editor-in-Chief)

Andrew Becraft is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Brothers Brick. He's been building with LEGO for more than 40 years, and writing about LEGO here on TBB since 2005. He's also the co-author, together with TBB Senior Editor Chris Malloy, of the DK book Ultimate LEGO Star Wars. Andrew is an active member of the online LEGO community, as well as his local LEGO users group, SEALUG. Andrew is also a regular attendee of BrickCon, where he organizes a collaborative display for readers of The Brothes Brick nearly every year. You can check out Andrew's own LEGO creations on Flickr. Read Andrew's non-LEGO writing on his personal blog, Andrew-Becraft.com. Andrew lives in Seattle with his wife and dogs, and by day leads software design and planning teams.

Posts by Andrew Becraft (TBB Editor-in-Chief)

Monthly LEGO news roundup and highlights for February 2010

The weekly LEGO news roundups we started to do proved to be too time-consuming, but this past month has been a busy one, and you may have missed a few things. Without further ado, in case you missed it…

New product info, releases, and reviews:
Interviews:
- Keith Goldman interviews Anthony Sava
- Behind the scenes at LEGOLAND with Gary McIntire
The Window to the Community program comes to an end
LEGO creation highlights:
LEGO releases The Adventures of Clutch Powers
Begun, the flame wars have:
- A Humvee runs over a minifig
- Andrew thinks asking for credit is annoying
- Tim thinks credit should be given where due
AFOL: A Blocumentary
California LEGO fan’s collection stolen and then partially recovered
LEGO Universe Beta sign-ups open
Bricks Adventure event happens in Hong Kong

See what I mean? A busy month indeed.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Khael Mobile Construction Yard by Pierre E Fieschi

I don’t think I’d run across a LEGO creation by Pierre E Fieschi before, so his Khael Mobile Construction Yard left a rather spectacular first impression.

No, that isn’t a render. Here’s a video showing off the ship’s many features, which incorporate pneumatics:

LEGO Star Wars: The Force Unleashed stop-motion animation

Fancy Pants Productions presents a LEGO Star Wars animation that features some seriously smooth action:

The terror of Colorado Boulevard

Jarek (Jerac) combines his car building skills with a distinctly Castle aesthetic, for a unique race car with an even more unique driver and her unprecedented pet:

I don’t want to know what sort of fuel is in those yellow canisters…

Consolidated 600-series Faran crane truck

We know Aleksander Stein best for his impressive military hardware, but he’s branched out lately with civilian versions of those vehicles. His latest is a highly detailed 6×6 crane truck:

The pneumatic crane on Aleksander’s truck isn’t just for show. Here, it’s lifting his Dragoon APV:

All those ... moments will be lost in time

There’s a moment in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner that sends chills up and down my spine every time I watch it. Rutger Hauer and Harrison Ford stand on a rooftop in the rain as Hauer’s character breathes his last.

Zach Macias has recreated that scene in LEGO:

Blade Runner – Tears in Rain (in LEGO) from Zach Macias on Vimeo.

Via LegOficina dos Baixinhos.

Mechagodzilla stands ready to take on the King of the Monsters

This Mechagodzilla by Yasutaka (AIWSMOYA) takes me back to the monster movies and TV shows my brother and I grew up watching early on weekend mornings back in Japan.

The sculpting on Mechagodzilla’s head is particularly great, with nice use of cheese slopes and small wing plates.

This is also exactly the sort of LEGO creation we’d love to see tromping through a LEGO Tokyo for the Big in Japan display we’re planning for BrickCon 2010.

And then there’s religion...

We’re nearing the end of Black History Month here in the US and Canada. In the American South, prior to the Civil War and the abolition of slavery, religion played a key role in justifying the centuries-long exploitation of men, women, and children of African descent.

In a new Epistles section of The Brick Testament, the Rev. Brendan Powell Smith has some examples of the New Testament passages that slave-owners used to rationalize treating another human being as property.

