Vaygr Carrier

If you think this ship by Tim Schwalfenberg is cool, just imagine a whole fleet!  You may recall his Corvette, Missile Frigate, and of course, the Vaygr Battlecruiser.  And if that isn't enough for you, imagine playing a game of Battleship with giant LEGO ships.  That's exactly what happened at this year's Brickworld!  But I'll get to all that in a future post.  So for now, admire the style and detail Tim put into this sci-fi creation.  That takes serious skill.  But tossing it up in the air to watch it smash into a million pieces?  That takes guts!

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! 

Luxo Jr

Admittedly it's been a while since I've last seen this lamp in action (Toy Story 3 might've been it).  But who can deny that the sound effects, the rhythm, and the actions of this little lamp hasn't been burned into our memory?  

The lamp, or Luxo Jr., is cleverly recreated by Flickr user yu chris out of a combination of LEGO System and Technic parts.  I could be wrong, but it really does look functional and bendy.  You stomp that letter I till it's gone! 

We're Gonna See Two Airborn V8s

Around this time last year Japan was experiencing Mad Max: Fury Road for the first time.  It was released about a month later than everywhere else in the world (as most movies are) but once we got it, we went mad over it.  And to tell you the truth, I'm still not over it.  Fury Road was a perfect movie.  That's what this MOC by Kirill Mazurov has in common with the movie.  It's PERFECT!  We've seen a ton of brick-built cars from and inspired by the movie, but Technic Mad Max cars are still few and far between.

One of the advantages to this Technic model is its inherit robustness.  It looks ready to kick ass and take a beating like a champ. From the dual V8s, the tanker, and to the fuel pod, every detail seems to be recreated with an amazing balance of functionality and fashion.  Be sure to check out all the other cool shots in his album.

Gryffindor Wins!

Wookiewarrior has created the most accurate (in shape, color, and size) golden Snitch I have ever seen in LEGO!  This is truly a masterpiece worthy of display, from a wizard of a builder.  I can't speak for the interior structure of this build, but I think it would be super cool if you could actually throw it around with friends.  I should also mention the awesome use of the wings from the recent Ant-Man Final Battle set, which are very realistic to the actual Snitch.  A very cool, unique, and magical build!

The Orb

Fans of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy should recognize the MacGuffin of the film, the Orb, an ancient and mysterious artifact of unspeakable power. Everybody wants it (at least until they know what it is) and Ronan will stop at nothing to possess it. Builder buriedbybricks masterfully recreates the prop in brick form. The use of the Death Star halves here, as well as the fiber optics, is inspired.

Brickworld 2016

Another Brickworld is in the bag, and boy was it a brick-tastic few days! We saw a phenomenal amount of new and creative MOCs, and are continually impressed with how the community pushes the medium forward.
If you've never attended a convention before and live in the U.S. Midwest (or anywhere in the world really) I highly recommend that you visit this convention at least once in your lifetime. Brickworld is traditionally held over a long Father's day weekend in June. The convention offers multiple ways to attend including public viewing days however, we do suggest going as a registered attendee for the full experience.

-Bart, Mel, and Philip

Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet

"How awesome is this?!?"  That's what I heard every time I walked by my pal Tyler Halliwell's display at Brickworld this weekend.  Among his impressive collection of busts was this new pair of builds from the Marvel Universe.  Seeing old Thanos in person was a real treat, too, once you got over the shock of how lifelike it is.  Amazing creation, Dude! 

Trucking. In. SPAAAACE!

I'm not exactly sure where that meme comes from, but I'll use it nonetheless because it's funny. Anyway, sci-fi master Tardisblue is back with this awesome transport vehicle. Even though it's quite different from his usual spaceship builds, this truck is still fantastic. It seems fairly simple at first, but once you look closely, you can tell that there is some next-level brickery going on here. Just look at that diagonal caution stripe across the trailer! Awesome.

3D Treasure Map

This is an interesting MOC by builder p e d. We're all familiar with treasure maps, but this one is more like my imagination sees them. In stunning relief the details leap off the page and become a vivid underwater scene featuring a ship wreck, seabed teeming with life and a treasure hunter. I don't know what riches remain to be found in this ship, but I think this MOC is a treasure in itself.

