Tim Inman (rabidnovaracer) is a fairly prolific builder of hot rod models. It therefore comes as no surprise that he’d also take stab at the iconic Rat Fink. This sculpture captures the essence of the character nicely. I love the inclusion of flies buzzing about his head.
Hot on the heels of that fantastic Rocket portrait by Chris McVeigh, here are two more of the Guardians: Groot, by Tyler Clites (Legohaulic) and Star-Lord by Bruce Lowell. Now we just need someone to build Gamora and Drax to have the full crew.
Ah, the Mos Eisley Cantina, that wretched hive of scum and villainy. At least they’ve got a catchy tune, though. Disco86 brings new quality to this familiar scene with his latest diorama, where he makes terrific use of lighting to give the scene an electric vibe.
It should come as no surprise at all to long-time readers that the new LEGO Ideas Research Institute has been on my list since the day it was confirmed as a set, if not before. I’m all for more gender-equality in my minifig world, and love seeing sets with female figs.
I picked up this set as well as the 21109 Exo Suit while I was on vacation, and admittedly I’ve been waiting to get a chance to break in and build it. Great way to spend the first day back from vacation, I wager.
So let’s get on with the review.
Hard to believe it’s only been a year since Chris McVeigh began his charming series of Brick Sketches, which depict various characters from comic books, cartoons and movies with ‘brush strokes’ carved from LEGO. And I think his latest one – Rocket Raccoon from the wildly popular Guardians of the Galaxy – might just be my favorite so far.
And if you like that, you’re sure to enjoy the 25+ other sketches that Chris has accumulated over the past 12 months. No doubt, everyone will have their own particular favorite! No pugs yet, though ;-)
This micro-scale Classic Space ship hits all the right notes in both shape and detail. The builder, Rancorbait, makes excellent use of a few parts. The one that really drew my eye was the repeated box shape near the front. Then I realized it was Thor’s hammer. It looks fantastic, and totally makes me feel justified in requesting this part in a LUGBulk order.
This caught my eye and I just had to share. Isaac S. has built this lovely little wall section, complete with tower. The lines on the corner are just lovely and I like the combination of different brick types to give a nice “wall” feeling and avoid a plain grey wall.
Just as impressive is the apothecary behind the wall:
As a child, I was a big fan of LEGO’s Model Team sets of highly detailed and realistic-looking vehicles. It will be no surprise then that I also liked the Classic Beetle LEGO released more than six years ago and that I also bought the Volkswagen Camper van. To my delight, LEGO has now introduced another classic car: the MINI Cooper.
The Mini started life as a humble economy car, but with a lasting legacy. To maximise passenger space within its short body, its engine was transversally mounted and drove the front wheels, which is a configuration copied in pretty much every small family hatchback built since. Sporty versions, called the Cooper and Cooper S, became successful rally racers and celebrities such as Steve McQueen, Paul McCartney, Prince Charles and even Enzo Ferrari owned Minis. From its humble origins, the Mini grew into a cult car, with a particularly British kind of cool.
The vehicle
The set represents a late-model Mini Cooper (produced in late 1997/ early 1998, judging from the license plate) in dark green, with white stripes on the bonnet (hood), white wing mirrors and a white roof. The dark green colour is a close match for traditional British racing green and the colour scheme just screams Mini. The front of the car is spot-on, with the shape of the radiator grille, front-mounted fog lights and the silver bumper pieces. The curved elements used below the windows have neatly-printed thin white lines on them, that run the length of the car. Small details such as the fuel filler cap and indicator lights are nicely represented. Remarkably, for a LEGO set, the finished model is almost completely studless, which suggests that LEGO also hopes to cater to fans of the Mini who may not necessarily be into LEGO.
The model is not without faults, however. Especially when seen from behind, it does not look quite round enough. Having built my own models of Minis, I know that both the front and rear windows ought to be curved, but on the model they are built using large flat window panels. I also don’t particularly like the way the pillars supporting the corners of the roof are built, using 75-degree slopes covered with stickers marked with a black triangle. The stickers are intended to make the pillars look narrower, but I don’t think it really works. In fairness, though, alternative solutions would either require completely new part shapes or would add greatly to the complexity, parts count and cost of the set. Despite the compromises, it definitely looks like a Mini.
