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 ;)
Category Archives: Building Techniques
Is there a plumber in the house?
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.
The Claw!
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!
The Big Unofficial LEGO Builder’s Book – another excellent LEGO book
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
RAILBRICKS 12 released
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.
The joy of leaving your LEGO model in someone else’s capable hands
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.
Unconventional MOCs
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:
A game of ping-pong
Michael Jasper‘s table tennis scene is as usual an inspiration in parts usage. Can you find the ping-pong ball?
Time-lapse sorting of 100 Lego sets
Rymdreglage, the creator of 8-bit trip, recently announced the making of 8-bit trip 2. Anyone who has undertaken a large Lego project will also know the tedious process of sorting. 71 hours later and this video was made.
Via Toys N Bricks
Pierre goes big + shows off his LEGO workspace
We’re used to seeing epic microscale spaceships from Pierre E Fieschi, so this minifig-scale intercepter/bomber was a pleasant surprise. The gantry alone is fantastic, but the vehicle itself has all kinds of crazy angles and spots of color to pore over in the full-size photo.
As much as I enjoy Pierre’s latest build, I was most intrigued recently by Pierre’s LEGO workspace:
Even his workspace is aesthetically pleasing, while remaining functional with a plexiglass surface on a turntable, surrounded by well-sorted LEGO.
Fencing
Cheese slope mosaics tutorial
With the mentioning of cheese slope mosaics, one name stands out, which is none other than Katie Walker (eilonwy77). She has just wrote a detailed and illustrated article showing techniques and ample examples of what can be accomplished in the field of mosaics with these tiny angled parts. Check it out on MosaicBricks.
