Just Shoot It

I love this. I get questions all the time on photography and camera gear and I usually have the same first question "what's your budget?" It really doesn't matter these days what camera you use. I've seen stunning shots from an iPhone and terrible ones from a Canon 5D. Lighting isn't terribly difficult either, you can get by with simple desk lamps. The one constant, the one thing that matters is time. If you're in a hurry to get your MOC on Flickr, you can expect it to be a bad shot. Take your time, look critically at the images. Don't be afraid to take a shot, look at it on your computer and then go back and shoot again. I do this all the time, so do professionals, and so should you. Every MOC poses it's challenges in photography, just take your time and experiment and you'll be surprised how great your pictures can be. Take a look at this simple setup by SuckMyBrick, and then go take a peek at their pictures...nuff said.

Erie P-1 "Triplex"

I vaguely remember my first ride aboard an Amtrak train when I was a kid. I remember how nice the conductor was, getting a cookie that looked like the Amtrak logo and a deck of cards. Every once in a while these days I consider a trip by train, but one look at the price and the time it will take to get there and that's over pretty quick. I don't know if this majestic machine by builder Shuppiluliumas ever pulled passenger cars, but I like to imagine what it was like for a kid long ago taking his first train ride, stepping on the platform with this thing huffing and hissing must have been quite a sight.

Plush Nerdly!

I had a fantastic, albeit short time at 24 hour Toy Break last night. If you missed it, I revealed something amazing, a plush Nerdly! This was the prototype (hand made by Flat Bonnie, numbered 01), and sold for $75 to benefit the show. But more are on the way and you'll get your chance to win one hopefully soon. Stay tuned for details!

Kira

 Meet Kira, she's a Mongolian cyberpunk compound bow archer, or something. Builder Pate-keetongu shows us just how sexy archery can be with this wicked MOC. Check out more pics and concept art on his  website 

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Here it is, the enduring Disney classic right? *Loud Buzzer* Wrong! Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is actually not a Disney film. I don't know if it's because it's from that period of fantastical films of the late 60's, or the fact it's a musical, or that it has Dick Van Dyke in it, but everyone thinks it's a Disney film. It's actually got more in common with James Bond than it does with Mickey Mouse (no really, look it up). This brilliant version by intrepid builder Mad physicist looks a treat, and when transformed into flying mode it's absolutely stunning.

24 Hour Toy Break

Once a year my friends George and Ayleen host a 24 hour episode of their wonderful weekly web show Toy Break. Artists and toy enthusiasts from all over join in the fun as we raise money to help make the show better. I'll be there tonight (probably 8ish) 

I'll post to Facebook when I'm heading over, see you tonight!

Ash

Here's a fun fact, I worked on Army of Darkness. No really, check it out. It was one of the wackiest, most fun to work on films of my career in make up effects. Bruce Campbell was as awesome to work with as you'd expect and I'm positive he would get a total kick out of this excellent MOC by vitreolum. That chainsaw technique is brilliant.

Batwing Gundam

Ah to be a slightly psychologically disturbed billionaire with a vendetta. Builder M<0><0>DSWIM brings us the latest in Batman technology, the Batwing Gundam. It's super pose-able, super detailed and super badass. Perhaps if Batman had shown up for this fight with one of these, the outcome would have been different.

No Starch

No Starch Press should be very familiar with regular readers, they've put out some of the most awesome LEGO related titles in recent years. Well, right now they're running a crazy e-book promotion and charity benefit where you pay what you want for a collection of books! And it's not just any books, there's some top-shlef LEGO books in there, like The LEGO Adventure book and LEGO Space. Here's the trick though, you pay $15 or more not only do you get the whole collection, you also score some additional books including Steampunk LEGO! What the heck are you waiting for? The clock is ticking!!!

Time Machine

What I wouldn't give for one of these babies. Can you imagine the possibilities of time travel? I could go back to 1990 and tell myself not to wear those stupid muscle pants! This brilliant recreation of the time machine was created by AFOL turned LEGO designer Carlmerriam, and I think H.G. himself would be impressed.

My Life As A Teenage Robot

You millennials might recognize this shiny young lady. It's XJ9 from My Life as a Teenage Robot. I can recall quite clearly sitting on the couch with my oldest son, eating goldfish crackers and watching Jenny in her adventures. This version by builder lingonkart not only looks just like her, but it's amazingly posable. Click through for many more pics.

Boldly Going

Here at BrickNerd we like to look back from time to time, and to boldly go where no man has gone before. I didn't intend to do two Star Trek posts in a row, especially since ST MOCs aren't all that common. But this showed up in my feed this morning, and it's been a while since I waxed nostalgic so here it is, the original crew of USS Enterprise by rionz.

Runabout

As you stir from your nap in your quarters you hear a chime from your communications panel. An alert from the head of security flashes on your screen. 

>Open Message

The panel flickers to life and a message from lieutenant Marshal Higgins appears. "You have been selected for an away team at 1600 hours to the nearby moon. Please report to shuttle bay 06". 

>Check Time

The current time is 15:47 Standard Galactic Time

>Get dressed

You open your dresser panel by pressing a button on the wall. With a pneumatic hiss your wardrobe extends into the room. Standard Starfeet uniforms, neatly clean and pressed, swing gently on the bar above.

>Get red shirt

BrickNerd LiveBuild - Mixels Series 4

Hey sports fans, are you ready to rumble? There is no pre-game show that is going to be more exciting, more riveting, more Mixely (is that a word?) than the BrickNerd LiveBuild.

Join me and Mrs BrickNerd at 11am PST as we build LEGO Mixels series 4, see you there!

Robot Drilling Team

So what do you do when you need a hole drilled on a distant, desolate moon? Sure you could grab a pickaxe and huff it to the middle of nowhere and start digging away, maybe even pack a light lunch. Or you could sit in the comfort of your climate controlled habitat pod and watch reruns of Spaced while you send out a robot drilling team, like these from Legoloverman.

Join Us For The Mixels Pre-Game LiveBuild!

Yes, the Super Bowl is tomorrow, and while you're arranging your chip bowls and getting ready to grill burgers join us live while we build Mixels Series 4. It'll be a way better pre game than the NFL can do, there's only so much Terry Bradshaw and Budweiser commercials you can take you know. We'll start at 11am PST, see you then!

Tallboy Mk1

Wow! This is the stuff of movies and science fiction. Like The Iron Giant and Pacific Rim, this very large MOC of a very large mech is eye-popping and jaw-dropping. I love everything about this, the color selection, the techniques, the pose, the photography and especially the character. I want to know his story and see him in action.

Steamy Owl

I don't know how much of the mechanization of this way cool steampunk owl from madLEGOman is functional, and that's part of the brilliance of this build. It's apparently inspired by set 70164 Hurricane Heist but for me the transformation is complete. And I have to say, this is heads and tails (see what I did there?) above the set.

Iron Man

I didn't read a lot of comics as a kid, but when I did it was usually Iron Man. This sculpt by builder nobu_tary has a striking pose and hits all the right comic book notes. You can practically hear Tony Stark inside the suit saying "I am Iron Man!"

Forza 77

Builder 6Kyubi6 and his friends have started a sort of "phone game" where they are sending MOCs to each other and the next person has to build on that inspiration. This was the result from getting this plane from builder Pistash (which I understand didn't fair well in the mail, bummer). I can't wait to see where this all goes.