If conversations about audio equipment have you fondly remembering terms like “45 rpm”, “B-side”, “mix tape” or “VHF” then you’re probably ancient like me. Or you just rented Guardians of the Galaxy. Either way, this LEGO trifecta of vintage gear is far out, right on, and out of sight… Can you dig it?
First up is this 70s kitchen scene from Swedish retro-fanatic LegoJalex, featuring a portable radio and a color palette that practically defined the home décor of that decade. Looks like something right out of the 1973 IKEA catalog (and strangely, the 2010 catalog). It’s groovy, man.
Next, are these super-accurate recreations of turntable / cassette player units from the same era, created by Indonesian builder Yul Burman Karel. I swear, the one on the left looks like the exact one I used as a kid. Ok, time to boogie!
Posts by Iain
“Oh, oh, my Christmas tree’s delicious”
Procrastination. It’s a crippling disease that afflicts millions every year, especially around December. Don’t become a victim – shop now! And if you’re looking for the perfect gift for the LEGO fan that has everything, Chris McVeigh can help you out with this beautiful range of tree ornament kits. Or if you’re a total cheapskate like me, just print them off a set of building instructions. Bah, humbug!
I particularly like the inclusion of the arcade machine ornaments. Also, it looks like the roller ornaments could be easily converted into dreidels. Or with the application of a rubber mallet, possibly even a mkeka.
The cubicle of the future
If you’re gonna operate heavy machinery all day, you might as well be comfortable. And the operator of this Walker Mech by Flickr member nobu_tary has clearly gone to great lengths to trick out his mobile workplace, by adding a sporty bucket seat and a ton of other gear and personal effects, giving this build a great “lived in” feel.
Check out all the angles on this sweet mech to see how many more details you can spot. With all that equipment, it kinda reminds me of that old board game Buckaroo!
We’re gonna need a bigger broom
Building a transparent model is always a challenge, due to the more limited range of parts. But Flickr member Igginz has overcome that brilliantly by combining transparent and opaque parts in just the right way to create this terrifying Glass Spider. I don’t know what exactly is brewing inside that arachnid abdomen, but I want no part of it!
Check out his Flickr stream for lots of closeup shots.
“We jumped out of a window!”
What do you get if you combine the Pillsbury dough boy with the Michelin man and the Stay Puft marshmallow man? You probably get BayMax, the robotic sidekick from Disney’s new animated adventure Big Hero 6 (very loosely based on a Marvel comic of the same name). Oregonian builder Cole Edmonson wasted no time in creating a LEGO version of our inflatable friend with his mortal enemy, a soccer ball.
In space no-one can hear you rust
One of the more notable Maschin Krieger inspired builds from this year’s Ma.Ktober fest is probably the Baumeister Spinnentier, a “construction arachnid” style zero-G hardsuit, created by Canadian builder Josh Derksen.
Clearly the break-out technique Josh has used here is the application of paint to give the model a rusted look (…yes it rains in space, deal with it!). Using paint to artificially ‘weather’ LEGO is something I’ve wanted to do myself for a long time, but have not yet been man enough to attempt. But Josh totally nails it with this creation. Check out his full breakdown to get a look at all of its finer details and play features (which include poseable arms and pincers, and an openable cockpit).
Steampunk LEGO by Guy Himber [Review]
As holiday season approachs, No Starch Press is kicking into high gear with a slew of new titles for LEGO fans. Their latest offering is Steampunk LEGO by well-known LEGO builder, innovator and steampunk enthusiast Guy Himber. This 200 page compilation features the work of over 90 individual builders, and includes just about every notable LEGO steampunk creation of the past five years.
Physically, the book has a definite steampunk feel about it. Its blue and gold hard cover sports a full-color dust jacket (shown here) and all the pages have a high quality satin finish that enhances the sumptuous graphic design. The material is presented in the form an ornate Victorian scrapbook, complete with notelets and other trinkets mounted atop a variety of textured vintage backgrounds.
A cornucopia of building styles are covered here. And while the majority are mini-fig oriented, microscale and life-size builds are reasonably well represented. Entries are 1 or 2 to a page, and organized into logical chapters focusing on different categories such as trains, vehicles, automatons, weapons, sea vessels, airships and even floating rocks. There is also a pleasant ‘interlude’ in the center, showcasing Guy’s memorable Cabinet of Curiosities collaborative project.
Colonel Mustard in the study with the candlestick
Ian Spacek seems to be on a roll in the ongoing 2014 MOCOlympics contest. In a round focused on board games, he chose to recreate Clue, a classic family game that has been around since the 40’s.
I love the way Ian has captured all the woody tones of the original board, as well as packing the build with many beautiful details such as the floor patterns, furniture and props. Check out MOCPages for loads of close-up photos and a chance to compare Ian’s interpretation with the original.
Beautiful LEGO 2: Dark by Mike Doyle [Review]
It’s been barely a year since No Starch Press released Beautiful LEGO, a coffee table book packed with carefully curated images of LEGO creations, conceived and organized by New Jersey graphic designer and LEGO builder Mike Doyle.
