Let The Wookie Win

In my post SDCC afterglow (my mind is still swimming from that awesome EP7 behind the scenes reel) I find myself even more excited for the upcoming Star Wars film, which I didn't think was possible. And my Flickr feed seems to reflect the fact that everyone else is getting pretty jazzed about Star Wars these days. And this excellent little vignette by StarWarsKev124 from one of my favorite scenes from A New Hope, where we learn that Chewie likes to win...I mean he really likes to win.

Optimus Prime

Mad Physicist is back with something pretty epic, a fully transforming Optimus Prime on a scale I don't think I've ever seen before. It's got all the detail and creative touches you'd expect from Ralph, and when he showed some WIP pics I really thought it was just going to be a huge truck model. Then I check my Flickr feed this morning and see it fully transforms...stunning.

Stuart

I haven't seen the Minions movie yet, but I hear it's funny. These little yellow dudes, like this one artfully recreated by bricks.life.idea, were by far my favorite part of Despicable Me. In fact, I've never been able to get through the whole movie in one sitting, but I always enjoy the moments these guys are on screen. I also like the concept of an entire army of dedicated workers, I could really use them at the studio these days (even if they'd struggle when it comes to dealing with the banana LEGO pieces).

Bat Signal

After an eventful week at San Diego Comic Con, you'd think I'd be all "super hero'd out", but I don't think that could ever happen. And while I'm actually camping the next couple days I'll still be winding down from SDCC for at least a week. So thankfully nobu_tary is there to help me make the transition back to civilian life with just a little dose of Batman goodness.

Love Live!

So what do you do when your school is going to be shut down? Become School Idol's to save it! I suppose if I had actually watched the show instead of googling it that would make more sense to me, but I'm baffled by most anime. But awesome building doesn't baffle me at all, and this collection of adorable characters by Moko is just that, awesome.

Hurricane Fleet

You may remember, back in SHIPtember, Tim Schwalfenberg's award winning Hurricane Battlecruiser.  Well, he's been a busy guy building an entire fleet to go with it.  Scroll through the photostream to see the intricate details and recurring design cues that tie the whole fleet together.  Although I'm more of a rag-tag fleet kinda guy, this is a pretty awesome collection!

WIFFY Laser Bullet

Spotted this nifty rig, with a crafty mix of new and old elements.  FLAVIO's been building a vast collection of these robots, but there's something about this little dude, with the telephones and baseball hats that really caught my eye.  Plus the old-school bulldozer tread links for feet.  Wicked!

Nova

I love a MOC that makes you look twice to determine it's scale. This medium assault cruiser by Rancorbait hits all the right proportions with larger bulky surfaces to smaller greebly bits. I think it's the careful use of a couple minifigure hands that gives it the right amount of small detail in it's silhouette, which is important for establishing scale. And the use of thinner parts like the flags for the front end and the panel creating the intake or docking bay on the side protrusions. Those help break up the chunky surfaces dictated by the thickness of standard bricks.

Mini? On!

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Great rent, but the rooms are a little small.

A while back -- ten years ago to be precise -- the short-lived Factory theme made its debut in the LEGO universe. And while it didn't last long, the mini-scale sets from that theme (three sets in all) seemingly continue to inspire AFOLs today, whether in the form of the successful Architecture line, or, as seen above, in the creations of brick artists like John Stephens, who takes this theme to new heights in his continuing Micropolis series. My favorite feature of the Riverstone Apartments is the clever and old-school use of the 1x1 headlight brick as windows, and the great design on the trees. The simplicity of it all, from the cheese slopes as awnings to the cars made of 1x2 "jumper" plates and 1x1 tiles, make John's set something special.  And the best part is, there's plenty more where this came from. The takeaway message? In a time of big $200 and $350 LEGO sets, sometimes smaller is better.

The Stargazer

Legonardo Davidy is back in castle territory with this latest MOC, and it's a beauty. It's loaded with all the lovely features we've come to expect from a David Hansel creation, rich textures, complex curves and so much style it looks like it's been lifted from a storybook. All that and what looks to be somewhere in the region of a 24" scope. Should be able to spot individual moon rocks with that beast.

