New updates to genius-builder Michael Jasper‘s Brickshelf folders of Characters and Things are always a treat.
But Michael has posted a completely new conceptual gallery — “Peer Pressure” — that illustrates his storytelling skills with the simplest of creations:
Via VignetteBricks.
Kevin Guoh (Kaye on Flickr) is quickly establishing a unique style for himself, with his super-tall, lanky mecha.
The feet are particularly excellent on Kevin’s latest, Lévinas (above).
Mike “Count Blockula” Crowley has been drawing a great series of webcomics for From Bricks to Bothans.
In “Well Played” #4, the FBTB admin staff try to change LEGO history (click through for full size version):
Head on over to FBTB to see more episodes of “Well Played.”
Since we’re talking about LEGO webcomics, I’d also like to point readers to our (somewhat) new LEGO Webcomics link category in the side bar. Click, read, enjoy!
BrickCon 2008 is coming up in less than three months — October 2-5 in my lovely city of Seattle, WA. If you haven’t registered yet, read all about the people, LEGO creations, and events in our past coverage of what I think is the coolest LEGO convention around. (Awesome brick-built BrickCon logo by Adam Hally.)
Important: The price for registration goes up from $40 to $50 on August 5, so if you know you’re coming, register now to save some money — to spend at the Brick Bazaar or LEGO Store, of course! ;-)
Anyway, one of the great things about LEGO conventions is amazing variety of stuff to do. Thomas Garrison and the rest of the BrickCon planning team are interested in hearing your ideas about presentations, seminars, round-tables, and other activities you’d like to see at BrickCon this October. For more info, read on…
BrickCon 2008 is looking for any talks, roundtables, and special activities you would like to see at the Con this year.
This year we have two classrooms adjacent to the exhibition hall with real, hard walls so we anticipate being able to program presentations/activities for up to twenty people during public hours or other activities. Additionally, public hours have been further reduced from last year, leaving more programming time for events requiring larger spaces.
Past talks have included manufacturing custom parts, an introduction to LDraw, and slideshows of LEGOLAND (insiders’ and outsiders’ views), among many others.
Roundtables, or moderated discussions, have included sorting, Moonbase standards and design, landscaping, and anything that someone can think of.
Activities already planned for this year include the Dirty Brickster, a draft, and speed and blind builds.
All we need for more talks, roundtables, and activities are ideas and people to run with them. Projectors and a computer will be available (although bringing your own laptop ensures compatibility). All spaces can be configured with tables and chairs as desired.
Any registered attendee who would like to run a presentation or activity should e-mail proposals or questions to Thomas Garrison (the three letters Tee Double-U Ess AT morfydd DOT net–please mention BrickCon in the subject). If possible, please include a possible title, brief description for the event program, and any time constraints or facility requirements. Events are typically scheduled to run up to fifty minutes but can be scheduled for more or less time.
Our hard deadline for proposals is September 8. This gives Thomas time to make a schedule and get everything into our printed program. Earlier is better.
BrickCon is an annual adult LEGO hobbyist convention and exhibition in Seattle. BrickCon 2008 will be October 2-5, 2008, in the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall. For more information and online registration, visit: http://www.brickcon.org
I hope to see lots of you this October in Seattle!
Like other talented, prolific builders, we can’t possibly post everything nnenn builds. It’s not that everything he builds blends together, no! But occasionally, something stands out, like this lovely little racer in Classic Space colors:
Of course, nnenn is also up to his usual tricks — two excellent fighters in red and green:
Not content to let his amazing silver UM-5 War Doll shine alone, Brian Kescenovitz has built an all-black version that you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley at night:
More on MOCPages or Brickshelf.
Even though Pixar’s Wall-E didn’t dominate the box office this past weekend, our lovable robotic hero continues to dominate the hearts and imaginations of LEGO builders.
First up, Wall-E Directing Animator Angus MacLane adds to his collection of LEGO Wall-E models at three different scales. Here’s a mini Wall-E:
Angus’s micro Wall-E has a two-brick cooler, while his nanoscale Wall-E is accompanied by a nanoscale Eve:
Not to be outdone by Mark Sandlin, Chris Giddens gets in some some Wall-E action:
Andrew Lee takes his inspiration from Chris Giddens (with three-brick cooler), while Steve and his son Adam use gears for my favorite Hal so far:
Jimmy may have been the first person to build a LEGO Wall-E (back in February), and his recent vignette depicts Eve zooming around the devastated landscape:
Lindsay Joy‘s Wall-E shows off his dance moves, and Ted Godwin provides instructions for his microscale version:
Finally, the BlueToothKiwi team has posted the inevitable MINDSTORMS NXT version (via MINDSTORMS NXT Review and The NXT STEP):
EDIT: Samus11 gives Wall-E a boot and a cooler (thanks castlebuilder100!):
LEGO Wall-E creations previously featured on The Brothers Brick:
Warning: This is an opinion piece, and may not reflect the opinions of my co-bloggers, The LEGO Company, or custom-accessory producers (whose products appear here for illustration purposes only). This post may also include external links to opinions and facts you may not agree with, so read the whole post and share your own thoughts in a comment.
We feature so many LEGO military creations here on The Brothers Brick that all those fighters, battle dioramas, and tanks have their own category. There’s also a lively discussion going on among commenters in the LEGO City 2010 post. Between Independence Day last Friday here in the United States, my own pacifist upbringing, and this recent discussion, I’ve been giving some serious thought to the convergence of LEGO bricks and the military, and the differences between realistic and fantasy violence.