Utini!

The Jundland Wastes are no place to travelled lightly, especially with this thing roaming around. It seems the Jawas have a new tool (weapon?) to aid them in their efforts to find, buy and sell droids, the Mobile Suit Sandcrawler by M<0><0>DSWIM. I'd like to see Stormtroopers try and slaughter jawas now.

Let's-a-go!

Even though they were some of the more difficult levels, I always enjoyed the airship levels when playing Mario. They're just so different from the rest of the levels, even though that auto-scroll gets obnoxious. This awesome version of Bowser's airship by Nick Brick has all the necessary features: the cannons, the goofy propellers, and Bowser Jr.'s little flying machine. I really like how clean and polished this build is, it makes it feel very cartoony (and therefore accurate to the source material). It's very cool to see a 3-dimensional version of this ship.

Mmmmmm, Burger

Most of the people that have visited BrickNerd Studios here in Lompoc have discovered something about me, I come from strong burger DNA. It's a tradition when someone visits to take them to Tom's, a local burger joint started by my dad Tom Sr about 35 years ago. I can assure you if builder Powerpig ever visits, I'll be taking him there, he clearly appreciates a good burger.

Grease Fires

Okay guys, let's be serious for a minute.  Grease fires are no joke.  Never ever throw water onto a grease fire because water and oil don't mix and it'll just splash burning hot oil everywhere and spread the fire.  The only time I've seen a real grease fire was at a fire department demonstration during elementary school and I'm still not sure if the firemen's multiple failed attempts to extinguish the flames and the projected sense of urgency was genuine or not.

When it comes to LEGO grease fires, they are fantastically fun.  As you can see from jarekwally's vignette, the kitchen is packed with action and detail.  Stone island counters, wooden walls, plenty of places to hang things and shelf space, a huge fridge, and a chef with personality!

The Truth Is Out There

While I wasn't a religious watcher, I've always been a fan of X-Files. Something about Mulder's continual optimism/paranoia and Scully's continual skepticism kept the show alive with a great dynamic (although, you'd think after so long, Scully would maybe be slightly less skeptical every week). This interior by markus19840420 captures the clutter and feel of Mulder's office perfectly, right down the the pencils lodged in the ceiling tiles.

Phasers Out

I always love it when someone builds a good life-size movie prop, and this original Star Trek phaser by buriedbybricks is a great example. Although I wasn't around when the original Star Trek TV show and movies were showing, I still quite like it at times. Sure, the effects are a little old and the cardboard sets are wobbly, but it was a huge step in science fiction entertainment and was sometimes quite impressive. Similarly, this model is old (the builder says he built it in 2010) but excellent. The shaping is splendid and there's lots of great detail.

Simply Maleficent!

The first things to really strike me about Johnnie Tee's representation of this scene from Maleficent, were the stained glass and floor tiling. They are so precise and authentic. Johnnie Tee explains that he was looking to create "gothic chic luxury befitting a young princess" and I think he's got this spot on! The details on the bed such as the feet and whips, along with the golden furnishings, create a sense of elegance. Aurora can be seen smiling and holding Maleficent's hand in this LEGO moc of the the 'True Love's Kiss' scene.

Bioshock Skyhook

This MOC by builder Imagine™ is pretty insane. I haven't played Bioshock, so I have no frame of reference here, but this is a really wild and wacky weapon. And as if just the styling and build wasn't impressive enough, this thing is motorized! Check out the video clip to see it in action, it's pretty mind-blowing (and just a little terrifying).

Spinning Vinyl

Well, plastic at least. I can remember studying one of these at around age 4 and working out how it functioned, prompting me to disassemble a couple music boxes of my mom's to see if they worked the same way (similar, but using a drum). I also remember getting into a bit of trouble for not putting them back together. What can I say, they were far more interesting with their inner workings exposed. Builder jtheels nails another retro build (and brings back all the childhood feels) perfectly.

This Icarus Can Fly...

...Unlike the mythological one, which crashed and burned. This sweet mecha by Devid VII definitely isn't susceptible to the problems Icarus Mk.1 had. It looks awesome, with the dark red color scheme and all those menacing angles. I particularly like the design of the missile pods on the shoulders, as well as the turbine above the head.