About Keith Goldman

See Keith Goldman's LEGO models on Flickr.

Posts by Keith Goldman

“All too easy...”

I like to think of MOCpages as a sort of condemned public housing block, cut off from the rest of the world and occupied by squatters. Indeed, all that seems to remain are roaming packs of feral youths and an intrepid band of hold-outs who have barricaded themselves in the basement with a stockpile of food and ammunition. I’m not talking about the builders who retain a sort of dual-citizenship on both MOCpages and Flickr; I’m talking about the hardcore…the loyalists. The MOCpage building still has power, mind you, but there are frequent blackouts and a general breakdown of services and over-watch. While such an environment is far from ideal, there is action to be found there and nowhere else. Case in point is this gem of a diorama depicting a famous scene from the last great Star Wars movie, 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back. I’m not typically one to prattle on about the details, I figure you can make them out without my help, but the technique Markus 1984 uses for the center of the floor is brilliant.

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Helicarriers Assemble!

Let’s climb in the way-back machine, constant reader and check out this microscale Avengers Helicarrier from June of last year. The builder is TBB regular Jack Marquez Ewok in Disguise, who brings his typical style and skill to the rather unlikely vehicle.

A more recent take on the Helicarrier come from MOCpages resident Sariel, who adds light, motion and out of scale minifigs to the creative mix. Nick Fury would no doubt be pleased…if he is ever pleased.

Bandits at 8 o’clock!

Air Marshal Jon Hall (Jon Hall18) remains ever vigilant to keep the skies of your home prefecture clear of enemy warbirds. The A-37B Marauder is the latest weapon in the never ending war against Eurasia or is it East Asia?…I always forget. For you purists in the audience giving that camouflage the disapproving skunk-eye, you can rest easy, the builder claims the effect was achieved by cutting up only the most official decals available from our Danish overlords.

Talking Heads

I laughed until my prodigious gut hurt when I laid eyes on the latest model by TBB fixture Iain Heath (Ochre Jelly). I didn’t need to read the text to immediately recognize everyone’s favorite cherubic interviewers Joshua and Matthew from Beyond the Brick TV; the likeness is uncanny and even more proof of Iain’s genius. Iain is the subject of Episode 78 of the long running series and as usual, the interview does not disappoint. Look at those faces!…I can almost hear the uncomfortable pauses and softly murmured “yeah…cool…” at the end of segments.

Do you speak Klingon?

TBB rookies Jon and Catherine Stead (The Steads) have de-cloaked from some far flung corner of the galaxy with a trio of UCS-style models from the Star Trek franchise. My favorite of the group is this delightful Vor’Char Class Klingon Bird of Prey, the lines are perfect and so is the choice of scale. I hope the couple expands their project to other ships from the various series; they clearly have an eye for it.

Friday Night Fights (Round 15)

Welcome back fight fans, to Sin City Nevada for another no holds barred edition of Friday Night Fights! Tonight’s bout is a struggle of military logistics featuring two young-guns of the hobby. Let’s go to the tale of the tape:

Fighting out of the red corner, from the great State of New York…Nathan (Ɲ.) and his Cowboy Beboats.

And fighting out of the blue corner, from Knuckleville Tennessee…Chris the Ironsniper and his Military Transport Unimog.

As usual, constant reader, you are tasked with deciding the outcome of this pugilistic endeavor by way of comment. On the last edition of Friday Night Fights, the so-called Mosaic Massacre, Tommy Williamson a.k.a. The Lompoc Lightning-bolt knocked out his opponent 5-1. Tune in next week for more action!

“Just got paid, Friday night.”

If you’re not gone already, make your escape from the salt-mine and blow off some steam tonight. If you can’t afford to live the high-life, then your friends on the other side of the tracks are always ready to set things off. If you are headed in that direction, why not stop at Filip Gabryel’s Gabry$ billiard hall for an adult beverage and a rack or two. As the builder says “Focus man, focus on the spheres“…

“Aut Caesar aut nullus, Emperor of the world!”

I’ve only recently grown to appreciate the silent-screen and 1940’s The Great Dictator was the film that hooked me. TBB fixture Stefan Schindler (Brainbikerider) shares a similar affection for the movie and has brought his considerable building skill to the task of recreating its most often cited sequence. According to Stefan “Ever since I saw the first pictures of the little Lego globe, I dreamed of building the iconic scene of Charlie Chaplin’s ballet with the globe in “The Great Dictator”, which is one of my most favourite movies.” This isn’t the first time TBB has featured a diorama from The Great Dictator, back in 2008 we introduced readers to a model by Piglet that effectively tackled another scene entirely.

Long live the Imp King

Vlad Lisin ([Rhymes_Shelter]) checks in for the second week in a row with a dinotastic Bionicle creation he calls The Imp King, that looks like a creature ripped from a Guillermo del Toro movie. I can always count on Vlad for just the right background to complement the model.

It’s a little slow this weekend, constant reader, you must have other things to do than sequester yourself with our favorite toy. Don’t be afraid to call in on the ‘long distance dedication line’ if you have a contemporary tune you’d like to hear, I’ll take the 7th caller…

Nadie se escapa del sabueso!

I’ve been a big fan of -Tayasuune- since he hit Flickr in 2008. Craig has developed a unique style to his near-future science fiction vehicles that is easy to identify, even from a great distance. The Prototype – A12b ISV ‘Sabueso’ is one of Craig’s recent models that really shows off some great angles and perfect stud-management.

Because it’s a slow day, and I am such a big fan of the builder, enjoy a brilliant little scene from January of last year called Cell Block 23.

The Dragon Arena beckons you! Time to fight!

Friday Night Fights is on hiatus this weekend, but that doesn’t mean we’re leaving fight-fans without some bread and circuses in the meantime. Imagine Rigney (Imagine™) would like to invite you to his Ninjago Dragon Arena to prove your mad Spinjitzu skills that you’re always bragging about. The mosaic face on the arena floor is an eye-catcher and so is the gray samurai statue. I’ve never been more tempted to play the game than when I saw this arena, or more tempted to build my own. I can only imagine the delight this would produce in young fans of the Ninjago theme; it must be something akin to Spinjitzu nirvana.

The Art of Violence

No, it’s not the subtitle of the latest Jason Statham movie or a poorly translated version of Sun Tzu’s classic text, it is a building contest sponsored by the new-age musical duo Siercon and Coral. I will let Sean and Steph explain the concept:

This is a stylized ‘Violence’ Contest. This is all about art. This is NOT a contest in which we primarily want to see hacked limbs and excessive amounts of blood. A more artistic and graceful scene will score far higher than any simple depiction of slaughter.

However, make it meaningful, sober, deadly, and more importantly… artistic. Many Asian movies have done this exceedingly well. ‘Hero’ is one of these movies in our opinion. (Please use discretion if you intend to watch, as there are some questionable scenes). Artistically speaking, however, it is one of our favorite movies.

Here are three of the best early entries to inspire and motivate you, if the custom trophy provided by Sean and Steph isn’t enough motivation. For the rest of the boilerplate (details, restrictions and minutia) head over to the Art of Violence thread on the Lego Contest Network Flickr Group.

First up is “The Last Stand” by TBB favorite Mark of Falworth.

The middle-man is Ru Corder and his “Fall like a thunderbolt“.

The triad is complete with .Bricko’s ode to Pat Benatar, “Love is a Battlefield“.

I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that the last entry had nothing to do with dancing pimps and working girls. My advice to you, constant reader, should you enter the fray, is to avoid the color red…it seems to be dominating the early entries. Good luck to everyone involved with the contest!