Here’s a creative take on a tank by Luke (LukeClarenceVan). You don’t see white tanks every day, and especially not monotracked ones. I particularly love the way the armor sits all the way down on the sides, and all those little antennae make me think of a caterpillar. Luke also makes great use of stickered and printed pieces on the sides.
This is another one of those brilliant BrickWorld builds I alluded to earlier this week. Simon Liu (Si-MOCs) presents a fantastic approach to scrap-gathering space style.
This collaborative build was conceived a year ago with the help of Isaac Mazer (Ricecracker.) and the build debuted in Schaumburg. Overall, the creation consists of three major pieces: the RS Hudson, the RS UNWIN cargo vessel, and the scrap heap itself. Isaac contributed the RS UNWIN, with Simon building the RS Hudson and the scrap heap.
The RS Hudson is mechanized, too, which is hypnotizing to watch.
You can check out some of the WIP pictures in Simon’s flickr gallery!
I lost big-time in TBB’s high stakes craps-game to decide how to divvy-up the slew of bloggable action from Brickworld 2013. Or did I? While the other Brothers were fighting over Oz, Cyber City and Simon Liu’s spacecraft, I let it all ride on Angles of Light by ROOK.
Pro Tip – next time you find your yourself at a craps table, consider this: “Proposition bets” are settled with a single roll of the dice with the odds located at the center of the craps table. You should avoid this bet because dealers are trained to tempt players into placing Proposition bets because of the overwhelming house advantage.
Few authors have inspired more entertaining science fiction models over the years than Stewart Cowley. Familiar builders like Stafford, nnenn and Ocean have all been influence by his work, including yours truly. Cowley’s short lived series of four illustrated books, the Terran Trade Authority, were published from 1978-1980 and featured inspiring concept art from a number of different sources. The latest microscale model by Dan Efran (Erunaamo) was inspired by a TTA painting called Proximan K13 Sharks by British artist Angus Mckee. The builder effectively captures the spirit of the source material.
I’m also going to throw in a K13 Shark by Shannon Ocean, because weekends were made for Shannon Ocean.
Remember that R-Type Build challenge from way back when? Well Uspez Morbo not being one to follow the herd said to himself, “Pfft…who needs monthly deadlines?!”
And I said to myself, “Am I ever glad that Uspez is a rebellious bugger!”
So without further delay, here is Uspez’s contribution to the R-Type & Beyond build challenge…finally!!
Please peruse the crazy textures and complex detailing within the full photoset.
Also, way to rock the UFO panels…
This past weekend was Brickworld 2013 in Schaumberg, Illinois, and Chris and I attended. I attended for the first time; it was fun being a “newbie” for once, despite this being my 11th LEGO convention. This was my first event outside of the Pacific Northwest! Though really, Chicago, the tornados were a bit much. Really. No need for that.
All weather and terrible airline travel aside, the event was a blast. This was the first year in the new location and by all accounts, it was a fabulous decision to move and improved the convention-going experience greatly. Unlike last year, all the creations this year were housed in the same MASSIVE space.
Over the next few days, pictures of some of the amazing creations will pop online. I want to highlight a few of my favorites:
This was really fantastic. We’ve blogged the warehouse previously; now he’s added the shooting location for the Moon Landing, a Stargate, and a number of other fantastic references!
There were two bits of news which we already reported: the reveal of 10234 Sydney Opera House and announcing the Curiosity Rover.
For me, the value of any convention comes from the memories; I attend just as much, if not more, for the people as I do the brick. I saw people I haven’t seen in years, met new friends, and made enough memories and paper planes to last a lifetime. Or at least until BrickCon.
I should be writing a BrickWorld report, but frankly, this was so frickin’ awesome that I wanted to blog it first. I saw this beauty at BrickWorld, while everyone held their breath for display. Because this hangs precariously from a tripod of tubing. The effect is totally worth it.
