You’d have a hard time figuring out what iconic Simpsons locations were not included in the spectacular Springfield layout that Matt De Lanoy unveiled at Brickworld last year. But I guess Matt found a pretty significant one in the form of Homer’s gastronomic Mecca, the Lard Lad donut shop. Fortunately, he has now corrected this glaring oversight:
Kiwi builder David Hensel (who appropriately goes by the handle Legonardo Davidy) describes his take on the Vitruvian Minifig idea as a “study in mosaic making, SNOT, minifigure proportion, and endurance – and lots of tan cheese”. And the fact that David has been noodling on this mind-boggling mosaic on-and-off for two years comes as no surprise! I’m sure the Master himself would be impressed…
When, back in 1960, race car driver Paul Frère asked Enzo Ferrari what limited the top speed of his Ferrari 250TR at Le Mans, probably wondering whether the rather large and ungainly windscreen on said car had anything to do with this, Enzo replied that aerodynamics are for people who can’t build engines.
More than 40 years later, the company Ferrari built the Enzo, named after its founder. This car’s shape was undoubtedly designed to be reminiscent of a Formula 1 car, with its V-shaped hood and front air intakes resembling a front wing, but I’m sure the designers spent a lot of time fiddling to get the aerodynamics right. A lot of things have changed since the sixties. Getting the shape of his car right has taken Nathanael L. a fair bit of fiddling too. This is his fourth attempt at building an Enzo and it just keeps getting better. I’m glad he stuck with it. I also think it’s particularly neat that, despite the complexity of its shape, just about everything on the model opens and the engine looks good too.
I haven’t seen the new Mad Max yet, but I’m certainly a fan of the original trilogy. Calin (_tiler) evokes memories of The Road Warrior with his Nomad. This thing is the epitome of minimalist, stripped down road-going power. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such a stipped-down car rendered in LEGO. The use of flexible harness pieces as a frame is an inspired way to render the look of a simple cage.
Video gaming has become so dominated by ‘shooters’ that Nintendo finally decided to get in on the action. But in a brilliant move they managed to create a family friendly one in the form of Splatoon – a new multiplayer team game for the Wii that takes the concept of paintball to a whole new level! I have a feeling this game is gonna be massive. Weapons master Nick Jensen was so impressed by it that he whipped up LEGO versions of a Splatoon character in both human and “Inkling” form.
Portuguese builder César Soares has recreated his childhood bedroom, and along with it a kind of organized chaos that I’m sure all of us remember well (or as parents, are still dealing with on a daily basis). But far from being just a random collection of objects, there’s much attention to detail in the background of this scene too, from the furniture to the walls and even the floor.
The use of Modulex to represent LEGO bricks is a particularly clever touch. See if you can find anything in this scene that dates César’s childhood in the many wonderful closeup images.
LEGO has finally released pictures and details of its tenth LEGO Ideas set, based on the popular American sitcom The Big Bang Theory. The set contains 479 pieces and will be available starting August 1 for a recommended retail price of $59.99 US / EUR 59,99.
Here is the official product description:
Indulge your inner genius and build this LEGO® version of Leonard and Sheldon’s living room as seen in the hit American sitcom The Big Bang Theory! This set was created by two LEGO fan designers-Alatariel from Sweden and Glen Bricker from the USA-and selected by LEGO Ideas members. Featuring loads of authentic details to satisfy all The Big Bang Theory devotees and including minifigures of all seven main characters from the show, it’s ideal for display or role-play fun. Includes 7 minifigures with assorted accessory elements: Leonard, Sheldon, Penny, Howard, Raj, Amy and Bernadette.
This foreboding compound represents the end of the road in an enormous post-apocalyptic LEGO diorama created by Swedish LUG Swebrick for an exhibition they held last month. The full diorama is quite impressive, both in its scale and in its attention to detail …and also in the amount of dark tan used! Thanks to Jonas Wide and Christer Nyberg for the photos.
Dungeons and Dragons, the grand-pappy of role playing games, has endured decades of poor imitations, ill-conceived spin-off products, and even the arrival of the digital age. Yet today it remains a permanent fixture of popular culture, and the new 5th edition rules look to be the best version yet. Love him or hate him, most D&D fans will recognize Dungeon Master (aka “Red Yoda”) from the short-lived Dungeons and Dragons TV show, recreated here in all his super-patronizing glory by Chris van Vliet.
After dragging a bunch of kids into the D&D universe to do his dirty work, and providing cryptic clues in order to avoid being legally implicated, it turned out in the end that Dungeon Master could have returned them to Earth at any time. More like “puppet master”. What a git!
I rather think the conspiracy theorists would have a field day with this one. Way to go, Paddy Bricksplitter. Can you imagine this conversation with CAPCOM? Especially if the print was fresh. I mean, seeing a foot print (beautifully rendered, by the way) would be mind-blowing enough. Toss in some moon or martian soil, and it’s something else entirely.
Though to be fair, I don’t imagine it’d be that hard to get funding for any future space exploration.
I grew up with the sea, and am an absolute sucker for pretty pretty ships. Aardwolf_83 delivers with this lovely galleon in her four-masted glory. I love the little details, like the beginnings of rigging, and the lines of this beauty are just lovely.
This month’s winner of our informal TBB cover photo contest is this invigorating breakfast scene by Swedish builder LegoJalex. Yes, every single part of this scene (even the kitchen) is built from LEGO. And if you’re confused, that’s a popular brand of caviar paste on the toast. Just think of it as the Swedish equivalent of Vegemite!
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