About Chris

Chris Malloy (porschecm2) has been a LEGO fan nearly all his life, having started with System bricks at age 3. He is the co-author of Ultimate LEGO Star Wars, and his creations have been featured in several books and The LEGO Movie. He also helped develop the first LEGO Minecraft set, 21102 Minecraft Micro World: The Forest, which has gone on to inspire a whole theme of sets. He's been active in the online community since 2002, and regularly attends LEGO fan conventions such as BrickCon and BrickCan. He enjoys building in a wide range of themes, but keeps returning to Castle, Space, and Pirates. Check out his LEGO creations and photography here.

Posts by Chris

Raising the Bar(bell) of LEGO creations

OK, so I admit I mostly just wanted to make a cheesy pun in the title, but Matt De Lanoy is currently engaged in another round of Iron Builder, that contest where two excellent builders are pitted against each other and every creation must contain one or more of a specific piece. Matt’s opponent is Tim Schwalfenberg, whose brilliant creation is featured in the previous post about the Isles of Aura. The seed part, as my title cleverly alludes, is the barbell. Here are a few of Matt’s sweet builds so far:

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Models inspired by music: The Isles of Aura

Most LEGO builders draw inspiration from history, movies, books, concept art, and their own imaginations. But for several years now, a talented group of builders has been toying with the idea of a new medium for inspiration: music. We’ve highlighted their Symphony of Construction several times. A new collaboration shares roots and some builders with the Symphony, though this time the builders are constructing a common world around a rousing set of music by Ian Spacek.

Be sure to check out the full gallery of images, as the Isles are populated with a great number of lovely little vessels and majestic structures by a host of brilliant builders.

Series 14 Monster Collectible Minifigures are almost here [News]

LEGO has finally released nice, high resolution images of the newest line of the highly-popular Collectible Minifigures, due out in September. They’re technically Series 14, though the LEGO Movie and Simpsons series were unnumbered, making this actually the 17th wave (not counting the rare Olympic series). This time around, the whole line is monster themed, with characters ranging from ghoulish to naughty, and should be widely available just in time for lots of great Halloween creations this year.

Zombie Pirate

“Yo ho ho and a barrel o’ brains!”
The Zombie Pirate was getting sick and tired of seeing all of these young whippersnapper pirates mess things up, so he’s come back to show them how things used to be done back in the good old days. Not surprisingly for a several-hundred-year-old sea dog, he’s kind of old-fashioned. He still prefers to strand his prisoners on deserted islands instead of making them walk the plank, and he only plunders gold, not fancy-pants modern treasures like silks and spices.
As a zombie, he isn’t particularly big on personal hygiene. His hook is rusty, his captain’s coat is falling apart, and his wooden leg has a bad case of termites. No one is entirely sure whether he has a beard, or just a particularly impressive collection of moss and lichens on his chin. In good news, he doesn’t smell much worse than the average pirate, and if he falls in the water, he’s more likely to bite the sharks than the other way around!

See the rest of the series after the jump, and click on the pictures for a full description of each character. Continue reading →

Polish Television Truck

According to builder Karwik, this type of Polish Television truck was the first such vehicle to be designed and built in then-Communist Poland, and helped facilitate the first color TV broadcast in Poland in 1971: a program of Communist Party government proceedings.
Karwik has done a stellar job adding details on this model, from the myriad cables and wires that always accompany broadcast trucks to building nifty minifig-scale cameras. My favorites are the tiny stepstools by the truck doors.

Get a Steely Hug from the Purple Dinosaur

This purple dinosaur probably has more Pokemon influence than the one you’re thinking of, but both have a man inside the suit. This Nidoking-inspired mecha is the brainchild of Stormbringer, and looks ready for an all-out poke-mecha battle.

