The LEGO Batman Movie Logo!

Darth Nick is an awesome builder I've had the pleasure of knowing for quite some time (he's actually the reason I became an AFOL). Whenever he gets a chance to build I usually know it will be something cool!  This time Nick has built the logo from The Batman LEGO Movie (launched today in Canada!), and it is spot on.

This creation measures over 4 feet long (about 152 studs) and it was built live on twitch over a span of a few days! He actually gave up his ticket to see the premiere a couple days ago to continue building this, not sure if he knew he was passing up on premiere tickets but I got to see it instead of him so yay! You can check out Nick's live build video below:

Nick also built The LEGO Movie logo for its premiere 3 years ago, you can check it out here on his flickr! (Man, does time fly!)

Why O Why Did I Ever Leave My Hobbit-hole?

As some of you may know, theres a special place in my heart for micro builds and builder Paul Wolfe has really impressed with this tiny hobbit hole! Bilbo's little abode in Bag End has some fun details like the tree on top made with hair pieces and the chimney is quite clever too! 

Paul is thinking about making a vignette series of these and although it is quite the project to take on I would be most excited to see that adventure unfold! It would be quite the Unexpected Gathering of creations, don't you think? ;)

Bioshock: The Collection

If you spent this long as a gamer and haven't played any of the Bioshock games, I am both disappointed in your life decisions but also really excited for you...why? Because Bioshock: The Collection was recently released for new gen consoles and contains all three amazing games, so really what are you waiting for?

If you need any more incentive to stop what you're doing and go out and buy the trilogy right now, (Mister real life Booker himself) Imagine Rigney has once again blessed us with this masterpiece of nostalgia. Believe it or not this isn't even the finished piece! Imagine has a few rooms to fill with some of the game scenes and is willing to take suggestions! His "bigger and better" full Rapture even lights up, and my favorite part of course has to be the micro Columbia on top! Check out his flickr for full amazing photos! 

Wonders of the Imagination

Builder Delayice has posted a couple of very colorful and bright creations that I can't get enough of! The first one is called Whale Island and is such an interesting idea, the second is called Maze Entrance and has some really fun techniques and details! Both creations give off such mystery, it leaves you wanting to know the story behind them. Check them out!

It's All About That Base

The current ABS Builder Challenge has started and we're witnessing some fantastic builds so far! The ABS Challenge is a 2-week competition where 4 builders use a "seed piece", a specific LEGO element, that they must incorporate in all the of the creations for this competition. One of my favorites so far is Marcel V. "obligatory" flower! I know, I know, a flower is made at least once in every one of these rounds; but its not the flower, with the blue seed piece, that caught my eye...it was the stand! 

Nike Dunks

Recently I have started really getting into shoes. I'm no "wake up early to try to get Yeezy's online" gal but I have recently acquired a few of the Toy Story Vans; and my favorite pair of kicks with donuts on them! I love this little build by Aaron Newman of these Nike Dunks! Next goal: acquire LEGO shoes! 

Expecto Patronum!

I'm still in this Harry Potter craze this month so of course when I saw Magma Guy's beautiful Stag, what did you think I thought of?? Patronuses of course! Pottermore told me my patronus is a Shark, but in the real life my patronus is a pterodactyl, I feel it bound to my soul. 

Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus

I've been in a very Harry Potter mood lately, perhaps because I recently watched Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them? So when I stumbled upon these creations of the four Hogwarts Common Rooms by Potter Brick I gushed at all the details! Check them out!

Bienvenue À Paris!

Love me some macro creations - it requires a specific kind of skill of simplicity that is very difficult for some of us builders. We are eager to fill spaces with as much detail as possible and the beauty of micro/macro building is that ability to pull back and focus on only the minimum. LegoJalex treats us to this neat scene of the Eiffel Tower, using a minifigure hand for the famous landmark. 

Fun fact about the Eiffel Tower: The tower is repainted every 7 years by hand. The weight of the paint alone weights as much as 10 elephants. 

