Just a few days ago, we saw the Ultimate Collector Series (UCS) Sandcrawler on sale for 21% off. We hope you took advantage of that deal, because it’s now back to full price. If you missed it (or even if you didn’t) here’s another shot at a great UCS set. Amazon currently has the UCS Tie Fighter for 22% off the normal $199 price, bringing it to just $156.51. That’s a fantastic deal for this hard-to-find set. Amazon has the sale on a limited basis, and right now it’s nearly 25% claimed. So act quickly, because they’re sure to go fast.
Category Archives: LEGO
The Birth of Apple
Ohio-based builder JD Keller has built this great minifigure scale vignette that depicts Steve Jobs in Steve ‘Woz’ Wozniak’s garage back in the mid 1970s. Amazingly, the billion dollar company Apple Computing started out as Woz’s garage-based hobby so we are witnessing the ‘Birth of Apple’. I love the panelled garage walls and the various electronic bits and pieces on the shelves. Don’t miss the classic large red toolbox with sliding drawers, the Apple colours on the shelves, and the original wooden Apple I computer in the background.
Red firestorm flames catalyzed by blue
Amazing builds can result from one builder’s style influencing another, which is the case with this “Firestorm” starfighter by Tim Schwalfenberg. Tim tributes his spacecraft to Nick Trotta, and I can spot similarities with Nick’s Cloudless 3V especially, but with Tim’s spin on it.
Overall, the Firestorm has a great design to it, with interesting angles to the fins and stabilizer at the ship’s rear. When it comes to the details, I particularly like the gray pipe (or perhaps a cannon?) along each forward prong, and the two side engines with a 2×2 array of square panels, which appear to be minifig Thor’s hammers with the hammerheads facing upward.
LEGO Technic pieces make great pin art
Remember those 3D art toys from the 80’s with tiny moveable pins you could use to make impressions of your hands? Well, Josephine Monterosso has built one out of LEGO using Technic parts. The builder says she plans to rebuild with longer Technic pins so that the 3D images will have more depth. (Enough for a face!)
A bike shop perfect for a modular building layout
Minifigs residing in a city of LEGO modular buildings can purchase and repair their bicycles at this custom modular bike shop built by Łukasz Libuszewski. Interesting colors and unusual use of elements define the series as much as the modular standard, and there is no shortage of this throughout the build.
Łukasz added an elevator to his bike shop modular, and looking in the center column with gear racks on either side and a janitor standing slightly elevated, it appears to be functional.
View more shots of Łukasz’s building on Flickr.
To those who served their countries: You are not forgotten
More than a million men gave their lives in the Battle of the Somme in the late summer of 1918. It was a harrowing affair even for those who survived, as depicted in this LEGO diorama by James Pegrum. As we close out this Veteran’s Day, may their lives never be forgotten, and may we always strive for peace for all the men and women who have and still do serve.
Fan creates incredible LEGO space scenes that make you nostalgic for the 90s
The best thing about LEGO sets in the 1990s? Well, ok, besides all the awesome themes likes Ice Planet and Dragon Knights. Every LEGO set came with a miniature catalog, either a folded single page or a half-sheet booklet, and besides just advertising new sets, they included dioramas showing all the sets from a theme in action on a cool bit of scenery, like this Castle diorama from 1995. Builder Pixel Fox is creating some amazing images that bring back that nostalgia. LEGO catalogs need to do this again.
Incredible LEGO Jurassic Park jeep looks right at home in the jungle
I must admit Jurassic Park was one of the most impressive films of my childhood. Of course, it was because of dinosaurs. But even before the dinosaurs appeared on the screen, I fell in love with the grey and red Wrangler jeeps that the characters used to travel around the park. And now Silva Vasil invites us to see a prehistoric reptile in this jar-dropping copy of the iconic off-road vehicle.
These awesome Hot Wheels trucks are made of LEGO
Like many of us who played with Hot Wheels as kids, Brick Flag has fond memories of his first Hot Wheels vehicle, the Ramblin’ Wrecker. Being a skilled LEGO builder, he decided to model a few of his favorite diecast trucks in brick form. In order to get the precise shaping, he scaled them up considerably; his LEGO versions are about 9 inches long, or about 4 times larger than their metal counterparts, but they look deceptively small. Take a look at the details after the jump.
An ancient instrument of war: LEGO exotic Khvostov rifle from Destiny
Although Destiny at this point is just over two years old, many players feel nostalgic for the first rifle your Guardian acquires in his or her adventure, the Khvostov 7G-02. A cracked reflex sight and custom attachments made this generic AR-15-like rifle special and one that told a story. In a bit of fan service from Destiny’s developers, one can, put simply, backtrack the first mission in a special quest to obtain an exotic version of the Khvostov (designated Khvostov 7G-0X) with wood furnishings and a repaired reflex sight.
I was inspired by this mission as it reminded me of what made me enjoy Destiny in the beginning. This, combined with a desire to build something that looked like a real firearm and to finally construct something life size with wooden components, led to the construction of my LEGO Khvostov 7G-0X. The build measures over 40 inches long, weighs 5.5 pounds, and has some working components including a removable magazine, moving trigger, and sliding charging handle. I also constructed two sights: the repaired reflex sight, and the original cracked reflex sight.
Watch a 360º view of the LEGO Khvostov and view its functions in action in the following video.
See more photos of this replica on my Flickr.
Light ’em up
I’m reminded of the aesthetic of bosses in the Mega Man series with BobDeQuatre’s rad firefly drone. The flow of opaque white windscreen pieces from head to tail, as well as hot air balloon panels over the thrusters, complement the mechanical details and links to give a great overall living yet robotic feel.
Cornering the market in grand style
Mark Erickson is well known for his castle and medieval-themed builds and his latest creation is a grand one. Entitled ‘The Grand Bazaar’, Mark has created a beautiful, bustling, colourful market scene packed with details and nice techniques. This bazaar has an exotic feel of the east with a camel, trees from warmer climes and a rare sighting of a yellow parrot. The architectural details are lovely, with arches constructed from bricks and slopes and a great combination of colours.
There are a great many details that require a closer look, but for me the combination of colours is the highlight of this build. I love the blue tiled roof with hints of sand and olive green on the more official ‘town hall’ looking building on the right. The use of the Belville oriental carpet as a canopy adds a lovely flash of bright red, while sand red makes a rare appearance on the sloped roof of the building to the left. A really captivating scene.
