Brian Kescenovitz (Mondaynoodle) contributed a number of mecha and vehicles from his Dawn Forge theme to Keith Goldman’s Zero Hour on Highway 44. Among the ones he’s posted so far, my favorite is this ICON Class Command Mech:
Those feet and the Gatling gun are awesome. See more on MOCpages and Brickshelf.
We first saw prototypes of LEGO Home One at Toy Fair 2009 a couple months ago, but StarWars.com has an interview with Jens Kronvold Frederiksen, who designed the upcoming LEGO Star Wars set 7754 Home One Mon Calamari Star Cruiser.
The article also includes our first look at high-resolution shots of the box art and minifigs.
In fact, Jens tells StarWars.com that “all the mini-figures except the A-wing pilot are brand new!”
Read the full interview on StarWars.com. For those of you wondering what a “Toys R Us Exclusive” means, it just means that TRU is the only store other than the LEGO Shop online and local LEGO Stores that will carry the set.
BioniBlogger Ean H. (Arpy) is a talented Bionicle builder himself.
The large wheels from LEGO Power Miners vehicles on Titanus’ forearms give a sense of how huge this mecha is. See more on Brickshelf.
Although LEGO Rock Band has been rumored since January, with a major leak earlier this month, the game was nothing more than speculation. A press release today, however, confirms that LEGO Rock Band is very real.
The console versions will be co-developed by TT Games and Harmonix, while the Nintendo DS version will be developed by TT Games, Harmonix, and Backbone — all for release during the 2009 holiday season.
Naturally, players will be able to customize their little plastic rock stars, as well as support staff like roadies, managers, and the ubiquitous entourage. Interpret “entourage” how you will, but I plan on making a bunch of minifig groupies that look like they staggered off of the Rock of Love bus.
The press release states that the game will feature “brilliant chart-topping songs and classic favorites suitable for younger audiences,” and goes on to list several:
What, no Iron Maiden or Black Sabbath? Claims to suitability for “families, tweens and teens” makes me think we won’t see the same sort of set lists I love from Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, but I hope having TT Games involved will ensure the same level of excellence we’ve experienced in the LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Indiana Jones video games.
As alluded to in the press release, the list of parties involved in this game is mind-blowingly complex:
Click the thumbnails below for larger versions of screen captures from the game:
You can read the full press release on Business Wire.
Via Joystiq, Kotaku, PC World, and just about every other tech/gadget site out there, with hat-tips to about five thousand of our readers. Hey, we can’t always be the ones to break major LEGO news. ;-)
SlyOwl has created several new species of LEGO birds and showcased them in this little scene:
The waterfowl being observed by the birdwatchers range from tall and gangly to short and adorably squat.
No less awesome is this great LEGO Pirates scene, titled “Tribal Sacrifice”:
The pirates’ boat sunk into the sand and water is a brilliant detail.
Jordan Schwartz (Sir Nadroj) illustrates that the solanum virus is not the only way in which zombies are created:
Gatormen hold candles aloft to light the dark work of the voodoo priestess. Below, zombies rise from the muddy waters.
See more entries in the Big Toy Hut LEGO Zombie Contest on Flickr.
Chris Blessing (Mdrn~Mrvls) recently posted a power company truck or “cherry-picker.” The truck is seven studs wide, and can therefore seat two minifigs side by side in the cab — impossible in a four-stud-wide vehicle and a tough fit at six. I’m a sucker for vehicles with lots of compartments, and the brick-built doors are also a nice touch.
See more pictures of Chris’s on Flickr and MOCpages.
Mike Eruzione led the 1980 U.S. hockey team to victory against the Soviet Union in what has since been dubbed the “Miracle on Ice.” Jonathan Gilbert (Shmails) has created a custom LEGO minifig to honor the captain of that historic team:
In addition to the decals, the minifig includes a number of custom accessories. Jonathan handcrafted the hockey stick, helmet, and skates.
From John McClane to the Mythbusters guys, don’t miss all of Jonathan’s custom minifigs on Flickr.
As Dan mentioned a few days ago about his Tsing pair of starfighters, Johnny Frye (Dr. X) works hard to improve his LEGO creations.
Johnny’s Hr-18 Interceptor (right) was very cool, to be sure, but by creating an Hr-22 Attack Fighter variant in different colors (below), he made the design truly pop.
Johnny doesn’t build to get blogged (and nor should you), but it’s this kind of commitment to improvement that earns our respect.
Fedde (Karf Oolhu) has been having fun with LEGO monkeys lately.
I’ve always thought that LEGO monkeys were fairly difficult to pose in interesting ways, but Fedda proves otherwise — particularly that monkey scratching himself with a monkey wrench.
I just noticed that Fedda has more than 50 pictures in his Monkey Madness photoset. Lots of hilarious shenanigans goin’ on, so check it out.
Excluding a mention in a roundup back in NoVVember, it’s shocking that we haven’t blogged the LEGO creations of Fredo Houben (Fredoichi).
Fredo’s “Engo – Gunner Type” (above) is chock full of tasty greebles — even the underside of the sloped bricks he used as legs adds an interesting texture.
His older “Magojiro” (below) is no less awesome:
Check out all of this talented builder’s LEGO creations in Fredoichi’s photostream on Flickr.
Not all good LEGO Castle landscaping has to be tall (for lack of a better word), as JD Luse demonstrates with a detailed landscape built on a baseplate:
The narrow trees add variety, while an Orient Expedition hat serves as a bird’s nest on the large tree.
