I don’t have much to say about this new creation by Peter Reid (legoloverman) except that it’s just great. The use of minifig sextants to build a cube is brilliant, and makes a perfect micro scale Borg cube. It’s hard to think of a more ridiculously single purpose-part, and yet it works quite well to add detail at this tiny scale.
Jared (Freedom01) has chosen not to grant this space ship a name, but he’s given it lots else. The spindly neck joining rear engines to a forward control area is reminiscent of larger ship designs, and it’s refreshing to see it used on a fighter. The fins at the rear help spice things up, while the large gun-turret slightly off-center provides an interesting break in the symmetry.
This lovely display by Justin Pyne seems to be attempting to illustrate the concept of exploration, rather than just an exploration mecha. The choice of perspective, putting the fascinating alien (underwater perhaps?) flowers in the foreground, with the character in the background really adds depth to the photo. Speaking of those flowers, they’re quite interesting as well, the use of large scale technic pieces is surprisingly effective.
Ok, it’s the street, but it’s still some amazing chalk work.
There’s some speculation that this may be related to the giant Lego minifig that recently washed up in Florida.
Thanks to Tom Hohman for the heads up.
UPDATE (Nov 9): Artist Leon Keer has posted complete photos of his chalk art effort on Flickr (I’ve replaced the unsourced photo above with one of his). And here’s the finished artwork, evocative of Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s terracotta army:
Breaking news from LEGO. It appears that LEGO Universe will be shutting down at the start of the new year. My heart goes out to all those who will be losing their jobs. Here’s the press release:
LEGO Universe to close in 2012
Online game will close on January 31, 2012. The LEGO Group’s digital offerings will continue to develop over the coming years.
November 4, 2011 – The LEGO Group today announced that it will close LEGO® Universe, an MMOG (massively-multiplayer online game) that has been in operation since the autumn of 2010.
In spite of very positive player feedback and a large number of players in the free play zone, it has not been possible to convert a satisfactory number of players to paying subscribers. It has therefore been decided to close the game as of January 31, 2012.
“The LEGO Universe team can take pride in having developed and launched a great LEGO experience that many players will miss,” said Jesper Vilstrup, Vice President, LEGO Universe. “Right now, we have almost 2 million players in LEGO Universe, and we get extremely positive feedback from players. Unfortunately, we have not been able to build a satisfactory revenue model in our target group, and therefore, have decided to close the game.”
Despite the change, the ambition to develop and run a digital business remains. In future, it is the intention to further pursue cooperation with partners. The LEGO Group has a strong and continuing partnership with TT Games Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to create digital LEGO experiences within video games. A further expansion in the digital area will mainly be based on similar partnerships.
“The development of our digital offerings continues to be a very important element in our strategy,” said Mads Nipper, Executive Vice President, LEGO Group. “We have more than 20 million visitors on www.LEGO.com every month, and LEGO video games are among the bestselling children’s video games with sales of more than 60 million units in the last five years. Through our experience developing and running LEGO Universe, we have gained a lot of valuable insights, and we have a very strong foundation for future development in the digital area.”
As a consequence of the closure, the LEGO Universe staff has today been informed that the ‘Play Well Studios’ in Louisville, Colorado and the game’s marketing function in Billund, Denmark will be closed. This will affect 115 employees. All affected employees will be offered assistance in finding new jobs inside or outside the LEGO Group.
Sometimes, all it takes for a great creation is to make creative use of an unusual part. Take these space ships built by Haypro. Shamefully, it’s taken me almost two months to post this photo, which I loved as soon as I saw it.
First, I was struck by the creative use of the Hero Factory armor pieces as armor on the larger ship. These pieces work great as armored cowlings, and I know that they are difficult to attach to normal LEGO bricks. Upon further examination, I noticed the front of the smaller ship. Those are minifigure neck baskets, but the shape is absolutely perfect for a Corellian style ship.
It’s been quite awhile since I’ve built anything with my own Lego, but I’m going to post something anyways. I built this light transport helicopter months ago, and have finally managed to get the photos together. I tried to spice things up with a little scene this time, although it may be too little for the helo.
I’m a big fan of tilt-rotors, though I hear this is properly called a tilt-wing. Either way, the tilting adds a fun little activity, when swooshing this thing around.
I don’t know what the Get Robo company does, but I know I like this sculpture if their mascot by Ewok in Disguise. The robot is cute, and incorporates some intersting building techniques in the torso. Frankly, I think it’s better looking than the source image he based it on.
The builder known as M_O_N_K_E_Y on flickr has been busy posting some fantastic creations. I was especially drawn to this orange mecha. I consider orange to be a bit of a difficult color to work with, in part because of a smaller part variety in the color, and it is well managed in this creation.
I like the look of the large, smooth cowlings accenting the spindly technical bits. It’s believable to me for a real world robot.