Unlike many of their other LEGO themed titles, which are targeted squarely at the AFOL community, the book had the potential to appeal to almost anyone with a passing interest in LEGO (ie. almost anyone on the planet). It soon started showing up on the shelves of regular book stores, and has since become one of their best sellers. So the rumors of a sequel came as no surprise…
Beautiful LEGO 2: Dark replays that winning formula, with some interesting twists. The first thing you’ll notice is that it’s weightier: this version is about 50 pages longer and sports a proper hard cover. Some folks will be pleased to hear about that change, although as a coffee table book, I kinda find this one harder to handle.
Mike has also cut back heavily on builder interviews (just 4 this time round, compared to 9 in the first book). I’m sure some AFOLs will see that as a loss, but I think it makes sense for a work like this to focus on the images first and foremost. For those curious to learn more about specific builders, every image is labeled, and the Contributor index contains all the necessary URLs.
Then there’s the subtitle, “Dark”. With this book, Mike applied what he calls a “thematic filter” to the curation process, targeting specific classes of build. It’s a bold move, but gives this sequel a much stronger identity than merely “hello, here are some more great builds”. Admittedly “dark” is a rather broad theme with many possible interpretations, but I think it still pays off. The builds range from the serious, the creepy, the political, the darkly humorous, and even just darkly colored.
As for the individual builds and images, Mike delivers again with another 300 pages of gorgiously photographed creations, from over a hundred different builders, that will be appreciated by both AFOL and non-AFOL alike. Everything is organized into chapters such as “Creepy Crawlers”, “Skin and Bones” or “Future Shock”. And a wide variety of building styles and categories are covered.
To achieve a harmonious effect, some of the models were specially reworked or reshot by their creators, and Mike also re-tuned some of the images too (for example, applying neutral backgrounds). The overall effect is definitely moodier than the first book – and that means it’s literally darker. The builds in this tome also skew to the more complex/detailed end of the scale than in the first one. So you’re gonna want to read this one under a decent light!
For the sequel, Mike also chose to include a small selection of digital creations. This is definitely a controversial decision, which Mike acknowledges and explains in his Preface. But the digital creations are clearly annotated as such, wherever they appear.
Like its predecessor, Beautiful LEGO 2: Dark is a beautiful object, that shines a flattering (low wattage) spotlight on the LEGO building community, and in a way that makes that world accessible to the general public. I’d recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who enjoyed the first book. And I really hope this becomes a series of books. If it does, I cannot wait to see what theme Mike decides to cover next!
Beautiful LEGO 2: Dark goes on sale everywhere November 20th, and will retail for USD $39.95.
“Bricks of the Mouse Guard” project launched on Kickstarter
2015 may well be the year of Mouse Guard, as it celebrates it’s 10th anniversary and – as we previously mentioned here – Seattle’s own ArchLUG will be unveiling a big collaborative Mouse Guard display at Emerald City Comic Con in March. Of course you can expect some pretty amazing architecture in this display. But how are they going to recreate the Mouse Guard characters, you might ask? Simple, with Bricks of the Mouse Guard, that’s how! And you can get in on the action too.
Following on from his wildly successful Munchkin Bricks project, Guy Himber of Crazy Bricks has just launched a new project to bring you Mouse Guard themed LEGO accessories.
Backers have the opportunity to receive a set of mouse heads in various colors, and a set of matching accessories (including a flagon that looks like a must-have for almost any Castle enthusiast). And as you might imagine, there are all kinds of stretch goals that will unlock additional items in additional colors, and even a fully equipped custom Mouse Guard mini-fig with pad-printed torso. Other goodies include BrickArms crates, printed bricks and even original artwork by Mouse Guard’s creator for top-tier backers.
Rewards start at $19, and the project will be accepting pledges for the next 32 days, so back it today!
Powered by the stars themselves
Spanning two decades and achieving worldwide popularity, the Stargate franchise gave Star Trek a pretty good run for its money – and is now even up for a movie reboot. The final spin-off, named Stargate Universe, tried to lure fans by adopting the grittier realism of shows like Battlestar Galactica. Unfortunately that shift didn’t gel with audiences, and the show was cancelled after just 2 seasons.
I’m a huge SG-U fan and was sad to see it go. So when German builder nameless_member produced this beautiful model of the star ship Destiny, it was nice to be reminded I wasn’t the only one…
I really love the compactness of this build – it’s probably the smallest scale that you could build Destiny at and still do it justice. It has just the right level of greebling, and the ship’s distinctive curvature is perfectly captured, as you can see from this rear angle. Even the shuttle craft have been included!
“An optimist is simply a pessimist with no job experience” – Dilbert
Since very slightly before the dawn of the Internet, Scott Adams’ comic strip Dilbert has served as daily therapy for anyone trapped in the dysfunctional and illogical world of modern office life …but in particular, engineers in tech companies. And while it contains many in-jokes that only a bunch of worthless code monkeys would ever get, all of us can relate to the Pointy Haired Boss, the futility of PowerPoint presentations, or being punched into the middle of next week by an angry co-worker.
And now Cristiano Spiller has decided to continue his Cubedude renaissance with this comprehensive tribute to Dilbert, featuring all of your favorite heroes and anti-heroes:
It’s actually alarming how well they translate to LEGO! Cristiano has also recreated some memorable secondary characters, such as the Elbonians and Loud Howard, and topped off the collection with a very snappy interpretation of the Dilbert logo:
It’s enough to make me want to form a proactive synergy restructuring team to change the six-sigma paradigm! Nya, I’ll get some intern to do it…