While the mech in the foreground might be the focus of this latest scene from Nooreuyed, the dense foliage and vibrant greenery of the jungle background is the real star here. The action isn’t lacking either, with muzzle flashes and splashing water all combining to really bring this scene to life.
Category Archives: LEGO
LEGO Starcraft Protoss Zealot
The original Starcraft game came out almost 15 years ago and has spawned a decade and a half of Starcraft inspired LEGO builds, from the humble probe, to the hydralisk troops to even the imposing Battle Cruisers.
And today we add another great Starcraft build to the ranks – ccy_8086 has built this fantastic Protoss Zealot with a great mix of bionicle and system:
While there’s tons of great piece usages, the face in particular I thought was fantastic. But this isn’t the first time CCY has embraced his inner gamer, his last build was an equally impressive Space Marine, which he still has built:
Astro Kitty & Angry Kitty
Simon is playing shy and not wanting to blog his own stellar creations it appears. So I will be more than happy to post this in his stead. Here’s Simon’s interpretation of Unikitty dressed in Classic Space garb from the upcoming LEGO Movie.
Edit:
I appear to have missed the fact that Simon based his Astro Kitty on Evan’s Angry Kitty. Which, no offence to Simon, is even more awesome.
I have yet to see the movie, but am anxiously awaiting the release date in my home town (despite my local theatre being old and smelly). In the meantime I will just continue to enjoy all the fan built creations inspired by what appears to be a hit in the making.
LEGO Space: Building the Future [Book Review]
We had previously mentioned the release of Peter Reid & Tim Goddard’s book, LEGO Space: Building the Future, published by No Starch Press. Well it has been a few months since the book was released, and I finally got around to finish reading it with my son and felt it was time for a review.
Let me start by saying that this has to be the highest quality fan-created LEGO book I have yet to lay my geeky hands on. From cover to cover, the quality of photography and overall style is absolutely top notch. You really can tell that this was a labour of love for everyone involved.
I actually had pre-ordered the book on Amazon
The thing that sets this book apart for me is that it reads as a fantastic story throughout the history of space travel, and far into the future. It’s a science fiction novel illustrated with rockin’ LEGO models. Throughout the telling of the book, photographs of LEGO spaceships, alien landscapes, and space stations illustrate the story. And instructions are included for many of the models so the reader can build their own. I found it incredibly entertaining and inspiring to read through, and Tate even more so. As a family of LEGO spacers, I know this book will be read and re-read for years to come. The pictures on their own would inspire any right minded LEGO maniac to build SPACE!, but when coupled with the fantastic story it kicks that inspiration to a whole other level.
So needless to say I highly recommend this book whether you are a 30 something man-child like myself, or need a fantastic and inspiring gift for a child in your life.
Also check out this brilliant Trailer by Chris Salt.
Please follow the links below to buy your own copy and help The Brothers Brick at the same time:
- US readers: LEGO Space: Building the Future on Amazon.com
- Canadian readers: LEGO Space: Building the Future on Amazon.ca
Brickmania Track Links roll into production [Review]
Last May, Dan Siskind of Brickmania launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the production of a new kind of track elements designed to work with LEGO. Early this year, my backer reward package arrived, and I’ve been building (and rebuilding) furiously ever since.
My new M4A1 Sherman with a dozer attachment is typical of the engineering vehicles used during the invasion of Normandy, with deep wading snorkels that enabled the tank to be dropped off farther from shore and drive mostly underwater on the sea floor. (I think Dan’s design for his early-production M4 Sherman turret can’t be improved, so I replicated his turret design while adding my own gun barrel for consistency with the rest of my tanks.) Both the M4A3 on the left and the dozer tank use two-wide Track Links, while the M4A3E2 Sherman “Jumbo” on the right uses official three-wide LEGO tracks.
In order to switch the M4A3 with the short 75mm gun barrel from its existing three-wide LEGO track to Track Links, I had to rebuild the suspension. As a result, I don’t think this version — possibly my last — shares more than a few bricks with my original attempt at a Sherman that I first posted nearly four years ago.
LEGO currently produces three types of elements that builders use as tank treads, and all of them are hard to get in any significant quantity (and thus fairly expensive). For those of us who build historical or real-world LEGO models, each of these also has unique problems:
- One-wide Technic chain link: The open chain links don’t look a whole lot like actual tank treads.
