Ichigou has posted a small tank based on an enemy in the manga (Japanese comic book) and anime series JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure — 「ジョジョの奇妙な冒険」 in Japanese.
Click the image for the full gallery, and read more about JoJo on Wikipedia or Anime News Network.
I can hardly believe it’s only been a year since Bruce launched VignetteBricks, the premier LEGO blog dedicated to vignettes.
VignetteBricks was one of the first LEGO blogs I encountered, and I personally would not have started either Dunechaser’s Blocklog or Pan-Pacific Bricks if it weren’t for Bruce’s inspiration.
But enough from me — head on over to VignetteBricks to read Bruce’s thoughts on VB’s first anniversary and express your own thanks!
With the help of Japanese LEGO fan Izzo, Nelson Yrizarry and I recently introduced Joe Vig to LEGO builders on the other side of the Pacific. We hope Joe will catch on in Japan the same way vignettes in general have caught on everywhere.
Izzo himself has posted several Joe Vig vignettes already, and he recently sent me a link to another Japanese builder’s home page. HIRO has already posted a Joe Vig vignette, titled “Fishing:”
Japanese LEGO builder Sugegasa has been credited as one of the earliest builders in the popular vignette form (little creations on 6×6- or 8×8-stud bases).
Sugegasa takes this form to a new level in his V-pod — a vignette that fits in an X-Pod container (via VignetteBricks):
Sugegasa has recently posted two uniquely Japanese vignettes. (Bruce credits Sugegasa as one of the earliest builder of LEGO vignettes — the “haiku” of LEGO building styles.)
Japanese bathtubs are smaller and deeper than American bathtubs. You wash off outside first, and then you soak in the water. Many bathtubs have hot water heaters attached directly to the bathtub (kind of like a hot tub), and some of the more old-fashioned bathtubs have chimneys, like this one in “Chimney Bathtub” (a continuation of the long-running shiritori word game):
A wonderful wintertime tradition in Japan is to sit around a kotatsu and eat mandarin oranges, or mikan. Kotatsu are low tables skirted with a quilt and a heater underneath. Mmmm…toasty… In this vignette, one of Sugegasa’s recurring minifig characters sits at a kotatsu eating mikan and watching TV:
(Today we’ll be introducing Joe Vig to Japanese LEGO builders. For an English introduction to Joe, read all about him on LUGNET.)
Brickshelf や LUGNET のヴィネット作品で、Joe Vig（ジョー・ヴィグ)という人物を見かけることがあります。ジョー・ヴィグとは何者なのでしょうか？今日は普通の和英の説明に変わって、ジョー・ヴィグを日本のレゴファンの皆様にご紹介したいと思います
ジョーは世界一アンラッキーで周囲に無頓着なレゴキャラなのです。彼は常に周りで何が起ころうとしているのか、わかっていません。強烈な電磁石のように悪運を引きつけますが、危険意識はゼロ！しかし残念ながら、今にも悪いことがおころうとしています。気をつけろ、ジョー！
ジョー・ヴィグはマイク・クラウリー氏（Mike Crowley）およびイリザリ兄弟ネルソンとパトリック（Nelson and Patrick Yrizarry）の意図に基づいているものです。元のアイデアは単純なレゴフィグを作り、Joe Food（食べ物ジョー）と名付け、付近のレストランで写真を撮ることでした。その写真をウェブに載してあちらこちらで現れてることを見せびらかしたかったのです。
いろんなことが重なってジョー・ヴィグは LUGNET のヴィネット作品の登場人物になりました。その結果で名前を「ジョー・ヴィグ」に変えました。（「ヴィグ」は「ヴィネット」の省略で、もちろん実在・架空の人物の名前ではありません。）
ジョー・ヴィグのアイデアには好意的な反響が大きく、間もなく世界中のレゴファンがジョー・ヴィグのヴィネットを作り始めました。２００５年の６月にLUGNET .vignette グループの管理者たちは第一回 [ジョー・ヴィグコンテスト] を開きました。将来もジョー・ヴィグを多くの作品で見ることを期待しています。
さて、皆さんも自分のヴィネットにジョー・ヴィグを使ってみませんか？
ジョーはもちろんアレンジにも気がつかない人物ですが、頭、胴、足は上記の部品を使用してください。また、ジョーは帽子をかぶるのが好きですが、色は”白”に限られています。
ジョーに何が起こるかはレゴファンの皆さん次第です。このプロジェクトの目的は創造力とヴィネット製作を啓蒙することですが、大事なのは楽しむこと！です。
それでは、ジョーに何かが起こる直前を表現したヴィネットを作りましょう！ジョーが気づいていない、ということに注意！
（ネルソンさんが LUGNET のために書いた文章をもとにこの記事を書きました。LUGNET の新しい 日本語版を編集して下さった Izzoさんにも大変有り難く思います。)
Joe discovers that there are grave consequences for foreigners who fail to remove their shoes upon entering a Japanese home.
(The image is a link to the gallery, when public. “Gaijin” means “foreigner” in Japanese.)
Working for a demolition company, Joe Vig takes his lunch break in the wrong place at the wrong time. Look out, Joe!
A good friend asked me to make a minifigure of Michelle Kwan, who recently withdrew from the 2006 Olympics. Unsatisfied with the minifig on its own, I hauled out my white bricks and whipped together this vignette — my first non-minifig creation in several months:
Those are supposed to be my friend and her husband in the background. For a better representation of skates, check out Uda-san’s Mao Asada (and for good measure, the obligatory PPB cross-link).
Following up on his Hina-Matsuri vignette (previous PPB post), Nelson Yrizarry presents a vignette based on celebrations of Tango no Sekku, or Boy’s Day (now celebrated as “Children’s Day”).
Here’s what Nelson has to say:
Now known as “Children’s Day” in Japan (a National holiday), this is the day when sons are traditionally honored. Most notable are the large koinobori (carp) banners that are flown – one for each male son. The carp is considered as the most spirited of all fish, able to overcome obstacles such as strong currents – hence, it serves as a symbol of the desired strength and success of the family’s male childen.
I have incorporated other aspects of the Japanese culture – Father enjoying sake; a katanakake (sword stand); a small Zen garden, etc.
A couple more entries in the shiritori word game.
First up, Uda-san posts a vignette of figure-skater Mao Asada receiving a bag full of LEGO goodies from a fan:
Nigou continues the game, from Uda-san’s Mao Asada to her sweet-potato vendor’s cart (manned by Hagrid). These vendors sell sweet-potatoes baked on a bed of red-hot stones. Today, they most often drive around in little trucks, with their oven on the back, so these traditional carts are a rare sight:
The name Nelson Yrizarry should be familar to regular readers of VignetteBricks and LUGNET (as well as The Brothers Brick). He and his brother Patrick are well-respected members of the LEGO community, and their creations are admired by LEGO fans everywhere. One of Nelson’s latest vignettes features a distinctly Japanese theme — the Hina Matsuri or Girls’ Day Festival.
Here’s what Nelson has to say:
In this MOC, a family gathers to celebrate the day with the pounding of mochi (rice cakes) in the traditional style – hammering it inside a large stone bowl. For those who have never seen this before, one person wets their hands and reaches into the bowl between hammer blows to fold the mochi over – timing is crucial! Everyone else helps to roll the mochi into smaller pieces.
A hina-ningyo doll is on display inside the house, along with something else… Don’t forget to enjoy the cherry blossoms!
Click the image to see the full gallery.