Peter Mowry‘s Marquis stands 56 inches tall, and is simply a sight to behold. According to the backstory he’s given it, this vessel was designed to be part of a fleet geared toward colonization, and was supposed to carry people, machinery, and materials to wherever it needed to go.
Check out his flickr gallery for more ships to accompany the Marquis!
The Starfighter Telephone Game was started over two years ago and now for the first time a round has been completed. The game works just like the grade-school game from which it got it’s name. Someone starts off by building a starfighter and ships it to the next player, they keep it and build a new fighter inspired by the previous. Game carries on until the first player receives the final fighter.
With three rounds underway and dozens of builders spread across the globe, I think it is safe to say that the game is a success (even with a few delays and hiccups along the way).
Mark Stafford just posted the pictures of the final version of the starfighter for his team (which I was lucky enough to be a part of). All I have to say is that Mike Yoder is a lucky boy to end up with this thing.
Mark also did up a quick video showing the progression of the design from start to finish.
Here are links to each version from our round:
#1 by Yoder
#2 by me
#3 by Cole Blaq
#4 by Red Spacecat
#5 by Shamisenfred
#6 by Proudlove
#7 by Bart De Dobbelaer
#8 by Jake
#9 by Mark
Update:
Mike just did up this edit of the linear progression of each version. It is very cool just how much it changes from step to step.
Nick Trotta (tardisblue)makes his second appearance of 2013 on the Brother-Ship with a chunk-tacular spaceship called Zornhau. According to the builder, “Zornhau”, or the “wrathful strike”, is one of five medieval fencing master-cuts. Who knew?
Nick also posted a companion video that highlights his design process, and the nifty trick he uses to space the 1×2 tiles on the engine intakes.
Perhaps the return of Arrested Development put the idea of a tiny teddy in Karf Oohlu‘s (Reformed Cthulhu) head. Perhaps it’s just a coincidence. Regardless, the teddy bears in space helmets are adorable and funny, and the “Tiny Teddy” name is associated with hilarity in my mind.
Stephen Pakbaz‘s MSL Curiosity Rover project on LEGO CUUSOO hit 10,000 supporters 10 months ago, but today LEGO is announcing that Curiosity will become the next new LEGO set through the CUUSOO program.
(This is Stephen’s project photo. I expect the final product may be slightly different. We’ll share the official product photos when we get them.)
Here’s the official announcement:
Results of the Fall 2012 LEGO® Review
We’re excited to share the results of the Fall LEGO® Review. In September, three LEGO CUUSOO projects entered the second quarterly review period for projects that successfully reach 10,000 supporters. These three projects — the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover, UCS Sandcrawler™, and Thinking with Portals!™ — have been being considered for production by the LEGO Review Board.
21104 Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover – pending final name confirmation
It is with great pleasure we reveal that the next LEGO CUUSOO set will be the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover, based upon the LEGO CUUSOO project by Perijove.
This project rose to popularity in late summer 2012, when the real Mars Curiosity Rover approached and landed on the planet Mars in its historic mission. The model designer, LEGO CUUSOO user Perijove is a Mechanical Engineer who worked on the actual Curiosity rover at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Perijove writes that he built and submitted the rover to further the educational outreach of the Mars Curiosity rover’s incredible mission, and to encourage greater public support for space exploration.
The final product is still in development. Exact pricing and availability is still being determined, so stay tuned for an update on when you can buy your own Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover in the coming months.
Tim Courtney shares the news in this video:
Personally, I couldn’t be more excited. This is easily my favorite LEGO CUUSOO project from the past 18 months, and is one of the best projects that reflects the spirit of CUUSOO. I know many of you out there will be disappointed that the Star Wars and Portal projects weren’t approved, but I hope you can join me in giving Stephen Pakbaz some well-deserved congratulations!
Update: Caylin and Chris are there at BrickWorld, and Caylin got this shot of the model they used to make the announcement there in Chicago:
It looks essentially identical to the one Stephen used for the project itself, so that’s a good sign, though I also expect that it’s still going through the redesign project with LEGO.
