The miniaturization of LEGO dachshunds continues. Brickshelfer w9gfo recently posted this lovely little dog, completely with lolling tongue.
Here’s hoping Joel’s puppy enjoyed this post as much as Josie did.
Via The Living Brick.
Posts by Andrew Becraft (TBB Editor-in-Chief)
Sartorius will tailor your clothes and then run away with your womenfolk
RZ-1 A-Wing interceptor by Jarek
Jarek (Jerrec) has updated his red A-Wing to match Ralph McQuarrie’s original blue color scheme.
With all its curves, angled tail fins, and that strange gap in the nose, the A-Wing is an especially challenging starfighter to build with LEGO. Jarek does an amazing job at minifig scale to capture the shape and details.
Free Squiddy! Alien rights now!
I really do love the new Space Police III theme, from the wonderful alien minifigs to the subtle in-jokes that the designers incorporated throughout their sets.
Nevertheless, a running joke among LEGO fans is that the line is xenophobic and defames sentient non-human life forms.
Seeing District 9 last night (based on Alive in Joberg from 2005), reminded me of this great webcomic from Shortpacked! Click the preview pic below to read the full comic.
Of course, LEGO designer Mark Stafford has explained that “Space Police are only responsible for interspecies crime… Non criminal aliens are of course welcome to live and work in terran space.”
Sounds like a challenge to all you LEGO fans out there to build a creation that shows the new SPIII aliens in a more positive light.
Stefan’s micro Star Trek fleet is ready to make first contact with the Borg
I think we could blog pretty much everything Stefan (-2×4-) has posted so far. Following his mini Battlestar Galactica fighters, Stefan’s microscale Star Trek fleet includes a nice variety of ships from Star Trek: First Contact in a variety of sizes, ranging from the minuscule USS Defiant to the Enterprise-E.
Naturally, resistance is futile, as this large Borg Cube demonstrates.
WASP83 Drone battle bug by Corran101
As Thanel alluded to earlier, one of the new themes at BrickCon in two months is Battle Bugs. Harrison (Corran101) built this lovely WASP (Winged Arial Scout and Patrol) bot, complete with warning stripes.
It’s a trap! LEGO Star Wars 7754 Home One & 7753 Pirate Tank out now [News]
The newest LEGO Star Wars sets, including 7754 Home One Mon Calamari Cruiser and 7753 Pirate Tank
are now available from the LEGO Shop online.
The Home One playset includes minifig all-stars Admiral Ackbar, Mon Mothma, a new Lando, and Crix Madine, along with a green A-wing. A bit pricy at $110, but hey, Admiral Ackbar!
Having never watched the Clone Wars animated series, I don’t know much about the tank, but the minifigs are some of the coolest aliens I’ve seen outside Space Police III.
Speaking of the new Space Police, two more sets are out — ones I hadn’t seen from Toy Fair coverage or leaked catalog scans.
Chris Malloy’s Iron Golem will do your steampunk bidding
With a gap between LEGO creations of almost two years, it’s great to see something new from Chris Malloy (porschecm2). His Iron Golem is both sinister and adorably, simultaneously mechanical and biological.
The Chinese hats from the Adventurers Orient Expedition theme add a nice riveted look over the robot’s joints.
Spinning minifig anatomy GIF reveals all
Modulex Cafe Corner and Market Street
In 1963, The LEGO Group spun off a company called Modulex to create planning tools for architects, including a completely separate system of bricks. Though Modulex still operates today (still based in Billund, making modular corporate signage), they no longer manufacture little plastic bricks.
Nevertheless, Modulex bricks continue to be sought-after collectors’ items among LEGO fans. Some fans even have enough in their collection to reproduce contemporary LEGO sets, as Marion has done with her collection.
The limited palette of bricks in the Modulex system doesn’t stop Brixe from an excellent recreation of 10182 Café Corner and 10190 Market Street.
Even though Brixe’s Modulex version is nearly a stud-for-stud clone of the LEGO set, this comparison shot shows the difference in scale between the two systems (LEGO on the left, Modulex on the right):
LEGO Star Wars 7778 Midi-scale Millennium Falcon now available [News]
The latest LEGO incarnation of the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy, 7778 Midi-scale Millennium Falcon, is now available from the LEGO Shop online.
Via FBTB.
