Andrew’s blast from the past reminded me to check my own list and I discovered that I hadn’t blogged this masterpiece. Steven Marshall makes use of his design talents and, I suspect, the TLG rendering libraries to present this excellent virtual recreation of the Eiffel Tower under construction. It’s really, really, really excellent.
Also on youtube
Peer Kreuger shows off his building skills and some Web 0.0 animation with this animated GIF of Da Vinci’s flying machine. The working flapping motion and steering are well demonstrated and the model itself has an elegance about it. Ben giocato, Peer.
Nnenn is back at it again with this totally awesome recreational dogfighter: the ‘Zipper’. And it certainly appears zippy.
The BBC’s Teck Know section currently has an article on the LEGO hobby with a focus on LDraw and virtual building. It includes discussion with Chris Dee who is the man responsible for quality control and library management for LDraw (and who does an excellent job). It also highlights the excellent work of Warren Elsmore, creator of the featured bridge and LDraw-using designer.
One of Warren Elsmore’s work-in-progress St Pancras LDraw sketches as mentioned in the article.
(link goes to creator’s Eurobricks post)
It’s taken me a while but I’ve finally managed to get the review up for Ryan McNaught’s excellent A380 model as debuted at Brickvention last weekend. While the sculpting and other building techniques are highly impressive they are only the wrapping on this excellent model.
Firstly it also includes a fully detailed interior featuring scenes from five different movies. It also had some other features that may be visible in closeups. Try to spot them all.
Secondly it includes a large a large range of powered features including retractable landing gear and working engines which are all controlled by an A380 control panel on a touchscreen computer. Great mindstorms fun even on a regular model but on the A380 truly spectacular.
And finally Ryan is also selling a mini version of the A380. A got my girlfriend to build the kit to provide a ‘lay’ perspective. She said it was easy enough to build from the included instructions although she found some aspects of them strange and a little confusing. I can’t find the pictures and details right now but rather than make you wait for the main meal I’ll edit some in tomorrow.
Overall it was a very deserving best-of-show at the convention and sets the bar high for future minifig-scale plane building efforts. Truly an impressive model.
And for our American readers Ryan will be taking it to Brickworld in Chicago in June. If you’re in the neighbourhood I highly recommend checking it out in real life. Pictures honestly cannot do it justice.
I debuted this commuter rake at Brickvention. I’m fairly happy with it. Based on the old compartment coaches used in the late 19th and early 20th century. Photography could be a bit better.
I need to do one last (time-consuming) thing before I can blog the A380 but I’ll get to it soon. ;)
The above image by batwingtm will take you to the flickr group which also includes pictures from previous Brickventions. I’ll add more links as I find them.
Well I’ve just got back from Melbourne after attending Brickvention 2010 and having a little holiday. I’m very tired so will keep this brief but I felt I owed it to our readers and the 70 Australian who attended (plus the 2800 people that came to see!) to blog something from the convention before the week was out. I took no photos myself (camera had a dead battery and they always turn out bad anyway) but there’s a bunch of them up on Flickr now (alternate link to search on Brickvention 2010 tags).
PS. Below is the best in show award winner. I’ll be blogging more about it ASAP.
Brickshelf user Grrr31 has powered up his graphics techniques to accurately portray the line art on a French CC72000 train (as well as the locomotive itself). With so much focus lately on stickers to do the tricky bits it’s nice to see someone do it the old-fashioned way.
Dear LUG Members,
The LEGO LUGBULK Program was a big success last year so we have decided to continue the program – still as a pilot which can be terminated anytime – in 2010 but with some adjustments and even more defined rules based on our experience from last year.
We are happy to announce, that we in 2010 can offer the LEGO LUGBULK Program also in the USA.
Jan Beyer
Some good news for LUGs this year with the extension of the LUGBULK program and its expansion into the USA. LUGs must meet these criteria (zipped .doc) which can be summarised as follows: 10 members, 2 public shows a year, official website, at least 1 year old. If you believe your LUG may be applicable read the instructions (zipped .doc) and send the important info to Jan by the 31st of Jan or 16th of May. Also ask for the part list from Jan as it is too big to host here. EDIT TG I made a mistake. There is no part list. Do not ask for one.
EDIT TG 2 I uploaded the Master Sheet for applying for this program to Flickr. You may be better getting the .doc file from Jan or Steve but this gives you some idea of what you need to write.
Karwik may have built the first LEGO version of a Jelcz 272 MEX (EDIT TG: Not the first, thanks Globetrotter). I suspect the model means something if you’re a bus fan in Poland but to me it just screams excellence in LEGO design. From the slight tapering from body to roof to the amazing grille this vehicle is a masterpiece of technique and style.
Thanks to Tim David for the heads up.
