It’s always a treat see a new creation by the Arvo brothers. They’re known to build great cars, and this one is no different. The slanted hood and roof give the model its realistic shape. Check out the gallery on Brickshelf for pictures of the chassis that features working suspension.
This Liebherr LTM 1200, by Sqiddster is huge. Not only is it huge, but its very well-detailed. Not only is it huge and detailed, it’s also functional!
I think I need one of these around the house. It would be useful for pulling cars out of ditches and such things.
We just got permission from LEGO to publish this a little early. Tonight, at BrickFair, LEGO will officially unveil their latest exclusive set, 10214 Tower Bridge!
The official press release:
10214 – Tower Bridge
Ages 16+. 4,287 pieces.
Price: US=239.99, UK=204.99, DE=219.99, CA=314.99Build London’s famous Tower Bridge!
Stretching over the River Thames since 1894, the famous Tower Bridge of London, England is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world. Now you can add this timeless classic to your LEGO world buildings collection! Designed with advanced building techniques and rare colors and elements, the Tower Bridge is complete with its iconic paired towers and a drawbridge that really opens. Fun to build and display, it locks together solidly but can be taken apart in sections for easy transport. Includes 4 miniature vehicles; a black London taxi, a traditional red double-decker bus, a yellow truck and a green automobile. Completed model measures 40″ (102 cm) long, 17″ (45 cm) high and 10″ (26 cm) wide.
- Includes 4 miniature vehicles: a black London taxi, a yellow truck, green automobile and even a traditional red double-decker bus!
- Features the iconic paired towers and a drawbridge that really opens and closes!
- Includes unique printed shield!
- Features hundreds of 1×1 slopes in tan!
- Many useful arches, angular bricks in tan!
- Includes 4 blue base plates and over 80 windows!
- Tower Bridge is ideal for building and display – it can be taken apart in sections for easy transport!
- Add this amazing landmark to your LEGO world buildings collection!
- Completed model measures an impressive 40″ (102 cm) long, 17″ (45 cm) high and 10″ (26 cm) wide.
Also check out this video for behind-the-scenes goodies:
Like many LEGO builders, I spent the first decades of my life building in isolation, lucky to get suggestions or critique from a sibling or rare friend who also played with LEGO. But in the last 10 years — particularly the last 5 — the LEGO fan community has grown to include a critical mass of people who build in just about every possible genre.
People with shared interests who spend time together online will inevitably run out of solely positive things to say, and as a result, a culture of constructive criticism has emerged among LEGO fans. Balanced against this impetus to critique everything are the planning and research that individual builders put into what they create. In contrast to the solo building those of us in our 30s did 20 years ago, builders today have a wealth of sources right at our fingertips.
What effects do research, critique, and discussion among community members ultimately have on the quality of the LEGO creations we build and share? Since I’ve been on a bit of a building spree lately (amazing what you can do when your LEGO collection is sorted), I thought I’d step back and share my experience.
Read on, and share your own thoughts in the comments…
Before I set out to create a Dodge WC54 ambulance from World War II, I spent a couple hours finding the best pictures and determining where and when they were actually used during the war. Given that many World War II photos were taken by service personnel and are therefore in the public domain, Wikimedia Commons is a great place to find historical photos.
Historical re-enactors and scale modelers also run dozens of sites that pull together vast amounts of careful research. For both my ambulance and later battalion aid station diorama, I turned frequently to the WW2 US Medical Research Centre.
Originally planning to broaden my D-Day beachhead diorama, I confirmed that WC54s were used at Normandy, and even found a photo of WC54s sitting on Omaha Beach. Good enough to start building.
Targeting 1/35 scale, I translating the real vehicle’s length, height, and width into studs and bricks. Remembering what I’d learned from my wildland fire engine, I built from the top down. I struggled with the front, since I had to combine half-stud offset for the three/five-wide hood with SNOT for the grill and bumper, plus tiles (with no studs to sturdy connections on top) for the fenders.
I figured it out, though, and pleased with my results posted pictures to Flickr:
Checking back a while later, I saw a stream of notes from our very own Tim, whose windscreen I’d reverse-engineered for the original ambulance. I gritted my teeth and clicked through. (Honestly, I hate taking criticism, especially when it’s wrong. I’d vented a week earlier that too many of the suggestions to “improve” my M4 Sherman tank took it in more interesting but less historically accurate directions. That’s just plain annoying.)