I myself have built plenty of LEGO military creations, most frequently to illustrate the most accurate historical use for custom accessories I’m reviewing. I’ll also admit that like many males, I have a strong fascination with things that go “Boom!”
In responses to questions from Gizmodo readers, here’s what a LEGO Company representative said recently:
Q: Are there any chances that Lego will ever start producing modern day warfare Lego, with tanks and helicopters and what not?
A: We have a strict policy regarding military models, and therefore, we do not produce tanks, helicopters, etc. While we always support the men and women who serve their country, we prefer to keep the play experiences we provide for children in the realm of fantasy.
Some LEGO fans argue that LEGO has, in fact, released military-themed sets in the past:
And of course, there have been elements of conflict throughout many of LEGO’s themes, going all the way back to the earliest police and castle sets of the 1970s. More recently, LEGO has even included realistic-looking guns in Wild West, Star Wars, Batman, Indiana Jones, and other themes.
This leads to the obvious question from another Gizmodo reader:
Q: Why did they changed the founders rule to never make gun like elements?
A: The company still has a no gun policy when it comes to realistic or military play scenarios. However, in order to stay true to the strong licensed properties we incorporate to the Lego portfolio, we need to stay true to those properties and sometimes that involves including weapons. In our own play themes, some element of good vs. bad conflict is typically considered to provide for role play opportunities. In those instances, the setting is very clearly a fantasy world.
The distinction makes sense to me. Most 10-year-olds aren’t going to mistake a set that includes dinosaurs and a four-wheeler with a lightly-armored Humvee avoiding improvised explosive devices. Similarly, dwarves fighting goblins, the undead, or even each other are unlikely to evoke images of coalition forces putting down the insurgency in Fallujah.
If LEGO were to create sets based on the military, that begs the question, “Which military?” LEGO is a global company. If they were to design military sets, which countries should be represented? Royal Danish Jægerkorpset (special forces) or HDMS Absalon? American A-10 Thunderbolt (with depleted uranium flick-fire action!) and M1 Abrams tank? Russian R-36 ICBM (with pop-out MIRV warhead action!) and Sukhoi Su-27?
Or perhaps LEGO could take its inspiration from the military history of the past 100 years. Would you buy an Allied flamethrower set, with Okinawan civilian minifigs in caves ($29.99), or a Dresden Firebombing playset with limited-edition Kurt Vonnegut minifig ($49.99)? Modular Hanoi Hilton and Ho Chi Minh’s bunker? Something from the War on Terror, perhaps: An Al-Quada training camp set with Osama bin Laden minifig, camouflaged Navy SEAL, and inbound cruise missile ($19.99) or extraordinary rendition set with unmarked CIA jet, compliant third-world diplomat, and abducted French-Algerian shopkeeper ($39.99)?
How about a LEGO Third Reich theme, with an impulse-purchase Adolph Hitler for $2.99 and a LEGO Auschwitz for $89.99?
“An Osama bin Laden minifig?! LEGO Auschwitz?! That’s going too far. Andrew, that’s patently offensive!” Exactly. War is not fun. War is not play.
Ultimately, the job of every military is to conduct war (whether defensive or offensive), and I believe that war is wrong. There are those in every government who would have its citizens believe that the lives of people who don’t look like us, live somewhere outside our borders, or don’t believe the same things we do are somehow less valuable than our own. And therefore, it’s okay to kill our fellow human beings to achieve the political goals of these leaders.
Applying this philosophy to my LEGO hobby, I don’t believe LEGO sets that depict realistic or modern military themes — including soldiers, military vehicles, and historical conflicts — are appropriate for children ages 5 to 12. Other toy companies certainly don’t agree, taking advantage of patriotic fervor and every boy’s fascination with guns. And yet, this is one of the very reasons I respect LEGO and their no-military policy. They stand apart from the rest.
On a more practical level, LEGO’s largest market is Germany, a country whose 20th-century history has left many modern Germans without much of a taste for war. LEGO is also a global company. As my somewhat outlandish list of potential military sets illustrated, how could LEGO possibly choose which countries to represent?
I’m probably not going to convince many of you that pacifism or nonviolence is always the most appropriate political response, but I hope that I’ve made you think, and that perhaps some of you can understand why I personally hope that The LEGO Company never changes its no-military policy.
Thanks for reading. Without further ado, sound off in the comments and vote your conscience in the new poll.
[poll id=”9″]
Multi-theme master Aaron Andrews tries his hand at a microscale space creation:
With a great color scheme and appropriate asymmetry, I’d have to say that Aaron’s first foray into microspace is a rip-roaring success.
(Via MicroBricks.)
Dave and Stacy Sterling are a pair of LEGO fans whose love for LEGO is only surpassed by their love for each other. With a Train layout that’s 12-feet by 15-feet, they prove the old adage that the couple who bricks together stays together.
Stacy’s latest creation is a LEGO version of her favorite burger joint, White Castle:
There’s lots of other great Train, Town, and Harry Potter LEGO creations on Dave and Stacy’s MOCPages and Brickshelf, including a corner bank by Dave and The Burrow from Harry Potter by Stacy:
(Via Brick Town Talk.)
We featured Brent Waller’s desert-camo Tumbler back in April, and now he’s released full instructions for the black version of his LEGO Batman Tumbler.
You can download the instructions from Brent’s site (4.5 MB PDF), or view the parts list and page-by-page instructions in HTML.
Guitar Hero rocks. And so does this great mecha inspired by the game, built by Teikjoon:
Note the invisible air guitar, Guitar Hero controller, and the PowerSlide propulsion unit. Awesome.