LEGO Technic RDA Samson battle helicopter from Avatar

This Technic version of the Aerospatiale SA-2 Samson VTOL aircraft from James Cameron’s Avatar by Barry (barman) features so many working components it’s hard to list my favorites.

With counter-rotating props, doors that open and close, and a central joystick that controls the angle of the props, you have to see the video to believe it:

Thanks for the tip, mahjqa!

Escalation

This scene by RMingTW depicts a group of soldiers destroying ships at sea, with a remarkable explosion.

Very cool, right? Nice use of elements from the new Toy Story set 7595 Army Men on Patrol. Forced perspective through microscale in the background is rapidly becoming a key factor in differentiating good LEGO scenes from excellent ones.

Now, what if the soldiers were citizens of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the ships were an invading fleet from the People’s Republic of China?

How much does context influence our perception of a LEGO creation?

Via The Living Brick, who I’ll blame if this turns into the Fourth Taiwan Strait Crisis and gets Brothers-Brick.com blocked in the PRC.

10211 Grand Emporium due out March 1 – modular building, full interior [News]

Contrary to some of the earlier reports about its release date, LEGO has informed us that 10211 Grand Emporium is due out next Monday, March 1st, 2010.

LEGO has also provided some high-resolution photos of the set, including several nice interior shots and pictures of the little bits and pieces that make these modular buildings so awesome. See the full photoset on Flickr:

Here’s the complete product description from LEGO:

10211 – Grand Emporium
Ages 16+. 2,182 pieces.
US $149.99 CA $199.99 UK £ 139.99 DE € 149.99

Welcome to the grand opening of the Grand Emporium!

The LEGO® Modular Buildings series continues with this spectacularly detailed 3-story department store, designed in a realistic scale with lots of special building techniques and rare pieces. On the street outside, citizens carry shopping bags, send letters at the mailbox, admire the window mannequins, and cool off at the ice cream stand while a busy window washer works above. Enter through the revolving door to discover a ground-floor clothing department, complete with a cash register, fitting room, hats, jewelry, perfume, and even a selection of spare trousers. A brick-built escalator carries customers to the second floor housewares department with glassware and golden plates for special occasions, and then it’s up to the top floor for the toy department (complete with toy house and push-scooter) and a great big chandelier above the open atrium. Up on the roof are a billboard and skylight. Includes 7 minifigures and measures 15″ (38 cm) high and 10″ (25 cm) wide. Ages 16+. 2,182 pieces.

Includes 7 minifigures: 1 window cleaner, 1 female shop assistant, 1 genetleman and 1 lady with shopping bags, 1 boy plus 1 male and 1 female mannequin!

Enter the Grand Emporium through a revolving door that really spins!

The first floor has a clothing department with cash register, fitting room, hats, jewelery, perfume and more!

The second floor has a housewares department with glassware and golden plates!

Take the amazing brick-built escalator to the top floor of these 3-story department store!

The top floor is a toy department complete with toy house and push-scooter!

Grand Emporium features a big chandelier above the open atrium and even a skylight!

Lots of realistic details with a rooftop billboard and shoppers with shopping bags!

Raise and lower the window washer outside the building!

Send letters at the mailbox outside the Grand Emporium!

Admire the window mannequins from the street and stop at the ice cream stand for a treat!

Includes new inverted arches and rare elements like transparent 1×1 ‘headlight bricks’ and dark green windows!

Combine with other modular buildings like 10197 Fire Brigade and 10185 Green Grocer!

Measures 15″ (38 cm) high and 10″ (25 cm) wide!

Larwenz’s 1982 Lamborghini Countach

If you were a boy in the 1980s, you probably had some sort of Lamborghini Countach merchandise, be it a poster on your bedroom wall (in James May’s case) or a somewhat more nerdy pencil holder (in mine).

Larwenz takes us back to those days when we could dream of roaring down the open road, squealing to a stop, and stepping out from those distinctive doors.

I think my favorite detail is the turntable base on the white inside of the doors.

Via Klocki.