ABS Builder Challenge - Season 1 Finale

Along with a new round of Iron Builder, this month sees the season 1 finale of the ABS Builder Challenge, brought to you by InnovaLUG.  For those who are unaware, this contest is also focused around creative uses for a specific element.  This month's element is a curved top modified brick in dark red.  For the finale, InnovaLUG has put 16 builders (including myself) against each other for 3 weeks!  Working in teams of 4, each team is attempting to create the most creative builds possible.  The team that produces the top 14 builds will be declared the winning team, and the member who contributed the most will reign as champion of this season.  Nearly one 1 week into the challenge, I have featured some of my favorite builds in the round so far.  Head over to the group and check out the rest!  Can you think of a use for the piece?

Stimpy, you eeediot!!

Julius von Brunk continues his Nickelodeon theme with an excellent tribute to Stimpson J. Cat, of The Ren & Stimpy Show fame.  The expression says it all with this guy, and Julius is clearly a fan for choosing this portrayal.  For those of you unfamiliar with the network's original lineup, the series ran for five seasons in the early 90's.  It's vulgar humor and innuendo, according to Wikipedia, set the stage for shows like Beavis and Butt-head and South Park.  What a legacy! 

Tigress

Since the dawn of man we've been racing. It started simply enough, with our legs, but with each technological advance in transportation it hasn't been very long before somebody said "hey, let's race these". There's no reason to expect this will ever stop, so it's natural to assume in the future we're going to have some pretty nifty go-fast competition. This Formula Zero Gravity ship by Rogue Bantha not only looks fast, but has deep roots in classic LEGO racing, namely Octan. The color scheme is perfect.

Windsurfing

I don't spend much time at the beach, although I can't imagine living too far from it. Yeah, I'm a California native that doesn't like the beach, go figure. But I do enjoy the view as I drive along the coast, and when you see one of these people it always enhances the scenery. Builder vir-a-cocha captures the motion, pose and attitude of this favorite of the aquatic sports.

The Iron Burger

As things heat up in this round of Iron Builder the two competitors are stepping it up. I love cheeseburgers, they're one of my favorite foods. I also have a family history with them, since my dad started a very successful burger joint that continues to thrive to this day. So I find this latest build by Leopard irresistible (and now I'm craving a cheeseburger).

"I'm Not Crazy"

Dateline Venice California: For Immediate release.

Local youth enters institution.
On Tuesday this week a local youth known only as "Mike" was institutionalized by his parents.  According to his father "we feared he might hurt someone, that he might hurt himself" so the decision was made to get him somewhere "safe". His mother was certain he was on drugs, despite claims by the youth to the contrary. When interviewed the youth was despondent, uncertain of his future and the motivations of his parents, particularly his mother "All I wanted was a Pepsi, just one Pepsi, and she wouldn't give it to me." Representatives of the institution declined to comment.

Technique Tuesday - Stacked Stone

Introducing our very own Technique Tuesday!  Each Tuesday, we will be featuring at least one post that contains a technique tutorial from builders like you!

One of the best things about the LEGO community is that we can learn from one another.  Here at BrickNerd, we like to share techniques that we see from builders all around the world. . .

Simon NH shares many useful techniques over on his Flikr page.  For our first official Technique Tuesday post, we are featuring his most recent demonstration, a stonework technique for walls.  What an interesting pattern created by these simple elements.  It looks fairly sturdy from this image alone, which is nice since some similar techniques can collapse pretty easily.  Thanks for sharing with us, Simon!  Tune in next week as we continue to feature more techniques!  Happy building.

Niffler

The Niffler, a burrowing magical creature native to Great Britain with a mischievous nature and a penchant for anything shiny. If you saw Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them you got to see one of these little rascals at his best (worst?). This version by The Deathly Halliwell absolutely nails him, and makes we want to watch the movie again.

So, Were You Late For Work Yesterday?

Time, it's relentless march governing all we do. Here in the states we like to mess with the logical and natural passage of time with something called Daylight Saving Time, DST. A pointless and exasperating exercise in futility that does little more than sell extra charcoal in the fall. Every fall we set the clocks back an hour, in the spring, they go forward again. Resulting in traffic turmoil, missed work and an entire nation of really grumpy teenagers. But I digress, check out this nifty watch by Vitreolum built for the ABS Builder Challenge going on over on Flickr.

Mooneyes

It's a landmark of a west coast motorsports legend, the Mooneyes headquarters in Santa Fe Springs California. If you've spent any time around hotrods, or even just admired them as they rolled by, you've probably spotted the iconic cartoon eyes logo of this home-brewed and passionate company. Builder Norton74 brings us the historic location of the company in this stunning MOC, which is superbly detailed inside and out.

Ready...Fight!

It's another Iron Builder, and it's going to be an interesting one. This battle is between Pate-keetongu and Leopard, two seasoned builders and creative powerhouses. But the gauntlet has been laid, for this challenge has an especially vexing part, a Duplo grass piece. Both builders are off to a strong start, but how many MOCs can that part really be used for? Stand by to find out!

Aaahh!!!

I have only the vaguest of memories of watching Aaahh!!! Real Monsters reruns as a kid, but the character designs always stood out to me. I think I even had a few action figures of the monsters. Julius Von Brunk does a great job capturing the creative absurdity of the style in his latest build, Krumm. I can only hope he's planning to show us the rest of the main cast next!

Slender Slightly-Scarlet Sentry

Dead Frog Inc. returns with an eerie, stoic robot. He's simple in form but impressively full-of-character, considering the lack of facial expression, and the red arm serves as a great flair of color (although you may not recognize him because of it).

Here Comes Peter Cottontail...

...STOMPING down the bunny trail. I hope you were looking for sturdy stuff in your Easter basket this year, because I don't think eggs and hollow chocolate bunnies are going to be compatible with the Easter Bunny's new ride thanks to builder IamKritch. It's a good thing Peeps can stand pretty much whatever punishment you can throw at them.

Tiny Tanks

It might undermine their menace, but really the only way to describe this tiny tanks by builder GolPlaysWithLego is "cute". And while they may be small, there's a lot of cover building going on here. Just kinda make you want to build a few of my own and stage a tiny, adorable battle. How about you?

Sleep Was Never Easy

I can totally relate to this autobiographical MOC by builder davekaleta. It's a serious dose of nostalgia for me, and I love all the details. My first born Austin NEVER slept voluntarily for the first five years of his life. When he was an infant the only surefire way to make him sleep was to load him into the 4Runner and circle the block endlessly (followed by a harrowing trip upstairs back to his crib). Once he graduated to his big boy bed, the only way to keep him in his room until sleep finally took him was to camp out with him. I can't calculate the endless hours I spent watching Rugrats on the floor of that boy's room. I'm happy to say I don't have to worry about his sleep habits now, then again he turned 21 last month so I should think not.

A New Beginning for the Jedi. . .

The vibe is strong with this build. . .  There's such a neat atmosphere included with this beautiful creation by Inthert.  "Hidden deep within the jungles of Yavin 4, Luke Skywalker gathers his first four students under the ancient Massassi structure: ‘The Praxeum Arch’ to begin their training…"  We don't know much about Luke Skywalker's creation of a new Jedi Academy, but I'm sure the knowledge we seek is not behind us, but ahead.  This allows builders like Inthert to fantasize and create their own interpretation.  There's much to admire about this build, from the perfectly rounded base, that very unique archway, and those intriguing trees made out of Mixel joints.  Never seen that before!  An awesome build by a fan wanting more from Star Wars. . .