VTOL is the future for beachheads

Here’s a smart-looking craft by Joe and Will Merzlak, a near-future vertical-take-off-and-landing (VTOL) transport. Besides being packed with some really wonderful building techniques, the Merzlak brothers’ par excellance presentation skills are worth pointing out in their own right.
A really fantastic photo-editing job can make a great model like this really stand out. Of course, we realize that not everyone has the time, skills, or tools to make this happen, but remember: the presentation of your model is the only thing everyone else online will get to see. It’s worth spending some extra time to ensure good lighting and an interesting and relevant (or at least clean) background.

To fly among the Tzars....

Doctor Mobius felt inspired by the classic Galaxy Commander to put a Neo-classic Space twist on that venerable old relic, and came out with this lovely concoction, which he’s dubbed the Galaxy Tzar. Just like the original, the Tzar splits into several self-contained sections for more modular star-system domination.

LEGO announces new giant Ninjago set: 70751 Temple of Airjitsu [News]

Primed to be unveiled in person this Friday at San Diego Comic Con, LEGO has given us the go-ahead to let our readers see the newest Ninjago set, 70751 Temple of Airjitsu. It’s very rare that LEGO makes minifig-scale sets this large in its non-licensed themes, with the exception of the Expert Creator sets like the modular series. At 2,028 pieces for $200 USD, this set is quite the heavyweight for LEGO’s kid-oriented theme. LEGO VIP members will be able to purchase the the Airjitsu Temple beginning Aug. 18.

The official press release and more photos are below the jump. Continue reading →

LEGO Creator 10248 Ferrari F40 Announced [News]

LEGO has just announced the next large Creator vehicle, a Ferrari F40. This supercar follows in the line of popular models such as the still-currently available Volkswagen Camper Van and Mini Cooper, and the now-retired Volkswagen Beetle. 10248 Ferrari F40 has 1,158 pieces, and will retail for USD 89.99, EUR 89.99, GBP 69.99, and DKK 799.00, and will be available starting August 1. The official press release is below the jump.

Continue reading →

Out for a Sunday Drive

This gorgeous piece of machinery is a Gräf & Stift 1911 double phaeton, built by Karwik. Besides being a mightily fine looking automobile, its significance lies in the fact that this car was owned by the late Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria, whose assassination in this vehicle sparked the Great War.

Build a LEGO Racecar and win a trip to McLaren [News]

LEGO ReBrick has partnered with McLaren to put together what is really quite a sweet contest. I’m not easily wooed by contests, but I am a sucker for supercars, and the prize on this contest is a paid visit to a UK racetrack with McLaren. Below is the official press release, and here’s the official contest site. Good luck to all our readers, and may the best car win!

Do you dream of designing your own luxury Supercar? Well, now is your chance to live out that dream: In collaboration with McLaren Automotive, ReBrick and LEGO® Speed Champions ask you to build the McLaren road Supercar of the future.

What supercars will be accelerating on the country roads and autobahns in the future? Help McLaren build the future of Supercars in LEGO version and get your LEGO Supercar displayed on the McLaren Automotive stand at the 2015 Goodwood Festival of Speed in United Kingdom plus win LEGO® Speed Champions prices. The winner and a guest will be flown to United Kingdom and get VIP entry tickets to the Goodwood Festival of Speed as McLaren Automotive guests on Sunday 28th June 2015.

In 2013, McLaren Automotive launched the groundbreaking McLaren P1™ to critical acclaim. The aerodynamic shape was penned by the renowned McLaren Automotive Design Director, Frank Stephenson, who explained that:

“Our main objective with the McLaren P1™ was to design the best drivers’ car in the world, on road and track. Managing airflow in and around the car’s bodywork and optimizing aerodynamics was key in achieving this goal. This design philosophy crafted the highly unique and emotive shape of the car”.

To learn more about the McLaren Automotive supercar range, please visit: cars.mclaren.com

A true Legoland Theme Park: 100% LEGO

Pro building team Olive Seon are back it with another magnificent brick-built beauty; this time a theme park. The awesome high-flying roller coaster really ties the model together, and also gives you a sense of scale for just how small most LEGO dioramas really are. As per usual with these builders, there is a lot to look at and loads of fun little details to spy. My favorites are the LEGO Architecture line buildings used for a miniland within the park.