The LEGO Cuusoo website has been enabling Japanese LEGO fans to submit their ideas (cuusoo means “imagination” or “wish” in Japanese) and have them voted on and maybe turned into an official LEGO set. The site is now also open in English as a Beta.
For those who want to jump to the case, the link to register is here. You no longer need an invite, and are free to go and submit and vote for models. I’ve even submitted one myself. What will you make?
Here’s the press release:
Turn your model wishes into reality with LEGO® CUUSOO
LEGO consumers can now give their great ideas directly to the LEGO Group using the LEGO CUUSOO website. Ideas that collect 10,000 supporters could be selected to become part of the toy manufacturers’ product line
BILLUND, Denmark – The LEGO Group announced today that LEGO® CUUSOO, its new international web-based open innovation and crowd sourcing platform, is now available in open beta.LEGO CUUSOO is an idea collection system that asks the Danish toy manufacturers’ consumers to submit and vote for their favourite ideas for new LEGO products. It can be found at http://lego.cuusoo.com
Ideas that are supported by 10,000 votes have a chance of being selected to become part of the LEGO Group’s product portfolio and sold in LEGO Brand retail stores and the LEGO online shop. Consumers who have their ideas chosen will earn 1% of the total net sales of the product
CUUSOO, which means ‘imagination’ or sometimes ‘wish’ in Japanese, has been developed with CUUSOO SYSTEM, a subsidiary of Japan-based Elephant Design that has worked with open innovation and crowd sourcing for more than 10 years.
The LEGO Group has worked with CUUSOO since 2008 on a Japanese site that has attracted hundreds of ideas and seen thousands of votes cast by a 20,000-strong community. Now the time has come to test the concept internationally.
The first Japanese product, the Shinkai 6500 submersible, went on sale in Japan in February 2011. The next Japanese LEGO CUUSOO model will be the Hayabusa unmanned spacecraft launched in the first quarter of next year. “Our fans and consumers have proved time after time that they have great ideas that can lead to products,” said Paal Smith-Meyer, head of the LEGO New Business Group.
“We have worked with our consumers in the past and continue to do so, for example in the LEGO Architecture series, which we developed with an architect and LEGO fan. LEGO CUUSOO is an attempt to gather more great ideas while streamlining the way we innovate and become inspired.”
“We see this as an investment in the future rather than for immediate sales gain. We are moving from a local Japanese pilot to see if the model is sustainable. We were pleased with the initial results, but we need to see how it will perform on a global platform with global distribution,” he added.
As we speak, this new set is being unveiled at BrickCon in Seattle, and probably the Great Western Train Show in the UK. While most of the Brothers Brick are at BrickCon enjoying seeing this in person, the honor falls to me to share the set with our readers.
Before I saw the photos, I found myself wondering how a joust set could possibly command a price of $119 US. Now that I’ve seen them, I understand, this is more than a joust, it’s an entire medieval scene. There are little bits of buildings, some wall, and a nicely detailed royal viewing gallery (with some nice furniture and figures, shown below). There’s also a nice array of figs, and what looks like an update to the Black Falcons.
Frog legs anyone?
Here’s the official LEGO word on the set:
10223 Kingdoms Joust
Ages 12+. 1,575 pieces.
US $119.99 CA $149.99 DE 119.99 € UK 99.99 £ DK 1099.00 DKK AU 199.99 AUD
Watch the Knights battle it out at the Royal Joust!
It’s the most exciting event on the LEGO Kingdoms calendar! Join the King and Queen at the Royal Joust as the knights on horseback battle it out for the hand of the beautiful Princess. This detailed set recreates all the majesty of a medieval pageant, from the large, 6-roomed castle with linked wall extensions, 2 knights’ weapons tents, royal viewing box, jousting fence and of course 2 magnificent jousting horses. Combine 2 Kingdoms Joust sets for a scene that is truly fit for a King! Includes 9 minifigures: king, queen, princess, lion knight, falcon knight, young squire, nobleman and 2 soldiers.
• Includes 9 minifigures: king, queen, princess,, lion knight, falcon knight, young squire, nobleman and 2 soldiers!
• Knight minifigures include armor decoration, helmet, jousting pole, shield and 2 extra weapons!
• Features castle with 6 detailed rooms with lots of accessorie and 2 knight’s tents with weapon holders!
• Open back for easy access to linked wall extensions!
• Also features royal viewing box with flags and coat of arms!
• Includes 2 knight’s horses with detailed decoration, weapon holder and armored headgear!
• Explore the castle rooms!
• Battle it out for the hand of the princess!
• Combine 2 Kingdoms Joust sets for a scene fit for King!
• Castle measures 20″ (51 cm) wide and 12″ (30 cm) tall!Available for sale directly through LEGO® beginning
January 2012 via shop.LEGO.com, LEGO® Stores or via phone
I think that it’s now safe to say that I’ll be lining up to get one in January.
