Back in 1975, long before the classic eighties Model Team sets that I had as a child, LEGO already made a series of realistic models of real vehicles, in the so-called Hobby sets. One of these was Lego set 392, Formula One; a model of a race car that, considering the limited parts that LEGO made at the time, was remarkably detailed.
Of course, with the fancy newer parts that we have today, it’s possible to make it smoother and more detailed, which is exactly what LegoExotics has done.
Thorsten Bonsch Xenomurphy has been hard at work for a full year to bring you his latest masterpiece, “Arkham Asylum“. The brooding structure takes its name from the sanatorium in the fictional city of Arkham, Massachusetts, found in many of H.P. Lovecraft’s stories of the macabre. Batman and Lovecraft are both huge influences on Thorsten’s work and a merging of the two has obviously inspired him to greater heights. The structure itself is impressive and there is plenty of minifig driven action throughout the diorama to please both fans of Batman and the hot-weather crowd. My favorite detail is the eruption of greenery coming from Poison Ivy’s cell.
It would be enough for most builders to create such an outstanding model but Thorsten wasn’t satisfied until he’d created an elaborate and striking 82-page “making-of-book” that according to the man himself: “explains every little step“. Indeed every imaginable topic in the design process is covered in great detail from inspiration to minifig selection to the nuts and bolts construction of various sections. The book also details the contributions of builders like Dave Kaleta and Calin who helped set the scene with some amazing 1920’s inspired vehicles. Thorsten obviously put as much care into the layout and writing as he did into the build itself and the result is a rare glimpse into the mind and creative vision of one of our best builders. You can get a sampling of the engaging work in Thorsten’s Photostream on Flickr or he has thoughtfully made the entire document available as a free download. The reader who takes the time will surely be rewarded and immersed in the details of Arkham.
Welcome back fight fans, to Sin City Nevada for another throat crushing edition of Friday Night Fights! Tonight’s bout features builders two Castle-Heads ready to get medieval on each other for the honor of the king. Let’s go to the tale of the tape:
Fighting out of the red corner, from “The Land of Misfit Toys“…Lego_fan and his Lindon Castle.
And fighting out of the blue corner, from the 13th American Colony…Magnificent Mark of Falworth and his Aldora castle.
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, the Battle of Hub-14 ended with a magnificent 10-5 victory for Nick Trotta and his purple VTOL with the unpronounceable name. Tune in next week for another action packed edition of Friday Night Fights!
For the eleventh straight year, the good folks over at Classic Castle are bringing you the biggest Castle event of the season! Prizes include vintage sets, custom items, books, new sets and a mystery prize. Check out the categories and show off your medieval building skills. Compete against the best for the title of Master Builder!
Jim Jo is a new-comer to the Adult LEGO Fan community but that doesn’t mean he lacks building skills. His first project is a mammoth mosaic of Darth Vader. The mosaic measures 45 inches square and was done entirely without the help of actual mosaic-making software other than Excel for layout. All of the shading (or dithering) was done by eye, which makes this piece all the more impressive. Jim agreed to answer some questions about himself, the mosaic and the building process. Let him know what you think in the comments!
TBB – Why did you decide to do a LEGO mosaic?
JJ – By training, I am a molecular biologist, specializing in disease and metabolism, and I teach advanced biology and chemistry. I work in a school that has both an advanced art program and a well-equipped woodshop. Art is strictly a hobby for me (one I sadly have little time for), but thankfully I have several friends at my workplace who are skilled artists and craftspeople by trade or training. My mind is extremely analytical (part of the reason I have loved Lego since I was a child), and I think that is reflected in my art. In many ways then, there was a confluence of factors that made even the consideration of Lego mosaic a viable possibility.
I conceived of this project as a Lego mosaic back in the summer of 2012, which is long enough ago that I cannot honestly remember its genesis as an idea. At some point, I had a photograph of Darth Vader, and I thought, given the fairly limited number of common Lego colours, that I could at the very least plan to build it as a Lego mosaic. I had seen a couple of Lego mosaics before, in Nathan Sawaya’s online gallery, who, at the time, was the only Lego artist I was familiar with, so I knew it was possible. So I sat down at the computer and started making the digital picture without really having a realistic plan of how to transform digital into physical. In fact, more than a year passed between the time that I finished the actual picture/plan and when I started building.
rongYIREN just let this creature out of the stables and it’s a beaut! It has the cool style we have come to associate with this builder over the years and the compact, sturdy build just begs to be played with.
Jason Corlett has created an incredible mecha. I love the legs and the single, deadly eye staring me down. Also you have to love the use of the Pick-A-Brick cup for the hind-most part of the body.
The last stage of the sci-fi theme month trifecta is upon us. And NnoVVember is the original theme month. Started in 2008 by the late great Nate “nnenn” Nielson as a personal challenge to post a Vic Viper starfighter from the Gradius video game series for each day of the month. The challenge has continued each year since, and evolved into a yearly tribute to Nate since he passed away tragically in April of 2010.
Well this year is no different and we want to see everyone’s contribution to the monthly build challenge. However, after some discussion in the Vic Viper flickr group, we want to make sure that everyone brings their A-game. The whole premise of these theme months is to challenge people to build things that they otherwise may not have. But it appears that they are starting to become just an excuse to try and get your build on the final poster/map. Now don’t get me wrong, seeing people building, no matter the quality is great. But it does appear to be a trend in seeing submissions, that quite often by the builders own admission, are sub-par. People are rushing to either get as many builds as possible submitted, or scrambling at the last minute to get something added.
I saw this a lot during the Ma.Ktoberfest challenge, where people continuously posted builds and admitted that they didn’t really think they fit the theme and typically that they didn’t even fully understand what the theme was. I felt rather elitist when having to edit these submissions out, but at the end of the day, the information is out there. I know myself and the other organizers get a lot of satisfaction out of hosting these sorts of events, introducing people to a new theme and challenging them in their building. But if they are choosing to not look into the plethora of background information provided and/or interact within the group to learn from the active members, then that is no fault of my own. Rest assured that there is never a shortage of high quality builds, but I see this as somewhat of a slippery slope and I certainly don’t want the trend to continue and in turn discourage others from participating in the future.
So with all that being said, for this year’s NnoVVember let’s honour Nate’s memory the best way we can, let’s see Quality over Quantity Nate always gave us top quality builds, so we should do the same for him.
Continuing with the Hallowe’en theme, Chris Maddison has just posted this neat little transforming pumpkinbot. I would love to have one of these sitting on my doorstep to blast those pesky little kids that run across the lawn instead of using the walkway!
Update:
Due to popular demand, Chris has recently posted the following instructions in case you want build your own pumpkinbot.
On this All Hallow’s Eve we at the Brothers Brick hope all the little ghosts and ghouls out there have a fun, spooky and safe time trick-or-treating. Here are some appropriate creations to feast your eyes on…
This Is Halloween by Powerpig
Ma.K-O-Lantern by Ryan K
Halloween by LEGO DOU Moko
Movie Maniacs – Halloween Figbarf! by Hammerstein NWC
Tommy takes on many roles in this latest episode from BrickNerd. Check it out for news, reviews, chills, thrills, gore and more!
Rack Huang from the Taiwan LUG known as Pockyland designed a calendar for 2014 featuring works by Lego fans from Taiwan. You can see these creations in detail from the Pockyland forums. Leave a comment about your favorite month from this calendar and we’ll pick a random winner in a week who will receive a printed copy of the calendar!