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Continuing his obsession for stud-free minifig-scale builds of iconic movie vehicles, ER0L brings us the classic Aston Martin DB5, made famous by its appearance in the earlier James Bond movies.
Much as I love this rendition, I’m still hoping that <cough> that he is going to produce a modified version featuring revolving license plates, tire slashers, bullet-proof rear screen, front mounted machine guns and – of course – an ejector seat!
As a group of pioneers roam the universe, they uncover secrets of their war-torn past.
With the right lighting conditions, a good camera angle, and a bit of photoshop magic, Cam M has created a fantastic futuristic relic. I think the extra time spent really turns this from a cool model into a really really cool model that is just begging to become my desktop background.
One of the unfortunate side effects of being an “old timer” in the LEGO community is the increasing list of people you have met, or would have liked to meet, who have passed away. It is thus with regret that I share the news that Heiner Berg, one of the big figures in the German AFOL community, is with us no more. I believe I met Heiner only once in 2007, but I knew his name from my early days on LUGNET. He was one of the first LEGO Ambassadors, which indicates the esteem he was held in Germany.
I will pass over to Holger Matthes (HoMa), another “old timer”, and someone who knew Heiner well to share their thoughts.
I knew Heiner for more then 10 years and he was one of the early guys forming the German AFOL scene.
Heiner is well known for his neverending hunt for yet another color variation of the iconic Blue Hopper. His website mentions more then 25 variants:
http://www.heinerberg.homepage.t-online.de/index-e.html
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?m=HeinerBergLately he concentrated on rare colors for roofs and he knew all the existing slope elements in fancy colors and came up with a really colorful and detailed layout to present his trains and other building.
Rest in peace Heiner!
If you remember Heiner, please feel free to write down your memories below. For those of you who feel more comfortable writing in German, 1000Steine have a memorial thread.
While Josh, Caylin, Ian, and I were all off having a little TBB BBQ last night (thus the delay, sorry readers), 10245 Santa’s Workshop was unveiled at Bricks by the Bay in California.
Designed by Marcos Bessa (another pug lover, by the way), Santa’s Workshop includes 883 pieces and 6 minifigs, and will retail for $70 in the US. The set features the workshop itself, Santa and Mrs. Claus, elves, a sleigh with brick-built reindeer, and toy-making machinery. 10245 Santa’s Workshop will be out this October.
See more photos in our Flickr photoset. Here’s the full press release from LEGO:
10245 Santa’s Workshop
Ages 12+ | 883 Pieces
US $69.99 – CA $89.99 – AU $119.99 – DE 69.99€ – UK £59.99 – DK 649.00 DKK
*Euro pricing varies by country. Please visit shop.LEGO.com for regional pricing.Have festive family fun building Santa’s Workshop!
Enjoy the magic of Christmas with Santa’s Workshop, a festive addition to the LEGO® Winter Village Series! Gather your family around the Christmas tree to build this enchanting winter wonderland. Help the elves make the toys, feed the reindeer and help Santa load up his magical sleigh. Santa’s wife has baked cookies and the clock tower shows it’s nearly time for Santa to deliver the presents—all at the most wonderful time of the year! Includes 6 minifigures: Santa with red gift sack, Mrs. Claus with cookie tray and 4 elves with pointy ears and hats.
The enchanting LEGO® Creator Santa’s Workshop model is full of festive magic and includes a beautiful sleigh, reindeer and a Christmas tree.
- Includes 6 minifigures: Santa with red gift sack, Mrs. Claus with cookie tray and 4 elves with pointy ears and hats
- Features beautiful sleigh with red and gold detail and dark green padding, 4 reindeer and a baby reindeer, building with detailed interior, clock tower and Christmas tree
- Building features stained glass window and Christmas lights on roof
- Accessories include: 4 wrapped presents in assorted sizes and 4 toys including a blue classic spaceship, yellow car and a pink wand
- Also includes North Pole sign, Santa’s Workshop sign and a summer holiday picture of Santa and his wife
- Gather everyone around the Christmas tree!
- Help Santa take off in his sleigh!
- Family dual-building experience: includes separate brick sets with instructions for adults and children aged 8 and over
- Santa’s Workshop measures over 6” (16cm) high, 3” (8cm) deep and 9” (24cm) wide
Available for sale directly through LEGO® beginning
October 2014 via shop.LEGO.com, LEGO® Stores or via phone
And here’s the designer video: