An important New Year’s tradition in Japan is to send out New Year’s greeting cards, called nengajyou. The cards often feature the animal from the Chinese zodiac for that year (2006 is the year of the dog). Although these cards usually take the form of postcards, several Japanese LEGO bloggers have posted wonderful electronic New Continue reading →
In much the same way that Christmas has many traditional decorations, Japanese New Year’s (celebrated on Januray 1st) has its own share of traditional decorations. Brickshelf user izzo presents several representative LEGO creations based on these decorations: First up, a traditional wreath made from pine boughs, paper, rope, and a mandarin orange, or mikan. These Continue reading →
Japanese figure skater Mao Asada, currently in first place (Washington Post – requires registration) in the ISU Figure Skating Grand Prix Finals being held in Tokyo, is apparently a LEGO fan. According to her official Web site her hobbies include jigsaw puzzles and LEGO. What set Japanese bloggers buzzing today was the one item she Continue reading →
This post collects all of the Brickshelf galleries and Web sites I’ve found that feature LEGO creations by Japanese builders. I’ll update this list (and alphabetize it at some point) as I encounter more. If you have ideas for galleries or sites that should be listed here, feel free to drop me a line at Continue reading →
So there’s this Japanese word game called “shiritori” (しりとり). Basically, players say words in sequence, each player starting the next word with the last letter (or kana) of the previous word. (Read the WikiPedia article if you care about the detailed rules.) “How the heck is this related to LEGO?” you ask. Back in April, Continue reading →
From vignettes to mecha, many wonderful LEGO ideas have originated in Japan. Several of the most respected builders, such as Sugegasa, MOKO, and Takeshi Itou are Japanese. Although LEGO fans throughout the world can enjoy each other’s creations by looking at pictures, language remains a barrier. My purpose in creating this blog is to break Continue reading →
Bruce has explained how the vignette “genre” seems to have begun in Japan about a year or so ago. I recently got a comment from Japanese LEGO blogger kazzen, and perusing his blog for a bit I found a second blog in which he sets forth a fairly interesting idea — a diary illustrated in Continue reading →
Last year, we reported that @jumpei.mitsui was returning to higher education to study artistic expression at Tokyo University of the Arts. It turns out that where Jumpei goes, LEGO follows, as the artist’s first academic project is all about the brick.
I Spy a LEGO puzzle, discovered two years too late; made by @johnreily_, and boy is it great!
The aptly-named builder @mischiefmecha has a knack for creating playful bots from surprising pieces. After a brief building hiatus, Mischief is back with a pair of fresh mecha with personality and NPU to spare.
From jellyfish to deep sea monsters, underwater settings have long been a favorite subject for NPU flexes. LEGO’s recent Tropical Aquarium boasts one of the most colorful and eclectic mix of parts ever found in an official set, but this Tidepool Princess from @nu_montag_mocs says “Hold my Beerracuda.”
@margits_mocs consulted her LEGO orrery and found a great conjunction of elements to make this spot-on take on the simpering Chamberlain. The head comes from the unhinged Nepol and Shimmel set and perfectly captures the Chamberlain’s totally trustworthy essence. He’s just here to help! The staff was snatched from Euripides and complements the Skeksis aesthetic like a dream.