Tim had seen the mini-rant I’d posted in a Flickr group we both frequent, and his critique was spot on. He made specific suggestions based on the source material I’d used myself, providing solutions where I hadn’t thought the model could be improved. The result is the version I included in my diorama, posted separately below:
The story arc (if you will) started with research, moved through community discussion and critique of the creation itself, and ended with a substantially improved LEGO model. This same story plays out every day in the LEGO fan community today — something that would have been nearly impossible 20 years ago and highly unlikely 10 years ago.
Side note: Looking to future World War II vehicles I might build, I’ll be relying on a copy of World War II AFV Plans: American Armored Fighting Vehicles
Nearly all of the book’s schematics are printed at 1/35 scale, which avoids eyestrain from the WIP-held-against-computer-screen method I’d been using before the book arrived in the mail.
So, what’s your experience with the balance between research or sources of inspiration and constructive criticism?
Lovers of Masamune Shirow don’t need to feel left out of the Cubedude phenomenan as Paul Meissner (legosamurai) has rendered the leading duo from Appleseed in blocky glory.
Fan of Angus MacLane‘s CubeDudes will be delighted to know that a second set featuring bounty hunters will be available at Star Wars Celebration V. Click on the image below for more info and an interview with Angus on StarWars.com.
Via FBTB
Dan Siskind of Brickmania has just released a three-pack of WW2 vehicles, with custom minifigs and accessories. The set includes a German SdKfz 124 Wespe self-propelled artillery, American M8 Greyhound armored car, and British Universal Carrier (better known as the “Bren gun carrier”).
At $300, the set of three vehicles certainly isn’t cheap, but spending the time — and bricks — to get it right as Dan does for his custom sets isn’t something you can do for only a few bucks. (I built most of my recent American World War II military vehicles from outside my existing collection, so I know it can get expensive just to assemble the necessary parts from half a dozen BrickLink orders.)
I bought a couple of sets last year to see whether they were worth recommending to readers of The Brothers Brick, and I can say unequivocally that they are.
The summer/winter (depending on where you live) 2010 LEGO Star Wars sets are now available from the LEGO Shop.
8128 Cad Bane’s Speeder has five minifigs, including some dude with a really funky hat.
The big additions are the 8098 Clone Turbo Tank (again with the funky hat) and new 8129 AT-AT Walker
Personally, I’m most excited about 8089 Hoth Wampa Cave.
Shipping is free for orders over $75 through the end of July, and remember, the LEGO VIP Program now works for Web orders — two more reasons to support the LEGO fan sites you visit (even if it’s not this one) by buying your LEGO online.
I’ve shared in the past my ambivalence toward violent LEGO, but there’s something unique about World War II that has fascinated me ever since I was little. My grandfather and great uncle served in the US Army during the war, and I grew up in one of the countries that both inflicted a great deal of suffering and suffered deeply themselves before losing the war to the Allies.
Over the last couple of years, I’ve really started enjoying the unique challenges presented by building a LEGO model based on something “real.” LEGO has interesting scale challenges, and I think too many LEGO vehicles are too tall or too wide.
My M3A1 Half-track has a three/five/seven-wide hood, with an eight-wide cab and crew compartment. It’s my favorite so far (even though the tracks should have four road wheels, not three).
I’m less happy with my M4A3 (76)W Sherman tank, which has to be far too tall to capture the right details in the suspension, and I missed the shape of the rear section behind the turret. Because it was my first tank, I spent a lot of time looking at tanks built by other builders — especially BrickMania’s M4A2, Phima’s M4A3E8, and Milan CMadge’s M4A3E8.
Because I come from a family of pacifist non-combatants and conscientious objectors, my convoy of military hardware wouldn’t be complete without a US Army Medical Corps Dodge WC54 ambulance. Like the half-track, the ambulance’s hood is three/five/seven-wide, with a six-wide cab. The recessed spare tire seems impossible at this scale, unfortunately, and getting the shape right means it does not fit a fig.
Now to build some sort of massive World War II diorama to put these in…
This upcoming weekend at Comic Con, you can purchase a set of exclusive Clone Wars CubeDudes designed by Angus MacLane. There will be 450 sets of 5 figures available for $75 each.
Via FBTB
LUGPol proves that even their TFOLs can build with mad skills. Take Makorol and his Liebherr LTM 1050-3.1 mobile crane. I don’t feel qualified to guide you through all the details, but I will mention that like every LUGPol vehicle, adding Power Functions is obligatory (see the video). See more pictures on Brickshelf.
The M6D Pistol is a favorite weapon of many Halo players back in the days of Halo: Combat Evolved. This life-sized rendition by Robo-Man is best I’ve seen. I particularly like the SNOT details and the utilization of studs on the grip.
