You'll Be Required To Maneuver Straight Down This Trench...

Just last night I was watching a viral video (well, more audio actually) of an original 70's audience reacting to the Death Star battle, I was transported back to childhood. I love Star Wars, I'm not afraid to say it or show it, and when I see something like this jaw dropping MOC by Martin Harris, I  see the passion I know so well. Just look at this epic creation, the sheer scale of it, it's awesome! The care and love that went into this practically leaps off the screen.

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? ;)

Amsterdam Tram

I had very limited exposure to trollies growing up, but always liked them. We would occasionally get up to San Francisco when I was a kid, and they had a few there, but they were long gone from Los Angeles before I was even born. These days I can sort of get my fix at Disneyland though, and always appreciate the approach of the Red Car (except when it's full of Newsies, man that show is annoying). But I would have loved to have ridden on this classic tram from Amsterdam. At least we can all appreciate this lovely MOC from builder KMbricklab, she's a beauty.

LL-222

Are your eyes hungry? How do they do in zero-G? Because I have a pretty awesome NCS feast for them. Check out this lovely craft by builder Heiwa71. It's just the right blend of clean lines, greebly goodness and throwback styling. The subtle surface detailing and breakup is by far my favorite feature of this beauty, just look at that simple complexity.

Porsche 919 Le Mans

This is speed, this is engineering, this is sexy. Builder Manuel Nascimento has built a Technic tribute to one of the fastest, sleekest and most famous race cars, the Porsche 919. It only takes a glance to see this was a labor of love, but it's in the details you see the true devotion. Click through for more pictures and check out the video.

ARES-3

Bob DeQuatre has been waiting to build this for quite a while now.  Exactly three years, in fact.  Designed on LDD, he's finally gotten around to building this ship in real bricks.  And it's certainly been worth the wait!  Gotta love the curves and the color scheme, complete with the massive blasters on each side.  And a couple of Classic Space logos thrown in for good measure.  Awesome!

Space Marine Helmet

This space marine helmet by builder timofey_tkachev looks right out of a movie or video game. The sleek black design looks intimidating, and not only does it have all the right aesthetics, it's wearable too. I assume it's an original design, but it feels familiar, almost imperial. While it doesn't necessarily look Star Warsy (is that an adjective?) you can definitely feel some of the DNA in it.

See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil

Mizaru, covering his eyes, sees no evil. Kikazaru, covering his ears, hears no evil. And Iwazaru, covering his mouth,  speaks no evil. The three together are the wise monkeys, an ancient reminder of ethics and code of conduct, here depicted brilliantly by builder J.B.F. While the notion of being a wise monkey seems appealing, I would like to hesitantly propose the 4th monkey, "have no fun".

Aircraft Hangar

Here's a fun fact, both me and Mrs BrickNerd know how to fly a plane. She actually went to flight school, I was just an enthusiast, but we've both flown. So we've both spent a little time in environments like this, and I was instantly smitten with this lovely aircraft hangar by bricks.life.idea. 

Vengeful Spirit

I really dig this ship design by Tim C76, it looks like a mashup of angular Imperial design and classic NASA, with a touch of rebel spirit. But based on the name I'm guessing it's not transporting colonists or doing research. The contrast of the white cladding against the greebly goodness is visually appealing (but must have made it hard to photograph). Regardless I want to rig it, light it, do a motion control pass and put this baby in a movie!

The Last Of Us

I hope you have some time on your hands, because I have a little eye candy for you. Actually it's a lot of eye candy, like a full game level of eye candy, in this intensely detailed and jaw-dropping diorama by builder Tim Schwalfenberg. It's inspired by the video game The Last of Us, and like the game it's an absolute work of dystopian art. Click through for many more pictures, and make yourself comfortable, you have some gawking to do.

*Boop Boop Boop, Weeoo Weeoo Weeoo, Wop Wop Wop*

I was totally a kid of the 70's and 80's, I saw the rise of the video game and the subsequent decline of pinball. And like an entire generation of kids, none of us ever had a quarter in our pocket that wasn't itching to be converted to a few minutes of pixelated fun. Now you can recreate this bygone era with Chris McVeigh's charming little modular arcade. You can get instructions and full kits at his website chrismcveigh.com

Exterminator

Pest problems? No Problem! Just call A-1 Pest Services and we'll send over one of our trained technicians to take care of you. We specialize in draknort infestations, ploopknit problems, flindershiver nests and homnibble dens. Ask about or 20% discount for non gravity dwellings and our special this month on shelter fumigations. That's A-1, for all your extermination needs!

The Compact Pussycat

Builder redfern1950s' quest to complete all of the Wacky Racers is nearly complete. I will confess Penelope Pitstop was never a favorite of mine, far too girly for me. Her classic "southern bell" ways and beauty supplied car gizmos were just irritating to 7 year old me. And of course she's the one that got her own spinoff cartoon, I would have much rather watched the antics of the gruesome twosome.

U-Wing Starfighter

The U-Wing is an exciting addition to the fleet of Star Wars. I will admit when I first saw it in the trailer for Rogue One my first thought was "uh oh, a new ship, this is going to get fan boys' panties in a twist." And of course soon after I starting seeing comments like "how come we don't see those in episode 4?" I don't know if it's a legitimate complaint, I don't want to take a position on it. I think it's a cool ship, and I enjoyed seeing it in action in the movie. So did builder JBIronWorks, who crafted this brilliant minifigure scale one that puts the official set to shame.

Rockin' In Wonderland

Talk about eye catching. This musical scene from Alice in Wonderland is as much about the photography as it is the build. Julius von Brunk brings us this colorful and whimsical scene, showing Alice, Hatter, March Hare and the White Rabbit absolutely rocking. The shot was accomplished with the clever use of multicolor party spotlights, a great effect expertly done.

Vinochope

I love getting fooled by MOCs (well, most of the time). I almost scrolled right past this brilliant presentation by J.B.F. At first glance, this just looks like a bottle of wine, a craft beer and a yummy snack. But don't be fooled, while still delicious, this is all bricks (and stickers of course).

Batman/Batcave

Batman Movie mania is in full swing (we've got the bug too, obviously) and Batman MOCs are everywhere. As if a cool Batman maxi fig wasn't impressive enough, Norton74 went and put a awesome little Batcave surprise inside his. Open his chest and there's Batman and Robin, ready for some crimefighting action.

TIE Bomber

Star Wars has a pretty vast collection of vehicles. A great many of them only make brief appearances in the films, and I think that's great. Just like in real life, you don't see giant Caterpillar land movers or F1 cars in the same place or very often, there's no reason to expect you'd see every ship in every movie or show. The TIE Bomber only really got any decent screen time in Empire, and I'm totally cool with that. I always loved that it took what we thought was an exceptional design aesthetic, exclusive to Vader, and made it very utilitarian. This version by marking not only nailed the proportions and details, but it's an impressive scale. I want to see this thing in person!

This Issue: Everybody Dies!

Henry Pinto has completed the daunting task of building this massive LEGO Sentinel, complete with a working light center. I've always loved the menacing, monolithic forms of these villains, contrasted with their bright pink heads and highlights, and this one looks like it could easily stomp on all of those tiny X-minifigures.