Commander Shepard

Builder Nick Brick is generally known for his awesome video game and movie inspired weapons and props, but as you can see from this excellent figure, he's got character chops too. Of course this lovely lady is from a video game as well, it's Commander Shepard from Mass Effect. And of course I only know this because I googled it, since I never get to play games any more.

The Beholder

This made my heart go pitter patter. Not just because I'm a fan of all things geek, but because it's from a dear friend who hasn't been building much lately (but has certainly been making lots of cool stuff!), and It always makes me happy to see the work of friends. Behold the Beholder, from Guy Himber. Making great use of those Mixel eyes and being all monstery, I dig it.

Lord of the Rings LEGO Pinball!

Okay, so we're throwing the "don't blog the same builder more than once a day" thing out the window.  Again.  Jonas has built this amazing and fully functional LOTR pinball machine for the Iron Builder contest on Flickr.  Naturally, it makes me think about how I'd build a Battlestar Galactica pinball, but that'll have to wait. Check out the video!

Super Volks

They were ridiculous, they were brash, they were driverless, they were the Zingers, model kits from MPC. Back in the 70's it seemed you couldn't get outrageous enough (just ask Chuck Barris or ABBA) and hotrods were no exception. Builder Mad physicist clearly understands this mentality and has recreated my personal favorite from this line, the Super Volks. Who cares if it doesn't actually have seats? Just imagine how loud and fast it is! 

To Boldly Go Where No Pan Has Gone Before

Generally speaking I don't blog a builder twice in one day, or even the next day for that matter. Then Legopard had to go and whip this baby out. One of my favorite foods being sold out of a cart themed after one of my favorite franchises built out of my favorite toy to enter a contest for one of my favorite websites run by some of my favorite people on the planet. How could I not?

Cloud 9

This is one of those MOCs that you can try to describe, but just have to see to understand. It's also one that would be difficult to display at a show, but a real crowd pleaser if you did. It's One More Brick's gimbal mounted ultra luxury resort in space, Cloud 9. The sort of place we 99% can only dream of visiting some day (in the distant future of course).

Slot Car

The sound of the motors, the slight whiff of something burning, the crashes at the turns, the track that doesn't *quite* fit together perfectly. It's slot car racing, and it's pretty much a thing of the past. They are still available, but back in the 60s they were extremely popular. The rise of the RC car marked the beginning of the end of the hobby, but it still has a special place in a generation's heart. This MOC by Legopard captures it's essence perfectly, from the controller to the iconic track.

Fire Engine

Back in the 60's and 70's there was a thing called "show rods". I'm sure they still exist today, but back then they were new, they were radical and they dropped jaws. They drew crowds, they inspired model kits and they made people happy wherever they went. I remember building the model Chuck Miller's Fire Truck, here seen brilliantly recreated by Norton74, when I was a kid. I also remember musing about those short little ladders on the side, they wouldn't reach a first floor window. I was a weird kid.

Terror From The Deep

Nothing like being attacked by a kraken to ruin an otherwise peaceful day at sea huh? This latest Iron Builder entry from Legopard uses loads of the seed part, a silver technic connector. But they're so well integrated you barely notice. That's not to say they're hidden, that's not the point, just click through and check out the high res picture, you'll see what I mean. And that water work, stunning! It captures the motion and intensity of the scene perfectly.

A Barrel Of Laughs

"Dave, Dave, Dave. Check the barrel Dave!" I can almost here them shouting from the walls. This fantastic little vignette from brickbink really oozes that Persian vibe. Loads of details and a sense of both fun and possible impending doom!. It also is timeless, replace the lovely little cart with a LandRover and give the guards machine guns and you have 2000 years of history right there. Go check out some of the other great MOC's on his Flickr page.

Workspace

It's funny to me that I associate a classic workstation like this MOC by One More Brick to be part of another world I've managed to avoid all my adult life, corporate America. Overdressed professionals chained to desks entering data, chasing leads, trading stocks or any other of a million "business" type things.  You know, that stuff us creative types scoff at. When in reality I spend most of my days sitting at a table not very different from this using my Mac. Yeah, totally different.

Classic Greek Polis

This beautiful MOC by Simon S makes me want to go on a time machine european holiday. Soak in the sun in a lovely Greek shoreline village, eat copious amounts of hummus, gaze at the tranquil settings and maybe, just maybe, go to a toga party (they had those right? I saw Animal House)

Homeless

I try to keep things light here at BrickNerd (it's supposed to be a short escape from your daily grind) but this MOC by LEGOMINDED is as much social commentary as it is beautifully built. It should serve as a reminder that mental health is at a near crisis level here in the US. I'm not saying every homeless person is suffering mental problems, but it's sad there are so many people on the streets that are in need of help, and society turns a blind eye.

New Horizon (Kolibri 2.0)

Thomas W. has reimagined one of his first mocs into this wicked Space VTOL.  It's got all the required features: beefy, rotatable engines, missile launchers, two kinds of blasters, even a nifty awacs dish on top.  Thomas calls it a scout ship, but it looks like it won't be needing any reinforcements.  Awesome!

Cyberpunk Tripartite

I learned a new term today, "tripartite". It's an architectural term relating to the use of rougher and inferior building materials on lower floors (where the peasants can touch them, ew!) and becoming more refined as you build up. Combine this fascinating concept with steampunk and you've got this awesome MOC by Groovybones.

Discworld

I vividly remember the first time Discworld was described to me. "There's this world, more like a couple continents and a small ocean, and it's flat. And that's being held up by four ginormous elephants, seriously huge. And that in turn sits on the back of a even more ginormouser sea turtle...in space." I can't say I can really wrap my head around it, but this MOC by Fa Brique helps.

The Merc With A Mouth

Deadpool continues to smash box-office records (I saw it, it's awesome!) and of course he's always been a popular subject with builders and cosplayers so he's been in my flickr feed in numerous forms the last few weeks. But very few of those MOCs have caught my attention as much as this figure from nobu_tary. The pose, posture, styling and detail on this figure is top-notch. And the use of the axe blades for the eyes is sheer brilliance.

Foraois

Builder Pate-keetongu finishes up his "four seasons" project with this stunning beauty, Foraois (Forest in Irish). She represents summer, not tanning butter and convertibles summer, but nature. Her color scheme is directly inspired by the birch tree, with the white dress being the bark and her black arms being the branches. The cascade of greenery is my favorite part of this piece, and adds life and motion to it.

Typewriter

Yeah kids, there's no screen on this old time laptop. Way back when this is how we put letters on paper, mechanically. This 1:1 replica of a classic Underwood by Legopard is absolutely gorgeous. I can't say it makes me nostalgic though, this baby outdates even my crusty old bones. Besides, I don't miss typewriters at all, not even the least. But I do appreciate a good LEGO prop replica, and this is top-notch.

You Are Under A Rest!

This one slipped under my radar last month, and almost slipped under it today too. The bars and notes here are so well crafted I had no idea they were bricks, even after looking at the full size image. The only giveaway was the stair stepping on those last two notes. Besides that it makes excellent use of that most underrated form of humor, the pun. Well played, Vakkron, well played (get it? Well "played"... get it? nyuck nyuck, I'll show myself out.)