I don’t often blog “modular houses” as I find them a little dime-a-dozen. However Richard “lafabrick” enticed me to break this habit as he has made such an impressive reproduction of a house in the Fives to Lille neighbourhood in France. This house is so cleverly made it’s probably the first (and likely the only) time I’ve ever allowed four examples of techniques from a single model into the LEGO Techniques group.
Back in 2009, the Internet marveled at Japanese builder talapz‘s mind-boggling pop-up Kinkaku-ji pavilion. Now, he’s at it again! This time, he’s built Todai-ji, a temple in Nara, Japan that houses the world’s largest bronze statue of Buddha.
Nara was one of Japan’s first capitol cities, before Kyoto and Tokyo. Todai-ji and the Giant Buddha (Daibutsu) are part of a UNESCO World Heritage site, encompassing treasures from the period of ancient Japan (AD 710-794) that shares the city’s name.
For those of you inclined to try building your own pop-up Todai-ji, there is hope! In the second half of the video, talapz provides step-by-step instructions (449 steps) to build your own pop-up Todai-ji temple from a parts list — complete with Bricklink IDs — of 8816 LEGO elements. Good luck!
Just a quick reminder that NoVVember 2012 is now upon is. Help celebrate the late nnenn’s love of the Gradius Vic Viper by building your own (or more!). Post your entries here and Pascal (pasukaru76) will perform his magic at the end of the month.
Keep an eye out for further updates once the East Coast of the US recovers a little.
In my opinion, Adrian Florea is one of the best Space (which in LEGO terms means Science Fiction) builders around. He’s no stranger to this blog, but his latest two creations are absolutely top notch. Adrian achieves fantastically coherent shapes in his models which belie his abundant use of unusual parts and complex connections. The Vendret Interceptor (below) is built around a core of four tricycle bodies integrated so seamlessly as to be nearly indistinguishable.
And the Dropshell mech shows the impact that careful use of color blocking can have. Look closely at this model also, and you’ll spot oddities such as suitcases and Star Wars headresses, among other things.
I had to blog this little sports car by “de-marco” to make sure enough people see his cleverness. Especially on the bonnet and indented doors. Magnificent. And it’s the correct 5-wide ;)
The participants in Iron Builder 3.0 are turning out some very nice creations. This leaky faucet by Bruce Lowell oozes charm. Not only is the faucet itself a beautiful build, the use of the seed part is inspired.
I don’t know why but I have always had a thing for those crane games. So when Luke Watkins built one I had to smile. Built for the current edition of Iron Builder, he managed to pack a ton of detail in a very small space. In fact it took me a moment to realize just how small it actually is. Well done!
It must be the season for Unofficial LEGO books, as hot on the heels of The Big Unofficial LEGO Adventure Book comes The Big Unofficial Lego Builder’s Book: Build Your Own City
The industrious RAILBRICKS team recently brought us yet another issue of their excellent magazine. This time it features layouts, and is thus probably more relevant to non-train builders, with its demonstration of landscaping and detailing. Highlights in this issue include articles on the excellent layout of Alban Nanty, the collaborative layouts of Mike Pianta (scruffulous) and me, and a community spotlight on Hong Kong’s Legend Bricks. Once again the whole team have done an excellent job on this lovely free resource.
I’ve seen some wonderful collaborations between talented LEGO builders and photo editors over the years, and though I certainly can’t claim to be either, I included a note in my description of the Aldrin Mars Cycler I posted yesterday saying that I wouldn’t mind if somebody felt like Photoshopping it onto a cool space photo. halfbeak left me a comment offering to help, and we were soon exchanging ideas in email.
I wouldn’t normally post one of my own LEGO models twice, but I’ve learned a few things along the way that I thought I’d share.
After nearly 10 years of posting my LEGO models online, I find myself pretty locked in to the “Dorling-Kindersley aesthetic” of LEGO photography and presentation — a three-quarters view of the LEGO model on a neutral (usually white) background. (I know Chris has strong opinions about this, too.) Even as I was envisioning something flashier than my unedited photo in my head, it was still basically the same thing, except with Mars in the background. Halfbeak combined views of Earth and Mars with the NASA logo and some text to create something that looks a lot like the publicity photos NASA releases for its missions. Way cool.
I also have a tendency to let the LEGO model take over the whole photo, but halfbeak scaled it down in several of his edits to really emphasize how tiny a human creation is on the cosmic stage.
In many of his edits, he changed the orientation of the spacecraft from my original photo, turning it on its side and even upside down — after all, there is no “up” or “down” in space.
One of my favorite edits is this vertically oriented photo, with Mars hanging above the minuscule ship. This one is now the wallpaper on my phone.
Ultimately, my Aldrin Mars Cycler isn’t necessarily the favorite among the things I’ve built, but these photos demonstrate how stellar presentation can take a fun but fairly middle-of-the-road model to a whole new level. These are now easily my favorite photos of something I’ve built. I’ve also learned to look beyond how I’ve photographed the model in thinking about how best to present it.
Huge thanks to halfbeak for truly awesome work! It’s amazing what variety he’s created from just one original photo.
See all twelve photos on Flickr.
The two latest creations by Sean and Steph (Siercon and Coral) feature completely ridiculous yet interesting methods of building (or unbuilding). The first is a sea-scape made out of only transparent bricks that are not connected in any way.
The second is a medieval scene made from clone bricks and modified by real fire.
There’s a video to prove it:
Michael Jasper‘s table tennis scene is as usual an inspiration in parts usage. Can you find the ping-pong ball?
