Jack Skellington

The Nightmare Before Christmas is such an amazing piece of cinematic history. The quirky design, the unforgettable music, the phenomenal stop-motion animation. It's really no wonder it's such a fan favorite. Those quirky designs make for some serious build challenges to those endeavoring to recreate them in LEGO, but as you can see, with some mad skills like J.B.F, it can be done.

Jack Skellington

Merry Christmas!

At last all good things must come to an end, including Seth Christie's rendition of the Night Before Christmas story. I would personally like to thank him for making my Christmas countdown just that little bit more special this year. I invite you all to start at the beginning of Seth's wonderful 21 part series if you have not already seen the whole thing.

Have a wonderful Christmas day everyone!

Night Before Christmas, #21

Sneaking Up On Santa

What do Santa Claus, the Loch Ness Monster, Big Foot, and Waldo have in common? Elusiveness, that's what. Part myth, part children's story the jolly old elf is rarely seen. Sure there are department store imposters but those, just like the blurry videos of big foot, are imposters, posers to the throne. I don't think it is technically possible to sneak up on Santa, with magic like his he is only seen when he wants to be seen.

Night Before Christmas, #17 Night Before Christmas, #18

A Merry Presentation

Telling a story with LEGO bricks via still photo takes a lot of setup and posing, along with the right camera angle and focus. Seth Christie pulls this off nicely throughout his Night Before Christmas series by focusing on the story elements in the photo instead of on the actual build itself. To some builders this may seem counterproductive as blurring out the background and cropping things tightly does not show off all your hard work. However, by focusing on the central elements Seth is able to tell us a story with the LEGO brick medium.

Night Before Christmas, #15
Night Before Christmas, #16

It's All In The Details

Up until this point we have talked mostly about the story part of Seth Christie's Night Before Christmas build. In today's two posts we will be take a look at some of the details that make this series so special. Specific things of note are the use of screwdrivers for chain pulls on the two floor lamps (brilliant), use of minifigure legs for the wall baseboard and don't even get me started on the fireplace.

Night Before Christmas, #13
Night Before Christmas, #14

Flew Like a Flash

A window, a simple thing, yet so masterfully created by Seth Christie for his Night Before Christmas series. I believe this is the first time I have seen a double hung window created in LEGO bricks. The shutters, the siding, the window and the excellent choice of minifig configuration bring this set all together and add life to what otherwise could have been a boring build.

Night Before Christmas, #7
Night Before Christmas, #8

The Sugar Plum Party

The countdown to Christmas continues, featuring the work of Seth Christie and his rendition of the Night Before Christmas. Tonight's photo set brings me right back to my childhood - I can remember trying to stay awake on Christmas Eve hoping to get a glimpse of Santa Claus, but inevitably passing out from sheer exhaustion. I don't think I ever dreamed of dancing sugarplums, though. What is a sugar plum, anyway?

Night Before Christmas, #3
Night Before Christmas, #4