Tag Archives: Nathan Proudlove

Autumn always brings a splash of color

This time of year is exciting for a few reasons; one of which is the diversity of color that autumn brings. The other neat thing about September, (or should I say SHIPtember?) is the bevy of massive LEGO ships we get to feature here on The Brothers Brick. Take Nathan Proudlove’s HMY Seraphim, for example. Her Majesty’s Yacht, HMY Seraphim, the personal transport and diplomatic vessel for Her Imperial Majesty, Catherine De Marques, the Empress of the Holy Roman Galactic Empire is glorious in scale but apparently, Her Majesty also demands lots of color. Who am I to argue, for I am but a plebe? While I’m well aware that Nathan’s scope of influence is as vast as Her Majesty’s kingdom, in terms of color and pattern, I’m willing to bet a dollar that Nathan borrowed a little DNA from concept designer Chriss Foss for this one. Am I right?

HMY Seraphim

Please be kind, rewind

Those of us of a certain age remember going to Blockbuster on a Friday night to pick out movies to watch over the weekend. LEGO legend Nathan Proudlove is clearly of that age. I know this because he’s my buddy and we have some history, he and I. It’s good to see that while he may be getting older, (aren’t we all?) he’s still finding clever ways to wow us with bricks. This time he hits us in the nostalgic feels with the iconic video cassette case from the now-defunct Blockbuster Video. I’m loving the blocky yellow font against the bright blue field. Even the little round semi-circular notch brings back fond memories of a bygone era.

BBuster_01

Care to see what’s inside the case? It’s not exactly what you’d think!

Behold the Blacktron Dreadnought!

Excerpt from Captain Nathan Proudlove‘s Log, M-Tron Freighter Miranda: “It was supposed to be a routine trip. Get the cargo, haul it to the destination, and go back home. But instead of cargo, the drop point consisted of this… thing. It was huge, like a long black dart bristling with death. We tried to reverse course and fired a warning shot at the Blacktron warship, only to realize it was in vain. Each of the three weapons bays on the warship opened to reveal gigasonic missiles, launched and reaching out to us like claws of an otherworldly deity. The bridge crew and I launched the escape pods and fled before it could catch us, but all other hands were lost…”

Neo-Blacktron Rocket SHIP

This behemoth is none other than a Neo-Blacktron Rocket Ship. It leaves a lot to the imagination, which is exactly what you want when building massive space ships. I love the detail here, such as the engine nacelles coming out of the wings’ front and back, and the sensor work at the rocket’s top. The three labeled doors on the side make me imagine that those are either weapon ports or docking bays, or both. The best part by far is the Blacktron logo embedded into the ship, stating the ship’s evil allegiance to the bad guys of LEGO space.

Manage your inventory with this LEGO tribute to Don’t Starve

When it comes to survival in an unforgiving world, the video game Don’t Starve can teach you everything you need to know about managing a sparse inventory. Builder Nathan Proudlove has created LEGO model of the game’s main character, Wilson, as a present for his girlfriend. As an avid player of this game, I must tell you this is a spot-on representation! The figure perfectly encapsulates all of Wilson’s characteristics from his striped vest to his wild hairstyle. A lot of work went into the clever design of his face, which incorporates sideways building by way of SNOT (Studs Not On Top) pieces to create the symmetry and angled curves. If you’re going to be stuck at home with limited supplies, Wilson should definitely be on the top of your list for quarantine partners.

Wilson from Don't Starve

Ezekiel saw a wheel

A few years back I was taking measurements for a custom rug that was going to adorn my living room. It wasn’t a perfect rectangle as it needed an angled corner cut out to accommodate the fireplace. It occurred to me then, as I was trying to recall forgotten formulas, that I was using geometry and algebra outside of high school. They warned us to pay attention as we might need this someday. Unlike me, it seems Nathan Proudlove has a firm grasp on all the algebra and geometry the world has to offer as evidenced by this awe-inspiring space station. The inner rim of the hub boasts glass-enclosed habitat modules and green spaces. The spin of the wheel in space would create gravity, keeping the inhabitants within safe and comfortable.

Zooming in and taking a gander at some of the individual modules is the only way to really appreciate what a massive undertaking this must have been. Here is a particularly interesting shot that showcases the complex geometry that helped create the large round structure. Minifig legs in orange offers a clever bit of greebling.

Space Station

A shot of the central hub shows two smaller craft exiting the space station. Another wheel stacked behind this one would have made a near perfect replica of the space station from 2001: A Space Odyssey. I can just hear Hal’s pompous not-quite-human voice now; “I’m sorry, Lino. Your grasp of geometry and algebra is insufficient. You’ll never figure that rug out.” Can it, Hal!

Space Station