Zombie Apocafest 2009: Strategy, Tactics, & Logistics
BrickCon 2009 starts in exactly two months. That means it’s time to start getting down to details on all the collaborative displays being planned for the con, starting with our very own Zombie Apocafest 2009. (We’ll be doing a roundup about all the other displays soon.)
Like last year’s zombie apocalypse display, Zombie Apocafest is sponsored and organized by The Brothers Brick, with additional sponsorship from the generous humans at BrickArms. Look for more information about prizes and giveaways here on the blog between now and the con.
Got builder’s block? Not sure what the heck we mean by “apocafied”? Unsure what the standards are? Read on…
Inspiration for the LEGO zombie apocalypse
There’s plenty of inspiration for your LEGO creations to be found in movies like George A. Romero’s Living Dead series, the hilarious Shaun of the Dead
Personally, music inspires a lot of my LEGO building. Here’s my personal soundtrack, heavy on metal and light on funny novelty songs. Hey, this is serious stuff! Also, the only convergence of AC/DC, W.B. Yeats, zombies, and LEGO in the history of the human race.
Zombie literature and films are full of social commentary — a dystopian reflection of our present or near future. In other words, the real world we all live in is unfortunately full of examples of the things survivors would encounter in a zombie apocalypse.
Improvised fighting vehicles — civilian or non-combat military vehicles with armor plating and weapons systems tacked on — are the archetype for the chained-up, cage-encased, spiky bad boys we all know and love from our favorite ApocaLEGO builders.
Not cool in real life, but good against zombies.
Finally, here are a few ideas we’ve had at The Brothers Brick — we can’t possibly build them all ourselves in the next two months.
- A commuter train on fire that streaks around the perimeter of the layout. (9-volt would probably be easiest to power over the weekend.) Bonus points for smoke effects.
- Helicopters on rooftops evacuating survivors. Bonus points for motorized rotors. Extra credit for hovering action.
- A security wall. Again, not at all cool in real life, but effective against the 90% of zombies who can’t use ladders.
- Elevated highway.
- Boats. Lots of boats.
Building and vehicle standards
As silly as it probably sounds, realism is one of our primary goals for this display. What would it look like if zombie minifigs invaded the Town display?
No giant robots to sweep through the streets, no deus ex machina with laser cannons and railguns.
Buildings follow the “Cafe Corner standard”:
- Building stands on one or two Baseplate 16 x 32 with Square Corners.
- Two connectors on each side of the building: Technic Brick 1 x 2 with Hole placed on studs #10-11 and #22-23 (from the front of the baseplate).
- Floors can be any height (though 9 bricks high appears to be the standard).
- Curb at edge of baseplate built from 1 x n light gray tiles, and sidewalk built from dark gray tiles, seven studs from the curb to the building (curb + sidewalk = 8 studs).
- Building can be any size (though 16 x 16 or 16 x 32 appears to be the standard), built eight studs back from the front of the baseplate with an eight-stud “alley.”
Vehicles should be minifig-scale, though look for details about opportunities to build zombie apocalypse vehicles at other LEGO scales in September.
For the Zombie Apocafest display, though, most vehicles should probably be in the 4 to 10-stud-wide range (construction vehicles excluded).
How it’s going to work
Remember, the Zombie Apocafest display is only open to registered attendees of BrickCon. We won’t be able to accept contributions or drop-offs from the general public.
Doors open on Thursday morning at 9:00 AM on October 1. I’ll be there with Thanel soon afterward, helping out with the con in general, and keeping an eye on early additions to the display. The man, the myth, the legend, LEGOLAND Master Model Maker Gary McIntire has generously agreed to add his artistic vision and organizational skills to the display, so look for him as well.
We’ll give out prizes on Saturday night (or whenever the rest of the prizes are awarded). There will also be giveaways aplenty again this year. However, quantities of each item will be limited, and we’ll give them out with fairly specific requirements. We hope everybody leaves BrickCon with something, though.
As a reminder, here are the four prize categories:
- Best Original Vehicle (last year’s winner: Andrew Lee’s Truck)
- Best Apocafied LEGO Vehicle (new category; example above)
- Best Original Building (last year’s winner: Paul Hetherington’s Casa Baron)
- Best Apocafied LEGO Building (new category)
Okay, enough reading. Get building!