Nearly all LEGO movies we feature here on The Brothers Brick are animated with stop-motion. NeXTSTORM has instead programmed a LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT brick for every single element of motion in this LEGO Pirates movie.
Awesome tip, Dylan!
Tag Archives: Video
Gary McIntire brings Legoland to Mythbusters
Legoland’s master builder and all-around great LEGO community guy Gary McIntire has helped out the Mythbusters crew with a LEGO related myth. Check out the press release:
LEGOLAND® California Model Builder Helps “Mythbusters” Dispell Myth!
Popular Discovery Channel Show Highlights Family Theme Park in Upcoming Episode
CARLSBAD, Calif. (April 28, 2009) – “Mythbusters” reached out to a Master Model Builder at LEGOLAND® California to help dispel a myth regarding a giant LEGO® ball on an upcoming episode of the popular international show airing April 29, 2009 on the Discovery Channel.
“It was an honor to be included in the project,” said LEGOLAND Master Model Builder Gary McIntire. “I have always been a huge fan of the show so for them to come and ask for my help was really a proud moment in my career!”
Show hosts Kari Byron, Tory Belleci and Grant Imahara trekked down to Carlsbad, California from the show’s home base in San Francisco to use McIntire’s expertise on how to build a nearly 10-foot LEGO sphere.
The myth originated with a YouTube video in which Indiana Jones fans reenacted the famous boulder chase scene from “Raiders of the Lost Ark” with the “boulder” being made of five-million LEGO bricks. The boulder is rolled down a steep street in San Francisco, crashes into a car, and remains somewhat intact. The “Mythbusters” team set out to discover if a boulder of that size could really be made entirely of LEGO bricks and still roll so smoothly down a steep hill without breaking apart into millions of pieces. In order to debunk the myth, McIntire and 20 others worked on building the ball using nearly one million LEGO bricks over the course of nearly two weeks.
“We have more than 15,000 LEGO models here at LEGOLAND California,” said McIntire, “and this is by far the singularly largest creation I’ve ever helped to build!”
The “Mythbusters” team spent a day at LEGOLAND California researching models similar to the one they needed to build studying sphere shapes such as the head of the giant 17-foot-tall pharaoh in the Park’s newest area, Land of Adventure and the dome of the Griffith Observatory in Miniland U.S.A.
To discover the results, tune into the Discovery Channel April 29, 2009. Please consult your local TV guide for channel and times in your area.
I was hanging out with Gary this weekend (all this travel has been keeping me from blogging) and he’s really excited about this episode. He said to keep an eye out for a time-lapse video of his hands building the Mythbusters logo. I’ll definitely be tuning in tonight to watch.
Motorized LEGO Mech by Shawn Snyder
Shawn Snyder may not be as prolific as some of the builders we feature frequently, but each of his LEGO creations is no less blogworthy. Shawn’s latest mech is 16 inches tall and includes a motor to make it move around.
Watch the video here:
Sean Kenney’s colossal LEGO Nintendo DSi is 7 feet wide and weighs 250 lbs
LEGO Certified Professional Sean Kenney was recently commissioned to create a larger-than-life sculpture of the forthcoming Nintendo DSi — yes, that’s Sean peeking out from behind the DSi:
The big blue DS is nearly 7 feet wide, weighs 250 pounds, and was built from 51,324 LEGO elements.
Watch how this amazing sculpture came together in this video:
To see more pictures, check out Sean Kenney’s website and Sean’s MOCpages. You can also see Sean’s Nintendo DSi in person at the Nintendo World Store in New York City.
Jamie Berard unveils 10194 Emerald Night, plus new LEGO Trains details [News]
The forthcoming LEGO Trains set 10194 Emerald Night got an early announcement last month, but the original plan was to announce it at BrickFest 2009 (happening right now in Portland, Oregon).
AFOL-turned-Designer Jamie Berard takes his turn in front of the camera to officially unveil 10194 Emerald Night to LEGO fandom:
Jamie is of course best known as the designer of amazing sets like 10182 Café Corner and 10185 Green Grocer
. If Jamie was involved in the design of Emerald Night, it’s sure to be a wonderful set!
