Following our suggestions over the last few days, reader -greenglo- sent us a reminder that we’d missed his awesome Colossal Castle Contest VI entry titled “Everfrost Mountain Brewery”:
There are lots of great details to check out on Flickr, including detailed shots of the great green Ogre with light-up eye, but the 2-second video is what caught my attention:
Belatedly, via Gizmodo.
And a quick production note: Josh is an administrator at Classic-Castle.com, and therefore a judge for this contest. In general, he’s avoided potential conflict of interest by not blogging CCC6 entries. The rest of us here at TBB should’ve done a better job of covering for him, but a few great Castle creations have fallen through the cracks.
Just in time for the premiere of the new (theoretically final) season of Battlestar Galactica, Ochre Jelly treats us to a batch of miniland-scale characters from the show, including Six, a toaster, and Baltar:
But my favorite is the cigar-chomping Starbuck:
Check out all of Ochre Jelly’s Battlestar Galactica creations on MOCpages while you watch BSG tonight.
And in case you missed it last week, OJ’s teaser trailer:
Any new LEGO creation from Steven Marshall is a treat, and his lovely new rally Mini Cooper doesn’t disappoint, from the custom stickers on the outside to the stripped-down interior (complete with webbing).
(I am, in fact, watching Top Gear right this moment, both on the TV and here on my computer. Ah, technology…)
Starting today, visitors to MOCpages will discover a whole new set of available features to make the sharing of LEGO creations a more fun and interactive experience. Going into the new year, MOCpages has undergone significant changes following the suggestions of fans over the years. The new features allow you to join groups and participate in discussion topics, receive activity updates on your creations and from your favorite builders, explore the recent most popular creations and do much more.
The new MOCpages has integrated popular features from sites such as Flickr, Youtube, and Facebook. At the same time, the website is still the only place where LEGO fans can dedicate a HTML-enabled webpage to presenting a creation. The new comments system (which previously functioned as reviews) now allows for discussion of creations, further enhanced by users being able to create a buddy icon for individualized identity.
The activities pages display comments on your creations, new creations by your favorite builders, latest discussions in your groups and more.
MOCpages has adopted an explore feature that lets you browse the most popular creations of the day, week, and month. In addition, you can sort through creations to see the most discussed ones and the most recent.
Groups bring together people, interests, and creations. You can create and administer your own or join others. Also, you can start discussion topics within groups, host contests, work on group projects, and do more.
These are just a few of the many new features of the new MOCpages. If you’re not a user yet, signing up is free.
And now for the brief editorial portion regarding the new MOCpages. As someone who has been actively using MOCpages for its past four out of five years of existence on the web, I can say that the new site marks the most significant change in the history of this community. However, in the course of the past few years, MOCpages has acquired a negative image among some LEGO fans, who have observed the quality of its showcased creations to decline; and as a result, many withdrew from using MOCpages and switched to sites such as Flickr. Nevertheless, there are still a handful of reputable builders who continue to use MOCpages for its unique feature to dedicate a customizable webpage to the display of one’s creations. With the implementation of the new features, MOCpages gains characteristics that significantly boosts its previously lacked interactive qualities. Will these changes be enough to attract prominent builders and more adult fans to its new community?
It is worthwhile to note the achievements of man running the show, Sean Kenney, who singlehandedly maintained the website during all these years. In the recent past, Sean has been busy with setting up the new MOCpages and has made revision after revision to the site following the suggestions by the testers. Having explored all the main features of the new website, I attest that the new community is ready for its launch. Sean has put down the potentials for the new MOCpages to become an even more popular place to share LEGO creations; it is now up to us builders to add our contributions.
In the course of the near future, MOCpages will continue development and implement even more features. The coming year will mark significant changes and growth. So stop by and dig out your old password or make a new account. Join in on the party while it has just begun.
Jordan Schwartz gets everyone in the mood for pirates with his latest and largest creation depicting a peaceful harbor invaded by plundering pirates. There’s plenty of action floating around this scene, but most impressive is the pirate ship, which is a spectacle in itself.
Check out Jordan’s creation featured on LAMLtv with a clip of the builder explaining his work in person.
Eurobricks member Lasse D has obtained and reviewed the 4999 Vestas Windmill. Although this exclusive promo set is only available to Vestas employees, we the general public can now see in greater detail what we are missing out on. :(
You can see a short video of the model to get a sense of the windmill’s size and functionality.
Personally, I’ve been waiting for this for a long time!
Ed Diment has completed his minfig-scale HMS Hood. Packed with incredible details, this is my favorite of the big ship builds, which have included the USS Harry S. Truman and the Titanic, among others.
The working derrick on the main mast is powered by a 9-volt system:
Here’s a close-up with a minifig, which gives you some sense of the massive scale of this ship:
The highly detailed superstructure is worth a closer look:
Ed built a full complement of boats to go along with Hood:
Even photographing a LEGO creation of this size is a challenge of its own:
Ed was also gracious enough to answer a few of our questions:
The Brothers Brick: How long did it take you to build it?
Ed Diment: 7 months.TBB: Does the curve stress the bricks?
Ed: No brick stress needed, it is all stepped plate and tile on its side.TBB: How many bricks did you use?
Ed: Just under 100,000.TBB: How much did it cost?
Ed: Difficult to say, some of the LEGO goes back 30 years, but if you were to buy all the brick new about $15,000.TBB: Where do you keep it?
Ed: In sections in my LEGO room. Nowhere in the house is big enough to display it.TBB: Are you going to keep it together?
Ed: I’ll be keeping it together for at least a couple of years. A couple of museums have expressed an interest, so perhaps longer.TBB: How much is motorized?
Ed: All four turrets are motorized with power functions for rotation and elevation. I’ll try and get some pictures on YouTube.
Thanks, Ed!
Check out Ed’s HMS Hood photoset on Flickr for 184 pictures — including work-in-progress shots that show how this amazing creation is constructed.
A few days ago Adrian Florea (Olog) posted a motorized steampunk battle machine, one with aesthetics blended into a clever mechanism inspired by Theo Jansen’s walkers.
See it in action!
Brickshelf user (and Klocki contributor) Sariel presents two versions of an auto-controlled tripod turret, one featuring light-up fiber-optic cables and a spinning barrel while the other features a fully-working firing mechanism that launches 12 clips.
Check out the Youtube video of both versions of the gun:
For those of your rightfully envious of all our great prizes and giveaways for Zombie Apocafest 2008 at BrickCon next month, there are even better prizes to be won for our GO MINIMAN GO Photo Contest. Remember, the contest is open to everyone over the age of 18 worldwide.
Here are just a few of the great entries readers have submitted so far to the GO MINIMAN GO Photo Contest pool on Flickr.
Entries from Alex Eylar (left) and Alan Chia (right).
Entries from Peter Edwards (left) and Aaron Andrews (right).
I’m seeing quite a few submissions that skip one or more of the requirements, so here are a few key points from the contest rules. ;)
For those of you who prefer your pictures moving, Gizmodo is also hosting the GO MINIMAN GO Video Contest, in which you can win amazing classic sets like 928 Galaxy Explorer and 375 Yellow Castle.
To get you inspired for Gizmodo’s contest, be sure to check out the videos by our very own Nathan Wells, David Pagano, and Nate Burr.
Here’s Nathan’s gorgeous salute to 30 years of the LEGO minifig:
By the way, did you know that the various minifig parts LEGO has released over the past 30 years can be combined in over 8 quadrillion possible combinations? Find out more fun facts like that on GoMinimanGo.com.
If you have a question about our GO MINIMAN GO Photo Contest, just leave a comment here. Happy building, and good luck!
