It seems that everything Adrian Florea builds makes the rounds on the ‘net, and I’m sure his latest will be no different — a lovely spaceship from Cowboy Bebop called Swordfish II:
My ignorance of post-1989 anime is staggering, so I had to look up a couple reference pics, but Adrian’s rendition of this ship is perfect.
I blogged Kevin Guoh’s Totoro yesterday, but Kevin‘s mecha are even more impressive.
The Black Hat has a chunky chest and shoulders:
A new version of his Gatekeeper looks even more menacing in red and black:
Check out lots more pictures in Kevin’s Mecha / Robots / Creatures photoset on Flickr.
I have Indian food at least two to three times a week (at least in part because the cafeterias at work regularly serve a selection of curries), and it’s the one cuisine I could eat exclusively for the rest of my life.
This wonderful English curryhouse by Ralph Savelsberg (Flickr) makes me crave baingan bharta or okra masala from Bengal Tiger:
The lettering is perfect! Ralph’s modular house would make an excellent addition to any city street.
What better way to wrap up today’s green-themed posts with a character inspired by Hayao Miyazaki, whose movies remind us how beautiful and fragile this world is.
Here’s a great little Totoro by Kevin Guoh (Flickr):
The leaf on his head makes this LEGO Totoro adorably perfect.
Well, at least I can make that argument (based on the color of the pumps) so I can blog this great little scene by Jas Nagra on Earth Day. Heh heh.
Doctor Sinister‘s “Tabletown Army” is a formidable force, matched only by Magnus Lauglo’s armor or Ralph Savelsberg’s overwhelming air superiority.
Dr. S goes studless in his latest project — applying an unstudded sheen to the entire Tabletown Army:
Okay, that’s more adorable than formidable, but it was my favorite of the bunch. If you’re looking to defend a large recycling plant, the Vindicator may be a better option.
What better way to continue our green-themed posts on Earth Day than with this great green mecha by bmck? I love the detailing on the end of the gun:
Via Young Spacers Association Blog.
Gary McIntire celebrates Earth Day with a little vignette illustrating the joy of recycling:
Learn more about Earth Day on Wikipedia.
Nnenn’s latest microscale fleets are as expansive as ever:
…but the standout is definitely the Jway ECM cruiser:
(Speaking of MicroBricks…)
Bruce of VignetteBricks and MicroBricks mentioned in our recent Claim to Fame roundup that someone should start a blog about Miniland LEGO creations.
Given that Miniland is the scale Master Builders use for the amazing cities and monuments at LEGOLAND theme parks, it only seems natural that this building scale should have its own blog.
And that’s just what Bruce has created, with MinilandBricks. Bruce says, “I’ll highlight MOCs and also great photography of the official park models.”
Incidentally, Bruce is also recruiting. If you’re interested in contributing to MicroBricks, drop him a line.
Best of luck, Bruce!
At BrickCon in October, I learned about the Halo-inspired weapons and the M1 Garand rifle that Will Chapman of BrickArms was working on at the time (see First look at new BrickArms weapons).
Last week, I received my shipment of new 2008 BrickArms weapons, and I’ve been eagerly building and waiting for a break in the snow (!) to take pictures.
Aside from much improved polish, the BA-M5 rifles and BA-M6 pistols aren’t substantially different from the prototypes I highlighted in October, as seen here with a trio of UNSC Marines from Halo:
In addition to the BA-M5 and BA-M6, the latest batch of BrickArms weapons includes two more weapons inspired by science fiction. The PKD2019 Replicant Blaster takes its inspiration from Blade Runner, so I whipped up a custom Rick Deckard to “retire” my minifig androids:
The final M1 Garand rifle is slightly larger than the prototype. Regardless, a minifig can hold the rifle at several points, as demonstrated below by a custom WW2 US Army Sergeant minifig you can also buy from BrickArms:
My favorite new BrickArms weapon is the Mk48 Machine Gun. Bundled with a bipod and monopod, the Mk48 resembles the M240 and M249 families of modern machine guns (at least at minifig scale). Other additions to the contemporary arsenal are the MP7 PDW and M84 Stun Grenade (aka “flashbang”):
The Bipod from the Mk48 can attach wherever a minifig hand can attach, including other BrickArms weapons, such as the PSG1 Sniper Rifle (with S.W.A.T. sniper below). A Monopod can convert your M1 Garand into an M14 (with Marine, circa 1965):
The other sci-fi-inspired weapon is the Auto-9, from RoboCop (below):
The priciest thing I picked up this time from BrickArms was the Medkit ($8). The Medkit includes a syringe, scalpel, and bag. Although BrickArms sold a limited run of 30 World War II medic minifigs a while back, I missed them when they were $25, and the final minifig went for $162.50 (!) on eBay.
So I made my own (mostly), using the new Medkit, an Indiana Jones bag, and bits of the Sergeant:
As I said last February in my first BrickArms review, BrickArms weapons compare well to official LEGO elements on both price (on the secondary market) and quality. This certainly holds true for the 2008 weapons, which continue to extend the building possibilities provided by our favorite little plastic bricks.
For more photos of the new weapons and accessories, see my BrickArms photoset on Flickr.
Also check out our previous coverage of BrickArms here on The Brothers Brick:
