It Goes Past 11

I feel like I am breaking some sort of unwritten rule by misquoting one movie to describe another unrelated movie for this post's title. But who cares when it fits so well, right? right?

Anywho, what a great build featuring one of the iconic scenes from Back To The Future? Seriously, this build has it all including many of the minor details from the original movie set such as the plutonium storage container easter egg.

Woah...Rock and Roll!

Explorer: Next Generation

Next to LEGO Castle, LEGO Space is definitely my favorite LEGO theme. There is just something about the theme that stirs my inner explorer, to "boldly go where no man has gone before". Exploration also has a dark side to it the fear of the unknown, just the smallest mistake could quickly turn into one's untimely death. 6kyubi6 has done a couple of nice things in this stellar build (no pun intended) to bring the feeling of impending doom to the forefront by presenting us with some unanswered questions. What happened to the red shirted explorer? Where is the rest of his crew? Why was his body left to rot? Why did he wear the token bad-luck red shirt?

Music Teacher Townhouse

I am not a very musically gifted person and, despite many attempts to correct this, I will probably forever be that way. I do, however, appreciate some good tunes and the skill of those that perform it.

When it comes to LEGO bricks, I enjoy unique subject matter and zaberca's Music Teacher Townhouse fits the build (pun intended). The contrast between the brick on the front of this building along with the excellent use of flat white tiles for framing really make this creation for me and could easily be part of the LEGO modular town sets. Make sure to check out the details on the inside of the building as the musicians practice their instruments.

Lego Music Teacher's Town House - Collage

An Explosive Experiment

KA-BOOM!

And here I was just trying to enjoy a nice, evening dinner with guests when that old wizard decided to cook something up that wasn't on the menu. Ah well, at least the explosion livened up the dinner conversation a bit.

Excellent work here by Digger1221. I always appreciate a good fireball with corresponding smoke trail. The rest of the build has some great details and wonderful contrast between the Wizard's lab in the basement and the dinning room on the main floor.

CCCXI-An Explosive Experiment Main

Lake Town

I've been a bad nerd this holiday season, I have yet to see The Desolation of Smaug. But, boy does this Lake Town build put me in the mood to see the movie!

When building within the castle color palette of grays and browns things can look a little washed out and boring.  It takes a lot of work to make something unique that's truly stands out and that is exactly builder Fedin has pulled off. Now if someone could only convince him to make even more of the city.

Lake-town

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

Longshanks' Death

Every year Castle-Castle.com runs their Colossal Castle Contest which includes some great prizes for the winners including some rare vintage castle sets. For the Castle LEGO lovers among us this means being treated to some excellent Castle-themed MOCs and this year is no exception. Some of my favorite castle builds that come out of this event are the interior creations as they tend to feature more intimate scenes. Lukasz 'LL' Wiktorowicz recently posted his interpretation of Longshanks’s death that includes some never before seen building techniques. This creation is totally worth pouring over the details.

CCC XI Longshanks' death

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

'Twas The Brick Before Christmas

Oh, the Holiday season. Gathering with friends and family, sharing some cheer, giving some gifts... and building some MOCS? At least that’s what Seth Christe is up to this Holiday. Seth is in the midst of an excellent retelling of the Night Before Christmas poem via LEGO brick and some clever photo editing. I highly recommend clicking through the entire series and checking his flickr feed each day until the story is complete.

Night Before Christmas, #1
Night Before Christmas, #2

Dancing Bear, Hidden Dragon

Initially I was drawn to this build because of the excellent tile work and motorized dancing bear. Upon further inspection I discovered that it actually tells a wonderful story, as well. On one side of the MOC you have what appears to be a very silly Lion king being entertained by the peril of others. While on the flip side we join the Dragon Knights in the midst of their plan to assassinate that same king. This is creation is a great example of quality that we have come to expect from zCerberus over the years and look forward to many more.

Dancing Bear, Hidden Dragon1
Dancing Bear, Hidden Dragon