10194 Emerald Night has been available for pre-order from the LEGO Shop online since February, and is scheduled to ship on April 15, 2009.
A few key points from the video:
- A look into the secret LEGO Vault.
- Pierre Normandin joins Jamie to highlight 10183 Hobby Trains.
- New curved slope and train wheels (flange wheel and blind wheel).
- Lots of dark green (including gold-printed elements), plus tan train windows.
- New track system.
- Powered by Power Functions.
- Mysterious object sitting next to Cafe Corner, Market Street, and Green Grocer…
Check out a second, slightly longer video of Jamie, Pierre, and 10194 Emerald Night on YouTube.
To coincide with the unveiling, the LEGO Group has also released the following additional details about the changes to the LEGO Trains system:
As a follow up to the LEGO 9V Train Communication lll, there is one change we would like to inform you about concerning the LEGO Transformer.
Due to future legal requirements and to provide a more environmentally sustainable solution, we have decided to update the current LEGO Transformer #9833.
The new Power Functions Rechargeable Battery Box #8878 that will launch in mid-April 2009 has been designed to use this new LEGO Transformer #8887. The current LEGO Transformer (#9833) will not work with the new Power Functions rechargeable battery box and will gradually be phased out.
Below is a list of the LEGO Power Functions accessories used across multiple LEGO lines which are used with the new #10194 Emerald Night Train:
#8882 Motor
#8884 IR RX
#8870 Light
#8878 Rechargeable Battery
#8879 Speed Remote Control
#8887 TransformerLook for more information on these items on www.LEGO.com in early to mid-April 2009.
Tormod Askildsen, Head of LEGO Community Development
So, what do you think of the new LEGO Trains system? Did you see this in person last night at BrickFest? Sound off in the comments…
8960 Thunder Driller + Power Functions = PowerDriller (with bonus Mini Driller)
Jarek (Jerrec) combines a LEGO Power Functions motor and remote control with 8960 Thunder Driller to rather amusing effect:
On the smaller end of things, Scratel (Wojciech Scrat) has built a microscale version of Thunder Driller, completing with working drill:
See more photos of the Mini Driller on Brickshelf.
Sold out Big Ben Bricks hand car stars in Peter Edwards’ hilarious ad
There’s something inherently funny about advertising a sold-out product, as Peter Edwards does with a hand car from Big Ben Bricks in this video:
The video features a fantastic Technic bridge long enough to span a LEGO Amazon:
Remote controlled mini truck
Moritz Nolting (Nolnet) experiments with incorporating the power functions RC system into the smallest truck he can make to produce a creation that’s both functional and visually authentic. I really like how the bulky battery box is cleverly incorporated as the cargo container of the truck.
Check out the Youtube video showing the truck in action and see it do a wheelie.
Awesome working Technic forklift
Sebastiaan Arts has built a working forklift using the LEGO power functions system. He’s used the infrared remote control to allow him to both drive and steer the forklift. Not only can he drive it with the remote, though, he can raise and lower the fork! Make sure you check out the video of it in action.
The LEGO Computer
This LEGO computer by monkidesign really works! Disguised as a city building, this creation contains all the functional components of a computer, including a working disk drive.
Check out this recent Youtube video showing how it works:
Cerberus Shock Battle Tank
Brad Edmondson’s (Tristarian Arms) futuristic hover tank is “a labor of love” – a project that had its inspirational roots from many years back during the builder’s teenage years. Check out the backstory on MOCpages and see how Brad has poured his soul into this fine creation. There is also a Youtube video showing detail shots of the model.
Tastes like chicken
This oven with rotisserie chicken by Martin Jaspers (Marakoeschtra) is pretty cool, right?
But wait! Check out the video:
The oven has a 9-volt micromotor to rotate the chicken, along with oven lighting. Thanks for the tip, Ronald!