Over on flickr, The Magic Tuba Pixie has posted this fantastic underwater scene. I absolutely love the detailing under the dome on the jellyfish. The customization on the minifig is also excellent. The breathing apparatus is excellent.
Posts by Dan
Frodorror “KFKF15” Heavy Fighter
Check out this fighter by Mristoph Chonnaie (stenertje).
It’s called a heavy fighter, and it really feels like one. I really love the chunkiness of this thing. I’m also a big fan of the tube making a seam across the bubble canopy.
Jon Hall’s Cave Cruiser
Jon Hall (jonhall18) recently built this fantastic speeder.
It incorporates a lot of great angles, without looking like it’s a bunch of sections being forced together. Instead, it really appears as though the hull came from a factory in one piece. It also features just enough greebles inside of the fins to look good, without going overboard. The sticker use is also impeccable.
Mecha Frenzy
I’ve noticed a flood of great mecha creations being posted lately, and I’d like to call attention to a few of them.
Kyle Vrieze (bermudafreze)has really out-done himself with his latest mecha, the AC01 above. He’s done some great things with armor, especially around the ankles, and I also quite enjoy the head. He has also made great use of stickers throughout.
This thing is just armed to the teeth. It has missile pods on each shoulder, and a huge built-on gun on the left arm, but that doesn’t stop it from picking up a rifle with the right hand.
Flickr’s Crimson Wolf has been featured here often, but I’m not going to let that stop me.
This mecha has an old-school Battletech feel, with its big body, bulging weapons and chicken legs. It also has all sorts of new-school building techniques and details to set it apart. I’m especially keen on the feet, and I love any mecha with external pistons at the joints.
Hunabkru has built an excellent mecha of his own, the MX-6 “Berserker” Close Combat Mecha.
I really love the use of car doors for an extra bit of armor plating for the knee. The head is also quite nice. The proportions and style of the bot remind me of the very old game One Must Fall 2098.
The mecha also has a pretty rockin sword, if you ask me.
Taidan Raptor
There are too many castle creations on the front page of this site right now. I had to add some more space.
Fortunately, Stefan (Brainbikerider) built this lovely Taidan Raptor inspired by the Homeworld games. The color blocking is fantastic, as is the shaping on the cockpit area. There’s some great brick-work in that area. While I personally wish that it wasn’t such a straight line overall, I can’t argue with results like this.
Iron Mountain Legion Tank
I’ve been talking with some friends lately about building a joint post-apocalyptic diorama. I started thinking about various factions that could do battle in the wastelands, and came up with several ideas. One was the Iron Mountain Legion.
The Iron Mountain Legion is intended to be the remnants or descendants of an elite military unit that was sealed away in a bunker (Iron Mountain) during the war. They emerge to wreak havoc from time to time.
Goofy back-story aside, this is my first completed attempt at building a tank. It turned out rather, oddly, if you ask me. It seems almost cartoony. While that wasn’t what I set out to do, I think it’s interesting. It also successfully includes four-wheel steering, which I’m happy about.
I’m definitely looking for feedback on this one, so let me know what you think.
Space Police 2 Rides Again
Uspez Morbo has built a decidedly aggressive upgrade for the old Space Police 2 line. I absolutely love the angles on the wheel mounts, and the layout is great too. He’s modernized the old jail cells, but they still retain the general feel of the old ones.
I’m not sure yet how to feel about the lever arms on the wheel coverings, though. Are they spikes? Is it furry? They’re certainly interesting.
Are we about to see a Neo Space Police 2 fad? That seems like a bit of a long name…
New Survey for Adult Fans from LEGO
LEGO has created a new survey to help them work better with the adult fan community. Go ahead and tell them how you really feel!
Where’s My Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator
Mrs. Monster has produced a tribute to everyone’s favorite cartoon alien, Marvin the Martian. This reminds me of . . . college, there was a guy in my dorm who wore nothing but Marvin the Martian t-shirts, he had at least a dozen.
Thanks to James Shields for the tip.
Micro Space Roundup
There is one type of space building that has eluded me, it is micro-scale. I’m frequently impressed by the ability of builders to put parts to use representing larger structures and details. This compression of scale can produce very interesting results. I’ve gathered a few interesting recently posted micro space creations below.
First is the hangar scene above, by Peter Reid. He’s built some really interesting structures here, like the gantry on the right side. Although it’s something simple, I also really enjoy the small treaded vehicles.
Next is this cool micro scale battle by Andrew Lee. Andrew has done an absolutely fantastic job creating damaged areas on the top of the big ship under attack from Neo Blacktron forces. I also love the escape pods being ejected from the ship, they add a great sense of life and action.
Carter Baldwin built The Montero, a ship inspired by the Sulaco from Halo Aliens. Carter has made great use of the seams in between parts to give a purposeful paneled look.
Pelican Class Cargo Shuttle
Attentive readers may have noticed that I haven’t posted for about a month. My father recently suffered a severe stroke, and I’ve been very busy and distracted as a result. I only bring this up because it has lead me to really think about the role that LEGO plays in my life. My friend Gary McIntire suggested that it was worth putting some of my thoughts in writing, and I thought I’d share.
I’ve realized that for me, and I expect for others as well, LEGO is more than just a hobby. It’s a distraction from the stresses of everyday life, a release. There’s something therapeutic about diving in to a bin of plastic bricks and creating something that is heartening, regardless of what may be going on in other aspects of life. I’m hoping that some of our readers share the same experience with LEGO as something more than a toy, and that they may want to share as well.
I’m actually posting a LEGO creation, while I’m at it. This is small cargo shuttle, that I’ve been building over the last five weeks or so. This ship is intended to be the space equivalent of a box truck, like this. I imagine this particular ship as having a lot of light-years under its belt, used for longer journeys than originally intended, so there’s a hammock in the cargo bay. As I explained above, I had a lot of time to think about this creation, even if I didn’t have much time to build or blog. I also imagined the that it might not always have been docked in the nicest of space neighborhoods, so I built after I took some photos, I covered it in graffiti.
Cole gets up
And builds some graffiti out of his bricks. He’s (Cole Blaq) built his own tag in a fade color scheme. I love this graphical style. Ever since my design classes in undergrad, I’ve been a bit of a font nerd, and really enjoy it when people play with the simple forms of letters to make something that’s more than just text.
Thanks to Andrew Lee (Onosendai2600) for the tip.