- Three-wide Technic tread: The best official LEGO option for many tanks, but three studs wide is one stud too many for most American tanks of World War II.
- Five-wide tread with Technic pin holes: Far too huge for anything most minifig-scale applications.
The most significant gap in available parts is the lack of any official two-wide track. Using two parallel sets of Technic chain link (as I did on my M7 Priest) is cost-prohibitive at best, and doesn’t look all that great. From a historical standpoint, German and Russian tank designers realized that relatively narrow track would just sink in mud, miring and thus disabling the tank. As WWII veteran Belton Cooper described in Death Traps,
The two-wide Track Links tracks work beautifully on American medium tanks like the M3 Lee/Grant, M4 Sherman, and all the tracked vehicles based on their chassis (such as the M7 Priest and most WWII tank destroyers). Dan himself has been replacing the existing track on many of his vehicles with Track Links, including this beautifully camouflage-patterned M3 Grant and M10 tank destroyer.
Just like regular LEGO track, Track Links clip together with small pins on each side, and they work well with a variety of LEGO gears. Both the single-wide and double-wide Track Links wrap around the gears better than LEGO tracks or chain links, and they roll just as well. Here’s my M3A1 Stuart light tank sporting the single-wide Track Links.
On a related note, you’ll notice that many military builders have begun using the new BrickArms M2HB .50 caliber machine gun. I still like my own brick-built .50 cal, but it’s also nice to have an absolutely accurate option that’s consistent with the BrickArms .30 caliber M1919 Browning machine gun.
In addition to Track Links and a .50 cal, my M8 Scott 105mm Howitzer Motor Carriage (with a gun that elevates/depresses and an ammunition trailer) includes several other custom elements:
- Brickmania armored division minifig
- BrickArms shells
- Citizen Brick diamond plate tiles
Will Chapman gave away several prototype M2HBs at BrickCon, and now the production version is available from resellers like Brickmania and G.I. Brick. One difference between the initial prototype and the final production version is that the ammunition canister is a bit looser. It won’t fall out, but it does have a tendency to flop around a bit. Based on the high quality we’ve come to expect from BrickArms over the years, I’m confident that a bit of retooling will address this minor issue soon.
Brickmania Track Links are available in three colors — black, steel, and reddish brown (great for mud/rust) — on Brickmania.com, along with the new BrickArms M2HB.
I’ll also be posting reviews of several Brickmania kits that include Track Links over the next week or two, so check back here for more.
This LEGO oliphaunt still only counts as one
We’ve featured a few oliphaunts from The Lord of the Rings over the years, but I think this one by Elliot Feldman (Simply Complex Simplicity) just might be the biggest. But Elliot’s oliphaunt isn’t just big and static — he’s placed it into an action-packed scene during the battle between Faramir’s men and the Haradrim when Sam and Frodo are trying to reach Mordor.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Kings
Michał Kaźmierczak (migalart) recently posted a large-scale diorama that illustrates an original Indiana Jones adventure, complete with cliff-hanging, rope bridges, spiders, snakes, mummies, and buried treasure. The diorama may be about Indiana Jones, but the real star is Michał’s landscaping.
This photo of the builder with his model shows just how big his diorama is:
See more photos on Flickr, Brickshelf, and Michał’s blog.
Fabuland meets The Hobbit
Full of sly humor, The LEGO Movie is a must-watch for all LEGO fans – especially adults [Review]
I’ll admit it: I had very low expectations for The LEGO Movie. The first trailers were annoying more than anything else, and — out of context from the movie — I wasn’t especially impressed with the corresponding sets (which LEGO sent us to review a while ago — they’re actually pretty great parts packs). But this evening I joined scores of local LEGO fans, press, and others at an early screening, and the movie won me over from the first moments on screen.
Written and directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller (whose previous writing/directing collaboration is Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs), The LEGO Movie begins when Emmet (Chris Pratt) wakes up one morning and heads to his construction job, following instructions every step of the way. You can infer most of the lessons that the movie will convey from that premise alone — yes, there are plenty of nods to creativity, teamwork, and other wonderful sentiments. But there’s a lot more to this movie than bang-you-over-the-head morals in the vein of Toy Story 3.
