So says the architect of Pastrami Sandwich Man, a younger builder who has become a TBB fixture, Lego Junkie. Maybe it is the hour here in Vegas (1:30am) or mellow state I find myself in, but I very much want to consume Mr. Pastrami Sandwich Man. I don’t have the necessary ingredients in my refrigerator o the ability to sally forth to acquire them. Curse you Junkie and your delicious creation that taunts me from afar.
Our hopscotching around the planet for New Guy Saturday draws to a close with one final stop in beautiful Lagoa Santa, Brasil. Felipe Avelar (Felipe Descomplicado) makes in inaugural appearance on TBB with a fantastical conveyance he calls a Flying Sailskiff. File this model somewhere between Jabba’s sail-barge and a flying bathtub, but is pleasantly free of any conventional notions of Steampunk. I really like the spotter minifig with the walkie-talkie way up on the bow, and the nice glow of the lighting through the plate sails.
I hope you have enjoyed today’s exploration into new talent, we now return you to your regularly scheduled slate of veteran builders and associated boilerplate.
The latest diorama by Gary the Procrastinator shows a not unusual day in 1943 at Randolph Field. Back in 1943, the US Military had a need for large numbers of new pilots to fight in World War II. Their standard training aircraft was the Boeing Stearman 75 Kaydet, often known simply as the Stearman. Like many aircraft of its era it was a so-called tail dragger, with an undercarriage that consisted of two main wheels and a tail wheel. Taking off and landing in such an aircraft could be tricky, in particular in crosswinds. In the diorama, one trainee pilot gets it right. The other, however, has veered off the runway, the main wheels have dug into the grass and the aircraft has nosed over.
The aircraft models are beautifully built in the colours typical for these trainers and, while the landscaping is a little more straightforward than on Gary’s march to Gettysburg diorama, the tyre marks on the runway and through the grass are a nice touch.
Don’t even think about leaving Poland yet constant reader, your papers are not in order! Rookie Piotr H. (MeGustaKapusta) hails from Stargard Szczeciński, where he dreams…among other things…about lanky medical robots called “Tweezers loping through weedy fields. The model is inspired by artist Keith Thompson’s S19 SYRINGE SAINT if you’re interested in such things. I don’t think this is the last we’ll be seeing of Mr. Piotr H.
New Guy (or gal) Saturday rolls down the mighty Mississippi river with JBIronWorks, who provides today’s exploration into American military history with his interpretation of a Civil War era warship. According to the builder:
The Queen of the West was a side wheel steamboat launched in 1854 for service on the Mississippi river and its offshoots. In 1861, she was bought by Colonel Charles Ellet Jr., along with eight other vessels, and was converted into a fleet of rams, ordered by the War Department. Sent into service in early 1862, they served in many engagements, including The Battle of Memphis, where Ellet was mortally wounded aboard the Queen, his flagship.
Does it feel like the first time yet, constant reader? Please join me in welcoming another newcomer Josh Derksen (armoredgear7) to the big build party, he seems like a decent fellow and he brought his own bottle. Josh also brought this slick model for your careful inspection, a spacecraft he describes as a “two-man scout ship designed for speed“. Space must be so terribly lonely; it’s good to bring a friend with you.
TBB travels to Poland, where apparently there are no lousy builders, as we continue our coverage of New Guy Saturday. Adam Glowacki (Jakeof_), has a fine stable of models waiting for you on Flickr, including this excellent DAF XF. TBB’s own Wreck-it-Ralph is a big fan of this model, calling the big-rig “amazingly accurate for its scale” and would surely have blogged it if not for my weekend campaign of terror on this once serene almost pastoral blog of blogs.
It is always a special occasion for me when I can bring you virginal content for TBB. As highly skilled and clever as they are, we know you get tired of seeing the same old builders dancing in the TBB spotlight as if they owned the joint. So on this Saturday, let us dispense with household names like Oolhu, Clites and Jones and make room for new blood. Making his inaugural appearance on our stage is an up and coming builder in the Castle genre who calls himself Masa of Kaliphlin. The giant looming spider takes me all the way back to 7th grade and Queen of the Demonweb Pits, so grab your polyhedral dice and a Mountain Dew while you peruse Unending Thirst
Please enjoy Masa’s Pretzel Thief at no extra charge, I think you will enjoy the bridge.
Jacob Unterreiner (4estFeller) has been on fire lately, producing some of the best models of his career as a ‘MOCist’. The builder claims it took him 20 hours to produce this gem for the “No Runway, No Problem” category of the 2013 Lego Military Build Competition. Enjoy tonight’s offering of modern military action.
OliveSeon makes his second appearance on the Brother-Ship with a massive and yet to be titled Star Wars Diorama. The setting is some kind of Clone Wars military base / factory with many familiar vehicles in various states of readiness. The builder does a fine job of placing many of the elements on an angle; one of the keys to building an eye-catching diorama. Many builders have attempted large-scale Star Wars scenes over the years, but this one is a cut above, both for its ambition and faithfulness to the visual style of the cash-cow franchise.
My favorite area is the front door and cutaway ramp, that’s some fine boilerplate.
Welcome back fight fans, to Sin City Nevada for another rock ’em-sock ’em edition of Friday Night Fights! Tonight’s bout is a no holds barred cage-match for celestial supremacy. Let’s go to the tale of the tape:
Fighting out of the red corner, a southpaw from the Terror-Dome…F@bz, and his Huitzil.
And fighting out of the blue Corner, from somewhere beyond the heavens, Suboken LEGO Project and their Manta Wing.
As usual, constant reader, you are tasked with deciding the outcome of this pugilistic endeavor by way of comment. On the last edition of Friday Night Fights, in the battle of the Iron Builder vs. the LEGO Pimp, it was the Aussie who delivered the 4-1 knock-out blow to even his FNF record at 1-1.
LEGO certainly has some small elements, and Carl Merriam has really taken that idea to the next level with this fabulous microscope. I’m impressed with the build, and the presentation, and that’s what originally caught my eye. Then I read the description:
“A little more tinkering and I connected the focus to a magnifying glass and fiber optic light in the eyepiece, so adjusting the focus knobs would actually bring the writing on a LEGO stud in and out of focus.”
So in additon to be a beautifully presented, excellent build, it actually works.
Bravo, Carl. Bravo.