Bad puns aside, Dave Foreman has proven that a sufficiently talented builder can make a fantastic-looking creature out of almost any pieces. Using the notoriously disliked BURPs (Big Ugly Rock Pieces) and LURPs (Little Ugly Rock Pieces), Dave creates this astounding rock monster that is what we all wish the Rock Raider’s Rock Monster or this set had looked like. The best part is that Dave says this is only a practice run before he builds a better version with a full scene.
As nice as the individual models that we blog are, I think there’s often something really special about collaborative builds. The collaborative display by Pennlug at Brickfair, for instance, was one of my favourite things on show and Bricksboro Beach, built by members of Brickish, was probably the nicest display I have ever personally been involved with.
Last weekend, Legoworld took place in Utrecht in the Netherlands. Even though it is the public event closest to where I live and the largest LEGO-event in the Netherlands, I could not make it there myself. This is unfortunate for a variety of reasons, including because I would have loved to see the collaborative city display by lowlug-members Erik Smit (عʈ¡ – ʇıɯs ıʇə ʞıɹə), Tijger-San, Thomassio, Mockingbird, Arjan Oude Kotte (Konajra), Neverroads, Ruben Ras (workfromtheheart) and JeroenD (in random order).
The individual elements, such as the cafe-corner compatible buildings (such as the ones by Tijger-San pictured above) are nice, but the whole display is one of those ‘whole is greater than the sum of its parts’ kind of things. You could walk around this and would keep noticing new things. If you want to get an impression of what it must looked like to members of the audience, check out Erik’s video.
It’s likely not what builder Paul (Disco86) had in mind, but this scene reminds me of all the random encounters in the Elder Scrolls games (or the vastly under-rated Two Worlds games). It’s really a great little diorama, and I like the stonework ground under the orc camp. The blackened patch around the firepit is a nice touch, and the barricade looks convincingly ramshackle.
In just over one week, the Mechabrick Kickstarter that Ralph had previously featured has successfully reached its funding goal. That means that Dubreq Ltd. has enough funding to get the game to market, and it also means that there are still 20 days left for funding in order to reach some of the stretch goals.
So head on over to the Kickstarter page and check out the project if you haven’t already. Because it isn’t a question of whether the game will be able to reach the required funding any longer, it is now just a question of which bonus features will be achieved in the stretch goals.
Congrats to Ben Jarvis and the Mechabrick Team from The Brothers Brick.
It’s no secret that I like the F/A-18 Hornet (albeit not as much as I like the F-14 Tomcat), so I’m always happy to see a nice model of this US Navy strike fighter.
Ryan Harris (Shep Sheppardson) has built a fine example in the markings of US Navy Strike Fighter Squadron 113, better known as the Stingers. This was the first US Navy combat squadron to start flying Hornets back in the eighties and is still active today. Some elements of the model aren’t all that different from other Hornets (including my own), but looks very much like the real deal and has a few interesting features. I’m primarily very curious to find out how the intakes are held together.
Congratulations to Peter Reid. He’s having quite the month. Hot on the heels of the release of the No Starch Press book LEGO Space: Building the Future,
75021 Republic Gunship is one of the sets from the summer wave of Lego Star Wars. The set contains 1175 pieces and retails for $119.99, which you can buy from Amazon.
Here is my summary of the highlights of the set, which are elaborated in the review video below. The video also compares the set to its previous 2008 version.
Pros:
Cons:
This version of the Republic Gunship has the best design in terms of looks and sturdiness. It makes for a good display item and can be handled more roughly without sustaining serious damage. Despite these qualities, the set doesn’t feel very new to me because it has been made twice already in the past. Even the minifigs are just new versions of previously existing ones. If you haven’t been jaded by Lego’s recreations of popular Star Wars ships, then this is a great set to have.
The perfect cure for a case of ‘The Mondays‘ is surely some fantastically designed sci-fi LEGO. Today’s pharmacist, dealing out the proper dose is none other than LEGOLIZE IT MAN.
And remember boys and girls, follow the instructions on the label, and never exceed the maximum daily dose. Recommended to be taken on a full stomach.
The ever-talented Eero Okkonen (Pate-keetongu) brings us three of the most memorable dwarves you’re ever likely to meet: Bifor, Bofur, and Bombur from The Hobbit. I’m always impressed by how well skilled builders are able to imbue expressions on the faces of large scale characters using only a few bricks. You can read a bit more about them on Eero’s own blog. Eero says he’s building the whole party of 15 adventurers, which I can’t wait to see.
