I was stunned when I came across this photo in Cole Blaq‘s flickr stream. The colors in the thumbnail seemed so intense that I had to take a closer look. I have to admit, I never thought I’d see someone use those tentacles for anything other than tentacles.
Andrew Lee (onosendai2600) has just posted a cool mecha that he calls “Fluffy Bunny.” While it certainly doesn’t look fluffy to me, it does have a bit of a resemblance to a bunny. I also suspect that he may have found some inspiration in artwork for the upcoming film Sucker Punch.
Whether Andrew was inspired by that art or not, he’s done a wonderful job. The ear-like antennae on the body of the mecha really add to the bunny feeling. He’s also used just light touch of pink (a rare color, to be sure), that adds a bit of character to the creation.
There’s a certain beauty hidden in this hover ship by Cole Blaq. It’s blocky and chunky, but in all the right ways. I love the various angles that come together in the cockpit area on the front, and the use of tiles sticking out to represent armored windows is great.
The icing on the cake? It can carry that little truck posed in front of it.
Twisting is the first thing that pops into my head looking at this new ship by Kevin Murney (legorevolution). The prongs on the front of the ship are a fascinating new twist (pardon the pun) on the classic Vic Viper look. I’m also struck by the pod shapes on either side of the cockpit, which remind me of dandelion seed clusters.
These techniques are certain to inspire further creations down the road.
Actually, neither of these ships uses true LEGO “blue.” They both use shades other than the standard blue, along with various bits of brown. Both of these ships caught my eye today (I’ve built my own brown and blue combinations, so I’m a fan).
First is the Arashi by Nathan Proudlove. He’s achieved an interesting effect by suspending engine pods far forward on spindly booms. It’s enough to make one wonder how it even stayed balanced for the photo to be taken.
Second, is a cute little ship by Tyler Clites. The most impressive thing about this ship is that it’s not really all that small at all, yet it looks like an adorable little ship. I’m also a big fan of the construction of the various intakes on the front. They add just enough detailing to balance out all the smooth curves on the rest of the ship.
I am tasked with delivering news here that leaves me with a heavy heart. A man who has been a member of the Lego fan community both online and in person, and who works teaching Lego at a school has been arrested and charged with molesting children. Many of us know this man, and I’m sure many readers have opinions on his guilt, but I am not going to name him, because a media trial is not my objective.
I write here not to weigh the guilt of the accused, who in our justice system is presumed innocent, unless, and until, proven guilty. I think it is important for Lego hobbyists to address this news head on, as there are lessons to be learned by us all, regardless of the truth of the allegations. Regardless of the guilt or innocence of the accused, we are left with a great deal to think carefully about.
Choosing a child’s toy as the basis of one’s hobby leads to a great deal of interactions with children. As members of Lego fan clubs, as well as organizers and attendees of Lego fan events, we need to be aware that children are not the only people our events may attract. When dealing with large crowds at our events, we should watch for more than just small hands grabbing for Lego creations.
I am not advocating that we live in paranoia, or engage in witch hunts, but we should also not ignore warning signs that we see around us. We should also be careful about scheduling activities that would leave children isolated with only one or a handful of adults, even if that adult is someone we know in our community of fans.
In addition to being aware of the risks that children may face from unscrupulous attendees of our conventions or immoral members of our groups, we must consider that any one of us may be ripe for false accusation. Just as we are careful not to leave children alone with other adults, we must avoid those same situations ourselves. This is a lesson that has been learned by the teaching community over and over again.
We must all be vigilant to protect the children around us, as well as ourselves. We must also speak out and make it plain that the sort of conduct alleged to have been committed in this bit of news, or any other harm to children, will NOT be condoned in this community. We will not look the other way, we will not ignore accusations of impropriety or possible warning signs that we may see.
I hope that our readers can join me in a rational discussion of lessons we can take away from this situation. As well as joining me in offering condolences to the children involved, they may have suffered a grave assault, and are definitely caught up in a situation that will follow them the rest of their lives.
That’s what this new Assault Cruiser from Pierre E. Fieschi provides. This space ship incorporates unorthodox angles and shapes, that make the viewer sit up and take notice. My mind struggles to find something to compare it to, until the red boom on front appears as a tongue, and the ship a blue dragon.
Pierre has incorporated some impressive building techniques, in achieving such a complex shape at a fairly small size. He also appears to have made use of a few “useless” parts, including feet from Knights Kingdom figures.
The name makes me think of the Oort Cloud at the edge of the solar system, which in turn makes me think of the Dragon Riders of Pern. More relevantly, this cool ship by JON1138 made a big impression at BrickCon earlier this month.
It’s one of several big space ships build primarily with dark blue lately. It’s making the big dark blue ship I’ve had in the works for the last year feel less special. Regardless, there’s a lot to like about this ship, and I’m especially fond of the trilateral symmetry. It is also fairly refreshing to see a micro scale creation of this size, as most builders choose to chase the minifig.
Because I love this new ship by Chase Lewis (Vid’). The ship manages to at once be sleek and bulky. It also makes great use of a gigantic tail fin from the airplane sets.
I’d love to say more about this creation, but it’s taken me nearly a week just to find the time to post about it at all.
This one isn’t a part of a Wagnerian opera, nor is Tom Cruise involved. I can certainly imagine it in a sci-fi version of Apocalypse now, though, it’s a truly cool new ship by Dane Erland (Lord Dane).
This creation incorporates a lot of nice coinciding angles and curves. It also features a nice rotating turret, and eye catching sticker usage.
It’s a great space bug queen diorama, by Alex Fojtik (BrickFX). This is a truly immersive display, incorporating some great details. My favorite is the dripping slime, but I’ve also been known to love hexagons. The scattered space helmet eggs look great, and must have been quite a challenge to pose for different angled photos.
I’m back from BrickCon, and ready to unveil the only new creation I’ve built since July. I had the funky idea to build this one evening, and actually had the time to do so. I figured that the post-apocalypse building scene could use a little more levity, and what’s better than cheerleaders to bring some cheer? Of course, I had to try to build a stereotypical cheerleader vehicle, which pretty much had to be an open top jeep or a VW cabrio. Then I added the legs, to make it more interesting, as well as ridiculous.
At the behest of a friend, I brought the creation to BrickCon, and took photos of it on as many cool creations as I could manage. I didn’t anticipate the big response it got, so don’t be surprised to see some more girls of the apocalypse from me (nurses anyone?).