PATA-PATA-PATA-PON

I'm a gamer that likes anything artistic and/or cute so you would think that Patapon would be my jam right? THINK NOT. Don't let these cute little guys deceive you, they are menacing and vicious as long as you can keep rhythm...unfortunately for them there is not a single rhythmic bone in my body. 

This creation by Leonid An is so darn cute that I may just swallow my frustration and attempt to pick up Patapon again. Whats so neat about this build is that the game is 2-dimensional, so creating a character in this shaping and dimension is quite impressive! 

Content Warning: Too Much Awesome

Paul is one of those builders that make you question whether you should continue to build anything cool with LEGO. He's already built the most amazing things ever, so why bother anymore right? 

Last week he posted this beautiful Steamy-punky goodness, and I needed to recover for a few days. Too much awesome in one day can really mess with your brain. 

The amount of detail in this creation is just amazing, check out his profile for some close up shots and a bit of story. 

Then after I recovered, he goes and posts ANOTHER mind blowing creation based on Day of the Dead:

Color choices, and the patterns are my favorite with these creations. The symmetry is something too to admire. 

PAUL WINS GUYS, LET'S JUST ALL GO HOME 

Welcome to Sanctuary

I absolutely adore micro models that tell so much of a story! Builder Galaktek has easily become a person I love to see new things from. His latest creation is described as a folding box, usually carved or painted, that is a keepsake for visitors of the Sanctuary; "Its design represents their experience, which can be held close inside, or unfolded to share the peace of the Sanctuary". The build "unfolds" like described; and can also come apart, allowing the four seasons to separate and be fitted like a box. Galaktek's story of the Sanctuary is as beautiful as the build itself, check detail images and the story below!

Sanctuary of Four Seasons

The Sanctuary rises from a ridge overlooking four valleys, famed for the clarity of their seasons. People from the region may be admitted to the Sanctuary for a period of secluded reflection -- traditionally, in Spring, for those who have just ended their education; in Summer, for those recently recovered from a life-threatening illness; in Autumn, for those who have completed their life work; or in Winter, for those who have lost a loved one. 

Oh, What a Day for Racing!

Cecilie has been rocking some fantastic StarWars creations lately for the Moc-Olympics. We've featured her previous entry here on BrickNerd just a few weeks ago and we're constantly in amazement (and sometimes between bidding wars on who gets to blog) what she builds next! Cecilie's entry for potential 3rd place, is number one winner in my books, Teemto Pagalies' Podracer. Not only is the color choices spectacular, the whole creation defies gravity. Watch out racers, this is not a pod you want to mess with! 

MOCStalgia - Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of "Hook"!

Here at BrickNerd we like to reminisce about the past. This month Hook celebrates its 25th Anniversary and easily can be described as one of the best movies to ever bless our eyes. If you don't know what I'm talking about then you either live under a pile of LEGO or have never owned a VHS. In recognition of this occasion we have dug into the Nerdly Vault and dusted off some good ones for you to feast your gaze upon:

Starting off with this micro by Rod Gillies of Neverland. Years later and still some very fun details like the itty bitty ship and waterfall. This creation is a great example of when a builder starts an idea and then puts it down several times before completing it. Rod describes this build as having started with the ship but it wasn't until months later that it all came together. 

Next up is a vignette by Angela Chung! Angela created full scenes for all characters from the Disney Collector Minifigure Series, which you can see here and here. Her Peter Pan and Hook scene has such fun details like the monkey in the crow's nest and Tick-Tock the Crocodile just below. 

Keith Reed built an amazing Never Never Land Amusement Park full of Peter Pan goodness. So many details packed tight but my favorite of course has to be the ship! (Whats with me and ships today?) I'm not much of a rollercoaster enthusiast, unless you count my days of Roller Coaster Tycoon, so this park does it just right for me. 

And now the man of the hour, the Captain himself. Builder Markus Rollbühler creates Hook in such a compromising position, which is such a fantastic representation of the character himself. Favorite details are the piece choices Markus makes for the collar, his belt buckle, moustache and of course those lace frills on the wrists. 

