Carson Hart has churned out a brilliant microscale scene, packed full of nifty parts usages and cool shapes. He says he was inspired by Iridescent Nohow, and I can definitely see the influence in this whimsical diorama.
Posts by Chris
Entering the Gate
Simon Liu has been having some fun with blacklights and transparent LEGO pieces, and to great effect. This space portal glows ominously as it prepares to engulf a ship. This is different sort of example of what Andrew was talking about the other day with adding more variety and interest to models via means other than simply the construction itself. Here, for instance, the blacklight (and good photography to capture its effect) makes all the difference, taking this model up a huge notch.
The Wolverine Will Take You Down
Well, here’s a sweet mech. The Wolverine by flickr user TheBricks has a crazy muscled look, and sports not only a giant gun (naturally), but also some crazy claws of doom.
A Few Mini Ports
Here’s a trio of excellent microscale creations by flickr user Commander Hawk. He’s nailed the art of using just enough detail to evoke the shape. Be sure to check out his photostream, too, as it’s full of other great microscale stuff.
Where the Sea, Sky, and Stone Meet, There You Will Find The Loneliest Soldiers
Soldiering in a place like the Colonial Outpost by The Brick Time Team must be a little desired job–although it affords views like no other. This really is an excellent piece of work, though. The weathering of the sandstone walls is superbly done, and probably does more to make this MOC stand out than anything else. The rest of the diorama is terrific too, however, with the good effect made of the transparent 1×1 round plates for water, and some nicely detailed rock work.
More Awesome Lego Vehicles from The Dark Knight Rises by Tiler
Flickr user Tiler has recently been working through creating various vehicles from The Dark Knight Rises in Lego form. We featured his Tumbler models not long ago, but he’s been hard at work since then adding to the roster. Although we’ve seen many fantastic versions of Batman’s vehicles over the years, but what grabbed me about Tiler’s creations is that they’re in a much smaller scale than most of what we see, without lacking in detail. His latest vehicle is Bane’s truck, which is an awesome monstrosity, and Tiler has perfectly captured the extreme industrial-military look of it. Be sure to also check out his Batbike (below) and terrific Bat.
Collectible Minifigs Series 8 Is Hitting Stores Now [Review]
In the USA, at least, Series 8 of the insanely popular Collectible Minifigs is trickling out. A few days ago, I picked up a full set (minus one, due to an improper baggy identification on my part) and have thoroughly enjoyed them. I wasn’t nearly as excited for this line as I had been for previous ones; I think in part because the novelty is just wearing off at this point, 8 series in. But once I got my hands on them and took a good close look at them, my trepidations fell away, and I went back to feeling that the Collectible Minifigs are as awesome as ever.
The evil robot was an awesome surprise. I hadn’t seen images of it without the helmet on before I bought it, so the head was totally new to me. It’s a fantastic print, and almost has a mechanical skull vibe. 
Other favorites of mine are the Diver, Thespian, and Conquistador. I’m probably just a sucker for period costumes, though. The Thespian, or Shakespeare, as I think he looks, is probably my favorite of the lot. Renaissance figures haven’t been common in LEGO, with most Castle figs being much earlier in style, and predominantly militaristic. On that note, though, the Conquistador is a great military figure from this same general time period, and really makes me want to revisit the old Armada theme of the 90’s. The Faerie was also a surprise to me, as I expected the wings to be flimsy plastic, like the wings on the angel keychain. Instead they’re a hard ABS molded neck-piece, which is far superior.
Oddly, the Diver is the only one of the lot with printing on the back. He’s super fun, though, with the chunky lead shoes (just 1×1’s) and a huge faceplate, which is actually a magnifying glass piece.
Many of the other figs, to me, are much less interesting, however, like the Skier and Cheerleader, which are basically differently colored re-issues of previous figures.
The Awesome Mechs of Nathan DeCastro
Nathan DeCastro has been posting some killer mechs lately. The LR-S-65 Chenza (pictured below) is my favorite so far. The trans-blue windscreens give it an dashing look, and Nathan’s incorporated some infrequently used pieces in brilliant ways. Be sure to check out his flickr stream for some other sweet mechs, too.
A Snazzy Space Fighter
This little fighter by Jeffrey Matthews sports an awesomely fishy color scheme, and some pretty cool details, like power cores and removable armaments. The lime green highlights are an unusual choice, but they end up working excellently.
LEGO Becomes an Octogenarian
Today marks the LEGO company’s 80th birthday. LEGO seems to be taking a fairly low-key approach to turning four-fifths of a century old, but over on the Rebrick Blog, the ReBrick team have put together an interesting brief article outlining the early days of the online adult fan community.
The early users, many of whom were also hackers (a hacker, in its true and original sense, is “an enthusiast, an artist, a tinkerer, a problem solver, an expert”), embedded in the AFOL community their love of creativity, problem solving tinkering, and sense of detail. Till this day, these values continue to define the AFOL culture.
As the Internet began to mainstream (beginning 2000s) many AFOLs “came out of the closet” (AFOL expression) and found their way to the fan sites. Compared to today, however, it was very rare to find adults who openly confessed to being LEGO users.
Check out this special video that tells The LEGO Company’s story.
Lastly, Lego fan Lasse Vestergård built a Lego museum to celebrate the occasion. It features iconic objects like the System bricks, minifigure, and the wooden duck.
On the Waterfront
This gorgeous and serene Fish Cannery (those are words not often heard) by Nathan shows off some great techniques and a good sense of artistic style. The color palette Nathan’s used is perfect to create the sense of calm, cold silence in this building based off architecture in the easternmost town in the United States.
Don’t Play With Your Food
But contrary to what your mother told you, some food is meant to be played with, as Matt Armstrong demonstrates with these cunningly crafted crops. From green onions to broccoli and avocados, Matt’s got your organic palate covered.