First and foremost, the movie is full of subtle references to LEGO arcana from the past 35 years. I won’t spoil any of the surprises, but the inclusion of a blue Classic Space minifig with a cracked visor should be evidence enough that this isn’t just a movie for boys aged 6-12 whose idea of LEGO is Ninjago and Legends of Chima.
Similarly, and less obscurely, well-timed cameos from completely unexpected parts of the LEGO universe (no, not that LEGO Universe) had the audience roaring with approval. The voice acting is impressive, but don’t go looking up the credits yet or you’ll spoil many of the surprises. And forget Ben Affleck, I want Will Arnett as the next Batman.
The animation style is rather striking. Unlike the flat, uniform style we’ve all gotten used to in LEGO video games, the move essentially looks like it was animated with real bricks. More interestingly, the pieces — especially the minifigs — show lots of play wear. The minifigs also move with the limitations inherent to their form; you’ll never see a minifig bending at the knee or flexing a claw hand.
There’s a final plot twist that comes as a complete but totally natural surprise. With plenty of foreshadowing, this final twist fits perfectly with what you’ve seen throughout the rest of the movie — an indication of good writing by Lord and Miller. Even better, it’s clear that they’re very aware of patterns of thinking among adult fans.
Overall, I can unreservedly recommend The LEGO Movie. This isn’t a movie about LEGO the beloved brand or corporation. Nor is it really a movie about bricks or even creativity. Fundamentally, The LEGO Movie is a movie for LEGO fans and about LEGO fans. It’s also just plain entertaining. Set aside your preconceptions and go see it.
The LEGO Movie opens this Friday, February 7th.
As a final note, I’m interested to learn how LEGO builders we know were involved in making the movie — Facebook lately has been full of subtle references to recent projects with a forthcoming reveal and early cast & crew screenings. Watching the credits, it was great to see designer Matthew Ashton get an Executive Producer credit.
I’d love to hear what you think, too. Feel free to discuss your thoughts in the comments, but please keep the discussion spoiler-free through opening weekend.
LEGO Makes You Smarter
I think we can all agree that LEGO helps nourish the mind in various ways. We know it helps with spacial awareness, eye-hand coordination, creativity, and problem-solving.
ROOK gives us some of the tools needed for some very important mathematical and scientific skills, helpfully constructed in brick:
I have to say, I’m really fond of the protractor. The compass is pretty nifty. If you find yourself more comfortable in a lab coat, he’s got some rather clever test-tubes full of who-knows-what waiting for you.
Tractors without wheels
I’ve admired Captain Eugene‘s military LEGO models for a while, but I’d never noticed that he’s quite an accomplished mech builder. In fact, I nearly overlooked this pair of fantastic industrial robots because I thought from the thumbnail that they were plastic miniatures.
And then I noticed the minifigs.
I think that building military models gives you a very solid sense of the purpose that every mechanical detail has; greebles are great, but believable details trump greebs any day. It’s clear that Eugene has invested every detail in these two mechanical monstrosities with purpose, and that makes a huge difference.
Victory in Stalingrad
71 years ago today — on February 2nd, 1943 — the Red Army defeated German forces who had occupied Stalingrad more than 5 months earlier. Nearly half a million Soviet men and women were killed defending their city from Nazi aggression. The Battle of Stalingrad is arguably the turning point of World War II — a horrendous loss for Hitler and the Third Reich that weakened German forces and led ultimately to Allied victory 2 years later.
Although I haven’t had as much LEGO time over the last six months or so, I’ve managed to keep building. Spurred on by the new Brickmania Track Links, I finally got around to photographing the dozen or so models I’ve pumped out since BrickCon in October. The buildings and minifigs in my diorama of Stalingrad were part of the “Operation Brickarossa” collaboration last year, but my KV-1s tank is new.
Compared to smaller and stranger tanks I’ve built, the KV-1 was relatively “easy” and I don’t have a whole lot in the way of build notes. One recent change to my building methods is to try to include more functionality from the start. Admittedly, I failed to do so on the turret hatches, but this is one of my first tanks to include a gun that elevates and depresses properly.
With several hours of photography and editing out of the way, I’ll be posting the rest of my models on Flickr, along with write-ups here. In particular, check back for full reviews of the new Track Links, BrickMania kits, BrickArms items, and more.