In my search for the ultimate Hook related creations I came across another fun build, although not specifically Peter Pan related its still lays within our theme. This one we really had to dig for, behind the cobwebs of the interwebs (haha, get it?) builder Barney Main created this Neverland Island with so many awesome details that I personally wouldn't mind being stranded on it. Barney uses white horns and yellow hands to create some of the detail around the water and sand. Cute little creatures like the crabs and seagull and (oh my goodness) the little ship! #shipcrazy

Well if this didn't make you want to watch Hook right now then we can't be friends. I'll just go watch it alone with my LEGO and remind myself THAT I NEVER WANT TO GROW UP! 

"That Thing Is Not From The World Of The Living..."

What can you really say about any of Legonardo Davidy's creations? Just stare in awe really. As Davidy describes, this is the home of Brown Wizard (Radagasts) from The Hobbit. Only minor details are shown in the movie so Legonardo had to use a mix of creativity and fan art to make the whole thing come to life. I'll just leave this right here for you all to amaze at...

The Culture of Japan

Builder Alanboar creates this beautiful representation of Japanese culture to commemorate his honeymoon with his wife. There is so much detail in this creation, including the Kyoto Kiyomizu temple, and it all sits on a brick-built scroll. Some of my favorite details are the fins used for minifigure kimono sleeves, and (obviously) the mini sushi! Makes my desire to visit Japan so much stronger! 

I'm Remembering Something!

Builder Grantmasters has created this fun little scene from Finding Dory and I'm just gushing over all the detail! The water plants are cleverly made with green flower studs and green flags, and the fish use minifigure hands as fins and Belville shoes! This is quite ama---what was I saying again?

Survival Starts In The Core

Anyone who follows E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) might recognize this little guy from a beautiful game introduced to us in 2015. ReCore is a secret to most of us gamers, all we really know about it is the mysterious girl with a grappling hook and her robot side-kicks. This doesn't stop builders like LEGOJunkie from already creating some of the lovable creatures we are all eager to get to know!

ReCore doesn't launch until September but as long as cute creations like Puppy Mack keep coming out, I'm good to wait :) 

BrickWorld 2016: Mel's Picks!

BrickWorld Chicago has come and gone, and for those who missed out here are my favorites from the show: 

Timothy Lydy is master at character building. His Classic Joker Bust is a favorite within the LEGO Community and this year at BrickWorld he displayed an array of Gotham characters. His Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, A.K.A The Penguin, is just fantastic. The use of a minifigure magnifying glass for a monocle, the fur and tooth piece for his crooked nose makes this Gentleman of Crime come to life. 

Another favorite of mine by Timothy is his Mad Hatter. There's just so much good stuff going on here I cant even pick which I like more. I will say though that he found a way to use the printed blue slopes that I would not have thought of! Timothy's setup was nominated for Best Individual Layout! 

I think everyone at the event this weekend would agree that this creation by Amanda Feuk, titled Imagine made everyone stop to check out. 

Amanda uses piece placement to create a projection of a girl. This creation took home Best Artwork award! 

Builder CheeseyStudios displayed this year an awesome layout titled "Fantastic Beasts". This creation is based of the JK Rowling textbook and upcoming spinoff movie in the Harry Potter universe.  Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is about a wizard, Newt Scamander, and his adventures on finding and capturing these creatures. Builder Caleb shows us some of these creatures, along with quotes that describe the dangers of the beast. Click through to see the full layout:

Caleb's Hogwarts Train was nominated for the Best Train award!

If you're thinking of checking out a convention next year, BrickWorld Chicago is definitely not one to miss! 

Now You're Thinking With Portals

Leonid An has just blown my mind with this amazing micro Portal Handheld Device! The use of the minifigure cross pein hammer is just brilliant. GLaDOS would approve!

[Whenever I'm playing Portal I sometimes forget I have a portal gun and say to myself often "How I am going to get up on that ledge?!" - anyone else do this?]