Mike Yoder built some excellent micro-planes a little while back, and then began building some structures to use as a backdrop for them. The two come together beautifully in this scene.
Posts by Andrew Becraft (TBB Editor-in-Chief)
Microscale Sci-Fi (Mi-Fi) contest winners announced
I feel truly awful that I never got around to featuring more than a handful of the wonderful microscale models from the recent Mi-Fi contest run by The Living Brick. (Can you ever forgive me, Iain?) Anyway, Iain and Rod have announced the winners!
nolnet‘s “1.21 Gigawatts” and halfbeak‘s “Resistance is Futile” deservedly took the top spots.
SPARKART! submitted two great entries, inspired by The Matrix and Bladerunner.
Carl Merriam also entered two great micro-models, from Spaceballs and “Futurama”.
Check out the group pool for a stellar lineup of entries, and read Iain’s writeup, highlighting even more of the great entries. Congratulations to the winners, and here’s hoping Iain runs this contest annually!
LEGO Colosseum epic enough for a visit from the LEGO Pope
The archaeological purist in me had initially passed this up because it’s white (versus the tan-hued limestone and weathered brick of the real thing), but the Internet has convinced me that this LEGO Colosseum by Ryan McNaught — whose equally epic Saturn V rocket we highlighted earlier this year — is too epic to ignore.
Ryan’s Colosseum is split into modern and ancient halves, with a ruined structure on the left and a shiny new amphitheatre populated by entertained Romans on the right.
His scene is completed by a LEGO version of the nearby Arch of Constantine:
Check out lots of photos (many with great little scenes of daily life in modern and ancient Rome) in Ryan’s photoset on Flickr.
Anu puts brick bricks to good use
The 2012 LEGO City sets were the first to include the new “brick bricks” more than six months ago, but it’s only recently that LEGO builders have accumulated enough of the new element to build something substantial with them. Anu Pehrson treats us to a lovely modular building full of rich colors and wonderful details. The fluted columns on the second story are a great touch.
Demon-Hunter Mech BURZUM by Nate DeCastro
While many of us lately have been admiring Nathan DeCastro‘s excellent real-world starfighters for TR’s contest, he’s also been posting some really great mecha. This one has a face you wouldn’t want to encounter in a dark alley.
Here’s a lineup of Nate’s recent mecha:
Douglas DB-7 A-20 Havoc / Boston bomber
With so many great examples, I think at this point we’ve come to expect pretty great models of iconic World War II aircraft like the Boeing B-17 bomber from LEGO military builders. But we don’t often see less well-known aircraft like the Douglas A-20 “Havoc”. mrutek takes up that challenge to deliver a wonderfully sculpted rendition of the DB-7.
Thanks for the tip, Chris!
LEGO Star Wars Rancor Pit revealed at SDCC + Jabba’s Palace out in UK [News]
The LEGO set news from San Diego Comic-Con keeps coming, fast & furious. In addition to Bag End, LEGO has revealed a new LEGO Star Wars set, the Rancor Pit from Return of the Jedi. It looks like it comes with Luke, Rancor Keeper, and Gammorrean Guard minifigs (in addition to the Rancor itself).
FBTB has more pics from the show floor.
And since we haven’t featured an official picture of the Jabba’s Palace playset here yet, take a look (via Brickset).
It’s not out in the US yet, but our readers in the UK can already pick up 9516 Jabba’s Palace from the LEGO Shop for 120 GBP.
Pierre goes big + shows off his LEGO workspace
We’re used to seeing epic microscale spaceships from Pierre E Fieschi, so this minifig-scale intercepter/bomber was a pleasant surprise. The gantry alone is fantastic, but the vehicle itself has all kinds of crazy angles and spots of color to pore over in the full-size photo.
As much as I enjoy Pierre’s latest build, I was most intrigued recently by Pierre’s LEGO workspace:
Even his workspace is aesthetically pleasing, while remaining functional with a plexiglass surface on a turntable, surrounded by well-sorted LEGO.
Griphook CT-15 carrier by Lazer Blade
Kyle Collard (Lazer Blade) has been working on an interesting space carrier for several weeks, and just completed it yesterday. It’s got a color scheme near to my heart, with an overall structure reminiscent of some of Pierre‘s best work. But Kyle adds a combination of angles, curves, and greebling all his own for a spectacular result.
The brick-built lettering wonderfully captures a military-industrial aesthetic, and every exposed stud looks intentional.
LEGO Star Wars 10227 UCS B-wing Starfighter due out October 2012 [News]
Unveiled today at Brick Fiesta in Houston, Texas, LEGO has just announced the latest addition to the Ultimate Collectors Series, LEGO Star Wars 10227 B-wing Starfighter. At $250 and nearly 1,500 pieces, it’s a substantial addition to the UCS line.
See all the photos in the photoset on Flickr.
Here’s the official announcement:
10227 B-wing Starfighter&tm;
Ages 16+. 1,486 pieces.
US $199.99 CA $249.99 DE 199.99€ UK 169.99£ DK 1699 DKKTake on the Empire in the Ultimate Collector Series B-wing Starfighter!
Now you can experience the ultimate B-wing Starfighter from the Star Wars galaxy like never before. This fantastic model features everything you would expect from our premium collector range, including rotating, self-levelling cockpit and realistic wing configurations for landing and flight. And when you’re finished battling in the skies above Endor or helping to restore freedom in the galaxy, place this highly detailed B-wing Starfighter on its own dedicated display stand and fact plaque. Measures 26” (66 cm) wide and 15” (38 cm) high in flight configuration, and 17” (43 cm) high on display stand.
- A highly detailed Ultimate Collector Series B-wing Starfighter model
- Features rotating, self-levelling cockpit
- Features realistic wing configurations for landing and flight
- Includes display stand and fact plaque
- Model can be detached from display stand
- Measures 26” (66cm) wide and 15” (38cm) high in flight configuration, and 17” (43cm) high when mounted on display stand
Available for sale directly through LEGO® beginning
October 2012 via shop.LEGO.com, LEGO® Stores or via phone
Finally, here‘s the designer video.
Cthulhu Rises
Imagine Rigney says that he’s always wanted to build a LEGO Cthulhu — H.P. Lovecraft’s iconic god-monster. I think Imagine has captured Cthulhu’s tender visage especially well.
1973 “Hercules” nuke platform by Pierre E Fieschi
Since TR has a bit of a conflict of interest as a judge for the Real World Starfighter Contest, I think it’s my duty to highlight some of the best entries so far. Not surprisingly, Pierre E Fieschi is among the builders whose work stands out.
Pierre writes, “Disregarding the recent Non-Profileration Treaty, US government and NASA decided — instead of dismantling them — to recycle the excess amount of nukes into a new kind of space program.”