A Study In Contrasts

I feel for the guy on the left. Over the years I've found myself at a number of jobs that were the type that just sorta suck your will to live, like this one depicted by Gzu's Bricks. The funny thing is these days, the image is almost swapped for me. Not so much the glum side, but home is pretty normal when it comes to the color palette, and work is a vibrant, cheery LEGO spectrum of color. Oh, and that goofy, happy expression? That's me both places.

It Just Isn't Fair!

So, you've just scored two new droids, just in time for the moisture harvest! Give one an oil bath and take care of that carbon scoring on the other. Get them both cleaned up and what are you going to do next? That's right, transfer your application to the academy! Wait, who's the hologram babe? Hey, my uncle's a bit of a grouch. Darn, the little one took off. Today just kinda sucks doesn't it? (spoiler: it got worse)

Emerald Tooth

Behold the spiky, rocky goodness of Emerald Tooth. He (I assume it's a he) springs from the imagination of Djokson and reminds me of a cross between the classic Power Miners Crystal King, Rock Biter from Neverending Story with a little bit of Nome King from Return to Oz thrown in for flavor. 

White Light

Here's a fun fact, I have family roots in the midwest tied to moonshining. I don't know the specifics of it, I just know that back 2-3 generations on my mom's side there was some nefarious shenanigans. So this excellent shine runner by one of my favorite car builders tiler is not only very nicely built and photographed, but echoes a little bit of family history, excellent.

Here comes the story of the Hurricane

During last year's SHIPtember,  Tim Schwalfenberg stepped forward with the quite excellent Hurricane Battlecruiser, which landed him a well deserved win for the contest. Since then, he's been hard at work on the rest of the fleet. Although much smaller, they are no less magnificent. I've highlighted my favorites below, but make sure to check out the entire fleet, as they are all spectacular builds which maintain a wonderful design and color cohesion throughout.

Deep Sea Submarine

My issue of the new magazine Bricks Culture just arrived, all the way from the UK!  In it, there's a great piece by David Alexander Smith about the connection between LEGO building and photography.  Starting back in the 70s with the iconic box art, all the way to today's high resolution online digital images, the two art forms are inexorably linked.  The selection process for Bricknerd and other blogs is clear proof of that.  No matter how awesome the build, if it's just sitting on your coffee table, it doesn't make the cut.  So when I saw this shot of Vesa Lehtimaki's Deep Sea Sub, I thought, "This is exactly what David was talking about!" 

Time Machine

No, this one doesn't do 88 mph, nor is it disguised as a police call box. This is the 1960 George Pal and HG Wells classic time machine by BMW_Indy, and it's a beauty. The sled itself is meticulously recreated and is a wonder to behold, but the fun doesn't stop there, check out that perfectly detailed interior space. And if all that isn't enough to blow your mind, the whole vignette is lit with LEDs and the dish spins thanks to a 9-volt mini motor. This is small scale building taken to the max.

Apartment Life

I've lived in my fair share of apartments in my life. Thankfully I own a house now and don't have to deal with the downside of apartment living (but deal with a whole list of other headaches believe me). Cesbrick knows the struggle, and has crafted this excellent MOC representing the inevitable broad spectrum that stacking people leads to. Click through to see them all (totally worth it).

Lunar Dome

Hey, where are all the domes? I recall as a kid in the 70's that these were the future. We'd all be living in them by the year 2000. Then again, we're still waiting for hover boards and people still watch Gilligan's Island so...so much for progress. But we can still imagine a future where domes like this one from Miro78 dot the lunar surface, and we all rock colorful space suits.

Warthog

Chunky. Yes, Chunky is the best word to describe this spaceship by builder Rancorbait. Chunky has been a trend lately it seems in spaceship design within the FOL community. And who can blame them? These types of chunky creations offer up some very cool angles with NPU all over the place. Also, in a practical sense, the extra girth offers benefits to the ship in the dangers of space. Like keeping it protected when accidentally running into asteroids, abandoned satellites, other ships, meteor showers, etc. Holy cow is space is dangerous place or what?! Or at least that is what they teach us in the movies right? I looking at you, Gravity!